the api news -...

The API News The API News is a quarterly sector newsletter published by the ETHIOPIAN APICULTURE BOARD

Volume 3 Number 2 May 2016

The views expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the EAB

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),

Bees for Food Security

1

“What do cucumbers, mustard, almonds and alfalfa have in common?” asked

FAO in a press release. “On the surface, very little; but there is one thing they

share: they all owe their existence to the service of bees.”

The small insects, wild or honey ones, have been unknowingly fertilizing plants as

they move tirelessly from flower to flower. In doing so, bees may have a key role

to play in improving the production of some two billion smallholder farmers world-

wide and ensuring the food security and nutrition of the world’s growing popula-

tion, the UN agency said in a new study published in science magazine.

“This holds promise for one of the major agricultural challenges of our time — how

to help smallholders produce more without hurting the environment,” UN spokes-

man Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

For further information continue reading on pages 3

INSIDE

Message from the Editorial Team

and Sector News 2

Bees for Food Security 3

Articles on the Roles of Bees

for Pollination 4

Greatest Enemies of Bees-

The Wax Moth 5

Hillside Beekeeping for a

Sustainable NRM 6

Criteria for Honey Export 7

Upcoming Events 8

Food crops relying on bee pollination

Contributors

Dr. Juergen Greiling (JG) - EAB Negash Bekena (NB) - EAB Kidane Berhe (KB) - GIZ-SLM Admassu Addi (AA) - HBRC Nuru Adgaba(NA)- HBRC Workneh Fisseha (WF) - EAB

Impressum API NEWS - Apiculture Sector Newsletter Vol. 3 No.2 (2016) Published quarterly by the Ethiopian Apiculture Board (EAB) Legehar, Churchill Ave Teklu Desta Bldg, 2nd Floor P.O.Box 2307 Tel 0921 785839 [email protected] Responsible: Negash Bekena,General Manager, EAB Tel: +251 911879963 Email: [email protected] Editorial Team: Dr. Juergen Greiling, Senior Advisor EAB Tel: +251921 785839 Email: [email protected]

Workneh Fisseha, Resource Mobiliza-tion and Public Relation Expert, EAB

Niklas Heidemann, volunteer at EAB

2

Dear Reader We are pleased to present the second API NEWS of the year 2016 to you. We are focusing on the role of bees in pollination and, in a wider sense, on food securi-ty. In fact, pollination is the major function of bees – honey can be considered as a by-product. Have a look at the view of FAO on the importance of bees in se-curing food security and find ex-amples from Ethiopia where the yield increase in different crops through bee pollination is de-scribed. Keep in mind that bees and other insects are equally ben-eficial in pollinating forest trees – and coffee. Very little coffee with-out insect pollination! Again we present interesting case studies for learning. In the sector news, we describe the changes following the splitting - up of the former Ministry of Agri-culture. Enjoy reading. The Editorial Team

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITORIAL TEAM


SECTOR NEWS

As we all knew, the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) was responsi-ble to handle all agricultural de-velopment issues and the devel-opment activities of the apiculture sector too. Apiculture was under the Livestock Development Divi-sion where it has been treated at state minister level led by HE Dr. Gebregziabher Gebreyohannes.

Now as the government wanted to give attention for the develop-ment of the livestock sector, to unleash the potential of the same for livelihood improvement of households and economic devel-

opment of the country, it comes out as a Ministry of Livestock and Fish-ery Resources Development (MoLF), for better steering of the development activities of the sec-tor.

The new ministry is led by a minis-ter, HE Ato Sileshi Getahun. It has two State Ministers, for Develop-ment & Marketing led by Dr.G/egziabher G/yohannes and for Health & Feed Control, by Dr. Misrak Mkonnen. The ministry has 27 Directorates and one bureau for communication

purpose under the Minister’s office and the two state ministers.

Apiculture is treated as Honey and Silk Development Directorate un-der the Livestock Development and Marketing State Minister.

Alemayehu Kebede is assigned as a director for the directorate, and four experts are there to serve the directorate and the sector – Ato Abreham for pro-duction, Ato Yenenreh for queen rearing, Ato Derzineh for exten-sion and Ato Atsede for input.

