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1Rice TodayOctober-December 2011ISSN 1655-5422
www.irri.org
International Rice Research Institute October-December 2011, Vol. 10, No. 4
Golden grains with a healthy promiseLetting nature manage its battles
Celebrating rice, American style
Ex-combatant women turn to rice in Burundi
How to feed 9 billion people in 2050
2012Calen
dar
insid
e
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Rice TodayOctober-December 2011 Rice TodayOctober-December 2011
cover ig so
publisher Jmy Zwgassociate publisher soph Cytomanaging editor V. submeditors l ry, a Mctcontributing writers G Htt, smu Mohty, aw no,ac stgu, M. lzbth Bo, T lh Moz, Pu B
a GcArica editor svt Mohpt (acrc)copy editor B Hyart director Ju lzo iVdesigner and production supervisor Gt lctphoto editors Ch Qut, ig socirculation lou CoumbWeb master d soprinter dHl Gob M (sgpo) Pt. lt.
RiceTodayis published by The Rice Trader Inc. (TRT) in association with theInternational Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
TRT, or 21 years, has brought subscribers crucial, up-to-the-minute inormationon rice trade through its weekly publication, The RiceTrader. Acknowledged asthe only source o condential inormation about the rice market, this weeklysummary o market data analysis has helped both the leading commercial ricecompanies and regional government ocials make inormed decisions, which arecritical in todays market.
IRRI is the worlds leading international rice research and training center. Basedin the Philippines and with oces located in major rice-growing countries, IRRIis an autonomous, nonprot institution ocused on improving the well-being opresent and uture generations o rice armers and consumers, particularly thosewith low incomes, while preserving natural resources. It is one o the 15 nonprotinternational research centers supported, in part, by members o the ConsultativeGroup on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR www.cgiar.org) and a rangeo other unding agencies.
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International Rice Research Institute 2011
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O the cove:Dhaka, the capital o Bangladesh, has th
population growth in the world. And, licountries in Asia and Arica, Bangladeshto many millions o poor and hungry pedepend on rice as their staple ood. As tpopulation heads toward 9 billion in 20challenge o ood security will increase.
itto rc rch ittutDAPO 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
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Th rc T ic.2707 Notre Dame Blvd., Chico, CA 95928Web: www.thericetrader.com
ediTOrial ................................................................ 4Monitoring an inconvenient divergence
neWs ......................................................................... 5
FeedinG THe WOrld in 2050 ..............................12Sub-Saharan Arica will play a vital role in ood security
in the coming decades as population increases
GOlden Grains FOr BeTTer nUTriTiOn .........14
COUnTrY snaPsHOT: irri in BUrUndi .............18
UnleasHinG THe FOrCe ......................................20The Arica Rice Breeding Task Force responds to
the call or an improved research and extensioncapacity on the continent
TeCHnOlOGies MeeT FarMers..........................22Hundreds o thousands o Asian armers are adopting
a range o IRRC-acilitated technologies
WOMen OF War TUrn TO riCe in BUrUndi .....28Ex-combatant women in Burundi try a second chance
or a peaceul lie by turning to rice arming
leTTinG naTUre ManaGe iTs BaTTles ............32IRRI ofers an option to better manage pests in
riceelds by letting natures biological oot soldiersdo the job o controlling pests
WHaTs COOKinG? ................................................36Laotian congee
a COnsUMers GUide TO riCe ............................38
CeleBraTinG riCe, aMeriCan sTYle................40Rice may be the staple ood o Asia, but in the city oCrowley, Louisiana, it is as American as apple pie
a CraZe FOr MaiZe ..............................................42Maize gradually comes out o rice and wheats
shadows to ofer its own set o benets to armersin Bangladesh
MaPs .......................................................................44Who eats the most rice?
Hidden TreasUre ................................................47Interconnected solutions
riCe FaCTs .............................................Seven billion and counting: What does th
global rice ood security?
Grain OF TrUTH ..................................Clash o the Titans: Global population ver
production
ctets V
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Rice TodayOctober-December 2011
new
For several years now, I have been
monitoring, with some alarm,
the world population clock on
the ront page o IRRIs Web site.
s clock is orever ticking upward,
ile, at the same time, the global
oductive land clockjust beneath it
orever ticking downward. Truly, this
n inconvenient divergence o more
d more people depending on less
d less arable land, pasture land, and
est rom which they must obtain ood
d other vital resources. The respective
cks are diverging at a current rate o
ound 2.4 persons per second and 1
ctare every 7.67 seconds!
In a ew weeks (31 October to be
act), our population clock, which
have synchronized to match the
edium variant in the United Nations
cent 2010 Revision o the World
pulation Prospects, will reach the 7
lion milestone. It does not escape me
at almost hal o this mass o humanity
ntinues to depend on rice or its
ple ood.
What o the uture? I we ollow the
s medium predictions, our clock will
ow around 9 billion by mid-century
ellow line on the graph)now less
an 40 years awayand level of at
ound 10.1 billion by 2100. However, i
obal ertility were just 0.5 child more
r woman than expected, our clock
2050 and 2100 could show as many
10.6 billion and 15.8 billion (red line
graph), respectivelyvery scary
d hardly imaginable! Going the other
ection with global ertility being
t 0.5 ch ild less per w oman than e xpected, the clock wou ld show
billion in 2050 and then reverse course to only 6.2 billion at the
d o the century (green line on graph). The medium prediction is
obably more likely, at least or 2050, since people who will be 40
ars old and older by then have already been born.Although we should take all three scenarios in the graph with
rain o salt, I think it is probably most prudent to take the middle
ad. I world population does stabilize at around 10 billion by the turn
the century, at which it hopeully will have reached a replacement-
y level, we should be able to meet the still ormidable challenge o
ding that many people with ocused and cutting-edge agricultural
earch. We have the tools availableparticularly in rice research
w driven by the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP)to
rease productivity signicantly in the coming decades.
Shining examples o our impressive research progress to help
tackle problems associated with more people and less land are
Monitoring an inconvenient divergenceshowcased in IRRIs 2010 Annual
Report. In addition, advances we
are making in both avorable and
unavorable rice environments are
eatured in this issue o Rice Today,
where we take close looks at the
Impact o the Irrigated Rice Research
Consortium (IRRC) and Consortium
or Unavorable Rice Environments
(CURE), partners in the highlands.
To underscore the population
dilemma or this issue, we eature
two CGIAR (Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research)
directors general as special
columnistsPapa Seck, who leads
the Arica Rice Center, one o our
major GRiSP partners; and Shenggen
Fan, at the helm o the International
Food Policy Research Institute in
Washington, D.C. Assuming the 9
billion or so scenario or 2050, Dr. Seck
believes that sub-Saharan Arica will
play a signicant role in global ood
security in the coming decades. This
is because, unlike Asia and Europe,
where the availability o potential land
and water or agriculture is declining,
Arica still possesses a large reservoir o
underused agricultural land and water
resources. In the Grain of Truth section,
Dr. Fan warns that population growth
and land constraints are not the only
orces o change that are challenging
ood security, especially where rice is
concerned. We also have to add to the
mix increased input and labor costs,
water constraints, and climate change.
Adhering to the UNs medium
prediction, the Global Harvest Initiative calculates that, i we are to
eed the 9+ billion people sharing our planet by 2050, we will need
to produce as much ood in the next 40 years as we have in the
last 8,000! As daunting as that concept is, I believe we can improve
productivity enough to achieve it. Ironically, it will be due to whatI call the convenient convergence o solving simultaneously
todays problems o oods, drought, seawater incursion, etc., and
tomorrows problems tied to inevitable climate change and the
continuing inconvenient divergence o more people and less land.
Robert S. Zeigler
Director General
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
01800 1840 1880 1920 1960
Year
2000 2040 2080
Billions of people
Estimated
Actual
UN High
UN Medium
UN Low
AdAptedAndupdAtedfrom LorenCobb,
universityofCoLorAdo
Chalky discovery could increase valueof rice by 25%
In a major discovery, the International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
uncovered important genetic
information on what makes rice chalky
an undesirable trait that can devalue the
grain by up to 25%.
This discovery could lead to higher
quality chalk-free rice. Chalk-free
rice has higher milling recovery, which
means better returns for farmers.
Chalk, the white, opaque portion
in rice, increases the chances of the
rice grain breaking when milled. This
reduces the amount of rice recovered, and
downgrades the quality assessment rating
of rice.
