Professional Documents
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org/irrc
April 2006, Vol. 1, No. 2 Volume 7, Number 1, 20th issue January-April 2012
Not all flat bed dryers are created equal................3 Laser leveling for rice emerges in Southeast Asia...............4 Spreading the good news...........7 Postharvest team reviews pilot activities, addresses rice postproduction challenges.............10 Sustainable rice platform workshop held in the Philippines..............11 IRRC anthropologist pursues her PhD...............11 IRRC researcher co-authors high profile impact study of IRRI rice varieties..........12
IN THIS ISSUE...
PROFILE
RIPPLE
January-April 2012
Cover story
Grant Singleton
he Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC) received a glowing endorsement from a four-member external review team. The review team was commissioned by Achim Dobermann, IRRI deputy director general for research. The team reported to both the Deputy Director and Carmen Thoennissen, program manager of IRRC Phase IV at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The reviewers from Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Australia strongly recommended to SDC that a new project be considered for funding from 2013 to 2016. The reviewers provided strong endorsement of the IRRC and highlighted the following achievements during 2009-2011: (a) IRRC technologies are presently used by 500,000 to 1 million farmers, with yield and income improvements of 1020%. (b) Social impact is evident, especially where collective action is part of the technology implementation. (c) More than 7,000 Asian counterparts have attended training events arranged by the IRRC. (d) IRRC scientists generated more than 50 peer-reviewed publications. (e) There is an impressive network with the scientific community worldwide.
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The external reviewers (from left to right: Jonathan Banks, Karin Zbinden, Frits Penning de Vries, and Urs Scheidegger) presented a preliminary report to the IRRC staff on their last day in IRRI. Discussions on the report followed right after.
(f) There has been remarkable impact at policy level, getting technologies adopted by governments. This is a cumulative effect of continuous engagement in policy dialogue by IRRI with national staff, and identifying and then fostering national champions. (g) An impressive communication strategy, which includes high-quality web access to IRRC outputs, the RIPPLE newsletter, the computer-based decision support tool Nutrient Manager, and extension material such as videos produced with substantial farmer involvement has been effectively used. The external review team summarized their conclusions as follows: the IRRC is an important part of IRRI and GRiSP (Global Rice Science Partnership). It is well on track to achieve many of its ambitious goals. Adoption and impact at farmers level is evident. NARES see IRRC as a mechanism to integrate technologies, to massively scale them out to farming communities, and to prepare for further up-scaling of interventions. IRRI scientists see in IRRC a platform to get technologies to farmers. Moving forward in 2012 The SDC has invited the IRRC to develop a new research project for 2013-2016 based on a research
proposal presented at the October 2011 meeting of the IRRC Steering Committee. The IRRI and SDC decided that it is timely for the IRRC to adopt a new structure that will enable partnerships on closing yields gaps and promoting environmentally sustainable production in four or five key rice bowls. There will be geographic hubs in three countries in Southeast Asia (to be decided), East Asia (China), and South Asia (Sri Lanka). Consultations with key NARES partners began in 2011 and will continue through the first half of 2012. A concept note will be submitted to SDC by the end of March 2012. In June, Indonesia will host a meeting of representatives from the partner countries involved in the new proposal. Our partners will provide essential input into the development of the final project proposal that will be submitted in late October. The IRRC Phase IV has had a resounding endorsement and we look forward to more exciting research and development outputs aimed at raising the livelihoods of farmers in the Asian region. (A copy of the external review is available at www.irri.org/irrc.)
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RIPPLE
Martin Gummert
Two different FBD fans with 46 ton capacity: Manufacturing quality is as important as technical design and training.
