Agricultural policies exacerbate honeybee pollination service supply-demand mismatches across Europe

Declines in insect pollinators across Europe have raised concerns about the supply of pollination services to agriculture. Simultaneously, EU agricultural and biofuel policies have encouraged substantial growth in the cultivated area of insect pollinated crops across the continent. Using data from 41 European countries, this study demonstrates that the recommended number of honeybees required to provide crop pollination across Europe has risen 4.9 times as fast as honeybee stocks between 2005 and 2010. Consequently, honeybee stocks were insufficient to supply >90% of demands in 22 countries studied. These findings raise concerns about the capacity of many countries to cope with major losses of wild pollinators and highlight numerous critical gaps in current understanding of pollination service supplies and demands, pointing to a pressing need for further research into this issue

HONEY: FOOD OR MEDICINE? A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN SLOVAKIA AND ROMANIA

The purpose of this paper is to investigate different profiles of honey consumers in Slovakia and Romania by using a segmentation approach, thus supporting honey producers from both countries and promoting the consumption of honey for both food and health benefits. Design/methodology/approach: A paper and online survey was conducted in two representative regions of Slovakia (n=2,138) and Romania (n=1,100), between November 2017 and February 2018. By carrying out a two-step cluster analysis, several segments of honey consumers based on consumption patterns, demographic profile, purchasing behaviour and honey preferences were defined. Findings: In both countries, honey is mostly consumed as food product and medicine and the majority of consumers think honey has healing effects. Based on the data, the authors identified similar segments in Slovakia and Romania, in terms of frequency and annual consumption (“maniacs” or “loyal consumers”, “regular consumers”, “occasional consumers” or “sporadic consumers” and “irregular consumers”), but, at the same time, those segments are different in terms of the way in which honey is consumed (multipurpose or direct consumption, spreads, beverages and ingredients for cooking). Originality/value: The findings provide honey producers–beekeepers a wider information base, which can increase effectiveness of price, distribution and marketing communication strategies. Furthermore, knowledge from results will allow producers to specialise and place the production by designing different marketing strategies in different segmen