Bee Research Strategy Development Workshop

Date: 18th-19th September 2017

Location: Duduville campus, Nairobi, Kenya

The Bee Research Strategy Development Workshop organized by the Management of ICIPE and the Environmental Health Theme upon request of the Governing Council of ICIPE was held in September 2017. The workshop was attended by 40 international participants from the UK, USA, France, Germany and all the partner countries of recent and past bee related projects implemented within Africa by ICIPE.

The main objective of the workshop was to discuss and develop priorities for bee research at ICIPE that are relevant to the continent of Africa and beyond.

The two-day workshop included presentations given by invited guests as well as scientists and students of ICIPE on the first day followed by structured discussion in four focus areas: Bee Health, Endosymbionts, Nutrition, and Pollination. On the second day, focused group discussions delivered a range of important knowledge gaps to be addressed by ICIPE in the near future.

The workshop was chaired by PD Dr Michael Lattorff (ICIPE), and Prof Simon Potts (Reading University) co-chaired the pollination focus group with Dr Kiatoko Nkoba (ICIPE). Several priority research areas were identified in the workshop which have fed directly into the SAFE hub proposal. Several participants at the workshop will take an active role in the SAFE Hub in the areas of pollination, pest regulation, sustainable agriculture, livelihoods, and socio-economics.