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Seed savers take matters into their own hands

In this global world it can be valuable to stop and think for a moment that we share the same problems and solutions. Traditional knowledge and informal seed systems are not the preserve of “resource-poor farmers in marginal areas in developing countries”. They can be just as vital to fatcat hobby gardeners in the richest countries on earth. Seed swaps, where people exchange their seeds and their knowledge, are now common features of garden life around the developed world, and increasing in frequency and importance as gardeners come to value biodiversity.

All of which is prompted by this fine account of a recent Seedy Saturday from Ottawa Hortiphilia. Check it out, and if anyone else has a report on a seed swap, from Mali, Montreal or Morecombe, let us know.

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Underutilized plants finally get an airing

We don’t usually reproduce press releases here, but this is a good cause.

Hundreds of little-known indigenous plant species support the lives of the rural poor. These plants often have medicinal properties, provide nutrients to women and children, and are used for building materials, fodder and a multitude of other uses.

Called neglected or “underutilized,” these species collectively receive little attention from researchers, extension officers, farmers, policy and decision makers, donors, technology providers and consumers, yet they are vital to the wellbeing of millions of people. Many have untapped potential for processing into refreshments and snacks and for trade in the domestic and regional markets, thus providing poor people with new income opportunities.

An international Symposium is convened in Arusha, Tanzania 3-7 March 2008. 209 participants from 54 countries have come together to share and discuss approaches to promote underutilized plants in four main areas of importance: food security, nutrition and health, income generation, and environmental sustainability.

The Symposium is co-convened under the umbrella of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) by the Sri Lanka-based International Centre for Underutilised Crops (ICUC) and the Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species, Bioversity International, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa, GlobalHort and AVRDC-The World Vegetable Center, whose Regional Office for Africa is the local host.

Dr Hannah Jaenicke, Director of ICUC and the main convener of the Symposium says: “Many underutilized crops are plants used by the poor to meet their daily needs; they are not high priorities for national governments as are commodity crops.”

She continues: “Many of the people working on these plants feel isolated. They have no access to information from other countries, which is often not published. This symposium provides a unique opportunity for experts from around the world to exchange ideas and develop strategies for future collaboration.”

The Hon. Minister for Education and Vocational Training, the former Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Prof. Jumanne Maghembe will open the symposium.

Dr. Sidi Sanyang, representing Dr. Monty Jones, the Executive Secretary of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), will present the keynote address. Other distinguished guests at the Opening Ceremony are Dr. Norman E. Looney, President of the International Society of Horticultural Sciences and Dr. Jeremiah Haki, Director for Research and Development, Department of Agriculture.

LATER: And here’s the report.

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Weekly helping of potatoes

The Economist seems to have a thing about potatoes this week. There’s a story about how Peru is trying to cash in on its spud heritage. (Note to editor: the olluco is not a type of potato.) There’s a book review, of John Reader’s Propitious Esculent. And there’s even an editorial explaining how the humble tuber is at the root — as it were — of globalization. The International Year of the Potato cannot be over too quickly.

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It’s our ball and we’re not going to play

It’s a scandal! The Minnesota Soybean Growers Association and the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council have stopped funding research at the University of Minnesota because “the university hurt the farmers’ feelings,” according to the director of the two groups.

How? By discovering that growing biofuel crops on existing farmland may be more damaging to the atmosphere than using fossil fuels. That story has been all over, and we didn’t link to it because it isn’t quite up our main street. But interfering with research in this way affects all of us.

PZ, from whom we picked up this latest twist on the story, sums it up best:

Some people, even prominent, wealthy people, simply don’t understand the fundamental concept of basic research. The goal isn’t to get answers that make you feel good; it isn’t to find ways to rationalize continuing damaging practices; it isn’t even to pat you on the should and salve your delicate feelings. It is to find out the actual answer to a problem, no matter what it may be. Don’t fund research if you’re afraid of the truth.