Golden Bee goes to Poland

Osmia Future, a family business from Poland that is optimising orchard pollination with a mobile app, is the winner of this year's Golden Bee, a Slovenian award for the promotion, conservation and research of bees and other pollinators, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

"Bees connect the world - hand in hand with sustainability, food safety, science and reflection on the future," President Nataša Pirc Musar said at an award ceremony.

The Golden Bee is especially important because of its reach beyond Slovenian borders, Pirc Musar said, adding that every year they receive more applications from around the world. This year the jury chose from among six applications from five countries.

The United Nations declared 20 May World Bee Day at Slovenia's initiative in 2017 and since then global awareness of the importance of pollinators has greatly increased, said Pirc Musar, adding that Slovenia can be proud of its bee diplomacy.

This year World Bee Day is focused on the role of pollinators in rebuilding ecosystems, preserving biodiversity and food security.

Pollinators are increasingly endangered by habitat loss, unsustainable farming practices, climate change, and pollution, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said.