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www.irri.orgWELCOME ALUMNIIRRI Homecom<strong>in</strong>g18-26 April2010International Rice Research Institute April-June 2010, Vol. 9, No. 2A <strong>sunburned</strong> <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>Australian drought portends global water scarcity<strong>Stamps</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>approval</strong><strong>Pockets</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>gold</strong> <strong>in</strong> AfricaUS$5.00 ISSN 1655-5422Rice Today April-June 20101


NOTHINGSORTS RICEBETTERTHAN A DELTA!COLOR SORTERSFOR RICE• ACCURACY. High speed, 2048 pixel high resolutionCCD cameras, scann<strong>in</strong>g the rice 8000 times/second, convert high resolution images to digitalsignals, provid<strong>in</strong>g extreme accuracy <strong>in</strong> detect<strong>in</strong>geven the smallest defects.• THROUGHPUT. The availability <strong>of</strong> up to 320channels, comb<strong>in</strong>ed with unique full-wavevibratory feeders and proprietary high-resolutionejectors, provide the highest throughput <strong>in</strong> the<strong>in</strong>dustry.• RELIABILITY. With more than thirty years <strong>of</strong> sortermanufactur<strong>in</strong>g experience, Delta rice sortersare durable, tough and easily ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed byour customers and by Delta technicians basedthroughout the world.• COST EFFECTIVE. Competitive pric<strong>in</strong>g, exceptionaldurability and remarkable efficiency make Deltasorters the best value <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>dustry.1602 Townhurst | Houston, Texas 77043 | +1.713.464.7407 | Fax: +1.713.461.6753 | www.DeltaTechnology.com© 2010, Delta Technology Corporation


contentsEDITORIAL ................................................................ 450 years and beyondHIDDEN TREASURE .................................................. 5NEWS ......................................................................... 6PEOPLE ...................................................................... 8A SUNBURNED GRAIN ........................................... 12Water-<strong>in</strong>tensive rice farm<strong>in</strong>g is a contentious issue <strong>in</strong>a bone-dry country. But despite battl<strong>in</strong>g negativepublic op<strong>in</strong>ion and an 8-year drought—which isnot over yet—Australian rice growers are optimisticabout the future.MADE FOR THE TROPICS ....................................... 34Traditionally grown <strong>in</strong> cooler regions, japonicavarieties, which are developed by IRRI, can nowbe cultivated under the warmer climate <strong>of</strong> thePhilipp<strong>in</strong>esPIONEER INTERVIEWS ........................................... 37A juggl<strong>in</strong>g act: Gender barriers and molecular mapsIRRI50 ................................................................... 40IRRI welcomes its alumni to a homecom<strong>in</strong>g partySTAMPS OF APPROVAL ......................................... 41COUNTRY HIGHLIGHT: IRRI IN THAILAND .......... 42RICE FACTS .............................................................. 44The global rice crisis hurts South Asia’s poorGRAIN OF TRUTH ................................................... 46Learn<strong>in</strong>g lessons from the Hybrid Rice DevelopmentConsortiumTHE TROUBLE WITH RAIN ..................................... 18Australia’s “rice family” works together to keep the<strong>in</strong>dustry from dry<strong>in</strong>g up and succumb<strong>in</strong>g todroughtMAYON REVISITED: COURAGE UNDER FIRE........ 26ON THE FRONT LINES ............................................ 27A Filip<strong>in</strong>o farmer contends with climate and looks toscienceMAPS ....................................................................... 30Mapp<strong>in</strong>g genebank collectionsPOCKETS OF GOLD ................................................ 32Scientists f<strong>in</strong>d a treasure trove <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>formation <strong>in</strong>Africa’s <strong>in</strong>digenous rice that could help breed bettervarieties for tomorrow’s generationOn the cover:On the cover: In the early days, before IRRI’s power tillerswere designed and built, the Institute’s experimentalfields were prepared with carabao (water buffalo) power.In this photo, locally hired rice farmers and their animalstill the plots for research to be conducted dur<strong>in</strong>g the 1963grow<strong>in</strong>g season. See pages 40-41 for the latest on IRRI’s50th anniversary activities.Rice Today is published by The Rice Trader Inc. (TRT) <strong>in</strong> association with theInternational Rice Research Institute (IRRI).TRT, for 20 years, has brought subscribers crucial, up-to-the-m<strong>in</strong>ute <strong>in</strong>formationon rice trade through its weekly publication, The Rice Trader. Acknowledged asthe only source <strong>of</strong> confidential <strong>in</strong>formation about the rice market, this weeklysummary <strong>of</strong> market data analysis has helped both the lead<strong>in</strong>g commercial ricecompanies and regional government <strong>of</strong>ficials make <strong>in</strong>formed decisions, which arecritical <strong>in</strong> today’s market.IRRI is the world’s lead<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternational rice research and tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g center. Based<strong>in</strong> the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es and with <strong>of</strong>fices <strong>in</strong> 13 other countries, IRRI is an autonomous,nonpr<strong>of</strong>it <strong>in</strong>stitution focused on improv<strong>in</strong>g the well-be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> present and futuregenerations <strong>of</strong> rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low <strong>in</strong>comes,while preserv<strong>in</strong>g natural resources. It is one <strong>of</strong> the 15 nonpr<strong>of</strong>it <strong>in</strong>ternationalresearch centers supported, <strong>in</strong> part, by members <strong>of</strong> the Consultative Group onInternational Agricultural Research (CGIAR – www.cgiar.org) and a range <strong>of</strong> otherfund<strong>in</strong>g agencies.Responsibility for this publication rests with TRT and IRRI. Designations used<strong>in</strong> this publication should not be construed as express<strong>in</strong>g TRT or IRRI policy orop<strong>in</strong>ion on the legal status <strong>of</strong> any country, territory, city, or area, or its authorities,or the delimitation <strong>of</strong> its frontiers or boundaries.Rice Today welcomes comments and suggestions from readers. Rice Todayassumes no responsibility for loss <strong>of</strong> or damage to unsolicited submissions, whichshould be accompanied by sufficient return postage.The op<strong>in</strong>ions expressed by columnists <strong>in</strong> Rice Today do not necessarily reflectthe views <strong>of</strong> TRT or IRRI.The Rice Trader Inc.2707 Notre Dame Blvd., Chico, CA 95928Web: www.thericetrader.comInternational Rice Research InstituteDAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philipp<strong>in</strong>esWeb (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) 580-5699or (+63-2) 845-0606; email: mia.aureus@thericetrader.com, l.reyes@cgiar.orgpublisher Jeremy Zw<strong>in</strong>gerassociate publisher Duncan Mac<strong>in</strong>toshmanag<strong>in</strong>g editor V. Subramanianeditor Mia Aureusassociate editor Lanie Reyescontribut<strong>in</strong>g writers Gene Hettel, Sophie Clayton, Sam Mohanty,Leah Baroña-Cruz, Tr<strong>in</strong>a Leah MendozaAfrica editor Savitri Mohapatra (AfricaRice)copy editor Bill Hardyart director Juan Lazaro IVdesigner and production supervisor Grant Lecetaphoto editors Chris Qu<strong>in</strong>tana, Isagani Serranoadvertis<strong>in</strong>g manager Logan Wilsoncirculation Lourdes ColumbresWeb masters Forrest Orndorff, Darell Sisonpr<strong>in</strong>ter DHL Global Mail (S<strong>in</strong>gapore) Pte. Ltd.Copyright International Rice Research Institute 2010This magaz<strong>in</strong>e is copyrighted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License(Unported). Unless otherwise noted, users are free to copy, duplicate, or reproduce, and distribute, display, or transmit any <strong>of</strong> the articles or portions <strong>of</strong> the articles, and to make translations,adaptations, or other derivative works under the follow<strong>in</strong>g conditions. To view the full text <strong>of</strong> this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/.


