CGRFA16 in full swing

Ah, yes, the Commission on PGRFA is meeting in Rome, for the sixteenth time.

Status of Multilaterlal System (MLS) of the International Treaty for access and sharing of #seed material #CGRFA16 #ITPGRFA @FAOKnowledge pic.twitter.com/jtwaY6QuSl

— Francois Pythoud (@FrancoisPythoud) January 31, 2017

Correction: It’s of course the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food & Agriculture, not just plants, as my original “PGRFA” suggested. My mistake. Sheer force of habit to include that “P.” The remit of the Commission has long included “animal, forest, aquatic and microbe/invertebrate genetic resources for food and agriculture, and guides an additional global assessment on biodiversity for food and agriculture.” Thanks to Irene Hoffman for the correction. Apologies all round.

Fresh Nibbles

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.

Published on November 7, 2024

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