APSU professor helps to rebuild honey bee industry

June 27, 2009

By ANN WALLACE The Leaf-Chronicle

Apples and honey bees have a definite connection says an Austin Peay State University professor.

And that connection has been broken in Afghanistan said Sgt. Robert Moore, adjunct agriculture professor since 2007.

“Before 1979, Afghanistan exported 60 percent of its apple crop – now the country has to import apples,” said Moore who has been deployed since February with the Tennessee Army National Guard 1-16th Agri-business Development Team.

As a husband and father of seven children Moore hopes to be home in Jackson by Christmas.

Until then - he and the 12 other agriculture specialists on his team are working hard to make a positive and long-lasting difference in Afghanistan.

Moore’s team has shouldered an initiative in the Paktya Province to help create 700 new bee colonies in the region and bolster membership in the area’s beekeeping association.

The honey bees cross-pollinate.

“Roughly one-third of the human food supply around the world depends on honey bee pollination and other polluters. Apple trees will not produce fruit without the honey bee pollination,” Moore said.

Not only the current War on Terror, but also three previous decades of combat, has devastated an already rural and rugged country.

“In many cases, bee hives and apple orchards have been destroyed by the war,” said Moore who also indicated local honey bee populations have exhibited the same colony collapse disorder prevalent in the United States.

The exodus of experienced beekeepers is another factor in the honey bee decline and subsequent effect on potential exports like apples and apricots.

“Many people, including a lot of bee keepers, left going to Pakistan and a lot of the knowledge left,” Moore said.

The honey bee project is a method to improve the diet of the local people, provide jobs through increased fruit production, and eventually market honey as a product.

“One colony of honey bees can add around $20-$40 to a family’s annual income,” Moore said.

“For a typical family of 7-10 people averaging about $700 per year, any beekeeping income could make a significant difference,” Moore said.

Once the bee colonies are established and the beekeepers association expanded, Moore says a sustainable and reliable agriculture infrastructure will exist.

“And one where women can benefit” said Moore, “because beekeeping is an acceptable occupation for females in the Afghan culture.”