Insect pollination and sustainable agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

We are currently seeing an expansion of pollinator-dependent crops in many parts of the world, but also growing evidence for pollinator population declines and loss of pollinator habitat. Climate change and population growth will place additional demands on crop production, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Despite the wealth of evidence that improved management of insect pollinators can lead to substantial gains in crop yield, agricultural improvement strategies in SSA still emphasize the manipulation of abiotic factors and do not fully exploit the value of pollinators. In this article we review the importance of pollination services in sustainable agriculture, how global perspectives can inform our understanding of the situation in SSA, discuss successful pollination management, highlight where research and development are required, and suggest possible solutions to enhance the contribution of pollination services to sustainable agriculture in the region.

Systematic challenges and opportunities in insect monitoring: a Global South perspective

“…Insects play critical roles in shaping habitat dynamics [1], providing a broad range of ecosystem services [2,3], serving as integral components of the food webs and pollinating major food sources across the globe [4][5][6][7]. As with biodiversity worldwide, declining insect populations are of global concern as insect communities are indispensable for global sustainability and human development [4,5].…”

“…This decline is particularly pronounced in the tropics, home to more than 3.9 million of the approximately 5.5 million insect species in the world [ 4 ]. Furthermore, while insects constitute the predominant segment of macroscopic terrestrial animal life and insect pollinators contribute to more than one-third of global crop production [ 6 ], our comprehension of insect responses to anthropogenic threats remains poor. Therefore, to ensure that insects are protected and conserved, there is a need to understand past population trends in response to stressors, and for a greater understanding of insect biology and ecology [ 5 ] and how insect populations are currently changing.…”