Research

We believe that although it is very much a part of rural life worldwide, beekeeping is often undervalued by policy makers and planners. Building the evidence base for the role of bees in development and the merits and drawbacks of different approaches is therefore an important strand of our work. See more about our research into beekeeping and sustainable livelihoods here.

Crop pollination and honey production are both considered to be ‘ecosystem services’ meaning that biodiversity provides these services and that they contribute to human health and wellbeing. We are currently working on inputs to a literature review of these issues focusing on sub-Saharan Africa.

Recent applied research includes market and situation analyses of honey trading in Sudan and Uganda and findings on the interdependencies between bees, biodiversity and forest livelihoods in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve of the Western Ghats, India.

Through our Information Portal we publish apicultural research findings from around the world on subjects as diverse as biology, sociology and economics. We are pleased to share research with our international audience. To submit an article, please contact us.