Not sure what to make of this. A European Research Headline piece of news gives some information about a project to use molecular genetics, socio-economics and geostatistics to decide which populations of sheep and goats are worth conserving. But the article doesn’t actually say anything about the project’s conclusions. And when I looked earlier today the project web site had not been updated since Agusut 2006. That’s annoying because the results could well be interesting and I’d really like to know how they analyzed the information and how they used it to advise policymakers.
Welcome Bankers
A warm but somewhat belated welcome to everyone visiting from Tangled Bank 72, so ably hosted by Ouroboros, and the other blogs that have linked to us this week. We’d have put the mat out earlier, but my esteemed colleague Luigi, who wrote the article on new software approaches to taxonomy and identification, is traveling and temporarily out of reach. (I have no excuse, other than the demands of paying work.)
Anyway, aside from kicking around and seeing if there’s anything here that attracts your fancy, we’d also like to enlist your help. If you come across any trifles that relate to our obsession with agricultural biology, please toss them our way. We look, but we can’t find everything, or even a small part of everything. There’s a contact form, or you can simply comment on any item. One of us is generally keeping an eye on them.
Thanks.
The diverse crops of Kenya
I’ll be away for about a week so blogging might be a bit light, but I couldn’t resist mentioning the following four stories that were in the print edition of the Daily Nation this morning before leaving:
- A new climbing bean variety developed by the University of Nairobi and the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute has been released and will be ready for commercial production by June.
- Coconut vendors in Mombasa are set to have access to a new technology (developed by FAO in collaboration with the Intermediate Technology Development Institute) for keeping coconut juice fresh for up to 3 weeks.
- The vice-chairman of the Rift Valley branch of the Kenya Horticultural Society asked local universities to start breeding new flower varieties rather than using material from the Netherlands and Israel.
- A group of Nyeri farmers have started selling their coffee directly to international dealers rather than through the traditional central auction system.
I thought the range of these articles really gave an good impression of the great variety of Kenyan agriculture and agricultural research.
See you again soon…
Japan’s genebank
Looks like the genebank of the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences in Japan has revamped its English web site. There’s a request form, too. So, use it! More people ought to avail themselves of the treasures in genebanks, and it isn’t hard to do. It makes use of the genebank, which adds to its perceived value, and it could bring you joy and delight in your fields or gardens.
Award for The Land Institute
Wes Jackson, the pioneer of perennial prairie polyculture, is to receive the 6th Environmental Award from Prescott College in Arizona for the work of The Land Institute, according to a press release. I’ve always had a lot of respect for Jackson and his vision of what agriculture could be, really learning from nature to craft a more sustainable farming system. It’ll be a while before we are “growing granola” in his immortal phrase, but The Land Institute’s experiments on mixtures of four or more species, drawn from different families to make optimal use of resources, are proceeding apace. The Prescott College award is by no means the first Jackson has received, but every bit helps to draw the attention of mainstream research to his ideas. Which is why I’m blogging it, I suppose.