Two things cause chalkiness in a
rice grain: genetics and environment,
explains Dr. Melissa Fitzgerald, leader
of IRRIs grain quality and nutrition
research.
Farmers cannot answer for the
genetics of rice; neither can they do
anything about the environment. But,
one thing is clearfarmers want to keep
their grains translucent and appealing to
consumers to gain more from their eld.
Before, rice scientists did not know
where in the rice genome the genes
for chalkiness resided, asserts Dr.
Fitzgerald. For more than 15 years, Dr.
Fitzgerald has been trying to understand
what makes rice chalky because
understanding this will pave the way to
creating chalk-free rice varieties.
Currently, only a few commercially
available rice varieties have genuinely
low chalkiness, says Dr. Fitzgerald.
Our discovery can help us improve onthis.
Dr. Fitzgeralds team, which includes
Dr. Xiangqian Zhao, a postdoctoral
research fellow, Dr. Adoracion
Resurreccion, Ms. Venea Dara Daygon,
and Mr. Ferdinand Salisi, worked
with many lines of rice with different
chalkiness properties.
In 2010, crucial data from eld
tests in eight different countries each
with different growing environments
came in. These eld test results showed
three groups of rice: rice that was
always very high in chalkiness, rice that
varied in chalkiness depending on the
environment, and rice with extremely
low chalk.
After analyzing the third group of
rice, the extremely low chalky ones,
scientists were able to identify major
regions in the rice genome, or candidate
genes, that are responsible for chalkiness.
The discovery of these regions puts IRRI
scientists a step closer to identifying the
actual genes that give rice its ch
We are now working with
extremely low-chalk rice to gen
different breeding lines to deve
chalk-free rice varieties, declar
Zhao. These can help farmers
the amount of edible rice they h
produce higher quality rice, inc
prot, and deliver higher qualit
consumers.
This research is supported
Australian Centre for Internatio
Agricultural Research.
Dr. Melissa Fzgd (far right) nd m m o dvop c- c v.
Chalkthe w, opqu poon n ccn
dvu gn by up o 25% bcu cyc gn mo y o b wn md.
isAgAniserrAno
Chrisquint
AnA
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Rice TodayOctober-December 2011 Rice TodayOctober-December 2011
Rice stakeholders from sub-Saharan
Africa (SSA) recently met and
recommended a series of actions to
prove mechanization to increase the
oductivity and competitiveness of rice
oduction in the region.
The stakeholders emphasized
at small equipment, such as 2-wheel
ctors, row seeders, mechanical
reshers, small combine harvesters, and
mall mills, needs to be tested and, where
ssible, manufactured locally.
National governments were urged
consult research organizations when
porting machinery to ensure that, in
dition to being effective and durable,
e technology is well adapted to local
e-growing conditions and can be
rviced and repaired locally.
According to conservative
timates based on recent surveys in 18
untries in SSA, cutting by half the
-farm postharvest losses through the
e of improved technologies would lead
a savings of 0.9 million tons of milled
e, said Dr. Marco Wopereis, deputy
rector general for research, Africa Rice
nter.
The amount of rice saved is
uivalent to nearly 17% of rice imports
o the region and has a real value of
S$410 million in 2011, he added. This
n help lift about 2.8 million persons in
Rice mechanization roadmap for Africa
rice-farming households out of poverty.
Promising technologies for highly
labor-intensive activities, such as
land preparation, seeding, weeding,
harvesting, and processing of rice,
and sustainable approaches for their
introduction, testing, and outscaling were
presented at the meeting.
The ASI thresher-cleaner was cited
as a successful example. The ASI has
received high recognition in the region,
including the Senegal Presidential Award
and praise from the Chad government.
The participants agreed that the key
factors for a sustainable mechanization
program are appropriate technologies,
sound business principles, local
ownership, dealer support, government
backing, and local training in the u se and
maintenance of equipment.
Source: www.africarice.org
s lk gt c hp
The Bathalagoda Rice Research andDevelopment Institute (RRDI) in SriLanka has reported on its progress inhelping rice farmers deal with climate
change and unpredictable weather.
According to RRDI Director Nimal
Dissanayake, the RRDI has developed
rice varieties and technologies to
cultivate rice with less water without
affecting the yield. This includes a short-
duration rice that can yield 5 tons per
hectare.
Source: www.dailynews.lk
rc b pot ouc
dSM Innovation Center and NutraCeahave announced an agreement toinvestigate extracting and modifyinghigh-quality vegetable proteins from rice
bran.
NutraCeas Chief Executive Of cer
W. John Short said that rice bran is
hypoallergenic and gluten free, has
a full range of amino acids, and is
easily digested, making it a potential
additional protein source to feed a
growing world.
Source: www.foodproductdesign.com
Arice hull gasier engine-pump
developed by the Philippine Rice
Research Institute (PhilRice) not
only cuts costs in running irrigation
pumps but also reduces the carbon
footprint in rice elds.
Rice hullsthe outer layers of a
grain of rice that are removed before the
rice can be eatenare a by-product of
processing rice. The equipment allows
rice hulls to be burned through an
efcient mechanism that generates power
to run pumps to irrigate rice elds.
PhilRice said the local mobile
gasier engine-pump system slashes
irrigation costs by a maximum of 37%
when using gasoline and by 44% if it is
run by diesel.
Field tests also showed the gasier
can endure 100 hours of cumulative use
with minimal problems. The machine,
now made compact, mobile, and
affordable, also reduces greenhouse gas
Caritas joins rice resea
Caritas in Bangladesh has joine
Bangladesh Rice Research Inst
(BRRI) in a 6-year deal for rese
production of rice.
Weve considered Caritas
our worthy partner in rice resea
training, said BRRI Research
Khairul Bashar.
The deal, nanced by the E
Union, includes research, disse
rice-related information, and tr
poor farmers nationwide.
Our partnership will bene
farmers countrywide and help t
country become self-sufcient
said Alo DRozario, Caritas exe
director.
Source: www.cathnewsindia.co
Singapore banks on risecurity
Singapores National Research
Foundation will invest up to US
million over 5 years in a new ri
research program to help ensure
is enough to meet the future dem
Singapore and the region.
The grant will support rese
between the National Universit
of Singapore (NUS) and Temas
Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL
collaboration with the Internati
Research Institute (IRRI).
The project will be led by
Prakash Kumar from the NUS
Department of Biological Scie
and Dr. Naweed Naqvi from TL
Singapore.
This grant from the Natio
Research Foundation will enab
teams to help improve yield andresistance in rice, and to adapt t
to rapidly changing environmen
conditions, said Prof. Kumar.
Dr. Naqvi added, Our
collaboration with IRRI will h
position Singapore as a strateg
in regional and global food sec
will now be able to link the exc
research done here in Singapor
many other rice improvement
worldwide.
Pump cuts carbon emissionsemissions as rice hulls are converted to
power the machine.
Moreover, wastes produced after
rice hull burning within the system can
be used as a soil conditioner in seedbeds,
mulching material, and an ingredient in
producing organic fertilizer.
Arnold S. Juliano, a member of
the team from PhilRice who developed
the machine, said, By continuously
improving the machine, we hope that
more farmer cooperatives will invest,
not only to save, but to help reduce the
contribution of burning rice hulls to
global warming.
In using the machine, Engr. Juliano
advised that the rice hull load should
be clean and dry to produce quality
gas that can run the engine with high
speed and maintain good water-pumping
performance.
Source: w ww.mb.com.ph
the asi c bn dpd ndnoducd by acrc n coboon wirri, non non vc, nd ocmnucu n v coun n Wnd Cn ac.
w m boot Co c
The California Rice Commission(CRC) has ramped up industrymmunication through social mediach as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and
ogs.
This is a new area for us, and
e interest generated through social
edia is encouraging, said rice grower
d CRC Chairman Charley Mathews,
farmer in the Sacramento Valley.
Keeping legislators and others in urban
eas informed about the importance of
alifornia rice is essential in telling our
ory.