The left photo shows a good blower with sturdy housing, properly shaped blades, and little clearance between fan blades and housing. The one on the right shows a low-quality blower that was replaced by a user in Agusan del Norte, Philippines, in 2011. It has a shortened and weak housing made from thin metal sheet and no reinforcements, sub-optimally shaped fan blades, big clearance between blades and housing, and a lousy finish, obviously made to save cost. The fan shown on the right cannot deliver the airflow and pressure needed.
of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). Both operators, an irrigators association and a private owner, reported some problems with grain quality and drying time. These were attributed to high temperature in the first case and to low fan speed in the second. In both cases, the dryers performed to expectation once the management problems were corrected. The PRPC Steering Committee submitted a proposal to test dryers installed by the Bureau of Postharvest Research and Extension (BPRE), but BPRE management did not respond. Our article in RIPPLE (May-August 2009) concluded that the flat bed drying technology is both functionally and technically sound and stressed the importance of training. We felt that our message was important to safeguard the reputation of the flat bed dryer technology. What the article did not mention was the involvement of different institutions involved in the installation of flat bed dryers. Some members of the testing team wanted to test the dryers installed by other institutions but the necessary contacts and access were not provided. Many of those other dryers were supposedly of poor technical quality and some recipients reported not receiving any training at all.
About 2 years later, I was informed that the RIPPLE article had been taken out of context and was used to rubber stamp the activities of the dryer promotion program, regardless of the source of the dryer and the quality of manufacturing. This apparently alienated some at the government level, who advocate a better program. Two major lessons can be learned from this development: We researchers need to be more vocal not only about technical issues of our research but also how research outputs are being used. We need to be cognizant of sensitivities of national programs but at the same time be able to provide objective advice. We need to have more dialogue with and feedback from decisionmakers and policy specialists who design national outscaling programs. The aim is to reduce the potential for misunderstanding and possible misuse of scientific reports. I personally apologize for any negative effect the article might have had on the design of the program in the Philippines. I encourage our readers to actively give us feedback on any of our articles and activities, and bring to our attention policy and social impacts we have not anticipated (be they positive or negative).
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and almost 1 million hectares of land have been laser-leveled (see Rice Today April-June 2011, pages 16-17).
Farmers who have laser-leveled their fields in Bac Lieu and An Giang are now enjoying the same benefitsless crop lodging, lower Breaking the surface seed rate, less diesel and pumping Dr. Phan Hieu Hien, IRRI cost for water, less herbicide and postharvest consultant, estimates pesticide use, and higher yields. that in Vietnam, about 300 hectares Tran Van Dan, an An Giang of rice fields have been laser-leveled, farmer who is part of the 1 Must Do, with more than 200 hectares in the 5 Reductions Program (see RIPPLE Mekong Delta. This includes Bac September-December 2011), has Lieu and An Giang provinces. reduced his seed rate from 150 IRRI introduced laser leveling kilograms per hectare to 120 kilograms for rice in Vietnam in 2003 by per hectare in one cropping season providing equipment and training after his field was laser-leveled. He to the Bac Lieu Seed Center (BLSC) now spends for only 3 liters of diesel and the Nong Lam University. to pump water, compared with The quality of seeds produced the 5 liters beforehand. His yield has improved and become more increased by 1.53 tons per hectare. uniform, says BLSC director Phan van Husband and wife Nguyen Van Liem. Laser leveling is a technology Han and Nguyen Thi Diep from An that farmers very much appreciate, Giang said that it takes only 1.52 with support from the government. days to level their 4-hectare field BLSC has a network of farmers who using laser leveling, while leveling grow seed for the Center. For laser leveling of these areas, farmers pay 50% of the cost while the government continued on page 5 covers the remaining 50%.
The IRRC reintroduced laser leveling in Cambodia through a field demonstration organized with the Don Bosco School in Battambang Province.
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Battambang, a rural province located in northwestern Cambodia, is well-known for its fertile rice fields, which has earned it the title Rice bowl of Cambodia.
