Rice Today Volume 6 number 3

8/14/2019 Rice Today Volume 6 number 3

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Rice and climate changeWhat w ll happen, and what's to be done?ISSN 1655-5422

www.irri.org

International Rice Research Institute July-September 2007, Vol. 6, No. 3

RATS!The damage they do

The delicious worldof quality rice

M A p S p e c i A

R a r o u n d t h w or


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Published quarterly, Outlook on Agriculture addresses an internationaland interdisciplinary readership. Each issue includes refereed papers,opinion pieces and commentary on recent scientific, political andeconomic developments. Special attention is paid to:

food policy and strategic developments in food production; the role of agriculture in social and economic development; agriculture and human health; and environmental impacts and strategies.

Subscribing institutions include universities, government departments,international organizations, consultancies, and scientific and technicaldepartments in major industrial companies.

Submissions: The editor welcomes submissions to Outlook on Agriculture . Notes for authors are available on the IP Website(www.ippublishing.com). Articles should be double-spaced, printed on

one side of the paper and sent in triplicate, with a disk specifying thesoftware used. Papers are refereed before publication. Please sendsubmissions to: Dr David Lister, c/o IP Publishing Ltd, Coleridge House,45 Coleridge Gardens, London NW6 3QH, UK. Dr Lister may also becontacted directly at [email protected] or on tel/fax +44 193484 4163.

To subscribe or to request a free sample copy, contact: TurpinDistribution Ltd, Stratton Business Park, Pegasus Drive, Biggleswade,Bedfordshire SG18 8TQ, UK. Tel: +44 1767 604957. Fax: +44 1767601640. E-mail: [email protected].

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contentsVol. 6, No. 3

International Rice Research Institute DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, PhilippinesWeb (IRRI): www.irri.orgWeb (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 2725;fax: (+63-2) 580-5699 or (+63-2) 845-0606; email: [email protected]

cover photo Ariel Javellanapublisher Duncan Macintosh editor Adam Barclayart director Juan Lazaro IV designer and production supervisor George Reyescontributing editors Gene Hettel, Bill Hardy, Meg Mondoedo

Africa editor Savitri Mohapatra (Africa Rice Center WARDA)environment editor Greg Fanslowphoto editor Ariel Javellanaphoto researcher Jose Raymond PanaligancirculationChrisanto Quintanaprinter Primex Printers, Inc.

Rice Today is published by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the worldsleading international rice research and training center. Based in the Philippines and withof ces in 13 other countries, IRRI is an autonomous, nonpro t institution focused onimproving 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 publication

should not be construed as expressing IRRI policy or opinion on the legal status of anycountry, territory, city or area, or its authorities, or the delimitation of its frontiers orboundaries.

Rice Today welcomes comments and suggestions from readers. Potential contributorsare encouraged to query rst, rather than submit unsolicited materials. Rice Today assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to unsolicited submissions, which shouldbe accompanied by suf cient return postage.

Copyright International Rice Research Institute 2007

On e ove :Traditional rice varieties

rom Laos, like thisone, are usually highly

glutinous, resulting in theircharacteristic stickiness. See

the story on pages 16-17.

EditOrial ................................................................ 4Sacred ceremonies and political will

NEws ........................................................................ 5A new generation, a new revolutionAgreement to boost rice production in IndonesiaRice Camp 2007Gates Foundation looks at rice in ChinaTemperate Rice Research Consortium launchedRice market at a glanceIRRI Filipino sta recognizedScienti c in rastructure vital or helping the poor

PEOPlE ..................................................................... 9AchievementsKeeping up with IRRI sta

cOPiNg with climatE chaNgE ........................ 10Climate change threatens to a ect rice production

across the globe. What is known about the likelyimpacts, and what can be done about them?

ricE quality risiNg ........................................... 16The rst coming together o a new international

network o cereal scientists has laid the oundationor major advances in rice grain quality

NEw bOOks ........................................................... 18Charting new pathways to C4 riceRice: a practical guide to nutrient management

(2nd edition)Rice Genetics V

maPs ...................................................................... 19The where and how o rice

lEttiNg a huNdrEd flOwErs blOOm ........... 22As director or research at the International Rice

Research Institute, Ren Wang was instrumental instrengthening both international partnerships andresearch capacity

PushiNg thiNgs fOrward ............................... 26Agricultural economist Mahabub Hossain retires rom

international work to pursue his dream or his homecountry o Bangladesh

fOrgiNg a ricE PartNErshiP fOr africa .... 30When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion!so

goes a well-known Ethiopian saying. This couldbe an apt description or the new partnershipbeing orged among international research centersto address sub-Saharan A ricas enormous ricechallenge.

fErti lE PrOgrEss ............................................... 32The past 20 years have seen an evolution in

researchers understanding o how to best applynitrogen ertilizer to rice. That knowledge is nowbeing passed on to armers.

PrEPariNg fOr thE rat racE ........................... 34A rare species o fowering bamboo puts rodents in a

eeding and breeding renzy that threatens aminein the Indian state o Mizoram

ricE facts ............................................................. 36O rice and rats

Rats and mice do untold damage to rice crops andstocks across the globe. Here,Rice Today presentsthe acts on the rodent scourge.

graiN Of truth ................................................... 38The aerobic rice reality


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NEWS http://ricenews.irri.org

Rice Today July-September 2007

A new generation, a new revolution

An exciting new program justlaunched in Asia is encouragingsome of the worlds brightest youngscientists to consider careers helpingdeveloping nations, instead of taking jobs focused on the developed world.

Many recent scienti c advancessuch as the sequencing of the ricegenome in 2004have already begunto help poor farmers overcome suchage-old problems as drought, ooding,and high levels of salinity. Much of thisprogress was achieved in advancedresearch institutes in developed nations by researchers far removed from theproblems poor farmers face in the eld.The 3-week R c : r s arch to product on course, launched last month at theInternational Rice Research Institute

(IRRI) in the Philippines, is one of therst attempts to deal with this issue.Many young scientists working

in developed nations are increasingly isolated from the very people in poorernations who could really bene t fromtheir work, Susan McCouch, one of the leaders of the new course and aprofessor in the Department of PlantBreeding and Genetics at CornellUniversity, said. We want to changethis, and encourage good youngscientists, wherever they are, to think of

themselves as a new g e n e r a t i o n o f revolutionariestaking the latestscienti c knowledgea nd u s in g i t t oimprove the lives of the worlds poor.

In the 1960s, young scientists fromall over the worldtraveled to Asiato help launch theGreen Revolution via the developmentof new agricultural technologies for Asian rice production. Since then, fewerand fewer young people have chosencareers in agricultural research in thedeveloping world, sparking concerns of

slowing progress and stagnation.Sponsored by the National ScienceFoundation in the United States, theUnited Kingdoms Gatsby Foundation,and IRRI, the new course attracted 26participants from 12 nations, with half coming from the U.S. and EuropeanUnion and half coming from rice-growing countries in Asia and Africa.The program also seeks to reverse theone-way traf c of recent decades thathas seen thousands of young scientistsfrom the developing world taking jobs

in the developed world.Participants learned the basics of

rice production, were shown the latestin rice research, and given hands-on experience in such areas as rice breeding and fertilizer management.

Megan ORourke, a 27-year-oldmother of three doing her Ph.D. inecology and evolutionary biology atCornell University in the U.S., saidit was the rst time she had workedin a developing nation and seen theeconomic conditions rst-hand. It hasreminded me that I began studyingagriculture because of its essentialplace in supporting lives and societies,she said.

IRRI plans to run the same coursenext year.

Indonesian efforts to avoid foodshor tages by increas ing r iceproduction have been boosted by thesigning of a new agreement to help thenations millions of poor rice farmers with new technologies.

Senior of cials and scientists of the Indonesian Agency for AgriculturalResearch and Development, and otheragencies of the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, signed the 3-yearagreement with IRRI on 23 March2007 in Jakarta.

Indonesia, the worlds fth mostpopulous nation, has been strugglingfor several years to increase its riceproduction. Shortages could triggerprice rises and cause severe hardshipfor the nations poor.

The Indonesian government wantsto see an additional 2 million tons of

Agreement to boost rice production in Indonesia

rice produced in 2007, followed by 5%growth in national rice production each year after that.

With world rice productiongrowing at less than 2% annually, itsincreasingly dif cult for countries to boost production beyond 23%, IRRIsDeputy Director General for ResearchRen Wang explained.

But with global rice prices at a10-year high after doubling in the past2 years and world rice reserves at a30-year low, there is pressure on rice-importing countries such as Indonesiato achieve self-sufficiency. The new agreement between Indonesia and IRRIfocuses on three key areas: supportfor the Indonesian governmentsRice Production Increase Program,collaborative research, and humanresource development.

Support efforts will include thedevelopment of improved varieties with high yield potential, grain quality,and resistance to pests; a nationalstrategy and framework for hybridrice; and improved rice varieties thatcan tolerate submergence, drought,and low-temperature damage in high-elevation areas.

Collaborative research will includethe strengthening of research capacity for the development and safe use of transgenic rice in Indonesia, improvinggrain quality and the nutritional value of rice, and special emphasis ondrought, disease resistance, and poorsoils.

Capacity building will focus onpostgraduate degree training, on-the- job training, scientist exchange, shortcourses, and in-country training.


