Rice Today Vol. 12, No. 4

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1Rice TodayOctober-December 2013US$5.00 ISSN 1655-5422

www.irri.org

International Rice Research Institute October-December 2013, Vol. 12, No. 4

Rice genetics

gets personalDebunking Golden Rice mythsThe revolution underground

Mapping the crop of the future

Cameroon: Central Africas potential rice granary


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2 Rice TodayOctober-December 20132


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contents Vol. 12, No. 4

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

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

DEBUNKING GOLDEN RICE MYTHS:A GENETIC ISTS PERSPECTIVE ......................... 10

ConrontingthemisconceptionsaboutGoldenRicewithcold,hardacts

BEATING BLIG HT .................................................... 12Scientistscontinuetoimprovethedeenseagainstbacterialblight

BREEDING FOR TOUGH TIMES AHEAD ................ 14GreenSuperRiceismakingitswaytoarmerselds

WHATS COOKING? ................................................ 16Tteokbokki:Koreanricecakeinspicysauce

FOR THE LOVE OF RI CE .......................................... 17Twoscientistsendupbeingmorethanlaboratorypartners

MAPS ....................................................................... 20Mappingthecropotheuture

THE NOT-SO-SILENT REVOLUTION ...................... 24ThewidespreaduseosmallenginesgaverisetochangesintheMekongDelta

LASER-G UIDED DREAM S ....................................... 28TruongThiThanhNhanisprovingtobeapowerul"engine"orgrowthinVietnamsarming

communities

THE REVOLUTION UNDERGROUND .....................30Cropscientistshavediscoveredageneinricethatpromotesadeeperrootsystem

RICE FABLES............................................................ 32HowricecametotheTorajas

RICE IN THE EYES OF A CHILD ............................... 34

CAMEROON: CENTRAL AFRICAS POTENTIALRICE GR ANARY ................................................... 36

Cameroonmaysoongainameasarisingstarinriceproduction

RICE FACTS .............................................................. 38Breakingthebarriers:romhousewivestobreadwinners

SMARTER, CLEA NER HEAT .................................... 40Anewdesignoaricehullurnacehasimprovedgrainqualityandmadedryingcleanerandeasier

GRAINS OF TRUTH ................................................. 43Ricegeneticsgetspersonal

3Rice TodayOctober-December 2013

publisherSophie Clayton

managingeditorLanie Reyes

associateeditorAlaric Francis Santiaguel

AsiaeditorGene Hettel

AricaeditorSavitri MohapatraLatinAmericaeditorNathan Russell

copyeditorBill Hardy

artdirectorJuan Lazaro IV

designerandproductionsupervisorGrant Leceta

photoeditorIsagani Serrano

circulationAntonette Abigail Caballero, Lourdes Columbres, Cynthia Quintos

WebmastersJerry Lavia, Lourdes Columbres

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 ofceslocated inmajorrice-growingcountries,IRRIisanautonomous,nonprotinstitutionocusedonimprovingthewell-beingopresentanduturegenerationsoricearmersand consumers, particularly thosewith low incomes, whilepreservingnatural resources. It is one o the 15 nonprot 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,orotherderivativeworksunderspecicconditions.Toviewtheulltextothislicense,visithttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/.

About the cover.By2035,whentheplanetshumanpopulationisexpectedtosurpass8.5billion,theworldwillrequiremorethan100milliontonsoadditionalrice.Withatighterraceagainsttime,ricescientistsareturningtoadvancementsingeneticstoeradicateextremepoverty,hunger,andundernourishment,andsustainoodsecuritywithoutirreversiblydamagingtheworldsnaturalresources.(PhotobyIsaganiSerrano)

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


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World Food Prize laureates Hank Beachell, Gurdev Khush,

Yuan Long Ping, and Monty Jones have made their marks

in staving o hunger by increasing rice productivity worldwide.

But, even with their milestone achievements o developing high-

yielding semidwar rice varieties and hybrid rice, the challenge o

deeating hunger continues. Only now, it is an even tighter race

against time to increase rice production.

By 2035, when the planets human population is expected

to surpass 8.5 billion, the world will require more than 100 million

tons o additional rice. It takes around 10 years to breed a new rice

variety, meaning that 2035 is just two conventional breeding cycles

awaynot much time rom a breeders perspective.

With such a daunting challenge, we cannot count on just a ew

heroic rice scientiststo save the day; we need what I would call a

legion o heroic scientistsall working together like the IRRI sta

members in the photo below!

In November, the7th International Rice Genetics Symposiumin Manila, Philippines, will gather many o the worlds best riceresearchers, experts, and representatives rom the public and

private sector to share their knowledge and experience on

advancements in rice genetics, a cadre o current and uture heroes!

So, Rice Todayis ocusing on rice genetics and how it is helping

ast-track the development o improved varieties (see Rice genetics

gets personal).

Thanks to modern breeding using our understanding o

genetics, Golden Rice has been developed. It contains a source

o vitamin A and has the potential to help reduce the devastating

eects o vitamin A defciency, especially among poor rice

consumers. To help clear up misconceptions about Golden Rice,

Dr. Michael Purugganan, an authority on plant evolutionary and

ecological genomics, conronts some misconceptions in DebunkingGolden Rice myths: a geneticists perspective.

We also ocus on what some o our modern-day rice heroes

are working on. A team o plant breeders and pathologists

continues to work together to improve resistance against bacterial

blight disease (see Beating blight). Green Super Rice, a type o rice

that thrives under less than perect conditions, is now making its

way to armers felds. This has been made possible because o new

breeding tools and the excellent collaboration o IRRI scientists and

their partners (see Breeding for tough times ahead).

Elsewhere, in Arica, the Cameroon government has deployed

strategies and policy measures to increase its rice production and

make it more competitive in the market. See Cameroon: Central

Africas potential rice granary.

Want to know some more about arm mechanization and its

progress? A eature on the Not-so-silent revolution has a historical

perspective on small machines in postwar Vietnam while Laser-

guided dreams is a story about how laser-leveling is changing lives

in Vietnam today.

We also get up close and personal with two scientists, worlds

apart but with a common passion, who ended up being more than

laboratory partners in For the love of rice.In Breaking the barriers: from housewives to breadwinners, IRRI

economist Sam Mohanty tells the tales o three Indian women who

have risen above cultural stereotypes and are helping other village

women improve their economic conditions.

Will rice production in India or throughout South Asia see a

brighter scenario in 2035-40? Mapping the crop of the future oers

a glimpse into the yield gains o C4 rice in the region through

simulation models.

I hope you enjoy these and other eatures and appreciate the

eorts and contributions o the heroes who have been working

toward fnding solutions to the challenges o eeding the world.

Lanie Reyes

Rice Todaymanaging editor


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News

Researchers from the Support

for Agricultural Research andDevelopment of Strategic Crops

(SARD-SC) project aended the 6thAfrican Agricultural Science Weekin Accra, Ghana. The event aimedto draw more support from partnersfor SARD-SC to raise agriculturalproductivity in 20 African countries.

Project coordinator Dr. ChrysantusAkem of the International Instituteof Tropical Agriculture said thatnarrowing the yield gap is key tohelping millions of African farmers

compete globally and feed themselvesThe project aims to reduce foodimportation and oer farmers

beer access to markets, to improvelivelihoods, and to tackle povertythrough empowered beneciaries.

With funding of US$63 millionfrom the African DevelopmentBank, SARD-SC will work withfarmers in Benin, Cte dIvoire, DRCongo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana,Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali,

Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal,Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania,Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Source: http://reliefweb.int

Improved rice bringsmixed results in Uganda

The introduction of improvedupland NERICA rice varietieshas not only improved rice

production in Uganda but has alsoprovided many women farmerswith more bargaining power withtheir husbands, says an article in the

Journal of Eastern African Studies.In Uganda, men traditionallyproduce high-value cash crops andwomen produce low-value food crops.Since rice is a high-value food crop

produced by both sexes, women aretreated as partners in its productionand not just as free family labor.

But, a gender analysis oered amore complicated picture as womenand children take on the most bur-densome tasks related to rice cultiva-

tion. Thus, women are exhausted andunable to perform other tasks, whiletheir children have to miss school.

Source: www.cigar.com

The CGIAR booth at the 6th

Africa Agriculture ScienceWeek featured samples of the

African rice Oryza glaberrima fromthe AfricaRice genebank. ThisAfrican rice, which is threatenedwith extinction, is a rich reservoir ofgenes for coping with local stresses inadapting to climate change that couldpotentially strengthen food security.The booth also showcased seedsof ve recently released ARICAs,upland and lowland NERICAs,

Endangered Arican rice showcased at2013 Arica Agriculture Science Week

and the Sahel series developed by

AfricaRice and its partners.The science event held in

Ghana was aended by more thana thousand delegates from acrossAfrica and scientists and expertsfrom various CGIAR centers andresearch programs. This years themewas Africa feeding Africa throughScience and Innovation.

Source: http://africar ice.blogspot.com

New project toboost rice yield inArican countries

A Armer cutvats a vaty Aca c Oryza glaberrima Day patau Tg.


