- Johnny Appleseed basically set up fruit tree genebanks 200 years ago.
- Modern fruit tree genebanks could probably learn something from Mr Appleseed.
- Is there a Mr Lycheeseed, I wonder?
- There are probably some fruit tree collections at the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute.
- Saudi Arabia is betting on tree genebanks. Maybe even fruit tree genebanks.
- All genebanks need to share their data, according to the guy in charge of helping European genebanks share their data.
- Can you put a value on genebanks? Should you?
Brainfood: Markets edition
- “What is the essence of cultivating a crop that does not yield enough to feed my family?” Farmer agency and the management of agrobiodiversity in Ghana and Burkina Faso. Farmers balance subsistence needs and market opportunities when deciding which crop varieties to maintain. Well I never.
- Reassessing the economic returns of diverse traditional agricultural systems for smallholder farmers: a case study of the milpa in Mexico. Diverse traditional farming systems can generate significant economic value; so no, agricultural diversity is not necessarily less profitable than specialization for market production.
- Farmer participatory evaluation of Amaranthus cruentus L. breeding lines for marketable vegetable yield and organoleptic quality under on-farm and on-station conditions. In any case, farmers can work with researchers to select amaranth varieties with traits that improve both marketability and consumer appeal, linking crop improvement directly to market demand.
- Novel soybean type with improved volatile and sensory characteristics of raw soy slurries. Breeding soybean varieties with enhanced sensory qualities can hopefully increase consumer acceptance and create new market opportunities for soy-based foods. Unclear if farmers were involved, but they could have been..
- Can the digital long tail effect in farmers’ markets increase crop diversity on farms and in diets? Yes. Digital platforms can connect niche producers and consumers, creating markets for a wider range of crops, thereby encouraging agricultural and dietary diversity. How about linking seed producers to farmers?
- Preserving crop genetic diversity through traditional seed systems: insights from farmer-saved fonio (Digitaria exilis) landraces in Northern Ghana. Farmer-managed seed systems support the conservation of crop diversity while maintaining access to locally adapted varieties with potential market value. But maybe they could use a digital platform?
- Seeds and social norms: sorghum seed exchange among smallholder farmers in Northern Ethiopia. Cultural practices shape how farmers share seeds, influencing the circulation of crop diversity and farmers’ participation in local seed markets. Good luck with those digital platforms.
Nibbles: Fit for Biodiversity, Food value chains, FAO, SeedTracker, Morocco genetic erosion, Pastoralists, Cannabis seedbanks
- A conference on biodiversity in agri-food systems. Including agrobiodiversity?
- A photo essay about food value chains in India. Including agrobiodiversity?
- A few examples of FAO’s work on how agriculture sustains biodiversity. Including agrobiodiversity.
- An app to track seeds. And therefore agrobiodiversity.
- A warning that 75% of the agrobiodiversity of Morocco’s wheat and barley has been lost in the past 50 years. Ah, so that 75% number is true of something after all. Maybe they could use SeedTracker.
- A reminder that pastoralists guard biodiversity. Including agrobiodiversity.
- A Genesys for weed. Well, I guess it’s agrobiodiversity.
Nibbles: Crop mapping, Climate change impacts, Rice cheese, Andean blueberry, Rare apples, Hungarian genebank, Old seed collection
- AI doesn’t recognize tropical agriculture very well.
- So presumably it can’t easily be used in assessing climate change impacts in agricultural heritage systems? FAO has some ideas on how to do it.
- Maybe rice heritage systems can be used to make cheese.
- I bet Andean blueberry (Vaccinium floribundum) goes great with rice cheese.
- But if not, heritage apples will probably do.
- The Hungarian genebank is hoping to inject heritage grains into non-heritage agricultural systems. AI and FAO unavailable for comment.
- Maybe AI can help with the mystery of this old seed collection at the Natural History Museum, London.
Brainfood: Yield double, NUS double, Wild food plants, NbS, Portuguese genebanks, School meals, Indian nutrition, Nutritional diversity trifecta
- Releasing agriculture from the food security mandate. Research should focus toward sustaining production means and farmer welfare, rather than area productivity.
- Beyond yields: a systems approach is essential for reconciling agriculture and biodiversity. Research should focus toward sustaining production means and farmer welfare, rather than area productivity.
- Underutilized crops for diverse, resilient and healthy agri-food systems: a systematic review of sub-Saharan Africa. Opportunity crops sustain production means and farmer welfare, rather than area productivity.
- Exploring the potentials of neglected underutilized crops (NUCs): an integrative review for developing a sustainable food system model. Opportunity crops sustain production means and farmer welfare, rather than area productivity.
- Prospective of indigenous African wild food plants in alleviation of the severe iron deficiency anaemia in Sub-Saharan Africa. Some wild food plants can sustain welfare.
- Nature-based agricultural practices in the Mediterranean agroecosystems: A meta-analysis of their benefits on crop productivity, soil quality, and biodiversity. 15 ways to sustain production means and farmer welfare, and sometimes area productivity.
- The role of Seed Banks in food systems transitions: the case of Portugal. Genebanks could help sustain production means and farmer welfare, and area productivity too.
- Mainstreaming agrobiodiversity in planet-friendly school meals for children: a scoping review. Opportunity crops and wild food plants in school meals could help sustain the welfare of schoolchildren.
- Spatial association between nutrient deficiency and agricultural diversity in India. Agrobiodiversity could help sustain welfare in whole districts actually.
- Grain zinc, iron and protein concentrations of contemporary wheat cultivars fall short of targets for human health. Agrobiodiversity could help sustain welfare but breeders need to use it.
- Nutritional and Biochemical Diversity in Beans Accessions from Three Phaseolus Species Using Multiomics Characterization. Agrobiodiversity could definitely help sustain welfare but breeders need to use it.
- Genome-wide association study in a lettuce core collection from 811 accessions reveals genetic loci for anthocyanin accumulation and cultivar development. Agrobiodiversity could definitely help sustain welfare and breeders can use it pretty easily.