How much water does rice need? - adron.sr

www.irri.orgrice and thefinancial crisisInternational Rice Research Institute January-March 2009, Vol. 8, No. 1How muchwater doesrice need?US$5.00ISSN 1655-5422Revisiting ChinaThe geography of soilWorld Rice Commerce 2008Rice you don’t eat: art, socks, and shampooRice Today January-March 2009

CRice in the Dragon’s shadow:by Randy BarkerThe political turmoil of the 1970s formed the backdrop to the first visits of International Rice Research Institutestaff to China. Agricultural economist Randy Barker, one of the team of scientists who ventured to the world’slargest rice producer, recounts the experience.The first person-to-person contactbetween the International RiceResearch Institute (IRRI) andChina occurred in 1974. On thatoccasion, IRRI Director General NyleBrady joined a delegation of plantscientists for a 1-month tour duringwhich he provided China with seedsof IRRI-developed rice varieties. InMarch and April 1976, a team of eightChinese agricultural scientists visitedIRRI twice. With the success ofthese visits, the Chinese governmentinvited an IRRI team to China in July1976. However, Chinese ChairmanMao Zedong’s illness—which resultedin his death on 9 September—forcedthe trip’s postponement until October.The seven of us who madethe journey (see map, page26) represented a good mix ofnationalities and disciplines: NyleBrady (director general, UnitedStates), Mano D. Pathak (entomologist,India), Shu Huang Ou (plantpathologist, China), Shouichi Yoshida(plant physiologist, Japan), GurdevKhush (plant breeder, India), SurajitK. De Datta (agronomist, India), and I(economist, United States).party officials, including Mao’s wife,Jiang Qing. The other members wereZhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, andWang Hongwen. They were chargedwith a series of treasonous “counterrevolutionary”crimes. What wewitnessed, however, in the meetings,the entertainment, the confessionson the wall, even the drab gray-bluelook-alike clothes that people wore,was still a part of the soon-to-endCultural Revolution (1966-76).The route that we followed inChina was the same as that assignedto professionals and touristsalike—Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai,and Guangzhou. Our visit was acombination of professional activities,meetings, and sightseeing. We visitedresearch institutions and communes,were briefed by staff at the NationalAcademy of Agriculture and ForestryScience, and held discussionswith agricultural scientists.One of the most surprising visitswas to the Institute of Microbiology,THE AUTHOR (left) around the time of the 1976 Chinavisit and Nyle Brady, IRRI director general 1973-81.where they collected species of fungi.We were ushered into a room withdrawers full of species that had beencollected over time. Our interpreterpulled open a drawer randomly toshow us what was inside. The fungusin the drawer had been collectedand classified by S.H. Ou from1934 to 1936 while he was workingat the Institute of AgriculturalScience in Jiangsu Province. Youcan imagine Ou’s excitement.Other drawers were opened upand two or three also containedBeijing, 7-12 OctoberWe took the train from Hong Kongto Guangzhou (Canton) on 7 October,changing trains at the Chinese borderbefore flying to Beijing. Unbeknownstto us at the time, the infamous Gangof Four had been arrested in a coupd’état on 6 October. The Gang ofFour was a leftist political factioncomposed of four Chinese CommunistFORMER IRRI STAFF who made the 1976 trip to China (left to right): rice breeder Gurdev Khush,entomologist Mano Pathak, and plant pathologist S.H. Ou.24 Rice Today January-March 2009

China 1976species that Ou had collected.We had our first glimpse ofagriculture at the Double-BridgeCommune 25 km east of Beijing. Thepopulation of 40,000 was situatedon 90 square kilometers, including3,600 hectares under cultivation.There were six production brigadesand 62 production teams—a structurethat to me seemed comparable withthat of the U.S. army. The main cropswere wheat, rice, vegetables, andfruits. Livestock included dairy, pigs,ducks, and fishponds. Vegetable, fruit,and livestock products were shippedto nearby Beijing. At harvest time,the factories were required to providelabor to the commune free of charge.From Beijing,we took the nighttrain to Nanjing.Except for us, the onlyother passengers on thetrain were soldiers. At thetime, movement in China wasstrictly controlled. Most people wereassigned to communes and givenration cards for food. Grain wasrationed—about 15 kg per month forcity folk and double that for a persondoing hard work in the commune.There was almost no opportunityfor civilians to travel. At 6 a.m., wewere woken by loudspeakers blaringwords of wisdom from Mao Zedong.Later in the morning, we passedthrough AnhuiProvince, historicallyone of the poorest areasin China and the setting forPearl Buck’s book The Good Earth.Nanjing, 13-15 OctoberIn Nanjing, we visited the SoilsInstitute of the Chinese Academy ofSciences, which had been protectedfrom the Cultural Revolution. Staffmembers there were particularlyproud of their library, whichcontained some foreign publications.This raises an interesting point: itseems that before and during theTHE IRRI TEAM with some of their Chinese hosts at Tai Lake, Wuxi, on 17 October 1976.Front row: S.K. De Datta (far left), S.H. Ou (third from left), then-IRRI Director GeneralNyle Brady (center), Randy Barker (fourth from right), and Mano Pathak (third from right).Back row: Gurdev Khush (left) and plant physiologist Shouichi Yoshida (right).IRRI (6)Rice Today January-March 200925

clydie p. pasiaCultural Revolution, agriculturalresearch in general was protected.For example, semidwarf ricevarieties (which resisted lodging, orfalling over, just like the first GreenRevolution semi-dwarf varietyIR8, bred by IRRI) were first bredin China (including Taiwan) in thelate 1950s and early 1960s usingdifferent parents. We now know thatthe Chinese and IRRI semidwarfsall have the same dwarfing gene.The Chinese also developed andreleased hybrid rice in the 1970s,using IRRI varieties IR24 and IR26as fertility restorer parents. Hybridrice varieties would soon coveraround half of the country’s rice area.Basic research was conductedat the provincial and county levelwith extension of research findingscarrying down to the commune,brigade, and production teamlevel. We visited Jiangsu Academyof Agricultural Sciences (JAAS),which had a staff of 600 and 67hectares of experimental fields.This was the same institute whereS.H. Ou had worked before leavingmainland China for Taiwan. Iphotographed Ou sitting in his oldoffice chair (see photo on page 24).Also at JAAS, we met a “modelfarmer,” Mr. Chen, who was carryingout research. He was selected asa “national hero” in 1954 when heachieved a record rice yield. He useda system of nutrient managementcalled “three yellows and threeblacks,” which referred to the greenand yellow coloring of the variousstages of growth. In a techniquesimilar to that employed with IRRI’sleaf color chart today, farmersmade crop management decisionsaccording to the colors of the plant.Wuxi, 16-18 OctoberWe took the train from Nanjing toWuxi on the morning of the 16th.I had brought along a copy of JohnLossing Buck’s seminal work LandUtilization in China. I read thepages where he described the areawe were traveling through, the lowerYangtze River Basin. As I looked outthe window, the cropping patternsseemed much as Buck had describedthem. Buck was the husband ofPearl Buck and together they taughtat the University of Nanking from1920 to 1933. From 1929 to 1933,Buck organized a survey of 38,256farm families in 22 provinces,which provided the materials for thebook. The three-volume book wasfirst published by the University ofNanking in 1937. His demarcationof the agriculturalregions of China remainsbasically the same today.We visited twocommunes near Wuxi,where the main annualcropping pattern was wheatrice.These two communeshad a plan for developing theland, which began in 1970 andwas to extend up to 1985. Thisinvolved an enormous amount ofhuman labor to move soil, dig andstraighten irrigation and drainagecanals, and level land. The landwas originally divided into about15 fields per hectare, but, whenwe were there, each hectare wasjust a single field. The irrigationwater was piped underground.One evening, we attended aChinese movie. It was much likean American melodrama. At onepoint, a Chinese and a Vietnamesenaval ship were approaching eachother. It was easy to make out thevillains by their sinister looks. Apeasant on the Chinese ship wasabout to fire at the Vietnameseship when the party secretary puta hand on his arm and said, “Wedon’t shoot until they shoot first.”My most vivid memories were oftwo events, one peaceful and one notso peaceful. First, we took a boat tripon the famous Tai Lake (see photoon page 25), and I can remembersitting on the lake’s edge watchingthe sun set. Second, and even morememorable, on the day we arrivedin Wuxi, S.H. Ou and ShouichiYoshida read signs on the wall andtold us that something big was afoot.This was the beginning of the massmovement against the Gang of Four.On the morning of the 18th, on theway to the railroad station, we passeddemonstrators parading in the streetscarrying signs condemning the Gangof Four. Our interpreters said verylittle. But I was sitting next to oneof our interpreters, Mr. Huang, whowas obviously pleased. As he put it,“The masses know what is best.”Shanghai, 18-21 OctoberAfter visiting a doll factory, weboarded the train for Shanghai at26 Rice Today January-March 2009

about 10:15 a.m., arrivingtwo hours later. The wholecity was buzzing withdemonstrators. Signs onevery wall denounced theGang of Four. Crowds ofpeople were either reading thesigns or forming ranks to marchbehind red banners. Shanghai hadbeen the headquarters for the Gangof Four. The demonstration was verywell organized and a great victory forthe people (meaning Deng Xiaoping,about whom I will say more later).We were asked to stay in our hotelexcept when escorted by our hosts,and to take no photos. However, wewere able to hold discussions withscientists and make visits to twocommunes. We learned quite a bitmore about the accounting systemand taxation procedures—commune,brigade, production team—muchof which carried over into today’sfarm and village structure with thedismantling of the commune system.One evening, members of S.H.Ou’s family came to visit him. Hemet them in the lobby, which hefelt was safer than meeting in hisroom. When I asked him laterwhat the family thought of thedemonstrations, he said: “We didn’tdiscuss this, only family matters.”Guangzhou, 21-26 OctoberOn the 21st, we flew from Shanghai toGuangzhou, where authorities werepreparing a celebration of the people’svictory over the Gang of Four. Toavoid the crowds, we were taken to ahotel at the Zhonghua hot springs.We were briefed at theGuangdong Provincial Academyof Agricultural Sciences by a ricespecialist, Lao Yanhai, who hadbeen to IRRI. A main focus ofplant breeding was on the threecropsystem of rice, which theyclaimed would yield 16 tons ormore per hectare per year overthree crops. They were even tryingto introduce a fourth annual crop,rice followed by wheat, soybeans,or rapeseed. The breeding stressedearly maturity, resistance to insectsand disease, and high yield.At this point, I want to digressand point out that each briefingwas preceded by a short politicalspeech. One of the Chinese scientistsbegan his talk as follows:“Since the liberation, underthe guidance of Mao Zedong,following the movement to deepenthe criticism of Deng Xiaoping, therightist revolutionary, following theprinciple of learning from Dazhai,and carrying on our work in a selfreliantway, we reformed the croppingsystem to grow three crops of rice.”It was quite a mouthful.Later, I asked our Mr. Huang ifDeng Xiaoping was wrong in hisagricultural policy. He answeredthat Deng had the wrong attitudeabout Dazhai. Dazhai was a brigadein Shanxi Province that had, asthe saying goes, “pulled itself upby its bootstraps,” although somesaid they received a lot of help fromthe government. Everywhere wewent, there were big red bannersproclaiming: “In agriculture learnfrom Dazhai.” Apparently, DengXiaoping felt there should be moreemphasis on economic developmentrather than taking the conceptof self-reliance, as expressedin Dazhai, to the extreme.Deng Xiaoping, of course, havingoutmaneuvered the Gang of Four,would soon become de facto leaderof China, replacing his long-timefriend, Zhou Enlai, who died ofcancer in January 1976. Althoughhe never held office as the head ofstate or the head of government,Deng served as de facto leader from1978 to the early 1990s. Under hisleadership, China established an openmarket economy and abolished thecommunes in favor of small familyfarms. The increase in productivitywas dramatic and, a decade laterin the late 1980s, Vietnam wouldfollow the Chinese policy, alsoboosting productivity remarkably.One evening, we were takento see an “opera.” This was notthe kind of Chinese opera that wewere familiar with. Instead, it wasa play in which the Communistswere fighting the Nationalists.At one point, it seemed that theNationalists had the Communistspinned down. “Go over to the nexthill and get the Party Secretary!He will tell us what to do.”At all of the major stops, wehanded out publications and ricevarieties and received publicationsin return. We also brought handoperatedfertilizer placementmachines. In 1976, as in 2008, therewas a worldwide energy and fertilizershortage. IRRI was experimentingwith methods of placement toimprove fertilizer-use efficiency.On the next to last day of ourtour, we visited the Syin Hwa People’sCommune about 40 km northwest ofGuangzhou. S.K. De Datta and I wereat a brigade research station. I saidto S.K., “You see that implement overin the corner? That looks just likeour fertilizer placement machine.”We began asking questions, andlearned in our discussions thatdeep placement had been widelypracticed in southern China sincethe late 1960s. Shouichi Yoshida toldus that a Japanese team discussedthis method with the Chinesein the mid-1960s. His uncle hadhelped to popularize the methodin Japan during World War II.Homeward boundOn the 25th, Nyle Brady left forHong Kong and then Washington,D.C. On the morning of the 27th,the rest of us boarded the train forHong Kong and left as we had come.The trip marked the beginning ofdramatic changes in China and ofa close relationship between Chinaand IRRI. Back at IRRI, we met thestaff at the guesthouse to report onour trip and later published a reportin English and Chinese (with a redcover), Rice research and productionin China: an IRRI team’s view,which detailed our observations.Dr. Barker headed the Department ofAgricultural Economics at IRRI from1966 to 1978. In 2007-08, he returnedto IRRI as acting head of the SocialSciences Division. He extends histhanks to those who made the tripwith him and others for their usefulcomments.Rice Today January-March 200927

