Important research on beekeeping activities in North Cyprus

CIU Academician Assoc. Prof. Dr. Erkay Özgör contributed to the research group on beekeeping throughout Europe in the context of North Cyprus

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Erkay Özgör, Director of Cyprus International University (CIU) Cyprus Bee and Bee Products Research Center, provided a perspective on beekeeping practices of beekeepers across Europe and local beekeeping activities as a result of the study they conducted with a research group consisting of 14 team members.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özgör, drawing attention to the fact that the research in question is a very comprehensive study, said, “We formed a working team consisting of 14 members including members from our university. During the research, we contacted a total of 2,111 beekeepers representing 33 European countries. We collected information about their beekeeping practices and local beekeeping activities.”
Özgör stated that they also collected data on the general occupational and demographic structures of beekeepers on a national basis in the study, and said, “The study also provided information on the status of honey yield and honey sales, the demands of consumers when purchasing honey, and recommendations on how to become a better beekeeper.”
Özgör said that their large-scale research also focused on issues of failure in beekeeping, and noted that evaluations were made on the basis of beekeeping problems faced by European and local beekeepers and that these problems were also included in their research study. 
Özgör, who also provided information about the Northern Cyprus context of the study, stated that approximately 60% of beekeepers in Northern Cyprus see knowledge as a prerequisite for proper beekeeping, while others have concluded that passion and patience are important in beekeeping.
Özgör expressed that beekeepers have the hope that this profession will develop further in the future with enhanced knowledge and support, and he also stated that as a result of the research, beekeepers improve themselves under all conditions and engage in beekeeping activities which are constant learning experiences. 

Özgör, who emphasized that 33 European countries were included in the research, stated that it was important to show the region as North Cyprus in the study and to reflect the studies carried out in the north of the island.
Özgör stated that the study clearly shared information about beekeeping and beekeeper-specific problems in North Cyprus, concerns about the future and beekeeping activities, and thus created an opportunity to compare beekeeping in North Cyprus with many European countries.
The study titled “Advice on how to start beekeeping, memories with bees, and the uses of honey: results of an online questionnaire with European beekeepers” was published in the Journal of Apicultural Research.