This is the first year the humble bee is being recognized in order to highlight its vital importance in the global ecosystem.
As bees zip from flower to flower, they carry pollen, facilitating plant development and food production. The bee also serves as an indicator of how healthy local ecosystems are. Their populations are crucial to our food security.
“Without pollinators the world would have been without food diversity and suffering from food insecurity on the long term. Without bees it would be impossible for FAO to achieve its main goal of eradicating hunger in the world,” said Dr. Fadel El-Zubi, representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Iraq.
But the bees are increasingly at risk because of changes to farming practices, reduced diversity in our fields through mono-cropping, the use of pesticides, and invasions of other insects.
The Kurdistan Region is using the day as an opportunity for education.
“On World Bee Day, today we opened a field workshop for basic learning of beekeeping in the Kurdistan Region,” Arif Sherwani of the Beekeepers Network Association of Kurdistan told Rudaw.
Thirty people are taking part in the training. Each course lasts 10 days and they have attracted people wanting to learn about keeping bees and marketing their products.
“As the government, we have been assisting the beekeepers in the Kurdistan Region and whatever materials they need we provide them for free, above all the hives,” Sherwani said.
There are 10,500 beekeepers across the Kurdistan Region.
Honey for sale at a market in Sulaimani. Photo: Sartip Othman/Rudaw
Made from the wildflowers that grow in Kurdistan’s mountain pastures where climate conditions are perfect for the bee, buzz has grown about the delicious Kurdish honey.
But, like any agriculture business, it is affected by the climate. Heavy rains this year have damaged hives in the mountains and a sparrow, rangala, coming with the rain has been eating bees, Sherwan said.
The worst year for beekeepers in recent memory was 2017 when production levels plummeted by 90 percent compared to 2016, explained Sherwani.
In 2016, the Kurdistan Region produced 950 tonnes of honey.
Sherwani is hopeful this year will be better than last year, but notes that the Kurdish honey industry faces an additional risk. Frequent bombardment by Turkish jets in the areas along the border with Turkey has forced beekeepers off the mountain sides.
Beekeepers are “reluctant to return to their border villages where they used to farm bees,” said Sherwani.
Iraq consumes around 2,450 tonnes of honey, but produces just 1,000 tonnes, according to figures from Dr. Fadel El-Zubi.
Government agriculture officials believe Kurdistan could boost its production with some specialized training for beekeepers.
The goal for World Bee Day is to shine a spotlight on the vital role the bee plays in keeping the planet and people healthy. May 20 is the birthday of Anton Jansa who pioneered modern beekeeping in Slovenia.
Individuals can help bee populations thrive. The FAO recommends people grow native plants in their yards and gardens, avoid using chemical pest controls in the garden, or build a bee fountain – a small, clean dish with fresh water and rocks – to give the insects a place to rest and refresh.
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