The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region released 500,000 euros in December to help beekeepers affected by capricious weather in 2021. This aid will be allocated to ADA AURA (Association pour le développement de l’Apiculture en Auvergne Rhône Alpes) who will donate it in full to beekeepers eligible for the scheme.
Last year, beekeepers experienced additional costs related to feeding apiaries. The vagaries of the weather had consequences on the foraging of bees. If the Drôme was able to save the year thanks to lavender honey, “it was colder at altitude on the Ardèche side”, explains for example Emmanuel Rey, beekeeper in Silhac and president of SAPAurA (the Union of Professional Beekeepers Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes).
This aid is 2.50 euros per colony or even 5 euros for beekeepers established for less than three years or in organic farming. “It is a boost that is added to other devices such as agricultural disasters”, explains Emmanuel Rey. But will that be enough in the long run to fill the gaps in the cash flow? The Ardéchois doubts it: “We are on the palliative. These bad years are more and more recurring. It is more and more difficult to trust the weather. We have the impression of having more and more mismatch between the development of colonies, blooms and weather “.