Abstract:

This research was carried out to examine the opinions of the migratory beekeepers in Afyonkarahisar regarding the current situation and problems of the sector. A total of 37 items were assembled under four subgroups in the questionnaire to collect the research data. The questionnaire was applied through face-to-face interviews with beekeepers during the visits to the apiaries of the enterprises. The migratory beekeepers emphasized that marketing is the most crucial problem. They stressed that the marketing assembled with a small number of intermediary companies and the labeling not based on branding and quality standards reduce the retail price of bee products. Other significant problems were unannounced agricultural pesticide spraying, increasing decline in the flora of honey plants, high equipment costs, and the lack of specific legislation for migratory beekeeping. Also, it has been stated that there were challenges in obtaining quality queen bees, finding location areas and meeting the living needs on the migration route, and accessing training on topics such as bee diseases, organic beekeeping, and Apitherapy. As a result, it has been concluded that supporting migratory beekeepers with good input and marketing management, regulations that will facilitate migration and beekeeper accommodation, and policies to increase product quality and bee health can significantly contribute to improving their capacity to adapt to innovative and competitive national strategies to be developed for beekeeping in the future.

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