Published: 22 July 2022 at 14:00
VIEWPOINT: Pest control and pollination helps to protect crop yields of coffee beans
Sipping a coffee on your way to work is a ritual most people take for granted without thinking about how the delicious coffee beans reached their cup. You probably know it comes from tropical regions. But what is less well-known is that coffee is the product of an incredible partnership between the birds and the bees.
A recent study researched how birds helped control pests and how bees helped pollinate coffee farms. The research showed how working with wildlife can help farmers make more money. But it is just one example of the benefits nature gives us that we take for granted.
Nature purifies the water we drink and the air we breathe, it helps control disease and nature reserves give us amazing spaces to relax and exercise. It also gives us direct financial benefits. For example, global crop pollination by bees and other pollinators such as birds is worth $195 billion (£160 million). Recent estimates show 75% of leading global food crops, such as potatoes, soybeans, and tomatoes, are dependent upon animal pollination.
This includes coffee, an important tropical plant with a worldwide export value of US$24 billion in 2012. About 20-25 million households depend on coffee growing for their livelihoods, which includes traders, export managers, farmers and coffee shop baristas.
Although Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) can self-pollinate, pollinators increase fruit set (when a flower transforms into a berry) size, and yield. Farmers often think of birds as a pest species, eating seeds and crops. But birds forage on the coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari), a small beetle which is one the most harmful pests to coffee crops.
On 30 small coffee farms in Costa Rica, researchers compared how crops grew when cut off from birds and bees. The experiment helped researchers quantify the economic value of pest control, pollination and the combined effect on coffee production.
On each site, four plants were enclosed with a plastic mesh small enough to exclude foliage feeding birds but large enough to allow bees and other small animals to access the plant. The four other plants were left unenclosed. On each of the eight plants, four similar branches were selected, and bees were excluded from visiting flowers on these branches by fine nylon mesh gauze bags.
The results showed that birds and bees increased fruit set and weight by 4-11% and decreased broca infestation. These effects were greatest when both birds and bees were both allowed to visit coffee plants. The authors of the study estimate that excluding both birds and bees would lead to an average yield loss of 24.7 %, which equates to a $1,066/ha (£830/ha).
Synergistic interactions are when two processes connect and the result or product is greater than the sum of the separate effects. Interactions between different animal pollinators can improve yields. Sometimes honeybees managed by beekeepers are used to pollinate crops. The presence of wild bees can change managed honeybees’ behaviour, for example the different bee types may have different foraging patterns which leads to overall increased movement and number of flights. This behaviour can lead to a significant increase in crop yield in almond orchards.
Approximately 35–40% of potential crops world-wide are destroyed by pests, such as desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) or armyworms (Spodoptera exempta). These insects make a tasty snack for birds. Birds also help disperse seeds. When we protect nature, we help ourselves.
Coffee is cultivated in some of the most wildlife-rich habitats on earth, but farming methods are becoming increasingly intense. This is threatening bird species which are already listed as of conservation concern, such as Cerulean (Setophaga cerulea) and Golden-winged warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera). Many of these bird species rely on insects from forests which have been largely replaced by coffee farms. One way to help wildlife on farms is shade-grown coffee, planted under a canopy of trees. It not only provides a home for birds and the insects they feed on but also produces higher-quality coffee. Shade-grown coffee farms help endangered primate species such as Javan slow loris (Nycticebus javanicus).
Conservationists need to help farmers design plantations which balance the needs of wildlife while turning a good profit. Intense farming is a problem for wildlife closer to home too. In the UK, farmland bird populations of species such as turtle doves (Streptopelia turtur) and skylarks (Alauda arvensis) have plummeted. Farmers can make a huge difference for nature by leaving patches of rough grassland and scrub. But they need government support to make up for lost crops.
The opinions expressed in VIEWPOINT articles are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARU.
