Guy Barnett,Minister for Primary Industries and Water
The Tasmanian Government is continuing its support for the State’s bee industry through its Bee Industry Futures initiative.
A second round of funding totalling $96,789 will support nine key apiary infrastructure projects in West and North-West Tasmania.
The funding will collectively improve or maintain vehicle access to more than 4,300 hives of a range of apiarists from commercial operators to small beekeepers across the nine remote hive sites.
The Tasmanian Liberal Government understands the importance of our honey and pollination sector and the projects are aimed at protecting access to floral resources. Most of these hives are then rotated to farmed land for crop pollination.
To date, the Apiary Infrastructure Program has allocated up to $200,000 for selected infrastructure upgrades to improve access to leatherwood and other valuable floral resources on public land.
The Program is a commitment under the Government’s Bee Industry Futures Initiative which aims to ensure beekeepers, and industries that depend on them for pollination, can have a viable future.
Nominations for the Program are considered by the joint Apiary Infrastructure Fund Advisory Committee comprising beekeepers, land managers (Parks and Wildlife Service and Sustainable Timbers Tasmania) and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania.
A third round of nominations is expected to be open later this year.
The bee industry is an important part of the Tasmanian Government’s target to sustainably grow the farm gate value of Tasmania’s agricultural production to $10 billion by 2050.
