Tenerife protect your bees for two main reasons. On the one hand, as generators of wealth and economy niches through the commercialization of honey. On the other hand, since are a key factor in the balance and protection of biodiversity. The Cabildo is aware of its importance with a series of activities to be carried out today on the occasion of World Bee Day.
A gastronomic meeting in eleven schools on the island is the main focus of the events, which They complete workshops and tastings for students on the importance of these insects in maintaining ecosystems.
The Tenerife beekeeping sector is made up of more than 600 farms and about 16,000 hives. The counselor of the primary sector, Javier Parrilla, values: “This year we have increased our support to beekeepers and beekeepers with 92,000 euros destined for the complementary feeding of bees, an aid that will improve their nutritional status and preserve the beekeeping cabin.” To this is added another 8,000 euros for the maintenance and conservation of the Miel de Tenerife Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).
Parrilla stresses that, in four years, from 2015 to 2019, the number of hives fell by 9.27 percent. From that year and until 2022, it has increased by 7 percent, “in order to also stop the fall in the number of farms and recover the figure of 600.” The island councilor recalls that “75 percent of food crops, as well as 35 percent of the world’s agricultural land, depend on this process in which these insects play a special role, hence the need to protect these species, control its decline and curb the loss of biodiversity that this entails.
The activities organized for today aim to raise awareness of the importance of these insects and other pollinators and raise awareness of their threats. Some 2,000 children from 96 classes will participate in making a pella of gofio with honey. Javier Parrilla emphasizes that pollinators “are highly threatened by the application of intensive agricultural practices, the use of pesticides or the effects of climate change.” The added value of the Miel de Tenerife PDO stands out, with its 14 registered varieties.
In October 2017, the UN proclaimed May 20 as Bee Day for the anniversary of the birth of Anton Janša, a pioneer of beekeeping in his country, Slovenia, in the 18th century.
