DEFRA has announced a £4.3 million increase in funding for research into bee health as the UK population dwindles.

Defra Secretary of State Hilary Benn said nearly £2.3 million over the next two years would support the work of the National Bee Unit while a further £2 million over five years would go towards bee health research.

The funding follows persistent lobbying from the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA), the Bee Farmers’ Association (BFA) and the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and Rowse Honey -for increased DEFRA funding for bee health research.

NFU vice president, Paul Temple, said: “The industry has been lobbying for many months for the government to increase the level of funding for research into the problems affecting bee colonies. While this isn’t as much as we were hoping for it is a step in the right direction and recognition of the seriousness of the problems.

“Honey bees are an underpinning component of the British countryside - whether it’s heather moorland, a hedgerow, an orchard or a field of beans. The role they play in pollination is vital for food production.

“Our bee farmers and beekeepers are the custodians of every single honey bee in our countryside and are facing devastating bee health problems. This money will go some way towards funding the comprehensive and co-ordinated research that needs to be undertaken.”

Bee Farmers' asociation secretary, John Howat, said: “Today’s announcement is welcomed and the industry will continue to work to ensure Government use this extra funding to tackle the most important issues facing bees and beekeeping”.

The research will look at why one in three bee colonies has been lost over the past year. It has been estimated that there are 44,000 beekeepers in the UK, with a total of 274,000 hives.

Of these some 300 are commercial beekeepers, which are members of the BFA, with 50,000 hives and the remainder are keen amateurs. Some 100 years ago there were around one million beehives; this reduced to 400,000 in the 1950s and further reduced to the total of 274,000 today. The feral honeybee population has been largely wiped out by disease in the last 15 years.

Topics