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Media hotlineAn information summary for supporters of
international rice research In this issue:
IRRI presented two important proposals to the 5th ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry Plus Three (AMAF Plus Three) Meeting in Tagaytay City, 29 September. Director General Robert Zeigler presented the proposals that call for an ASEAN meeting on the future development of the Rice Knowledge Bank (RKB) to provide farmers with direct access to the latest rice-farming strategies and technologies, and a meeting or workshop focusing on the future training and education of a new generation of rice scientists. IRRI will organize and host the RKB meeting at its headquarters in Los Baños, Philippines, while the workshop on training and educating new rice scientists will possibly be held in Singapore, to be organized jointly by the Institute and other possible partners in the ASEAN region. Dr. Zeigler called for AMAF endorsement and support for these proposals and for the adoption of the RKB as an ASEAN project. In his presentation, From endorsement to action: a new generation of rice farmers and rice scientists for ASEAN, Dr. Zeigler told the ministers that, for the past few years, “The RKB could become an increasingly important tool for rice farmers all over Asia, providing them with direct access to the very latest rice-farming strategies and technologies.” Sections of the RKB have already been translated into several ASEAN languages, including Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, and Lao. Deputy Director General for Partnerships William Padolina presented the same proposals during the 27th Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM)/AMAF, 27 September. Dr. Zeigler and Dr. Padolina also reported to AMAF Plus Three and SOM/AMAF about the progress made on the three-point ASEAN-IRRI 10-year plan focusing on water, climate change, and human resource issues endorsed by the same gathering in Myanmar last year. These are IRRI’s environmental agenda (IEA) focusing on seven major environmental issues: poverty, farm chemicals and residues, land use and degradation, water use and quality, biodiversity, climate change, and the safe use of biotechnology; and the creation of the Web site www.greenrice.net . Both were launched in Japan during the World Rice Research Conference in November 2004 and earlier this year, respectively. “We would like to see both the IEA and Greenrice.net adopted by the nations of ASEAN to ensure that the benefits of ongoing research and the new technologies that will be developed are fairly and efficiently shared by everyone in the region,” Dr. Zeigler said. IRRI participated in the 7th ASEAN Science and Technology Week (ASTW), the biggest science and technology conference/exhibition, organized and hosted by the Indonesian State Ministry of Research and Technology, 5-12 August. The 7th ASTW coincided with the 2nd ASEAN Science Congress and subcommittee conferences, 7−8 August; 50th meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Science and Technology (COST), 8−10 August; 11th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting of S&T, 11−12 August; and the presentation of the 2005 ASEAN Science and Technology Meritorious Service Awards (AMSA), 11 August. The ASTW focused on the theme, Innovative ASEAN: creating ASEAN competitiveness through innovation, science, and technology. Four hundred and eighty-three participants from ASEAN and other countries attended the 7th ASTW, while 219 attended the ASEAN Science Congress. In his opening address during the 2 nd ASEAN Science Congress on 5 August, the Indonesian minister for research and technology, H.E. Kusmayanto Kadiman, urged delegates to forge strong cooperation among ASEAN scientists to achieve the 2020 ASEAN vision of technological competitiveness, competence in strategic and enabling technologies, adequate pool of technologically qualified and trained manpower, and strong networks of scientific and technological institutions and centers of excellence. Dr. Kadiman singled out biotechnology as the key technology of the future. Activities within this field must be strengthened by designing research agendas that directly promote ASEAN economic development, he said. Golden Rice Network Coordinator and HarvestPlus Rice Crop Team Leader Gerard Barry presented the Current status of the development of golden rice and other biofortified crops during the Subcommittee for Biotechnology conference, 6 August. Biotechnology for sustainable utilization of biological resources in agriculture and health in ASEAN was the conference theme. IRRI, along with 109 ASEAN government agencies and private companies, joined the 7 th ASEAN RITech Expo 2005 on 6−12 August. The Institute’s exhibit highlighted ongoing research in Golden Rice, biofortified rice, functional genomics, transgenic rice, biotechnology and food supply, and biotechnology at IRRI. The State Ministry of Research and Technology of Indonesia presented IRRI with a certificate of appreciation as a participant in the ASEAN RITech Expo 2005. ASEAN presents Dr. Padolina the 2005 AMSA IRRI Deputy Director General for Partnerships William Padolina was one of the joint winners of the 2005 ASEAN Science and Technology Meritorious Award (AMSA) for his “qualifications and significant contributions to the development and application of science and technology in the ASEAN regions." Dr. Padolina received his award from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, 10 August. The AMSA recognizes ASEAN senior officials and administrators “for their efforts and significant contributions toward the promotion and development of regional cooperation in the scientific and technological fields, and the upgrading of the regional, scientific and technological