How much waterdoes rice use?by Bas BoumanRice Today examines this often-asked(and often poorly answered) questionJose Raymond PanaliganMany people ask thequestion, “How muchwater does it take toproduce 1 kg of rice?”The answer to this question lies inthe definition of “water use” and of“rice.” We can identify three types ofwater “use”—through transpiration,evaporation, and a combinationof seepage and percolation—at,respectively, three scales of rice—theplant, the crop, and the field.The rice plant “uses” waterthrough the process of transpiration,which cools the plant and drivesthe upward sap flow—which carriesessentialnutrients—fromroots to leaves.This is a “real”water use, sinceonce the plant hastaken up waterand released it tothe atmospherethroughtranspiration,that amountof water is nolonger availablefor reuse by thatsame plant inthe same growthcycle. Transpiredwater enters theSOglobal water cycle and will eventuallyreturn to the earth as rain or snow.The rice crop comprisesthe plants and underlying soil.Besides transpiration from theplants, water leaves the cropfrom the soil underneath throughevaporation. Like transpiration,evaporated water is “lost” andcannot be used again by that samecrop in the same growth cycle. Thiscombined water use by a rice cropis called “evapotranspiration.”In rice fields, water is oftenponded to ensure there is plentyfor the crop to take up. BesidesPlow layerI R TPuddledsoilSubsurface soilevapotranspiration, outflows ofwater from a field occur throughseepage and percolation: sidewardand downward water flows throughthe soil and bunds out of the field.For an individual farmer, these arereal losses as well, and she considersthe total combined outflows byevapotranspiration, seepage, andpercolation as water use by her ricefield (see figure). The farmer needsto ensure sufficient irrigation (tocomplement rainwater if rainfallis insufficient) to match all theseoutflows. At a larger spatial scale,however, seepage and percolationFloodwaterCPEBundSOGroundwaterWater balance of a puddled rice field: C = capillary rise; E = evaporation; I = irrigation; O = over-bund flow; P = percolation; R = rainfall;S = seepage; T = transpiration.28 Rice Today January-March 2009

flows from one field enter thegroundwater or creeks and drains,from where other farmers mayreuse the water to irrigate otherfields. This is in contrast to thewater losses by evapotranspiration,which cannot be recaptured.Rice plant water use(by transpiration)Pot experiments and greenhousestudies carried out at theInternational Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI) have shown thatrice plants growing under a rangeof water applications transpired500–1,000 liters of water to produce1 kg of rough (unmilled) rice. 1 Thisis at the high end of comparablecereals such as wheat and barley.Rice crop water use (byevapotranspiration)The estimated water use byevapotranspiration of all rice fieldsin the world is some 859 cubickilometers per year. 2 With a globalrough rice production of around600 million tons, it takes an averageof 1,432 liters of evapotranspiredwater to produce 1 kg of roughrice. This is roughly the same asthe world-average water use ofwheat, but higher than that ofmaize and barley (see Table 1).The variability in water useTable 1. World-average water use by evapotranspiration of majornonrice grain crops (liters of water per kg of grain).Source Wheat Maize BarleyFalkenmark and Rockström, 2004 3 1,480 1,150 1,000Chapagain and Hoekstra, 2004 4 1,300 900 –Table 2. Liters of evapotranspired water needed to produce 1 kg ofrough rice.Source Minimum Medium MaximumZwart and Bastiaansen, 2004 5 625 909 1,667Table 3. Total global water use (cubic kilometers ofwater per year).Source Chapagain Falkenmark andand Hoekstra, Rockström, 2004 32004 4Total 7,450 8,160Food 6,390 7,200Industry 716 780Domestic 344 180by evapotranspiration by ricecrops is large. Table 2 summarizesexperimental data from wellmanagedlowland field experimentswith rice.By comparison with total globalwater use, Table 3 puts the worldrice water use by evapotranspirationinto perspective. Producing theworld’s rice accounts for 12–13%of the amount of evapotranspiredwater used to produce all of theworld’s food (food crops andgrass and fodder for livestock).Rice field water use (to accountfor evapotranspiration plusseepage and percolation)On average, about 2,500 litersof water need to be supplied (byrainfall and/or irrigation) to a ricefield to produce 1 kg of rough rice.These 2,500 liters account for allthe outflows of evapotranspiration,seepage, and percolation. Thisaverage number is derived froma large number ofexperimental data atthe individual fieldlevel across Asia.Variability is large,ranging from around800 liters to morethan 5,000 liters. Thisvariability is causedby crop management(such as varietyplanted, fertilizationregime used, and pest and diseasecontrols adopted), weather, andsoil properties. At the field level,water inputs to rice fields are 2–3times those of other major cereals.Although rice’s water productivityin terms of evapotranspirationis similar to that of comparablecereals such as wheat, rice requiresmore water at the field level thanother grain crops because of highoutflows—in the forms of seepageand percolation—from the field.However, because these outflowscan often be captured and reuseddownstream, rice’s water-useefficiency at the level of irrigationsystems (which comprise many fields)may be higher than that at the fieldlevel. Nevertheless, around onequarterto one-third of the world’sdeveloped freshwater resources areused to irrigate rice (which, it mustbe remembered, is the staple food foralmost half the world’s population).Rice production must be viewedin the light of the emerging watercrisis, as climate-change-inducedshifts in rainfall patterns combinewith the diversion of irrigation waterfor urban and industrial uses. Asagricultural water scarcity increases,there is a growing need for watersavingtechnologies such as aerobicrice (varieties that grow well inunflooded fields; see High and dryon pages 28-33 of Rice Today Vol. 6,No. 4) and more efficient irrigationregimes such as alternate wetting anddrying (see The big squeeze on pages26-31 of Rice Today Vol. 7, No. 2).Dr. Bouman is a senior waterscientist and head of the Crop andEnvironmental Sciences Division atIRRI.1Haefele SM, Siopongco JDLC, Boling AA, Bouman BAM, Tuong TP. 2008. Transpiration efficiency of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Field Crops Research.(In press.)2Mom R. 2007. A high spatial resolution analysis of the water footprint of global rice consumption. Master thesis, University of Twente, Enschede,Netherlands.3Falkenmark M, Rockström J. 2004. Balancing water for humans and nature: the new approach in ecohydrology. Earthscan, London, UK. 247 p.4Chapagain AK, Hoekstra AY. 2004. Water footprint of nations. Value of water research report series No. 16. Delft (Netherlands): UNESCO-IHE. 76 p5Zwart SJ, Bastiaansen WGM. 2004. Review of measured crop water productivity values for irrigated wheat, rice, cotton and maize. Agric. WaterManagement 69:115-133.Rice Today January-March 2009 29

MapsSoil quality in rainfed lowland riceby Stephan Haefele and Robert HijmansRainfedlowland rice Aagroecosystemsare characterizedby fields that areflooded for at leastpart of the growingseason, but thatare not irrigated.Asia has about 46million hectaresof rainfed lowlandrice, constituting Calmost 30% of theglobal rice area.Rice production inthese ecosystems—often hamperedby drought,submergence, andproblem soils—isassociated withlow productivity,and with ahigh incidenceof poverty.Recent technological advances,such as the development of stresstolerantrice varieties and improvedcrop-management options, can helpboost yields substantially. However,such benefits depend stronglyon the quality and availability ofnatural resources, particularly soiland water. Here, we present mapsthat help characterize soil qualityand soil-related constraints inrainfed lowland rice ecosystems(excluding deepwater rice) in Asia. 1,2Map 1. Soil quality in areas where rainfed lowland rice is grown in Asia.We transformed the data ofthe Soil map of the world 3 bycreating four soil quality groups. 4The first two groups—“good” and“poor” soils—do not have majorsoil chemical constraints but differin their degree of weathering (thephysical and chemical breakdown ofsoil over time) and, therefore, theirindigenous soil fertility (the amountof nutrients the soil can supply). Thethird group—“very poor”—representshighly weathered soils that arelikely to have multiple soil chemicalBDconstraints to crop growth (such asacidity, severe phosphorus deficiency,and iron and aluminum toxicities).The last group—“problem soils”—combines the most frequently citedsoil problems, including acid-sulfate,peat, saline, and alkaline soils,which partly cause low fertility, andpartly cause soil chemical toxicity.Although not widespread,problem soils are locally important,especially in northern India (sodicsoils); in some coastal lowlands ofBangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand,1Our approach is based on that of Garrity DP, Oldeman LR, Morris RA. 1986. Rainfed lowland rice ecosystems: characterization and distribution.In: Progress in rainfed lowland rice. International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Baños, Philippines. p 3-23.2For more details, see Haefele SM, Hijmans RJ. 2007. Soil quality in rice-based rainfed lowlands of Asia: characterization and distribution. In:Aggarwal PK, Ladha JK, Singh RK, Devakumar C, Hardy B, editors. Science, technology, and trade for peace and prosperity. Proceedings of the26th International Rice Research Conference, 9-12 October 2006, New Delhi, India. IRRI, ICAR, and NAAS. p 297-308.3Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: The digital soil map of the world. An updated version is available from www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/LUC/luc07/External-World-soil-database/HTML/index.html.4To do this, we simplified the Fertility Capability Soil Classification (FCC) system, which classifies soil types into agronomically relevant groups.See Sanchez PA, Palm CA, Buol SW. 2003. Fertility capability soil classification: a tool to help assess soil quality in the tropics. Geoderma114:157-185.30 Rice Today January-March 2009

Map 2. Distribution of rainfed lowland rice soil quality area in Asia. Each dot is colored to represent the assumed dominant soil class.and Vietnam (saline and acid-sulfatesoils); and in coastal regions ofBorneo, Sumatra, and New Guinea(acid-sulfate and organic soils)(Map 1A). Fertile soils withoutmajor constraints are relativelywidespread in India, Bangladesh,western Myanmar, Java, Cambodia,northern China, and Korea (Map 1B).Poor soils without major constraintsare frequent in eastern India, SriLanka, coastal lowlands of Borneoand Sumatra, and New Guinea (Map1C). Very poor soils with considerablesoil constraints are particularlycommon in the eastern parts ofMyanmar, most of Thailand, Laos,Vietnam, Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra,and Cambodia (Map 1D). In India,very poor soils are mostly limited tothe west coast and to mountainousregions in the north and northeast.We overlaid the soil groups withthe distribution of rainfed lowlandrice area (Map 2). 5,6,7 The resultsshow that only about one-third ofrainfed lowland rice is grown onrelatively fertile soils, slightly lessthan one-third grows on soils withlow indigenous soil fertility, andslightly more than one-third isproduced on soils with considerablesoil constraints often combined withvery low soil fertility. Rainfed lowlandrice in Southeast Asia is much morelikely to be on poor soils with varioussoil constraints compared with Southand East Asia. About 7% of rainfedrice is grown on problem soils suchas acid-sulfate or saline soils.Soil quality is a major constraintcontributing to the low productivityof rainfed lowland rice ecosystems.However, spatial variation shouldnot be ignored: farmers growingrainfed lowland rice in Southeast Asiaare much more likely to encountervery poor soils with various soilconstraints than farmers in Southand East/Northeast Asia.Dr. Haefele, a soil scientist, andDr. Hijmans, a geographer, workat IRRI.5See The where and how of rice on pages 19-21 of Rice Today Vol. 6, No. 3.6This type of analysis is hampered by the spatial resolution of soil data. The digital soil map of the world was updated recently but it does notinclude detailed soil data that are available nationally, but even these data suffer from large variability within mapping units. In the future,this will probably be addressed by predictive spatial modeling of soil properties.7Soil characteristics can be strongly modified by local geomorpholgy and hydrology. Integration of soil characteristics with land properties suchas slope and climate is a next step we want to take in the characterization of Asia’s rainfed lowland rice ecosystems.Rice Today January-March 2009 31

Loveat firstLorelei dela Cruzsiteby Florencia Palisand Greta GabineteOne Filipino farmer’s experience with a betterway of managing his crop’s fertilizer needs couldinspire change across the nation’s rice fieldsFILIPINO FARMER Johnny Tejedatends his rice crop in Iloilo.The global food crisis of 2008hit Asia particularly hard.The price of rice, Asia’spredominant staple food,rose faster and farther than almostany other food, placing enormouspressure on millions of poorconsumers who spend a substantialportion of their income on the grain.And, despite higher prices,farmers, too, face formidablechallenges to make rice productionprofitable. With fertilizer pricesskyrocketing, farmers more than everneed to be creative, resourceful, andadaptive in their nutrient management.This is the story of JohnnyTejeda, a 46-year-old Filipino ricefarmer who took the risk of deviatingfrom the traditional way of applyingfertilizer. Mr. Tejeda adopted arelatively new practice known assite-specific nutrient management(SSNM), which allows farmers to“feed” rice with nutrients as and whenneeded (see figure on page 34). Non-SSNM fertilizer recommendationsavailable to Mr. Tejeda prescribedhigher rates of some nutrient sourcesand did not provide such detailedguidelines on the optimal distributionand timing of nutrients during thegrowing season.According to Roland Buresh,soil scientist at the InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI) andone of the lead developers of SSNM,the approach helps rice farmers “toincrease their profit by optimallysupplying their crop with essentialnutrients.” Moreover, by applyingneed-based nitrogen (N), phosphorus(P), and potassium (K) fertilizer,farmers can not only boost theirincome, they can also reduce theincidence of pests and diseases.Mr. Tejeda owns 1.3 hectares ofland in Iloilo Province, Philippines.One of the top five rice-producingprovinces in the country, Iloilo(pronounced “Ilo-ilo”) is the ricegranary of the central Philippines.Mr. Tejeda’s municipality ofTigbauan, a 30-minute drive fromIloilo City, is composed of 52 villageswith a total population of 57,000.Ninety percent of the municipality’sapproximately 9,000 hectares aredevoted to agriculture, with about4,550 hectares planted to rice and anaverage farm size of 0.5 hectare.“Life is tough nowadays,” says Mr.Tejeda. “The gasoline cost is so highthat it shoots up the cost of preparingthe land for rice cultivation. Fertilizerinputs are so expensive.”In 2007, the price of urea (N)fertilizer was 850 Philippine pesos(US$17.50); as of October 2008, it wasPhP 1,950 ($40). NPK fertilizer wasPhP 700 ($14.40) in 2007, but PhP1,840 ($39) as of October 2008.Filipino farmers considerfertilizers as “vitamins,” helpingto protect plants against illness ordisease, and as “food,” essentialfor fast and healthy plant growth.Without fertilizers, farmers believeplants to be malnourished. Becausefarmers associate healthy plants withgreenness, these beliefs have ledmany Filipino farmers to associatefertilizers predominantly with N.Thus, because N is responsible for32 Rice Today January-March 2009

Amount of fertilizer applied (in bags per hectare and kg of nutrient per hectare) before and after use ofSSNM by Johnny Tejeda, 2007 wet season. DAS = days after sowing.Number of bags per hectare per applicationBefore ssnmafter SSNM1st 2nd Total 1st 2nd 3rd Total(20 DAS) (40 DAS) bags (12 DAS) (28 DAS) (38 DAS) bagsUrea 2 2 4 0 1.5 1.5 314-14-14* 1 1 2 3 0 0 3Total bags applied 3 3 6 3 1.5 1.5 6Amount of nutrients per application, kg per hectareBefore ssnmafter SSNM1st 2nd Total 1st 2nd 3rd Total(20 DAS) (40 DAS) nutrients (12 DAS) (28 DAS) (38 DAS) nutrientsN 53 53 106 21 35 35 91P 2 O 5 7 7 14 21 0 0 21K 2 O 7 7 14 21 0 0 21*14-14-14 is a typical NPK fertilizer used in the Philippines.a rice plant’s greenness, farmersoften give extra attention to ureaapplications.Direct sowing of rice seed, ratherthan transplanting of seedlings, iscommon in Iloilo. Planting time forthe wet season is usually in May–July,depending on adequate rainfall, andharvest is in August–October. The dryseason is from October–November toFebruary–March.In May 2007, IRRI scientistsled by Dr. Buresh in collaborationwith Greta Gabinete, a soil scientistat West Visayas State University inIloilo, established a small SSNMdemonstration in Mr. Tejeda’s and aneighboring rice field. The neighboringfarmer, who was also an agriculturaltechnician, told Mr. Tejeda that SSNMvalidation experiments had worked inother villages. While the experimentwas being conducted, recountsMr. Tejeda, he quietly imitated theSSNM practice on the remaining 1.2hectares of his field. It was a risk, but,he decided, one worth taking giventhe rising prices of fertilizers and theincreasing cost of living.Like most Iloilo farmers, Mr.Tejeda used to apply fertilizer twiceper season, at 20 and 40 days aftersowing (DAS) in both the wet andthe dry season. Per hectare, he wouldapply two 50-kg bags of urea (eachbag contains 23 kg N) and one 50-kgbag of 14-14-14 NPK (containing 7kg each of N, P 2 O 5 , and K 2 O; this isa typical NPK fertilizer used in thePhilippines) at both 20 DAS and 40DAS, giving a per-hectare total of106 kg N, 14 kg P 2 O 5 , and 14 kg K 2 O.His normal yield in each season was4–5 tons per hectare of unmilled ricegrain (at 14% moisture content).“SSNM has really helped mea lot,” says Mr. Tejeda. “When Ipracticed SSNM in the 2007 wetand dry seasons, my yield increasedmarkedly. Since then, I havecontinued practicing SSNM.”The increase in yield was verifiedby a field technician who harvestedgrain from Mr. Tejeda’s crop in bothseasons. The wet-season yield ofair-dried, unmilled grain increasedfrom 4.1 tons per hectare with theoriginal fertilizer practice to 6 tonsper hectare with SSNM. In the dryseason, the yield rose from 4.6 to 6.5tons per hectare.With SSNM, Mr. Tejeda appliedfertilizer three times, instead ofhis usual two applications. His firstapplication was at 12 DAS using threebags of 14-14-14 NPK. His secondand third applications were at 28 and38 DAS using 1.5 bags of urea perhectare for each application. Beforeand during SSNM, he used a total ofsix bags of fertilizer per hectare, butthe nutrient composition and timingof the applications differed (see table,left).It is instructive to hear what Mr.Tejeda has to say about SSNM in hisown words.When I first practicedSSNM in the 2007 wet season,I couldn’t sleep well for around10 days after my first fertilizerapplication. My rice plantsweren’t green and they were notgrowing well compared withthose in other farmers’ fields,though the growth and color ofthe leaves were similar to thosein the neighboring SSNM demoplot and the experimental plotin my field. Before I slept, I keptwondering why it seemed thatthere was no fertilizer responseby my rice crop. I was reallyanxious that my crop might fail.For those 10 days, I was uneasyand kept moving around the ricefields in the village, comparingthe growth of the rice plants.clydie p. pasiaRice Today January-March 200933

