Partnership between Embrapa Meio Ambiente, Senar and A.B.E.L.H.A strengthens bee farming in Brazil

Embrapa Meio Ambiente, the National Rural Learning Service (Senar) and the Brazilian Association of Bee Studies (A.B.E.L.H.A.) signed a technical cooperation agreement for the preparation and distribution of content in the areas of beekeeping and meliponiculture (breeding of stingless bees) .

Through the joint initiative, the institutions expand their contribution to the professionalization and sustainable development of activities in Brazil.

The partnership provides for the development of courses, mini-courses and booklets, as well as other instructional materials for free access on Senar's platforms. Those interested in the topic can now access the first five videos on raising stingless bees, which are available on Senate website.

“Brazil’s potential in bee farming is enormous, whether with the production of honey and other by-products, or in consortium with agriculture, thanks to the pollination service”, explains Ana Lucia Assad, executive director of A.B.E.L.H.A.. “ In order for us to rise to the next level, the training of Brazilian beekeepers and farmers is essential.”

For the technical advisor of Senar's Directorate of Professional Education and Social Promotion, Vilton Júnior, the agreement allows expanding access for people in rural areas to relevant content on the topic. “Three institutions of great relevance to the beekeeping and meliponiculture production chain are coming together to bring even more knowledge to a segment that has been showing exponential growth in Brazil.”

Professionalization

The content prepared by the partnership can also be used in field work carried out by the entity's extension agents.

Professional training will benefit the bee sector's production chain, inserting the knowledge generated by Science into the production system and stimulating the consumer market. Raising awareness of the adoption of good practices by beekeepers and farmers will also contribute to strengthening conservation actions and use of pollinators, both for agricultural production and biodiversity conservation.

For Embrapa Meio Ambiente, the partnership with Senar and A.B.E.L.H.A. It will contribute greatly to ensuring that scientific knowledge accumulated over generations effectively reaches the field. “If people put into practice what science already knows, we will see the sector take off in the coming years", says Cristiano Menezes, biologist at Embrapa Meio Ambiente, member of the A.B.E.L.H.A. scientific committee and presenter of the courses.

In addition to the Senar course platform, educational videos on beekeeping, meliponiculture and agricultural pollination will be available on A.B.E.L.H.A.'s digital channels. and Embrapa. They can be accessed free of charge by anyone on the following channels:

Senar: Cnabrasil

YouTube BEE: Brazilian Bee Studies Association - YouTube

Embrapa: Site