In the US, the cultivated area (hectares) and production (tonnes) of crops that require or benefit from insect pollination (directly dependent crops: apples, almonds, blueberries, cucurbits, etc.) increased from 1992, the first year in this study, through 1999 and continued near those levels through 2009; aggregate yield (tonnes/hectare) remained unchanged. The value of directly dependent crops attributed to all insect pollination (2009 USD) decreased from 14.29billionin1996,thefirstyearforvaluedatainthisstudy,to10.69 billion in 2001, but increased thereafter, reaching 15.12billionby2009.Thevaluesattributedtohoneybeesandnon−Apispollinatorsfollowedsimilarpatterns,reaching11.68 billion and 3.44billion,respectively,by2009.Thecultivatedareaofcropsgrownfromseedsresultingfrominsectpollination(indirectlydependentcrops:legumehays,carrots,onions,etc.)wasstablefrom1992through1999,buthassincedeclined.Productionofthosecropsalsodeclined,albeitnotasrapidlyasthedeclineincultivatedarea;thisasymmetrywasduetoincreasesinaggregateyield.Thevalueofindirectlydependentcropsattributedtoinsectpollinationdeclinedfrom15.45 billion in 1996 to 12.00billionin2004,buthassincetrendedupward.Thevalueofindirectlydependentcropsattributedtohoneybeesandnon−Apispollinators,exclusiveofalfalfaleafcutterbees,hasdeclinedsince1996to5.39 billion and 1.15billion,respectivelyin2009.Thevalueofalfalfahayattributedtoalfalfaleafcutterbeesrangedbetween4.99 and $7.04 billion. Trend analysis demonstrates that US producers have a continued and significant need for insect pollinators and that a diminution in managed or wild pollinator populations could seriously threaten the continued production of insect pollinated crops and crops grown from seeds resulting from insect pollination
This report examines the economic aspects of occupational safety and health (OSH) interventions in small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). First, case studies in the existing literature were identified and examined. Second, 13 new case studies on OSH initiatives in European SMEs were developed, with a business case for each intervention prepared according to a common model. The OSH interventions studied were generally profitable, and these new case studies therefore provide a useful tool to allow owners and managers of SMEs an insight into the potential benefits of improving OSH and the key factors involved in carrying out a cost–benefit analysis