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Side Effects of Agro-chemicals on Beekeeping in East and West Gojjam Zones of Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Received: 9 June 2020     Accepted: 24 June 2020     Published: 17 August 2020
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Abstract

The study was conducted in West and East Gojjam Zones of Amhara Region Ethiopia to determine commonly used agro-chemicals and timing of applications, their effects on honeybee by itself and beekeeper farmers used cultural practices to minimize agro-chemical side effects on honeybee; Questionnaire survey methods, key informants interview and focus group discussion were used for the study. In the questionnaire survey, 384 respondent beekeepers from 4 Woredas, 20 Kebeles (376 male and 8 female) were interviewed. Descriptive, frequency with SPSS version 20 were used. The majority of farmers spray herbicides before blooming in August and insecticides at diseases and pests observed in October, November and December. Surprisingly, almost all respondents interviewed (98.7%) have confirmed that they know the negative effects of agro-chemicals on the health status and life of the honeybee. Apparently pesticides have been causing considerable damage by killing honeybees and causing yield decline due to miss use of agrochemicals. 90.9% of the non-beekeepers who use agro-chemical had no willingness to use non-chemical or alternative mechanisms to control pests and weeds. The main reported reason for the non-beekeepers not informing others about their plan to apply agro-chemicals is their laziness and jealousy; only 8.1% of respondents have willingness to use non-chemical or cultural weed and pest control mechanisms to save honeybee colonies as well as to keep their farmlands as organic. Overall the level of cooperation between beekeepers and non-beekeepers with regard to responsible use of agro-chemicals is very weak and certainly not considerate of mutual benefits and environmental protection. Essential to capacitate beekeepers in terms of technical knowledge and skills to better manage and need concerted action to develop appropriate agro-chemical application modalities that minimize side effects on honeybees and economic losses would be recommended.

Published in Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering (Volume 8, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.abb.20200803.12
Page(s) 47-55
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Agro-chemicals, Cultural Mechanism, East Gojjam, West Gojjam

References
[1] Alemu Tsegaye, Abebe Jenberie, Mussie Hailemelekot, Zeleke Mekuriaw. 2015. Potential threats to honeybee health with emphasis on Varroa Mite in South Wollo and Waghimra zones of Amhara region, Ethiopia. MSc. Thesis. Presented to the School of Graduate Studies of Bahir Dar University Ethiopia pp: 136.
[2] Amsalu Bezabih., Alemayehu Gella., Taye Negera, Desalegn Begna. 2012. Toxicity effect of commonly used agrochemicals to Ethiopian honeybees. In: Holleta Bee research Cente, APIEXPO.
[3] Arse Gebeyehu, Tesfaye Kebede, Sebsibe Zuber, Tekalign Gutu, Gurmessa Umeta, Tesfaye Lemma and Feyisa Hundessa 2010. Participatory rural appraisal investigation on beekeeping in Arsi Negelle and Shashemene districts of West Arsi zone of Oromia, Ethiopia. Livestock Research for Rural Development, 22: 15.
[4] BDAOR (Burie District Agricultural Office report). 2015. District livestock resource annual report.
[5] Bekele Tesfaye, Genet Dadi and Temaro Gelgelu. 2017. Assessment of honeybee enemies (pests and predators) in Bale zone, southeastern Ethiopia. Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development. 9 (4): 53-61.
[6] BoFEDANRS. 2005. Annual Statistical Bulletin. Bureau of Finance and Economic Development.
[7] CSA (Central Statistical Authority). 2016. Agricultural Sample Survey 2015/16 [2008 E. C.] report on livestock and livestock Characteristics. Vol. II. CSA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
[8] Desalegn Begna 2014. Assessment of Pesticides Use and its Economic Impact on the Apiculture Subsector in Selected Districts of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. J Environ Anal Toxicol. 5: pp4.
[9] Gizachew Assefa. 2011. Pesticide use in Ethiopia. Ministry of Agriculture Addis Ababa.
[10] MoARD, 2008. Livestock Development Master Plan Study. Phase I Report - Data Collection and Analysis, Volume N - Apiculture. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
[11] Nuru Adgaba 2002. Geographical races of the Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) of the Northern Regions of Ethiopia. Ph.D dissertation. Rhodes University, South Africa.
[12] Simone T, Giovanni B. & James C. Nieh. 2017. A common neonicotinoid pesticide, thiamethoxam, impairs honey bee flight ability. Scientific report.
[13] Sintayehu Fetene and Tibebu Habtewold. 2016. Effects of Herbicide Application in Wheat Crops and on Honeybee Populations in Ethiopia. Research report.
[14] Tessega Belie. 2009. Honeybee Production and Marketing Systems, Constraints and Opportunities in Burie District of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. M. Sc. Thesis, Bahir Dar University, Department of Animal Science and Technol., pp: 116.
[15] Thrusfield M. 2005. Veterinary Epidemiology. 3rd edition, Blackwell Science Ltd., London. pp. 232-242.
[16] Workneh Abebe. 2011. Identification and documentation of indigenous knowledge of beekeeping practices in selected districts of Ethiopia. Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, 3 (5): 82-87.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Bizuayehu Ayele, Abebe Jenberie, Mussie Haylemelekot, Workneh Ayalew. (2020). Side Effects of Agro-chemicals on Beekeeping in East and West Gojjam Zones of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering, 8(3), 47-55. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20200803.12

