Pollination Value

printed in Hivelights Vol 14 (4):15-21 November 2001

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Market and Industry Services Branch
Horticulture and Special Crops Division
(January 2001)

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this report is to update the estimate of the economic value of honey bees as crop pollinators and to assess the cost/benefit ratio of pollination services. The report was last undertaken in August 1992 utilizing crop values based on 1990 data from Statistics Canada. This report utilizes crop values based on 1998 data.

METHOD

Estimation Formula

To estimate the dollar value of honey bee pollination to Canadian agriculture, a study developed by Willard S. Robinson and his coworkers at Cornell University was adopted (Robinson et al. 1989). In their study, they estimated that the annual value of honey bee pollination to agriculture in the United States was as high as $US 9.3 billion in 1987. The study was subsequently updated to an estimate of $US 14.6 billion in 2000. The following formula was used:

The value of honey bees to agriculture = V x D x P

where

V : annual value of the crop attributable to honey bee activity

D : dependency of the crop on insect pollinators

P : proportion of (-effective-) insect pollinators of the crop that are honey bees

The dependancy factor "D" was calculated according to the following formula for crops where data could be found in studies on crop pollination:

D = (Yo -Yc)/Yo

where

Yo : open pollinated yield or yield in cages with bees provided

Yc : yield in cages without insects

In using the dependency factor, only the value of the yield above what would be obtained in the absence of honey bees is considered, not the entire value of the crop. In the case of crops that benefit from insect pollination in more ways than increases in yield, such as improved quality and uniformity, an arbitrary value of 0.1 was added to the calculated D-value.

Except when a P-value for a particular crop could be found in the literature, Robinson et al. (1989) assigned P the value of 0.8. This value was based on the widely accepted estimate that honey bees account for at least 80% of all pollinators. For crops that normally have a presence of bee hives for pollination or honey production, a coefficient of 0.1 was added to the P-value to reflect the higher density of honey bees.

The value of the "D" and "P" factors vary among cultivars, regions and crop management practices. In the absence of scientific data for the wide range of crops and varieties grown in Canada, a process of consensus was initiated to arrive at a reasonable estimate for "D" and "P" values. An initial draft of the 1992 report which used the assumptions of Robinson et al. (1989) for the "D" and "P" values was circulated to Canadian apiculturists, plant scientists and horticulturists. This was followed by a series of interviews, to adjust the "D" and "P" values to generally accepted values for Canada, considering an average for each crop and assuming that honey bees were generally used for many crops even though alternative pollinators could possibly be more effective if they were available. The exception to this assumption is the lower "P" value for alfalfa because of the extensive use of leaf cutter bees for that crop.

In the case of fababeans, the "P" value was arbitrarily fixed to be equal to 0.8 and the "D" value was determined to be 0.5 from research data found in Pesson and Louveaux (1984). This means that 40% of the crop value is directly attributable to honey bees.
Selected Crops

The crops selected for this report are those commercially grown in Canada and are known to be dependent on insect pollination or to benefit from insect pollination. Crops have been considered only if farm value data were available, or were computable from production and price data. This excluded minor crop seed production. Furthermore, unlike the work of Robinson et al. (1989), only crops that were assessed to be directly dependent on pollination were considered. Crops like asparagus or alfalfa and clover hay which only benefit from pollination for seed were disregarded. The dollar value estimation is based on the 1998 crop value as published by Statistics Canada.

Assessment of the cost/benefit ratio of pollination services

Although most honey in Canada is produced from mutual benefit placement, particularly for crops like clover, buckwheat and canola, a large number of hives are rented from beekeepers for high value horticultural crops. Provincial apiarists were contacted to obtain recent figures on the number of rentals of colonies in their region, the crops for which beehives were rented and the rental fee.

Data from Quebec were based on a survey conducted by "le Bureau de la statistique du Québec" in 1998. All other provinces could provide only an estimate of the number of rentals and the rental fees. For this reason, it was decided to assess a cost/benefit ratio only for blueberry and apple production in Quebec.

The cost/benefit ratio is calculated as follows:

b/c =Vhb/pf

where

b/c = cost/benefit ratio

Vhb = value of honey bee pollination to a crop

pf = total amount of fees paid for pollination services for a crop

RESULTS

Value of honey bee pollination to Canadian agriculture

The estimated total value to Canadian agriculture is estimated to be about $782 million (Table 1). This is approximately eight times greater than the annual farm value for honey and wax, which had a value of $93.5 million in 1998. The value of honey bee pollination represents 21% of the total farm value of approximately 26 selected crops.

Provincial values for pollination (Tables 4 and 5) provide an estimate of the benefit of honey bees to pollination in each province. Provinces with high production of highly dependent crops show the highest values even though they do not have the highest populations of honey bees. This explains the higher demand for colony rentals in Ontario and British Columbia. (Table 2).

Cost/benefit ratio of pollination services

Approximately 93,000 rentals of honey bee colonies for crop pollination took place in 1998, mostly for apple, blueberry and canola production Quebec, Ontario and Alberta (Table 2). The estimation of a cost/benefit ratio for apples in Quebec indicated that for each dollar spent in rental fees, producers realized a gain of $185 (Table 3). Because of low blueberry production in Quebec due to a killing frost in the Spring of 1998, the cost benefit ratio was approximately $5 compared to $41 in 1990. Quebec apples had a cost benefit ratio of $185 in 1998, compared to $192 in 1990.

CONCLUSI0N

The 1998 value of honey bees as pollinators for Canadian crops was assessed to be $782 million, up from $444 million in 1990. This estimate is conservative, as many minor crops were omitted and as values for "D" and "P" may be estimated lower than the actual value. Therefore, the vital importance of honey bees to agriculture, not only as honey producers, but also as pollinators, is clearly demonstrated.

The cost/benefit analysis, using data from Quebec, showed that each dollar invested in pollination services produced very attractive returns to apple producers, while corresponding figures for blueberries were down significantly due a killing frost at blossoming. The rental of honey bee colonies is an important management tool to assure the highest possible yields and quality of product.


