![\"\"](\"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/070-073_agrobee_308-1-1140.jpg\")
Joyce M.\u2009V.\u2009A.\u2009Dias\u2009\/\u2009Agrobee <\/span><\/a> Installation of bee hives at a Coffea arabica farm in the municipality of Tr\u00eas Pontas, Minas GeraisJoyce M.\u2009V.\u2009A.\u2009Dias\u2009\/\u2009Agrobee <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n Mutual benefits<\/strong> According to Passos, one of the startup\u2019s biggest challenges is convincing rural producers that assisted pollination will be beneficial and profitable. Another is persuading beekeepers that it is worth investing in raising the insect for pollination and not just to make honey, propolis, and other byproducts.<\/p>\n \u201cIn general, beekeepers sell their product at a specific time of year, and after that their only costs are to maintain the hives. Our proposal is to fill this calendar deficit by renting out their bees,\u201d says Berretta. \u201cStingless bees in particular produce little honey but are excellent pollinators for certain crops. Thanks to assisted pollination, one stingless bee breeder in our network tripled his number of bees in two years.\u201d<\/p>\n The company recently entered into a partnership with the Telecommunications Research and Development Center (CPQD), in Campinas, S\u00e3o Paulo, with the objective of combining artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to automate pollinator recruitment and improve hive performance. The aim is for beekeepers to be able upload photographs of their hives\u2019 brood frames to the AgroBee app, which will instantly analyze them and identify if they look good enough and ready to be taken into the field. The research is funded by the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Research and Innovation (EMBRAPII) and the Brazilian Support Service for Micro and Small Businesses (SEBRAE).<\/p>\n \u201cOur job was to capture a huge volume of images to feed a deep learning model that used computer vision to assess the quality of bee brood frames,\u201d explains Norberto Alves Ferreira, head of IoT and AI Solutions at CPQD. With the automated tool, AgroBee’s technical team will no longer need to physically travel to audit each hive installation. \u201cThis will allow us to work with more properties in less time, even in remote parts of the country,\u201d says Berretta,<\/p>\n who had the idea of creating AgroBee after she participated in an entrepreneurship and innovation course run by FAPESP and Newton Funding in 2015. \u201cI’ve been working with bee products, specifically propolis, for 20 years. Alongside 11 other entrepreneurs, I was selected by FAPESP to study at the Royal Society in London, where I met IT [information technology] engineer Guilherme Sousa. We got together with Carlos Pamplona Rehder, who worked with me at ABEMEL [Brazilian Association of Honey Exporters], and started looking for ways to offer professional pollination based on industry 4.0 technologies,\u201d explains the AgroBee cofounder. “Later, Daniel Gon\u00e7alves, a specialist in business administration, joined us to give the company some greater experience.”<\/p>\n After more than a year of research and data collection on the topic, the company began to get off the ground. In 2017, AgroBee obtained approval from FAPESP for a Phase 3 RISB project, the focus of which is to make commercial and industrial products viable based on studies already carried out.<\/p>\n Another person who played an important role is EMBRAPA\u2019s Menezes. \u201cIn 2016, I coordinated a RISB project for a stingless bee biofactory called Promip. With funding from FAPESP, we reached a production ceiling of 40 colonies per month, which is insufficient for scaling up,\u201d he explains. \u201cWhen we were finishing the project, I went to a conference with Carlos Rehder. We drove 700 kilometers together, exchanging experiences. I told him about Promip and he told me about soy pollination. In the middle of this conversation, we realized that while we may not ready to build a biofactory of sufficient scale for Brazilian agriculture, a system for organizing existing beekeepers to meet this demand might work,\u201d recalls Menezes.<\/p>\n Flavio Franco Trivellato\u2009\/\u2009Agrobee<\/span><\/a> Beekeeper inspects bee brood frameFlavio Franco Trivellato\u2009\/\u2009Agrobee<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n Clean operations<\/strong> Menezes points out that introducing bees into the field is beneficial in several ways because they increase genetic crosses between plants by carrying pollen from one flower to another, strengthening biodiversity. The EMBRAPA researcher also notes that well-pollinated plants are stimulated to produce more hormones, improving the quality of the fruit. \u201cWith strawberries, we saw that the amount produced does not increase, but the fruit is bigger, better formed, and sweeter. They have a stronger skin and longer shelf life. The same goes for tomatoes and other crops,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Even crops that do not rely on bees for production, such as coffee plants, can benefit from AgroBee’s services. \u201cCoffea arabica is a self-pollinating species, but after introducing bees, we observed an average productivity increase of 20% due to the benefits of cross-pollination,\u201d says Menezes. \u201cFurthermore, analysis of the coffee made with beans pollinated by the bees we introduced showed a three-point increase in quality. In other words, the flavor of the fruit was improved.\u201d<\/p>\n The increased quality of the coffee could be a result of the homogeneity of the beans, hypothesizes Berretta. \u201cWith several plants being pollinated by bees at the same time, there are fewer differences in crop maturity at harvest, increasing the percentage of beans with the same appearance and characteristics,\u201d says the AgroBee researcher.<\/p>\n Projects<\/strong>
\nAs a pioneer in Brazil\u2019s assisted pollination market, AgroBee has already received two funding packages from AgroVen, an investment club that aims to foster innovation in the field. \u201cWe strive to invest in innovative projects that combine productivity and sustainability. AgroBee caught our attention in this regard. We want to help the company establish and expand the assisted pollination market in Brazil,\u201d says Silvio Passos, chairman of the board at AgroVen.<\/p>\n
\nLionel Segui Gon\u00e7alves, a biologist, bee genetics expert, and retired professor from USP, Ribeir\u00e3o Preto campus, it is important to raise awareness of assisted pollination because it is a clean method that uses no pesticides or chemical products. \u201cI participate in meetings of the International Federation of Beekeepers\u2019 Associations [Apimondia] every two years and at the last five events, the main topic has been the death of bees due to the indiscriminate use of pesticides,\u201d he warns. One of AgroBee’s goals is to raise awareness among rural producers of the importance of bees to agriculture. \u201cWe make it clear that with the presence of bees, crop productivity will be greater. The more rational use of pesticides is a logical consequence,\u201d Berretta says.<\/p>\n
\n1.<\/strong> Smart pollination platform: Increased crop and honey productivity and quality (n\u00ba 17\/07848-6<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Research for Innovation in Small Businesses (RISB); Agreement RISB\/PAPPE Grant; Principal Investigator<\/strong> Andresa Aparecida Berretta e Silva (AgroBee); Investment<\/strong> R$666,832.27.
\n2.<\/strong> Artificial intelligence to optimize pre-harvest processes and measure productivity at coffee farms (n\u00ba 20\/05864-7<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Research for Innovation in Small Businesses (RISB); Principal Investigator<\/strong> Diego Moure Oliveira (AgroBee); Investment<\/strong> R$165,657.60.
\n3.<\/strong> Mass production of stingless bee colonies for commercial use in agricultural pollination (n\u00ba 12\/51112-0<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Research for Innovation in Small Businesses (RISB); Agreement RISB\/PAPPE Grant; Principal Investigator<\/strong> Cristiano Menezes (Promip); Investment<\/strong> R$674,029.37.<\/p>\n