Markets

July 10, 2008July 10, 2008

Sorghum woes in Somaliland

Another farmer speaks:

Worried about the infertility of my farm, the other day, I was sitting alone trying to find explanation as to why my farm was productive in the olden days producing 100 sacks of 50kg each of sorghum in one go and why it is sterile today producing less than 5 sacks a year no matter how hard I may work?

Read the whole lot.

July 5, 2008July 17, 2008

Nibbles: Vine, Food, Soil, Malnutrition squared, Coca

Italians rescue forgotten grape varieties for new varietals. Diciamo “cin cin”.
Eat up all your beets.
LEISA magazine tells us about making soils better.
Maps of malnutrition in Ecuador. Where are the agrobiodiversity maps to mash with them, Andy?
“If we were to look at improving the height of children, rather than the weight, we might be able to improve this situation.”
NatGeo video on coca marketing in Bolivia.

July 1, 2008July 1, 2008

Schomburgk on bananas and breadfruit

Sir Robert Hermann Schomburgk (1804-1865) was a British botanist and explorer, perhaps most famous for fixing the boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela. I only mention the fact because the Stabroek News, a Guyanese paper, recently reprinted an extract from the description of his travels to the interior of that country. It’s of interest to us here at Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog because it includes a fascinating description of banana cultivation, as well as a somewhat gratuitous, but pithy and elegant, summary of the events surrounding the mutiny on the Bounty. A bit further down the production chain, the Liverpool Echo has a short piece on how bananas first got to that city in particular and the UK in general, though from West Africa.

June 30, 2008June 30, 2008

Nibbles: Maize squared, Urban Ag, Traditional farming, Rice, Extension, Training, Pine nuts, Beer, Markets

More on ancient maize. Old popcorn contains interesting DNA diversity.
How teosinte became maize.
Urban Harvest has a new web site. Via.
Khadin cultivation system contributes to sustainability in Rajasthan.
Vietnamese farmers helping their African brethren grow rice.
Agricultural development officer delivers training on village-level seed management, then hands out improved seed.
Former student waxes lyrical about UP Los BaÃ±os.
Pine nuts.
Brewing medieval and modern juxtaposed.
Working out fair trade.

June 25, 2008June 25, 2008

Nibbles: Homegardens, Rice, Fish, Climate change, Value chains, Fuel costs, Urban drift

Uganda: “Many youth are no longer idle. They grow vegetables and sell them.”
Iran: “Rice is becoming a luxury for many of the poor, just like meat and chicken.”
California: “In nearly every scenario we explored, biodiversity suffers...”
Australia: “the Australian Fish Names Standard AS SSA 5300 which prescribes standard fish names approved for use in Australia.”
Pretty much anywhere: “linking small-scale producers to modern markets.”
Dept. of Silver Linings: “Fuel Costs May Force Some Kids To Walk.” Via.
Tibet: “I’ve lived here long enough.” Via.