Rice Today Vol. 7, No. 1

8/9/2019 Rice Today Vol. 7, No. 1

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ISSN 1655-5422 US$5.00

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International Rice Research Institute January-March 2008, Vol. 7, No. 1

Bird’s-eye views of anenduring rice culture

Pesticides, pests, andpredators

PhilippinesDocumenting drought

E x c l u s i v E

P i o n E E r

i n t E r v i E w s



contents

International Rice Research Institute DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, PhilippinesWeb (IRRI): www.irri.org; www.irri.org/ricetodayWeb (Library): http://ricelib.irri.cgiar.orgWeb (Rice Knowledge Bank): www.knowledgebank.irri.org

Rice Today editorialtelephone: (+63-2) 580-5600 or (+63-2) 844-3351 to 53, ext 2725fax: (+63-2) 580-5699 or (+63-2) 845-0606; email: a.barclay@cgia

cover photo Ariel Javellana

publisher Duncan Macintosh editor Adam Barclayart director Juan Lazaro IV designer and production supervisor George Reyescontributing editors Gene Hettel, Bill Hardy, Meg Mondoñedo Africa editor Savitri Mohapatra (Africa Rice Center – WARDA)photo editor Ariel Javellanaphoto researcher Jose Raymond Panaligancirculation Chrisanto Quintanaprinter Print Town Group

Rice Today is published by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the world’sleading international rice research and training center. Based in the Phil ippines and withofces in 13 other countries, IRRI is an autonomous, nonprot institution focused on

improving the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers,particularly those with low incomes, while preserving natural resources. IRRI is one of 15 centers funded through the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research(CGIAR), an association of public and private donor agencies. For more information, visitthe CGIAR Web site (www.cgiar.org).

Responsibility for this publication rests with IRRI. Designations used in this should not be construed as expressing IRRI policy or opinion on the l egal stacountry, territory, city, or area, or its authorities, or the delimitation of its f

boundaries.Rice Today welcomes comments and suggestions from readers. Potential coare encouraged to query rst, rather than submit unsolicited materials. Rassumes no responsibility for loss of or damage to unsolicited submissions, whbe accompanied by sufcient return postage.

CopyrightInternationalRice Research Institute 2008

This magazine is copyrighted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and islicensedor use undera Creative CommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0License(Unported).Unlessotherwisenoted, usersareree tocopy,duplicate,orreproduce,anddistribute,display,or transmitanyo thearticlesor portionsothe articles,andto maketranslations,adaptations, orother derivative worksunder the ollowing conditions:

Aon: The work mustbe attributed,butnot in any way thatsuggests endorsementby IRRIorthe author(s).

On e coe:Aclose overheadview o wet

stone-walledrice eldsready ortransplanting near

Mayawyawtown (location 1 onthe mapon page 14)in Iugao

Province in northern Luzon,Philippines.Formore stunning

aerialphotography showingthe changeso an indigenous

people’senvironmentovertheyears,see the eature article on

pages14-21.

NonCommeca: Thiswork may notbe usedor commercialpurposes.

SaeAe: I thiswork isaltered,transormed,or builtupon,the resulting wdistributedonly underthe same orsimilar license to thisone.

• Forany reuse ordistribution,the license termso thiswork must be made clea• Anyotheaboveconditionscan bewaivedipermissionisobtainedromthecopy• Nothing in thislicense impairsor restrictsthe author’smoral rights.• Fairdealing andother rightsare in no way afectedby the above.• Toviewthe ulltexto thislicense,visithttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/b

EditOriAl ................................................................ 4Historic angles: pioneer interviews , arthropod surveys,

and bird’s-eye views

NEwS ........................................................................ 5Farmers struggle ater Bangladesh cyclone

Doomsdayvault preparations

Irrigated rice production system under pressure

Rice traders predict prices to increase urther

PEOPlE ..................................................................... 8Relevance o rice researchers recognized

Keeping up with IRRI staf

Moving on

rECiPE ...................................................................... 9Pea and mint risotto

thE irri PiONEEr iNtErviEwS ...........................10Peter Jennings: luck is the residue o design

MAPS ......................................................................12Cartograms: distortion or a better view

bird’S-EyE viEwS Of AN ENduriNg .................14riCE CulturE

RiceToday ullls its promise to publish morespectacular photography taken rom above IugaoProvince in the northern Philippines. What is thesignicance culturally and scientically?

SNAPShOt .............................................................20View o Happaw, then and now

A ClOSEr viEw Of ifugAO .................................22riCE AgriCulturE

AfriCAN riCE rESEArCh ExPANdS ...................23Four new countries have become members o the

Arica Rice Center, signaling increased investment

in rice research and the growing importance o ricein Arica

Out with thE wEt, iN with thE dry ...............24How a armer achieved a better lie by using dry-

season rice technology

whEN thE rAiN StOPS ........................................26In August 2007, RiceToday visited drought-stricken

areas in the northern Philippines to discover thatit takes more than a dry spell to dampen armers’spirits

thE uNSuNg hErOES Of thE riCE fiSimply by growing rice, armers cultivate

and ree—pest control system withoutsingle extra thing

thE PEStiCidE PArAdOx ...................Pesticide use at the International Rice Res

Institute is down almost 90% in 14 yeaare less o a problem and biodiversity h

iNtO thE uNkNOwN ...........................Every summer, the World Food Prize Foun

high school students rom the United Sinternational agricultural research instiwith leading scientists and learn aboutdevelopment

riCE fACtS ............................................The true price o rice. Rising rice prices wi

progress in poverty reduction

grAiN Of truth ..................................Balancing ertilizer use and prot



NEWS http://ricenews.irri.org

Rice Today January-March 2008

C yclone Sidr smashed into the south-ern coastal districts of Bangladesh

on 15 November, killing almost 4,000

people and leaving millions homelessand short of basic staples such as rice.Based on initial estimates, about 1 mil-lion hectares of rice are affected.

The cyclone and two major oodsearlier in 2007 have contributed tomajor food shortages in the South Asiancountry, which was added to a list of 37countries facing a food crisis and re-

quiring external assistance, publishedon 17 December 2007 by the Food and

Agriculture Organization (FAO) of theUnited Nations.

According to the FAO, the liveli-hood of more than 8.5 million peoplehas been adversely affected by the

cyclone damage. Estimates of the riceshortfall caused by the cyclone and

oods range from 1.4 million to 2 mil-lion tons.

The country’s food-grain imports—usually 2 million to 2.4 million tons—are likely to rise to around 3.5 million

tons in 2008. Adding to the burdenfor the millions of aficted people, theincreased imports combined with highglobal grain prices will probably lead to

higher prices for consumers.To see what role IRRI might play

both in response to this disaster andto mitigate the effects of future cy-clones—predicted to occur with greater

frequency and severity due to climatechange—Institute scientists Zainul

Abedin, Abdelbagi Ismail, and DavidJohnson traveled to the affected areasof Bangladesh on 14-16 December.

They were joined by the BangladeshRice Research Institute (BRRI) andseveral nongovernmental organizations

working on the IRRI-coordinated Food

Security for Sustainable HouseholdLivelihoods (FoSHoL) project.

“Farmers in affected areas are inimmediate need of relief efforts to cope

with the current devastation,” said Dr.

Ismail. “Short- and long-term measuresare needed to ensure sufcient seedsupply for these farmers, particularly for 2008. This is because most farmerslost their rice crop and the grain yield

of the remaining crop is expecte d to be very low, and will mostly be c onsumed

within a few months. Besides, seedsare of low quality and cannot be storedfor the next transplanted aman [wet]season.”

Farmers were unsure of how they

would meet their food needs up to theirnext season’s harvest, 4–5 months away at the earliest. Crops that were able to

be harvested tended to produce small

yields of poor-quality grain that, ac-cording to farmers, tastes bitter. Many families lost everything—not only rice but also their houses, personal

belongings, vegetables, poultry, and

livestock. With BRRI and FoSHoL collabo-

rators, the IRRI scientists developedpreliminary recommendations forrestoring farmers’ livelihoods. These

included provision of seeds of suitablerice varieties in the short term and, inthe longer term, the development of new varieties and crop management

and intensification strategies to in-crease the chances of crops survivingfuture severe weather events.

On 17 December, Drs. Abedin,Ismail, and Johnson, along with IRRI

liaison scientist Hamid Miah, discussedtheir observations at a series of meet-ings with the secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Md. Abdul Aziz, theBangladesh Agricultural Research

Council, and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee.

The Svalbard Global Seedubbed the Doomsday Va

media—will be a subterrane

bank built into the rock of Svalbard group of islands in tnearly 1,000 km north of mNorway. The vault will st

samples of the world’s most icrops as protection against eand disaster.

As part of a project to preparation for the vault, Car

executive director of the GloDiversity Trust—which aimguard and conserve the divall major food crops—visited

6-7 December, together withCibien and Alain Guillon, a from ARTE TV. They were in t

pines to lm at IRRI and theGenebank and to visit farm

southern Philippines.“What we’re trying to do

vide an insurance policy forother major crops—a plan B, asaid Dr. Fowler. “Soon, IRR

sending 70,000 rice accessioSvalbard Global Seed Vault, aa remarkable contribution.”

Fa rm ers s truggle a fter Ba ng la de sh cyclone Doomsday vault prepa

Imprve ur English anend hunger

www.FreeRice.com has two goalEnglish vocabulary to everyone ohelp end world hunger by providihungry people or ree. The siteaddictive multiple-choice vocabuEvery time a player gets a questioFreeRice, through sponsors whoon the site, donates enough m20 grains o rice. This was raisedinitial 10 grains on 28 Novembero 31 December, 12,255,121,230 been donated. The rice is distribuUnited Nations World Food Progr

A d A

m B A r c l A y

BANGLADESHI FARMERNasiruddin Khan shshis damaged harvestater Cclne Sidr hithis village Purb-

haipur.

CARy FowLER ( second from left ) andnetic Resurces Center Head RuaraidHamiltn ( standing, right ) inspect varieties ith research technician N(left ), assistant scientist Sccie Almter ), and research technician Liza y



NEWS http://ricenews.irri.org

Rice Today January-March 2008 Rice Today January-March 2008

ey factor in high yields

onger grain-lling duration in tropicalrigated rice is a major factor in higherelds. This was a key conclusion of

study reported in the 26 November007 issue of Field Crops Research.he paper, Grain-filling duration,crucial determinant of genotypic

riation of grain yield in eld-grownopical irrigated rice, authored by e Korean National Institute of Cropience’s Woonho Yang et al, was based

n research by a team that included

veral IRRI crop scientists. The teamtermined that longer grain-filling

uration provided rice plants with more

cumulative mean temperature andcumulative solar radiation throughoutthe grain-filling period, leading tohigher grain weight per unit area. The

study also found that grain-lling rateand duration were highly genetically

variable traits, that grain weight wasnegatively or not signicantly associated

with grain-lling rate, and that grain-lling rate and duration were negatively correlated with each other.

Rice vaccine for hepatitis? A group of Chinese scientists hasdeveloped a transgenic rice line thatcould offer a hepatitis B virus (HBV)

vaccine. Rice was chosen because it isa staple in many developing countries

where HBV causes severe problemsand large numbers of people do not

have access to existing vaccines. Theresearch team introduced to rice agene known as SS1, which codes for anHBV surface protein. When given to

mice, the SS1 protein stimulated theproduction of antibodies that providedprotection against hepatitis infection.The researchers, who reported thestudy in the 20 September 2007 issue of

Transgenic Research, hope to developan oral vaccine for preventing hepatitisinfection in humans.