TBerhe,ATA,eThiop

iA

While Women bft t quapatsp ad g pduct tatneriCA vats bg, ty as tak buds wk.

rrAmAn,AfricArice


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On 8 August 2013, 300 militantsstormed the Department ofAgriculture Experiment Station

in Bicol, Philippines, and vandalizeda eld trial site of Golden Rice. Thedamaged trial site was less than 1,000square meters and nearly all theplants were uprooted. As a result, thetrial, which was being conducted bythe Philippine Rice Research Instituteand the International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI), had to be terminated.

The trials were approved bythe Department of AgricultureBureau of Plant Industry, thenational regulatory authority in the

Philippines for crop biotechnologyresearch and development, afterestablishing that the trials wouldpose no signicant risks to humanhealth and the environment.

Renownedscientists, writers,and the generalpublic from allover the worlddenounced theact and expressedtheir support for

the work on GoldenRice. Notably, anonline petitionsupporting GoldenRice was launchedjust days after theincident. More than 6,000 people havesigned the petition so far (see hp://sn.im/golden-rice-petition).

Work on Golden Rice greatly supported

Golden Rice isa new type of ricethat contains betacarotene, which isconverted to vitaminA when eaten. Theeld trials are an

important part of theproject to determinewhether GoldenRice can be a safeand eective wayto reduce vitamin

A deciency in the Philippines.Vitamin A deciency in the countryaects approximately 1.7 million

children aged 6 months to 5 yearsand one out of every ten pregnantFilipino women. Research indicatesthat eating a cup of Golden Ricea day could provide half of thevitamin A needs of an adult.

Despite the vandalism, the ght

against malnutrition continues. IRRIand its partner organizations remaincommied to helping improve healthand nutrition in the Philippines,Bangladesh, and other rice-eatingcountries.

Source: www.irri.org/goldenrice


IRRI and its partner

organizations remain

committed to helping

improve health and

nutrition in the Philippines,Bangladesh, and other rice-

eating countries.

The Malaysian AgriculturalResearch and DevelopmentInstitute launched a new rice

variety to help boost Malaysias riceproduction amid climate change.The new variety, MRIA 1, exhibitsheat tolerance and requires less

Climate change-ready rice or Malaysiawater. Agriculture and Agro-based Minister Datuk Seri IsmailSabri Yaakob said the new varietywould help increase the nation'srice production while adapting toclimate change. MRIA 1 is highlyrecommended to farmers with

lile access to water supply. Also, itmatures in 90 days, has more diseaseresistance, and can be plantedduring the o-season.

Source: www.nst.com.my

A ielD ta st Gd rc wasvadazd Bc, Ppps.

philippineDepArT

menTofAgriculTureregionAlfielDuniTV


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Miren Iturriza-Gomara, avirologist at the UK-based Universityof Liverpool and one of the researchauthors, says rice is a cost-eectiveway for delivering the antibodybecause it is a widely produced staplefood.

Source: www.scidev.net.

Ateam of researchers designeda new strain of geneticallyengineered rice, which could

potentially ght rotavirus that causessevere diarrhea. MucoRice-ARP1contains the antibody arp1, originallyfound in llamas, that has beenclinically proven eective to protectagainst the deadly virus.

Rice could play a role in reducing diarrheaIf proven safe for human con-

sumption, this rice could complementvaccines and be given to childrenunder two years old when they aremost vulnerable to the viral infection.Severe diarrhea in young childrenand infants is fatal and accounts for520,000 deaths each year, according tothe World Health Organization.


More than 40% o

Bangladeshi children

under fve are stunted

while 44% o the same

age group is at risk or

zinc defciency.

BRRI dhan 62, the worlds rstzinc-rich rice variety has beenreleased in Bangladesh and will

be available to farmers in time for theaman season of 2014. BRRI dhan 62

has 20 to 22 parts per million (ppm)of zinc while the average zinc contentof rice is 14 to 16 ppm. The varietywas developed using conventionalbreeding methods by scientists at theBangladesh Rice Research Institute(BRRI) with support from HarvestPlus,which leads a global eort to developmore nutritious varieties of staplefood crops. HarvestPlus is a part ofthe CGIAR Research Program onAgriculture for Nutrition and Health.The new variety was developed from

the zinc-rich rice parental germplasmproduced at the International RiceResearch Institute (IRRI).

The high-zinc rice could helpdecrease zinc deciencyin Bangladesh.

Bangladeshichildren suerfrom high ratesof deciencies inmicronutrients,including zinc:

more than 40% ofBangladeshi childrenunder ve are stuntedwhile 44% of the same age group isat risk for zinc deciency. Levels ofzinc inadequacy in the diet of mostBangladeshis range from 20% tomore than 90%. Zinc deciency is amajor cause of stunted growth, forlack of development, and for deaths

Worlds frst high-zinc rice released in Bangladesh

from diarrhealdiseases in children.It is predicted thatregular consumptionof zinc-rich rice couldhalve these dietraryinadequacy levels.

BRRI DirectorGeneral Md SyedulIslam said that the

zinc-rich rice variety also surpassedBINA dhan 7 and BRRI dhan 33, twoof the countrys best performing early-maturing varieties for aman. Thesetwo varieties mature in 110120 dayswhile BRRI dhan 62 can be harvestedin only 100105 days.

In addition, a eld trial of a zinc-rich rice variety being developed forthe boro season has been successfullycompleted, according to AlamgirHossain, the main breeder behindBRRI dhan 62. Dr. Hossain, who iscurrently a breeder at IRRI, added

that this zinc-rich rice for the boroseason will be submied for approvalto the National Seed Board soon.

Through internationalcollaboration led by IRRI, similar zinc-rich rice varieties are expected to beintroduced in Cambodia, Indonesia,the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Source: www.thedailystar.net

ZinC-riCh c w p pv tat t cd Bagads.

isAgAnise

rrAno,irri


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Books

For release in december

Plant Genetic Resources and Climate Change

Edited by Michael Jackson, Brian Ford-Lloyd, and Martin Parry

Published by CABI. 288 pages.

Climate change is an enormous challenge or

societies worldwide. Many plant species aretemperature sensitive; predicted increases inglobal temperatures will have adverse eects on

our environment and put increasing stress onagriculture. With so many people in the worldstill without access to adequate ood, ensuring

global ood security continues to be a bigchallenge.

This book tackles the changes thatglobal warming is predicted to create over

the coming decades, the eects o climatechange on potential ood production, and howit will aect conservation and use o crop germplasm,

both in and ex situ. In addition, it includes specifc examples ogermplasm research related to climate change threats, reviews

o abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity, and the roleo crop wild relatives and their untapped genetic diversity in

improving modern crops.Bringing together the latest perspectives about how plant

genetic resources can contribute to achieving ood security,

this book is a valuable resource or researchers and students

o plant sciences and agricultural

policy, as well as anyone withan interest in climate

change.The lead editor,

Dr. Michael T. Jackson,

started his career ingenetic resources in the

U.K. and Latin Americaduring the 1970s and 80s

and then spent 19 years(1991-2010) at the International

Rice Research Institute in various

capacitiesgermplasm specialistand the frst head o the Genetic

Resources Center (created in 1991);program leader or Rice Genetic

Resources: Conservation, Sae Delivery,and Use; and then, in a complete

turnabout, director or Program Planningand Communications.

When ordering rom CABI online

(http://bit.ly/1gRykCZ), purchasers can use this code(CCPGRCC20) or a 20% discount o the retail price. The

discount code is valid until 31 December 2013.The standard prices are 85.00, US$160.00, or 110.00. The

discounted prices are 68, $128, or 88. n


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

Scientifc Writing Workshop 14-18 October IRRI, Philippines

Rice: Postproduction to Market Training Course 28 October-8 November IRRI, Philippines

Ecological Management o Rodents, Weeds, Insects, and Birds in Rice

Agroecosystems Course

4-15 November IRRI, Philippines


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9Rice TodayOctober-December 2013 9Rice TodayOctober-December 2013

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10/34


It all started in 1984 in Los Baos,Laguna, in the Philippines.Scientists had begun to develop anexciting new approach to breeding

cropsgenetic engineeringandeveryone wondered how it could beused to help the world.

In a house in this college townsat several breeders who weredreaming of what traits they couldcome up with using this exciting newtechnology. Increase yields? Developcrops to survive droughts? Protectrice against pests?

One breeder, who developedmany of the Green Revolution cropsthat had saved hundreds of millionsfrom famine, gave a startling answer:yellow rice. Why? Because, he said,vitamin A deciency aicts millions

of people around the world.1

Finding answers to globalmalnutritionHow bad is vitamin A deciency? In2005, for example, the devastatingeects of lacking this one vitaminaected 190 million preschoolchildren and 19 million pregnant

women in 122 countries. Eachyear, it is responsible for up to 2million deaths and 500,000 cases ofirreversible blindness.

Rice could substantiallyreduce the devastating impact ofvitamin A deciency because in

many developing countriesthePhilippines among themthe poorestfamilies lack the means to buy thevegetables and fruits that containthis crucial nutrient. They can aordnothing more than plain white rice.