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4th International Meeting on Rice

The Rice Research Institute (IIArroz)and the Agro-industrial Group of Cattle and Rice, under the auspicesof the Agriculture Ministry of Cuba,have announced the 4th InternationalMeeting on Rice, to be held on 2-6June 2008 at the Havana InternationalConference Center. The meeting will run concurrently with the 1stInternational Workshop of Millers anda rice expo. The meetings objectivesinclude discussions on the transfer of sustainable technologies and updates

and evaluations of rice knowledge,especially relating to rice production inLatin America and the Caribbean. Key themes will include plant breeding andphytogenetic resources, technologiesfor managing rice cultivation, cropprotection, physiology and nutrition of the rice plant, and harvest and industrialgrain processing. Look for more detailsin future issues of Rice Today.

Pakistan price riseDespite rapidly rising rice prices, thePakistani government has no plansto impose a ban on rice exports.Sikandar Bosan, federal minister forfood, agriculture, and livestock, toldthe Pakistani Daily Times in May 2007that a combination of rice shortagesin other South Asian countries and arise in Pakistani production has ledto a boost in exports, which rose from267,000 tons in March to 284,000tons in April. The higher prices are

prompting Pakistani traders to export

rice that would otherwise have beensold on the local market, leading toincreased domestic prices. According toRice Exporters Association of PakistanChairman Aziz Mania, rice smugglingis also affecting local prices.

Indian plan to boost grainsIn May 2007, Indian Prime MinisterManmohan Singh announced anew scheme to increase food grainproduction. This 25 billion rupee(US$614 million) investment aims to

increase food grain production by 20million tons by the end of 2009, andthereby avoid spiraling imports. Riceproduction will be boosted in two key areasthrough an additional 5 millionhectares of land to be brought underirrigation, and by increasing the areaplanted to high-yielding hybrid rice varieties to 10 million hectares, fromthe current 1 million, by 2012.

Ag ministers Mekong meeting Agriculture ministers of the GreaterMekong Subregion (GMS) met on 9-11 April 2007 in Beijing to review progressin the regions cooperation in agriculture,endorse the Strategic Framework forSubregional Cooperation in Agricultureand Core Agriculture Support Program(CASP), and discuss the implications forthe GMS of new trends in agriculture.IRRI coordinator for the GMS Gary Jahn, representing the ConsultativeGroup on International Agricultural

Research (CGIAR), noted that CGIAR

centers are able to contribute to the vekey components of CASPfacilitatingcross-border agricultural trade andinvestment, promoting public-privatepartnerships for sharing agriculturalinformation, enhancing capacity inagricultural science and technology,establishing emergency responsemechanisms for agricultural and naturalresource crises, and strengtheninginstitutional linkages and mechanismsfor cooperation.

New rice DNA mapResearchers at the University of Delaware and Ohio State University,USA, have used new technology toconstruct a comprehensive expressionatlas of the rice genome. As well asidentifying individual genes, the new map indicates regions of nongene DNA that are expressedthat is, transcribedinto RNAand may therefore play aregulatory role in the cell (genes aretranscribed into RNA, which is thentranslated by the cell into proteins;some RNA is not translated but insteadplays a role in the regulation of cellularprocesses). The study, discussed by Antoni Rafalski in the April 2007 issueof Natur B ot chnology (Tagg ngth r c transcr ptom ), increasesresearchers knowledge about thefunctionally active regions of DNA between genes and will thus help crop biotechnologists develop improved rice varieties.

Rice Camp 2007

Twenty high school students rom Thailand and the Philippines attendedIRRIs second annual Rice Camp on 23-28 April 2007. The camp is a untraining course that teaches participants about the basics o agricultureand rice research. First held in April 2006 (see A rice uture or Asia in RiceToday Vol. 5, No. 3), Rice Camp exposes participants to current trends in ricescience and rice arming, o ers hands-on experience in eld and laboratory

work, creates awareness o the importance o rice research, and promotesrice science as a uture career. It is also a chance or the students to sharecultural di erences and similarities. Participants drove a tractor, planted rice,collected and identi ed insects, tasted di erent varieties o rice, and more.Rice Camp 2007 was supported by IRRI, the Thai Rice Foundation under Royal Patronage, and the Philippine Rice Research Institute.

Ariel JAvellAnA


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A delegation from the Bill andMe l inda G a t e s Founda t i onled by Bill Gates, cofounder of theFoundation and chairman of MicrosoftCorp., and Raj Shah, director of the Agricultural Development Programof the Foundation, visited the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences(CAAS)-IRRI Joint Lab on RiceMolecular Breeding and Geneticsheaded by IRRI molecular geneticistZhi-Kang Li on 18 April 2007.

The delegation met with Dr. Liand his team at CAAS, where Dr. Ligave presentations on R c br d ng nCh nacurr nt status and prosp cts ,the concept of Super Green Rice,and progress in the China National

Gates Foundation looks at rice in China

Molecular BreedingN e t w o r k , a n e w breeding strategy to combine gened i s c o v e r y w i t h variety developmentinitiated at IRRI in1998 and coordinated by Dr. Li.

Mr. Gates showedgreat interest anddiscussed severaltop ics , inc lud ingmolecular markers,t he r i c e g e nomesequence, gene expression, and rice breeding, with Dr. Li. The group also visited the National Key Facility for

Crop Gene Resources and GeneticImprovement and the China NationalCrop Genebank.

Dear Rice Today ,

I write with hat in hand in admirationo the Aussies. Skimming through theAprilJune issue o Rice Today , I ndon page 7 ( Australian rice doldrums )the extraordinary report o the national rice production or last year o 1,048million tons (roughly twice the outputo the remainder o the world). Whileit has declined some 80% or this year,126 million is nothing to sneeze at. Iremain humbled by this achievement

and depressed to consider that I laboreddecades in the Americas to raise productionby a ew measly million tons.

P eter J enningsLatin a merican F und For i rrigated r ice

Rice Today apologizes or the error, whichwas in no way caused by parochialismon the part o the Australian editor. Thecorrect fgures are 1.05 million tons in2006-07, with 0.126 million tons predicted

or 2007-08.

The Temperate Rice ResearchConsortium (TRRC) was launchedduring an international planning workshop on temperate rice on 2-4 May 2007 in Suwon, Republic of Korea. More than 90 scientists from12 temperate rice-growing countriesin Asia, Europe, and North Americaattended the workshop, which wascoordinated by IRRI with financialsupport from the National Instituteof Crop Science, Rural Development Administration (RDA), Korea.

The TRRC aims to strengthennational agricultural research andextension system (NARES) partnershipsfor technology development, validation,and dissemination for improvementof rice production and productivity

Temperate Rice Research Consortium launchedi n t e m p e r a t e e n v i r o n m e n t s ;strengthen capacity building amongTRRC partners; develop and shareimproved germplasm and technologiesfor problem solving and sustainabletemperate rice production; and improvegrain quality, nutritional value, andpostharvest technology.

In a welcome address, RDA Administrator Kim In-Sik emphasizedthe importance of temperate rice in world food production and the needfor improvements in production, stressresistance, grain quality, and nutritional value to feed a rising population. IRRIDeputy Director General for ResearchRen Wang spoke on the need to reducethe big gap in the yield potential of temperate rice between developed and

Reader's Letter

developing countries.Participants focused on major

issues of temperate rice and identi edresearch priorities and strategiesfor four major working groups: yieldpotential and grain quality, bioticstress (blast), abiotic stress (cold), andresource-use efficiency (water andnutrients).

A d A m

b A r C l A y

Zhi-kang li ( left ) s owsB g tes ( center ) dPro . S m W , dep td rector e er , i st t teo Crop Sc e ces Rese rc ,CaaS, ro d t e CaaS-iRRi Jo t l b.


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Th e F o o d a n d A g r i c u l t u r eOrganization of the United Nations(FAO) reported in the March 2007 issueof the FAO R c Mark t Mon tor thatestimates of world paddy (unmilledrice) production in 2006 have beendowngraded to 629 million tons, a cutof 2 million tons. This gure is 4 milliontons lower than the record high of 2005.The decrease is thought to be largely due to smaller crops in Asia, which were damaged by insects and irregularmonsoon rains. Production also fell inLatin America and the Caribbean, but

Rice market at a glance

T e w ers t e 200 aw rds Pro r m or iRRi F p o st werereco zed d r t e i st t tes Bo rd o Tr stees meet o 1apr 200 . P t p s o o st Ev e S cedo-E (p ct red, left ),Crop d E v ro me t Sc e ces D v s o (CESD), wo t e aw rd or O tst d Sc e t c ac eveme t, d CESD rese rc tec c Ed-r amo oz (p ct red, right , rece v s w rd rom Bo rd C r

ke j ro Ots d D rector ge er Robert Ze er) wo t e aw rdor O tst d Rese rc S pport. T e aw rd or O tst d adm -str t ve S pport w s s red b st members o t e P t Breed ,ge et cs, d B otec o o D v s o or t e r wor or z t eF t i ter t o R ce ge et cs S mpos m (M , 19-23 novem-ber 200 ) d t e iRRi-i d O ce st or t e r wor e p toor ze d r t e 2 d i ter t o R ce Co ress (new De , 9-13October 200 ). Ms. S cedo-E w s c ose or er wor o food to -er ce r ce d Mr. amo oz w s reco zed or s rese rc projecto cre s a t c Serv ces l bor tor s mp e t ro p t de p mprove t e bs oper t o s.