Rice diseases as bio-weapons

Microbiologists in the United Statesare, according to a story in the 29November 2007 issue of Nature,

expressing concern about a governmentproposal to limit research on severalplant pathogens because of theirpotential to be used as bio-weapons.

The researchers say that the plan tosubject rice and citrus disease agents tothe same restrictions as Ebolavirus andanthrax are ill conceived and will limitthe response to a natural outbreak. The

U.S. Department of Agriculture plansto add four plant pathogens to thegovernment’s list of “select agents,”

created to keep infectious diseases outof the hands of would-be terrorists.

Slaves brought U.S. rice?

Preliminary research reported in National Geographic News suggeststhat a rice variety grown successfully

by many colonial plantation owners was

brought to the United States from West Africa. If conrmed, the nding suggeststhat African slaves are responsible fornot only working the farms and bringingthe knowledge to grow rice but also for

supplying the variety itself, which wasone of the most lucrative crops in e arly

American history. West Africans grew

varieties of rice for several years before the start of t he s with the colonies.

IRRI-China ofce turns The IRRI-China Office celeb10th anniversary on 28 NovemInstitute of Crop Science, on th

Academy of Agricultural ScienceChina-IRRI collaboration hain the release of 46 IRRI geaccessions as varieties in Chithan 800 IRRI alumni, many

are now leading their institutioresearch; and an increasing ncollaborative projects.

Rice traders predict prices to increase further

n the face of growing pressureon one of Asia’s most important

od production systems, experts arearning that farmers must get morelp to make them more efcient.

Irrigated rice production provides

pproximately three-quarters of e world’s rice needs, and has a

articularly important role to play

w, with international rice prices at a-year high and global stocks at a 30-

ar low. However, at the 3rd Steeringommittee meeting of the IRRI-ordinated Irrigated Rice Research

onsortium (IRRC), more than 50 riceientists from 13 countries highlighted

e problems facing farmers of irrigatedce. The meeting, held on 8-9 October007, was hosted in Hanoi by theietnamese Academy of Agricultural

iences.Major issues discussed included

mpetition for land and water fromdustrial development, the increasedigration of farm laborers to cities, t he

emergence of rice pests and diseases,

and the increasing costs of productionand inputs. In Vietnam alone, industrial

development has caused the loss of 300,000 hectares of irrigated rice landin the past 5 years.

On a positive note, research

efforts to help rice farmers boosttheir production efficiency and reinin their costs are being helped by new

scientific knowledge in several key areas, including new technologies

to optimize the use of fertilizers andreduce water use.

The IRRC, with major supportfrom the Swiss Agency for Developmentand Cooperation, promotes and

s u s tai ns p ar tners hi p s betweennational agricultural research andextension systems and IRRI to helpfarmers achieve increased protability,

food security, and environmentalsustainability. The Consortium operatesin the Philippines, Bangladesh, China,Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos,Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and

Vietnam.

rrigated rice production system under pressure

Sing is blivingTh Sub1 gn—idntifd by IRRI and Univrsity o Caliornia rsarchrs—allows ric tosurviv colt subrgnc or u to 1 days (s From genes to armers’ felds , on ags28-31 o Rice Today Vol. 5, No. 4). Th hoto at lt shows th nd-rsult harvst o a loton 1 Octobr 200, which yildd th quivalnt o 3.8 tons r hctar or IR4+ Sub1and 1.4 tons r hctar or IR4. A striking ti-las vido showing th ntir 12-daycroing sason o this articular xrint o IR4 with and without Sub1—standing sidby sid and subjct to 10 days o subrgnc—is availabl at www.irri.org/tilas.as.Links to this and othr IRRI vidos on YouTub ar availabl at this Wb location.

Rice Today COVeR INSpIReS mUSICIAN: Jay Maclean, a freelance writer,information specialist, and musician, was struck by the cover photo inthe April-June 2007 issue of Rice Today , which depicts the Mekong Riveras it winds through Yunnan Province in China. He writes: “I was sittingat my piano, looking at the cover, seeing the rugged landscape rollingdown onto a narrow river, a temple, shoals, and mud; nevertheless, thesame river that later calms down on its voyage through Cambodia andbeyond. So, I began to play an impression of the scene. After an hourI had a piece that runs for nearly 4 1/2 minutes.” He calls it, naturally,River of Rice. To listen to the melody, go to www.irri.org/ricetoday.

THe GRAIN OF FReeDOm: orr IRRI sta br Faiga Aing oss waring hr RiceToday T-shirt at th Statu o Libr ty in Nw York.Radrs who snd in a hoto o thslvs hold-ing a coy o th agazin in ront o a aouslandark will rciv a r T-shirt (ail [email protected]; ost to Ada Barclay, IRRI,DApO Box , mtro manila, philiins).

a m p i n g p e r s o n a l c o l l e c t i o n

R ice prices will continue to increase,according to participants at the

World Rice Commerce Conference

held in Bali 31 October–1 November2007. According to Randy Barker, headof IRRI’s Social Sciences Division,

who represented the Institute along

with Development Director DuncanMacintosh, “No one was selling and itseemed generally assumed that the new crop was already sold.”

Jeremy Swinger, from Farm and

Trade Inc., in his presentation onGeneral trends in the commoditymarkets, looked at the t ight situation forall food stocks, especially rice, wheat,

and maize. Mr. Swinger sees the currentprice increases as not just a short-termphenomenon but a fundamental shift in

the grains markets.Bob Papanos, who publishes The

Rice Trader , focused on the near term,projecting export supplies for thecoming year. He suggested that prices

would continue to rise steeply, peakingin February to March 2008.

Delegates noted that recentincreases in production have beenhighest in the delta areas of Southand Southeast Asia—particularly

Bangladesh, a major importer, andThailand, Vietnam, and India, whichhave been a source of major exports.Exports have been rising with theincrease in exports to sub-Saharan

Africa coming largely from India and

Pakistan. However, with the exceptionof Cambodia and Myanmar, it appearsthat the production increases in the

deltas have reached a limit.The current trade situation was

brought to a head by India’s 9 Octoberdecision to ban exports, suggesting

a desire to maintain domestic stocksand stable rice prices. Whether and

when India will again become a majorexporter is uncertain.

“The conclusion is that prices will

rise—how far, how fast, and for how long is anyone’s guess,” said Dr. Barker.“Then the question is how the price r ise

will affect supply response in Asia. Sub-

Saharan Africa is likely to experiencethe sharpest reduction in imports. It isdifcult to ship to Africa because of high

freight costs and poor port facilities,and India and Pakistan have been two

of the main suppliers. Adding to the woes of the African importers is the very sharp rise in Pak Irri and Thai A1 Super(see gure) low-quality grades favored

by most African countr ies.”

There was speculation on

the situation could be reverse were to again export in 2008

were to draw down stocks. The was that this may stave off highfor 2008 but not in the long ruclear sign of where future incsupply will come from.

Source:FAORicePriceUpdateDecembe

480

430

380

330

280

230

US$/ton

US 2/4%

Thai 100%B

Viet 5%

Pak Irri-25%

Thai A1 Super

N o v - 0 6

J a n - 0 7

M a r - 0 7

M a y - 0 7

J u l - 0 7

180

0

Export prices for rice



PEOPLE


Pea and mintrisotto

Source: Gourmet Traveller , modied by MFitzgerald, head o IRRI’s Grain Quality, and Postharvest Center.

R E C I P E

Risotto is a traditional Italian rice dish. This recipeserves 4 as an appetizer.

Ingredients60 ml olive oil 1 onion, nely chopped

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced200 g risotto rice (e.g., arborio orcarnaroli)1 liter warm vegetable stock120 g rozen baby peas¼ cup loosely packed mint leavesFinely grated parmesan to serve

PreparationHeat olive oil in a large saucepan, addonion and garlic, and sauté over lowheat or 8 minutes or until onion is sotand translucent. Add rice and sauté

over medium heat or 5 minutes, thenadd a little stock and stir until stockis absorbed. Continue to add stock,stirring until rice is al dente (rm butnot hard). Next, add peas and mint andcook or 2 minutes or until peas aretender. Season to taste with salt and

reshly ground black pepper. Sprisotto with parmesan and serveimmediately.

The work of rice researchers receivedmajor encouragement in 2007, with

aff at the International Rice Researchstitute (IRRI) and their colleaguesceiving widespread recognition andveral major awards.

“These awards and the recognition

at comes with them are clearnfirmation of the world-class ricesearch being conducted today insia and elsewhere,” IRRI’s Director

eneral Robert S. Zeigler said. “Moreople rely on rice for their sustenancean any other type of food. Millions,not billions, of these people live in

oor communities throughout the

veloping world. Research that helpsce farmers boost their production andcome, or helps reduce prices to make

ce more affordable, has the capacity pull vast numbers of people out of

verty and, therefore, does nothingort of offering them better lives.”

Outgoing IRRI Board of Trusteeshair Keijiro Otsuka accepted the

e Asia Pacic Culture Prize on behalf IRRI at a 12 October ceremony

uring the Asia Pacic Forum of thewaji Conference in Kobe, Japan. This

estigious award was established

2001 to recognize individuals andganizations pursuing cultural andcial activities within the Asia Pacicgion that have made outstandingntributions to the promotion of

ternational exchange and/or regionalvelopment. According to the Prizeganizers, IRRI has “made many greatntributions to reduce poverty and

lve environmental problems, and,rough your efforts, we expect that ine future you will further lead the way

to a multicultural society in the AsiaPacic region.”

Further validating the Institute’senvironmental credentials, IRRIentomologistK.L. Heongreceived the

Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) Prize for Agriculture,

recognizing his pioneering work inecology and integrating biological andsocial sciences to promote integratedpest management, which has helped

millions of rice farmers reduce theirpesticide use. Dr. Heongrecei ved the p r i ze,

which included a plaqueand US$10,000, at the

18th TWAS GeneralMeeting held in Trieste,Italy, 13-14 November2007.

Rice breeder Dar-

shan Brar (pictured,right ) was one of two

winners of the 2007Kos hi hi kar i Inter-

national Rice Prize,30 October in FukuiPrefecture, Japan. Dr.Brar, who does widecrosses to transfer

desirable characteristics of w ild ricespecies to commercial rice varieties,shared the award—named for a prizedJapanese rice variety—with co-winner

Tantawi A. Badawi, president of the Agricultural Research Center, Cairo,Egypt. They each received 500,000Japanese yen (US$4,630).

IRRI scientists also received several

awards at the 2007 Annual GeneralMeeting (AGM) of the Institute’s parentorganization, the Consultative Group

on International Agricultural Research(CGIAR). At the early December

meeting in Beijing, China, Dr. Brar was honored with the OutstandingSci enti s t Award, whi ch honorsoriginal work by a senior scientist

whose contributions have actual or

potential regional or internationalsignificance that furthers CGIAR goals. Dr. Heong picked up the COM+

Award for Communicating Science

for People and the Planet, honoringthe Environmental Soap Opera forRural Vietnam, an entertainment-education initiative led by Dr. Heongto help farmers improve their crop

management systems. A team of scientists led by IRRI

plant breeder David Mackill, in

collaboration with colleagues from theUniversity of California (Riverside and

Davis), won the Outstanding Scientic Article Award, also presented at the AGM. The winning paper, “ Sub1A isan ethylene response factor-like gene

that confers submergence tolerance torice,” appeared in the10 August 2006 issueof the journal Nature.

