Indigenous knowledge systems

October 31, 2018October 31, 2018

Who feeds Africa?

I thought I’d share the summary poster from that GRAIN paper on African farmers’ seed systems that I just Nibbled.

I may blog in more detail about this, but for now let me just say that even if you fully agree with all this it’s still possible to see a role for “formal sector” genebanks, as back-ups and facilitators of (especially long-distance) germplasm exchange. Why doesn’t the paper recognize this? Even if farmers’ seed systems do feed Africa, do they necessarily have to do it on their own?

October 31, 2018October 31, 2018

NIbbles: Banana collecting, Perennial staples, Gender myths, Biodiversity on farm, Farmers’ seeds

Collecting bananas in Bougainville.
More about breeding perennial versions of staple crops.
Surveys and statistics are not enough to better understand respective roles of women and men in food production and security.
There are diverse farms in California too.
GRAIN paper says farmers’ seed systems feed Africa. But surely all those community seed banks could do with support and back-up, not to mention new, additional diversity, from formal sector genebanks?

October 22, 2018October 22, 2018

Nibbles: ITPGRFA, CIMMYT, VIR, Livestock & CC, Vesuvius, Apple pie, Biobanking

The Plant Treaty tries to enhance itself: the story so far.
CIMMYT gets a podcast. Here’s one on blue maize.
The Vavilov collection put to good use. Again.
“Cow farts cause more climate change than cars.” Not really. Here comes the science, by way of a Twitter thread, of all things.
The Pompeii eruption: August, or October? Here comes the archaeobotany, among other things, by way of a Twitter thread, of all things.
It was World Apple Day or somesuch, so here’s two canonical feel-good heirloom apple stories.
Fancy an open-access special issue of Biopreservation and Biobanking? Too nerdy? It’s on agricultural genebanks… Yeah, I thought you might.

October 11, 2018

Nibbles: Banana leaf wilt, EIB, Wheat rust, NUS, Amazon conservation, Snakes & carob, Global farmers, Spud genes

Bananas resistant to bacterial wilt found at last.
The Ethiopian genebank gets the very cool Atlas Obscura treatment.
It needs a helping hand, though. Technology to the rescue in wheat rust management.
Diversify your diet, why don’t you.
Giving standing trees value in the Amazon. Great drone shots too.
Carob trees have value in Cyprus.
Also nice pix in this Guardian photo essay on how farmers fight climate change.
Genotyping the CIP collection. That includes the humble potato, of course.

October 8, 2018October 8, 2018

Brainfood: Forests & diets, Homegardens & diets, Landsparing, NZ megafauna, Broomcorn millet origins, Aflatoxin in peanut, Sorghum nutrients, Sorghum & sugarcane diversity in Ethiopia, Hawaiian seedsaving, English sustainability, Wheat evaluation, Lentil review, Danish apples

Impacts of forests on children’s diet in rural areas across 27 developing countries. Exposure to forests is good for dietary diversity.
The Role of Homegardens for Food and Nutrition Security in Uganda. Homegardens too.
The challenge of feeding the world while conserving half the planet. Sparing biodiversity-rich areas means food production will take a hit.
Human Perceptions of Megafaunal Extinction Events Revealed by Linguistic Analysis of Indigenous Oral Traditions. The Maori were aware of what was happening to the moa.
Perpetuating Agricultural Heritage: Saving Seeds and Stories on Hawai‘i Island. Diverse messaging needed to reflect diverse motivations. Maybe that would have helped the moa.
Genetic evidence for a western Chinese origin of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum). Not northern China, nor eastern Europe.
New tools to screen wild peanut species for aflatoxin accumulation and genetic fingerprinting. Let the screening begin.
Identification of new donors for spot blotch resistance in cultivated wheat germplasm. 7 out of 1483 from the Indian collection. Hard row to hoe
Nutritional variation in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] accessions from southern Africa revealed by protein and mineral composition. Among 23 accessions, two are good for both Fe and Zn, a different one for protein, Ca and P, and a different one still for Ca and K.
Farmers’ synergistic selection criteria and practices for livelihood security through the sustainable uses of onfarm Sorghum landrace diversity, Ethiopia. Diverse selection criteria reflect diverse uses.
Sugarcane Landraces of Ethiopia: Germplasm Collection and Analysis of Regional Diversity and Distribution. Variation follows altitude. Compare and contrast with above.
To what extent has sustainable intensification in England been achieved? Not much, and only quite recently.
Lentils: Genetic Resources: Collection, Conservation, Characterization and Maintenance. More work on wild relatives needed.
Population structure, relatedness and ploidy levels in an apple gene bank revealed through genotyping-by-sequencing. 78% of 349 apple accessions in the Danish genebank are unique.