Biodiversity experts in Austria have created a platform that connects farmers who need pollinators for their crops with beekeepers interested in new locations for their hives.
Agricultural industry managers, apiarists and firms of all branches have been encouraged to sign up at the ‘Bienenwanderbörse‘ (Bee Exchange) network.
The free-of-charge platform – nicknamed ‘Timker’ in a play of words with Tinder and the German term for beekeeper – has been developed by the Bee Centre Upper Austria in Linz, an independent body funded by the regional government.
Upper Austrian Councillor for Agriculture Michaela Langer-Weninger emphasised that Upper Austria was the busiest place in the whole country when it comes to beekeeping.
The member of the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) emphasised: “One in five Austrian hives can be found here. They are managed by almost 8,100 beekeepers.”
Farmers registered on the Bee Exchange platform – which also features locations in the neighbouring state of Lower Austria – inform about their type of crops while the accounts of apiarists inform about their number of available colonies.
Bee Centre Upper Austria director Elisabeth Lanzer praised the new networking site as an important step towards achieving healthier local ecosystems.
There are more than 31,300 agricultural enterprises in Upper Austria which is the Alpine country’s fourth-largest province.
Environmentalists warn that the excessive usage of insecticides and one-crop agriculture policies are among the major threats to the existence of bees and other insects.