Authors K. Xu, X. Xia,

T. Fukao, P. Canlas, R.Maghirang-Rod-riguez, S. Heuer, A. Ismail, J. Bailey-Serres, P.C. Ronald,

an d Dr. Mackill described their dis-covery of a gene( Sub1A) that confers

submergence tole-rance to rice, and theconsequent breed-ing of this gene into apopular commercial

variety. The resultant variety isidentical to the popular cultivar butis able to withstand up to 17 days of severe ooding. Since the paper was

published, the IRRI team has bred Sub1A into several other popular varieties, which have undergonesuccessful on-farm trials and arepoised to make a big impact on ood-

prone farms in countries such asBangladesh and India. See Seeing isbelieving on page 6.

elevance of rice researchers recognized Keeping up with IRRI staff

Moving on

Rene Villanueva, Filipino pand author of IRRI’s childrGraindell , passed away on 5 DMr. Villanueva was a leading

children’s literature in the Ph

Other IRRI staff receiving awards in2007 included

• Director General Robert Zeigler, who was also featured in TIME Magazine’s Innovators series, wasawarded the distinction of Fellow of the American Association for

the Advancement of Science, “Fordistinguished contributions in plantpathology, plant breeding, and microbial

biology covering a range of food crops

and microorganisms, and for leadershipin international agriculture.”

• Soil scientist Roland Buresh wasawarded the 2007 International SoilScience Award by the Soil Science

Society of America at its annualmeeting on 5 November in New Orleans,Louisiana, USA. Dr. Buresh received the

honor for his leadership in formulatingand disseminating improved practices

of site-specic nutrient management. Another IRRI soil scientist, AchimDobermann, received the Agronomic

Achievement Award from the American

Society of Agronomy.

• Gurdev Khush (pictured above with H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri

Sirindhorn of Thailand), formerIRRI breeder and World Food Prizelaureate, and Susan McCouch,

former IRRI geneticist, shared theGolden Sickle Award presented during

the BioAsia 2007 Conference in early November in Bangkok. They werecited for outstanding research that hascontributed signicantly to propelling

rice research into the future.

• Gene Hettel, head of Ccation and Publications received the 2007 Internationof Excellence from the As

for Communication Exce Agriculture, Natural ResouLife and Human Sciences (Aannual meeting in AlbuquerMexico, USA.

In other news, water Bas Bouman was appoinand Environmental Sciences(CESD) head, effective 1

2008, with an initial appfor 5 years. G eographic infsystems specialist Yann Che

biochemistDilantha Gunaw began work as postdoctoral

the Social Sciences Div ision arespectively.

EIjIRo oTSUKA (left ) receives the Iue Asia Pacifculture Prize n behal IRRI rm Satshi Iue,presentative directr the Asia Pacifc Frum

nd sn the under the San Crpratin,hich spnsrs the prize.

K.L. HEoNG (left ) receives the Academ Sciencesr the Develping wrld (TwAS) Prize r Agri-culture rm TwAS President Pressr j. Palis.

t w A s

A r i e l j A v e l l A n A

B i o A s i A



Rice Today Jauay-Mac 2008 Rice Today Jauay-Mac 2008

The irri pioneer inTerviews

Luck is the residue of design

Conducted by Gene Hettel

matter o 5 minutes

I started graduate school at Purdue

University in 1953. I was therealmost 3½ years for my ma ster’sand doctorate. During my

cond year, a Mexican kid—Ignacioarvaez—was in the ofce adjacent to

ine. Ignacio was a wheat breeder fore Mexican Ministry of Agriculturesociated with the [Nobel Laureateorman] Borlaug group and heked about Mexico and his work.

aid to myself, “I want to work international agriculture.” I wasnsumed by this. But everything Ied to become afliated with the

ockefeller Foundation was useless.othing happened. Rockefeller didn’ted another plant pathologist.

So, I nished in 1957. Jobs werearce. There was one job available

Madison, Wisconsin—a foragethologist for the U.S. DepartmentAgriculture, which I was aboutaccept. At Purdue, I lacked one

rm for my doctoral thesis. I wentthe dean’s ofce in the School of

griculture to pick it up. While I wasking to the secretary, Dean ErnestYoung—also a consultant to the

ockefeller Foundation who knew mecause of my frustrated attemptsget into the Foundation—walked

eter Jennings, the International Rice Research Institute’s rst rice breeder (1961-67), with a long career in

atin America ater his work in Asia, kicks of this historic series with a singular wit. He played a major role in

e development o IR8, the rice variety that would ultimately change the ace o agriculture across Asia (see

reeding History on pages 34-38 o Rice Today Vol. 5, No. 4). He reminisced on a warm, muggy day (20 July 007) at his home in Gainesville, Florida. Here are edited highlights o the interview.

by. He said, “Peter, what are yougoing to do?” I said, “Well, Dean,

I’m going to go to Wisconsin.” Heresponded, “Didn’t you want to work

with Rockefeller?” I said, “Yes.” Hesaid, “Wait a minute.” The dean

walked into his ofce, picked up the

phone, and called George Harrar[then RF’s director for agricultureand later RF pre sident, 1961-72].He left the door open so I couldhear. He said, “George, I’ve got a

kid here. He set some sort of anacademic record here at Purdueand he wants to work for you and

what are you going to do about it?”

So, I had two phone conversa-tions with George Harrar. Duringthose conversations, he saidsomething I never forgot, “Would

you want to live in the Philippines?”

I said, “Of course!” That night, I hadto look in my atlas to see exactly

where in the Pacic the Philippines were. He said, “Well, we’re going

to do something there. It’s going totake 3 or 4 years to get organized.Meanwhile, we’ll have to ndsomething for you to do [ultimately,

brief stints in Mex ico and Colombia].”

I have a profound belief inpredestination, fate, and luck. Had I

been 5 minutes earlier or later that

morning at Purdue in the dean’sofce, I would not have crossed paths

with Dean Young, there would have been no phone conversations withHarrar, and I would have had a careeras a forage pathologist in the U.S.

George Harrar—hewas magnifcent!So, I got a job with the RockefellerFoundation in 1957. Terric! What’sthe signicance of this? Bob [IRRI’s

rst director general, Robert F.]Chandler’s book [ An Adventurein Applied Science] cites the year1958—about a year and a half a fter my

telephone calls with Harrar—as thetime when the Rockefeller a nd FordFoundations rst connected to thrashout the concept of IRRI. Harrar had“IRRI” on his mind when he talked to

me much earlier on the phone aboutrice and t he Philippines. You don’t seethat in Chandler’s book. The drivingforce behind IRRI was George Harrar.

He was magnicent, a giant! Getting germplasmin the early days

When I nally got to IRRI in October

1961—as a breeder, not a patholog ist—the rst challenge was to assemblea comprehensive world collection of

rice varieties. For germplasm, IRRIhad only some 300 odd varieties. Ispent a lot of time wandering back and forth in the mud trying to look

at these plants. I wrote a letter, co-signed by T.T. Chang [IRRI geneticist,1961-91], requesting any germplasmin small seed samples, and sent it torice workers or experiment stations

in some 60 countries. These werethe days when it was pretty easy tomove germplasm from one country toanother. The response was wonderful.

Within months, boxes and boxesof seed packages were coming in.I guess within 2 or 3 years we hadseveral thousand accessions.

Increasing rice yields Another challenge was more com-plicated. Chandler kept preaching:

increase yield! Okay, that’s easy tosay, but how do you do it? I spent a lot

of time talking with Akira Tanaka,head of IRRI’s Plant Physiology Department [1962-66]. We tried todevelop a mental image in our minds

of what the leaves, stems, culms, andgeneral architecture would look likeon an ideal rice plant that would yieldmore. We determined that, if we weregoing to make any progress, we had to

dramatically change the plant type.The rst seminar I gave at IRRI

was on what an ideal plant type hadto look like if we were going to gethigher yield. I wrote that up and

sent it to Crop Science [Plant typeas a rice breeding objective, 4:13-15,1964]. There were no data, it was

just philosophy. For some reason,

Crop Science published it. Yearslater, I reread that paper, long afterIR8 came out [in late 1966]. And it

just seems to me that IR8 looks very much like what we were theorizing.

An epiphany Well, the rest is history and just sheerluck. And it goes back to that rst set

of 38 crosses [that ultimately led toIR8] we made in late 1962. About half of them involved the three famousTaiwan short-statured varieties [Dee-geo-woo-gen, Taichung Native 1, and

I-geo-tze]. They looked terrible underPhilippine conditions. They wereriddled with bacterial leaf blight.

They were shaded by tall things. They were sterile and miserable, but short!

We grew out the F 1s [rstgeneration]—38 combinations,

which is ridiculous by today’sstandards. Thirty-eight crosses ina year—absurd! But that’s what wehad. So, we grew out the F 1s; they

were terrible. They were worse

than the parents themselves. They were gigantic—6–7 feet tall. Weharvested the seed from each of thesingle crosses—38 populations. And

for not having anything else, wehad a large F2 [second generation]population—4,000–6,000plants from each single cross.

Maybe a month after trans-

planting, one day we looked outthere. The plants from the rst cross

were tall—terrible. It was a jungle.

It was bad. Then, we came onto theplants from one of the crosses that

involved one of the three Taiwanshort-statured varieties. We lookeddown the rows. Something hadhappened! It was an epiphany! I never

had an experience like that in my life—before or since. There were tallplants and there were short plants,

but there were no intermediateplants! The short ones were erect,

darker green, and had sturdy stemsand a high number of tillers. Wecounted the tall plants and short

plants. Essentially, the ratio short was 3 to 1—obviously agene recessive for shortness!sound something like arroga

but I contend that I knew, at moment, the signicance of t

Mixing good science wi When I was a little boy, I was

of an American baseball teamBrooklyn Dodgers. Their famgeneral manager was Branch This wizard said, “Luck is the

of design.” I think he was righpeople are lucky, some peoplelucky. Luck does appear on it

volition, I know, from time toBut luck is a consequence of p

lot of mental observational evall together and all of a suddehappens, it works. There is al

luck. But sometimes you earnluck. You inuence your luck

Go to www.irri.org/ricetoday to read

transcript of the Peter Jennings inte

in which he discusses more of his ve

of the IR8 story, distributing IR8 in

Philippines, his impressions of Bob C

and other colleagues during the earl

his rice work in Latin America includ

genetic versus agronomic advances,

view on what are the challenges for I

as it approaches its 50th anniversary

IRRI’s IRst rice breeder, Peer Jenning, brie viior on IR8 in April 1966 ju 7 monh beofcial releae.



Cartograms are maps on

which areas are altered toreect the subject of interest.They accentuate patterns,

aking it easier to understand

em. Because these maps violateost rules of cartography, we advise

f. 2. da pepeson consmpon o seece an cops an a oo an e cops, c

MAPS

roe hjmanseographer, IRRI Social Sciences Division

cartograms: distortion for a better view

against their use in navigation!

Figure 1 shows cartograms1

of the domestic production of the three main grain crops—rice,

wheat, and maize—and of root and

tuber crops (including cassava,potato, sweet potato, and yams).

2

These maps show how rice

production is concentrated inSouth, Southeast, and East Asia.Maize production is particularly high in North America and China,

but it is relatively evenly spreadacross countries. Wheat is a crop

of temperate and subtropicalclimates, including being a wintercrop in northern India, but it ismostly absent in tropical countries.

