(FAO), Press Release 22 May, Bridgetown, Barbados - The mere sight of bees sends us scampering in fear of being stung, however we savor their honey to sweeten our food, desserts, pastries and teas, especially a hot lemon tea when nursing a common cold. In Barbados alone, the demand for honey is estimated at 350,000 pounds on an annual basis. But bees are more than just producers of honey, a food rich in high-carbohydrate loaded with minerals and vitamins, they are critical to the pollination of many of our favorite fruits and vegetables and without them our biodiversity is at risk.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) states that more than 75% of the world’s food crops depend, to some extent, on pollination. Pollinators, like bees, butterflies, birds, moths and beetles help plants to reproduce. Fruits and vegetables are actually plant babies which comes from a plant that has been pollinated.