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An information summary for supporters of international rice research

Published by the INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE October-December 2006

In this issue:

NEWS

• A new vision for international rice research attacks the roots of poverty
• Change in IRRI’s copyright policy to facilitate free exchange of vital information
• ASEAN endorses major initiatives to boost regional rice production
• IRRI staff, overseas donors assist Milenyo victims
• IRRI genebank helps protect Philippine crops
• IRRI urges needed action to protect international rice industry from the ravages of typhoons
• Annual Program Review sets the stage for 2007 to be a year of quality and excellence
• IRRI DG speaks at Washington’s National Press Club
• Dr. Zeigler outlines poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability elements of Institute’s new plan at NIAES International Symposium

PEOPLE

• Senadhira Rice Research Award for 2006
• Former IRRI BOT member wins 2006 Nobel Peace Prize
• IRRI announces winners of IRRN Best Article Awards
• IRRI staff members win 1st and 3rd place in CGIAR Photo Competition
• Former IRRI BOT Chair Rudy Rabbinge named Science Council chair

IRRI VISITORS

• Vietnam envoy visits IRRI

EVENTS, TRAININGS, AND WORKSHOPS

• Largest gathering of rice workers ever assembles in India
• IRRI participates in 5th World Rice Commerce Conference (WRC2006)
• Drought Frontier Project Planning Workshop held at IRRI
• Building partnerships: CORRA meeting 2006
• IRRI trains MARD plant protection personnel on diagnosis of plant diseases
  in southern Vietnam
• IRRI holds training course on upland rice variety selection techniques for African countries
• Leadership course for Asian women held at IRRI

NEWS

A new vision for international rice research attacks the roots of poverty

New Delhi, India - More income for the world’s millions of poor rice farmers and consumers is the first goal of a major new revamp to the agenda of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) - the largest and most successful international agricultural research institute in Asia.

IRRI’s new Strategic Plan (2007-15) maintains the Institute’s traditional emphasis on food security - a vital strategy as almost half the world eats rice each day - but has for the first time put as its first goal reducing poverty among rice farmers and consumers. The four other goals focus on environmental sustainability, health and nutrition, access to information and knowledge, and supporting efforts everywhere to develop new and improved rice varieties.

Announcing the new Strategic Plan at the opening of the International Rice Congress (IRC) on 9 October in New Delhi, IRRI’s director general, Dr. Robert S. Zeigler, said: “If the world is serious about achieving the first and most important of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals on poverty, then we must focus on the livelihoods of poor rice farmers and consumers because together they make up almost half the world’s population.

“For many of the rice-producing countries of Asia, it’s not just a question of poverty, but more importantly, a question of maintaining their national economic development,” Dr. Zeigler warned. “Unless many Asian nations can get their rural or rice-based regions growing economically, their national development efforts could stall completely. Asia needs to invest more in agriculture and especially agricultural research–without new ideas and technologies, their rice industries will stagnate and hold back the rest of the country.”

For more information on IRRI’s new Strategic Plan, please go to http://www.irri.org/BringingHope/ImprovingLives.pdf

Change in IRRI’s copyright policy to facilitate the free exchange of vital information

Los Baños, Philippines - After being given an important new role by the rice-producing nations of Asia to support the free flow of rice research and knowledge, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has announced an important change in its copyright policy.

Taking a leaf out of the software industry’s book, the Philippines-based Institute has announced that it will change its information copyright policy from the original “all rights reserved.” Effectively echoing the software industry’s open-source movement, others will now be able to use IRRI’s intellectual property, provided they do not place restrictions on its use by anyone else.

The practical change will not be great—IRRI previously offered relatively free use of its information to other parties. The major difference now is that users need not ask permission. The change is also symbolic, representing the Institute’s goal of promoting the free exchange of ideas and information.

IRRI’s decision follows the release of the Delhi Declaration on Rice by the Ministerial Roundtable at the International Rice Congress (IRC) in Delhi, wherein the Institute was asked to “host a task force … to prepare a road map” that would help achieve the main objectives of the Declaration, which include a plan “to establish a comprehensive partnership among the participants through strengthened dialogue on a regular basis for strengthening rice research and development efforts.”

