Nibbles – Page 282 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

January 30, 2011January 30, 2011

Nibbles: Cocoa, Fruit, Leek moth

Would you pay more for a chocolate bar to speed democratic change?
Why are Froot Loops cheaper than fruit? President Obama explains.
Climate change hits Britain’s leek growers.

January 27, 2011January 27, 2011

Nibbles: Indigenous Peoples, Bananas, Ants

Got something to say to the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples? Call for Sessions.
“[B]anana variety diversity contributes positively to reducing yield losses caused by biophysical constraints.” IFPRI paper, so you know you can believe it.
Weaver ants drafted to protect African fruit and nut crops. Again.

January 26, 2011January 26, 2011

Nibbles: Prices; Nutrition, Rice

Detailed look at food prices and crises.
“[A] higher intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with a reduced risk of IHD [ischaemic heart disease] mortality. Whether this association is causal and, if so, the biological mechanism(s) by which fruits and vegetables operate to lower IHD risks remains unclear.” Who cares how it works.
Higher rice productivity just “a phone call away,” it says here.

January 25, 2011January 25, 2011

Nibbles: Wheat pests, Coconut

Oh no. Hessian flies are becoming resistant to hessian fly-resistant wheats.
Coconuts! An Indian perspective.

January 23, 2011January 23, 2011

Nibbles: Meet!

Big important meeting on Agrobiodiversity and the development importance of local varieties and indigenous species is over.
Big important meeting on new directions for smallholder agriculture starts tomorrow.

1. Haga Hideo’s 1950s photos of Fukushima farming rituals are now being used to revive them: ex situ conservation, but for culture.
2. Long before photography, or “pre‑breeding” was a buzzword, Belgian pomologist Jean‑Baptiste Van Mons was running massive pear selection trials and gifting us Beurré Bosc and Doyenné Boussock.
3. As Southern Africa’s miombo woodlands shrinks, scientists are cloning wild trees so the fruit — and food security — outlive the forest. Now for the pre-breeding.
4. Greenpeace Africa’s Seed Project makes the case for indigenous seeds as a route to farmer independence. And you can help.
5. And oh so coincidentally, a network of community seed banks in Kenya is rescuing indigenous seeds so the diversity is still around when opportunity (or crisis) knocks.
6. Also in Kenya, the national genebank’s collectors are racing to secure opportunity crops.
7. Nepal’s indigenous crops and landraces are at the same time more needed than ever, and under threat. So, much like in Kenya.
8. The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT says women are at the center of sustainable food systems; the fine print adds: “as they have always been.”
Published on September 30, 2026