A CREDIT paper now out in Food Policy uses some fancy maths to suggest that the health and nutritional status of Rwandese rural people is more dependent on how much beans, sweet potatoes and other crops they produce, rather than on their income. That’s because of “market imperfections,” which is a polite way of saying that there are no markets. A sobering thought for those development agencies which pin all their hopes on the private sector. The author doesn’t discuss this, but I would have thought the dataset is a suitable one to investigate the relationship between dietary diversity (using the proxy of production diversity) and health. Tragically — and actually rather surprisingly — output of local beer has a significant negative effect on nutrition and no effect on health.
Featured comment: self-sufficiency
Yvonne, on The Food Crisis: Déjà Vu:
In these times, when desertification, civil unrest, natural disasters and other crises, force groups or families from traditional or stationary plots of ground, they can still feed themselves IF we provide a growing structure that does not REQUIRE that plot of land.
Of course, there’s a bit more to it than that, but still …
The rain in Spain…doesn’t predict olive production
Came across two interesting snippets on olives this morning, both from Spain, both involving indicators, of production and ecosystem health respectively. In one study, year-to-year fluctuations in the olive harvest were found to be best explained by differences in the annual pollen index and the maximum temperature in March. Ok, but how sustainable is production in any given orchard? Well, for that you have to look at the number of ladybugs, apparently.
Come on, show yourself. We know you’re there
Bloggers are full of fancy reasons for their habit, and we’re no exception. One we might not say out loud is that it feels good to know that other people read what we write. A few weeks ago we implemented a major piece of gee-whizzery to draw attention to a featured comment: that’s it top right in the yellow box. Our primary reason is to reward people who make interesting comments ((I’ve always believed in rewarding behaviour you want more of, and ignoring (not punishing) the rest.)) but we were obviously also hoping to attract more people to comment. Now, another excuse to solicit your input: we are, apparently, in the middle of National Delurking Week. Of course, we’re not that parochial, so let’s hear it for Global Delurking Week. And here’s all you need to know:
Shy? Don’t be!
Don’t know what to say? Just say hi!
Afraid? What of? There’s nothing to be afraid of here on [our] blog. Everyone’s welcome and safe here.
A regular commenter? Say hi so that those who aren’t won’t feel like they have to be the first.
OK, off you go …
Eating Fluffy
Check out this longish meditation on Peru’s main source of protein. Recipe included. Delicious!
And while we’re on the subject of protein on the hoof, as it were, the BBC has a great series of photos of the season of cattle crossings along the River Niger in Mali.