Why b e es m a tt e r

The importance of bees and other

pollinators for food and agriculture
20 May
With the support of
 World Bee Day presents
an opportunity to recognize the role
of beekeeping, bees and other pollinators
in increasing food security, improving nutrition
and fighting hunger as well as
in providing key ecosystem services
for agriculture
José Graziano da Silva
FAO Director-General
KEY FACTS AND FIGURES

Three out of four crops across the globe producing fruits or seeds
for human use as food depend, at least in part, on pollinators.

Improving pollinator density and diversity boosts crop yields –

pollinators affect 35 percent of global agricultural land, supporting
the production of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide.

Pollinator-dependent food products contribute to healthy diets

+
35%

and nutrition.

Pollinators are under threat – sustainable agriculture can reduce

risk to pollinators by helping to diversify the agricultural landscape
and making use of ecological processes as part of food production.
!

Safeguarding bees safeguards biodiversity: the vast majority

of pollinators are wild, including over 20 000 species of bees. 20 000

FAO plays a leading role in facilitating and coordinating

the International Pollinators Initiative 2.0

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TINY MIRACLE WORKERS
Pollination is vital to life on our the world’s crops producing have become larger, agricultural
planet. Bees and other pollinators fruits and seeds for human practices have also changed,
have thrived for millions of consumption depend, at least in focussing on a narrower list of
years, ensuring food security part, on pollinators for sustained crops and increasing the use of
and nutrition, and maintaining production, yield and quality. pesticides. Mounting evidence
biodiversity and vibrant The diversity of food available is points to these factors as causes
ecosystems for plants, humans largely owed to animal pollinators. to the potentially serious decline
and the bees themselves. But alarmingly, in a number of in populations of pollinators.
regions, pollination services are The decline is likely to impact
Pollinators are essential to the showing declining trends. the production and costs of
production of many of the micro- vitamin-rich crops like fruits and
nutrient rich fruits, vegetables, In the past, this service was vegetables, leading to increasingly
nuts, seeds and oils we eat. provided by nature at no unbalanced diets and health
In fact, close to 75 percent of apparent cost. As farm fields problems, such as malnutrition

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 BIRDS, BEES, BATS
AND MORE
So, what are they? Everyone knows about
the bees, and there are some 20 000 species
of wild bees that pollinate plants but it
may come as a surprise to know that moths,
flies, wasps, beetles and butterflies as well
as some animals pollinate plants. Vertebrate
pollinators include bats, non-flying mammals,
including several species of monkey, rodents,
lemur, tree squirrels, olingo and kinkajou,
and birds such as hummingbirds, sunbirds,
honeycreepers and some parrot species. 

The abundance and diversity of pollinators

ensures the sustained provision of
pollination services to multiple types of
and non-communicable diseases. plants and leads to better food.
Maintaining and increasing yields in
horticultural crops under agricultural
development is important to health,
nutrition, food security and better
incomes for smallholder farmers.

The process of securing effective

pollinators to ‘service’ agricultural
fields is proving difficult to engineer,
and there is a renewed interest in
helping nature provide pollination
services through practices that
support wild pollinators.

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POLLINATION:
INVISIBLE TO THE EYE BUT YIELDING GREAT RETURNS
IN AGRICULTURE
Pollination is the highest agricultural contributor to yields worldwide,
contributing far beyond any other agricultural management practice. Thus, bees
and other pollinators make important contributions to agriculture. Pollinators
affect 35 percent of global agricultural land, supporting the production of 87
of the leading food crops worldwide. Plus, pollination-dependent crops are five
times more valuable than those that do not need pollination. The price tag of
global crops directly relying on pollinators is estimated to be between US$235 and
US$577 billion a year. And their quantity is on the rise. The volume of agricultural
production dependent on pollinators has increased by 300 percent in the last
50 years. These figures reflect the importance that pollinators have in sustaining
livelihoods across the planet. Several of the crops produced with pollination,
cocoa and coffee, to name two examples, provide income for farmers, in particular
smallholder farmers and family farms, especially in developing countries.