IRRI Filipino staff recognized

World-class scienti c facilities play an increasingly important role inhelping poor nations overcome poverty,food insecurity, and new challengessuch as the impact of climate change.

The need for such infrastructure was highlighted at the annual meetingof the IRRI Board of Trustees (BOT)in the Philippines on 16-18 April 2007.IRRI has spent several million dollarsover the past 5 years upgrading its mainlaboratories to keep them up to worldscienti c standards.

While advanced scienti c researchinstitutes in developed nations have a vital role to play in helping to solvesome of the developing worlds mostintractable problems, its essential that we also build, and continue to upgrade,scientific infrastructure in poorernations, BOT Chairman Keijiro Otsuka

Scienti c infrastructure vital for helping the poor

said. And, its vital that institutessuch as IRRI have the resources tocontinually upgrade and renovate theirown labs and facilities; otherwise, they will quickly become irrelevant.

As a result of the upgrading, theInstitute has re-opened three labs atits Philippine headquarters:

A m croarray laboratory : firstset up in 2001, this lab became fully operational in 2002 after an investmentof US$895,000 on new equipment andgenotyping instrumentation. It servesas a centralized facility supportingresearch and training to conduct geneexpression analysis, genotyping, genetagging and mapping, and marker-assisted breeding. It also providesaccess to the latest genomic tools toresearchers from developing nations.

A gra n qual ty and nutr t on

laboratory : opened in December 2004after an investment of $1.2 million, thelab works with IRRI rice breeders andcereal chemists around the world toensure that new rice varieties reach thehighest possible standards in terms of quality and nutrition.

A b ot chnology laboratory :opened in June 2006 a f te r aninvestment of $1.7 million, this lab isa state-of-the-art, high-throughputtransgenic research platform to enabledeveloping countries to obtain new technologies and training. It alsoprovides a unique capacity to developpublic biotechnology products designedto bene t those nations without accessto such facilities.

It will be a tragedy if the poor missout on the bene ts provided by our new scientific knowledge simply becausethey dont have the facilities to use itand learn from it, Dr. Otsuka said.

rose in Africa for the fth consecutive year. As expected, estimates of worldrice stockpiles at the end of the 2007season have been downgraded 2 milliontons to 103 million tons, due to thelower 2006 outlook.

Initial global forecasts for 2007predict a rise in production back to2005 levels. This assumes a return toaverage growing conditions, positiveprice expectations, and rejuvenatedinstitutional support.

FAOs forecast of world trade in 2007 was raised to 29.8 million tons, nearly

1 million tons more than previously anticipated, and almost matchingthe 2005 trade record. The expectedincrease in trade largely re ects greatersupply needs by importing countriesfacing production shortfalls.

As anticipated, rice export priceshave continued to climb. According tothe June 2007 FAO R c Pr c Updat ,the All Rice Price Index (set at 100 for1998-2000 prices) reached 121 in May 2007, up from 115 in December 2006.Experts predict this trend is expectedto continue for at least this year.

JoSe rAymond PAnAligAn (2)


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PEOPLE

9Rice Today July-September 2007

IRRI Director for ManagementServices Kwame Akuffo-Akoto(pictured, abov ) bid farewell to theInstitute after more than 5 years of innovative and productive service. He

provided IRRI with excellent nancialleadership, developing and promoting best practices in duciary managementand nancial reporting. Mr. Akuffo- Akoto was instrumental in aligningthe nancial practices of IRRI and itspartner institutes supported by theConsultative Group on International Agricultural Research with globalstandards, and in formulating a singlenancial policy for the entire group.

Hung-Goo Hwang , seniorscientist seconded from Koreas Rural

Development Administration (RDA),leaves after 3 years of outstanding work in japonica rice breedingand strengthening of IRRI-RDA collaboration through leadership inthe genetic improvement of japonicarice. Dr. Hwang is replaced in the PlantBreeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology (PBGB) Division by Kyu-Seong LeeKumi Yasunobu , seconded from theJapan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), left theSocial Sciences Division (SSD) in March2007. She was replaced by JIRCASscientist Shigeki Yokoyama . ZahirulIslam , international research fellow inSSD, left in June 2007. Xuemei Ji hascompleted his contract as a postdoctoralfellow in PBGB.

Also departing were Ren Wangand SSD Head Mahabub Hossain(see more about them in this issue of R c Today ). Randolph Barker wilserve as acting head of SSD.

The president of India, A.P.J. Kalam, who visited IRRI in February 2006,has nominated former IRRI DirectorGeneral and World Food Prize laureateM.S. Swaminathan (1982-88) for theupper house of the Indian parliament. Inan opinion column in Indias H ndustanT m s , JSS Rural DevelopmentFoundation adviser M. Mahadevappaalso touted Prof. Swaminathan asIndias next president.

IRRI crop physiologist ShaobingPeng has been invited to be one of ve Changjiang (Yangtze River) ChairProfessors of Huazhong AgriculturalUniversity.

TiMe magazine (14 May 2007)has voted former Africa Rice Center(WARDA) breeder Monty Jones , from

Sierra Leone, as one of the worlds 100most influential people. In a profile written by Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia Universitys Earth Institute,Dr. Jones was cited for leading thedevelopment of New Rice for Africa(NERICA), high-yielding varietiessuited to African conditions, which havedramatically helped improve Africanrice productivity, an achievement thatalso earned him the 2004 World FoodPrize. Read more about Dr. Jones inTh r c man of Afr ca on pages 28-29

of R c Today , Vol. 6, No. 2.IRRI Deputy Director General for

Research Ren Wang was recognizedon 19 May for his contributions to

Vietnamese agriculture and ruraldevelopment. At a ceremony in Hanoi,Bui Ba Bong, vice-minister of VietnamsMinistry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, honored Dr. Wang forhis leadership and commitment inensuring that IRRI helps poor ricefarmers and consumers improve theirlives in Vietnam, and for his unquali edsupport for a more effective Vietnameseagricultural research and extensionsystem.

Guy Trbuil and FranoisBousquet , along with co-authorTayan Raj Gurung , have beenawarded the 2006 Ralph YorqueMemorial Prize by the editorial boardof the ecology and Soc ty Journal for their article Compan on mod l ng,

confl ct r solut on, and nst tut onbu ld ng: shar ng rr gat on wat r nth L ngmut ychu Wat rsh d, Bhutan .The 500-euro prize was awarded for themost novel paper [ ecology and Soc ty 11(2):36] integrating different streamsof science to assess fundamentalquestions of the ecological, political,and social foundations for sustainablesocial-ecological systems. The field work for the study was carried out when Drs. Trbuil and Bousquet wereassigned to the IRRI-Thailand Of ce

in 2001-04.Former IRRI agricultural econo-

mist Prabhu Pingali was among 72new members and 18 foreign associates

inducted into the U.S.National Academy of Sciences in May 2007.Dr. Pingali, currently director, Divisiono f A g r i c u l t u r a land DevelopmentEconomics, Fooda n d A g r i c u l t u r eOrganization of theUnited Nations, waselected in recognitionof his distinguisheda n d c o n t i n u i n ga c h i e v e me n t s i noriginal research, w h i c h i n c l u d e s

work on technological change andagricultural development policy.

Achievements Keeping up with IRRI staff

REn Wang (center ) rece ves p q e rom B BBo ( left ), v ce-m ster o V et ms M str o a r c t re d R r Deve opme t, s iRRi sc e -t st g r J oo s o .

m A r d


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10 Rice Today July-September 2007

A

s if rice farming werenthard enough. It ispatently clear now thathumans have goneand made it a whole

lot harder. And, in acruel irony, while the rich, developedcountries are the ones that haveproduced most of the greenhousegases that are causing climate change,it will be the poorer countries in thetropicsmany of them reliant onrice to keep their populations fromhungerthat will be worst affected.

As Earth warms up, one of the biggest concerns is the effecton agricultureyet there has

been relatively little researchinvestigating the fundamentalquestion of how humanity willfeed itself in a changed climate.How will higher temperatures and

the attendant increased incidenceof extreme weather such asdroughts, storms, and oods affectagricultural production? What arethe implications for feeding the worlds burgeoning population,especially the billions of poor whorely on small-scale and subsistencefarming? And, of course, whatcan we do to lessen the impact?

To start answering thesequestions, R c Today spoke to

Reiner Wassmann, InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI)senior climate scientist andcoordinator of the IRRI-led Riceand Climate Change Consortium.

Dr. Wassmann is seconded toIRRI from the Research CenterKarlsruhe (IMK-IFU) in Germany.

What s iRRis past re ord onl mate hange resear h andwhat are the urrent a t v t es?IRRI has a long history of studyingthe effect of climate on rice. The rstexperiment on temperature effects onrice was conducted in 1961, one yearafter IRRIs inception. Remarkably, the

Climate change threatens to afect rice production

across the globe. What is known about the likely

impact, and what can be done about it?

