Climate change

November 15, 2022November 17, 2022

Big Ag tells world how to fix ag, world tells Big Ag “heal thyself”

Readers may remember a recent Nibble on a report by some Big Ag head honchos saying that we’re destroying the planet and we should, you know, stop. That was met mainly by shouts of “who’s this we?” and variations thereof.

Well, so now there’s a another report by what seems to be a different set of Big Ag head honchos, but the response is predictably similar.

All grist to the COP27 mill, I guess, where for once agriculture is front and center.

You see what I did there?

November 5, 2022

Nibbles: Trevor Williams, ICRISAT genebank, Irish seedbank, Domestication video, COP27 genebank webinar, Pasturelands, Big Food report, Mesopotamian cooking

The late Prof. Trevor Williams, one of the pioneers of genebanking, in the news.
The President of Niger visits a genebank, makes the news.
Irish seedbanking in the news.
Dr Mark Chapman on how to study domestication using seeds in genebanks.
COP27 webinar on using seeds in genebanks for climate change adaptation.
Pasturelands: sometimes genebanks are not enough. Though even then I bet they can help.
Big Food still not doing much to support genebanks, despite reports such as this.
A book on ancient Mesopotamian cooking. Who can think of the best link to genebanks?

November 3, 2022November 3, 2022

Nibbles: Edible Memory, Tomatomania, British apples, Turgovian pear, Climate & crops, Food systems buzzwords, NTBG jobs, World Food Day 2022

Edible Memory for free, for a month. Heirloom tomatoes and more.
Speaking of heirloom tomatoes… Tomatomania! The podcast. And the website.
The ritual autumn BBC story on heirloom apples. Anyone for applemania?
Would you settle for pearmania? Perrymania actually.
Mania or no, crops have taken a hit this year.
The truth behind some buzzwords in food systems discourse from IPES-Food. Spoiler alert: agroecologymania.
Some cool breadfruit etc. jobs going in Hawaii at the National Tropical Botanical Garden.
Kent Nnadozie has a pretty cool job at the Plant Treaty, here’s an interview with him on the occasion of World Food Day.

October 3, 2022September 28, 2022

Brainfood: Diversity & stability, Diversity & profitability, Rotations, Food environments, Food system transitions, Deforestation & ag, Great Lakes priorities, Translational research, Field size, Genetic erosion

Consistent stabilizing effects of plant diversity across spatial scales and climatic gradients. More species-diverse communities are more stable. Ok, what about agricultural systems though?
Financial profitability of diversified farming systems: A global meta-analysis. Total costs, gross income and profits were higher in diversified systems, and benefit-cost ratio similar to simplified systems. No word on stability, alas.
Global systematic review with meta-analysis reveals yield advantage of legume-based rotations and its drivers. Integrating a legume into your low-diversity/low-input cereal system can boost main crop yields by 20%. I wonder if this meta-analysis was included in the above meta-analysis. Again, no word on stability though.
The influence of food environments on dietary behaviour and nutrition in Southeast Asia: A systematic scoping review. It’s the affordability, stupid. Should have gone for more diversified farming I guess :)
Global food systems transitions have enabled affordable diets but had less favourable outcomes for nutrition, environmental health, inclusion and equity. Well according to this, industrialised farming (ie simplification) has led to more affordable diets. But we know from the above that diversification can be profitable. So it was the wrong kind of simplification? Can we diversify now and maintain affordability while also improving nutrition, environmental health, inclusion and equity? Wouldn’t that be something.
Disentangling the numbers behind agriculture-driven tropical deforestation. Ending deforestation is not enough. The resulting agriculture must be diversified in the right way too, I guess.
Strategizing research and development investments in climate change adaptation for root, tuber and banana crops in the African Great Lakes Region: A spatial prioritisation and targeting framework. Diversifying with drought-tolerant bananas and heat-tolerant potatoes is all well and good, but you also have to know where exactly to diversify, and here’s how.
Translational research in agriculture. Can we do it better? Difficulty developing drought-tolerant bananas and heat-tolerant potatoes? Get more diverse peer-reviewers.
Increasing crop field size does not consistently exacerbate insect pest problems. When you diversify, don’t worry too much about making fields bigger.
Genetic diversity loss in the Anthropocene. You can predict change in genetic diversity from change in range size, and the average is about a 10% loss already. Ok, what about agricultural systems though? Wait, isn’t this where we came in? My brain hurts…

September 28, 2022September 28, 2022

Nibbles: Ghana genebank, Indian crop breeding, Bhutan genebank, Grafting, Vielfalt auf Feldern und Tellern

Genebank pushes Bambara groundnut in Ghana.
Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University develops new varieties, deposits them in Indian genebank.
Bhutan’s national genebank explains its work.
Grafting fruit trees in India to save them.
All of the above contribute to SDG 2.5.
All of the above are needed to get out of the food and climate crises. How? Crop Trust executive directors explains for German speakers.