Nibbles: Rice, Tamil Nadu genebank, Seed Day, Olives, Nordic Cattle, Marmite, Musa, Butterflies, Congo

Japonica rice heads for the tropics for first time.
Yet another Indian genebank opens its doors.
And from somewhere else in India, we are alerted to the fact that today is International Seed Day.
The biggest little olive farm in the world? Texas virgin on sale.
Old endangered Norwegian cattle more efficient than modern breed. Genetics too.
Foods, words, politics — a heady brew.
Banana vs plantain. Jeremy says: Someone is wrong on the internet.
Butterfly farming in Kenya under the spotlight. Again.
Launch video of the expedition down the Congo river; agriculture only a pretty backdrop.

A paean to diverse diets is just what we all need.
And another one, from the MIT Technology Review of all places.
Menawhile, there’s only one reference to dietary diversity in the World Bank’s investment framework for nutrition.
Maybe you have to quantify that diversity before you can save it? Now where have I heard that before?
Meanwhile, Europe reports on biodiversity-friendly farming practices. Does that include the biodiversity of the actual crops? Perhaps surprisingly, yes!
You want biodiversity-friendly farming practices? Talk to Indigenous people. The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) has launched an e-consultation on “Preserving, strengthening and promoting Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems and traditional practices for sustainable food systems.”
There’s diversity in asparagus too.
Genebanks can help with those biodiversity-friendly practices, diverse diets and rops and Indigenous practices.
Even big international genebanks.
Even the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
But some are in trouble.
Though others are coming back.