The organization “New Agriculture New Generation” announces the second phase of the training and consulting program “Queen Rearing in Central Greece – Utilization, preservation, and improvement of bee genetic material | Phase B: Practical Queen Rearing” which will be implemented in the Regional Units of Boeotia, Evrytania, Phthiotis, and Phocis.
The program is co-funded by “New Agriculture New Generation” through the founding donation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the Region of Central Greece, the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, and APIVITA, within the framework of the Billion Bees Program.
The program will be carried out in collaboration with the Agricultural University of Athens, under the scientific guidance of the Sericulture and Apiculture Laboratory, headed by Assistant Professor Georgios Gkoras.
The purpose of the program “Queen Rearing in Central Greece – Utilization, preservation, and improvement of bee genetic material | Phase B: Practical Queen Rearing” is the implementation of a significant number of royal cell graftings by a group of 9 specialized beekeepers who were trained during the first phase of the program. These beekeepers have the ability to demonstrate the process, explain it in detail, and answer questions from participating beekeepers.
The goal is to familiarize a large number of beekeepers with the process of producing high-quality queens. In the coming period, the region will be supported with up to 7,500 quality queen cells. Specifically, each beekeeper participating in the program will receive 30 queen cells free of charge, from selected genetic material, and will learn the queen rearing process step-by-step, guided by experienced queen breeders from their region.
The long-term objective of the program is the mass production of selected genetic material across all the Regional Units of Boeotia, Evrytania, Phthiotis, and Phocis, with the ultimate goal of increasing productivity and developing more resilient bee colonies, through the optimization of endemic genetic material.
In this way, beekeeping in Central Greece will be strengthened, and the region’s biodiversity and local agricultural production will be enhanced, as bees are among the most important plant pollinators (over 85% of plants related to agriculture rely on them).
Phase B of the graftings will approximately last from April to September 2025.
Those interested can register for participation here.
For more information and to register, interested individuals may contact Ms. Filippa Griva from the Agricultural University of Athens at +30 6970508200 or via email at [email protected], and Ms. Kalliopi Karaboiki, Capacity Building Manager at “New Agriculture New Generation”, at +30 2106917986 or +30 6972096122, or via email at [email protected].
As part of the program, information events will be held. The first two have been scheduled as follows:
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Thursday, April 10, 2025 – Events Hall of the Boeotia Chamber of Commerce (1 Koutsopetalou Ave., Livadia)
Speakers: Georgios Gkoras (Assistant Professor, Sericulture and Apiculture Laboratory, Agricultural University of Athens).
Arrival time: 18:00 -
Friday, April 11, 2025 – Cultural Center Hall of Lamia (9-11 Leonidou St., Lamia)
Speakers: Alexandros Gousiaris (beekeeper, trainer).
Arrival time: 18:00