0.3 hectare using a buffalo takes 34 days. Weeding now only takes 4 days; before, they used to do manual weeding for 30 days. Their yield has increased by 1.3 tons per hectare. With laser leveling, these farmers were able to save a few million Vietnamese Dong, which they spent on TV sets, water pumps, rotavators, and motorcycles. One farmer said that with the ease laser leveling has provided, he has more time to help his family and attend seminars and meetings. Farmers have more time now to plant upland crops and vegetables. Nguyen Loi Duc, a progressive farmer from Tri Ton District, An Giang, borrowed the laser leveling equipment from NLU, bought his own tractor, and laser-leveled all of his 150-hectare rice field over the last 3 years. His yield has increased by 0.7 ton per hectare, and his income has increased by 30%. Thus, he was able to shift from commercial rice production to seed production, which he says has higher value. He established a seed factory in 2010 and plans to build more mechanical flatbed dryers and seed processing equipment.
Bumps in the road Though these farmers see the benefits of laser leveling, there are still challenges in promoting the technology in Vietnam. The equipment is expensive and thus limited in number, and the dry soil condition suitable for laser leveling lasts only for a few months each year. If a contractor invests a lot of money but he can only operate for 1 or 2 months, he will make less profit, and the payback period is longer, explains Dr. Hien. Compared with the combine harvester, you can have many potential clients who request your service because their crop is already ripe and they have to cut it. Laser leveling is not as urgently needed because whether they level the field or not, the crop still keeps growing. Although the cost of laser leveling seems high, upon close analysis, farmers will see that it can be paid back within three cropping seasons, explained BLSC vice director Nguyen Tam Dao. Each laser leveling operation can be used for the production of about 14 cropping seasons.
Nguyen Thi Hong Ngoc, director of Ideal Farming Cooperation, sold four units of laser leveling equipment to private companies and the government in 2011, but she found selling to farmer households difficult. They either lacked skilled people to operate the machines or had small, separate plots of land that made it impractical to invest in laser leveling equipment. In Cambodia, the technology was introduced by IRRI in 1997, with about 200 rice fields around the Ton Le Sap Lake laser-leveled. Farmers became interested, but the lack of available laser leveling equipment, and further training and field demonstrations prevented the technology from completely taking off. Leveling up Now, with the urgent need to ease labor shortage by using agricultural
continued on page 6
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machinery such as combine harvesters, laser leveling is being reintroduced in Cambodia. In November 2011, the IRRC organized a laser leveling demonstration at the Don Bosco School in Battambang Province. Almost 100 extension workers, farmers, and students attended the event. Our government has just put in place a new policy to increase rice production and export milled rice on our own, says Meas Pyseth, postharvest consultant. We have to use appropriate farm management Dr. Meas Pyseth (far right), IRRI Postharvest consultant, briefs the training participants techniques from preparing the land to on the steps in laser leveling. harvesting the crop. For the policy to With combined efforts from be successfully implemented, people the news about laser leveling from high officials to ordinary people, national partners and the IRRC and will have to go to laser leveling as Dr. Hien shares. Today, I can say a renewed vigor to promote the one of the many options to achieve that it is a tool that will change technology, more farmers in Southeast that goal, Dr. Pyseth explains. agriculture, especially rice agriculture, Asia will benefit from laser leveling In Vietnam, my team and I in a very major way this century. and the many advantages it brings. use every opportunity to spread
Photo by Trina Mendoza
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then it will be difficult for them to adopt, explains Dr. Zhong. Spreading the good news 3CT was proven to reduce fertilizer N input by as much as 20%, attain 510% yield increase, lessen fungicide or insecticide sprays, and achieve US$220 per hectare additional income for farmers. The technology was widely accepted not only in Guangdong Province but also in neighboring provinces such as Guangxi, Jiangxi, Hainan, and Zheijiang. The government established two demonstration basesaround 70 hectares eachwhere officials, extension workers, and farmers could compare the traditional farming practice against 3CT. Once they see the good effects of the technology, they spread the news themselves, Dr. Zhong says. Another method to disseminate the technology is through the provincial extension stations where farmers could easily access information on agricultural technologies. Information materials on 3CT include manuals, posters, message boards, and video compact discs. The 3CT software (much like the Nutrient Manager for Rice software) is also available in the GDRRI and the Department of Science and Technology Web sites of Guangdong Province. Dr. Zhong plans to have 3CT reach the whole southern part of China. The new technology has recently been announced by the Ministry of Agriculture as one of the 10 recommended technologies for rice in China. Dr. Zhongs success with 3CT also prompts him to look back and be grateful for how it all started. I want to thank IRRI, specifically IRRC, who supported me in my research from the very beginning. For more information on Three Controls Technology, please see related articles in the AprilJune 2007 and SeptemberDecember 2009 RIPPLE issues. 7
