Rice Today Vol. 12, No. 2

7/28/2019 Rice Today Vol. 12, No. 2

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www.irri.org

International Rice Research Institute April-June 2013, Vol. 12, No. 2

Giving women a voice

Rice diplomacy in South Asia

Uganda: blazing a trail o success

Politics and monsoon afect the rice market

The birds of IRRI

ISSN 1655-5422


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2 Rice TodayApril-June 20132


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contents Vol. 12, No. 2

EDITORIA L ................................................................ 4

NEWS ......................................................................... 5

RICE TODAY AROUND THE WORLD ........................ 9

WHATS COOKING? ................................................ 10Masaladosa:AtraditionalsouthernIndiandish

A SECOND LIFE FOR RICE HUSK ........................... 12

Awasteby-productoarminghasbecomeagoldmineonewproducts

THE PIPELINE GROWS STRONGER ....................... 14IRRIoverhaulsitsbreedingagenda

UGANDA: BLAZING A TRAIL TO RICE SUCCESS .. 16FoodsecurityinUgandaimprovedbecauseoitsgrowingriceproduction

GHANA CELEBRATES RICE .................................... 18Ghanashowstheimportanceoitsgrowingricesector

A HUMAN-EYE VIEW OF BIRD S ............................. 20

DONT SCA RE AWAY THE BIRDS! .......................... 24Notallbirdsareenemiesoricearmers

GIVING WOMEN A VOICE ...................................... 27PromotinggenderequalityandempoweringwomenarmersinSouthAsia

WOMEN IN M OTION ............................................... 30

MAPS ....................................................................... 32Thewhenandwhereorice

RICE FABLES............................................................ 34Themonkwhoatenorice

RICE DIPLOMACY IN SOUTH ASIA ........................ 36Ricescienceisbuildingbridgesacrosspoliticalborders

A SHOCK WAVE FROM GLOBAL CEREAL PRICESPIKES? ............................................................... 38

Globalpricehikesoastapleoodcanaectpricesinthelocalmarket

RICE FACTS .............................................................. 40Bothpoliticsandmonsoonscanaectthericemarket

GRAIN OF TRUTH ................................................... 42Thericesectorneedsasurvivalstrategy

3Rice TodayApril-June 2013

publisherSophie Clayton

managingeditorLanie Reyes

associateeditorAlaric Francis Santiaguel

AsiaeditorGene Hettel

AricaeditorSavitri MohapatraLatinAmericaeditorNathan Russell

copyeditorBill Hardy

artdirectorJuan Lazaro IV

designerandproductionsupervisorGrant Leceta

photoeditorsChris Quintana, Isagani Serrano

circulationAntonette Abigail Caballero, Lourdes Columbres, Cynthia Quintos

WebmasterJerry Lavia

printerCGK formaprint

Rice Today is published by the International Rice Research Institute(IRRI) on behal o the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP).IRRI is the worlds leading international rice research and training

center.Basedin thePhilippinesandwith oceslocated inmajorrice-growingcountries,IRRIisanautonomous,nonproftinstitutionocusedonimprovingthewell-beingopresentanduturegenerationsoricearmersand consumers, particularly thosewith low incomes, whilepreservingnatural resources. It is one o the 15 nonproft international researchcentersthataremembersotheCGIARconsortium(www.cgiar.org).

Responsibility or this publication rests with IRRI. Designations usedin this publication should not be construed as expressing IRRI policy oropinion on the legal status o any country, territory, city, or area, or itsauthorities, or the delimitation o its rontiers or boundaries.

Rice Todaywelcomes comments and suggestions rom readers. RiceToday assumes no responsibility or loss o or damage to unsolicitedsubmissions, which should be accompanied by sucient return postage.

The opinions expressed by columnists in Rice Todaydo not necessarily

refect the views o IRRI or GRiSP.

InternationalRiceResearchInstitute2013

Thismagazine iscopyrightedby theInternationalR iceResearch Institute(IRRI) andis licensedor useunder aCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike3.0License(Unported).Unlessotherwisenoted,usersarereetocopy,duplicate,orreproduce,anddistribute,display,ortransmitanyothearticlesorportionsothearticles,andtomaketranslations,adaptations,orotherderivativeworksunderspecifcconditions.Toviewtheulltextothislicense,visithttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/.

International Rice Research InstituteDAPOBox7777,MetroManila,PhilippinesWeb:www.irri.org/ricetoday

Rice Todayeditorialtelephone:(+63-2)580-5600or(+63-2)844-3351to53,ext2725;ax:(+63-2)580-5699or(+63-2)845-0606;email:[email protected],[email protected]

Rice TodayEditorial Board

Bas Bouman,GRiSP

Mary Jacqueline Dionora,IRRI

Achim Dobermann,IRRI

Osamu Koyama,JapanInternationalResearchCenterorAgriculturalSciences

Erna Maria Lokollo,IndonesianAgencyorAgriculturalResearchandDev.

Pradeep Kumar Sharma,CSKHimachalPradeshAgriculturalUniversity

Marco Wopereis,AricaRiceCenter

Gonzalo Zorrilla,LatinAmericanFundorIrrigatedRice

About the covers.Forthisissue,wecouldnotcomeupwithjustonecovershotsincethereweresomanywonderulchoices.So,orthefrsttime, Rice Todayeatures

ourcoversorasingleissuetoleadintoourcoverageotheBirdsoIRRI,beginningonpage20,whichalsodisplaysourfrst-everoldoutcenterold.

SegfredoSerrano

Eurasian tree sparrow Black-winged stilt

Chestnut munia Intermediate egret

SegfredoSerrano


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This issue ofRice Today is for the birds! For therst time, the magazine sports four dierentcovers, each featuring some of the bird

species found in and around the InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI) headquarters inthe Philippines. (We feature even more of ourfeathered friends in the magazines special foldoutcenterfold.) Its all part of Feathers in the elds: Thebirds of IRRI, a photo exhibit that will run from May

through September (seeA human-eye view of birds).So, what do birds have to do with growing

rice? Birds may have nothing to do with varietaldevelopment, but their presence is a clearindication of how rice is being grown at IRRI.Since the 1990s, its integrated pest managementprogram has helped dramatically reduce theInstitutes use of pesticides by 96%, resulting ina healthier rice ecosystem in its experimentalelds. Actually, birds have something to dowith growing rice. Some do help farmers controlpests (see Don't scare away the birds!)proof thatagriculture and nature can co-exist in a mutuallybenecial manner.

Speaking of peaceful co-existence, IRRIconducts collaborative work and nds ways toshare rice germplasm eciently among partnercountries. But, there is more to it than meets theeye. By serendipity, its rice science is building adiplomatic bridge across the political borders ofBangladesh and India (see Rice diplomacy in SouthAsia).

Success stories are also happening in Africa.

Read how Uganda managed to decrease itsimports and improve its food security (see Uganda:blazing a trail to rice success). Ghana, on the otherhand, shows the importance of growing ricethrough its First National Rice Festival (see Ghanacelebrates rice).

A Chinese proverb says women hold up half ofthe sky. They also play a major role in agriculture,particularly in South Asia. Rice Today celebratesand acknowledges the contribution of womenfarmers who play a critical role in improving rice

production and global food security (see Womenin motion). We also have a feature on KamalaGurung, a young gender specialist, who makesit her mission to promote gender equality andempower women farmers in South Asia (seeGiving women a voice).

Dr. David Dawe, an FAO senior economist,provides an analysis on how a global rice crisis,such as that of 2007-08, could aect domestic

markets (seeA shock wave from global cereal pricespikes?). Dr. Samarendu Mohanty, IRRI senioreconomist, on the other hand, analyzes thepolitical context and how monsoons can aect therice market in Asia (see Rice facts).

This issue's map, The when and where of rice,shares a global perspective on when rice is plantedand harvested, and where production occurs. Thisinformation is important to beer assess foodsecurity, and seasonal and geographic locations ofthe rice supply.

And, to beer serve rice farmers andconsumers, and to be more ecient withresources, IRRI is overhauling its rice breedingagenda to make it more demand driven. Readhow IRRI plans to undertake this change (see Thepipeline grows stronger).

On the cultural aspects of rice, check out alighthearted Japanese fable and discover a monkssecret in The monk who ate no rice.

Finally, various industries have transformedrice husk from an unwanted farm waste into arecycled natural resource. This rice by-product

is being used to provide electricity to small andremote villages in India and is ending up backon the dining table as the material used to makewood-free chopsticksconsequently saving trees(see A second life for rice husk).

Enjoy!

Lanie C. ReyesRice Today managing editor


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News

The average rice yield in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) expanded

by about 30% from 2007 to2012, and it is increasing faster thanthe global average according to ananalysis by the Africa Rice Center(AfricaRice).

From 1961 to 2007, the average riceyield in SSA increased by about 11 kgper hectare per year. And, it rose bya spectacular average of 108 kg perhectare per year from 2007 to 2012,despite drought and oods in several

African countries in 2011 and 2012.AfricaRice revealed that thepaddy rice production growth rate inSSA shot up from 3.2% per year from2000 to 2007 to 8.4% per year from2007 to 2012.