HISTORIC MEETING <strong>of</strong> the Board <strong>of</strong> Trustees <strong>of</strong> IRRI, 14 April 1960.From left end <strong>of</strong> table: Chairman J.G. Harrar, Paul C. Ma (hidden),Paul<strong>in</strong>o J. Garcia, Vicente G. S<strong>in</strong>co, Hitoshi Kihara, R.F. Chandler,M.C. Chakrabandhu, Juan de G. Rodriguez, and F.F. Hill. Not shownis K.R. Damle.


Hidden Treasure*The Ch<strong>in</strong>ese New Year has just been celebrated across most<strong>of</strong> Asia as I write this issue’s Hidden Treasure. For many <strong>in</strong>the <strong>in</strong>dustry, this signals a well-deserved “rest”—whichwe are sure is well appreciated. Unfortunately, for those <strong>of</strong> ushere on the other side <strong>of</strong> the ocean, it is a time <strong>of</strong> activity, as theyear ahead is evaluated, as the pieces <strong>of</strong> the supply puzzle fall<strong>in</strong>to place, and as plant<strong>in</strong>gs and future supply across the WesternHemisphere are assessed aga<strong>in</strong>st demand <strong>in</strong> the Americas, tobuild a model for what is left—<strong>in</strong> terms <strong>of</strong> rice exports—to the rest<strong>of</strong> the world.Volatility has <strong>in</strong>creased over the years as the weatherbecomes more unpredictable. This is a serious concern, as mostcountries and bus<strong>in</strong>esses have grown so used to some veryfavorable factors that have resulted <strong>in</strong> strong production forthe past several years. Agrochemicals and new technology (<strong>in</strong>farm<strong>in</strong>g and postharvest) also helped deliver the required outputto meet the grow<strong>in</strong>g population’s needs. Yet, the variability <strong>in</strong> theweather cannot be ignored as it affects the level <strong>of</strong> stocks held bycountries around the world. Several countries are forced to makedecisions with the immediate circumstances <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d rather thanplan for longer-term needs. This lack <strong>in</strong> foresight is a critical part<strong>of</strong> the bus<strong>in</strong>ess today that must be watched for its impact on the“psychology” beh<strong>in</strong>d decisions <strong>in</strong> the future.Notably, Vietnam’s massive w<strong>in</strong>ter-spr<strong>in</strong>g crop this year hasdepressed the region’s market. We can’t help but feel that at leastpart <strong>of</strong> this current weakness can be attributed to the fact thatworld rice markets have evolved s<strong>in</strong>ce the “crisis” year <strong>of</strong> 2008—totake on this same near-term focused decision-mak<strong>in</strong>g process thathas ignored some very obvious long-term concerns that plagueproduction.The government <strong>of</strong> Thailand has similar issues—althoughthe Thai rice <strong>in</strong>dustry is more sophisticated <strong>in</strong> terms <strong>of</strong> overallexperience <strong>in</strong> exports and <strong>in</strong> the ambition to be a dependablesupplier to the world—consider<strong>in</strong>g the 5 million metric tons ormore <strong>of</strong> buffer supplies it currently has. The problem, however,is that this huge amount <strong>of</strong> stocks is becom<strong>in</strong>g a real challengeto the government because, if it is sold at current market prices,Thailand will <strong>in</strong>cur massive losses and deal with dire politicalramifications. This will cont<strong>in</strong>ue to be a major issue and a problemfor most rice-produc<strong>in</strong>g (and export<strong>in</strong>g) nations, which grapplewith food security, national issues, and the bus<strong>in</strong>ess impact <strong>of</strong>policy decisions.Moreover, India cont<strong>in</strong>ues to rema<strong>in</strong> a critical variable <strong>in</strong> theyear ahead. A lot <strong>of</strong> “PR” from the Indian government has been<strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g that the country has high stocks <strong>of</strong> wheat and that it<strong>in</strong>tends to use these to fill <strong>in</strong> the gap <strong>in</strong> consumption caused bythe shortfall <strong>in</strong> rice production. Tim<strong>in</strong>g will be the key elementhere as the summer crop plant<strong>in</strong>gs and the monsoon ahead sooncome <strong>in</strong>to focus. While the possibility <strong>of</strong> the government reduc<strong>in</strong>gits stocks to m<strong>in</strong>imize storage expenses is viable, these stock<strong>sr</strong>ema<strong>in</strong> the country’s only <strong>in</strong>surance aga<strong>in</strong>st the risk <strong>of</strong> anotherbad monsoon.Oddly enough, a healthy amount <strong>of</strong> demand is available, but,with new crops com<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> and augment<strong>in</strong>g supplies at severalmajor rice orig<strong>in</strong>s, thisfactor has largely beenoverlooked by themarket. The U.S. marketforecasts <strong>in</strong>creasedproduction for 2010-11. But, as I travelright now <strong>in</strong> Arkansas,Missouri, and Texas, I am rem<strong>in</strong>ded that the weather once aga<strong>in</strong>needs to be monitored closely as the new plant<strong>in</strong>g seasonapproaches. The question now is whether or not the expecteddemand will outweigh this concern. Adverse weather over thepast 6 months has already caused a 10–15% reduction <strong>in</strong> supplies.Furthermore, Brazil cont<strong>in</strong>ues to headl<strong>in</strong>e weather-related yieldlosses. Uruguay and Argent<strong>in</strong>a have also been affected. Many feelthat the decreased export volumes from these two countries willbe comb<strong>in</strong>ed to meet local demand (especially from Brazil), andstocks from the U.S. and Asia will likely be required to fill <strong>in</strong> thegaps. Markets are constantly <strong>in</strong> motion and, at present, I feel thatthe market has not yet fully <strong>in</strong>tegrated these substantial losses<strong>in</strong>to the equation. Especially with a more short-term decisionprocess, many <strong>of</strong> the longer-term prospects will likely be factored<strong>in</strong> only when they become a reality. Skepticism cont<strong>in</strong>ues toabound as the massive Vietnamese (and Thai) crops arrive.Contrary to what is happen<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Asia, the medium-<strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>markets have seen U.S. exports already ahead by 25% comparedto last year. This shows the level <strong>of</strong> demand that this marketis receiv<strong>in</strong>g and also the shifts <strong>in</strong> demand that global marketscont<strong>in</strong>ue to digest. Without an Australian availability, no freshsupplies are expected until October, as there is a fundamentalshift <strong>in</strong> the way demand reveals itself to leave its mark on the pricemechanism. Turkey’s recent purchase <strong>of</strong> 200 thousand metric tonsdur<strong>in</strong>g the first quarter is just one example <strong>of</strong> how demand arrivesand how swiftly markets react on the realization <strong>of</strong> the news.The dollar situation and currency market moves are alsocrucial elements to watch: the Asian currencies, the euro, and thedollar that rema<strong>in</strong>s weighed down by the pressure <strong>of</strong> the U.S. debtand Ch<strong>in</strong>a’s rise <strong>in</strong> the global village.As we cont<strong>in</strong>ue to watch the people who make “the market”and ga<strong>in</strong> some understand<strong>in</strong>g about the future, we would like to<strong>in</strong>vite everyone to “The Rice Trader Americas Conference 2010” <strong>in</strong>Cartagena, Colombia, on 20-22 April 2010. An excellent panel <strong>of</strong>speakers will provide <strong>in</strong>sights <strong>in</strong>to rice <strong>in</strong>dustry developments andthe road ahead. We have also arranged several social gather<strong>in</strong>gs(<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g our great boat event). We hope to <strong>of</strong>fer an excellentopportunity for all to network and build the <strong>in</strong>telligence neededfor future bus<strong>in</strong>ess decisions.Jeremy Zw<strong>in</strong>gerPublisher* The op<strong>in</strong>ions expressed here are those <strong>of</strong> the author and do not Rice necessarily Today reflect April-June the 2010 views <strong>of</strong> the International Rice Research Institute.5


