In commemoration of the 2021 World Bee Day, Gist AGRICA in partnership with Medical Honey Bees Farm Nigeria, has commenced a three day workshop on Honey Bee keeping.
The training which kicked off in Awka was aimed at raising awareness of the importance of pollinators, with regards to their contribution to sustainable development and human survival, threats pollinators face as a result of human activities, and possible ways to ensure pollinator protection among others.
The United Nations designated twentieth May every year as World Bee Day.
In her speech to mark the opening ceremony of the training, the founder, Gist AGRICA, Princess Ekwi Ajide noted that pollination is a fundamental process for the survival of ecosystem which was why the UN designated twentieth May as World Bee Day.
She highlighted the importance of Bee Keeping, its economic values and the need for all hands to be on deck to counter the threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to food security and agricultural livelihoods.
According to her, It is expected that after the training which tends to expose the participants on the importance of Bee keeping, uses of honey and other Bee product’s, more people will engage in Bee keeping to improve their standard of living and contribute to the overall economic growth and development of the state and the Nation at large.
Delivering a lecture during the workshop, the Chief Executive Officer, Majesty Honey Farms, Mr. Emeka Okafor who took the participants on the benefits and costs of commercial Bee keeping, harped on the need for individuals and government to invest in Bee keeping because of the job opportunities therein, and called for the protection of Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds against human activities.
A participant, Mrs. Nneka Anoliefo thanked the conveners of the event and revealed that the training is an eye opener for her.
Pollination is, however, a fundamental process for the survival of the ecosystems as nearly ninety per cent of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend entirely, or at least in part, on animal pollination, along with more than seventy-five per cent of the world’s food crops and thirty-five per cent of global agricultural land, not only do pollinators contribute directly to food security, they are also key to conserving biodiversity.
Comments are closed for this post.