Beekeeping: farming, health and environmental management

Over the last years, the Italian beekeeping, including the Abruzzese beekeeping, has changed considerably. On the one hand we assisted to the development of an increasingly specialized activity and on the other hand to the occurrence of new diseases, which are more and more difficult to diagnose, control, manage and treat. This implies the need to design and provide specialized training in order to requalify those working in the beekeeping sector: from the beekeeper to the veterinarian.

The Degrees of Veterinary Medicine doesn't address in depth the issues related to this zootechnical reality because it is considered a minor sector, although there is an obligation of surveillance for the official veterinarians. The law N. 313 on beekeeping issued on the 24^th of December 2004 imposes the health control of bees on the territory and identifies the veterinarian as the person in charge of this procedure. It should be also considered that beekeeping is an activity of national interest within the agricultural economy and it is useful for the conservation of the natural environment, the ecosystem and the agriculture. To this end, the training and continuous updating of veterinarians, beekeepers and technicians/experts in beekeeping is fundamental to implement a reorganization, rationalization and enhancement policy of the Abruzzese bee heritage.

The training course on "Beekeeping: farming, health and environmental management", financed by the Abruzzo Region and organized by the University of Teramo in collaboration with IZSAM, is structured in 6 learning modules for a total of 48 hours of classroom lessons and 60 hours of practical activities and exercises. The first two days of the course are held on the 26^th and the 27^th of March 2015 at the International Centre for Veterinary Training and Information (CIFIV) in Teramo.

The training event is reserved to 25 professionals: freelances, who graduated in Veterinary Medicine, employees of Regional Councils' Directorate for Agricultural Policies (Direzione Politiche Agricole della Giunta Regionale), veterinarians operating in the field of beekeeping within the Health Sector of the Abruzzo Region, technicians of the associations committed in technical health assistance to the farms and beekeepers.