NEW FAO & IIED Handbook for Participatory Socioeconomic Evaluation of Pollinator-friendly Practices

Credit: FAO

FAO and IIED (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and International Institute for Environment and Development) have just released a NEW 5-step guide to help farmers evaluate the benefits, and costs of applying pollinator-friendly practices, called Handbook for Participatory Socioeconomic Evaluation of Pollinator-friendly Practices.

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Credit: FAO

This publication provides guidance aka Handbook on an "ecosystem approach” implemented in seven countries - Brazil, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan, and South Africa. It may be used in farmer-field school formats, community meetings with farmers, or other instances where farmers can benefit from keeping records to better assess the value of specific practices. The outcomes of the global project are expected to expand global understanding, capacity and awareness of the conservation and sustainable use of pollinators for sustainable agriculture.
Per the Document:
"..in agro-ecosystems, pollinators are essential for orchard, oilseed crop, horticultural and forage production, as well as the production of seed for crops. Pollinators such as bees, birds and bats boost 35 percent of the world’s crop production, increasing outputs of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide, such as coffee, cocoa, chilies, apples, palm oil, tomatoes, papaya, mango, avocado, cardamom, vanilla, pigeon pea, most spices, most vegetable seeds, plus many plant-derived medicines in the world’s pharmacies."
I would advise reading the complete Document for all the details. The 5 Steps are:
1. Characterize Current Production Systems
- identify challenges farmers face
- examine farmers' current use of pollinator-friendly practices
- collect baseline information
2. Identify Appropriate Pollinator Friendly Practices To Test
- draw up a short-list of practices
- discuss implementations of short-listed friendly practices and make final selection
3. Select Plots Where the Pollinator-Friendly Practices Will Be Tested
4. Plan Tests of Selected Practices With Farmers
- explore impacts in more detail
- select indicators and determine how they will be recorded and tracked
5. Analyze and Evaluate The Practice
- analyze quantitative information on the indicators
- draw comparison between plots
- evaluate based on qualitative information

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