Economic Feasibility and Income Security of Stingless Bee Keeping for Small-Holder Farmers in Southeast Asia

The diverse stingless bee species in Southeast Asia (SEA) and the high demand for pollination services and honey-based products are instrumental in making meliponiculture a sustainable industry. An overview was presented on the geographic distribution of 61 stingless bee species recorded in the 11 Southeast Asian countries: Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Timor-Leste, Thailand, and Vietnam. Economic feasibility studies in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand showed that meliponiculture is a profitable small-scale enterprise in the rural areas. The analysis was based only on the stingless bee products pot-honey, pot-pollen, and propolis, but it excluded pollination services. In order to conserve and sustain the development of the stingless bee species, more studies should focus on taxonomic and genetic diversity, foraging behavior, and valuation of pollination services.