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    ACS Style

    Bizuayehu Ayele; Abebe Jenberie; Mussie Haylemelekot; Workneh Ayalew. Side Effects of Agro-chemicals on Beekeeping in East and West Gojjam Zones of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Adv. BioSci. Bioeng. 2020, 8(3), 47-55. doi: 10.11648/j.abb.20200803.12

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    AMA Style

    Bizuayehu Ayele, Abebe Jenberie, Mussie Haylemelekot, Workneh Ayalew. Side Effects of Agro-chemicals on Beekeeping in East and West Gojjam Zones of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Adv BioSci Bioeng. 2020;8(3):47-55. doi: 10.11648/j.abb.20200803.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.abb.20200803.12,
      author = {Bizuayehu Ayele and Abebe Jenberie and Mussie Haylemelekot and Workneh Ayalew},
      title = {Side Effects of Agro-chemicals on Beekeeping in East and West Gojjam Zones of Amhara Region, Ethiopia},
      journal = {Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering},
      volume = {8},
      number = {3},
      pages = {47-55},
      doi = {10.11648/j.abb.20200803.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20200803.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.abb.20200803.12},
      abstract = {The study was conducted in West and East Gojjam Zones of Amhara Region Ethiopia to determine commonly used agro-chemicals and timing of applications, their effects on honeybee by itself and beekeeper farmers used cultural practices to minimize agro-chemical side effects on honeybee; Questionnaire survey methods, key informants interview and focus group discussion were used for the study. In the questionnaire survey, 384 respondent beekeepers from 4 Woredas, 20 Kebeles (376 male and 8 female) were interviewed. Descriptive, frequency with SPSS version 20 were used. The majority of farmers spray herbicides before blooming in August and insecticides at diseases and pests observed in October, November and December. Surprisingly, almost all respondents interviewed (98.7%) have confirmed that they know the negative effects of agro-chemicals on the health status and life of the honeybee. Apparently pesticides have been causing considerable damage by killing honeybees and causing yield decline due to miss use of agrochemicals. 90.9% of the non-beekeepers who use agro-chemical had no willingness to use non-chemical or alternative mechanisms to control pests and weeds. The main reported reason for the non-beekeepers not informing others about their plan to apply agro-chemicals is their laziness and jealousy; only 8.1% of respondents have willingness to use non-chemical or cultural weed and pest control mechanisms to save honeybee colonies as well as to keep their farmlands as organic. Overall the level of cooperation between beekeepers and non-beekeepers with regard to responsible use of agro-chemicals is very weak and certainly not considerate of mutual benefits and environmental protection. Essential to capacitate beekeepers in terms of technical knowledge and skills to better manage and need concerted action to develop appropriate agro-chemical application modalities that minimize side effects on honeybees and economic losses would be recommended.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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    AB  - The study was conducted in West and East Gojjam Zones of Amhara Region Ethiopia to determine commonly used agro-chemicals and timing of applications, their effects on honeybee by itself and beekeeper farmers used cultural practices to minimize agro-chemical side effects on honeybee; Questionnaire survey methods, key informants interview and focus group discussion were used for the study. In the questionnaire survey, 384 respondent beekeepers from 4 Woredas, 20 Kebeles (376 male and 8 female) were interviewed. Descriptive, frequency with SPSS version 20 were used. The majority of farmers spray herbicides before blooming in August and insecticides at diseases and pests observed in October, November and December. Surprisingly, almost all respondents interviewed (98.7%) have confirmed that they know the negative effects of agro-chemicals on the health status and life of the honeybee. Apparently pesticides have been causing considerable damage by killing honeybees and causing yield decline due to miss use of agrochemicals. 90.9% of the non-beekeepers who use agro-chemical had no willingness to use non-chemical or alternative mechanisms to control pests and weeds. The main reported reason for the non-beekeepers not informing others about their plan to apply agro-chemicals is their laziness and jealousy; only 8.1% of respondents have willingness to use non-chemical or cultural weed and pest control mechanisms to save honeybee colonies as well as to keep their farmlands as organic. Overall the level of cooperation between beekeepers and non-beekeepers with regard to responsible use of agro-chemicals is very weak and certainly not considerate of mutual benefits and environmental protection. Essential to capacitate beekeepers in terms of technical knowledge and skills to better manage and need concerted action to develop appropriate agro-chemical application modalities that minimize side effects on honeybees and economic losses would be recommended.
    VL  - 8
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Author Information
  • Livestock Research Directorate, Jinka Agricultural Research Center, Jinka, Ethiopia

  • College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

  • College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

  • ICIPE, ILRI, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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