Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Latin America
by Eduardo Graterol
For 20 years, FLAR has been the primary force behind the regions rice technology development
and it is looking forward to future challenges
Pioneering vision
CIAT (3)
wenty years is
nothing, say the
lyrics of a 1930s
song. But, in 2015,
as the Latin American Fund for
Irrigated Rice (FLAR) celebrates its
20th anniversary, many of the Funds
members might not agree. For them,
FLARs 20 years have been filled with
achievement, and theyre looking
forward to more.
From the 1960s to 1980s,
international rice breeding in the
Latin America and the Caribbean
(LAC) region carried the brand of
the International Center for Tropical
Agriculture (CIAT). But, by the
mid-1990s, funding for CIATs Rice
Program had declined, and there
was a lot of uncertainty about
the future. This had many people
worried, and for a good reason,
because CIAT had contributed to
the development of about 60% of the
more than 400 improved varieties
released in LAC.
FLAR BRINGS together farmers associations, national agricultural research institutes, government
ministries, seed companies, and the rice milling industry, together with CIAT to ensure that research and
technology transfer meet the needs of its members. The two photos were taken when members of FLAR
gathered during its first technical meeting in 1995.
Testimony to success
Looking forward
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