Lao PDR - the "crown jewel" in rice biodiversity project

By Gene Hettel
International Rice Research Institute

VANG HOUA VILLAGE, LAO PDR—Bent beneath the sweltering November sun, a lowland farming couple was hurrying to complete their rice harvest near this rural village of Vientiane Province (see photo). Suddenly, they were hailed by a group of four strangers who approached with collection bags and notepads. A scene that had occurred thousands of times over the last 5 years in 23 countries worldwide was about to play out again in this rice field of the Vanh family.

One of the group was Ms. Khamsene Phimmavong (2nd from left in 2nd photo), an agronomist with the nearby Pakchaeng agricultural station. She gestered to the freshly cut rice. "We would like to obtain some seed samples of the rice variety you are harvesting and some information about it," she explained in the local Lao dialect. Another in the group was Ms. Chay Bounphanousay (2nd from right in 2nd photo), the coordinator of her country’s newly established germplasm unit. She added that, by cooperating, the Vanhs would be contributing to the successful future of Lao agriculture.

An animated conversation followed during which the collectors took about 60 panicles (around 125 grams) of the glutinous variety, called Nambak (named for the district in Luang Prabang where it originated). "I am not very happy with this variety’s yield," Ms. Vanh said with a frown, "I won’t be growing it next year." (See Box 1 about the plethora of variety names in Lao PDR). Mr. Bounmy Sengthong (at right in 2nd photo), a technical assistant, meticulously entered all the information about the variety on a standardized form. 

This field visit was part of a campaign that started in 1995 with a challenging project, Safeguarding and Preservation of the Biodiversity of the Rice Gene Pool. Costing some US$3.2 million, the effort  has been administered by IRRI's Genetic Resources Center (GRC) and supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

Race against time
In a race against time, one of the project’s major aims has been to preserve traditional rice varieties and wild species before they disappear forever. Dr. Seepana Appa Rao (in photo with Ms. Chay), a GRC scientist assigned to the project as resident germplasm collector in Lao PDR, was the fourth member of the team that day. He explained that the GRC's role, has been to coordinate the collecting and training efforts in partnership with 23 national agricultural research systems or NARS (11 countries each in Asia and Africa and 1 in Latin America; see Box 2) that asked to participate back in 1994.

Over the last 5 plus years, Dr. Appa Rao has been a team member of numerous Lao-led collection expeditions that crisscrossed the 16 provinces, special zone, and Vientiane prefecture of Lao PDR. The country is considered the "crown jewel" of the project in terms of accomplishment and impact (see Box 3). Well over half of the 26,000 samples rescued from oblivion across three continents came from the rice fields of Lao farmers (see Box 2).

According to Dr. Christina Grieder, an agrobiodiversity specialist with the SDC, Lao PDR’s diversity in rice is of tremendous value, both culturally and for breeders in their efforts to find new varieties to combat hunger with new genetic material. Even varieties of limited usefulness to farmers, such as watching dog, (see Box 1) may have important traits (tolerance to drought and unfavorable soils and resistance to pests and diseases). "These varieties will be of great benefit to future generations of farmers," she says.

According to Dr. Hadsadong, director of the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC), Dr. Appa Rao arrived at just the right time in 1995 to help save the country’s precious rice varieties--just before the large-scale adoption of the modern varieties began. "If the project were starting only now," he says, "it would have been too late." 

Lao PDR lies within the primary center of diversity and domestication of Asian rice (Oryza sativa). Archaeological evidence of the earliest domesticated rice cultivation commenced in the region about 4,000 BC, which is generally believed to have been based on glutinous rice genotypes. Since not much germplasm collection had been done previously--unlike in Thailand and Vietnam--and since there was a great need for training in the art of collection among Lao extension officers, IRRI and SDC officials decided to place the only resident collector in the project in the tiny country.

According to Dr. Appa Rao, three elements came together to make collection in Lao PDR a tremendous success: 1) it was still a "collectors' paradise" since most farmers continue to plant traditional/local varieties, 2) there was an intense "will" on the part of the collectors, and 3) the host government placed no restrictions on the collectors’ movements. "I had complete freedom to do my job with my Lao counterparts," he says.

Soon, Dr. Hadsadong would like to move on to collecting and storing other important Lao crops such as maize and beans before modern varieties of those crops shove out the use of the traditional ones. "This is a possible next step on the country’s biodiversity agenda," says Dr. Appa Rao. Although IRRI trained about 150 extension officers in the districts to collect rice, they, in general, learned the value of all crop germplasm and how to work with it. They can now apply their expertise in rice to collecting and storing maize and other local crops. This is certainly a major spin-off of the biodiversity project.