This is very encouraging news,said AfricaRice Director GeneralPapa Seck. The surge in SSAs riceproduction and yield is a result ofkey investments made by farmers,governments, the private sector, theresearch community, and donors to

develop Africas rice sector.Dr. Seck underlined that it

is crucial to maintain this trend,because rice consumption in SSAcontinues to increase at 5% annually.

AfricaRice Deputy DirectorGeneral Marco Wopereis explainedthat such growth rates are compa-rable with cereal yield growth ratesafter World War II in the UnitedKingdom and the U.S.

Currently, 71% of the increasein paddy rice production in SSA can

be explained by yield increases and29% by area expansion, whereas,

before the rice crisis, only 24% ofthe production increase could beaributed to increases in yield and

Household wealth strongly aectsfarmers' decisions on whetherto use improved rice varieties

(IRVs), according to a study of ricefarmers in Nigeria.

"Wealthier households are morelikely to adopt IRVs than their poorercounterparts," said Aliou Diagne,AfricaRice economist. "The richestrice farmers have beer access to re-

Average rice yield in sub-Saharan Africajumps 30%

76% to increases in harvested area,Dr. Wopereis said.

This is evidence of increaseduse of technological innovation, suchas improved varieties and improvedcrop management in general, headded.

Rice yield worldwidedriven

by the Green Revolution in Asiaincreased by 52 kg per ha per yearfrom 1960 to 2010.

Source: http://africarice.wordpress.com

Nigeria: Rich farmers more likely toadopt improved rice varieties

sources and may be more able to takerisks. Similarly, expensive technolo-gies are available only toand thusadopted bythe richest farmers."

The adoption of IRVs has hada signicant positive impact onhousehold income and on Nigerianrice production, Dr. Diagne said.

But, he added that boostingthe adoption of IRVs by farmers,

regardless of wealth, will requireimproving their awareness of IRVbenets; disseminating IRVs morewidely; investing in farmer educationprograms; facilitating farmeraccess to credit, seeds, and farmerorganizations; and oering thembeer supervision by extension agents

Source: www.scidev.net


r.raman,africar

ice

LocaL rice mk M, Ml.


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Farm mechanization is neededin India due to the shortage offarm laborers and declining

interest of young people in

agriculture, according to J.K. Ladha,principal scientist and InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI)representative in India.

"The agricultural sector inIndia is facing an acute shortageof laborers, and mechanization offarming practices can denitelyhelp overcome the crisis, Dr. Ladhastated. Farmers, by adopting cheapand innovative technologies, canenhance the productivity of rice andother crops easily."

Rice is a staple in Saudi Arabia, withan annual per capita consumptionof around 42 kilograms. But, thecountry relies completely on riceimports of 1.14 million tons per yearto meet its domestic need.

While U.S. long-grain rice is wellknown in Saudi Arabia, consumerspreference has shifted to basmativarieties in recent years, with Indianrice exports beneting the most,according to the USDA. In 2012-13,

Farm mechanization, a must in India

Basmati gains popularity inSaudi Arabia

He also said that equipmentsuch as laser levelers (photo) forleveling land, rice transplanters,

many new exchange and trainingprograms to aract youth to doresearch in agriculture." Moreover,IRRI scientists and agriculturalengineers are working on light and

low-cost power tools and machinerythat will help improve eldoperations.

Source: http://articles.timesofndia.

indiatimes.com

Saudi Arabia is expected to importaround 1.2 million tons. And, in2013-14, its imports are estimated toincrease by 3%.

Source: http://oryza.com

drills for direct seeding of rice,and combine harvesters can helpincrease productivity and increaseprotability. He said IRRI has also

been trying to generate interest

among young people to take upfarming."Like agricultural laborers, there

is also a shortage of agriculturalscientists in the country, explainedDr. Ladha. We have therefore started


The agricultural sector in

India is acing an acute

shortage o laborers, and

mechanization o arming

practices can defnitely

help overcome the crisis

equipMent such l lvl l dvy id.

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Philippine President Benigno S.Aquino III visited the InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI) on 14

February 2013 to celebrate the NationalYear of Rice and to get a personalupdate on progress of the agreement

between IRRI and the PhilippineDepartment of Agriculture (DA).The agreement aims to support thedelivery of research and extensionservices of the Food Staples SuciencyProgram.

With the support of thePresident and Agriculture SecretaryProceso Alcala, the Philippinegovernment is providing IRRI with

unprecedented nancial support toensure research and developmentoutcomes help rice farmers, saidDr. Achim Dobermann, IRRI deputydirector general for research.

Dr. Dobermann also reportedthat 101 IRRI-bred varieties have

The second gathering of the IRRI

young scientists will be heldalong with the Global Rice SciencePartnership (GRiSP) Asia Forum on14-18 October 2013 at the InternationaRice Research Institute (IRRI)headquarters in the Philippines.

This year, GRiSP will feature aforum for young scientists to interactand share scientic insights with topscientists from around the world ontopics related to GRiSPs researchthemes. It will be a good opportunityfor young scientists to become

familiar with ongoing research invarious institutes across Asia underGRiSP.

The event is being organized bythe Association of Fellows, Scholars,Trainees, and Residents of IRRI andGRiSP.

The Green Super Rice (GSR) projectformally launched its second phasein a meeting on 12-14 March 2013 inHainan, China.

Dr. David Bergvinson ofthe Bill& Melinda Gates Foundation cited theprojects expanding partnerships and

Rice research in spotlight as PhilippinePresident visits IRRI

GRiSP to hostyoung scientists inAsia forum

China: Green Super Rice project launches second phase

stated the main goal of the meeting,which was to develop a sound seedroad map for each country covered.This project aims to benet 500,000resource-poor farmers from China,other parts of Asia, and Africa.

The meeting brought together

project stakeholders (photo) ontoa common platform to draft acomprehensive work plan for Phase IIthat will realign resources, determineapproaches for capacity building, andlay out strategic seed road maps forAsia and Africa.

been released in the Philippines.These varieties are suited to irrigated,rainfed, upland, low-temperature,and saline environments.

A recent impact assessmentstudy showed that Filipino farmershave gained an additional Php2,300(US$52) per hectare from using

improved IRRI-bred rice varieties,he added.

The President also touredthe International Rice Genebank thatconserves more than 117,000 dierenttypes of rice, including nearly 10,000from the Philippines.

PNoy pic


chrisquintana

caas


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Books

Rice Pests of Bangladesh: Their Ecology and Management

By Zahirul Islam and David Catling

Published by The University Press Limited, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

420 pages.

This book is a modern,

ecological approach to the

management o pests that attack

rice in Bangladesh that embodies

the principles o integrated pest

management (IPM).

It brings a rereshing

approach to the management

o rice pests. It is user-riendly,

careully laid out, easy to read,

and prousely illustrated to

show the various lie stages

o the main pests. It is a single

source or all rice pests: insects,

vertebrates, diseases, and weeds;

it encompasses the ndings

o considerable research eorts over the last 34 decades. It gives a

resh look at yield losses caused by insects and diseases, and critically

analyzes ways and means o implementing IPM programs.

The authors have a thorough knowledge o the pest situation

ater working on and investigating rice and pest management or

more than 30 years in Bangladesh, eastern India, and Southeast Asia.

Although written primarily or Bangladesh, the book is also relevant to

the neighboring states o West Bengal, Assam, and Odisha in India. It

is, in act, a must or students, teachers, researchers, extension ofcers,

and agricultural development workers in the region.n

For more information on how to order the book, visit www.uplbooks.com.

bd/book/rice-pests-bangladesh-their-ecology-and-management

EIRLSBN: Twenty years of achievements in rice breedingEdited by B.C.Y. Collard, A.M. Ismail, and B. Hardy

Published by the International Rice Research Institute. 144 pages.

This book provides a comprehensive

overview and historical perspectives

on the Eastern India Rained Lowland

Shuttle Breeding Network (EIRLSBN).

It richly describes how the Network

contributed to overcoming theproblems in eastern Indias rice

production.

Eastern India is an area with

a largely agrarian society and high

poverty incidence. Rice is the

dominant crop, but yields are low.

Most o the rice is grown under rained

conditions in which rainall is highly

unpredictable. A combination o

abiotic and biotic stresses occurs in

these areas during all growing seasons. Moreover, armers have limited

access to inputs such as ertilizer and good-quality seed. These are the

challenges that the region has to overcome to increase its rice production

i India and other Asian countries are to achieve ood security.

This book tells the story o how the network made considerable

progress in developing new rice varieties. At least 20 o these varieties

have been released under EIRLSBN. It has been an exemplary model

or synergistic rice breeding partnerships. It demonstrates the benets

o regional and international scientic collaboration or working to

overcome ood insecurity.

In operation (in various orms) or more than 20 years, EIRLSBN has

been a quiet achiever. Thus, this book is an important documentation

o the history and accomplishments o this successul breeding network.

This will be a good source o inormation and lessons or the next

generation o breeders and rice scientists or them to know how the

network has progressed within the context o a rapidly rising population

in India, decreasing land availability or rice production, and expected

adverse efects rom climate change. n

To purchase printed copies of this book and other IRRI titles, contact

[email protected].


http://books.irri.org

TRAINING COURSES AT IRRI

For inquiries, contact [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected]. Phone: (63-2) 580-5600 ext 2538 or +639178639317; fax: (63-2) 580-5699, 891-1292, or845-0606; mailing address: The IRRI Training Center, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines (Attention: TC Course Coordinator); Web site: www.training.irri.org.

