FAO celebrates World Bee Day

20 may 2021, Tashkent – In 2018 the UN General Assembly declared 20 May as World Bee Day. Every year this day enables us to raise awareness on the essential role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy, and on the many challenges they face today. This year, World Bee Day falls during an exceptional moment in history, when many countries continue to deal with the widespread effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The day calls for global cooperation and solidarity to counter the threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to food security and agricultural livelihoods alongside prioritizing environmental regeneration and pollinator protection.

FAO Representation in Uzbekistan in cooperation with Association of Uzbekistan Beekeepers implements Technical Cooperation Programme on Support to Sustainable Apiculture Development. The Programme aims to improve living conditions of rural population while contributing to implementation of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On measures for the further development of the beekeeping industry in the Republic".

«By implementing this Programme we bring high-level attention to introduction of innovative technologies in the beekeeping industry, equipment supply, improvement of teaching capacities of  educational institutions for preparing apiculture specialists as well as to promotion of international exchange of experience through translating and adapting textbooks and enhancing cooperation with foreign apiculture experts», - Sherzod Umarov, Assistant FAO Representative in Uzbekistan noted, adding that «As part of the Programme, the Innovative Information Exchange System was developed for beekeepers».

It is a mobile app, through which beekeepers can get all the necessary educational and statistical information including data on the location of colonies and early pesticide warning in order to prevent honey bee loses. The implementation of the Programme also includes a gender-sensitive analysis of the value chains of key apicultural commodities.

World Bee Day provides an opportunity for governments, organizations, civil society and for all concerned citizens to promote actions that will protect and enhance pollinators and their habitats, improve their abundance and diversity, and support the sustainable development of beekeeping. Now is a time to re-think how we relate to nature and pollinators and what actions we can take to support these tiny hard workers and the millions of livelihoods they, in turn, support.