Research project involves Kenya, Brazil and the Netherlands
In various developing countries, more and more food is being grown for export. These new crops offer important economic advantages, but there are also risks. Because the scale of production is increasing and the export market demands an unblemished product, pesticides are used. This also means that legislation on the use of such agents in the production countries must be developed and adapted.
With this background in mind, a workshop was held in May at bijen@wur in Wageningen about the risks incurred by wild pollinators in new, high-value crops and Kenya and Brazil. This was the beginning of an international project commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, which was inspired by questions from the FAO, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN. The Netherlands hosted the meeting due to the extensive knowledge here about the risks of pesticides for bees and about testing the risks for bees preceding the authorisation of an agent for sale on the market. Many of the international protocols in this area have relied on important contributions from the Netherlands.