Beekeepers from Keda Municipality participate in training about production of safe honey

Beekeepers from Keda municipality participated in the training “Production of safe honey” onNovember 13-14. The training aimed to raise the participants’ awareness about the sources of honey pollution, ways to prevent them and the production, processing, and sale of harm-free honey.

The following topics were discussed in the training: the official control system for food safety and food business operator’s responsibility; hazards in honey and public health; legal requirements for primary production /processing/distribution stages and good agriculture practice; the GMP, GHP and HACCP systems. The requirements for honey labelling and technical regulations to fulfil the conditions for honey market placing were discussed as well.

At present, honey production in Georgia is exposed to various threats of pollution. The sources of pollution can stem from both the environment and the beekeeper them self. The presence of environmental pollutants found in the air, water, soil and plants pose a threat to the production of honey, as the bees can transfer these pesticides to the beehives and possibly later on to the honey as well.

To the extent of the law, the business operator is responsible themselves for the production/processing/ distribution of harm-free honey. By participating in the training, the beekeepers and honey producers raised awareness and improved new skills about honey production pollution, ways of preventing them and the production/processing/ sale of harmless honey.

The training, carried out under the EU’s ENPARD project Keda LEADER, was organized by CENN and aimed to build the capacity and increase the knowledge and skills of beekeepers.

Members of the Adjara Beekeeping Business Association as well as farmers participated in the training, a total of 22 participants.

The EU-supported ENPARD project is implemented by CENN in partnership with the Centre for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG), Institute of Democracy (IoD) and the Austrian Institute for Regional Studies and Spatial Planning (ÖIR). The project aims to diversify local economic activities, improve the investment climate, and empower competitive agricultural and environmental practices in Keda Municipality via bottom-up strategic planning in rural development.

The EU is supporting agriculture and rural development in Georgia through its ENPARD Programme. Implemented since 2013 with a total budget of EUR 179.5 million, the main goal of ENPARD is to reduce rural poverty in Georgia. The first phase of ENPARD in Georgia focused on developing the potential of agriculture. The second and third phases of ENPARD focus on creating economic opportunities for rural populations that go beyond agricultural activities.