How much water does rice need? - adron.sr

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