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Beekeeping in Greece: problems and proposals

Beekeeping in Greece: problems and proposals. Vasilis Ntouras , President Federation of Greek Beekeepers Associations OMSE. My job and my co-workers in the field. In OMSE’s office. With and. Greek beekeeping in numbers. 1.500.000 bee colonies 17.000 beekeepers

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Beekeeping in Greece: problems and proposals

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  1. Beekeeping in Greece: problems and proposals Vasilis Ntouras, President Federation of Greek Beekeepers Associations OMSE

  2. My job and my co-workers in the field

  3. In OMSE’s office

  4. With and

  5. Greek beekeeping in numbers • 1.500.000 bee colonies • 17.000 beekeepers • 6000 professionals (>150 colonies) • ~20.000 tons of honey/year • ~15 kgr/colony /year • 12 colonies/km2 • 4 transportationsper year on average

  6. Honey production cost is high Honey yield per colony and year is low Yet, the quality of Greek Honey is unique

  7. Beekeeping in Greece has certain very specific characteristics • Mountainous land • Hot-dry climate • Farming area is ~ 28% of the land • GMO free • High biodiversity ~6500 plant taxa • Colonies have to be moved a lot (transhumance) • Low production per hive 15 kgr of honey/colony/year

  8. Greece-usually!-has a very small percentage of bee losses (~10%) Three reasons: • Small fraction of bee foraging in crops/foraging in natural ecosystems (small exposure to pesticides) • Rich biodiversityand a long productive period (winters are short) • The Greek beekeeper’s mentality: lost colonies must be replaced ASAP

  9. Causes of bee losses in Greece • Climate change – extreme weatherphenomena become frequent(scorchers, drought, floods, strong winds) • Loss of bee foraging habitat (forest fires, over-grazing, tourism,urbanization) • Pesticidesandparticularlyneonicotinoids

  10. Bees that fed on crops where neonicotinoids were used,exhibit some 35-50% losses in the following 8-month period. Colony defensecollapsesand it becomes vulnerable to several pathogens, the way an AIDS patient is…

  11. Cotton honey:a great paradigm • Before neonicotinoids, which are systemic,sprayings in cottonkilled a lot of forager bees • Still the outcomewas a positive oneas the colony managed to gather about 30 kgrof honeyand replace the foragers lost • Nowadays, after the massive lossesthe beekeepers have suffered from 2005 and on, the 3000 tonsof cotton honeyare history… • By the way, cotton honey is a very tasty flower honey with great antibacterial and antioxidant properties!

  12. In 2011 and 2012 more than 10.000 coloniesdied offin Atticaand some islands,because of sprayings on palm trees with neonicotinoid insecticides approved for red beatle control

  13. The beekeeperreplacesthe bee colonies he has lost Bee colony loss is translated into livestock loss and honey production lossand consequently income loss for the beekeeper. How longcan beekeepers stay in businessmaking up for the damage on their own?

  14. What is OMSE doing ? How can we achieve a pollinator friendly agricultural model?

  15. Political pressure throughwidepoliticaland socialalliances • Greek Mps και MEPs • Greenpeace • Scientists –Scientific organisations • Consumer organisations • Farmers unions –Organic Farmers unions • NGOs • Internet Campaigning Communities (avaaz, changeetc) • Coordination with Europe’s beekeepers (EPBA, CoEur)

  16. Action for co-existence In 2012-2013 we organised 3 events in 3 cities(Chania, Nafplionand Arta)to bring beekeepers and orange growerstogether

  17. What the Greek beekeepers ask: Legal supportin EU level for • Protection from pesticides • Protection from GMOs • Clear distinctions between locally produced beekeeping products from imported ones posing as local

  18. We propose: The 'bee-friendly' label should be included in the EU legislation on agricultural product quality as a quality term

  19. We propose: Direct aid to beekeepers from the 2nd pillar of the CAP for their contribution to food production, to the environment and biodiversity      In countries like Greece where bees provide pollination, for the most part, to non-cultivated plants and beekeepers pay additional costs for moving the bees (transhumance) we request from the Community to include in the new CAP a “pollinationsubsidy”

  20. We propose: The 3 –year apiculture programmes (Regulation EC 1234/07) should run on a 7-year basis in harmony with the CAP

  21. Our thanks To the GreenMEP’sfor all their efforts to support the bees and European beekeeping!

  22. Thank you for listening!

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