The Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Forestry, through the Regional Directorate for Agriculture, will hold a public discussion on apicultural health, a key element for the development of this sector in the Azores. The session is scheduled for July 26 on the island of São Jorge.
 
This meeting will take place at the Agrarian Development Service in Urzelina at 8 PM. It aims to provide training and information to all participants in order to avoid practices that may endanger the health of bees.
 
The island of São Jorge, like others in the archipelago, has excellent apicultural health, as evidenced by the fact that there are no cases of Varroosis, a disease considered the main threat to honey bees.
 
Other diseases and pests that cause enormous losses to beekeeping are not known, such as the case of the American Foulbrood or the Asian Hornet.
 
The Autonomous Region of the Azores is about to complete an action plan with a view to the sustainable development of beekeeping in the archipelago.
 
This guiding document contains medium and long-term measures defined by a working group that was established for this purpose. Its main strategic goals concern the strengthening of beekeeping organisations and the improvement of production and marketing of honey and other apicultural products to stimulate the income of small and medium beekeepers.
 
Furthermore, there is a purpose of enhancing the visibility of the Azores Honey, certified with the Designation of Protected Origin (DOP) since June 1996.
 
Beekeeping plays a very important role in the agricultural sector due to the contribution of bees as natural pollinators, thus increasing the profitability of farms. They are also important for the pollination of other plants, preserving them and, consequently, contributing to the balance of the ecosystem and the maintenance of biodiversity.
 
Currently, there are 364 beekeepers in the Azores and about 6,000 colonies, mostly beehives, in 710 apiaries.