Note: Fees and schedules are subject to change without prior notice.

Course title Date Venue Target participants

Rice: Research to Production 20 May-7 June IRRI, Philippines Young scientists (2135 years old)

Phenotyping or Abiotic Stresses 24 June-10 July IRRI, Philippines Scientists and researchers

Season-long Rice Farming Training 17 June-18 October PhilRice and IRRI, Philippines Arican extension agronomists

Basics o Rice Production Course: The Rice Camp 24-25 June IRRI, Philippines Singaporean teaching personnelRice Production Techniques or Arican Technicians 12-30 August IRRI, Philippines Arican technicians

Advanced Indica Rice Transormation Course 2-7 September IRRI, Philippines Tissue culturists, breeders,

physiologists, and agronomists

Molecular Breeding Course 2-13 September IRRI, Philippines Young scientists working on

molecular breeding

Rice Production Techniques or Young Researchers 16 September-4 October IRRI, Philippines Arican junior researchers

Basic Scientifc Writing Workshop 14-18 October IRRI, Philippines Scientists and researchers

Rice: Postproduction to Market Training Course 14-25 October IRRI, Philippines Postproduction specialists


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Whats cooking?asala dosa is atraditional southernIndian dish that hasbecome popular all

over India. The baer for this recipehas rice and black gram beans,making it rich in carbohydrates andprotein. Since it is prepared withminimal oil, this makes it an evenhealthier dish. It can be savored aspart of any meal of the day or asa quick snack. Masala dosa is richin avor and is especially enjoyedwhen served with coconut chutney orsambar, a popular vegetable stew, insouthern India. Its broth is basicallymade with tamarind and pigeon

peas.

Masala dosa

isaganiserrano(

5)

Dosa batterIngredients

1 1/2 cups rice

1/2 cup skinless black gram beans

1/2 teaspoon enugreek seeds (optional)

Salt to taste

Directions

1. Soak in separate containers the rice, black gram beans, and

enugreek seeds overnight.

2. Pour out some o the water rom the soaked rice and grind the

rest into a thick paste. Set aside.

3. Grind the soaked black gram beans and enugreek seeds together.

4. Add the rice paste to the mixture o black gram beans and

enugreek seeds. Add some salt. Mix these ingredients together.

5. Let this mixed batter erment or 67 hours.

6. Then add salt ater ermentation.

by Sunita Jena and Indira Jena

Masala chutneyIngredients

1/2 teaspoon ginger

45 cloves garlic

4 red chilies soaked in warm water or 4 hours

1 teaspoon cumin powder1/4 cup roasted Bengal gram (or roasted peanuts) soaked or 4

hours to make sot

1 tablespoon tomato ketchup (optional)

2 tablespoons lime juice

Salt to taste

Directions

1. Grind ginger, garlic, dry red chili, and a little bit o tomato

ketchup.

2. Make this a medium-thick paste by adding water little by little.

3. Put in the lime juice and add salt to taste.

4. Then add some water and grind all this into a paste.

M


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Watch Sunita and Indira Jena demonstrate how to

prepare this delicious Indian dish in a 10-minute

video on YouTube at http://snipurl.com/masaladosa

Sunita Jena, while still ar behind in her mother's

cooking skills, is slowly starting to learn and

appreciate the art o cooking beore she gets busy

with medical school in the U.S. next year.

Just like Sunita, Mrs. Indira Jena learned

most o her cooking skills rom her mother too.

Moreover, Mrs. Jena satisfes her curiosity about

dishes o other cultures by watching cooking

documentaries on T V and on the Internet

whenever she can. She loves to cook Indian dishes

or her children and husband, Dr. K.K. Jena, IRRI

plant breeder.

Through this recipe, both Sunita and Indira

hope to inspire curiosity in others about Indian

dishes.

Potato stufngIngredients

400 grams (or 2 big) hal-mashed potatoes

(boiled and peeled)

1 medium-sized chopped onion

1/2 cup peas

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon skinless black gram beans

1/2 teaspoon Bengal gram1 1/2 teaspoons grated ginger

2 to 3 green chilies

1 dry red chili

2 stems o curry leaves

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/4 teaspoon red chili powder

1/4 teaspoon dry mango powder (or lime

juice)

2 stems o coriander leaves, chopped

Salt to taste (3/4 teaspoon)

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a pan and put in the

mustard seeds.2. When the seeds crackle, add the black

gram beans and Bengal gram, and

saut on medium heat or about 30

seconds.

3. Add the green chilies, dry red chili, curry

leaves, and chopped onion. Then saut

on medium heat or about 3 minutes

and stir occasionally.

4. Mix in the hal-mashed potatoes, peas,

turmeric powder, and dry mango

powder (or lemon juice), and salt to

taste.

5. Cook on medium heat or about 2

minutes while stirring rom time to time.6. Add the chopped coriander leaves,

and cook on medium heat or about 1

minute.

7. Set aside to cool.

Directions or preparing the dosa1. Once the batter has been ermented,

check its consistencyi too thick, add

some water (make sure the batter is not

too thick or too thin).

2. Heat a nonstick pan and sprinkle a little

water on it (this should make it sizzle

immediately).

3. Then wipe the pan with a cold, damp

cloth (to make the batter spread better

later).

5. Beore the pan gets hot again, quickly

pour 1 ladleull o batter into the pan

and spread it in a circular motion with

the ladle to make a thin dosa.6. Heat the pan a bit more to make the

dosa crispier.

7. Smear 1 teaspoon o oil on the edges o

the dosa.

8. Spread the masala chutney evenly over

the dosa.

9. Then put some o the potato stung on

the dosa.

10. Cook till the dosa turns golden brown.

11. Fold it over and press it lightly using a

spatula to make a at roll.

12. Repeat these steps to nish of the rest

o the batter to make more masala-lled

dosas.

13. Serve with coconut chutney or sambar.


12/39


he rice husk (or hull) is theoutermost layer of the paddygrain that is separated fromthe rice grains during

the milling process. Around 20%of paddy weight is husk and riceproduction in Asia produces about770 million tons of husk annually.

Rice husk was largelyconsidered a waste product that

was often burned or dumpedon landlls, according to MartinGummert, postharvest expert at theInternational Rice Research Institute.

In Vietnam, it used to be a wastesome years ago and was dumped inthe rivers, causing a big problem, butnow it has a value, Mr. Gummertsaid. In fact, in most countries, ricehusk is not waste anymore. Someenterprising companies are turning itinto various products not only for theeco-conscious market place but also

for the industrial sector.In India, a nongovernment

organization uses rice husk tosupply rural villages with cheapand aordable electricity, whilea company in Spain saves theenvironment one chopstick at a time.

Recycled lightIndia, one of the biggest rice producersin the world, not surprisingly, alsoproduces vast amounts of rice husk.Bihar alone is estimated to produce 1.8

billion kilograms of rice husk everyyear. For Gyanesh Pandey, an engineerand native of the state, this was aninexpensive energy source to lightup villages outside Indias industrialpower grid.

Mr. Pandey is the co-founderand CEO of Husk Power Systems(HPS),1 a rural empowerment

enterprise that designs, installs, andoperates mini power plants using a

biomass gasication technology heco-developed. The process burns ricehusk with a controlled amount ofoxygen to produce gas that powers

by Alaric Francis Santiaguel

1 www.huskpowersystems.com

A second life for rice husk

Rice husk, a waste by-product of farming, has become a gold mine of new products

an internal combustion engine thatproduces electricity. The mini powerplants, operated by local villagerstrained by HPS, can generate from 25kW to 100 kW of electricity. Rice huskpower plants, depending on their

Once an wd w mrl, r h ow d fl for grg lry for hohold d dr wll rplm for wood my prod.

irri

T


13/39

size, can light up villages and hamletsof up to 4,000 people.

The electricity is distributeddirectly to subscribing households,farms, and small businesses, withina radius of 1.5 kilometers, on a pay-for-use basis. Consumers prepaya xed monthly fee, ranging from

US$2 to $3, to light two uorescentlamps and one mobile chargingstation, according to HPS. Thisis at least 30% cheaper than thecost of kerosene and diesel andenables savings of up to $50 for eachhousehold every year.

Since 2008, HPS has installedmore than 80 plants in Biharenoughto provide over 200,000 peopleacross 300 villages and hamletswith electricity. By 2014, HPS plansto take its decentralized electricity

generation and distribution modelto more than 6,500 rural areas. HPSestimates that more than 10 millionpeople will benet from the power ofrecycled rice husk.

Back on the tableAnother company is bringing ricehusk back to the dining table, notas food but as the main material forproducing disposable chopsticks.

2 Edahiro J, Futakuchi K. 2006. Giving Disposable Chopsticks a Life Cycle. JFS Newsleer No. 52. Retrieved from www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsleer/pages/027818.html.

3 hp://algantechnology.com .

The use of wooden disposablechopstickswhich are cheap,convenient, and hygienichas atremendous eect on the environment.In China alone, an estimated 45billion pairs are used and thrownaway every year, the equivalent ofalmost 4 million fully grown trees,

according to a report by China Daily.The environmental impact of woodendisposable chopsticks is so serious thatthe Chinese government has imposeda chopstick tax to curb productionand use.

