Slovenia to initiate global beekeeping academy

LJUBLJANA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Slovenian government has decided to set up a beekeeping academy to serve mainly foreign learners with Slovenian beekeeping knowledge.

The state's initiative was announced on Wednesday by Slovenian Agriculture Minister Dejan Zidan, only a week before the United Nations (UN) General Assembly is scheduled to take a vote on Slovenia's proposal to declare May 20 as World Bee Day.

The school, which will charge tuition, will be a part of the Agricultural Institute and be located at the Slovenian Beekeepers' Association in Lukovica.

The establishment of the academy is a part of changes to the Agriculture Act, which the government adopted on Wednesday, according to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA).

"The objective is to meet the demand from abroad and pass our knowledge and competence on to others. We will start to market this through the Slovenian beekeeping academy," the minister told local press after the government session.

The school will be partly funded by the state, while the rest will come from tuition fees, the STA said quoting Zidan.

The academy is to have a programming committee, which will include, among others, representatives of the Chemistry Institute, the Ljubljana faculties of biotechnology and veterinary medicine, as well as the Maribor Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Zidan also expects Slovenia's World Bee Day initiative to be approved by the UN General Assembly.

For the upcoming occasion, the Slovenian Agriculture Ministry is also preparing a ministerial-level meeting focusing on the importance of bees, while the Beekeepers' Association will hold an international conference, the minister announced. Enditem