The full text of the Delhi Declaration follows, while IRRI’s new Strategic Plan can be downloaded from the Web at www.irri.org/BringingHope/ImprovingLives.pdf.

ASEAN endorses major initiatives to boost regional rice production

Singapore - Rice production in Southeast Asia - arguably the region’s most important industry - has received a major boost with the endorsement of three new strategies by the ministers of agriculture and forestry of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Implemented and coordinated by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the new measures are aimed at three major challenges facing rice production in ASEAN:

1) The environment. ASEAN has endorsed the development of a series of environmental indicators for rice production in the region focused on production, biodiversity, pollution, land degradation, and water.
2) Getting the latest knowledge and information to rice farmers. ASEAN has endorsed the further development of the Rice Knowledge Bank (RKB) for rice farmers (www.knowledgebank.irri.org/), Asia’s first digital extension service in agriculture. The RKB is a repository of rice information contributing to the development of localized and integrated Web sites with credible, reliable, and demand-driven information for rice farmers.
3) Developing the next generation of rice farmers and scientists. Few young people in Asia today are interested in rice production, in spite of its obvious importance to the region, so ASEAN has endorsed the development of rice camps for young Asians to encourage them to consider a career in rice.

The decision to endorse the three new activities was made at the 28th meeting of the ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) in Singapore on 16 November 2006. In a joint press statement issued at the end of the annual meeting, the AMAF endorsed

“The further development of a series of environmental indicators for ASEAN rice production as presented as a joint activity with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The ministers also endorsed the continued development of a digital Rice Knowledge Bank for ASEAN rice farmers, and the establishment of rice camps at IRRI to educate the young people of ASEAN on the importance of rice farming and rice research.”

Full details of the joint press statement of the 28th AMAF meeting can be viewed at www.aseansec.org/18812.htm. AMAF includes two of the world’s biggest rice exporters, Thailand and Vietnam, which in 2003-05 produced 160.7 million tons of rice out of a world total of 601.4 million tons.

IRRI staff, overseas donors assist Milenyo victims

Internationally and nationally recruited staff members, sectoral organizations, a civic organization, and two donors from The Netherlands responded to the IRRI Community Relations Office (CRO) relief drive, which started on 2 October to assist needy employees in the aftermath of Typhoon Milenyo.

Twenty-five people representing a cross-section of regular, emergency, and project staff of IRRI, including those from the A.C. Lazaga Multi-Services and Safeguard Investigation and Security Company, Inc., received emergency relief assistance.

As of 9 October, P53,653.60 from the total cash donation of P60,230.75 received by the CRO from 23 individual and group donors in IRRI were used to purchase 20 sacks of rice and basic food items. The CRO channeled 10 sacks of rice, canned goods, and noodles as part of the Institute’s contributions to the relief efforts of the municipal governments of Los Baños and Bay.

IRRI genebank helps protect Philippine crops

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has extended the facilities of its International Rice Genebank to the National Plant Genetic Resources Laboratory (NPGRL) in the Institute of Plant Breeding, University of the Philippines Los Baños (IPB-UPLB) to temporarily store its medium-term germplasm collections of major Philippine agricultural crops after typhoon Milenyo damaged its genebank facilities.

These crops consist of cereals, food legumes, forage/pasture, plantation/industrial crops, root crops, medicinal plants and spices, fruit trees, nut trees, ornamentals, small fruits, botanical collection, vegetables, and unclassified recent introductions.

As of October 2002, a total of 45,978 germplasm collections were stored in the NPGRL genebank until Milenyo struck.

Prof. Tess Borromeo and researcher Nestor Altoveros of IPB revealed that 70% of the genetic materials (350 accessions) stored in the NPGRL were damaged by floodwaters and mud, while 100% of the laboratory’s root crop collections were buried in mud.

Ruaraidh Sackville Hamilton, the head of the IRRI Genebank said, “We are committed to doing everything we can to help our local colleagues get through this difficult period. Genebanks are fundamental to a country’s ability to feed itself and maintain its agricultural productivity.”

The NPGRL maintains these germplasm collections and serves as the national center in plant genetic resources activities.

