Pollinators such as bees, birds and bats, affect 35% of the world's crop production, increasing outputs of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide, plus many plant-derived medicines. 3 out of 4 crops across the globe producing fruits or seeds for human use as food depend, at least in part, on pollinators.
Nowadays bees, pollinators, and many other insects are declining in abundance. Pollination is a keystone process in both human managed and natural terrestrial ecosystems. It is critical for food production and human livelihoods, and directly links wild ecosystems with agricultural production systems. The vast majority of flowering plant species only produce seeds if animal pollination move pollen from the anthers to the stigmas of their flowers. Without this service, many interconnected species and processes functioning within an ecosystem would collapse.
Sustainable agriculture can reduce risk to pollinators by helping to diversify the agricultural landscape and making use of ecological processes as part of food production. Safeguarding bees safeguards biodiversity: the vast majority of pollinators are wild, including over 20 000 species of bees.
Beekeeping is a widespread and global activity, with millions of beekeepers depending on bees for their livelihoods and well-being. Together with wild pollinators, bees play a major role in maintaining biodiversity, ensuring the survival and reproduction of many plants, supporting forest regeneration, promoting sustainability and adaptation to climate change, improving the quantity and quality of agricultural productions.
Honey bees may provide livelihood or a source of income for many beekeepers all over the world. This could happen through the services provided by the bees (mainly pollination service, apitherapy and apitourism), or directly through the bee products. The last include: alive bees to guarantee always new queen bees or bee packs, honey, pollen, wax, propolis, royal jelly and venom. Bee products may be used as food for humans, feed for animals, cosmetics, medicines used in conventional medicine, or in apitherapy, or other like manifold products, carpentry, attractant, sweeteners, etc.
This day provides an opportunity for all of us – whether we work for governments, organizations or civil society or are concerned citizens – to promote actions that will protect and enhance pollinators and their habitats, improve their abundance and diversity, and support the sustainable development of beekeeping. (source: fao.org)
We can help the life of pollinators by planting flowers in our garden, terrace, balcony.
Support your local beekeepers buying local organic bee products, or try ours.
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