Rabobank Industry Note 252-2011: Why the Loss of Honey Bee Colonies May Sting Global Agriculture

Some 90 agricultural crops are to some extent dependent on animal pollination. In the past 50 years, global production of pollination-dependent crops has grown at an accelerated pace (nearly quintupled) relative to the overall growth in food production (nearly tripled). In other words, pollination-dependent crops represent a larger proportion of the average diet than they did 50 years ago. The US has been identified as a key risk region. Production of pollinated crops has quadrupled since 1961 whereas the number of managed bee colonies has more than halved. The consequence is that the average number of bee colonies per pollination-requiring hectare has declined by nearly 90 percent. This development illustrates the growing inherent risk of colony losses as the average colony is responsible for a greater pollination task. The question is how much further this situation can be stretched in the US.

Source: Rabobank Industry Note 252-2011: Why the Loss of Honey Bee Colonies May Sting Global Agriculture (attached)