In addition to Rice Today, others are also recognizing the looming 7 billion
milestone. For example, National Geographic, throughout 2011, has been
devoting a 7-part series examining specic challenges and solutions. And, the
United Nations Population Fund will start a 7-day count-up beginning on 24
October, which will include a series o events culminating with the launch othe State o World Population 2011 report, which will analyze the challenges
and opportunities presented by a world o 7 billion.
r.rAmAn
phiLriCe
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Rice TodayOctober-December 2011 Rice TodayOctober-December 2011
Book
Edited by Jillian M. Lenn and David Wood; published by CABI
Agicltal bidivesit, agbidivesit,videsmst d tg iteacti wit cs addmestic aimals. It als icldes wild elatives dmestic
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It citicall eviews imtat cet ad emegig tics,
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Fte eaced b ctibtis m iteatial
exets i selected ke aeas, tis bk is a essetial esce
licmakes, eseaces, ad stdets i eclg,
agicltal sciece, ad agicltal maagemet. T de
lie at te CABI Bks, g t tt://sil.cm/
agbidivesit. T eview cates, g t Ggle Bks at
tt://sil.cm/agbidivesit2.
TRAINING COURSES AT IRRI
Cou tt dt Vu Tgt ptcpt Cou
M ed ia S ki ll s 7 -8 N ov em be r C ol om bo , S ri L an ka C GI AR s en io r s ta f ( by n om in at io n) 1 ,
Leadership Course or Asian and
Arican Women or Research and
Extension in Rained Rice Ecosys-
tems (in ESA)
7-18 November Bangladesh Women researchers, research manag-
ers, and proessionals in agricultural
RD&E
2,
Pro jec t Ma na ge men t 1 4- 18 N ov em ber I RR I, D ar e s S al aa m,
Tanzania
CGIAR early-career scientists/
postdocs
2,
Writing a Research Article or
International Publication
28 November
-2 December
IRRI, Philippines Graduate students or early-career
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1,
Guiding Novice Authors to Write
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5-7 December IRRI, Phil ippines Senior researchers, sc ientists , and
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ate publication record
1,
Intercultural Thesis Supervision:
Strategies or IRRI (and other
centers)
8-9 December IRRI, Phil ippines Senior scientists/researchers or
others with thesis supervisory
responsibilities
1,
For inquiries, contact [email protected]; [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].
Phone: (63-2) 580-5600, ext. 2538, 2623, 2437, or 2393; ax: (63-2) 580-5699, 891-1292, 845-0606; mailing address: The IRRI Training Center, DAPO B
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focused solely on a single crop rice,
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Rice TodayOctober-December 2011
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siNGiNG tO their hearts CONteNt. t Unvyo Pppn ru hg scoo G Cubbggd md n 4 Gnd P Pyinnon Co Fv d n tnd. tG Cub pomd mny irri unconbo, nd n poo mmb od RiceTodayw umpn m.
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mbng (right), dco o indonn CnFood Cop rc nd Dvopmn.
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Rice TodayOctober-December 2011 Rice TodayOctober-December 2011
The world population is expected
to increase almostas sure as the
sun rises in the east. Much of this
increase will be concentrated in
veloping countries, with sub-Saharan
frica (SSA) leading the way, as its
pulation is estimated to double from
0 million in 2005 to 1.5 billion by 2050.
According to the United Nations
od and Agriculture Organization
AO), global food production must
crease by 70% to feed the worlda
allenge that has never been as
manding as now, in the face of climate
ange and soaring food prices, which
ict serious damage on the food
curity of the poorest households.
Moreover, the rate of yield growth
major cereal crops dropped from 3.2%
r year in 1960 to 1.5% in 2000. Whilevironmental degradation heightens in
veral parts of the world, the potential
r an increased use of agriculturally
tical natural resources such as land
d water is declining. Climate change is
gravating the severity and uncertainty
weather events.
However, lessons learned from the
st indicate that advances in science
d technology can expand the worlds
ricultural frontier and sufcient food
by Pp abdouye seck
can be produced to nourish the growing
population in the future.
We believe that SSA will play a
signicant role in global food security
in the coming decades. Unlike Asia
and Europe, where the availability of
potential land and water for agriculture
is declining, Africa still has a large
reservoir of underused agricultural land
and water resources.
Only 150 million hectares out of
the total cultivable area of 875 million
hectares are currently harvested. The
continent is using about 4% of its water
resources and has annual renewable
water resources of about 5.4 trillion cubic
meters.
Moreover, several staple food
crops are produced at competitive costs
in SSA. The recent upward trends inagricultural commodity prices reinforce
the competitiveness of agricultural
production in SSA.
ivtg gcutuTo feed around 9 billion people in
2050 (seeMonitoring an inconvenient
divergence on page 4), agriculture
in developing countries needs a net
investment of about US$83 billion per
year, says FAO. In the last two decades,
agriculture was neglected by both
developing countries and donors. The
Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development estimates that ofcial
development assistance to agriculture fell
by 43% between the mid-1980s and 2008.
In SSA, agriculture remains a
powerful engine for economic growth,
food security, and poverty reduction,
accounting for 35% of GDP, 75% of
employment, and 40% of exports.
Estimates say that a dollar of farm
income increases the overall economy
(e.g., $1.88 in Burki na Faso and $1.48 in
Zambia). Despite this, SSA governments
have failed to prioritize the sector and
to reverse decades of policy bias against
agricultural production.
In 2003, African countries adopted
the Comprehensive Africa AgricultureDevelopment Programme in Maputo,
Mozambique, and pledged to increase
agricultural spending by at least 10% of
the total government budget by 2008.
But, only eight countries have reached
the 10% budget quota for agriculture, and
the continents average is only 46%.
Without consistent investment in
its own domestic agricultural resources,
SSA cannot fully seize the opportunity
for transforming this strategic sector.
suppotg gcutur&dTo feed the world in 2050,
investments in agricultural
research and extension must
be substantially increased,
particularly in SSA, where
agricultural productivity
generally lags behind the rest
of the world. A case in point:
annual paddy yield in Asia
almost doubled from 2.06 tons
per hectare in the 1960s to 4.06
tons per hectare in the 2000s,
while in SSA it just increased
from 1.81 tons per hectare to
2.31 tons per hectare over the
same period.
Given the context
specicity of agriculture,
technology transfer has limited
effectiveness. In the 1960s, a
stock of proven agricultural
technologies in Asian countries
was assumed to be effective
and adaptable to African conditions.
But, many imported varieties failed
to outperform local species. In fact, out
of more than 2,000 Asian varieties of
mangrove rice for testing in the African
environment, only two performed
comparably to the best local varieties.
Generally, varieties imported from other
regions into SSA were not adapted to
local conditions.
The failure of direct technology
transfer underscores the need for
developing endogenous research
capacities in SSA. Although the internal
rate of return on agricultural research
is above 20%, agricultural R&D has
suffered from decades of inadequate
investments, particularly in the 1980s and
1990s. A recent report, however, indicates
a 20% increase in spending between 2001
and 2008 on agricultural R&D.
Agricultural extension and advisoryservice represent another key area of
investment to stimulate agricultural
productivity in SSA through widespread
dissemination of new information and
knowledge.
Cog th y gpAfricaRice has shown that integrated crop
management (ICM), a step-wise approach
of integrating new technological options
into production systems with full farmer
Feeding theworld in2050
Sub-Saharan Arica will play a vital role
in ood security in the coming decades as
population increases
adoption by farmer
hampered by limite
effective demand, r
access to informati
and credit, as well a
poor instit utional an
infrastructural dev
Despite the ava
improved seed techn
developed by agricu
research organizatio
Africa, adoption by
remains limited. Gr
public involvement
to overcome market
that are affecting th
seed system.
In addition, cor
infrastructure such
electricity, storage,
rural roads is vital t
transform SSAs agr
For instance, better
infrastructure would
reduce transportatio
and improve access to markets.
The average amount of fer
applied in SSA was only about
kilograms per hectare in 2002,
the global average of 101 kilogr
This gap clearly indicates that A
agriculture has enormous produ
potential if only it had better ac
fertilizers.
a combo o ouYet, producing enough food at t
aggregate level will not necessa
translate into adequate food sec
and equitable access to food by
Improving agricultural product
should be a constitutive part of
poor growth strategy that sustai
generation of sufcient off-farm
To feed the world in 2050,
intelligent combination of four
is essential: appropriate technolgood infrastructure, favorable e
and institutional environment, a
preservation of natural resource
then can science be certain of m
greatest impact on resource-poo
and the burgeoning urban popu
2050.