NEWS http://ricenews.irri.orgF<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g water to feed S<strong>in</strong>gapore riceS<strong>in</strong>gaporeans consume around275,000 tons <strong>of</strong> rice each year, whichrequires 688 billion liters <strong>of</strong> water to beproduced—2.5 times S<strong>in</strong>gapore’s annualdomestic water use.Competition for water is gett<strong>in</strong>gfiercer and water supplies are dw<strong>in</strong>dl<strong>in</strong>g,yet S<strong>in</strong>gapore can contribute to secur<strong>in</strong>gits rice supply by jo<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the globalcommunity <strong>in</strong> help<strong>in</strong>g farmers becomewater-wise. This is the key message fromDr. Bas Bouman <strong>of</strong> the InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI), whopresented “Prepar<strong>in</strong>g Rice for the GlobalWater Crisis” as part <strong>of</strong> the Environmentand Climate Change Sem<strong>in</strong>ar Series <strong>of</strong>the Institute <strong>of</strong> Southeast Asian Studies(ISEAS), S<strong>in</strong>gapore, on 10 March 2010.“To produce one bowl <strong>of</strong> rice, ittakes about 500 liters <strong>of</strong> water,” said Dr.Bouman.“For a city like S<strong>in</strong>gapore, thequestion is whether the 688 billion liters<strong>of</strong> water needed to produce the country’<strong>sr</strong>ice will rema<strong>in</strong> available.”Worldwide, water for agricultureis becom<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly scarce asgroundwater reserves drop, water qualitydecl<strong>in</strong>es because <strong>of</strong> pollution, irrigationsystems malfunction, and competitionfrom urban and <strong>in</strong>dustrial users <strong>in</strong>creases.Climate change will also reducewater availability <strong>in</strong> large parts <strong>of</strong> theworld. And, by 2025, 15–20 millionhectares <strong>of</strong> irrigated rice will suffer somedegree <strong>of</strong> water scarcity.“Farmers can reduce the amount <strong>of</strong>water they use to grow rice by 10–30%if they adopt water-sav<strong>in</strong>g technologies,such as alternate wett<strong>in</strong>g and dry<strong>in</strong>g,” saidDr. Bouman (see Every drop counts onpages 16-18 <strong>of</strong> Rice Today Vol. 8 No. 3).“The hardest part is to deliver thesetechnologies to farmers. The publicand private sector need to mobilize topromote and implement the exist<strong>in</strong>gwater-sav<strong>in</strong>g technologies throughpolicies, partnerships, and extension andeducation efforts.“At the same time, <strong>in</strong>vestments <strong>in</strong>research to develop new water-sav<strong>in</strong>gtechnologies need to be <strong>in</strong>creased sothat the future <strong>of</strong> rice production issafeguarded.”DR. BAS BOUMANDr. Bouman’s visit to S<strong>in</strong>gaporewas part <strong>of</strong> IRRI’s 50th anniversaryactivities, which <strong>in</strong>cluded the launch <strong>of</strong>the IRRI Fund S<strong>in</strong>gapore and a campaignto raise US$300 million to support riceresearch, to help ensure susta<strong>in</strong>ability <strong>of</strong>rice production, to reduce poverty andhunger, and to improve the welfare <strong>of</strong>rice farmers and consumers.Source: www.irri.orgVietnam: Fac<strong>in</strong>g a one-<strong>in</strong>-100-year droughtf there is no water <strong>in</strong> the com<strong>in</strong>g“Idays,” says 59-year-old farmer VuThi La, who just planted her spr<strong>in</strong>g riceseedl<strong>in</strong>gs, “it will all die.”Across Vietnam, high temperaturesand parched rivers are sett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong>f alarmbells as the nation grapples with what’sshap<strong>in</strong>g up to be its worst drought <strong>in</strong>more than 100 years. At 0.68 meter high,the Red River is at its lowest level s<strong>in</strong>cerecords started be<strong>in</strong>g kept <strong>in</strong> 1902.Soar<strong>in</strong>g temperatures <strong>in</strong> the centralpart <strong>of</strong> Vietnam have unleashed aplague <strong>of</strong> rice-eat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>sects, damag<strong>in</strong>gthousands <strong>of</strong> hectares <strong>of</strong> paddies. “It’sthe beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> everyth<strong>in</strong>g,” NationalCenter for Hydro-MeteorologicalForecast<strong>in</strong>g Vice Director Nguyen LanChau says gloomily.The region most affected is theMekong River Delta <strong>in</strong> the south. Waterlevels <strong>in</strong> the nation’s rice bowl havefallen to their lowest po<strong>in</strong>ts <strong>in</strong> nearly 20years, threaten<strong>in</strong>g the livelihoods <strong>of</strong> tens<strong>of</strong> millions <strong>of</strong> people who depend onthe river bas<strong>in</strong> for farm<strong>in</strong>g, fish<strong>in</strong>g, andtransportation.The biggest problem, however, isnot the water. It’s the salt. Dur<strong>in</strong>g the dryseason, when channels and tributarie<strong>sr</strong>un dry, seawater can creep more than 30kilometers <strong>in</strong>land. Vietnam has <strong>in</strong>stalleda series <strong>of</strong> sluice gates to hold backhigh tides and control annual monsoonflood<strong>in</strong>g. This has allowed farmers toswitch between grow<strong>in</strong>g rice <strong>in</strong> the wetseason and rais<strong>in</strong>g shrimp <strong>in</strong> the brackishwaters <strong>in</strong> the dry period. In turn, thishas resulted <strong>in</strong> a more effective land useand higher crop yields, and a doubl<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong>farmers’ <strong>in</strong>comes <strong>in</strong> the Delta s<strong>in</strong>ce 1999.Those high-yield days may be over.As the drought <strong>in</strong>tensifies, <strong>in</strong> some placesseawater has crept nearly 60 kilometers<strong>in</strong>land, says Dam Hoa B<strong>in</strong>h, deputydirector <strong>of</strong> the Irrigation Department atthe M<strong>in</strong>istry <strong>of</strong> Agriculture and RuralDevelopment <strong>in</strong> Hanoi. Most <strong>of</strong> thew<strong>in</strong>ter-spr<strong>in</strong>g crop has already beenharvested, but saltwater is reach<strong>in</strong>gwhere it has never gone before, putt<strong>in</strong>gthe summer-fall crop <strong>in</strong> jeopardy, saysB<strong>in</strong>h. “We are try<strong>in</strong>g to strengthen ourirrigation systems to prevent furthersal<strong>in</strong>ization,” he adds, but the extremeconditions are mak<strong>in</strong>g it “one <strong>of</strong> the mostdifficult situations <strong>in</strong> 100 years.”Source: www.time.comDrought threatens Philipp<strong>in</strong>erice terracesThe famous rice terraces <strong>of</strong> Banaue <strong>in</strong>Ifugao Prov<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>of</strong> the Philipp<strong>in</strong>eshave been placed under a state <strong>of</strong>calamity due to the cont<strong>in</strong>ued dry spellcaused by El Niño phenomenon.“The terraces have practically driedup to the extent that even a slight ra<strong>in</strong>could cause landslides,” said BanaueMayor L<strong>in</strong>o Madchiw.The dry spell has affected thousands<strong>of</strong> hectares <strong>of</strong> agricultural crops andlivestock nationwide, and the droughtnow threatens Banaue’s world famou<strong>sr</strong>ice terraces, leav<strong>in</strong>g the paddies parched6 Rice Today April-June 2010


NEWS http://ricenews.irri.org 7and highly vulnerable to erosion.Because <strong>of</strong> the drought, largeearthworms have penetrated the paddiesand endangered the terraces, which area World Heritage Site and one <strong>of</strong> thecountry’s top tourist attractions.The perceived lack <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>terest amongyoung Ifugao natives <strong>in</strong> tak<strong>in</strong>g care <strong>of</strong> thecenturies-old terraces has aggravated thedegradation <strong>of</strong> the site, sometimes referredto as the “Eighth Wonder <strong>of</strong> the World.”“At least 25% <strong>of</strong> the terraced ricefarms have already been affected by thedry spell. [We fear] that our terraceswill all be affected if the situation willcont<strong>in</strong>ue for 4 more months,” Madchiwsaid.The dry spell has also put <strong>in</strong> perilthe T<strong>in</strong>awon red rice, Ifugao’s specialrice variety, which is sought after by bothlocal and foreign tourists. Besides itshigh economic value, the T<strong>in</strong>awon rice isalso part <strong>of</strong> the Ifugao culture. It sells for60–120 pesos (US$1.30 to $2.60) a kilo,mak<strong>in</strong>g it a high-value crop.Source: www.philstar.comMalaysian rice farmers risklossesThe prolonged heat wave <strong>in</strong> the state<strong>of</strong> Kota Baru is threaten<strong>in</strong>g to ru<strong>in</strong>about 6,000 hectares <strong>of</strong> paddy becausewater for irrigation is dry<strong>in</strong>g up.Kemubu Agriculture DevelopmentAuthority (Kada) General ManagerIbrahim Mat said that the affected paddyfields were mostly <strong>in</strong> Pasir Mas andTumpat.He said that the fields could not beadequately irrigated because water couldnot be drawn from the Kelantan River—the ma<strong>in</strong> source <strong>of</strong> water for irrigation <strong>in</strong>Kada areas.“S<strong>in</strong>ce the water level <strong>of</strong> the riveris very low now, the water cannot bepumped <strong>in</strong>to the irrigation canals,” hesaid, add<strong>in</strong>g that this had di<strong>sr</strong>upted theirrigation schedule.Ibrahim said that Kada wouldconstruct an embankment across theriver at Kampung Kubang Pak Am<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>Pasir Mas to raise the water level.“We will use about 100,000 bags <strong>of</strong>sand to put up a wall across the width <strong>of</strong>the river so that our pump house can drawenough water when the level rises.”Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Wan Mohd Rud<strong>in</strong> WanAbdul Ghani, Kampung Kubang PakAm<strong>in</strong> village head, about 500 farmersand 1,776 hectares <strong>of</strong> paddy fields wereaffected by the dry season.“The paddy plants, which are about80 days old, are wilt<strong>in</strong>g. The plants needsufficient water to produce healthy ricestalks. If there is still no water over thenext week or so, the chances are that theirpaddy plants might be damaged.“With <strong>in</strong>sufficient irrigation, theharvest for the farmers could be very lowthis season,” he said, add<strong>in</strong>g that theyrisked losses estimated at more than 10million Malaysian r<strong>in</strong>ggits (about US$3million).Source: www.nst.com.myPhilipp<strong>in</strong>es: More rice importspredictedThe Department <strong>of</strong> Agriculturedisclosed that the country’s riceproduction loss caused by the dryweather may be more than the estimated800,000 tons, rais<strong>in</strong>g concerns that theshortfall may deepen.“Even with our assistance like cloudseed<strong>in</strong>g, crops just dried out <strong>in</strong> sometowns,” Agriculture Undersecretary JoelRud<strong>in</strong>as said.Increased losses may cause thegovernment to boost imports beyond therecord 2.45 million tons planned for 2010after ra<strong>in</strong>s last year wiped out 1.38 milliontons <strong>of</strong> the September-December harvest.Source: www.bus<strong>in</strong>essweek.comAfrica Rice Congress endorses the Global Rice SciencePartnershipAbout 500 participants from 54 potential,” the Congress providedcountries attend<strong>in</strong>g the Africa Rice opportunities for the many stakeholdersCongress 2010 <strong>in</strong> Bamako, Mali, 22-26 <strong>of</strong> Africa’s rice sector and their partnersMarch, called for greater <strong>in</strong>vestments <strong>in</strong> to discuss strategies to significantlyAfrica’s rice sector, highlighted the need <strong>in</strong>crease rice production <strong>in</strong> Africa,for a Marshall Plan for build<strong>in</strong>g capacity develop competitive and equitableacross the rice value cha<strong>in</strong>, approved rice value cha<strong>in</strong>s, reduce imports, anda task force model to tackle major rice enhance regional trade.challenges <strong>in</strong> Africa, and endorsed the Rice farmers, seed producers, riceGlobal Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP) processors, <strong>in</strong>put dealers, manufacturers<strong>in</strong>itiative <strong>of</strong> the Africa Rice Center <strong>of</strong> agricultural mach<strong>in</strong>ery, and(AfricaRice), International Rice Research representatives from agriculturalInstitute, and International Center for m<strong>in</strong>istries, national rice researchTropical Agriculture.and extension systems, <strong>in</strong>ternationalWith its theme “Innovation and and advanced research <strong>in</strong>stitutes,partnerships to realize Africa’s rice nongovernment organizations, the donorcommunity, andother developmentIRRI DIRECTOR General RobertZeigler (left) participates <strong>in</strong> partners activelythe Africa Rice Congress 2010, participated <strong>in</strong>Bamako, Mali, 22-26 March. the event, whichwas organized byAfricaRice underthe aegis <strong>of</strong> theMalian government<strong>in</strong> collaboration withthe Malian nationalresearch <strong>in</strong>stitute, theInstitut d’économierurale (IER).Source: Africa RiceCenterRice Today April-June 2010


