Honey harvest in the Polish Ministry of Agriculture
6 years ago bee hives were located in the courtyard of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Presently, four bee colonies live in ministerial apiary, from which 25-30 kg of honey is obtained. Acacia, linden and goldenrod are the dominant honey plants for departmental bees. On the occasion of this year's honey harvest, Minister Ardanowski pointed out that more and more institutions in cities are setting hives in their area, often on the roofs of buildings.
The minister informed that the hives were also to stand on the roof of the headquarters of the National Agricultural Support Center, which is currently implementing the "National Beekeeping Support Program in Poland for 2020-2022". The final beneficiaries of the aid are beekeeping farms and individual beekeepers whose apiaries have been reported or registered in the register kept by the district veterinary officers. Beekeeping associations, beekeepers' unions, cooperatives of beekeepers, agricultural producer groups - in the field of beekeeping activities may apply for reimbursement from the Program.
The annual budget of the Program exceeds PLN 33 million (EUR 7.4 million), and the overall budget of the 3-year Program for 2020-2022 exceeds PLN 100 million (EUR 22.2 million). The most funds are spent on the purchase of beekeeping equipment and the fight against varroosis.
Work is also underway on developing a National Strategic Plan under the new perspective of the Common Agricultural Policy for 2021-2027. Its element is, among others intervention in the bee products sector - it will replace the current beekeeping program. The estimated budget of this intervention is over PLN 42 million (EUR 9.4 million) per year, i.e. over 30% more than at present.
Source: MARD, farmer.pl