- Title: Buzz of Brazilian bees fades as pesticide use grows
- Date: 17th October 2019
- Summary: PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL (RECENT - OCTOBER 6, 2019) (REUTERS) BEE GATHERING POLLEN BEES FLYING AROUND CAMERA BEES AT HIVE ENTRANCE VARIOUS, BRAZILIAN BEEKEEPER AND FARMER, ROGERIO MANCHINI, TENDING TO HIS HIVES (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZILIAN BEEKEEPER AND FARMER, ROGERIO MANCHINI, SAYING: "You work all year, you feed the bees in the winter, you take them to the greenhouse in the winter so they can find flowers and not die. Then, all of a sudden, you do all that work and when you go to take your profit, your fulfilment from one year's work, you get there and they're all dead. The sadness stings and damage comes with it, and from there you think twice about continuing or not continuing, because keeping on with a business that's bringing damage, nobody's going to keep going. So, we work because we like it, because if I would have to depend on the standards here in my region - it's very complicated."
- Embargoed: 31st October 2019 15:25
- Keywords: hive poison die off mass killing pesticides Bees bee farming crops
- Location: PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL
- City: PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Pollution,Environment,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA002B1HJCQV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: SOME SHOTS ORIGINALLY FILMED IN PORTRAIT
The buzz of bees across Brazil's flowers is growing quieter due to the use of pesticides according to local beekeepers and a study by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFGRS).
The beekeepers say they have lost thousands of bees over the past year, threatening honey production and crop pollination.
The study by the UFGRS found dead bees and beeswax from local hives contained pesticide residues.
Since January 2019, the government of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro approved 410 new pesticides according to local media. The government defends the use of the new pesticides as a means to raise productivity in the country's important agriculture sector.
Brazilian beekeeper Rogerio Manchini lamented the years-long effort that goes into caring for hives and the effect on his income from the decrease in honey production. "You get there and they're all dead. The sadness stings," he said.
(Production: Sergio Queiroz) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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