Coping with

Climate


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rst work on high carbon dioxide (CO 2)concentrations affecting rice plants was performed in 1971, long beforethe issue of climate change becameknown to a broader audience. Likewise,

the rst workshop dealing withclimate and rice dates back to 1974.In 1991, IRRI started research

explicitly examining climate changeimpacts, namely, a project funded by the United States EnvironmentalProtection Agency (U.S.-EPA), titled eff cts of UV-B and Global Cl matChang on R c , which used open-topchambers to study increased CO 2 andtemperatures and included a modelingcomponent. More recently, IRRI

has dealt with temperature effectson rice yields in several researchactivities, including modeling work and analysis of high night-timetemperature effects, led by IRRI

crop physiologist Shaobing Peng.In 2007, IRRI established theRice and Climate Change Consortiumto assess direct and indirectconsequences for rice production, todevelop strategies and technologiesto adapt rice to changing climate,and to explore crop managementpractices that reduce greenhouse gasemissions under intensive production.

In the initial phase, our focusis on improved resilience of the rice

crop to heat stress. To attain thisgoal, we are pooling some of IRRIsresearch thrustsplant breeding andplant physiology, for exampleand we will add new tools for screening

and impact assessment. Moreover, weare now establishing monitoring sitesto test the effects of emerging crop-management trends (diversi cationfrom rice-rice to rice-maize systems,for example) that will alter crops budgets of carbon and nitrogenand thus signi cantly attempt toreduce greenhouse gas emissions.Data gathered from these sites will be used to develop predictivemodels and guide future research.

FlOODED RiCE FiElDSt s o e t t e i ter t oR ce Rese rc i st t te

t e P pp es, re e ses c t mo ts o t e

ree o se s met e.

Ariel JAvellAnA

Change


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Do h gher temperatures andcO 2 levels afe t r e y elds?Overall, much uncertainty stillexists about the true direction of theimpact of CO 2 and temperature onrice yields. In the open-top chamberexperiment at IRRI in the early

1990s, rice was grown at ambient andelevated (doubled) concentrations of atmospheric CO 2. Plants were alsogrown at ambient and elevated (plus4 C) air temperature to study theinteractive effects of elevated CO 2 andtemperature on growth and yield.

Over the 2 years of the study, theelevated CO 2 + ambient temperaturetreatment increased total biomass by 40% and yields by 27% overthose achieved under ambientCO2 and temperature. Under thehigh air temperature treatment,however, this stimulation decreased.Compared with ambient conditions,the combination of increased CO 2 and increased temperature resultedin a small increase in biomassand yield in the dry season and asmall decrease in the wet season.

The results of these studies arein line with so-called Free-Air CO 2 Enrichment (FACE) experimentsexamining the effect of increasedCO

2on rice. FACE experiments

allow researchers to increase CO 2 concentrations in the eldasopposed to in greenhouses orchambersand so offer a morerealistic assessment of the effect

on plants. On the other hand,there is no FACE system in tropicalcountries, so all our knowledgecomes from a limited numberof small-chamber studies.

IRRI crop modeler John Sheehy determined that, as a general rule,for every 75 ppm increase in CO 2 concentration, rice yields willincrease by 0.5 ton per hectare, but yield will decrease by 0.6 tonper hectare for every 1 C increasein temperature. However, nobody has studied the interactions between CO 2 and temperature

under controlled, realistic eldconditions. The technology todo this is now available, and, if funding can be found, IRRI hopesto develop an experimental systemin which both CO 2 and temperaturecan be controlled in rice elds.

W ll l mate hange result nh gher or lower r e produ t on?One component of the U.S.-EPA project dealt with modeling climatechange impacts on rice production.In a comparative approach, climatedata from three general circulationmodels (GCMs; a class of computermodels used for understanding theglobal climate and projecting climatechange) were coupled with crop yieldmodels. The bottom line of this study was that the global yield forecastlargely depended on the GCM used;

one GCM resulted in a predictednet increase in rice yields (plus47%) while two GCMs predictednet decreases (minus 413%).Moreover, the range of differentclimate change scenarios effectively de es a straightforward, single-gure prediction of future yields.

Uncertainty about global impactis caused by both GCMs and the cropsimulation models used for suchglobal predictions. In particular,

aS POPulaTiOnS gROW, r c t re ces cre s compet t orom t e rb d d str sectors or w ter d d. C m tec e, w c s expected to ter t e t m d oc t o o r , s e to compo d t s prob em.

OPEn-TOP c mbers weresed iRRi st d t ee r 1990s to vest tet e e ect o cre sed CO 2 d temper t re o r ce.


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we lack a good understanding of the complex interactions of CO 2 and temperature effects at theprocess level of plant physiology anddevelopment. Likewise, the combinedeffect of temperature and humidity isnot taken into account in the availablecrop models. All in all, there is muchscope and much need to improvethese models and also incorporatemechanisms that will allow us tomore reliably explore ways to adapt toclimate change, through, for example,genetic improvement of speci ctraits or shifting crop management.

How w ll l mate hangeafe t r e gra n qual ty?The quality and characteristics of the rice grain itself are likely to become one of the key parameters fordetermining the impact of climate

change. The trends for grain quality take directions similar to those for thequantity of rice produced. In a study conducted by Ph.D. student Rachelle Ward, under the supervision of IRRIcereal chemist Melissa Fitzgerald,elevated CO 2 decreased chalk content. As high chalk content is generally an undesirable trait, this meantthat grain quality was improved by increasing the proportion of marketable grains. Despite this, the

most damaging effects of climatechange on rice quality will occur fromhigher temperatures, which will affectseveral quality traits, including chalk,amylose content, and gelatinizationtemperature. The positive effects of elevated CO 2 do not compensate forthe overall decrease in rice quality

from the effects of global warming.

How w ll we ensure enough r eprodu t on n the uture?There is a lot of genetic variationacross varieties of both cultivatedrice (Oryza sat va ) and its wildrelatives. We are therefore optimisticthat IRRI will be able to developnew varieties that can cope withhigher temperatures. Scientists arealso con dent that the resilienceof rice production systems toclimate extremes, such as oodsand droughts, can be improved within certain boundaries.

While IRRI sees plant breedingat the heart of improvements inrice production, the ef ciency of adaptive measures can beincreased signi cantly by other efforts, including Molecular marker techniques to

speed up the breeding process; Geographic analysis of

vulnerable regions (where therice crop is already experiencingcritical temperature levels);

Regional climate modelingto identify future tiltingpoints of rice production

(temperatures or CO 2 levels above which major yield losses areexperienced, for example); and

Site-speci c adjustment in cropmanagement (shifting plantingdates and improved watermanagement, for example). At the same time, the envisaged

adaptation of rice productionto climate change will requiresubstantial funds to support vigorousand concerted efforts by national andinternational research institutions.Climate change has recently receivedenormous attention in the mediaand in policy statements, such as the St rn R v w on th conom cs of cl mat chang which included asection on rice contributed by IRRIand the int rgov rnm ntal Pan l on Cl mat Chang 4th Ass ssm nt R port . All of these have identi edadaptation of the agriculturalsector as the key to limitingdamage. Despite this unanimousassessment of the importance of research on adapting agricultureto climate change, adequatefunding has yet to materialize.

CliMaTE SCiEnTiST Re er W ssms rese rc t e mp ct o c m tec e o r ce, s we s t e mp cto r ce o c m te c e.

aS ThE WORlD w rms p, se eve s wr se, c s m jor prob ems ow-r ce- row re s.

continued on page 15

Ariel JAvellAnA (3)

i r r i


14/40

a lthough rice production will be a ectedby climate change, rice arming also hasthe capacity to ampli y the problem.Because much rice is grown in fooded eldsunder anaerobic (oxygen-depleted) conditions,it is likely to contribute to global warming morethan any other crop. The chemistry o foodedrice soils means that they release signi cantamounts o methane (CH 4)a greenhouse gasabout 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide(CO2), and which accounts or a th o the global atmospheres warming potential.

Methane is the nal product o the microbial breakdown o organic matter. In rice soils, thesource o organic material can be residues o the preceding rice crop, root secretions romthe growing crop, or manure applied as ertilizer.The signi cance o rice production as a cause o rising CH4 levels in the atmosphere over the lastcentury was recently re-emphasized in a report bythe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,which was released in May 2007.

However, some ways o managing riceproduction help reduce CH 4 emissions. YasukazuHosen, a soil scientist seconded to theInternational Rice Research Institute romthe Japan International Research Center orAgricultural Sciences, is leading a project todevelop crop management strategies thatincrease the e ciency o water use and there orereduce the amount o water required, withoutsacri cing yield. In principle, such a strategycan signi cantly cut CH 4 emissions.

Dr. Hosen and his team are assessing theenvironmental impact o existing water-savingtechnologies such as alternate wetting anddrying irrigation and aerobic rice (a productionsystem in which specially developed, high-yielding varieties are grown in well-drained,

Goodbye gas

nonpuddled, and nonsaturated soils). The teamsnext step is to analyze the e ect on greenhousegas emissions o the timing o various aspectso crop management, such as nitrogen ertilizerapplication, irrigation, and incorporation o cropresidue into the soil during the allow period. Bygrowing the rice in specially designed chambers(see photos, above), the team can capture andmeasure gases emitted by the rice plant and itseld soil.

