According to the news of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on August 23, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in its reply to the recommendation No. 8430 of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress that in the next step, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will steadily promote the elimination of highly toxic and high-risk pesticides, and will phase out 10 more highly toxic pesticides by the end of 2024; We will continue to promote bee pollination and green prevention and control technology to increase production, and strengthen technical guidance on drug use for farmers at the grass-roots level.

Cao Jinping and other six representatives:

We have received your suggestions on strengthening bee protection and promoting the healthy development of bee industry. In business with the Ministry of Finance, we hereby reply as follows.

1、 On strengthening bee protection

The Ministry attaches great importance to the development of bee industry and strengthens bee protection through various measures such as regulation construction, resource protection and technology integration. First, strengthen the construction of laws and regulations. In 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture issued the Measures for the Administration of Beekeeping (for Trial Implementation), which clearly stipulates that if it is necessary to apply pesticides to nectar and pollen source plants, it should select pesticides with low toxicity to bees, and inform the local and nearby beekeepers of the application of pesticides in advance. According to the Regulations on the Administration of Pesticides revised in 2017, pesticide users should protect beneficial organisms. Second, strengthen the protection of germplasm resources. Organize the establishment of honeybee genetic resources expert group, carry out a nationwide survey of honeybee germplasm resources, support the construction of national honeybee gene banks, seed conservation farms and reserves, and effectively strengthen the protection of honeybee germplasm resources. Third, strengthen scientific and technical guidance on drug use. Since 2015, we have continued to carry out the "Millions of farmers' scientific drug use training action", popularize the green prevention and control technology of diseases and pests, train farmers to correctly select drugs, timely apply drugs, and rotate drugs, improve the scientific safety awareness and level of pesticides, and prevent harm to bees and other beneficial organisms. At the same time, we will organize and carry out the integrated demonstration of bee pollination and green prevention and control technology, and integrate the demonstration of bee pollination and green prevention and control technology on 20 crops suitable for bee pollination, such as tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, pears, oranges, dates, and cantaloupes, to improve the efficiency of bee pollination and reduce the use of pesticides. Fourth, strengthen pesticide management. When registering pesticide products, it is required to submit relevant test data on the impact on bees. Prohibited management measures were taken for 46 high toxic and high-risk pesticides, and restricted management measures were taken for 22 high toxic and high-risk pesticides. By the end of 2020, among the registered pesticide products, slightly toxic and low toxic products accounted for 84.8%, and highly toxic and highly toxic products accounted for less than 1%.

In the next step, the Ministry will steadily promote the elimination of highly toxic and high-risk pesticides, and phase out another 10 highly toxic pesticides by the end of 2024; Continue to promote bee pollination and green prevention and control technology, strengthen technical guidance on drug use for grassroots farmers, continue to carry out scientific drug use training for millions of farmers, and improve the scientific use of pesticides and bee protection technology.

2、 On the rectification of bee medicine market

Due to the large liquidity of bee breeding, many veterinary drug manufacturers and relevant scientific research institutions are not enthusiastic about the research and development of bee breeding drugs due to the limitation of bee drug market scale and the impact of economic benefits. At present, bee drug products are relatively scarce. In order to ensure the quality of honey products, our department takes the monitoring of veterinary drug residues in honey as an important part of the monitoring plan of veterinary drug residues in animal products, and organizes the detection of veterinary drug residues every year. In 2020, 61 drugs of 12 categories were tested, and the qualified rate was 94%.

In the next step, the Ministry will take the opportunity of implementing the Three-year Action Plan for "Control of Illegal and Prohibited Drugs, Control of Drug Residues and Promote Improvement" of edible agricultural products, focus on the major provinces of bee breeding, carry out the supervision and regulation of bee breeding drugs and the quality and safety of bee products, and severely crack down on the illegal use of fake and inferior veterinary drugs, especially online sales; Guide the bee farmers to use veterinary drugs in a standardized and reasonable manner, and constantly improve the awareness and level of safe and rational use of drugs; Actively strive for policy support for the development and innovation of bee medicine, support industrial development with public welfare investment, and make up for the shortage of veterinary medicine products.

3、 Financial subsidies for physical mite control instruments

In 2021, the Ministry of Finance, together with the Ministry of Finance, formulated and issued the Guiding Opinions on the Implementation of Subsidies for the Purchase of Agricultural Machinery from 2021 to 2023, which expanded the scope of subsidies to 15 categories, 44 sub-categories and 172 categories of machinery and tools, and eligible beekeeping equipment can enjoy the support of machine purchase subsidies according to regulations. In addition, the central finance implemented the action of improving the quality of bee industry through agricultural production development funds, supported the promotion and application of modern breeding and processing technology and facilities and equipment, and the construction of bee product quality control system.

In the next step, the Ministry of Finance and other relevant departments will continue to sum up experience, further improve relevant policies and measures, and support the high-quality development of beekeeping industry.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs