The Azores will have until the summer a plan of action for apiculture, a document that will define a set of measures that will boost the medium and long-term development of this agricultural sector. “It is important to have a framework document that defines a set of measures aimed at the development of the sector in the medium and long-term”, said the Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry, João Ponte, on the sidelines of a visit to a bee farm in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, São Miguel.
In statements from the Azorean Government sent to the newsrooms, the Minister of Agriculture explained that this apicultural plan will identify a number of aspects to be improved, contributing to a greater appreciation of the honey produced in the Azores, to increase production and the conquest of more consumers. According to the executive, there are in the region about four hundred beekeepers, 742 apiaries and nearly six thousand hives.
The plan is being prepared by technicians from the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Forestry and industry partners and, according to João Ponte, should “focus on four main objectives, namely health, technical follow-up, strengthening of associativism and marketing, making the industry more attractive and profitable.”
João Ponte highlighted the “very important” role of apiculture in the agricultural sector, “for the contribution of bees as natural pollinators, which contributes to increase the profitability of farms, but also to pollination of other plants, preserving them and, consequently, contributing to the balance of the ecosystem and the maintenance of biodiversity.”
The regional secretary said that in recent years there has been a very marked increase in the number of beekeepers and apiaries in the archipelago, as well as an evolution of the quality of honey produced.