But, 10 days after the secondfertilizer application, I wasamazed. By then, the growthstand of my rice crop was farbetter than that in farmers’ fieldsnot practicing SSNM. My stemswere so hard and the roots wereso deeply rooted. Also, my plantswere not infested with pests anddiseases and did not lodge [fallover]. Many of those plants thathad accelerated growth andbright green leaves after thefirst fertilizer application lodgedlong before harvest and wereinfested with pests and diseases.I realized that SSNM enabledthe rice crop to take a balanced“diet” before urea was supplied.Mr. Tejeda harvested again inthe second week of August 2008,achieving a good yield of just over6 tons per hectare. He also reportedthat many of his neighboring farmershave begun to follow SSNM.When my neighboringfarmers saw the goodperformance of my crop aftermy second fertilizer application,they began to ask me whatSSNM is about. At the same time,they monitored my field. Wefarmers normally discuss manythings on the farm, especiallywhen it comes to our rice crop.My constant interaction with theresearchers doing experimentsin my rice field, and with theagricultural technician, enrichedme with knowledge about SSNMthat I happily shared with my cofarmersduring our “huntahan,”or spontaneous farm discussion.After the 2007 wet-seasonharvest, it was known in myvillage that my yield was high,increasing from 120 to 184 bagsof unmilled grain. This made myneighbors eager to imitate me inusing SSNM.Dr. Palis is an anthropologist inIRRI’s Social Sciences Division.Dr. Gabinete is a professor at WestVisayas State University.For more information on SSNM, seeAbout site-specific nutrient managementThe concept of site-specific nutrientmanagement (SSNM) for rice wasdeveloped in the mid-1990s andhas been systematically transformedand refined since 2000 in collaborationwith national agricultural researchand extension agencies through theProductivity and Sustainability Work Groupof the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium.Research identified a mismatchbetween the timing used by farmersto apply nitrogen (N) fertilizer and thegrowth stages at which the rice plantneeds supplementary N. This lack ofsynchrony between N supply and plantN need resulted in luxuriant vegetativegrowth and crop architecture favorableto diseases and insect pests. This wasfurther confounded by insufficientuse of potassium (K). SSNM providesfarmers with guidelines for managingN, phosphorus (P), and K that fit localconditions and are easily understoodby farmers and extension workers(responsible for disseminating agriculturaltechnologies to farmers). Crucially, SSNMensures that farmers obtain good returnson their cash investment in fertilizers.The rolling out of SSNM is extremelytimely in light of the 2008 rice crisis andhigh fertilizer prices. The Philippinegovernment has incorporated SSNM intothe national agricultural program, in linewith the country’s Rice Self-Sufficiencywww.irri.org/irrc/ssnm.Adapted with permissionfrom e-ifc: International FertilizerCorrespondent (No. 17, Sept. 2008),Plan. The dissemination of SSNM will befacilitated by the development of newNutrient Manager for Rice software thatenables extension workers and farmersto rapidly develop nutrient-managementguidelines for specific fields based on afarmer’s response to about ten easy-toanswermultiple-choice questions (seeManagement made easy on pages 32-33of Rice Today Vol. 7, No. 4).In Iloilo Province, SSNM is nowbeing piloted by extension workers in 20municipalities. Nutrient Manager for Ricewas field-tested in mid-2008, and wasreleased on CD in the local language inSeptember 2008. The adoption of SSNMin the Philippines may have started withJohnny Tejeda, but, with governmentsupport in mobilizing extension workers,we hope that SSNM will be adopted bytens of thousands of Filipino farmers.The process that systematicallyestablished the scientific basis for SSNM,evaluated and refined SSNM in farmers’fields through partnerships across Asia,and is now disseminating improvednutrient management for rice across Asiawas made possible through more than adecade of support from the Swiss Agencyfor Development and Cooperation,the International Fertilizer IndustryAssociation, the International PotashInstitute (IPI), and the International PlantNutrition Institute.the quarterly correspondence of theInternational Potash Institute (seewww.ipipotash.org/publications/detail.php?i=260).34 Rice Today January-March 2009

The author (center) with two symposiumstaff clad in kimonos.More than meetsyour rice by Paul HilarioPaul Hilario (2) furya takashiMaybe I was hallucinatingbut I thought I saw a pairof socks among a seaof products in the riceexhibit at the Second InternationalSymposium on Rice and DiseasePrevention in Wakayama, Japan.Upon closer inspection, my surprisewas verified. It was indeed a pair ofsocks, made partly from rice bran.Taking a step back andlooking at the room that lay beforeme, I was totally dumbstruck.So many products were madecompletely or partially from rice.Aside from its obvious usesfor food—including flour for cakes,noodles, and other snacks—rice andits derivatives can be used to makecosmetic products, shampoo, andsoaps for people, pets, and clothes.Rice bran oil, which constitutesabout 5% of the bran, is extractedand processed into healthy cookingand salad oil. Bran oil doesn’t burneasily and has a better percentageof unsaturated fats than olive oil.Rice can be incorporatedinto energy drinks and addedto supplementary drinks forRice and shine:shampoo infusedwith rice proteinand bran oil.Rice Today ventures to Japan to find an astonishing range of rice products,most of which you wouldn’t want to eatcows to prevent calcium deficitdisorders after calving.Remarkably, rice can also beused in making packaging foamand paint, and is used in offsetprinting to make the processmore environmentally friendly.The derivatives of ricebran—including oryzanol,inositol, phytic acid, and ferulicacid— are the key ingredientsin many of these products.Oryzanol is a mixture ofsubstances that includes ferulicacid and sterols and is widelyused in the U.S. in sportssupplements. It has been approvedin Japan for the treatment of severalconditions, including menopausalsymptoms, mild anxiety, upsetstomach, and high cholesterol.Inositol is a sweet and naturallyoccurring nutrient found in differentfoods but mostly in cereals withhigh bran content. Its main role inthe body is to prevent the collectionof fats in the liver and help in theconversion of nutrients into energyto maintain a good metabolism. Italso supports healthy hair growth.Rice bran is kneaded into fibersto produce a smooth, soft cloth.Phytic acid is used as a chelatingagent (a substance whose moleculesbind to metal ions, removing themfrom solutions) in manufacturingand printing processes.Ferulic acid, an antioxidant,acts against free radicals, which areimplicated in DNA damage, cancer,and accelerated cell aging. Ferulicacid is also used in topical creamsdesigned to protect the skin.Standing amid the myriad riceproducts displayed at the Wakayamaexhibit, it was easy to think that theincome farmers get from selling plainold rice grain is miniscule comparedwith the cost of rice-based socks,drinks, creams, and the like. But ricewill always be first and foremost astaple food—a hungry person wouldrather have a plate of food than thesilky hair promised by rice shampoo.Though, if I ever find myselfpenniless and famished, I couldalways eat my rice-bran socks.Mr. Hilario is the curator of theRiceworld Museum and LearningCenter at the InternationalRice Research Institute.Rice bran–based soapson display atIRRI’s RiceworldMuseum.william sta. claraRice Today January-March 200935

Seal of approvalby Philippe Villers and Martin GummertHermetic storage of rice is becoming increasingly popular across Asia, and forgood reason—as well as being transportable, it is better than air-conditionedstorage and almost as good as a cold room, at a fraction of the cost of eitherThe wax seals found onancient Greek and Romanjars known as amphoras tellus that hermetic storage hasbeen used to preserve grains for morethan 2,500 years. Today, hermeticstorage using modern materials hasbecome widely available. In the last2 years, one of the world’s largestseed companies, Bayer CropScience,successfully shifted from traditionalwarehouse storage to hermeticstorage for its hybrid rice seeds. Bayeris now able to eliminate live insectsand maintain the full germinationpotential of hybrid rice seed beyond9 months. Other organizationshave followed Bayer’s lead.How does hermetic storage work?Studies dating back to the 1930sshow that properly dried seeds canbe preserved for a very long time,regardless of temperatures, as long asthe moisture level remains constantand a low oxygen–high carbondioxide atmosphere is maintained.In a sealed container, such anatmosphere is created through thenatural respiration of the seeds andany insects present. The combinedeffect generally lowers the oxygenlevel to below 3% within days.Maintaining the modified atmosphereinhibits the generation of molds andtheir mycotoxin by-products (toxinsproduced by a fungus). Insectsin all life stages die in a matter ofdays due to a lack of oxygen whenstored in hermetic environmentsat room temperature or above.For more than 6 years, theInternational Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI), through itsGrain Quality, Nutrition, andPostharvest Center, has evaluatedand disseminated hermetic storagetechnology in collaboration withnational agricultural organizations,farmers, and rice millers. Thanksto these efforts, hermetic storagefor smallholder and subsistencefarmers is expanding worldwide.Studies conducted by IRRIconfirm and quantify the efficacy ofhermetic storage versus alternativemethods in maintaining germinationpotential of rice for periods up to 18months. Hermetic storage systemsrapidly reduce the number of liveinsects, which are able to survivein nonhermetic air-conditionedstorage at 20ºC, though not in coldroomstorage at 8ºC (Table 1). Largecommercial hermetic systems andsmaller hermetic systems offeredsimilar control.Similar results were found inBangladesh, Cambodia, and Vietnam.Table 1. Number of live insects per 1 kg of grain.Months OpenstorageAir-con ColdroomHermetic(5 tons)0 3.2 8.4 8.4 8.83 135 1.6 0 06 114 3 0 0.49 54 3.4 0 0.412 27 9 0 2.2Source: DeBruin T, A user’s introduction to hermetic storage – howit works. (Unpublished - GrainPro document #SL2322TDB0506-4),GrainPro, Inc., Concord, Mass., USA. Data from Philippines (2002).In Cambodia, the germinationfor hermetically stored seeds was90% after 6 months and 63%after 12 months. In comparison,seed stored in traditional systemshad germination of 51% and 8%,respectively. In Vietnam, seeds storedin traditional woven plastic bags had0% germination after 7 months whilethe same seed stored in the hermeticsystems had 53% germination. InCambodia, when oxygen levelsincreased above 9%, insect numbersalso increased. The highest number oflive insects recorded was a disastrous332 per kg in an open storage system.In 2006, the Philippine Bureau ofPostharvest Research and Extension(PBPRE) and the Philippine RiceResearch Institute (PhilRice) studiedstorage of the high-performancehybrid rice variety Mestizo 1.The SuperGrainbag linerTHE CocoonThe TransSafelinergrainpro (3)36 Rice Today January-March 2009

Table 2 shows germination ratesusing different storage technologies.Studies on rice seeds in Bangladeshand Cambodia (100–398 days), onmaize seed in Mexico, Thailand, andBangladesh (90–280 days), and onbarley and wheat in Cyprus and Israel(120–900 days) showed hermeticstorage seed germination of 81–95%after 90 days. 1,2 Another study fromVietnam on peanut seeds showed98% germination after 8 monthsversus 4% when stored unprotected. 3It is also important to recallthat hybrid seeds not only are moreexpensive than conventional farmergrownseeds but also are moredelicate and prone to damage. Acontinuing shift to high-yield hybridseeds makes effective storage allthe more crucial, since without highgermination rates and maintenanceof vigor, these“high-value” seedshave no value to the farmer. ThePBPRE–PhilRice study showed thatby month 6 of storage, hermeticmethods are economically favorableto the other 3 methods (Table 3).Table 2. Mean % germination rate of Mestizo 1 hybrid paddy(unmilled) seeds stored using different storage technologies.Storage time after harvest (months)Storage method 0 3 6 9Hermetic 96.2 96.5 93.3 86.2Cold room 96.8 97.6 93.0 89.6Air-conditioned 94.3 94.8 88.1 85.8Control (unprotected) 92.9 92.9 76.4 74.7Source for Tables 2 and 3: Savio GC. Preservation of Mestizo Rice (PSB Rc72H) usinghermetic and low temperature storage techniques, presented at the Internationalworking Conference on Stored Products Protection (IWCSPP), São Paulo, Brazil. p 3.Conventional storage was foundadequate only up to 3 months.Effective hermetic storagerequires reasonably priced hermeticcontainers, now possible withmodern specialized materials.Most widely used at the momentis the SuperGrainbag liner, a60-kg-capacity, 0.078-mm-thickco-extruded plastic composed ofpolyethylene protective layers onthe outside and a proprietary gasbarrier in the middle (photo, oppositeleft). This plastic has extremely lowpermeability to water vapor andoxygen (typically 8 grams per squaremeter per 24 hours for water vaporand as low as 3 cubic cm per squaremeter per 24 hours for oxygen).Cocoon is another form ofhermetic storage (photo, oppositecenter). It is made from a specialgrade of 0.83-mm polyvinylchloride(PVC) with a permeability to oxygenof 55 cubic centimeters per squaremeter per 24 hours and to watervapor of 8 grams per square meterper 24 hours. Available in capacitiesof 5 to 1,000 tons, theCocoon protects seedsin jute or polypropylenebags during storage.The TransSafelineroffers hermetic storagefor seeds during transport(photo, opposite right).It acts as a hermetic linerfor standard 20-feet- or40-feet-long shippingcontainers, allowingTable 3. Cost comparison (Philippines) using four storage methods for preserving Mestizo 1 hybridpaddy seeds (all values in US dollars; $1 = 50 Philippine pesos).Costs Control Hermetic3 months’ storage 6 months’ storageColdroomAir-con Control HermeticColdroomAir-conInvestment 82,250 1,744 12,820 16,230 82,250 1,744 12,820 16,230Operating24,991 504 3,548 3,820 31,086 504 4,196 3,950expensesPer 20-kg bag 2.50 2.52 3.55 2.55 3.11 2.52 4.20 2.63Investment and operating expenses based on: control 10,000 bags; hermetic 200 bags; cold room 1,000 bags; air-conditioned 1,500 bags.safe intercontinental transport.Through the efforts ofIRRI and its national partners,hermetic rice seed storage isnow being used successfully inBangladesh, Cambodia, India,Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, thePhilippines, and Thailand.Hermetic storage of paddy(unmilled) and milled rice is alsogaining popularity. IRRI reportsthat grain quality, as measuredby head rice yield and the numberof broken kernels, is higher forhermetically stored paddy ricethan for traditionally stored rice.In Cambodia, head rice yields forhermetically stored grain were 10%higher than for traditional openstorage over 12-months period.(Head rice yields are the percentageof head rice—whole grains andbroken kernels that are at least75–80% whole—obtained frompaddy after milling.) In Vietnam in2003, hermetic storage resulted ina 4.5% reduction in the number ofbroken kernels after 6 months.The current revival of hermeticstorage, using high-performanceplastics, has made possible relativelyinexpensive storage of rice seeds,paddy, milled rice, brown rice,maize, wheat, and pulses for bothhuman and animal consumption.As the benefits of hermetic storagebecome more widely known, useof the technology is likely to growthroughout Asia and beyond.Sometimes it takes a few thousandyears for a good idea to take hold.Dr. Villers is president of U.S.-based postharvest technologycompany GrainPro, Inc. Mr.Gummert is a postharvest expertat IRRI.The use of commercialproduct or company namesin this article does not implyendorsement by IRRI.1DeBruin T. 2005. Innovations in seed storage methods. Published in Asian seed and planting material. Philippines, January.2Villers P, De Bruin T, Navarro S. 2004 Advances in hermetic storage as a methyl bromide replacement. 4th CAF Conference, Brisbane, Australia, February.3Villers P, De Bruin T, Navarro S. 2006. Development and applications of the hermetic storage technology. Published in Proceedings of the 9thInternational Working Conference on Stored Products Protections (IWCSPP), São Paulo, Brazil, October.Rice Today January-March 200937

