Rwanda bees being wiped out by pesticides

Bees pollinate crops including coffee, tea, avocados, mangoes, beans and tomatoes making them key in the agricultural sector. [File, Standard]

The use of pesticides in East Africa, some sold by European firms despite being banned in the EU, is killing off bees in large numbers and threatening whole eco-systems, scientists say.

Joseph Ruzigana, of Muhanga district in southern Rwanda, woke up one morning to find all the bees in his 20 newly constructed beehives had died.