PARC Communication organized a campaign to raise awareness among farmers and beekeepers about the need to protect bees, under the slogan #PeopleForBees, which was implemented by the Republican Union of Associations of Agricultural Producers UniAgroProtect in partnership with the National Association of Beekeepers of the Republic of Moldova (ANARM), with the support of the USAID Moldova High Value Agriculture Activity.
Task:
The campaign was supposed to warn that the lack of collaboration between farmers and beekeepers and the uncontrolled use of chemicals in agriculture endanger thousands of bee families and cause the death of hundreds of bee families every year.
Challenge:
Despite the fact that the decrease in the number of pollinators brings losses not only to beekeepers, but also to agricultural producers due to reduced crop yields, the parties involved do not inform each other sufficiently, which leads to cases of bee poisoning and the inability to establish all the circumstances that caused damage to pollinators.
Resolution and Results:
The idea of the campaign – “We can save bees and have a good harvest only through effective communication and cooperation between farmers and beekeepers. During the campaign, all stakeholders were informed about the provisions of the current legislation, according to which farmers and agricultural enterprises must notify the town halls in advance if they intend to use chemicals to treat the fields. In turn, town halls must make public the information received from farmers and notify beekeepers. The beekeepers must also inform the public authorities about the location of the apiary and have the right to claim compensation for damage caused, provided that the necessary measures have been taken to protect the bees. To make this information available, a video clip, infographics for social networks, booklets, posters and outdoor advertising were developed for placement in the regions. The most active phase of the campaign was carried out during the start of work on the protection of perennial plantations, coinciding with the period of flowering and pollination.
The implemented idea of #PeopleForBees also reached a wide audience interested in the preservation of biodiversity. For example, in a video posted on the central TV channels, the idea was taken that without bees, most of the usual plants, fruits and vegetables would disappear, and that not only beekeepers, agricultural producers and authorities, but also everyone who cares about the fate of future generations can take care of bee protection.