capabilities.” The other winners were Dato Zakaria Nordin (Brunei Darussalam), Khamphanh Thamphithak (Lao PDR), Prof. Oei Ban Liang ( Indonesia), Dr. Yeoh Bee Ghin ( Malaysia), Dr. Mya Mya Oo ( Myanmar), Dr. Lay Koon Pho ( Singapore), Prof. Sakarindr Bhumiratna ( Thailand), and Dr. Le Dinh Tien ( Vietnam). IRRI’s strategic planning kicks off IRRI’s strategic planning kicked off with a 3-day workshop of external consultants, 8−10 August, followed by a 2-day internal workshop, 11−12 August, attended by internationally recruited and senior nationally recruited staff. The objective is for IRRI to produce a new Strategic Plan, a Business Plan, and a new Medium-term Plan ready to present to the Board of Trustees at its April 2006 meeting. The external panel, who were flown in from all over the world to provide expert advice and ideas, focused on four major areas in identifying new trends─science and technology, economic and political, environmental and ecological, and institutional trends. From these workshops, Management intends to develop a clear perspective of the challenges and opportunities for IRRI over the next 10−20 years. Publicly funded international consortium completes highly accurate sequencing of japonica rice genome Rice, one of the world's most important food crops, has important syntenic relationships with the other cereal species and is a model plant for the grasses. In the issue of Nature, the participants in the International Rice Genome Sequencing Project (in which IRRI has played a role, specifically Richard Bruskiewich of BBU who as a co-author of the paper), provided annotation, analysis, and presented a map-based, finished quality sequence that covers 95% of the 389-megabase genome, including virtually all of the euchromatin and two complete centromeres. The article opens with a citation from IRRI's Shaobing Peng et al (Crop Sci. 39:1552-1559 [1999]) that "Rice has played a central role in human nutrition and culture for the past 10,000 years and it has been estimated that world rice production must increase by 30% over the next 20 years to meet projected demands from population increase and economic development...and that rice grown on the most productive irrigated land has achieved nearly maximum production with current strains." Hence, the critical importance of the recent achievement of sequencing the rice genome. In a News of the Week article in the issue of Science, Dennis Normile writes that finishing 3 years ahead of schedule has delighted agricultural researchers worldwide and quotes IRRI's Hei Leung that "It sets a 'gold standard' for plant sequences." The Science article further quotes Dr. Leung, who points out that the earlier draft sequence would not have allowed researchers to employ powerful molecular genetic techniques, which have the potential to greatly advance our understanding of the rice plant. "Investigators hope to identify the combinations of genetic variations associated with complex traits such as drought tolerance. The drafts would not allow us to use this technique," Dr. Leung said. Food for thought: crop diversity is dying An article that appeared in the 18 August issue of the International Herald Tribune (IHT), features José Esquinas-Alcázar, a top official at the FAO in Rome who has been involved in the adoption of the United Nations Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. In the article, it is stated that "The loss of food plant species is directly related to the 20th century 'green revolution, in which farmers adopted streamlined agricultural techniques to increase production of food." In a letter to the editor that appeared in the 22 August issue of the IHT, IRRI Director General Bob Zeigler pointed out that, although it is true that the widespread adoption of modern crop varieties caused many traditional varieties to disappear from farms, it is also true that the instigators of the green revolution, which helped many millions of people avoid starvation, were well aware of this problem and had the foresight to collect samples of many of the old varieties before they completely vanished. These samples are now conserved in "gene banks," where they are carefully kept alive and available for use by current and future generations. Dr. Zeigler added that "The judicious use of crop biodiversity will contribute to a reliable, environmentally sustainable agriculture that can help the poor feed themselves with a nutritionally rich diet and offer a light at the end of the tunnel of poverty." CGIAR tsunami website launched Nine months after the disastrous Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004, the Future Harvest centers of the CGIAR are pleased to report that their combined efforts with partners, including governments in the region and support of donors from around the world are solidly contributing to the rehabilitation of the lives of the survivors in the hardest hit areas. The CGIAR tsunami website provides links to IRRI's information on tsunamis and rice in the Rice Knowledge Bank. This collaborative website, constructed by the WorldAgroforestry Center’s South East Asian team in Bogor, Indonesia, has been jointly supported by funds from the Alliance Executive (formerly the Center Directors Committee) and generous technical support from the CGIAR Secretariat. It is the first website project of its kind among the centers. ADB president, Japanese ambassador visit IRRI Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, the new president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), one of IRRI’s most important and committed donors, visited the Institute for the first time, 26 July. He was accompanied by Mr. Masaki Omura, executive director of ADB; Mr. Masao Uno, chief advisor to the president; Mr. Dai Okuda, director’s advisor; Dr. Bindu Lohani, director general of