Although alternate wetting and drying has thepotential to reduce methane emissions rom riceelds, it is likely to result in increased nitrousoxide (N2O) emissions. N 2O, also a greenhousegas, is more than 300 times as potent as CO 2The trick is to ind a way to minimize theenvironmentally negative e ects and maximizethe positive results.

Dr. Hosen and his team developed several other hypotheses, including1. N2O emissions can be mitigated using

an appropriate combination o nitrogenapplication and irrigation timing.

2. When crop residue is incorporated into thesoil early in the allow period, it decomposesaster than when it is simply scattered onthe soil sur ace. This causes higher COemissions during the allow period, but lowerCH4 emissions during the ollowing croppingperiod. Thus, the global-warming impact o rice arming can be reduced with earlier cropresidue incorporation.Dr. Hosen cautions that it is premature to

make any solid conclusions, but early resultsare promising, with preliminary data indicatingmuch lower CH4 emissions but signi cant N 2Oemissions under alternate wetting and drying.At the time Rice Today went to press, the eldexperiment was continuing, and a pot experiment(see photos, le t ) had been established to setguidelines or also reducing N 2O emissions.


y u i C h i F u r u k A w A ( 2 )

y A S u k A z u h o S e n ( 2 )


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Whats really go ng to happen?The impact of climate change onrice yields will depend on the actualpatterns of change in rice-growingregions. Both higher maximum andhigher minimum temperatures candecrease rice yields due to spikeletsterility and higher respirationlosses, respectively (respiration isthe process by which cells or tissuesobtain oxygen and so generate energy for their growth and maintenance).However, these productionlosses may be averted or at leastmitigated through the concertedefforts of agricultural researchand policies aiming to improverice varieties and accompanyingmanagement strategies.

At the same time, rice production

may be threatened in some especially vulnerable regions, such as thoseaffected by a rise in sea-levels.Some of Asias most importantrice growing areas are located inlow lying deltas, which play a vitalrole in regional food security andsupplying export markets. It isunclear to what extent the impact of higher sea levels can be compensatedfor by improved water control and what the costs and socioeconomic

consequences of these changes are.However, what is clear is that

the risks stemming from a sea-level

risewhich is projected in the rangeof 1085 centimeters over the nextcentury depending on the climatescenario usedare enormous forsome countries. IRRI geographerRobert Hijmans has constructeda map of Vietnam displaying therice area that is below 1 meter and between 1 and 5 meters above sealevel, respectively (see map, l ft ). With Vietnam so dependent onrice grown in and around low-lyingriver deltas, the implications of asea-level rise are ominous indeed.The Rice and Climate ChangeConsortium is currently cooperating with the Southern Institute for Water Resources Planning in Ho ChiMinh City, Vietnam, on an impactassessment of different sea-levelrise scenarios on hydrological

conditions in the Mekong Delta,the rice granary of Vietnam.Moreover, climate extremes

such as more frequent or moreintense droughts, cyclones, and heat waves pose incalculable threatsto agricultural production. Giventhe signi cance of rice as a staplecrop, IRRI will strive to incorporatea range of defensive traits intomodern rice varieties and to improvecrop management to develop moreresilient rice production systems.

ViETnaMS RiCE d str depe ds e v o ow- rm re s t e Me o d Red R ver de t s.

Re t ve sm cre ses se eve co d ved s stro s co seq e ces.

represents 10,000hectares planted

with rice

Each dot

Vietnam

an aERial ViEW o iRRi'sope -top c mber exper me t t e e r 1990s.

irri

Red River Delta

MekongDelta

Below 1 m15 m

Elevation


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B arbecue by pool todiscuss the future of amylose is not yourtypical dinner invitation.

For most people, the rst part of the

request is probably very enticing, but the last part has the potentialto provoke responses of Ersorry,Im busy that night. But, if youreone of 75 cereal chemists andgrain-quality experts who received just that invitation in April 2007,it promises a great night out.

The proportion of amylose (astarch) in the rice grain contributesto all traits of cooking and sensory quality. Its future is therefore a

matter of great concern to theresearchers from more than 20countries who met on 17-19 April2007 during a workshop entitledCl ar ng old hurdl s w th n w

sc nc : mprov ng r c gra n qual ty at the International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI) headquartersin Los Baos, Philippines.

The workshop was part of amajor international initiative by theInternational Network for Quality Ricewhich rst came togetherelectronically in 2006to try to boost the income of the worldsmillions of poor rice farmers and atthe same time provide consumers

with more nutritious, better tastingfood. The gathering was also thenetworks rst face-to-face meeting.

New scienti c knowledge isallowing rice researchers to develop

better quality rice varieties thatcould fetch a higher price fromconsumers, especially increasingly af uent rice consumers in Asia.

The main aim of the new International Network for Quality Rice is to help rice breeders aroundthe world develop varieties withimproved quality traits such as better taste, aroma, and cookingcharacteristics as well as higherlevels of nutrition. Once provided

by Duncan Macintosh

The first coming together of a new

international network of cerealscientists has laid the foundation for

major advances in rice grain quality

R e qual ty r s ngAriel JAvellAnA (2)

STiCky RiCE, pr w s, d w ter c est td mp so e o t e o rmet r ce

d s es prep red or p rt c p ts t t er q t wor s op.


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Makes about eight servings

Patties1 cups cooked short-grain rice250 g minced chicken150 g small cooked prawns, shelled5 green onions, chopped2 cloves garlic, crushed2 teaspoons grated resh ginger1 small resh red chili, chopped1 tablespoon sh sauce2 tablespoons chopped resh coriander(cilantro) leavesCanola oil or shallow rying

yogurt Dipping Sauce1 cup plain (unsweetened) yoghurt1 tablespoons mild sweet chili sauce1 green onion, nely chopped1 tablespoon chopped resh coriander(cilantro) leaves

Process rice, chicken, prawns, green onions,garlic, ginger, chili, sauce, and corianderuntil just combined. Divide mixture intoeight portions, shape into patties, place ontray, and re rigerate or 2 hours.

A ter re rigeration, shallow- ry patties inhot oil until browned and cooked through;drain on absorbent paper. For dippingsauce, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

to farmers, the new varieties areexpected to command a higherprice among consumers, especially many in Asia, who, as they become wealthier, are seekingandpaying forbetter quality food.

Much of this research wouldnot have been possible 10 years ago

because we simply did not have theknowledge or the understandingof quality that we do now, RobertZeigler, IRRIs director general,said. It really is a very exciting timeto be involved in such research,especially because we can take thenew scienti c knowledge generated by activities such as the recentsequencing of the rice genome,and use it to improve the lives of the poor by providing either betterquality food or increased income.

Its very clear from the greatresponse we got to the workshopthat rice quality is becoming a very hot topic in rice research almosteverywhere, the convener and headof IRRIs Grain Quality, Nutrition,and Postharvest Center, MelissaFitzgerald, said. Many of theissues we discussed may not haveeven been considered a few yearsago, but, with the recent advancesin molecular biology and excitingnew areas such as metabolomics, we can do things now that wecould only dream about before.

Metabolomics is the whole-genome assessment of metabolites(the molecules involved inmetabolism, which is the set of chemical reactions that occur in

living cells), including the study of thechemical ngerprints that metabolicprocesses leave within cells.

During the workshop, the latestresearch was presented in severalnew areas, including breedingfor better quality and genetically mapping speci c quality traits inrice such as taste and aroma, thecooking and eating qualities of rice and how to measure sensory qualities more accurately, and therole of important substances suchas starches like amylose in cookingrice and how they are measured.

To give participants a break from the intellectual rigors of the

workshop programand to make surethat theory was put into practicedinners and lunches showcasedrice dishes from around the world. Attendees were treated to gourmetmeals that included Europeanand Central Asian rice dishes, as well as a banquet of rice in all itsSoutheast Asian gourmet forms.

IRRI has a strong foundationof previous rice quality research to build on, Dr. Fitzgerald said. We

needed that to ensure we made theright decisions as we move into anew era of rice quality research.

For many years, rice breedershave focused on developing varietiesthat would boost production andprovide some insect and weedresistance to help farmers reducetheir use of pesticides; quality was not a high priority. However,major new advances in riceresearch and Asias continuingeconomic development have createdimportant new opportunities.

These are the two key changesdriving the whole process andmaking this research area so

exciting, Dr. Zeigler said. If we canlink these two things togetherournew and improved knowledge andunderstanding of rice quality withaf uent-consumer desires for betterricethen its possible we can alsohelp poor farmers improve their lives.

This would be an outstandingexample of using the latest inscience to improve the lives of thepoor, while satisfying the desiresof the af uent, he added.

Spicy prawnand chicken

pattiesSource: Australian Womens Weekly cookbooks, modi ed by MelissaFitzgerald, head o IRRIs Grain Quality,Nutrition, and Postharvest Center. Thisis one o the dishes cooked or theworkshop participants.

R E C I P E

J o S e r A y m o n d P A n A l i g A n

WORkShOP COnVEnERMe ss F tz er d er b.


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c n ne p o c 4 e (edited by J.E. Sheehy, P.L. Mitchell, and B. Hardy; published by World Scientifc Publishing, Singapore; 422 pages).

