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

IRRI today 173donors. The reduction in funding by the two foundations is consistent with apolicy common to both of supporting worthwhile projects in the initial keystages and, after the enterprises have been given a successful start, of divertingfoundation resources to other new ventures. The support is decreased graduallyand only when the foundations are reasonably sure that other sources offunds, either national or international, are available for continuing the workthat has been begun.The greatest relative increase in contributions among the eight earlierdonors came from Japan whose appropriation to IRRI in 1980 was almost 25times larger than in 1972. The only donor to maintain its proportional supportof the Institute through the years is USAID, whose support in 1980 constitutedalmost the same percent of IRRI’s budget as it had in 1972. That means that theamount increased greatly, the 1980 contribution of $6,929,990 representing thelargest sum provided to the Institute by a single donor.The chief donors that started supporting IRRI after 1972 and continue to doso today are the European Economic Community (EEC), the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP), the International Development Association(IDA), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), theOPEC Special Fund, and the various foreign aid agencies of Australia, Canada,Denmark, Indonesia (World Bank funds), Philippines, Sweden, Switzerland,and West Germany.Although the phenomenal success of IRRI’s fund raising is partly attributableto the existence of the CGIAR, which mobilized worldwide support for theinternational agricultural research centers, substantial credit is due DirectorGeneral Brady for his highly rewarding efforts in persuading donors to makespecial grants to the Institute.SOME MAJOR PROGRAM ACTIVITIESBecause IRRI’s program today is so complex, an outline of the organizationalstructure of the Institute precedes here the description of selected key activities.As it has been from the beginning, IRRI is organized on a departmental basisand a major part of its research program is conducted at Institute headquartersin Los Baños. This broad-based and intensive program is largely of a fundamentalnature, involving the development of breeding materials and oftechniques and methodology in the numerous areas of chiefly rice research inwhich IRRI is engaged. Many of the research results — to which literallyhundreds of pages in IRRI’s latest annual reports are devoted — can be appliedbroadly throughout the rice-growing regions of the world.The scientists that are conducting this fundamental research are involved inmany of the Institute’s other activities, such as international networks and thegenetic evaluation and utilization (GEU) program (both described later in thischapter), the training program, and collaborative studies with scientists innational programs.IRRI’s extensive program in communications and information services includesconferences, workshops, and symposia (about 12 a year with a total of