There is only one problem. Riceis not usually a source of vitamin A.While many fruits and vegetableshave the genes to make this vitamin,neither rice nor any of its close wildrelatives have these genes. Traditionalbreeding in rice is useless in the

ght against this deadly vitamindeciency. It would take geneticengineering to help solve the problemof making rice produce its ownsource of vitamin A.

Golden Rice, from dream to realityToday, we are there. The dream ofyellow ricenow dubbed Golden

Ricehas gone from a rice breedersdream to actual rice plants that canbe grown in elds.

Golden rice promises to helpreduce the deaths and blindnessthat come with not geing enoughvitamin A in poor communities

around the world. As we try toimprove the nutrition of poor familiesacross the country, Golden Rice canhelp alleviate the health scourge ofvitamin A deciency. Studies haveshown that one cup of Golden Ricecould provide around 50% of therecommended vitamin A that anadult needs for a day.

We are therethat is, if we arenot misguided enough to turn ourbacks on this important technology.

Recently, activists stormed a

research eld in Bicol on southernLuzon island in the Philippines anddestroyed one of several eld trials ofGolden Rice, potentially seing backthe delivery of this humanitariancrop. It was a criminal act againsta project whose only goal is to helpelevate the health of the worldspoorest people.

Debunking Golden Rice myths:

a geneticists perspective

A leading authority on plant evolutionary and

ecological genomics confronts the misconceptionsabout Golden Rice with cold, hard facts

by Michael Purugganan

isaganiserrano(

2)

1 That person was Peter Jennings, the rst breeder at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). In an IRRI Pioneer Interview, Gary Toenniessen, a managing

director of The Rockefeller Foundation and long-time IRRI collaborator, recalls this discussion among the breeders. Go to hp://youtu.be/a7bGykLVm2E.


11/34


Many misconceptions existabout Golden Ricetoo many to listthem all here. But, as a plant scientistwho works on rice, although notgenetically modied rice, let me talkabout three of them.

Myth 1: Golden Rice is unnatural

First is the notion that Golden Rice issome sort of unnatural, monster rice.

The truth is, in developingGolden Rice, geneticists have insertedonly three genes into rice DNA toallow it to make beta carotene, whichis a source of vitamin A. Three genesout of the more than 30,000 genespresent in a rice plant. And, the genesthey inserted to make the vitaminare not some weird manufacturedmaterial but are also found in squash,carrots, and melons.

So, there is nothing unnaturalabout the processscientists justgured out how to take a gene fromone species and add it to anothersDNA. Plants do this in the wild allthe time. It is called horizontal genetransfer, and plants, animals, andbacteria have been shown to acquiremany genes from each other as theyevolve.

Breeders actually do much moreradical things to the rice genome

and the rice plant by traditionalbreeding methods, and with muchless information about what exactlythey are doing to the rice plantsgenes. We know a great deal moreabout the genes that were inserted

into the Golden Rice by geneticistswhat they do, how they actthan weknow about thousands of genes andmillions of mutations in rice.

Myth 2: GMOs are unsafe and riskySecond is the idea that geneticallymodied organisms (GMOs) are

unsafe, cause cancer or othermajor health risks, or pose seriousenvironmental problems.

Let me be clear herethe safetyissue has been studied and discussedby scientists around the world,and they concluded that there is noevidence that GMOs are inherentlyunsafe. Let me repeat again. The mostprominent scientic bodies in theworldamong them, the U.S. NationalAcademy of Sciences, the AmericanMedical Association, the World Health

Organization, and the PhilippineNational Academy of Science andTechnologyhave publicly concludedthat GMOs are safe.

Now, it is true that we stillhave to test the safety of every newgenetically modied plant varietythat is developedthat is justcommon sense. In fact, GMOs areprobably the most intensely testedand studied crop varieties in theworld. Much more so than the seeds

you buy from your local garden orfarm store, which are released withno health or safety analysis.

But, you ask, havent I readstories about scientists that havesupposedly linked health problemseven cancerto eating GMO foods?Well, the overwhelming majorityof reputable scientists who haveexamined these claims have shownthat such conclusions are simplywrong. These stories are based onresearch that was poorly designed

and analyzed, and other scientistshave strongly criticized these studies.

Myth 3: Golden Rice is a bigbusinessFinally, there is the idea that GoldenRice is being developed to be sold bybig biotechnology companies to protfrom poor famers.

Again, let us be clear here:Golden Rice is a public project.While the company Syngenta helped

develop Golden Rice, they have givenit to the International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI) for freeno costs, nofees, no royalties.

Golden Rice is now being bredby IRRI, in cooperation with thePhilippine Rice Research Institute,and other public breeders around the

world. The varieties that are developedwill be turned over to governmentagricultural agencies in developingcountries, which will then determinehow to distribute them to farmers.

IRRI is not selling Golden Rice,and no big biotech company willmake money out of it.

Critical juncture for thePhilippinesOur country, and the world, is nowat a critical point. The population of

the planet will hit 9 billion peopleby 2050. The Philippines alreadyhas more than 100 million people.In the face of the decreasing landfor farming, a growing population,and increasingly erratic climates,we need to use every tool we have,including agricultural biotechnology,to help our farmers and our people tosurvive and thrive.

Our scientists have helpeddevelop Golden Rice varieties, as well

as other genetically engineered crops,to increase our food security. Let usnot turn our backs on this technologyfor the 21st century, and nd ourselvesonce again at a technological andeconomic disadvantage.

Nearly 30 years ago, some ofthe best rice breeders in the worldgathered in Los Baos and discussedharnessing biotechnology to helpfeed the world. What they dreamedup is now poised to become a realitythat will help farmers produce more

nutritious rice that can save lives.Let us make sure that those who

need it most can, for once, put gold ontheir plates.

Dr. Purugganan is a Dorothy SchifProfessor of Genomics and Dean ofScience at New York University.

This edited version of the article isreprinted with permission from GMANews Online and the author.


12/34


Unmindful of the heat andthe humid air circulatingfrom an industrial fan inthe glasshouse, Casiana

Vera Cruz, plant pathologist at theInternational Rice Research Institute(IRRI), met with her team to check theprogress of the rice plants that exhibitresistance to bacterial blight. Severalrows of plastic boxes with plants fromdierent rice-growing countries lledthe facility.

Some varieties are from SouthAsia while others are from SoutheastAsia, said Dr. Vera Cruz. The plantslook healthy for now but, in the nextfew weeks, we will see the plants that

are more resistant to bacterial blight,as they have been inoculated.

A deadly diseaseAmong rice diseases, bacterial blightis one of the most costly, said Dr.Vera Cruz. It can damage as muchas 6070% of the plant and can evenresult in crop failure, especially whendisease strikes at the seedling stage.

Once infected at the seedlingstage, the leaves turn grayish green

With an ever-evolving pathogen and

changing climate, scientists continue to

improve defenses against bacterial blight

and roll up. And, as the diseasespreads, the leaves turn yellow tostraw-colored and then wilt. Theresult can be a grim nightmare for

farmers as they helplessly watch theirseedlings dry up and die.This is exactly what happened

to farmers in Haryana and Punjabstates in India in 1980 when forthe rst time, the rice they weregrowing succumbed to a bacterialblight outbreak. It is the same diseasethat has been associated with majorepidemics that ruined the fortunes offarmers in China, Korea, Indonesia,the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Myanmar,Laos, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The disease also occurs in Australiaand Africa.

It is no surprise that farmersare taking this disease seriously.Although there are chemicalsdeveloped to control this disease,none of them are completely eectiveat eliminating outbreaks.

Breeders at workHowever, farmers no longer need toworry spend very much on chemicals

to combat bacterial blight thanksto the scientists at IRRI and otherresearch organizations who have beenscouring the world for rice plants that

have natural resistance to bacterialblight.Many improved rice varieties

now have major genes for resistanceto the disease, said Dr. BertrandCollard, IRRI plant breeder. Thus,the chances of farmers losing theircrop to bacterial blight are lower.

As early as the 1970s and80s, rice scientists found varietiesTKM6 and DV85 that had inherentresistance to bacterial blight. Recently,researchers have identied more than

30 genes (named Xa1 to Xa38) thatimpart blight resistance.Making rice resistant is notonly most economical, but it is alsoa sustainable way of controllingbacterial blight, said Dr. Vera Cruz.A good example is IR20, one of theelite varieties that has been promotedby IRRI since 1975. Even after morethan 35 years, IR20, which carriesthe Xa4 gene, is still resistant to somestrains of bacterial blight.

Beating

blightby Lanie Reyes

nancycastilla,

irri


13/34


At IRRI, more than 80% of theelite lines have the Xa4 gene and,since 2000, released cultivars such asPSB Rc82 carry combinations of geneswith resistance to the predominantpopulation of the pathogen. Otherelite lines have also been developedwith dierent combinations of Xa5,

Xa7, Xa13, and Xa21, among othergenes. Some elite lines and releasedcultivars show broad-spectrumresistance, indicating that unknownor novel genes may be present inthese lines and cultivars.

Nevertheless, bacterial blightcontinues to be an important concerndue to the capacity of the pathogen tochange and overcome the deployedresistance genes. Governmentagencies know well that the stakesare high. Whenever susceptible rice

varieties are grown in environmentsthat favor bacterial blight, thedisease can turn green rice eldsinto wastelands of dry and wiltingleaves, and empty grainswiping outinvestments and potential prots.

