Interesting to see the term “farmer’s market” — in English — being used in Italy, and not particularly for the benefit of tourists. Not sure how long it’s been in currency. I guess the concept has been around for a while.
Nibbles: Student, Sea cucumbers, Reindeer, Climate change, Urban beeking, Taro diseases, Markets, Apples
- Adam Forbes updates us on his travels in Ethiopia and Peru in search of seeds. Check out his pix too.
- “…sea cucumber populations across the globe, from Asia to the Galapagos, are increasingly in trouble.” Oh dear.
- Satellites help reindeer herders by looking for snow melt. Sounds very cost-effective.
- IFPRI says agriculture will be “dramatically” affected by climate change. Oh dear.
- Keeping bees in cities.
- All you ever wanted to know about taro diseases. With pic goodness! Via.
- Walking London’s markets.
- Navarre: “276 varieties of autochthonous apple tree have been described.”
Barking up the right tree
The new NWFP-Digest is out. That’s only if you get it by email, however. It’ll be on the website ((FAO’s link is dead.)) in a couple of days. As ever, lots of interesting links, but the one that really caught my eye was an article on the success of Ugandan bark cloth on the international fashion scene. It was named a “masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2005. Called lubugu, it is made from the bark of Ficus natalensis. Interestingly, this species is an invasive in Hawaii. Elsewhere in the Pacific, they make bark cloth — tapa — from Broussonetia papyrifera, but the dyes come from a Ficus, among other species.
Nibbles: Conference, Funding, Borlaug, Bananas, Indian genebanks, Cassava cooking, Bees, Beer
- FARA-led Conference on Agricultural Biodiversity in Africa, 2010
- Switzerland will not cut support to genebank in Africa.
- Yesterday’s birthday paean to Norman Borlaug,
- Man worries (inchoately) about banana extinction.
- “Over 20,000 indigenous varieties of Indian rice and other food grains have been conserved under Crop Germplasm Conservation at the gene banks.”
- IITA gets USAID support to come up with better cassava recipes. Luigi comments: “All the money in the world will not be enough.”
- Giving native bees a home.
- Bespoke organic beer in the UK. Sweet!
Nibbles: Millet origins, Maize origins, Cowpea, Edible weeds, Watermelons
- Trace chemicals in Chinese dog bones from 7-8K years ago suggest a diet high in millet, and therefore its cultivation.
- Maize origins pushed back and down.
- A new cowpea system, including faster varieties, being tried out in Niger.
- It’s spring, and Italians’ thoughts starting to turn to eating weeds.
- “…his 3 wives and 20 children depend on the water melon business as means of livelihood.”