Buy a house on a hill byJohn SheehyAs Earth’s climate changes, so does the way we approach agriculture. The head of the International Rice Research Institute’s applied photosynthesis laboratoryoffers his observations on the current state of play.The variability of the climate requires a corresponding variability in those who live in it, whether animal or plant; and all future planning, all development of skillsfor increasing food supplies and raising living standards, must take account of the possibility of drastic change and the certainty of continuing fluctuations, andthus be so far as possible geared to the worst rather than the best in prevailing circumstances.–Crispin Tickell (1977), Climatic Change and World AffairsClimate change is a favored subjectamong disputatious individuals.About its cause, proof of who isright and who is wrong is certainnot to emerge between dinner andbreakfast.The wonderful opera, “life,” isstaged on Earth amidst the splendidscenery that is the biosphere.Astonishingly, it is the orchestra ofliving organisms—harmonizing thelaws of physics and chemistry, withthe aid of energy from the Sun—thathas built the edifice of the currentbiosphere, across geological time.New members of the orchestrahave taken their places after rigorousnatural selection, from the widerange of applicants proposed bymutation in the process of evolution.Some fear that the more recenthuman members have abandonedthe score and, like modern jazzmusicians, are improvising. Thefear is that the resulting cacophonicpollution will surely destroy thecurrent show. Humans will take theirplace, somewhat like dinosaurs, insedimentary layers to be excavatedmillions of years hence by the highlyevolved and curious inheritorsof Earth. Some will ask, “Whydid they become extinct?” Somewill answer, “Global warming.”Others will say, “Rubbish!”Special interest groups,dispassionate scientists, and lunatics(repent, the end is nigh!) often havecontrasting opinions about futureclimates and the fate of humankind.Geologists, atmospheric chemists,astronomers, oceanographers,physicists, botanists, ecologists,economists, meteorologists, andJose raymond panaligan (2)agronomists have been assembledto construct predictions relating toclimate change under the umbrella ofthe United Nations IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change. Like thelaborers constructing the Towerof Babel, they are almost mutuallyincomprehensible. Nonetheless, asort of scientific pidgin has emergedand although lacking in precision issurprisingly useful when employedin a number of special reports.In his Gaia theory, JamesLovelock attempted to integrateknowledge from all branches ofscience into a theory of Earth as aliving organism. However, as yet thereis no universally accepted theory ofclimate and what forces it to changeand so many aspects of climatechange remain speculative affairs.I used to think that climate wasthe integral of weather averagedover somewhat arbitrary periodscalled seasons and that topographyRESEARCH AT IRRI aims to mitigate, as well asdevelop rice varieties that are adapted to, theeffects of climate change.needlessly complicated the correlationbetween latitude and warmth.As a student, I was taught thatsunshine hours, rainfall, windspeed,and maximum and minimumtemperatures were the raw materialsof weather. Nowadays, smog, ozone,oxides of nitrogen, hydroxyls,acid rain, UV levels, atmosphericparticulates, carbon dioxide,methane, sulfur, chlorofluorocarbons,and a cornucopia of other thingsmust be added to the mixturefrom which climate is made.The debate about the contributionof humans to climate change hasstimulated much scientific activity.As a consequence, we have a muchbetter understanding of past climates.One of the most fascinating studieshas been that of the Vostok ice corein Antarctica. Gases, dust, and pollenare trapped annually in falling snowand then entombed in the polar ice.Drilling an ice core 3,623 meters38 Rice Today January-March 2009

William Sta. Clara (2)EXTREME WEATHER events such as floods and typhoons are predicted to become more frequent.deep, an international team extracteda record of the climate for the past400,000 years. Present-day levels ofthe greenhouse gases carbon dioxide(around 385 parts per million) andmethane (1,700 parts per billion byvolume) are unprecedented duringthe past 420,000 years: previousmaximum values were 280 parts permillion and 773 parts per billion.A picture of the periodic natureof the glacial and interglacialperiods emerged, as well as thecorrelation between componentsof the climate changing more orless in phase. Four glacial periods,each lasting about 100,000 years,were separated by relatively briefwarm interglacial periods.Without energy from the Sunand the atmosphere, there could beno climate or life. The eccentricityof Earth’s orbit around the Sunvaries, Earth tilts and wobbles onits axis, and these factors influencethe amount and distribution of solarenergy incident over land and seaon the surface of the planet. Suchfactors are grouped together andcalled orbital forcers of climatechange. Cores of marine sedimentsare used to analyze past climates upto 180 million years ago and, on thistime scale, tectonic events becomepart of the climate-forcing factors.To understand greenhouse gasforcing of climate requires a smalldigression. At a “stable” averageenvironmental temperature, theradiation entering Earth’s atmosphereequals the amount leaving. Increasingconcentrations of greenhouse gasesin the atmosphere absorb moreof the infrared radiation. To reestablishthe zero-sum radiationbalance, the emission of long-waveinfrared radiation has to increase.To achieve this, temperaturesmust rise and thus either force oramplify climate change. On top ofthis, some of the changes in pastclimates have yet to be explained.The Vostok record shows that, inthe absence of the billions of humansinhabiting the planet, the next phaseof global climate change would bea gradual drift into an ice age. Thebreak from glacial to interglacialperiods has been accompanied byincreases in the concentrations ofgreenhouse gases. Modern humansascended from caves to skyscrapersduring the past 20,000 years ofthe most recent warming period.The prospect of ice sheetsgrinding down through NorthAmerica and Europe will be achilling one for my progeny. Butmy problem is global warming. Theevidence suggests that the world isgetting warmer and it would be mostodd if increasing concentrationsof greenhouse gases and otheranthropogenic gaseous emissionswere not playing a significant,albeit somewhat obscure, role.The key question, of course, is,What will happen? Will it suddenlyget 6°C hotter? Will the polar capspartly melt, causing sea levels torise by several meters? Will thefuture course of climate change bealtered irreversibly by the activitiesof humankind? I don’t know—butneither does anyone else.Weather disasters could becomethe normal human experience overthe coming century. When extremevariation in the weather makesclimate a variable, agriculture ceasesto be an industry and becomes adesperate struggle for survival.What is the InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI)doing? IRRI has a long historyof climate research and, over thepast few years, has scaled up itsactivities in that area, includingthe establishment of the Riceand Climate Change Consortium.The Institute is ramping up itsdevelopment of rice varieties thatare flood, drought, and salt tolerant,fast growing, and high yielding,and crop management practicesthat are robust and flexible.The development of technologiesand skills for increasing food suppliesand raising living standards musttake account of the likelihood ofdrastic changes in the weather. Asignificant part of IRRI’s agenda mustfocus on how to cope with the worstof expected future circumstancesrather than the best of prevailingcircumstances. A substantial partof the Institute’s experimentalfarm should be dedicated to thatend. A Climate Change DisasterCenter would allow us to test ourconcepts and train our partnersfor the worst. Varieties that canprovide food in a hotter, more CO 2 -rich and uncertain world of violentweather extremes have become, andmust continue to be, a priority.By the way, does anyone have ahectare of land at about 200 metersabove sea level in the tropics for sale?Rice Today January-March 200939

RICE FACTSRice and the global financial crisisby Samarendu Mohanty Head, IRRI Social Sciences DivisionWhat are the short- and long-term impacts on rice production and food security?In the October–December2008 issue of Rice Today, Iwrote an article (Rice crisis:the aftermath, pages 40-41)highlighting the 2008-09 supplyand demand situation and thelong-term challenges to meetingfuture demand growth. Soon afterthat article went to press, thecalamitous global financial crisisand attendant fall in commodityprices cast a dark shadow overthe agricultural situation,despite the drop in crop prices.Since reaching their peak earlierthis year, wheat and rice priceshave fallen steeply. The price for100% grade B Thai rice fell to $575per ton in late October 2008 froma whopping $1,080 per ton in April2008, a result of record productionand economic slowdown. It isimportant to remember, however,that current rice export pricesremain around double those ofmid-2007. Following crude oiland agricultural commodities,fertilizer prices, particularly forurea and ammonia, also plummetedtoward the end of 2008 after reachingrecord highs in September.Short-term impactThe meltdown of commodity pricesmay have caught off-guard manyfarmers who in late 2008 harvesteda lower-priced crop produced withhigh-priced inputs (such as seeds andfertilizer). Burned once, these farmerswill likely play safe and reduce inputuse for their 2009 crops. The creditcrunch will also make it difficult forfarmers around the world to securecredit for purchasing inputs. Signsof this trend have already emerged.Already, the Philippines haslowered its 2009 rice productionestimate by almost 4% because oflower input use as farmers struggle tosecure credit to buy inputs. Similarnews from other rice-producingMillion tons44042040038036000/01Million hectares16015515014514000/01World milled rice production01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09YearsRice area and yieldYieldAreaTons per hectare3.01.001/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09Yearscountries is likely in the near term.Production uncertainty due totight credit and declining rice pricescombined with strong demandgrowth points to another rise inrice prices in the coming months.Price volatility will remain high.Long-term effectsThe recent crisis in the ricemarket helped expose recentfundamental imbalances in supplyand demand. In five of the lastseven years, rice consumption hasexceeded production, resultingin frequent dipping into bufferstocks to cover the shortfall. Therecent rise and fall in rice pricesreaffirms the high degree of pricevolatility arising out of historiclow levels of global rice stocks.The world has produced a recordrice crop in each of the last 4 yearswith most of the increase coming2.52.01.5from area expansion rather thanyield growth (see figures). Aslowdown in rice yield growth hasbeen occurring since the early1990s. The neglect of agriculturalresearch and infrastructuredevelopment since the early 1980shas started to bite. The recentcrisis turned the world’s attentionback to agriculture, but thecredit crunch is likely to furthertighten funding for infrastructureimprovements and researchand development activities.Making matters worse,the economic slowdown mayincrease the demand for rice indeveloping countries as fallingincome forces poor people toswitch back to less expensivestaples. Consumption projectionsmay therefore rise above earlierestimates of around 90 milliontons per year of additionalrough (unmilled) rice by 2020.Time to actThe supply and demand situationsimply does not add up for rice.Current rice area is at a historichigh and it is foolish to assumethat additional area can keepcoming to meet future demand.If the yield growth rate does notimprove, we can expect rice pricesto continue to rise, and at a fasterpace than that seen since pricesstarted moving up in 2000.The solution lies in revitalizingrice yield growth through higherinvestment in research andinfrastructure development.The International Rice ResearchInstitute’s nine-point plan forshort- and long-term interventionsoutlines the sort of urgent action thatdonors, international organizations,and national governments need totake to improve yield now and inthe future (see http://solutions.irri.org/images/the_rice_crisis.pdf).40 Rice Today January-March 2009

Investingin the futureby Sushil Pandey, Mark W. Rosegrant,Timothy Sulser, and Humnath BhandariHow will future investment inagriculture affect rice prices?Price index (year 2000 = 100)350Investment scenario300ReferenceLow250200HighVery high1501005002000 2025 2050YearRice is a staple crop of Asia,which is home to almost 700million poor people withincome of less than a dollar aday. A confluence of several long- andshort-term factors led to a skyrocketingprice of rice in early 2008.Keeping the price of riceaffordable for the poor is criticallyimportant for poverty reduction. Theshare of rice in total expenditureof poor households is estimated at30–50%. Any substantial rise in theprice of rice, therefore, is equivalentto a substantial drop in real income.Using the International Modelfor Policy Analysis of AgriculturalCommodities and Trade (IMPACT) 1to make long-term projections, weestimated rice prices out to 2025and 2050 under three alternativescenarios of investments in and policyoptions for agricultural research anddevelopment. These were comparedwith a reference scenario representing“business as usual” (see figure).The Low scenario presentsa pessimistic view of futuredevelopments in agriculturalproduction around the world and afurther reduction in already decliningrates of investment in agriculturalresearch and development. Incontrast, the optimistic High scenariohas governments and other agenciesprioritizing agricultural investmentsto improve productivity, particularlyin the developing world. The Veryhigh scenario augments the improvedHigh situation with increasedinvestments in yield improvements,intensification of existing agriculturalsystems, increased investment inirrigation infrastructure, as well ashigher investment in other povertyandmalnutrition-reducing strategies.Under the Business as usualreference scenario, the price ofrice will increase almost 50% by2025, and will continue to increase,although at a slower pace, from2025 to 2050. The Low scenario isextremely unfavorable. Were thisscenario to become reality, rice pricesin 2050 would be nearly double theprojected reference scenario pricesand triple the 2000 starting price.The more optimistic scenarios aremuch more promising. By 2050,rice prices would actually declinerelative to the starting year. The Highscenario would see rice prices abouthalf those of the projected referencevalue. The Very high scenario wouldresult in 2050 prices of roughly athird of the reference scenario prices.In short, rice prices willbe lower in 2050 relative to2000 only if investments inagricultural technology, research,and development are boostedsubstantially (the High and Veryhigh scenarios). Such investmentsare necessary rice productivity toincrease rapidly enough to keepprices down.The underlying cause of thecurrent rice crisis is a long-termimbalance between demand andsupply: production growth hasTrends in rice price under reference (businessas-usual)and three alternative policy scenarios,2000-50. These long-term projections do not factorin short-term supply shocks and trade restrictions ofthe kind that prompted price spikes in early 2008.Source: IFPRI IMPACT model projection, April 2008failed to keep pace with demandgrowth. As the root of the problemis on the supply side, the long-termsolution will require measures toboost production. These measurescan be grouped into two categories:stimulating investments in research,technology, and infrastructure, andpolicy reforms.Although rice prices have droppedfrom their peak in May 2008, they arestill high relative to 2007 levels and arelikely to remain too high for millionsof poor. The task ahead is challengingbut not insurmountable and requiresa substantial boost for agriculturalresearch, which remains highlyunderinvested. Increased investmentstogether with policy reforms that makerice markets more efficient will providethe ultimate solution to the rice crisis.Drs. Pandey and Bhandari areagricultural economists at IRRI.Drs. Rosegrant and Sulser areagricultural economists at theInternational Food Policy ResearchInstitute. This article is based onRice price crisis: causes, impacts,and solutions, a paper presented atthe 6th International Conference ofthe Asian Society of AgriculturalEconomists, Manila, Philippines, 28-30 August 2008.1Rosegrant MW, Msangi S, Ringler C, Sulser TB, Zhu T, Cline SA. 2008. International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities andTrade (IMPACT): Model Description. Washington, D.C. (USA): International Food Policy Research Institute.Rice Today January-March 200941