Bees can, in a sense, be considered as livestock. With the increasing commercial

value of honey, bees are becoming a growing generator of income, livelihood
strategy and means of food security for many small-scale producers and forest
dwellers in many developing countries.

Clearly, the benefits that bees and other small pollinators bring us go beyond
human food. Thanks to these pollinators, farm animals have diverse forage
sources and hence more flexibility to adapt to an increasingly changing climate.
And we also have certain medicines, biofuels, fibres and construction materials.
Some species also provide materials such as beeswax for candles and musical
instruments. So embedded in our lives, bees and other pollinators have long
inspired art, music and even sacred passages.

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 HONEY - LIFE'S SWEETENER
In the past, honey was only considered a sweetener, whereas today we know that it contains many
beneficial substances. It is an excellent nutrient and calmative. Owing to its antibacterial and
antioxidant properties, it is widely used in folk medicine.

Honey does not require additional processing and a beekeeper does not add anything nor take
anything away from it. While mature honey loses some of its nutritional value, it still remains a
superior sweetener for many decades, especially compared to plain sugar.

How quickly bioactive substances are lost depends on the temperature and other storage conditions.
If honey is stored at room temperature, it remains unspoiled for at least two years, and even longer if
stored in dry, cool and dark spaces.

Honey crystallizes with time. This is a natural process that neither causes any chemical changes nor
affects its quality. Crystallized honey can be liquified in a water bath; the temperature, however, must
not exceed 40 °C. If honey is overheated, biologically active substances are lost.

Honey can be mixed into different drinks, for example tea, milk, yoghurt or natural juices. It can be
added to various baked or cooked dishes (cakes, sauces, vegetables, meats), usually to infuse them
with its special aroma. Honey can fully replace consumer sugar in our diet.

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Jošt Gantar

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LIFE ON THE FARM
Natural habitats, forests and protected areas are
usually thought to support greater biodiversity than
do neighbouring agroecosystems. But this may not be
the case with pollinators – under some management
practices, their density and diversity can be even
greater on farms than in adjacent wild areas. For
instance, contrary to expectations, higher bee diversity
was found in the open agricultural areas in western
Kenya compared to the nearby Kakamega Forest, one
of the country’s most species-rich tropical rainforests.
The bee fauna in the farms neighbouring Kakamega
Forest may be less threatened by human factors. After
crops are harvested the land is left fallow until the next

Marko Šinkovec
season, enhancing the growth of herbs and shrubs,
which provide rich food sources for bees. In addition,
farmers around the forest do not to overuse chemicals
such as fungicides, insecticides and herbicides.

With improved pollination management, crop yields AND ALSO IN CITIES

could be further increased by about 25 percent. By
ensuring higher yields and successful agricultural Furthermore, urban
production, pollinators would contribute significantly beekeeping, or beekeeping in
to world food security and nutrition for a growing cities, is also very beneficial
global population, along with ending poverty for bees. The quality of honey
and hunger. produced in cities is very
high. This type of beekeeping
So, well managed farms can provide good habitats for is growing in popularity
bees, who, in turn, provide pollination services for around the globe, and the
agricultural production. number of urban beekeepers

©FAO/Tofik Babayev
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is rising by no less than 200 throughout the year. Urban in urban areas so that bees
percent each year. But this is beekeeping is beneficial for do not disturb the residents
nothing new for Slovenia – the environment, because living in the vicinity. Apiaries
the town of Idrija has had a bees effectively take care of must thus be placed so as to
municipal apiary for nearly natural ecosystems. Bees not prevent bees from bumping
100 years. only produce sweet honey, but into passers-by. To this end,
also bring other advantages, owners often set them up
City parks, little gardens such as pollinating fruit trees on their roofs or terraces,
around apartment buildings and garden produce, and although in such cases bees
and flower beds provide improving the quality of life. must be protected from sun
bees with diverse pastures However, caution is necessary and wind.