the Regional and Sustainable Development Department (RSDD); and Dr. T. Bayarasaihan, senior agriculture specialist, Gender, Social Development, and Civil Society Division, RSDD. They were welcomed by Director General Robert Zeigler, Deputy Director General for Partnerships William Padolina, Deputy Director General for Research Ren Wang, and Visitors and Information Services Head Duncan Macintosh. The visitors first viewed the IRRI video, Rice science for a better world, followed by a thorough discussion on Challenges facing rice-growing and -consuming countries of Asiapresented by Dr. Zeigler. Dr. Wang gave an overview of ADB-funded projects at IRRI and their impact. Mr. Kuroda and party also visited the International Genebank, the Grain Quality and Nutrition Laboratory, and the experimental fields, specifically to see IRRI's research involving water-saving technology. Meanwhile, H.E. Ryuichiro Yamazaki, ambassador of Japan to the Philippines and Kazuhiro Kurokawa, first secretary of the Economic Section, Embassy of Japan, also visited IRRI and the International Genebank, 18 July. They were welcomed by Dr. Zeigler, Mr. Macintosh, and the Japanese scientists Dr. Yasukazu Hosen and Nobuya Kobayashi. This was the ambassador's first visit to IRRI since being appointed to Manila last year. He toured IRRI’s biotech facilities and inspected some of the breeding work for disease resistance in the Institute’s screenhouses. IRRI welcomes new staff members IRRI formally welcomed seven new staff members on 23 September. Those welcomed were Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology (PBGB) Senior Scientist Fangming Xie; Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC) Coordinator Grant Robert Singleton; Crop, Soil, and Water Sciences (CSWS) International Research Fellow Cristine Kreye; CSWS Postdoctoral Fellows Xiaochun Lu, Yuka Sasaki, and Michael Thomson; and PBGB Postdoctoral Fellow Endang Septiningshi. Dr. Xie was a Director of Line Development and Hybrid Rice Breeder of RiceTec, Inc, USA, prior to joining IRRI as a senior scientist, rice breeding, of PBGB. A U.S. citizen, he obtained his PhD in plant breeding at Texas A&M University. Dr. Singleton was a senior principal research scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Indusrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Sustainable Ecosystems prior to joining the Institute last 29 August as coordinator for IRRC of the Entomology and Plant Pathology Division (EPPD). A citizen of Australia, Dr. Singleton obtained his PhD in genetics and human variation at La Trobe University. Dr. Kreye joined IRRI on 25 July. Before joining IRRI, she was a junior research fellow at the University of Kiel in Germany, where she obtained her PhD. Dr. Lu, a Chinese citizen, joined IRRI last 1 September as a postdoctoral fellow of CSWS. He will be working on a Generation Challenge Program (GCP)-funded project IC9 with Dr. Abdelbagi Ismail. Before joining the Institute, he worked at Plant Development Molecular Biology of Peking University. Dr. Lu obtained his PhD in plant molecular biology at Zhejiang University. Dr. Sasaki joined IRRI on 25 July as postdoctoral fellow of CSWS. She will be working on the IRRI-Japan Collaborative Project with Dr. Yasukazu Hosen. Shewas working as an assistant professor of Yamagata University in Japan prior to her employment at the Institute. A Japanese national, Dr. Sasaki obtained her PhD at Iwate University. Dr. Thomson, a U.S. citizen, will be working on the Water and Food Challenge program with Dr. Abdelbagi Ismail. Dr. Thomson obtained his PhD in plant breeding at La Cornell University. He was NSF international research fellow of the Indonesian Center for Agricultural Biotechnology and Genetic ResourcesResearch and Development (ICABIOGRAD) prior to joining the Institute. Dr. Septiningshi works with Dr. David Mackill under the BMZ-funded project, From Genes to Farmers: Enhancing and Stabilizing Productivity of Rice in Submergence-proneEnvironments. An Indonesian citizen, she obtained her PhD in plant breeding at the Cornell University. She previously worked at the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development prior to her employment at the Institute. Comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture Senior scientist Bas Bouman, water science, in Crop, Soil, and Water Sciences, discussed the Comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture (CA) during his seminar at IRRI, 22 September. CA is an innovative multi-institute initiative aimed at identifying existing knowledge and stimulating thought on ways to manage water resources to continue meeting the needs of both humans and ecosystems. It is led by the International Water Management Institute in Sri Lanka, with participation from other CG centers such as IRRI. Results of this synthesis will feed into the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food. One of the most prominent outputs of the CA will be a high-profile synthesis report that consists of a number of chapters that will be developed through a wide consultative process. One of the chapters will synthesize current knowledge and thinking about issues relating to poverty, food security, and environment on the one hand and “water and rice” on the other. IRRI is taking the lead in the development of this chapter, with Dr. Bouman as coordinating lead author. He and his team have developed a first draft based on a series of meetings, workshops, a Web-based discussion, and a large number of contributions from various people including a considerable number of IRRI staff. A second draft of the chapter will be prepared before the end of 2005 and submitted for a second review. The final text will be presented at the Fourth World Water Forum in Mexico, 16−22 March 2006. The complete synthesis report is