Information

September 16, 2011September 16, 2011

So what about sericulture in Kenya anyway?

A short piece on Kenyan sericulture from 2007 is one of our most popular posts, ¹ with some 20 comments, the most recent one today, most of them asking for information on how to set up in the business. We have not been very good at replying to these queries as they have came up, and on the one occasion when we did we linked to pages at UNDP-Kenya, ICIPE and Biovision which are all now stone dead. So I thought I’d better clean things up a bit.

Rosemary Mwololo Nyamu pointed us to KARI’s National Sericulture Station-Thika in a comment, but unfortunately this very interesting-sounding place is nowhere to be found on KARI’s website. Not to worry, though. Rosemary has also provided a nice write-up on sericulture, and useful contacts, including her own, at Infonet-Biovision. I just hope this link lasts a bit longet than the others…

September 13, 2011September 13, 2011

Live, interactive, participatory UN webcast on biodiversity in a week

Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the CBD and Monique Barbut, CEO and Chair of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), will discuss the CBD’s bold plans and the importance of taking action now to avert even more serious loss of biodiversity; how the entire UN system is driving to make the UNBD a lasting success, and the role of the GEF.

Or so it says here. Anyway, go and submit a question, and don’t forget to listen in on 20/9/2011 at 17:00 BST and hear what they have to say about agrobiodiversity. If anything.

September 13, 2011July 18, 2016

Lois Englberger

We should have pointed out way before now that our friends at ProMusa have put together a wiki dedicated to Lois Englberger’s pioneering work. We’ve blogged about Lois on a number of occasions. She’s “a nutritionist and advocate of local food who changed the way people look at bananas, or at least their colour.” A great scientist and teacher. A passionate campaigner. And a friend.

September 13, 2011March 23, 2012

Nibbles: Gardens, Food/nutrition jargon, Photos, Pacific livestock, Durian descriptors, Oysters, Thai breeders, Meat-reducing, Gender, Chinese fortification, G20

Community veggie gardens in Cape Town.
BNSP? WTF?
AoB adds botanical picture search. Will nothing stop these guys? And meanwhile… Sheesh, is there something in the air today?
How can Pacific livestock adapt to climate change? And don’t say they should learn to swim.
How NOT to describe a durian.
The continuously imminent demise of the Chesapeake Bay oyster.
Plant breeders go on the rampage in Thailand.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall turns out not to be a made-up name. Pity.
Kenya’s agriculture increasingly depends on women. MIL unavailable for comment.
“…because our idea of “adding more” has shaped the way we treat micronutrient deficiencies through food fortification globally, trying to integrate this in China is turning out to be problematic.” I bet it is.
Montpellier G20 meeting looking for “effective and innovative research partnerships for development and better impact of research from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.” I hope they brought their pyjamas.

September 12, 2011September 12, 2011

Nibbles: Mexican avocado prices, Marijuana in Central Asia, CWR in USA, Royal garden, Iraqi dates

Mexicans can’t afford avocados.
“Vostok — delo tonkoe, Petrukha!“
New blog on crop wild relatives in the US, courtesy of our friend Colin.
Royal villa has nice garden shock.
“Three-quarters of date palm trees in Iraq right now … are of just one variety.”