An adventure in applied science - IRRI books - International Rice ...

An international institute for rice research 3c) A central institute should, at least in theory, lead to financial savingsand related gains in efficiency, since it should eliminate unnecessary duplicationsof facilities and effort.d) At such a central institute, it should be possible to concentrateexpensive types of instrumentation (phytotron, electron microscope, massspectroscope, etc.). More important than this, it should also be possible toconcentrate a high-powered and efficient international team of experts,supplementing each other and forming in total a more effective group thanany one country could hope to produce. This should, moreover, result in thebest utilization of this top group of experts, working on common problemsunder optimum conditions.e) Such an international center should furnish otherwise unobtainablefacilities for training of personnel for use in the cooperating countries.f) Such a center could serve as a depository for research publications onrice, and should thus develop into the definitive library location for this fieldof research.g) Such a center should work out some reasonable agreement, among thecooperating countries, with respect to the languages for rice researchpapers, thus making more readily useful the work done in various countries.”Significantly, the advantages of an international rice research institute, asspelled out by Weaver and Harrar, are as valid today as they were a quarter ofa century ago.The original hope was that the foundation would provide funds for buildingthe institute and that the major rice-producing countries, jointly, wouldmeet the operating expenses. However, when Harrar and Weaver broachedthis idea to government officials in rice-growing countries, all were in favor ofthe idea of a central rice research institute in Asia but each stated that hisgovernment could support such an organization only if it were located in hisown country. That reaction eliminated any hope of creating a research centerfinanced by multicountry contributions.In view of the scope of funding needed to build and staff an internationalresearch center large enough to have a major impact on rice production in Asia,the officers and trustees decided that it would be unwise for the RockefellerFoundation to attempt such a venture alone. Weaver and Harrar, however, didrecommend to the trustees that the foundation get involved in strengtheningrice research and training in Asia, not by establishing a rice research institute,because that did not seem feasible, but by helping to improve existinginstitutions that already had substantial rice research programs under way.They estimated that the foundation might spend $5 million on rice researchand training in Asia during the ensuing 5-year period. To implement theRockefeller program, they recommended a thorough examination of existingeducational and research organizations in Asia to determine where fundscould most wisely be invested.The Rockefeller Foundation obtained the services of Richard Bradfield, aneminent agronomist from Cornell University, to undertake the suggested