Dr. Seck is the director general
Africa Rice Center.
participation, is a promising way for
SSA, in view of the large gaps between
actual farmers yields and attainable
yields under better management. In Mali,
ICM technological options increased its
average rice yield in irrigated areas from
2 to 6 tons per hectare.
With improved technology, average
yields of cassava more than doubled
from 8.6 tons per hectare to 20.8 tons
per hectare under farmer management.
And, the use of inorganic fertilizer can
increase mean maize yields from 1.4 tons
per hectare to 3.9 tons per hectare.
Closing the yield gap for the main
staple food crops in SSA is critical to
increase agricultural productivity while
meeting the regional and global food
security challenge.
AfricaRices recent simulation
illustrates this point well. By bridging the
attainable yield gap in the three main riceecologies (upland, rainfed lowland, and
irrigated), while doubling the areas under
irrigated and lowland rice production,
SSA can meet its requirements in rice
and even produce a surplus of 5 million
tons for export.
ittuto tuctuvopmtHowever, even with proven agricultural
technologies, dissemination and
r.rAmAn(3)
isAgAniserrAno
iNCreaseD aGriCUltUral poducon y onncng ood cuy n ub-sn ac,w popuon pcd o ncom 770 mon n 2005 o 1.5 bon by 2050.
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Rice TodayOctober-December 2011 Rice TodayOctober-December 2011
Emma is a 38-year-old mother of
eight from the Philippines. She
earns a living as a cleaning lady,
and putting food on the table is
challenge that she and her husband face
ch day.
For Emma and many other families
Asia, rice is the staple food, which
ts up the familys meager budget. We
pend on rice every day, because it
lling, she said. Most of the time,
wever, we cannot afford sh, meat, or
getables. We only sprinkle salt or soy
uce to add some avor or sometimes
epare rice as porridge.
I know this lacks the important
trients that will help make my children
ow healthy, but what can I do? We
ve to ll our stomachs rst, Emma
ments.
Families around the world, like
mmas, consume only nutrient-poor
aple foods because other nutritious
od such as meat products, vegetables,
d fruits are scarce, unavailable, or
o expensive. This contributes to
dden hungermalnutrition from
cronutrients. With the ballooning
orld population, hidden hunger will
o likely rise.
Lack of sufcient vitamin A in
e diet reduces the bodys ability to
ht infections such as diarrhea and
easles. It can also cause blindness and
creases the risk of death. Vitamin A
particularly important for children as
ell as pregnant and lactating women as
eir nutrient needs are increased.
Asia has one of the highest
evalences of vitamin A deciency in
e world. It is considered a public health
oblem in many Asian countries with
.5% of preschool children aficted.
2009, the World Health Organization
ported that more than 90 million
ildren in Southeast Asia suffered from
more than in any other region. Eachar, it is estimated that 670,000 children
der the age of ve die because they are
amin A-decient, and another 350,000
blind.
The Philippines Food and Nutrition
search Institute (FNRI) reported that,
2003, vitamin A deciency aficted
.1% of Filipino children, 15.5% of
egnant women, and 20.1% of lactating
omen, making it a serious public health
ncern.
by M. aiee Gci
To address the vitamin A deciency
problem in the Philippines, the
government, together with nongovernment
organizations and the private sector, has
been implementing far-reaching programs
such as the distribution of vitamin
A capsules. Sangkap Pinoy, a food
fortication program, was also established
to ensure that food products such as
noodles are fortied with vitamin A along
with other micronutrients.
Owing in part to these programs,
recent data indicate that the populations
vitamin A status has improved. The
National Nutrition Survey conducted by
FNRI in 2008 showed a decreasing trend
in vitamin A deciency among children
aged 6 to 59 months (15.2%), pregnant
women (9.5%), and lactat ing women
(6.4%).
Despite these positive developments,
however, vitamin A deciency remains
a signicant public health problem in
many less developed countries according
to Nancy Haselow, vice president
and regional director of Helen Keller
International (HKI). HKI has been
advocating the elimination of vitamin
A deciency for more than 40 years,
working with governments and other
partners to reach those most in need
through various interventions.
She said, The most vulnerable
children and women in hard-to-reach
areas are often missed by existing
interventions that can improve
vitamin A status, including vitamin
A supplementation, food fortication,
dietary diversication, and promotion of
optimal breastfeeding.
Also, interventions such as vitamin
A supplementation are sustainable only
as long as there is funding and political
will to continue. What if support for
these programs halts?
A free-market driven, food-based
effort with wide coverage that reachespoor areas could be more sustainable
toward controlling vitamin A deciency
in the future, thus preventing blindness
and earlier death. What could help ll
the basket of options to tackle vitamin A
deciency?
a go vtgGolden Rice may be part of the
Golden Rice is unique beca
contains beta carotene, which g
a golden color. The body conve
carotene to vitamin A as it is ne
According to research published
daily consumption of a very mo
amount of Golden Riceabout
could supply 50% of the Recom
Daily Allowance of vitamin A
adult.1
Through genetic modicat
Golden Rice contains genes fro
and from a common soil microo
that produce beta carotene in th
It was rst developed by Prof. I
Potrykus, then of the Institute f
Sciences, Swiss Federal Institut
Technology, and Prof. Peter Bey
University of Freiburg, German
By 1999, Prof. Potrykus an
Beyer had produced a prototype
Rice and published their landm
research in Science. Since 2000
research and international colla
on Golden Rice have been supp
funding and in-kind support fro
private, public, and philanthrop
In 2005, a major breakthrough
development of a new Golden R
now produces more beta carote
became the foundation of the cu
efforts.
The beauty of Golden Rice
its potential to reach many peop
may not have regular access to
sources of vitamin Abecause
widely produced and consumed
is eaten and grown in more tha
countries, including the Philipp
and is the staple food for more
billion people. Rice provides 5
the total caloric intake of most
who are most affected by vitam
defciency.
Since a large proportion ovitamin Adecient children an
mothers reside in rice-consumi
populations, particularly in Asi
Rice should substantially reduc
prevalence and severity of vitam
deciency, and prevent at least
1The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition .
GoldEn Grainsf bette utt
GOlDeN riCe unqu bcu conn b con, wc gv godn coo.
isAgAniserrAno
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thousands of unnecessary deaths
d cases of blindness every year, said
fred Sommer, professor and dean
meritus, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
hool of Public Health. Dr. Sommer, an
ernationally acclaimed public health
entist, has been at the forefront of
amin A deciency research, leading
ajor studies that were fundamental to
e current understanding of the effect of
amin A supplementation on mortality,
alnutrition, and blindness.
If proven effective in improving
amin A status, Golden Rice could
used in combination with existing
proaches, including education,
pplementation, and fortication
ograms, to overcome vitamin A
ciency. Golden Rice could become
rt of the long-sought solution, which
rmers themselves can harvest from
eir own elds, year after year.
Go rc pojctajor nutrition and agricultural research
ganizations are now working together
further develop and evaluate Golden
ce as a potential way to reduce vitamin
deciency in the Philippines and
angladesh, among other countries.
The International Rice Research
stitute (IRRI) leads the Golden Rice
oject and is d irectly involved i n
veral agriculture-related aspects of
e project, including initial breeding
grain and eating qualities while helping
to tackle the pervasive problem of
vitamin A deciency in the Philippines,
said Dr. Antonio Alfonso, chief science
specialist and Golden Rice team leader at
PhilRice.
sty tLike other genetically modied crops,
Golden Rice will be made available to
farmers and consumers only after it has
been approved by national regulatory
bodies.
To help establish the safety of
Golden Rice in the environment, eld
trials and other evaluations will be
conducted in both the Philippines and
Bangladesh. Field trials are important,
too, to show that Golden Rice grows the
same as other rice in local conditions.
Furthermore, these trials will inform the
national regulators about the safety of
Golden Rice, just like in the regulatory
framework of Bangladesh.Golden Rice will be assessed
according to internationally accepted
guidelines for the safe use of modern
biotechnology, such as the Codex
Alimentarius of the Food and
Agriculture Organization and World
Health Organization, OECD Consensus
Guidelines, and the Cartagena Protocol
on Biosafety. Philippine safety
regulations contained in Department of
Agriculture Administrative Order No.
Golden Ricefor Banglades
In Bangladesh, one in evechildren aged 6 months to 5estimated to be vitamin A-dAmong pregnant women, 23low serum retinol levels, indvitamin A deciency.
As in the Philippines, ricindispensable part o the Bangdiet, providing an average than 70% o calories eveUnortunately, most o the tiis all some Bangladeshis can aeat. Although rice lls their stit doesnt provide a source omicronutrients such as vitam
Dr. Alamgir Hossain, who isthe Golden Rice work or BR
that he has been working winventors o Golden Rice aswith IRRI scientists or yeawork ocuses on putting theRice trait into the best allvariet ies, such as BRRI dthe most popular rice vaBangladesh.
As we do in all our workwe will be looking at the peroo the Golden Rice version dhan29 over many generationdiferent regions o Bangladein diferent seasons.
We want to be sure thatRice grows just as well as the so armers wont have to ghigher yield, or pest resistaother attributes in order to hemost in need o a potentiallyand lling meal, he conclud
work to insert the new Golden Rice trait
into rice varieties that were selected by
the Philippine Rice Research Institute
(PhilRice) and the Bangladesh Rice
Research Institute (BRRI). This
involves laboratory work, greenhouse
tests, and some preliminary eld
evaluation. Potential Golden Rice
varieties are then transferred to national
rice institutes for further development
and assessment.
Golden Rice is an incredible
innovation that we are proud to be
working on, said IRRI Director General
Robert Zeigler. It has a huge potential to
help reduce the devastating consequences
of vitamin A deciency in rice-growing
and rice-consuming countries.
In the Philippines, PhilRice is
at the forefront of developing new
Golden Rice varieties that are suited
to specic rice-growing conditions in
the country. One popular rice variety
being developed by PhilRice to have aGolden Rice counterpart is PSB Rc82,
more commonly known in the market
as Pearanda. PhilRice has just recently
conducted a conned eld test, to be
followed by multilocation eld trials
for several seasons, in accordance with
regulatory requirements.
We are conducting our breeding
carefully to make sure that the new
Golden Rice variety retains the same
high yield, pest resistance, and excellent
8, Series of 2002, are based on these
international guidelines.
PhilRice and BRRI will submit all
safety information to their respective
national government regulators, which
may be as early as 2013 in the Philippines
and later in Bangladesh. Regulators will
review these data as part of the approval
process for Golden Rice before it can be
released to farmers and consumers.
C Go rc mk c?Dr. Gerard Barry, Golden Rice network
coordinator and IRRIs Golden Rice
project leader, shared that his team has
been working on Golden Rice since 2006
to develop a safe and effective way to
deal with vitamin A deciency, prevent
blindness, and save lives.
Our latest stage of work is now
supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, he said. Helen Keller
International, a leading nutrition
organization, will also be involved to
assess the efcacy of Golden Rice. If the
safety of Golden Rice is conrmed, HKI,
with university partners, will conduct
some studies to see whether Golden Rice
could help improve vitamin A status
among decient populations.
PhilRice and BRRI are breeding
the Golden Rice trait into other rice
varieties that are locally adapted and
popular with farmers, matching thei ryields and other performance factors.
Golden Rice seeds and grains will be
available in the market and are expected
to cost farmers and consumers the
same as other rice. Cooking and taste
tests will likewise help make sure
these qualities of Golden Rice meet
consumers needs. The experience
gained in developing, evaluating, and
planning t he delivery of Golden Rice in
the Philippines and Bangladesh will be
important in designing plans fo
Rice in other countries, too.
Golden Rice offers a bright
for nutritionally enhanced cropson the promise of better nutritio
give Emma another nutritious fo
rely on and a chance for her chil
grandchildren to be healthier.
With Emma and those like
serving as an inspiration, the G
Rice project partners continue t
to evaluate the safety and efca
Golden Rice in the Philippines
potential approach to ghting v
deciency.
eMMa's sON pn on c o dd vo.
ParMiNDer Virk, irri no cn; amghon, Brri pncp pn bd; nd anonoaono, Prc pn bd nd Godn rc pojcd (atleft, from left to right).
eMMa lOOks owd o dy wn cn vmo nuou c o cdn ( top).
AiLeengArCiA(2)
seveity o vitmi a defciecy i ai
Source: GlobalPrevalenceo VitaminADefciency inPopulationat Risk19952005: WHO Global
DatabaseonVitamin ADefciency (www.who.int/vmnis/en/)1
Severity cutofs based on serum or plasma retinol 21020%; severe: >20%.
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Rice TodayOctober-December 2011 Rice TodayOctober-December 2011
ounTry SnApShoT:
irri Buu
Buu: t ct
Population (July 2011 estimate): 10.2 million1Total land area (2011): 2.8 million ha
1
Annual rice consumption (2007): 6.2 kg/person2
Area o rice production (2008): 21,000 ha2
Average rice yield (2008): 3.38 tons per ha2
1 CIA World Factbook2 World Rice Statistics, www.irri.org/world-rice-statistics
rice was introduced in Burundi
in 1890, but it did not develop
until 1968, when the rst
irrigated scheme of 2,550
ctares was installed.
Traditionally, in Burundi, rice was
ten only once or twice a year during
asts and festivals. In the 1980s, with
e introduction of locally adapted riced the distribution of rice in schools
d the military by the government,
rapidly became popular. Now, many
urundians eat rice every day.
Burundi has three major rice-
oducing ecologies: the irrigated
eas of the Imbo plain, the rainfed
onirrigated) areas of Imbo and Moso
wlands, and the nonirrigated areas of
e elevated marshland region.
Rice is grown once a year in
mpiled by sophie Cyto
Burundi. The International
Rice Research Institute
(IRRI) estimates that, in
2010, about 75,000 tons of rough
rice wereproduced in the country,and another 40,000 tons of rice
were imported.
IRRI in BurundiIRRI started working in Burundi in 2008
when a Memorandum of Understanding
between the country and the Instit ute was
signed. The beginnings of this agreement
came after current IRRI Liaison Scientist
and Coordinator for Burundi Joseph
Bigirimana attended the Rice Research
to Production Training Course at IRRI
in 2006.
IRRI now has an ofce within the
University of Burundi campus, in the
7
Kilograms per person per year
Buudi: vege ice coumptio
1961-2007
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981
Year
1986 1991 1996 2001 2006
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
capital city of Bujumbura, and employs
six staff: a liaison scientist/coordinator,
four research technicians, and an
administrative assistant.
Rice research and capacity buildingThe institutions involved in rice research
in Burundi are IRRI, the faculties of
agricultural sciences at the University ofBurundi and the University of Ngozi, and
the Institut des Sciences Agronomiques
du Burundi.
Rice breedingSince 2009, IRRIs Burundi ofce has
received and tested 670 rice varieties
from IRRI headquarters. Variety
IR77713 is due for release in 2011,
pending national approval. It is suitable
for irrigated areas on the Imbo plain,
where it can yield an average of 6.57
tons per hectare, which is 1.5 tons per
hectare more than the average yields of
current popular local varieties. It matures
23 weeks earlier, providing grain and
food earlier in the season and leaving
more time to grow other crops. Another
pending variety is IR79511.
Farmers have eld- and quality-tested IR77713 and I R79511 and they
have ranked both varieties higher
in terms of grain quality (unmilled,
milled, and cooked rice) than the current
varieties.
IRRI continues to develop more
high-yielding, high-quality rice varieties
suited to Burundi, such as varieties with
better tolerance of cold temperatures,
salinity, and iron toxicity and resistance
to blast and sheath rot.
Rice production training for woIn 2010, 398 ex-combatant wom
trained in a joint IRRI-CARE p
in all aspects of rice production
Women of war turn to rice in B
page 28.)
Tackling blastBlast is the most serious diseas
affects rice production in Burun
total of 29 rice lines, each conta
blast-resistance gene, have been
tested in two hot spots in the co
Results showed that nine genes
resistance to local strains of lea
blast. Breeding programs will n
on these genes in an effort to im
resistance to local blast strains.
Collaboration and policyIRRI works together with
nongovernment organizations a
national, regional, and internati
stakeholders in Burundi. It also
an active role in the national co
for rice-sector development und
Ministry of Agriculture in Buru
Small-scale mechanizationIRRI has trained its technicians
Burundi to use its recently acqu
two-wheeled hand tractor and t
Now, it aims to demonstrate the
of the equipment to farmers. Us
these farm machines can save t
labor, and money, which can th
lower rice prices. IRRI is talkin
the Burundi government to plan
increased efciency in rice prod
through mechanization and also
at alternative employment optio
farm laborers.
