2. Key Outputs & Recommendations of the Project

Professor John Holland, Project Coordinator & Michelle Fountain, NIAB East Malling

After four years the BEESPOKE project comes to an end in June 2023. For our final conference organized as the ‘Policy Influencer Event: New solutions to help reverse Europe’s biodiversity and pollinator crisis on farmland’ (together with the Interreg NSR project PARTRIDGE) we summarized our key outputs and recommendations. This article highlights the main aspects. The following articles in the magazine will cover these outputs and recommendations in more detail.

Project overview

The North Sea Region is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the EU and across the EU the value of crop pollination was estimated at 15 billion. Support for creating pollinator rich habitats has been available for many years in most member states to help reverse declines in pollinators. However, uptake is often low. In addition, levels of crop pollination are rarely considered in crop management yet can have considerable impact on crop yields and quality.

The project was established to develop new expertise and tools for land managers and policy makers so that they can improve levels of pollinators and crop pollination, thereby creating more sustainable and resilient agroecosystems.

This included developing new wildflower seed mixes, training materials to improve management pollinators and measuring crop pollination, and predictive land management software. Many demonstration sites were also established to help us engage more directly with land managers and obtain feedback on our new tools. We also wanted to understand why land managers were not encouraging pollinators and whether current agri-environment schemes could be improved to better support pollinators. Surveys and economic investigations were therefore conducted. The BEESPOKE project was represented by 7 North Sea Region (NSR) countries with 18 partners including researchers, seed companies, and advisors.

Key outputs Seed mixes developed

Standard seed mixes contain a limited range of plant species. The project developed bespoke seed mixes to support pollinators of crops reliant upon bees for pollination (e.g. apples, and strawberries). We measured the attractiveness of our wildflower mixes to pollinators and other beneficial insects, and quantified the success of the seed mixes on farms.

Recommendations for seed mixes in general (page 16) and grassland mixes (page 18)

New wildflower areas

New wildflower areas were established on over 300 sites and the project partners reached out to over 350,000 people. This shows the level of interest in pollinators by all actors in the agricultural industry.

Recommendations for establishment, management and AES for wildflower areas (page 14)

Farmers attitudes

Very little information is available regarding farmer attitudes to pollinators and crop pollination. We carried out surveys of land managers to determine attitudes and experiences of supporting pollinators, crop pollination and agri-environment schemes across the NSR countries.

Research insights into costs & benefit from adaption of seed mixes (page 34) and adoption of pollinator management (page 36)

Agri-environment schemes

SWOT analyses were conducted for each countries agri-environment schemes (AES) measures to support pollinators. These were then analyzed to identify how their schemes could be improved. These findings and those from the project were used to develop a series of future policy recommendations.

Policy recommendations (page 14)

Training, guidance & online resources

In-field training events were conducted in each NSR country. Such approaches are the best way to engage land managers but do require considerable financial resources. We produced 10 guides on how to support pollinators and measure crop pollination and 30 videos covering pollinator identification, measuring pollination and wildflower habitat management. The project partners have widely promoted project findings and pollinator conservation through a wide range of media. We have created a legacy of free online resources available to farmers, politicians, advisors and the public.

Guides & tutorials (page 48-52) and research insights (page 27)

Predictive tools

Two predictive tools were also developed. The first quantified the levels of crop pollination by region or farm, and the second estimates the added value of flower areas for pollinators.

Predictive tools (page 41)

Key recommendations

Seed mixes

Wildflower seed mixes should be tailored for the locality (soil type), target insect groups and achievable maintenance regimes of mowing and management if to be successful. Annual and perennial flower seed mixes should be sown.

Native seeds - location

We recommend the use of locally grown seed, where possible, as local seed will be adapted to the local environment. However, no single seed mix fits all situations, targets or even budget and must be adapted to the needs of the farmer, crop and environment.

AES payments - economics

AES payments vary widely across the NSR countries. The costs of establishing and maintaining small areas of AES habitats is much higher than for crops and targeted wildflower mixes are also more expensive. As a result of this AES payments need to reflect these higher costs. AES should also include options to support flowering plants in all non-crop habitats such as woodland, scrubland, grassland and field margins.

Flexibility

AES rules need to be more flexible to give farmers ownership of what they plant and where. This will ultimately lead to an interest in implementing floral areas and deliver better results for the benefit of pollinators and the environment. The establishment of new wildflower areas can be difficult, hence AES should be flexible to accommodate variable weather, farm equipment and skills of the land manager.

Food for pollinators

Pollinators respond positively to the total abundance of floral resources and diversity of flowering species. The amount land taken out of production can be reduced if higher quality areas are created but this depends on land managers having the support, motivation and skills to create such habitats.

Multiple Benefits

Ideally, floral resources should span from March to October via a range of flower-rich habitats which can include grasslands, woodlands and hedgerows. Weeds can also provide valuable resources therefore herbicides should be used sparingly and scruffy areas left alone. By supporting insect fauna year-round, multiple benefits will be realized; not only pollination, but pest control services, biodiversity gains and added social value.

Advice

We believe that land managers need access to free training on benefits for crop pollination and management of pollinators and their habitats. Those providing the advice need knowledge of not just biodiversity and management but also agronomy and constraints that farmers are under.

The BEESPOKE project goes a long way toward these key recommendations and helps farmers, policy makers and advisors reach a more sustainable farming delivery system with greater benefits for wildlife, the environment and people. Overall, our key message is that we need to increase plant diversity and flower abundance on farmland if we are to create more resilient agro-ecosystems.