Root and tuber crops are relatively important in sub-Saharan Africa(particularly cassava), China (sweetpotato), and Central Europe (potato).

The amounts produced in a

country in part reect the number of people living there. To some extent,that explains why China, the world’smost populous country, is a large

producer of all crops mapped.The maps of Figure 2 show

cartograms of daily per personconsumption of these crops.

3These

maps account for the number of people in a country, but they are also

inuenced by international tradeand the degree to which the cropis used for (direct) consumption.

Rice consumption per person in West and East Africa is higher than

you would expect from the productioncartograms. This is in part becauseof rice imports. Particularly strikingis the importance of maize in Africa,

Central America, and southeastEurope. It is not consumed as much

in mega-producer United Stais because, as in Asia, most mis consumed indirectly, as it for animal feed and sweetene

Some of it is used for biofuelnot consumed at all. Wheat iprime energy source for peopNorth Africa, Europe, and C

Asia. Roots and tubers are a

important source of energy iHave these maps whette

appetite for cartograms? A vgood source of other cartogra

is the WorldMapper Web siteat ww w.worldmapper.org.

ere are diferent types o cartograms. Here we use “area-cartograms”

duced with the algorithm o Gaster and Newman ( Difusion-based

hod or producing density equalizing maps. 2004. Proc. Natl. Acad.

USA 101:7499-7504), implemented by Rachel O’Brien.

ata or Figures 1 and 2 are rom the FAO Web site: http://aostat.ao.org.

f. 1. Anna pocon o seece an cops an a oo an e cops con.

3 Note that here we are mapping a rate rather than an amount. Daily

energy requirements depend on various actors, including age and

activity level, but are about 2,000 calories per person or an adult.

Rice Today January-March 2008Rice Today January-March 2008

Roots/tubers Roots/tubersProduction (million tons) Consumption (calories/person/day)




By Gene Hettel

Color photography by Ariel Jav

In early 2006, Rice Todaydecided to begin featurin

breathtaking photo in eacenterfold, starting with

the April-June 2006 issu We anticipated that this wounormally be a visually stimu

rice landscape. But coming usomething particularly spect

for the inaugural centerfold was easier said than done.

Then, fortuitously, HaroC. Conklin, the renowned

anthropologist, linguist,ethnobiologist, and preeminauthority on the Ifugao peopnorthern Luzon in the Philipapproached staff photograph

“Biggs” Javellana with a propHe offered to take him on a cunforgettable rides in a smalif he would bring along his caequipment. The expedition w

document some 40 years of bchange and stability across IProvince’s topography encomrice terraces, rivers, and fore

Mr. Javellana accepted. DConklin located a hard-to-n

but suitable small plane withexperienced pilot for the jourThe unpredictable cloud cove

the region cleared for two rar back-to-back glorious days. Athe rest is history. Rice Todayits rst stunning centerfold p

(see Claiming rice elds fromwild rivers on pages 19-21 ofToday Vol. 5, No. 2), award wno less. And Dr. Conklin got treasure trove of 1,000 photo

pore over and evaluate, cappmore than 40 years of study has made of the Ifugao peopl

Bird’s-eye views of an enduring rice culture

AN oVERHEAD VIEw the central part BatadDistrict ith its amus ampitheater-like terracesrising t the muntaintps (abut 1 km rmBanaue tn center; lcatin 2 n map). Gettingthere requires hiking ver a steep ridge int thebl-shaped valle.

ao Poncemunicipalities and photo locations

12

3

4

5 6

uan

Hingyon

AlonsoLista

Asipulo

Lamut

KianganLagawe

MayoyaoAguinaldo

Banaue

I b u l a o R i v e r

A l i m

i t R i v e

r

cipality town center



vironment, culture, and society. Rice Today is also fullling a

omise to publish more spectacularhotography from this collection.

hese images have the samecredible detail as the rst centerfolda bird’s-eye view of the windingimit River in northeastern Ifugaoovince. As stated by the judge,

ho awarded that image the Silveredal in the feature photo category the 2007 photography competitiononsored by the Association for

ommunications Excellence (ACE),he oxbows create a stunningaphic. The photo is sharp, bold, andteresting. Readers will take time toop and look. When they do, they’ll

ot the rice elds in the lower right.s fun to look at the buildings, thepids, the steeply forested banks,

d other details.” Many of thesetails show up in the photos of this

ticle. This undoubtedly leads tovery important question: Whatservations does Dr. Conklin make

om the photographs and, apart

om being a magazine editor’seam, what is their signicance,

culturally and scientically?Dr. Conklin, now professor

emeritus at Yale University,Connecticut, began his research

on the Ifugao people in 1961 andhas since devoted half a lifetimeto studying these architects of thefamous Banaue rice terraces. Inaddition to the Ifugao’s well-known

magnicent skills in agriculturalterracing, he has observed andexamined their intricate ritualand legal systems; their distinctive

patterns of social organization, sex,and warfare; their rich oral literature;and their artistic achievementsin wood carving and basketry.For more about the Ifugao, see

Contours of change, on pages 8-13 of Rice Today Vol. 3, No. 1).

“I took my rst aerial photo-

graphs of the Ifugao area from asmall plane in the summer of 1961,”

says Dr. Conklin. “I also arrangedfor concentrated photographicefforts in 1962, 1963, 1968, and 1969.

Additionally, I had vertical aerial

pictures taken, which facilitatedthe photogrammetric plotting and


mapping of a signicant part of the region. During those years, I

also took many photos of Ifugaorice agriculture at ground level (seepage 22).” Many of these photos

and resulting maps appear in his Ethnographic atlas of Ifugao (see

box on the next page) published in1980, some of which are reproducedin this article with permission from

Yale University Press for comparison

with those taken during the March2006 Conklin-Javellana foray.

“Unfortunately,” says Dr. Conklin,“during the 1960s, I never had thechance to survey the whole areafrom the air at the same time. But,thanks to the unusual break in the

often dense cloud cover, Biggs and I were able to do this over most of the140+ traditional Ifugao agriculturaldistricts (within 9 of the province’s 11municipalities; see map on page 14)

spread across a vast area of ruggedterrain.” Up until then, he had walkedthrough some of the valleys only onceor knew of them only from reputation.

Pictures then and now

Although ocially out o print, Harold Conklin’sEthnographic atlas of Ifugao: a study of

environment, culture, and society in northern Luzon (Yale University Press, 1980) can still be oundin little out-o-the-way bookshops in Manila andthrough Amazon.com itsel, which warned at thiswriting that “only two copies are let in stock butmore are on the way.” Pricey at $296, strategicallysized at 18 1/4 × 16 × 1 inches to show the photo-grammetric plotting and mapping to scale, and weighing 6.5 pounds, this atlas called a work o art and a Philippine national treasure by one reviewer, who adds, this world do we nd individuals as dedicated to their scholarly work as Dr. Conk

Another reviewer writes, “There are books that are ne and attractive volumes, bare valuable or their purview o other cultures, books that stand alone as art. Thitruth a working volume and nothing to be set a side in some sterile cabinet, is aand then some. There are a couple o books that joust or the title o the most beawell-conceived in late 20th century bookmaking—without a doubt this would be very ew.” Read more reviewer comments at Amazon.com.

In the photo above right, Dr. Conklin shows long-time Iugao riend Aurora Ammher daughter Maria Hettel some o the 40-year-old aerial images o the terraced l

appearing in his atlas. He says these landscapes have both delighted and bafedthe years. How have these and similar tropical upland agricultural systems develo

what are their long-term eects on soilvegetation, and animal lie as well as activities? The atlas is at least a partiahis rst 20 years o investigations.

In the photo at let, Dr. ConklinToday photographer Ariel Javellana insthan 1,000 new aerial photos taken oProvince in March 2006. These exquisimay add more pieces to the puzzle oin some cases, raise even more questprovide immediate answers.

© h . c . c o n k l i n c o l l e c t i o n

©

h . c . c o n k l i n c o l l e c t i o n

THIS BIRD’S-EyE VIEw centralHingn District (lcatin 4 n map)shs hamlets, felds, and dlts.A ne rad can be seen alngsidethe ritual feld (circular feld in thecenter) hen cmpared t the insetpht at right, taken n 24 April13.

THIS oVERHEAD shs a central sectin Bannal District (lcatin 3 n map), hichcan be cmpared t the pht inset at lettaken n 23 April 13. Ater 43 ears, nthingmuch has changed, even the shape theterraces. Cmpare this ith the develpmentactivities in the Banaue tn center in thepht n page 1.



According to Dr. Conklin, hisry preliminary inspection of the

hotos has yielded some fantasticd perhaps surprising ndings.

Of course, the greatest changesross Ifugao have been in the vast

mprovement and expansion of

roadway networks and populationgrowth, especially along theseroutes,” he says. “The town centersof Banaue (photo at top of page 19)

and Lagawe are now tremendouslittle cities instead of small crossroadhamlets.” However, when ying overmost of the districts, they found thatthe agricultural centers—the places

where the largest pond elds arelocated—have not been affected by theurban sprawl or the roadway system.

The photos show that no valleys

where agricultural activities wereunder way in the early 1960s have

been abandoned since then. Dr.Conklin pointed out that IfugaoProvince is blessed with abundant

rainfall and irrigated elds are keptinundated during all seasons.

“Cement has been the greatest

additional ‘concrete’ input,” he says with a smile. “It did not exist before—

at all. The cement does not go intothe pond elds or into agriculturallandscape. It stays along the roads,

which are usually above the terraces

and the agricultural land below.”

One thing that truly surprisedand impressed Dr. Conklin is theamount of forest land in Ifugaotoday. “Looking at any early picture

of an Ifugao agricultural district (asa whole) will show considerably lessforest cover than was revealed by ourrecent survey,” he says. “In terms of luxuriousness, density, and height,

the forest landscape is remarkable,a situation not at all the case in mostof the rest of the Philippines.”

Why is this? Dr. Conklin surmises

that, as in many other parts of thePhilippines, Ifugao overseas workersare sending back remittances, whichhave allowed many Ifugao remainingat home to buy imported food and be

able to eat rice more than once a day.“Certainly, the amount of rice

being produced on the terraces has

also increased tremendously,” he says,“but unquestionably the Ifugao diet is

now less dependent on sweet potatothan before. Previously, most Ifugaodidn’t eat rice two or three times aday throughout the year. They often

depended on sweet potato tubers


cultivated in temporary slopelandelds that did not have access tosufcient water for rice eld terracing.

The area devoted to these shiftingcultivation plots has very greatly diminished and has grown back assecond growth forest and woodlots.”

Dr. Conklin speculates why there

are so many Ifugao overseas workers who have directly made it possiblefor local forests in the province toourish by putting less pressure on

the land. “The Ifugao were among therst Cordilleran pioneers to venturefar from home, initially in-country and then around the world,” he says.

One unique cultural quirk

contributing to so much out-migration from the province is theIfugao custom of primogeniture,that is, inherited elds are not split

up. Explains Dr. Conklin: “If thereare seven children in a family (andeven today, there often are), only the oldest will get the ‘lion’s share’of the landholdings. The rest of the

siblings have to seek their livelihoodselsewhere.” Also, there are noabsentee landlords. Very little land

is in the hands of others outside of Ifugao. Land tenure and land usage inIfugao have traditionally been tightly

managed and integrated culturally.Some other ecological obser-

vations that can be made fromcomparing photos from the 1960s

with those taken in 2006 show

that many partially terraced areashave expanded a little. However,signicant new terraces can bedetected in only about three or four

districts, such as shown in Hu’yu(see photo at left). “They are very important for these people who havenot had much land before,” says Dr.Conklin, “but I don’t think these

new terraces are very economic.” At the spry age of 82, Dr. Conklin

is working on yet another book tocomplement his ethnographic atlas.

