But it's not always good for bees

Ashuram Godara, a pomegranate farmer from Palana in Bikaner, Rajasthan, spends up to Rs 50,000 a year on rented bees. Fifteen to 20 hives truck into his 22-acre farm when the crop flowers, and return to Kalki Agro Foods, the bee rental company in Behror, when the fruits appear. Despite the cost incurred, the farmer prefers to rent rather than maintain hives of his own because the pesticides he sprays on his fruit can harm resident bees, while itinerant bees can be dispatched to the safety of their home base.

In fact, bee rental companies cite exposure to pesticides as one of the chief reasons for bee deaths on farms. They penalise farmers for colony losses, with some like Kalki Agro Foods charging them for every compromised frame, while others, like Sridhar Industries in Bengaluru, withholding the deposit on the beehive unit itself. Before renting out their hives, pollination rentals caution farmers against using pesticides on their crops — particularly the neonicotinoid class of pesticides — when bees are in residence. Neonicotinoids impair the nervous system of insects and can cause a range of negative impacts, from weakened immunity, loss of navigational abilities to death.

However, renter-farmers and agri-businesses can’t always prevent bee deaths even if they themselves practise organic agriculture, because toxic chemicals can arrive downwind from surrounding farms.

“The government can help mitigate this problem by listing all the molecules used in pesticide formulae. It doesn’t do this because all the new and old molecules used in pesticides are all bee-killing chemicals,” says Apoorva BV, owner of Shridhar Industries, a beekeeping business that offers hive rental services as a small part of its portfolio. Apoorva is also the co-founder of The Hive, a trust dedicated to bee education and conservation.

“You can’t promote natural pollination without first addressing this issue. The growth of insect pollination services is directly proportional to farmer awareness,” he says. At the same time, pollination services can help farmers appreciate the role that insects play in agro-ecosystems. When farmers understand insects, they’ll avoid pesticide overuse and adopt natural approaches to biocontrol balance, which is essentially the predator-prey balance. “Pesticides will ruin this dynamic,” warns Apoorva.

“They will kill both pests and biocontrol agents indiscriminately. If the govt ignores this risk, we stand to lose all insect biomass in India.” He believes that the economic value of pollination also needs to be surveyed by state and crop. Accurate projections can help farmers assess future earnings from bee colonies and seek them out proactively.

Even as some farmers have been making a beeline for pollination services, conservationists warn of the risks posed by this growing market. One of these is the consequence of exposing bees consistently to a limited range of crops.

“Pollen provides bees with proteins, minerals, and other nutrients. Just like humans need a varied diet, so do bees,” says Shiny Mariam Rehel, senior programme coordinator for biodiversity conservation at Keystone Foundation, which supports conservation and community development in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The nonprofit is also a member of the Indian Pollinator Initiative, a consortium of conservationists and academics dedicated to developing research and guiding policy.

“Exposure to only one or two kinds of pollen may impact the insects’ immunity and egg-laying pattern,” says Rehel. There are other concerns. Contract bees, airdropped from other areas, may deprive local bee species of available food resources and eventually displace the few that are left. The absence of local pollinators could further imperil the area’s biodiversity.

It’s a concern shared by Narsanna Koppula, co-founder of Aranya Agricultural Alternatives, which endorses permaculture and sustainable agriculture. Kopulla worries that changes in temperature, climate, and humidity that bees experience when they’re taken to new and unfamiliar places can affect their survival rate.

“By making honey-producing bee species the mainstay of their pollination rental services, companies may end up driving non-honey producing bees, such as carpenter, blue orchard, and bumblebees, to the sidelines. If we focus on the commercial aspect alone, biodiversity will take a backseat,” he says. “We need to think of bees not only for furthering business, but also for strengthening ecosystems.”