- “Experimental botany, murderous pirates, secret tunnels and an all you can eat buffet; there are very few places where these things can all be found together.”
For once the obviously bemused deputy governor was talking sense
The line that I’ve used as the title of this post comes from an article in the Lagos Daily Independent which describes the recent torching, by the said deputy governor, of a crop of “Indian hemp” in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, Nigeria. While setting her fire she…
…lamented that valuable acres of land in the state were being used to cultivate indian hemp instead of staple food crops.
Indian hemp? As in Apocynum cannabinum? Why set fire to Apocynum cannabinum? Especially after getting it to grow in Nigeria! Well, needless to say, I had the wrong end of the stick.
Anyway, what struck me about the article, apart from the delicious line which graces this post as its title, and the confusion that can be caused by the use of common names, is the following:
The peasant farmer should take centre stage. Revitalized commodity boards should be aligned with improved seeds and guaranteed farm gate prices to increase production. The effect will be a great increase in the living standard of all those involved in agriculture. There will clearly be no space for fallow farm lands to be used for growing indian hemp. Since she seems to be peeved, someone should educate Erelu Obada on the fine point of Indira Gandhi’s green revolution. The people of Osun State will clearly be better off for it.
I just can’t imagine commodity boards (however revitalized), seeds (however improved) and farm gate prices (however guaranteed) ever convincing “enterprising miscreants,” in the words of the author, in Nigeria or any other country, to give up their bhang fields. Just like I can’t imagine Yemeni farmers ever giving up their qat fields, despite similar interventions. Legalize it!
Hungarian parliament to discuss agrobiodiversity
I think it’s pretty impressive that the Parliamentary Commission for Agriculture of Hungary’s Parliament is organizing a Parliamentary Open Day entitled “Landscape Management, Local Varieties and Genetic Conservation” on the occasion of the International Day of Biological Diversity. I wonder how many other legislatures around the world are doing something similar. Few, I’ll wager. Thanks to Györgyi Bela for the tip.
US readies itself for Roquefort flood
The iniquitous 300% tariffs imposed by the last administration on Roquefort cheese are to go. The sterling campaigning efforts of the Société Roquefort have thus been deservedly rewarded. Good news for American cheese lovers. And Occitan shepherds. Let agrobiodiversity and its products be free!
What gives wine its taste
It’s good practice to throw garbage into your vineyard, apparently. Always has been. Don’t believe me? Read the article, watch the video.