contactMbulelo Mswazi

Site ManagerGlobal Pollination Project

Applied Biodiversity Research Division South African National Biodiversity Institute

Tel: 021 799 8856Email: m.mswazi@sanbi.org.za

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Crop Agriculture,

Pollination and the Honeybee

Biodiversity for LifeSANBI

Biodiversity for LifeSANBI

This project is funded by the Working for Water Programme and is being implemented by scientists at SANBI’s Applied Biodiversity Research Division, assisted by the Agricultural Research Council. The project runs from 2011 until the end of 2013.

Commercial crop growers are becoming increasingly reliant on managed honeybee pollination services and beekeepers. For this service, commercial beekeepers rely on numerous, and at times controversial, forage sources. The relative importance of the various forage components in South Africa is, however, very poorly understood and this project aims to contribute to this knowledge base and the proper management of these resources.

HoneybeeForage Project

• About one-third of crops that feed the world rely on pollination by insects or other animals to produce healthy fruits and seeds.

• Globally, honeybees are the most important pollinator of commercial pollinator-dependant crops – with at least 90% of these crops reliant on honeybee services.

• About 50 crops in South Africa are insect pollinated – with these crops worth over R10billion annually and supporting at least 100,000 jobs.

• In SA, the managed honeybee industry is reliant on two ecosystem services: 1) forage provision (to sustain the colony and produce honey); and 2) colony replacement (replenishment of a beekeeper’s colony stock from the capture of wild bees).

• In Europe and North America, mounting evidence points to a “pollination crisis” with declines in populations of wild pollinators, and significant losses of managed honeybee colonies.

• In SA, our indigenous honeybee species, Apis mellifera (with two sub-species), is also facing increased threats from diseases, parasites and loss of forage habitat.

There is mounting evidence of negative impacts on pollinators across the world. Understanding the extent to which world agriculture is threatened by pollinator decline is crucial – both for food security and conservation.

Our key research areas focus on:

• The status and trends of pollinators in SA – long-term monitoring of diversity and abundance.

• Pollination deficits in targeted crops in SA – diversity and density of pollinators; agronomic and economic yields.

• The reliance of commercial pollinator-dependent agriculture in SA on managed honeybees.

• Current national forage use by beekeepers for managed bees in SA, and the quantity and quality of available forage.

• The importance of conflict forage species (such as Eucalyptus species, which fall under invasive species-removal programmes), the impact of their removal, and possible substitutions.

• Agricultural and honeybee management practices relating to the conservation of pollination services.

This Global Environmental Facility (GEF) project is implemented through the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and executed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in coordination with the governments of seven project partner countries: Brazil, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan and South Africa. In SA, it is being implemented by SANBI’s Applied Biodiversity Research Division based in Cape Town. The project started in 2009 and runs until the end of 2013.

The project entails carrying out scientific research on pollinators and pollination in three agricultural crops: apples near Elgin and Ceres; onion seed production near Oudtshoorn; and sunflower (for oil) production near Bela-Bela. Each crop is highly dependent on insect pollination, and most of the farmers rely on managed honeybees to ensure adequate pollination. Some farms are situated next to natural veld and obtain an ecosystem service of pollination from wild pollinators, thus providing an interesting mixture of wild and managed pollination services. The project will investigate the best management practices that will conserve pollinators, and will build capacity and raise awareness about pollination services in the agricultural context.

Did you know? Rationale of the projects

GlobalPollination Project