Balancing genetic protectionRecently, Dr. Vera Cruzs teammade a discovery that will further

improve the resistance of rice to thedisease. They learned that it is notjust the presence of resistance genesXa4 and Xa7 that is important,butthat environmental factors such astemperature also play an importantrole in how the genes protect theplant. They found that Xa4 is more

eective as temperatures drop, whileXa7 does its job beer at highertemperatures.

Since the two genes compensatefor each others weaknesses, this willalso help farmers withstand changesin weather paerns, she said.Climate change could radically altertemperatures during the dry and wetseasons.

Since pathogens co-evolve withthe plant, growing a single resistantvariety over large areas will push

the virulent form of the pathogen tobecome dominant. Therefore, onekey questions for breeders and plantpathologists is how to deploy theresistance genes to prevent pathogenepidemics while maintaining yield.

Diverse genetic resourcesThis is where the importance ofgenetic diversity comes into play. The

good news is that IRRI has a geneticgold mine of dierent types of riceincluding wild rice accessions thatis stored in its International RiceGenebank. The genebank continuesto provide rare versions of genes toenrich and diversify the sources ofresistance to manage bacterial blight.

Aside from nding a critical mixof genes, IRRI scientists are aiming tomap the genome of the blight pathogenand understand what role genes playin the plant. With this information,they can precisely target certain genesof the pathogen that cause virulence inthe plant host. According to Dr. VeraCruz, this will radically shorten thebreeding process for designing blight-resistant rice varieties.

No one can tell what challengesthe future may bring. With the ever-

evolving diseases and changingclimate paerns, IRRI scientists arenot resting on their past successes.They are constantly searching forbeer ways of doing things to deliverwhat farmers need to win the baleagainst this insidious disease.

Ms. Reyes is the managing editor ofRiceToday.

(From left) IRRIs associate scientist Rhulyx Mendoza, researcherPauline Capistrano, plant breeder Bertrand Collard, and plantpathologist Casiana Vera Cruz are working together to developbacterial blight-resistant rice.


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Rice TodayOctober-December 2013Rice TodayOctober-December 2013

Throughout history, humanityhas always struggled withthe specter of hunger causedby human-made or natural

sruptions in the food supply. Backthe 1960s, the goal of the Green

evolution was clear: increase cropeld to ward o widespread foodortages and famine across poor

ce-eating countries.However, new challenges

peared in the decades since theccessful introduction of high-elding rice varieties. As climateange starts to have signicant

mpacts on the conditions aectingricultural lands in vulnerable rice-

isaganiserrano(

3)

producing regions, food security isonce again a priority for rice research.But, it is not just about yield any more.It is about tolerance of and resistanceto new problems. Focused and cuing-edge agricultural research will becritical in meeting this formidable anddaunting challenge.

One such technology, GreenSuper Rice (GSR), is now on its way tofarmers elds.

From laboratories to rice feldsGSR varieties are products of mixinghundreds of rice varieties thatpossess traits such as drought, ood,or salinity tolerance. These varieties

were developed to maximize yieldunder a limited supply of nutrientsand water.

This is rice that seems to do theimprobableincrease yield whileusing fewer inputs, such as fertilizerand water, said IRRIs Jauhar Ali,who has been working on developingGreen Super Rice since 1998. GreenSuper Rice is not just a moniker.The fact that GSR varieties are goodfor the environment is why we arepassionate about geing these intofarmers elds.

Earlier this year, the GSR projectcreated a road map for GSR seeds toreach farmers across rice-producing

breeders under the China NaRice Molecular Breeding NetFrom 2003 to 2008, when thegained momentum, valuablefrom 500 donor varieties werintrogressed into 46 elite adarecipient parents, which evengave the GSR project a substof materials to work on.

Although many instituteworldwide are working on dkey rice traits separately suchnitrogen use eciency and toof drought, salinity, and ooresearchers at IRRI are workcombining many traits in onvariety.

This challenge feels likedream, but breeding can chaeverything, said Dr. Ali. Bfrom 50 years ago did not hathe new breeding tools we ennow. A good example is the cof farmers in Bangladesh. Sothem require rice varieties wood tolerance during the eamiddle stages of the plant, anthey require drought toleranthe terminal crop growth staneeds are complex, and theyaddressed.

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

A armers dream come true

Bernard Brosas, a armer in the province oLaguna, Philippines, tested Green Super Rice onhis 2-hectare arm. GSRs perormance encouraged

him to become a seed supplier to his ellow armers

and nearby towns.

At frst, my ellow armers wondered whetherId get good rice plants rom using ewer seedlings,

and using ewer inputs, Mr. Brosas narrated. Ater

they saw how robust my rice was, and how I was

able to save on input costs, and still got a good

harvest with good quality, they started asking or

GSR seeds rom me to test on their arms.

He welcomed the news that GSR varieties are

under consideration by the Philippine National Seed

Board or distribution to Filipino armers.

Green Super Rice is making its way to armers felds

countries during a meeting for thesecond phase of the project. At theevent, Dr. Ali announced that twoGSR varieties (BSHS6-GSR hybridand Weed-Tolerant Rice 1) have beenocially released in Indonesia andVietnam, respectively, after nationalmultilocation testing. GSR hasalso already been nominated to thePhilippines National Seed Board. It

by Ma. Lizbeth Baroa-Edra

is very close to being released in thePhilippines, Dr. Ali said.

A long roadIn 1998 until 2003, under theInternational Rice Molecular BreedingProgram at IRRI, Dr. Zhikang Liformer IRRI senior scientist and stilldirector of the Green Super RiceProject, led the initial research workpertaining to the GSR breedingstrategy in 18 countries, involving 36partners, introducing genes from 200rice donors into their popular ricevarieties.

We screened early generationsof backcross bulk populations forvaluable traits such as drought,salinity, ooding, and phosphorusand zinc deciency tolerance from avery large collection of dierent typesof rice, said Dr. Ali. During thattime, only China, out of 18 countries,followed through with the research.

The project in China involved 14institutions and about 200 molecular

EarliEr this ye, e e pvce lgu, e Pppe, pcpe vey eec Gsr.

FarmEr BErnard B ye g e w w beef ceGsr ee e eee e Pppe.

BErnard Brosas 51e w w ee Gs w epg e e


15/34


Whats cooking?

Ingredients for the gochujang sauce90 g gochujang (Korean red chili

pepper paste)60 g Korean red chili pepper powder50 g sugar

20 g minced garlic50 mL rice syrup20 mL soy sauce

Ingredients for the broth800 mL water2 slices radish1 piece white or light green part o

a leek, sliced78 pieces dried anchovies3 pieces fsh cakes1 piece dried kelp

by Jeehyoung Shim-Chin

Other ingredients400 g sliced garaetteok(5 cm in length)70 g sliced cabbage50 g sliced leek (green part)A pinch o toasted sesame seedsSliced boiled eggs or fried dumpling (optional)

Directions1. Mix all ingredients or thegochujang

sauce in a container. Set aside.

2. Put all the ingredients or the broth,except the fsh cakes, into a sauce panand allow the mixture to boil.

3. When the broth starts boiling, add thefsh cakes and boil the broth until itthickens and its color becomes opaquewhite.

4. Remove the fsh cakes and the rest o theingredients to make a clear broth. Slice

Tteokbokki is apopular Koreansnack food,

especially among students.It is served in many smalleateries and restaurantslocated near schools anduniversities.

Basically, it is madeofgaraeteok, a chewy,cylinder-shaped whiterice cake, and is cookedin spicygochujang sauce, aKorean fermented red chilipepper paste. It is availablein several variations suchas teokbokki with noodles,

teokbokki with fsh cakes,and teokbokki with seafood,among others.

Its other ingredients,which include eggs andvegetables, make it ahealthier option thanregular meals and othersnack foods. Tteokbokki: Korean rice

cake in spicy sauce

the fsh cakes into 5-cmsquares. Setaside.

5. Stir in the previously preparedgochujang sauce in the broth.

6. Add the sliced garaetteokand simmeruntil the garaetteokbecomes sot, andthe sauce becomes thick. (Stir constantlyso that the rice cakes wont stick to thebottom o the pan.)

7. Add the sliced fsh cakes, leeks, and

cabbage and gently mix them with thesauce.

8. Remove rom heat. Serve immediatelyand garnish by sprinkling toastedsesame seeds on top.

This dish can be served with sliced boiledeggs or ried dumplings.

Jeehyoung left her job as a preschoolteacher in Korea and moved tothe Philippines in 2006 to join herhusband, Joong Hyoun Chin, whoworks as a molecular breeder at IRRI.

Aside from cooking for her familyand friends, she spends some of hertime painting and playing stringinstruments with her children.

Watch Jeehyoung demonstrate how to prepare this delicious Korean dish in an 8-minute video onYouTube at http://sn.im/tte okbokki.

grantleceta

(3)


16/34


At rst glance, EndangSeptiningsih and MichaelThomson are worlds apart.Dr. Septiningsih was born

and raised in Indonesia. Dr. Thomsonhails from the southwestern UnitedStates. Despite the distance of some15 thousand kilometers betweenthem, fate, science, and a commonpassion to improve rice and farmerslives found a way to bring themtogether.

