- No-dig, (almost) no-water surplus veggies in Lala land. Via.
- Smell the coffee and wake up.
- Yet more urban agriculture reviving neighbourhood culture.
- Giant grasshopper is good for you.
- And speaking of Google Earth (see below): you can use it to track disappearing forests as well as disappearing gourds.
- “Our mother who grinds ragi at home is far more superior to our father who rules this country.” Finger millet makes a comeback in India.
- Aussie report urges honey bee protection. Good on ya, mate.
Nibbles: Bananas, Cassava, Coconuts, Potato, Training, Wild poultry, EU regulations, Saving seeds
- No rice? Eat bananas!
- “Whatever the cultivation and consumption of cassava mean to us as Jamaicans, it cannot be just a source of comic relief.”
- Climate change good for coconuts. Well that’s a relief.
- Spud slide show.
- Gubernator helps Chile with its genetic resources. Sarah Connor unavailable for comment.
- Galliformes conservation in SE Asia. No, nothing to do with the French.
- “…the white part of the leek must represent at least one-third of the total length or half the sheathed part.” Yeah, that makes sense.
- “You really see that it’s the poor and persecuted who have been the seed savers.”
Nibbles: Food crisis, Zambia, Apples
- Dept. of Silver Linings: Food crisis may be a boon for small farmers in Africa.
- Front line report on a Zambian widow’s life.
- Yorkshire cider? More on that Brogdale deal. (BTW, it’s Petrus, not Petrou.)
Nibbles: Restoration, Dates, Plant health, IRRI, Infrastructure, Agri-tourism, Food sovereignty
- Goats and seeds help southern Lebanon recover from war. But which breeds, what varieties?
- Dated desert date decides to drop dormancy.
- “Mobile clinics for sick plants.” Nice idea.
- China honours IRRI. Rice idea.
- World Bank economist says increased investment in agricultural research not enough, also need decent roads. Oh, and extension services. Media alerted.
- Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries.
- “Towards Food Sovereignty” multimedia book etc. published by IIED.
Nibbles: Migration, Micronutrients, Taste, Kava, News, Data, Ozone, Chillis
- Rats to New Zealand.
- 300 grand grant to develop an iron bullet.
- Yummie, that tomato tastes very umami!
- “When they call their toxic products ‘kava’, they are misusing the word.”
- Subscribe to the Semilla Besada newsletter.
- Gates Foundation helps FAO improve African agricultural statistics. About time someone did.
- How to conserve rare plants.
- As if climate change is not bad enough, there’s also ozone to worry about. Thankfully, Michigan is on it.
- Boffin uses nanotubes to measure chilli hotness. Useful because some don’t like it hot.