Workshop on Setting Standards in Honey Bee Breeding was Held

The "Workshop on Determining Standards in Beekeeping" was organized by the Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Center for Standardization and Certification in Agriculture and Livestock.

The workshop, held in the Senate Hall of the Rectorate, was attended by Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Hakan Öner, President of the Turkey Beekeepers Central Union Ziya Şahin, Prof. Dr. Yakup Yıldırım, the executor of the Project on the Diagnosis of Some Viral and Parasitic Diseases Commonly Seen in Honey Bees and the Development and Implementation of Programs to Fight These Diseases and Prevent Honey Bee Deaths and Increase Hygienic Honey Bee Products, Dr. Habibe Yaman, a member of the Center for Standardization and Certification in Agriculture and Livestock, relevant academics and producers.

In his opening speech of the workshop, Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar drew attention to the many projects they run in the field of livestock and said: "Our university is a specialized university in the field of livestock as a state policy, a university supported within the scope of the regional development universities program. We are running a large number of projects in almost all categories. One of these projects is the beekeeping project. How can we contribute academically to the beekeeping sector as a university? We are not only concerned about Burdur, but also about what we can do at the national and even universal level. In short, I can say that we are a university that is concerned and striving for the sector within the framework of this mission and task that the state has imposed on us. We advocate that universities produce social benefits and social contributions in addition to classical education and scientific research studies. In this context, the sectors you have chosen are conducting studies to reveal this social contribution. We have a study to define the standards of the sector in the categories of the Turkish Accreditation Agency (TÜRKAK) in the livestock sector with you and then turn these into an accredited certification program. We completed this for milk cattle enterprises, which we call milk producers, and we were accredited as a program owner from TÜRKAK. Now we have made our negotiations in Ankara to expand this further and move it to different areas. We continue our studies. What is important in accreditation? Anyone in Turkey who will do a certification has to get permission from Mehmet Akif Ersoy University. We see this as an important achievement as a university. I would like to express that we are always ready to work together in the field of beekeeping. I wish our workshop to be productive, thank you for your participation."

Ziya Şahin, President of the Turkey Beekeepers Central Union, emphasized that they are striving to take the studies they carry out as a union one step further every day and said, "We are working, we are striving and we deserve this. We are second in the world in honey production. We are also at the top in endemic plants. Therefore, let me express this on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkey Beekeepers Union in 2023; we see very different studies on beekeeping and honey production. When we look, 20% of the world's biological diversity is in our country, we host 7 races. We have finished the work of pine honey, which is our only export item in our honeys." He gave detailed information about the studies they conducted as a union.

Prof. Dr. Yakup Yıldırım, the executor of the Project on the Diagnosis of Some Viral and Parasitic Diseases Commonly Seen in Honey Bees and the Development and Implementation of Programs to Fight These Diseases and Prevent Honey Bee Deaths and Increase Hygienic Honey Bee Products, gave information about the project details.

Dr. Habibe Yaman, a member of the Center for Standardization and Certification in Agriculture and Livestock, informed the participants about the center's studies.

After the speeches, the workshop started. In the first session of the workshop, 'Production Region, Material, Hygiene and Safety Criteria of Beekeeping' were discussed, while in the second session, 'Management, Nutrition, Collection of Honey, Health and Criteria Related to the Product' were focused on.