When Michael met SeptiSepti, as she is called by hercolleagues at the International RiceResearch Institute (IRRI), had akeen interest in plant breeding asan undergraduate student in GadjahMada University, Yogyakarta,Indonesia. She then became aresearcher at the Indonesian Centerfor Agricultural Biotechnology andGenetic Resources Research and

by Alaric Francis Santiaguel

Development (ICABIOGRAD) inBogor.

Rice is a part of my life and ricecultivation in Indonesia is usuallydone by smallholder farmers, shesaid. My dream is to help them.

Michaels love aair with rice wasless direct. He became interested inplant science when he joined a highschool summer program on plantbiotechnology at the University ofArizona. Even as an undergrad,

I didnt have an agriculturebackground so I was more interestedin pure science and genetics, he said.

In 1997, Michael aended CornellUniversity to pursue his interestin molecular genetics, where Septihappened to be working towardher PhD in plant breeding withSusan McCouch as her adviser. Dr.McCouch, a renowned rice scientist,spent 5 years at IRRI before joiningthe Cornell faculty. (SeeA juggling act:

Gender barriers and molecular maps onpages 37-39 in Rice Today Vol. 9, No. 2)

When I moved to Cornell, Ispent some time working in two labson wheat and tomatoes, Michaelsaid. Finally, I worked with Dr.McCouch. Rice was the one that gotme most excited.

Like the protagonists in the lmWhen Harry Met Sally, they startedo as colleagues and friends. Wewere classmates and we were part

of a study group with several otherpeople from dierent countries,Septi recalled. Then we becameclose friends after we both studiedunder the same adviser. Michaeland Septi got married in 1999 andthey had their rst two children, bothboys, while at Cornell.

Following their heartsAfter completing their postdoctoratesat Cornell, Michael started looking

For the love ofriceTwo scientists, worlds apart but with a common passion,

end up being more than laboratory partners

MichaelThoMson

GeraldineMaliTic


17/34


r work, but Septi felt it was timemove back to Indonesia. Sheanted to give back to the Instituteat allowed her to study at Cornellr her PhD. It was a decision thatichael fully supported.

We were trying to ndmething that would advance bothour careers, he said. Going backher home institute was importanther. For me, I wanted to get thatternational experience.

In 2003, Septi returned toABIOGRAD, where she worked onrietal identication and diversityalysis of the germplasm of majordonesian crops such as rice,ybean, and sweet potato. Michael,

n the other hand, r eceived a grantom the National Science Foundationternational Research Fellowshipogram to study the geneticversity of traditional and improveddonesian rice varieties, also atABIOGRAD, for 2 years.

After completing his fellowship,ichael then found an opportunityIRRI, where he was accepteda postdoctoral fellow with Dr.

bdelbagi Ismail, plant physiologistd coordinator of the Stress-

olerant Rice for Africa and Southsia (STRASA) project, in mappingantitative trait loci (QTL)stretchesDNA containing or linked to genessponsible for important t raitsandarker-assisted breeding of salt-lerant rice. Septi was also accepteda postdoctoral fellow to focus one development of ood-tolerant riceith Dr. David Mackill, former headIRRIs Plant Breeding, Genetics,d Biotechnology Division. Theyoved to the Philippines in 2005,ith their two boys and 2-month-oldughter.

For a professional couple ine same eld of research, its quitecult to nd a place where we canth work and do our research on

ce, Michael said. In that aspect,RI is t he perfect place for us.

areers in full bloomoday, Septi leads IRRIs work toentify traits to help develop new

ood-tolerant rice that can surviveerent types of ooding at dierent

stages of the rice plants development.This includes looking for genes andQTLs that help direct-seeded riceto germinate even when ooded(anaerobic germination), and protectrice plants when submergence iscomplete or when oods of 2050cm remain in t he eld (stagnantooding).

We search for new QTLs andgenes, she said. Every time we havesomething good on the genetic side,we incorporate it in our breedingto develop new rice varieties thatare particularly suited for changingclimatic conditions.

Flood-tolerant rice varieties areparticularly important because morethan 1520 million hectares of land,mostly in Asia and some parts ofAfrica, are prone to ooding.

Michael now runs IRRIsGenotyping Services Laboratoryand oers DNA marker servicesfor research and breeding groups.Genotyping determines the geneticnature of individual rice varieties(genotype) by using DNA markersto detect dierences between riceplants based on their underlying

DNA sequence. DNA markers agthe location of genes of interestassociated with useful traits, thusmaking it easier to breed the t raitsinto new varieties. Plant breedersare increasingly using specic DNAmarkers to track genes, he said. Welike to make it more ecient by usingnew technology.

His role includes validating newDNA markers and looking for newtechnologies to further improve

the eciency of the lab. I enjoyexploring new technology that in theend can really help the breeders,he said. Connecting the diversityand breeding applications is reallyexciting. The main impact I hope tooer is to make breeding faster. It cantake 9 or 10 years to develop a newrice variety. If theres a way we can

help breeders do that in, say, 6 yearsinstead of 10, we can release new andimproved varieties faster.

Chemistry, in and out of the labScience is a competitive eld. Itshistory is fraught with intellectualfeuds and rousing debates betweendisagreeing scientists. Does science,which brought Septi and Michaeltogether, also work against theircareers and marriage?

Our interest is genetics but weare not competitive, said Septi. Weare complementary because our workis dierent. My rst research areaat IRRI was submergence while heworked with salinity. We supporteach other.

In fact, Michael said being mar-ried to a colleague has its advantages.We get to bounce ideas o eachother, he said. If we have problemsat work, sometimes we can help eachother solve them after oce hours.

Septi agrees. At home, we canhave work-related discussions. If Ineed to use his laboratory facilitiesand get help from his sta, we cantalk about it while in the car or whenwe are shopping.

With both being scientists, theyalso understand the needs andpressures of each others job and giveeach other advice.

She reminds me to focus and notneglect the things that are importantfor my own career, Michael said. Ican get distracted by many activitiesat work. People often ask me for helpabout software and dierent things. Ifall behind in writing publications ofmy own.

Michael also has advice for Septi.Sometimes, I feel overwhelmedbecause a lot of stu is going onat the same time since I have moreresponsibilities now, Septi said.Michael tells me not to worry toomuch. Just take it easy.

It can be a struggle at times,she added. Sometimes, we have a lotof work even during the weekends.But, we make sure we spend qualitytime with our kids since it is alsoour responsibility to raise them to besuccessful.

They also have to coordinate

their schedules, including aendingscientic conferences. At the start ofthe year, we discuss who goes to whatconference because we try not toleave our children alone, Septi said.Although on some occasions we do,but just for a couple of days.

Were there moments when theyconsidered shifting jobs and havingonly one scientist in the fa mily? Ifshes more successful, then I canretire early, Michael joked. But we

are both commied to our caWe cant really imagine if eitof us stops being a scientist.

Facing the futureAmerican millionaire Dennirecently announced his planthe rst manned mission to Min 2018. The voyage would tadays, round trip, and could ian adventurous married cr ewSepti and Michaels professiopersonal relationship survivordeal?

We could probably hanjourney but we might drive other crazy, Michael said inThey would rather stay rightEarth and hopefully see theias scientists, come true.

For Michael, that would having all the rice genomes iInternational R ice Genebankhas more than 117,000 types sequenced and characterizedpoint where scientists can juthe desired version of the genneed in their breeding progr

Having an integrated dthat contains all the geneticinformation about all the ricethe International Rice Genebsomething Id really like to sresource for breeding prograMichael said. Theres so mupotential, but, so far, we donthe sequence and trait data toeciently.

Septi shares this vision wMichael. I want to use certain my trait development progspeed up the development ofvarieties.

Behind the high-end techand the intricate science of mgenetics and breeding, the tw

scientists have a singular pratarget. They want to help farover the world by developingrice.

My ultimate goal as a scto make rice farmers happy bthem harvest more rice and hbeer incomes, Septi said. Mher fellow scientist and husbacouldnt have said it any bee

Mr. Santiaguel is a writer at IR

A fAmily portrat o scentsts mchaeand Sept, takng te o ro ther rceaboratores wth ther chdren iha,iran, and Ata.

JonS

chroeder


18/34


Maps

By 2035, the world will requiremore than 100 million tonsof additional rice when thepopulation surpasses 8.5

llion. To meet this global demand,e International Rice Researchstitute (IRRI), through theternational C4 Rice Consortium,developing C4 rice, a new kind ofce equipped with a more powerfulngine for transforming carbonoxide (CO2) and solar energy intood.

C4 plants such as maize andrghum have more ecient

hotosynthesis than C3 plants. Thehotosynthesis in C3 plants suchrice is not as ecient becausea wasteful process called

hotorespiration that takes place ine mesophyll cells of leaves. In C 4

hotosynthesis, CO2 is concentratedthe bundle sheath cells where

hotorespiration is negligible.Scientists are now aempting

introduce C4 photosynthesis,

M.V.R. Murty, Tao Li, William P. Quick, Sam Mohanty, Khondoker Abdul M ottaleb,

dAndrew Nelson

Mappingh copo h

futureincluding the required changesin the leaf structure, into rice. Thegood thing about C4 rice is that itcan thrive under high temperaturecaused by global warming, andwith a decreasing fertilizer andwater supply.

