- New institute to restore ecosystems, including agricultural ones, gets money.
- Some olive-based ecosystems certainly need restoration, good thing there are genebanks.
- Sometimes, restoring ecosystems means digging up old grapevines and moving them down the road.
The baobab infographic we’ve been waiting for
The International Year of Fruits and Vegetables is as good an excuse as any for another baobab factsheet, and infographic.
Not that an excuse has ever been needed. Anyway, this particular latest example of the genre is courtesy of From Tree to Fork, and the first of many, it seems. No mention of using the fruit to make booze, though.
Better seed systems through SeedSystems
I don’t think I’ve been sufficiently explicit in my occasional shout-outs for SeedSystem.org, a collaboration involving CIAT, PABRA, CRS and USAID.
SeedSystem.org provides practical (‘how-to’) guidance and strategic thinking to help professionals design seed-related assistance.
We aim to foster productive, resilient, and market-oriented seed systems, even in times of emergency and chronic stress.
Well worthwhile subscribing to their newsletter. The latest edition brings together a bunch of useful recent papers. Not terribly active on social media, though, what’s up with that?
Nibbles: Forage grasses, Fruit trees, Robusta coffee, 3D evaluation, Indian genebank, European botanic gardens, Pastoralism book, Mojito decolonized
Nibbles: Deforestation, Grizzly genetics, Animal domestication, Wheat drones, Okra experiments, Millet survey, The Common Table
- 26 million hectares of forest were lost in 2020.
- Genetic groups in grizzly bears line up with Indigenous languages in British Columbia. How about the trees, though?
- But why weren’t grizzly bears domesticated? Because they’re not friendly, feedable, fecund and family-friendly.
- Drones and wheat breeding.
- Crowdsourcing okra evaluation. No drones involved.
- Health-conscious urban Indians eat millet for health reasons. Goes great with okra.
- The Common Table: sharing stories about reforming the food system. Like a couple of the above.