Tag Archives: climate-ready crop

Revisiting the “eat local” Idea

Posted on June 15, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on Thought + Food:
I just came across this review of a book called “The Locavore’s Delusion”, and yes, it is a nod to that other book, in case you were wondering! The authors of the book tried to…

Posted in food, knowledge transfer | Tagged access to food, biotechnology, climate-ready crop, flood, food, food availability, food quality, food safety, food security, food sovereignty, genetic modification, grain, grocery, local breed, local community, local variety, marker assisted selection, plant_monocot, Scuba rice, selective breeding, staple food, sustainable, trade, transport | 3 Comments

Scuba rice: biotech crop on a fast track towards release

Posted on May 25, 2014 by argylesock

A new biotech rice variety called Scuba or Swarna-Sub1 is going through field trials in India. It’s a long-grained rice (Oryza sativa L. ssp. indica) designed to be ‘climate-ready’ or ‘climate-smart’. That is, it’s designed to grow well as climates … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer, weather and climate | Tagged Africa, Asia, backcrossing, biotechnology, breeding, climate, climate-ready crop, crop diversity, crop variety, Department for International Development, development, farmer, field trial, flood, gene, grain, International Rice Research Institute, marker assisted backcrossing, marker assisted selection, paddy field, plant_monocot, research, rice, rice Swarna, Scuba rice, seed, selective breeding, staple food, trade, weather | 6 Comments

An organic farmer walks into Monsanto

Posted on February 1, 2014 by argylesock

The biotechnology giant Monsanto says that it’s ‘improving agriculture, improving lives.’ Do you agree? Monsanto is a chemical company. Some of its efforts to improve agriculture involve agrochemicals and genetically modified (GM, genetically engineered, GE) seeds to be planted where … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged arthropod, biotechnology, breeding, Bt crop, Bt toxin, climate, climate-ready crop, crop, crop variety, development, farmer, genetic modification, herbicide, insect, insecticide, Monsanto, organic, patent, pest, pesticide, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, Roundup, Roundup Ready crop, seed, soil, sustainable, trade, weed | 4 Comments

Crops in a changing climate

Posted on January 19, 2014 by argylesock

Which crops hold the key for climate change adaptation? Bioversity International asks our opinions in this global survey. You have until the end of January 2014 to give your opinion there.

Posted in agriculture, horticulture, knowledge transfer, weather and climate | Tagged biodiversity, climate, climate-ready crop, commodity crop, crop, crop diversity, farmer, gardener, knowledge, neglected crop, research, staple food, tradition | Leave a comment

Who’s the most hated company? Monsanto!

Posted on November 24, 2013 by argylesock

The chemical and biotechnology giant, Monsanto, calls itself ‘a sustainable agriculture company.’ If you want to know more of its viewpoint you can read its blog, Beyond the Rows. Not everybody thinks that Monsanto is all about sustainable agriculture. Do … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, human health, money and trade, weather and climate | Tagged BASF, Bayer, biotechnology, climate, climate-ready crop, conservation, crop, development, Dow, DuPont, evolution, fertiliser, food, food safety, genetic modification, herbicide, history, human, invasive species, Monsanto, pesticide, politics, seed, sustainable, Syngenta, trade, water, weed, yield | 8 Comments

Agricultural biodiversity and climate change

Posted on November 22, 2013 by argylesock

Smallholders around the world favour diversity as they face changing, unpredictable climates. Bioversity International tells us how smallholders use biodiversity to adapt. ‘Given the prevalence and effectiveness of planting new crops and varieties as a coping mechanism, ensuring access to … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer, weather and climate | Tagged agroforestry, America, Asia, barley, biodiversity, biotechnology, breeding, cañahua, climate, climate-ready crop, conservation, crop, crop diversity, crop variety, disease, drought, farmer, finger millet, food, fruit, genetic modification, grain, isaño, kodo millet, late blight, legume, local variety, lychee, millet, neglected crop, nut, oca, papalisa, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, potato, potato Double H, potato Luki, pseudocereal, quinoa, rice, rice 1442, selective breeding, small millet, smallholder, spice, staple food, temperature, tradition, tuber, vegetable, water, weather, wheat, wheat NL297 | 9 Comments

Serious about climate change? Talk about agriculture

Posted on November 22, 2013 by argylesock

argylesock says… Here’s opinion about how as climates change, agriculture has to change.

Posted in food, weather and climate | Tagged climate, climate-ready crop, food, weather | Leave a comment

Update on rice after Haiyan

Posted on November 14, 2013 by argylesock

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) have published a report about the damage Typoon Haiyan (local name Yolanda) did to farming. Here it is. Filipino farmers grow rice (Oryza sativa) twice each year: … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, weather and climate | Tagged Asia, biotechnology, breeding, climate-ready crop, crop, crop variety, development, food, genetic modification, grain, Green Revolution, marker assisted selection, plant_monocot, rice, selective breeding, staple food | 1 Comment

Seeds on seeds on seeds: Why more biodiversity means more food security

Posted on November 2, 2013 by argylesock

argylesock says… The United States is home to Monsanto, the biotechnology giant that develops and sells the world’s most popular genetically modified (GM, genetically engineered, GE) crops. I blog about GM often, including reviews of a series of articles by … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged biodiversity, biotechnology, climate, climate-ready crop, crop diversity, crop variety, food, food security, fruit variety, genetic diversity, genetic modification, local variety, Monsanto, rare variety, seed, trade, vegetable variety | Leave a comment

Selective breeding to improve rice

Posted on April 16, 2013 by argylesock

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) announces that a wild rice species has been crossed with cultivated rice to breed a salt-tolerant hybrid. Field trials are underway. If all goes well, this might allow farmers to grow rice on land … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, knowledge transfer, weather and climate | Tagged backcrossing, biotechnology, breeding, climate, climate-ready crop, coastline, crop variety, development, embryo, farmer, flood, grain, hybrid, International Rice Research Institute, land reclamation, plant_monocot, research, rice, salt, sea, selective breeding, wild rice | 4 Comments