If research is successful, the C4rice varieties could be available tofarmers in another 15 years. By 2035,farmers could adopt them in irrigatedareas.

So, in the future, how muchwould the yield gain of C4 rice bein South Asia, where many rice

consumers live? To help answer thisquestion, we used ORYZA2000, a ricegrowth simulation model, combinedwith the C3 and C4 photosyntheticmodules from GECROS.

In one simulation set, we as-sumed that 220 kg of nitrogen wasapplied per hectare of rice area, andwe used spatial soil data and weatherfrom three climate scenarios between2035 and 2040 with corresponding

increases in atmospheric CO2 level(map A in fgure). The other simula-tion set used the current CO2 of 400ppm (map B in fgure)

.

At the current CO2, the yield

gains of C4 rice could be more than40% in Kerala, Odisha, AndhraPradesh, and Karnataka in India andin Khulna Province in Bangladesh.But, at a higher CO2 level inanticipation of climate change, yieldgains are lower. The reason for thisis that CO2 concentration is alreadyhigh in the bundle sheath cells ofC4 rice so it wont be able to takemuch advantage of the increase in

atmospheric CO2 level. Even with thissetback, the virtual C4 rice could stillyield an impressive additional 26

40% in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,Odisha, and Kerala in India, andin Barisal and Khulna provinces inBangladesh.

Yield gains across South Asiawould vary because of the interactionbetween soils and climate. Generally,the yield gain of C4 rice wouldaverage 32% at current CO2 level. Athigher CO2 level, on the other hand,the average yield gain would be 21%.

These initial results suggestthat appropriate location-specifc C4rice cultivars, fertilizer doses, and

management options will furtherimprove these yield gains. Thisclearly shows the importance of thedevelopment and deployment of C4cultivars for global rice productionto keep up with increased ricedemand.

Note: This work is a part of GlobalFutures for Agriculture: IntegratedModeling and Scenario Assessment

funded by the Bill & MelindaFoundation and the InternatiFood Policy Research Institu

Dr. Murty and Dr. Li are crop min the Geographic Information S(GIS) group and Crop and EnviSciences Division. Dr. Quick isof the C4 Project. Dr. Mohanty of the Social Sciences Division Dr. Moaleb is a postdoctoral fein SSD. Dr. Nelson is the head Laboratory at IRRI.

Percent yield gain

010

1115

1620

2125

2640

4168

* The results are e xpressed as averages of three future climate scenarios and weighted averages of rice pixels in each state/province.

Percent yield gain of C4 rice at CO2 level, by 2035-40 (A) and at current CO2 level(B).

A* B


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Rice TodayOctober-December 2013Rice TodayOctober-December 2013oday October-December 2013, Vol. 12, No. 4

Beta carotene, which the human body converts into Vitamin A, is essential or eye health and t he proper unctioning o the immune system. It is na

ruits, vegetables, and now it is in Golden Rice thanks to genetic modifcation.


20/34

Rice TodayOctober-December 2013

During the Vietnam War,the Mekong Delta wasperhaps best known as aCold War baleground.

hile the war raged, however, achnological revolution, every bit asofound, was underway as farmersgan adapting small engines forater pumps and boat motors. Sincee introduction of these enginesthe early 1960s, almost every

ousehold managed to acquire one.ounted on a water pump, thesegines enabled farmers to irrigateops and double their yields. Higherelds permied other purchasesom bicycles and Honda motorbikesgenerators and sewing machines

ee I remember Hondarice on pages-44 of Rice Today Vol. 5, No. 4). Ase war escalated in the late 1960sd the Vietnamese governmentsthority deteriorated in theuntryside, a sort of fragmented

by David Biggs

modernization was underway. Aftera relatively brief respite after 1975,imports of these engines have surgedsince the 1990s.

Invasion o the small enginesAcross monsoon Asia, a similarsmall-engine revolution occurred.Powering scooters, three-wheeledtrucks, boats, and water pumps,low-horsepower (hp) engineshave radically altered the socialand ecological fabric of rural life.Almost everyone is familiar withtheir sounds, if not their operation.Rarely a moment exists in the riversor elds when one does not hear thepercussive raling of a motor. Suchgoods rst became widely availablein the 1960s. And, since the 1980s,their use has grown exponentially.The adoption of cheap internalcombustion engines to power pumpsallowed farmers to start growing

olle F et al. 2003. The Groundswell of Pumps: Multilevel Impacts of a Silent Revolution. Paper prepared for the ICID-Asia Meeting, Taiwan.ansom R. 1969. The Motor Pump: A Case Study of Innovation and Development. In: Ox ford Economic Papers, New Series, Volume 21, Number 1. p 109-121.

with high-yielding rice and fertilizersthat have become the norm today.These pumps have played a pivotalrole in what Francois Molle andothers call a silent revolution.1

Local ingenuityAlthough American and internationalaid missions were usually quick toclaim the credit for winning heartsand minds via such introductions ofnew machinery, American technicaladvisers were, for the most part,the spectators, and local farmersthe inventors. Robert Sansom, aRhodes scholar who studied therural economy of the Mekong Deltain 1966-67, noted that an enterprisingVietnamese dredging mechanicadapted an impeller to build ashrimp-tail pump (may bom duoitom) out of the engines available in1963.2 By 1967, he sold some 80,000pumps across the delta and made

a sizable fortune. It was only afterDr. Sansom related his observationsto ocials at the U.S. Agency forInternational Development (USAID)in Saigon that Robert Komer, anAmerican ambassador and head ofU.S. President Lyndon B. Johnsonsnation-building operations, consideredthe revolutionary implications.

Farmers, working in muddyelds far removed from agriculturalextension oces, experimented withengines for several years beforethe Americans and the Saigongovernment paid any aention. Theironic role reversal here was notsimply a case of the tail waggingthe dog, however. The Americansplayed a supporting role in thistakeo story through a CommercialImport Program that promoted thewidespread importation of Americantechnology at cut-rate prices. There

were other factors, too, particularlythe involvement of Asian technicaladvisers. In the same town wherethe dredge mechanic improvisedthe shrimp-tail pump, Taiwaneseadvisers successfully introducedthe rst high-yielding rice varietiesfrom the International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI) that could producemore rice when irrigated.

Big engines vs. small enginesTo understand both the popularity ofthe small engines and the challengesfaced by governments and people inthe region today, one must considerthe problems inherent with the older,state-managed forms of large waterpumping stations and canals (bigengines). Reclamation programsinitiated by the French colonialgovernment produced an agriculturallandscape that depended on largeinputs of labor and funding. In theMekong Delta, this infrastructure fellinto disrepair as Japanese militaryoccupation (1940-45) gave way toalmost three decades of ghting.Throughout this era, engineers, social

scientists, and aspiring Vietnnationalists all debated the fwater management in the de

After the Geneva Accordconcluded in 1954, the U.S. amission in Saigon immediateembarked on an a mbitious suse its own big machines, esa eet of multimillion-dollarsuction dredges manufacturBaltimore, Maryland.

President Ngo Dinh Diempresented Americans with amplans to resele hundreds ofthousands of northern Vietnrefugees on abandoned rebellands of the delta, and Amerresponded by sending severadredges to clear the main canfor these grid-like projects cothousands of hectares. With in violence in 1959, communiinsurgents began a concertedto aack the American machIn new selements across theplatoons of a new Peoples LiArmed Forces scaered selethen opened re not on govetroops but on the dredges. W

Rice TodayOctober-December 2013

The widespread use of small engines for water pumps and boat motors gave rise to profound

changes in the Mekong Delta

Moo pump gm

Many advanceMents vm' gmhzo wh mll g h l 1960.

martingummert,irri


21/34


e insurgents deliberately shiftedrgets, the new socialist governmentNorth Vietnam also favored

g-engine approaches to irrigation.surgents appropriated small-gine technology for immediatectical needs, but the general

itude in the north was thatigation was the responsibility ofe state, typically involving massbor campaigns and Russian-signed pumping stations.

not-so-silent revolutionhe shift to an agricultural economypendent on small engines began

multaneously at many sites acrosse region in 1963. American andetnamese archives suggest aftere President of South Vietnam, Ngonh Diem, was overthrown in 1963e way was opened more importersparticipate in American-backedograms. Four years later, in 1967,merican ocials rst noticed themand for this equipment, andey began promoting motorizeduipment in their overall nation-

uilding strategy. Among English-nguage sources, the best knowncount of the shr imp-tail pumpsvelopment comes f rom Dr.nsoms 1967-69research.

A severe drought in 1962ompted farmers around the town ofy Tho to start major canal projectssave their harvest. One prosperous

rmer in a nearby village bought aesel-powered centrifugal pumpr roughly US$600. Another farmeritnessed how the pump eectivelyted water into that landownerslds and quickly grasped the valuemotorized irrigation. This mand worked on French dredges as aechanic in the 1940s, so he set to

vise an impeller similar to suctionedges in use after 1945. Afterveral unsuccessful trials with aench bicycle motor and a Japanesehp engine, he purchased a 4.5-hpinton engine, and within monthsrned a prot by renting out this

mprovised pump. In 1964, dealersmprovised their own impellers

d tin sleeves. Across Asia, salessimilarly made motor pumpscreased steadily. In each place,

locals circulated their own stories ofinvention.

