AgriFutures™ Honey Bee & Pollination Program Industry Update April 2019
Project updates from our AgriFutures™ Honey Bee & Pollination Program.
DownloadThe AgriFutures™ Honey Bee & Pollination Program aims to support RD&E that will ensure a productive, sustainable and more profitable Australian beekeeping industry and secure the pollination of Australia’s horticultural and agricultural crops.
Key components of the program
Key components of this program include increasing productivity and profitability of beekeepers, reducing the incidence and impact of pests and diseases, and increasing understanding of the role of flora in honey bee management.
About the industry
The Australian honey bee industry produces between 20,000 and 30,000 tonnes of honey annually, with approximately 5000 tonnes exported to destinations such as Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, China and Hong Kong. Seventy per cent of Australian honey is produced from native flora.
While honey is the major commercial output of the honey bee industry, there are a number of other products that add to the income of honey bee businesses, including paid pollination services, beeswax production, queen bee and packaged bee sales.
In 2016, the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) determined the gross value of production (GVP) of the beekeeping industry as $98 million. This relatively small GVP understates the industry’s value to agriculture and the economy in general through pollination services and, potentially, the value of honey and honey products in medical uses.
There are approximately 12,400 registered beekeepers in Australia with around 528,000 hives (AHBIC 2014). Over 70% of hives are operated by commercial beekeepers with more than 200 hives. Most commercial apiarists operate between 400 to 800 hives and some have more than 3000.
The beekeeping industry faces a number of risks, including the entry and spread of exotic pests and diseases (for example, the Varroa mite), economic pressures on the honey producing industry and reduced access by beekeepers to areas of native flora. The impact of an exotic pest or disease incursion is considered the most significant risk.
Industry Advisory Panel
AgriFutures Australia is committed to working with industry to deliver research and development outcomes. We work in partnership with advisory panels to decide on research priorities and to make investment decisions each year.
Funding
The program is funded by statutory levies paid by industry participants. Half of program expenditure, including R&D expenditure, is matched by the Australian Government at up to 0.5% of industry GVP.
RD&E plan
The Honey Bee and Pollination Program Five Year RD&E Plan 2014/15 – 2018/19 has identified five high-impact, far-reaching objectives to benefit the industry:
- Reduce the incidence and impact of pests and diseases on the beekeeping and pollination services industries
- Increase the productivity and profitability of beekeepers
- Increase understanding of the role of flora in honey bee management
- Understand the role of pollination in delivering more productive systems
- Promote extension, communication and capacity building.
Research open call
AgriFutures Australia seeks research project proposals through an open call process aligned with individual program research priorities. An open call will not be conducted within the AgriFutures™ Honey Bee & Pollination Program during 2018/19 due to drought conditions that have impacted program income.
Program news
Contact
Annelies McGaw
Manager, Research
02 6923 6913
0407 987 738
Annelies.McGaw@agrifutures.com.au
About your levy
Australian primary industries that choose to invest in the levies system prescribe the amount of levy or charge applied to a commodity under the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Act 1999, Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1999, National Residue Survey (Customs) Levy Act 1998 and the National Residue Survey (Excise) Levy Act 1998.
Levy and charge revenue can be directed to biosecurity preparedness and emergency plant pest and animal disease responses, residue testing, marketing and research and development. It is the decision of a primary industry to determine the proportion of how a levy or charge is directed to each of these activities.
AgriFutures Australia receives the Research & Development levy allocation to invest in line with the industry objectives of the Five Year Research & Development Plan. Up to half of program expenditure, including R&D expenditure, is matched by the Australian Government at up to 0.5% of industry GVP. The graphs below represent the levy breakdown and the annual Program investment inclusive of levy, government and any third party contributions.
Currently, there is no direct investment in Objective 2: Increase understanding of the role of flora in honey bee management. We are looking to invest in projects associated with this objective. There is also no direct investment to Objective 4: Understand the role of pollination in delivering more productive systems. AgriFutures Australia is currently involved in an RnD4P (Research and Development for Profit) project which is researching pollination.
The Levy is collected and distributed via the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. For more information, visit the DAWR website.
*Financials are accurate as at 1 February 2019 and subject to change.
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Watch VideoBreeding Queen Bees – a video from the Honey Bee & Pollination Program
Robbie Charles from Tasmania’s Blue Hills Honey demonstrates his preferred best practice methods for breeding Queen Bees.
Watch VideoBreeding Queen Bees – a best practice video from the Honey Bee & Pollination Program
Two of Australia’s best apiarists’ demonstrate their preferred best practice method for breeding Queen Bees.
Watch VideoPreparing live bees for export – a best practice video from the Honey Bee & Pollination Program
Tasmanian apiarist Lindsay Bourke demonstrates best practice when preparing live bees for export.
Watch VideoSelecting an apiary site - a 'how to' video from the Honey Bee & Pollination Program
Effective education of established and new beekeepers will encourage adoption of best management practices, which is important for the long term future of the industry.
Watch VideoRe-queening a honey bee colony - a 'how to' video from the Honey Bee & Pollination Program
Effective education of established and new beekeepers will encourage adoption of best management practices, which is important for the long term future of the industry.
Watch VideoProviding a pollination service - a 'how to' video from the Honey Bee & Pollination Program
Effective education of established and new beekeepers will encourage adoption of best management practices, which is important for the long term future of the industry
Watch VideoConstructing & repairing bee hives - a 'how to' video from the Honey Bee & Pollination Program
Effective education of established and new beekeepers will encourage adoption of best management practices, which is important for the long term future of the industry.
Watch VideoArtificial insemination (AI) of queen bees - a video from the Honey Bee & Pollination Program
Effective education of established and new beekeepers will encourage adoption of best management practices, which is important for the long term future of the industry - the use of 'how to' videos to communicate such information is an effective method of education
Watch Video