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Pollination Value printed in Hivelights Vol 14 (4):15-21 November 2001 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Market and Industry Services Branch Horticulture and Special Crops Division (January 2001) INTRODUCTION The purpose of this report is to update the estimate of the economic value of honey bees as crop pollinators and to assess the cost/benefit ratio of pollination services. The report was last undertaken in August 1992 utilizing crop values based on 1990 data from Statistics Canada. This report utilizes crop values based on 1998 data. METHOD Estimation Formula To estimate the dollar value of honey bee pollination to Canadian agriculture, a study developed by Willard S. Robinson and his coworkers at Cornell University was adopted (Robinson et al. 1989). In their study, they estimated that the annual value of honey bee pollination to agriculture in the United States was as high as $US 9.3 billion in 1987. The study was subsequently updated to an estimate of $US 14.6 billion in 2000. The following formula was used: The value of honey bees to agriculture = V x D x P where V : annual value of the crop attributable to honey bee activity D : dependency of the crop on insect pollinators P : proportion of (-effective-) insect pollinators of the crop that are honey bees The dependancy factor "D" was calculated according to the following formula for crops where data could be found in studies on crop pollination: D = (Yo -Yc)/Yo where Yo : open pollinated yield or yield in cages with bees provided Yc : yield in cages without insects In using the dependency factor, only the value of the yield above what would be obtained in the absence of honey bees is considered, not the entire value of the crop. In the case of crops that benefit from insect pollination in more ways than increases in yield, such as improved quality and uniformity, an arbitrary value of 0.1 was added to the calculated D-value. Except when a P-value for a particular crop could be found in the literature, Robinson et al. (1989) assigned P the value of 0.8. This value was based on the widely accepted estimate that honey bees account for at least 80% of all pollinators. For crops that normally have a presence of bee hives for pollination or honey production, a coefficient of 0.1 was added to the P-value to reflect the higher density of honey bees. The value of the "D" and "P" factors vary among cultivars, regions and crop management practices. In the absence of scientific data for the wide range of crops and varieties grown in Canada, a process of consensus was initiated to arrive at a reasonable estimate for "D" and "P" values. An initial draft of the 1992 report which used the assumptions of Robinson et al. (1989) for the "D" and "P" values was circulated to Canadian apiculturists, plant scientists and horticulturists. This was followed by a series of interviews, to adjust the "D" and "P" values to generally accepted values for Canada, considering an average for each crop and assuming that honey bees were generally used for many crops even though alternative pollinators could possibly be more effective if they were available. The exception to this assumption is the lower "P" value for alfalfa because of the extensive use of leaf cutter bees for that crop. In the case of fababeans, the "P" value was arbitrarily fixed to be equal to 0.8 and the "D" value was determined to be 0.5 from research data found in Pesson and Louveaux (1984). This means that 40% of the crop value is directly attributable to honey bees. Selected Crops The crops selected for this report are those commercially grown in Canada and are known to be dependent on insect pollination or to benefit from insect pollination. Crops have been considered only if farm value data were available, or were computable from production and price data. This excluded minor crop seed production. Furthermore, unlike the work of Robinson et al. (1989), only crops that were assessed to be directly dependent on pollination were considered. Crops like asparagus or alfalfa and clover hay which only benefit from pollination for seed were disregarded. The dollar value estimation is based on the 1998 crop value as published by Statistics Canada. Assessment of the cost/benefit ratio of pollination services Although most honey in Canada is produced from mutual benefit placement, particularly for crops like clover, buckwheat and canola, a large number of hives are rented from beekeepers for high value horticultural crops. Provincial apiarists were contacted to obtain recent figures on the number of rentals of colonies in their region, the crops for which beehives were rented and the rental fee. Data from Quebec were based on a survey conducted by "le Bureau de la statistique du Québec" in 1998. All other provinces could provide only an estimate of the number of rentals and the rental fees. For this reason, it was decided to assess a cost/benefit ratio only for blueberry and apple production in Quebec. The cost/benefit ratio is calculated as follows: b/c =Vhb/pf where b/c = cost/benefit ratio Vhb = value of honey bee pollination to a crop pf = total amount of fees paid for pollination services for a crop RESULTS Value of honey bee pollination to Canadian agriculture The estimated total value to Canadian agriculture is estimated to be about $782 million (Table 1). This is approximately eight times greater than the annual farm value for honey and wax, which had a value of $93.5 million in 1998. The value of honey bee pollination represents 21% of the total farm value of approximately 26 selected crops. Provincial values for pollination (Tables 4 and 5) provide an estimate of the benefit of honey bees to pollination in each province. Provinces with high production of highly dependent crops show the highest values even though they do not have the highest populations of honey bees. This explains the higher demand for colony rentals in Ontario and British Columbia. (Table 2). Cost/benefit ratio of pollination services Approximately 93,000 rentals of honey bee colonies for crop pollination took place in 1998, mostly for apple, blueberry and canola production Quebec, Ontario and Alberta (Table 2). The estimation of a cost/benefit ratio for apples in Quebec indicated that for each dollar spent in rental fees, producers realized a gain of $185 (Table 3). Because of low blueberry production in Quebec due to a killing frost in the Spring of 1998, the cost benefit ratio was approximately $5 compared to $41 in 1990. Quebec apples had a cost benefit ratio of $185 in 1998, compared to $192 in 1990. CONCLUSI0N The 1998 value of honey bees as pollinators for Canadian crops was assessed to be $782 million, up from $444 million in 1990. This estimate is conservative, as many minor crops were omitted and as values for "D" and "P" may be estimated lower than the actual value. Therefore, the vital importance of honey bees to agriculture, not only as honey producers, but also as pollinators, is clearly demonstrated. The cost/benefit analysis, using data from Quebec, showed that each dollar invested in pollination services produced very attractive returns to apple producers, while corresponding figures for blueberries were down significantly due a killing frost at blossoming. The rental of honey bee colonies is an important management tool to assure the highest possible yields and quality of product.