Perceiving, Raising Awareness and Policy Action to Address Pollinator Decline in Nigeria

Abstract

Insect pollinators contribute to agricultural crop yield and beekeeping provides a major source of livelihoods for farmers in Nigeria. This study developed two survey questionnaires and collected data from beekeepers, researchers and government officials to generate quantitative indicators for the purpose of description as a guide to action. Evaluation and characterization of colony bee loses by beekeepers were assessed. The surveys conducted between October 2015 and March 2016 consisted of questions related to: the importance of pollinators, including managed honeybees (Apis mellifera), in agriculture and observations on factors associated with pollinator declines; and management of bee mortality. Evaluation and characterization of colony bee loses by beekeepers in Osun State was conducted. Responses were received from 31 beekeepers and 20 policy makers and researchers. 81% of beekeepers reported a reduction in number of colonies. The results inform policy action on pollinator benefits for increasing crop yield and helping smallholder farmers adapt to a decline in insect pollinators. This study emphasizes pollination and insect pollinators as drivers of agricultural crop production with a view to providing guidance for sustainable management of pollinators and achievement of green growth objectives.

Appendices

Annex 1: Essential Beekeeper Information and Mortality Quantification

Respondent Information: Please fill out this Sect.

• 1. How many production colonies did you have on October 1st 2014?

  In the next questions you are asked for numbers of colonies lost. Please consider a colony as lost if it is dead, or reduced to a few hundred bees, or alive but with unsolvable queen problems

• 2. How many of your production colonies were lost between October 1st 2014 and September 30th 2015

• 3. How many of your production colonies were lost between October 1st 2014 and September 30th 2015 without dead bees in the hive or in the apiary (bee yard)?

• 4. How many of the production colonies were lost between October 1st 2014 and September 30th 2015 because of queen problems (queenless or drone-laying queen)?

  Please answer the next 2 questions only if you bought, sold, united or split colonies between October 1st 2014 and September 30th 2015

• 5. Between October 1st 2014 and September 30th 2015;

  What was the reduction in total production colony numbers due to uniting/merging?*

  *eg two colonies united/merged together = loss of one colony

• 6. How many production colonies did you have on September 30th 2015?

  Identification of Possible Risk Factors (If any)

  In the next question, please TICK the alternatives that best answers your situation (you may tick more than one)

• 7. To what do you attribute the major cause of the death colonies in your operation (If observed)?

  Don’t know…..

  Starvation……..

  oor queens…..

  Disease…………

  Others…………..

  The next question is about the origin of your queens. Please choose the items which describe your situation (you may tick more than one box).

• 8. What is the origin of your queens?

  • (a) Reared by the colony it self

  • (b) Reared from one of your own selected queens

  • (c) Acquired from a queen breeder

  • (d) Acquired for a queen breeder outside Nigeria

    The next question is about queen problems, please don’t include normal requeening (e.g. when the queen is old) in your answer.

• 9. In how many of your colonies did you have to provide a new queen because of queen problems last year?

• 10. In what months and year have you treated your colonies with a product for disease condition during the period October 2014–September 2015?

• 11. How many of your colonies were contracted for pollination services last year?

• 12. How many of your colonies were moved for honey production last year?

  Please choose the honey flow sources in the next question, which best describe your situation

• 13. What percentage of combs did you replace in the majority of your production colonies last year?

• 14. If you gave your colonies a supplemental sugar feed last year, what product was used

  • (a) Honey

  • (b) Beet Sugar

  • (c) Inverted Beet Sugar Syrup

  • (d) High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

  • (e) Other product, namely

• 15. Have your colonies suffered any disturbance by

  • (a) Mice/rats

  • (b) Ants

  • (c) Squirrels

  • (d) Humans (vandalism, robbery)

  • (e) Other

Annex 2: Insect Pollination Management Survey

• Respondent Information: Please fill out this section.

• Name:

• Phone number:

• Email address:

• Age: <21     21–30     31–40     41–50     >50

• Gender:

• 1. Are you aware of research that has been conducted on the relative proportions of crops

  pollinated by various native and non-native pollinators?

  ___Yes ___No ___Uncertain

  If yes, please provide a reference.

• 2. Do managed bees pollinate major crops in Nigeria?

  ___Yes ___No ___Uncertain

  If yes, please list if known

• 3. Have declines in honey bee populations been documented in Nigeria?

  ___Yes ___No ___Uncertain

  If yes, please provide a reference.

• 4. Have declines in other pollinator (non-honey bee) populations been documented in Nigeria?

  _ __Yes ___No ___Uncertain

  If yes, please provide a reference for the study or survey.

• 5. Please describe your expertise

  ___Agricultural policy

  ___scientist

  ___research

  ___Other (please specify)_________________________________________________

  Insect pollination in National-Level Policies and Programmes

• 6. To the extent of your knowledge, which, if any, Ministries have a formal insect pollination policy, or include insect pollination considerations within their national-level policies and/or programmes?

