Drought Severely Affects Honey Production: Responding on Three Fronts - Sugar, Beehives, and Bee Colonies
The drought has affected beekeepers' livelihoods. The Council of Agriculture decided to subsidize beekeepers' sugar expenses for feeding bees and to remove the per-household cap of 49,000 yuan on beehive assistance. At the same time, after the disaster loss ratio and assistance amount for bee colonies are determined, the agricultural natural disaster assistance regulations will also be amended to include bee colony assistance among the items. For the sugar subsidy, beekeepers must first register the number of beehives with the Agriculture and Food Agency; the removal of the per-household cap on beehive assistance and the addition of assistance for bee colony deaths, two items in total, require amending the “Agricultural Natural Disaster Assistance Regulations” and are expected to be completed by the end of May.
No Honey to Forage, Bees Survive on Sugar; Register Beehive Numbers First to Get Sugar Subsidy
Su Menglan, deputy director of the Council of Agriculture's Counseling Office, said that a drought occurred in the country at the beginning of this year, the flowering rate of nectar plants was poor, and bees had no nectar to forage. Not only was honey production reduced, but beekeepers even had to feed bees with sugar. The Council of Agriculture decided to subsidize, through a special project, the sugar needed by beekeepers to feed bees. However, beekeepers must first register the number of beehives with the Agriculture and Food Agency in order to apply for the subsidy.
The Counseling Office said that currently fewer than 20% of beekeeping households have registered their beehives, so a 1-month registration period has been opened to allow beekeepers to complete registration within the time limit in accordance with the Agriculture and Food Agency's "Registration System for Farmers Engaged in Beekeeping Fact Declaration," after which they can apply for the sugar subsidy. For the subsidy amount, the quantity of sugar needed per beehive is estimated at 50 kg, with a cost of about 1,000 yuan, and the Council of Agriculture's subsidy proportion is one third.
Regulations to Be Amended by the End of May: Remove the Cap on Beehive Assistance, Add New Assistance for Bee Colony Disaster Losses
Both the removal of the cap on assistance for destroyed beehives and the addition of assistance for bee colony deaths require amending the assistance regulations. Under the current “Agricultural Natural Disaster Assistance Regulations,” the only assistance item for the beekeeping industry is beehives: the assistance amount is 600 yuan per hive for total destruction and 300 yuan per hive for partial destruction, and the maximum assistance amount a beekeeping household can apply for must not exceed 49,000 yuan.
Su Menglan explained that when bees encounter cold damage and flooding, situations easily arise in which beehives are not destroyed but bees die. Taking into account the needs of the industry, the schedule of cash assistance items and amounts under the Agricultural Natural Disaster Assistance Regulations will be amended to delete the current per-household maximum assistance cap of 49,000 yuan for beehives. After the cap is removed, assistance will be provided according to the actual number of losses. At present, an average household has about 169 beehives, and the assistance amounts remain unchanged: 600 yuan per hive for total destruction and 300 yuan for partial destruction.
The Agricultural Natural Disaster Assistance Regulations will also add an assistance item for bee colonies. However, the assistance amount for bee colonies will be determined only after the Miaoli District Agricultural Research and Extension Station consults with relevant units and beekeeping industry groups. The Counseling Office said that because the flood season is also approaching, it hopes to complete the amendment of the regulations by the end of May.
Recently, the Council of Agriculture has added several items of equipment specially for beekeepers to the small agricultural machinery subsidy items, allowing beekeepers to apply for subsidies. The Counseling Office said that next, the Agriculture and Food Agency and the Agricultural Finance Bureau will discuss a beekeeping industry insurance policy with insurance companies so that beekeepers can take out insurance and reduce the burden of industry losses caused by natural disasters.