scheduled for publication by late 2006. Second 2005 Rice Production Course Twenty-one participants from Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Cambodia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Germany, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Uzbekistan attended the second 2005 two-week Rice Production Course at the IRRI headquarters, 19−30 September. The course aimed to improve the understanding of new scientists, extension and development professionals, and others on the importance of rice and its production methods. Agronomist Vethaiya Balasubramanian and Engr. Eugene Castro, Jr. led the course with other resource persons from IRRI. Training on quality assurance at IRRI IRRI sponsored a training course on quality assurance, 18−29 July, managed by Dr. Edgar F. Paski from the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Canada. The training program provided in-depth coverage of ISO 17025, the international standard for quality for organizations involved in testing and calibration-related activities. Special sessions on quality management for management and administration personnel provided details on concepts as well as hands-on problem solving for quality issues. For research and technical personnel, sessions were devoted to important technical aspects of quality management as well as in-depth treatment of important topics such as calibration, sampling, reference materials, validation, and measurement uncertainty. 10 participants complete Scientific Writing Workshop Ten participants from six countries completed the Scientific Writing Workshop for the Asian Maize Biotechnology Network of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center ( AMBIONET-CIMMYT) , 18−21 July, at the IRRI Training Center. The workshop focused on organizing, preparing, and writing the first draft of a scientific paper. Maria Luz George, network coordinator of AMBIONET-CIMMYT, coordinated the workshop supported by a team from the IRRI Training Center and Communication and Publications Services. Eighteen participants take English 1 course Participants from Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam attended the English 1 course at the IRRI Training Center, 5 July–11 August. The participants enhanced their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills through lectures, discussions, practice exercises, and sharing of ideas and experiences in an interactive learning environment. The course aimed to review with participants the various elements in grammar, with a focus on subject-verb agreement and sentence construction, and improve their confidence in sharing ideas about self, culture, and country, as well as their reading and listening skills. Research offers drought-devastated rice farmers a chance to fight back As drought ravages farms and stifles rice production across Asia, failing rains have shoved millions of people below the poverty line in eastern India alone. Read Rice Today, the magazine of IRRI, to learn about the devastating impact of drought and what can be done about it. Moving from India into Bangladesh, the magazine looks at an improved way to plant rice that is spreading across the country and helping farmers increase their income. IRRI plant breeder Sant Singh Virmani is the man who put hybrid rice on the map in tropical Asia. His success has come via a long and bumpy road but he recently retired with the knowledge that his legacy lives on stronger than ever. The September issue also carries stories on better rat traps in the stunningly scenic rice terraces of northern Philippines and how scientists extract priceless pieces of genetic information from the 107,000 rice seed samples stored in IRRI’s International Rice Genebank. Rice Facts asks whether rice research really helps reduce poverty in Asia while Grain ofTruth emphasizes the need for policy support if farmers are to successfully adopt improved technologies. All of this, plus a lot more—including news on the latest rice research milestones, the issue of genetically modified rice commercialization and the potential effect of climate change on rice production—is available in the September issue of Rice Today. Rice-producing nations stress importance of developing new crop varieties At the 9th Annual Meeting of the Council for Partnerships on Rice Research in Asia (CORRA) in Bali, Indonesia, 9−11 September, the world’s major rice-producing countries, including the two most populous nations, China and India, emphasized the importance of continuing to develop new rice varieties to guarantee Asia’s food security and support the region’s economic development. Participants in the meeting discussed the challenges facing rice production, with a focus on finding solutions through science and technology. It was pointed out that, after a brief slowdown in regional collaboration to develop new rice varieties, the situation was improving once again. CORRA brings together senior research representatives of 15 major rice-producing and -consuming nations each year to highlight the issues, threats, and challenges facing the rice industry in its efforts to feed the estimated three billion people who consume the staple food each day. “The introduction of plant variety protection rights and the continued implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture have clearly had an impact on the development of new rice varieties, especially the exchange of material between countries,” said CORRA Chairman Seong-Hee Lee. Dr. Lee is also the director general of the Rural Development Administration’s (RDA) National Institute of Crop Science in South Korea. Under the treaty, all countries that ratify it must agree to facilitate access to their plant genetic resources (including rice) for food and agriculture. In turn, those involved will share in a