Agriculture in Latvia is unimaginable without bees

The Farmers' Council also pledges to carefully observe the additional safety measures introduced in Latvia for the use of plant protection products during the flowering period. The Farmers' Council has also initiated negotiations with the Ministry of Agriculture on a much faster implementation of smart farming technologies to promote the development of the bee population in Latvia.

“Bees are farmers’ best friend – we cannot survive and live without bees, because bees are pollinators. I would like to emphasize that we comply with the measures set by the state for bee safety, for example, plant protection products, the purpose of which is to limit unwanted insects, spraying during flowering is allowed only after 10:00 PM, when the bees are no longer there. We will remind our members of these requirements, observe wind strength and other factors that are important so that beekeepers have no reason to worry. Our goal is to become even friendlier to bees! And if beekeepers do have any concerns, we invite them to contact the specific farmer – I am sure that we will find a common denominator. We are open to reasonable and humane communication with beekeepers,” says Maira Dzelzkalēja-Burmistre, Deputy Chairperson of the Board of the Farmers' Assembly.

The State Plant Protection Service has just published the results of last year's inspections. Out of a total of almost 1,900 inspections of the use of plant protection products, minor violations were found in just under 41% of cases. “These results confirm that farmers are using plant protection products very conscientiously and only as much as is necessary to protect plants from pests and diseases,” explains M. Dzelzkalēja-Burmistre.

She reminds us that plant nutrients are often sprayed on fields – just as a large portion of the population feeds their ornamental plants and vegetables with the popular liquid fertilizer “Vito”, farmers also feed their crops with liquid fertilizer. This provides the plant with the nutrients it consumes – nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and a range of micronutrients.

Plant protection products, on the other hand, are, in simple terms, medicine for plants – they do not rapidly increase yields, but, for example, help reduce crop losses caused by pest and disease infestations. They are also used in organic farms. "If there is no disease or pest infestation, or it is minor, then the farmer will not use plant protection products, because just like human medicines, herbal medicines are very expensive," adds M. Dzelzkalēja-Burmistre.

The main factors that caused the decline or death of bee colonies in 2019 were bee varroa (45%), bee spring diarrhea (13%) and wild animals, according to a study conducted by the Latvian University of Agriculture's Agrihorts in 2020. Experts from the Latvian University of Agriculture studied the impact of plant protection products alone in the amount of 5%.

Data from the Agricultural Data Center on the number of registered bee colonies show that in 2019, there were 103,097 bee colonies registered in Latvia, while in 2009, there were 35,273 bee colonies registered.