Levan Davitadze, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Adjara together with the Mayor of Khulo Municipality Vakhtang Beridze met with representatives of the community. During the meeting the minister and Mayor introduced the beekeeping support program.
It is to be mentioned explicitly that at the meeting, Lasha Shalamberidze head of the Regional Relations Department of the Rural Development Agency made a presentation about the new program supporting beekeepers to the citizens as well. As per the information under the new project of state support program for beekeeping, beekeepers will be financed by 50% of the cost of the hives, but not more than 70 GEL per hive and not more than 5,000 GEL per beneficiary.
To participate in the program the potential beneficiary must have at least 10 bee families and the number of hives requested must not exceed 150% of the number of bee families registered in the potential beneficiary’s beekeeping at the time of application. At the same time as per the program’s prerequisite the potential beneficiary must be registered as a business operator and the apiary must be registered with the National Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS).
It is worth noting that the state has been providing support for the development of beekeeping through various programs and projects, the purpose of which is to promote the sustainability of quality honey production access to industry knowledge and increase the awareness of Georgian honey in the international market which will make it possible to produce more quality Georgian products both in the local and export markets.
The beekeeping is one of main agro related activity in many parts of Georgia. The farmers associated with beekeeping have also established a union under the name of “Georgian Beekeeper Union.”
More than four thousand beekeepers are registered under the Georgian Beekeepers Union. The Union occasionally leads beekeepers in implementing new techniques to enhance productivity. The local residents apprise the key speaker about the main challenges they face in their daily lives.