The beauty of science is that the truth will finally win, Dr. Xuhua Zhong reveals. He says this from experience, for nowhere is this more applicable in his scientific career than with the farmers in Guangdong Province, south of China. Dr. Zhong, a crop physiologist from the Rice Research Institute of Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GDRRI), has been a longtime partner of the IRRC in the development and promotion of the Three Controls Technology (3CT) in Guangdong Provincehome to 110 million people. The collaboration resulted in 3CT being made into a government-recommended technology in Guangdong since 2008. At present, it is the most widely adopted technology in the province. 3CT is an integrated approach that is based on the following: (1) more efficient use of nutrients, particularly nitrogen (N), by following the principles of site-specific nutrient management (SSNM), which often leads to a 20% reduction in N input; (2) reduced unproductive tillers and lodging of the rice crop by avoiding luxury N uptake and having better water management; and (3) reduced insecticide and fungicide sprays because of the healthier rice canopy. Nitrogen fertilizer, when applied at the right time and at the right amount, results in a decreased number of unproductive tillersthus preventing lodging of the rice crop.
Challenging the old ways Dr. Zhong is first to admit that it was initially difficult to convince rice farmers to try a new technology due to long-established farming practices. It was very different from the traditional farming practices in Guangdong. Rice farmers had a hard time accepting that reduced N fertilizer input could actually be good for rice crops. The best way to persuade them is to do a field demonstration. Let the farmers see for themselves, he says. Introducing a new technology requires a lot of hard work, patience, and understanding towards the plight of farmers. The 3CT went through careful evaluation and modification for 6 years before it was widely used in Guangdong. Criteria for adoption To make 3CT easier to adopt, it was developed with three set criteria: effectiveness, reliability, and ease of use. It should be effective to increase yield, efficiently use nutrients, reduce disease and insect damage, and lessen lodging. The technology should also be reliable to use with different rice varieties, various locations, and different crop establishment methods, throughout any season. The third criterion is for 3CT to be easy to use. Majority of rice farmers in Guangdong are women and old people. If its too laborious,
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alm and smiling, he spoke with authority, and the interviewer from Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI) kept probing him for more. He talked about alternate wetting and drying, a water-saving practice, and the Nutrient Manager, both technologies developed by the IRRC. The next morning, he was interviewed again by TVRI, this time, about maize, at the Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology (AIAT) office of South Sulawesi in the town of Maros. Professor Djafar Baco is the go-to-guy when it comes to maize and rice production in South Sulawesi. Professor Baco was born and raised in Bone District, South Sulawesi, in a small village called Dusun Salokaraja, where only eight houses used to stand. His great grandparents were among the original settlers of Dusun, although many advised them not to live there because of stories of ghosts and thieves. Nevertheless, it was here where he had his most cherished experiences. At the age of 4, young Djafars task was to tend their carabao, his parents being rice farmers. He remembers vividly that their carabao used to eat the rice crop of their neighbor, and his father had to pay them for their losses. His father did not scold or punish him, but this experience taught Djafar the importance of being responsible, which he carries with him to this day. Before graduating from high school, he got interested in a project on sugarcane, and wanted to pursue this field in a university in Java, Indonesia. However, moving to Java would be expensive and far from home, so he opted to study at the University of Hasanuddin in Makassar. An entomologist by training, Professor Baco finally achieved his dream of becoming a teacher like his uncle, when he taught ecological entomology at the
