The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), commended the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for appealing to the UN General Assembly in 2017 to honor World Bee Day, in a bid to promote food security and prevent bees from going into global extinction due to human impact.
The FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, made the commendation at the FAO headquarters in Rome, during the visit of State Secretary for Political and Multilateral Affairs, Economic Diplomacy and Development Cooperation of Slovenia, H.E. Samuel Žbogar.
Committee of Slovenia submitted a proposal to recognize World Bee Day in 2017 and it was approved by the United Nations with the first event taking place in 2018, naming May 20 as International World Bee Day, coincides with the birthday of Anton Janša, a Slovenian beekeeper that was considered to be the pioneer of modern beekeeping.
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The Director-General conveyed his appreciation to the republic of Slovenia in particular with regard to World Bee Day, which the celebration for this year will be coming up on Friday 19 May 2023, adding that important of bee keeping goes beyond honey production.
He described bee as one of the most important insects that plays vital role in pollinating flowers and agricultural plants, as well as contributing to biodiversity, preservation of balance within ecosystems, food security and sustainable agrifood systems across the world.
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The State Secretary on the other hand thanked FAO for the long history of friendship and cooperation between his country and FAO, while disclosing that Slovenia is encouraging new solutions to prevent bee populations from declining through strong network of beekeepers in the country.
The two of them discussed the importance of beekeeping, while stressing on how better agriculture machinery, good soil management, water use, and more investments in rural infrastructure, science and technology can help accelerate agricultural transformation.