W ith unfavorable conditions brought about by climatechange and other environment-related issues, feeding the world inthe coming century will be no meanfeat. The situation offers an enormouschallenge to the rice researchcommunity, compelled to feedalmost half the worlds populationusing less water and nitrogen.

In Chart ng n w pathways toC 4 r c , 24 scientists blaze the trailtoward another Green Revolution,continuing the ght against hungerusing modern technology. Accordingto the authors, future substantial yield increases are likely only if the photosynthetic system of therice plant (known as C 3) can beconverted to the more ef cient C 4 photosynthesis of plants such as

maize. C 4 plants use water twiceas ef ciently as C 3 plants; nitrogenuse is 30% more ef cient, and they are generally more tolerant of hightemperatures. When achieved, C 4 rice will be the rst non-evolutionary example of reconstructing theprimary metabolism of a plant.

Showcasing alternative waysof achieving C 4 photosynthesis,the book presents papers by cropmodeler John Sheehy ( Why bu ld

a n w r c ng n and why start now?), agricultural economist David Dawe ( Scientifc research, pov rty all v at on, and k y tr ndsn th As an r c conomy ), plantecologist Rowan Sage ( L arn ng fromnatur to d v lop strat g s for thd r ct d volut on of C 4 r c ), and

other leading experts in the eld.Chart ng n w pathways to C 4

r c is scheduled for publicationin July 2007. To order or inquire,contact [email protected].

r e: p e on en n e en (2ne on) (edited by T.H. Fairhurst, C.Witt, R.J. Buresh, and A. Dobermann; published by IRRI; 136 pages; US$10).

In the last 5 years, site-speci cnutrient management (SSNM)

for rice has become an integral partof improving nutrient managementin many Asian countries. Nutrient

recommendationshave been tailoredto location-speci c needsand promoted ona wide scale. Therst edition of

R c : a pract cal gu d to nutr nt manag m nt

(2002) quickly became thestandard reference for SSNM.

Over the years, SSNM has been re ned through research andevaluation through the IrrigatedRice Research Consortium.Conceptual improvements andsimpli cations have been made,particularly in nitrogen management. A standardized four-panel leaf color chart has been produced,

with more than 250,000 unitsdistributed by the end of 2006.The evolution of SSNM prompted

this revised edition of the practicalguide, to ensure consistency withnewer information provided onthe SSNM Web site (www.irri.org/irrc/ssnm) and local trainingmaterials. This edition will also betranslated into several languages,including Bangla, Chinese, Hindi,Indonesian, and Vietnamese.

The pocket-sized guideintroduces the concept of yieldgaps and underlying constraints.The functions of each nutrient areexplained in detail, with a descriptionof the de ciency symptoms andrecommended strategies forimproved nutrient management.

The 47-page color annex provides apictorial guide to the identi cationof nutrient de ciencies in rice.

To make this 2nd edition as widely accessible as possible, it isalso freely available to downloadfrom the Web in PDF (www.irri.org/publications/catalog/ricepg.asp).

r e gene V (edited by D.S. Brar, D.J.Mackill, and B. Hardy; published by World Scientifc Publishing; 350 pages; US$88).

R ice is now the model plant forgenetic research on crop plants.Those who work on rice do so notonly to help grow and eat it, but alsoto advance the frontiers of geneticsand molecular biology. Progressmade since the rst InternationalRice Genetics Symposium (IRGS) in1985 has made rice the organism of choice for research on crop plants,and the rice genome has becomea reference for other cereals.

This volume is a collection of thepapers presented at the 5th IRGSin Manila, Philippines, in 2005. Itreports the latest developments inthe eld and includes research on breeding, mapping of genes and

quantitative traitloci, identi cationand cloning of candidate genesfor biotic andabiotic stresses,gene expression,

and genomicdatabases andmutant inductionfor functional

genomics.To purchase the complete

electronic publication or selectchapters, go to http://tinyurl.com/2lyvl6. A paperback edition,to be sold only within thePhilippines, will be available atIRRI for $27 from late July.

NEW BOOKS www.irri.org/publications


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Rice is grownin more than100 countries. According tothe Food and AgricultureOrganizationof the UnitedNations (FAO),the global ricearea harvestedin 2005 was153 million

hectares. The amount of land used forrice is less, in the order of 127 millionhectares, because in some eldsfarmers plant two, or even three,rice crops each year. One hectareof double-cropped land thereforeprovides 2 hectares of rice area each year (areas referred to hereafterare harvested areas, as opposed toactual land areas). On this land,farmers produce 628,000,000,000kilograms of rough (unmilled) rice.This averagesout to about 95kilograms for eachperson on Earth.

Almost half the global ricearea is in Indiaand China and 89% is in Asia. Africaand the Americas each have a littlemore than 5%. The eight countries with the most rice area are all inSouth and Southeast Asia (India,China, Indonesia, Bangladesh,Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar,and the Philippines) and they have

80% of the global rice area.Rice production agroecosystemsare often classi ed according tothe dominant water regime. Forexample, rice elds are distinguishedfor being irrigated or rainfed, andfor being ooded or not ooded.Irrigated rice, typically grown on

bunded elds that retain water toassure ooded conditions, makes

up about 44% of the global ricearea. This is the dominant systemat high latitudes (both north andsouth), but also in southern Indiaand on the Indonesian island of Java. Flooded rice is the mostproductive rice ecosystem, producingabout 75% of the global output.

Most of the rainfed rice elds arealso ooded for at least part of thegrowing season. This agroecosystem,commonly known as rainfedlowlands, comprises about 45% of the global rice area and is particularly important in eastern India andSoutheast Asia. The remaining 11% of the worlds rice area is grown in theupland ecosystem, which compriseselds that are neither ooded norirrigated. In Asia, this system hasdeclined considerably in Thailandand China, but is still important. Itis the dominant production system

in Africa and Brazil interms of area planted.

The reality is alwaysmore complex, withelds that are sometimesooded, or receive very little supplementary

irrigation. In parts of northernChina, for example, rice is grown as anormal (non ooded) eld crop, withsupplementary irrigation as needed, while some of the upland rice inBrazil receives water from sprinklerirrigation. It remains a challengeto adequately characterize rice

agroecosystems and obtain accuratestatistics about their distribution.The map on the next two pages

re ects the International RiceResearch Institutes (IRRI) current best estimates based on subnational-level production statistics in rice-producing countries. While IRRI has

a long history of compiling such datafor Asia, 1 the Institute now considersall rice-producing countries, incollaboration with the InternationalCenter for Tropical Agriculture,the Africa Rice Center, and theInternational Food Policy ResearchInstitute. The map for Africa is arst approximation, and consistency

between the classi cations usedin Latin America and Asia needsimprovement. Meanwhile, thetechnology for this type of work is changing: a recent paper by Xiangming Xiao and colleagues 2 hasshown how time series of satelliteimages from the MODIS sensor can be used to map ooded rice areas.

Knowing where and how rice isgrown is crucial for assessing threatsto and opportunities for production,and hence for determining researchneeds. For example, to estimate thepossible impact of a drought-tolerantrice variety on income and poverty alleviation, you need to know (along with many other things) how much

rice is produced in areas affected by drought, what the current rice yieldsare, and how much yield increaseto expect from the new variety.Trends of detailed rice area and yield data can also help us betterunderstand ongoing patterns of change, and the implications for foodsecurity and research priorities.

Dr. H jmans s a g ograph r n iRRis Soc al Sc nc s D v s on.

Knowing where and how

rice is grown is crucial for assessing threats to and opportunities for production

The where and how o r eby Robert Hijmans

A r i e l J A v e l l A n A ( 2 )

MAPS

Rice Today July-September 2007 19

1. The work o the late Robert E. Huke, a pro essor o geography at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, USA,and a visiting scholar at IRRI, has been particularly important and is the oundation or IRRI's current work.

2. Xiao X, et al. 2006. Remote Sensing o Environment 100:95-113.


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MapRob

H

man

D

gn

uanLaao

V

Rice Today July-September 2007, Vol. 6, No. 3


21/40 Where and how rice is grown is crucial information for determining resea rch priorities.


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The challenge for any research manager isto nd that delicate balance between too

many ideas and too few, while making sure the best ideas havethe resources they need to blossom.

Its a tough job that requires allthe skills of an experienced parentsupportive and enabling most of thetime, but willing to take the lead when there are hard decisions to bemade. Its a role that Ren Wang, thedeputy director general for research(DDG-R) at the International RiceResearch Institute (IRRI), has played

since January 2000. Now, though,it is time to move on. In July, Dr. Wang was due to step down aftermore than 7 years as the head of the

worlds largest and most importantinternational rice research program.Its a long way from the northern,

coal-dominated Chinese province of Shanxi to IRRIs advanced scienti claboratories in the Philippines.But when asked how he wouldlike to be remembered as IRRIsDDG-R, Dr. Wang says, I hopepeople will remember me as agreat facilitator; as someone who worked hard to enable and support

the work of the many dedicatedand brilliant scientists at IRRI.

Dr. Wang was the rstChinese national to be appointed

as IRRIs DDG-R and one of hismost importantand lastinglegacies will no doubt be theInstitutes very strong collaborativeresearch relations with China.

