Economic value of pollination services on crops in Benin, West Africa

Abstract

Pollinators provide pollination services that are crucial for sexual  reproduction of many flowering plants. Beside wind and water, pollination services are provided by animals but mainly by insects. They improve the quality and the quantity of many crops. This study aimed at accessing the economic value of pollination services on selected crops in 2010 in Benin. Thus, 29 valued crops were considered and their individual pollination service values obtained from literature. At national scale, the individual gains in production due to pollination services of the selected crops were summed. In this study, all crops used for the calculation require pollination services and their economic added values were estimated to about 99,866.44 billion of local currency (FCFA) (that equal US $ 199.21 million) in 2010. This contributes substantially to the economy of Benin (3.03% of GDP). These results reveal the need to pay more attention to pollinators and their services in agricultural policies definition in Benin. We suggest a rational use of pesticides in agriculture and the preference of traditional practices in agriculture such as the preservation of few native plants in farming areas to give opportunity to conserve pollinators in these areas.

Keywords: Added value, agriculture, conservation, pollinators.