Dirk Uys, marketing manager for Southern Africa at Bayer, said the crop protection industry had to mitigate bee loss.
“There needs to be co-operation between all role-players, especially crop producers who need to tell bee farmers when they want to apply pesticides,” Uys said.
According to the charter, the crop protection agencies would recommend pesticides within an integrated pest management programme and ensure that dust minimising measures from treated seed were introduced according to CropLife and SANSOR guidelines.
Crop growers should use registered products, avoid spraying when bees were foraging and apply after dusk.
The charter was supported by Bayer Crop Sciences, Grain SA, the South African Bee Industry Organisation (SABIO), Agri SA, Subtrop, Crop Life SA, the Citrus Research Institute, Hortgro and the South African National Seed Organisation (SANSOR).