grain of truthFood securityby Christian Witt&fertilizerFood security is back on theglobal agenda. With the recentfood crisis, public attention hasreturned to issues of availabilityand affordability, particularlyfor the urban and rural poor. Responsesto the accelerating changesin food stocks and prices in recentmonths ranged from interventionsat the policy level to calls for longerterm strategies, including greaterinvestment in agricultural research tosafeguard food security in the future.Although consumer rice priceshave dropped somewhat since thepeaks of mid-2008, they remainhigher than those of 2 years agoand the crisis is by no means over.Yield forecasts for the immediatefuture are promising, but rice supplyremains tight and is likely toremain so in the coming years.Meanwhile, at the farm level,growers find themselves facinghigher production costs (especiallyfor fertilizer and fuel) and higher butmore volatile farm-gate prices fortheir produce. This poses problems torice farmers with typically low cashflows. As fertilizer prices increase,cutting costs by reducing the useof one or more fertilizer nutrientsmight appeal to farmers and policymakers—butit’s a risky strategy.Crop yield is directly related tothe amount of nutrients taken up bya crop, and fertilizers supply a significantportion of the nutrients requiredto achieve high and profitable yield.Food security cannot be achievedwithout the effective use of fertilizernutrients in combination with othernutrient sources such as residuesand manures available on-farm. Atsome point, less fertilizer meanslower yield unless the innovative,yield-building nutrient managementstrategies developed over the past10 years become common practice.The time is now for the public andAnyone with access to the newtools can develop strategiesfor yield improvementprivate sector to step up and makethis knowledge available to farmers.But won’t fertilizer prices plummetsoon to previous levels? Currentfertilizer prices are the result of anuntil-recently very tight global fertilizermarket that follows the basicprinciples of supply and demand. Thedemand for agricultural products—and thus fertilizer—has been increasingfor years, driven by populationgrowth and increasingly diversifieddiets as income in developing countrieshas grown. This development hasbeen further accelerated by the recentinvestment boost in the biofuel sector.The International Rice ResearchInstitute forecast a significant increasein future rice demand back in the early1990s, at a time when food stockswere high and rice prices low. As foodstocks melted away with acceleratingdemand, investment in agriculturalresearch slowly dwindled. And, justas one cannot switch research on andoff within a year, it takes massivecapital and several years to increasefertilizer production capacity. Asa result, fertilizer capacity growthhas not kept pace with demand.With production capacity currentlyat or near record levels, theInternational Fertilizer IndustryAssociation warned in mid 2008 thatfertilizer markets will remain tightfor at least 3 years. Fertilizer supplyhas eased in recent months as manyfarmers are reluctant to invest intheir crops given the global economicrecession and volatile prices for commoditiesand fertilizer. As economiesrecover, however, significant investmentin infrastructure and opening ofnew plants and mines will be requiredto meet future fertilizer demand.It currently appears that the costfor fertilizer and other inputs willremain relatively high in most farmingenvironments. Farmers will thus haveto optimize their production systemsconsidering the global market pricesof inputs and particularly fertilizer.What gives me hope for the nearfuture is that there is still room foryield improvement at the farm levelin Asia’s key rice-producing areas.What gives me even more hope isthat, in the last 10 years, we havetransformed complex science intorobust scientific principles. These haveformed the basis for a new generationof user-friendly tools and associatedcommunication strategies in nutrientmanagement. Examples include theleaf color chart, which helps farmersoptimize their nitrogen application,and the new country-specific NutrientManager Software recently developedby IRRI and its partners in Asia.The process of developing locallyadapted fertilizer strategies combinedwith locally available nutrientsources has been demystified.One does not need a laboratory todo this. One does not even need anexpert. Today, anyone with accessto the new tools can develop individual,site-specific strategies foryield improvement and effective inputuse, in real time and on the spot.This information is increasinglybeing made available to farmerswith promising examples of uptakeby the public sector, industry, andnongovernmental organizations.More and more, these groups mustshare their experiences and intensifytheir learning alliances iffarmers are to reap the full benefitsof the knowledge we now have.Dr. Witt is director of the SoutheastAsia Program of the InternationalPlant Nutrition Institute.42 Rice Today January-March 2009

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contentsVol. 8, No. 1EDITORIAL ................................................................ 4Hidden treasureNEWS.......................................................................... 5Southeast Asian nations endorse Rice Action PlanVietnam to host International Rice CongressA global voice for the global grainPest outbreaks in IndiaWaterproof rice set to make waves in South AsiaNEW BOOKS.............................................................. 8Rural poverty and income dynamics in Asia and AfricaTRAINING COURSES AT IRRI ................................... 8PEOPLE...................................................................... 9Awards and recognitionKeeping up with IRRI staffObituarySPECIAL REPORT.................................................... 11World Rice Commerce 2008: price volatility set tocontinueMAKING SCIENCE WORK........................................ 13A communication campaign designed to link riceproduction with relevant science promises tohelp African farmers and processors boost theirproductivitySOWING THE SEEDS OF ART.................................. 14When is a paddy not a paddy? When it’s a canvas, ofcourse. In Japan’s Aomori Prefecture, rice is far morethan mere food.RICE ON THE CUTTING EDGE................................. 18Sometimes the best inventions are accidental. Innortheastern Thailand, farmers are adopting aweed-control method first taught to them by theiranimals.THE IRRI PIONEER INTERVIEWS............................ 20Dedicated scientists—a child’s inspirationSNAPSHOT............................................................... 22From farm to marketRICE IN THE DRAGON’S SHADOW......................... 24The political turmoil of the 1970s formed the backdropto the first visits of International Rice ResearchInstitute staff to China. Agricultural economistRandy Barker, one of the team of scientists whoventured to the world’s largest rice producer,recounts the experience.HOW MUCH WATER DOES RICE USE?................... 28Rice Today examines this often-asked (and often poorlyanswered) questionMAPS........................................................................ 30Soil quality in rainfed lowland riceLOVE AT FIRST SITE................................................ 32One Filipino farmer’s experience with a better way ofmanaging his crop’s fertilizer needs could inspirechange across the nation’s rice fieldsMORE THAN MEETS YOUR RICE............................ 35Rice Today ventures to Japan to find an astonishingrange of rice products, most of which you wouldn’twant to eatSEAL OF APPROVAL............................................... 36Hermetic storage of rice is becoming increasinglypopular across Asia, and for good reason—aswell as being transportable, it is better than airconditionedstorage and almost as good as a coldroom, at a fraction of the cost of eitherBUY A HOUSE ON A HILL........................................ 38As Earth’s climate changes, so does the way weapproach agriculture. The head of the InternationalRice Research Institute’s applied photosynthesislaboratory offers his observations on the currentstate of play.RICE FACTS.............................................................. 40Rice and the global financial crisisWhat are the short- and long-term impacts on riceproduction and food security?Investing in the futureHow will future investment in agriculture affect riceprices?GRAIN OF TRUTH.................................................... 42Food security and fertilizerOn the cover:Terraces and channelsintertwine to feedwater to rice in paddiesin Vietnam.cover photo Ariel Javellanapublisher Duncan Macintosheditor Adam Barclayart director Juan Lazaro IVdesigner and production supervisor Grant Lecetacontributors Gene Hettel, Meg Mondoñedo, Bill HardyAfrica editor Savitri Mohapatra (Africa Rice Center – WARDA)photo editor Chris Quintanaphoto researcher William Sta. Claracirculation Lourdes Columbresprinter Print Town GroupRice Today is published by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI),the world’s leading international rice research and training center. Based in thePhilippines and with offices in 13 other countries, IRRI is an autonomous, nonprofitinstitution focused on improving the well-being of present and future generations ofrice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes, while preservingnatural resources. IRRI was established in 1960 by the Ford and RockefellerFoundations with the help and approval of the Government of the Philippines.Today, IRRI is one of the 15 nonprofit international research centers supported, inpart, by members of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural ResearchCopyright International Rice Research Institute 2009This magazine is copyrighted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and islicensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0License (Unported). Unless otherwise noted, users are free to copy, duplicate, or reproduce,and distribute, display, or transmit any of the articles or portions of the articles, and to maketranslations, adaptations, or other derivative works under the following conditions:Attribution: The work must be attributed, but not in any way that suggests endorsementby IRRI or the author(s).International Rice Research InstituteDAPO 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.orgRice Today editorialtelephone: (+63-2) 580-5600 or (+63-2) 844-3351 to 53, ext 2725;fax: (+63-2) 580-5699 or (+63-2) 845-0606; email: d.macintosh@cgiar.org(CGIAR – www.cgiar.org) and a range of other funding agencies.Responsibility for this publication rests with IRRI. Designations used in thispublication should not be construed as expressing IRRI policy or opinion on the legalstatus of any country, territory, city, or area, or its authorities, or the delimitationof its frontiers or boundaries.Rice Today welcomes comments and suggestions from readers. Potentialcontributors are encouraged to query first, rather than submit unsolicitedmaterials. Rice Today assumes no responsibility for loss of or damage to unsolicitedsubmissions, which should be accompanied by sufficient return postage.NonCommercial: This work may not be used for commercial purposes.ShareAlike: If this work is altered, transformed, or built upon, the resulting work must bedistributed only under the same or similar license to this one.For any reuse or distribution, the license terms of this work must be made clear to others.Any of the above conditions can be waived if permission is obtained from the copyright holder.Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author’s moral rights.Fair dealing and other rights are in no way affected by the above.• To view the full text of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

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NEWS http://ricenews.irri.orgSoutheast Asian nations endorse Rice Action PlanThe world’s biggest rice-exportingand -importing nations haveendorsed a new Rice Action Plantargeting many of the problems thattriggered 2008’s rice price crisis.At a meeting of the ten-nationAssociation of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN) in Hanoi, Vietnam,in November, ministers of agricultureunanimously endorsed a sevenpointaction plan presented by theInternational Rice Research Institute(IRRI). ASEAN includes the world’stwo largest rice exporters, Thailandand Vietnam, and several importingnations, including the Philippines,the world’s largest importer.The endorsement, announcedat the 30th annual meeting of theASEAN Ministers of Agricultureand Forestry, it was presentedas part of a comprehensive foodsecurity strategy being developedfor the region, home to morethan 500 million rice consumers,including some of Asia’s poorest.“The message is very clear,” IRRIDirector General Robert Zeigler said.“We have the scientific expertise,knowledge, and partnerships to growthe rice Asia needs, and now—withthis endorsement by these nations—we have strong political support. Theonly things missing are the financialresources needed to implement this.”Dr. Zeigler told the ministersthat IRRI needs an additional US$15million a year for the next 10 yearsto adequately support the ASEANRice Action Plan. “At a time oftrillion-dollar bailouts for the globalfinancial sector, $15 million a year isbarely the annual bonus of a formerWall Street executive,” he said.The Rice Action Plan wasdeveloped by IRRI earlier thisyear during the rice price crisisin consultation with its partnersaround the region. It includesthe following measures:1. Bring about an agronomic revolutionto reduce existing yield gaps2. Accelerate the delivery ofnew postharvest technologiesto reduce losses3. Accelerate the introduction andadoption of higher-yielding ricevarieties4. Strengthen and upgradebreeding pipelines for developingnew varieties and hybrids5. Accelerate research on theworld’s thousands of ricevarieties so scientists can usethe vast reservoir of untappedgenetic resources they contain6. Develop a new generation of ricescientists and researchers forthe public and private sectors7. Provide rice policy support.Although in the last quarter of2008 rice prices continued to slidefrom earlier spikes, prices remainedwell above those of less than 2 yearsago. Recent estimates by the Foodand Agriculture Organization ofthe United Nations show the 2008food crisis has reversed a decliningtrend in the global proportionof undernourished people. TheUS$/ton1,1001,0009008007006005004003000Nov-07Export prices for riceJan-08Mar-08US 2/4%Thai 100%BViet 5%Pak Irri-25%Thai A1 SuperMay-08Jul-08Sep-08Source: FAO Rice Price Update December 2008Nov-08percentage has risen from a recordlow of 16% in 2003-05 to about 17%.There are also concerns that theglobal financial crisis could increasedemand for rice and put furtherpressure on production as farmersstruggle to access credit for inputssuch as fertilizer and people increaseconsumption of staples in preferenceto higher-priced, more nutritiousfoods such as meats and vegetables.For more on the impacts of thefinancial crisis on rice productionand food security, see Rice and theglobal financial crisis on page 40. Formore information on the Rice ActionPlan, including detailed budgets,please visit http://solutions.irri.org.Rice Today January-March 2009

Vietnam will host the 3rdInternational Rice Congress(IRC2010) in Hanoi in 2010. Theworld’s largest gathering focused onrice, the event will also mark the 50thanniversary of the International RiceResearch Institute (IRRI).The decision was announcedin a joint statement by MinisterCao Due Phat of Vietnam’sMinistry of Agriculture andRural Development (MARD) andIRRI Director General RobertZeigler in Hanoi on 24 October.The IRC2010 theme—TheFuture of Rice—will aim to increasepublic and private support to helpNEWS http://ricenews.irri.orgVietnam to host International Rice Congresspoor rice farmers and consumers.Dr. Zeigler said he was verypleased that IRC2010 would be heldin Hanoi considering Vietnam’ssuccess with rice production overthe past 2 decades. “Vietnam’srice industry is outstanding andMARD’s commitment to researchand the best science is an examplefor others to follow,” he said.IRC2010 will incorporatethe 28th International RiceResearch Conference, 3rd WorldRice Commerce Conference, 3rdInternational Rice Technologyand Cultural Expo, and the 50thanniversary celebration of IRRI.Pest outbreaks in IndiaIRRIA global voice for the global grainThe voice of rice—the grainorganizations are joining forces.that feeds half the world—hasJeremy Zwinger, president ofbecome even stronger with the TRT, and Achim Dobermann, IRRInew partnership between IRRI deputy director general for research,and The Rice Trader, Inc. (TRT), announced the new partnershippublisher of the world’s premier at a signing ceremony at Worldpublication on rice trade issues. Rice Commerce 2008 in ChiangFor 7 years, Rice Today has Mai, Thailand, 20-22 October.kept the world informed aboutThe Rice Trader Inc. will publishdevelopments in rice researchRice Today, adding new content andto help millions of poor farmers resources that will showcase theimprove their rice production and vital partnership between researchpull themselves out of poverty. and trade. IRRI’s continued roleFor 18 years, TRT has brought its in Rice Today, blended with TRT’ssubscribers crucial information commercial focus, will take a worldclasspublication to new heights.on world rice trading through itspublication The Rice Trader, aThe first issue of Rice Today to beweekly summary of market and published under the new arrangementdata analysis. Now, at a time when will be Vol. 8, No. 2, April–Junerice issues are capturing major 2009. Existing subscribers willglobal attention more, the two continue to receive the magazine.The theme for this 2-day event is “How is the regional business evolving amid volatilesupplies & changing climate?”Key issues to be covered will include global grains market outlook & where it is heading;can the biofuels mandate roll back with rising food prices?; agriculture policy &investment outlook; will the center of commodity exchange shift to Asia?; commodityprice risk management; freight markets & impact on grains movement.The contact person is Hafizah Adam (hafizah@cmtsp.com.sg; +65 63469218)For more information: www.cmtevents.com/aboutevent.aspx?ev=090206&.Brown planthopper (BPH)outbreaks were observed inseveral rice-growing areas innorthern India in 2008, causingsignificant damage, especially tohigh-value Basmati rice. The flylikebrown insect pierces the softtissue of plants to extract sap,damaging the plant and making itsusceptible to viral infestation.According to Zubair Ahmad fromthe Department of Zoology of AligarhMuslim University in Uttar PradeshState, recent abnormal weatherpatterns may have contributedto the unusual outbreaks of BPH,along with insecticide misuse.“Indiscriminate use of pesticideshas disrupted the action of naturallyoccurring biological control agents,”said Dr. Ahmad. “The pesticideskill off the natural enemies ofBPH, allowing subsequent cohortsof BPH a predator-free period inwhich to develop. Because theirpopulations develop more quicklythan the predators, outbreaksoccur, causing devastating losses.”Also in late 2008, more than33,000 hectares of rice fields in theMekong Delta region were infestedwith BPH. Severe BPH outbreakshave caused problems in severalcountries in recent years, includingmajor producers China and Vietnam. Rice Today January-March 2009