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"Kulipwa kwa kahawa kwa siku ya 22 Julai 2022 ni ""maadhimisho ya kawaida"" kwa watu wengi bila kufikiria jinsi maharagwe ya kahawa yalivyofika kikombe chao." Labda unajua kwamba hutoka katika maeneo ya kitropiki. Lakini ni jambo lisilojulikana sana kwamba kahawa ni bidhaa ya ushirikiano wa ajabu kati ya ndege na nyuki. Uchunguzi wa hivi karibuni ulichunguza jinsi ndege walivyochangia kudhibiti wadudu na jinsi nyuki walivyochangia kuchaji mazao ya kahawa. Utafiti huo ulionyesha jinsi kufanya kazi na wanyama-pori kunavyoweza kuwasaidia wakulima kupata pesa zaidi. Lakini ni mfano mmoja tu wa manufaa ambayo asili inatupa ambayo sisi huona kuwa ya kawaida. Asili hutakasa maji tunayokunywa na hewa tunayopumua, husaidia kudhibiti magonjwa na hifadhi za asili zinatupa nafasi za kushangaza za kupumzika na kufanya mazoezi. Pia hutupa faida za moja kwa moja za kifedha. Kwa mfano, kwa jumla, uchafuzi wa mazao unaotokana na nyuki na vimelea vingine kama vile ndege una thamani ya dola bilioni 195. Takwimu za hivi karibuni zinaonyesha kwamba asilimia 75 ya mazao ya chakula duniani, kama vile viazi, maharagwe ya soya na nyanya, yanategemea chavua ya wanyama. Mti wa kahawa ni mimea muhimu ya kitropiki ambayo inazalisha bidhaa za kimataifa kwa thamani ya dola bilioni 24. Takriban familia milioni 20 zinategemea uzalishaji wa kahawa kwa ajili ya maisha yao, ambayo inajumuisha wafanyabiashara, wasimamizi wa mauzo ya nje, wakulima na baristas wa duka la kahawa. Ingawa kahawa ya Arabica (Coffea arabica) inaweza kujipunga yenyewe, wapunga huongeza ukubwa wa matunda (wakati ua linabadilika kuwa berry) na mavuno. Mara nyingi wakulima huona ndege kuwa wadudu wanaokula mbegu na mazao. Ndege hufa kwa sababu ya kuharibu mimea ya kahawa (Hypothenemus hampei ferrari), ambayo ni moja ya wadudu hatari zaidi kwa mazao ya kahawa. Katika mashamba 30 madogo ya kahawa huko Kosta Rika, watafiti walilinganisha jinsi mazao yalivyokua wakati wa kukatwa kutoka kwa ndege na nyuki. Jaribio hilo liliwasaidia watafiti kupima thamani ya kiuchumi ya udhibiti wa wadudu, chavua na athari ya pamoja kwenye uzalishaji wa kahawa. Katika kila eneo, mimea minne ilifungwa kwa uzi wa plastiki mdogo wa kutosha kuzuia ndege wanaokula majani lakini mkubwa wa kutosha kuruhusu nyuki na wanyama wengine wadogo kufikia mmea. Mimea mingine minne iliachwa bila kufungwa. Katika kila moja ya mimea hiyo minane, matawi manne yaliyofanana yalichaguliwa, na nyuki walizuiliwa kutoka kwa maua ya ziara kwenye matawi hayo kwa mifuko ya nylon ya nyuzi. Matokeo yalionyesha kwamba ndege na nyuki waliongeza matunda na uzito kwa asilimia 4 hadi 11 na kupunguza maambukizi ya broca. Matokeo hayo yalikuwa makubwa zaidi wakati ndege na nyuki waliporuhusiwa kutembelea mimea ya kahawa. Kwa mujibu wa watafiti, kutokuwa na ndege na nyuki kwa pamoja kunasababisha hasara ya wastani ya mazao ya 24.7%, ambayo ni sawa na $ 1.066. Mwingiliano wa synergistic ni wakati mchakato mbili kuunganisha na matokeo au bidhaa ni kubwa kuliko jumla ya athari tofauti. Maingiliano kati ya wanyama mbalimbali wa kupandikiza yanaweza kuboresha mavuno. Nyakati nyingine nyuki wanaosimamiwa na wafugaji wa nyuki hutumiwa kupandikiza mazao. Uwepo wa nyuki wa mwituni unaweza kubadilisha tabia ya nyuki wa asali, kwa mfano aina tofauti za nyuki zinaweza kuwa na mifumo tofauti ya kutafuta chakula ambayo inaongoza kwa jumla kuongezeka kwa harakati na idadi ya ndege. Tabia hii inaweza kusababisha ongezeko kubwa la mazao katika bustani za almond. Karibu asilimia 35 hadi 40 ya mazao ya dunia yote yanaharibiwa na wadudu kama vile nzige wa jangwani (Schistocerca gregaria) na mbwa wa majeshi (Spodoptera exempta). Wadudu hao huwa chakula kitamu kwa ndege. Ndege pia husaidia kutawanya mbegu. Tunapolinda asili, tunajisaidia wenyewe. Kahawa hupandwa katika maeneo yenye wanyama wengi duniani, lakini mbinu za kilimo zinazidi kuwa kali. Hii ni aina ya ndege wanaotishia ambao tayari wameorodheshwa kama wasiwasi wa uhifadhi, kama vile Cerulean (Setophaga cerulea) na Golden-winged warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera). Spishi nyingi za ndege hao hutegemea wadudu kutoka misitu ambayo imebadilishwa sana na mashamba ya kahawa. Njia moja ya kusaidia wanyama-pori katika mashamba ni kahawa inayokua kwa kivuli, ikipandwa chini ya miti. Si tu kwamba hutoa makao kwa ndege na wadudu wanaokula, bali pia hutokeza kahawa ya hali ya juu zaidi. Mashamba ya kahawa yanayokua kwa kivuli husaidia spishi za primati zilizo hatarini mwa kutoweka kama vile loris ya polepole ya Java (Nycticebus javanicus). Wanasayansi wa mazingira wanahitaji kuwasaidia wakulima kubuni mashamba ambayo yanalingana na mahitaji ya wanyama wa porini huku yakitoa faida nzuri. Kilimo kikubwa ni tatizo kwa wanyama-pori walio karibu na nyumbani pia. Katika maeneo ya mashamba, idadi ya ndege kama vile njiwa (Streptopelia turtur) na skylarks (Alauda arvensis) imepungua. 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