Beekeeping in Mexico has a great socioeconomic and ecological importance, it is considered one of the main livestock activities that generate foreign exchange, reporting in 2019 a production of almost 62,000 tons, an amount that represents 6.1% more than the average of the last ten years whose annual measurement was 58,000 tons.
In addition, bees are essential for the balance of the environment and increase the yield of crops, which favors an increase in food of plant origin, textile raw materials and agricultural inputs, explains Arturo Macosay Córdova, general coordinator of Livestock of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development.
It is under this context that the National Atlas of Bees and Apicultural Derivatives was presented, in order to have a robust product, which is a starting point to detect the information needs about beekeeping, and thereby promote the development of this important activity, in a more responsible and sustainable way.
This project, in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), compiles, for the first time in a single website, information on beekeeping in Mexico, from the characteristics of honey, bee biology, ecological impact, problems caused by climate change, research on genetic improvement, even aspects related to economic activity around domesticated species: beekeeping, government support and production volume, among others.
The current situation of bees
Until now, 20,000 species classified into seven families have been identified and Mexico is the habitat of a wide variety of them, estimated at about two thousand species. In the country more than 85% of the apicultural lands correspond to the ejidal type of livestock. Within the beekeeping sector, honey is the main product by weight and value obtained from hives. The second in importance is wax, followed by pollen, propolis, and royal jelly.
According to Sol Ortiz García, general director of Policy, Prospecting and Climate Change of Sagarpa, there are more than 2 million hives of Apis mellifera (domestic bee) and about 8,000 hives of meliponinos (stingless bees) that contribute to the food safety.
In Mexico, the exploitation of bees occurs mainly in the southeast of the country, in entities such as Yucatán, Campeche, Quintana Roo and Chiapas. There are currently around 43,000 beekeepers throughout the country, families who depend on this activity and who are registered in 508 livestock associations specialized in beekeeping.
With 57,995 tons of honey on average per year (period 2014-2018), Mexico is the eighth producer worldwide and the third largest exporter, after China and Argentina. Half of the production is consumed nationally and the annual per capita consumption is around 300 grams.
In terms of exports, from 2014 to 2018, around 34,000 tons were sent abroad annually, which generated an average annual income of 124 million dollars. The main destinations were the United States, Germany, Belgium, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.
“Presenting this Atlas and making it available for consultation represents a significant step in this task of gathering the information and making it available to a wider public, it is a very relevant collaborative effort, not only to contribute to the knowledge of bees and of beekeeping, but also to value their role both as pollinators and for livestock activity ”, Ortiz García said that it is a more dynamic information system that may be updated as more information becomes available.
A compilation of years of research
In this information and systematization project, the efforts of academics and researchers who have worked with this group of organizations for years were brought together. Thanks to it today
It is known that the service provided by pollinators, in general, benefits the propagation and production of more than 60% of all cultivated plants and is essential for the production of up to 70% of the crops used directly for human consumption.
Pollinators are linked to the yield of at least 87 crops of great importance for food in the world and bees contribute to this service, since they are generalist pollinators that visit many types of flowers.
Among the main research centers that contribute to the knowledge of this area are: The University Center of the South, of the University of Guadalajara. The CIABE has specialized in taking care of the use of the different species of bees that are present in the state of Jalisco, as well as proposing production alternatives to the beekeeping sector.
The Colegio de la Frontera Sur, and the Department of Agriculture, Society and Environment (Equipo Abejas), seek to harmonize the relationship between society and nature.
In the National School of Higher Studies (ENES) Morelia Unit and its National Laboratory for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (LANASE), research is carried out on the decline of pollinators, population monitoring and the evaluation of the impacts of change.
At the Center for Research and Assistance in Technology and Design of the State of Jalisco, AC (CIATEJ), he conducts research on the impact of pesticides on bee populations and beekeeping in general.
The Propolis Analysis Services Laboratory at FES Cuautitlán – UNAM, promoted the creation of the Official Mexican Standard NOM-003-SAG / GAN-2017, Propolis, production and specifications for its processing. Mandatory compliance standard throughout the national territory.
The National Institute of Forestry, Agricultural and Livestock Research (INIFAP). The institute’s contributions include research to control Varroa (Varroa destructor) and the development of technologies for hive management, food supplementation in critical times, disease prevention and diversification of hive products.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) defines beekeeping as the science, art and breeding of bees. This activity has developed alongside the emergence of civilizations. Since pre-Hispanic times it has been practiced in the Mesoamerican region by Mayan settlers.
We have achieved the understanding of your organization as a social colony, which is made up of three castes: queen, drone and worker. A colony of the genus Apis can have up to 60,000 individuals, of which one is the queen, hundreds are drones and thousands are workers.
The National Atlas of Bees and Beekeeping Derivatives can be consulted at https: // atlas-bees. farming. gob.mx.
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Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx