Beekeepers from all over the country mounted a protest in front of the Ministry of Agriculture in Sofia.The reason for their discontent is the high mortality rate in bee families due to spraying with unauthorized chemicals and pesticides, and the lack of national strategy for beekeeping industry.

Chairman of the National Beekeepers' Union, Plamen Ivanov, said they insist that beekeeping should become a priority sector in the country’s agricultural policy.

“The main reason for our protest is the inadequate policy of the Agriculture Ministry. The situation with beekeeping in Bulgaria is such a mess – bees’ mortality is high, pesticides spraying uncontrollable, problem are snowballing. That is why we are here and will wait for a meeting with Minister Desislava Taneva,” Ivanov told BGNES.  

He also explained that beekeepers have ten key demands, but the most important thing now is to set up a crisis response center to deal with the bee mortality issue and compensations for the beekeepers who are not to blame for the dire situation.

The beekeepers threatened to pitch up tents in front of the ministry if their demands are not met again.