Current Status of Beekeeping in the Arabian Countries and Urgent Needs for its Development Inferred from a Socioeconomic Analysis

مقال فى مجلة

2016

Abou-Shaara, Ahmad A. Al-Ghamdi, Mohammed M. Alsharhi and Hossam F. . 2016

Beekeeping is an important activity to agriculture, food

security and biodiversity as well as it participates in reducing

poverty and boost livelihoods in rural areas worldwide

(Chazovachii

et al

., 2013; Gupta

et al

., 2014). It also contributes

in the agricultural production due to the essential role of

honey bees,

Apis mellifera

, in plants pollination as the

pollination of more than 90 crops depend mainly on honey

bees (Partap

et al

., 2012). About 15 billion dollars have been

estimated as pollination value of honey bees in the USA alone

in 2000 (Morse and Calderone, 2000). Moreover, honey bees

participate in the conservation of the biodiversity for many

crops beside their valuable nutritional and medicinal products

including; honey, royal jelly and other bee products

(Klein

et al

., 2007) which are considered as source of income

(Qaiser

et al

., 2013).

Beekeeping is being practiced in all the arabian countries

(AC) and is very old in Egypt about 5000 years ago. There

are two main types of beehives in the AC, langstroth and

traditional log hives (Hussein, 2000; Alqarni

et al

., 2011).

Each AC has indigenous (native) bee race, for examples;

Apis mellifera lamarckii

in Egypt (Sheppard

et al

., 2001),

Apis mellifera jemenitica

in Yemen and Saudi Arabia

(Alqarni

et al

., 2011) and

Apis mellifera syriaca

in Syria

(Zakour and Bienefeld, 2014). But these indigenous races have

been replaced or hybridized by other imported ones

mainly

Apis mellifera carnica

as has happened in Egypt

(Sheppard

et al

., 2001; Kamel

et al

., 2003). Other countries,

mainly in the Arabian Gulf, for example in Saudi Arabia beside

keeping honey bees in the traditional beehives, honey bees

in modern langstr oth beeh ives are importe d from Egypt

(Al-Ghamdi and Nuru, 2013). That caused high degree of

hybridization between imported and indigenous bees

(Al-Ghamdi

et al

., 2012). The impacts of the imported bees on

current beekeeping in the AC need to be investigated. Since

the last review article by Hussein (2000), there is no updated

comprehensive information about beekeeping in the AC.

Although the huge area of the AC with rich flora to honey bees

e.g., (Alghoson, 2004; Abou-Shaara, 2015) the total production

in all the AC of honey represents only 1.4% of the world

production (FAO., 2012) which suggests the presence of some

obstacles facing beekeeping in the AC. Such obstacles need to

b e h ig h li g ht e d t o as s is t th e re s po n si b le au t ho r it ie s in b oo st i ng

beekeeping in the AC.

• رقم المجلد: 10
• رقم الانشاء: 2
• مجلة/صحيفة: Asian Journal of Agricultural Research
• الصفحات: 87-98