The Economic Value of Bees as Pollinators of Crops in Iran

Assessment of the economic value of crop pollination by bees necessitates the need for conserving the insect pollinator diversity. A decline in the population of insect pollinators in ecosystems can result in a decrease in crop production, vegetation cover, an extinction of a number of plant species, and as a result the degradation of ecosystem services and health. The economic value of bee pollinators was determined based on the portion of the value of crops attributed to pollination by bees. This value was calculated based on the yield and the value of each crop, the dependency of each crop on bee pollinators and the proportion of wild native bee and honey bee pollinators. The economic value of crop pollination by bees was 6.59 billion dollars, of which, 5.72 billion dollars is attributable to the pollinators that are honey bees and 0.87 billion dollars is attributable to native bees. The value of the crops pollinated by bees was estimated to be 25% of the total value of crops. The value of crops pollinated by honey bees was 54 times the value of honey production by bees. Based on the economic value of bee pollinators, the use of organic farming techniques, the use of less toxic and highly selective pesticides and herbicides, construction of nest boxes for pollinators and introduction of a variety of native plant species can help to conserve high level of diversity of bee pollinator species and the pollination services.