Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Morocco’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests has launched a special program to support beekeepers impacted by bees’ desertion of several Moroccan provinces.
The decision resulted from the January 29 videoconference meeting marked with the presence of the Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch, Minister of Agriculture Mohammed Sadiki, and the Director-General of the National Office for Food Safety (ONSSA) Abdellah Janati.
On January 21, ONSSA reported the observation of bees desertion in different Moroccan provinces.
The office identified the phenomenon as “Colony Collapse Syndrome,” which is common in Europe, America, and Africa.
The syndrome occurs when “the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a queen, plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees and the queen,” according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency
Read Also: Morocco’s Food Safety Office Rules Out Disease as Cause of Bees Disappearance
In response to the syndrome, the Ministry reported in a press release the launching of a MAD 130 million ($13.83 million) program to provide training to beekeepers, create a national campaign to protect beehives against varroasis, and reconstruct infected beehives.
During the videoconference, Abdellah Janati explained the urgent measures taken by ONSSA to counter the phenomenon. In partnership with the Federation of beekeepers, the office has conducted field research in affected regions, he said.
Based on preliminary results, the office concluded that the phenomenon is not related to bee disease.
ONSSA has set up a multidisciplinary committee of experts to continue research, the statement noted, adding that the Office is collaborating with professionals in the sector to identify the causes of the syndrome.
So far the research attributes bee dissertation to low rainfall, poor nutrition, and unhealthy conditions in apiaries, the press release concluded.
