Category: Genebanks

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Inside Abu Ghraib

We’ve been keeping more than a brief eye on the blog of The Iraqi Seed Project but things have been a little quiet. Not surprising, really; they have better things to do than post their field notes to the internet. Today, though, a wonderful surprise. The filmmakers got to the Iraqi National Genebank at Abu Ghraib and, better yet, got to meet Mrs Sanaa Abdul Wahab. She’s the woman who saved some of the Iraqi accessions during the 2003 invasion. It was our report of her bravery that partly prompted The Iraqi Seed Project to seek her out, so we’re really glad they found her. And their report of progress at Abu Ghraib — complete with great pictures — is mostly reassuring. Sure, they need equipment and infrastructure, but the resources are there and in good hands.

Aren’t the interwebs wonderful?

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Too many early warning systems spoil the broth

The EU-funded operation will improve food security of more than 860 000 rural households, over 6 million people. The aim is to boost food production by making improved seeds available to needy farmers and to promote sustainable seed multiplication and certification.

Difficult to argue with the aim of this FAO project in Burkina Faso. One could perhaps offer alternatives as to the methods, but it is difficult to argue with the aim, and with the urgency of the situation. So the only observation I’ll offer — and not for the first time — is that it would be nice if projects of this kind also included a little bit of money for a rapid assessment of whether local landraces are adequately conserved ex situ in the national and international genebanks, and for their rescue collecting as necessary. FAO has a Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture which identifies problem situations such as that currently unfolding in Burkina Faso. But it also has a World Information and Early Warning System on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. One sometimes has to wonder whether the two talk to each other.