ABOUT US

SafeAgroBee recognizes that preserving the ecosystem, the resilience of pollinators and bees and sustainable beekeeping practices are among the major challenges of our time. Droughts and pest invasions, losses of bees’ and other pollinators’ biodiversity due to use of agrochemicals, and possible changes in the plant -pollinator interactions, urges for sustainable solutions in the agroecosystem models, and our proposal aims to tackle exactly those drivers and to seek for alternatives using precision apiculture systems and smart digital technologies as well as different modeling tools for scenario analysis and the planning of strategic management. Building resilient ‘farming systems’ is our aim, and we are going to tackle this in two directions, from the beekeepers and the farmers perspective. Here we will also test different mitigation strategies in order to ensure sustainability in a continuously changing environment, also with in areas experiencing harsh conditions exist (e.g. the dry areas). The project will make use of the Citizen science approach, and it is organised in 5 mail research work packages. An advisory Board and Stakeholders' group will ensure the success and the useful dissemination of the results. 13 parners, from 8 countries around the mediterranean basin, or a multidishiplinary consortium with great experience.

For more information please visit full project website

Period of Implementation

Apr 1, 2021 - Sep 30, 2024
Total Budget

EUR 1,448,662.65

OUR IMPACT

Goals

SafeAgroBee goals are: a) to contribute to knowledge on adaptation of bees on their local nishes; b) to contribute to mitigation of the effects of climate change and other drivers negatively influencing the sustainability and the resilience of the agricultural system in the Mediterranean basin, ; c) to develp strategies and tools ensuring the income of farmers and food security; d) contribute to SDGs.

Objectives

To this aim, SafeAgroBee will specifically address the following: 1) examine the resilience of bee pollinators (Apis and non Apis bees) on a changing environment towards pollination services and productivity by a) documenting wild and domesticated bee contribution to the pollination of key crops; b) determining the carrying capacity of several crops as a novel approach for bee productivity and c) by projecting historical climatic data and bee related data in today's conditions; 2) investigate the adaptability of local bee populations and the application of optimal practices under climate change in order to ensure sustainable beekeeping by monitoring the development and the performance of local populations and their resistance to diseases; 3) support the development of mitigation strategies ensuring the health of the bees and provide advice for the beekeepers by comparing the health and productivity of the honey bee colonies between different agricultural ecosystems and by performing alternative and new strategies to control bee diseases; 4) develop innovative monitoring tools and precision apiculture systems for advanced data acquisition by building on sounds, bee movements and heat detection, also enhancing business potential; 5) test and validate novel models for predicting the health of the bees, as for example the Health Status Index, as well as their productivity in terms of honey and pollination services based on two strong conditions, i) on previous experience, developments and knowledge and ii) on the large data sets with very accurate data and from diverse climatological conditions; 6) adopt a Citizen Science approach to interact and collaborate with all stakeholders and the citizens.

Problems and Needs Analysis

- How bees (managed and unmanaged bees) respond to climatic perturbations: Climate change threatens wild pollinators, influencing the complexity and stability of pollinators’ community, as well as the sustainability of the beekeeping ocupation. The information gathered will provide support for the management of the risks linked to future climatic conditions. - Increasing the resilience of the agroecosystem/ Provide solutions for improving agroecosystem resilience: By testing the effectiveness of several mitigation measures as well as the adaptability of local populations we will be able to provide robust recommendations to re-design the agroecosystem and to ensure or increase their resilience - Improving the capacity of crops / valorization of biodiversity: It is our aim to evaluate farming strategies that foresee the presence and the interactions among Apis and non-Apis bees - Sustainable and efficient use of natural resources: SafeAgroBee will evaluate the carrying capacity of different landscapes/farming systems - Need for acurate and large monitoring data: SafeAgroBee will develop further Innovative precision apiculture systems and predictive models .

Intervention Strategy(ies)

- By comparing historical and current climatic data as well as data on biodiversity of bees and honey yields we will build and analyse scenarios to ensure the income of farmers and food security in a changing environment. - the effectiveness of several mitigation measures as well as the adaptability of local populations we will be able to provide robust recommendations to re-design the farming systems and ensure or increase the resilience of the agroecosystem - We will monitor the capacity of crops/ valorization of biodiversity by assessing the landscape pollination demand, and pollination supply provided by both managed and unmanaged bees to various cropping systems - Both, local breeds of Apis bees and non-Apis species will be tested for their capacity to provide ecosystem services - We will develop further innovative precision apiculture systems, smart digital technologies as well as different modeling tools, in order to advance in technology, enable the analysis of complex information about the behaviour of bees, as well as to harmonise the data for scenario analysis and provide recommendations (e.g. Health Status Index)

Impact Pathway

--Scientific Impact: Increase knowledge on a) using Apis and non-Apis bees/ other pollinators for ensuring sustainable local crop production through providing pollination services; b) honey bee colony productivity and beekeeping management strategies; c) trends on effects of climate change on Apis and non Apis bees and other pollinators; d) minimising colony losses and risks from pollination adequasy; e) predicting the Health Status and productivity of a honey bee colony; f) protecting local biodiversity and their adaptability -- Societal Impact: a) enhance citizens' and policy makers' engagement in problem analysis, solving and decision making; b) strengthen the farmer-beekeeper relationship for the benefit of all and food security; c) raise awareness on the importance of bees and pollinators/ the need for preservation of local healthy populations -- Economic Impact: Increase marketing potential of precision apiculture tools; b) advance in innovation; c) optimise of land resources exploitation; d) increase job offers; e) ensures sustainability of income to farmers and beekeepers

Note: if you need to move a link detach it and re-link it again

links budget to project work package
links work package to another work package
links work package to research outcome
links outcome to SDG
links research outcome to development outcome
links research or development outcome to IDO
links work package to development outcome
links SDG to target
Zoom

NEWS & EVENTS

Events