Abstract
BackgroundPollinators play a key role in human food production by improving the yield and quality of crops. Several studies assessed the economic value of pollination services delivered by animals through yield improvement. However, little is known about the contribution of animal pollinators to nutrient production. This study assessed the contribution of animal pollination to nutrient production in Benin. Food and Agriculture Organization data on crop production and United States Department of Agriculture crop composition data of 37 leading crops were used. These crops were categorized into five classes, depending on their degree of dependence on animal pollinators for fruit production.ResultsThe study showed that more than half of the studied crops (56.75%) relies at different levels on animal pollination for fruit production. Minerals, namely fluoride (83.92%) and selenium (52.62%), were the most delivered by animal-pollinated crops. Roughly 50% of lipids outputs and 24% of proteins outputs were obtained from pollinator-dependent crops. Significant outputs of fat-soluble vitamins up to 65% were also attributed to animal pollination. A low contribution of animal pollination (up to 8%) was reported for water-soluble vitamins.ConclusionAnimal-pollinated crops significantly contribute to the supply of nutrients and consequently to nutritional and food security in Benin. Conservation of pollinators should be considered as an important component of food security programs in the country.
Highlights
Pollinators play a key role in human food production by improving the yield and quality of crops
The proportion of each nutrient produced by pollinator-dependent crops (NVp) was calculated by applying the following equation to pollinator-dependent crops: NVp = NV ∗ Prp ∗ 1 − % Refuse fraction (Rf) p/100 (Eiler et al 2011)
The 37 leading crops used for this study were categorized into five classes depending on the levels of pollinator dependency (Table 1)
Summary
Pollinators play a key role in human food production by improving the yield and quality of crops. Several studies assessed the economic value of pollination services delivered by animals through yield improvement. This study assessed the contribution of animal pollination to nutrient production in Benin. Food and Agriculture Organization data on crop production and United States Department of Agriculture crop composition data of 37 leading crops were used These crops were categorized into five classes, depending on their degree of dependence on animal pollinators for fruit production. To understand the importance of pollination services delivered by animals, several studies assessed their economic value. In Benin (West Africa), the economic value of animal pollination in production of some important crops for the year 2010 was estimated to €152 million (Toni & Djossa, 2015).
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