Japan is another majorconsumer of disposable chopsticks.Eliminating disposable chopsticksin the country could prove moredicult because of traditional beliefsthat chopsticks lose their originaldivine power after a single use.2 To

preserve its forests, Japan importsdisposable chopsticks from China,Vietnam, Indonesia, Chile, andRussia, resulting in deforestation inthose countries. Japan, however, stil lhas to deal with the problem of usedchopsticksan estimated 25 billionpairs every year. This is where ricehusk comes in.

Algan Technology,3 a companythat specializes in reusing waste

products and by-products, hasdeveloped a new material thatcontains 90% rice husk and only10% resin. This nontoxic material,called SOLIT RICEIT, can be usedfor manufacturing reusable anddisposable chopsticks without cuingdown a single tree.

SOLIT RICEIT

chopstickshave the feel and appearance ofregular chopsticks so they can beused over and over again as eatingimplements, said Joaqun RodrigoGarca, co-founder and projectmanager of Algan Technology. SOLITRICEIT chopsticks are so eco-friendlythey can also be recycled into newproducts such as boxes, boards,pallets, and others traditionallymade from wood without using anyadditives or water.

The daily use of disposablechopsticks means 200 hectares of treesmainly birch and aspen, have to becut every 24 hours around the world,said Mr. Garca. If Algan Technologyhas its way, chopsticks will no longergrow on trees but come from by-products of rice growing.

Mr. Santiaguel is a writer at IRRI.


Husk-sticks hv h loo d fl ofwood hop b r lly mdprmrly of r h.

algant

echnology


14/39


T

he International Rice

Research Institute (IRRI)is now embarking on anunprecedented overhaul of

its breeding agenda to achieve twothings: increase the adoption of itsimproved varieties and be moreecient with resources.

What steers the wheel?Creating a new rice variety typicallytakes around 10 years, or even more,before it reaches farmers elds.Because many of these breeding

undertakings are still research orsupply driven, what farmers reallyneed and when they need it is animportant factor that often gets lostalong the way.

Public breeding, which iswhat describes IRRIs, is oftensupply driven, yet we hope that ourvarieties get adopted and create animpact, said Eero Nissil, head ofIRRIs Plant Breeding, Genetics, andBiotechnology Division.

Dr. Nissil, along with some

donors and partners, thinks there isa beer way to tap IRRIs breedingexperience and structure.

Improving crops is anincremental process; in other words,each breeding cycle produces newlines that are beer than the previousones, said Dr. Nissil. The geneticgains, compounded over time, have agreat impact on crop productivity, heexplained.

Increasing the genetic gainsof public breeding from 0.50.8% to

2% or highera level that privatebreeding of temperate cereals hasachievedwill result in more than a35% yield dierence over 20 years,he said. We are taking lessons fromprivate breedingwhere the productsare demand driven.

We are not sacricing thevalues of IRRIs previous breedingpipelines, Dr. Nissil added.Well keep on with where wehave been strongand that is our

trait development. It is varietal

development that takes a lot of time,and where improvements can bemade.

On its way to creating ademand-driven agenda, the Institutestarts with these important steps:streamline the breeding andmanagement processes, regionalizebreeding material developmentand trials, make use of cuing-edge technologies, and use marketresearch to guide breeding targetsand priorities.

Efciency nowMany public breeding programsaround the world are often carriedout in small groups; most of themconduct their various breedingactivities on their own. But, the newapproach envisions centralized andcross-cuing processes that willprovide services to all breedingpipelines. This will allow the useof expertise in a single, eective

The pipeline

growsstrongerby Ma. Lizbeth Baroa-Edra

Dr. EEro Niilead IrrI' PlantBeeding, Geneti, andBitenlgy Diviin.

IRRI overhauls its breeding agenda forbeer service to farmers and for more

ecient use of resources

isaganiserrano


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Letting the market talkAnother important aspect in the newbreeding approach is to understandmarket demand.

The rice markets in Asia andEast and Southern Africa have beenevolving, said IRRI scientist AliceLaborte. Food value chains have

been transforming and rice marketsegments have become more diverse.We need to adapt to these changes,and the way to do it is to listen towhat the market needs, and respondaccordingly.

Taking the lessons of the marketto the breeding drawing board is notgoing to be easy because preferencefor rice traits varies by regions. Forinstance, consumers in East Asia suchas Japan and South Korea prefer ricewith short and bold grains, while

those in South Asia such as India andBangladesh prefer long and slendergrains.

Even within a geographiclocation, preferences for certain traitsmay also vary by gender, urban-ruralmarkets, and socioeconomic class,explained Dr. Laborte.

Rigorous surveys will beconducted to determine the traitspreferred by rice farmers, consumers,and other value-chain actors across

the target regions, said Dr. Laborte.

IrrI's NEw beeding tategy i t be deand diven,in i ae' need n te gund ditate iteea agenda. An exaple i ti Filipin ae'pble it fding.

rEsEArchErs PErForm a pedue t deteine tepeene allele gene it a knn untin iptane.

We will look into the geographic anddemographic segmentation of riceenvironments to help identify prioritytraits in target regions.

Change is hereChange has already started at IRRI,

said Dr. Nissil. We introducechanges in our setup and systemevery cropping season, and we moveforward quite fast now.

Dr. Nissil explained that,before the wet season of 2013 starts,the newly restructured breedingpipelines of IRRI will also use amore ecient model by changing thebreeding methodology.

Taking time to reect on itspeoplethe life blood of IRRIsbreeding, Dr. Nissil said: IRRIs

Plant Breeding, Genetics, andBiotechnology Division is world-classand its breeders and sta make it so.They know by heart the magnitudeof the work we do, and so theyunderstand the changes that need tohappen to make their work reach newheights.

Ms. Baroa-Edra is a public relationsspecialist at IRRI.

process. And, it will be cost-eectivebecause it will prevent overlappingand duplication of work. In this way,resources can focus on state-of-the-art facilities that will make the workmore ecient.

The priorities in the streamliningof functions and resources are

delivery and maintenance of ahigh-quality database of breedinginformation, which allows greaterexploitation of plant breeding data,as well as maintaining an unabatedow of genetic traits crossed intoelite germplasm through continuingprebreeding activities.

Going regionalSince the 1960s, IRRI has developedits breeding lines and conductedtrials at its Philippine headquarters.

Undoubtedly, this system hasproduced several mega-varieties thatfarmers worldwide are now planting.However, these breeding activitiesneed to be decentralized to targetmarket regions.

Now, two breeding hubs havebeen established in South Asia andEast and Southern Africa. These hubsserve as breeding pipelines, whichwill help IRRI focus its breedingwork to match regional and local

market needs.

r.panaligan

chris

quintana


16/39

Rice TodayApril-June 2013Rice TodayApril-June 2013

Ugandawidely knownas the pearl of Africafor its exquisite naturalbeauty, diverse ora and

una, and rich mosaic of culturesaracting aention today as a

otential rice basket for easternfrica.

Over the last few years, Ugandas been experiencing a remarkable

ce boom supported by good farmingactices, premium market prices,d favorable policies that havemulated large private investmentthe rice sector.

The growth of Ugandas riceoduction has contributed to greaterod security and a reduction ince imports. For instance, accordingthe Ugandan government, rice

mports dropped between 2005 and08, which helped save the countryout US$30 million in foreignchange earnings.

The area sown to rice nearlyoubled from about 80,000 hectares in02 to about 150,000 hectares i n 2011.milarly, paddy production jumpedom about 120,000 tons in 2002 toore than 220,000 tons in 2011.

The rice industry in the countrys rapidly moved from improveded to production to processingd to the markets over the last fewars, said Robert Anyang, program

cer of Public-Private Partnership

and Market Access at SasakawaGlobal 2000 (SG2000).

This is a feat that several rice-producing countries in sub-SaharanAfrica would like to achieve. Yet, 10years ago, Uganda was barely knownas a rice-producing country in theregion. So, what triggered the ricetransformation?

NERICA flls the voidIn 2000 and 2001, when the priceof maize plunged in the region,Ugandas government and farmerswere desperate for an alternative cropthat could provide food security andincome.

Through the timely assistanceprovided by SG2000 and the NationalAgricultural Research Organization(NARO), short-duration NERICAvarieties developed by the AfricaRice Center (AfricaRice), includingNERICA 1, 4, and 10, were identied

as a suitable replacement for maize.NERICA 4 was released in 2002 andfollowed by NERICA 1 and 10.

In a short time, NERICA 4became so popular that, by 2008, itoccupied almost 70% of the uplandarea under production, said Dr.Jimmy Lamo, a rice breeder at NARO.

The turning pointGilbert Bukenya, the then vicepresident of Uganda, identied

upland rice as a major strategicintervention for food s ecurity andpoverty reduction. Because of Dr.Bukenyas advocacy, President YoweriMuseveni launched the UplandRice Project in 2004. This is widelyacknowledged as t he turning point forthe growth of Ugandas rice sector.

The campaign encouraged severalnongovernment organizations (NGOs)and development partners to joinforces with the Ugandan government.These were the Japan InternationalCooperation Agency, the UnitedNations Development Programme, theFood and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations, Oxfam, and theUnited States Agency for InternationalDevelopment, in addition to SG2000.

