WHAT WE DO CAN HAVE A GREATER IMPACT
Farmers in the Philippines have been experiencing an increasing decline in crop yields. A study concluded the loss of bee population was the main cause. This loss is due to pesticides, and lack of education on the importance of bees.
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Read on to find out how Anaya is addressing this.
BEE POLLINATION
EDUCATION PROGRAM
For generations of farmers, it is common practise to spray their crops with chemical pesticides and fertilisers.
It is because of this that the beekeepers we work with decided to embark on a mission to save the bees and change generations of unknowingly bad farming practises.
Today they travel to remote parts of the Philippines to educate farmers about the importance of bee pollination. Through this process, farmers are taught to rear these trigona bees to pollinate their crops. Resulting in the elimination of the use of pesticides, and more importantly an increase in crop yield of up to 40%.
ORGANICALLY FARMED
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The apis mellifera (honeybee species commonly used in commercial bee farming) fall sick easily due to pest, infections and diseases. Hence the need to feed them with antibiotics and use miticides.
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Trigona (Melipona) bees however, are much less susceptible to diseases and pest due to their extensive use of propolis - a natural germicide and pest repellent. Hence there is no need to use harmful pesticides or even antibiotics.
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We also only choose to work with farms which are near natural forests, and far from towns and cities, landfills or other non-organic farms. This working relationship with nature ensures the purity of the honey that is not contaminated by pesticides or pollution.
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world”
~ Desmond Tutu, Nobel peace laureate
SUSTAINABLE HARVESTING
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SUSTAINABLE HARVESTING
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At Anaya we do not harvest all the honey in the hive - leaving at least 20% for the colony. Our harvesting is done only during honey flow seasons where our bees can still forage for food, and avoid rainy seasons where the bees are unable to do so.
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Our Trigona (Melipona) bees also do not require maintenance feeding (another common industry practice of feeding honey bees with sugared water) as they store surplus pollen throughout the year. Furthermore, their hives can be easily split and transported to aid pollination of other crops.
SUSTAINABLE HARVESTING
At Anaya, we do not harvest the entire honey production but leave sufficient for the bees to consume while they continue to product more.
Furthermore as the Philippines is susceptible to frequent typhoons, these little bees and their precious hives can fall victim to nature, wiping out the intended harvest.
LIMITED PRODUCTION
Due to the small Trigona (Melipona) bee’s size, they are able to collect nectar from a larger variety of plants. However it also limits their flight radius to about 300-500 metres of the hive. Hence while commonly farmed European honey bees can produce around 30kg of honey a hive per year, these stingless honey bees produce only around 500g of honey a hive per year.
Furthermore as the Philippines is susceptible to frequent typhoons, these little bees and their precious hives can fall victim to nature, wiping out the intended harvest.
Mango, coconut, coffee, avocado, are just a few of many crops that stingless bees pollinate more effectively