Knowledge Lighthouse

It is a triangular cooperation, financed by the European Union and its implementation is the responsibility of the Secretaría de Estado de Relaciones Internacionales de Tucumán, the Fundación León, the Asociación Voluntarios para el Servicio Internacional México, Fondazione AVSI and the University of Bologna (Italy).

In the municipality of Amaicha del Valle, this Tuesday 30th August the launch of the initiative “Water Education for a Local Sustainable Development” was carried out.

Tequila is made from agave, a plant pollinated by bats.

Excluding the bats from the process has had negative consequences for the plants, and in the long run for the tequilas and mezcals because the source plants are being affected by disease and low seed set.

Our project, the Bat Friendly™ project, aims to solve this problem by inviting producers, distillers, bottlers, bartenders, and consumers, to promote, value, and enjoy a tequila and mezcal in which agave producers have actively encouraged bat pollination in an effort to help the bats to feed.

Mostly insectivorous, bats sometimes fly for miles in search of the small prey they eat. There are species that prefer juicy moths and those who focus on crunchy beetles, but many also eat mosquitoes. They are of great help to us in this, because they devour thousands of insects, even annoying or harmful to agriculture. Mostly insectivorous, bats sometimes fly for miles in search of the small prey they eat. There are species that prefer juicy moths and those who focus on crunchy beetles, but many also eat mosquitoes. They are of great help to us in this, because they devour thousands of insects, even annoying or harmful to agriculture.

The use of the Sulfoxaflor insecticide has been much contested for it's damaging effects on pollinators. Last April, the European Commission confirmed that its use will be banned in the near future in the EU and for now the EU Commission restricts the use of sulfoxaflor to indoor use only. Only 7 years after its first approval, this neonicotinoid-like substance will be off the market due to concerns about its toxicity to bees.

Organizations, such as the Pesticide Action Network Europe, have celebrated this win as having one less bee-killing neonicotinoid in the EU.

More recently, researchers have once again shown the damaging effects the use of such substances have on beneficial insects such as bees. Parkingson et al. (2022) highlighted that bees exposed to the pesticides sulfoxaflor and imidacloprid have an impaired optomotor response, which makes them poor at keeping themselves on a straight trajectory while moving. This effects have grave effects on bee's survival and their abilities as pollinators.

There is still much work to do to break the dependency of the use of harmful and destructive pesticides and fertilizers. We need Agroecology now.


Sources:

EU Comission - Representation in Cyprus (2022) Sulfoxaflor: Commission restricts the use of harmful pesticide for pollinators. Press Release
https://cyprus.representati[…]e-pollinators-2022-04-07_en

Parkinson, R. H., et al. (2022) Chronic exposure to insecticides impairs honeybee optomotor behaviour. Frontiers in Insect Science. doi.org/10.3389/finsc.2022.936826.

Pesticide Acion Network Europe (2022) European Commission bans bee-toxic Sulfoxaflor insecticide. One less bee-killing neonicotinoid in the EU. Press Release https://www.pan-europe.info[…]lfoxaflor%20insecticide.pdf

The Solidarity Economy Forum of Emilia Romagna constitutes the assembly of subjects who in the region recognize themselves in the principles of the solidarity economy.

The Emilia-Romagna Region recognizes and supports the Solidarity Economy, as a social, economic and cultural model based on principles of ethics and justice, equity and social involvement, solidarity and the centrality of the person, protection of the natural heritage and links with the territory and as a fundamental tool for dealing with situations of economic, employment and environmental crisis.

Campi Aperti is an association of producers and citizens that supports organic peasant agriculture and the right of communities to decide on the production of their own food, nutrition and land management.

Working towards food sovereignty through the creation of a direct relationship between those who produce and those who consume, through the organization of self-managed markets.