Beekeepers are struggling to keep up with farms’ pollination needs

As demand for crops grows, the pollination services provided by the honeybees managed by beekeepers are becoming increasingly insufficient

By Gary Hartley

Honeybee populations managed by beekeepers are “far too insufficient” to keep up with the world’s pollination demands, according to an analysis of data stretching back 30 years.

The beekeeping industry is growing, but An Jiandong at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and his colleagues discovered that demand for the services the bees provide is growing even faster.

Their analysis suggests that, in 1989, the global honeybee stock could supply around 56.9 per cent of …