BEE FOR BIO - Targeting selection objectives and beekeeping practices in organic farming

Interviews with beekeepers (both organic and not) from four selection groups located in different regions in the south of France (19 interviews in 2022 and 21 in 2023) revealed a diversity of selection objectives. The main ones were honey production, food self-sufficiency, lack of aggression towards the beekeeper, health, and colony swarming. A national survey via an online questionnaire completed by 254 beekeepers confirmed this diversity. The main selection objectives cited by beekeepers were found among both organic and non-organic beekeepers. However, beekeepers rank them differently according to various characteristics linked to their production system, e.g., in relation to the organization of work or the generation of income.

To develop a more formalized selection approach, the Bee For Bio project leaders held workshops with three groups of beekeepers. Each workshop resulted in the definition and prioritization of common selection objectives, the first step in a collective selection process. These objectives were linked to both production and adaptation issues (in particular, to the availability of floral resources and the presence of pathogens). The workshops thus provided food for thought for the co-design of collective selection schemes tailored to beekeepers' expectations and practices.

This project could be expanded in the future to explore how beekeepers' individual goals are linked to those of the collective and how collective exchanges influence individual practices.

Participants

INRAE units

• UMR GABI
• UMR SELMET
• UR A&E

Partners

• ITSAP
• Agri Bio Ardèche
• ADA Occitanie
• ADANA Nouvelle Aquitaine
• ADAPI Provence