Author: Jeremy Cherfas

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Photos of silk culture in Kenya

Sericulture Slideshow: Wereh’s trip to Nairobi, Kenya was created by TripAdvisor.

Wereh promoted his interesting blog The Youths and Agriculture on a network I joined, and I’m happy to point to it here. Given the popularity of all our posts on raising silkworms in Kenya (and my own fond memories of keeping silkworms as a child) I took a look at a slideshow he’d made. It did rekindle those memories, although I question its real value. Honestly, Wereh, if you’re reading this: a decent photofilm would be much more useful, I suspect. They aren’t hard to make. There are people in Nairobi who might be able to help. Of course it would take longer and be more difficult than handing all your photos to a piece of software and bunging on some loud music and titles, but it would be more satisfying and result in a product you could be really proud of and that might do some good.

I’m embedding the video here with some trepidation, even though I have removed a few of the more gratuitous links. If it clogs up the works, I’ll take it down and just leave a link.

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Nibbles: Oca, Blog, Phones, UPOV, Finding seeds

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Featured: How to get better taro

There’s a right and a wrong way to go about things. Grahame Jackson patiently spells out the right way for Cameroon to get blight-resistant taro:

We have a world network for the improvement of edible aroids that includes, taro and cocoyam; Cameroon is not a member. But if someone in the government requested our help I am confident assistance would be given. The assistance would be varieties from the Pacific that have been bred for resistance to taro leaf blight. The introduction of the varieties has to be done through govt agencies because of plant quarantine concerns. Import licences have to be issued, IP documents signed, phytosanitary documents raised, etc., etc. This is not difficult, but takes time, and has to involve govt agencies.

So how about it? Why isn’t the government of Cameroon interested?

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What’s the Greek bank worth?

Among 18 new projects funded by the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation is Valuation of the Greek Gene Bank. The project summary makes fascinating reading. Here’s a snip:

[R]esources of the Greek Gene Bank are under imminent threat, linked to financial pressures, with risk of loss affecting as much as 50% of the Collections …

Do you suppose that 50% might be an under- or over-estimate? Either way, the announcement creates all sorts of temptations to speculate on links between the health of genebanks and that of central banks. Just a thought, but wouldn’t it be a great idea to have a European Central Genebank to, like, remove the temptation for countries to neglect their national genebanks and fib about accessions, viability levels, distribution and so on?

Still, the project report should make interesting reading for genebank managers and their friends everywhere.

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Nibbles: Fish blog, El Guardabosques, Andean crops, Traditional knowledge