BEST PRACTICES AND INNOVATIONS FOR A SUSTAINABLE BEEKEEPING

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The B-THENET Thematic Network implements a multi actor (MA) approach to modernize the EU beekeeping sector, sharing knowledge that is ready to be put into practice, while fostering innovation and digitalization. Beekeepers will be advanced toward more economically viable and sustainable beekeeping through the knowledge sharing and training of useful and applicable best practices. Our MA approach engages the entire apiculture sector (beekeepers, advisors, researchers, policymakers, industry, consumers, etc.) to collect, categorize and help select best practices and applicable research findings not sufficiently known, using a bottom-up methodology that populates two accessible platforms (“Practices” and “R&I”). Only practices that meet beekeepers’ needs, are effective and ready to use, will be selected, shared and customized in our public platform (“Exchange”) and in national sub-networks (13 National Centres), so we can take into account the differences between territories, and adapt practices to specific regions, languages, equipment, bee genetics, diseases, and the operational scale of beekeeping. This approach will support the setting-up of tailored and validated best practices. A sociological study will map out the channels most consulted by beekeepers to maximise the dissemination of practices in a specific, long-term platform (“Repository”), which is set up to share best practices in appealing, easy to understand, audio-visual materials, translated into 15 EU languages. The flow of practical information will be supported by the 13 National Centres, 3 International Centres and by the targeted events (312 national and 6 international), 1 EU manual on best practices, and 1 set of guidelines for advisors in beekeeping, thus contributing to a rapid cross-fertilization process and to a greater acceptance of the final outputs.