Nibbles

Nibbles: Cordillera rice, Farmer seed, Toddy audio essay, Eat This Newsletter, Coconut conservation, Australian genebank, Sweet potato diversification, Mungbean income, NERICA impact, Bing cherry, TFP, Conservation evidence, NordGen matters

Conserving heirloom rice in the Philippines.
A seed production company run by farmers.
Tapping toddy. With audio goodness.
Lots of goodness in Jeremy’s latest newsletter.
Australia gets serious about coconut conservation in the Pacific and beyond.
Australia’s own genebanks are very serious. Oh yes indeedy.
Will sweet potatoes get young people into farming in Kenya? If my nephews are anything to go by, the answer, alas, is no.
Maybe they should try mungbeans.
Or NERICA.
The Bing cherry didn’t help Ah Bing much though.
Whatever the crop, it’s total factor productivity that you have to watch for.
And then don’t forget to include whatever intervention you come up with in subject-wide evidence synthesis.
Prize for best title of the week: “Nordic cooperation on genetic resources – what’s the point?” Nice video.

Breeding grass while high. Probably not what you’re thinking.
When life gives you ancient lemons.
Potato Museum gets new website.
Mango gets a database.
So do France’s genebanks.
The oldest living cultivated fruit tree in North America? I think not, but interesting nevertheless.
Whiskey goes heirloom.
Excerpt from Spencer Wells’ Pandora’s Seed on the Neolithic Revolution.
Our occasional contributor Robert Hijmans sings the praises of mapping with R.

The fascinating story of konzo, nicely told.
You’ll remember my take on that, of course.
Speaking of my take, on the release of the Access to Nutrition Index I ask: cui bono genebanks?
Somebody mention genebanks? Yes, ICRISAT.
Consider the beauty of the humble potato.
Nobody ever calls coffee humble.
Wanna tell the world about any of the above?