Capacity buildingIRRI is actively encouraging a
supporting the education and t
Burundian rice researchers, teand extension ofcers through
courses and graduate studies (M
and PhD). In addition, the Inst
is looking at developing a Buru
Rice Knowledge Banka Web
based repositor y of best pract i
information about all aspects o
production spe cic to Bur undi
aims to extend its farmer eld
beyond the Imbo plai n to other
growing areas in Burundi.
IRRI Sites
Lowland
High elevation
NgoziAkagoma
GihangaMugerero
Bujumbura
KirundoKireka
Muramba
Cankuzo-MishihaMbaragaMwiruzi
MutimbuziKirekura
KinamaMubone
Rugombo
nduWimAnAJuLien(2)
Dr. JOsePh Bgmn,on cn, o v o ofc nirri n Buund.
ex-COMBataNt womn n Buund nng o gow c oug irri.
mAp:hAbArugirAgeorges
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Rice breeders in sub-
Saharan Africa (SSA)
are an endangered
species, according to Dr.
oussa Si, Africa Rice Center
fricaRice) senior scientist.
ince classical plant breeding
no longer fashionable, veryw students are taking up this
scipline, he remarked. Even
e handful of rice breeders who
e working in national programs
day are generally above 45 years
d.
A survey, which was
nducted among AfricaRices
ember countries, veries his
servation. It showed that even
country the size of Nigeria has
ly two rice breeders. Africa
eds trained rice breedersmost
frican countries have none, said
o Annan, chair of the Alliance
r a Green Revolution in Africa,
inting out the lack of national
pacity in rice breeding.
Drawing attention to the
sperate lack of research
d extension capacity, which
reatens to impede the progress
developing Africas rice sector,
rticipants of the Second Africa Rice
ongress, held in March 2010, urgedfrican governments and their partners
substantially strengthen the training
d retention of new staff.
The Congress also called for the
vival of the successful Task Force
proach, introduced by AfricaRice in
e 1990s. The Task Force consists of
Africa-wide collective research for
velopment effort on critical thematic
eas in the rice sector, based on the
nciples of sustainability, buildup
of critical mass, and ownership by the
national agricultural research systems
(NARS).
The Africa Rice Breeding Task ForceIn response to this call, the Africa Rice
Breeding Task Force was launched in
June 2010 to regroup scarce human
resources devoted to rice breeding in
Africa and help build a new generation of
rice breeders across the continent.
The main thrust of the Breeding
Task Force is to adopt a systematic
collaborative approach to rice breeding
that will build much-needed
rice breeding capacity, facilitate
access of African rice breeders
to new materials, stimulate rice
germplasm evaluation across
the continent, and, in general,
shorten the time needed to deploy
new climate-resilient and stress-tolerant rice varieties for major
production systems in SSA.
The international
agricultural research centers
(IARCs) cannot do this alone nor
can the NARS, said Dr. Si, who
is the overall coordinator of this
Task Force, which is supported by
the joint IRRI-AfricaRice Japan-
funded breeding project.
Dr. Si described the
Breeding Task Force as a
partnership of rice breeders
from NARS and IARCs in
Africa, which willprovide
synergy to breeding efforts
across the continent, thereby
increasing impact. To enhance
communication and collaboration
among all the partners of the
Breeding Task Force, a dedicated
Web site has been developed. (See
www.africarice.org/afribreed/.)
The scope of the forceThe Breeding Task Force covers mainly
the four mega-environments in SSA
the rainfed lowland, irrigated, upland,
and high-elevation ecologies. The
challenges in these mega-environments
are many and breeders must be able
to tackle these challenges through
improvements in productivity, stability
and adaptability and grain quality of rice.
Responsibilities for the different
mega-environments have been divided
among AfricaRice and IRRI breeders
based in Africa, who work closely with
their NARS colleagues.
The main thrust of the Breeding
Task Force consists of a 3-phase
evaluation of rice breeding lines from
IARCs and NARS, starting from the
regional trial, then national
trials, and participatory
varietal selection trials (a rice
garden followed by 2 years
of mother/baby trials). These
trials are done in multiple
locations in different countries
(please see the map of Africa
Rice Breeding Task Force trial
sites).
The International Network
for the Genetic Evaluation of
Rice (INGER)-Africa plays a
key role in the multiplication
and distribution of new seedfor in-country hotspot testing
and participatory varietal
testing trials and genotype-
environment analyses.
Takashi Kumashiro,
regional theme leader of
GRiSP Themes 11
and 22
and leader of the AfricaRice
Program on Genetic Diversity
and Improvement, explained
that one of the unique features
of such an approach is that
the breeding lines that enter
the Task Force are provided
by not one but many institutes
such as NARS in Africa as
well as IRRI, the International
Center for Tropical Agriculture
(CIAT), and AfricaRice.
For example, in 2011,
the breeding lines nominated
for the lowland regional trial
consisted of 13% lines from the
NARS, 34% from AfricaRice,
14% from IRRI, and 39% fromCIAT.
The Task Force thus
enables the evaluation of many
breeding lines with prior
data on performance from
different sources under different
biophysical and socioeconomic
by sviti Mohpt
1 Theme 1: Harnessing genetic diversity to chart new productivity, quality, and health horizons.2 Theme 2: Accelerating the development, delivery, and adoption of improved rice varieties.
Unleashing the forceThe Arica Rice Breeding Task Force responds to the call or an improved research and extension capacity
on the continent through a collaborative approach to rice breeding
Mutitge regio Ti netwok
Arica Rice Breeding Task Force
Lines developed by ongoing AricaRice
Projects STRASA, GSR, GCP, Japan RiceBreeding, etc.
Varieties dveloped by
NARES, IRRI, CIAT
BreedingTask Force
500 lines/year
100 lines/year
50 lines/year
5 nominatedlines/year
Regional trials
National trials
Recommendation to target countries
Multilocation trial
Multilocation trial
Baby trial
Baby trial
Rice garden
are expected to enhance the qua
evaluation.
This will result in increase
credibility on recommended va
well as credibility of data accum
We expect that this will shorte
lag between the completion of b
and the ofcial approva
varietal release, Dr. Ku
stated.
Training programs
breeding, experimental
and germplasm databas
management have been
organized to upgrade th
of rice researchers, inclu
training course held at I
October 2010 for rice br
from various Asian and
African countries as we
training workshop organ
AfricaRice in Decembeto introduce the principl
new concepts of the exp
planning for plant breed
The Task Force wil
support MSc and PhD s
and link up with Global
Science Scholarships (G
and other types of scho
Spotting the championThe key to the success
Africa Rice Breeding T
will be timely and qual
collection, managemen
interpretation for sound
on moving germplasm
in the various trials, ac
Dr. Kumashiro. If that
well, smart G E (geno
by environment) analys
enable us to select prom
breeding lines to proce
next phase, that is, spot
Olympic champions e
Hopefully, these Olymchampions will help re
some barriers toward im
quality and quantity of
production on the conti
and put Africa on the m
potential sources of ric
security in the world.
conditions. This feature is a bit like the
Olympic Games, Dr. Kumashiro said.
The second unique feature is that the
breeding lines will be cultivated at many
sites and exposed to not just a few but
many breeders from different institutes.
The multiyear and multilocation trials
sOMe MeMBers o ac rc Bdng t Foc m (om leftto right): M. Bnc Bnco, booy cncn; M. abdouysow, gonom; D. Mmdou MB Couby, c; Bdng tFoc; D. Jmmy lmo, vc-c, Bdng t Foc, nd D. Mous, coodno, Bdng t Foc.
r.rAmAn
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High elevation
Irrigated lowland
Rainfed lowland
Rainfed lowland and upland
Upland
kilometers
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n Asia, where about 90% of rice is
grown, hundreds of millions of rural
poor grow rice on less than a hectare
of land.
Producing affordable rice for the
or has been a challenge for the last 50
ars. During the 2008 rice price crisis,
anges in rice availability and price
used social unrest in some developing
untries. The International Rice
search Institute (IRRI) estimates that
additional 810 million tons of rice
ed to be produced each year to keep
e prices stable.
The challenge now is to grow more
e with less land, less water, and less
bor amidst climate change.
egional approach to food security1997, the Swiss Agency for
evelopment and Cooperation (SDC)
gan funding the Irr igated Rice
search Consortium (IRRC), which
ovides a platform for partnership in
search and extension in the intensive
wland irrigated rice-based production
stems.
