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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

An international institute for rice research 11One interesting point in the negotiations was that Dalisay believed that thetax exemptions sought for IRRI could be obtained more readily through theestablishment in the Philippines of a research foundation which in turn wouldoperate IRRI. Consequently, the agreement he prepared provided for thecreation of a Rice Research Foundation. For some time, those working inManila on the formation of IRRI did so under the impression that that was theway the Institute was to be operated. In fact, as a result, IRRI still usesRICEFOUND as its cable address. Not too long after moving to the Philippines,I talked with other government officials and with Philippine attorneys andlearned that there was no advantage to creating a foundation and that IRRIcould obtain tax exemption privileges directly. This obviously simplified theoperation of the Institute.Hill, Harrar, and I left the Philippines on 13 June with full assurance fromgovernment authorities that all foreign staff of the Institute would be exemptedfrom Philippine income taxes and that they would be issued residentvisas of an appropriate type. Furthermore, it was clear that there would be noproblem about the Institute’s exemption from import taxes on equipment andsupplies outside the Philippines. Although Secretary Rodriguez believed thatthese exemptions could be obtained under Republic Act 2067, he said that justto be certain an executive order would be issued by the President andapproved by the Cabinet.During June-August, IRRI-related activities of the two foundations consistedprincipally of making funds available for the Institute’s early operationsin the Philippines. As mentioned, the Ford Foundation approved an appropriationof $250,000 for initial capital expenditures. A little later, theRockefeller Foundation allocated $25,000 to cover operating costs for theremainder of 1959 and, with the approval of the Ford Foundation, assigned meto the Philippines to administer the program.It was agreed that the original capital expenditure items needed in thePhilippines would be purchased by the Rockefeller Foundation, with a portionof the Ford Foundation’s $250,000 grant. In August, the sum of $90,000 wastransferred to the Rockefeller Foundation for this purpose.Later in the year, the Rockefeller Foundation appropriated an additional$160,000 for operating costs in 1960, bringing their total contribution for 1959-60 to $185,000. During this period, the Foundation treated its expenditures forIRRI as an operating program of the New York office, just as it did its programsin Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and India. Later, when IRRI became a legal entity,grants were made directly to the Institute. (The financing of IRRI through 1971is presented in some detail in Chapter 5.)On 7 September, my wife and I boarded the SS President Cleveland in SanFrancisco for our move to the Philippines (where we were to reside for nearly13 years). On board was a 1959 Ford station wagon purchased in San Francisco.The ship stopped in Honolulu, where I spent much of the day talking withSterling Wortman, then head of the plant breeding program at the PineappleResearch Institute. He had worked in the Mexican Agricultural Program of theRockefeller Foundation and was well known to Harrar and me. Hill had
12 History of the International Rice Research Institutepreviously agreed to determining Wortman’s interest in joining IRRI. Onhearing the plans for developing IRRI in the Philippines, Wortman stated thatshould he receive a formal offer, he would accept it. I got in touch with Harrarand strongly recommended that Wortman be appointed to the agriculturalstaff of the Rockefeller Foundation and be assigned to the Philippines as theassistant director of IRRI. The appointment was approved and arrangementswere made for the Wortman family to move to the Philippines in early 1960.Between Honolulu and Manila, I received a message from SecretaryRodriguez informing me that on 16 September (1959), President Garcia issuedan executive order giving IRRI full tax exemption and other privileges requested.My wife and I arrived in Manila Sunday, 27 September, and were met byUndersecretary Dalisay, who quickly cleared us through immigration andcustoms. The following day, the automobile cleared customs, and by Tuesdaywe had our Philippine driver’s licenses and the car was registered. Indeed,IRRI received a genuine welcome in the Philippines and full cooperation wasextended from the outset.THE