Featuring Ifugao rice specically, it will show the staple from a traditionalIfugao view. “I am tapping into a large

body of information that is shared by the people living in the agricultural

districts and doing the agricultural work in the pond elds all year long,”he says. “What do they know about

rice? How do they feel it, tast with it, use it, classify it, samand use all of its by-products

will be a culmination of my, t47-year study of the Ifugao pThe body of information is veI’ve written and given papersI’m trying to put all of it toge

He anticipates that manythe aerial photos will certainhave a place in his book, butsurmises that it might be wo

doing something separate onphotos themselves as well. “Oreally good aerial picture canresearchers a tremendous amif they know what’s truly hap

on the ground. A collection ophotos showing the variationlandscapes and places—whichave—can tell us a very rich s

Editor’s note: The photos feature

this article and other magnicent s

shot during the March 2006 Conkli

Javellana expedition can be accesse

and downloaded on the Rice Today

Web site at www.irri.org/ricetoday.

AN oxBow rice feld createdb diversin the AlimitRiver in Bana District(lcatin n map).

S AREA in Hu’u district (lcatin n map)s ne the e areas in Iuga here neracing has ccurred. Man japanese sldiersd here in the fnal stages wrld war II.

AS oF THE 2000 ce

the municipalit had a ppulatin peple in 3,2 hThe tn center depicted here lies the agricultural disBannal (lcatinthe map).



This view of Happaw, Du’ligan (Dukligan) District (location 5 on map), shows no substantial change sincToday January-March 2008, Vol. 7, No. 1

©

h . c . c o n k l i n c o l l e c t i o n ( r . F . B A r t o n p h o t o )



AFRICA


Four new countries have become members of the Africa

Rice Center, signaling increased investment in rice

research and the growing importance of rice in Africa

An elder chses the best rice panicles cntaining the netseasn’s seed r planting (13).

A traditinal Iuga priest sacrifces a pig t the rice gdsduring a harvest ritual in Lug near lcatin 3 n map (1).

g in the rice harvest t the dring grund (13).

Terrace maintenance and dike repair are backbreaking rk(12).

ng rice seedlings rm a seedbed r transplanting. Remaining seedlingscarried t ther pnd-feld plts (13).


g e n e h e t t e l

closer view of Ifugaoce agriculture

round level...

the 26th session of the Councilof Ministers of the Africa RiceCenter (WARDA), held in Abuja,

Nigeria, 27-28 September 2007,signaled a historic change for rice

research in sub-Saharan Africa.The expansion of the geographic

mandate of WARDA, which is

primarily based in West Africa, wasformally approved and four East

and Central African countries wereadmitted as WARDA members.

The new member states areUganda—the rst East African

country to be admitted to WARDA—the Central African Republic, theDemocratic Republic of Congo,and the Republic of Congo. Theseadditions take the number of WARDA

member states from 17 to 21.“This is the rst time since

1987 that new members have joined WARDA,” stated WARDA DirectorGeneral Papa Abdoulaye Seck. “But

what is more important is thatthe new member states are fromEast and Central Africa—regionsthat, unlike West Africa, were not

traditionally knownfor rice cultivation.”

“With the succe ss of WARDA’stechnologies, particularly theNew Rice for Africa (NERICA

®),

Central and East African countriesare seeing for themselves the

benets of investing in rice

research,” Dr. Seck said.In his opening address, His

Excellency Umaru Musa Yar’Adua,president of the Federal Republicof Nigeria (represented by the vice-president, Dr. Jonathan Goodluck,

who delivered the message) men-tioned that, aside from NERICA,another major contribution from

WARDA to Nigeria was in thearea of rice policy research.

The Council of Ministersthanked Dr. Seck for his strongadvocacy for rice research anddevelopment, which has ledto tangible improvements in

contributions from member states—including Nigeria, which hasfullled its nancial obligationsto WARDA to date.

“The contribution receivedfrom member states in 2007 isequivalent to that of the last 10

years,” the Council afrmed.The Council strongly backed

a new pan-African Rice Initiativethat will be launched in 2008 by Benin President Yayi Boni with

WARDA, as part of advocacy efforts

to support Africa’s rice sector.Dr. Seck’s vision and strategy

for a more competitive, diversied,and sustainable Africa RiceCenter were fully endorsed by the

Council, particularly the post-M.Sc.internship program for youngeducated Africans designed to

create the next generation ofresearchers in sub-Saharan

The Council urged WARstrengthen links with subreg

and regional bodies and reiteits commitment that WARDA

while remaining one of the 1international centers suppor

by the Consultative Group onInternational Agricultural R(CGIAR), be recognized as a of Excellence of the African U

As the shortage of seed o

improved varieties continuesmajor constraint to rice prodin sub-Saharan Africa, the Cencouraged WARDA’s involvin association with national

programs, in seed productionurged it to help in the developand harmonization of seedlegislation at the regional lev

One of the highlights of tsession was the presence of ifrom the Network of Farmersand Agricultural Producers’Organizations of West Africa

Council resolved to invite farassociations as observers to t

WARDA National Experts Cmeetings on a regular basis.

The 26th session was helunder the chairmanship of ASayyadi Ruma, Nigeria’s minof agriculture and water resoBefore concluding its historic

session, the Council approveTogo’s assumption of the Couchairmanship for the next 2

African rice researchexpandsby Savitri Mohapatra

A woMAN threshes rice in Benin.

r . r A m A n ( w A r d A )

Member states of theAfrica Rice Center (WARDA),

with new members in red.




Ganakabari is a small village

with 87 households inJorhat District of the Indianstate of Assam. Every year,

e low-lying area is subject to deepoding due to monsoons that causee overow of the Brahmaputrad Bhogdai rivers. For centuries,

ce has been the major crop of

e area, the staple of the localpulation. During the kharif (wet)ason, farmers monocrop sali rice;eir next crop consists of seasonalgetables, oilseeds, and pulses.

ost farmers in the village arether marginal, having less than 1ctare of farmland, or small, with

farm size of 1–2 hectares. Most

rmers have a primary education.The average yield of sali rice

only about 2 tons per hectare.he combination of small farmsd poor yields is a formula for

verty in this area. Compoundingis, the Brahmaputra and Bhogdaiten cause ood damage to the sali ce, contributing further to food

security and poverty for the localrmers. To improve livelihoods inch areas, farmers wanted to grow

ce during the dry (boro) season.Monsoons bring too much

ater but the dry season bringso little. Therefore, irrigation is aust for boro rice. To encourage

boro rice cropping, the Assamstate government started providingsubsidies for low-lift pumps in the

year 2000. Five farms began boro

rice cropping for the rst time duringthe 2002-03 season, irrigating about2.5 hectares of land using the pumpsto lift water from the Bhogdai River.

Although they had water for

irrigation, the farmers lacked anappropriate variety of boro rice. Intheir rst boro season, they grew an unknown variety, the so-calledNo. 9, and two sali varieties— Luit

and Lachit . No. 9 yielded about 5tons per hectare; the sali varieties

yielded about half that.From 2003 to 2004, Assam

Most farmers have not aban-doned sali rice; rather, they haveadopted a boro–sali system. Boro rice is currently grown on about 30%

of rice lands in Ganakabari. About70% of the land is now under thesali–boro system; the other 30% isplanted to boro only. Among the threeintroduced boro varieties, Kanaklata

has become the most popular.Rajib Neog is a young farmer

from Ganakabari village. With asecondary education, he has more

schooling than many farmers.His brother, a school teacher, hassettled with his family in the nearby suburban town of Dergaon. Histhree sisters are all married and

have settled in other villages withtheir families. Rajib, the youngestsibling, remained at the family

house in Ganakabari village tolook after his elderly parents and

their 2-hectare farm. Cultivatingmostly rice and seasonal vegetables,his family’s life was difcult.

A receptive and technology-savvy

farmer, Rajib saw the potential of boro cropping. In 2002-03, he wasone of ve farmers who cultivatedboro rice for the rst time in the

village. In 2003-04, he adopted the

Kanaklata and Joymati varieties,and BINM, on 1.2 hectares. Later,he increased the coverage to 1.5hectares—75% of his land.

In the 2004-05 season, Rajib

had stunning success with his rstattempt at growing Kanaklata. Hereaped 6.25 tons per hectare, while

yields of the sali varieties averaged

2.3 tons per hectare. Rajib’s yield was the highest in his village. In the2005-06 season, Rajib also harvestedan excellent crop that yielded 6.3tons per hectare. In 2004-05, his

total harvest was 8.5 tons; in 2005-06, his total harvest was 9.95 tons.

Rajib expected another bumpercrop in the 2006-07 boro season.

In addition to the higher yields of Kanaklata, Rajib grows the variety for its ner grain quality, goodeating quality, and high marketprice. Currently, he is growing

mostly Kanaklata and No. 9.By adopting the new technology

package, Rajib has been able to grow

more rice thanhe needs andhe has becomea relatively

wealthy farmer.Occasionally, his

brother collectsrice from Rajibfor his family’s

consumption.Higher yieldsalso mean thatRajib has become

a grower of Kanaklata seeds.He stores most of his product until

just before the next planting seasonand then sells it at a good price.

In 2005, Rajib earned about24,000 rupees (US$600) by selling4 tons of rice seeds, and in 2006

he earned 36,000 rupees ($900) by selling 6 tons. In addition

to income from rice farming,Rajib earns supplementary income by growing vegetablesand raising goats and ducks.

People who know Rajib cansee physical proof of his improvedlivelihood. In 2005, in preparation forstarting his own family, Rajib usedthe additional income to construct an

improved mud-walled tin-roof house.In July 2006, he married Pranita(Munu), who has become his constantcompanion. Rajib also bought asingle-burner gas stove for cooking,

which saves his family the time andlabor of nding rewood for cooking.

In Ganakabari and beyond,people quickly gure out who the

prosperous farmers are. Successfulboro cropping with record high

yields has brought a degree of fameto Rajib. Many seek his counsel:neighbors in his farming community,

scientists at development agenciesand nongovernmental organizations,and agricultural extensionspecialists at the state government’s

Department of Agriculture.In April 2006, Rajib achieved

formal recognition as a successfulfarmer. Participating in a trainingcourse on seed selection and storage,

presented at AAU by experts from theInternational Rice Research Instituteand Bangladesh, Rajib received

Agricultural University (AAU) atJorhat initiated efforts to intensify boro cropping at Ganakabari, incooperation with the International

Fund for Agricultural Development(IFAD)-funded project TAG 634:

Accelerating technology adoptionto improve rural livelihoods in therainfed eastern Gangetic Plains. The

AAU research team provided farmers with modern boro varieties developed by AAU— Kanaklata, Joymati,and Jyotiprasad —and offeredinformation and technical support.

In the 2003-04 season, 24farmers cropped boro rice in a27.5-hectare area. The AAU teampromoted biofertilizer-based

integrated nutrient management(BINM), which reduces the use of inorganic fertilizers and thus lowersproduction costs and water pollution.

