Selwyn Times: August 09, 2016

28
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[Edition datE]
Tuesday August 9 2016
SELWYN RURAL LIFE
Honeybee decline a financial
threat for NZ agriculture
New ZealaNd agriculture stands to
lose $295 to $728 million annually if the
local honeybee population continues to
decline, according to a new study into
the economic consequences of a decline
in pollination rates.
One of the co-authors of the study,
lincoln University Professor Stephen
wratten of the Bio-Protection Research
Centre, says it is well known that a
global decline in the populations of
insect pollinators poses a major threat
to food and nutritional security. “we’ve
lost most of our wild bees in New
Zealand to varroa mite, and cultivated
bees are becoming resistant to varroa
pesticides. Functioning beehives are
becoming increasingly expensive for
farmers to rent. we know the decline in
bee populations is going to have a major
impact on our economy, but we wanted
to measure the impact.”
Previous methods of estimating the
economic value of pollination have
focused on desktop calculations around
the value of crops and the dependency
of those crops on pollinators.
Professor wratten said the
experimental manipulation of
pollination rates was a more direct
estimation of the economic value of
pollination, or ecosystem services (eS).
a study was conducted in commercial
fields producing pak choi for seed
production. Some of the plants were
covered with thin white mesh bags
for varying time periods, preventing
honeybees and fly species, which are key
pollinators for the crop, from accessing
the plants.
Changes in seed yield, seeds per pod
and proportion of unfertilised pods as
a result of changing pollination rates
were identified. The economic impact
of varying pollination rates was then
extrapolated to the main 18 pollinationdependent
crops in New Zealand.
The economic impacts of loss of
pollinators include higher prices for
consumers as crop yields are reduced and
food production costs increase.
“It’s critical to understand marginal
changes in eS and their economic
consequences in order to identify
appropriate policy responses and avert
further losses,” Professor wratten said.
“Modifying existing agricultural
systems to enhance eS requires a range
of mechanisms, such as payments for eS.
Current policies at a national and global
level continue to largely ignore the value
of eS contributions such as biological
control and pollination.”
Professor wratten said farmers
worldwide needed help to put appropriate
diversity back into their lands.
“There is a lot of scientific knowledge
accumulating but this has to be turned
into ‘recipes’ for end users like farmers
to understand and implement. The big
challenge is to have a recipe that works.
Give farmers the right seeds to plant.
Make sure the bees get what they need. It’s
SELWYN TIMES
not about planting pretty flowers. It’s the
science that counts.
“The best way to deliver this is through
what we might call ‘farmer teachers’ –
farmers who understand and use the
recipe, who will get out into the paddock
and be listened to by other farmers.”
Rural Section
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