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A HIVE OF ACTIVITY –
BEES IN THE LANDSCAPE
Animal pollination plays a vital role as a regulating
ecosystem service in nature. The vast majority of
flowering plant species only produce seeds if pollinators
move pollen from the anthers to the stigmas of their
flowers. Key biological events such as insect emergence
and date of onset of flowering need to occur in synchrony
for successful pollination interactions.

For crop pollination to be effective, timing is everything!

Not only does the crop have to be in bloom but it
must be accessible to its pollinators. Crops such as
mangoes in tropical regions, or almonds or cherries in
temperate regions, have periods of mass blooming over
relatively short time spans, requiring a tremendous
peak in pollinators. Alternate resources are sometimes
needed to fully support pollination services during crop
flowering. This could entail shipping pollinators into the
crop area or farmers resorting to hand-pollination using
paintbrushes with pollen on every flower.

The healthy functioning of ecosystem services ensures

the sustainability of agriculture. Bees and forest
beekeeping also help sustain forest ecosystems by
providing pollination that leads to improved regeneration
of trees and conservation of the forest’s biodiversity. Bees
and other pollinators are thus vital to the environment
and biodiversity conservation, as well as many other
dimensions of global sustainable development.
©FAO/Nadine Azzu

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THREATS TO POLLINATORS
Bees and other pollinators are under threat. Present species extinction rates are 100 to 1 000 times higher
than normal due to human impacts. Insects will likely make up the bulk of future biodiversity loss with
40 percent of invertebrate pollinator species – particularly bees and butterflies – facing extinction. Though
to a lesser degree, vertebrate pollinators (16.5 percent) are also threatened with extinction globally.

Changes in land use and landscape structure, intensive agricultural practices, monocultures and use of
pesticides have led to large-scale losses, fragmentation and degradation of their habitats. Pests and diseases
resulting from reduced resistance of bee colonies and from globalization, which facilitates the transmission
of pests and diseases over long distances, pose a special threat. Furthermore, climate change also has a
negative impact. Higher temperatures, droughts, floods, other extreme climate events and changes of
flowering time hinder pollination largely by desynchronizing the demand (flowers in bloom) with the supply
of service providers (abundant and diverse populations of pollinators).

PROMOTING POLLINATOR CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT

FAO carries out various activities to encourage pollinator-friendly practices in agricultural management. It
provides technical assistance to countries on issues ranging from queen breeding to artificial insemination to
sustainable solutions for honey production and export marketing.

The Global Action on Pollination Services for Sustainable Agriculture provides valuable information, helping
farmers, farm advisors and land managers better understand the pollination needs of specific crops. It will
include a global monitoring system that captures the diversity of domesticated honeybees, including data
about products and services as well as the main threats and challenges that honeybees face.

The International Pollinators Initiative 2.0, coordinated by FAO, promotes coordinated

worldwide action to monitor pollinator decline, identify practices and build capacity in the
management of pollination services for sustainable agriculture and improve food security,
nutrition and livelihoods.

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©FAO/Tofik Babayev

THE WAY FORWARD

To protect bees and pollinators from
the threats to their abundance,
diversity and health, efforts should
be made to build a greater diversity of
pollinator habitats in agricultural and
urban settings. Policies that favour
of pollinators that promote biological
pest control and limit the use of
pesticides should be implemented.

Farmers can help maintain pollinator

abundance, diversity and health
by using innovative practices
that integrate local and scientific
knowledge and experience and by
diversifying farms to make food
resources and shelter continuously
available to pollinators. We need
to increase collaboration among
national and international
organizations, academic and research
bodies and networks to monitor,
research and assess pollinators and
pollination services.