The government and thesepartners made major eorts topromote rice and strengthen thecapacity of rice farmers, millers,traders, and extension workers.

The rice scheme also motivatedprivate-sector players such asNASECO Seed Company, Grow MoreSeeds, Pearl Seeds, Victoria Seeds, andFICA Seeds.

The Upland Rice Project isa success story of public-privatepartnership, with each partner playinga role from research to nal productand commercialization, said NicolaiRodeyns, managing director ofNASECO Seed Company. NASECO

Ugandas rice imports decreased and its food security improved because of its

growing rice production

Uganda:blazing a trailto rice successby Savitri Mohapatra

was instrumental in t he productionand dissemination of certied seedof NERICA 4 under the trade nameSuparica 2.

The breakthroughHowever, the real breakthroughfor Ugandas rice sector occurred inthe mid-2000s when the Ugandangovernment lobbied successfullyfor the East African Community toimpose a 75% tari on rice imports(35% for Kenya), according to Mr.Anyang.

As the Ugandan governmentdidnt have the money to supportsubsidies, this was a good way topromote its edgling rice industryand protect farmers from the inux ofcheap imported rice, he commented.

The shift in government policyfurther stimulated rice productionin the country and motivated theprivate sector to invest heavily in thesector. The focus gradually shiftedfrom increasing rice production toimproving postharvest handling,value addition, and marketing.

According to Mr. VenugopalPookat, director of Tilda Uganda Ltd.,one of the leading rice-producingcompanies in the country, locallyproduced rice can replace importedrice, only if it can be price-competitive,branded with consistent quality, andreadily available on the market. TildaUganda Ltd. produces dierent typesof rice to ll dierent market niches.

Similarly, small entrepreneurshave seized the opportunity to add

value by developing niche productssuch as parboiled rice, which is notcommonly available in Uganda.

Market integrationPublic- and private-sector partnersin Ugandas rice sector are awarethat agricultural intensication goeshand in hand with agricultural sectordevelopment and market integrationat all levels.

The activities involved in ricevalue addition have potential to createwealth for all in the value chain,including farmers, transporters,middlemen, millers, t raders, and theeconomy, explained Mr. Philip Idro,former Ugandan ambassador to Chinaand current director of Upland RiceMillers Ltd. (URM).

The URM rice factory in Jinja,in eastern Uganda, is helping ricefarmers to become part of agribusinessnetworks through which they can sellsurplus crops and invest in their farms.For example, rice farmers who bringtheir paddy to the factory for millingnd a ready market as they meet with

rice traders at the same place.As long as farmers have a market,

they always respond positively to thatmarket so production is no longer anissue, explained Ms. Joan Rutaroh,program director of the UgandaDevelopment Trust, a local NGO thatprovides technical assistance andarranges agribusiness loans for smalland medium rice enterprises.

Joyce Lalam Otema, a rice farmerfrom Gulu, agreed. With rice, you

cant go wrong, she observedtime you get a good yield, allis sold in 23 months. You cansell it locally or go to the near

In addition to a large milby Tilda Uganda Ltd., the couhas 15 medium-sized mills an850 small mills with polisherwhiteners.

Lowland rice productionThe boom in Ugandas rice pris also partly due to the resurthe Kibimba Rice Scheme. It cproduces about 20,000 tons ofyear, which is 20% of the totaproduced in the country.

Although rice schemes athey are still small considerinUganda has about 500,000 heof land suitable for seasonal lrice production. According tNational Rice Development SUganda is expected to produto 335,000 tons of rice in 2013500,000 tons in 2018. New lowrice varieties are expected toreleased soon by NARO.

With everything in placincluding the right policy anactors, the support of rice respartners through the new CGGlobal Rice Science Partners(GRiSP), and with the privatewe can achieve this goal in thyears, said Mr. Anyang.

Ms. Mohapatra is the head of Mand Communications at Africa Center.

r.

raman,

africarice(4)


17/39


Acelebration unfolded witha pageantry of traditionaldrums, songs, anddances in Accra, Ghana,

in November 2012. The reason forthe festivity was rice as the countrycelebrated its First National RiceFestival. It showcased a wide rangeof high-quality local rice as well astraditional and innovative rice dishes

by Savitri Mohapatra

Ghana shows the importance of its growing rice sector by celebrating its First

National Rice Festival

Ghana

celebratesrice

Promoting locally pdud sussu f p, w ds u's w.

Rice TodayApril-June 201318

prepared at the event by the bestchefs in Accra.

Reecting the growingimportance of the rice sector in Ghana,the Ghana Rice Inter-ProfessionalBody (GRIB) organized this rst-everNational Rice Festival with the themeGrowing a vibrant rice industrythrough public-private partnershipfor food security. This coincided with

the 8th General Assembly of GRIB,an association of rice farmers, millers,processors, agrochemical inputdealers, and traders. GRIB now hasabout 10,000 members.

The Rice Festival aims to bolstersupport for the local rice industrythrough public-private partnershipand highlights the importance of therice sector in increasing food security,

r.

raman,

africarice(3)


18/39


reducing poverty, and creating

employment in the country.The event emphasized the need

to shift urban consumers preferencefrom imported rice to qualityGhanaian rice to increase the marketincentives for local rice producersand processors. It included trainingprograms to strengthen their capacityfor managing rice farming as aprotable business.

Rice has become an importantstaple in Ghana, particularly in

cities and towns. The countrysconsumption continues to increasewith the countrys populationgrowth, urbanization, and changingconsumer preferences. However, thecountrys rice self-suciency ratiois only about 30%, leaving a 70%shortfall. Currently, Ghana spendsabout US$450 million every year onrice imports to meet its local demand.

Urban consumers preferimported rice over locally producedrice. Because of poor postharvest

handling, Ghanas rice is generallyperceived to be of inferior quality.

But, GRIB and its partners havebeen striving to increase local riceproduction and quality. The qualityof local rice is as good as that ofimported ricein fact, even beer,as the local rice is fresh and withoutpesticides, said John K. ImoroAmoro, GRIB president. GRIB isstepping up its eorts to institutequality control mechanisms for local

John K. i a, psd f g r i-Pfss Bd (griB),spks uu f Fsn r Fs a, g.

Women have s gs pdu.


rice in order to meet international

standards.Mr. Imoro Amoro highlighted the

challenges faced by the Ghanaian riceindustry in the areas of technologytransfer, credit, and seed system.Research is crucial as we needupdated information on improvedseed, good agronomic practices, andappropriate technologies, he said.

He cited an example of improvedparboiler technology developed bythe Food Research Institute, Council

for Scientic and Industrial Researchin Ghana, which was successfully

imparted to women parboiler groups

through GRIB.The Rice Festival brought togethe

representatives of rice stakeholders,including farmers, millers, processorstraders, development agencies,national and international researchorganizations, and donors. It wasinaugurated by Mr. Lemuel KwashieMartey of Mannah Farms Limited,who was named as Ghanas bestfarmer in 2012.

Ms. Mohapatra is the head of Marketingand Communications at Africa Rice Center


19/39


To the untrained eye, theresearch farm at theInternational Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI) in the

Philippines may look like nothingmore than a verdant sea of rice

plants. But, through the eyes of birdenthusiasts and the lens of birdphotographers, it is a habitat for manyspectacular bird species.

In Feathers in the elds: The birds ofIRRI, bird photographers Tirso Paris,Jr. and Segfredo Serrano exhibit abevy of bird species (see centerfold)they have captured via their camerasover the years, representing a portionof their portfolios of what Dr. Parisdescribed as their addiction.

Bird photography is a passion,Dr. Paris said. You need to be a lilebit crazy to go into it. It takes a lot ofmoney, time, and patience to capturebeautiful images of birds. But it isvery addictive.

Bird photography also requiresspecial skills that go beyondbeing very ecient with a camera,according to Dr. Serrano.

You need to be a good birdwatcher and know the habits andforms of birds so that you can easilyidentify the species on the run,he said. And, you have to have agenuine aection for your subject. Ifyou dont have a genuine aectionfor our avian friends as part of our

environment and their role in ourenvironment, it will be very dicultto have the required patience todocument your subject.

The rewards of their patienceand eorts are stunning photographs

that reveal the avian world behindthe green curtain of rice that will nodoubt surprise many.

The fascinating featheredcreatures featured in this exhibition,some native to the area while othersuse IRRI as a stopover site on theirmigration, provide a glimpse ofbirds that are rarely seen by mostpeopleeven those who work in theelds every day, said Paul Hilario,curator of the Riceworld Museum

by Alaric Francis Santiaguel

Migrant snipe

A human-eye view of birds

Feathers in the felds showcases the many bird species that frequent IRRIs research farm withcompelling images, videos, and sounds to create an engaging educational exhibit

SegfredoSerrano


20/39


and Learning Center where theexhibit will be on display throughSeptember 2013. These birds arealert to movements and sounds,and are quick to hide or use naturalcamouage.

Many might assume thatbird photography is best done in

undisturbed areas but agriculturalareas can double as bird sanctuaries.Although farms cannot replacenatural wetlands, ooded rice eldsact as an articial wetland and canprovide some resources for birds,according to Mr. Richard Smedley, anIRRI scholar who studies birds in theexperimental elds (see Dont scareaway the birds! on pages 24 to 25).

