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February 25, 2014February 25, 2014

The slippery politics of agricultural biodiversity

It happens sometimes. You see a bunch of apparently random, unrelated things, and then after a while suddenly it hits you that there’s a thread of sorts running through them after all. It’s a trick of the mind, of course, but still. Take my reading these past few days. It included a review of an …

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October 5, 2012October 5, 2012

Nibbles: Meta-blogging, NUS scholarships, Insects & plant diversity, Commons, Trees and diet, Thyme, ABS

Why they blog. At the Agriculture and Ecosystems Blog Agriculture and Ecosystems Blog that is. Can’t help thinking that the media should perhaps be alerted. Scholarships available at the Crops for the Future Research Centre. Yes, ok EurekAlert!, we get it , insects are really important to plant diversity. Yes, ok policy wonks, we get …

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May 28, 2012May 28, 2012

Nibbles: CGIAR, Breeding, Shamba Shape-up, Beach, Plant Cuttings, Cabbage pic, Leaf monitor, European AnGR and PGR, Dutch CWR post-doc, Allium on the Highline, Brazil forest code, Japanese rice in Oz, Indian genebank sell-off, Jersey apple genebank, Hazelnut milk subsitute, SPGRC, Urban veggies roundup, Spicy tales, Agroecological zonation

Frank Rijsberman aims to build a “strong Consortium.” Teaching tools aim to improve capacity in plant breeding. And no, I didn’t mean anything by the juxtaposition, settle down. Kenyan reality show aims to enhance rural livelihoods. What, are you trying to be funny? No, I tell you, it’s all a massive coincidence. You know what, …

Continue reading “Nibbles: CGIAR, Breeding, Shamba Shape-up, Beach, Plant Cuttings, Cabbage pic, Leaf monitor, European AnGR and PGR, Dutch CWR post-doc, Allium on the Highline, Brazil forest code, Japanese rice in Oz, Indian genebank sell-off, Jersey apple genebank, Hazelnut milk subsitute, SPGRC, Urban veggies roundup, Spicy tales, Agroecological zonation”

February 13, 2012February 13, 2012

Nibbles: BGCI database, Lathyrus, IRRI CWR photos, Sweet potato manuals, Rosemary lore, Pig farmer success story, Fancy restaurant, Vavilov’s Principle, Forests, Sorghum, Millet, Kenya and climate change

GardenSearch just got way more complicated. Today’s silver bullet is an Australian grasspea variety. Actually the first Australian grasspea variety. Our friend Nik goes to town on IRRI’s wild relatives. How to breed sweet potatoes. The saga continues. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. ILRI uses the particular to make points about the general. Clever. Californian …

Continue reading “Nibbles: BGCI database, Lathyrus, IRRI CWR photos, Sweet potato manuals, Rosemary lore, Pig farmer success story, Fancy restaurant, Vavilov’s Principle, Forests, Sorghum, Millet, Kenya and climate change”

September 26, 2011September 26, 2011

Nibbles: Elm disease, Kew genebank, Maize domestication, Wildlife vs livestock, Medieval figs, Alternative food security, Spineless lulo, Mangos for Haiti, Aubergine breeding, Urban ag in Japan, West African research

“Beginning in the late 1990s, Kock travelled throughout Ontario collecting twigs of seemingly healthy mature elms, in what amounted to an elm dating service.” “…a curated inventory of miscellaneous interestingness” lands on the Millennium Seed Bank. Hilarity ensues. What do hopscotch, architecture and maize have in common? Zebras good for cattle. The fig deconstructed. “Improve …

Continue reading “Nibbles: Elm disease, Kew genebank, Maize domestication, Wildlife vs livestock, Medieval figs, Alternative food security, Spineless lulo, Mangos for Haiti, Aubergine breeding, Urban ag in Japan, West African research”