Chile's Drought Is Killing Bees, Which Could Be a Disaster for Crops
February 10, 2022
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2:10Now PlayingChile's Drought Is Killing Bees, Which Could Be a Disaster for Crops
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as posted by the channelChilean beekeepers say they are facing a shortage of flowers to feed their bees, a result of a severe 13-year-long drought in the South American nation.
The lack of flowers, they say, have forced some beekeepers unable to travel to more habitable land to feed their bees with sugar water and other nutritious mixtures to keep them alive.
But Teresa Sarmiento, President of Colina Apicultures, says that sugar water is not the solution.
"It is like giving a hungry kid a candy, just a candy," said Sarmiento.
"We have to prepare food with nutrients, with vitamins, with pollen on it because pollen is like eating a piece of meat. It has the same proteins, so an apiarist knows that have to make adequate food for the bees."
Nearly all of the world's flowering plants need to be fertilized by pollinators, especially honeybees. They pollinate plants when they fly around them, carrying pollen that fertilizes and allows them to produce seeds and fruits.
The decline in hives is a global phenomenon, and its decline may lead to a shortage not only of food but also medicinal plants, herbivorous animals, among others.
A study by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization on Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Paraguay, found that 75% of agricultural crops depend on pollinators.
In the case of Chile's fruit growing, it's between 65% and 70%.
Francisca Fernandez with the environmental organization Movement for Water and Territories said farmers' use of pesticides is further contributing to the deterioration of the bee population.
Beekeeper Carlos Peralta said it was time for action.
"The bees are dying, and if the bees die, so do human beings," he said.
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