Azerbaijan proposes to allocate subsidies for breeding of queen bees

Azerbaijan proposes to provide subsidies to farms breeding queen bees, Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan Beekeepers Association Badraddin Hasratov told Report.

He said that from 2024, persons managing beekeeping will not be subsidized by the state in terms of the number of bee colonies: “According to the Rule for granting subsidies to individuals and legal entities engaged in beekeeping for each bee colony (hive) approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, the beekeeper was provided an annual subsidy of 10 manats ($5.8) for each bee colony These subsidies have been provided since 2019. Before the subsidy, there were 320,000 bee colonies in the country, while at present it is about 600,000. They are registered in the electronic agricultural information system of the Ministry of Agriculture. However, in Azerbaijan, breeding of queen bees is at a low level.”

He believes that for the development of the industry, it is not necessary to import bees to Azerbaijan from abroad, since it is possible to grow them within the country.

The head of the association added that in Azerbaijan there is a need to revise the legislation relating to beekeeping: “The current law was adopted in 2009, and there are many gaps and shortcomings. We have already submitted a proposal for possible amendments to the Ministry of Agriculture.”