Abbreviations

BDN, Data Bank of the Livestock Register; SWOT, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; TOWS, threats, opportunities, weaknesses, strengths; CONAPI, Consorzio Nazionale Apicoltori (National Beekeepers' Consortium); A.R.A.S, Associazione Regionale Apicoltori Siciliani (Sicilian Regional Beekeepers' Association); SO, strengths–opportunities strategy; ST, strengths–threats strategy; WO, weaknesses–opportunities strategy; WT, weaknesses–threats strategy; ISO, International Organization for Standardization; PDO, Protected Denomination of Origin; PGI: Protected Geographical Indication; TSG, Traditional Specialty Guaranteed; MA, main activity; SA, secondary activity; AA, amateur activity

1.   Introduction

Beekeeping represents a significant sector that extends beyond honey production to encompass environmental, economic, and sustainability issues. In an increasingly globalized world, where product traceability and food quality play a central role, beekeeping stands at the crossroads of numerous challenges and opportunities. Honey production and trade, in fact, are influenced by international dynamics, highlighting the need to strengthen product control and authenticity processes, as well as to ensure the sustainable management of natural resources.

World honey production stands at around 1.8 million tonnes, up for the third consecutive year (+5.6% compared with 2021). Europe contributes 23% of world production.

In Italy, despite the crucial challenges of the sector, in 2023, more than 75,000 beekeepers were registered in the National Data Bank of the Livestock Register (BDN). However, in 2023, the market closed in a negative situation, with decreased demand, increased prices, and numerous stocks remaining in beekeepers' warehouses. This is coupled with increasingly fierce competition with the foreign market, especially with other honeys whose price is lower. Adulteration and fraud in the market threaten the economy of Italian honey [1].

Bees provide a crucial ecosystem service, playing an essential role in the pollination of a wide range of crops and wild plants [2]. However, their survival is increasingly threatened by pollution and the use of chemical substances in agricultural fields, which compromise their health and ability to perform this role. Beekeepers are working to safeguard bees by adopting more sustainable practices that protect them and ensure optimal conditions for honey production [3]. Furthermore, honey production offers a source of economic sustainability for many local communities, particularly in rural areas, where beekeeping contributes to both biodiversity and the local economy [4]. Pesticides, particularly neonicotinoids, and environmental pollution, along with climate change, have negative impacts on bee populations and other pollinators. In addition to the risk of extinction for certain species, the decline in bee populations, which also affect the presence of new fauna, has serious implications for global food security, as many crops rely on pollination [5]. Bees play a crucial role as bioindicators of biodiversity conservation, helping in habitat restoration and providing vital ecosystem services. Their presence and health can indicate environmental quality, as they are sensitive to changes such as pollution and the availability of floral resources [6]. Some published studies advocate for the adoption of agroecological approaches to mitigate these threats [7], such as implementing regenerative agricultural practices and creating habitats for wild pollinators within agricultural landscapes [8].

Various associations and consortia support the honey supply chain. Collaboration among businesses offers multiple advantages in the marketplace. These nonprofit organizations often not only provide technical support to their members but also help reduce perceived market risks, protect the rights of small businesses such as beekeepers, and tackle the challenges posed by new technologies through collaborative efforts [9]. The development of a community makes everyone feels like an active part can help the business itself through the exchange of opinions, advice, and knowledge [10].

With growing interest in the honey market, and faced with the challenges by climate change and an increasingly competitive environment, industry stakeholders are seeking practical, concrete solutions to address the challenges and opportunities that the sector and these changes present.

Different study have investigated consumers' behavior [11,12,13], others have explored beekeepers' marketing and communication [14,15], and others the economic market situation [16,17,18].

No studies to date have explored the strategic aspects of the honey market with a focus on the current challenges and opportunities in Italy. This research provides an overview of the sector's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats through a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis, followed by a threats, opportunities, weaknesses, strengths (TOWS) analysis to explore potential strategies. Additionally, a questionnaire, submitted through an online survey to beekeepers, offers an insight into actual challenges in the beehive production chain. The objective is not limited to an overview of the sector, aiming to propose practical solutions and actions to positively contribute to knowledge growth. To this end, four research questions were formulated:

RQ1: What approaches are associations and consortia within the beekeeping sector adopting in relation to traceability, sustainability, and certification?

RQ2: What role do associations play, and which strategies can they implement to advance the sector in terms of sustainability, traceability, and certification?

RQ3: What is, according to beekeepers, their role in social and environmental issues?

RQ4: What are the current challenges in beekeeping activity and which support tools would be effective to deal with them?

2.   Materials and methods

2.1.   Design of focus groups

The focus group methodology was selected to investigate opinions, ideas, and perceptions of sustainability in the honey supply chain, with a focus on the roles of certification and traceability. This qualitative method is based on group dynamics, where the participants interact with each other under the guidance of a moderator who conducts the sessions [19]. The choice of this methodology was driven by its advantages: the ability to stimulate discussion on topics that require collective opinions and to encourage active interaction among participants [20,21]. During the interview, exploratory questions are posed to clarify and understand the phenomena related to the issue under analysis. The topic's arguments are presented in Table 1.