In the 2004-05 season, 33

farmers grew boro rice on 39 hectaresand, in the 2005-06 season, 25farmers cropped boro rice on 20hectares. The decrease in 2005-

06 was caused by severe drought, which raised the cost of fuel and,consequently, irrigation. Mostfarmers who grew these modern

varieties harvested more than 5

tons per hectare, compared with the2-tons-per-hectare yield of sali rice,

which was often damaged by oods.

ow a farmer achieved a better life

y using dry-season rice technology

from the NGO Jeuti a certicappreciation. Jeuti—which m“light”—advocates and prom

use of improved farming pra by poor farmers in Assam.

By presenting the certi

representatives from Jeuti reRajib’s achievements in grow

Kanaklata. Since the trainincourse, as a way of sharing hknowledge with other farmerRajib helped organize a self-h

group for resource-poor farmhis village. In recognition of Raccomplishments, members group, named Bhogdaiporia,him to be the secretary—a po

that confers higher social staOnly a few years previou

Rajib was a struggling farmeNow, neighboring farmers asfor seeds and seek his advice

modern cultivation practices

Dr. Deka is an agricultural econ

and Prof. Borkakati is an agron

at Assam Agricultural Univers

Dr. Islam worked as an interna

research fellow at the Internati

Rice Research Institute. This arwas adapted from Rajib nds a

life by using dry-season (boro) r

technology: a case study in Jorh

of the Indian state of Assam, a c

in Technologies for improving r

livelihoods in rainfed systems in

Asia, edited by Zahirul Islam, M

Hossain, Thelma Paris, Bill Har

Joyce Gorsuch, and published b

International Rice Research In

and online at htt p://tinyurl.com

Nivedita Deka, Kabindra Borkakati, and Zahirul Islam

h he e,Out

inh he dry

PALASH DEBNATH (3)

IrrIgatIon technology, -i pmp,p m ik rin -i i am, Ii.

rajIb and hIs wIe, Pi, pi-iii mi ki ri’ m, rm Mi n.

rajIb stands i i k boro i vi Kk. j boro , m pvi ’ p.




Bright oranges, rich

yellows, piles of husks in

wheat-colored hues—allmaize, no rice.

This was the scene in late August2007 throughout towns on the

Philippine island of Luzon in theCentral Region, Cagayan Valley, andthe Ilocos Region (see brown-shadedarea of map). Drought hit these areas

in July, forcing most rice farmers toplant maize, vegetables, and otherdry-season crops instead of rice.

Venturing north from its LosBaños headquarters, Rice Today

expected to see parched land studded with dry rice plants, but there werenone. Our rst reaction was relief

for the farmers mixed with fearsthat our attempt to document the

effects of drought would be futile.Fortunately—or unfortunately—afterseveral interviews with farmers andfarm workers, we discovered that

the absence of dry rice elds wasnot because the reports of droughthad been exaggerated, but becausemany farmers had simply ceasedtheir planting operations altogether

due to the absence of rain.“Most of the farmers here did

not plant rice anymore when we

knew there was a drought,” explainsMarlon Ortilla, 34, a rice farmer in

Sinait, Ilocos Sur. “I planted riceseeds on 24 June but was able totransplant the seedlings only on 25

August due to drought. The 2-month

delay caused yellowing of the riceseedlings, which is no good.”

Like many other rice farmersin the area, Marlon Cabato, 42,from Amulog, Cagayan, planted

maize instead of rice. “We shouldhave started planting rice inJune,” he laments, “but because

When the Rain

Stopsn August 2007, Rice Today

isited drought-stricken areas

n the northern Philippines

o discover that it takes

more than a dry spell to

dampen farmers’ spirits

ory by Meg Mondoñedo

hotographs by Ariel Javellana

Despite attempts r cld dr crl Lz rd b l l

RoLanDo Diego, r allc, C prvc,d vr ll rv bc dr.

a LaCk o Rain rrpl Jl d a2007 rr’rc fld—c i-bl prvc—rd .

LosBaños(IRRI)

Philippines

Luzon (green)

I l o c o s

C a g a y a n

V a l l e y

Central




ere has been no rain, we planted

aize just now [late August]. My ce seedlings are short and small

cause of the lack of water.”“My harvest was very small

cause of the drought,” relatesolando Diego, 52, of Allacapan,

agayan. “Our planting waslayed for 4 months, but I planted

some maize. It hardly rains

here. This October, I’m hopingfor a good harvest, because my

last harvest was in 2006!” According to the Philippine

Department of Agriculture (DA), when the dry spell struck, farmers

had already planted rice on 1.071million hectares of land, with

maize planted on another 288,311

hectares. The DA noted that, of thetotal area planted, 85,741 hectaresof land planted to rice and 128,543hectares of land planted to maize

were affected by the dry spell.

In early August, the DA startedgiving aid to small farmers reelingfrom the dry spell, in efforts to boost

yields and help put agriculturalgrowth on track despite the adverse

climate. Aid provided several meansof assistance including cloud-seeding, shallow tube wells, seeds,and water-impounding projects.

But, for most farmers, help cametoo late to save their crops. “Because of the drought, planting

was delayed for 2 months, and, when we were nally able to plant, atyphoon hit us,” says Angel Parayo,

68, who lives in Candaba, Pampanga.“All my seedlings were submergedin water for 5 days; the seedlingsrecovered but the palay [rice] becamesoft, which could cause losses.”

The weather has meant that,

for many rice farmers, this yearhas been disappointing in termsof harvest and income. This, inturn, had a negative impact on

business in general in this region.“Business is suffering,” says

a gas station owner in Tumawini,Isabela. “All the businesses hereare dependent on farmers’ produce.

Farmers were not able to harvest

much last year due to strongtyphoons; this year, it’s becauthe drought. The farmers havmore money; the money lend

now broke because farmers cpay them. All the farmers hehaving a difcult time. Businis bad because of the drought

With little to look forwar

to, the farmers can only prayfor rain to come. Although thfuture looks bleak, some—suas Rizal Laforga, 44, of Lalo,

Cagayan—are still hopeful.“Because of the drought,

eld just grew weeds and gramy rice plants didn’t g row,” sLaforga. “The tillers became

short; planting was delayed bmonth. We waited for the raicome; we would have startedin June, but there was still no

May, so we were able to plantin July. Our elds are just ra

without rain, our plants will “It doesn’t help to be sad

adds with a smile that belies

fortunes. “We should still smso others won’t notice we aresuffering. There is always ho

LittLe anD Late r d rl rc dl l Jl 2007,rr d l l a.

angeL paRayo’s rc cr Cdb, p, b l dr b l .

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Tropical irrigated rice

elds are ecosystems of extraordinary biologicaldiversity and a high levelof natural biological pest

ntrol. A wide-ranging assemblage

predatory spiders, beetles, bugs,d wasps hunts insect pestsroughout the growing season.

his highly effective pest controlmuch greater than that of most

mperate agroecosystems, andce agroecosytems are arguably me of the most diverse in the

orld. Both the diversity and

mplexity of species interactionsntribute to the robustness of tural pest control—a free serviceovided by the ecosystem.

Why is the biological control

irrigated rice so unique amongroecosystems? Early in theopping season, ooding of the eldmulates the activity of aquatic

sects, such as midge larvae, whiched on decaying plant material.hese species are harmless to theop, but have a benecial role forst control. When the aquatic insects

merge out of the water to y away,ey are consumed by hungry spidersd predatory insects. The predator

populations mostly feed on the

emerging aquatic insects early in theseason, and then switch to feed on theterrestrial insect pests as the canopy closes and aquatic insect populationsfall. Thus, the predators benet from

an early ush of food that helps to build up their populations beforeinsect pests become abundant.

Many modern rice productionpractices actually favor pest

outbreaks. For instance, populationsof sucking insect pests such as the

brown planthopper (BPH), greenleafhopper, and aphids are actually

limited by the amount of availableprotein. When too much nitrogenousfertilizer is added, plants havean excess of amino acids in theirsap, which favors the buildup of

sucking pest populations. Leaffolder

moth damage also increases whenfertilizer is overused. Therefore,excess fertilizer makes the entiresystem more vulnerable to pests.

If biological control is so

effective, what causes insect pestoutbreaks? The two most importantinsect pests of rice throughout Asiaare the yellow stem borer and theBPH. Found every season throughout

the rice-growing regions of Asia, the yellow stem borer’s ubiquity has givenit a reputation as a major pest—yetit causes only 2–5% yield loss. Stem

borer damage during the vegetativestage of rice plant growth does notcause yield loss because the plantcan compensate by growing more

vigorously. Only stem borer moth

damage during the reproductive stageresults in yield loss, and research hasdocumented that there is a strongtendency to overestimate such loss

because the white, unlled panicleslook particularly bad to farmers.In truth, the yellow stem borer isnot really a signicant pest that

warrants serious interventions.

The BPH, however, wasresponsible for huge and devastatingoutbreaks throughout Asia in

the 1970s, and is considered thepreeminent pest of the GreenRevolution. Some of the key factorsthat facilitated BPH outbreaks

during the 1970s were year-roundcropping of rice, increased use of nitrogenous fertilizer, and the useof insecticides known as syntheticpyrethroids. These pesticides kill

off the natural enemies (known aspredators and parasitoids) of BPH,allowing subsequent cohorts of BPHa predator-free period to develop.

Because their populations developmore quickly than the predators, BPHpopulations can result in an outbreak,causing devastating losses. Repeatedpesticide overuse over large areas can

reduce the ability of natural enemiesto recolonize and establish natural

biological control (see The pesticide

paradox on pages 32-33). In areasthroughout Asia where pesticide

subsidies have been terminated, BPHoutbreaks have largely stopped. Butin countries where there has beenan increase in pesticide production

and pesticides are cheap, there have been sizable BPH outbreaks. In 2005,

about 2.7 million tons of rice werelost in China alone. In 2006, Vietnam

suffered enough rice crop losses dueto BPH and secondary viral outbreaksto threaten the country’s rice exports.

Are there ways to boost and

retain the natural biological controlservices in the rice eld? In his 1996publication in the journal Ecology,

1

William Settle and colleaguesreported that adding manure to

rice elds boosts natural control. At the International Rice ResearchInstitute, my team is studying therelationship between manure inputsand rice variety on natural biological

control. We have found that 2 tonsof composted manure added at the

beginning of the season signicantly lowers stem borer damage during

the reproductive phase—the period when pest damage is the mostdifcult to manage. It also appearsthat some plant varieties show slightly higher levels of damage than

others. Currently, we are evaluatingmanure as a pest-management tool by determining whether more manurefurther increases pest control. This

will allow us to make simple pest-management recommendations for

boosting natural control in farmers’elds. So far, we are encouraged

by these positive pest contromeasures, which appear to b

natural biological control witcausing negative side effects.

