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Media hotlineAn information summary for supporters of
international rice research In this issue: NEWS & PRESS RELEASES
PEOPLE
IRRI VISITORS EVENTS, TRAININGS, AND WORKSHOPS
NEWS & PRESS RELEASES International rice industry prepares to gather in India Los Baños, Philippines and Delhi, India - The international rice industry is preparing to meet in India at a time of unprecedented change for the food that feeds almost half the planet. Held every 4 years, the International Rice Congress (IRC) will bring together all aspects of the rice industry with a special focus on the latest research, science, and technology. Hosted by the Indian Ministry of Agriculture and cosponsored by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), it will be held in Delhi, 9-13 October and include three main events: the 26th International Rice Research Conference 9-13 October, the 2nd International Rice Commerce Conference 10-11 October, and the 2nd International Rice Technology and Cultural Exhibition 10-12 October. “Rice is going through an unprecedented time of change and development,” IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler said. “Despite the fact we’ve been growing rice for thousands of years, the recent sequencing of the rice genome heralded a new era in our knowledge and understanding of this vital crop.” “We have learned more about rice in the past 10 years, than we have in the past 500 and we will learn even more in the next 5 years,” Dr. Zeigler said. “If you add other issues such as intellectual property, biofortification, the water crisis, climate change, and the huge challenge of improving the lives of poor rice farmers and consumers, then you can start to understand why this congress is going to be so important.” For more information, please visit www.icar.org.in/irc2006 A more powerful and efficient engine for rice: the C3-C4 challenge Los Baños, Philippines - A major international scientific effort was launched on 17 July to develop and use a radical new approach to boost rice production and avoid potential rice shortages, or even future famine. Scientists have been working on different aspects of the approach since the early 1990s. But new knowledge generated by the sequencing of the rice genome is allowing researchers for the first time to discuss how they might work together to completely reconfigure what’s known as the engine of rice production, the plant’s photosynthetic system. “If you think of the rice plant as a car, what we were talking about is really supercharging the engine,” said IRRI crop ecologist John Sheehy, convener of a workshop on “C4 Rice – Supercharging the Rice Engine,” held at the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). “The photosynthetic process is the engine of growth for the rice plant, so, if we can improve that, then the whole plant benefits.” “If we continue with the car analogy, the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, which resulted in high-yielding semidwarf rice varieties, focused on providing a new, more compact body for the rice plant,” Dr. Sheehy added. “But we have never really got under the hood and tried to improve the engine, or the photosynthetic efficiency, of the rice plant. It’s going to be an enormously complex and difficult challenge, but we think that, with all the new knowledge we have about the rice plant, it can be done.” New flood-tolerant rice offers relief for world’s poorest framers
IRRI joins 2006 NSTW in the Philippines IRRI joined the 48th National Science and Technology Week (NSTW) celebration in the Philippines, which focused on the theme "Saving lives, improving lives through science and technology," at the Philippine Trade Training Center, 17-21 July. Estrella F. Alabastro, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) secretary; Avelino J. Cruz, Department of National Defense secretary; and undersecretaries Graciano P. Yumul, Fortunato T. dela Peña, and Maripaz L. Perez officially opened the exhibition, in which 70 government agencies and private industries participated. IRRI’s Visitors and Information Services and the Community Relations Office jointly managed the IRRI exhibit, which focused on integrated pest management, the Rice Knowledge Bank, conserving biodiversity, and postharvest technology. The 2006 NSTW also featured a technology investment forum, a roundtable discussion on science and technological teaching manpower requirements in 2000-10, and regional celebrations. Direct-seeded rice brings smiles to small farmers at Birganj, Nepal Dr. J.K. Ladha, IRRI scientist and a project coordinator of the ADB-IRRI-CIMMYT project on “Enhancing Farmers' Income and Livelihoods Through Integrated Crop and Resource Management in the Rice-Wheat System In South Asia,” visited the project site of Nepal, 23-25 July. He was accompanied by Dr. Ganesh Sah, head, Agricultural Implement Research Centre, Birganj, Nepal; Dr. K.R. Paudyal, agricultural economist, CIMMYT; Dr. A.P. Regmi, ADB Nepal site coordinator, Bhairawa, Nepal; Dr. U.P. Singh, ADB Varanasi site coordinator; and other scientists from IRRI-India. The team visited the on-farm trials on dry direct seeding of rice using a Chinese drill, zero-till drill, and direct wet seeding using a drum seeder and interacted with farmers. A few farmers also tried brown manuring to control weeds. Rice establishment in most trials was excellent and the crop was looking good. Most of the farmers, particularly poor farmers