Waterproof rice set to make waves in South Asiaaterproof” versions of popular“Wvarieties of rice, whichcan withstand 2 weeks' completesubmergence, have passed tests infarmers’ fields with flying colors.Several varieties are now close torelease by national and state seedcertification agencies in Bangladeshand India, where farmers suffer majorcrop losses because of flooding of upto 4 million tons of rice per year—enough to feed 30 million people.The flood-tolerant varietiesare effectively identical to theirsusceptible counterparts, but recoverafter severe flooding to yield well.A 1-9 November tour of researchstations and farms in Bangladeshand India led by David Mackill,senior rice breeder at IRRI, markedthe successful completion of aproject, From genes to farmers’fields: enhancing and stabilizingproductivity of rice in submergenceproneenvironments, funded for thepast 5 years by Germany’s FederalMinistry for Economic Cooperationand Development (BMZ).The new varieties were madepossible following the identificationof a gene responsible for most ofthe tolerance. Pamela Ronald, aUniversity of California (UC) at DavisBANGLADESHI FARMER Mostafa Kamal (right)and Bangladeshi Rice Research Institutescientist Dr. M.A. Mazid in Mr. Kamal’s field offlood-tolerant rice.professor, worked with Kenong Xuto isolate the gene, dubbed Sub1A.Julia Bailey-Serres, a geneticistfrom UC Riverside investigating howSub1A confers flood tolerance, saidthat the gene effectively makes theplant dormant during submergence,allowing it to conserve energyuntil the floodwaters recede.On 5 December, Drs. Mackill,Bailey-Serres, and Ronald werehonored for their work by the U.S.adam barclayDepartment of Agriculture with itsprestigious 2008 National ResearchInitiative Discovery Award.Several national organizations,including the Bangladesh RiceResearch Institute and India’sCentral Rice Research Instituteand Narendra Dev University ofAgriculture and Technology havecollaborated closely on the project.“The potential for impact is huge,”said Dr. Mackill. “In Bangladesh,for example, 20% of the rice land isflood prone and the country typicallysuffers several major floods each year.Submergence-tolerant varieties couldmake major inroads into Bangladesh’sannual rice shortfall and substantiallyreduce its import needs.”Because the Sub1 varietieswere developed through “precisionbreeding”—known as marker-assistedselection—they are not geneticallymodified organisms and are notsubject to the regulatory testing thatcan delay release for several years.Once Sub1 varieties are released,the key will be dissemination tosmallholder farmers in floodproneareas. IRRI is leading thisinitiative through grants from theBill & Melinda Gates Foundation andJapan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Indonesia project launchedImproving rice productivity in Southand Southeast Sulawesi, an IRRIledproject funded by the AustralianCentre for International AgriculturalResearch, was launched with astakeholder meeting and planningworkshop in Maros, South Sulawesi, on16-17 October. The project aims to boostrice production in the two provincesand contribute to the national plan toincrease Indonesia’s rice productionby 5% per year from 2007 to 2010.The initiative will help increaseproduction through optimization of riceproductivity, the use of high-qualityrice seeds, as well as training for andadvice from extension workers, whoare responsible for disseminatingtechnologies and information tofarmers.Rice-for-oil deal a firstIn a first for global trade, Thailandindicated in October that it planned tobarter rice for oil with Iran. The Foodand Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations said such governmentto-governmentdeals were likely toincrease in number as lack of creditfor trade becomes a factor. Thailandis the world’s largest rice exporter,controlling a third of the globalmarket, while Iran is one of the top 10importers. In 2007, Iran bought some600,000 tons of rice from Thailand.Brunei rice expansionThe Brunei Department of Agriculturehas identified 3,000 hectares of lowlyingland with good potential to bedeveloped into large-scale rice fields.The country aims to increase local riceproduction to 20% of national requirementsby 2010 and 60% by 2015.As well as expanding rice area, theDepartment plans to improve infrastructureand promote the adoptionof high-yielding rice varieties. Annualper-capita rice consumption in Bruneiis estimated at around 80 kg perperson. In 2007, national productionwas just under 1,000 tons, or around3% of requirements. Imports cost thecountry around US$34 million.Rice Today January-March 2009

NEWS http://ricenews.irri.orgLetterTo the Editor:Thank you for 4 years of Rice Today. It has been a fantastic resource forteaching undergraduate environmental health students. I have usedarticles in case studies in areas ranging from environmental healthequity and the social determinants of health, resource allocation withinand between countries, and the transfer of science research to practice.One particular article, Fear and loathing drive needless insecticide use(Rice Today Vol. 3, No. 2) gets a guernsey each year with my secondyearenvironmental chemistry students as I use it as the basis for oneof their assignments. And, of course, there are the great centerfolds.Dr. Kirstin RossLecturer, Environmental HealthDepartment of Environmental HealthSchool of MedicineFlinders UniversitySouth AustraliaRural poverty and incomedynamics in Asia andAfricaNew Bookswww.irri.org/publicationsEdited by Keijiro Otsuka,Jonna Estudillo, and YasuyukiSawada; published byRoutledge; 256 pages.Although there is muchinterest in poverty reduction,there are few agreed-uponstrategies to effectively reducepoverty. In this new book,the editors have gatheredtogether evidence on povertydynamics, based on data fromthe Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, and sub-SaharanAfrica. The major finding is that rural households in sub-SaharanAfrica are beginning to experience the same pattern of structuralchange in income composition and poverty reduction that Asianhouseholds have experienced over the past 25 years. The bookexplores how the spread of the Green Revolution triggered thesubsequent transformation of rural economies, including povertyreduction through the adoption of modern rice technology—and subsequent higher rates of education for children—andthe gradual diversification of income sources away from farm tononfarm activities. The editors contend that the Asian experienceprovides valuable lessons for sub-Saharan Africa. For orderinginformation, visit http://tinyurl.com/6kh62s or Amazon.com.TRAINING COURSES AT IRRIBasic experimental design and data analysisusing CropStatIRRI Training Center, Los Baños, Philippines, 2-6 February 2009The course acquaints researchers with principles of experimentaldesign (particularly for rice research), analysis of variance, andregression and correlation analysis. It also introduces CropStat, acomputer-based statistical package for experimental data analysis.For more details, contact Dr. Thomas Metz (t.metz@cgiar.org) or Dr.Noel Magor (IRRITraining@cgiar.org).Leadership Course for Asian Womenin Agriculture R&D and ExtensionIRRI Training Center, Los Baños, Philippines, 2-13 March 2009Topics include Asian women in the workplace; mainstreaming genderconcerns in the workplace; leadership and management; personalitydevelopment; developing work-related knowledge and skills; andrelating to others.For more details, contact Dr. Thelma Paris (t.paris@cgiar.org) or Dr.Noel Magor (IRRITraining@cgiar.org).Ecological management of rodents, weeds,& rice diseases—biological & social dimensionsIRRI Training Center, Los Baños, Philippines, 16-27 March 2009The themes for the course are ecologically-based pest managementwith an emphasis on rodents and weeds; applying social scienceknowledge in decision analysis of pest and disease problems; farmerparticipatory research. Presenters at the course include EmeritusProfessor Charles Krebs, Dr. Grant Singleton, Dr. David Johnson, Dr.Serge Savary, Dr. Flor Palis, and Dr. K.L. Heong.For more details, contact Dr. Grant Singleton (g.singleton@cgiar.org).Rice: research to productionIRRI Training Center, Los Baños, Philippines, 18 May-5 June 2009The course aims to create a new generation of plant scientists thatunderstand the importance of innovative plant science in addressingglobal problems. Topics include an understanding of the basicsof rice production in Asia; germplasm exchange and intellectualproperty; the research issues of IRRI and its developing partners;hands-on skills for rice breeding, molecular genetics, and genomics;structuring effective international collaboration; and workingeffectively as part of the international research community.For more details, contact Dr. Hei Leung (h.leung@cgiar.org) or Dr. NoelMagor (IRRITraining@cgiar.org).2009 Global Rice Science ScholarshipsQualified students from developing countries about to conduct theirPhD research are invited to apply for Global Rice Science Scholarshipsat IRRI. The 3-year scholarships are for PhD thesis-only research.• One scholarship supported by Pioneer Overseas Corporation forapplicants from India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, or thePhilippines. This scholarship will emphasize rice breeding coupledwith entomology, physiology, or biotechnology.• Three scholarships for applicants from India, Bangladesh, Nepal,or Pakistan, to conduct research as part of the Cereal SystemsInitiative for South Asia. Priority given to students whoseresearch focuses on rice breeding, soil and water management,systems agronomy and modeling, and/or plant pathology withemphasis on host plant resistance and leaf pathology.Applications close 28 February 2009For more information, please contact IRRITraining@cgiar.org or visitwww.irri.training.org. Rice Today January-March 2009

IASSVpeopleAwards and recognitionBui Chi Buu, director generalof the Institute of AgriculturalScience for Southern Vietnam,received the Senadhira Rice ResearchAward for 2008 for his outstandingcontributions to the development ofpopular rice varieties in Vietnam. Dr.Buu (pictured below), who receivedthe award at IRRI headquarterson 3 December, has enjoyed adistinguished career in rice breeding,during which he has emphasizedgrain-quality improvement, salttolerance, and resistance to pests anddiseases such as blast fungus, bacterialblight, and brown planthopper. Hisefforts have led to the certificationof many popular rice varietiesgrown by farmers throughout theMekong Delta. The award is namedafter Dharmawansa Senadhira,one of IRRI’s most successful ricebreeders, who died tragically in aroad accident in Bangladesh in 1998.Bui Chi BuuJ.K. Ladha, InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI)representative for India, and S.K.De Datta, former IRRI agronomist,have been named AmericanAssociation for the Advancement ofScience (AAAS) fellows. In 2008,486 members, who are due to behonored at the 2009 AAAS AnnualMeeting in Chicago in February, wereawarded because of their scientificallyor socially distinguished efforts toadvance science or its applications.Dr. Ladha received his award “fordistinguished contributions topaweesinternational agriculture throughhis research, training, and extensionactivities in sustainable managementof natural resources for increasingfood security and environmentalquality.” Dr. De Datta, now atVirginia Polytechnic Institute andState University, was honored“for distinguished contributionsto global food security, the greenrevolution, and environmentalstewardship in a global context.”Another Vietnamese researcher,Vo-Tong Xuan, became the firstrecipient of the Dioscoro L. UmaliAchievement Award in AgriculturalDevelopment. Dr. Xuan, professor ofagronomy, former IRRI researcher,and former rector of An GiangUniversity, was recognized for hissignificant role in invigoratingthe rice industry in Vietnam andsharing his expertise in Africa.This regional award is aimed atpromoting agriculture by recognizingexemplary individuals who haveadvanced agricultural development inSoutheast Asia. The award is namedafter the late Dr. Umali, a NationalScientist of the Philippines, formerassistant director-general of the UNFood and Agriculture Organization,and former consultant to IRRI.IRRI Senior Scientist T.P.Tuong (below right with Tai CheolKim, Professor, Chungnam NationalUniversity, Korea) received theInternational Society of Paddy andWater Environment Engineering(PAWEES) Award 2008 for hisoutstanding work on natural resourcemanagement that has had impacton poor people and on protectingthe environment, especially inacid soils and coastal areas. Dr.Tuong, who received the award atthe PAWEES 2008 InternationalConference on 27-29 October inTaiwan, was also recognized forhis innovative integrated strategiesfor increasing water-use efficiencyand combating water scarcity,which have influenced the agendaof research programs globally.Also in Taiwan, IRRI SeniorScientist Hei Leung (below rightwith NCHU president Jei-Fu Shaw)was recognized as a Chair Professoron Molecular Breeding in theDepartment of Agronomy at NationalChung Hsing University, where hepresented a lecture in October.The IRRI-led InternationalNetwork for Genetic Evaluationof Rice (INGER) was named the2008 winner of the ConsultativeGroup on International AgriculturalResearch (CGIAR) award forOutstanding Scientific SupportTeam. The award was presentedon 2 December at the CGIARAnnual General Meeting in Maputo,Mozambique. A global partnershipof national and international centers,INGER facilitates the exchange andevaluation of elite rice breedingmaterials worldwide. It is coordinatedglobally at IRRI by Edilberto Redoñaand a team including ConnieToledo, Cel Laza, FrancoNazareno, Glenn Alejar, VirgilioAncheta, Jose Angeles, FeDanglay, Cenon Lanao, NestorLeron, Virgilio Magat, JoseMarasigan, Honorio Oboza,Renato Pizon, Allan Salabsabin,Ernesto Sumague, and JosephVicente. The recognition comeswith a US$10,000 cash prize.NCHURice Today January-March 2009

peopleKeeping up with IRRI staffIRRI Director General RobertZeigler has accepted a second5-year contract, beginning in 2010.IRRI Board of Trustees ChairElizabeth Woods said that theBoard members were “impressedand pleased by the enthusiasmand talent that Bob Zeigler hasbrought to IRRI,” adding that, “Wecan now be confident of strongleadership to take IRRI forwardinto what will be exciting times.”Kyu-Seong Lee, former IRRIresearcher seconded from Korea’sRural Development Administration(RDA), has been appointed asthe director of the ReclaimedLand Agricultural ResearchDivision, Department of Rice andWinter Cereal Crops, NationalInstitute of Crop Science, RDA.Susana Poletti and RamaiahVenuprasad, postdoctoral fellowsin IRRI’s Plant Breeding, Genetics,and Biotechnology Division,departed the Institute in October.Dr. Poletti generated and analyzedtransgenic plants for biofortificationand gene expression measurement.Dr. Venuprasad worked on thedevelopment of drought-tolerantrice. Adam Barclay, managingeditor of Rice Today, sciencewriter and editor, and, from May2008, IRRI spokesperson andmedia relations manager, leftthe Institute in December.Kay Sumfleth joined as avisiting research fellow working ongeographic information systemsto identify regional heat-stresshotspots and analyze climate changeimpacts in major rice-growingareas. Madonna Casimero joinedIRRI’s Irrigated Rice ResearchConsortium as a project scientistto work on farmer participatoryresearch and development, dobenchmarking, identify pathways forthe dissemination of rice productiontechnologies, and analyze the factorsinfluencing adoption by farmers.The Institute welcomed three newpostdoctoral fellows: Amelia Henryhas joined the project “Stress-tolerantrice for poor farmers in South Asia”;Suk-Man Kim will map tungroresistance genes; and Dong-JinKang has joined the Crop andEnvironmental Sciences Division.ObituarySukumar Mallik, 52, ricebreeder at the Rice ExperimentStation in Chinsurah, West Bengal,India, died tragically of a heartattack on 17 November. Dr. Mallik,a close colleague and friend ofmany IRRI staff and winner of the2004 Senadhira Rice ResearchAward, contributed enormouslyto the development of varieties forflood-prone areas. He had recentlyplayed a leadership role in the seedmultiplication, evaluation, anddissemination of Sub1 varietiesin West Bengal and other Indianstates. He is survived by his wife,Supti, and 2-year-old son, Argha.2bong r. ballesfin4doreen salonLouie Avendaño1. KASRA, KUROSH, Bita, Kiara, and Karissa Avendaño (right toleft) find Rice Today much more compelling than Hong KongDisneyland.13goofy5Rosa MarÍa Agudelo2. A GOLDEN GATE for a golden grain; Emmy Ballesfin with RiceToday in San Francisco, California, USA.3. DISNEY ON RICE: Marina Bennight (left), Doreen Salon (center),and Kelsie Aggen with Rice Today in Walt Disney World inFlorida, USA.4. NOT LOOKING for Condoleezza: Anna Duluc (left) and LanieOrsulak with Rice Today at the United States Capitol.5. GLORIA HARDY (left), Sofia Hardy (center), and Clara Ayerbewith Rice Today in Cali, Colombia, during a Colombian IndependenceDay (20 July) march.10 Rice Today January-March 2009

