Bee protection campaign launched in Moldova

Chisinau, 18 March /MOLDPRES/- A campaign to raise awareness among farmers and beekeepers about the need to protect bees was launched in the country by a group of associations with the support of development partners. The campaign takes place during the launch of the protection works of the multiannual plantations, which coincides with flowering and pollination period.

The campaign warns that the lack of collaboration between farmers and beekeepers, as well as the uncontrolled use of chemicals in agriculture, endanger thousands of bee families and cause the death of hundreds of bee families each year.

During the campaign, all interested parties are informed about the provisions of the legislation, according to which farmers and agricultural enterprises must notify the municipalities in advance, when they intend to apply chemicals to land treatment and comply with the information provided (date and time, details of the preparations administered and the degree of harmfulness). Town halls must make public the information received from farmers and notify in writing beekeepers registered within the town hall.

According to data, there are officially registered about 255 thousand bee families, their number being increasing during the last 10 years.

Every year, in each district of the country, there are cases of bee poisoning. Among the resonant cases of bee poisoning is the case from 2018, when in the Hâncești region, Mingir village and its surroundings, more than 1,500 families were poisoned, causing damages of about 3.5 million lei.

Also, in 2018-2020 in Gagauzia were poisoned about two thousand bee families, the damage being about five million lei. Other cases of mass poisoning were registered in Ialoveni, Ungheni, Anenii Noi, Ștefan Vodă, Drochia etc.

The campaign is launched by the Republican Union of Agricultural Producers Associations UniAgroProtect in partnership with the National Association of Beekeepers of the Republic of Moldova, with the support of the Project of the US Agency for International Development of Performing Agriculture in Moldova.

photo: pixnio.com