Agriculture, Estonia, Markets and Companies

"The Chamber of Agriculture has said it out clearly on behalf of its members that not a single bee colony must be killed as result of crop protection. This year, we managed to uphold this principle," Vahur Tonissoo, board member of the Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce, said in a press release.

"A joint contribution by beekeepers, farmers and officials to cooperation has yielded a result," Tonissoo said in his remarks released after a meeting between the Agricultural Board, the Veterinary and Food Board, the Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce, the Estonian Association of Professional Beekeepers and the Estonian Beekeepers Union at which complaints related to bees made in 2019 and cooperation between the organizations was discussed.

The Agricultural Board has received five complaints in 2019 concerning increased mortality of bees in colonies. In none of the cases extensive perishing of bees was registered and all the complaints were received from hobby beekeepers. In all cases samples were taken that were analyzed at the Agricultural Research Center, and when necessary, more in-depth monitoring of users of plant protection agents in the region in question was conducted. 

None of the analyses demonstrated the presence of residue of plant protection products. In some cases the death of bees could be attributed to the actions of the beekeeper, whereas in others the cause of the death of bees remains unclear. 

The representatives of beekeepers' organizations taking part in the meeting said that officials have promptly responded to the cases and the cooperation is functioning. 

"The situation in general is good, the awareness of beekeepers and farmers has increased, the number of apiaries in the register of farm animals of PRIA has grown. Awareness needs to be increased about the correct use of parasiticides in the apiary and ant killers in gardens, as also the misuse of these products may put bees in danger," said Harles Kaup, departmental head at the Veterinary and Food Board.

The parties highlighted that safety requirements have to be observed by all users of plant protection agents: professional farmers and hobby gardeners, road and railway maintenance contractors, landscaping professionals, giant hogweed eradication contractors and everyone else using plant protection products for non-agricultural purposes.