IRRI urges needed action to protect international rice industry from the ravages of typhoons

Typhoons are one of the oldest and most destructive challenges facing rice production in tropical Asia. They knock crops flat, shatter grain, and make harvests impossible. Every year, storm systems that spawn typhoons also flood thousands of hectares of some of Asia’s most important rice fields.
This year, at least 18 tropical storms have already swept across rice-growing Asia, causing widespread destruction. These include Typhoon Paeng (Cimaron), which just ravaged northern Luzon (30 Oct), destroying 114 million pesos worth of rice and other crops. Earlier, Typhoon Milenyo destroyed more than 800,000 hectares of rice and caused more than half a billion dollars in damage in rural areas.
With climate change certain to cause an increase in extreme weather events such as typhoons, IRRI, in a report to be sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA), is urging that action is needed now to protect the international rice industry.
Climate change and the increase in extreme weather events, such as typhoons that it is causing, are already having an impact on rice production in the region. The future challenge facing some countries to produce the rice they will need is enormous. Already, IRRI has had urgent requests from Bangladesh, the Philippines, and India for access to the new flood-tolerant rice that it has developed with its partners - all as a result of this year’s typhoons.
With the revolution in our knowledge of the rice plant, rice researchers are working hard to help protect rice farmers and rice consumers from the disastrous effects of typhoons and climate change. They just need more resources to do so.

Annual Program Review sets the stage for 2007 to be a year of quality and excellence

The Institute’s Annual Program Review (APR) concluded in November, after 4 days of major presentations and discussions on the past year’s achievements and targets and outputs of the seven new programs in IRRI’s Medium-term Plan (MTP) 2007-09. Joining headquarters IRS and NRS for the event were IRRI liaison scientists, regional/country representatives, and outposted IRS.
In his summary, DDG-R Ren Wang said the week’s discussions showed that the new MTP is clearly focused on major ecological and production systems and that it is product- and output-oriented. Dr. Wang concluded that he was looking forward to 2007 being a “year of quality and excellence.”

IRRI DG speaks at Washington’s National Press Club

IRRI DG Robert Zeigler was the guest speaker on 6 December, during a National Press Club News-maker Event in Washington, D.C. He gave a “Contrarian View of Poverty, Agriculture, and Economic Development in India and China,” in which he looked to bust seven myths, that is, that
• Most poverty is in Africa (not really, it is in South Asia).
• Economic growth has solved all of Asia’s problems (not really, with poverty in South Asia and Indonesia slipping backward, and China struggling to produce the food it needs).
• There’s plenty of food in the world (not really, especially with climate change and biofuels looming).
• Genetically modified (GM) food is not safe (actually, it is/will be the safest, most regulated food one can eat).
• The private sector will feed the world (actually, the public sector is needed).
• Intensive agriculture is unsustainable (rice shows that’s not true).
• There are some problems we can’t solve, such as drought and flooding (we know we can with new scientific knowledge).

Dr. Zeigler outlines poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability elements of IRRI’s new plan at NIAES International Symposium

At the National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences (NIAES) International Symposium in Tsukuba, Japan, 12 December, IRRI DG Robert Zeigler discussed how the Institute’s new Strategic Plan is geared toward poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability in Asia. He pointed out that as IRRI approaches its 50th anniversary in 2010, we have been taking a serious look at what we have been doing and why we were doing it.
“From the mid-1990s until now, progress in science has leaped dramatically,” he said. “There have been revolutions in biology, genomics, biochemistry, and molecular genetics, and in communications and computational power. In the laptops of the participants of this symposium, we probably have the computational power that the entire world had just 25 years ago. In the light of these huge positive advances, we thought it very important for IRRI to take a close look at its mission and future direction.”
He added that IRRI set its strategic goals by imagining a perfect world. “We do not realistically believe that IRRI by itself can, for example, eliminate poverty and protect the environment,” he said. “But, unless these are articulated as ‘goals,’ it is unlikely that our efforts will make a meaningful impact on poverty and the environment.”

