Tweet
KEEPING THE BEES: SPECIALISTS IN ARMENIA ALARMED BY SHRINKING BEE POPULATION
Society | 31.10.14 | 10:45
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow
Alina Nikoghosyan
ArmeniaNow intern
It is believed that famous physicist Albert Einstein once said:
"If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only
have four years left to live."
It turns out that in Armenia there exists a problem connected with
the decreasing number of bees and the amount of honey they produce.
According to specialists, there exist several reasons for the reduction
in the number of bees - diseases, chemicals, mobile communication,
WiFi.
According to Nektar beekeepers' union president Telman Nazaryan,
the main reason for bee reduction is climatic conditions - hail,
rain; according to the data he provided, last year they had around
2,000 tons of honey, and this year - only 50.
The president of the union mentioned that in Europe they do not
import honey from Armenia because here bees are cured by chemicals,
and that does not correspond to their criteria.
"There are treatments other than chemicals, specialists brought
equipment with the help of which we have realized small experiments
and achieved good results," he said.
In response to the question by what means the Ministry of Agriculture
tries to prevent the decrease in the population of bees, Nazaryan
answered that the agricultural sector can do nothing without the
support of the government.
"The Ministry of Agriculture would like to have abundant produce,
but they do not have necessary means; for instance, if the government
invests $100, we will give ten times as much in revenues," Nazaryan
added.
He also added that if there are sales and no disasters in 2015,
there can be positive shifts in terms of the bee population.
"Sales will contribute to growth, Armenians are very smart, they can
make 100 bees out of 10," he added.
Vahagn Taroyan, a 40-year-old beekeeper who has around 40 beehives,
said that 10 of them disappeared, and more than half of the rest are
exhausted. He said that the official reason was climatic conditions,
flowers produced no nectar, because the second half of the summer
was very hot, and the first half was humid.
"Last year the beehives gave 15 kilogram of honey, which can be
considered a high index, and this year, almost nothing, in August
and September bees died out, stronger bees attacked weaker ones,
and their number got highly reduced, it is a widespread phenomenon
throughout the whole country," the beekeeper said.
He estimates that the number of bees has reduced by half, and even
in case of favorable climatic conditions there will definitely be
lack of honey.
http://armenianow.com/society/58132/armenia_bee_keeping_situation
Society | 31.10.14 | 10:45
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow
Alina Nikoghosyan
ArmeniaNow intern
It is believed that famous physicist Albert Einstein once said:
"If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only
have four years left to live."
It turns out that in Armenia there exists a problem connected with
the decreasing number of bees and the amount of honey they produce.
According to specialists, there exist several reasons for the reduction
in the number of bees - diseases, chemicals, mobile communication,
WiFi.
According to Nektar beekeepers' union president Telman Nazaryan,
the main reason for bee reduction is climatic conditions - hail,
rain; according to the data he provided, last year they had around
2,000 tons of honey, and this year - only 50.
The president of the union mentioned that in Europe they do not
import honey from Armenia because here bees are cured by chemicals,
and that does not correspond to their criteria.
"There are treatments other than chemicals, specialists brought
equipment with the help of which we have realized small experiments
and achieved good results," he said.
In response to the question by what means the Ministry of Agriculture
tries to prevent the decrease in the population of bees, Nazaryan
answered that the agricultural sector can do nothing without the
support of the government.
"The Ministry of Agriculture would like to have abundant produce,
but they do not have necessary means; for instance, if the government
invests $100, we will give ten times as much in revenues," Nazaryan
added.
He also added that if there are sales and no disasters in 2015,
there can be positive shifts in terms of the bee population.
"Sales will contribute to growth, Armenians are very smart, they can
make 100 bees out of 10," he added.
Vahagn Taroyan, a 40-year-old beekeeper who has around 40 beehives,
said that 10 of them disappeared, and more than half of the rest are
exhausted. He said that the official reason was climatic conditions,
flowers produced no nectar, because the second half of the summer
was very hot, and the first half was humid.
"Last year the beehives gave 15 kilogram of honey, which can be
considered a high index, and this year, almost nothing, in August
and September bees died out, stronger bees attacked weaker ones,
and their number got highly reduced, it is a widespread phenomenon
throughout the whole country," the beekeeper said.
He estimates that the number of bees has reduced by half, and even
in case of favorable climatic conditions there will definitely be
lack of honey.
http://armenianow.com/society/58132/armenia_bee_keeping_situation