The “Restarting Beekeeping in Thessaly” initiative, implemented by the organization New Agriculture New Generation, continues successfully. In April, the training program “Natural Disasters: Protection and Restoration of Beekeeping Capital,” which is part of this initiative, took place in Karditsa with significant participation.
The training workshop, held at the ELGO Dimitra Karditsa facility, aimed to improve beekeeping practices and enhance the overall health of bee colonies.
The program’s goal is to strengthen the resilience of bee colonies and reduce the impacts of climate change by transferring knowledge and practices from specialized scientists. The training was conducted by Mr. Alexandros Gkousiaris, a professional beekeeper and beekeeping trainer, who focused on creating an annual bee management plan and analyzed the measures beekeepers should take before, during, and after a natural disaster. Additionally, the benefits of queen rearing and native genetic material were discussed. The training also included Mr. Dimitris Voloudakis, Capacity Building Director of New Agriculture New Generation, who holds a Ph.D. specializing in the impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture. He discussed the effects of climate change on agriculture in general and beekeeping specifically.
The workshop was attended by 40 beekeepers and lasted 4 hours. The participants showed great interest, asking many questions related to the workshop’s themes, highlighting the local beekeepers’ need for access to specialized knowledge.
These trainings are conducted in collaboration with the Agricultural University of Athens and are co-financed by New Agriculture New Generation through the founding donation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), the Region of Thessaly, the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, and the company APIVITA.
New Agriculture New Generation thanks ELGO Dimitra for providing the venue free of charge.
The “Restarting Beekeeping in Thessaly” initiative also includes the program “Queen Rearing: Restoration and Preservation of Endemic Genetic Material,” which has been underway since April 2024, attracting interest from over 300 local beekeepers. The program aims to support at least 300 affected professional beekeepers in Thessaly by providing 27,000 queen cells. These initiatives will contribute not only to repairing the damage caused by Daniel but also to developing the conditions for the future strengthening of the beekeeping sector in Thessaly.
