Moving towards Ecological Farming Plan Bee – Living without Pesticides

Executive Summary 3 1: Introduction 9 2: Factors causing bee declines – implications for agriculture 15 3: Ecological farming versus industrial agriculture – impacts on bees 21 4: Ecological pest control to eliminate the use of synthetic chemical pesticides 39 Appendix 1 54 Appendix 2 56 3 The drastic decline of wild and managed bee populations recorded in recent years in Europe and North America is alarming given our reliance on these insect pollinators for biodiversity and global food security. Managed honey bees have sharply declined, for instance, by 25% in Europe between 1985 and 2005. This decline of bees has led to the concept of a global " pollination crisis " – a situation where pollination services by bees are limited and this, in turn, may cause the yield and quality of crops to deteriorate. Scientific research shows that a diversity of wild bee species is paramount for ensuring sustainable crop production. Thus, we cannot rely solely on one species – managed honey bees – for pollination. A diversity of wild bee species is also essential to ensure food is delivered to our tables every day. Recent scientific studies have shown that chemical-intensive industrial agriculture is implicated in the decline of bees and the pollination services they provide to our crops and wild flowers. Ever increasing applications of fertilisers, herbicides and insecticides and their synergistic negative impacts on bee health (Johnston et al. 2014, Tirado et al. 2013) and loss of natural and semi-natural habitat on field, farm and landscape levels are major drivers of bee declines. Further, the modern industrial farming model also causes problems of growing resistance of pests and weeds, decreased soil fertility and water retention, contamination of ground waters, high energy input and CO2 emissions, as well as reduced resilience and increased vulnerability to climate change. In addition, under this paradigm farmers become increasingly dependent upon seeds and chemical products from multinational companies. These are just some examples of the negative impacts resulting from current chemical-intensive industrial agriculture practices. As an alternative, a model based on modern ecological farming methods could ensure food production and avoid the negative impacts outlined above. Scientific studies discussed in this report show that the implementation of ecological farming is feasible and in fact the only solution to the ever-increasing problems associated with chemical-intensive industrial agriculture. Ecological farming, which includes some organic agricultural methods, promotes biodiversity on farmland and supports …