Polski
Subsidies related to beekeeping are implemented based on the Common Agricultural Policy program for 2023-2027 and subsidized by the European Union. As of November 20, 2023. seven calls for beekeeper support are being launched, of which three beekeeping interventions have already been implemented earlier this April. The call for applications will run until January 18, 2024. What do beekeeping interventions involve, and who can become a beneficiary?
Who can apply for funding?
Entities eligible to apply are beekeepers and producers of bee products and/or beekeeping organizations acting on their behalf, i.e. beekeepers’ associations, associations or cooperatives of beekeepers, as well as groups of agricultural producers for beekeeping activities. This depends on the type of intervention requested by the applicant. Under intervention I.6.6, only a scientific research unit that has published a scientific paper on beekeeping or the honey market in the last 5 years can submit an application.
Beekeeping interventions for individual beekeepers
Applications under interventions I.6.1, I.6.3 and I.6.5 can only be submitted by an organization representing beekeepers. In a given beekeeping year, an entrepreneur in the industry can apply for assistance through only one organization. Individual beekeepers will be able to benefit from the call for interventions: I.6.2, I.6.4, and I.6.7 Intervention I.6.2 relates to investment and support for modernization of apiary farms.
Funding may be provided for the purchase of beekeeping equipment, such as honeyblowers, separators, beehives, equipment for obtaining quilts, wax melters and other apiary equipment. Intervention I.6.4. is designed to facilitate migratory management, so funding should be allocated for equipment used to load and transport hives, as well as GPS locators and electric shepherds, for example. Intervention I.6.7 supports commercial quality testing of honey and their varietal identification – purchases of physicochemical and pollen analyses are subsidized.
Beekeeping interventions for organizations
Beekeepers’ organizations can apply for beekeeping interventions: I.6.1, I.6.2, I.6.3 and I.6.5 The first of these concerns improving beekeeping knowledge. Funding may be provided for the implementation of training courses on topics related to beekeeping and apiary management (costs of training materials, room rental, salaries of lecturers). Under intervention I.6.3, applications can be submitted for funding to combat varroa with medicinal products. Intervention I.6.5, on the other hand, relates to the provision of assistance for the restoration and improvement of the value of bees. Funding can therefore be provided for the purchase of bee queens, queen bees or bee packages from specific lines and breeding apiaries. Under intervention I.6.6, only specific scientific research units can apply, as this intervention is concerned with supporting the implementation of scientific research work related to bee health, bee product quality and innovations in apiary management.
How to apply and receive funding?
Applications for each of the seven interventions can be submitted from November 20, 2023. Through January 18, 2024. The entity accepting applications is the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture. Recruitment is conducted entirely electronically – documents are accepted via ARMA’s PUE platform. If the application is qualified, the beekeeping interventions will include funding for costs incurred from October 16 of this year.
Specific beekeeping interventions have different funding thresholds. In interventions I.6.1 and I.6.6, total reimbursement of the net costs incurred is possible, in I.6.2 and I.6.4 – up to 60 percent, in I.6.3 and I.6.7 – up to 90 percent, and in I.6.5 – up to 70 percent. The maximum subsidy for one beekeeper per beekeeping year under intervention I.6.2 is 100 zlotys for each bee trunk owned and no more than 15 thousand zlotys.
Financing – Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy 2023-2027
The 2023-2027 Common Agricultural Policy includes production-related support for young farmers, but also support for the entire beekeeping and fruit and vegetable sectors. Funding for beekeeping interventions comes from this program. Part of the funding is provided by the national budget, and part comes from European Union resources. The initiative includes not only direct funding, but also easier access to risk management tools and systems for information sharing and farmer training. The Strategic Plan is based on the guidelines of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, which are consistent with common EU policies on agricultural development and environmental protection.
