Farmers will be obliged to warn beekeepers about plans to treat farmland with crop protection products through the BeeProtect electronic application.
The government at a meeting on Wednesday issued a positive opinion to the draft amendments to the Law on Beekeeping and the Contravention Code. The draft is aimed at increasing the interaction between agricultural producers and beekeepers and preventing mass intoxication of bees as a result of the use of plant protection products by agrarians on agricultural lands located near apiaries. It is envisaged that beekeepers and farmers will use an electronic system - BeeProtect platform - for mutual notification about the use of phytosanitary and soil fertility products, as well as about the location of apiaries. Beekeepers would be obliged to notify the electronic system, within no more than 24 hours, of the location of their apiary at a pasture camp, while farmers - no less than 48 hours in advance of the beginning of treatment, indicating the method of treatment, name of phytosanitary or fertility enhancing agents, dose/rate of application (l/ha, kg/ha), degree of toxicity hazard to human/bee health and specific end date of treatment. It is also proposed to increase fines for violating the norms and rules of activity in the field of beekeeping. It was also proposed to increase fines for violation of rules and regulations for beekeeping activities. Thus, non-registration in the electronic system of the address of a stationary apiary and the number of bee colonies, failure to transmit notifications in the electronic system about the placement of an apiary for roaming, the absence of an apiary passport, the placement of an apiary without the consent of the owners of land plots, in violation of environmental protection and sanitary and veterinary legislation will entail fines for individuals in the amount of 24 to 30 conventional units (c.u.) and for legal entities - from 40 to 50 c.u. (today the fines are 6-12 c.u. and, accordingly, 12-24 c.u.). Fines for deliberate violation of the rules for combating quarantine pests, pathogens of plants and plant products and weeds will also increase significantly: for individuals, the fines will increase from 18-30 c.u. up to 24-50 c.u., and for officials - from 48-90 c.u. up to 180-300 c.u. The use of phytosanitary products and fertility enhancing products for the protection of agricultural and forest crops without prior notice in the electronic system, as well as the introduction of false data into the electronic system, will entail a fine for individuals in the amount of 9 to 15 c.u., for officials - from 9 to 36 c.u. The bill must be approved by parliament. // 21.04.2022 – InfoMarket
