-
As Jerry Seinfeld famously once said, I’m getting a little backed up here. Travel and work and, well, life, have conspired to keep me away from Nibbling for the past week and more, so apologies if what follows proves a little difficult to digest.
- The closest relative of the papaya looks nothing like a papaya. But will it be monitored, along with the rest of agrobiodiversity?
- We might have to look further afield than near relatives to save the orange. But closer to save corn.
- Cashews are bad? Say it ain’t so. And as for pecans…
- CGIAR comms guys (and it is all guys) reminisce about the good old days of agricultural research. And here’s an example, using wheat, of what they’re up to now. Nice shoutout for breeding and genebanks. Though of course it’s not just about the breeding.
- Crop improvement is one of six ways of feeding the world. Just. CGIAR comms guys probably on it. Barbara Schaal certainly is.
- IRRI maps rice areas affected by the recent typhoon. I did ask, and farmers there apparently mostly grow modern varieties. FAO provides more context.
- More insectivorous hijinks.
- Great new blog on chai wallahs.
- Big, open ag data will save us all. That sound you hear is the zeitgeist catching up. And the CGIAR is on it.
- You say terroir, I say microbes.
- Report on a descent into Genebank Database Hell, European Chapter. Ah, but it’s open.
- India reaches out to Africa, millets in hand.
Breadfruit Institute on a roll
They’ve been busy at the Breadfruit Institute of late. Or even more busy than usual. The director, Dr Diane Ragone, has won one of the prestigious “Star of Oceania” awards, which this year recognize
…women of and from Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia and the state of Hawaii who reaffirm the capacity of women to serve, lead and inspire regionally, nationally and globally through aloha, courage, perseverance, precedence and faith.
The final version of the breadfruit climate suitability map is also now online, according to a post on the Institute’s Facebook page. Here it is:
I’m not sure if we already blogged about this, but that map reminds me that WRI has a set of global water stress maps online now. Here it is for coffee.
Maybe one for breadfruit could be added sometime? Anyway, as if that weren’t enough, Diane has also put online various materials in support of a “Breadfruit and You” curriculum, including a nifty new graphic of breadfruit diversity and local names.
Our congratulations to Diane, for all of the above!
LATER: And breadfruit is not just good to eat, we also learned.
Nibbles: Quinoa, Conference, Genebanks, Dietary diversity, Subsidies
- Peruvian quinoa leaves Bolivia in the dust – so that’s good for Bolivians who want to eat the stuff, right?
- At the forthcoming conference on Enhanced Genepool Utilization ‒ Capturing Wild Relative And Landrace Diversity For Crop Improvement “[a] book of abstracts will be provided on a flashdrive”. And here’s your jetpack …
- Global Crop Diversity Trust speaks truth to power. Power replies: “Yeah, yeah, we know all that.”
- Kids document traditional foodways of Kenya.
- Do farm subsidies increase or decrease food prices? Yes.
National Geographic launches “Year of Food”
Pretty interesting 20-minute talk from Dennis Dimick, National Geographic Magazine’s Executive Editor for the Environment. NatGeo will be launching a Year of Food in May 2014, and I’m guessing that some family farms will be involved. While I’m not a betting man, I’ll offer two wagers:
- NatGeo will reach, and influence, more people than FAO.
- NatGeo will not explain the difference between oca and potato.
In case you’re wondering, I do believe those are oca at 16’43” in.
Near the end, Dimick says “maybe we just need to grow more farmers”. Now there’s a thought …
Quinoa is dead, long live family farms
Yes indeedy. A new international year has begun, the International Year of Family Farming. Could be fun to keep a vague eye on, especially to see how it includes — or excludes — these family farmers. And do families who farm quinoa now get a second bite at the cherry of global awareness?