- EU counts the ways it loves agricultural biodiversity. 17!
- OFEC anyone? Tom (& the FT) thinks food is the new energy.
- The Scientist Gardener explains maize hybrids and hybrid vigour. My question: what if the effort had gone into mass selection instead?
- A 15 minute video on the Ethiopian Coffee story; thanks CAS-IP.
Indian movement to change agricultural policy
The Kisan Swaraj Yatra is a nation-wide mobilization drawing fresh attention to the continuing agricultural crisis in India, and calling for a comprehensive new path for Indian agriculture – that will provide livelihood and food security for small farmers, keep our soils alive, and our food and water poison-free. The bus-Yatra will start at the Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram on Oct 2nd, and pass through 20 states to reach Rajghat, New Delhi on Dec 11th.
Tell the Indian government to stop anti-farmer pro-corporatist policies, ensure dignified livelihoods for farming community, and promote sustainable agriculture. Send this petition to Smt.Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of UPA.
Only just discovered this — it is scheduled to end on 11 December — and am hoping someone else will do the needful and summarize its achievements for us at some point.
Nibbles: Cancun, Wine, Zambia, Bees
- Just in time. Agriculture and Rural Development Day 2010 now has RSS.
- “It wasn’t debilitated in any way.” World’s oldest beer and wine drunk.
- Zambian farmers buy seeds, fertilisers and herbicides by mobile phone. What could possibly go wrong?
- Red bees! A little too much biodiversity to blame? h/t Tasting Cultures
Nibbles: Nagoya, Pomegranate Juice, Fort Collins, Sudan, Americas, Brachiaria, Chile, Nutrition, Deppe
- Possibly interesting article on Nagoya ABS Protocol, but I’ll never know.
- Pomegranate juice fraud?
- Fort Collins genebank in the (local) news.
- Sudan to become self-sufficient in wheat. Sorghum also involved.
- James of the Giant Corn gives idiot pontificator a well-deserved drubbing.
- Brachiaria forage not a “magic bullet” shock.
- Chile moans about lack of benefit sharing, but fails to do anything about it.
- DG of Bioversity beats agricultural biodiversity for nutrition and health drum shock.
- Carol Deppe has a web site. (she’s the Backyard Vegetable Breeder person.)
Nibbles: Sweden, Nagoya, 100 questions,
- Swede objects to relaxed seed laws because it promotes profit, not biodiversty. Huh?
- Scidev.net optimistic about Nagoya.
- Those 100 questions answered in full for global agriculture, from climate change to consumer choice. We’ll be back on this one.