Author: Luigi Guarino

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Underutilized plants finally get an airing

We don’t usually reproduce press releases here, but this is a good cause.

Hundreds of little-known indigenous plant species support the lives of the rural poor. These plants often have medicinal properties, provide nutrients to women and children, and are used for building materials, fodder and a multitude of other uses.

Called neglected or “underutilized,” these species collectively receive little attention from researchers, extension officers, farmers, policy and decision makers, donors, technology providers and consumers, yet they are vital to the wellbeing of millions of people. Many have untapped potential for processing into refreshments and snacks and for trade in the domestic and regional markets, thus providing poor people with new income opportunities.

An international Symposium is convened in Arusha, Tanzania 3-7 March 2008. 209 participants from 54 countries have come together to share and discuss approaches to promote underutilized plants in four main areas of importance: food security, nutrition and health, income generation, and environmental sustainability.

The Symposium is co-convened under the umbrella of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) by the Sri Lanka-based International Centre for Underutilised Crops (ICUC) and the Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species, Bioversity International, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa, GlobalHort and AVRDC-The World Vegetable Center, whose Regional Office for Africa is the local host.

Dr Hannah Jaenicke, Director of ICUC and the main convener of the Symposium says: “Many underutilized crops are plants used by the poor to meet their daily needs; they are not high priorities for national governments as are commodity crops.”

She continues: “Many of the people working on these plants feel isolated. They have no access to information from other countries, which is often not published. This symposium provides a unique opportunity for experts from around the world to exchange ideas and develop strategies for future collaboration.”

The Hon. Minister for Education and Vocational Training, the former Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Prof. Jumanne Maghembe will open the symposium.

Dr. Sidi Sanyang, representing Dr. Monty Jones, the Executive Secretary of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), will present the keynote address. Other distinguished guests at the Opening Ceremony are Dr. Norman E. Looney, President of the International Society of Horticultural Sciences and Dr. Jeremiah Haki, Director for Research and Development, Department of Agriculture.

LATER: And here’s the report.

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Weekly helping of potatoes

The Economist seems to have a thing about potatoes this week. There’s a story about how Peru is trying to cash in on its spud heritage. (Note to editor: the olluco is not a type of potato.) There’s a book review, of John Reader’s Propitious Esculent. And there’s even an editorial explaining how the humble tuber is at the root — as it were — of globalization. The International Year of the Potato cannot be over too quickly.

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In other pomegranate news…

My recent post about the wild pomegranate of Socotra (Punica protopunica) elicited a comment from the publisher of an interesting-sounding book called Pomegranate Roads, by Dr Gregory Levin ((Regular readers will know that this fruit has been much on my mind recently.)):

For more than forty years, Dr Gregory Levin trekked across Central Asia and the Trans-Caucasus in search of rare, endangered and mysterious wild pomegranates. His home was a remote Soviet station in the mountains that separate Turkmenistan from Iran. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, he found himself exiled from his own hidden Eden and his collection of 1,117 pomegranates. Gregory Levin has written a fascinating memoir of his life with pomegranates. He illuminates the botany, the history and myths, the astonishing range of tastes, and the health benefits – from folklore to pharmaceuticals – that make it the wonder fruit of our time.

I hope to read the book soon, and review it here, but I wonder what Dr Levin would make of news from Kashmir that the local pomegranate variety — called “Dane” — is threatened by an insect pest. Is this variety conserved ex situ? If so, I hope it is found in a genebank other than the one in Jharkhand that was reported late last year to be threatened with annihilation. We haven’t heard anything on that lately, by the way, and a quick search on Google News revealed nothing. Does anyone know what’s going on?

P.S. Stefano Padulosi of Bioversity International worked with Dr Levin on the pomegranate collection. There’s a video of him talking about it on YouTube.