LU university designs honey extractor machine

It is now much easier to extract honey from honeycomb.

A honey extractor machine designed by the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) is expected to boost the much speedier development of the local apiculture (beekeeping) industry.

The device was the output of a project titled "Development of Honey Extractor Machine: Support to the Apiculture Industry" implemented by DMMMSU under the auspices of the Ilocos Consortium for Industry and Energy Research and Development (ICIERD). ICIERD is one of the regional arms of the DOST-Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD).

DMMMSU, currently headed by Dr. Ernesto Gapasin, president, is a multi-campus institution of higher learning in La Union.

Beekeeping has become a backyard industry in a number of La Union towns, thanks to efforts of the DMMMSU-based National Apiculture Research, Training and Development Institute (NARTDI) headed by Director Apolonio Sito.

Beekeeping in the province had earlier been inefficient for lack of viable equipment.

Realizing this, DMMMSU developed a better version of a machine acquired from a foreign entity with the possibility of mass-producing innovation to enhance production output.

PCARRD reported that members of the La Union Bee Association, Inc. (LUBAI) maintain an average of 10 colonies, with each colony producing an average of 14 honey frames. Each frame can yield nine 230-milliliter bottles (a bottle currently costs P80).

"Honey extraction includes gathering, scraping, and extraction," PCARRD said.

LUBAI’s existing extracting machine acquired from a foreign government is manually operated and requires lot of power to maintain its operation. It needs a design improvement because gear oil spills to extracted honey.

The DMMMSU-designed extractor solves the oil-spill problem, PCARRD reported. – RAF