Regional Calls For Beekeeping

The Piedmont region has allocated resources totalling EUR 887,327 for the period from 1 August 2018 to 31 July 2019. The areas that can benefit from these funds are various, but those of direct interest to beekeepers are A6 (equipment) and C2.2 (equipment for nomadism). Specifically, eligible expenses include: -equipment for running the apiary -equipment for the processing, packaging and preservation of beekeeping products -machinery, equipment, various materials specific to nomadism Beneficiaries Beneficiaries are all individual or associated beekeepers having their registered office in Piedmont and meeting the following requirements -have submitted the annual declaration of possession of hives for the year 2018 (national bee register) -have a VAT number for beekeeping or agricultural activities on the date of application

The Emilia-Romagna region has also approved the allocation of about 490,000€ for the development of beekeeping, the improvement of the quality of hive products, and the study of new treatments to combat bee diseases and increase consumer safety. Half of the public funding is of EU origin, while the remaining half is supported by the Italian government. These are also joined by a share supported by private individuals. Beneficiaries and expenses The beneficiaries of this funding are beekeepers, beekeeping entrepreneurs, professional beekeepers, beekeepers individually, in association or united in a cooperative, who have their registered office in Emilia-Romagna and who, on the date of submission of the application, are in order with the declaration of hives (national bee register) in possession of an agricultural or combined VAT number be registered in the Regional Register of Agricultural Holdings possess a minimum of 20 regularly registered hives

The Veneto region has also recently allocated funds amounting to 305,439€ for beekeeping, in particular for expenditure on training, disease prevention (especially varroasis), beehive restocking, research, and enhancing the value of beehive products. Beekeepers who have complied with their obligations to identify and register their hives in accordance with the regulations in force may submit their applications for subsidies. Applications must be submitted by 09 October 2018 and may cover expenses incurred from the time the application is submitted until 31 July 2019.

The Umbria region, on the basis of the resources allocated in previous years, allocated EUR 176,347 to the beekeeping sector. The beneficiaries of these subsidies are beekeepers' associations and cooperative societies. The notice covers all those interventions of technical assistance and consultancy to beekeepers in order to foster the professional skills of beekeepers and improve the quality of production. Applications must be submitted by 15 October 2018 and may cover expenses incurred after the submission of the application and no later than 31 July 2019. Applications must be completed on the basis of the template downloaded from the www.sian.it website, to be supplemented with the appropriate annex to the notice, and then sent by PEC. For more information, please consult the pages dedicated to the call for applications. Here you can download the text of the call with all the indications and find the contact details of the contact persons.

Finally, until 7 September 2018 it will also be possible to submit applications for funding in Tuscany. 240,112 € have been allocated, divided into two different measures, measure A (technical assistance to beekeepers and beekeepers' organisations) and measure B (fight against beehive aggressors and diseases, in particular varroasis). Those eligible for funding are the sector's producer organisations and their unions, producer associations, federations, cooperatives and protection consortia operating in Tuscany that meet the representativeness criteria, as set out in Regional Council Decision No 496 of 10 July 2006.

Thanks to many calls for tenders, it is also possible to make improvements on your own farm by purchasing state-of-the-art equipment that facilitates the beekeeper's work. The 3Bee monitoring systems are a useful tool for checking the productivity level of your hives, but also a method for keeping an eye on the health of your bees at all times. Remote monitoring systems become important allies of the nomadic beekeeper, allowing him to know whether or not the bees are importing, if it is time to remove or add honeycomb and if an inspection is necessary. By making decisions based on objective data, the beekeeper can save time, money and increase his production.