High Rates of Honey Bee Colony Losses and Regional Variability in Ethiopia Based on the Standardised COLOSS 2023 Survey.

The COLOSS research association has been assessing honey bee colony losses, associated risk factors and management, focusing on Western countries but with a progressive international expansion. Here, we report the first survey on the loss rates of colonies in 2022/2023 in Ethiopia using COLOSS monitoring survey tools. A face-to-face interview questionnaire survey was conducted on 64 beekeepers selected from Oromia and Tigray regions. This covered 1713 honey bee colonies distributed in 68 apiaries. The percentages of colonies lost were significantly different between Oromia (24.1%) and Tigray (66.4%) regions. Colony losses were attributed as unsolvable queen problems (8% in Oromia; 10% in Tigray), natural disaster (32%; 82%), and empty hives or dead colonies (60%; 8%). The loss rate was significantly affected by queen replacement (p < 0.0001), use of natural comb (p < 0.0001), feed supplementation (p < 0.0001), region (p < 0.0001), varroa treatment (p < 0.0001), colony splitting (p < 0.01), and merging (p < 0.01). Beekeepers in Oromia managed more colonies and implemented improved practices compared to those in Tigray. However, all beekeepers in Oromia detected at least some bees with signs of deformed wing virus, compared to 76% of beekeepers in Tigray. In conclusion, the colony loss rate was significantly different between Oromia and Tigray regions due to differences in natural disasters, management, environment and health factors.

Smart apiculture management services for developing countries-the case of SAMS project in Ethiopia and Indonesia.

The European Union funded project SAMS (Smart Apiculture Management Services) enhances international cooperation of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and sustainable agriculture between EU and developing countries in pursuit of the EU commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goal "End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture". The project consortium comprises four partners from Europe (two from Germany, Austria, and Latvia) and two partners each from Ethiopia and Indonesia. Beekeeping with small-scale operations provides suitable innovation labs for the demonstration and dissemination of cost-effective and easy-to-use open source ICT applications in developing countries. SAMS allows active monitoring and remote sensing of bee colonies and beekeeping by developing an ICT solution supporting the management of bee health and bee productivity as well as a role model for effective international cooperation. By following the user centered design (UCD) approach, SAMS addresses requirements of end-user communities on beekeeping in developing countries, and includes findings in its technological improvements and adaptation as well as in innovative services and business creation based on advanced ICT and remote sensing technologies. SAMS enhances the production of bee products, creates jobs (particularly youths/women), triggers investments, and establishes knowledge exchange through networks and initiated partnerships.