- India to research bees in detail.
- Yak knob to go with your yak milk, sir?
- George Lucas does his bit to conserve a weird cattle breed, the Japanese wagyu. Well, kinda.
- Was the typical English village founded around 900 AD as a result of monastically-driven agricultural innovation?
- Diverse healthy reasons to drink beer; Luigi unavailable for comment.
Unconsidered, unbalanced, unreviewed ideas on local diversity
I do not write as an authority in agriculture or as a geneticist but nothing beats experience!
Of course, if I were into the whole brevity thing I’d just say that Adyeri Kanyaihe is pro locally adapted varieties. In an article on “Uganda’s leading website” Kanyaihe extolls the virtues, as he or she perceives them, of “indigenous seeds”. And to be honest, there’s not a lot wrong with the reasoning Kanyaihe exhibits. But don’t take my word for it. Pop on over to The New Vision and read about the tiny tasty tomato that thrives on hardship.
Tropical beer
You may remember a post a few days ago on how barley is being replaced by sorghum for commercial beer-brewing in West Africa. Coincidentally, Timbuktu Chronicles pointed me to a 2004 paper which evaluated different local replacements for hops. Sorghum-and-cola beer, anyone? Anyone?
Nibbles: Genebanks, organic, fair, chocolate
- American farming family gets tour of organic research farm and genebank in India, is impressed.
- The International Agricultural Show is on, just outside Paris. Pres. Sarkozy available for comment.
- A rapid run-through the history of chocolate, courtesy of Smithsonian.
Nibbles: Japan, BBC TV, sauce, basmati, banana
- Indoor farms in Tokyo, growing a diversity of non-pot crops, to train yoof. Via.
- BBC News web site picks up on BBC World TV documentary on neglected species.
- The geography of sauce in South Carolina.
- India and Pakistan find something to agree on: basmati rice.
- Have we already mentioned this new book on bananas?