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Agriculture
Bees are the most effective pollinators of agriculture and horticulture crops. Animal pollinators, such as bees, are irreplaceable key agents in the reproduction chain for over 80% of the world’s plant species and three-quarters of food crops. However, in recent years there has been an alarming decline in pollinator abundance and diversity, both globally and in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), mainly due to habitat loss, excessive use of chemical pesticides, competition from alien species, and climate change.
The decline in natural pollinators has negatively impacted crop production, both in terms of quantity and quality. An extensive study we carried out in 2002 on pollination issues in the apple farming areas of China, India, Pakistan, Bhutan, and Nepal showed a severe decline in apple yield and quality as a result of inadequate pollination. Currently, around 25% (6.63 million ha) of the cultivated area in the HKH is under cash crop farming, with a total annual production of around 46 million tonnes. Many of these crops require cross pollination for optimum crop production.
Honeybees are one of the most efficient providers of crucial and high-value pollination service. They enhance the production of many economic crops such as fruits and nuts, vegetables, pulses, oilseeds, spices, and fibre and forage crops, which make up a large part of the agricultural produce of many countries in the HKH region.
The solution was a simple one – introduce honeybees into the farm ecosystems by promoting beekeeping enterprises among farmers. This not only increases crop yields but provides farmers with an alternative income source – the honey from the hives. This is both beneficial to the environment and the farmers.
In Chitral, Pakistan, we introduced honeybees for pollination, and trained farmers to properly manage bee colonies. Similarly, apple farmers in Himachal Pradesh, India, have been using honeybees and practicing beekeeping for managing apple pollination. The state has a government supported organised system for hiring and renting bee colonies for apple pollination. This large-scale use of managed pollination has also established several pollination entrepreneurs not only in Himachal but also in neighbouring states, providing employment and income generation opportunities for local youth. Currently, the demand of only one-tenth of the required 250,000 colonies to pollinate over 90,000 hectares of apple orchards is being met within the state, indicating a huge scope for the creation of more pollination-based enterprises.
In 2017, we conducted a collaborative action research study with the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) in Chitral, Pakistan, which found that that introducing honeybees for pollination, and training farmers to properly manage bee colonies enhanced the setting of fruits by up to 14%, reduced premature fruit drop to 6%, and enhanced the overall fruit yield by 48%. It also enhanced the quality (i.e., weight, shape, and colour) of the apples (Figure 1).
Some of our other studies found that beekeeping contributes to almost 50% of the household cash income in some areas of the HKH such as Chitral, Pakistan, Avital in Dadeldhura, Nepal, Kishoreganj area of Bangladesh, and the Kalu Valley of Himachal Pradesh, India.
“Beekeeping is a very good income generating activity for women. They can stay at home, engage in beekeeping and earn cash income,” – Nihat Yasmeen, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, Chitral, Pakistan
Each of the RMS solutions are linked to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) outlined by the UN in 2015. This intervention contributes to following SDGs:
