Jamaicans urged to help sustain bee population

Jamaicans are being encouraged to help sustain the bee population to boost food security efforts, through backyard gardening and planting more flowers, by Senior Plant Protection Officer in the Apiculture Unit, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Gregory Lynch.

In an interview with JIS News at the 72nd staging of the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show, recently, Lynch said when you look at the economic importance of the honeybee as pollinators, bees increase your yield by 30 per cent.

“So, if you have bees around where you have crops that are producing fruit you can expect to get at least a 30 per cent yield. We must take care of our bees because they are that important,” he emphasised.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) encourages the protection of pollinator populations such as bees, as their work helps to maintain biodiversity and the ecosystems on which agriculture depends.

Meanwhile, the Ministry is advising consumers that changing weather patterns affecting the volume of harvested honey may result in price fluctuations.

With flowering plants affected by below-average rainfall and weather events, food sources for honeybees have diminished, with adverse consequences for honey production.

“We usually expect our honey flow to come around January, February and March, but this change pushes that all the way down to April or May,” Lynch said.

He noted that all honeybee by-products will be affected by the change in harvest patterns.

“Because of the scarcity, this pushes the prices higher [for] all the products of the bees, such as the honey, pollen and wax. The volume of honey is also less than what it was before,” he said.

- JIS News

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