Animal wastes are a growsource of pollution in developcountries, and a real publichealth issue. If done prop erly

channeling animal manure inproduction could lead to myr

benets, including better waquality, better pest control, areduced reliance on pesticide

we focus on irrigated rice as ecosystem, we can appreciatthe system works together as

whole, and focus on how we csubtly manipulate it in our fa

One of the most difcultchallenges ahead will be conresearchers, policymakers, faand extension agents of the e

and robustness of natural biocontrol, underpinned by the

wealth of biodiversity, in the eld. Given the many conicpolitical, social, and econom

pressures on pest managemepractitioners at the local, regand national level, we hope tthe science will speak for itse

Dr. Chen work as an entomolog

in IRRI’s Crop and Environmen

Sciences Division, 2004-07.

the sgheroes ohe rce feld

Simply by growing rice, farmers cultivate a complex—and free—pest control

system without doing a single extra thing

y Yolanda Chen

1William H. Settle, Hartjahyo Ariawan, Endah Tri Astuti, Widyastama Cahyana, Arief Lukman

Dadan Hindayana, and Alifah Sri Lestari. Managing Tropical Rice Pests Through Conservation oNatural Enemies and Alternative Prey . Ecology , Vol. 77, No. 7 (Oct., 1996), p 1975-1988.

©2007 GrEGFANSLowwww.PBASE.com/GFANSLow(2)

Predators o rIce Pests, i m pp

(Conocephalus longicornis) -v pi ( Argiope

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If pesticides are supposed tocontrol pests, why does an

enormous reduction in useactually lower their numbers?Tests performed on the

search farm at the Philippines-

sed International Rice Researchstitute (IRRI) have shown that,pesticides are used less and less,en nature itself, in the forms of edators and parasitoids, will join

e ght on the farmers’ side.The research, performed by a

am led by IRRI entomologist K.L.eong,

1describes how, when IRRI

rm operations were centralized1993, a new scheme for sprayingsticides was introduced. Insteadroutine spraying once a week,sticides would be sprayed only

when pest densities in a eld reacheda certain level. Dr. Heong writesthat “in most seasons, insect pestpopulations did not reach thresholdlevels and thus no insecticides

were used.” After 14 years of theprogram, pesticide use on the farmhas decreased by a staggering87.5%. Insecticides, which are the

main type of pesticides used on thefarm, have fallen in use by 95.8%.

The study focuses on arthropods:invertebrates with a tough externalprotective layer (called a chitinous

exoskeleton) and segmented bodies,and which make up more than80% of all living animal species.For the paper, the arthropods were

separated into four functional groups:herbivores, predators, detritivores,and parasitoids. Herbivores attack rice plants. Predators and parasitoidsattack herbivores and detritivores.

Detritivores eat detritus in the eld. Arthropods on the farm were

surveyed in 1989, well before theintroduction of the spraying schemein 1993, and in 2005, well after it.

Comparing those two surveys revealssome telling gures. In 1989, 46.2%of the arthropod population on thefarm was herbivores. In 2005, when

arthropods were next counted, only 11.2% was herbivores. The number of predators had risen from 40% in 1989to 58% in 2005. Detritivores in 2005formed 26.1% of the total arthropod

density, up from 8.1% in 1989.Parasitoids experienced a smallerchange: 5.6% in 1989 to 4.3% in 2005.

The reason for these swings

is the unintended effects of pesticides. Pesticides can affect allcreatures. Predators, parasitoids,and detritivores can be killedalong with herbivores. In fact,

because of their superior mobility,predators are more likely to comeinto contact with the poison and

thus are often more exposed tothe toxins than herbivores. And, if predators are killed off, they can’thelp suppress herbivore numbers.

As well as killing nontargetarthropods, heavy pesticide use canhelp “secondary pests”—which arefavored when predator numbersare lowered—to rise to power. In a

balanced ecosystem, the numbers of secondary pests stay relatively low.But, if large numbers of predatorshave been killed, secondary

pests face less competition fromprimary pests and can thrive.

Reducing pesticide use lets both the predator and parasitoidpopulations recover, thereby keeping

secondary pest populations low. Also, because fewer predators are beingkilled through pesticides, their food

sources—pests and detritivores—remain abundant and their numbers

can swell. This is natural pest control.Dr. Heong’s team also compared

the arthropod diversity before andafter the introduction of the low-

pesticide regime. Sure enough, the2005 survey showed that the diversity of all four types of arthropods hasincreased signicantly. Accordingto the paper, “there were twice as

many species of herbivores, about48 more species of predators andparasitoids, and greater than 5 timesmore species of detrit ivores.”

More species of herbivores may

not seem good for rice, but such anacross-the-board increase in diversity is a sign of a healthy ecosystem,especially as many of the species

that survive under low-pesticideconditions are unimportant pests.For an ecosystem to thrive, theorganisms in it must be diverse andadaptable. In particular, a diverse

range of predators helps preventpest invasions or outbreaks, whichcan often be caused by abnormalclimatic conditions. Thus, a

balanced ecosystem with adequatefunctional biodiversity will alsohave reduced vulnerability toadverse effects of climate change.

For poor farmers, the key part in

the question of pesticide use remainsthe debate of “y ield versus prot.”

With intelligent and focused use of

pesticides, yield can be increased.However, Dr. Heong suggests thatmany poor farmers do not benetnancially from using pesticides. For

example, a study in the Philippinesshowed that farmers overestimatedtheir potential loss of prot due tostem borer infestation by ten times(see The unsung heroes of the rice

feld on pages 30-31). The money they were spending on pesticides

was more than double their actualloss. On top of that, the low-quality

sprayers that poor farmers useoften result in less than 10% of the pesticide reaching its target.

For poor farmers, then, the costof spraying pesticides can outweigh

the benet. To lower pest numbers,improve diversity, and increaseprots, many farmers should steadily

cut down on the pesticide they use.The challenge is to persuade them to

reduce their pesticide use in the rstplace. Poor farmers, who have toonarrow a prot margin to experiment

with production techniques to

improve yield, tend to be loss-averse—if the crop fails, they go hungry.

This is where advertising andnational governments can play a

key role. In Vietnam, for instthe national government andIRRI cooperated on a large-sinformation campaign called

Giam Ba Tang (Three ReducThree Gains). One of thosereductions was in pesticide uThe campaign has contributeto decreasing pesticide use in

Vietnam, and ongoing economanalyses by IRRI are positive

Ideally, Dr. Heong wantsgo even further than signica

reductions in pesticide use. H believes that “pesticide does harm than good in rice ecosyFor rice, he says, insecticidesnot be used at all in most cas

rice plant, for example, can lhalf of its leaves without yieldsignicantly affected. Pestici

be disappearing quite yet, thFarmers need to adapt to usi

fewer toxins. Only when farmcondent that lowering theiruse will not lower their protecosystem be able to recover.

Mr. Sackville Hamilton is a scie

communication intern for Rice

PesticideParadox

The

Pesticide use at the

International Rice Research

Institute is down almost 90%

in 14 years, while pests are

less of a problem and

biodiversity has increased

Henry Sackville Hamilton

L. Heong, A. Manza, J. Catindig, S. Villareal, and T. Jacobsen. Changes in pesticide use and arthropod diversity in the IRRI research farm. Outlooks on Pest Management, October 2007, p 1-5.

toMologIst K.l. heong v

p mm, mi ii .

reducIng PestIcIde ppii p i p, i -v pi ( Argiope p.), p mkp p .

AriELJAvELLANA




When I learned that

I had been selectedto travel to thePhilippines andBangladesh to work

the International Rice Research

stitute (IRRI) as a World Foodize Foundation intern, I was bothstatic and apprehensive. My closestcounter with rice farming haden the steaming bowl of rice that

me with my orange chicken ate local Chinese restaurant in my metown of Iowa City. I had neveren to Asia or seen a rice eld.

The Foundation, like the Worldood Prize, was founded by Normanorlaug, who received the 1970obel Peace Prize for his work to

boost agricultural production in

the 1950s and 1960s, thus spurringthe Green Revolution and helpingto avert mass starvation at a timeof dramatic population growthand stagnating crop yields.

Based in IRRI’s Social SciencesDivision under the supervision of Mahabub Hossain (then divisionhead, now executive director of theBangladesh Rural Advancement

Committee), I spent the rst few weeks of my internship reading booksand articles relating to the SeedHealth Improvement Project (SHIP).

SHIP was conducted inBangladesh in 1999–2004 underthe Poverty Elimination ThroughRice Research Assistance project

funded by the

UK Departmentfor InternationalDevelopment.Coordinated by IRRI

plant pathologist TomMew, SHIP involvedcollaboration betweenthe Bangladesh RiceResearch Institute,

IRRI, and CABIBioscience (UK).Several local and

international nongovernmental

organizations also played signi-cant roles.

With around 150 million peopleand one of the highest populationdensities in the world, Bangladesh

must overcome a lot of obstacles tofeed its people. The population of Bangladesh increases by about 2million people each year, meaningrice production must increase

around 300,000 tons annually if everybody is to be fed. SHIP taughtfarmers improved seed selectionand storage practices designed to

increase rice yield and prevent losses.More than 90% of the seeds

planted each year in Bangladeshare retained from the farmers’ ownharvest, and most are of poor quality.

Many farmers simply save some of their harvest, dry it on the ground,and store it in open containers or

bags. This means that the seed they

plant each year is often infested with insects and contaminated with soil and other plant matter.Planting good-quality seed canincrease yield up to 12%; SHIP

technologies and training sought tohelp farmers achieve this increase.

SHIP introduced several

simple methods for improving

seed health, including roguing(removing undesirable plants fromthe eld) before harvest, selectinggood panicles for seed, dryingseed, and storing seed in airtight

containers with additives suchas naphthalene and neem leavesto prevent insect infestation.

One unique aspect of SHIP was its participatory approach to

training women from resource-poorhouseholds. Farmers’ knowledgeand input were used at each step,and this had a profound impact

on the success of the project.Having equipped myself with as

much knowledge about seed healthas I could gather, I nervously boardedthe plane that would take me to

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.I had read that Bangladeshis neversmile, that they eat only withtheir right hand, and that women

were hardly ever seen in public. Adding to my disquiet, massive

oods had swept the Chittagongregion of Bangladesh, causingmudslides that killed more than

90 people, only days before. Allof this raced through my mind asI sat on the tarmac of the Manila

airport. “What have I gotten myself

into?” I wondered nervously asthe Philippines became a speck in the ocean behind me.

The answer, it turned out, wasthat I had gotten myself into the

experience of a lifetime. While it istrue that Bangladeshis eat only withtheir right hand, almost all of my preconceptions about the country

were completely vanquished. I spent

a lot of time with very bold women,and even more time listening to theBangla language oat around my headas the room broke out in laughter.

Although we had very differentcultural practices and understand-ings, my Bangladeshi friends andco-workers graciously overlookedmy clumsiness in their culture.

From my supervisors in the IRRIofce to the vendors on the street,everyone I met tried to make meas comfortable as possible.

After the incredible hospitality, what struck me most was thepoverty. From the beggars on thestreets of Dhaka to the farmerstoiling to eke a living out of

their land, extreme poverty wasevident throughout the country.

