Category: Policy

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What’s a bison worth these days?

$4906.25, according to a post by David Willcove, excellent conservation biologist. He points out that a Colorado rancher was fined $157,000 for illegally killing 32 bison that had wandered onto his land last winter. Willcove discusses the conflict between wildlife and livestock in terms of the fear of disease. Bison could transmit brucellosis to cattle, but, Willcove says,

There has never been a documented case of a wild bison transmitting brucellosis to a cow, but the mere possibility that it could happen is enough to cause the State of Montana to insist on the death penalty for all bison that wander outside the park boundary (unless they can be chased back into the park…but try making a bison go where you want it to go).

You would think it might be possible for livestock and wildlife to co-exist, especially in a place where it really is not a matter of life and death, and Willcove has some suggestions to achieve that. But don’t hold your breath.

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Wired does food

Wired magazine does some great-looking graphics. And the latest, on how science will solve the food crisis, is no exception. As for the content, well, I’m not sure that the future of global farming is down to push-pull intercropping, remote sensing and data-driven rotation, but it’s good to see things other than new seeds and fertilizers being given a chance. And somebody should tell Wired there are more than three plant genebanks in the world.

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Idiots or savants? Reality for small farmers is complex

There’s a prevailing meta-narrative in some circles that sees smallholder farmers, noble peasants, as all-knowing and all-wise. Just give them control over their resources, this story goes, and they’ll feed themselves, conserve their environment, produce a surplus for those who do not farm, and all will be well with the world.

There’s an equally prevalent counter-narrative that says that the reason poor farmers are poor is that they haven’t had access to the fruits of scientific research and technological developments. Sell them seeds and fertilizers and spiffy new crops and varieties and they’ll grow their way out of poverty.

Neither narrative is wholly true, nor wholly untrue, and seldom is that brought out as clearly as in a recent report on the Agence France Presse wire, about the plight of farmers in southern Ethiopia. Some bought into a get-rich-quick scheme, growing biofuels for an American-Israeli company. They are going hungry, and they are still poor. Others ignored the offer. They remain poor, but they do have food to eat.

For smallholder farmers, as for everyone else, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

It’s a complicated story, that’s for sure, and AFP does its best to provide a balanced view. More and more, though, I am becoming certain that the best way to improve food security and earnings is to reverse the neglect of thoughtful extension services, which can combine the best technological advances with the most useful local knowledge to come up with locally sensitive solutions.

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Nibbles: Chickens, Realpolitik, Apples, Kew, Maize, Local food