Keeping a healthy rice ecosystemis a target for IRRI on its researchstation. For example, IRRI uses

integrated pest management(IPM), which reduced pesticideuse by 96% between 1993 and 2008,and encourages richer naturalbiodiversity. Although we donthave direct evidence on the impactof the reduced pesticide use, it iscertainly a contributor to the richerbird life in and around the farm,said Dr. K.L. Heong, an IPM expertat IRRI.

Most farmers may not be as

happy, though, to see thriving birdcommunities ocking to their eldsbecause they are widely regarded aspests. They are seen in associationwith rice and theyre presumed toeat rice, but that assumption maynot always be correct, local birdenthusiast Paul Bourdin explains. Thediet of the lesser coucal, bee-eater,swallows, pacic skylarks, and piedbushchat consists almost entirely ofinsects, he explained.

To help people beer understand

that not all birds are pests, Feathersin the elds: The birds of IRRIwillinclude descriptions provided byMr. Bourdin about each species ondisplay at the exhibit, includingtheir scientic, English, and Filipinonames; diet; and habits. Read thesedescriptions online at IRRI.org/ricetoday.

Mr. Santiaguel is a writer at IRRI.

Feathers in the felds: The birds o IRRIA photo exhibit

May through September 2013Asia Room

Te Riceworld MuseumIRRI, Los Baos, Laguna, Philippines

Little egret


21/39

Men of the same featherA look at the people behind the Feathers in the felds: The birds o IRRI

Tirso Paris got into bird

photography about

3 years ago when he

upgraded rom a point-

and-shoot camera to

an SLR. Originally, he

used it to shoot events,

plants, and butteries,

but never birds. Until

one day, having bought

a longer lens, he was

able to take a nice

photo o a sunbird and there was no looking back ater

that. Dr. Paris fnds birds to be beautiul subjects and he

now has thousands o photos taken rom various locations,including his backyard. His motivation or bird photography

is capturing their images or posterity and telling the world

that birds are valuable and should be preserved.

Segfredo Serrano, undersecretary or policy and planning

o the Philippine Department o Agriculture, started bird

watching and photography in 2007. Although he has visited

many birding sites

in the Philippines

and around the

world, he considers

the Mt. Makiling

area as his base.Dr. Serrano spends

most weekends

observing and

photographing

birds in the felds

o the University

o the Philippines

in Los Baos and at IRRI, and in the orest o the Mt. Makiling

National Park. He has two daughters, who are also avid

birders and bird photographers. His son Isagani is one o theRice Todayphoto editors.

Michael Joyce is a U.S.-based documentary producer whohas mostly ocused on biomedical topics or the past 20

years. He came to IRRI

in November 2012 to

help start IRRI Radio.

He thoroughly enjoys

covering a discipline

he previously knew

very little about. I

grew up in a medical

town surrounded

by corn felds, says Michael. IRRI and the Philippines in

general are ideal places to listen, observe, and learn. Nearlyeverything is new to methe science, the culture, and the

environs. In my line o work, naivet has its privileges!

Paul Bourdin (below left) is a math teacher at Brent

International School, Manila. He has been bird-watching

since childhoodand has lived and birded in many

countries in Arica, Europe, and Asia. He has, in addition,

undertaken birding expeditions to Australia, Brazil, and the

U.S. He is registered as a bird ringer in South Arica and the

Philippines, and has contributed to ornithological journals

and other birding publications around the world. He has

lived in Los Baos since 2008 and has considered the rice

felds at IRRI to be his local patch since he arrived.

Richard Smedley (below right) counts himsel lucky that he

has been able to make an academic career out o his passion

or birds. Since 2006, he has been studying birds in both his

home country, the UK, and South Arica. He started his PhD

in October 2011, with the University o Reading, but is based

in the Philippines ull-time. He believes that every bird has

a special something that makes it worth watching and

studying, and he hopes that he can continue working with

birds or the rest o his lie.

michaeljoyce(2)

isaganiserrano

phillipotoole


22/39

As the sun rises and casts its

rst beams of light over theexperimental rice elds at theInternational Rice Research

Institute (IRRI), there is a urry ofactivity of birds coming in to feed, orleaving the rice elds to roost for theday. They are everywherein the air,on the roads, and between the elds.

This usually occurs between 5:30 and6:30 in the morning.

Rice elds create a uniquehabitat within agriculture. Unlikeother crops, rice is almost constantlyoodedan articial wetland, whichis very aractive to birds of all kinds,especially if the local natural wetlandis drier than usual or has been lost.

Rural mythStudies have been conducted on

birds in rice elds although researchhas been mostly within the U.S.or Europe. In Asia, however, lilework has been conducted on thistopic. Thus, knowledge gathered byfarmers on birds and their eect onthe crop comes through hearsay andspeculation.

What exactly do these featheredcreatures do in rice elds and do wewant to keep them or eradicate them?

The biggest myth about birds isthat all of them eat rice. This just isnt

true. Observations conducted withinthe IRRI experimental farm, duringthe reproductive and ripening phasesof the rice crop, found more than50 dierent bird species, but onlyfour are known to feed on rice. Themajority of the others feed on insectsonly.

Easy targetsIf it aps, scare it away! This ideacommon in rice farming might be

by Richard E. Smedley

causing more harm than good,especially at certain times of the year.Dierent birds have dierent diets,and distinguishing the good guysfrom the bad guys can becomedicult.

Here are some of the good guys: Egrets, the white birds often

seen in rice elds, eat some

invertebrates as well as sh,crustaceans, frogs, and reptiles.

Herons and bierns, often scaredout of rice elds, also eat sh,crustaceans, frogs, reptiles andaquatic insects, snails, and somesmall mammals.

Finally, birds of prey that canbe found in a rice habitat, suchas pied harriers and grass owls,hunt mammals within the elds,but also keep the number of

smaller birds down.All of these are easily targetedby farmers as they are large andrelatively easy to catch, but theycould be helping the crop throughpest management. For example, thetree sparrow is common throughoutthe Philippines, but is endangeredin the United Kingdom, with manyconservation programs trying to savethe remaining population. There areeven farmer incentives to promotethe habitat the birds require in an

eort to entice them back. Studiesin the UK have shown that they eatonly invertebrates during breeding,as they require more protein in theirdiet.

Convicted without evidenceThe alleged bad guys are thosethat are known as maya. ThisTagalog word is used to describea particular bird that feeds onrice grain. However, there is a

Don't scare away the birds!

Most birds are not enemies of rice farmers; some actually help control pests


Intermediate egret

Little egret

Yellow bittern

tirsoparis(6)


23/39

common misconception withinthe Philippines in the use of thatword.Maya actually refers to fourdierent bird species, all of whichcan be found at IRRI. These are treesparrows (Passer montanus) and threespecies of munias (Lonchura spp.)that are in the Philippines: chestnut,scaly-breasted, and white-bellied.Although these birds eat rice grains

in at least part of the year, eectivespecies management requires a beerunderstanding of their lifestyle andbehavior.

These birds are seen periodicallyfeeding in rice elds and sometimesfrom the plants directly. However,how much damage they are actuallycausing is unknown. With birdsable to y great distances and nosystematic method of feeding (thatwe know of), recording this damage

would require surveying a largenumber of rice elds over a longtime. Indirect methods of damageassessment include mathematicalmodels and farmer estimations.However, these all rely on farmersability to accurately record bird ocks,movements, and locations, as well asall the other factors that contributeto yield loss. A standard method ofquantifying bird damage in rice eldsstill needs to be developed.

Winged scapegoatsWhy do birds get blamed? Maybe ithas something to do with their skill,which we all wish we hadtheycan y! It seems that their majoradvantage in the wild is one of themain reasons they have gained areputation for damaging rice.

Farmers often point out ocks ofbirds ying out of their elds. Moreoften than not, farmers have not seenwhere these birds have come from,

and they do not know what thesebirds have been eating, but they dosee them leaving the elds.

Although other pests, such asrats, display physical and measurabledamage to rice, birds do not. Farmerscannot always see rats move withinthe elds, but they do see birds.

To ponder uponWith few bird deterrents available,lile can be done to prevent birdsfrom ying in or out of elds andmethods of control need to beenhanced. All birds are so incrediblyintelligent that they can habituatethemselves to new stimuli quickly.For example, standing a ag close to aeld in an aempt to scare birds onlyprovides them with a new perch onwhich they can sit. The use of bird

scarers will work only as long as themethod of scaring, either raling tincans or shouting, is ever-changing.

It would also help if oneunderstood which birds to scareand which ones to leave alone. Tocompletely bird-proof a rice crop,planting in greenhouses or undernets is the only option. But, this willdisable the positive eects that somebirds providea delicate balancingact that will be understood only if

further research into the species seenin rice, particularly their behaviorand lifestyle, is conducted.

So, the next time you are in arice eld, take a moment to look upand see what is close by. Chances areyou will be very close to some of ourfeathered friends. Watch as the egretschase aquatic prey between the ricehills or as the swallows sweep overthe top, collecting ying insects asthey go. Take a moment to marvel asthey duck and dive through the air

and just think of how rice providesa benet to many species, not just byproviding food.