fair and equitable way the benefits arising from the use of these plant resources. However, most of the members of CORRA are still not parties to the treaty and there have been no new ratifications by any of the members since Bangladesh in November 2003. “The main reason for this is the treaty’s very complex requirements when it comes to national governments,” Dr. Lee said. For the past 30 years, the well-known network called the International Network for the Genetic Evaluation of Rice (INGER) has played a vital role in the development of new rice varieties in Asia, providing each country with access to material it otherwise might not be able to find. “It’s very important for food security and rice production in Asia that INGER be able to continue its work,” Dr. Lee said. In its three decades of work, INGER has providedmaterial for the development and release of 667 new rice varieties in 62 countries around the world. The average annual value of each of these varieties has been estimated by experts at US$2.5 million, providing clear evidence of the major boost new varieties can provide to each country’s rural economy. CORRA members are Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. International Rice Congress in Indonesia The Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (IAARD) hosted not only the CORRA meeting but also the International Rice Congress (IRC), which concluded on 14 September. Indonesian minister of agriculture, H.E. Anton Apriyantono, opened the conference on 12 September in Bali. IRRI Director General Bob Zeigler also gave the conference keynote speech, Rice research and development:supply, demand, water, climate, and research capacity. IRRI initiates research to develop arsenic-tolerant rice in Bangladesh It is apparent that rice contributes significantly to human intake of arsenic (As) in Bangladesh and this could be true in other parts of the world, especially where arsenic levels in drinking water are on the higher side and rice consumption is also high. So, IRRI is exploring mitigation options through breeding rice varieties that are tolerant of As-contaminated water and soil. The different amounts of As found in cultivated rice varieties suggest that a breeding effort would indeed be successful. Recently, Social Sciences Division Head Mahabub Hossain, irrigated rice breeder Parminder Virk, and IRRI-Bangladesh Office staff members M.A. Hamid Miah, M.A. Ghani, and Noel Magor met with officials of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI; headed by Director of Research M.A. Baqui) at Gazipur to initiate collaborative research that would address this major health issue in one of the poverty-stricken regions of the world. Drs. Hossain and Virk along with W. Jaim, an agricultural economist from Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, who will support the socioeconomic component, and P. Biswas, a plant breeder from BRRI visited farmers near Bhanga, an area with high As levels in the irrigation water. This location, about 5 hours from Dhaka, has been identified as a suitable place to conduct experiments for identifying donor germplasm that accumulates less As in both rice grains and straw. Workshop on direct wet seeding of rice held in Bangladesh About 250 participants from IRRI, the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), Department of Agricultural Extension, and NGOs; three representatives of the plastics industry; and 50 farmers attended the workshop, Integrating lessons learned from farmers in fast tracking technology adoption: direct wet seeding of rice using a plastic drum seeder, in Dhaka, 20−22 June. The Hon. Minister for Agriculture M.K. Anwar and Hon. State Minister for Agriculture Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir were the guests of honor during the inaugural session on the first day. During the workshop, IRRI Social Sciences Division Head Mahabub Hossain and Dr. M. Zainul Abedin, farming systems specialist, delivered a speech and a keynote address, respectively. On the second day, selected high-level policymakers, through a dialogue, in the presence of the Hon. State Minister for Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture Secretary Mr. Kazi Abul Kashem, agreed on a draft plan of action for future research on up-scaling, local manufacture, and easy availability of drum seeders. The work on direct wet seeding of rice with a plastic drum seeder started in Bangladesh 2 years ago, with financial support from the IRRI-managed and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-funded project implemented through BRRI and the NGOs Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service, WAVE Foundation, and SOPAN. The Department of Agricultural Extension also joined the campaign last year by importing and distributing 2,500 plastic drum seeders from Vietnam, facilitated by IRRI and the IRRI-Bangladesh Office. Japonica Hybrid Rice Symposium in Tianjin City, China The China Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center in Changsha City and the Tianjin Tianlong Agricultural Science Company in Tianjin City jointly organized a Chinese Japonica Hybrid Rice Symposium. It was one of 10 satellite symposia of the International High-Level Forum on Bio-economy held at the Tianjin Teda Hotel and Convention Center in Tianjin, 10−13 September. Professor Yuan-Long Ping, winner of the 2004 World Food Prize, chaired the symposium, which was inaugurated by Mr. Qian-Sheng Pi, director of Administrative Commission of Tianjin Binhai New area. Professor Long Ping spoke on the importance of japonica hybrids to increase yield potential because about 20% of rice area worldwide is cultivated with japonica rice. Around 250 scientists from China and other countries attended the symposium. IRRI was represented by Dr. F. Xie, hybrid rice