  Ministry	Yes	No	Unsure
  Agriculture
  Water Resources
  Environment
  Science and Technology
  Lands and Housing
  Education
  Other
  Other

  Please provide any further information: _____________________________________________

• 7. To the extent of your knowledge, Has the Federal Ministry of Agriculture conducted cross-ministerial work, with any other Ministry, incorporating insect pollination into national policies and programs?

  Yes_______No_______Unsure_______

  If yes, with which Ministry or Ministries? ____________________________________________

  Please provide any further information: _____________________________________________

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  ______________________________________________________________________________

• Do you have a colleague whom the bearer should contact for this survey? Please provide their information below.

• Name: ________________________________________________________________________

• Position: ______________________________________________________________________

• Contact Information: ____________________________________________________________

• Thank you for taking time to complete this questionnaire. The information will help prioritize research efforts on topics of benefit for insect pollination, beekeepers and agricultural productivity.

Annex 3: Summary Bee Keeper’s Response B

A	B
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
1	2670	0	0	0	0	–	–	A	75	0	0	0	25%	ABE	ABD
2	20	0	0	0	15	20	–	A	0	0	0	0	–	A	AB
3	12	4	4	–	–	8	–	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	ABD
4	10	3	3	–	–	7	A	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	AD
5	14	4	4	–	–	10	A	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	B
6	44	4	4	–	–	40	A	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	B
7	5	1	0	–	–	–	E	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	AB
8	12	4	4	–	–	8	E	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	D
9	15	3	3	–	–	12	A	A	0	0	0	0	60%	0	AD
10	24	5	2	0	0	20	BCDE	A	0	0	0	0	2%	AC	AD
11	40	10	5	–	–	30	A	A	0	0	0	0	–	A	D
12	4	1	1	–	–	3	A	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	D
13	27	8	4	–	–	27	–	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	D
14	82	6	2	–	46	82	E	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	BD
15	14	6	4	–	–	8	A	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	D
16	9	2	2	–	–	7	A	–	0	0	0	0	55%	0	B
17	15	6	6	–	–	9	A	A	0	0	0	0	55%	0	AB
18	18	18	17	–	–	1	–	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	D
19	20	2	2	–	–	18	A	A	0	0	0	0	60%	0	D
20	300	5	10	–	55	210	D	A	5	June & July	8	150	–	A	ABD
21	40	–	–	–	–	–	A	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	AB
22	10	–	–	–	–	10	–	A	0	0	0	0	60%	0	B
23	22	–	–	–	–	20	–	A	0	0	0	0	–	A	AE
24	100	–	–	–	–	100	A	A & B	0	0	0	0	–	B	BC
25	20	3	–	1	0	–	C	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	BC
26	43	15	15	–	–	28	A	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	B
27	5	1	1	–	–	–	A	A	0	0	0	0	55%	0	B
28	35	10	10	–	–	25	A	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	B
29	30	10	10	–	–	20	–	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	E
30	17	2	2	–	–	15	A	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	B
31	53	9	9	–	–	44	–	A	0	0	0	0	–	0	ABC

1. A - Respondents
2. B - Response to questions (Annex 1)

Annex 4: Summary Response for Researchers

Questions	Yes	No	Uncertain
Are you aware of research that has been conducted on the relative proportions of crops pollinated by various native and non-native pollinators?	2	2	4
Do managed bees pollinate major crops in Nigeria?	2	2	4
Have declines in honey bee populations been documented in Nigeria?	0	1	7
Have declines in other pollinator (non-honey bee) populations been documented in Nigeria?	0	1	7
To the extent of your knowledge, which, if any, Ministries have a formal insect pollination policy, or include insect pollination considerations within their national-level policies and/or programmes?	1	3	4
To the extent of your knowledge, Has the Federal Ministry of Agriculture conducted cross-ministerial work, with any other Ministry, incorporating insect pollination into national policies and programs?	0	2	5

Annex 5: Summary Response for Government Officials

Questions	Yes	No	Uncertain
Are you aware of research that has been conducted on the relative proportions of crops pollinated by various native and non-native pollinators?	2	4	6
Do managed bees pollinate major crops in Nigeria?	3	2	7
Have declines in honey bee populations been documented in Nigeria?	0	2	10
Have declines in other pollinator (non-honey bee) populations been documented in Nigeria?	0	3	9
To the extent of your knowledge, which, if any, Ministries have a formal insect pollination policy, or include insect pollination considerations within their national-level policies and/or programmes?	1	7	4
To the extent of your knowledge, Has the Federal Ministry of Agriculture conducted cross-ministerial work, with any other Ministry, incorporating insect pollination into national policies and programs?	0	5	7

• Glossary

• Beekeeping

  The husbandry of bees, especially honeybees (the genus Apis) but can be applied to other bees.

• Biodiversity

  Short for “Biological diversity” which is the variety of life on Earth. The variability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.

• Diversity

  The condition of having or comprising differing elements or qualities (peoples, organisms, methodologies, organizations, viewpoints, etc.).

