Post by Ismail AbdulAzeez on Apr 4, 2014 21:16:55 GMT 1
NAIROBI, (Xinhua) -- Beekeepers and veterinarians from Africa are meeting in Nairobi on Monday to seek ways of increasing awareness of bee pests and diseases, and their prevention and control, as part of a 13.1-million-euro program funded by the EU.
Once back in their countries, the beekeepers and veterinarians will spread knowledge through ‘training of trainers’ on bee pests and diseases, and their prevention and control.
In his opening remarks, Suresh Raina, the lead scientist for ICIPE’s Commercial Insects Programme said the first training will focus on bee biology, pests and diseases of bees, monitoring and surveillance for threats to bee health, and rapid detection and reporting of bee diseases for better safeguarding of bee health across local and national boundaries.
“You cannot manage what you don’t measure, and indeed these are the first steps in raising defenses against Colony Collapse Disorder in African honeybee populations before the disease has even appeared on the continent,” said Raina.
The experts said epidemiological status of honeybee diseases and pests in many African countries remains largely unknown.
In addition, systems for reporting bee diseases to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) are weak, since links between beekeepers and animal health authorities are weak.
The first training brought together participants from 26 anglophone countries in Africa. A second training is planned for June for francophone countries. Lusophone countries will follow.
In many African countries, beekeeping is a traditional activity, which has, however, remained stagnant due to poor production and harvesting methods.
Over the past 30 years, ICIPE has taken a leadership role towards advancing beekeeping in Africa through the development of modern technologies, new knowledge on rearing various species of bees and the production of honey and hive products.
Kenya’s traditional habitat for bees is the forest which is slowly being destroyed due to human encroachment. This is because farmers have been clearing the forest in order to expand land under crop cultivation.
The Nairobi-based center has also focused on ways to promote bee pollination services and experts say farmers who maintain bees could benefit from increased yields, especially in areas that lack natural insect pollinators.
Raina said the Bee Health Reference Centre in Nairobi will also be equipped for testing honey for pesticide contamination, to certify honey as organic and safe.
The Centre will also house a bee breeding center, which promises to become home to the vast biodiversity of African bee species.
“We will map the health status of African bees using GIS technology, and eventually map African species and their genetic traits, so that bee health can be protected – and thus protect the livelihoods and food security of hundreds of millions of resource- poor farmers in Africa who depend on domestic bees for honey and other bee products as well as on mostly wild pollinators to grow their crops,” Raina said.
The genetic traits of certain African species, for example for disease resistance or tolerance to high temperatures, can be conserved and used to breed resistance to CCD into bee populations that are susceptible to it. The same can be done to address other bee health threats.
Raina said the Bee Health Reference Lab will be supported by a network of four satellite laboratories, in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Liberia, carrying out similar work in each their regions.
He said the African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) will play an important role in the project in policymaking and development at the national and inter- governmental level, in putting structures and systems in place to protect the health of bees and pollinators.
Source: www.coastweek.com/3714-agriculture-02.htm
Once back in their countries, the beekeepers and veterinarians will spread knowledge through ‘training of trainers’ on bee pests and diseases, and their prevention and control.
In his opening remarks, Suresh Raina, the lead scientist for ICIPE’s Commercial Insects Programme said the first training will focus on bee biology, pests and diseases of bees, monitoring and surveillance for threats to bee health, and rapid detection and reporting of bee diseases for better safeguarding of bee health across local and national boundaries.
“You cannot manage what you don’t measure, and indeed these are the first steps in raising defenses against Colony Collapse Disorder in African honeybee populations before the disease has even appeared on the continent,” said Raina.
The experts said epidemiological status of honeybee diseases and pests in many African countries remains largely unknown.
In addition, systems for reporting bee diseases to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) are weak, since links between beekeepers and animal health authorities are weak.
The first training brought together participants from 26 anglophone countries in Africa. A second training is planned for June for francophone countries. Lusophone countries will follow.
In many African countries, beekeeping is a traditional activity, which has, however, remained stagnant due to poor production and harvesting methods.
Over the past 30 years, ICIPE has taken a leadership role towards advancing beekeeping in Africa through the development of modern technologies, new knowledge on rearing various species of bees and the production of honey and hive products.
Kenya’s traditional habitat for bees is the forest which is slowly being destroyed due to human encroachment. This is because farmers have been clearing the forest in order to expand land under crop cultivation.
The Nairobi-based center has also focused on ways to promote bee pollination services and experts say farmers who maintain bees could benefit from increased yields, especially in areas that lack natural insect pollinators.
Raina said the Bee Health Reference Centre in Nairobi will also be equipped for testing honey for pesticide contamination, to certify honey as organic and safe.
The Centre will also house a bee breeding center, which promises to become home to the vast biodiversity of African bee species.
“We will map the health status of African bees using GIS technology, and eventually map African species and their genetic traits, so that bee health can be protected – and thus protect the livelihoods and food security of hundreds of millions of resource- poor farmers in Africa who depend on domestic bees for honey and other bee products as well as on mostly wild pollinators to grow their crops,” Raina said.
The genetic traits of certain African species, for example for disease resistance or tolerance to high temperatures, can be conserved and used to breed resistance to CCD into bee populations that are susceptible to it. The same can be done to address other bee health threats.
Raina said the Bee Health Reference Lab will be supported by a network of four satellite laboratories, in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Liberia, carrying out similar work in each their regions.
He said the African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) will play an important role in the project in policymaking and development at the national and inter- governmental level, in putting structures and systems in place to protect the health of bees and pollinators.
Source: www.coastweek.com/3714-agriculture-02.htm