IRRIs high-yielding rice alsoplayed an important supportingrole in the small-engine revolution.Privately owned water pumpsallowed farmers to more reliablyirrigate elds planted with one ofthe early high-yielding varieties,IR8, introduced in 1966. This varietyrequired about 30 fewer days tomature than most varieties, andit was extremely responsive tonitrogen fertilizers, but it requiredsteady irrigation for maximumproductivity.

By 1967, 80,000 sh rimp-tailpumps were in use based onan American estimate citingimport statistics for 4-hp engines.With Dr. Sansoms revelationsto colleagues at USAID andsuccessful IR8 trials, American aidocials were aware that a kindof agroeconomic revolution wasunderway. Meanwhile, war-relatedviolence escalated and the canalinfrastructure deteriorated further.By 1974, a Dutch advisory teamestimated that more than a millionpumps were being used across thedelta for irrigation and ood control.

Inefciency and insurgencyAlthough American advisers andVietnamese ocials in Saigongenerally supported modernization,their reactions to t he improvisedpumps and shrimp-tail motorsranged from concerns aboutineciency to outright opposition.American advisers, in memos andpromotional literature, favoredthe more ecient single-purposecentrifugal pumps while ignoringthe importance of the shrimp-tail

as a twin-use pump/motor. Localgovernment representatives oftenrefused to publicize the shrimp-tailpump because it was only 540% asecient as the centrifugal pumps.In keeping with the USAID line onineciency, Vietnamese publicationson motorized water pumps excludedthe shrimp-tail from the lineup.

The South Vietnamese responseranged from obstructionist toconcerns over military security. One

of the biggest bolenecks to the rapidsale of engines in the 1960s was notsupply or even hard currency, butthe arcane process in which onlyfarmers lucky enough to acquire alicense were permied to buy anengine. Navigating governmentand insurgent checkpoints alsoslowed the transport of equipmentfrom Saigon docks to the delta withbribes and taxes, thus raising the endprice. Government bans also aimedto prevent the sale of boat motorsto insurgent-controlled areas. Byrestricting the sale of engines andeven rice seed in government-heldareas, the end result was to spur riceproduction in liberated zones.

Thus, the shrimp-tai l revolutionbecame an integral part of theVietnamese revolution, too. An

American report in 1970 notedthat government bans on the saleof equipment had resulted in therapid movement of equipmentinto territory held by the NationalLiberation Front (NLF). With riceprices at all-time highs in 1970, muchof the rice was then being sold ingovernment-controlled markets togenerate cash.

Postwar epilogueAlthough academics have extensivelyexamined mechanization, therural cash economy, and the GreenRevolution in most of monsoon Asia,the role of small engines has beenlargely ignored.

The rapid adoption of theseengines raises important questionsabout the states role in managing

water resources. This is anincreasingly dicult task even incountries such as Vietnam thatadvocate a form of state-managedcapitalism.

The postwar government in 1975rst supported a model of centralizedstate control over irrigation withlarge irrigation stations and mass-labor public works campaigns. After1986, with Vietnams liberalizationpolicy, imports in boat motors,motorized pumps, and otherequipment surged as the statereduced its obligations. This small-engine revolution produced a kindof ecopolitical impasse in whichstates and their constituencies wereat odds over measures to divideup increasingly scarce resources.This resulted in some notable

disasters such as a 2002 foresthat consumed much of the UForest, a freshwater area withtrees that once protected a labase for the NLF. The pumpgroundwater on surroundinlowered the water table in thand dried out the layer of pefueled the re.

Advances in small technsince the 1960s, the not-so-sirevolution, have literally emmillions of individuals to imcrop yields and to survive echallenges brought by naturand social changes. Howeveto the extent they contributegroundwater depletion and problems, they point to a preday predicament for states tto manage increasingly scarwater resources. The turn toeveryday technology since thas produced a middle grouon which farmers and statesmust navigate landscapes shboth by small-engine tech noand aging networks of leveecanals, and older works. Stahave, for the most part, beenin the dust and engine exhauthe small-motor revolution, remains a challenge for expeintellectuals to catch up andto this trend.

Dr. Biggs is an associate professhistory at the University of CalifRiverside. His research refects in Southeast Asia, environmentissues, and agriculture. His mosbook is Quagmire: Nation-Buand Nature in the Mekong D(University of Washington Pres

This article is an edited excerpt an essay by the same author. SeMachines in the Garden: EveTechnology and Revolution iMekong Delta on pages 47-7046, No. 1 ofModern Asian StuThis is reprinted with permissioCambridge University Press.

vietnaM's Green roluo wh m hMkog dl op ir8,irri' f hgh-lg .

irri


22/34


With her tiny frame, blunt-cut bangs, and trendyoutts, 28-year-oldTruong Thi Thanh Nhan

looks more like a school girl thana farmer. Nhan earned her degreein software programming from theUniversity of Sciencein Ho Chi Minh

City, Vietnam, in 2010. But, aftergraduation, she agreed to her parentswishes to oversee their family farmin Dak Lak Province in VietnamsCentral Highlands.

In December 2011, Nhan startedthe daunting task of managingtheir almost 70 hectares of land. Shestarted planting rice twice a year on20 hectares of their farm. Once a year,Nhan also grows maize and pumpkinon 10 hectares each. Although herfamilys farm is located on a steep

slope, bringing water into the eldwas easy because the eld was nextto a water canal. It was managing thewatermaking sure that higher areaswere reachedthat was the problem.Most of the rice plants in higher areasdie because they lacked sucientwater. She had no choice but to hiremany laborers to replant the eld.

A air or laserIn early 2012, Nhan chanced upon a

show on a Vietnamese TV channelthat featured rice farmer Nguyen LoiDuc from Tri Ton District, An GiangProvince. She found herself glued tothe channel as Nguyen was sharinghis experiences and the benetsfrom laser leveling his 150-hectareeld. With her interest piqued, shesearched the Internet to learn moreabout the technology.

With laser leveling, a transmierplaced at the side of the eld sendsa laser beam to a receiver, which is

aached to a leveling bucket drawnby a tractor. Then, a control panelmounted on a tractor interprets thesignal from the receiver and opensor closes a hydraulic valve, whichin turn raises or lowers the bucket.The bucket then drags and drops soilacross the eld to make it even.

Nhan, together with her family,visited Nong Lam University (NLU)in Ho Chi Minh City. They werebriefed on the technology by NLU

Laser-guided

dreamsTruong Thi Thanh Nhan doesnt look like a typical farmer, but

she is proving to be a powerful "engine" for growth in Vietnams

farming communities

Story and photos by

Trina Leah Mendoza


23/34


sta member Tran Van Khanh, aprincipal lecturer on agriculturalmachinery, and Phung Anh VinhTruong, a researcher who becameNhans husband in 2013 and nowhelps her manage the farm.

Engr. Khanh emphasizedthe benets of the technology

and assured Nhans family thatthe International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI) also providestechnical support. Nhans familywas convinced anddecided to buy laser-leveling equipmentand a drag bucketfrom a Saigon-baseddistributor, IdealFarming Corporation.

Loads o benefts

They began usinglaser leveling in theirrice-growing area.Now that 9 hectaresof our rice eld havebeen laser-leveled,the benets havebeen tremendous,Nanh says. We saveon water becausewe dont need topump more water to

reach the once-highareas. With even water coverage, thecrops are healthy and thrivingandwe dont need to hire laborers forreplanting.

Laser leveling their land hadother benets too. Fertilizer is nowspread evenly among the crop,saving as much as 77 kilograms perhectare. Pests, which used to hide inuneven spots, can no longer do so,resulting in less pesticide applied.Weed control is also easier. Herbicide

spraying has been reduced to one,before the emergence of rice, unlikebefore when they sprayed herbicidetwice during the season. The yieldfrom the laser-leveled eld duringthe dry season, from January toMay 2013, was higher at 6.7 tons perhectare compared with 4.5 tons perhectare for the unleveled eld.

The laser-leveling equipment,however, is subject to wear and tear.Nhans husband, Truong, shares

that the usual challenges they facewith laser leveling have more to dowith xing the equipment when itbreaks down. It usually takes a weekto repair the system, and Truong,being an agricultural engineer byprofession, does it on his own intheir workshop. However, since they

live in a rural area where powershortages are common, repairingbroken equipment takes more timeand eort.

postharvest technologies organizedby the Asian Development Bank-IRRIPostharvest Project.

A role modelAlthough Nhan is not a typicalVietnamese farmer, she hasmanaged to turn their farm into a

productive and ecient business.But, many people are surprisedby Nanhs decision to be a farmer.They do not understand why a

young lady like her,with a backgroundin softwareprogramming from aprestigious universitywould want to goback to agriculture.

For Nhan, itwas no surprise.

