“Alternative food networks” are good for you.Â
Vitamin A makes a convert
Grahame Jackson is a plant pathologist and root crops expert who’s been working in the South Pacific for I guess going on for 30 years now. ((Full disclosure: He’s also a good friend of mine.)) Yet he’s not afraid of admitting he can still learn something by doing intensive fieldwork, as you can read over at my old stamping ground, PGR News from the Pacific, now ably helmed by Tevita Kete:
Novelty crops
The October issue of USDA’s Agricultural Research Magazine has a number of pieces on “novelty crops,” which just seems to mean non-staples, although some of them are what is often referred to as neglected or underused species. Among the articles there’s one on how the National Plant Germplasm System is conserving the genetic diversity of these species.
Farmer Field Schools
I think we may have blogged before about a series of educational videos on the management of the rice crop aimed at your actual rice farmer. But there’s no harm in mentioning them again, especially since it gives me the opportunity of linking to the very useful resource centre of the Global Farmer Field School Network, which brings them all together and packages them with additional information. The site is serchable, and a quick look revealed quite a few interesting things on agrobiodiversity. Again, thanks to the indefatigable Danny for the link.
BGCI Video Project
Botanic Gardens Conservation International wants YOU to make a film! I hope some of them at least will be about the agricultural biodiversity that botanic gardens conserve and study — crop wild relatives, for example. But hey, don’t forget we have a video competition here too!