Platform for the promotion of intelligent pollination: increased productivity and quality of cultures and honey

• Grant number: 17/07848-6
• Support type: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Duration: March 01, 2018 - February 28, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Pastures and Forage Crops
• Cooperation agreement: FINEP - PIPE/PAPPE Grant
• Principal researcher: Andresa Aparecida Berretta e Silva
• Grantee: Andresa Aparecida Berretta e Silva
• Company: Eleve Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Ltda
• City: Ribeirão Preto
• Pesquisadores principais: Carlos Pamplona Rehder ; Guilherme Jorge Gomes de Sousa ; Joyce Mayra Volpini Almeida Dias
• Assoc. researchers: Andresa Piacezzi Nascimento Rodrigues ; Breno Magalhães Freitas ; Bruno Alves Rocha ; Cristiano Menezes ; Fernando Barbosa Júnior
• Associated scholarship(s): 20/12288-2 - Evaluation of the health of bee colonies in the pollination., BP.TT; 20/03549-7 - Users aplications development, BP.TT; 19/02847-7 - Back-end development, follow-up management and improvement of the production system, BP.TT; + associated scholarships 19/01334-6 - Management and evaluation of the efficiency of pollinators in the target goals, BP.TT; 18/23805-8 - Management and evaluation of pollinator efficiency in target crops, BP.TT; 18/23822-0 - Evaluation of honey bees health utilized in pollination, BP.TT; 18/13752-4 - Management and evaluation of pollinator efficiency in target crops, BP.TT - associated scholarships

Abstract

In Brazil, although agricultural pollination is of great importance, the pollination market is still incipien. It has been marginally developed for melon crops in the Northeast and apple crops in Santa Catarina. The contract for these services is performed informally and it is facilitated on demand by associations of beekeepers of the region. Managing the availability of hives from the production cycles of each crop, optimizing productivity gains for both the farmer and the beekeeper is a challenge to be faced for expanding the use of bees in agricultural pollination. To achieve this goal, a system able to automate the management of the process of contracting and handling of the hives, as well as, able to monitor the pollination process and the analysis of the results obtained in the harvest is proposed. Based on the concepts of shared economy, the multiplatform software will intermediate beekeepers and farmers, adding logistic services such as transport and storage, and later, data collection, production monitoring, results analysis and consulting services. In this context, the software will offer an end-to-end solution for beekeepers and farmers, taking into account the particularities of each crop and the cycles of honey production. Initially the system will map pollinated agricultural crops and beekeepers by region, thus creating a database of available bees and crops in which they could be used. The software will also provide payment systems to facilitate financial transactions among farmers, beekeepers and third parties. Aiming to disseminate technical-scientific knowledge, the system will disclose essential information for bee management through explanatory videos recorded by experts in the area. In summary, the software will make available to the user (beekeeper), the nearest flowering plants that require pollination and their location and area, as well as, it will make available to the crop producer, the nearest beekeepers and which bee(s) and quantity of hives that are available at that time. This software will, therefore, join the interests at a lower cost of logistics to promote pollination, increase agricultural productivity and food quality, and, as an additional gain of the project, to be able to offer increased honey productivity. (AU)