• Drivers, direct

  Drivers (both natural and anthropogenic) that operate directly on nature (sometimes also called pressures).

• Drivers, indirect

  Drivers, that operates by altering the level or rate of change of one or more direct drivers.

• Drivers, institutions and governance and other indirect

  The way in which societies organize themselves. They are the underlying causes of environmental change that are external (exogenous) to the ecosystem in question.

• Drivers, natural direct

  Direct drivers that are not the result of human activities and are beyond human control.

• Economic value

  A measure of the benefit provided by a good or service to an economic agent (e.g. buyer or seller). It is not necessarily the same as market value. It is generally measured by units of currency, and can be interpreted to mean the maximum amount of money a specific actor is willing and able to accept or pay for the good or service.

• Ecosystem

  A community of living organisms (plants, animals, fungi and microbes) in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (such as energy, air, water and mineral soil), all interact as a system.

• Ecosystem services

  A service that is provided by an ecosystem as an intrinsic property of its functionality (e.g. pollination, nutrient cycling, Nitrogen fixation, fruit and seed dispersal). The benefits (and occasionally disbenefits) that people obtain from ecosystems. These include provisioning services such as food and water; regulating services such as flood and disease control; and cultural services such as recreation and sense of place. In the original definition of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment the concept of “ecosystem goods and services” is synonymous with ecosystem services. Other approaches distinguish “final ecosystem services” that directly deliver welfare gains and/or losses to people through goods from this general term that includes the whole pathway from ecological processes through to final ecosystem services, goods and values to humans.

• Farm

  An area of land, a holding of any size from a small plot or garden (fractions of a hectare) to several thousand hectares, that is devoted primarily to agriculture or an area of water that is devoted primarily to aquaculture, to produce food, fibre, or fuel. A farm may be owned and operated by an individual, family, community, corporation or a company, may produce one to many types of produce.

• Field

  In agriculture, it is a defined area of cleared enclosed land used for cultivation or pasture.

• Flowering plant

  Plants that are characterized by producing flowers, even if inconspicuous. They are collectively called angiosperms and include most plants grown for food and fibre.

• Food Security

  The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life”.

• Global

  Pertaining to the whole world.

• Governance

  All processes of governing, whether undertaken by a government, market or network, whether over a family, tribe, formal or informal organization or territory and whether through laws, norms, power or language. It relates to the processes of interaction and decision-making among the actors involved in a collective problem that lead to the creation, reinforcement, or reproduction of social norms and institutions.

• Habitat fragmentation

  A general term describing the set of processes by which habitat loss results in the division of continuous habitats into a greater number of smaller patches of lesser total and isolated from each other by a matrix of dissimilar habitats. Habitat fragmentation may occur through natural processes (e.g. forest and grassland fires, flooding) and through human activities (forestry, agriculture, urbanization).

• Insecticide

  A substance that kills insects. Insecticides may be synthetic chemicals, natural chemicals, or biological agents.

• Introduced pollinator

  A pollinator species living outside its native distributional range.

• Invasive species

  A species, that once it has been introduced outside its native distributional range, has a tendency to spread over space without direct human assistance.

• IPM (integrated pest management)

  It is a broadly based approach that integrates various practices for economic control of pests (q.v.). IPM aims to suppress pest populations below the economic injury level (EIL) (i.e. to below the level that the costs of further control outweigh the benefits derived). It involves careful consideration of all available pest control techniques and then integration of appropriate measures to discourage development of pest populations while keeping pesticides and other interventions to economically justifiable levels with minimal risks to human health and the environment. IPM emphasizes the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agro-ecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms.

• Mitigation

  Lessening the force or intensity of something that can result in disbenefits.

• National

  Pertaining to a nation state or people who define themselves as a nation. A nation can be thought of as a large number of people associated with a particular territory and who are sufficiently conscious of their unity to seek or to possess a government peculiarly its own.

• Native pollinator

  A pollinator species living in an area where it evolved, or dispersed without human intervention.

• Parasite

  An organism that lives on or within another organism of a different species (the host) from which it obtains nourishment and to which it causes harm.

• Pest

  An animal, plant, fungus, or other organism that thrives in places where it is not wanted by people, e.g. in fields, with livestock, in forests, gardens, etc.

• Pollination

  The transfer of pollen from an anther to a stigma. Pollination may occur within flowers of the same plant, between flowers of the same plant, or between flowers of different plants (or combinations thereof). Although pollination is a precursor to plant sexual reproduction, it does not assure same.

• Pollinator

  An agent that transports pollen. Such agents may be animals of many kinds or physical (wind or water), or both.

• Pollinator decline

  Decrease in abundance or diversity, or both, of pollinators.

• Uncertainty

  Any situation in which the current state of knowledge is such that (1) the order or nature of things is unknown, (2) the consequences, extent, or magnitude of circumstances, conditions, or events is unpredictable, and (3) credible probabilities to possible outcomes cannot be assigned.