We’ve been keeping an eye on the CGIAR change process, of course. Of course. Particularly as it relates to what they will do about agrobiodiversity, of course. Of course. But it really is not that easy to keep track of what’s happening with the megaprogrammes, or CGIAR Research Programmes (CRPs) as they are called now. The old CGIAR website is not much use. The blog on the change process they used to have doesn’t seem to be open to all any more. ((At least I thought it used to be open to all. I may be wrong on that one.)) Their knowledge sharing program doesn’t seem to focus much on the changes that are going on. And the page on the CRPs on the new Consortium website is of Saharan aridity. One is left to the information and communications shops of the individual Centres for the latest news on the development of the CRPs, and just recently ICRAF, IRRI, and IFPRI have indeed obliged. But each in their interestingly different ways, and still not a huge amount of evidence of system thinking, at least on the communications side. Anyway, interesting to see a whole (sub)theme in IFPRI’s policy CRP devoted to research on “policies and strategies that facilitate (or hinder) access to enhanced crops and animals, as well as the exchange of germplasm.” With a special reference to neglected and underutilized crops, no less. Alas with nary a mention of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, though. Presumably that will be dealt with elsewhere in the CRPs? No, wait…
Nibbles: Intensification, Turnips, Colourful breeding, Development, CGIAR Research Programs, C4 ALV, IRRI,
- Ecological intensification: some new science to use.
- Tetraploid turnip tolerates salt.
- The Scientist Gardener does colourful pepper (mostly) breeding.
- “Envy holds back agricultural development.” Say wha?
- IFPRI sells what it is up to on Policies and Nutrition.
- Cleome gynandra is a C4 plant with wonderful adaptations; I bet the people eating it don’t know that.
- IRRI impresses UK diplomat, especially the genebank.
Nibbles: School gardens, Food Policy, Beer
- Download a book on how to create an outdoor classroom school garden.
- Ars Technica reports on a How to feed 9 billion panel discussion.
- How Ancient Brits brewed beer.
Dams, lying links, and databases
A post on e-agriculture about information resources related to water in agriculture allows me to update, on the occasion of World Water Day, a piece we had here some years back. The links in that old post of ours no longer point to the things they used to, but if readers are still interested in that African dams database they can now find it elsewhere. Alas, I couldn’t get the Google Earth file to work, but if you do the work-around from the Excel file you get the map below. I’ll reiterate my original questions, to which I have no better answer now than four years ago, alas:
I would guess that the effect of dams and new irrigation schemes on local wild biodiversity is usually negative, but is that necessarily always the case also for agro-biodiversity? I suspect so, but is there a possibility that at least sometimes existing crop genetic diversity is simply displaced a bit geographically or ecologically within the same general area and augmented by new crop genetic diversity adapted to the new conditions?
Nibbles: Mulberry, Vegetable consumption, Banana peel, Timber
- Mulberries preserved twice, in the Pamirs and with a Slow Food Presidium. Kudos to Bioversity.
- Gardeners eat more veggies, but not fruit. Press release and paper.
- Banana peels concentrate heavy metals. Article and paper.
- Where tropical timber goes. GOOD Infographic.