breeder; Dr. K.K. Jena, and Dr. Kaijun Zhao, IRRI liaison scientist for China. On behalf of IRRI, Dr. Jena presented a paper on Molecular breeding for genetic improvement of temperate japonica rice and its potential for japonica hybrid development. IRRI and China hold joint workshop on RCT rice production IRRI, in cooperation with the National Agriculture Technology Extension and Service Center of China (NATESC) and the Department of Agriculture of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, organized the International Workshop on Resource Conservation Technology (RCT) for Sustainable Rice Production in Guilin, China, 1−2 August. IRRI Deputy Director General for Research Ren Wang; scientists S. Peng, D. Johnson, J. Rickman, J.K. Ladha, and K.J. Zhao; International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center ( CIMMYT) Representative for India Raj Gupta, and Iran Rice Research Institute Director General F. Alinia, and about 90 Chinese participants attended the workshop. During the workshop, Dr. Wang chaired the plenary session. Presentations were given by Drs. Rickman and Ladha, Chinese Vice Minister Xiaojian Fan of MOA, and Vice Governor Yu Sun of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The participants discussed the research and extension on Rice Seedling Broadcast with No-Tillage (RSB-NT) technologies, which have been applied on almost 1 million hectares in China. RSB-NT technologies are labor- and cost-saving, highly efficient, and environment-protecting techniques of rice cultivation. The workshop promoted the application of these technologies in Asia. 2nd IRC set for October 2006 in India IRRI has reached a formal agreement with the Indian government—via the Union Ministry of Agriculture and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)—to hold the Second International Rice Congress (IRC2006) at the Ashok Hotel in Delhi, India, 9−13 October. As with the inaugural IRC in Beijing in 2002, IRC2006 will feature the following events and themes:
To assist with the organization of this major event, IRRI’s representative in India, J.K. Ladha, chaired the IRRI scientific organizing committee. Committee members included Ren Wang (overall research), To Phuc Tuong (natural resource management), Parminder Virk (breeding and quality), K.L. Heong (environment, IPM, and ecology), Gerard Barry (intellectual property and transgenics), Mahabub Hossain (socioeconomics and policy), Ruaraidh Sackville Hamilton (biodiversity), and Duncan Macintosh (organization, communication, and logistics). ICRISAT and MSSRF work on salt-tolerant seed varieties The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) said that they are working together to screen crop varieties that have salt tolerance, select varieties through community participation, establish local seed banks, and rehabilitate soil and water systems. Informing that they might have discovered strains of rice that are salt-tolerant, Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, chairman, MSSRF, stressed the need to have the capacity to respond to natural and man-made disasters. "After the tsunami struck, a number of humanitarian and scientific teams visited the affected areas. We found that a series of lines escaped the tsunami. They have been collected and we will test them under sea inundation,” he said. He added that six varieties of rice found on the east coast of Tamil Nadu could be used in flood-prone areas. “Moreover, IRRI, which has the largest collection of germplasm in its genebank, has also provided seeds of salt-tolerant rice varieties,” IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler said at a press conference in New Delhi, 27 June. Fifteen agricultural research institutes under the Alliance of the Future Harvest Centers of the CGIAR are helping rehabilitate agriculture in 47 developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific through an initiative called “Healing Wounds.” The initiative includes identifying germplasm existing in a particular area that has been devastated and restoring it in that area. The initiative has helped restore lines of crops in Cambodia and hurricane-hit Central America, among other areas. New ADB-supported project in India launched More than 200 farmers, extension officers, staff members from the Banaras Hindu University, and media reporters witnessed the official launch of the latest Asian Development Bank-supported project, Enhancing Farmers' Income and Livelihood through Integrated Crop and Resource Management in Rice-Wheat System in South Asia. The launch was held on 25 June during a farmers’ meeting in Pur village in Ballia District of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Robert Zeigler, Ren Wang, J.K. Ladha, B. Sivaprasad, and Y.S. Saharawat represented IRRI during the activities. In his message to the farmers, Dr. Zeigler, director general, expressed his happiness over the keen interest shown by the farmers of the region in adopting resource conservation technologies and emphasized that active collaboration between farmers and researchers would help improve their productivity. Dr. Wang talked about the technique of laser land leveling and called upon the farmers for increased adoption of the new resource conservation technologies. Dr. Ladha, the project's principal investigator, talked about the overall objectives of the project. Project Site Coordinator U.P. Singh gave details of the activities planned and the villages where they will be implemented. IRRI signs MOA with Mahyco, India On 27 June at the IRRI-India Office, IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler and Dr. Usha Barwale Zehr, director of the Mahyco Research Foundation (MRF), signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that covers collaboration in functional genomics for brown planthopper (BPH) resistance, capacity building through human resource development/training for marker-assisted selection, and exchange of germplasm. MRF agreed to identify and fund MRF research fellows to work on functional genomics for BPH resistance at IRRI and continue to promote, demonstrate, and distribute in India germplasm and breeding materials from IRRI. MRF is a private research and development foundation instituted by Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Limited (Mahyco) based at Jalna, India. Established in 1964, Mahyco has been engaged in plant genetic research and production of good-quality hybrid seed. It is engaged in research on and production, processing, and marketing of approximately 200 hybrids in 30 crop species including cereals, oilseeds, fibers, and vegetables. It has research interests in rice biotechnology and functional genomics of rice. J.K. Ladha delivers S.P. Raichaudhury Memorial Lecture Upon invitation from the Ludhiana Chapter of the Indian Society of Soil Science, J.K. Ladha, senior scientist in Crop, Soil, and Water Sciences and IRRI representative in India, delivered the prestigious 16th S.P. Raichaudhury Memorial Lecture at the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India, 9 September. Dr. Ladha spoke on Improving the recovery efficiency of fertilizer nitrogen in cereals. He discussed the various components of nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) including agronomic, recovery, and physiological NUE. He suggested that the fertilizer NUE was governed by N uptake by the crop, N supply from the soil and fertilizer, and N losses from soil-plant systems. He also highlighted the need for reducing the N losses and related improved cereal production and food security with integrated N management. RDA and IRRI sign MOU to extend scientific and technical collaboration for 5 more years The Rural Development Administration (RDA) of the Republic of Korea and IRRI have had a strong partnership and research collaboration for the past 42 years. For example, in 2000, IRRI and RDA entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for 5 years to strengthen scientific and technical collaboration for specific research involving the temperate irrigated (japonica) rice ecosystem and the creation of the IRRI-Korea Office (IKO). In 2005, this collaboration is progressing so well that both parties have agreed to a 5-year extension of the MOU for further collaboration involving biotic and abiotic stress tolerance of temperate japonica rice. RDA Administrator Jeong-Soo Son and IRRI Director General Bob Zeigler signed the letter of agreement to accomplish this in a ceremony held at the International Technical Cooperation Center (ITCC), RDA, on 29 August. Dr. Zeigler also presented a seminar, Challenges facing rice-producing countries in Asia . Eighteen complete course on rice technology transfer in Korea Eighteen participants from 10 countries satisfactorily completed the fourth offering of the 2-week RDA-IRRI Training Workshop on Rice Technology Transfer Systems in Asia. The workshop was held at the International Technical Cooperation Center (ITCC) of Rural Development Administration (RDA), Korea, 28 August−11 September. IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler and Dr. Eun-Gi Cho, director general of the Research Management Bureau of RDA graced the opening ceremony, 29 August. The course, which was initially offered in 2002 and jointly funded by RDA and IRRI, exposed participants to the contemporary issues and models of technology transfer in rice and critically analyzed the components of successful research-extension linkage as exemplified by the Korean system. It also showcased the successful Korean experience in providing a systematic technology transfer mechanism that links multiple stakeholders in bringing about rapid agricultural and rural development in the country. Conducting the course in Korea is very strategic and proved to be fundamentally vital in inspiring participants to emulate the Korean experience in agricultural and rural development in their respective countries. As a basic requirement of the course, the participants incorporated their learnings from the course and from the experience of Korea in developing an entry project plan for their respective countries, particularly in sites where they collaborate with IRRI. The course will be offered again next year. Communication and Presentation Skills Workshop held in Myanmar Twenty-five participants from Yezin Agricultural University (YAU) and the Department of Agricultural Research (DAR) in Myanmar attended a Communication and Presentation Skills Workshop held at the Central Agriculture Research and Training Centre (CARTC), Hlegu, Myanmar, 12−15 September. Workshop topics included the role of communication in obtaining impact from research, analyzing a particular audience and identifying the factors relevant to communication, preparing and delivering an effective presentation on a science topic, and understanding the role of the Internet in communication. Director General pays courtesy call on Philippine officials IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler paid a courtesy call on Philippine Vice President Noli de Castro and Senate President Franklin Drilon on 27 July, and Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Domingo Panganiban on 1 August. Dr. Zeigler briefed the government officials on IRRI’s work and plans for 2005. He also expressed appreciation for the continuing support that the Institute gets from the Philippine government as well as good relations that the Institute has with key government agencies. During the meeting with Secretary Panganiban, Dr. Zeigler and Deputy Director General for Partnerships William Padolina welcomed him as the new ex-officio member of the IRRI Board of Trustees, replacing