Initially, the IRRC focused on
egrated pest management (IPM)
d nutrient management. However,
nce 2002, the IRRCs research has
atured water-saving technologies, labor
stainability (including direct seeding
d weed and rodent management),
stharvest management, crop health
tiatives, and, recently, climate change11 countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia,
hina, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR,
yanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam,
d the Philippines.
The IRRC develops partnerships to
entify the needs of rice farmers and
tential solutions to their problems,
d to facilitate the adoption of suitable
chnologies. It provides a range of
chnologies for rice farmers and other
akeholders in Asia to improve their
per hectare. In 2009 alone,
partners reporte d 120,000
farmers adopting AWD.
The private sector
promotes AWD by
producing tubes that are
used to monitor water
levels in the eld. Although
thousands of farmers are
practicing AWD in the
country, a 2010 adoption
study reported that, with
millions of farmers still to
be reached, adoption is in
its infancy.
Around 40,000 farmers
in Vietnam are practicing
AWD, and more farmers
are expected to be reached through a
new IRRC-An Giang Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development
initiative: the One Must Do, Five
Reductions Program. In 2010, Lao PDR,
Indonesia, Myanmar, and Thailand
started or successfully demonstrated
AWD.
Personalized precision farmingMost farmers lack knowledge on the
most effective use of fertilizer. They
either apply too much or too little, or
apply it at the wrong time. Too much
nitrogen fertilizer leads to increases
in diseases and pests, damage to the
environment, and low prot. For more
than a decade, IRRI soil scientist Roland
Buresh, leader of the IRRC Productivity
and Sustainability Work Group, has been
working with partners in Asia to provide
site-specic nutrient management
(SSNM) practices for rice.Since 2003, correct fertilizer timing
and application rates have greatly
increased farmers yields compared with
traditional practices. Yield increases
from adopting SSNM have improved
net returns by $100 to $300 per hectare
per year in China, India, Indonesia,
Vietnam, and the Philippines. An impact
assessment study on SSNM in the Red
River Delta in Vietnam revealed a 2%
and 3% increase in net present values for
smallholder farmers in Ha Tay and Ha
Nam provinces, respectively. Farmers
who used SSNM reported a reduced use
of pesticides.
Encouraging farmers to use SSNM
has been a challenge because it is
knowledge-intensive and many factors
need to be considered, such as crop yield
and the use of organic materials. This has
slowed down farmers adoption of these
improved practices.
But, this speed bump did not slow
down Dr. Buresh and his group, who
looked for ways to make their science
simpler for the farmers. The leaf color
chart (LCC) was developed as a tool for
farmers to assess the nitrogen needs of
their crop. In Bangladesh, an estimated
600,000 farmers use LCCs, which has
increased the efciency of urea fertilizer
use, enabling farmers to harvest more
rice with less expense for purchased
fertilizer.Farmers learned about the use of
potassium and phosphorus fertiliz ers,
and gained new knowledge on other
micronutrients. They were able to save
$25 per hectare in production costs and
harvested higher yields.
In 2008, SSNM principles were
packed into a computer-based decision-
making tool calledNutrient Manager
for Rice. A farmer or extension worker
only needs to answer about 15 questions
and, within 510 m
a fertilizer guidelin
provided for a eld
Web and mobile ph
versions were deve
in the Philippines. W
applications of the
Managerare now a
for Guangdong, Ch
Indonesia, while ap
for Bangladesh, Vi
southern India, and
Africa are under w
Saving labor and wIn the Indo-Ganget
which covers most
northern and easte
and almost all of Bangladesh, f
face rising costs, waning produ
worsening soil health, and labo
shortages, as many people mov
cities to nd work. Farmers dep
the monsoon rains, and they can
if the rains come too late.
Led by IRRI weed scientis
Johnson, the IRRC Labor Produ
and Community Ecology Work
promotes direct seeding of rice
alternative way to establish a cr
direct seeding, pregerminated s
are sown directly into a nonoo
saturated eld, using a drum se
Direct seeding allows quic
preparation, and farmers can sa
in labor costs and 30% in water
It takes 50 person-days to trans
hectare of rice, but it takes only
days to directly seed using a dru
seeder.
Direct-seeded rice maturesdays earlier, allowing farmers t
other crops earlier. In a partners
with Indias Ramakrishna Miss
2010, direct seeding (wet or dry
farmers elds helped the early
of autumn and winter paddy, pr
new opportunities for improved
cropping practices through earl
of planting, new cultivars, and n
An earlier winter rice harvest m
earlier potato planting and a lar
Technologies meet farmers by Ti leh Medoz and Gt sigHundreds o thousands o Asian armers are adopting a range o IRRC-acilitated
echnologies because o the many impressive economic, social, and environmental benefts
Rice TodayOctober-December 2011Rice TodayOctober-December 2011
livelihoods and increase rice production
to maintain food security.
Hundreds of thousands of Asian
farmers are now adopting these
technologies because of impressive
economic, social, and environmental
benets. This article examines some of
these successes.
More rice, less waterIrrigated lowland rice is usually grown
under ooded conditions, and kept
ooded to help control weeds and pests.
However, researchers found that riceneeds to be continuously ooded only at
the owering stage. Through alternate
wetting and drying (AWD), a water-
saving practice, elds can be dried
for 110 days before being re-ooded.
Farmers can save 1530% of water and
still harvest the same yields. The water
saved can be used to irrigate more elds,
thus increasing overall production. If
AWD were to be adopted all across
Asia, the amount of water saved in one
year would equal 200 times the water
consumption of Paris for a year.
The IRRC Water-Saving Work
Group led by IRRI water scientist Ruben
Lampayan began studying AWD with
Philippine partners and farmers in
several national irrigation systems in
2002. In 2009, the Philippine government
approved the endorsement of AWD for
nationwide adoption. By July 2011, more
than 80,000 Filipino farmers had adopted
AWD.
Introduced in Bangladesh in
2004, AWD is now being promotedby government and nongovernment
agencies. The secretary of the Ministry of
Agriculture endorsed AWD in 2009, and
directed the governments Department
of Agriculture and Extension (DAE)
to promote the technology nationwide.
Along with other agencies, the DAE
promoted AWD in over 50 districts in
2010. Field studies reported a decrease
in pumping cost and fuel consumption,
and an increased income of US$6797
a FarMer n Mynm dcy d c cop ung dum d.
dAvidJohnson
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t.t.son
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Rice TodayOctober-December 2011Rice TodayOctober-December 2011
rvest, and reduced fungicide usage and
ought risk.
In northwest Bangladesh, direct
eding combined with shorter duration
e varieties, appropriate weed
anagement, and crop diversication is
lping to ease monga, a seasonal hunger.
ch year, farm workers suffer from
onga from September to November as
ey wait for the wet-season harvest.
In monga-affected districts of
angpur and Nilphamari, farmers who
rectly seeded their rice got higher
t returns in both the wet and dry
asons. Yields of directly seeded
ops in the wet season were higher by
3 kilograms per hectare, and total
oduction cos ts were lower by $47 per
ctare than on farms with transplanted
e. Planting of potato, maize, and
heat on time in the dry season
owed farmers to sell their crops at
gher prices, because they were able
harvest earlier when supply in the
arket was still relatively low. On-time
anting of the se dry-seas on crops also
sulted in better yields. Net incomes
farmers who directly seeded during
e wet and dry seasons were higher by
41 per hectare than for farmers who
ansplanted.
With the earlier harvest of the
rectly seeded rice crop in the wet
ason, 5559 person-days per hectare
n potentially be hired during
rvesting, thus easing the problem of
employment.
ologically based rodent managementis not uncommon for farmers to lose
lf of their entire crop to rats, because
damage is usually patchy and family
e plots are small. Surprisingly, only
% of the many different species of
dents are pests in agriculture. The
allenge is to develop ways to control
the pests without greatly affecting those
that are benecial in our environment.
Farmers are adopting a simple,
environment-friendly community
method called ecologically based rodent
management (EBRM). With EBRM,
farmers are encouraged to conduct
control methods as a community, such as
planting synchronously and hunting rats
together. EBRM reduces rodent damage
by 3350%, and increases rice yield by
25%. It also reduces rodenticide use by
6290%.