PEOPLE

Senadhira Rice Research Award for 2006

New Delhi, India - In 1977, a promising rice breeder named M.A. Salam began his career at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI). Almost 30 years on, he is one of the country’s most influential agricultural scientists, with rice varieties he has helped develop grown on over 4 million hectares—more than one-third of Bangladesh’s entire rice-growing area.

Dr. Salam, now chief scientific officer and head of BRRI’s Plant Breeding Division, received the Senadhira Rice Research Award for 2006 at a ceremony at the International Rice Congress in New Delhi, India. He won the award for his outstanding contributions to the development of varieties for the rainfed lowlands of Bangladesh.

Ren Wang, deputy director general for research at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), noted that Dr. Salam—who studied for his PhD at IRRI in 1985-88—has devoted his career to the service of Bangladeshi rice farmers, in particular those in marginal and difficult production areas.

Dr. Salam pioneered the use of farmer participatory breeding in evaluating breeding lines for unfavorable environments. This approach, in which scientists work hand in hand with farmers to choose promising lines, has advanced the development of varieties for saline and stagnant water conditions.

The award is named after Dharmawansa Senadhira, one of IRRI’s most successful rice breeders, who tragically died in a traffic accident in Bangladesh in 1998.

Former IRRI BOT member wins 2006 Nobel Peace Prize

Since its birth in the 1970s, microcredit—the practice of offering small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans—has helped literally millions of poor people pull themselves out of poverty. These beneficiaries include many thousands of people who rely on the rice industry for their livelihood—farmers, farm workers, millers, marketers, as well as their families.
On 13 October, the value of microcredit was recognized in the most profound way when Bangladeshi economist and former IRRI BOT member (1989-94) Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006. Dr. Yunus developed microcredit under the belief that credit is a right, not a privilege, and that those who possess the least should be the first, not the last, to receive a loan. This philosophy—which runs counter to conventional banking, where those who already have the most are prioritized—led him to set up the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh in 1976. Grameen Bank itself shares the prize with Dr. Yunus.

IRRI announces winners of IRRN Best Article Awards

IRRI has announced the 2006 winners of the International Rice Research Notes (IRRN) Best Article Awards at the International Rice Congress (IRC), 9-13 October, in Delhi. IRRN celebrates its 30th birthday this year and, according to IRRI Deputy Director General for Research Ren Wang, is one of IRRI’s most important publications. “IRRN offers an important opportunity for rice researchers in developing countries to connect with each other and publish their own findings,” he said. “As a forum for sharing information, IRRN helps advance rice-related knowledge and technology.” This year’s winners, in five categories, are listed below. For more information about IRRN, visit www.irri.org/irrn. The winners are

Crop management and physiology
Contribution of on-farm assessment of improved varieties and crop management to yield of deepwater rice
A. Ghosh and B.N. Singh, Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, India

Soil, nutrient, and water management
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with upland rice in a rotational shifting cultivation system
S. Youpensuk and N. Yimyam, Graduate School, Saisamorn Lumyong, Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University; B. Rerkasem, Agronomy Department, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand; and B. Dell, School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Murdoch University, Perth 6150, Australia

Pest science and management
Endo- and ectoparasites of the Philippine rice field rat, Rattus tanezumi Temminck, on PhilRice farms
M.M. Antolin, R.C. Joshi, L.S. Sebastian, L.V. Marquez, and U.G. Duque, Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), Maligaya, Muñoz, Nueva Ecija 3119; and C.J. Domingo, College of Veterinary Science and Medicine, Central Luzon State University, Muñoz, Nueva Ecija 3120, Philippines

Genetic resources
Dhanrasi, a new lowland rice variety with Oryza rufipogon genes for improving yield potential and resistance to biotic stresses
T. Ram, Directorate of Rice Research (DRR), Rajendranagar, Hyderabad; N.D. Majumder, Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur; and B. Mishra, DRR, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad 500030, India

Agricultural engineering
Effect of hermetic storage in the super bag on seed quality and milled rice quality of different varieties in Bac Lieu, Vietnam
Diep Chan Ben, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Bac Lieu Province; Phan Van Liem and Nguyen Tam Dao, Bac Lieu Seed Center, Bac Lieu Province, Vietnam; M. Gummert and J.F. Rickman, IRRI

IRRI staff members win 1st and 3rd place in CGIAR Photo Competition

The CGIAR Secretariat has announced that IRRI Communication and Publications Services staffers Adam Barclay and Ariel “Biggs” Javellana have been awarded 1st and 3rd prizes, respectively, in the 2006 CGIAR Photo Competition.
More than 90 entries for this year's competition were submitted. An exclusive panel of judges from the National Geographic Society and the Washington Times, and one independent photographer, carefully reviewed each submission and evaluated its relevance to the theme, composition, and lighting.