PEOPLERecognizedFazle Hasan Abed, former IRRIBoard <strong>of</strong> Trustees member (2001-06), was conferred knighthood by HRHCharles, the Pr<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>of</strong> Wales, on behalf<strong>of</strong> Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, <strong>in</strong>February. Hail<strong>in</strong>g from Bangladesh,Sir Fazle is the founder (<strong>in</strong> 1973) andchairperson <strong>of</strong> BRAC (first called theBangladesh Rehabilitation AssistanceCommittee and later the BangladeshRural Advancement Committee), a fastgrow<strong>in</strong>gdevelopment organization.Florencia Palis, IRRI scientist andagricultural anthropologist, won the BestPoster Award dur<strong>in</strong>g the InternationalMeet<strong>in</strong>g on Health and Environment:Challenges for the Future held at theNational Institute <strong>of</strong> Health <strong>in</strong> Rome, Italy,<strong>in</strong> December 2009. Her poster showcasedher research on the effects <strong>of</strong> pesticideexposure on the health <strong>of</strong> Filip<strong>in</strong>o farmers,done <strong>in</strong> collaboration with Dr. SatishKedia, a medical anthropologist from theUniversity <strong>of</strong> Memphis, USA.K.L. Heong, IRRI senior scientistand <strong>in</strong>tegrated pest managementspecialist, was elected as a fellow <strong>of</strong> theWorld Academy <strong>of</strong> Art and Science, <strong>in</strong>recognition <strong>of</strong> his accomplishments <strong>in</strong>the natural and social sciences.IRRI w<strong>in</strong>s CGIAR scienceawardsThe International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI) won two <strong>of</strong> sevenawards conferred by the ConsultativeGroup on International AgriculturalResearch (CGIAR) at the GlobalConference on Agricultural Research forDevelopment, <strong>in</strong> Montpellier, France, 29March 2010.W<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g the Award for Outstand<strong>in</strong>gScientific Article is “Soil Carbonand Nitrogen Changes <strong>in</strong> Long-TermCont<strong>in</strong>uous Lowland Rice Cropp<strong>in</strong>g,”IRRI’s study, which was published<strong>in</strong> 2008 <strong>in</strong> the Soil Science Society <strong>of</strong>America Journal [72(3):798-807]. Basedon analysis <strong>of</strong> soil samples collected over15 years from four experiments begundur<strong>in</strong>g the 1960s, Roland Buresh, IRRIsenior soil scientist, and three colleagues(Mirasol Pampol<strong>in</strong>o and Eufroc<strong>in</strong>oLaureles <strong>of</strong> IRRI and HermenegildoG<strong>in</strong>es <strong>of</strong> the Philipp<strong>in</strong>e Rice ResearchInstitute) determ<strong>in</strong>ed that cont<strong>in</strong>uous ricemonoculture on submergedsoils consistently ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>edor actually <strong>in</strong>creased soilorganic matter.And, the Award forOutstand<strong>in</strong>g ScientificSupport Team goes toIRRI’s Irrigated RiceBreed<strong>in</strong>g Team, whichis under the leadership<strong>of</strong> Parm<strong>in</strong>der Virk,senior plant breeder, andis composed <strong>of</strong> AntonioEvangelista, Mario Garcia,Alvaro Pamplona, Danny Balagtas,Nestor Ramos, Arsenio Morales,Benito Romena, Macario Perez,Vitaliano Lopena, Virgilio Angeles,Elma Nicolas, and Nelie Delos Reyes.The team is responsible for ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>ga cont<strong>in</strong>uous supply <strong>of</strong> new rice varietiesfor irrigated production.New BOT membersThree new members <strong>of</strong> the IRRI Board<strong>of</strong> Trustees assumed their posts <strong>in</strong>January 2010: P. Stephen Baenziger,Zhai Huqu, and Joyce Kikafunda.They replaced Ronald Phillips, RuthOniang’o, and Baowen Zhang, whocompleted their terms last year.Dr. Baenziger is the EugeneW. Price Dist<strong>in</strong>guished Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>in</strong>the Department <strong>of</strong> Agronomy andHorticulture at the University <strong>of</strong>Nebraska, where he has worked for morethan 20 years. He earned his BS degree<strong>in</strong> biochemical sciences from HarvardUniversity and his MS and PhD <strong>in</strong> plantbreed<strong>in</strong>g and genetics from PurdueUniversity. He worked for the UnitedStates Department <strong>of</strong> Agriculture for 8years, particularly focus<strong>in</strong>g on wheat andbarley germplasm enhancement. Then hespent 3 years with Monsanto Corporationand worked on wheat plant growthregulators and biotechnology.Pr<strong>of</strong>. Zhai is president <strong>of</strong> the Ch<strong>in</strong>eseAcademy <strong>of</strong> Agricultural Sciences andformer president <strong>of</strong> Nanj<strong>in</strong>g AgriculturalUniversity. He greatly contributed toquantitative genetics and crop breed<strong>in</strong>gresearch, research on hybrid rice,capacity build<strong>in</strong>g for crop breed<strong>in</strong>gprograms, and science <strong>in</strong>novation. Heholds a PhD <strong>in</strong> plant genetics from theUniversity <strong>of</strong> Birm<strong>in</strong>gham <strong>in</strong> the U.K.IRRI'S IRRIGATED rice breed<strong>in</strong>g team.Pr<strong>of</strong>. Kikafunda is associatepr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>in</strong> the Department <strong>of</strong> FoodScience and Technology, MakerereUniversity, <strong>in</strong> Kampala, Uganda. Sheearned her MS degree <strong>in</strong> food scienceand technology from the University <strong>of</strong>Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada; andher PhD <strong>in</strong> food science and nutritionfrom the University <strong>of</strong> Read<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> theU.K. Her research areas <strong>in</strong>clude childnutrition, food fortification, and foodconsumption patterns.Five new pr<strong>in</strong>cipal scientistsIRRI appo<strong>in</strong>ted five new pr<strong>in</strong>cipalscientists <strong>in</strong> January: Roland Buresh,Jagdish Ladha, Hei Leung, DavidMackill, and To Phuc Tuong. AtIRRI, pr<strong>in</strong>cipal scientists are regardedas foremost experts <strong>in</strong> their fields—recognized for their contributions thathave made great impacts on research.New staffIRRI welcomed new <strong>in</strong>ternationallyrecruited staff Cor<strong>in</strong>ta Guerta,Chengzhi Liang, Andrew Nelson,Valerien Pede, Alfred Schmidley, andChengzhi Liang; new visit<strong>in</strong>g researchfellows Jong-Hee Lee, Sang-Bok Lee,Alagarswamy Senthil, and Syed Jabbar;new postdoctoral fellows AndrewCal, Murali Krishna Gumma, ImpaSomayanda, Sr<strong>in</strong>ivasachary, VivekThakur, Changrong Ye, Wei Zhou,Huaiyu Wang, and Gov<strong>in</strong>da Rizal;collaborative research assistant BjoernOle Sander; collaborative researchfellow Isaac K<strong>of</strong>i Bimpong; visitor andcollaborator Mark Fabreag; <strong>in</strong>tern KatieNelson; and consultants Julian Hibberd,David Paige, and Terry Jacobsen.8 Rice Today April-June 2010


