Assessing Farmers’ Knowledge and Perceptions About Pollinators in Mango Agro-ecosystems of Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Ammad Ahmad; Asif Sajjad; Haris Khurram; Waseem Akram

doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v73i3.12876

Authors

Ammad Ahmad Beekeeping and Hill Fruit Pests Research Sub-station, Murree, Punjab, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1975-5609
Asif Sajjad Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4246-1484
Haris Khurram FAST School of Management, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Chiniot-Faisalabad Campus, Faisalabad, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1814-4742
Waseem Akram Honeybee Research Institute (HBRI), PARC-National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8478-2588

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v73i3.12876

Keywords:

Farmer knowledge, Pollinators, Pollination, Conservation, Bees, Syrphid

Abstract

Farmers are the ultimate beneficiaries of the ecosystem service of crop pollination, and their indigenous knowledge can be used to address the current challenges of pollinator decline. However, their perception and knowledge about pollinators is rarely investigated, particularly for orchard-based agroecosystems. This study aimed to assess the farmers’ knowledge and perception about pollinators and pollination in the mango agroecosystem. Also, statistical modelling identified the factors that affect the farmers’ knowledge. We interviewed 280 mango farmers from four districts (70 from each district) of South Punjab, Pakistan, to assess their knowledge about pollinators and pollination. Overall, 80% of respondents had no knowledge about pollination. Two native honeybee species, Apis dorsata and Apis florea, were well known among farmers, but only 13.57% of respondents showed some knowledge about non-bee pollinators. The results of the logistic regression model showed that farmers’ age (B = -0.051, SE = 0.017, p = .003), farming experience (B = 0.071, SE = 0.018, p = .000), primary education (B = 0.671, SE = 0.333, p = .044) and matric education (B = 0.830, SE = 0.398, p = .037) significantly impacted their knowledge about pollinators and pollination. The knowledge gap recognized in this study warrants the capacity building of farmers about the pollinators and their pollination services. By using indigenous and local knowledge, the conservation strategies for pollinators can be established in the region.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ahmad, B., Mahmood, A., Sami, A. & Haider, M. Z. (2023). Impact of climate change on fruits and crops production in South Punjab: farmer’s perspective. Biological and Agricultural Sciences Research Journal, 2023: 22-22.

Ahmad, A., Sajjad, A., Khurram, H. & Ali, M. (2025). Impact of farm management practices and landscape composition on pollinator communities in mango orchards: a study from Southern Punjab, Pakistan. New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 53: 2908-2923.

Akram, W., Sajjad, A., Ali, S., Farooqi, M. A., Mujtaba, G., Ali, M. & Ahmad, A. (2019). Pollination of Grewia asiatica (Malvaceae) by Megachile cephalotes (Hym.: Megachilidae): Male vs. Female Pollination. Sociobiology, 66: 467-474.

Ali, M., Sajjad, A., Farooqi, M.A., Bashir, M. A., Aslam, M. N., Nafees, M., Aslam, M. N., Adnan, M. & Khan, K. A. (2020). Assessing indigenous and local knowledge of farmers about pollination services in cucurbit agro-ecosystem of Punjab, Pakistan. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 27: 189-194.

Anderson, D. L., Sedgley, M., Short, J. R. T. & Allwood, A. J. (1982). Insect pollination of mango in northern Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research, 33: 541-548.

Bakhsh, K., Hassan, I. & Akhter, M. (2006). Profitability and cost in growing mango orchards. Journal of Agriculture and Social Sciences, 2: 1813-2235.

Bakhtawer & Afsheen, S. (2021). A cross-sectional survey of knowledge, attitude, and practices related to the use of insecticides among farmers in the industrial triangle of Punjab, Pakistan. PloS One, 16: e0255454.

Bauer, D. M. & Wing, I. S. (2010). Economic consequences of pollinator declines: a synthesis. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 39: 368-383.

Breeze, T. D., Boreux, V., Cole, L., Dicks, L., Klein, A. M., Pufal, G., Balzan, M. V., Bevk, D., Bortolotti, L., Petanidou, T., Mand, M., Pinto, M. A., Scheper, J., Stanisavljević, L., Stavrinides, M. C., Tscheulin, T., Varnava, A. & Kleijn, D. (2019). Linking farmer and beekeeper preferences with ecological knowledge to improve crop pollination. People and Nature, 1: 562-572.

Brittain, C. A., Vighi, M., Bommarco, R., Settele, J. & Potts, S. G. (2010). Impacts of a pesticide on pollinator species richness at different spatial scales. Basic and Applied Ecology, 11: 106-115.

Carvalheiro, L. G., Seymour, C. L., Veldtman, R. & Nicolson, S. W. (2010). Pollination services decline with distance from natural habitat even in biodiversity‐rich areas. Journal of Applied Ecology, 47: 810-820.

