Neglected species

January 2, 2013January 3, 2013

Quinoa in Pakistan

Heralding the International Year of Quinoa, here’s an odd video of quinoa in Pakistan.

Don’t freak, as I did, if it looks a little odd if you open it in a browser; that’s just the 3D out to get you. There’s a link to get rid of that annoyance, but not to improve the rest of the production.

December 21, 2012May 6, 2013

Nibbles: Maya nut, Afroculinaria, Biofortification, CGIAR genebanks, FAO data, Rice drought, Bioregions, Sustainable intensification, Caviar, Beer

Had no idea there were so many Maya nuts around. Glad Jeremy reminded me. And some Central Asian nuts for balance.
The best of Afroculinaria.
The best of HarvestPlus. Oh for the time to do a mashup. Anyway, does this count? And what’s that you say? You have a paper you’re writing on the subject?
CIP genebank sees CIMMYT’s ISO accreditation (certification? whatever) and raises it a new piece of software. ILRI genebank doubles down.
One Data Portal to Rule them All. At FAO. Somewhat underwhelming, frankly.
Rice boffins target drought-stressed villages
New map of bioregions. In the Daily Mail?
Sustainable intensification debate gets nowhere. Pretty cynical note to leave you with, don’t you think?
Ok, so here’s something a little more festive. California caviar.
And some beer to go with that.

December 20, 2012December 20, 2012

Nibbles: Rice farming, Funny teas, Funny fruits, Christmas fare, Online course, Seasonal genomes, Malaysia shares, School shares

The most beautiful rice farm in the world. No, wait.
Jasmine tea gets protection. But does it need it? Let’s ask the South Africans what they’re doing with their tea.
Today’s funny fruit picture. Think it’s one of these Cuban mutants?
How many micronutrients in a Mexican Christmas dinner? And how many in a British one, featuring parsnips of course.
People’s University has online Appreciation Programme on Sustainable Management of Biodiversity starting January 2013.
First farmers were first carpenters.
And today’s genome story is very seasonally appropriate. Oh no, here’s another one!
Malaysia implements the ITPGRFA. Cool, but why is that even news?
School sends okra seeds to Haiti. But… No, I’m not playing the Grinch on this one, it’s too sweet.

December 19, 2012November 20, 2017

Nibbles: Manioc gastronomy, Wilting revolution, Turrialba cheese, Conservation and poverty, Beans breeding, Dye plants, Plant Cuttings, Amazon fires, Balm, African silver bullets, Heritage food, Potato politics, Native seed meet

Cassava gets a makeover in Brazil. And another, of a different kind, in East Africa.
Revolution turns into Terror. Where’s our Napoleon?
Designating Costa Rican cheese.
Conserving poverty?
No poverty for bean breeders in the US.
The uses of Oregon Grape. Which is of course not a grape.
Chaffey Style.
Coconut water is a major conservation issue for 2013. It says here.
Fewer farmers, more fires. In the Amazon. It says here.
Yeah, what is balsam anyway?
So the Next Big Thing in African ag development is agricultural growth corridors. What could possibly go wrong? Will they learn from wildlife corridors? Will they be using these four apparently key technologies? Or bolstering extension? And will it all mean a decrease in bush meat consumption?
Heritage foods book. Yummie.
Like potatoes in Peru, I guess. And various street foods in West Africa.
Conference on native seed use in the US. Probably even some crop wild relatives in there.

December 18, 2012December 18, 2012

Nibbles: Xmas trees, Xmas parasites, Resilience, Pitogo bananas, Crowdsourcing, Writing, Chickpea bread, Seed laws, Futures, Cassava genomics

Fir trees holding their value. It must be Christmas.
Mistletoe is good for trees. Is it still Christmas?
An indicator framework for assessing agroecosystem resilience. Santa is being good to us this year.
“Banana-shaped” takes on a whole new meaning.
How to do crowdsourcing, right? Right!
How to write good about agricultural research.
Testing other kinds of grain and other kinds of bread.
The East African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation comes in for some stick over draft policy on plant variety protection laws. This deserves way more than a Nibble. Perhaps some well-informed policy wonks will chime in.
Blame 18th century Japanese rice traders for the futures markets.
Who do I blame for Cassavabase?