PEOPLETR AINING COURSES AT IRRIIntroduction to R: Data Manipulation and Statistical AnalysisIRRI Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g Center, Los Baños, Philipp<strong>in</strong>es26-30 April 2010This course <strong>in</strong>troduces the participants to the basics <strong>of</strong> the R StatisticalComput<strong>in</strong>g Environment under W<strong>in</strong>dows. The R Statistics Comput<strong>in</strong>gEnvironment is a free, open-source s<strong>of</strong>tware. It consists <strong>of</strong> a set<strong>of</strong> core modules that make up the R distribution, as well as more than500 contributed packages from various sources. R is designed <strong>in</strong> acomputer language that requires participants to work ma<strong>in</strong>ly with acommand-l<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong>terface, us<strong>in</strong>g the R language.The course will provide lectures and hands-on practical exercises.Participants must be computer pr<strong>of</strong>icient and must be familiar withbasic statistical methods, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g hypothesis test<strong>in</strong>g, analysis <strong>of</strong>variance and regression, and correlation analysis; or, they should haveat least attended the Basic Experimental Designs and Data Analysiscourse.Introduction to Gene Mapp<strong>in</strong>g: L<strong>in</strong>kage and Association Mapp<strong>in</strong>gIRRI Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g Center, Los Baños, Philipp<strong>in</strong>es17-21 May 2010This course <strong>in</strong>troduces the participants to the basics <strong>of</strong> gene mapp<strong>in</strong>gus<strong>in</strong>g s<strong>of</strong>tware packages such as R/qtl, R/GenABEL, R/genetics, R/LDheatmap,and R/popgen. The tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g course will provide lectures andhands-on practical exercises. Participants must be computer pr<strong>of</strong>icientand have basic knowledge <strong>in</strong> genetics. They must also be familiarwith R data manipulation or should have at least attended the firsttwo days <strong>of</strong> the Introduction to R: Data Manipulation and StatisticalAnalysis course.Rice: Research to ProductionIRRI Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g Center, Los Baños, Philipp<strong>in</strong>es17 May-4 June 2010This course aims to create a new generation <strong>of</strong> plant scientists thatare well networked <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>ternational community and understand theimportance <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>novative plant science <strong>in</strong> tackl<strong>in</strong>g global problems.Topics <strong>in</strong>clude an understand<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> the basics <strong>of</strong> rice production <strong>in</strong>Asia; familiarity with the germplasm collection at IRRI and currentissues related to germplasm exchange and <strong>in</strong>tellectual property; anappreciation <strong>of</strong> the research issues <strong>of</strong> IRRI and its develop<strong>in</strong>g partners;hands-on skills relat<strong>in</strong>g to rice breed<strong>in</strong>g, molecular genetics, andgenomics; an understand<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> how to structure effective <strong>in</strong>ternationalcollaboration; and a plan and personal contacts to work effectively aspart <strong>of</strong> the <strong>in</strong>ternational research community <strong>in</strong> the future.ILAC-IRRI Group Facilitation Skills for ParticipatoryDecision-Mak<strong>in</strong>gIRRI Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g Center, Los Baños, Philipp<strong>in</strong>es8-11 June 2010This workshop aims to strengthen students’ capacity to facilitatemeet<strong>in</strong>gs, teams, and group decision-mak<strong>in</strong>g processes. Its hands-onpractical approach will enable the participants to immediately applywhat they have learned to their day-to-day work. Topics <strong>in</strong>clude whatfacilitation is and why it is important; how to facilitate meet<strong>in</strong>gs andteams; how to manage conflicts and disagreements; and how to buildconsensus for decision-mak<strong>in</strong>g. Pr<strong>of</strong>essionals <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> participatoryprojects, networks, or meet<strong>in</strong>gs are encouraged to attend. Participantsmust have an excellent command <strong>of</strong> the English language.For more details, contact Dr. Noel Magor, head, IRRI Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g Center(IRRITra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g@cgiar.org) or see www.tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g.irri.org.NEW BOOK http://books.irri.orgContested Waterscapes <strong>in</strong> the Mekong Region: Hydropower, Livelihoods, and GovernanceReviewed by: Randy Barker,Edited by: François Molle, Tira Foran, and Mira KäkönenPublished by: London and Sterl<strong>in</strong>g, Virg<strong>in</strong>ia: Earthscan, 2009.This book, Contested Waterscapes <strong>in</strong>the Mekong Region, makes very clearthat demand is grow<strong>in</strong>g for water fornonagricultural uses—hydropower, urbanconsumption, and <strong>in</strong>dustry. Agriculture, forwhich approximately 80% <strong>of</strong> water is diverted,will thus receive less and less water <strong>in</strong> thefuture. Some observers are concerned aboutthe prospects for global warm<strong>in</strong>g and themelt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> the Himalayan glaciers. But, evenwithout this problem, we will have to movefrom development to management <strong>of</strong> waterresources. Most Asian governments have notrealized the need for this change, let aloneconsidered how it is to be accomplished.It is aga<strong>in</strong>st this backdrop that this bookhas been written. It is a product <strong>of</strong> M-Power orThe Mekong Program on Water Environmentand Resilience, www.mpowernet.org—a network <strong>of</strong> “people plecommitted to improv<strong>in</strong>glocal, national, and regionalgovernance <strong>in</strong> Cambodia, a,Ch<strong>in</strong>a, Laos, Myanmar,Thailand, and Vietnam.”The fact that not just oneor two countries but sixuse the water <strong>of</strong> theMekong is what makesthe Mekong region unique. And,the region’s waters are contested not onlyamong countries but also with<strong>in</strong> countries—among agencies and organizations withparticular <strong>in</strong>terests <strong>in</strong> one <strong>of</strong> the multiple uses<strong>of</strong> water such as for irrigation, hydropower,urban consumption, and the environment.These agencies do nottypically talk to one another.This book conta<strong>in</strong>sa great deal <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>formationon the politics <strong>of</strong> damdevelopment for bothhydropower and irrigation. And,it has a useful set <strong>of</strong> maps andtables thatlocates and def<strong>in</strong>es bothcompletedand planned dam projects.Even a reader well versed <strong>in</strong> variousaspects <strong>of</strong> water resource developmentand management will f<strong>in</strong>d this book avaluable reference.Dr. Barker’s full review can be foundonl<strong>in</strong>e at http://snipurl.com/uqqcf and more<strong>in</strong>formation about the book is at http://snipurl.com/v5qxp.Rice Today April-June 20109


21. LADY BY the lake. Duong Phuong Thao<strong>of</strong> the M<strong>in</strong>istry <strong>of</strong> Industry and Trade(Vietnam) enjoys the serene atmosphere <strong>of</strong>Hanoi Lake while read<strong>in</strong>g Rice Today.2. BLAST FROM the past. Rice Today associateeditor Lanie Reyes and Irrigated RiceResearch Consortium communicationspecialist Tr<strong>in</strong>a Mendoza br<strong>in</strong>g themagaz<strong>in</strong>e’s maiden issue back toCambodia. They happily pose at the ChanChaya Pavillion, Phnom Penh Royal Palace.The K<strong>in</strong>gdom provided Rice Today with itsvery first cover story <strong>in</strong> 2002.3. ROYAL COVER. Thai farmer VichianInsawang from Tabol Banglarng, SuphanBuri Prov<strong>in</strong>ce, treasures this Rice Todayissue, which has HRH Pr<strong>in</strong>cess Maha ChakriSir<strong>in</strong>dhorn <strong>of</strong> Thailand on the cover.4. WILD, WILD wet. Rice Today makes asplash at the Cobra Ironman 70.3 watersports competition held <strong>in</strong> 2009 <strong>in</strong>Camar<strong>in</strong>es Sur, Philipp<strong>in</strong>es. Paul Hilario(right) <strong>of</strong> Riceworld Museum <strong>in</strong>troducesthe magaz<strong>in</strong>e to the event’s 2008 worldchampion, Terenzo Bozzone <strong>of</strong> New Zealand.41310Rice Today April-June 2010


Bearish? Where is the economy go<strong>in</strong>g?Has the market recovered?Is there a secure food supply?Security?Where can I f<strong>in</strong>d good <strong>in</strong>formation?How?Who can I trust?Risk?Food security?Shortage?Sure th<strong>in</strong>g?Strength?How do I w<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> this market?Trust?What impact will weather have?Pr<strong>of</strong>its?How do I hedge my risk?Know your <strong>in</strong>dustry. Know your world.Know what your competitors don’t.F<strong>in</strong>ancial Stability?Recovery?Confused?Food prices?Volatility?Yields?In a world with so many questions, access to <strong>in</strong>formation is what separatesyou from your competitor. Therefore, <strong>in</strong>formation is power. This is whyThe Rice Trader is respected as the authoritative voice <strong>in</strong> the rice <strong>in</strong>dustryand is the only weekly publication dedicated to risk management andtrade. Comb<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g years <strong>of</strong> experience with proven analysis, your companycan’t afford not to subscribe to The Rice Trader.Be Informed. Be Confident.www.thericetrader.com Phone: +1 (530) 345-4140The Rice Trader is a member <strong>of</strong> the International Commodity Institute.


A <strong>sunburned</strong> grby Adam BarclayWater-<strong>in</strong>tensive rice farm<strong>in</strong>g is a contentious issue <strong>in</strong> a bone-dry country.But, despite battl<strong>in</strong>g negative public op<strong>in</strong>ion and an 8-year drought—whichisn’t over yet—Australian rice growers are optimistic about the future.AS LONG as there’s enough water to grow rice, Australia’s highly efficientrice <strong>in</strong>dustry achieves some <strong>of</strong> the highest yields <strong>in</strong> the world.12 Rice Today April-June 2010


