IRBID — The beekeepers of Bani Kinana District in Irbid Governorate say they are incurring “huge losses,” noting that their production this season, which lasts till the end of this month, will amount to zero.
اضافة اعلان
These losses, according to beekeepers and sector and environmental experts, are caused by a sudden mass death of bees, a weak rainy season, and early heat waves that impacted the flowering season and bees’ collection of nectar.
Beekeepers told Al Ghad and
Jordan News that 80 percent of their bees have died in and around the hives, without a clear cause, calling on the
National Agricultural Research Center to send field teams to address the issue before their hives are completely lost.
Head of the Yarmouk Forum Association in
Aqaba and bee hive owner Kayed Shtiyat said that there are more than 5,000 hive in Bani Kinana District officially registered at the
Ministry of Agriculture. This figure does not account for the thousands that are not registered. Shtiyat noted that the district hosts 60 percent of all the Kingdom’s beehives.
The association head added that more than 500 farmers work in the district’s bee sector, which produces around 100,000kg of honey annually.
In addition to the sudden death of bees, Shtiyat indicated that the decline in honey production this season is also attributed to a bad rainy season and heat waves as early as March and April, which negatively impacted the plant flowering and nectar collection processes.
Shtiyat stressed that the bee sector is marginalized by the Ministry of Agriculture, indicating the lack of sector representatives to inspect beehives, in addition to the absence of specialized technicians and trainers to address the sector’s affairs, and the absence of bee treatments and medicines.
Shtiyat called on protecting the sector with its inclusion in the agricultural risks fund, like other farmers.
Mohammad Obeidat, a beekeeper, said that farmers were surprised to find their bees dead in the hives during a routine inspection, noting that the preliminary cost for a beehive is about JD400, and stressing that this season’s output will amount to “zero”.
Obeidat said that it is time for the authorities to set mechanisms and controls in place for spraying pesticides arbitrarily, the result of which is that farmers, and beekeepers in particular, incur losses.
Meanwhile, President of the Jordan Wildlife Conservation Society Omar Al-Oudat told Al Ghad and
Jordan News that the phenomenon of the disappearance and death of bees in the past years has reached concerning levels, requiring studies and research to find a cause for this “alarming phenomenon”.
Oudat also highlighted that the sustainability of vegetation on the planet is highly dependent on the bee sector, as it is vital for the pollination process.
On pesticides, Oudat stressed the importance of coordination between beekeepers and farmers, to prevent the death of bees.
He added that there are around 3,000 beekeepers in the Kingdom, who are responsible for the production of around 20 percent of local consumption.
According to a report issued by the National Agricultural Research Center, authored by Ahmad Al-Batayneh, Mahmoud Al-Shoubaki, and member of the beekeepers union Ezzeddine Al-Khatib, who visited apiaries in Maro town upon reports of dead bees, preliminary information points to pesticides sprayed near the hives as a cause for the deaths.
A source at the Irbid Agricultural Directorate told Al Ghad that honey production this season will amount to zero, due to the scarcity of rain, high temperatures, and a dusty season, which have all led to the early wilting of nectar-producing flowers.
Read more
national news
.jpg)
.jpg)