On his very rst trip overseasafter starting at IRRI, Dr. Wangattended a workshop on functionalgenomics (the discovery of which biological functions belong to speci cDNA sequences, such as genes, andhow these work together to produce

Letting a hundredflowers bloom

As deputy director general for researchat the International Rice ResearchInstitute, Ren Wang was instrumentalin elevating both international

partnerships and research capacity

by Duncan Macintosh


23/40


and in uence traits) at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences(CAAS) in Beijing. One of the mostexciting aspects of my work at IRRI,he says, was guiding new work in areas like functional genomicsto ensure it made a difference inthe lives of poor rice farmers.

On his next trip overseasthistime to KoreaDr. Wang was toestablish yet another consistenttheme to his work at IRRI: thistime, his commitment to helpingIRRIs partners in the nationalagricultural research and extensionsystems (NARES) of rice-producingnations. While in Korea, hesigned a new collaborative 2- year work plan that focused on 15individual research projects.

IRRIs many partnershipsand relationships with the NARESare vital not only to its research but also to its continuing ability toachieve impact and really make adifference in the lives of poor ricefarmers and consumers, Dr. Wangsays. My job was to identify thoseareas where IRRI could play a usefulrole, and those where it could not.

In addition to building ondecades of successful researchrelationships in Asia, Dr. Wang ledefforts to build new relationshipsin regions such as Central Asia and Africa. However, his biggest challenges remained inSouth and Southeast Asia.

The rapid development of many NARES in Asia, especially in nations such as Korea, India,Thailand, and China, meant IRRIhad to change also, or be left behind, Dr. Wang says. Duringmy time at IRRI, several of thesenations have moved from being

simple research partners to actualdonors, so the whole relationshiphas fundamentally changed.

Fortunately for IRRI, Dr. Wanghad the experience to deal withsuch major changes. For most of his career, he has been surrounded by change and opportunity. Bornin 1955 in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi, Dr. Wang saw little rice while growing up and, it appeared, was never destined to enter the

world of agricultural research.Shanxi is known as the coal

capital of China, containing aboutone-third of the nations coaldeposits. Because of its high altitudeand dry climate, little rice is grownthere, with the main crops being wheat, maize, millet, sorghum,and potatoes. Dr. Wangs father was a well-known and respected vice governor of the province.

At 18, Dr. Wang started his rst job, as a farm worker at the Linfen

Agricultural Research Institute inShanxi, where he worked for 3 years.Originally, he expected to go from thefarm into the construction industry, but was so taken by agriculturethat, fatefully, he went on to get hisrst degree, in plant protection,in 1978 from the Department

of Agronomy at the Shanxi Agricultural University in Taigu,60 kilometers south of Taiyuan.

From there, he launched hiscareer in agricultural research by taking a job in 1979 as an assistantlecturer in agricultural entomology at the same university. He then wenton to his masters degree in biologicalcontrol, which he completed in1982 from CAASs Institute of Biological Control in Beijing.

Launching his internationalcareer on a Rockefeller scholarship,Dr. Wang was one of the rstChinese students allowed to study overseas when he left to get hisPh.D. in entomology in 1985 fromthe Department of Entomology atthe Virginia Polytechnic Instituteand State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, in the United States.

Next, he returned to China to work at CAAS, eventually rising toassistant director of the Institute of

J o S e r A y m o n d P A n A l i g A n

DR. Wang w t iRRiD rector ge erRobert Ze er d(above) t s rewesem r J e 200 .


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Biological Control in 1993, when heleft to become deputy director of theInternational Institute of BiologicalControl at CAB International inthe United Kingdom until 1995.

He was then tempted back to China to become CAAS vicepresident, the post he was holding

when he was appointed head of research at IRRI. Dr. Wang saysexperience has taught him that,as a manager of research, it ismore important have a broadunderstanding of many differentscienti c areas rather than be anexpert in only one. If you have goodpeople, its important you let themtake the lead, he says. The dif culttime comes when you are presented with many good ideas, and you as themanager have the resources to chooseonly just a few and not everything.

Dr. Wang says that while at IRRIhe tried to focus on two broad areasfor scienti c advancement. The rst was in the general area of germplasm

improvement and the second wasnatural resource management. Atthe same time, he was intent oncontinuing the Institutes efforts tostrengthen socioeconomic researchand provide policy support todeveloping countries. During my time at IRRI, he says, we saw the

development of new facilities suchas the gene array and molecular

marker applications labwhichallows researchers to rapidly

analyze a large number of genes todetermine their functionand thecreation of the new crop researchinformation laba bioinformaticsunit, which allows the powerfulcapture, analysis, storage,integration, and dissemination of biological informationas a joint venture between IRRI and theInternational Maize and WheatImprovement Center in Mexico.

In the area of natural resourcemanagement, Dr. Wang oversaw the establishment of IRRIs rstever environmental council, whichprovides environmental policiesand ideas for not only the Institutes

research, but also its operations.In response to requests fromits NARES partners, IRRI alsostrengthened its focus on fragileupland areas, recognizing that

this was where many of Asiaspoorest rice farmers lived.

Typifying his commitment to the

Institutes goals in these areas, inJanuary 2001, Dr. Wang traveledto Nepal to sign a memorandum

of understanding betweenIRRI and the Nepal

Agricultural ResearchCouncil that led tothe development of a detailed researchprogram for riceproduction in themountain kingdom.

A r i e l J A v e l l A n A ( 3 )

DR. Wang d s st ( from left ) Do Rob es,l c g me , d Ve dher dez.


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Later that same year, Dr. Wangled an IRRI team to China toestablish what has become the worldrice industrys premiere event, theInternational Rice Congress. Heldevery 4 years, the rst Congress was held in 2002 in Beijing after agrand opening attended by the then

president of China, Jiang Zemin.Dr. Wang says one of the keys

to any success he had in China orelsewhere in Asia was the strongsupport he received from the rest of the IRRI management team. I was very fortunate to be hired by RonCantrell when he was IRRIs directorgeneral. He taught me much that I was able to use later on, he explains.

I rmly believe that oneof the secrets to success for any management team, especially at aresearch institute, is to be able toargue about issues on a professional basis, while still maintainingstrong personal relationships.Sometimes, this can be dif cultin an Asian context, so it was very helpful to work at an internationalorganization like IRRI, which is based in AsiaI have a lot to thank my management colleagues for.

Dr. Wang says he also triedto place special emphasis on hisrelations with locally hired staff atIRRI. I was very proud to be invitedto become an honorary memberof the IRRI Filipino Scientists Association. Its something thatI will always value, he says.

During Dr. Wangs term as DDG-R, the Institute faced a decline insupport from some key donors thatrequired a reduction in staff. It wasa dif cult time, especially for those working on the research side of IRRI.

Most of Dr. Wangs memories,

however, are positive. He wasalso at IRRI when one of the mostsigni cant breakthroughs in thelong history of rice research wasannounced. The release of the rstdraft sequences of the rice genome, by the Beijing Genomics Instituteand Syngenta simultaneously in2002, and the nal sequencing of the rice genome by a Japanese-ledinternational consortium in 2004,made headlines around the world.

It also triggered a revolution intraditional rice research, the impactof which will be felt for years to come.

Theres been incredible progressin rice research, not just at IRRI, butall over the world, Dr. Wang says.That we can take all of this new knowledge and use it to improve thelives of the poor has made my time atIRRI a very rewarding experience andsomething that I will never forget.

Dr. Wang is leaving IRRI instrong research shape. Not only doesit have a new strategic plan for 2007-

15 called Br ng ng hop , mprov ngl v s , but the Institute has already begun to implement a new medium-term plan for its research to meet thegoals of the overall strategic plan.

Although he is departing IRRI,Dr. Wang is not leaving agriculturalresearch. In fact, his next adventureextends his opportunity to in uencenot only IRRI but also its 14 partnerinstitutes of the Consultative Groupon International Agricultural

Research (CGIAR). As the CGIARsnew director, Dr. Wang functionsas the chief executive of cer of the CGIAR system and heads the Washington, D.C.-based CGIAR Secretariat. He also becomesa member of the World Bankssenior management under its Vice Presidency for Agricultureand Sustainable Development.

Dr. Wang says that he is excited by the challenge posed by his new role, and that his time at IRRI willnever be forgotten. I have a lot to

learn in my new job and need all of IRRIs support and counsel, he says.Let a hundred owers bloom,

l t a hundr d schools of thought cont nd. This is perhaps one of the best-known phrases to come out of modern China, but it also sums upnicely the success and managementphilosophy of a young man who setout from Shanxi more than threedecades ago to help make the worlda better placeand that he has.

DR. Wang ex m es r ce o eo iRRi's demo str t o e ds.


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T wo things stand out when you listen to MahabubHossain: his resolve instamping out global poverty

and his love for his country. After 15 years of excellencein

research, livelihood analysis, impactassessment, rice sector analysis,poverty mapping, providing policy support to governments andinstitutions, and training developing-

country scientistsInternational RiceResearch Institute (IRRI) economistMahabub Hossain is ready to returnto Bangladesh with a mission.

Im taking an early retirement,says Dr. Hossain. I could stay hereuntil 2010, when Ill be 65, but Imleaving because I feel that I owesomething to my country. Bangladeshhas serious problems, the livingenvironment there is very poor, andIm leaving a good job and a good life

here at IRRI. But I want to set up aprivate-sector development studiesinstitutethat is my aim, to set up aninstitute and see if I can leave a legacy in Bangladesh. I am going back to my country to share what I have learned.

