Bees, birds, beetles, butterflies, bats, and other animals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. Your morning coffee, the chocolate cake you had for dessert, and the diversity of fruits, vegetables, and nuts that provide your body with essential nutrients were all made possible thanks to pollinators.  

This November on Agrilinks, we are excited to highlight the importance of pollinators for food security and nutrition. We’ll be showcasing research and development projects that demonstrate how pollinators contribute to global food security and nutrition goals and highlight examples of how pollinator conservation can be incorporated into agricultural activities for the benefit of people and nature. 

November’s theme month was inspired by the release of a new USAID report, The Importance of Wild Pollinators for Food Security and Nutrition. This report summarizes the contributions of wild pollinators to each of the three 2016 United States Government Global Food Security Strategy objectives:

1. Inclusive and sustainable agriculture-led economic growth,
2. Strengthened resilience among people and systems, and
3. A well-nourished population.

The report also describes the current status of pollinator populations and threats to their conservation and highlights how strategies to conserve pollinators can strengthen food security and nutrition investments while improving broader environmental conditions. 

Agrilinks theme months are an important way for Feed the Future to consolidate and share learning and good practices on a given topic, identify and fill knowledge gaps, and draw attention to outstanding work being done on an important cross-cutting theme.

This month — as those of us in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving by eating pollinator-dependent foods such as pumpkin, cranberry sauce, and apple pie — we encourage individuals in the community with research and case studies to submit content for this month and join us in coming together for a greater understanding of the role of pollinators in a food secure future.