Good farming practices in apiculture

Modern European beekeeping is facing numerous challenges due to a variety of factors, mainly related to globalization, agrochemical pollution and environmental changes. In addition to this, new pathogens threaten the health of European honeybees. In that context correct colony management should encompass a wider vision, where productivity aspects are linked to a One Health approach in order to protect honeybees, human and the environment. This paper describes a novel tool to be applied in beekeeping operations: good beekeeping practices (GBPs). The authors ranked a list of GBPs scored against their importance and validated by an international team, including researches, national animal health authorities and international beekeepers’ associations. These activities were carried out in the project “BPRACTICES”, approved within the trasnational call of the European Research Area Network on Sustainable Animal Production (ERA-NET SusAn) in the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme of the European Union. This study, created through an international collaboration, aims to present an innovative and implementable approach, similar to applications already adopted in other livestock production systems.