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in the agricultural research systemof the country. Lao PDR is now a keysite for rice research in uplands underIRRI’s Consortium for Unfavorable RiceEnvironments.Myanmar (1989 to 2000)Shrestha et al (2002) reported thatMyanmar-IRRI collaborative research andtraining made an impact as evidenced bythe (1) growth in rice production; rapiddiffusion of modern varieties (MVs);and very high return on investment; (2)integrated nutrient management (INM)practices showed performance similarto that of expensive chemical fertilizers;(3) cropping systems and crop-livestockresearch activities improved farmers’livelihood and increased the productionof oil seeds, pulses, and industrial crops;and (4) stronger research capacity ofnational scientists, with 273 trainedresearchers.Philippines (1963 to date)One of the strong reasons why IRRIwas established in Los Baños was thepresence of the UP College of Agriculture(UPCA), which was reputed to be thestrongest in Southeast Asia (Bernardo2010). UPCA in the late 1950s had astrong Cooperative Rice ImprovementProgram with Dr. Dioscoro L. Umali asprogram leader. This program had manyinterdisciplinary projects, and the Bureauof Plant Industry (BPI), the Bureauof Agricultural Extension (BAE), andagricultural colleges and penal coloniesparticipated in field-testing of improvedtechnologies.The creation of the Southeast AsianRegional Center for Graduate Study andResearch in Agriculture (SEARCA) atUPLB also helped facilitate training ofSoutheast Asians in rice research at IRRI.Beginning in 1963, IRRI providedscholarships for those who wished tolearn special techniques in rice research.Many scholars, particularly Filipinos,registered for their coursework at UPCAwhile their thesis research was done atIRRI under the supervision of IRRI seniorscientists. IRRI scientists were appointedas affiliate professors at UPCA not only toserve as thesis advisers but also to teachcourses at the graduate level.IRRI’s investment in the training ofFilipino scientists also helped contributeto the establishment of the PhilippineRice Research Institute (PhilRice) on5 November 1985. Then-PresidentFerdinand Marcos signed Executive Order1061 creating PhilRice as a corporatebody under the Ministry of Agricultureand Food (MAF). Although relevant riceresearch and development (R&D) effortswere done before the 1980s to tackleproblems besetting the rice industry,efforts were at best fragmented andtherefore did not translate into sustainedrice self-sufficiency. Funding support forrice R&D was also negligible primarilybecause of the country’s dependence onIRRI. But, with IRRI’s global mandate,IRRI could not respond to all the needsof any one country. The rice problemsin the Philippines could be better solvedby having a strong national rice R&Dbody that would localize and take IRRI’stechnologies to farms. Today, PhilRice isconsidered a model research agency, acenter of excellence, and a world-classresearch institution.The Philippines has continued tobenefit from various IRRI-sponsoredcourses as manifested by the sizableshare of Filipino trainees relative to othercountries (Paris et al 2004) up to now.The share in short-term training coursesattended by Filipinos has decreased overtime depending on the availability offunds from the Philippine government.Filipino scholars and fellows, on theother hand, increased. A total of 1,987IRRI trainees came from the Philippinesfrom 1962 to 2010. Some 197 obtaineda master’s degree, 93 became PhDscholars, 188 were OJTs or interns, and1,509 enrolled in short courses. Thetrainees themselves were not the onlySowing the seeds of rice science: achievements and future directions for training at IRRI 31