This morning at the South African Bee Industry Organisation, the Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) in Gauteng emphasised that comprehensive steps should be taken to protect bees.
The party was one of the guest speakers at BEECON’s 2025 Conference in Centurion, Pretoria.
Conference attendees were reminded that the cultivation of approximately one-third of all food consumed worldwide depends directly on pollination by bees. As pollinators, bees are fundamental to the reproduction of flowering plants by facilitating pollen transfer, which leads to pollination and seed production.
The global economic value of these pollination services is estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
Bees face significant threats, though.
The Gauteng Department of Agriculture has a pivotal role to play in protecting bees as pollinators, as it is able to establish broad policies, secure adequate funding and coordinate actions across various sectors.
The Freedom Front Plus chairperson of the Portfolio Committee for Agriculture, Rural Development and Environmental Affairs, Mr Jaco Mulder, will engage with the MEC for Agriculture in Gauteng, Vuyiswa Ramakgopa, and relevant department officials to ensure comprehensive measures are implemented to protect bees.
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