- Conservation genetics papers from Latin America, courtesy of special issue of the Journal of Heredity. No ag, but no problem.
- African aquaculture takes off. Or perhaps rises to the surface would be more appropriate.
- Expert parses what experts said “sustainable intensification” means.
- Leafy greens and wine good for oldies. Good to know.
- Student Organic Seed Symposium to discuss “Growing the Organic Seed Spectrum: A Community Approach” in a few days’ time.
- How to tweet. At scientific conferences, that is.
- Maguey genebank in the offing. Well worth tweeting about.
- Arusha Protocol on the Protection of New Plant Varieties (Plant Breeders’ Rights) adopted. Basically UPOV 1999 for Africa. But I suspect the polemics are only just starting.
Princely state of the British apple
Our readers have known for some years now that HRH Prince Charles has taken over a collection of apple varieties. Not so readers of the Sunday Times, apparently. Unfortunately, the article describing the Prince’s efforts to save the British apple is behind a paywall, so we cannot for now say whether it adds anything to the story we already knew. Maybe someone out there with a subscription can help us.
SDGs recognize agrobiodiversity and genebanks
The final version (pdf) of the Post-2015 Development Agenda was posted online about a day or so back after an all-nighter in New York.
For those who are just waking up, read the final version of the Post-2015 Development Agenda here http://t.co/c9PHgLvHCE #SDGs #Post2015
— UN DESA Sustainable Development (@SustDev) August 1, 2015
I’m glad to say Target 2.5, which highlights the importance of agricultural biodiversity, has survived intact. This includes a specific reference to genebanks, as also does an additional target (2.a) on funding. Here is the full text:
2.5 By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and ensure access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed
2.a Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their respective programmes of action
This should make it a lot easier to raise money for genebanks in the future. To see how these particular targets relate to the overall goal of ending hunger and improving nutrition, here’s the full set of targets agreed under Goal 2:
Prize for plants programme
It’s not clear whether it was due to her magisterial BBC programme Plants: From Roots to Riches, but Prof. Kathy Willis has won the Royal Society’s prestigious Michael Faraday Prize for excellence in communicating science to UK audiences. You’ll remember the programme features genebanks quite prominently. Well worth listening to. Congratulations to Prof. Willis, who is Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
ICRAF in forage shrub germplasm giveaway
I liked this idea from the World Agroforestry Centre’s Facebook page:
World Agroforestry Centre through its Rural Advisory Services (RAS) unit is doing research on innovative ways of reaching farmers. We have partnered with the Mediae Company to feature 4 episodes on fodder shrubs on the Shamba Shape UP (SSU) program that airs on Citizen TV every Saturday and Sunday at 1.30pm. In addition we are holding a Facebook competition on the SSU Facebook page. The competition is aimed at creating awareness on the use of fodder shrubs among viewers and followers of the page. Answer two questions and get a chance to win 1 ICRAF T-shirt, 1 ICRAF cap/hat, 100g packet of Calliandra seeds and 1 brochure on how to plant fodder shrubs for more milk and cash.
That’s one way of getting germplasm out the genebank door! But I think it shouldn’t be just Calliandra. Let’s get those farmers playing around with lots of different species. And what, incidentally, is second prize?