This publication is based on invited papers presented at the conference "Agricultural Biotechnology in Developing Countries: Towards Optimizing the Benefits for the Poor", held in November 1999 at the Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn. The conference was convened in collaboration with the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmbH (now Aventis CropScience) and the German Foundation for International Development (Deutsche Stiftung fUr internationale Entwicldung - DSE).
Bees provide a critical link in the maintenance of ecosystems, pollination. They play a major role in maintaining biodiversity, ensuring the survival of many plants, enhancing forest regeneration, providing sustainability and adaptation to climate change and improving the quality and quantity of agricultural production systems. In fact, close to 75 percent of the world’s crops that produce fruits and seeds for human consumption depend, at least in part, on pollinators for sustained production, yield and quality.