I conducted my research in

two villages in rural Banglad

and interviewed 17 women(see box, above), both projecparticipants and nonparticipIn trying to synthesize my daand information, I had to acc

the fact that isolating SHIP adevelopment factor is impossThe world in which we live isextremely complex, and no sfactor can be isolated from th

Perhaps the most importelement of SHIP was its inteninclusion of women. By delibincluding both men and wom

the training, SHIP enabled bcommunication between couIt not only empowered the w

but it also demonstrated to ththe value of the women’s wor

The importance of involvfarmers in every level of trainis summed up in two phrasesfound throughout SHIP liter

“learning by doing” and “seei believing.” By including farmin both the research and theimplementation of the projecensured that its technologies

not only continue to be used original farmer participants,

by surrounding farmers as w

ery summer, the World Food Prize

undation sends high school

udents from the United States to

ternational agricultural research

stitutes to work with leading

ientists and learn about agricul-

ral development. Here, 2007

tern Anna Johnson tells her story.

unknOwnby Anna Johnson

o he as Salahar ushers us into her home, I glance at a poster hanging on the wall th“The emale o the species is more deadly than the male.” I am struck by

statement, hung so prominently in a rural Bangladeshi household.Married at the age o 13 wi thout any ormal education, Salahar spe aks knowledga

her arming system. She explains that, beore SHIP, her amily did not use any spemanagement practices. They merely took seed rom their grain supply to plant the season. Oten, they would need to buy seed, but would not have enough money. Nosell 30–40 kilograms o seed in the market each season or nearly twice the price o

Salahar not only continues to use SHIP technologies, but she is improving on twas able to start producing vegetables rom the extra proft rom seed production. Nowspinach seeds in the market and has applied SHIP technologies to her spinach prod

When Salahar and her amily frst began SHIP, they spent an entire 3 days sograms o seed. The neighbors teased them or all the time they spent sitting anthe seeds one by one, but Salahar said that her lie started to change with that 25which yielded 35 kilograms o rice. Beore SHIP, her rice production met only 4o the amily’s need and she and her husband both worked in other householdsmoney. Now, they not only meet all o their own ood need, they also have excesto invest in vegetable production, livestock, andthe education o their eldest son.

Salahar, who manages many aspects o the household and arming system, is veryenthusiastic about the impact o SHIP on herlie. It has stabilized her amily and allowedthem to weather lie’s unexpected storms, suchas when a arming accident cut o some o herhusband’s fngers last year. They had to take a500 taka (US$7.40) loan and sell a goat to payor treatment, but they were able to do this andrecover much easier because o their stable incomerom seed and vegetable production.

slhr

the author ( far right ) i i p vi v v ivi.

a shIP piip k k m ivii mik mi’ .

the author i s, ii i .

SHANTAFoyJuNESSA(2)




RICE FACTS

Of the world’s 1.1 billion poorpeople, almost 700 millionpeople with income of lessthan a dollar a day reside in

ce-growing countries of Asia. Ricea staple food in Asia and accountsr more than 40% of the caloriensumption of most Asians. Poorople spend a large proportion of

eir income for buying rice. The levelrice production and prices is thusimportant factor in determining

e progress that can be made inducing poverty in Asia. Keeping

e price of rice low and affordablethe poor is crucial to poverty duction. Given this, the currentstained upward trend in rice

ice is a major cause for concern.The Green Revolution in Asia

d to a rapid rise in rice yield andoduction. This contributed toverty reduction directly through

creased income of rice farmers anddirectly through a lower price of ce, which beneted poor consumersboth rural and urban areas (FigureThis long-term decline in rice

ice, however, seems to have comean end in 2001, with the rice price

king a sustained upward turn overe past six years. The rice price

ntinued to increase during 2007d this upward trend seems unlikely reverse anytime soon (Figure. Although a part of the increaseprice can be explained by the

ntinued depreciation of the U.S.llar, there are other fundamental

nderlying causes of this rise in price. A rise in the price of rice

sically indicates that we have beennsuming more than what we haveen producing. This imbalancetween demand and productionpartly corrected by reducing

e stock. In fact, rice stocks areing rapidly depleted, with therrent stock being the lowest since

the re prce o rcey Sushil Pandey, IRRI program leader, Rice Policy and Impact

production, which will ultimately contribute to a price reduction.This traditional solution, however,is morally and economically

unacceptable in the case of rice because any rise in price will affectthe poor disproportionately and

will lead to an increase in hungerand poverty. Indonesia provides a

case in point: the number of poorpeople increased by several millionas a result of a steep rise in the priceof rice that occurred in the wake of

the Asian nancial crisis of 1997.There is no doubt that the economicand political turmoil Indonesia

went through was compounded by the dramatic jump in rice price.

Demand for rice in Asia isexpected to continue to rise in thefuture as its population expands.

Even after allowing for some decreasein per capita consumption in Asian

countries that have higher incomelevels, the projected demand for

Asia is an additional 38 million tonsof rough rice by 2015. Additional

demand is likely to arise from Africa, where rice is becoming anincreasingly important food crop.The worldwide increase in demand

by 2015 is estimated to be 50

million tons of rough rice per year.The best strategy for keeping

the price of rice low is to increase itsproduction at a higher rate than theincrease in demand. Rice production

can be increased by expanding thearea, by increasing the yield perunit area, or by a combination of the two. The opportunity for further

increasing the rice area in Asia isnow quite limited. Rice productionis facing increasing competition forland, labor, and water from othereconomic activities and the recent

growth in biofuel production islikely to exert additional pressure.China provides an example—ricearea decreased by almost 3 million

ha between 1997 and 2006 becauseof this economic pressure. Althoughthere may be some potential forexpansion of rice area in othercountries, the total rice area in Asia

will unlikely increase much beyondthe current estimate of 136 million ha.

Given this, the main source of

additional production will have to be yield growth. Unfortunately, thecurrent rate of yield growth is toolow to generate the required supply.In the major rice-growing countries

of Asia, yield growth during thepast 5–6 years has been almost nil(Figure 4). The problem is likely to becompounded by increased production

risks arising from global warming by adversely affecting rice yieldand by increasing the frequency of events such as drought and ood.

Productivity growth through

the development and disseminationof improved technologies is theonly long-term viable solution for

preventing rapid increases inprices. A second Green Revolto reverse the rising trend inprices and to keep prices lowneeded now as much as the

Green Revolution was needeearlier to avoid famine and mstarvation. The task is equallchallenging but not insurmo

provided a substantial boostgiven to agricultural research

which continues to remain hunderinvested. Increased resinvestments together with po

reforms that make rice markefcient will ultimately help rice prices low and reduce po

1988 (Figure 3). This depletion instock has moderated the rise inprice that would have occurred

otherwise. A current low level of stock, however, compromises theability to have such a moderating

inuence in the future and increasesthe risk of a sharp rise in price.

There is a saying in economics

that “the solution to a high price isa high price.” High prices provideincentives to producers to increase

i. 1. w pi p i i, 1976-2006.Pi: d : aostat i . ao, dm 2007.ri pi:• t pi i mp mi pi ti i 5%-k f g-5 MuV ix f.• d : w bk q vi mmi mk p://i.m/258.

i. 2. M xp pi (us$ p ) i (i i, ti 100% b ... bkk (i i im)), 1998-2007 (M 1998 dm 2007).d : ao i (..///pi). ao, dm 2007.

i. 3. y-i i k, 1990-2006.d : Psd i (...v/pi/pm.px). usda, 2007.

i. 4. ri i i ai, 1996-2006.d : aostat i . ao, dm 2007.

ising rice prices will negate progress in poverty reduction

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

01976 1979 1982 1985 1988 1991 1994 1997 2000 2003 2006

Year

Price (US$ per ton), production (million tons)

World production

Price of rice

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2002 2004

Year

2000

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Rice stock (million tons)

China

India

All major countries

M a r - 9 8

D e c - 9 8

D e c - 9 9

D e c - 0 0

D e c - 0 1

D e c - 0 2

D e c - 0 3

D e c - 0 4

D e c - 0 5

D e c - 0 6

D e c - 0 7

Year

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

0

The price of rice has more than

doubled over the last 6 years.

Price (US$ per ton)

India

China

Asia

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

01996 1998 2000 2002 2004

Year

Yield (tons per hectare)




grain of truth

y Roland buResh

Balancing ertilizeruse and proft

Less ertilizer

use can mean

lower crop yield

and less proft

As fertilizer prices increase, research and extensionoften send farmers a message of “reduce fertilizeruse to save money.” But, crop yield is directly

related to the amount of nutrient taken up by theop. At some point, less fertilizer use means lower cropeld and less prot for farmers. How much fertilizer use isst right for high prot?

The answer can come from site-specific nutrient

anagement (SSNM). This approach to farming enablesrmers to optimize their use of fertilizer by matchinge amount and timing of each added

utrient (nitrogen, phosphorus, andtassium) with the needs of the crop

r each nutrient.Nitrogen (N) is typically the

utrient that most limits rice yieldsd hence the nutrient needed in largest

uantity from fertilizer. Much of the Na mature rice plant comes from theil. On a typical rice soil in the Asianopics, the yield of irrigated rice oftenaches about 4 tons per hectare w ithout

plication of N fertilizer, as long as cropanagement uses best practices and

ater is sufcient. But, markedly higherelds of irrigated rice are required toeet food needs and achieve higher

ot for farmers.How much N is needed from fertilizer to increase rice

eld from a baseline—in which the crop obtains its entirefrom soil—to a yield that provides the highest prot for a

rmer? Based on SSNM, about 40 kg N from fertiliz er muste added to increase grain yield by 1 ton per hectare in agh-yielding season (typically the dry season) and about to 60 kg N is needed to increase grain yield by 1 ton in a

w-yielding season (typically the wet season).

Assume, for example, that a farmer can typically hieve a rice grain yield of 5 tons per hectare in the lowerelding season during the year. Achieving this yield woulden require sufcient N from fertilizer to increase yield by

out 1 ton from the baseline of about 4 tons per hectare.his requires about 50 to 60 kg fertilizer N per hectare.

sume that the farmer can typically achieve a rice yield of ons per hectare in the higher-yielding season. Achievingis yield would require sufficient N from fertilizer to

crease yield by about 3 tons from the baseline of about 4ns per hectare. This corresponds to three times 40 kg orout 120 kg fertilizer N per hectare. Through the use of

such simple guidelines, extension workers and farmers canquickly evaluate current practices, thereby determining

whether more or less N fertilizer is required. The required

N fertilizer should be split into about three applicationsduring the growing season based on SSNM principles foroptimally “feeding” the needs of the crop for N at criticalgrowth stages.

The needs of rice for phosphorus (P) and potassium (K)

are directly related to grain yield.P in fertilizer is expressed on the basis of its oxide

form—P2O5. For each ton of grain yield,

a mature crop of modern high-yieldingrice typically contains the equivalent

of about 6 kg P2O5 within its biomass.Hence, a 6-tons-per-hectare cropcontains about 36 kg P2O5 at maturity.Two-thirds of this P is in the grain.

Therefore, with the harvest of grainand removal of some straw, about 5 kgP2O5 per hectare is removed from a riceeld for each ton of grain yield. Hence,for a 6-tons-per-hectare crop, about

30 kg P2O5 must be replaced using Pfertilizer.

As a general principle, irrigated rice with a history of P fertil izer use requiresabout 4 to 5 kg P2O5 per hectare from

fertilizer—depending on the amount of straw retained—for each ton of grain yield to maintain soilfertility and achieve high prot.

The need for K fertilizer depends upon the management

of rice straw—which contains most of the K in a rice crop.It also depends on K contained in irrigation water and theK-supplying capacity of the soil, which are typically notknown by farmers. SSNM provides farmers with a simpleeld plot technique for tailoring K fertilization to eld-

specic needs.The capacity of soil to supply nutrients and promote yield

can vary markedly among elds of rice farmers. The SSNMapproach helps farmers determine the needs for nutrients in

their specic elds based on simple observations.

For more information, see www.irri.org/irrc/ssnm. For

information on how SSNM is helping Asian rice farmers, see

www.irri.org/irrc/ssnmrice.

Dr. Buresh is a senior soil scientist at the International Rice

Research Institute.



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Rice Today Vol. 7, No. 1

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