a<strong>in</strong>RICEGROWERS' ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIAReport<strong>in</strong>g the impact <strong>of</strong> an 8-yeardrought on rice production is astrange caper, I thought, as thewheels <strong>of</strong> a four-wheel motorbikecovered me head to toe with mud. Iwas sitt<strong>in</strong>g beh<strong>in</strong>d Rob Houghton, afarmer from just outside Leeton <strong>in</strong> theAustralian state <strong>of</strong> New South Wales,who was driv<strong>in</strong>g me through the pour<strong>in</strong><strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> to his ... soybean field. When I metMr. Houghton, I expected him to takeme to his rice field. The problem is, he’snot grow<strong>in</strong>g any this year. Despite themorn<strong>in</strong>g’s deluge, Mr. Houghton wasn’tallocated enough water this season toensure a good rice crop. The alternativewas soybeans, which, although not aspr<strong>of</strong>itable (see Table), don’t need as muchwater.“There have been only 2 yearss<strong>in</strong>ce my father started grow<strong>in</strong>g ricehere <strong>in</strong> 1942 that we haven’t grown rice,and they’ve been <strong>in</strong> the last 5 years—this year and 2 years ago,” says Mr.Houghton.Australian rice production from1999 to 2002 averaged more than 1.3million tons per year. In 7 years, from2003 to 2009, the average was less than360,000 tons. The 2008 harvest saw thelowest production s<strong>in</strong>ce the <strong>in</strong>dustrybegan <strong>in</strong> Australia, at a mere 19,000 tons(see figure below). The drought averageis actually flattered by a million-ton cropWater use, productivity, and pr<strong>of</strong>itability for 2006summer crops <strong>in</strong> the Murrumbidgee Irrigation AreaCrop Megaliters AU$/ha AU$/MLRice 13.5 1,675 124Cotton 10 1,136 114Lucerne 10 2,197 220Maize 8.5 839 99Soybean 8 483 60Data source: Compiled by Laurie Lew<strong>in</strong> from summer cropgross marg<strong>in</strong>s at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au (now www.<strong>in</strong>dustry.nsw.gov.au)1,3811,0881,7441,2413905291999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009Crop yearAustralian rice production (1999-2009).Data source: SunRice305<strong>in</strong> 2006, partly the result <strong>of</strong> an advance<strong>of</strong> growers’ future years’ water. The2010 crop is expected to br<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> around185,000 tons.Mr. Houghton farms 520 hectares<strong>in</strong> the River<strong>in</strong>a region <strong>of</strong> southwest NewSouth Wales, which <strong>in</strong>cludes the MurrayValley, Murrumbidgee, and ColeamballyIrrigation Areas (see map on page 16).Overall, the region is home to around1,500 rice-farm<strong>in</strong>g families.Before the drought began <strong>in</strong>2002, Mr. Houghton grew a rice crop<strong>of</strong> 100–150 hectares each Australiansummer (plant<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> October-Novemberand harvest<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> March-April). His farmyielded about 10 tons per hectare. S<strong>in</strong>cethe ra<strong>in</strong>s failed, that area for rice hasfallen to an average <strong>of</strong> around 30 hectaresper year, exclud<strong>in</strong>g the seasons <strong>in</strong> whichhe grew no rice at all.“The summer crop is where wereally make our money,” says Mr.Houghton. “In drought times, though,we’ve really ramped up our w<strong>in</strong>ter cropprogram because your water goes somuch further.”The long-term lack <strong>of</strong> ra<strong>in</strong> hasnot only reduced the amount <strong>of</strong> wateravailable to farmers, but it has also<strong>in</strong>creased water requirements when riceis grown. In better times, Mr. Houghtonneeded 13 million liters (megaliters) <strong>of</strong>water per hectare per season to grow rice.In the 2008-09 season, with water tabless<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g lower and lower after almosta decade <strong>of</strong> drought, the figure was 22megaliters.“We just need a good wet w<strong>in</strong>terto sort that out,” says Mr. Houghton.“It’s only a short-term impact, butyou can’t grow rice economicallyus<strong>in</strong>g 22 megaliters per hectare and,environmentally, it’s not a sound moveeither.”Paddy delivered (thousand tons)1,04016619 66Water shar<strong>in</strong>gAside from limit<strong>in</strong>gcrop choices, hesays that the dryspell has forcedthe region’s ricegrowers to makefundamentalchanges to the waythey farm. Growersare becom<strong>in</strong>g muchcannier <strong>in</strong> the wayRice Today April-June 201013


ADAM BARCLAY (4)A SIGN <strong>of</strong> th<strong>in</strong>gs to come <strong>in</strong> the Australian RiceIndustry? Leeton’s historic water towers, which arealmost 100 years old, are rem<strong>in</strong>ders <strong>of</strong> how wateravailability and the town’s fortunes are <strong>in</strong>extricablyl<strong>in</strong>ked.they shape their fields to make the bestpossible use <strong>of</strong> the water they have. Byus<strong>in</strong>g clever contour<strong>in</strong>g, coupled withwell-planned dra<strong>in</strong>age and recirculationsystems, many River<strong>in</strong>a farmers cangrow a w<strong>in</strong>ter crop by simply us<strong>in</strong>g theresidual moisture <strong>of</strong> the preced<strong>in</strong>g ricecrop—no or m<strong>in</strong>imal supplementaryirrigation is needed.Such efficient use <strong>of</strong> water(Australian rice growers are regardedwidely as the most water-efficient <strong>in</strong> theworld) is one <strong>of</strong> the arguments the rice<strong>in</strong>dustry here uses to counter claims bymany—especially people liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> theparched southern Australian cities—thatwater-thirsty rice simply shouldn’t begrown <strong>in</strong> temperate Australia. If youlook at rice as part <strong>of</strong> an annual cropp<strong>in</strong>gcycle, the water used per ton <strong>of</strong> foodproduced presents a far more compell<strong>in</strong>gequation than that <strong>of</strong> rice viewed <strong>in</strong>isolation.Nevertheless, accord<strong>in</strong>g to ArleneBuchan, healthy rivers campaignerfor the AustralianConservation Foundation(ACF), current levels <strong>of</strong>water allocation present amajor threat to rivers andwetlands <strong>in</strong> the Murray-Darl<strong>in</strong>g Bas<strong>in</strong>. As thecountry’s food bowl andmost important riversystem, the bas<strong>in</strong> supplieswater to the majority <strong>of</strong>Australia’s population<strong>in</strong> the cities, towns,and farms across themore densely populatedsoutheast quarter <strong>of</strong> thecont<strong>in</strong>ent.“Overextraction<strong>of</strong> water for irrigationis the biggest driver<strong>of</strong> environmentaldegradation,” says Dr.Buchan, who also po<strong>in</strong>tsout that the ACF itself isnot anti-rice. “The wayyou fix th<strong>in</strong>gs is not bymandat<strong>in</strong>g what cropsyou can grow <strong>in</strong> whatareas. You fix it by gett<strong>in</strong>g the shar<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong>water right. If you say to a rice or cottongrower, ‘no more rice, no more cotton,’they’re just go<strong>in</strong>g to grow someth<strong>in</strong>g else.They’ll use the same amount <strong>of</strong> water,which doesn’t benefit the environment.”Rice: last <strong>in</strong> the hierarchyWater <strong>in</strong> the Murray-Darl<strong>in</strong>g Bas<strong>in</strong>is allocated <strong>in</strong> a hierarchy, beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gwith “critical needs” (for domestic,<strong>in</strong>dustrial, and stock use), followed byso-called high-security entitlements(for permanent plant<strong>in</strong>gs such as fruittrees and grapev<strong>in</strong>es), and f<strong>in</strong>ish<strong>in</strong>g withgeneral security entitlements (for annualcrops such as rice and wheat). In times<strong>of</strong> water shortage, allocations for annualcrops—which can be effectively switchedon and <strong>of</strong>f each year—are slashed first.In this way, water availability dictateswhat farmers can and can’t grow. Theimplication is that, if allocations areappropriate, the question <strong>of</strong> bann<strong>in</strong>gspecific crops—such as rice or cotton—isa moot one.Coleambally rice grower LynneStuck<strong>in</strong>gs, who farms 405 hectares withher husband, John, grew around 145hectares <strong>of</strong> rice annually before 2003.“S<strong>in</strong>ce the drought, we’ve had a couple<strong>of</strong> years without rice,” she laments. “Lastyear, we grew 24 hectares; this year,we’ve got 48 hectares.”Ms. Stuck<strong>in</strong>gs contends that manygrowers feel that there is sufficient waterallocated to the environment already,though she concedes that it’s a farmer’spo<strong>in</strong>t <strong>of</strong> view. Regardless, she says, “Welook after our environment—we want topass our farm on to future generations.We’re not actually wast<strong>in</strong>g water; we’regrow<strong>in</strong>g food with it.”Wayne Meyer, pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> naturalresources science at the University<strong>of</strong> Adelaide, spent almost 2 decadeswork<strong>in</strong>g on irrigation issues <strong>in</strong> theRiver<strong>in</strong>a region with the CommonwealthScientific Industrial and ResearchOrganisation (CSIRO) and Charles SturtUniversity. He agrees with the ACF thatthere needs to be a rebalanc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> waterallocations.“The evidence is absolutely starkthat the water entitlements have beenoverallocated,” he says.When the allocation system wasset up, there was less environmentalawareness, <strong>in</strong> general, and thegovernment awarded licenses <strong>in</strong> numbers“which far exceeded <strong>in</strong> dry times anycapacity for the system to deliver,” saysPr<strong>of</strong>. Meyer. “The consequence is thatLEETON FARMER Rob Houghton manages theirrigation <strong>of</strong> the soybean field that wouldhave been full <strong>of</strong> rice if not for the River<strong>in</strong>aregion’s 8-year (and count<strong>in</strong>g) drought.14 Rice Today April-June 2010


