Co-producing agricultural policy with beekeepers: Obstacles and opportunities

Dominant agricultural practices are widely recognised as one of many factors leading to severe declines in honey bees and other pollinators. Improving the agri-environment for pollinators and other species is an urgent ecological priority. Beekeepers have long been at the forefront of recognising agricultural and environmental challenges to their bees; many of these also impact other pollinators. As the UK moves towards a post-Brexit agricultural policy, this should be an excellent time for beekeepers’ observations and concerns to be recognised, and contribute to a system where farmers and land managers ensure the delivery of ‘public goods’. However, evidence suggests significant obstacles to effectively co-producing agricultural policy that ensures pollinator wellbeing. This paper is based on archival and interview data on long-term beekeepers throughout the UK. Beekeepers’ past experience of engaging with agricultural, and pollinator health policy stakeholders highlights significant obstacles to effective co-production of policy. Beekeepers’ experiential observations are commonly dismissed as anecdotal, and subsequently irrelevant knowledge, according to scientifically and politically acknowledged epistemological categories. Multiple stakeholders in agriculture and land management have opposing priorities, and unequal access to power. This presents significant challenges to government efforts to overcome boundaries and co-produce actionable policy. Internationally, significant steps have been made to incorporate hybrid knowledge, and its associated value systems into environmental governance. Developing agricultural policy which acknowledges and incorporates multiple forms of evidence and pro-environmental values is necessary for a successful post-Brexit agricultural system focused on Environmental Land Management, public goods, and multiple values of nature.