with small landholdings, were very happy with the new technologies because of significantly less cost of cultivation. A major problem in direct-seeded rice, however, was weed infestation, which was sometimes difficult to control even with the application of herbicides. Rat information campaign launched in Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija A rat information campaign was launched on 3 August as a project of Brgy. Sta. Lucia Young Development Council and the local government unit of the municipality of Zaragoza in Nueva Ecija, in partnership with Nueva Ecija’s Office of the Agriculturist, and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). The campaign had a simple, straightforward message: “Boo! Boo! Rat! Palay mo’y ligtas, 24 oras (Your field is safe, 24 hours).” This campaign is one of a number of outreach activities planned for the Philippines in 2006 that are jointly funded by the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC) and PhilRice to showcase new technologies for lowland rice farmers. About 300 guests, students, farmers, guest experts, including rodent ecologist and IRRC coordinator, Dr. Grant Singleton, attended. Information and campaign materials were exhibited, such as posters and photos, a miniature diorama of a community trap barrier system, and samples of rodent management tools such as flame throwers and rat traps. IRRC begins country outreach program in Vietnam PEOPLE Dr. Castillo launches sequel book on rice Philippine National Scientist and IRRI consultant Gelia Castillo launched her book Rice in our life: a review of Philippine studies, at the De La Salle University (DLSU) in Manila. The DLSU Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI) and PhilRice were copublishers of the 182-page book, which is a sequel of Dr. Castillo’s landmark book, All in a grain of rice. DLSU president Brother Armin A. Luistro noted, “The book highlights the remarkable changes in the past three decades in Philippine rice economy and society…Rice is our shining example that the passion and skills of our scientists, the improved facilities of our research institutions, the collaboration with international research centers, and the support of our leaders, can yield substantial benefits to our society.”
IRRI scientists win 2006 PARRFI Award Three IRRI scientists shared the Philippine Agriculture and Resources Research Foundation, Inc. (PARRFI) R&D Award (research category) under the 2006 Los Baños Science Community Foundation, Inc. (LBSCFI) R&D Award for Agriculture and Forestry (research category). The winning scientific paper, “Rice biofortification as a viable approach towards improved human nutrition,” was coauthored by Angelita M. del Mundo and Angelina dR. Felix, UPLB College of Human Ecology; Glenn B. Gregorio, Dante L. Adorada, and Cristina B. Sison, IRRI; Jere D. Haas, Cornell University; and John L. Beard and Laura E. Murray-Kolb, Pennsylvania State University, USA. A 9-month feeding trial conducted by IRRI scientists among 192 religious sisters showed that the “consumption of biofortified rice, without any other changes in diet, was found efficacious in improving iron stores of women with iron-poor diets. The high-iron rice contributed a 17% increase in total dietary iron consumption, and resulted in a 20% improvement in the iron status of nonanemic women. Greatest improvements were seen among women with lowest baseline iron status and among subjects with the highest intake of the iron-fortified rice.” Dr. Willy Padolina assumes PJS editorship William G. Padolina, IRRI deputy director general for operations and support services, is the new editor-in-chief of the prestigious Philippine Journal of Science (PJS). The PJS is a technical journal on natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, and social sciences accredited by the Institute for Scientific Information. It is managed by the Science and Technology Information Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). Now in its centennial year of publication, the PJS first came out in 1906, but ceased publication during World War II (1942-46). Katherine Sierra was nominated as the new chair of CGIAR. She was named as World Bank vice president for sustainable development in July 2006. This new vice presidency brings together people and programs previously centered in two other network vice presidencies: Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development, and Infrastructure, which Ms. Sierra had led since October 2004. In her new capacity, she has overall responsibility for the Bank’s work in environment and natural resource management, social development and science and technology policy, as well as for agriculture and rural development, transport, water, energy, and urban policies and strategies. K.L. Heong appointed adjunct professor to a university in Fujian, China Dr. K.L. Heong was appointed as adjunct professor of the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU) on 13 August. The appointment certificate was presented to him in Wuyi Shan, where he presented the keynote address to the International Symposium “Biodiversity Manipulation for Ecologically Based Pest Management," sponsored by the Chinese Entomological Society and FAFU. Wuyi Shan or Wuyi Mountains is a conservation reserve and a UNESCO Heritage site. Dr. Heong presented a paper entitled “Ecosystem services, biodiversity, and pest management,” which he coauthored with IRRI Deputy Director for Research Dr. Ren Wang.
