- All hail the garden of agrobiodiversity that is the Southern Caucasus, says FAO.
- Paywalled Nature paper links biodiversity with disease spread — even in agriculture. Get it here.
- Roman pig yields the secrets of tasty pork — in about another 2000 years.
- Nepal’s genebank goes from strength to strength.
- Rare Breeds Survival Trust gets lifetime achievement award. Good to gnaw.
- “It’s high time the ancestral knowledge possessed by small farmers and indigenous people was appreciated at its true value.” Climate change edition.
What is biodiversity?
You know what? This video is really rather good. Hats off to the team at the Vancouver Film School.
Indian movement to change agricultural policy
The Kisan Swaraj Yatra is a nation-wide mobilization drawing fresh attention to the continuing agricultural crisis in India, and calling for a comprehensive new path for Indian agriculture – that will provide livelihood and food security for small farmers, keep our soils alive, and our food and water poison-free. The bus-Yatra will start at the Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram on Oct 2nd, and pass through 20 states to reach Rajghat, New Delhi on Dec 11th.
Tell the Indian government to stop anti-farmer pro-corporatist policies, ensure dignified livelihoods for farming community, and promote sustainable agriculture. Send this petition to Smt.Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of UPA.
Only just discovered this — it is scheduled to end on 11 December — and am hoping someone else will do the needful and summarize its achievements for us at some point.
A preview of climate change
Congratulations to our friends at CIAT, who produced this engrossing trailer to show why farmers and researchers need to start preparing to adapt to climate change now.
Nibbles: Cancun, Wine, Zambia, Bees
- Just in time. Agriculture and Rural Development Day 2010 now has RSS.
- “It wasn’t debilitated in any way.” World’s oldest beer and wine drunk.
- Zambian farmers buy seeds, fertilisers and herbicides by mobile phone. What could possibly go wrong?
- Red bees! A little too much biodiversity to blame? h/t Tasting Cultures