Moldovan beekeeping has old leaders and new problems
The delegates of the congress extended the mandate of ANARM chairman Andrei Zagoreanu and renewed by one third the composition of the administrative council. Ion Maxim was reappointed as executive director of the council.
The ANARM congress was attended by Tatiana Nistorica, recently appointed state secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAIA), which coordinates the livestock sector. The beekeepers presented her with a package of proposals that they believe should be taken into account in the Strategic Program of Agrarian Policy (PSPA).
In addition, according to the ANARM activists, there are several current but extremely important problems of the beekeeping sector in Moldova that need close attention – both from the operators of this sector and from the competent state agencies.
Problems of the beekeeping sector in Moldova
Problem one. In the last few years import of young bee families (so-called bee packages) from Ukraine has intensified in Moldova. The reason is obvious – brood material is cheaper in the neighboring country. Bees of Carpathian breed are imported, in this respect their import does not pose a threat to the biological structure of the beekeeping industry in Moldova. However, there are risks in terms of health of imported bees and purity of accompanying materials (frames, etc.).
In this regard, ANARM recommends both beekeeping market operators and government agencies to monitor compliance with quarantine regulations on imports, which are strict and even difficult to fulfill in beekeeping (which, however, fulfills the role of regulator and limiter of the scale of supplies from outside).
Problem two. In the last season, there were cases of high bee wastage and deaths in apiaries near sunflower plantations. ANARM activists suspect that these facts are related to intensive treatment of these plantations with pesticides. Therefore, beekeepers ask to strengthen the control of the compliance of agrochemical products in technical crop plantations in need of intensive sanitary measures.
The third problem. According to the representative of the National Agency for Food Safety (ANSA), who attended the ANARM congress, this season the agency detected the presence of antibiotic residues in two samples of honey intended for export. The batches of substandard product are subject to destruction, its owners are subject to related sanctions. Nevertheless, this is an alarming signal.
