Jeremy Cherfas

July 18, 2011July 18, 2011

Heat vs Water: the death match

Although we write about the impact of climate change on agricultural biodiversity, and the need for biodiversity in plans to adapt agriculture to climate change, this is not a climate change blog. If it were, I’d be writing at length about some strange stuff going down.

The US is facing both a drought and a heatwave. The drought is getting a lot of attention, the heatwave, not so much. The thing is, as Michael J. Roberts points out, the drought isn’t as bad as it looks, partly because there is irrigation where it seems worst, and partly because “standard drought indicators don’t predict crop outcomes especially well”.

The heat may be far more important for crop yields especially coming, as it is, at a sensitive time, as the corn (maize) begins to blossom.

Roberts, an economist, is thus “much more bullish” about corn prices. That is, he expects them to go up, not because of speculation but because the supply is likely to fall short.

All of which raises some questions.

Is there a reliable heat danger index or forecasting tool for any crop?
Is anyone in the US breeding maize to withstand higher extremes of temperature?
How about switching to something more heat tolerant, like sorghum or a millet?
Especially for biofuel, if they really think that’s a good use for maize?
If they did switch, would people eat it?

I don’t want to belabour the point, but all the things we say people in Africa ought to think about doing, people in the US might want to consider too.

July 13, 2011July 14, 2011

Nibbles: Cuba, India, Kansas, Amazonia, Rice, Fonio, Rare breed

A Cuban tells us what he thinks is wrong with Cuban agriculture.
Rahul Goswami has two long, thoughtful articles, on how India’s next five year plan is not realistic about either food or urbanisation.
And what’s worse in the US today, drought, or heat? Do we have to choose?
Less than 1% of Amazonia is made of Terra Preta. Is that enough? I dunno, how about you?
Wanna buy some rice? I wonder if African rice, heirlooms and endophytes will get a look-in.
Better bread from minor African grains. Digitaria, that is.
Dairy Shorthorn in trouble in the UK.

July 13, 2011July 13, 2011

Food Vendor films

IRIN, “a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,” has launched a new series of short films.

The Food Vendor tells the story of staple foods in different countries around the world and sheds light on the problems faced by the world’s poor in light of rising food prices.

I watched the first one, on lentils in Nepal, and found it rather tasty, so I thought I would share it here. Alas, unless I’m missing a trick, that does not seem possible. I can download it alright, and share the link on other sites, but I cannot seem to embed the movie here. Too bad, I suppose.

And if you’re into artisanal food processing, just look at the way the woman carefully wet-grinds the lentils at the start of the film.

July 12, 2011July 12, 2011

Nibbles: Food Deserts, Garlics, Communication, Bee breeding, Millets, Sweet potatoes, Visualizing herbaria, Medieval beer

The Economist discovers food deserts. Money quote: “some Americans simply do not care to eat a balanced diet, while others, increasingly, cannot afford to”.
William Woys Weaver on garlics, and America, and garlic in America.
Agricultural Communication for Development conference. Sure. But 12 days long?
Breeding a better bee. And why not?
Kenya Agricultural research Institute to release three new high-yielding finger millets.
Too many sweet potato seedlings. What’s a poor breeder to do?
A visual history of California botanizing.
Ah, to have lived at a time when a man got most of his calories from beer! No, wait…

July 11, 2011July 11, 2011

A banana is a banana

The identification of Musa paradisiaca with a plantain and Musa sapientum with a sweet banana probably reinforced the tendency to associate each name with a type of fruit, respectively plantain for the cooking types and banana for the sweet types. In fact this distinction is entirely semantic and artificial. It has no botanical basis, nor indeed any consistent culinary basis. A banana is a banana, whether it is cooked or eaten raw.

But you knew that, right? The quotation is taken from the Musapedia on the all-new, all-singing, all-dancing ProMusa website. So for more than you could possibly want to know about banana nomenclature, and much else besides, you now know where to go.

Now, just remind me, what is the difference between a banana and a plantain?