(NB)

ውድ አንባቢዎች

የፈረንጆቹ 2016 ከገባ በኋላ ለሁለተኛ ግዜ የተዘጋጀችዉን የንብ ዜናችንን ለእናንተ ስናቀርብ ከታላቅ ደስታ ጋር ነዉ፡፡ በዚህ ዕትማችን ንቦች አዝዕርትን በማዳቀል ዙሪያ ያላቸዉን ከፍተኛ ሚናና ለምግብ ዋስትና መረጋገጥ የሚያበረክቱትን አስተዋጽዖ በሰፊዉ አቅርበናል፡፡

በመሰረቱ ማዳቀል የንቦች ዋነኛ ስራ ሲሆን ማር ግን እንደ ተረፈ ምርት ሊወሰድ የሚችል ነዉ፡፡

እንደ የምግብና ግብርና ድርጅት (FAO) ትንተና ፤ ንቦች የምግብ ዋስትናን ለማረጋገጥ ያላቸዉ ሚናና በኢትዮጵያ ዉስጥም ለተለያዩ ሰብሎች ምርት መጨመር የሚያበረክቱት አስተዋጽዖ እንደ አብነት ተገልጿል፡፡ በዚህም ንቦችና ሌሎች ነፍሳትም የጫካና የቡና ዛፎችን በማዳቀል ዙሪያ ያላቸዉን ሚና መገንዘብ የሚገባን ሲሆን ባጠቃላይ ቡናን በማምረት ሂደት ዉስጥ የነፍሳት የማዳቀል ሚና እጅግ ከፍተኛ መሆኑን ልብ ይሏል፡፡

እንደከዚህ በፊቱ ሁሉ ይህ እትማችንም የተለያዩና አስተማሪ ይሆናሉ ያልናቸዉን ተሞክሮዎች ያቀረብን ሲሆን በዘርፍ ዜና አምዳችን በግብርና ሚኒስቴር ዉስጥ የተካሄደዉን የመዋቅር ለዉጦችንና አዲሱን የእንስሳትና አሳ ሀብት ሚ/ር አወቃቀርን አቅርበንላችኋል፡፡

መልካም ንባብ

ዋና አዘጋጅ ዶ/ር ጆርገን ግራይሊንግ (የኢትዮጵያ ንብ ሀብት ቦርድ ከፍተኛ አማካሪ) ኒክላስ ሔይድማን፣ ወርቅነህ ፍሰሃ እና መላው የኢትዮጵያ ንብ ሀብት ቦርድ ባለደረቦች

የአዘጋጆቹ መልእክት

3 The views expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the EAB

“The research looks at how to attract bees and comes at a time when wild bees are threatened by a multitude of factors, including climate change.” For centuries, this tiny striped helper has labored the world’s fields without winning much recognition for its many contributions to food produc-tion, FAO noted. Wild bees, in partic-ular, seemed doomed to slog in the shadow of their more popular cousin — the honeybee — whose day job of producing golden nectar has been far more visible and celebrated. But FAO said bees of all stripes are finally getting their moment in the sun. The report makes the case that ecological intensification — or boost-ing farm outputs by tapping the pow-er of natural processes — is one of the sustainable pathways toward greater food supplies. GOOD FOR FOOD SECURITY Food security strategies worldwide could therefore benefit from including pollination as integral component, said the report authors. “Our re-search shows that improving pollina-tor density and diversity — in other words, making sure that more and more different types of bees and in-sects are coming to your plants — has direct impact on crop yields,” said Barbara Gemmill- Herren, one of the FAO authors of the report. “And that’s good for the environment and for food security,” she said, add-ing that it is beneficial to actively preserve and build habitats in and around farms for bees, birds and insects to live year-round. In the field study coordinated by FAO, sci-entists compared 344 plots across Africa, Asia and Latin America and concluded that crop yields were sig-nificantly lower in farming plots that attracted fewer bees during the main flowering season than in those plots that received more visits. When comparing high-performing and low-performing farms of less than two hectares, the outcomes suggest that poorly performing farms could in-crease their yields by a median of 24 percent by attracting more pol-linators to their land.