University of Hasanuddin in Makassar City for 5 years. He started doing research from 1975 to 1995 at the Research Institute for Food Crops, focusing on rice and maize. In 1996-2001, Prof. Baco headed the National Research Institute for Maize in Maros. It was when he became head of the Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology in South Sulawesi from 2001 to 2004 that he started working with IRRC coordinator Prof. Djafar Baco talked about IRRC technologies Grant Singleton on a project such as alternate wetting and drying and sitespecific nutrient management during a TV guesting on rodent management at a local TV station in Makassar in January. funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). The farmers are now solving Partnership with the IRRC their problems in the field, he says. strengthened in 2008, in an ACIARHe cites their problem with the funded project that aimed to improve rice bug. Farmers used to spray rice productivity in South and insecticide that smelled very bad. Southeast Sulawesi (read RIPPLE Then, they tried other foul-smelling May-August 2011). His career baitchicken manure, fermented highlights include the many good fish and shrimp, and golden apple experiences from the project. snailsto attract rice bugs. A week later, the farmers found out that rice bugs were more attracted to the snails. This is how they check the rice bugs in the fields now, he shares. While he has officially retired from AIAT in 2004, Prof. Bacos schedule remains as busy as ever. Future TV guestings are inevitable. His wife, Nuraida, often keeps him company during his travels to farmers fields and overseas. In the January planning meeting for 2012 activities with the IRRC, Prof. Baco lightheartedly said, Dont worry; I will work with you until I die. His efforts with the project have truly been valuable and have contributed to the farmers increase in income by more than US$207, on average, per season per hectare. As the IRRC enters a new chapter in 2013, the Consortium looks forward to more years of working with When he goes to see the farmers and Prof. Djafar Baco, South Sulawesis their rice fields in South Sulawesi, Prof. Baco rarely visits without his wife homegrown champion.
Nuraida.
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r. Pham Van Du listens intently while an IRRI scientist explains the experiments conducted on a certain rice plot in IRRI, Los Baos, Philippines. Every now and then, the IRRI scientist would pause for Dr. Du. Dr. Du would then address the Vietnamese delegates in front of them through a megaphone, carefully translating for the crowd what the scientist just said. This goes back and forth until all questions were asked and the answers given. Then Dr. Du, with his fellow countrymen, move on to a different site and the
Currently the deputy director general of the Crop Production Division at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Vietnam, he is well placed to achieve his vision due to his years of experience in rice research. He started as a researcher in plant pathology at the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute, Can Tho, Vietnam, in 1980, then worked his way up to become deputy director in 2007. In 2004, he began working with the IRRC in conducting pest impact assessments in the Mekong Delta. He assisted the IRRC during the conception of the Three Reductions, Three Gains Program (which encouraged farmers to reduce seed rate, pesticide use, and fertilizer use) in Vietnam. The impact of the program improved the livelihood of Dr. Pham Van Du was tireless as he more than 12 million rice translates for the Vietnamese farmers by delegates the various field decreasing experiments in IRRI. their translation process is repeated. dependence on insecticides, After a whole day of witnessing increasing their incomes, Dr. Du act as translator and guide for and reducing health an a large Vietnamese delegation during environmental hazards. a trip to IRRI, this writer could see As an IRRC Steering Committee just how passionate and hardworking member, Dr. Du prioritizes further he is in educating his fellow outscaling of natural resource countrymen about rice production. management (NRM) technologies, What motivates Dr. Du through the IRRC platform, in in his tireless pursuit? the Mekong Delta. He sees the I want to contribute to Department of Agriculture and food security in Vietnam while Rural Development (DARD) the countrys population is playing a major role in NRM increasing in the next 2050 technology diffusion in the region. years. We are also preparing to To reduce methane gas emissions face the challenges brought by and to be more responsive to climate climate change, says Dr. Du. change, DARD will introduce
