Nibbles – Page 469 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

September 12, 2007September 12, 2007

Agriculture policy in Kerala

Kerala proposes traditional agriculture to promote food security.

September 11, 2007

Animal genetic resources

Final report on the Interlaken conference on animal genetic resources.

September 11, 2007

Apple genebank in trouble

Will the UK’s National Fruit Collection survive?

September 10, 2007July 3, 2019

Traditional rice cultivation at risk

Saving the Ifugao rice terraces, and their agrobiodiversity.

September 10, 2007

Longest maize ears in the world

They’re as long as your arm, and celebrated each year in Jala, Mexico.

1. Ancient farmers didn’t have to wait for the genetic diversity that made domestication possible. They selected from variation already present in wild plants, including the ancestors of rice and maize. Domestication was as much about spotting (or happening upon) useful differences as creating new ones.
2. English colonists in America called Indigenous dogs “wolves,” revealing as much about colonial perceptions as about the animals themselves. This history of Indigenous dogs shows how unfamiliar animals were classified through peculiarly European ideas about wildness.
3. Austria is bringing forgotten apple varieties back to life. Saving old varieties in genebanks is one thing: getting people to grow, sell and eat them is another, but it can be done. Or at least tried.
4. Jordan’s olive-oil heritage centres on traditional varieties such as Nabali and ancient Rumi trees, but most production is consumed locally, leaving exports limited and making provenance, cultivar and harvest date important indicators for buyers. Compare and contrast with Austrian apples.
5. Small island developing states have distinctive food cultures and ingredients, but face particular challenges in building sustainable and resilient food systems. FAO’s A Taste of SIDS explores the connections between island food, biodiversity and culinary heritage. Nice to see diversity within crops considered, though a few local variety names would have been nice.
Published on October 21, 2026