The two prize-winning photos, along with the other top 23 entries, were exhibited during the CGIAR's annual general meeting at the Hilton Washington Hotel, 3-5 December. Cash prizes of $1,000 and $250 went the winners of 1st and 3rd places.

Former IRRI BOT Chair Rudy Rabbinge named Science Council chair

Roelof "Rudy" Rabbinge, former IRRI BOT chair (1995-2000), has been appointed by the CGIAR as Science Council chair (2007-09), succeeding Per Pinstrup-Andersen.

Dr. Rabbinge is currently chairman/dean of the Wageningen Graduate Schools in The Netherlands and university professor for sustainable development and systems innovation. He led various missions and agricultural programs in developing countries and served as editor of several journals. He was also co-chair of the InterAcademy Panel on Food Security and Agricultural Productivity in Africa. He is presently a member of the Senate of the Netherlands Parliament and chairman of the Royal Institute of the Tropics, and he serves on the boards of various international agribusiness firms.

IRRI VISITORS

Vietnam envoy visits IRRI

His Excellency Vu Xuan Truong, the Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the Philippines, visited IRRI on 4 October.

He said that Vietnam will fully support IRRI’s initiatives in helping other developing countries achieve self-sufficiency in food supply. “When I attend the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), you can be assured of our full support to your initiative, work, and endeavor to help Vietnam and other developing countries,” he added.
Vietnam became an APEC member in 1998. Established in 1989, APEC provides a forum for ministerial-level discussion and cooperation on a range of economic issues, including trade promotion and liberalization, investment and technology transfer, human resource development, energy, telecommunications, and transportation.

EVENTS, TRAININGS, AND WORKSHOPS

Largest gathering of rice workers ever assembles in India

On 9-13 October, the 2nd International Rice Congress (IRC) 2006 brought to New Delhi, India, 1,383 rice researchers, traders, rice millers, farmers, and agriculture ministers, including 400 delegates from 45 countries other than India. This largest gathering ever of rice workers deliberated on various aspects of rice production, commerce, and international cooperation, with a special focus on the latest research, science, and technology.
The mega event was inaugurated by Honorable Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. During his speech, he said, “Despite remarkable achievements, hunger and malnutrition continue to afflict millions and millions of people across the world. About 815 million people in developing countries are reported by FAO to be undernourished. Hunger and malnutrition are the underlying cause of more than half of all child deaths, killing nearly 6 million children each year.” He was confident that the IRC2006 would pave the way for a better tomorrow for all the rice farmers of the world.
The IRC was sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India; IRRI; and the Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA), and was organized by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS).

IRRI participates in 5th World Rice Commerce Conference (WRC2006)

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam─The 5th World Rice Commerce Conference (WRC 2006) was held in Ho Chi Minh City, 18-19 October, attracting a record crowd of more than 200 paying delegates from around the world, representing most of the world’s major rice buyers and sellers.

The 2-day event, which was opened by Madame Pham The Rue, the Vietnamese vice minister of trade, provided an opportunity for rice sellers and buyers from Vietnam and around the world to exchange their views on rice trading and to look for opportunities to cooperate to improve the rice business. WRC2006 was a forum for policymakers, associations, and enterprises in the rice export industry at home and abroad to discuss production, demand, stock, and management experience in the rice-trading industry.

The head of IRRI’s Grain Quality, Nutrition, and Postharvest Center, Melissa Fitzgerald, represented the Institute during the event. Dr. Fitzgerald's presentation, Certification and the International Rice Trade: Developing a Way Forward, focused on new technologies that would allow rice traders to better certify the rice they buy and sell, especially in terms of the actual variety in the shipment. In discussions, the traders indicated that the industry was definitely in need of a technology that would allow them to better certify the rice varieties they are buying and selling.

