Data Sheet 1_Farming with alternative pollinators for increased biodiversity and smallholder incomes in Zimbabwe.xlsx

Pollinator populations 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 known as “Marketable Habitat Enhancement Plants”, (MHEPs), alongside the edges of pesticide-free fields, the Farming with Alternative Pollinators (FAP) approach aims to enhance the presence of wild pollinators. In this study, we compared the performance of a total of 43 smallholder farmer plots using the FAP approach with plots following conventional approaches, for pollinator abundance and diversity, and for yield and income in Zimbabwe. We found significantly higher pollinator abundance and richness in FAP plots compared to control plots. There was significantly higher income and higher value of yields for all offtake in FAP plots for both crop cycles measured. Plots with higher pollinator abundance showed significantly higher income from all crops and significantly higher value of yields, showing a clear link between pollinator populations, crop production and income.

传粉昆虫种群在过去五十年间急剧衰减，超过40%的无脊椎动物传粉物种面临灭绝风险，其核心致因包括集约化农业、农药使用、栖息地丧失与气候变化。传粉昆虫提供了至关重要的生态系统服务，全球约75%的农作物依赖动物传粉。因此，亟待重新审视传统农耕模式——此类模式正是引发传粉种群衰减的主要诱因。通过在无农药农田边缘种植被称为“可售卖栖息地增强植物（Marketable Habitat Enhancement Plants，MHEPs）”的开花作物，替代传粉者耕作法（Farming with Alternative Pollinators，FAP）旨在提升野生传粉昆虫的种群丰度。本研究在津巴布韦开展，共对比了43块采用FAP模式的小农种植地块与传统种植地块的表现，评估指标涵盖传粉昆虫丰度、物种多样性，以及农作物产量与农户收入。研究结果显示，相较于对照组地块，采用FAP模式的地块中传粉昆虫丰度与物种丰富度均显著更高。在两个观测的作物生长季中，FAP地块的所有作物产出均实现了更高的收入与产值。传粉昆虫丰度更高的地块，其各类作物的收入与产值均显著更高，这清晰地揭示了传粉昆虫种群、农作物生产与农户收入之间的内在关联。