EARLY DAYSWe bought a typewriter and set up a temporary office in our room at the ManilaHotel while more permanent office space was being sought. My wife, Sunny,was familiar with clerical procedures and took care of letter writing and officemanagement during the first weeks of IRRI’s operation in the Philippines.Space for offices was found in the newly constructed Trinity Building on SanLuis (now Kalaw) Street in Manila. As the area rented was open floor space,architect Mel Calderon was hired to divide it into suitable offices and to engagea local contractor to do the work. On 2 November, the offices were occupied.By that time, Asuncion Nepomuceno, an experienced secretary, had beenhired. She served as the Director‘s secretary until the following year when theapproaching staff move to Los Baños induced her decision not to spend eachwork week away.from her family but to remain in Manila. Her replacementwas hired before the staff transfer and Nepomuceno was able to give moreattention to handling the office’s daily stream of callers — the many scheduledvisitors plus an almost equal number who were simply curious about theorganization or hopeful of benefiting in some way from its establishment.The setting up, especially in a developing country, of a venture of theuniqueness, complexity, and scope of IRRI involves so many actions, procedures,details, and moment-to-moment developments that the staff mustbecome a close-knit interrelated group whose functions at every level exceedthe routine, often to the point of sheer improvisation. Consequently, althoughthe selection of the scientists and the development of the research program ofIRRI are presented in a separate chapter, it is appropriate to describe here theInstitute’s earliest personnel — whether clerical, administrative, or technical— in the chronological order in which they joined the staff.
Page 2 and 3: An Adventurein Applied Science:A HI
Page 4: ContentsDedication viiAbout this pu
Page 10 and 11: About this publication . . .In 20 y
Page 12 and 13: xiname, and release varieties. Thus
Page 14 and 15: PrefaceThe International Rice Resea
Page 16 and 17: CHAPTER 1An international institute
Page 18 and 19: An international institute for rice
Page 64 and 65: CHAPTER 2Developing and staffingthe
Page 66 and 67: Developing and staffing the program
Page 76 and 77:
Developing and staffing the program
Page 78 and 79:
Page 80 and 81:
Page 82 and 83:
Page 84 and 85:
Page 86 and 87:
Page 88 and 89:
Page 90 and 91:
Page 92 and 93:
Page 94 and 95:
Page 96 and 97:
Page 98 and 99:
Page 100 and 101:
86 History of the International Ric
Page 102 and 103:
Page 104 and 105:
Page 107 and 108:
Princess (now Queen)Beatrix of theN
Page 109 and 110:
Establishing administrative policie
Page 111 and 112:
In the early years, IRRIused its ow
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Chapter 4Early Researchand training
Page 119 and 120:
Early research and training results
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
CHAPTER 5Financing of IRRIThe purpo
Page 163 and 164:
Financing of IRRI 149foreign assist
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
156 History of the International Ri
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Creation of other international cen
Page 177 and 178:
Creation of other international cen
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Aerial view of IRRI in1981.However,
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189:
Page 192 and 193:
IRRI today 181neering Department: K
Page 194 and 195:
IRRI today 183In spite of this high
Page 196 and 197:
IRRI today 185turn, received geneti
Page 198 and 199:
IRRI today 1871. Research to assist
Page 200 and 201:
Appendices 189materials could readi
Page 202 and 203:
Appendix 2OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENTINTER
Page 204 and 205:
Appendices 193ate to concentrate on
Page 206 and 207:
Appendices 195estimates for buildin
Page 208 and 209:
Appendices 197(4) Development of pr
Page 210 and 211:
Appendices 199was approved for the
Page 212 and 213:
Appendices 201association, or perso
Page 214 and 215:
Appendices 203b. To pass upon the b
Page 216 and 217:
Appendices 205Article VIIMISCELLANE
Page 218 and 219:
Page 220 and 221:
Page 222 and 223:
Page 224 and 225:
Page 226 and 227:
Page 228 and 229:
Page 230 and 231:
Page 232 and 233:
Page 234 and 235:
Page 236 and 237:
Page 238 and 239:
Page 240 and 241:
Page 242 and 243:
Page 244 and 245:
Page 246 and 247:
Page 248 and 249:
Page 250:
show all

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

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?