EBRM has been adopted as the
national policy for rodent management
in Vietnam, Indonesia, and Myanmar. It
also was recently included in a national
integrated crop management program in
Indonesia, which was promoted through
50,000 farmer eld schools in 2009 and
2010.
The impact of rodent outbreaks
in different parts of the world washighlighted in the 2010 bookRodent
outbreaks: ecology and impacts,
published by IRRI.
Reducing postharvest lossesAsian rice farmers lose 3050% of
their earnings from harvest to market.
IRRI postharvest specialist Martin
Gummert leads the IRRC Postproduction
Work Group in tackling problems on
postharvest losses by providing best
practices and technologies to farmers and
other stakeholders. Since 2005, activities
have been funded by SDC and the Asian
Development Bank.
The mechanical at-bed dryer,
which produces better quality rice
than sun drying, was introduced in
Cambodia, Myanmar, and Lao PDR.
Farmers groups and private companies
themselves provide funds to install
more dryers in different provinces. As
many as 35,000 farmers in Myanmar
beneted from using at-bed dryers. In
Cambodia, traders pay 20% higher for
dry paddy, and an additional 1012%
for mechanically dried paddy. In the
Philippines, third-generation at-bed
dryers were transferred from Vietnam,
and adaptation trials are ongoing.
Stakeholders in Cambodia,
Indonesia, Myanmar, Lao PDR,
Vietnam, and the Philippines tested
small-scale hermetic (airtight) storage
systems for grains and seeds. Local
distributors were established as well. An
impact survey indicated that Cambodian
farmers who use IRRI Super bags
reduced their seed rates by 22 kilograms
per hectare. In Myanmar, a lo cally
manufactured bag for rice seeds was
developed, with over 10,000 bags sold to
farmers.
Partners share their experiences
in using these postharvest technologies
through national learning alliances
(LA) in Cambodia, Vietnam, and the
Philippines. Five regional LAs have been
established in Vietnam.
Successes in SulawesiThrough country outreach programs
in Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, and
the Philippines, combinations of IRRC
technologies are showing positive results
in trials in farmers elds.
From 2008 to 2011, an IRRC-led
project funded by the Australian Centre
for International Agricultural Research
focused on raising rice productivity in
South and Southeast Sulawesi, two major
rice-producing provinces in eastern
Indonesia.
Farmers in four villages tested
AWD, integrated pest management, and
direct seeding (using a drum seeder) with
appropriate weed management. EBRM,
storing seeds using the IRRI Super bag,
and fertilizer management (using a soil
test kit and the computer-basedNutrient
Manager) were also benchmarked.
Farmers obtained a substantial
increase in yields of 0.5 to 2.3 tons per
hectare. The increase in mean farmer
income ranged from 22% to 566%,
signicantly higher than the 10% target
of the project.
The number of farmers adopting
direct seeding almost doubled in
Southeast Sulawesi, from 26% in the
2008 wet season to 48% in the 2010 wet
season.
None of the farmers had heard of the
Nutrient Managerin 2008, but, in 2010,1455% of the farmers had heard about it
and 1020% had used it.
Compared with farmers in control
villages, the number of farmers with
improved knowledge on key insect pest
management principles doubled. For
water management, none of the farmers
had heard of AWD in 2008, but, in 2010,
1980% of the farmers in the project
villages had adopted AWD.
The projects adaptive research
approach was integrated into a
program called Integrated Crop
Management-Farmer Field Scho
Closing yield gaps in Southeast The IRRC has proven to be an e
platform for delivering new tec
to small-scale rice farmers acro
With over a decade of valuable
experiences under its belt, the I
envisions that it will continue to
scientic leadership and essenti
networks for environmentally s
increases in rice production in S
Asias main rice bowls.
The impacts have been imp
so far, and the IRRC, through it
national partners in both the pu
private sector, has a key role to
facilitating food security in the
Dr. Singleton is coordinator of
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Rice TodayOctober-December 2011 Rice TodayOctober-December 2011odayOctober-December 2011, Vol. 10, No. 4
Th cow cty o dhk Bgh pt p poputo gowth ub vop cout ut 2050. Th ub vub to ufct oo cuty. dug th 2008 oo pc c, th ub poo w ht th ht.
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Rice TodayOctober-December 2011 Rice TodayOctober-December 2011
Burundi is a small landlocked
country in Central Africa. Long-
standing tribal conicts in the
country broke out into a civil war
1993 that lasted 12 years and resulted
more than 200,000 deaths.
In 2006, a year after the conict
ded, a horrendous 83% of Burundians
ere found living below the international
verty standard of less than US$1.25 a
y.1
By 2010, Burundi ranked alongside
neighbor, the Democratic Republic of
e Congo, as the poorest country in the
orld.2
omen o waruring the war, women in Burundi
t only hid, fed, and looked after
ale combatantsincluding their own
ns, brothers, and husbandsbut they
ere also recruited to take up arms
emselves.
The United Nations (UN) news
rvice, IRIN, recorded an interview
th Annabelle Nshimirimana, an ex-mbatant in Burundi:
3
We used to leave home [carrying
od] at around 8 p.m. and walk and walk;
e arrived at their [Forces nationales de
eration] hiding places at dawn.
The next night, we walked back
home, taking care nobody observed our
absence. It was a difcult task because it
was a long way through the mountains.
Sometimes, we were ambushed and
forced to ght.
After the war, many ex-combatant
women were left scarred both physically
and mentally and without money or
resources to rebuild businesses or
livelihoods. And, they became social
outcasts.
The UN and other organizations
work with governments to reintegrate ex-
combatants into society. But, in Burundi,
to be included in the UNs Disarmament,
Demobilization, and Reintegration
program, ex-combatants had to either
own or have direct access to a rearm
themselves or pass a prociency test in
handling weapons.4
This excluded many
women ex-combatants from the formal
reintegration programs.
Replacing bullets with skillsIn 2009, a team of organizations, with
nancial support from the Howard Buffet
Foundation, got together to help those
unofcial ex-combatant women in
Burundi who had fallen through the gaps.
They provided a holistic approach to
empower these women economically and
socially.
CARE, Survivor Corps, and
CEDAC5
focused on the psychosocial
aspects of reintegration, while
CONSEDI6
provided vocational
training for the participants economic
development. The International Rice
Research Institutes (IRRI) role was to
improve their income by teaching them
how to grow rice and by introducing new
rice production technologies.
Rice is an increasingly important
crop in Burundi (see Country snapshot
on pages 18) and the women traditionally
provide food for their families. They are
the main source of agricultural labor for
food production.
IRRI and CARE organized about
400 ex-combatant women into 10 groups
to grow rice on 10 hectares of land, said
Mr. Joseph Rickman, IRRIs regional
coordinator for East and Southern Africa.
The project supplied the necessarystart-up nancing for renting land, seed,
and fertilizer, while the women provided
the labor. Each group was visited by
the project team weekly to provide the
necessary training.
The women were taught how to
grow rice through a farmer eld school.
Representatives of the womens groups
learned all aspects of rice production,
from land preparation to rice harvesting
and drying. Back in their own elds,
these women, in turn, shared their
knowledge with their colleagues.
From the prots the women made in
the rst season, they were able to pay for
their own land and inputs the following
year, said Dr. Joseph Bigirimana, liaison
scientist and coordinator for IRRI in
Burundi.
These ex-combatant Burundiwomen are turning their own lives
aroundthey just needed a hand to
get started, he added. Now, they are
helping our country attain rice self-
sufciency and build a more stable future
for all Burundians.
In their own wordsDuring a group interview with women
involved in the project, they all indicated
that the most important aspect of the
With IRRIs assistance, I
produce rice myself and Ican eat rice with my children
whenever I need it.
Ms. Elisabeth Nibigira
Womn of wa tn to ic in BndSophie Clayton and Alaric Francis Santiaguel
x-combatant women in Burundi try a second chance or a peaceul lie by turning to rice arming
The World Bank, http://data.worldbank.org/.Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): The World Factbook, http://snipurl.com/cia-facts.RIN news item: Female ex-combatants picking up the pieces (Bu rundi), http://snipurl.com/burundi _women2.
United Nations Disarmament, Demobilization, and ReintegrationBurundi Programme, http://snipurl.com/burundi_women.Le Centre dEncadrement et de Dveloppement des Anciens Combattants (Council for the Training and Development of Former Combatants).Council on Integrated Develop