We all have a chance to grow our

appreciation for bees and other
pollinators, especially on 20 May, or
World Bee Day.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF CELEBRATING WORLD BEE DAY
Observing World Bee Day on 20 May each year will draw attention to the essential role bees and other pollinators
play in keeping people and the planet healthy. It provides an opportunity for governments, organizations, civil
society and concerned citizens everywhere to promote actions that will protect and enhance pollinators and their
habitats, improve their abundance and diversity, and support the sustainable development of beekeeping.

The date for this observance was chosen as it was the day
Anton Janša, a pioneer of modern apiculture, was born. Janša
came from a family of beekeepers in Slovenia, where beekeeping is This is the beginning of a
an important agricultural activity with a long-standing tradition. difficult process of the protection
The proposal set forth by the Republic of Slovenia, with the of bees and other pollinators.
support of Apimondia, the International Federation of Beekeepers’ We must do more than just talk –
Associations and FAO, to celebrate World Bee Day on 20 May each
year met with approval by the United Nations General Assembly we should undertake concrete
in 2017. activities to increase care for bees
World Bee Day intends to shine a light on the importance of and promote the development of
pollinators to improve the conditions for their survival so that beekeeping – everywhere.
bees and other pollinators may thrive. Dejan Židan

TIME
Former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food of the Republic
of Slovenia, and the head of the World Bee Day project

20 May 1734 1766 1771 1773

Breznica, Slovenia Anton enrols in Publishes first Death of
Europe's first important book on Anton Janša
Birth of Anton Janša, beekeeping school beekeeping
pioneer of modern
apiculture
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POLLINATION AND ZERO HUNGER
What do bees have to do with achieving Zero Hunger, one of the 17
Sustainable Development Goals? Quite a lot, actually. Close to three-
quarters of the world’s crop species depend, at least in part, on
bees and other pollinators, conforming to the major characteristics
of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, nourishing people
and nurturing the planet. Pollinators play an essential role in helping
to feed a rising world population in a sustainable way [SDG S] and help
maintain biodiversity and a vibrant ecosystem [SDG <]. They contribute
to building resilient livelihoods and creating new jobs, for poor smallholder
farmers in particular, satisfying the growing demand for healthy, nutritious food as
well as non-food products [SDGs A and L].

The worrying decline in the number of pollinators, largely brought about by intensive agricultural practices,
changes in land use, use of pesticides and by more extreme weather events, is related to pest and disease
outbreaks, and higher levels of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases, provoking health issues for
populations around the world [SDGs D and Œ].

Already the highest agricultural contributor to yields worldwide, pollination, with improved management,
has the potential to increase yield by a quarter [SDG K]. No wonder there is so much buzz about bees!

LINE 2016
At the FAO Regional
Conference for
Europe, the Republic
of Slovenia proposes
World Bee Day
2017
Proposal for World Bee
Day is submitted for
consideration at the
40th Session of
FAO Conference
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2017
UN General Assembly
unanimously
proclaimes 20 May as
World Bee Day
20 May 2018
Žirovnica, Slovenia
First Observance of
World Bee Day
 For centuries bees, busy as they are known to be, have benefited people, plants and the planet. But did you
know that bees are not the only ones that sustain life on earth? By carrying pollen from one flower to another,
bees, butterflies, birds, bats and other pollinators facilitate and improve food production, thus contributing
to food security and nutrition. Pollination also has a positive impact on the environment in general, helping to
maintain biodiversity and the vibrant ecosystems upon which agriculture depends.

To encourage pollinator-friendly practices in agricultural management and stop the decline of pollinator
populations, FAO carries out various activities. Every year on 20 May, World Bee Day offers an opportunity for all
of us to pay tribute to pollinators.

Learn more:
FAO’s work on pollinators: www.fao.org/pollination/en
Government of Slovenia: www.vlada.si/en
World Bee Day: www.worldbeeday.org/en

#worldbeeday

© FAO, 2018 I9527EN/2/05.19