Annual report 1995-1996

Other RLRRC Collaborators

Consortium collaborator passes on information to neighbors. Mr. Mohamed Mohsin Ali, 60 (at right in photo below), is a collaborator with the Rainfed Lowland Rice Research Consortium and does on-farm adaptive research with the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute.

Since the 1995 wet season, he has been raising new rice breeding materials on his farm in Rajabarihat, along with four or five lines from the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and local checks. "Most of the varieties do well," he says. "I evaluate them for yield and adaptability to drought conditions."

He dedicates about 1 bigha (0.13 hectare) out of his total 4 hectares to the research. During the dry season, he grows IR50 and BR11 and raises BR32 for seed.

Why does he do collaborative on-farm research? "I get better results from the new varieties," explains Mr. Ali. "I also like to pass on the information to my neighbors."

Learning new things interests collaborator. "I'm interested in learning new things," says Mr. Mohamed Nasi Uddin, who has a fifth grade education—and that is the major reason he is a collaborator with the Rainfed Lowland Rice Research Consortium.

His farm, near the village of Kharijgati, is very close to the Indian border—and even closer to the great Padma (Ganges) River, which has eaten away 1.2 hectares of his 3.4 hectares of holdings.

He and his wife, Balimur Khatun, have five children. Two sons help out on the farm when they are not going to school.

He typically raises BR11 on half his land, and Sharna on the other half during the wet season. After harvesting his wet season crop, he raises chickpea, wheat, sesame, and mustard during the winter.

Mr. Uddin has been collaborating with the Consortium on yield trials, which he observes very closely. He also leases his land to the Consortium to test new materials in the field.

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