Measures in the beekeeping sector – beekeeping year 2026/2027

This involves specific aid for the beekeeping sector provided for in the CAP’s strategic plans, co-financed by the European Union through the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) at 30 per cent and by the Italian State through the Revolving Fund at 70 per cent.

The funding is governed by EU Regulation No 2021/2115 of 2 December 2021.

The measures and the corresponding resources allocated for the 2026/2027 beekeeping year (period 1 July 2026 – 30 June 2027) are structured as follows:

Measure A – Technical assistance, consultancy, training, information and exchange of best practices:

• ActionA1: Refresher and training courses (Budget: €15,119.74).
• Action A2: Technical assistance and consultancy for beekeeping businesses (Budget: €12,300.07).

Measure B – Investments in tangible and intangible fixed assets:

• Action B1: Pest and disease control – purchase of hives with anti-Varroa mesh bases, treatment equipment and veterinary products (Budget: €106,446.06).
• Action B3: Restocking of the bee population – purchase of colonies, nuclei, bee packages, queen bees and equipment for the breeding operation (Funding: €30,870.97).
• Action B4: Rationalisation of transhumance – purchase of machinery, equipment and materials specifically for transhumance (Allocation: €33,950.64).
• Action B5: Equipment and management systems – machinery and equipment for the extraction, preservation and packaging of hive products and the improvement of working conditions (including PPE) (Budget: €67,932.43).

Intervention F – Promotion , communication and marketing:

• Action F1: Information and promotion activities focusing on quality – participation in competitions (melissopalinological, organoleptic and chemical-physical assessments) (Budget: €7,126.23).

Total provincial funding allocation: €273,746.14.

Equipment eligible for funding must:

• Be retained on the farm for a minimum period of three years.
• Be uniquely identified.

Ineligible expenditure

The following items of expenditure, amongst others, are not eligible for funding:

• Bee feed.
• Vehicles with number plates (including motorcycles, motor vehicles, self-propelled agricultural machinery and trailers).
• Maintenance, repair and transport costs for the delivery of materials.
• Value Added Tax (VAT), unless it is genuinely and definitively non-recoverable by the beneficiary.
• Purchase of second-hand equipment, land or buildings.
• Single-use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

The following individuals operating within the Autonomous Province of Trento are eligible for grants:

Beekeepers: eligible for measures B1, B3, B4 and B5. They must hold a VAT registration number and have declared at least one hive in the 2025 annual census.

Associated Bodies:associations, first-level co-operatives, second-level unions and federations, eligible for measures A1, A2, B5 and F1. They must have at least 30 duly registered beekeeper members (reduced to 15 members for measure B1 only). Members must be listed in the Associated Organisation’s Business File (A4G) under the ‘ASSOCIATIVE LINKS’ section.

Organisations specialising in research in the beekeeping sector: eligible for Action A1. They must operate within the province with at least one operational unit and have proven experience of five years in the sector.

General requirements for all beneficiaries: ownership of an electronic farm register held with APPAG (to be validated before submitting the application) and possession of a certified email address (PEC).

The grant on eligible expenditure is awarded at the following rates:

Action A1: 100% for associations and research organisations.
Action A2: 90 per cent for associations.
Action B1: 60 per cent for beekeepers; 75 per cent for associations.
Actions B3 and B4: 60 per cent for beekeepers.
Action B5: 60 per cent for beekeepers; 75 per cent for associations.
Action F1: 100% for associations.

Applications must be submitted online via the provincial agricultural information system SRTrento at https://srt.infotn.it, which can also be accessed via the portal https://a4g.provincia.tn.it/,from 5 August 2026 until 1.00 pm on 30 September 2026,in accordance with the procedures set out in the APPAG Paying Agency’s Manual of Control and Sanction Procedures.

Access to the SRTrento members’ area is restricted to registered users only; therefore, each user must first register in accordance with the procedures set out in the guidance on the SRTrento website’s home page. Applications submitted must be signed using a digital signature. For any assistance with accessing and setting up an account on the portal, please contact the following email address helpdesk.srtrento@provincia.tn.it.

On the SR Trento portal, a specific and separate application procedure is available for each Action set out in this call for applications.

