Paper Title
MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF HONEY BEE POLLINATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF FOOD SECURITY IN NIGERIA
A. Azagbaekwue and Y. O. Aderinto2
The sustainability of agriculture requires robust functioning of ecosystem services. Bees and forest beekeeping contribute to the sustainability of forest ecosystems by facilitating pollination, which in turn enhances tree regeneration and preserves the biodiversity of the forest and food productivity. In this study, crisp deterministic mathematical model was applied to determine optimal location of bee colonies for successful pollination of plants in chosen farms. Branch and Bound method an established tool in optimization for determination of the optimal location of honey bee colony was applied, to evaluate and analyze the model while Lingo 17.0 software was used to solve with real data collected from a beekeeper in Ewu – Esan local government area of Edo state, Nigeria. The results of the model were used, for optimal location of apiary sites, for honey bee colonies which is paramount to achieving food sufficiency in Nigeria. Honey bees foraged and pollinated plants successfully in fields, where adequate attention was given to the distribution of beehives.
Crisp deterministic model, Placement of bee colonies, Optimal location, Honey bee pollination, and Increasing harvested product.