the Mot Phai, Sau Giam (One Must Do, Six Reductions) Programa take off from the earlier five reductions promoted to rice farmers. The sixth reduction integrates a farming practice that reduces methane emissions in rice fields, explains Dr. Du. DARD is also set to introduce a business model that would involve sector representatives from the rice value chain in Mekong Delta. According to Dr. Du, thousands of smallholder rice farmers and various stakeholders would be able to coordinate under a fully mechanized structure. The business model would entail investing in postharvest machines and building public-private partnerships to help farmers directly access inputs and sell their outputs. Thus, the overall rice value chain is improved with a high-quality rice product that could be exported. Truly a man for his country, Dr. Du says that what gives him satisfaction in what he does is when the end-usersthe farmersbenefit from his research. I feel very happy about our research when my colleagues and I introduce technologies that could be used by farmers in the Mekong Delta to continuously upgrade rice production sustainability and, eventually, help improve farmers livelihoods. Dr. Du spends his spare time shopping, cooking, and watching the National Geographic channel (his favorite) with his wife, Le Cam Loan, a former IRRI PhD scholar and currently a CLRRI scientist. When time permits, the couple visits the beach or the countryside. His only daughter, Pham Xuan Lan, is currently taking up an M.A. in Finance and Accounting at the University of South Australia. Dr. Du is also fond of pets, having cats and Phu Quoc ridgeback dogs in his house. Dr. Du has big responsibilities and daunting tasks ahead of him. Still, he carries on, unfazed, guided by the vision he has for his country.
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Reianne Quilloy
December 2011. Collaborators from the provinces of Agusan, Bicol, and Bohol gathered in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte Province, to share their key learnings in piloting the project activities on hermetic storage and how the Learning Alliance worked in their respective sites. A stakeholder analysis was also conducted to identify the actors in each province and how they are linked with each other, visualize an effective network that could support the outscaling phase of the project, and identify the adjustments needed to make the current network reach more end users. The communication tools produced for each province were also monitored by the projects communication team. Martin Gummert lauded all the activities implemented in Philippine Learning Alliance partners from the Bohol Farmers Multi-purpose the three countries. To take their Cooperative, Catholic Relief Services, the local government unit of Pilar, efforts further, each country will Bohol, and Kaanib Foundation analyze their stakeholder network map to roll out their outscaling plans to be plan 2012 outscaling activities in the Visayas and Mindanao region. implemented in the first quarter of he Asian Development Bankduring project implementation. 2012 through the project Strategic funded IRRI Postharvest The Vietnam group, composed research for sustainable health and project led by Martin of collaborators from five regional nutrition security in Asia. Country Gummert took the teams effort universities in the country, presented coordinators and lead implementors further in reducing postharvest their latest efforts in developing for this project are Dr. Pyseth Meas losses in Asia through a series of business models on important from Cambodia, Dr. Lehung Nguyen in-country reviews in Cambodia, postharvest technologies. The infrom Vietnam, and Dr. Caesar the Philippines, and Vietnam. country review was held on 24-25 Tado from the Philippines. The workshops were conducted to November in Da Lat City, Lam Dong Cambodian partners from one province review the piloting phase to plan for Province. The group also reported discuss their stakeholder network map in the outscaling phase of the project of a Learning Alliance Web site preparation for outscaling under the implemented in these countries. in Vietnamese Postharvest project. The in-country review in language that Cambodia was conducted on 14-15 they developed. November 2011 at Preah Sihanouk Business model Province. About 40 extension specialist Alfred staff members of the Provincial Schmidley led the Department of Agriculture, private group in setting sector partners, representatives their goals to refine of collaborating government and integrate the institutions, and staff of the General business model Directorate of Agriculture attended component into the the meeting and participated outscaling phase in the stakeholder analysis. The of the project. participants identified project The last leg outcomes through observed changes of the review in knowledge, attitudes, and skills was held for of end-users and discussed the the Philippine stumbling blocks encountered group on 6-7
Photo by Reianne Quilloy
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by rice producers and participants in the whole rice value chain. During his presentation on the need for sustainable rice production, IRRI scientist and Program 3 leader Bas Bouman said that IRRI will actively co-convene the SRP and ensure that the work of IRRI and GRiSP will dovetail with that of the SRP. IRRI will especially share natural resource management technologies for rice production through the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium and the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments. The SRP founding members are private sector companies Kelloggs, Mars Foods, and Louis Dreyfus and the Asian Institute of Technology/CIRAD. Other participants in the launch were representatives from Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia; CropLife Asia, Syngenta, DuPont Crop Protection, Jolibee Foods Corporation, AidEnvironment, and the German International Cooperation.