Mr. Smedley started his PhD at theUniversity of Reading, UK in 2011. He iscontinuing his studies as an IRRI scholarin the Crop and Environmental SciencesDivision. He enjoys studying the birdsin the experimental elds, as well as sitesin Isabela and Bohol provinces in thePhilippines.


Chinese pond heron

Tree sparrow "maya"

Scaly-breasted munia

White-bellied munia

The biggest myth

about birds is that

all of them eat rice.

This just isnt true.

segfredoserrano


24/39



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amala Gurung was drawn torural development work at

an early age. Her exposuredates back to her high-schoolyears in Nepal when she served as anenumerator for a community survey.After high school, she asked herparents if she could study forestry atthe University of the Philippines inLos Baos (UPLB), nearly 4,000 kmaway!

Kamalas mother was againstthe idea at rst. Her mothersapprehension was not about herbeing so far away from home because

she had stayed in a dormitory mostof her school years. It was more aboutthe nature of the work of a forester.Its too dangerous for a woman, hermother said.

But, for Kamala, it was notdicult to imagine herself as aforester because she used to trek themountains of Gorkha and Pokharain Nepal with her father, who wasthen a British-Gorkha army ocer.I think my fathers love of nature

rubbed o on me, Kamala said.Eventually, with her parents

support, Kamala earned her degreefrom forestry at UPLB and thenworked back home in Nepal as anatural resource management ocer.Through her constant interaction

with farmer communities, she becamemore interested in the social aspectsof her work. This is where she becamedeeply involved in social issues, andproblems of the marginalized sectorsof the communityincluding womenin the agricultural sector.

by Lanie C. Reyes

Kamala Gurung makes it her mission to promote gender equality and empower women

farmers in South Asiavoice

Giving women a

Kamala GurunG (righticit w viw pc with pctt ic gi qity.

Kamala (center) tk with w iBgh t t th citic thy py i ic ig.

K


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Advocating for gender equityThis is what I chose to be, assertedKamala, who takes pride in beinga self-proclaimed gender equityadvocate. Both my MS and PhDdegrees are in gender developmentand social change in the agriculturalsector. Kamala obtained her MS

degree from Clark University inthe United States and her PhD fromJames Cook University in Australia.

Kamala now enjoys her workat the International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI) as a social scientistspecializing on gender issues inagriculture. This job gives me asense of mission to help improve thelives of rural people, especially poorwomen, she said.

Working under the USAID-funded Cereal Systems Initiative

for South Asia (CSISA) projectin Bangladesh, Kamala has beeninuential in mainstreaming genderin planning, monitoring, andevaluating the project, said ThelmaParis, IRRI senior scientist. CSISAaims to increase food, nutrition,and income security in South Asiathrough sustainable intensicationof cereal-based systems. It is acollaborative project among keyorganizations such as IRRI, the

World Fish Center (WorldFish), andthe International Maize and WheatImprovement Center (CIMMYT).

Gender inequalities in access toproductive resources and technologiesin rice farming are more pervasivein South Asia, Kamala explained.To reduce these inequalities, it isimportant to understand the crucialroles of women as farmers, consumers,and income earners in relation to men

as well as womens socioeconomicand cultural barriers in ensuring foodsecurity and livelihoods.

In specic regions of Bangladesh,the poorest women do transplantingand weeding in the rice elds asunpaid family workers or as hiredagricultural workers. However, inall regions, as soon as harvestingis done, poor women are mainlyresponsible for manual threshing,winnowing, cleaning, drying,selecting, and storing grains and seed

as well as parboiling rice for homeconsumption or for sale.

Since women in Bangladeshplay a critical role in rice postharvestand processing activities, postharvestlosses can be reduced in the countryby providing women with technicalknow-how among other support, shesaid.

Aside from conducting a seriesof training activities on postharvesttechnologies, the CSISA project

provided a group of women ricefarmers in Bangladesh with a pedalthresher for their use and for renting

out to other farmers. CSISA alsoprovided some training to improvetheir entrepreneurial skills.

Truly, many other opportunitiesare now available to improvewomens social and economicstatus by improving their accessto technologies and training

opportunities through IRRI-CIMMYT-WorldFish collaborativeprojects under CSISA, Kamala said.

Kamala explained that the projectfocuses on women because they areusually the disadvantaged group insociety. But, gender equity is not justabout women, she said. It is aboutgender roles and relations based oncultural norms.

In Bangladesh or elsewhere,if you dont inform or involve thehusbands, the wives wont aend

any project-related activities such asfocus group discussions, meetings,or training activities, Kamalacontinued. So, I always go andtalk with the male member of thehouseholdoften the husband. I tryto convince him why his wife needsto participate in these activities.Otherwise, it will not work; therellbe conict in the family.

Expanding role of women

Kamala pointed to recent data fromFAO that show that the role of womenin agriculture is changing and

InfoladIes BIKe t vig t tht hp w i Bgh gt cc t iti gict.

d.n

et



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increasing because men are goingabroad to work.

But, because women-headedhouseholds have no technical skills,they rent out their rice elds to otherfarmers. This makes it importantto involve women in training andawareness programs such as on new

varieties and associated improvedcrop management practices forsubmergence- and saline-prone riceareas.

Kamala passionately believesthat women should have a sayin research and developmentactivities. We should includetheir voice: rst, in our researchwork, and second, in the policy-making and decision-makingprocesses, and we should givethem access to resources such as

information and communicationtechnologies.

Info at the doorstepsMore often than not, womencannot go out of their village toaend training activities becausethey are busy with their work.

So, why not bring thetechnologies to them? Kamalathought.

This year, she pushed for the

exploratory testing of tapping theInfoLady model to reach womenfarmers, said Dr. Paris.

The InfoLady project wascreated in 2008 by D.Net, aBangladesh-based social enterprise(www.dnet.org.bd), and othercommunity organizations. D.Netrecruits women and trains them forthree months to use a computer, theInternet, a printer, and a camera.It also arranges bank loans for thewomen to purchase bicycles and

equipment.Equipped with a laptop, Internet

access, and a bike, an InfoLady goesfrom one remote village to anotherto help women get informationranging from health, agriculture, andeducation to government services.

To carry out the InfoLady modelin Bangladesh, Kamala and the rest of

the CSISA project team held a three-day training for 17 InfoLadies to helptransfer agricultural technologies torural farmersparticularly women.The training covered improvedcropping and intercropping systems,fertilizer management, maizevarieties, rice-based postharvest

technologies, and basic aquacultureand pond management, amongothers.

varietal selection (PVS) activities forreleased and prereleased varietiesin rice areas prone to drought,submergence, and salinity underthe Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africaand South Asia (STRASA) projectfunded by the Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation.

Thus, more women now have avoice in the quality traits they lookfor in varieties than before. Changes

are not only happening in themind-sets of researchers in theeld but also in the workplace.We have more women onresearch teams under the CSISAproject than before, Kamalaadded. Many of them havegone through IRRIs LeadershipCourse for Asian andAfrican Women in Research,

Development, and Extension.Kamala shares a view with

her supervisor and mentor Dr.Paris that removing genderinequality in the context oftraditional mind-setsespeciallyin Bangladesh and Indiaisnot easy. That is why they bothbelieve that changes can happenthrough a concerted eort andsupport from policymakers,research leaders, partnerships

with government andnongovernment organizations,and, of course, the womenfarmers themselves.

As they work with keypartner organizations, Kamalaswork, along with the CSISA teamseorts to empower women and givethem a voice, is crucial to aainingglobal food security. According tothe FAO's 2010-11 State of Food andAgricultural Report, if women inrural areas had the same access to

land, technology, nancial services,education, and markets as men,agricultural production could beincreased and the number of hungrypeople reduced by 100 to 150 million.1

Ms. Reyes is the managing editor ofRiceToday.

Weve come a long way sincethe beginning of the womens rightsmovement in the 1970s thanks togender equity advocates such as Dr.Gelia Castillo, a Filipino nationalscientist and former visiting scientistat IRRI, Kamala pointed out. Dr.Castillo started the Women in Rice

Farming Systems network at IRRI inthe mid-80s.

In addtion, Dr. Paris paved theway for much of the progress inintegrating gender concerns in IRRIsresearch and development. Sheencouraged researchers to involvewomen (at least 30% among theparticipants) in the participatory

Women In Bgh t ch icvity ig pticipty vitcti (PVs) ctivity.

isaganiserrano

1 www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/52011/icode/.


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R

ural women are the seedcustodians in Bangladesh.They play the primary, but

pically unrecognized, role ofeserving rice seed after harvest andoring it until it is used to plant thext seasons crop.

If the seed ispoor health,e crop suersd less rice isrvested, whichn leave families

ungry. But, if theed is in optimalndition, the cropn grow welld produce more

cemeaning more food and moreoney. Having healthy r ice seedsuld take families and communitiesstep away from poverty.

However, reaching Bangladeshiral women, who may be socially

olated or have limited access tosic learning resources, makesaring of practices for improving the

uality of their seed dicult.

The Ashroy Foundation hasken a female-friendly approachat has proven eectiveanddoesnt involve only women.

mproved but low-cost techniquesat build on local knowledgeupgrade harvesting and seed

anagement processes such asying and cleaning are shared withrmers.

