- “See how beautiful you can make with small water!”
- IRRI redux.
- The problems of vegetable production in Africa, in microcosm.
- “This is a local production, storage and distribution system, a huge exhibit of biodiversity.’’
- PNAS special issue on ecosystem services.
- Bee books.
- Switch to switchgrass.
- More than you probably want to know about earthworms.
- Evil Fruit Lord questions Scotland-China raspberry deal.
- Ancient crop DNA recovered from underwater amphorae. Totally amazing.
- Nutritionist introduces soybeans to Afghanistan.
- Early PNG agricultural site added to UNESCO World Heritage list.
Nibbles: Chips, Free fruit, Ornamentals
- Zebra chip is the latest disease to plague the potato industry.
- Urban fruit: An untapped resource.
- Selling English roses. No, the flowers.
Nibbles: Mongolia, Fruit & veg, Lima bean, Biofuels, Peyote, Permaculture, Extension
- Isgelen tarag. You heard me.
- Eat up all your vegetables, Timmy.
- Breeding a better Lima bean.
- Kenya will regret its failure to protect the environment. Wangari Maathai against (specific) biofuels.
- Lophophora williamsii showing classic signs of overexploitation.
- “I have been trying to be very friendly to soil worms…They are our friends.”
- Using radio soap operas in extension.
African vegetables gone missing
How frustrating. The excellent Agrobiodiversity Grapevine links to an article about indigenous vegetables in East Africa at Africa Science News Service. The article concerns a report Development and promotion of technologies for sustainable production and utilization of Indigenous Vegetables for nutrition security and wealth creation in Kenya, but ASNS’s link to the source of the report is broken and I cannot find it anywhere. I’d like to see what the full report has to say; the article mentions nutrition, horticulture, incomes and research, aspects of the use of African leafy vegetables that I’m sure many people are interested in.
Entomophagy. Again
The Economist is promoting entomophagy, but I have my doubts. Yes, insects are nutritious. Yes other food is expensive. And maybe eating insects “is common in some 113 countries”. But the fact of the matter is that in other countries, I doubt that it is going to happen any time soon, no matter how good it might be for us, for the planet, for everything. I’ve eaten my share of insects; fried locusts are a favourite. And Luigi likes the odd mopane worm. We’re both entirely happy with decapod crustaceans too. But it is my considered view that outside of those 113 countries, insects are going to continue to be a hard sell.