Her parents bothgrew up on farms,and agriculture waspart of their familytradition. Going backto her roots madeher happy and sheis optimistic abouther future. She hopesthat, with a newgeneration of farmerslike her, it will be

possible to change thegeneral perception of farming.Nowadays, young people think

that farmers are old-fashioned, poor,and lack social standing, and thatreturning to the farm is a last option,says Nhan. I am a smart, young,dynamic person, and even though Iam a farmer living in an area withoutmany comforts and I face dicultieswith nances and managing people,I know that I am on the right pathtoward a stable income and a

sustainable future.I am contributing to food

sustainability for my region andcountry, which young people nowrarely do. And, I have my family tothank for helping me be the farmerthat I am now.

Ms. Mendoza is a senior communicationspecialist with the Irrigated Rice ResearchConsortium at IRRI.

Spreading the wordBut, overall, Nahns decision topurchase the equipment is provingto be a very wise one. As theneighboring farmers witnessed theimprovements on Nhans rice farm,it wasnt long before they sought herhelp. She already provided laser-leveling services to one farmers2.7-hectare rice eld in December2012 and she has plans to do more.

After I nish leveling our

20 hectares of rice farm and ourmaize farm, we plan to rent out ourequipment to other farmers, not onlyfor rice but for other crops as well,says Nhan.

Nhan is now also on amission. An advocate of laser-leveling technology, she sharesher experiences in adopting laserleveling with representatives fromboth the public and private sectorduring meetings and seminars on

NhaN aNd er usbn Kn recnging frming prctices n teimge of frmers in Vietnm.


24/34


A

n international team led

by the National Institute ofAgrobiological Sciences (NIAS)in Japan, which includes

scientists from the InternationalCenter for Tropical Agriculture(CIAT), has discoveredthe DEEPERROOTING 1 (DRO1) gene thatmakes the roots of rice plants growdownward instead of outward.This allows the plants to reachwater held deeper in the soil. Plantswith DRO1 can continue to grow and

produce grain even under extreme

water stress.The researchers also found that

the DRO1 gene appears to change onlythe angle of root growth and slightlyincrease the length of the root tips,rather than the overall root density,meaning that energy is not divertedaway from the production of grain.

An exciting discoveryIts a very exciting discovery, saidCIATs Manabu Ishitani, who was

part of the research team. Weve

known for some time that deeperroots can buy farmers extra timeduring drought, but, until now, wehavent known which gene in rice isresponsible for root architecture, orhow to control it.

Dr. Masa Iwanaga, presidentof the Japan International ResearchCenter for Agricultural Sciences,welcomed the ndings. The GreenRevolution in the 1960s and 70s wasmade possible by the introduction of

The revolution

undergroundCrop scientists have discovered a gene in rice that promotes a deeper root system, whichcould signifcantly improve the crops resistance to drought

by Neil Palmer

Yusaku

uga,

nias

(2)


25/34


short-stature, shallow-rooted cereals

capable of producing high yields, hesaid.

The DRO1 gene confers deeperroot system architecture to crops,which will surely mark the start ofan underground revolution in cropimprovement, which will be essentialfor meeting the increasing worldwidedemand for food, he added.

Rice feeds around half of theworld and production needs toincrease by around 40% in order

to meet the demand of more than9 billion people by 2050. But, eachyear, drought aects some 23 millionhectares of rainfed rice in Southand Southeast Asia alone. In partsof India, water scarcity can cut riceyields by more than a third, equal tolosses of US$800 million annually.Water scarcity is also expected toincrease because of climate changeand increased demand for water forindustrial and urban use.

Water availability will soon

become the most limiting factor inrice production around the world,Dr. Ishitani said. Improving thewater-use eciency of rice is essentialif the crop is going to continue to berelied upon as a staple food for half ofthe world.

He hopes that deeper rootsmight also be able to gain access toadditional nutrients deep in the soil,meaning farmers could use fertilizermore eciently.

Improving a popular variety

Since its release in 1985, IR64 hasbeen widely grown in South andSoutheast Asia. Its positive traitssuch as high yield potential, goodgrain quality, wide adaptability, andgood disease resistance have madeIR64 very popular among farmers.But, this commercialvariety has shortroots and is drought-prone. AlthoughIR64 already has

the DRO1 gene, theplant cannot producethe necessary proteinsthat enable the gene tofunction effectively.

The scientistscrossbred the high-yielding IR64 withKinandangPatong, adeep-rooting uplandrice variety from thePhilippines. Throughconventional breeding

techniques, thescientists combinedthe high yield ofIR64 with the fullyfunctional DRO1 genein KinandangPatong.NIAS evaluatedthe resulting plantsgrown in rainfedlowland trial eldswith scientists at theInternational Rice

Research Institute in the Philippines.The roots of the resulting plants

were able to reach more than twiceas deep as those of IR64. Whentested under simulated conditionsof moderate drought, IR64 yieldsdecreased by almost 60%, while thecrossbreeds suered only a 10% yield

loss. Under extreme drought, IR64failed completely, but the new riceplants continued to produce grainabout 30% of the yield of unstressedrice plants growing under normalconditions.

The discovery of the DRO1gene is a signicant breakthrough inresearch to adapt food crops to waterstress, especially as farmers aroundthe world begin to feel the pressure ofclimate change on water availability,said Joe Tohme, director of CIATs

Agrobiodiversity Research Area.Technologies like this can help boostproduction of one of the worlds mostimportant crops.

Neil Palmer was formerly the publicawareness coordinator at CIAT.

drought stress wa cac axpc nca bca f cma can.

the yield f c w DROIn (pa 30) wc a mc a cmpa w va waw (above).


26/34

ce fables: Indonesia

How rice came to the TorajasRetold by Anupa Roy

Illustrated by Sherri Maigne Meneses

Isharo, the beautiful bird of paradise,was preening her multicolored featherson the topmost branch of a foresttree. The morning sun made her look

like a jewel among green leaves. Isharohad always thought she was the most

beautiful creature in the forest, untilone day she glanced up and s aw

Kautatali.Kautatali, the splendid bird

feared and worshipped byall, swooped down from theheavens to rest on a largemountain tree. His featherswere the colors of the sunand his beautiful human-likebody shone in the morningsun. His sharp golden beakand eyes missed nothingin the forest beneath. Heglanced down and sawIsharojust when Isharoglanced up.

Isharo had never seensuch a big and beautiful

bird and instantly fell in lovewith Kautatali. But Kautatali

ignored her. He spread hiswings and rose slowly in the

air.Isharo apped her yellow-

red wings and spread herfan-shaped tail to follow him.

Just then, a man called up toher, Isharo, Isharo, do not follow

Kautatali.Kautatali, what a beautiful name,

Isharo replied. But I must follow for Ilove him.

Oh, Isharo! the man sa id. Kautataliis the king of birds. He ies the highest and the

fastest among all winged creatures.He will never love you, for lovelythough you are, you can never matchhim in ight.

Ignoring the warning, Isharospread her beautiful wings and roseabove the forest canopy.

Kautatali was already high up,heading towards the sun. Isharoew higher until she was above themountains. In the cold air, her breathcame fast and her lile heart sta rtedbeating faster. She had never own sohigh.

Kautatali looked down at Isharo.Go back, beautiful bird. You cannever y as high and as fast as me,he said as he glided on an air current.And I will marry none other.Kautatali rose even higher.

Oh, Kautatali, if you only knewhow much I love you, cried Isharo.And she apped her wings evenharder to reach him.

But, Kautatali circled themountain and ew on.

Isharo was exhausted. She lookeddown at the forest way beneath. Thenshe set her eyes skywards and ewafter Kautatali.

Alas, the bird of paradise was adelicate creature made for the forests.Isharo began to fall from the sky.

Isharo tumbled down, down backinto the forestthrough the trees andinto a forest clearing. Her lile bodywas broken.

The man who had followed heright sighed at the sight of the dyingIsharo.

I have failed to y to Kautatali.Isharo whispered with her last breath.But I will not die in vain. Plant myeyes and you will never lack food.

Indeed, Isharos death was not invain. From her multicolored wingssprung the leaves of sago palm andfruit trees; from her tail grew thecoconut tree. But the most importantgift was from her golden eyes.Isharos eyes turned into beautifulrice grain.

And since then, people have hadfruits and sago a nd coconut to eat.But most of all, they have rice to growand never lacked food again.

The Torajas live in the highlandsof South Sulawesi, Indonesia, andhave cultivated rice from a very earlytime. They have detailed rituals forsowing and cultivating rice.

Ms. Roy is a consultant at aninternational school in India. She devotesmost of her time to writing and studyingstories for children and teens.



27/34

Nicole le, Grd 6, St. Mrgrt's c-edtn engsh SndPrmry shWht s r? R s n nrgy-gvng d, whh hs md th g rnd r hndrds yrs. it s vb sr ntrnrbhydrts. it s s npnsv nd hs ng strg , whprt.

Wht s r t m? T m, r s th pr th rm bhv t wrk ng hrs t grw r r s. evn sm pr hdrwrk, whh pns my pht.

udding photographers from

ong Kong's primary schoolsbmitted their images to the Ricelife photography contest, which

med to raise awareness of theportance of rice. Children agedand under were encouraged to

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Rice Today Vol. 12, No. 4

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