Queen Rearing: Save a Greek Bee

New Agriculture New Generation has designed and implements for the first time in Europe since 2021, the innovative capacity building program "Queen Rearing: Rescue and Genetic Improvement of Bees”, in two different areas in Greece: in the region of Thessaly (since 2021) and in the island of Evia (since 2022).

Through this program, we seek to change radically the beekeeping sector and strengthen the beekeeping community in Greece by utilizing, rescuing, and improving the genetic material of bees through a holistic and innovative approach, called “grafting”.

During the 1^st phase of the program, young local beekeepers receive training (“Train the Trainers" learning method) on sustainable beekeeping practices and on the innovative approach of “grafting”. During the 2^nd phase, the trained beekeepers, called “the grafters”, are responsible for transferring the knowledge to active beekeepers ("Peer-to-Peer” learning method) and providing the service of grafting. The artificial queen cells that are created will then be managed by the beekeepers for their own benefit, without any financial obligation.

As we are going through the second phase of the program implementation in both regions, after the campaign announcement on the GlobalGiving platform, in Thessaly we continued the grafting method from July to the middle of September 2023, with which from chosen beehives, larva is removed from worker cells and transferred into artificial queen cells. This process leads to the production of genetically improved queen bees with the genetic material of the region.

Due to high temperatures in Evia this summer, we had to postpone grafting activity until next spring However, we had the honor to host some of our donors in Greece on the field, where our trained beekeepers, demonstrated the grafting method. It was a great and unique experience, for all the enmeshed. Finally, we created an awareness and informative video, about the Queen Rearing Program and its benefits for the (Greek) ecosystem and biodiversity. Soon to be uploaded and shared with you.

In September 2023, a strong and dangerous storm called “Daniel” swept Greece, and especially Thessaly, in the regions where New Agriculture New Generation had been implementing the Queen Rearing Program. The storm resulted in a devastating loss for the locals. Many people lost their possessions and their homes, while their crops were (totally) destroyed. Approximately, 100,000 animals in the area drowned, and the region was inaccessible for a considerable time due to the destruction of the road network. New Agriculture New Generation’s team conducted an on-site visit as part of an assessment of the region's and its people needs, and we can confirm that the images we witnessed as well as the testimonies of the affected individuals, were truly heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, due to these multilateral disasters in Thessaly area, the beekeeping sector was one of the fields that were affected. According to recent data, over 40% of beehives were lost in the region. Many of the beekeepers in Thessaly, most of whom are our beneficiaries, lost their beehives - some partially and others entirely, and the work and progress that had been done by then through our activity were ravaged.

Consequently, our actions within the framework of the 1^st Queen Rearing Program in the region of Thessaly had to be temporarily halted. However, we do not intend to stop our efforts there. We now, more than ever, want to stand by these people. Conserving bees and their habitats become even more critical for the recovery of agricultural system in Thessaly. Thus, we will be restarting the Queen Rearing Program in the spring of 2024, aiming to replenish bee colonies and rescue local genetic material with the support of our highly qualified professional queen breeders.

As for our actions in Evia region, we have temporarily paused the grafting process as it can not be implemented during the winter. However, we are about to restart in the spring of 2024, while in February we are planning to organize and implement awareness events about the Queen Rearing Program and its benefits for the protection and resilience of our ecosystem towards challenging climate conditions.