Preparations for Observation of 2024 World's Bee Day In DODOMA Capital City Sails On

By Valentine Oforo, Dodoma

DODOMA Capital City has been selected to host next year's World Bee Day (WBD), the Global’s apiculture apex event which has been slated to take shape on 20 May, 2024, it has been confirmed.

The development was unveiled by the Assistant Acting Director of Beekeeping Development from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Mr Daniel Pancras during a special forum for the preliminary preparation for the observation of the crucial day.

The round table forum which convened yesterday in Dodoma Capital City was coordinated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism in cooperation with the Office of Dodoma Regional Commissioner, attracting different experts and stakeholders in the beekeeping vale chain sector.







Mr Pancras, who also serves as the chairperson of the selected special committee for the preparation of the event expressed during the meeting that due to the important of the day, considering that bees plays vital role in the country’s economic growth, environmental conservation and food security, they have realized that it is imperative to start preparing for the cerebration of the day very earlier.

He added that the vision was to have an ample time and opportunity to create needed awareness among the stakeholders in the beekeeping value chain to engage into effective preparation and thus, participating more professionally in the coming event which is expected to play a meaningful role in help heighten the performance of the socioeconomic sector in the country.







“Among others, it is projected that the event will serve as a potential podium to disseminate to the participants and the public as a whole key knowledge pertaining to recommended beekeeping methodologies and conservation,” he detailed.

He informed that, in Tanzania, the sector is growing at impressive pace as records depict that at least 2million people are currently engaging into beekeeping activities, the vital development which apart from improving their livelihoods, plays meaningful contributions towards the nation's economic gains.

“The Sixth Phase Government considers beekeeping among the vital economic sectors, that’s why several initiatives are being taken to improve the performance of the sector as many others are on the pipeline,” expressed Mr . Salvatory Mashamba, the Dodoma Regional Natural Resources Officer.







He added that the event will go in tandem with exhibitions of diverse products from beekeeping, but also, will serve a purpose to prepare the country to host the 50th edition of the global apiculture summit, the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations (APIMONDIA) to be staged in 2027 in Tanzania.

APIMONDI Ais the global organization whose mandate is to promote beekeeping and anything and everything to do with bees, an organization that has existed in its current form since 1895.

During the meeting, the participants majored on the discussion of different topics including the theme of the World Bee Day in Tanzania, venue for the staging of the event, as well as how professional to handle the ceremony for the observations of the key more successfully.







The participants who featured in the one-day meeting were those from the President’s Office-Regional Administration and Local Government, Prime Minister’s Office, Tanzania Forestry Services (TFS), The Honey Exports Association of Tanzania (HEAT), Beekeeping Value Chain Support (BEVAC) Project, Tanzania Beekeeping Development Organization (TABEDO), Dodoma City Council and other relevant stakeholders.




ABOUT WORLD BEE DAY 2024

World Bee Day is a day of awareness about the importance of honey bees and why we need to protect them and other such pollinators. Designated by the United Nations, World Bee Day seeks to inform and educate people about honey bees and their impact on our biodiversity. For example, it is estimated that one out of every three mouthfuls of food we eat depends on honey bees and the pollination process. But honey bees are facing extinction, with a 2021 report by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Bombus Pollinators Association of Law Students finding that American honey bees had decreased by some 89 percent.






World Bee Day is a day of awareness about the harmful effects of pesticides, climate change, and habitat loss on honey bees - and what we can do to reverse this.

World Bee Day 2024 takes place on Saturday, May 20. May 20 was chosen as World Bee Day by the United Nations in honor of the birthday of Anton Janša, the pioneer of beekeeping in the 18th century.

HISTORY OF WORLD BEE DAY

World Bee Day is a relatively recent holiday. This is in response to the ongoing climate change crisis, with more bee species than ever before being reported to be facing extinction in the past 10 years. As a result, the committee of Slovenia appealed to the United Nations in 2017 to honor World Bee Day. In December of the same year, the United Nations approved the proposal, naming May 20 as International World Bee Day, with the first event taking place in 2018. In 2024, World Bee Day will celebrate its fifth anniversary.







FIVE WORLD BEE DAY FACTS YOU WON’T “BELIEVE!”

Bees are the most important pollinator in the world and have been for centuries. But here are some interesting facts you may not know about these winged creatures:

1. The average honey bee will only make around 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in its entire lifetime.

2. A single bee visits 50 to 100 flowers on each pollination trip.

3. Almost 75 percent of the crops grown in the world rely on honey bee pollination.

4. Bees have four wings!

5. There are over 25,000 different species of bee - and many of them can’t even sting!