Dr. Hossains next move is to jointhe Bangladesh Rural AdvancementCommittee (BRAC), the largestnongovernmental organization in

Bangladesh and one of the largestin the world, as its executivedirector. BRAC, whose mission isto reduce poverty and empower thedisadvantaged, focuses on incomegeneration for the poor throughmicrocredit and employment inagriculture, and on skill enhancementfor the poor through better healthcare and education. In this role,he will have the chance to focushis decades of experience on theproblems facing his home country.

Dr. Hossain was born in 1945 in

a remote village in undivided Bengalunder British Indiaan area thatnow belongs to the Indian state of West Bengal. He and his family livedthrough the partitioning of Bengal by the British in 1947. The easternarea of Bengal, home to a Muslimmajority, went to Pakistan, becomingEast Pakistan. In 1971, East Pakistan became Bangladesh after its civil war with West Pakistan (now Pakistan).The Hossain family migrated to East

Pushing things forward

Agricultural economist Mahabub

Hossain retires from international

work to pursue his dream for his

home country of Bangladesh

by Meg Mondoedo

Ariel JAvellAnA (2)

Dr. Hossain,w hb d F pbarong , p t

t irri.


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Pakistan in 1949 during a time of ethnic cleansing targeting Muslims.In 1958, Dr. Hossain returned to West Bengal to live with his maternalgrandparents and take advantageof the better schooling available. In1966, he returned to East Pakistanafter completing his bachelors

degree at Calcutta University. As a child in West Bengal,

India, Dr. Hossain did not dreamof becoming a social scientist. My aim in life was to become a doctor,he says. But the school in my village did not offer science courses.They only had humanities, arts,and agriculture, not science. My grandparents, who brought me up,did not allow me to go to anotherarea to get a science education, sothat was the end of my aim in life. I went to study humanities and thenI was attracted to history. It wasmy favorite subject. But somehow, Iended up majoring in economics.

As head of IRRIs Social SciencesDivision, Dr. Hossain providedleadership and tactical input to thedevelopment of IRRIs research andinstitutional plans. He led IRRIsresearch programs on rainfedenvironments, along with variousresearch projects, and networks suchas the Consortium for UnfavorableRice Environments. He also providedstrong leadership in organizing socialsciences research to meet IRRIspriority needs and, in the process,

developed astrong andharmoniousresearch team.

Dr. Hossain joined IRRI in1992, after thethen Director

General KlausLampe told himabout the positionearlier. Duringthe RockefellerFoundationmeeting on biotechnology in 1990, herecalls, I was invited by Dr. Lampe for a breakfast meeting. He told methere was a position vacant at IRRI,and that they had been lookingfor someone for about a year.

Following his interview, Dr.Lampe promptly offered him the job.

But getting Dr. Hossain on board turned out to be a dif culttask. In 1988, the Bangladeshigovernment appointed Dr. Hossaindirector general of the BangladeshInstitute of Development Studies(BIDS), the policy think tank of Bangladesh. He rose above many of his seniors in the institution.

I told Dr. Lampe that theposition at BIDS was good for twoterms of 3 years each and I couldnot betray the trust that they gave

me, he recounts. But I assured himthat, after a year, I could decide if I wanted to continue after completingone term. Only then could I decideif I wanted to join IRRI. So that was my polite way of saying no.

Dr. Lampe took Dr. Hossains words to heart, and, 1 year latertoDr. Hossains awecalled again tosay that the position was still vacant.

Dr. Lampe knew that I wasapproaching the end of my rst termas director general at BIDS, he knew I was going to decide whether I woulddo a second term, says Dr. Hossain.My thinking was that, obviously,the job at IRRI was good and noone should deny themselves a goodopportunity, particularly for bettereducation of their children. I askedDr. Lampe to write to my boss, SaifurRahman, the nance minister at thattime, who was also chairman of the board of trustees of BIDS, in order tofacilitate my release from BIDS. That was how my career at IRRI began.

Dr. Hossain later found out thatIRRI sought him so ardently because

of his rich background and hands-onexperience in assessing the impact of agricultural technologies on incomedistribution and poverty. FromBangladesh, he had been a memberof the coordinating team of an IRRIproject investigating these issues inseven Asian countries. He also hada good grasp of policymaking andplanning, a skill that would proveinvaluable in helping IRRI carry out its mission to reduce poverty J o s

e r A y m o n d P A n A l i g A n

Brri

Dr. Hossain w th a.P.J.K , p d t i d , wh t d irri F b u 2006.

BanglaDesHi meDiat h w t t

D . H ' w k hh c u t .


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and hunger, improve the healthof rice farmers and consumers,and ensure that rice productionis environmentally sustainable.

Dr. Hossain has no regrets aboutdeciding to join IRRI. In 1985-87, while working at the InternationalFood Policy Research Institute, heperformed a detailed study on theimpact of the Green Revolutiontheintroduction in the 1960s and 1970sof modern, fertilizer-responsive, high- yielding rice varietiesin Bangladesh.

I knew how much IRRI

was contributing, so I thoughtthis was a very good institutionto work for, says Dr. Hossain.I knew that working at IRRI would tremendously advance my knowledge of what was happening inagricultural development in Asia.

A contented look spreadsacross his face as he adds thathe enjoyed every minute of the15 years he spent at IRRI.

However, he is still very much

troubled by the global issues thatform daunting challenges forIRRI. As the population in Asiaslow-income countries continuesto increase, the goal of providingadditional food is becoming more andmore dif cult to meet. Compoundingthe problems caused by growingnumbers of people is the increasing

shortage of land, water, and laborthat have been diverted fromagricultural to nonfarm activities.

The challenge is how to meetthe demand for rice, says Dr.Hossain. Every input is scarceand, as long as the populationcontinues to increase at an alarming

rate, that challenge remains.He adds that one of IRRIs pivotal

roles is to change the perceptionof donors from Europe and theUnited States that the Asian food-security problem is almost solvedand the remaining challenges can be handled by the private sector.I think we need to convince ourtraditional donors that our job isnot yet done, he says. As a socialscientist, one of my responsibilitieslies in preparing a story that willconvince donors that more supportis needed for IRRI to do its job.

Dr. Hossains researchachievements are many and varied.Furthermore, much of his work has been with social scientists from thenational agricultural research andextension systems (NARES)theinstitutions in the countries whereIRRI worksand so has helped boost the research capacity andstrength of agricultural social scienceprograms throughout Asia. He hasconducted policy dialogues in severalcountries, including Bangladesh,the Philippines, and Myanmar.

By supervising the compilationand updating of IRRIs freely available Rice Statistics Database(www.irri.org/science/ricestat)

H o s s A i n P e r s o n A l c o l l e c t i o n

i r r i

Dr. Hossain, h t 20 , t C b d U t ' CC , wh h w p t du t tud t 1972 t 1977. Thp p t ph t th ht h w h p th u h th .

Dr. Hossain c tu d t t h t d t th d.


29/40


which contains data on rice area,production, yield, import-exportgures, consumption, prices,land use, adoption of improved varieties, and costs and returnsin rice farmingDr. Hossainhas ensured public access toimportant information that hashelped ensure that rice researchhas been targeted and effective.

Dr. Hossains work, with NARESscientists, on household surveysto generate primary data on theoperation of the rural householdeconomy has greatly increasedresearchers and policymakersunderstanding of rural livelihoodsystems. He performed numerousimpact assessments, which haveexpanded and deepened the body of knowledge on such issues as

yield losses from pests and climaticstresses, IRRIs role in providing rice- breeding materials (such as seeds)to other countries, and the impactof rice research on the reductionof poverty. This last assessmentdemonstrated that indirect impactin terms of, rst, availability of year-round employment in ricefarming and agricultural growth-induced rural nonfarm activities,and, second, higher purchasing

capacity of staple food due to low rice priceshas been substantial.

For Dr. Hossain, IRRI is not just a research institute but ahumanitarian organization as well.If IRRI had not been here, he says,we would have seen severe foodinsecurity in many countries. IRRIhas done tremendous work to addressissues of food security. However, we should not be complacent; weare still engaged in a war againsttime. If IRRI had not existed, I would have seen many more peopledie of hunger in my own country,Bangladesh, which experiencedfamines in 1944 and 1974. IRRI isa household name in Bangladeshand many other countries in Southand Southeast Asia have bene tedtremendously from IRRIs support.

After 15 years at IRRI, Dr.Hossain will dearly miss many things. First and foremost are hisstaff. They are the best, he says.The national staff are the realcontributors to IRRIs achievements, while the internationally recruitedstaff may be regarded as medium-term visitors. Our external reviewersand participants at internationalmeetings and workshops are always very impressed by the organization

and, especially, the assistance anddedication of the secretaries andother support staff. I think thenationally recruited staff are thereal assets of the Institute. I willmiss my staff; they have become my friends. We are like a family here.

Another thing that he will miss isthe traditional Filipino shirt knownas a barong . Initially, he wore abarong to blend in with the Filipinoculture but, over time, he grew tolove the comfortable shirt, whichis traditionally made from berderived

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Rice Today Volume 6 number 3

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