- More on The Horse, the Wheel and Language. Giddyup!
- More species means more productivity. At least in the Patagonian steppe.
- Bogota urban agriculture to embrace native species.
- Ohio farmers to rear Amazonian fish. Amazonian farmers unavailable for comment.
- I wonder if Turkish pigs are genetically interesting.
- Ifugau rice terraces being abandoned by “world’s best rice farmers.” Ok that’s weird, because they’re also supposed to solve the rice shortage problem. Gosh, this is probably worth more than just a nibble.
Nibbles: Donkeys, Aquaculture, Protected areas, Vegetables
- Social networking for livestock. Not as silly as it sounds.
- Fish in the Tea. Dr Seuss unavailable for comment. Via.
- Natura 2000 network expands. Good for wild relatives? Does anybody know? Care?
- Brits flocking back to their allotments? I spot an opportunity for seed savers and heirloom varieties.
How much would Kenyans pay for yellow maize?
We’ve blogged a few times about the preference for white maize in Africa, despite the nutritional advantages of the yellow kind. A recent paper in Food Policy puts some numbers on that. It also gives an historical explanation for the preference, at least for Kenya:
The high demand for maize for the war industry and the support of strong lobbying efforts by European settlers, combined with pest problems in millet and sorghum, made maize the major food crop in Kenya by the time of the First World War. A major turning point was when the marketing board started to refuse to buy yellow maize. From then on, only white maize was grown in the central highlands. The maize research program in Kenya, one of the most successful in the region, produced many improved varieties but, given the established market preferences and focus on the highlands, all those were white. It can thus be argued that the dominance of white dent varieties in East Africa was a case of path dependency, caused by a range of favoring factors ([Rubey et al., 1997] and [Smale and Jayne, 2003]). Furthermore, once people are used to a particular food with particular characteristics these characteristics easily become preferred traits.
The numbers are striking. In a survey conducted at small mills, kiosks and supermarkets, 600 consumers asked for a price discount of a third to a half for yellow maize. They were willing to pay a premium for fortified maize, but of only 6-7%. The adoption of biofortified varieties clearly faces a daunting challenge:
We conclude that substantial efforts will be needed to make biofortified, yellow maize varieties acceptable to the urban consumers. A reduction in price would clearly help, and lower income consumers would be more responsive, but the price difference would have to be substantial. Formal education seems to increase the preference for white maize and has no effect on the preference for fortified. Therefore, special educational and awareness programs seem indicated. Further research is, however, needed to assess what information and awareness is needed for consumers to change their behavior. To develop appropriate awareness campaigns, the sources of this type of information need to be assessed.
What price leafy greens?
Nibbles: Crabs, barley, IAASTD, wine, vegetables
- Why fisheries management is so often a failure.
- Climate change threatens beer. Luigi appalled. Via.
- IIED to answer questions raised by IAASTD. Chef comments, “Your alphabet soup is ready now.”
- Not enough Sangiovese in Brunello di Montalcino. Jeremy appalled.
- People in the burbs really into growing vegetables all of a sudden.
Nibbles: Collards, Genebanks
- USDA goes hunting for long-lost heirloom collard greens: Indiana Jones unavailable for comment.
- USDA leader of genetic resources explains why genebanks matter: Indiana Jones laps it up.