Trina Leah Mendoza
IRRI Photo
RRCs resident anthropologist Rica Joy Flor took the next big step in her career as she began her PhD studies in January, in Wageningen University, The Netherlands. She is working under two chair groups, Technology and Agrarian Development and Communication and Innovations. Her study, under a sandwich program with IRRI, will be linked with IRRC projects looking at approaches such as adaptive management and learning alliances. Since 2006, Rica has been studying the social impacts of IRRC technologies in the different partner countries. Her days were spent conducting household surveys and interviews, facilitating learning alliance workshops, and writing the results in various refereed journals and books. With this new chapter in your life, we wish you all the best, Rica!
Rica Flor (inset) will be missed by her IRRC family. In the photo, Rica (front row, left) is with the IRRC group during a trip to the beautiful Banaue Rice Terraces in Ifugao, Philippines.
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IRRC researcher co-authors high profile impact study of IRRI rice varieties
and release from IRRI data bases the International Rice Genebank, the International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice, and International Rice Information System. In-depth individual impact assessments of germplasm improvements for each country from 1985 to 2009 showed significant and sustained yield gains from IRRIs work on varietal improvement. From 1985 to 2009, improved rice varieties from IRRI boosted farmers returns by US$52 per hectare in the Philippines, by $76 per hectare in Indonesia, and by $127 per hectare in south Vietnam. The study concludes that the investment made on IRRIs research on germplasm improvement revealed high economic returns. This finding is consistent with ACIARs mandate of delivering research outputs that improve the livelihood of the people most in need. The interest of many IRRI scientists, including visiting donors, was captured by the study, because Arelene Malabayabas (left), IRRC agricultural it demonstrated economist, co-authored the study on the that the efforts of IRRI to improve impact of IRRI on rice production. varietal yield were successful. It One of the authors of this study is was highlighted by IRRI Director Arelene Malabayabas, an agricultural General Robert Zeigler in his 2011 economist of the IRRC. She assisted end-of-the year report and also by Dr. John Brennan, the lead author, Achim Dobermann, IRRI deputy in conducting an impact assessment director general for research, in of the development, uptake, and his presentation titled Megatrends, impact of IRRI-based rice varieties Innovation, and IRRIs Future in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Business Model in January 2012. Vietnam. She obtained and compiled IRRI has been developing relevant information on the research rice varieties for release in Asian activities and adoption of rice countries for more than 50 years. varieties of the targeted countries. ACIAR has supported the research Ms. Malabayabas also gathered data activities of IRRI since ACIARs on germplasm pedigree, breeding, establishment in 1982. ts always nice to reap the benefits of an investment. A recent study of IRRIs improved rice varieties concluded that farmers harvested an extra $1.46 billion worth of rice a year across three Asian countries. These improved varieties were mainly grown in the intensive lowland irrigated rice farming systems. The study was commissioned by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). The report, entitled International Rice Research Institutes contribution to rice varietal yield improvement in Southeast Asia, assessed the impact of IRRI on rice production in ACIARS mandated regions. It focused on three key ricegrowing countries: the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Please direct further correspondence, comments, and contributions to Trina Leah mendoza Senior Communication Specialist International Rice Research Institute DAPO Box 7777 Metro Manila, Philippines Email: t.mendoza@irri.org Web: www.irri.org/irrc
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