- Economist blogger tells conservationists to stop with the hotspot mapping already, and conserve something. DIVA-GIS developers unavailable for comment.
- Some of the tea in China.
- Filipinos abandon cannabis for silk. Jeremy comments: you can smoke silk?
- Nice tree photos.
- FT does the interactive thing with rising food prices. Via. Let them eat pasta, I say.
- Wanted: more mid-sized farms to fight The Man.
- Watch out world. Mississippi set to industrialise basil production.
- Ten reasons AGRA won’t work.
- A tale of two rice-growers; how the crop has fared in Brazil and China.
- Danes meet to save seeds.
- Southern Africans meet to save seeds.
Nibbles: Crabs, barley, IAASTD, wine, vegetables
- Why fisheries management is so often a failure.
- Climate change threatens beer. Luigi appalled. Via.
- IIED to answer questions raised by IAASTD. Chef comments, “Your alphabet soup is ready now.”
- Not enough Sangiovese in Brunello di Montalcino. Jeremy appalled.
- People in the burbs really into growing vegetables all of a sudden.
Uganda releases new soybean variety
A brief report on AllAfrica.com says that Ugandan scientists have released a new soybean variety known as MNG 8.10. The variety is resistant to a soybean rust (presumably not Asian soybean rust, or they’d be making a much bigger deal about it) and gives a yield of up to 2.5 tons per hectare.
That’s great news for the breeders and for Uganda’s soybean farmers. Just one churlish question; who will be eating the soybeans? Livestock in Uganda? Livestock in some other country? Or hungry Ugandans?
Going down to the market
Markets for agrobiodiversity to the fore today. Two resources highlighted by Eldis look at strategies for agricultural diversification and at the importance of assessing market potential in prioritizing among indigenous fruit trees for promotion and development. And once you get your high-value agricultural product to market you will want to guard against pilferage and counterfeiting, won’t you?
Nibbles: Bananas, health, IAASTD, Israeli genebank
- IITA blankets Ghana with micro-propagated bananas. How many varieties?
- Hey, yesterday was Biodiversity and World Health Day. Who knew? (Agriculture not relevant.)
- IAASTD says agriculture needs “…a new paradigm…” Discuss.
- Israeli genebank has to fight for cash. Jeremy comments: alert the media.