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DISCUSSION No. 131 • FSN Forum digest No. 1256
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How can we protect pollinators and promote their role in environmental and agricultural practices?
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until 9 September 2016
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Dear Members,
The ongoing discussion
How can we protect pollinators and promote their role in environmental and agricultural practices? attracted new comments which we share below.
Contributors already shared very interesting information on activities that promote pollinators and provided their suggestions
on what needs to be done to encourage pollinator-friendly practices in general.
We encourage you to keep posting your comments on these important topics during the last days of this online discussion.
For background information on the topic and to read all contributions received so far, please visit the discussion page
in
English,
French or
Spanish.
We look forward to keep receiving your comments!
Your FSN Forum team
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CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED
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Bibhu
Santosh Behera, Ouat Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
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Bibhu shares information on an exposure visit regarding the Farmer Field School approach and argues that the agricultural
practices used in this approach help promote pollinators.
Read
the contribution
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Michele
Baron, Kyrgyzstan
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Michele presents the Mobile Garden Carts project he implemented in various countries for the promotion of food security.
He suggests that Mobile Garden Carts could be outfitted with small apiaries. In addition, in particular where food supply is less a priority than protecting pollinators, they can include pollinator-friendly plants to promote pollinators. Mobile Garden Carts
can be adapted to and placed in a wide variety of locations.
Read
the contribution
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Amanullah
Khan, the University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan
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Dr. Amanullah refers to his recent studies, which showed that intercropping (peas or faba bean) and canola with winter
cereals (wheat or barley) attracted more honeybees than cultivating winter cereals alone. Likewise, the presence of pollinators increased when pigeon pea or mung bean were intercropped with summer cereals (sorghum or millets). Replacing a cereal-based cropping
system with only monocots with a cropping system including both monocots and dicots could improve soil and environmental quality.
Read
the contribution
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Elizabeth
Mpofu, Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers Forum (ZIMSOFF), Zimbabwe
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Elizabeth stresses that we often forget that besides bees, there are many other pollinating insects. She argues that
the decline of pollinators should be documented and that campaigns against the use of GMOs and agrochemicals should be organized. Water harvesting, on the other hand, should be encouraged.
Read
the contribution
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Salomeyesudas,
Nalla Kerai (Good Greens), India
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Salomeyesudas informs us about research of the Indian Deccan Development Society on alternatives to the use of chemicals
for soil nutrition and pest and disease management. The organization has documented agricultural methods implemented by farmers in the Medak district; the most efficient ones have been summarized in a document Salomeyesudas shares.
Read
the contribution
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Andrew
MacMillan, Formerly FAO, Italy
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Andrew stresses the need for more research on relationships between pollinators and crops, and on other links in the
‘ecological chain’, in order create a better understanding of the impact of technology changes in farming. Regulatory bodies should receive resources to commission the research required to prove the safety of products before approving their (large-scale) use
in agriculture. In addition, Andrew comments on a solution suggested by multiple contributors: creating pollinator habitats on less productive farm areas. Andrew points out that honeybees travel over 3 km to forage for nectar and pollen; if insecticides are
used on crops that attract bees and end up in the pollen or nectar, pollinator habitats will achieve little reduction in the intake of the contaminated products of foraging unless they are far away from the crops in question.
Read
the contribution
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Romano
De Vivo, Syngenta, Switzerland
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Romano argues that many different factors affect pollinator health, including pesticide use and climate change. He shares
resources confirming the multifaceted nature of the issue of pollinator health, and argues that there is a need to move towards more sustainable agricultural practices and to reverse the simplification of agricultural landscapes.
Read
the contribution
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