Vegetables

October 30, 2007October 30, 2007

Hot news from CAPRi

No, that’s not a typo. CAPRi is the CGIAR system-wide program on Collective Action and Property Rights. A little more than a year ago CAPRi organized a workshop on Collective Action and Market Access for Smallholders. Now the papers from that meeting are available online. Two that might be of particular interest to Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog readers are:

CAPRi Working Paper No. 69: Collective Action and Marketing of Underutilized Plant Species: The Case of Minor Millets in Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu, India, by Guillaume P. GruÃ¨re, Latha Nagarajan, and E.D.I. Oliver King

and

CAPRi Working Paper No. 70: The Role of Public-Private Partnerships and Collective Action in Ensuring Smallholder Participation in High Value Fruit and Vegetable Supply Chains, by Clare Narrod, Devesh Roy, Julius Okello, Belem AvendaÃ±o, Karl Rich

October 26, 2007

Hottest chili pepper in the world

Bhut Jolokia is a hottie.

October 18, 2007

Ethnic holdout

Japanese-American farming.

October 11, 2007

Novelty crops

The October issue of USDA’s Agricultural Research Magazine has a number of pieces on “novelty crops,” which just seems to mean non-staples, although some of them are what is often referred to as neglected or underused species.Â Among the articles there’sÂ one on how the National Plant Germplasm System is conserving the genetic diversityÂ of these species.

October 8, 2007October 8, 2007

Healthier farmers, better products

That’s the theme and title of the latest issue ofÂ LEISA Magazine, which explores “how human health is being improved through good natural resource management and maintenance of ecosystem health.” There are articles on neglected crops, traditional medicinal plants and organic agriculture, among other things — lots of agrobiodiversity related stuff. Thanks again to Danny for the headsup. Great reading.