- Farm ponds for water, fish and livelihoods: The role of farm ponds in sustaining livelihoods.
- The nutritional value of Andalusian lupines. Domesticate ’em, someone.
- Saving the Akita … and other things.
- Bob Brockie wants to know what happened to the seeds his dad sent to Vavilov. Good luck with that.
- Q&A about sorghum farming for Guinness Ghana.
- Oca breeding in the UK. This is SO exciting …
Nibbles: Wild cassava, Oilseed rape breeding, Byelorussian food
- Wild cassava relatives could be used for nutritional enhancement.
- “…quality improvement did not significantly reduce the genetic diversity of European and Chinese Brassica rapa cultivars.”
- Byelorussian agrobiodiversity bazaar.
Vegetables in Africa, traditional and otherwise
The FARA Secretariat blog linked to a couple of items which are sort of related, if you look hard enough. One is about Prof. Mary Abukutsa-Onyango’s work studying (in particular the nutritional properties) and promoting traditional leafy greens in Kenya, which has just won her a fellowships from African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD). You can read or listen to a podcast about it. The other piece is about the African Drylands Commodity Atlas. The connection is that there is actually a section on vegetables in the atlas, along with coffee, cotton, sugar, timber, livestock products etc. Alas, it’s things like cabbages, tomatoes and onions, destined for Europe.
In the rush to export to Europe, African domestic and regional vegetable markets have often been overlooked. Local, district and national markets provide the first outlet and are the primary clients for increased vegetable production.
Still a lot of promotion to be done on those traditional greens, despite the potential for intra-regional trade. Come to think of it, a third of yesterday’s FARA blog posts may also be relevant to African indigenous vegetables. This year’s Economic Report on Africa is focused on “Developing African Agriculture through Regional Value Chains.” Can we hope for a joined-up analysis of all this from FARA?
Nibbles: Seed travels, Carotenoids in cucumbers, Tea and hibiscus, Sea level rise, Tewolde on climate change, SPGRC
- After a year’s travel in search of seeds, Adam Forbes turns in his report.
- The genetics of orange-fleshed cucumbers elucidated.
- Tea and hibiscus booze.
- Video of honey harvesting.
- Maps of sea level rise. All somewhat unsatisfying, somehow.
- “Because we are poor, we shall suffer first but, ultimately, we shall all die together.”
- SADC Plant Genetic Resources Centre (SPGRC) director Paul Munyenyembe does the public awareness thing.
Nibbles: Tofu, Pluon, Community gardens, Indian drought, Trees, Chicks, rare breeds
- Tofu, anyone?
- Plumcot, anyone?
- Guerrilla gardening, everyone!
- Green Revolution breadbasket drying up. ICRISAT has the answer. Well, sort of.
- BBC has a different answer. Trees can keep people alive in times of drought.
- More semi-naked chicks, this time in South Africa.
- Naked or otherwise, eat them to save them, with the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.