The Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC) team started the year with an almost month-long expedition on 3-25 January 2008 around project sites in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. IRRC Coordinator Grant Singleton, Labor Productivity Work Group leader David Johnson, and Postproduction Work Group leader Martin Gummert took to the skies on 2 January and began their journey in Laos.

Lowlands of Laos
The three scientists from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) enjoyed their tour around the rice bowl of Laos. They visited Savannakhet and Champasak Plain with Dr. Khamouane Khamphoukeo, deputy director of the National Rice Research Program (NRRP) of the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), and Dr. Bounneuang Douang Boupha, director of the Horticultural Research Center and national coordinator of crop pest management at NAFRI, to determine the research and technology needs of the lowland agroecosystem of Laos. Savannakhet is the main rice-growing region in Laos (with 23,000 hectares of irrigated rice), followed by the Vientiane Plain and the Champasak Plain. They also discussed postharvest issues in the uplands and visited upland sites of a new IRRC rodent project.

A farmer sets a rat trap in Laos. Rat meat is an important source of protein for rural people in Vietnam, Laos, and Vietnam. (Photo by G. Singleton)

They gained better appreciation of the rice-cropping systems in the lowlands, which have far less monoculture agriculture than in other rice-growing areas in Southeast Asia. They noticed a significant forest area among the lowland cropping areas.

The Lao government’s priority for poverty alleviation has led to the identification of 47 poverty-stricken districts, which are priority districts for agricultural assistance. Some of these are in the lowlands, with three of these districts in the Champasak Plain.

A collaborative project with the Lao NRRP and IRRC in the lowlands could provide an important opportunity for IRRI through the IRRC to help the Lao government to achieve its goals in agricultural development while at the same time fulfilling its poverty alleviation mandate. Grown in the lowland areas is a combination of rainfed and irrigated rice crops; IRRC linkages with the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE), particularly with drought- and submergence-tolerant varieties and associated natural resource management of these crops, have high potential for impact.

Thailand’s Rice Department
The IRRC group visited Thailand and met with Director General Prasert Gosalvitra and senior staff of the Rice Department. Thailand’s Rice Department has 3,000 staff members. Of these, 1,000 are permanent government employees. It was established in early 2006 and is strongly supported by the Royal Family. The Thai government aims to increase productivity by 20% (to 33.4 million tons) over the next 5 years. Some key constraints are droughts, floods, and weedy rice (which has infested 30,000 hectares already).

The Rice Department is keen to forge strong partnerships with IRRC scientists. It is particularly interested in postharvest technologies, combating weedy rice, and the research-to-impact pathway. Our highly successful visit was arranged by Dr. Kukiat Soitong, director of the Extension System Development and Technology Transfer Unit. Further exchanges between IRRC/IRRI scientists and staff from the Rice Department are planned for May and June.

Valuable Vietnam voyage
Dr. Singleton traveled alone to Vietnam and met with several representatives from the Field Crops Research Institute, Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hanoi Agricultural University, the Plant Protection Division (PPD), and World Vision. He also made a field visit to An Giang Province, the highest rice producer in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.

He talked with Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, director, An Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Mr. Nguyen Huu Huan, deputy director general, PPD. The former said that he is very impressed with the field trials that have been conducted to validate IRRC technologies at a 30-hectare demonstration site in An Giang. Mr. Nguyen Huu Huan and the provincial government are now eager to expand the technologies of the IRRC in An Giang and make the province a model for best practice in rice production. (Read more in An Giang, Vietnam—setting an example).

Cambodia can
The poor living conditions of rural smallholders make it crucial for the IRRC to explore ways to improve rice R&D in Cambodia. A promising route to take would be having one or two local “champions” who will actively lead IRRC projects. Such is the role being played by Dr. Pyseth Meas, a partner of the IRRC Postproduction Work Group (Click here to read his profile).

Dr. Pyseth Meas (right) and a farmer check rice prices in a village price board set up by the project. Rice prices in village, provincial, and Phnom Penh markets are collected every 3 days and sent to mobile phones of bulletin board managers. Farmers increasingly base their marketing decisions on the market information and believe they are in a better negotiating position because they are better informed. (Photo by G. Singleton)

The Cambodian government aims to raise rice production by 2 tons/hectare, but there are hurdles to conquer. Dr. Men Sarom of the Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute revealed that Cambodia’s main problems in rice production are floods and droughts, infertile soil, pests, and diseases, weeds, and labor shortage (which has resulted in greater use of direct seeding).

The Postproduction Work Group continues to progress in Cambodia. When the IRRC team visited Battambang, the Provincial Department of Agriculture had organized a farmers’ congress for key farmers from pilot villages of the Asian Development Bank project. Farmers shared information and their experiences with postharvest technologies with their peers from other villages, and interacted with provincial extension workers.

All these activities were jam-packed at the start of 2008, a sure sign that the IRRC is gearing up for more undertakings in 2008 and beyond.
 

 Trina Mendoza (t.mendoza@cgiar.org) and
Grant Singleton (g.singleton@cgiar.org) 

Country Outreach Programs archive