Why Bees Matter? Help Protect Our Pollinators! Save the Bees [VIDEO]

Why bees matter? Protecting our pollinators is vital for our future of food!

Date & Location 20/05/2019

Costa Rica,Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Guatemala

Duration 1' 13''

Audios English

Source FAO

Without bees and pollinators, 75% of the world's human food crops wouldn't exist!

But, bees and other pollinators are under threat.

Changes in land use and landscape structure, intensive agricultural practices, monocultures and use of pesticides have led to large-scale losses, fragmentation and degradation of their habitats.

Pests and diseases resulting from reduced resistance of bee colonies and from globalization, which facilitates the transmission of pests and diseases over long distances, pose a special threat.

Furthermore, climate change also has a negative impact. Higher temperatures, droughts, floods, other extreme climate events and changes of flowering time hinder pollination largely by desynchronizing the demand (flowers in bloom) with the supply of service providers (abundant and diverse populations of pollinators).

FAO carries out various activities to encourage pollinator-friendly practices in agricultural management. It provides technical assistance to countries on issues ranging from queen breeding to artificial insemination to sustainable solutions for honey production and export marketing.

World Bee Day is celebrated on 20 May each year to raise awareness of the importance of bees and other pollinators for food and agriculture.