Sp. Libanos: We will protect honey from illegal Hellenizations

The determination of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food to protect Greek honey from illegal “Hellenizations” was underlined by the competent minister, Spilios Libanos, with his intervention at the opening of the 12th Conference on honey and bee products held at the Peace Stadium and.

Mr. Libanos stressed the importance of beekeepers’ training, which he described as “of paramount importance for the training of the industry”, who according to the latest data from the National Electronic Beekeeping Register, active beekeepers number 21,919 to 2,229,397 occupied cells.

The Minister of Rural Development and Food also referred to additional actions taken by the Ministry to support beekeeping.

Specifically, as noted in an announcement of the ministry:

– The budget of aid for beekeeping in the small Aegean islands (for the year of applications 2020 and payments 2021) was increased by more than 56%, with the total amount amounting to 1,800,000 euros.

– The financing of the National Beekeeping Program for the years 2021 and 2020 was doubled by approximately 6.5 million euros with the amount finally amounting to over 12 million euros (12,325,290 euros) per year.

– For the first time, the swarms of bees were included in the new enhanced program for organic crops amounting to 490 million. 340 active organic honey beekeepers with about 60,000 hives are expected to benefit.

– The institutionalization of the “National Electronic Beekeeping Register” and the “Individual Beekeeping Identity” has been completed. Our producers registered in the register are 50% more than those who had submitted declarations in 2020, while the occupied cells are 30% more than those declared in the previous year.

Mr. Libanos referred to the measures taken by the state for the beekeeping sector which was affected by the catastrophic fires of summer in North Evia.

“We have formed and are implementing a package of measures in three directions: their immediate support, their support so that they can continue their production in the next period and interventions for the sustainable development of beekeeping,” he said.

The Minister of Rural Development pointed out that a specialized group of experts will be set up within the Ministry of Agriculture, Physical Planning and Public Works with the participation of officials to monitor the implementation of the Beekeeping Program.

Speaking about the National Electronic Beekeeping Register, Mr. Libanos stressed that it is a valuable tool to address problems in the industry, such as that of Hellenization.

Finally, the minister gave special emphasis to the branding of Greek honey as, as he stressed, “we want Greek products to gain the trust of as many consumers as possible.”

Source: AMPE