Amazingly, there are people out there who can name a sweet potato variety at twenty paces. And in a photograph. Check out the comments to a recent flickr upload of mine showing a market in Rabaul. Now, if only I had geo-referenced it…
Michael plays Virgil
Bioversity’s Michael Mackay was recently interviewed on Radio Australia about plans to lead us all out of genebank database hell. Good luck to him!
Nibbles: Spices, Tequila, Tea, Potatoes, Archive, Africa, Carotenoids, Calcium, AGR, Ethiopia, Wheat blast
- Where do spices come from, mummy?
- Even “good” tequila can be bad for you. Well I never.
- Sparkling tea? Call it a microwine. Via.
- More potatoes. …
- … but the kicker is the historical archive she links to.
- AGRA and Earth Institute to collaborate. Africa not available for comment.
- More Pacific food crop nutrition goodness from Lois et al.
- Children may not like their veggies because of the Ca content.
- Canada down to 95% Holsteins. Oh dear.
- “The large crop genetic diversity that already exists in Ethiopia will make adapting agricultural systems to the locally changing conditions relatively easy.” Well, maybe…
- Screening Kansas wheat varieties for resistance to wheat blast.
Nibbles: Kenya, Idioms, Seed, Potatoes, Nerica, Farm Albebo, Fish
- Kenya to bioprospect?
- Plant idioms explored.
- Be evil. Save seeds and spread them around.
- Get ready for the London Potato Fair 25th January. Via.
- GRAIN positive that Nerica is bad for Africa.
- Shinier cropland to cool the planet? More from the author.
- Profiting from fish by not fishing is illegal?
Another competition
News just in of a film competition. Trouble is, entries close on 31 January 2009. So, you’ve either already made the film, or you are a seasoned professional who can crank out finished product in 10 days or so. Either way, we say: “Go for it”.
Film-makers and new media artists across the Asia Pacific region are invited to enter their audio-visual creations for this award recognising excellence in films on rice-related issues. Presented by Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP), TVE Asia Pacific (TVEAP), and Public Media Agency (PMA) of Malaysia, the competition is open to both fictional and factual films on the theme of Asia’s rice heritage and the threats it faces in this era of globalisation.
The films may have been produced using professional video, home video, mobile phones or cinematic equipment. They may be in any of these formats or genres: 2D animation, 3D animation, songs, short drama, satire, adaptations of folk culture, or documentary. They need to have been made after January 1 2008. The winner will receive US$2,000, a plaque, and a certificate.
Blurb from Communications Initiative. Full details from PAN AP’s web site. Can’t think why they didn’t think to publicise the competition through us.