Chennamadhava, M., Praveena, P., Lakshmi, T. & Reddy, P. M. (2024). Influential factors shaping farmers knowledge levels regarding critical interventions in dryland farming in drought prone region of Andhra Pradesh. International Journal of Environment and Climate Change, 14: 360-370.

Dag, A. & Gazit, S. (2000). Mango pollinators in Israel. Journal of Applied Horticulture, 2: 39-43.

Davis, A. E., Bickel, D. J., Saunders, M. E. & Rader, R. (2023). Crop‐pollinating Diptera have diverse diets and habitat needs in both larval and adult stages. Ecological Applications, 33: e2859.

Eardley, C., Roth, D., Clarke, J., Buchmann, S. & Gemmill, B. (2006). Pollinators and pollination: a resource book for policy and practice. African Pollinator Initiative (API), Pretoria, South Africa.

Eilers, E. J., Kremen, C., Smith Greenleaf, S., Garber, A. K. & Klein, A. M. (2011). Contribution of pollinator-mediated crops to nutrients in the human food supply. PLoS One, 6: e21363.

Elisante, F., Ndakidemi, P. A., Arnold, S. E. J., Belmain, S. R., Gurr, G. M., Darbyshire, I., Xie, G., Tumbo, J. & Stevenson, P. C. (2019). Enhancing knowledge among smallholders on pollinators and supporting field margins for sustainable food security. Journal of Rural Studies, 70: 75-86.

Fajardo, A. J., Medina, J. R., Opina, O. S. & Cervancia, C. R. (2008). Insect pollinators and floral visitors of mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. Carabao). The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, 91: 372-382.

Gallai, N., Salles, J. M., Settele, J. & Vaissière, B. E. (2009). Economic valuation of the vulnerability of world agriculture confronted with pollinator decline. Ecological Economics, 68: 810-821.

Garbach, K. & Morgan, G. P. (2017). Grower networks support adoption of innovations in pollination management: The roles of social learning, technical learning, and personal experience. Journal of Environmental Management, 204: 39-49.

Gusti, I. M., Gayatri, S. & Prasetyo, A. S. (2022). The affecting of farmer ages, level of education and farm experience of the farming knowledge about Kartu Tani benefits and methods of use in Parakan District, Temanggung Regency. Jurnal Litbang Provinsi Jawa Tengah, 19: 209-221.

Hall, D. M. & Martins, D. J. (2020). Human dimensions of insect pollinator conservation. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 38: 107-114.

Hall, D. M. & Steiner, R. (2019). Insect pollinator conservation policy innovations at subnational levels: Lessons for lawmakers. Environmental Science & Policy, 93: 118-128.

Hanes, S. P., Collum, K. K., Hoshide, A. K. & Asare, E. (2015). Grower perceptions of native pollinators and pollination strategies in the lowbush blueberry industry. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 30: 124-131.

Hegland, S.J., Nielsen, A., Lázaro, A., Bjerknes, A.L. & Totland, Ø. (2009) How does climate warming affect plant‐pollinator interactions? Ecology Letters, 12: 184-195.

Hevia, V., García-Llorente, M., Martínez-Sastre, R., Palomo, S., García, D., Miñarro, M., Pérez-Marcos, M., Sánchez, J. A. & González, J. A. (2020). Do farmers care about pollinators? A cross-site comparison of farmers’ perceptions, knowledge, and management practices for pollinator-dependent crops. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 19: 1-15.

Huda, A. N., Salmah, M. C., Hassan, A. A., Hamdan, A. & Razak, M. A. (2015). Pollination services of mango flower pollinators. Journal of Insect Science, 15: 113.

IPBES (2016). The assessment report of the intergovernmental science-policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services on pollinators, pollination and food production. Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Bonn, Germany.

Kasina, M., Kraemer, M., Martius, C. & Wittmann, D. (2009). Farmers’ knowledge of bees and their natural history in Kakamega district, Kenya. Journal of Apicultural Research, 48: 126-133.

Kennedy, C. M., Lonsdorf, E., Neel, M. C., Williams, N. M., Ricketts, T. H., Winfree, R. & Kremen, C. (2013). A global quantitative synthesis of local and landscape effects on wild bee pollinators in agroecosystems. Ecology Letters, 16: 584-599.

Kevan, P. G. & Phillips, T. P. (2001). The economic impacts of pollinator declines: an approach to assessing the consequences. Conservation Ecology, 5: 8.

Kevan, P. G. & Viana, B. F. (2003). The global decline of pollination services. Biodiversity, 4: 3-8.

Klein, A. M., Vaissière, B. E., Cane, J. H., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Cunningham, S. A., Kremen, C. & Tscharntke, T. (2007). Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 274: 303-313.