"Our support of long-term projects like Safeguarding and Preservation of the Biodiversity of the Rice Gene Pool shows that we are committed to preserving the tremendous diversity of rice and to slowing the process of genetic erosion and the decline of agrobiodiversity," says Dr. Urs Herren (at right in photo with Dr. John Schiller), Hanoi-based assistant regional coordinator for SDC. Addressing the issue in three dimensions as outlined in the Convention on Biological Diversity, SDC is interested in diversity in agro-ecosystems (watersheds, cropping systems, pastures), among species, and within species (e.g., rice). "Many factors that contribute to the reduction or enhancement of biodiversity in these areas are directly linked to agricultural policies and practices," says Dr. Herren.

Lao PDR’s vision and generosity
Dr. Siene Saphangthong, Lao Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and a member of IRRI’s Board of Trustees, believes the richness of the country’s rice genetic resources should be considered a national heritage developed by its farmers. "Through the collection and storage of these resources in our new genebank," he says, "Lao PDR, even though a small country, will be a significant contributor to the development of new rice varieties (particularly glutinous rice) and additional food production not only for ourselves, but for the world."

Dr. John Schiller, team leader of the 9-year-old and immensely successful Lao-IRRI Project, gives credit to Dr. Saphangthong and other agriculture policymakers in the government for understanding and promoting the conservation of crop biodiversity--even during a time in the early 1990s when food security was the main issue (the country was experiencing a food deficit then). "Back in 1994, they accepted the challenge without reservations," he says, "and we are where we are today--more than 13,000 samples collected and stored for the present and future--because of their vision." The SDC’s Dr. Grieder cites the generosity of the Lao government in supporting the collectors and providing IRRI with samples of each accession of this world heritage--especially considering the current trend of nationalizing genetic resources.

Incredible bargain
Approximately 24,000 samples of cultivated rice and around 2,200 samples of wild Oryza species (a final count that will include what was collected in 1999 is still underway) were collected across the 23 countries. Dividing the SDC funds spent directly in the germplasm collection effort (on-farm conservation, national staff training, and genebank facility development were additional project goals) by the number of samples, the per-sample cost came to well under $20. "That is quite inexpensive for something so irreplaceable," says Dr. Michael Jackson, GRC head throughout the project and currently director of program planning and coordination at IRRI, "even considering that there are duplications, to various degrees, in the country collections. Amortizing that cost over the next 100 years, the incredible bargain and what will be an astronomical return on the investment, in terms of variety improvement, become readily apparent."

In Lao PDR, where SDC funds also helped to establish a small medium-term rice genebank at NARC headquarters near Vientiane (at right in photo), most of a typical 125-gram sample stays right in the country. For example, 80 grams of Nambak collected from the Vanh family in Vang Vieng District will go into medium-term aluminum foil containers housed in the NARC genebank, 5 grams will go into an ever-growing NARC seed file, and 20 grams will be planted out in an upland evaluation site." Only 20 grams will be sent as a duplicate back-up accession in the long-term storage facility of the International Rice Genebank at IRRI.

Collected materials already in breeding program
Collecting and preserving existing traditional varieties will be very important to improvement under Lao conditions. "These materials are already in the improvement program," says Ms. Chay. For example, the traditional varieties Khao Kondam, collected in 1995 from Kasi District in Vientiane Province, and Khao Vieng from Xieng Ngeun District of Luang Prabang Province were selected for on-farm testing in other parts of the country in 1999. "More collected materials will soon be appearing in improved Lao varieties," she adds. "In 1998, we gave 160 samples of nonglutinous rice to the NARC Rice Improvement Unit for observation and study, some of which were subsequently added to the crossing block."

Breeders in the Improvement Unit are also looking at 300 samples of the aromatic glutinous varieties. "We see their possible use in the development of high quality varieties for export that will bring in desperately needed foreign exchange," says Dr. Hadsadong.

In most of the other countries, the collections from targeted areas were completed as planned (see Box 4 for some comments on project impact in other countries). The African countries, except for Madagascar and Mozambique, concentrated on wild species, so the number of samples collected there was generally lower. A few areas in some countries remained uncollected due to security reasons. However, "mop up" operations in these problem areas were completed during the third quarter of 1999.

In conclusion, the benefits of the project to the NARS certainly go beyond conservation of rice genetic resources. "This effort has invigorated their conservation programs, provided a spillover to other crops, increased awareness on the threat of genetic erosion on plant genetic resources, and the need to conserve as a whole," says Dr. Jackson. Training of extension workers and research staff proved an effective and efficient strategy in collecting and preserving crop germplasm. It has enhanced their skills and broadened the perspective of their PGR workers in the conservation of plant genetic resources.
 

back to top