Drought Frontier Project Planning Workshop held at IRRI

A planning workshop on the Drought Frontier Project was held at IRRI, 2-4 October. The workshop aimed to assess the current status and future challenges facing rice cultivation in drought-prone environments; review the recent progress, breakthroughs, and the potential impact of drought research in rice and other tropical crops; identify priority research areas and state-of-the-art methodologies and approaches to address drought challenges; and establish a research consortium and an integrated research strategy on drought resistance in rice.
Drought is the major constraint to rice production in rainfed areas across Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with at least 23 million hectares (20% of rice area) potentially affected in Asia alone. Frequent droughts result in enormous economic losses and have long-term destabilizing socioeconomic effects on resource-poor farmers and communities.

Building partnerships: CORRA meeting 2006

Representatives from IRRI and the national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES) of 15 countries attended the 10th meeting of the Council for Partnership on Rice Research in Asia (CORRA), 14 October, at the National Agricultural Science Complex in New Delhi, India.
One of the meeting’s key outcomes was CORRA’s approval of Vietnam as host of the next CORRA meeting and a resolution to support efforts for Vietnam to have an international rice meeting as part of the 30th anniversary of the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute in 2007.
The annual meeting, this year held at the tail end of IRC 2006, is the major get-together of NARES heads in their efforts to guide, facilitate, support, and thereby strengthen the partnership among NARES and between NARES, IRRI, and other relevant institutions.

IRRI trains MARD plant protection personnel on diagnosis of plant diseases in southern Vietnam

Upon request from the Plant Protection Department (PPD) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) of Ho Chi Minh City, an IRRI team composed of PBGB staff members Dr. Il-Ryong Choi, Dr. Pitt Cabauatan, and Mr. Roger Cabunagan conducted a 3-day training on how to diagnose ragged and grassy stunt virus diseases, 10-12 October, at the Southern Regional Plant Protection Center in Tien Giang Province.
Lectures were presented on the biology, epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of ragged and grassy stunt virus diseases.

Hands-on training was also conducted on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as a serological technique for indexing the presence of virus in leaf and planthopper samples. Practical field activities were also conducted on diagnosis of the two virus diseases based on symptoms. The virus diseases ragged and grassy stunt transmitted by brown planthoppers have affected almost 60,000 hectares of rice in almost all provinces of southern Vietnam and continue to be a threat to the coming crops to be planted in the future.

IRRI holds training course on upland rice variety selection techniques for African countries

A 1-week innovative training course on Upland Rice Variety Selection Techniques (for African scientists) was conducted at the IRRI Training Center (TC), 16-20 October, led by David Shires, TC acting head; Vethaiya Balasubramanian, course coordinator; and Engineer Eugenio C. Castro, Jr., course co-coordinator.

The 10 participants from Malawi, Ghana, Ethiopia, Gambia, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe gained knowledge and experience on the fundamentals and techniques in varietal evaluation and selection of rice.
The training course was a joint undertaking between the government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and IRRI. It aimed to support self-help efforts that will lead to economic progress and a better life for the citizens of Africa.
This training is the first of the 3-year JICA-IRRI collaboration for the training of African scientists to improve Africa's rice production potential.

Leadership course for Asian women held at IRRI

Twenty-two women from 11 countries graduated from the Leadership Course for Asian Women in R&D and Extension held at IRRI, 27 November-8 December.

The participants from Bangladesh, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Solomon Islands, and Vietnam shared their personal insights of being a woman leader in their respective fields through group discussions, case studies, group activities, and team-building.

They also learned new perspectives and insights from the resource persons and other women they met during their immersion activity in San Pablo City, where they interacted with the ladies of Samahan ng Kababaihan ng San Pablo (Association of Women in San Pablo). The course was coordinated by Dr. Thelma Paris and facilitated by Ms. Gina E. Zarsadias together with the IRRI Training team. Resource persons were IRRI staff members and a few invited speakers from PhilRice and Sun MicroSystems.