Abstract

In Chile, beekeeping is mainly associated with Family Farming, where almost 80% of beekeepers carry out this type of production on a small scale. Due to the characteristics of these small beekeepers, it is vital that they can work together in order to have access to better benefits and prices for their products and services, but it has been seen that associativity is very low in this area. To support beekeepers in the O'Higgins region, a project entitled: "Generation of social capital between beekeepers and the University of O'Higgins, to improve the sanitary and epidemiological status of beehives in the O'Higgins region" was developed. The objective of this project was to design and implement a trans-disciplinary linkage strategy between the beekeepers of the region and the University of O'Higgins, which would allow the construction of a "Road Map" to solve the existing gaps in the sector and define the lines of applied research to be developed. The aim is to improve the associativity of beekeepers, improve the health of the hives, pollination services and, therefore, regional beekeeping productivity. To do this, the first thing we did was to gather information on the current situation of social capital together with the sanitary and epidemiological management of beekeepers in the O'Higgins region through a survey. Then, we determined the main problems and gaps associated with social capital, sanitary management practices and epidemiological status of regional bee production, through dialogue with different actors in the beekeeping sector by means of different workshops. And finally, we built a "Roadmap" with lines of research aimed at strengthening social capital to create value in production and that are relevant to improving bee health in the O'Higgins region. This initiative is expected to improve integration, articulation and trust between the different actors in the beekeeping sector, as well as to focus future applied research. In addition, it will improve technology transfer, training and teaching in beekeeping production, bringing community members and young people in the region closer to the beekeeping sector.