We organized a series ofeetings in the courtyard (within the

village) and personal consultationswith the womens husbands, religiousleaders, and other i nuential peoplein the local community, MomotazKhatun, executive director of theAshroy Foundation, explains.

During thesesessions, weemphasized that,if women practicethe improvedmethods of riceseed preservation,this will lead toincreased yields,increased surplus,and more incomefor their families.

The work extends across Khulna,Satkhira, Narail, and Bagerhatdistricts of Bangladesh and has seen23,000 farmer participants, including17,250 women.

According to Ms. Khatun, 83% ofthe participants adopt the improvedpractices they learn, and the addedbenets include giving the womensocial mobility and improving family

cooperation, especially from theirhusbands.

This activity is part of theCereal Systems Initiative for SouthAsia (CSISA) in Bangladesh. TheInternational Rice Research Institute(IRRI) provided technical guidanceand demonstrated the improvedtechnologies.

Ms. Clayton is the public relationsmanager at IRRI.

Appearances maerat leastfor African women who werepart of a project that sought to

understand how marketing practicesinuence consumer preferencebetween locally produced andimported rice.

In Africa, women undertake

much of the work in traditionalrainfed, mangrove, and upland riceproduction systems. However, theyoften have limited access to land forrice growing, particularly in ir rigatedenvironments. Therefore, theytypically specialize in postharvestactivities, such as processing, qualitycontrol, and marketing. But, in orderto compete against massive riceimports, they need to eectivelymarket local rice to consumers.

A study with Khar Yalla Gueye,a womens association in Senegalin West Africa, was conducted atAfrica Rice Center (AfricaRice) byeconomist May Demont, Fulbrightresearch fellow Caitlin Costello, andsociologist Mamouna Ndour. Theassociation aims to help womenmarket their local rice varieties moreeectively.

AfricaRice provided trainingprograms to women on business,entrepreneurship and marketing,provided mechanized processingequipment, and developed a homebrand for their company.

Packaging is a signicant partof how consumers in Senegal decidewhich rice to buy. Furthermore, ex-perimental auctions have shown thatconsumers are willing to pay pricepremiums of 17% for their preferredbrand. This demonstrates the need fora greater focus on marketing researchas a way to improve the competitive-ness of local rice.

Marketing is an importanttool in adding value to local rice inSenegal, explained May Demont,IRRI senior economist. And,it should be used eectively asorganizations work toward increasingdemand and creating a successful ricesector.

Investing in a local brandand creating a distinguishablecommercial identity for the womensassociation Khar Yalla Gueye in PontGendarme may be one step towardincreased competitiveness of thedomestic rice sector in Senegal withconcomitant impacts on womenslivelihoods, he concluded.

The study was supported bySyngenta Foundation and the U.S.Fulbright Program.

Upon seeing for herself thepromise of Swarna-Sub1,Asha Singh, a mother of two,

decided to encourage her village inSitamarhi, Bihar, India, to try the newrice variety for themselves.

She mobilized 200 farmers todemonstratehow well theood-tolerantvarietyperformed.She organizedwomensmeetings toeducate themabout climatechange andexplainedhow Swarna-Sub1 couldhelp reduce their crop losses due toooding.

Such is the inuence of a womanwho has been convinced that atechnology is good for her and hercommunity.

Yet, Asha is one among millionsof rural women who have been leftout by agricultural research anddevelopment programs, despite thefact that women are the backbone ofIndias agricultural workforce. Theroles they play are vital in the day-to-day maintenance of their rice farms.

The Stress-Tolerant Rice Africa and South Asia (STRAproject has consistently paidaention to the roles of womits programs. The STRASA pinvolves them in participatorvarietal selection (PVS). In PV

activitiwomenAsha hchooseevaluatdissemnew ricvarietiesuit the

Wfarmerbeen talead innew ric

varieties for stress-prone areDr. Thelma Paris, IRRI scient

gender specialist.These women contribu

decision-making on varietal by giving feedback on the coand eating quality of r ice, ssaid. In this way, women mimportant contribution in idesuitable new varieties.

Ms. Baroa-Edra is a public relspecialist at IRRI.

by Sophie Clayton

A womans touch saves seeds

by Ma. Lizbeth Baroa-Edra

byMa. Lizbeth Baroa-Edra

Womenbuild abrand

From one womans hato a villages choic e

In celebration of International Women's Day, we honor the contribution of women in improving rice production and food security in their respective communities and countries.

isaganiserrano

isaganiserrano

MattyDeMont

Women are th bckb fIdi's gicultul wkfc.


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Maps

Global rice areas produced morethan 690 million tons of roughrice in 2012.1 If we divide thisby the number of seconds in

year, thenon averagenearly 22ns or about 440 sacks (50 kilogramsch) of rice were harvested everycond. We do know, however, thatch a simple calculation does notciently account for the variationsplanting and harvesting dates

ithin a year and across all rice-owing areas. So, how much rice isrvested in a given location and at aven time?

To estimate the distribution ofe worlds rice production throughe year, we compiled detailed riceanting and harvesting dates byowing season in all rice-growingeas from various sources and

nked this global rice crop calendartabase to detailed rice production

atistics (Figs. 1 and 2).Information on when rice is

anted and harvested, and thesociated production in dierentcations, is important to beer assessod security, and seasonal andographic variations in food supply.ce statistics are often availablenually or, at best, by season in

Jane Girly Cuerdo, Lorena Villano,

ary Anne Gutierrez, Cornelia Garcia,

ce Laborte, Mirco Boschetti, Sander

wart, and Andrew Nelson

SDA. Production Supply and Dist ribution Online. www.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdHome.aspx.

Fig. 2. Rough riceproduction bygeographic region andmonth of harvest 2012.

Asia 1 dot = 50,000 tons

Rest of the world 1 dot = 5,000 tons

Jan-Mar

Apr-Jun

Jul-Sep

Oct-Dec

Fig. 1. Distribution of global rough rice production by quarter of harvest.

a few countries. Information onmonthly rice output can be usedto analyze spatial and seasonalproduction trends in rice-producingcountries, and to assess and predictprice uctuations in global, national,and local markets. This, togetherwith information on climate shocksand rice stocks, can be useful forpolicymakers to beer prepare forpotential signicant shortfalls in food

production at certain times of theyear.

The crop calendar currentlyused refers to average planting andharvesting dates in an area overseveral years. As a next step, we willuse actual growing seasons derivedfrom analyzing remotely senseddata, together with beer estimatesof the seasonal distribution of riceproduction used.

Ms. Cuerdo, Ms. Villano, and Ms.Gutierrez are researchers and Ms.Garcia is a researcher and cartographer

at IRRI. Ms. Laborte is a GIS specialistat IRRI. Dr. Boschei is a researcher at

the Institute for Electromagnetic Sensingof the Environment (IREA-CNR). Dr.Zwart is a remote-sensing and GISspecialist at Africa Rice Center. Dr.Nelson is a geographer and head of theGIS laboratory at IRRI.

The when

and where

ofrice


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ce fables: Japan


Many years ago in Japan, ascetic monks abounded. Theywere highly revered and respected. They became

odels for everyone to look up to and emulate.These monks deprived themselves in various ways.

me gave up sleeping on mats, preferring hard stonesstead. Others walked barefoot many miles to inspirehers to shun physical comfort.

The monk who ateno rice

In Asia, many people eat rice three times a day. For them, rice is life; but, in this Japanese

fable, a holy man seems to have given up eating rice.

story by Alice Flinn-Stilwell

illustrated by Sherri Maigne Meneses

One monk even gave up eating rice. Throughoutthe land, people were amazed when they heard of hisabstinence for they could not imagine life without eatingrice.

Everyone eats rice three times a day, and for snacksas well, the people marveled. How can he live withoutrice?

When they learned that the monk ate pine needlesinstead of rice, they were even more amazed. They couldonly presume that he was very dedicated to be able to dosuch a thing.

Over time, he became so well known and revered thatthe Emperor invited him to live in the imperial garden.So, the monk came and lived in a small bamboo housein the Emperors garden. Every day, he sat cross-leggedon his mat, meditating for hours and hours at a time. TheEmperor found him to be extremely devout.

Who else could sit cross-legged so long, and whoelse could live without rice, eating only pine needles? theEmperor wondered. He must tr uly be a saint.

However, a few of the young aendants in theEmperors court were not so sure about this monk thateveryone talked about. They all agreed that he seemedimpressive, and they treated him with the respect theEmperor demanded. But, they found it hard to believe thathe ate no rice.

One day, they decided to visit the monk.My good holy man, how many years has it been

since you last ate rice? they asked.Ah, it was many years ago when I was but a young

man, he said, aered, in a very worldly way, bytheir interest. Im nearly eighty now.

As the young lads walked away, their thoughtswere occupied with the monk.

If the monk eats only pine needles and norice, what can his feces look like? oneof the men wondered. They mustlook strange.

His friends agreed, butdropped the maer quickly.

Several days later, these courtaendants were relaxing, siinground a table drinking. T heyd allhad a lile too much ricewine when one of themsuggested, Lets checkthe monks outhouseand look at his feces,which must be strange.

Not one objected. So,a lile drunk, they creptto the ascetics outhouse.There, they found not the

remains of pine needles but theremains of rice

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