Krishna, A. (2007). For reducing poverty faster: Target reasons before people. World Development, 35: 1947-1960.

Laizer, H. C., Chacha, M. N. & Ndakidemi, P. A. (2019). Farmers’ knowledge, perceptions and practices in managing weeds and insect pests of common bean in Northern Tanzania. Sustainability, 11: 4076.

Lissaman, W. J., Casey, M. & Rowarth, J. S. (2013). Innovation and technology uptake on farm. In Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association, 75: 27-32.

Menz, M. H., Phillips, R. D., Winfree, R., Kremen, C., Aizen, M. A., Johnson, S.D. & Dixon, K. W. (2011). Reconnecting plants and pollinators: challenges in the restoration of pollination mutualisms. Trends in Plant Science, 16: 4-12.

Mubushar, M., Aldosari, F. O., Baig, M. B., Alotaibi, B. M. & Khan, A. Q. (2019). Assessment of farmers on their knowledge regarding pesticide usage and biosafety. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 26: 1903-1910.

Munyuli, T. (2011). Farmers’ perceptions of pollinators’ importance in coffee production in Uganda. Agricultural Sciences, 2: 318-333.

Ollerton, J., Winfree, R. & Tarrant, S. (2011). How many flowering plants are pollinated by animals? Oikos, 120: 321-326.

Osterman, J., Landaverde-González, P., Garratt, M. P., Gee, M., Mandelik, Y., Langowska, A., Minarro, M., Cole, L. J., Eeraerts, M., Bevk, D., Avrech, O., Koltowski, Z., Trujillo-Elisea, F. I., Paxton, R. J., Boreux, V., Seymour, C. L. & Howlett, B. G. (2021). On-farm experiences shape farmer knowledge, perceptions of pollinators, and management practices. Global Ecology and Conservation, 32: e01949.

Potts, S. G., Biesmeijer, J. C., Kremen, C., Neumann, P., Schweiger, O. & Kunin, W. E. (2010). Global pollinator declines: Trends, impacts and drivers. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 25: 345-353.

Ramírez, F. & Davenport, T. L. (2016). Mango (Mangifera indica L.) pollination: a review. Scientia Horticulturae, 203: 158-168.

Rawluk, A. & Saunders, M. E. (2019). Facing the gap: Exploring research on local knowledge of insect-provided services in agroecosystems. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 17: 108-117.

Ricketts, T. H., Regetz, J., Steffan‐Dewenter, I., Cunningham, S. A., Kremen, C., Bogdanski, A. & Viana, B. F. (2008). Landscape effects on crop pollination services: are there general patterns? Ecology Letters, 11: 499-515.

Sattaka, P., Pattaratuma, S. & Attawipakpaisan, G. (2017). Agricultural extension services to foster production sustainability for food and cultural security of glutinous rice farmers in Vietnam. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 38: 74-80.

Senapathi, D., Carvalheiro, L. G., Biesmeijer, J. C., Dodson, C. A., Evans, R. L., McKerchar, M., Morton, R. D., Moss, E. D., Roberts, S. P., Kunin, W. E., & Potts, S. G. (2015). The impact of over 80 years of land cover changes on bee and wasp pollinator communities in England. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282: 20150294.

Sharma, M. (2017). Effect of age and educational level of dairy farmers on knowledge and adoption of dairy farming practices in Kapurthala district of Punjab. International Journal of Farm Sciences, 6: 254-262.

Smith, B. M., Basu, P. C., Chatterjee, A., Chatterjee, S., Dey, U. K., Dicks, L. V., Giri, B., Laha, S., Majhi, R. K. & Basu, P. (2017). Collating and validating indigenous and local knowledge to apply multiple knowledge systems to an environmental challenge: a case-study of pollinators in India. Biological Conservation, 211: 20-28.

Sung, I. H., Lin, M. Y., Chang, C. H., Cheng, A. S., Chen, W. S. & Ho, K. K. (2006). Pollinators and their behaviors on mango flowers in southern Taiwan. Formosan Entomologist, 26: 161-170.

Sutherland, W. J., Gardner, T. A., Haider, L. J. & Dicks, L. V. (2013). How can local and traditional knowledge be effectively incorporated into international assessments? Oryx, 48: 1-2.

Tarakini, G., Chemura, A. & Musundire, R. (2020). Farmers’ knowledge and attitudes toward pollination and bees in a maize-producing region of Zimbabwe: Implications for pollinator

conservation. Tropical Conservation Science, 13: 194008292 0918534.

Uma, P., Tej, P., Sharma, H., Pushkin, P., Aungsathwi, M., Tamang, N., Tan, K. & Munawar, M. (2012). Value of insect pollinators to Himalayan agricultural economies. ICIMOD, Kathmandu.