IRRI VISITORS His Excellency Abdalla Yahia Adam, secretary general of the Afro-Asian Rural Development Organization based in New Delhi, India, visited the Institute on 24 July. The organization is the forum for African and Asian countries to jointly discuss their problems and exchange ideas, views, inputs, and experiences in various aspects of rural development and agriculture. H.E. Adam was in the country (21-27 July) to introduce himself and to hold discussions on matters of mutual interest with other Philippine institutions. His Excellency Irzan Tandjung, ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia, visited IRRI on 26 July to get an overview of the Institute’s activities and personally witness how IRRI plays a major role in lifting rice productivity throughout the world, particularly in Asia. On 1 August, Mr. Dhak Tsering, deputy chief of the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement, visited IRRI to get an overview of the Institute’s research and development activities. Dr. Muhammad Ehsan Khan, project economist of the Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank (ADB), visited IRRI on 4 August to evaluate the progress of CURE’s ADB projects from 2004 up to present and to plan for the remaining duration of the project. Dr. John Dixon, director, CIMMYT Social Sciences Division, visited IRRI on 9 August to discuss about the IRRI-CIMMYT Cereal Systems Knowledge Portal and Socio-Economics. To conduct interviews with IRRI scientists, Ms. Michelle Rowland of the BBC World Service was at the Institute on 11 August. Dr. R.K Mittal, principal scientist for Technical Coordination at the Indian Council for Agricultural Research, visited IRRI on 31 August to get an overview of the Institute’s activities. Mr. Harry Stine, CEO and owner of the Stine Seed Company, visited IRRI on 22 August. IRRI, through IRRI scientist Philip Herve, has been in contact with the Stine Seed Company and, together with IRRI scientist Dr. Barry, are currently working on a technology transfer agreement with them in order to access a gene delivery apparatus. On 3 September, Dr. Achmad Suryana, director general of the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development, went to IRRI for a signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between IRRI and Indonesia and for general discussions on IRRI’s recent research agenda, including updates on IRRI-Indonesia collaboration. He also visited the research laboratories. The YFP complements all existing DA programs for young farmers, such as the Support to Young Filipino Farmer Project of the National Agricultural and Fishery Council and the SIKAP (Strive) Young Farmers Program of the DA-Agricultural Training Institute. ADB Developing Member Country Officials visited IRRI on 16 September to learn more about the Institute’s recent research agenda and have brief tour of the facilities His Excellency Peter Beckingham, ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Philippines, and Mr. Paul Speller, head of South East Asia and Pacific Group, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, London, visited IRRI on 26 September to get a general overview of the Institute and its recent research agenda. EVENTS, TRAININGS, AND WORKSHOPS Scientific writing and presentation skills workshop held in Myanmar Twenty-five participants from the Myanma Agriculture Service (MAS) and Yezin Agricultural University (YAU) in Myanmar attended the Scientific Writing and Presentation Skills Workshop at the Central Agriculture Research and Training Centre (CARTC) at Hlegu, Myanmar, 26 June-1 July. During the workshop, the participants analyzed a particular audience and identified the factors relevant to communication, wrote simple and effective descriptions of science for nonscientific audiences, practiced writing their science stories in a clear and simple way, and prepared and delivered an effective presentation on a science topic. Topics included knowledge pathways, audience analysis, writing for nonscientists, writing fact sheets to present your science, presenting your science, preparing visual aids, and more presentation tips. Ms. Achu Arboleda from IRRI Training was the workshop coordinator and resource person. David Shires, also from IRRI Training, served as a resource person.
