WhatsappWhen you think about the many contributions that Israel makes to the entire world, one of the first things to pop up will usually not be bees. But, Israel is actually a very advanced country in this field too. Does this really matter? Well, here are some facts about the Israeli Bee and why they are so important.
Bee population decreasing
It is not simple to explain why the number of bees in the world is going down. But the fact is that the honeybee population is going in the wrong direction. But not in Israel.
Plain and simple, bees pollinate vegetables and fruits. Without the bees, agriculture growth would be devastated. Do you like avocados, melons, cucumbers, sunflowers, strawberries, or any of the winter vegetables? All of them need bees.
Of course, bees also produce honey – delicious, and many argue – rather healthy too. But, we need bees for food production more than for honey production.
Win-win
Back in 2016, Israel 21C brought an important statement by Aviv Eizenband, head of forestry and professional development at KKL-JNF’s Forest Service. This explains part of how Israel retains their bee population.
“As open areas are decreasing in the last decade, we find ourselves with less land for afforestation. Beekeepers have land but don’t have enough flowers and shrubs to attract bees. So over the past 15 to 20 years we are cooperating with organizations like the Honey Board to make Israel greener and help beekeepers attract bees at the same time,” says Eizenband. “Everybody benefits: we have trees, the bees have flowers and the keepers have honey.”
So, when Israel takes good care of it’s bees by planting more than a hundred thousand trees, this is good for the entire world. When Israel has more than 100,000 beehives, this is even better. There are more than 500 beekeepers in the small State of Israel. They are small and carry a stinger, but we need them.
