The government will raise support for beekeepers by 25 percent from next year, Agriculture Minister István Nagy told a national apiculture convention in Gödöllő, on the outskirts of Budapest, on Sunday.
Nagy said a pollination subsidy, introduced this year, would be doubled from next year, to 1,000 forints (EUR 3) per hive. Total subsidies for beekeepers will climb to just under 1 billion forints, he added.
Beekeepers Need European Support and Cooperation, says Agriculture Minister
Filling beekeepers’ ranks is becoming more difficult as the profession’s profitability declines, he said. Honey output has been halved to just 15,000 tonnes a year, but an even bigger problem is the impact the declining number of hives has on pollination which has a broad impact on the national economy, he added.
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