Nibbles: Maize history, Maize in Tanzania, WorldVeg feature, Pigeonpea speed breeding, Valuing nature in food, GIAHS, Ancient Egyptian brewing redux

  1. The history of maize — according to Pioneer.
  2. The importance of maize — according to Dr Mujuni Sospeter Kabululu, Curator, National Plant Genetic Resources Centre—Tanzania.
  3. The future of vegetables — according to WorldVeg.
  4. The future of pigeonpea — according to ICRISAT.
  5. How should we value nature in our food systems? By true cost accounting — according to TABLE.
  6. A good way to value nature in our food systems is through recognizing Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems — according to FAO.
  7. How strong was ancient Egyptian beer? Not very — according to ethnoarcheobotanists. But it’s still worth trying to reproduce it — according to me. Seneb!

Brush up your seedcraft

I recently came across a few interesting resources that I’d like to share.

Bangor University has a publication out that might be useful to people doing research — or perhaps even implementing projects — having to do with in situ conservation: Conservation social science: A handbook for conducting research on rule breaking in conservation. 1

Understanding who follows rules and why, is pivotal for shaping and informing the design of conservation policy and strategies on the ground. If based on erroneous assumptions, sustainable solutions are unlikely to be realised. Conservation scientists need skills and methods that help them understand the prevalence and drivers of illegal activities.

I never really thought about it, but yeah, I guess they do. In any case, always a good idea for biology-focused conservationists to brush up on social science methods.

I’m not sure if the Center for Plant Conservation’s Applied Plant Conservation Course deals with rule-breaking explicitly, but Module V: Common Reasons for Reintroduction/Mitigation Failure might well cover it to some extent.

And finally, Kew has a cryopreservation course in the works for November 2025. And a more general seed conservation techniques course for October. No illegal activities are envisaged.

Nibbles: Indian vault, Sundarban rice, Community seed banks, Fiji cassava, Georgia documentary, Kenya seed network, Nigeria mobilizes, Coffee prizes, Slow Food guardians, Peasant seed sovereignty, World Economic Forum seed pean, Seed sector shindig, Genesys acceleration

  1. Times of India says “India needs a new doomsday seed vault.” Why not just use the one already there in Svalbard?
  2. Meanwhile, women in the Sundarban are doing it for themselves.
  3. Maybe it’s community doomsday seed vaults that India needs?
  4. Fiji’s cassava is facing a doomsday of its own.
  5. Georgia — the country — is working on a documentary on crop diversity which will no doubt include their seed deposit in Svalbard.
  6. Kenya has a pretty good community genebanks video of its own.
  7. Nigeria is all over crop diversity. Not just once, but twice.
  8. Coffee prices going up? Can you imagine what will happen if we don’t conserve enough of its diversity?
  9. Want more examples of the coolness of crop diversity and its guardians? Slow Food has your back.
  10. La Via Campesina needs to encouragement either, where “peasant seeds” and their guardians are concerned.
  11. Even the World Economic Forum wants in on the act.
  12. And yet the seed sector seems…reluctant?
  13. Good job Genesys is getting faster, eh?

Brainfood: Complementarity, Temporality, Communality, Fonio trifecta, Atriplex domestication, Egyptian clover in India, Genebank information systems

Nibbles: Nourishing investments, Genebank RoI, Seed science double, Ecuador genebank, Ethiopian genebank, MSSRF genebank, CG genebanks, Botanic gardens, SwissAid saves seeds, Brazil conservation, Indian diner, Kenyan food, Saladino on citrus, Lost apple, Seed Savers, Hybrids, Germplasm crime