Is it a trend yet?

May 23, 2011: “Each kit provides enough seed for one household to grow vegetables on 100 m2 of land to provide a balanced supply of protein and micronutrients during the initial months after a disaster.”

June 19, 2011: “…offers farmers the opportunity to buy different varieties of previously forgotten under-utilised seeds, more suitable for the area. They supply them in smaller quantities so farmers aren’t over reliant on one crop.”

June 21, 2011: “I think it could have an enormous impact if we could fill those seed packages with hundreds of different varieties to be tried by farmers, young and old. Now that would boost on-farm crop diversity.”

August 8, 2011: “Including seeds of local crop varieties in relief-seed packages distributed to smallscale farmers after natural calamities could help indigenous crop diversity rebound faster.”

August 17, 2011: “‘We tell farmers that diversifying to more drought resistant crops is key to cope with the changing climate,’ Leakey says. To encourage them, she offers a ‘Leldet Bouquet:’ Instead of 2kg maize seeds costing 300 Kenyan shillings ($3), the farmer can get a mix of five seed packets with an equivalent weight of cowpeas, sorghum, beans, pigeon pea, millet and maize. The mix of crops in the ‘bouquet’ is adapted to the farmer’s location.”

Agricultural research for the Horn of Africa

The CGIAR Consortium is holding a briefing on “Famine in the Horn of Africa: Challenges and Opportunities for Mitigating Drought-Induced Food Crises.” There’s a live video link. And a Twitter feed. So far, some interesting talk about the increasing importance of sorghum (and the role of beer in its commercialization) and camels. KARI’s Mwangi asked: “What type of seed are they going out there with?” Good questions. No answer yet.

Knowing your onions

Occasionally — just occasionally — Genebank Database Hell doesn’t live up to its fearsome reputation. Or maybe it’s just diminished expectations on my part, I’m not sure. Anyway, Eurisco confirms that the Irish onion called Buan Jeremy blogged about yesterday is found in the genebanks at Warwick and VIR. Interestingly, a grand total of 7 onions of Irish origin are in existence in the world’s genebanks, most of them at VIR. Thank goodness for Europe’s amateur heirloom gardeners, eh?