Cuba's organic bee farming industry thrives with government support

STORY: Cuba's organic bee farming industry thrives with government support DATELINE: Aug. 19, 2022 LENGTH: 0:02:32 LOCATION: Havana CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Cuba's beekeepers 2. SOUNDBITE (Spanish): GIOVANNI FRISCINA, Beekeeper 3. various of beekeepers and a honey packaging and labeling plant STORYLINE: Garbed in a green beekeeping suit and hat, Giovanni Friscina was closely inspecting one of his some 500 beehives in Cayo Ramona, in western Cuba's Matanzas province. "This place is in the middle of nowhere, there are no industries nearby," Friscina, 51, told Xinhua, adding this is what makes this rural idyll located 180 km east of the capital Havana the perfect place to make honey from wild flowers. The third-generation beekeeper is one of the island country's top honey producers, with an output of 50 tons in 2021 alone. SOUNDBITE (Spanish): GIOVANNI FRISCINA, Beekeeper "They are natural food, free of contamination, because in the swamps there are no industries nearby, it is all na