When even lots of diversity is not enough

It was great to hear on the BBC’s Food Programme about all the cool stuff that’s going on in India to preserve its agricultural biodiversity. But it’s as well to remember that even such mega-diverse countries, and its farmers, can’t do it all on their own. By coincidence, after listening to Dan Saladino being schooled on the awesomeness of so-called “minor” millets, I read a paper on one of these, kodo millet, which suggested that, despite the diversity available, especially in Bihar, access to the African genepool and wild species would still be useful to broaden the genetic base of the crop in India.

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