1 December 2010: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has published a book titled “Gardens of Biodiversity,” which celebrates the diversity of crops and farming techniques of the Southern Caucasus.

The book documents genetic resources, rural life and traditional food practices and describes the origination of internationally important food crops from the region, like wheat, grapes, apples, apricots, pomegranates, pears and peas. It outlines traditional food production systems that encourage crop diversity and highlights the region’s strong national seed banks. The book was released to coincide with the International Year of Biodiversity. [FAO Press Release] [UN Press Release] [Book information]