Beekeepers are Protesting

National protest of beekeepers will be organized on Tuesday at 13:00 at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, reports inews. 

"As we know, 70% of the food on our table is due to the pollination of bees, and we do not want the same situation as in some provinces of China where farmers pollinate the trees by hand because the bees have disappeared completely, say the Federation of Bulgarian Beekeepers.

The reason for the dissatisfaction with the sector is that the subsidies of the beekeepers have not been paid, as well as the reduced period of transition from conventional to organic beekeeping per year, from the previous five years.

"For one year, it is almost impossible to move from conventional to organic beekeeping due to the fact that all the combs on which they live and collect honey are to be replaced," beekeepers explain.

They also insist on a direct subsidy of no less than BGN 20 per bee family per year.

Another request by beekeepers is to be added an inscription "imitating product" on foods that resemble bee honey.

Honey producers also insist on rigorous control over unregulated crop cultivation, from which thousands of bee families perish annually and destroy the livelihood of many.