VOICES: Valuing Orchard and Integrated Crop Ecosystem Services

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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.