The answer is out there, Neo, and it's looking for you

One of the more interesting books I came across in 2009 was Nature's Matrix by Ivette Perfecto, John Vandermeer and Angus Wright. The book makes a strong case for working with small farmers and social movements to strengthen the quality of the agricultural matrix that surround the increasing fragments of natural habitat, an argument that eloquently counters the traditional conservationist agenda which often views agriculture as harmful and farmers and local communities to be excluded at all cost. In the words of the Earthscan website blurp,

Landscapes are frequently seen as fragments of natural habitat surrounded
by a 'sea' of agriculture. But recent ecological theory shows that the nature of
these fragments is not nearly as important for conservation as is the nature of
the matrix of agriculture that surrounds them. Local extinctions from
conservation fragments are inevitable and must be balanced by migrations if
massive extinction is to be avoided. High migration rates only occur in what the
authors refer to as 'high quality' matrices, which are created by alternative
agroecological techniques, as opposed to the industrial monocultural model of
agriculture. The authors outline new knowledge about the science of ecology, current
debates about agriculture (and biodiversity especially in the tropics) and the
role of new and powerful rural social movements such as Via Campesina and these
general tendencies can come together to give us a new paradigm for
biodiversity conservation.

This might be a new paradigm for conservationists but I think there are many in the agriculture and agrobiodiversity community who have been saying for sometime now that the 'quality' of the agricultural matrix, and those who look after it, are a sustainable solution to biodiversity conservation and the bridging or linking of managed and natural landscapes. Let's hope the traditional conservation sector sits up and takes notice. Don't hold your breath! Having said that the book certainly adds weight to the case for biodiverse agro-ecosystems and there are many opportunities here for the agrobiodiversity community to add susbstantial case studies to complement the somewhat limited examples that appear in this book.

The New Naturalist

There will be few people interested in rural development who have not at one time or another delved into one of the New Naturalist series of books. I was pleased to learn that they are still going strong with plans to get old titles back in print.

Blight on the landscape

While browsing in a bookshop I picked up a copy of 'Twelve Diseases that Changed the World' by Irwin Sherman. As a former plant pathologist and someone who has worked on Phytophthora, I was somewhat surprised to see that a plant disease had made it on to the list and the Irish potato famine at that. I'd been expecting a list of human diseases. After my surprise subsided I started to wonder how anyone actually works out the extent of these horrendous events and can list them in order of impact. Was the potato famine really the plant disease that had the greatest impact globally or is it only thought to be because those affected, or influenced, by it are the ones usually writing the history? I don't really know the answer to that but, deaths aside, I suppose the Irish potato famine would be hard to surpass in terms of how it shaped society, politics and culture.

Where our Food Comes From

I have just finished reading Gary Nabhan's new book, Where our Food Comes From and what a delightful journey it was too! After all it is a book about a journey where Nabhan travels in the footsteps of Nikolay Vavilov but as a literary journey it is a joy from the opening foreword by Ken Wilson to the sober closing epilogue. It is full of great stories about Vavilov and the many scientists and farmers he met on his many travels. Great stories about how farmers are using crop diversity for selection and adaptation to changing climate and the not so great about how he met his sad end. Well worth reading. More details here.

Nuala O'Faolain

The sad passing of Nuala O'Faolain.

Charlie Byrne's Books

This is probably the literary equivalent of the Crane Bar. An amazing diversity of book titles and a place I only came across during an exploratory walk of Galway city on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately I had to rush off to catch the bus back to Dublin.

Supporting local food and local producers

Did you know that 40% of all ready meals sold in Europe are consumed in Britain? That one in seven of every pound spent in Britain is spent in Tesco. Further, research by the New Economics Foundation demonstrates that every £10 spent in a local shop or store returns £25 back into the local community whereas the same amount spent in a supermarket puts back only £14.

Well, Rosie Boycott (co-founder of Spare Rib) knows this and much more about the importance of local shops and local food to a vibrant and cohesive local community. You can read more in the Opinion piece of the latest National Trust Magazine (Autumn 2007, sadly not online) or in her latest book, Our Farm: A Year in the Life of a Smallholding.

The Argumentative Indian

Amartya Sen is one of few (Peter Timmer on agricultural development, being the other) economists that I always feel that bit wiser for having taken the time to read. A large bulk of Sen's writing is on inequality, poverty and famines and his latest collection of essays under the title of The Argumenative Indian also touch on these issues. It is his essay on gender inequality, Women and Men, that interested me most. While there is extreme gender inequality in places like India and China (survival and natality inequality), which he writes about vividly in relation to the millions of 'missing women', he does stress that gender inequality is not a social issue exclusive to either the developed or developing world, concluding,

'Gender inequality is a far-reaching societal impairment, not merely a special
deprivation of women. That social understanding is urgent as well as momentous.'

Anyone with an interest in gender would do well to read his framework and analysis of what he calls the six distinct faces of gender inequality: 1. Survival inequality, 2. Natality inequality, 3. Unequal facilities, 4. Ownership inequality, 5. Unequal sharing of household benefits and chores, and 6. Domestic violence and physical victimization. While there are obvious geographical patterns to faces 1 and 2 it would be very wrong to think places like Ireland, Europe or other economically advanced societies are generally free from many of the gender biases within the other groupings.

Irish trees

As part of the People's Millenium Forest Project,

'Over fifteen hundred acres of native Irish woodland have been designated as 16
'People's Millennium Forests' and are dedicated in perpetuity to the people of
Ireland. The forests include newly planted areas using native Irish seed and the
restoration of native woodlands that have been in existence for at least 200
years and probably longer. A native tree has been planted on behalf of every
household in Ireland and a certificate posted to all homes giving details about
the household's tree and where it is planted. The forests form a lasting legacy
for all to enjoy and will include woodland walks, nature trails, interpretative
and recreational facilities. '

The project also includes a Schools Programme and a resource pack is available that describes our native trees, collecting seed and setting up a school nursery.

There are also two excellent publications tied in with the project, Native Trees and Forests of Ireland and Our Trees: A Guide to Growing Ireland's Native Trees.

A tale of two books

Eamonn O Cathain's book, Around Ireland with a Pan: Food, Tales and Recipes is a somewhat humorous and honest examination of (or lack of!) the culinary tradition in Ireland. The book looks at how food is produced, prepared, sold and eaten in Ireland, north and south and makes the outrageous statement, 'When I was a wee boy, the only thing that seemed to come from Tyrone was a sausage - from Cookstown'

Another interesting read that I came across recently was Back Through the Fields: Memories of a Rural Life by Maurice McAleese (2005).

Horse power

My grandfather used to breed and look after draught horses so I spent an interesting day reading the recent book, The Irish Draught Horse - A History edited by Mary McGrath and Joan Griffith in 2005 . The book

'brings together a collection of essays by a number of scholars and experts.
Each contributor provides a unique perspective on the horse covering a wide
range of knowledge including Irish culture, economics, agriculture, folklore,
geography, art, genetics, equine science, archaeology, and history. The book is
illustrated with over 160 photographs and has an annotated bibliography.'

The above website link also contains extensive resources, publications, weblinks and databases in the Irish Draught Horse Resource Guide.

Famous Seamus the country boy

There is an excellent article on Seamus Heaney, who found much of his inspiration from his rural upbringing, in the Daily Telegraph.