As set out in the call for applications (Annex A), the documentation required to submit an application for aid varies depending on the applicant and the specific action being funded, but follows a clearly defined general structure: 

1. Mandatory General Requirements and Documents All applicants must have already prepared and uploaded the following to the system: An up-to-date and validated Farm File: This must be registered with APPAG and updated during the current calendar year prior to submitting the application.  Valid certified email (PEC) address: To be provided in the application for all official communications. Certificate of registration with the BDA and Apiary Census: Data from the beekeeping register and the 2025 annual census (carried out between 1 November and 31 December 2025, with at least 1 hive/nucleus) are verified directly by the authorities via the Beekeeping Database.  VAT number: Compulsory for beekeepers. 

2. Specific Documentation Depending on the Type of Applicant For Associated Entities (Associations, Cooperatives, Unions, Federations)List of beekeeper members: To be included and updated in the dedicated ‘ASSOCIATIVE LINKS’ section of the Business File (A4G). Minimum requirement of 15 members: Members must meet the specified requirements (validated file, BDA registration, no duplicate membership for the same year).  For Research Organisations, documentation proving a presence in the area: Proof of at least one operational unit in the Autonomous Province of Trento.  Curriculum vitae / Proof of experience: Documentation attesting to proven experience in the beekeeping sector over the last 5 years (publications, studies, specific assignments). 

Applicants organised as first-level associations must attach the ‘List of Members’ fileto their fundingapplication; this is provided below with the relevant instructions for saving the file.

3. Technical and Justification Annexes depending on the actions: 

Justification Report for Preparatory Expenditure: If necessary preparatory expenditure has been incurred between 1 July 2026 and the date of submission of the application, a written report must be attached justifying the necessity of such expenditure at that specific time. 

Cost Estimates and Technical Documentation: Attachments relating to the initiatives or investments to be carried out (bearing the note: ‘Preliminary in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 2021/2115 – sectoral measures for beekeeping – year 2027’). 

Action-Specific Documentation: Detailed documents described in the specific sections for each action (e.g. course programmes for Action A1, support plans for A2, technical data sheets for equipment for B1/B4/B5, etc.).  

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Step-by-step procedure for creating and saving the ‘elenco_soci.txt’ file

Below is a detailed guide on how to complete the spreadsheet and export it correctly in the required format with a semicolon (;) as the separator.

Step 1: Download the pre-formatted template:Excel spreadsheet (.xlsx) 

Step 2: Enter the members’ details

Step 3: Export and save from Microsoft Excel

1. Click on ‘File ’ in the top left-hand corner and select ‘Save As’.
2. Choose the destination folder on your computer.
3. In the ‘Save as’ drop-down menu (File type), select CSV (comma-separated) (*.csv) or Text (tab-separated) (*.txt).
4. In Italian-language versions of Excel on Windows, the CSV format uses a semicolon ; as the column separator by default.

Step 4: Alternative procedure using LibreOffice Calc / OpenOffice

If you are using LibreOffice Calc:

1. Go to File > Save As...
2. Select CSV Text (.csv) as the file type and tick the ‘Edit filter settings’ box.
3. In the dialogue box that appears:
   • Field separator: enter the semicolon ;
   • Text delimiter: delete any characters (leave the field blank).
4. Click OK.

Step 5: Rename the file extension to .txt

If the generated file has a .csv extension (e.g. member_list.csv):

1. Right-click on the file and select Rename.
2. Change the file extension from .csv to .txt (e.g. member_list.txt).
3. Confirm the change when prompted by the operating system.

Step 6: Final check

Open the .txt file you have just saved by double-clicking it. It should look like this:

Plaintext

RSSMRA80A01L378X;Società Agricola Rossi S.S.;043TN001

If the format is correct, the file is ready to be attached to the application on the online portal.

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Treatment plan (anti-varroa)

You must submit a plan for the purchase of veterinary medicines.

How to do this: It must be drawn up using only the downloadable Excel template attached below.

What to include in the file: 

Member details (tax code, name, BDA code).

Treatment period (summer or autumn 2027).

Number of hives (please note: this must not exceed the number actually owned by the member).

Type of medication and number of packs required.

Format:this plan must be submitted as an Excel file.

Deadline for submitting applications:1.00 pm on 30 September 2026

By31 January 2027, it is possible to formally notify the authorities of a complete withdrawal from the grant awarded without forfeiting the right to apply in the following three beekeeping years.

The deadline for submitting the payment claim (accounts) is30 June 2027.