The research also looked at larger plots and concluded that, while those fields also benefited from more pollinator visits, the impact on yields was less significant than in the smaller plots — probably be-cause many bees have a harder time servicing large fields, far from their nesting habitat. But a diversity of bees, each with different flight capacities, can make the difference. This suggests that bee diversity of-fers benefits both for small-holder farmers in developing countries, and for larger farms. WILD BEES THREATENED The research comes at a time when wild bees are threatened by a multi-tude of factors and managed bee populations can’t keep up with the increasing number of plots that grow pollination- dependent crops. Cli-mate change poses yet another problem. “Bees will struggle with the higher temperatures,” explained Na-dine Azzu, the global project coordi-nator in FAO’s Plant Production and Protection Division who also worked on the report. “Plus, flowers in some parts of the world are now opening at different times than they used to, and the bees are not there to pollinate,” she said. This means finding ways to keep pollinators buzzing around the farm year-round is becoming even more important. Pollinators — such as bees, birds and various types of in-sects that fly, hop or crawl from one flower to another — have for centu-ries been the invisible helpers of farmers worldwide. Different types of bees have distinct tastes and roles to play in the food system. Bumble bees, for example, are one of the few types of bees that can success-fully pollinate tomatoes, which heav-ily rely on buzz pollination to bear fruit. Honey bees, in turn, are important because they are the least picky in their choice of flowers and there are many of them, in each hive, even though their more discerning wild

bee cousins are more effective in fertilizing the plants they’re attracted to. The study found that for smallhold-ings, crop yield increased linearly with increased visits to the flowers that were being tracked. Pollination was the agricultural input that con-tributed the greatest to yields, be-yond other management practices. This holds promise for one of the major agricultural challenges of our time: How to help smallholders pro-duce more without hurting the envi-ronment. NOT EASY TO ATTRACT BEES The report also found that attracting pollinators to farms is not as easy as planting for the season and waiting for them to arrive. Maintaining habi-tat and forage resources all year long is key to wooing pollinators and keeping them on the land for longer periods of time. This can be done by planting different trees and plants that flower at different times in the year, for example. Keeping flowering hedge rows around the farm, and mulch on the ground that bees can hide under, are additional recommended tactics to attract them, as is reducing the use of pesticides. The key to getting the best yields probably lies in a mix of man-aged pollination services — that is, installing bee hives in plots at flowering time — and wild pollina-tion, said the author, adding that the latter will require farmers and policy makers to take a closer look at the ecosystems that sur-round farms. “The take away from our study is that bees provide a real service and should be taken into account when we plan food security inter-ventions,” said Azzu. “And the best part is: their service is free.” (Source: XINHUA, adapted from News Ghana - Feb 19, 2016)

Bees can help boost food security for 2 billion small farmers at no cost - FAO

FAO admits bees are capable of ensuring food security

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the first time lauded bees for their role in helping increase crop yields.

4


Contribution of insect pollina-tors to crop yield and quality varies with agricultural inten-sification

Ignasi Bartomeus, 1 ; Simon G. Potts , 2; Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, 3; Bernard E. Vaissière, 4 ; Michal Woyciechowski, 5; Kristin M. Krewenka, 6; Thomas Tscheulin, 2,7; Stuart P.M. Roberts, 2; Hajnalka Szentgyoergyi, 5; Catrin Westphal, 6 and Riccardo Bommarco, 1

1 Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Scienc-es, Uppsala, Sweden

2 School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Read-ing, Reading, UK

3 Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocentre, University of Wuerzburg,

Wuerzburg, Germany 4 INRA, UR406 Abeilles & Environ-nement, Avignon, France

5 Institute of Environmental Sci-ences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa, Krakow, Poland

6 Department of Crop Science, Agroecology, Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany

7 Department of Geography, Uni-versity of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND Up to 75% of crop species benefit at least to some degree from ani-mal pollination for fruit or seed set and yield. However, basic infor-mation on the level of pollinator dependence and pollinator contri-bution to yield is lacking for many crops. Even less is known about how insect pollination affects crop quality. Given that habitat loss and agricultural intensification are known to decrease pollinator rich-ness and abundance, there is a need to assess the consequences for different components of crop production. METHODS We used pollination exclusion on flowers or inflorescences on a whole plant basis to assess the contribution of insect pollination to crop yield and quality in four flow-ering crops (spring oilseed rape, field bean, strawberry, and buck-wheat) located in four regions of Europe. For each crop, we record-ed abundance and species rich-ness of flower visiting insects in ten fields located along a gradient from simple to heterogeneous land-scapes. RESULTS Insect pollination enhanced aver-age crop yield between 18 and 71% depending on the crop. Yield

