Nibbles – Page 485 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

July 4, 2007July 4, 2007

Gone fishing

Rwandan farmers diversify into fish. Again.

July 4, 2007November 24, 2008

Up a gum tree

Eucalypts decoded and hybridized.

Bananas not bags

A new use for banana leaves: to replace banned plastic bags in Uganda.

Cassava products in Jamaica

Bammy – fried cassava bread – industry gets boost in Jamaica.

July 1, 2007July 1, 2007

Mangoes bring peace

Giving mangoes as gifts is part of traditional reconciliation in Pakistan.Â Which varieties work best, I wonder?

1. A North Macedonian professor’s 15-year rescue mission for landraces and crops surviving only in remote villages. Why bother? Stay tuned…
2. Ancient grapevines in Tigray represent a unique genetic lineage with potential value for breeding varieties adapted to dryland conditions.
3. Hawai’i Public Radio checks in on Maui’s coconut genebank. Useful to breed varieties adapted to really wet conditions, presumably.
4. The Cayman Islands are also hoarding coconuts, along with lots of tasty fruits.
5. A USD 400,000 boost from Taiwan for the Eswatini national genebank. Indigenous vegetables get much-needed love.
6. A regional survey of 25 orphan crops across 13 Latin American countries finds quinoa and amaranth well-catalogued, but characterization budgets are the real bottleneck. Collecting and conserving in genebanks is great, but not enough.
7. South Korea puts 330,000 seed accessions under “double lock”, hedging against both climate change and war. Conserving in one place is not enough.
8. FAO warns that nearly a third of the world can’t afford the USD 4.28 a day that a healthy diet costs — nearly three billion people, and rising. That’s why we need al the above, I guess.
Published on July 28, 2026