VOICES: Valuing Orchard and Integrated Crop Ecosystem Services

Agriculture and horticulture depend in part on wild insects to pollinate crops and control pests. These wild insect populations in turn can be affected by the ways farms and orchards are managed, and by the presence of natural habitats nearby. Those natural habitats themselves may be affected by agricultural chemicals and other by products of nearby farm practices. The "ecosystem services" provided by these insects can affect crop value, rural livelihoods and ultimately export income, and the distribution of these values may be affected by farm ownership and other social structures. This project will explore these issues as they affect orchard crops in the Cape region of South Africa. These crops are both a major source of local farm employment and of export earning, but the quantity and (especially) quality of crops produced depends critically on insect pollinators and natural enemies of fruit pests. We will experiment with the use of floral resource plantings on orchards to encourage pollinators and biocontrol agents, further developing the approach to develop bespoke mixes providing temporal and nutritional complementarity to orchard crops. We will explore how the way orchards are managed and the proximity to natural fynbos habitats interact to affect the pollination success of the crops and attack rates by pests. The natural habitats of the Cape region are a world biodiversity hotspot, but the effect of this diversity on pollination and biological control services is unknown, as is the effect of the orchards on their surrounding habitats. We will measure how differences in farm practices and differences in the availability of wild beneficial insects affect fruit production and suitability for export, domestic or processed food (e.g. juice) markets, and thus how it affects crop value and farm economics. We will also look at how the income generated by fruit production is distributed through the local and national economy, and thus the effects of livelihoods and wellbeing. Distinctions in practices and outcomes between large long-established orchards, and those recently established through the BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) programme will be explored, as well as the distinction between resident and seasonal labour forces.

Export income and rural livelihoods are important to development in LMICs. Agri-environmental management can reap substantial benefits for production, but the value of such interventions and its distribution amongst stakeholders may depend on socio-economic and environmental context. We will examine the interacting effects of management (conventional vs. Integrated Pest Management), ownership (established growers vs. Black Economic Empowerment holdings), landscape context (varying proportions of natural habitats in surrounding landscapes) and experimental agri-environmental plantings (control vs. 3 floral resource options) on pollinators, biocontrol agents and the ecosystem services they provide in pome fruit (apple and pear) orchards in the Western Cape region of South Africa. We will assess the impact of treatments on fruit production and quality, production economics, export income, and the distribution of value through rural employment and impacts on livelihoods and well-being. The project will apply and test well-studied approaches from north temperate agri-environmental management to a novel application in a global biodiversity hotspot, and will extend the approach by developing "bespoke" resource plantings designed to be temporally or nutritionally (in terms of Essential Amino Acids) complementary to crop flowers. If successful, comparable approaches could be developed for other crops elsewhere in Africa or beyond. We will model the potential impact of innovation and its take-up on environments, production values and their distribution in future scenarios developed in collaboration with stakeholders.

The ultimate benefit of this research will be to increase exports, employment and [inclusive and sustainable] growth in South Africa. Lessons drawn from the research can be extended to the agricultural sectors of other LMICs in comparable contexts (i.e. climate and socio-economic conditions). This will be achieved by uncovering the complex synergies arising from organizational eco-innovations in agricultural management and ecosystem services from the biotic landscape.

The first set of beneficiaries would be the farmers in South Africa. The results of this research can be used to redirect farmer's behaviour towards tangible agricultural/economic solutions that enhance the quality of the product and/or the efficiency of production. We will engage orchard growers and other stakeholders at both local and national scales, through direct communication (mailings, conversations) with participating farms and a stakeholder workshop for the Elgin Valley orchard community. We will post information on industry websites and in newsletters to communicate with orchardists at a national scale as well. Besides disseminating technical information, we will explore the broader implications of their investment decisions in a rapidly changing international environment and to face the challenges related to exporting. This project will engage national public and private sector associations (e.g. Black Economic Empowerment programme; South African Apple and Pear Producers' Association) to act as change agents, translating the research insights into recommendations for operational change, which can benefit agro-industrial vibrancy.

The second set of beneficiaries of this research project is national public and private agencies (see above). The project will provide these agencies with an unprecedented level of detailed analysis of the combined effect of agricultural innovations, social structures (e.g. ownership patterns), environmental contexts and ecosystem services upon production and its implications for long-term productivity and sustainability of employment and export growth. These connections will be made both at national level workshops and through accessible policy briefs. With this information, these bodies will be better able to formulate and implement evidence-based policy.

A third set of beneficiaries includes distributers and consumers of the produce. South African apples and pears are an export-led sector, with the single largest market being in the UK. There is increasing market pressure, mediated through large retailers such as Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer, to produce more biodiversity-friendly and insecticide free produce. Informational materials, circulated in the UK and more widely via project websites, information days and exhibits (including at the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew) will help educate the general public about the ecological, economic and social implications of production decisions, and of consumer choice.