quality was also enhanced in most crops. For instance, oilseed rape had higher oil and lower chlo-rophyll contents when adequately pollinated, the proportion of empty seeds decreased in buckwheat, and strawberries’ commercial grade improved; however, we did not find higher nitrogen content in open pollinated field beans. Complex landscapes had a higher overall species richness of wild pol-linators across crops, but visitation rates were only higher in complex landscapes for some crops. On the contrary, the overall yield was con-sistently enhanced by higher visita-tion rates, but not by higher pollina-tor richness. DISCUSSION For the four crops in this study, there is clear benefit delivered by pollina-tors on yield quantity and/or quality, but it is not maximized under current agricultural intensification. Honey-bees, the most abundant pollinator, might partially compensate the loss of wild pollinators in some areas, but our results suggest the need of land-scape-scale actions to enhance wild pollinator populations. (JG)

How to cite this article Bartomeus et al. (2014), Contribution of insect pollinators to crop yield and quali-ty varies with agricultural intensification. PeerJ 2:e328; DOI 10.7717/peerj.328

Articles on the Role of Honeybees in Crop Pollination

The effect of honeybee polli-nation on seed yield and oil content of

Admassu Addi and Nuru Adga-ba , Holetta Bee Research Cen-tre (HBRC), P.O.Box 22, Holetta

ABSTRACT In this study an attempt was made to investigate the effect of bee pollination on seed yield of niger Nine plots of 2.5 x 2.5 m were prepared and sown with 15.6 gm of niger seeds per plot. The plots were assigned into three treat-

ments with three replications. In the first treatment colonies of bees were caged with mesh wire for intensive pollination. The sec-ond treatment was caged with mesh wire to exclude bees and other insects while the third treat-ment was left open to be pollinat-ed under natural conditions. The yield obtained from plots pollinat-ed by honeybees was superior with a mean seed yield of 4.1 qt/ha followed by plots left open to be pollinated by all insects visit-ed, 3.05 qt/ha. The lowest yield record was from the bees and other pollinators excluded plots, 2.5 qt/ha. The analysis of the oil

contents for each treatments indi-cated 36, 35 and 40 for plots pol-linated with bees, without bees and open pollinated plots, re-spectively. In conclusion, the study revealed that honeybee pollination contributes 44 to the yield increment and therefore in-troduction of bee colonies to the field of Niger seed could have double advantages i.e., improve seed yield of the crops and con-tribute to honey production. (AA & NA)

Key words: Pollination, niger

seed, honeybee, honey yield

The views expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the EAB 5

Facts About Wax Moths The wax moth is a highly destructive insect that attacks and destroys beeswax combs especially those in storage. The moth itself is not a problem; it is the larvae that do the destruction.

The moth loves old combs and visits stored combs which are unprotected and could reduce them to a mass of webbing very rapidly. Combs in stor-age are ideal grounds for the breed-ing of wax moths.

A beekeeper should take preventive action to protect his unused combs against wax moth attack during stor-age in winter to avoid losing valua-ble combs.

Destructions to Beehives Generally strong colonies are less prone to attack, as the bees dis-courage them, but they can be found in active colonies, investigat-ing under the brood covering. Wax moths can attack any stored combs but are attracted more to brood comb as they prefer the larval skins and pupal cases left in the brood

comb as food. Empty super combs stored wet can be less attractive to wax moth as they are not keen on honey, but are messy to handle. Pupae of Greater Wax Moth can also damage the boxes (as larvae pupate they make burrows in the material). Mature larvae spin tough white cocoons, first gouging de-pressions in woodwork to attach the cocoons.

Wax moths can do large-scale dam-age in a weak beehive. They de-stroy the wax comb, which ruins the colony’s ability to raise brood and store food. But they don’t usually become a problem in a strong and healthy hive, because bees continu-ally patrol the hive and remove any wax moth larvae they find.

