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Imagining the past

And another trifecta to round off the day, this one of stories about the historical remains of agrobiodiversity, in a broad sense.

We start with an article in Britain’s Daily Telegraph about a genetic study of the skulls of a couple of lions from the menagerie which medieval royalty maintained in the Tower of London. It turns out they were Barbary lions from North Africa, now sadly extinct. Ok, they’re not strictly speaking agricultural biodiversity, but it’s a fun story and I couldn’t resist it.

Next there’s news of an excavation in Egypt which revealed the buried remain of donkeys. I think we actually nibbled this a few days ago in another guise, but the NY Times article is worth reading. The find is interesting because although the donkeys were definitely used as pack animals (the evidence is wear and tear on the bones), they didn’t look any different from wild asses — at least as far as their bones are concerned. Certainly they were no smaller, and a rapid reduction in size has been seen as a marker of animal domestication — the domestication syndrome. So, time for a rethink there.

And, finally, the Boston Globe has a piece on an exhibition of Jewish mosaics from Roman North Africa, entitled “Tree of Paradise” because of its depictions of nature’s bounty. Ancient representations of plants and animals are fascinating, because they are really the only way we can know the external phenotype of old, extinct breeds and varieties. There are unfortunately no pictures in the article, and the exhibition website only has one. Pity.

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More spud news than anyone needs

Today’s crop of heartwarming potato stories come to you from Peru, the Philippines and India. First, Living in Peru has a fluff piece about how Peruvians are not eating enough potatoes, and that something must be done about it. It also says that “Peru has 2,800 of the 3,900 varieties of potatoes that exist in the world today.” I have no idea where they got those figures, whether they are close to the truth, or whether we even know the truth. But I’ll try to dig a little deeper and report back.

Then comes the Philippines Information Authority with news that a new potato variety is to be released in that country, bearing the name of the president. How sweet. The article says that the “original planting material was sourced” from the International Potato Centre (CIP), and previously had the codename “13.1.1”. The variety is blight-resistant and high in solids, and is supposed to be good for organic conditions. Now, it would have been interesting to know a little more about 13.1.1, but some rapid checking revealed nothing. Again, I will dig further.

And finally, news from India that a local farmer’s son, who went to the US for training in plant physiology and pathology, has now come back and set up a tissue culture lab on the family farm. Now that’s what I call technology transfer. But you wonder what kind of a farmer the father is. Not your typical Indian farmer, I’ll wager.

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Trees growing in Kenya

An ancient post on trees in Kenya has elicited some comments from Victor Mulinge, keeping us up to date on his tree planting activities. I’m promoting his latest to a post to give it the prominence it deserves.

Hi Jeremy,
A while now after new year 2008 kenya was in a dilemna following post election skirmishes but now all is well. Pawpaw trees are now 800, bananas 200 and mangos 700 and still marching on. Now am in search of groundwater for irrigation purposes through tapping rain water by a man made dam which can hold up to 100,000 litres but only for 2 weeks due to evaporation. Hoping all will be good. Keep in touch for positive enviromental upgrades through tree planting.

Thanks Victor, and do keep the information coming.

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Research on crofting reveals oppression, not much else

A few days ago a short article in the Farmers Guardian, a British rural newspaper, mentioned what sounds like an interesting research project: “Crofters: Indigenous People of the Highlands and Islands.” Unfortunately, a look at the Scottish Crofting Foundation website doesn’t reveal much more information. It would have been nice to know, for example, whether the project looked at the contribution crofters make to on-farm conservation of agrobiodiversity. Surely there was more to the project than a glossy brochure moaning about the oppression of indigenous crofters. Maybe Maria Scholten will be able to tell us.

Meanwhile, in another part of darkest Britain, another traditional lifestyle based on the management and use of agricultural biodiversity — thatching — is having to go through bureaucratic hoops. I’ll let Danny over at Rurality tell you all about it. Would be funny if it wasn’t sad. Traditional doesn’t mean unchanging, guys.

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Not hip, righteous

The blah about whether the young people who are giving up city life for something more rural and productive are “hip”, “cool” or what is fun to watch, but not all that illuminating. It has, however, flushed out an interesting article from April’s Atlantic magazine, which I might never have seen. A Papaya Grows in Holyoke explains how “A crime-plagued mill town in Massachusetts has discovered the roots of urban renewal,” and those roots, you will not be surprised to learn, go deep into the ground. Of course the story may not tell the whole truth, we’ve always known that, but it is a heart-warming read.

Via cheflovesbeer, who says: “It is easier for the kids if some of the hip kids do it”.