PHIVOLCS director holds seminar on earthquakes and disaster preparedness Dr. Renato U. Solidum, Jr., director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS), conducted two 2-hour seminars on earthquakes and disaster preparedness at the Havener Auditorium, Chandler Hall, IRRI on 12 July. Organized by the Society of IRRI Nonresearch Professionals (SINOP), in cooperation with Human Resource Services – Employee Relations and Safety and Security Services, the seminar aimed to educate and inform IRRI staff members about safety procedures during an earthquake, including scientific explanations for earthquakes and their effects. Workshop on SSNM for maize in the Philippines held at UPLB and IRRI A review and planning workshop on "Site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) for maize in the Philippines" was held at UPLB and IRRI, 25-27 July. The workshop aimed to evaluate the agronomic and economic performance of crop and nutrient management strategies tested at project sites during 2005-06, develop an SSNM approach for maize in the Philippines based on results from 2005 and 2006, and develop crop and nutrient management recommendations and participatory approaches for delivery at key locations in 2007 and beyond. The project is a joint collaboration among UPLB, the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR), and the Southeast Asia Program (SEAP) of the Potash & Phosphate Institute/Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada and International Potash Institute (PPI/PPIC and IPI). The workshop was capped with group reports on linkages between stakeholders in the development and delivery of SSNM, participatory approaches for the delivery of SSNM recommendations, and documentation and development of promotional materials for SSNM. Workshop on agricultural research evaluation focuses on impact assessment skills Dr. Deborah Templeton, scientist in the IRRI Social Sciences Division (SSD), with the assistance of her staff, convened a 2-week workshop on “Concepts and tools for agricultural research evaluation and impact assessment,” 24 July-4 August, at IRRI. The workshop aimed to provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to undertake ex ante and ex post economic impact assessments of agricultural R&D and to become proficient in the use of an impact assessment software package called DREAM (Dynamic Research EvaluAtion for Managers). Priority setting and within-project evaluation were also covered, highlighting the importance of orienting and designing impact-focused research proposals, and planning for monitoring and evaluation activities from the start of the project. The requirements for clarity, transparency, and credible evidence in ex ante and ex post impact assessment were covered. Finally, sustainability and environmental indicators, and social and poverty issues were presented. IRRI conducts participatory research and extension training workshop To enhance participants’ knowledge and skills in the effective application of participatory research and extension (PR&E) for accelerating the adoption of appropriate and improved rice and rice-based technologies, IRRI conducted a training workshop on “Application of participatory approaches to agricultural research and extension,” 7-18 August at the IRRI Training Center. Twenty-six participants from national agricultural research, training, and extension institutions, universities, and collaborating NGOs from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam attended the course. The participants were supported by different funding agencies such as the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the Asian Development Bank-Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (ADB-CURE), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF), Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC), and IRRI. Training workshop on rice technology transfer in Asia held in Korea Sixteen agricultural extension and research officers in Asia met at the International Training Cooperation Center of the Rural Development Administration (RDA) in Suwon, South Korea, 20 August-3 September, to participate in the 5th offering of the Training workshop on rice technology transfer systems in Asia. On behalf of IRRI, Dr. K.K. Jena, senior scientist and IRRI’s representative to Korea, welcomed the delegates to the training workshop, which is jointly offered by IRRI and RDA. In his welcome speech, Dr. Jena said that IRRI and RDA both recognized the importance of the course to foster close international cooperation in rice technology transfer among the countries in Asia. In fact, IRRI and RDA have embraced more than 4 decades of partnership and organized many successful events. The course also coincides with the RDA’s celebration of Korea’s 100th year of modern agriculture. Participants in the training workshop are from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
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• October-December 2007 • July-September 2007 • April-June 2007 • January-March 2007 • October-December 2006 • July-September 2006 • April-June 2006 • March 2006 • December 2005 • September 2005 • June 2005 • December 2004 • June 2004 • April 2004 • December 2003 • October 2003 • June 2003 • March 2003 • December 2000 • September 2000 • June 2000 • April 2000 • December 1999 |
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