Category: Mainstream

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Smelling the heirloom coffee

Yet more on agrobiodiversity marketing in Kenya. This time it’s coffee.

Spring Valley Coffee gives out nifty little cards on all its products, providing information on the varietal composition of different blends, and where the beans that go into each are grown.

This decaf from Guji in Ethiopia caught my eye in particular…

…because the variety involved is a heirloom. But also because if you’re going to those lengths, why not quote its local name?

Anyway, still a pretty nice idea.

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High on taro

The South Pacific nation of Vanuatu is having its National Agriculture Expo 2026 from August 3–7, 2026, on the northern island of Maewo. I’ve scoured the internet for information about this, but all I could find was social media posts, which I won’t link to, but you can find for yourself quite easily. I will, though, share, with thanks, this photo from one of those posts from Facebook. It’s of the 20-metre tower built by the taro farmers of Maewo, showcasing their product. Because it’s amazing.

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The flour of Kenyan agrobiodiversity marketing

Here’s the latest in my continuing series of posts on interesting approaches to marketing agricultural biodiversity here in Kenya.

I was pleasantly surprised by this product, which seems to add finger millet and cassava to your basic maize flour for making ugali. A nice way to add taste and nutrients. And support some minor crops.

And this line of porridges is quite impressive, in the range — and presentation — of both their composition and consumer targeting.

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Kenyan tradition, served fast

I want to put up another quick post on the theme of innovative marketing of so-called “opportunity crops” in Kenyan supermarkets. Yesterday it was nicely packaged frozen amaranth leaves that struck me. Today it’s pre-cooked single portions of traditional dishes. No need to refrigerate. Just heat. And eat.

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Nibbles: Tigray grapes, Latin American opportunity crops, Hawaii & Cayman coconuts, North Macedonian collecting, South Korea seed vault, Eswatini seed hub, Expensive healthy diets

  1. A North Macedonian professor’s 15-year rescue mission for landraces and crops surviving only in remote villages. Why bother? Stay tuned…
  2. Ancient grapevines in Tigray represent a unique genetic lineage with potential value for breeding varieties adapted to dryland conditions.
  3. Hawai’i Public Radio checks in on Maui’s coconut genebank. Useful to breed varieties adapted to really wet conditions, presumably.
  4. The Cayman Islands are also hoarding coconuts, along with lots of tasty fruits.
  5. A USD 400,000 boost from Taiwan for the Eswatini national genebank. Indigenous vegetables get much-needed love.
  6. A regional survey of 25 orphan crops across 13 Latin American countries finds quinoa and amaranth well-catalogued, but characterization budgets are the real bottleneck. Collecting and conserving in genebanks is great, but not enough.
  7. South Korea puts 330,000 seed accessions under “double lock”, hedging against both climate change and war. Conserving in one place is not enough.
  8. FAO warns that nearly a third of the world can’t afford the USD 4.28 a day that a healthy diet costs — nearly three billion people, and rising. That’s why we need al the above, I guess.