former DA Secretary, Atty. Arthur Yap. The government officers lauded the Institute for its efforts to help address problems on food security and poverty. They likewise declared continued support for the Institute’s activities and expressed interest to visit the Institute at some future time. Filipino farmers and technicians learn new concept in rice tungro disease management About 80 farmers and Department of Agriculture (DA) technicians and personnel from the municipality of Ajuy and Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) of Iloilo, Philippines, learned about the new concept of mixing two rice seed varieties to effectively manage the spread of tungro disease. Tungro, a major rice disease in Southeast Asia, devastated thousands of hectares of rice crops in Iloilo from 1999 to 2000. The new concept was introduced during the farmers’ forum on rice tungro disease management in the municipality of Ajuy cosponsored by IRRI and the Iloilo PAO on 1 September. Results from field trials conducted by IRRI and the PAO of Iloilo from 2002 to 2004 planting seasons showed that mixing 75% tungro-resistant Matatag 9 seeds and 25% disease-susceptible IR64 produced higher rice yields with good eating quality comparable with that of IR64. During the forum, Entomology and Plant Pathology Division (EPPD) Associate Scientist Roger Cabunagan introduced to farmers the new concept of Mixed planting of resistant and susceptible varieties for tungro management and discussed Rice tungro disease and its management. Yuji Shibata, a Japanese scholar at EPPD, also conducted a survey on farmers’ knowledge and perception on the new mixed variety planting concept and as an option for managing rice tungro. IRRI staff in Rome for important meetings A number of IRRI staff members participated in two important back-to-back meetings in Rome: INTERDROUGHT II and the Annual Research Meeting of the Generation Challenge Program (GCP). The INTERDROUGHT II symposium, 24−28 September, followed the first INTERDROUGHT symposium held in Montpellier, France, in 1995, which, in the opinion of many of those who attended it, provided an excellent platform for presenting, discussing, and integrating results of both basic and applied research toward the development of solutions to crop production under drought-prone conditions. Despite the importance of drought as a major constraint to food production worldwide, there has, surprisingly, been no other major and dedicated international symposium since that first INTERDROUGHT meeting, which has brought together such a wide range of world-class expertise to identify practical avenues for improving crop performance under drought-prone conditions. During the meeting, Sushil Pandey, senior scientist, agricultural economics, and John Bennett, senior scientist, molecular biology, presented invited papers: Coping with drought in developing countries’ agriculture and Monitoring changes in the proteome and metabolome under drought, respectively. Jill Cairns, postdoctoral fellow in Crop, Soil, and Water Sciences Division, presented a selected talk: The use of deletion mutants in identifying candidate genes for drought tolerance. Stakeholders’ workshop for radio soap opera held in Ho Chi Minh City A stakeholders' review and planning workshop involving the Environmental Radio Soap Opera for Rural Vietnam was held in Ho Chi Minh City, 4−5 August. Participants represented the Plant Protection Department in Cantho; the Regional Plant Protection Center in Tiengiang; Cantho University; the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute; World Vision, Vietnam; the Voice of Ho Chi Minh City (VOH); and IRRI (including K.L. Heong of Entomology and Plant Pathology Division, Monina M. Escalada of International Programs Management Office, and Gene Hettel and Albert Borrero of Communication and Publications Services). In June 2005, this project won a World Bank Development Marketplace (DM) 2005 Award. It involves a partnership among the VOH; the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD); Leyte State University, Philippines (LSU); the Rockefeller Foundation; IRRI; and the World Bank and will be developing a series of episodes as an extension of the popular radio series, Chuyen Que Minh or My Homeland. This series, funded by Rockefeller Foundation, has just completed broadcast of 105 episodes on VOH and four provincial radio stations. Former IRRI DG, Bob Havener passes away in California Robert Dale “Bob” Havener passed away on 3 August at his home in Solvang, California. He was interim director general of IRRI for 8 months in 1998. His visionary leadership at IRRI and other institutions created conducive environments in which scientific ideas and research programs would flourish, ultimately leading to increased food production around the world. In addition to his stints as director general of CIMMYT, CIAT, and IRRI, he also served as project development officer for establishing the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas ( ICARDA) in Syria and the International Livestock Research Institute ( ILRI) in Kenya. Prior to his distinguished work in the CGIAR, he was, in the 1960s and 1970s, a senior agricultural program officer for the Ford Foundation serving in the Asia and Pacific region, the Middle East, and the Foundation’s offices in New York.
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• October-December 2007 • July-September 2007 • April-June 2007 • January-March 2007 • October-December 2006 • July-September 2006 • April-June 2006 • March 2006 • December 2005 • September 2005 • June 2005 • December 2004 • June 2004 • April 2004 • December 2003 • October 2003 • June 2003 • March 2003 • December 2000 • September 2000 • June 2000 • April 2000 • December 1999 |
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