More than 55 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe are to attend the 2018 Beekeeping expo, Team Lead, ApiExpo Africa, Dr. Chinyere Akujobi has said.
She disclosed this during media engagement on Saturday in Abuja ahead of the Apiexpo conference scheduled to hold September 25th-29th at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
The expo themed: “Beekeeping Industry for Sustainable Development, Wealth Creation and Economic Diversification is expected to provide new opportunities for stakeholders in the agriculture sector especially youth interested in beekeeping.
In her presentation, titled Beekeeping and Associated Value Chain, Mrs. Ngozi Ibe disclosed that youth could take advantage of $200 billion annual net value of pollination services bee keeping offers globally.
She explained that through beekeeping, government could create jobs across the value chain yet protect the ecosystem.
Ibe added that pollination can increase crop yield by 225 per cent, create wealth and increase Federal Government revenue.
In his remarks, executive member of the team, Mr. Seun Johnson, in his presentation, “Beekeeping in Pollination and Biodiversity” advocated for increased investment in beekeeping.
Highlighting its numerous benefits, he explained that sugars produced from the bees are healthier and much better compared to the conventional table sugar.
However, participants decried gradual loss of bees in globe, attributing issues of climate change as major factor.
They called for caution in the use of pesticides and collective actions towards addressing global warming and declining colonies.
