- More audio aquaponics goodness.
- “The road from growing rice to raising shrimp to misery.”
- Angola’s national strategy on food, nutritional security includes seeds. Anyone know more?
- Handbook for School Gardens.
- Oh no, climate change to screw up Czech hops! Now I’m really mad.
It’s a start
Kenya on Friday began distributing seeds for indigenous food crops worth Sh650 million to farmers on Friday, hoping to lift the country out of food insecurity. … Production of indigenous food crops has declined over the years due to lack of planting materials, low interest by seed companies and changes in eating habits, although they are known to cope well in dry weather.
Sunken billions
A new World Bank publication puts dollar numbers on the world’s approach to fishing:
Economic losses in marine fisheries resulting from poor management, inefficiencies, and overfishing add up to US$50 billion per year.
The book argues that:
strengthened fishing rights can provide fishers and fishing communities with incentives to operate in an economically efficient and socially responsible manner.
I presume it would help conserve marine biodiversity as well.
Also just out is the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2008, from FAO. Part 1 is a very informative and data rich overview. FAO estimates that 80% of fisheries are fully or over-exploited, and that 47% of fish consumed is from aquaculture (which must become more sustainable, says the WWF).
Part 2 has a chapter on Marine genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction as related to marine biodiversity and the sustainable use of living marine resources. It is about bio-prospecting in international waters, and benefit sharing. They are looking at the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture to help develop policy in this area.
Pesticide brigades
It is well established that brown plant hopper outbreaks in rice are caused by the use of pesticides. So why do farmers and their advisers spray even more when there is an outbreak?
According to this post on the Ricehoppers blog, it might be because plant protection services (in Vietnam) operate like fire brigade services, equipped for rapid response and control. And because, for the people leading these services, it is better to do the wrong thing (spray) then to be perceived as not acting (and perhaps lose their job).
Perhaps, like modern fire brigades, plant protection services will be able to shift their emphasis to prevention. And, like modern fire-ecologists, learn to let the occasional outbreak run its course.
Making breeding illegal
“When the disease comes in here, it’s going to wipe you out and you’ll have nothing left.”
That’s Ching Yuan Hu, associate dean for the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, talking about legislation that would outlaw genetic modification of taro in Hawaii. Not sure which disease he’s talking about. Maybe our Pacific readers will tell us. Or Danny. Taro Leaf Blight is already in Hawaii, but others aren’t, of course.