Call For Funding For Beekeeping In Tuscany

Beekeepers with a VAT registration number who practice nomadism and have duly reported to the local USL may apply for funding. Those who do not have hives (new beekeepers or already in activity with a zero declaration), who have a VAT registration number but are committed to beekeeping for at least 5 years, may also submit an application. Applicants must be up-to-date with social security payments and must not have been convicted in the ten years preceding the submission of the application. It is also necessary not to be bankrupt, not to have received other funding for the indicated items of expenditure, and to be in order with the beekeeping registry. For those applying for the purchase of certain materials included in measures c2.2 and c2.3, it is also mandatory to possess at least 25 regularly reported hives.

For each sub-measure, specific eligible expenses are indicated. Specifically, the purchase of beehives (c2.1), machinery, equipment and various materials specific to the practice of nomadism (c2.2) and trucks (c2.3) are indicated. There are maximum expenditure items per sub-measure, each of which also has a different funding threshold. For the purchase of beehives and components, the contribution covers 60% of expenditure. Materials and equipment are covered at 50%, and the purchase of trucks only at 20%. For sub-measure c2.1, this includes materials such as complete and not complete hives, beehives, frames, wax sheets and pollen traps. In the equipment financed by submeasure c2.2, we find smokers, queen excluders, feeders, blowers, wheelbarrows, forklifts, cranes, etc. Sub-measure c2.3, finally, refers exclusively to lorries with a load capacity of more than 35 quintals.

Sub-measure c2.2 expenditure also includes our remote monitoring systems. Our scales and anti-theft devices enable better and more rational management of beekeeping activities, especially in the case of nomadism. Having your bees under control at all times, you can plan targeted visits and interventions, avoiding empty trips and saving time. Monitoring devices will also provide you with valuable information on production and stock consumption, as well as the state of the colony. On your profile you can organise your work, enter notes, schedule tasks and even set warning thresholds. With anti-theft devices you can then protect your crates and monitor them in case of theft. As soon as the system detects abnormal movement or vibration, specific alarms are sent to you via SMS and email. By entering the app, you can directly track your movements around the house.

Applications for aid must be submitted only electronically using the forms available on the ARTEA website. Beekeepers have until midnight on 18 December 2020. All applications submitted after that date will be considered ineligible for funding. For the purposes of considering the admissibility or otherwise of the application, the date of receipt will be considered. The registration in the ARTEA registry is automated and associated with the registration of receipt. The full text of the call for applications will be published on the website of the Region of Tuscany.