Livestock Strategy Program — Pollination Expansion

• The applicant must be a Mi’kmaq First Nation or other Indigenous organization, a PEI beekeeper, an agriculture industry organization/club/association, or a provincial or municipal government, or be otherwise approved by the PEI Livestock Strategy Program Review Committee.
• The applicant must provide honeybee colonies for pollination within Prince Edward Island.
• The applicant must have a valid Premises Identification Number.
• The applicant (or a hired beekeeper) must have at least five years of beekeeping experience, or have completed or be currently enrolled in an approved commercial beekeeping course from a post-secondary institution.
• The applicant must be a member in good standing of the Prince Edward Island Beekeepers Association and must report colony overwinter losses either through the CAPA survey or in the application.

Who is eligible?

• PEI beekeeping operations that provide honeybee colonies for pollination within Prince Edward Island
• Mi’kmaq First Nations and other Indigenous organizations involved in beekeeping and pollination activities
• Agriculture industry organizations, clubs, and associations related to beekeeping and pollination
• Provincial government bodies involved in agricultural and pollination initiatives
• Municipal governments supporting local beekeeping and pollination projects

Who is not eligible

• Businesses or organizations that do not provide honeybee colonies for pollination within Prince Edward Island.
• Applicants that do not have a Premises Identification Number as required by the program.
• Beekeeping operations without at least five years of beekeeping experience, no approved/commercial beekeeping training in progress or completed, and that have not hired a beekeeper with the required experience (unless specifically approved on a case‑by‑case basis).
• Beekeepers who are not members in good standing of the Prince Edward Island Beekeepers Association.
• Applicants who have already accessed the Pollination Expansion Sub‑Program for three or more years without demonstrating success in expanding the number of colonies they own, as they may be deemed ineligible for future funding.

Eligible expenses

• Costs to replace honeybee queens and expand the number of honeybee colonies (including purchase of international and domestic queens, splits, nucleus colonies, and eligible full colonies from Island beekeepers exiting the sector).
• Expenses for purchasing or constructing queen-rearing equipment, hive frames and hive boxes that contribute to apiary expansion.
• Purchase of monitoring and detection equipment for honeybee pests and diseases.
• Costs for new beekeeping equipment, technologies or process improvements that improve pest and disease management and colony overwintering success.
• Expenses for adopting Integrated Pest Management tools and technologies that support successful overwintering of colonies.
• Direct costs of industry-priority research related to beekeeping and pollination, including expenses directly associated with that research.
• Purchase of beekeeping technologies and equipment that increase pollination efficiency, as well as equipment for honey extraction and value-added honey processing.

Eligible geographic areas

• Organizations and beekeepers operating in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada.

• Applications are assessed on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to availability of annual program funds.
• Projects are evaluated for merit and impact in relation to the program’s objectives (e.g., supporting pollination services and beekeeping sector advancement).
• The level of financial contribution may be reduced below the maximum rates based on the assessment of the project and available budget.
• The number of colonies provided for fruit crop pollination may influence funding eligibility for subsequent years under the Pollination Expansion Sub-Program.

• All approved projects must include an information sharing or knowledge transfer component as part of the funding requirements.
• Recipients must have and maintain a current Premises Identification Number for the duration of their participation in the program.
• Applications are assessed on a first-come, first-served basis and may be funded below the maximum contribution rate, depending on merit and available budget.
• Projects with demonstrable links to increasing public trust or with benefits to more than one Atlantic province may be eligible for additional or regional funding consideration under Sustainable CAP.