A solution to the devastation in the USA, EU bee population to be found in Africa?

Bees are the most important pollinators of crops and, according to Agricultural Research Council (ARC) staff, responsible for one out of three mouthfuls of food you will eat today.

The reader will appreciate the high consternation in Northern Hemisphere countries where high losses to commercial honeybee colonies continue. Pesticides and herbicides and changing weather are among reasons given, but a chief cause is the varroa mite and viruses associated with it.

There might be some good news though, from the annual conference for beekeepers in South Africa (2013 BeeCon). Peter Neumann, professor of bee health at Bern University in Switzerland, told the audience that African honeybees appear to be resistant to the mite, and more research might prevent further losses in the north.

Beekeeping is one of the nearly 180 chapters in The Agri Handbook. Find contact details of role players and overviews here.