“Tinder of Bees” connects farmers with beekeepers

“The application provides channels to build a rational and friendly relationship between beekeepers and farmers, allowing for mutual benefits”, explains Elaine Basso, CEO and founder of Converge.

Protect pollinating insects

The technology is to help producers and beekeepers improve their relationship protect pollinating insects, which are essential for plants performance and environmental sustainability.

On the other hand, beekeepers would have access to a safe supply of pollen and nectar for their bees. “Oranges, eucalyptus, soy, coffee and many other crops are excellent bee ‘pastures’. For this reason, they are highly coveted by honey producers, who install their hives on or adjacent to fields”, said Basso.

10,000 hives registered

Currently, GeoApis has 10,000 hives registered, involving more than 40 beekeeping entities and 200 beekeepers in the states of São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul and Federal District.

Currently, farmers are often unaware of beekeepers who work on or near their fields. This poses a risk to both parties: bees can come into contact with pesticides, and farmers risk being attacked by bees. GeoApis is to prevent this, by enabling direct contact between beekeepers and farmers and by registering and making transparent where hives are placed. With this information, the farm manager can let a beekeeper know when and where he will apply pesticides, so the beekeeper can protect his bees.

GeoApis also gives advice on keeping bees and agricultural practices offered by experts from different backgrounds such as agronomists, biologists, forestry and agtech engineers.