Project considered by the Preparation and Assessment Committee (PAC) on 16/11/04 and approved by the Approval Board (AB) on 17/11/04 as the CORE Programme Topical Project

Background:

The Slavgorod district lies mainly in the rural area; the population's income comes from agricultural activities. At the same time, the Slavgorod district belongs to the regions most seriously affected by the Chernobyl accident. In the post-accident period 24 villages with the total population of 7,500 had to move to other places, and 4 agricultural enterprises were eliminated.

The region began to experience severe economical and social problems resulting from the Chernobyl accident. Today, there are 48.3 thousand hectares of farmland with density of contamination by caesium-137 exceeding 1 Ku/km and 37,8 thousand hectares with contamination density of 15-40 Ku/km. In the post-accident period 27,556 hectares of farmland were eliminated from the agricultural turnover.

All branches of agriculture, including bee-keeping, suffered heavy losses. Bee-keeping in agricultural enterprises is in the state of decline: there are no specialists, equipment, and fodder.

The development of bee-keeping as a branch of agriculture has been hampered. The density of cultivated honey plants is uneven; they cover small areas. Rural enterprises fail to meet the needs of bee-keepers. Moreover, unfavorable weather conditions strongly affect the size of the swarm. In the hard 2002-2203, on some bee-farms up to 100% bees perished. Such years affect the ability of the bees to resist diseases and the wrong schedule of preventive measures and cure (or absence of these activities) may result in various diseases. That is why the development of bee-keeping industry may be hampered.

The production of clean honey is a costly activity:

• Plots for bee pasture are a long way from the main premises
• Requires investments for getting relatively clean products

In spite of the difficulties, some bee-keepers manage to preserve the material basis, or even enlarge it. But they cannot solve these problems on their own. Our joint effectiveness is crucial to maintaining of local traditions. Promotion of bee-keeping in this area will facilitate certain improvement in the population's wellbeing.

In the Slavgorod district, there are all prerequisites for ensuring a continuous supply of bee-keepers' products. There are territories eliminated from the agricultural turnover secondary to the closing down of enterprises. On of the possibilities of their rehabilitation may be their use in the bee-keeping and seed-growing industries. Pollination improves the quality of seeds. Incomes from seed-growing may exceed incomes from bee-keeping. Contamination density measurements allow the use of these lands as plots for bee pasture. The results of honey probes for radionuclide contamination never exceed the official norm.

The mission and objectives of the Topical Project (TP)

The primary goal of the project is to create the environment enabling the rehabilitation of contaminated areas through effective, autonomous and sustainable development of bee-keeping and better quality of the end- product. The following objectives will ensure the implementation of the project priorities:

1. Establishment of the District Association of Bee - keepers;
2. Allocation of a test plot for bee pasture;
3. Selection of lands suitable for cultivation of honey plants as part of the experiment according to their agrochemical and radiological properties;
4. Normalisation of the density of cultivated honey plants and their seeds;
5. In-district processing of the beekeepers' production;
6. Involvement of a wide range of stakeholders into the Project;
7. Methodological and financial support for the beginning beekeepers;
8. Supplying pre-school and children's medical facilities with honey free of charge to improve children's health.

Local, national and international partners of the TP

Local partners: bee-keepers of the district, other stakeholders from the rural area, farmers, heads of collective agricultural enterprises, local specialists , heads of rural committees, head and representatives of the District Executive Committee.

National partners: Chernobyl Committee, Mogilev branch of the Institute of Radiology.

International partners:

Detailed TP Plan

Task 1. Work on the team to provide identification of conditions and means favoring the development of bee-farming in the Slavgorod district;

1.1. Search for and recruiting people able and motivated to be in the bee-keeping business

1.2. Drafting a comprehensive strategic plan aimed at assessing the need of land, materials and resources necessary for testing, cultivating and sowing of honey plants,

1.3. Assessing the possibility of finding lands eliminated from the agricultural turnover

1.4. Establishing of the Association of Beekeepers in the Slavgorod district

Task 2. Facilitation of the conditions and means favouring sustainable development of the bee-farming industry;

2.1. Purchasing and distributing to local beekeepers of medical supplies, swarms of bees, queen bees, equipment, and bees-wax at discount prices.

2.2. Expansion of the rehabilitatedland by performing radiological testing, professional activities, and sowing of honey plants.

Task 3. Development of associated industries;

3.1. Assisting the improvement of veterinary services with a focus on bee-keeping and servises to the stakeholders

3.2. Offering the necessary facilities and taking practical actions in the field of in-district processing of the beekeepers' production;

3.3. Facilitating the expansion of grass seed-growing areas.

Task 4. Sharing information on best practices and integration with the CORE Programme's topical projects;

4.1. Using sponsorship for providing preschool and health care institutions with the beekeepers' production in order to improve the children's health (priority area "Health Care and Health Supervision");

4.2. Organizing master classes on teaching senior schoolchildren and unemployed youth practical skills of bee-keeping with a view to prepari ng them for their future work (priority area "Culture, Education and Memory");

4.3. Facilitating the rehabilitation of traditional bee-keeping techniques as part of the process of economic and social development in the rural contaminated areas (priority areas "Social and Economic Development" and "Radiological Quality");

4.4. Informing about the association's performance.

Task 5. Methodological support of project activities by partners.

Within the framework of the project we plan informational and technical assistance in the development of the project proposal.

Problems hampering the development of bee-keeping

Low quality bee-keeping practices, absence of legislation, inability to represent interests and exercise rights, problems getting timely and up-to-date information about bee-keeping. Poor interaction and co-operation with other bee-keepers. Violations of sanitary and veterinary standards of running an apiary.

Effectiveness indicators and expected results

Increase in incomes, more efficient land use, better sustainability of the district affected by the Chernobyl disaster, increasing living standards of the local population. We plan a number of activities using the money raised from the sale of honey and honey plant seeds.

Coordination and integration of the TP with the CORE Program

Project coordination in the CORE Program is performed through continuous co-operation with the local population. In order to ensure managing problems by means of two-way communication with other national and international partners, especially, within the European Partners Committee, the EPC conducts meetings on a regular basis, what enables the identification of needs for concerted problem solving.

This project will be set up in close cooperation with TP CORE-Agri, particularly on the field of development of methodology.

Budget: 260030 ┬

Timeshedule

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