Honey industry fighting to reverse decline in bee population
By Food in Canada staff
Regulation Research & Development Specialty Foods federal funding honey Prairies SaskatchewanSaskatchewan beekeepers hope to develop new tactics with help of federal funding
Saskatoon, Sask. – The beekeeping industry is hoping to develop new strategies to respond to a decline in honey bee colony populations with the help of up to $370,000 in federal funding.
The investment by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada will go towards a program to evaluate disease control methods and adapt them to suit the province’s climate and beekeeping seasons. A management program will also be developed to hopefully help reduce colony mortality, increase honey production and improve profitability.
The project will also work to develop better breeding methods, continuing the research already done on disease control methods at the Saskatoon Research Centre.
In the past four years Saskatchewan beekeepers have lost high numbers of honey bees to disease, pest resistance to treatment methods, and increased demand on colonies for pollination services.
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