Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

May 29, 2022

Trade and germplasm

Want to know why New Zealand has a huge collection of temperate forage diversity in its Margot Forde Forage Germplasm Centre, part of AgResearch Ltd? Just check out its exports on the OEC website.

I learned about the OEC’s snazzy visualisations of economic data via their addictive daily game Tradle, which invites you to guess the country based on its exports.

I think we should do a version where you guess the country based on its genebank holdings, but that’s another story.

May 23, 2022

A new organic, heterogeneous era dawns in Europe

What I forgot to do when I mentioned the Seeds4All Newsletter recently is link to their new “brochure outlining the regulatory steps to be taken in order to market OHM-labelled varieties.”

OHM?

2022 is a special year, as it will start with the entry into force of the new European Regulation on organic production, introducing the possibility of marketing seeds of ‘organic heterogeneous material’ (OHM) without any obligation to be registered in official catalogues.

We believe that this new legislation is a real advance for cultivated biodiversity and could reinforce the sustainability of organic agriculture by allowing the marketing of a greater quantity and diversity of truly organic seeds.

For these regulatory advances to be effective, it is necessary though that field operators seize them and commit to the marketing, reproduction and use of seed of organic heterogeneous material.

Bet there was a bit of resistance to that. You can download the brochure from the Seed4All website. Have fun.

May 23, 2022June 7, 2022

Brainfood: Trade double, Organic farming, Food vs non-food, Wild plants, Wheat yields, CWR in S Africa, Gene editing, European seed law, Farm diversity

Agricultural trade and its impacts on cropland use and the global loss of species habitat. Rich countries have a large biodiversity footprint outside their borders because they import a lot of agricultural products from areas where biodiversity is disappearing fast.
International food trade benefits biodiversity and food security in low-income countries. Ah, but low-income, high biodiversity countries import a lot too. I really don’t know what to think about trade now. Nicely parsed by Emma Bryce.
Biodiversity and yield trade-offs for organic farming. Biodiversity gain and yield loss balance each other out. Oh, come on scientists, would it kill you to give a definite answer?
Crop harvests for direct food use insufficient to meet the UN’s food security goal. We should definitely use more cropland for actual human food. But that would probably not be good for exports, no? Uff.
The hidden safety net: wild and semi-wild plant consumption and dietary diversity among women farmers in Southwestern Burkina Faso. Yeah, but who needs crops and imports anyway.
Six decades of warming and drought in the world’s top wheat-producing countries offset the benefits of rising CO2 to yield. In any case, crops are in trouble.
Planning complementary conservation of crop wild relative diversity in southern Africa. But CWR will save crops if only we can conserve them.
Genome Editing for Sustainable Agriculture in Africa. Especially if we use the latest toys.
Impact of the European Union’s Seed Legislation and Intellectual Property Rights on Crop Diversity. And have all the right policies in place.
Farm-level production diversity and child and adolescent nutrition in rural sub-Saharan Africa: a multicountry, longitudinal study. But actually, it’s livestock we really need.

May 19, 2022May 19, 2022

Ukraine national genebank endures

If you’re worried about the Ukraine genebank, the latest news is that it’s still ok. Here’s the official (maybe?) statement:

Важливо. Щодо "новини", що в Харкові знищили весь вітчизняний генетичний банк рослин (160 тис. сортів і гібридів рослин зі всього світу) див. тред: Національний Центр генетичних ресурсів рослин України діє на базі Інституту Юр'єва (Інститут рослинництва імені Юр'єва) (1/4)

— @XAPKIB (@XAPKIB) May 17, 2022

Due to the shelling by Russian troops of the Juriev Institute’s premises, the part of the specimens that were being prepared for regeneration were destroyed. The main collection is unharmed.

And Newsweek has done the factchecking.

May 19, 2022

Bean there, done that

I don’t think we’ve mentioned the Global Bean Project, but it sounds like fun.

More than 40 partners across Europe, as well as in Kenya and India, share and showcase inspiring experiences and practical knowledge about legume cultivation and consumption: public gardens and seed exchanges, monthly meetings and lectures, information sheets and promotional media.

Thanks to the always useful Seeds4All Newsletter for the headsup.