Policy

What makes a good country?

Is it not ironic that on the same day that Bill Gates suggests national targets and reports cards for agricultural productivity, boffins are decrying the use of unidimensional indicators of country-level success in another sphere? Report cards for agricultural sustainability, anyone? For levels of agricultural biodiversity in situ and ex situ?

BBC says we can feed the world through technology. And why not. The Times of India, meanwhile, didn’t get the memo.
Bill Gates at the IFAD Governing Council will probably say the same thing today. And put his money where his mouth is.
CIMMYT Director General said the same recently at an Economist conference. Funny how genebanks are rarely among the saviour technologies being touted.
It’s all about the scaling up, isn’t it?
Tell that to the Lake Chad fisherfolk who are now turning to farming.
And, in another universe, sushi seeks protection.
Buffel vs Rhodes in the Arabian peninsula.

Modern Chinese agronomist praises ancient Chinese agriculture, possibly gets in trouble.
Domesticating trees is still the next big thing.
Transform agriculture for a greener economy, says SciDev.net.
VoA on genebanks, including Svalbard.
Gerbil enthusiasts tackle millets. Yes, gerbils.

1.24 kg of book about Biodiversity in Agriculture.
Everybody’s already linked to The Economist on The Nutrition Puzzle but we’re not proud.
And lots of people have linked to the biblical garden story; we’re proud to point out that one of the plants was a culturally important cultivated citrus.
And while we’re in biblical mood, here’s a culturally important animal to go with that citrus.
Biopirates plundering the oceans’ genetic resources must be stopped with international agreements, ‘cos that’ll work.
Big session on Food security, climate change and climate variability at big scientific meeting. Eventually we’ll hear more.
As when UK Chief Scientist tells Voice of America about agriculture and climate change.
Small farmers in Mexico are making a difference to agrobiodiversity and politics.
Fruitipedia! 433 fruits and counting.
16th Triennial Symposium of International Society for Tropical Root Crops in the works.
Bayer CropScience buys into the Texas A&M University wheat genebank?
Seeds survive in the permafrost. Good news for Svalbard.
Seeds don’t survive in the permafrost. Bad news for Vikings?
The connection between the the engravings found on ancient graves and current cattle brands in the same general area. Turkana, that is. Not much is the answer. Pity.
And how did they make all that meat and milk safe for use, I hear you ask.

Modelling chestnut biogeography for American chestnut restoration. As all 7 species have very similar climatic niches, if you could get a blight-resistant hybrid, it would probably be adapted to North American conditions.
Ex situ conservation programmes in European zoological gardens: Can we afford to lose them? No, and therefore the EU needs to step in. Whoa, talk about a non sequitur.
The Fine Scale Ethnotaxa Classification of Millets in Southern India. Malayali farmers can consistently recognize more phenotypes than DNA analysis, and some of the cryptic landraces might be really useful.
Diversity of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) cultivars and its management in the department of Bouenza in the Republic of Congo. High, but decreasing, at least in some villages. But overall? Any collections made?
Indigenous agroforestry in a changing context: The case of the Erumanen ne Menuvu in Southern Philippines. Despite being divinely-sanctioned, the pengegnewiran swidden system is changing, in response to socio-economic changes. It needs to, and blaming the people because you don’t like the result is not very helpful.
Variation in biochemical composition of baobab (Adansonia digitata) pulp, leaves and seeds in relation to soil types and tree provenances. Soil has a big effect. At least in Benin.
Comparing silvopastoral systems and prospects in eight regions of the world. They’re all going to need more active management.