SPECIAL REPORTLast October’s World Rice Commerce conference heralded a coming together of oftendisparate sections of the rice industry—Rice Today reportsby V. SubramanianWorld Rice Commerce 2008:price volatility set to continuepricevolatility” was theconclusion at the“Sustained7th World RiceCommerce 2008 Conferenceheld in Chiang Mai, Thailand,on 20-22 October.Addressing businessconcerns facing the riceindustry, the event broughttogether representativesfrom export giants Thailand,Vietnam, India, Pakistan,and the United States,who joined key marketparticipants (including theNational Food Authority ofthe Philippines and PerumBulog of Indonesia) and apanel of experts representingthe world’s most prominenttraders. Participants analyzed theskyrocketing market prices witnessedup to May 2008 and the slide downsince, and tried to glimpse the future.Stability was key as participantsrecognized sustainable supply,growing demand, and a stable priceas the foundations necessary tobuild a rice industry that can ablyovercome food security concerns andoffer an affordable staple for some ofthe world’s poorest people. However,current record crops in SoutheastAsia, India, and China conspired witha seemingly elastic demand (that is,demand decreases as price increases)to lower prices and raise concernsabout long-term stability of supply.In short, if prices continue to bouncearound as they have for the past yearor so, future plantings are likely toexpand and contract accordingly.Commenting on the eventsleading up to the May highs inLIEN DAI of the VietnamFood Association (left)with V. Subramanian.THE RICE TRADERfood price and the downwardtrend since, Apiradi Tandtraporn,director general, Departmentof Foreign Trade at Thailand’sMinistry of Commerce, describedthe situation as a wakeup call. “It isthe cumulative effect of long-termtrends in supply and demand andnot any sudden effect,” she said.In an environment of fallingprices, keynote speaker Ms. Apiradivoiced her fears for food securityas falling prices threatened to curbfuture plantings. She revealed thepressures facing policymakers(managing Thailand’s rice retentionprogram, for example) in achievingconsistent supply and availabilityof rice, as well as a genuinecommitment to develop Thailandas the “rice bowl to the world.”“Rice is produced by poorcountries and consumed bypoor people; let’s help solve thedilemma,” said Ms. Apiradi,emphasizing the need forstability and a price thatalso takes into accountfarmers’ living conditions.Food security andmaintaining productionMulyo Siddik of the East AsiaEmergency Rice Reservehighlighted the challengesin maintaining production(such as its susceptibilityto weather and otheruncontrollable factors), withproduction failure resultingin consequences reachingbeyond food security tonational security. A longtermstrategy was seen asvital in supporting pricestabilization, encouraging production,and enhancing yield. Dr. Mulyosaid that this must be combinedwith long-term reserves to preventunnecessary price volatility andconsequent production responses.Reluctance from buyers expectingeven lower prices unveiled a majorflaw in the balance between the needsat destination (demand) markets andat origins (exporters). This imbalancethreatens to disrupt supply and addto the already daunting long-termchallenge facing policymakers andresearch organizations in deliveringsufficient rice to the world.Solutions for the long runAchim Dobermann, deputydirector general for research atthe International Rice ResearchInstitute, revealed that, “A 50%increase in rice prices may throw30–100 million people in Asia backRice Today January-March 2009 11

into poverty.” With rice yield growthrunning below population growthsince 1992, Dr. Dobermann describedthe industry’s urgent need to fix aproblem that is not new, and thatreached a global audience only afterexport prices surpassed US$1,000per ton in May 2008. According toDr. Dobermann, a “generation gap”underscores a shortage of youngrice scientists as the world grapplesto meet the target of raising globalrice production by 8–9 million tonsper year between now and 2020.THE RICE TRADER (3)The voice of tradeWhile there was an uncomfortableagreement that the record plantingsseen in 2008 were a result of farmersbeing motivated by the high pricesof April-May 2008 along with somevery favorable weather conditions,Jeremy Zwinger, president of TheRice Trader, cited several factors thatcould throw markets into a period ofsustained volatility. The key concernsare overconfidence by governmentsand those in charge of food andfarm policy in assuming that lowerprices mean “crisis solved” combinedwith the psychological impact of thecurrent fall in prices, rising inputcosts, a growing global population(meaning increasing demand), andthe fact that very little changedfundamentally in rice markets. Manyof the issues raised by the 2008 priceshock—such as insufficient wateravailability, population growth,increasing demand, the need forimproved varieties, improvedtolerance of extreme weather, andthe need for long-term availabilityand affordability in the face of anexpanding population—have beenaround for 15 years or more.Robert Papanos, editor of TheRice Trader, pointed to just how easyit was for demand to overwhelmsupply. Unreliable and oftenquestionable production statistics,inefficiencies in the methodology ofcrop surveys, high fertilizer prices,and continued weather problemseven during the current harvestsoffered a glimpse at just how tightsupply and demand are right now,making volatility unavoidable.ROBERT PAPANOS, Achim Dobermann, Jeremy Zwinger, and V. Subramanianfollowing the announcement that Rice Today and The Rice Trader wereteaming up (see A global voice for the global grain on page 6).VIJAY SETIA, president of the All India Rice Exporters Association (left photo), speaks. Rut Subniran, vicepresident of the Thai Rice Millers’ Association and chairman of the executive board of Patum Rice Mill andGranary Public Company Ltd. (left in right photo), and Korbsook Iamsuri, secretary general of the Thai RiceExporters’ Association and CEO of the Kamolkij Group of Companies, preside over a discussion panel.Mr. Papanos also reflected onhigh-priced stocks held currentlyby traders and the impact of thecredit crunch as important shorttermelements that will affect buyingpatterns as buyers increasinglyface a “hand-to-mouth” situationcreated by the credit situation.The road ahead reveals an urgentneed for research to increase yieldsand develop strong postharvest andcrop-management solutions that getmore from current rice varieties, aswell as for efforts to get policy rightand keep farmers in rice productionat a time of tight supply and demandand volatile prices. Demand isexpected to arrive in “spurts” asdemand and supply perform anawkward dance to discover price.If there are positives to emergefrom the craziness of 2008, theyinclude across-the-board recognitionthat long-term strategies arerequired and agreement amongfarmers, traders, researchers, andpolicymakers that production andprice stability are crucial for the riceindustry’s livelihood—along with thatof the billions of people who dependon the grain for their sustenance.Mr. Subramanian is vicepresident for Asia of The RiceTrader. He can be contacted atsubra@thericetrader.com.12 Rice Today January-March 2009

Cinéma Numérique Ambulante, BéninShort educational rice videosare shown and discussed in ruralvillages by mobile cinema units.Makingscienceby Paul Van MeleworkA communication campaign designed to link rice production with relevantscience promises to help African farmers and processors boost their productivityThe best agricultural researchin the world won’t help asingle farmer if it stays onthe shelf. To ensure thatgood science gets real-world results,the Africa Rice Center (WARDA) andpartners have developed educationaltools as part of a Rice Rural LearningCampaign to communicate relevantscience and to stimulate learning allalong the path from field to market.By promoting better access to scientificresults, the campaign is helpingAfrican rice farmers and processorsimprove both rice productivityand marketing opportunities.The campaign aims to triggerrural learning by enhancing ruralcommunities’ awareness of promisingrice technologies developed byWARDA and partners related toland, water, crop, and postharvestmanagement. By linking video withmass media, the initiative stimulateslocal adaptation of the technologies,nurtures local ownership, and buildson existing capacities and networks.In 2005, WARDA, in collaborationwith UK-based CountrywiseCommunication, trained a team inBenin to produce farmer learningvideos. In 2007, WARDA also taughtpartners to produce rural radioscripts, which, as well as teachingabout rice production, also advertisevideo distribution points.By 2008, 20 educational radioand video programs had beenproduced. WARDA distributed thevideos to 80 partners in 28 Africancountries, who in turn shared themwith over 300 local organizations.Canada-based Farm Radio Internationaldistributed radio scriptson rice technologies to more than300 rural radio stations acrossAfrica, and monitored their use.Partners translated the videos andradio programs into, respectively,20 more than 40 local languages.The two media were creativelycombined to reinforce the messages.By strengthening 380 organizations,the videos helped train morethan 2,500 trainers and benefitmore than 100,000 rice farmersand processors across Africa. Theradio programs' potential audienceconstituted millions of farmers.The Rice Rural Learning Campaign,which is funded by the InternationalFund for Agricultural Development,the Government of Japan, andthe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,has already enjoyed much success. InGuinea, for example, the nongovernmentalorganization Associationpour la Promotion Economique deKindia (APEK) trained thousands offarmers using campaign videos beforereinforcing the lessons throughRadio Guinée Maritime, which airedinterviews with farmers about whatthey had learned. The resulting radioprogram reached up to 800,000 people.Gambian TV also broadcast theRice radio programsfacilitate learning andmake farmers andservice providers awareof educational videos.Paul Van Mele, WARDAvideos in Mandinka (The Gambia’smain language) in 2007 and 2008.To revive agriculture in war-tornvillages in northern Uganda, the AgriculturalProductivity EnhancementProgram showed the videos to morethan 7,000 farmers living in refugeecamps. In addition, Sasakawa Global2000 distributed local-languagecopies to extension (training, education,and technology dissemination)services and farmer associations andalso engaged policymakers, a TVstation, and a farmers’ newspaper.In Benin, mobile cinema vansreached more than 50,000 farmers.Interactive programs on ruralradios and a question-and-answerservice helped promote the videosand make use of audience feedback.To assess the videos’ impact,200 women were surveyed in Benin.After watching a video on parboilingrice, over 90% cleaned and driedtheir rice properly (compared with20% in a group who did not watch thevideo), and 42% adopted improvedrice parboiling (compared with 5% inthe nonvideo group). Not only did ricequality improve, allowing the womento obtain a higher price, but they alsolearned to work better as a group.The Rice Rural LearningCampaign creatively combineseducational video with mass media.The initiative has already mobilizeda vast network of local actors tothe benefit of African rural communities,and is set to continuethis success in the years to come.Dr. Van Mele is program leader,Learning and InnovationSystems, at WARDA. To seerice videos, visit www.warda.org/warda/guide-video.asp.Rice Today January-March 2009 13

Sowing thThis famous Edo-Period print, originally createdbetween 1823 and 1829 by Katsushika Hokusai,is spectacularly reproduced (below and opposite)in rice at Inakadate Village in 2007.14 Rice Today January-March 2009

e seeds of artby Yoko HaniWhen is a paddy not a paddy? When it’s a canvas, of course. In Japan’sAomori Prefecture, rice is far more than mere food.INAKADATE VILLAGE OFFICE (6)Mysterious crop circles ofincredible complexitythat appear overnight,or a baseball park as inthe 1989 film Field of dreams—whoknows what you might come acrossin your local rural idyll these days?But travel some 600 kilometersnorth of Tokyo, then take a driveoff the beaten track. There, in avillage in verdant Aomori Prefecture,who would ever expect to findexquisite Edo Period artworkssprouting amid a swaying greensea of enormous rice paddies?It’s neither a dream, nor asupernatural mystery, nor fiction.Instead, by precisely plantingfour varieties of rice with differentlycolored leaves in fields their ancestorshave farmed for centuries, the peopleof Inakadate Village in 2007 grewremarkable reproductionsof famous woodblock printsby Katsushika Hokusai(1760-1849). And this isno cheap gimmick—theimages from the artist’sFugaku Sanjurokkei (36views of Mount Fuji) onthe 15,000-square-meterpaddies are nothing if notspectacular in both theirscale and detail—even asevery day brings themnearer to annihilation inthe September harvest.From ground level,the artistic paddies spreadout before the InakadateVillage office buildingare, like crop circles that occurin England, invisible. However,by scaling a 22-meter-high mockcastle tower that overlooks thefields, visitors are rewarded witha view that takes their breathaway. The spectacle also boosts thelocal economy, with hundreds ofthousands of visitors now drawn tothe village of 8,700 people each year.“People who see this for the firsttime often ask me if we made this bypainting colors on green rice plants,”says Akio Nakayama, who leads therice-paddy art project, while viewingthe multicolored rice fields fromthe village office. Mr. Nakayama,an official in the office’s industriessection, has been working on theart project for more than 10 years.“This year’s [2007’s] Hokusaidesign was very challenging,” hesays. “We weren’t sure if we couldreally pull it off—but we did.”Inakadate Village started tocreate rice-paddy art in 1993 as alocal revitalization project. No onewill take credit for the idea, whichseems to have just grown out ofvillage committee meetings.In the first 9 years, the villageoffice workers and local farmersgrew a simple design of MountIwaki in Aomori Prefecture everyyear, accompanied by the words“Inakadate, a village of riceculture.” Then, by planting ricevarieties with different leaf colorson about 2,500 square meters ofrice paddies, they quite literallybrought their designs to life.But, as time went by, thelocals’ horizons widened and thepictures they tried to transforminto fields of art becameever more complicated.Not surprisingly, overthe years, more andmore people also beganto pay attention to theirextraordinary endeavors.Then, in 2005, afteragreements betweenlandowners allowed thecreation of enormous,15,000-square-meterrice paddies, the villagerspainstakingly plotted theirplanting on paper plansand created huge-scalereproductions of EdoPeriod ukiyo-e works bySharaku and Utamaro.Rice Today January-March 2009 15

That year, around 130,000 visitorssought out this beautiful backwaterto marvel at the arable artwork.In 2006, another revolutionoccurred in this creative corner of thenorthernmost prefecture of Honshu,the largest of Japan’s islands, whenthe organizers for the first timeused computers to precisely plotthe planting of the four differentlycolored rice varieties. The result wasan astonishing set of reproductionsof paintings from the famous FujinRaijin Zu Byobu (Wind God andThunder God screens) by the earlyEdo Period artist Tawaraya Sotatsu.Around 200,000 visitors came toInakadate to view the images.“I feel happy to see manypeople come to see our ricepaddies because, here in InakadateVillage, rice and people’s livesare very closely connected,” Mr.Nakayama says, noting that theidea came out of the village’sancient history of rice cultivation.“In 1981, when we didconstruction work for a new road,we dug up some rice paddies thatarchaeologists dated as being about2,000 years old. That impressedus local people a lot, because werealized how long people have beengrowing rice in this place. So then wethought that we had to do somethinginvolving rice to revitalize this area.”From that germ of an ideasprang the paddy-art project,which has come to involve notonly local farmers but also manyof their friends and neighbors.Now, the project starts in Aprileach year, when the pictures to beplanted in Inakadate Village’s ricepaddies are decided upon at localmeetings. After that, six staff at thevillage office make an elaborate planof how to plant different colors of riceto create the image. They calculateand plot the precise areas whereeach different color of rice needsto be planted in the paddies, andproduce a printout of the design thatat first just looks like a mass of dots.Each year, the six village officeworkers spend several weeks of theirown private time, working until lateat night, to complete the plantingplan. Their calculations are not justsimple painting-by-numbers layouts,but include sophisticated use ofperspective so that the paddy picturesappear perfectly proportioned whenviewed from the observation point.“Using computers has greatlyshortened the time it takes tocalculate the position of onedot on the rice paddies,” Mr.Nakayama says. “At the sametime, it has made it possible tocalculate many more dots to drawthe picture more precisely.”The 2007 Hokusai designincluded 6,100 dots, compared with1,500 dots in 2005. “If we have moredots for a picture, we can reproducethe original more precisely on therice paddies,” says Mr. Nakayama.Dots on a printout are all verywell—but the most sensitive anddifficult task is digging reed sticksinto the bare spring paddies atexactly the right points so that thosewho plant the rice know where toInakadate’s 2008 effort featured imagesof Daikoku (god of wealth; left) and Ebisu(god of fishers and merchants).16 Rice Today January-March 2009

