The Impact of Subsidies on the Development of Beekeeping in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Given its role in landscape sustainability and health benefits, beekeeping is supported in all EU countries. The paper focuses on the assessment of the impact of beekeeping subsidies on the number of bee colonies in the Czech Republic. Subsidies in the Czech Republic are provided from national sources (state budget), from the budgets of individual regions and from EU sources. The paper presents the development of the number of bee colonies in the Czech Republic from 1990 to 2018. Until 2008, the number of bee colonies in the Czech Republic was decreasing. A significant increase occurred only in 2013. The influence of the amount of subsidy on the number of bee colonies was analysed using a panel data model and the Pearson correlation coefficient. The results show that subsidies have a significant positive influence on the number of bee colonies in Czech Republic and also in the individual regions of the Czech Republic. In terms of the specific focus of subsidies, we can observe a significant positive dependence between the number of bee colonies per beekeeper and technical support. Subsidies for the fight against varroosis are also very important.