Suggested Solutions

As part of an apiary hygiene, put all wax scrapings into a plastic box or tube and remove from the vicini-ty of the hive during hive inspec-tions. Treat to prevent wax moth damage in storage. This could be done by quickly placing in a solar wax extractor. Protecting drawn comb from damage by wax moth Frames, both for honey supers and for brood, are very valuable to the beekeeper especially the be-ginner, as they cannot be bought.

The bees expend a great deal of energy in drawing wax and a good flow of nectar is required to get the bees to draw foundation. It is therefore important to prevent damage of combs by wax moths, especially when they are stored. Here are some of the treatment and avoidance for wax moth

Avoid equipment with hidden crevices e.g. frames with split top bars.

Don’t pack unused combs close together in boxes. Use normal spacing, otherwise they can soon become one solid mass of co-coons.

Check parts that bees can’t reach.

Use a flame torch to destroy eggs in equipment (not on plastic) when not in use.

Don’t leave drawn combs lying around unprotected.

Stacking boxes after treatment with newspaper between each box can help prevent any subsequent invasion by wax moths or restrict their movement between boxes.

Greatest Enemies of Bees

The Wax Moth

(WF)

http://www.bushfarms.com/images/Thumbnails/WaxMothWebs_small.jpg

The Case of

Lemelem Tsigea Hillside Beekeepers Cooperative

Kidane Berhe

GIZ Sustainable Management Programme (SLM-P),Tigray Regional Programme, Kedamay Woyane, Kebele 11 - Aklil Cherkos Building, P.O.Box 931, Mekelle [email protected] Income diversification interventions undertak-ing by the beekeepers With guidance and support of GIZ SLM Tigray and the woreda office of Agriculture and Rural Devel-opment , the cooperative members are implement-ing other income generating activities alongside promotion of improved beekeeping.

Community participated gully treatment

In addition to ram fattening three times a year, sowing of oilseeds, plantation of rhomnus, Napier and vetiver grass in a treated gully of 0.5 ha are also implemented.

Partial view of cooperative members planting elephant grass cuttings along bund of the gully

Due to implementation of soil and water conserva-tion activities, plantation of seedlings and protec-tion of the apiary sites, a huge amount of forage biomass has been produced which was used by the cooperative members for small ruminant fat-tening by applying cut and carry feeding. By doing so, the available forage biomass is transformed into income.

The cooperative members have bought on aver-age 30 rams every batch and have been continu-

ously engaged in fattening. To make the fattening value chain more effective, GIZ SLM Tigray has introduced urea cactus blocks as supplementary feed. This technology was tested by the Tigray Ag-ricultural Research Center and it was found to be very effective for weight gain of fattening animals.

The area is endowed with cactus, this technology has been introduced to other farmers and landless youths who have been sensitized by the coopera-tive regarding the importance of urea cactus block and who have become interested to engage in ani-mal production like fattening, dairy and/or rearing. Therefore, the hillside, which was considered as “waste or marginal land”, has now become an im-plementation center of different activities that ena-ble the users to access new sources of income which have been contributing to improving their livelihood. Thus, the most important commodity such as honey is being produced from the area which was considered a “waste land” six years ago (before SLM interventions were introduced in the area).

The broader approach—which we describe here– is essential as beekeeping alone does not provide sufficient income in order to en-sure a sustainable protection and utilization of rehabilitated areas.


Urea cactus block preparation by the cooperative mem-bers, giving orientation

Part 2 - continued from API NEWS 3,1 (2016)

Hillside beekeeping for a sustainable natural resource management and income generation

Partial view of the apiary site planted and sown with dif-

ferent planting materials such as sunflower and elephant

grass

In 2015 the cooperative members have earned Birr 40340 and 27000 from sale of fattened rams and rhomnus leaves respec-tively. On average they earned Birr 13447 Birr from fattened rams in one batch. They have fattened on average 30 rams in each batch three times a year. From the money they earned, they constructed an office at Birr 15,400. Besides they con-structed a shade for fattening their rams using corrugated iron sheet.