In 2005, Inakadate replicated ukiyo-e works(a style of Japanese woodblock printing andpainting produced between the 17th and the20th centuries) by Sharaku and Utamaro.In 2006, the Inakadate villagers reproduced FujinRaijin Zu Byobu (Wind God and Thunder God screens)originally created by the early Edo-Period artistTawaraya Sotatsu.position each of the four varieties.This year, five groups of six villageofficestaff dug 6,100 reed sticksinto the ground, then strung plastictape between them to create theareas—some large, some as small asone square meter—in which to plantthe rice varieties. Altogether, the tasktook three full, backbreaking days.Then, on 27 May 2007, 700people helped plant the rice. Dividedinto teams, they used four kindsof rice: two traditional varietiesnamed ki ine (yellow rice) andmurasaki ine (purple rice) thatgrow into yellow- and brown-leafedplants, respectively, and also moremodern beni miyako (red miyako)and tsugaru roman, an Aomorivariety with a fresh green color.Then, nature took control ofthe artwork as the seedlings grew,transforming them in varying huesinto Hokusai’s famous wave.Mr. Nakayama says that lateJuly is the best time to enjoy theart. Referring to 2007’s image, heexplains why, and in doing so offersa sense of the work’s intricacy.“In August,” he says, “the lengthsof each kind of rice are different dueto their different growth rates. Wecannot clearly see the drops falling offthe waves, as the yellow rice for thedrops is shorter than tsugaru roman.So [by August], the drops have begunto sink into the green background.”The number of visitorsflocking to Inakadate to view thepaddy-artists’ amazing, livingcreations keeps on rising.“Oh, it’s so busy,” says Mr.Nakayama. “Visitors have to waitin line for about an hour to go upthe observatory, and staff are busytalking to them. But I feel that ourefforts are being rewarded when I seeso many people enjoying the art.”At the end of September,Inakadate braces itself for anotherinflux of people. Then, as the coolbreezes of autumn bathe the land,visitors arrive to take part in theannual harvest. In 2006, around900 people from across the countryharvested about 2 tons of tsugaruroman rice, which was given to thosewho took part and to those whohelped with the spring planting.The 2008 effort, Inakadate’s16th since the custom began in1993, featured images of Daikoku(god of wealth) and Ebisu (godof fishers and merchants). Anaccompanying image of the logo ofJapan Airlines—which sponsoredthe event in 2008—also provided adose of controversy. Part way throughthe season, the logo was removedfollowing complaints by the ownerof the fields that it contradicted thecommunity nature of the tradition.Following the harvest, as oneyear’s transient beauty is cut down,Mr. Nakayama and other Inakadateofficials turn their minds to the nextyear’s artistic crop. These days, theyalso host seminars at the requestof other farming communitiesaround Japan on the practicaldetails of creating rice-paddy art.Mr. Nakayama expects that thespectacle will continue to grow.“One thing’s for sure,” he says.“We have more ambitious plans forour rice-paddy art every year.”Yoko Hani is a staff writer atthe Japan Times. Edited versionreprinted with permissionfrom the Japan Times.Rice Today January-March 2009 17

Rice on theby Yothin Konbooncutting edgeSometimes the best inventions are accidental. In northeastern Thailand, farmersare adopting a weed-control method first taught to them by their animals.yothin konboonIf performed correctly, thepractice of planting rice bybroadcasting rice seeds directlyinto unflooded soil offersseveral advantages over the usualpractice of transplanting seedlingsinto flooded fields. Farmers can savetime and labor, less water is requiredto establish the crop, and dry directseededrice suffers less from earlyseasondrought. These are importantadvantages, especially in rainfed rice,and dry direct seeding is gainingpopularity in a number of areasacross Asia. According to the ThaiOffice of Agricultural Economics,around 38% of rainfed rice (reliant onrain with no irrigation infrastructure)in northeasternThailand in 2005was planted todry directseededrice, andthis figure isgrowing.The main problem withdirect-seeded rice is weed control.Transplanting seedlings gives ricea head start over weeds, and acontinuous layer of water suppressesweed growth. In northeasternThailand, the methods used tocontrol weeds differ from placeto place. Some farmers followofficial agriculture departmentrecommendations while othersdevelop their own methods.One of the most promisingfarmer-initiated controls is ricecutting, a method first studied in1998 in deepwater rice by Thairesearcher Tawee Kuptkarnjanakul.Because deepwater rice is plantedvery early in the season, the periodbefore flowering is long, resultingin excess growth of leaves andshoots. Farmers would cut theleaves just above the water surfaceprimarily to use as animal feed.In northeastern Thailand, ricecutting began around 10 years ago,but not as a result of transfer fromdeepwater rice systems. Early-seasondrought is a regular occurrence inthe region and direct-seeded cropsfrequently suffer. When this occurs,some farmers give up on theircrop, leaving it for their animalsto graze. Over the years, farmersCUTTING RICE with aswing grass mower canhelp control weeds.have discovered that, when therains finally resume, the grazedcrop recovers well and ends upyielding a reasonable harvest.After a few years of trial anderror, farmers in different areasdeveloped their own rice-cuttingmethods, which all include cuttingdown weeds as well as rice earlyin the season. In some places,cutting is done primarily to reduceweed competition; in others, itis to improve soil fertility. Thepractice is spreading throughfarmer-to-farmer communication,media campaigns, and extensionworkers (the people responsiblefor technology dissemination).However, farmers’ and researchers’understanding of the benefits of ricecutting, and the conditions underwhich it succeeds or fails, is stillvery limited. Therefore, Thailand’sUbon Ratchathani Rice ResearchCenter (URRC)—with assistancefrom the Consortium for UnfavorableRice Environments (CURE), agroup of national and internationalinstitutions led by the InternationalRice Research Institute—hasrecently conducted farm surveysto study and test this technology.Farmers who practice rice cuttingsay that it boosts their rice yieldssubstantially, with some claimingthat it also improves soil fertility.They tend to use the method withtall, photosensitive rice varieties—that is, varieties that flower inOctober independent of the sowingdate—including Thailand’s famousjasmine rice. Once the rice crop hasbeen established, it is managed asusual until late July–early Augustwhen the rice cutting is conducted.This leaves around 50 days before18 Rice Today January-March 2009

yothin konboonA FARMER GROUP discusses the rice-cutting method.the development of the panicle (thepanicle bears the grain later on). Thecutting time is crucial for success.Cut too early and it has no effect onweed and rice growth because theplants are too small. Cut too lateand the rice plant may not recoversufficiently to produce a good yield.Using a swing grass mower (seephoto, opposite), farmers cut riceand weeds at a height of around 5cm above ground. Thus, the waterlevel in the field should not risemuch higher than that. In fieldswhere deeper water levels occurregularly, the water will suppressweeds adequately without the needfor cutting. If the rice plants arecut much higher than 5 cm, thestimulating effect on the number ofstems (which carry panicles later)does not occur. Therefore, the methodworks best in middle terraces wherethe water level is low enough foroptimum cutting but sufficient toallow good crop growth after cutting.The practice is not recommendedon upper and lower terraces.The uses of the cuttings differfrom farm to farm. Some farmersleave the residues in the field forsoil mulching and to recycle plantnutrients. Others use the cuttingsas animal feed. A few days aftercutting, farmers usually applyfertilizer to boost crop growthand promote the decomposition ofresidues. By 10–15 days after cutting,the rice crop has regrown to thesame height as before the cutting.To evaluate the effect of ricecutting, URRC conducted on-farmtrials in 2007-08, targeting farmerswho had not previously practicedrice cutting. Two treatments—ricecutting in dry-seeded broadcast riceand the normal farmer practice ofdry-seeded broadcast rice—werecompared in 23 farmer fields. Initialresults showed that rice cuttingwas effective in suppressing weedsand average rice yields improved by12% over the no-cutting treatment.However, variation was considerablefrom farm to farm and somefarmers had no yield increase.Discussions among farmers andresearchers revealed several otherbenefits aside from increased yield:reduced weed competition alsolowered the labor needs for weeding,fewer pest problems occurred becauseof a less dense and more aeratedcrop canopy, and harvesting waseasier because of the more uniformplant height and flowering time.In conclusion, rice cutting canhelp increase the productivity ofrainfed rice in northeastern Thailandand, importantly, can be integratedTHE AUTHORwith a swinggrass mower.into the existing rice productionsystem. Especially in areas with poorsoils and severe weed problems, ricecutting offers new opportunities tosustain and improve productivityand farmer livelihoods, as wellas to benefit the environment.And, finally, rice cutting providesa great example of how farmers’knowledge and modern research cancombine to stimulate new insightsinto rice production systems.Dr. Konboon is an agronomistat URRC in Thailand.prajuab duangpakdeeRice Today January-March 2009 19

The irri pioneer interviewsConducted by Gene HettelJERBY AGUIHON (3)Dedicated scientists—a child’s inspirationDuring the summer of 2006, Usha Rani Palaniswamy returned with her father, K.M. Palaniswamy, to the InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI) for the first time in 35 years. In 1968, as a young child, Dr. Palaniswamy moved from Indiato Institute headquarters in Los Baños, Philippines, when her father was assigned to IRRI’s Statistics Department. Fondlyrecalling those days through the mind and eyes of a child, she relates how the experience influenced her future career inscience. When interviewed, she was an assistant professor of plant physiology at the University of Connecticut. Today, sheis chair of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Excelsior College in Albany, New York. She also pays lovingtribute to her father, who at age 78 died tragically in a road accident in India on 5 December 2007, a little over a year afterhis own Pioneer Interview (see box) during the same 2006 IRRI visit. She is the co-author (with her father) of A handbook ofstatistics for teaching and research in plant and crop science and more recently of Asian crops and human dietetics.Growing upDuring my stay at IRRI, Ireally grew up. Comingfrom India [Tamil NaduAgricultural Universitywhere my father was based], Ihad the opportunity to interactwith new cultures that I found tobe friendly and warm. We weregreeted with great smiles and weremost fortunate to make some verygood friends during our stay.Although I was only 10 yearsold, I had the opportunity toobserve many dedicated scientistsat work. I was impressed withthat dedication, exemplified bymy own dad who was out of thehouse all day working very hard.In one way or another, all thescientists focused on one plant—asingle crop, rice, which is the mostimportant one in the whole world.I thought a lot about plants then.Plants play such important rolesin our lives in many different waysbesides just giving us food. It wasfor these reasons, the dedicationof the IRRI scientists and theimportance of plants, that I decidedto become a scientist myself—specifically, a horticulturist.IRRI provided our entirefamily with a unique opportunityto interrelate with new cultures andto learn about the world and thepeople in it. I look back at my time atIRRI and see it as one of the greatestperiods of my life. I really maturedas I had interactions with not onlythe great cultureof the Philippinesbut also othercultures thatwere partof IRRI’sinternationalcommunity,includingKoreans, Thais,and even Indiansfrom differentstates in myhome countrywhom I wouldnot have hadthe opportunityto meet if mydad had left usin Tamil Nadu.Warm local cultureI fondly remember the largetrees with white flowers at IRRIheadquarters and the green grasson which we would have picnicsand share our snacks in the eveningwith my dad and his colleagues[see photo, below]. We would cometo IRRI on the bus and enjoy thefountain, the lights, and the coolHappy days at IRRI circa 1970: Usha Palaniswamy (with white headband andglasses) enjoys snacks with her father Kodiveri (to her left), mother Indrani (infront of her), her three siblings (from center to right in back row) Meera Devi,Vijayaraghavan, and Rajeswari, Statistics Department research assistant RosalindaAlicbusan Graham (second from left in back row), husband Bill, and familyfriend Verna Estaphia (left foreground).Palaniswamy family archives20 Rice Today January-March 2009

air-conditioned lounge. We came forthe movies screened in the ChandlerHall Auditorium and were greatlyappreciative of the gifts that we littlekids would get at Christmas time.The local people with whomwe interacted were so kind. AsHindus, we never really appreciatedChristianity or celebrated Christmasbefore coming to the Philippines. Westayed at the Gonzales Compoundoutside of IRRI and the landladywould knock on our door and offerus rice and different desserts. Sincemy mom is a vegetarian, our hostsmade a point of offering us manyvegetables and fruits that weregrowing in their gardens. We hadgreat appreciation for the localculture, which is so very warm andfriendly. I look back on this all withfond memories, enjoying it all.Excerpt from K.M. Palaniswamy’s Pioneer Interview:On IRRI’s fastidious but accommodating directorDuring my stay at IRRI, I had several occasionsto accompany Dr. Robert Chandler [IRRI directorgeneral, 1960-72] in and around the Institute. Iobserved that he had a keen interest in keepingthe IRRI grounds very clean and neat. Once, whenI was walking with him in the cafeteria, he saw acigarette butt on the floor. He bent down, picked itup, and carried it all the way to a waste bin. It wasvery surprising to see a person of his stature cleaning up the area. But it was amemorable lesson [teaching by example] for all of us watching.One very important event I remember was the moon landing by theAmerican astronauts on 20 July 1969. At that time, Dr. Chandler opened thelounge so all the staff from IRRI and the University of the Philippines at LosBaños could watch the landing on the TV. Everyone was silent and watched verykeenly. When the landing was over, we expressed our joy and happiness withsmiles all around. It was a great event in history that, thanks to Dr. Chandler’saccommodating forethought, we all had a chance to witness.JERBY AGUIHONA model for researchI returned to IRRI [in 2006] tolook into including the Institute asa model of successful agriculturalresearch outside the United Statesin a curricular development andinnovation project I’m working on[funded by the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture/Cooperative StateResearch, Education, and ExtensionService – International Scienceand Education Competitive GrantsProgram]. I hope to inspire youngstudents to become agriculturalscientists just as I once was yearsago by my IRRI experience.IRRI can truly be an educationalmodel to show that real-worldissues and problems can be solvedthrough science and research.Agriculture is the most basic ofprofessions that has touched the livesof people since time immemorial,since antiquity. That will continueand it is very important that wekeep the younger generation excitedabout agriculture and that theyconsider agriculture as a desirablecareer option. My effort here is toincorporate IRRI’s techniques in mycurriculum design and universityteaching. Many universities in theUnited States should be very excitedabout research that’s happeningoverseas and making studentsaware of it, as well as thinking aboutplaying an important collaborativerole in alleviating poverty throughscientific efforts in agriculture.A tribute to dadMy dad—my inspiration and rolemodel in my life—was very passionateabout rice. We both shared fervorfor the plant sciences. He enjoyedwatching farmers working in theirfields in the early morning. As Ihave been living outside of Indiafor a long time (in the United ArabEmirates since 1982 and the U.S.since 1994), I had not had much timewith him. So, I took advantage of oursummer 2006 excursion to IRRI.We went out for morning walksand watched the workers in theIRRI rice plots. His face wouldlight up immediately as he wouldsmell the air and start talking aboutthe importance of agriculture inthe human experience. During hisscholar days at IRRI and the nearbyUniversity of the Philippines at LosBaños, he studied under Dr. KwanchaiGomez, IRRI’s chief statistician [seeFigures, fake guns, and fund-raising,on pages 16-19 of Rice Today Vol. 7,No. 4]. So, it was no surprise that,even 35 years later, he was quick topoint out the importance of statisticalmethods in field experiments. Hecould immediately pick out an offtypein a plot and say how importantit is to rogue a plot [remove infectedor undesirable individuals froma pure population] that is beingused for producing good seed orobtaining good experimental results.Dad was a self-made manwho raised all his children to bescholars. He continued to learnand obtained his PhD. He heldseveral key positions as departmenthead of physical sciences at TamilNadu Agricultural University;professor of statistics at KhartoumUniversity, Sudan; and an expertwith the United Nations EconomicCommission for Western Asia in Iraq.Since retirement, he wasworking on a book, Guidelines forrice researchers in the estimation ofsome plant parameters. I contributedsome of the chapters and hope tocomplete it soon in his memory.He was in excellent health so hispassing, due to the road accident inCoimbatore, was all too sudden forany of us to grasp as being real.Go to www.irri.org/publications/today/Pioneer_Interviews.asp forthis and other Pioneer Interviewsas IRRI approaches its 50thanniversary in 2010.Rice Today January-March 2009 21

© Chris StowersRice 22 Today January-March 2009, Vol. 8, No. 1 Rice Today January-March 2009

Farmers from Sylet Division, Bangladesh, struggle with a bicycle Rice Today rickshaw January-March heavily laden 2009 with rice sacks. The transport of rice from farm 23 tomarket continues to be a major issue facing rural communities throughout Asia.