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20 June 2019 Economic Valuation of Bee Pollination Services for Passion Fruit (Malpighiales: Passifloraceae) Cultivation on Smallholding Farms in São Paulo, Brazil, Using the Avoided Cost Method
Allan E Popak, Scott H. Markwith
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Abstract

This paper estimates the economic value of ecosystem services provided by Brazilian native bee, Xylocopa spp. Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae), pollination on a scale relevant to individual smallholder farmers that produce yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims). The study areas are located in the vicinity of Pedro de Toledo and Itariri (Sao Paulo State—Brazil), in the Atlantic Forest region. The local economy is based on family farms, small stores, and ecotourism. The value was obtained using the ecological economics Avoided Cost Method, also known as replacement cost. Farms from this region informally hire temporary day laborers to supplement natural pollination with manual pollination of passion fruit flowers, so the cost of contracting temporary laborers was used to estimate the economic value of bee pollination. The value of pollination services was estimated at US$ 2,583.00 per hectare over 2 yr of P. edulis farming. Our estimates based on passion fruit farmer surveys and ecological valuation over 2 yr suggest that manual pollination accounts for 44–48% of production costs and results in a loss of ∼58% of profits when wild bee pollination services are not available and manual pollination is required. We suggest that smallholder farmers follow the suggestions of previous studies and conserve adequate forest habitat for bee nesting and foraging, plan pesticide use around flowering and pollination, and supplement bee populations to maximize the benefit of the pollination ecosystem service and profits.

© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Allan E Popak and Scott H. Markwith "Economic Valuation of Bee Pollination Services for Passion Fruit (Malpighiales: Passifloraceae) Cultivation on Smallholding Farms in São Paulo, Brazil, Using the Avoided Cost Method," Journal of Economic Entomology 112(5), 2049-2054, (20 June 2019). https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toz169
Received: 31 December 2018; Accepted: 28 May 2019; Published: 20 June 2019
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KEYWORDS
avoided cost method
bee pollination
economic valuation
ecosystem services
passion fruit
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