Farming with Alternative Pollinators for Increased Biodiversity and Smallholder Incomes in Zimbabwe

Pollinators have dramatically declined over the past 50 years, with over 40% of invertebrate pollinator species at risk of extinction largely due to intensive agriculture, pesticide use, habitat loss and climate change. Pollinators provide an essential ecosystem service, with about 75% of global crops relying on pollination by animals. It is therefore essential to reconsider conventional farming practices, which are largely responsible for this decline. By cultivating flowering crops “Marketable Habitat Enhancement Plants”, (MHEPs), alongside the edges of pesticide-free farmer fields, the Farming with Alternative Pollinators (FAP) approach aims to enhance the presence of wild pollinators. In this study, we compared the performance of smallholder farmer plots using the FAP approach with plots following conventional approaches, for pollinator abundance and diversity, yield and income for 43 plots in Zimbabwe. We found significantly higher pollinator abundance and richness in FAP plots compared to control plots (despite data collection on only 12 pollinator groups). There was also significantly higher income and higher value of yields for all offtake (main crop + MHEP crops) in FAP plots for both crop cycles measured. However, there were no significant differences between main crop yield and income between FAP and control plots. Plots with higher pollinator abundance showed significantly higher income from all crops and significantly higher value of yields from all crops, showing a clear link between pollinator populations, and crop production and income.