Beekeeping subsidies in Republika Srpska: premium per bee colony

In 2026 Republika Srpska supports beekeeping with two kinds of premium per bee colony or hive: a basic premium claimed by a beekeepers' association or cooperative, and an organic premium claimed by the beekeeper. Both are paid from the Republika Srpska budget through the Agencija za agrarna plaćanja (Agency for Agrarian Payments), and the apiary must be entered in the Register of Beekeepers and Apiaries (Registar pčelara i pčelinjaka).

In short

• Premium for bee production and breeding: up to 20 KM per bee colony, paid once a year.
• The beekeeper does not apply alone. The application is filed by the beekeepers' association or beekeeping cooperative the beekeeper belongs to, by 30 November of the current year at the latest.
• Conditions: members must be in the Register of Beekeepers and Apiaries, have updated their colony count for the current year, and hold at least 30 hives or bee colonies. The rulebook does not say explicitly whether the 30 is counted per member or in total, so check with the Agency before counting on the premium.
• Organic beekeeping: up to 30 KM per hive, at least 25 hives per user, with a cap of 40,000 KM per user per year (the cap covers the organic livestock premium as a whole, including animals).
• The exact amount per colony is set only after all applications are processed, according to the funds plan, so "up to 20 KM" is a ceiling, not a guaranteed sum.

Who it applies to

• Beekeepers who are members of a beekeepers' association or cooperative (basic premium). The association or cooperative files the application, and the members listed in it must hold at least 30 hives. If you have fewer than 30 colonies, ask your association or the Agency before counting on the premium.
• Beekeepers with certified organic production or in the conversion period, who apply themselves to the Agencija za agrarna plaćanja (Agency for Agrarian Payments, "the Agency").

What to do

1. Register your apiary in the Register of Beekeepers and Apiaries. The Law on Beekeeping makes entry compulsory. Apply to the Ministry within 30 days of placing the apiary. Attach proof of ownership or possession of the plot, or, if the land is not yours, the owner's consent or a lease contract. After the decision on entry, the Ministry issues a registration plate that you must display visibly at the apiary.
2. Basic premium: update your colony count for the current year. Without it the association or cooperative does not get the right to the premium for your membership. For the organic premium, what is required is entry of the hives in the Register and a plate ID number for each hive. If a beekeeper fails to submit colony numbers, the Law allows the entry to be cancelled.
3. Basic premium: join a beekeepers' association or beekeeping cooperative. The association submits to the Agency a member list (Form 15, on paper and electronically, the electronic copy sent to aaprs@mps.vladars.rs) and a statement by its responsible person on the number of colonies owned by members (Form 16). Both forms are in the Annex to the rulebook, in the document linked under "Laws and sources".
4. Organic premium: you apply yourself to the Agency, enclosing the control body's record (at least 25 hives), a copy of the decision on entry in the Register of Beekeepers and Apiaries (the rulebook also calls it the Evidencija) with the plate ID number for every hive, and a copy of this year's certificate. The colonies must be declared in the Register of Agricultural Holdings as organic production.
5. Whoever receives the organic premium cannot claim other per-head or per-hive support measures for the same livestock and hives.

Deadlines and amounts

• Basic premium: up to 20 KM per bee colony, application by 30 November of the current year.
• Organic premium: up to 30 KM per hive, application by 30 November of the current year. The control body's record and the certificate must be issued by 30 November, and if they are late, a written explanation from the certification body is attached.
• For 2026 the deadline is 30 November 2026.
• The rulebook is adopted every year, so check amounts and deadlines in the new rulebook each year. This text describes the 2026 rulebook.

Where to go

• Your beekeepers' association or beekeeping cooperative: for the basic premium and membership data.
• Agencija za agrarna plaćanja Republike Srpske, Trg Republike Srpske 1, Banja Luka, tel. 051/338-549, e-mail aaprs@mps.vladars.rs: applications for subsidies. Forms 15 and 16 are in the Annex to the rulebook, not on a separate Agency page.
• Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede Republike Srpske (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management): entry in the Register of Beekeepers and Apiaries. Your municipal agriculture service can also help with the paperwork.

Laws and sources

• Pravilnik o uslovima i načinu ostvarivanja novčanih podsticaja za razvoj poljoprivrede i sela (Službeni glasnik RS, No. 16/26), original text of 27.2.2026, Articles 23 and 36 and Forms 15 and 16. The rulebook was amended later (Nos. 27/26, 52/26, 65/26 and 80/26). The text of these amendments is not publicly available, so check with the Agency for Agrarian Payments whether Articles 23 and 36 changed.
• Zakon o pčelarstvu (Službeni glasnik RS, Nos. 52/10 and 17/23), Article 20 on entry in the Register of Beekeepers and Apiaries
• Pravilnik o registru pčelara i pčelinjaka (Službeni glasnik RS, No. 19/24)