Contribution of the beekeepers to hillside Rehabilitation

One of the remarkable contributions to rehabilitate the hillsides and gullies was achieved by the cooperative through protec-tion, implementation of different soil and water conservation structures and plantation of honey bee flora, cash crops and forage plants in gullies and at the hillside. As a result of imple-menting these activities, the hillside and the gully nearby the apiary site is well rehabilitated.

One of the members established honey bee flora Tree Lucerne (Chamaecytisus proliferus)

Serving as experience sharing center The apiary site catches attention of several institutions and farmers. Different visitors who came from different locations visited the apiary site of the cooperative. The visitors include Tigray region higher officials lead by the President of Tigray Regional State, H.E. Ato Abay Woldu, members of parliament, and the Southern Zone administration office lead by the Zonal Administrator. Farmers, experts and woreda officials from other SLMP inter-vention woredas have visited the site as well. All the visitors appreciated the success and indicated that they will exert ef-forts to replicate such integrated activities in other hillsides of the region. In addition, Ethiopian Radio and Television agency has prepared a documentary film about the activities being im-plemented in the apiary site and broadcasted via the ETV Ti-grigna programme as best experience in order to make others aware and encourage them to implement it in their locality. (KB)

የማር ኤክስፖርት ፍቃድ መስፈርቶች

1. የታደሰ ንግድ ፍቃድ 2. የማመልከቻ ደብዳቤ

3. የባንክ ፍቃድ (bank permit) እና የግዥና

ሽያጭ ሰነድ (Invoice) ማቅረብ 4. ምርቱ ያለበት ቦታ በመሄድ ቁጥጥር

(Inspection) ማካሄድ

በኢንስፔክሽን ወቅት የሚታዩ ጉዳዮች

- ቤቱ በቀላሉ ሊታጠብ የሚችልና ክፍተት ወይም

ቀዳዳ ቦታዎች የሌሉበት መሆኑን ማረጋገጥ፤

- የማቀነባበሪያዉ ስፍራ/ቤት ንጹህና ከበካይ ነገሮች

የጸዳ መሆኑን መመልከት/ማረጋገጥ፤

- ማሩ የሚቀነባበርበት፣ የሚታሸግበት ቦታ

እንዲሁም የሚያቀነባብሩት ሰራተኞች ንጽህናን

መመልከት፤

- በቂና ንጹህ ዉሃ መኖሩን መመልከት፤

- ማሩ የታሸገበት እቃ በአግባቡ ተከድኖ ሲልድ

መሆኑን እና ሌብል የተደረገ ስለመሆኑ ማረጋገጥ፡፡

ሌብሊንግ ማካተት ያለባቸዉ ነገሮች

- የአምራቹ ስምና አድራሻ፤

- የምርቱ አይነት፤

- የምርቱ መገልገያ ጊዜ፤

- የምርቱ ኮድ ቁጥር/Batch no./ - የምርቱ አገልግሎት ማብቂያ ቀን፤

- የማሩ የተጣራ ክብደት (Net weight)

5. ለአዉሮፓ ገበያ የሚቀርብ ከሆነ የአዉሮፓን

የኤክስፖርት ሰርቲፊኬት ይዞ መምጣት

6. ከተቀባይ ሀገር/ ከገዥዉ የተሰጠ መስፈርት ካለ

(requirements) በማሳወቅ መስፈርቱን

አሟልቶ መገኘት

7. የማምረቻ ቦታዉ ከግንባታ፣ ከኬሚካል አምራች

ፋብሪካዎች እና ጭስ ከሚበዛበት ቦታ የተለየ መሆን

አለበት፡፡ (NB)

ምንጭ፤ የእንስሳትና አሳ ሀብት ልማት ሚኒስቴር ዶ/ር ተገኘወርቅ ስ.ቁ. 0911952795


Available soon, from EAB: Updated, 2

nd edition of the API Business Directory of

Ethiopia published by EAB

Upcoming Event

Event: ApiExpo Africa 2016 When: September 21

st to 26

th 2016

Where: Rwanda, Camp Kigali Theme: Driving Socio-Economic Transformation in Africa: The Role of Commercial Beekeeping

(For more information please you can call via 0911879963)


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