Moldova registers currently over 260 bee families tended by about 7,000 beekeepers.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, experts confirm that crop pollination can increase crop yields by up to 40%. In the context of efforts to protect bees, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, the National Agency for Food Safety (ANSA) and the USAID Rural Competitiveness and Resilience Activity in Moldova have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an online platform http://beeprotect.md, whose main objective is to reduce the risk of bee poisoning by phytosanitary drugs. The platform is designed to guarantee communication and mutual information between agricultural producers and beekeepers on crop spraying and placement of hives near farmland. During the meeting between leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and representatives of the National Beekeepers Association and Beekeeping Exporters Association of Moldova, the parties stressed the need to toughen sanctions for the use of unregistered phytosanitary products, to preserve and expand bee habitats, to facilitate and simplify the placement of hives in forests, to promote the benefits of honey and bee products consumption, to create conditions for beekeeping industry development. Let us remind that since the beginning of this year, any agricultural producer who is planning to treat crops with phytosanitary products must register in the BeeProtect.md system and indicate on the map the borders of the land where they will be carried out. At least 2 days before spraying, farmers must notify about the date and time of the planned spraying, indicating the lands and crops, as well as the name of the phytosanitary agent. For their part, beekeepers must register in the BeeProtect.md system, indicate on the map the location of hives in stationary or pasture conditions, the period of stay in pastures and the number of bee families. If the farmer plans to spray, he must indicate the planned work in the system at least 48 hours in advance. All beekeepers within a radius of 7 km will be notified of the measures taken to protect bees within a few hours of the date specified by the farmer. The BeeProtect.md information system has been developed at the initiative of the National Association of Beekeepers of Moldova, with the participation of the Ministry of Agriculture, associations of growers, National Agency of Food Safety, Agency of Electronic Government, with the financial support of USAID, through the project "Competitiveness and Sustainability in Rural Areas of Moldova". //22.05.2023 - InfoMarket.
