The federal government is helping the beekeeping industry develop new strategies to respond to a decline in honey bee colony populations.
MP Patricia Davidson (Sarnia-Lambton) announced June 28 on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz it will spend more than $244,000 to aid the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association.
“Ensuring a more profitable and sustainable future for the bee industry will benefit farmers, industry, and the ecosystem,” Davidson said. “This project will help farmers and the entire industry increase profitability and find ways to improve breeding while developing good management practices.”
The project aims to help beekeepers secure sustainable honey harvests and provide essential pollination services to the fruit and vegetable industry.
“The partnership … will ensure beekeepers are able to manage genetics, pests, and nutrition according to their business objectives,” said Les Eccles, the provincial association’s tech transfer program specialist. “Providing management strategies specific to the beekeepers goals will give more sustainable and consistent results,” he said.
“The funding provided through [Agricultural Adaptation Council of Canada] will greatly advance OBA’s efforts to ensure the beekeeping industry has quality and consistent honey bee stocks,” said Jim Rickard, AAC chairman. “Bees are the major pollinator of food crops and it is critical that beekeepers have access to the technology they need to maintain healthy bee colonies.”
Over the past four years, beekeepers in Ontario have been losing high numbers of honey bee colonies due to disease, pest resistance to treatment methods, and increased demand on honey bee colonies to provide pollination services.
Led by the Universities of Guelph and Manitoba, the program will develop a breeding program that will result in honey bees that have the ability to resist pests and diseases. It will also screen new products for pest and disease control and develop best management practices relating to pollination colonies. Beekeepers in the province of Ontario have identified those issues as priorities.
Ultimately, the project will provide beekeepers with the ability to have better control of colony genetics and health in order to have consistent honey production and pollination services.
Funding for the project is being provided by the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program. In Ontario, CAAP is delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC).
CAAP is a five-year (2009-2014), $163-million national initiative that aims to help the Canadian agricultural sector adapt and remain competitive. Eligible CAAP projects could be in areas of traceability, environment, climate change, capacity development, pests and diseases, and more.
For more information on CAAP, visit www.agr.gc.ca/caap. To learn more about AAC, visit www.adaptcouncil.org.
