Let It Bee: The Startup That Improves Bee Life and Agricultural Yields

More than a decade ago, Yeshayau Wise, a third-generation beekeeper, encountered a serious problem: the bees would not return to their colonies. This phenomenon, which is known under the name CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder) and began over 20 years ago, describes a sudden and dramatic decline of bees in hives, until the hives are almost completely empty. This process decreases agricultural yields, and the damage is estimated at billions of dollars.

With many years of beekeeping experience, Wise decided to develop a solution, in collaboration with the chemist Dr. Yuval Eshed, the physician and homeopath Dr. Kobi Freed, and attorney Mordechai Shalev. Together they founded the agro-tech emerging startup H4Bees. The company focuses on the nutritional security of the food chain by strengthening bees and with an emphasis on sustainability and innovation.

About two years ago, Amalia Eshed, a clinical dietitian that holds an MSc in Nutrition and Biochemistry, joined as the company's CEO. H4Bees' success recently secured its second grant from the Innovation Authority, in collaboration With the Ministry of Agriculture and the Tekuma Directorate, whose goal is to support farmers affected by crises, including those caused by the war. Thanks to this grant, H4Bees will be able to conduct experiments and joint projects with beekeepers and farmers in Israel.

From the fight against bee decline phenomenon – to successful pollination
H4Bees developed the innovative bee-stimulant for bees at the SouthUp incubator in Sha'ar Hanegev. The company proved that it could strengthen bees and increase their resistance to stressors, such as pesticides. "The product not only increases their pollination effectiveness, but also enhances honey yield and the agricultural crops' yield," explains Eshed. H4Bees' solution is not only focused on increasing farmers' profitability, but also preserves ecological balance and ensures sustainable agriculture.

How is it done?
"The product strengthens the bee's resistance mechanisms against environmental stressors, is easy to apply and cost effective. All that is needed is to place a small amount of bee-stimulant at the hive's entrance and the bees take it inside, without opening the hive. The company's vision is to improve the interface between the beekeeper and the farmer in order to improve honey yields and agricultural crops. In addition, emphasis is placed on promoting sustainable agriculture by using environmental friendly materials. The company already operates with strategic partners in Israel, the U.S., Japan, Vietnam and South Africa. Moreover, gender equality and social justice values are important to us. Therefore, we partnered with the American Jewish Joint Development Organization and the Pears Program, for Global Innovation, to match Israeli agri-tech with partners in developing countries to a poor assist women and farmers. We introduced H4Bees bee-stimulant to low-income women beekeepers in South Africa with the goal of improving their honey production."And what's the next step?

"Over the past year, we focused on agriculture in the periphery: we treated a thousand beehives in the south of Israel, pollinated cotton and pollinated apple orchards in the Golan Heights, and achieved significant and impressive results in improving crops. Our goal is to continue developing products that are environmental and bees friendly and to distribute them globally and locally. Our products meet the food safety standards of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture, and we are currently completing the standardization in the U.S. At the same time, we are looking for strategic partners that will allow us to reach new global and local markets - and expand our activities to improve agricultural crops, with an emphasis on personal and global nutritional security."

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In cooperation with H4Bees