World Bee Day commemorated in Bolga
This year’s World Bee Day has been commemorated in Bolgatanga on the theme: “Bee inspired by nature to nourish us all”.
It aimed to highlight the global importance of bees and other pollinators for humanity in light of food security, global hunger reduction and concern for ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation.
Also, the event drew attention to the importance of bees and other pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to a sustainable future.
The United Nations (UN) set aside May 20 annually to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threat they face and their contributions to sustainable development.
Film
The day was marked with the screening of a 93-minute documentary titled “The Pollinators”, which told the heroic story of migratory beekeepers and their precious cargo of honey bees as they set out on an epic journey across the United States of America to pollinate flowers to become fruits, nuts and vegetables.
The film uncovered the challenges faced by both bees and beekeepers and explored the vulnerabilities of a chemically reliant global agricultural system and also underscored the critical importance of these tiny creatures to global food security.
The event, held at the Catholic Social Centre last Tuesday, was organised by the Forum for Natural Regeneration (FONAR), an environmental non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Bolgatanga, with funding from the Awaken Trees Foundation of Austria.
In attendance were officials of the Forestry Commission (FC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Agriculture and media practitioners who were tasked to play a crucial role in highlighting the importance of bees, especially as bee populations are declining globally.
Additionally, the media was entreated to use its platform to encourage conservation and support collective efforts to protect bees to play the vital role as pollinators for ecosystem health and food security.
Strong system
The Executive Director, FONAR, Sumaila S. Saaka, called for a strong regulatory system in terms of the usage of agrochemicals for agricultural purposes, as their overuse was detrimental to the survival of bees and other species in the ecosystem.
Particularly, he called on the government to develop the capacity of regulatory institutions such as the EPA and Food and Drugs Authority, among others, to monitor and regulate the extent to which pesticides and other chemicals are used by farmers.
Bees, along with other insects, pollinate more than 75 per cent of flowering plants and are also essential for the pollination of about 1,500 crops worldwide, contributing 15 to 30 per cent of global food production.
The economic value of pollination services, largely provided by bees, is estimated at between $235 billion and $577 billion annually.
Mr Saaka said, “We need to have a system where we do not overpopulate and pollute the ecosystem to the extent that it will affect bees and other pollinator populations in the beekeeping value chain.”
Important venture
A Forest Ranger, Forest Services Division, Forestry Commission, Upper East, Michael Nanor, encouraged Ghanaians to take beekeeping as an important venture to ensure food security.
In a remark, an Assistant Programme Officer, EPA, Godfred Yao Agbenyeke, said bees were important for the survival of society and, therefore, called for measures that would protect them to improve food production.
Writer’s email: gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh
