Dear friends

Dear friends

With the war in Ukraine dominating the news, our thoughts are with beekeeping colleagues in the nation. Our cover picture features a tree beekeeper at work in an oak forest outside Kiev – a picture taken during happier times in 2013, when Ukraine proudly organised their huge Apimondia Congress, enabling beekeepers from all over the world to meet and enjoy the nation’s warm hospitality. Ukraine has a rich beekeeping culture which includes a huge range of skills and traditions, generating great volumes of honey every year – many beekeepers using the sturdy Ukrainian hive with hinged roof, insulating cushions and 24 large frames, closely resembling the Golden Hive mentioned on page 14.

The current war has repercussions for people far beyond Ukraine too, as food supply chains and global stability are tested. Ukraine has in recent years been the biggest producer of sunflower oil and one of the main suppliers of wheat to the world market.

The world now faces food crisis, with soaring prices and millions of people again likely to face hunger. Covid-19 already caused food price rises, and this war could tip the global food system into disaster. Wheat prices have reached an all-time high, rising by nearly a third, while rapeseed and sunflower oil prices have increased by 60%. The price of urea, a key nitrogen fertiliser, has

tripled. At least 50 nations depend on Ukraine for 30% or more of their wheat supply, with developing nations of north Africa, Asia and the middle east the most reliant.

As always, it is people in the poorest nations who will be hit hardest, at a time when many already face grim financial situations because of the pandemic.

Bees cannot solve all the world’s problems, yet we know that beekeepers everywhere can harvest nutritious honey for their families and create useful income from bees’ wholesome produce. We hope that by the time you read this, beekeepers in Ukraine have been able to begin thinking about returning to their bees and resume spring planting with confidence.

Nicola Bradbear, Director Bees for Development