COLEAMBALLY RICE farmer Lynne Stuck<strong>in</strong>gswith granddaughter Avaril.the river is dry<strong>in</strong>g from the mouth up.Hav<strong>in</strong>g it dry up before it gets to the endis a sure way to stuff up your naturalresources.”However, Pr<strong>of</strong>. Meyer also agreesthat blam<strong>in</strong>g rice farmers is not thesolution. For a start, he counters theclaim that rice and cotton farmers are theheaviest water users. “That’s never beentrue,” he says. “The major amount <strong>of</strong>water used <strong>in</strong> the Murray-Darl<strong>in</strong>g systemis for pasture. Both <strong>in</strong> volume and area,it’s by far the biggest amount, and most<strong>of</strong> that is dairy pasture.”Postdrought futureIn the 1980s and 1990s, Pr<strong>of</strong>. Meyersaid that one <strong>of</strong> the problems stemm<strong>in</strong>gfrom water-<strong>in</strong>tensive agriculture was thatwater tables were ris<strong>in</strong>g and br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>gsal<strong>in</strong>ity with them. He and his colleagues<strong>in</strong>vestigated ways to reduce dra<strong>in</strong>age toa po<strong>in</strong>t sufficient to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> salt balancebut low enough to keep groundwaterlevels down. He argues that if farmerswere bound by dra<strong>in</strong>age limits (alongwith appropriate water allocations), then,“whether you grow rice, cotton, beans,or whatever, if you can operate with<strong>in</strong>those constra<strong>in</strong>ts, then go for it. Thelimit shouldn’t be on determ<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g whatcrop you grow but on the operat<strong>in</strong>gconditions, which are set on the basis <strong>of</strong>look<strong>in</strong>g after the public asset.”Sure enough, the rice <strong>in</strong>dustryis brac<strong>in</strong>g for a postdrought future <strong>of</strong>below historical allocations. In mid-2010,the Murray-Darl<strong>in</strong>g Bas<strong>in</strong> Authority (thefederal government agency responsiblefor plann<strong>in</strong>g the bas<strong>in</strong>’s water resourcemanagement) is scheduled to release itsmuch-awaited Bas<strong>in</strong> Plan, which is setto <strong>in</strong>clude “susta<strong>in</strong>able diversion limits”that will almost certa<strong>in</strong>ly mean less waterfor farmers <strong>in</strong> the River<strong>in</strong>a.“But there isn’t anyth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> that planthat will devastate us like the droughthas,” says Ruth Wade, executive director<strong>of</strong> the Ricegrowers’ Association <strong>of</strong>Australia, a voluntary organization madeup <strong>of</strong> current and retired rice growers.Before the drought, the rice<strong>in</strong>dustry planned its operations aroundannual production <strong>of</strong> about 1.2 milliontons. In anticipation <strong>of</strong> reallocation, thishas been revised down to about 800,000tons (see figure below).“It would be irresponsible for usto pretend that the future will look thesame as the past,” says Ms. Wade. “We’llhave less water, so it was responsibleto consider where the tipp<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>ts forthe <strong>in</strong>dustry are to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> our core<strong>in</strong>frastructure, to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> markets, etc.WAYNE MEYER, pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> natural resourcesscience, <strong>in</strong> his University <strong>of</strong> Adelaide <strong>of</strong>fice.Production (thousand tons)2,0001,5001,00050001900 1950 2000 2050Crop yearNSW rice production (1925-2009).Data source: Compiled by Laurie Lew<strong>in</strong> from data supplied bySunRice.RUTH WADE, executivedirector <strong>of</strong> the Ricegrowers’Association <strong>of</strong>Australia, <strong>in</strong> her Leeton<strong>of</strong>fice.It’ll be a different <strong>in</strong>dustry, but it’ll alsobe strong and vibrant aga<strong>in</strong>.”As is always the case whenfarm<strong>in</strong>g regions are hit by drought,the surround<strong>in</strong>g communities suffer.Bus<strong>in</strong>esses that depend on farmers havebeen hit particularly hard.“You’ve only got to walk upthe street here,” says Mr. Houghton,gestur<strong>in</strong>g to the ma<strong>in</strong> street <strong>of</strong> Leeton,“to see the vacant shops where peoplehaven’t been able to cont<strong>in</strong>ue.”Ms. Wade emphasizes the<strong>in</strong>terdependency <strong>of</strong> communities acrossthe rice-grow<strong>in</strong>g region. “Take therice <strong>in</strong>dustry out <strong>of</strong> towns like Leeton,Coleambally, and Deniliqu<strong>in</strong>, and theybleed to death,” she says. “Deniliqu<strong>in</strong> hashad it really tough. They lost their mill,they lost all <strong>of</strong> the transport systems thatgo with it. Transport companies, all <strong>of</strong>the people <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the storage andsupply systems—they all suffer.”Water trad<strong>in</strong>gTo ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> a livable <strong>in</strong>come throughthis lean period, some farmers havebecome water traders, sell<strong>in</strong>g theirallocations temporarily to othergrowers. Others have opted to selltheir allocation permanently to thefederal government, which, as part<strong>of</strong> its Water for the future program,has set aside AU$3.1 billion (US$2.8billion) over 10 years to buy fromirrigators <strong>in</strong> the Murray-Darl<strong>in</strong>gBas<strong>in</strong> water that will rema<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> thenatural environment.Although at this stage there areRICEGROWERS' ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIARice Today April-June 201015


THE RIVERINA: AUSTRALIA'SRICE-GROWING REGIONLachlan RiverMurrumbidgeeIrrigation AreaM.I.A.GriffithYendaADAPTED BY LAURIE LEWIN FROM THE RICEGROWERS' ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIANEW SOUTHWALESLeetonYancoSydneyColeamballyIrrigation AreaC.I.A.ColeamballyLeetonYancoGeelongVICTORIAWagga WaggaCanberraACTMelbourneBASS STRAITTASMANSEAMurray ValleyIrrigation DistrictsM.V.I.D.Edward RiverMurrumbidgee RiverEchucaMurray RiverDeniliqu<strong>in</strong>Nno mandatory water buybacks, manyfarmers see little choice.“The government says they onlybuy from will<strong>in</strong>g sellers, but they’re notactually will<strong>in</strong>g,” says Ms. Stuck<strong>in</strong>gs.“They’re farmers under duress becausewe’re <strong>in</strong> drought. And banks are start<strong>in</strong>gto put pressure on people, too, so peoplehave no other options.”Coleambally <strong>of</strong>fers, perhaps, themost strik<strong>in</strong>g example <strong>of</strong> a strategy todeal with drought. With the governmentlook<strong>in</strong>g to purchase water allocationsquickly, there were worries that thearea would dis<strong>in</strong>tegrate <strong>in</strong>to a messypatchwork <strong>of</strong> irrigated and drylandfarms with an unworkable water supplysystem <strong>in</strong> between. Envisag<strong>in</strong>g direconsequences for the community,Robert Black, then chairman <strong>of</strong> theColeambally Irrigation Area, <strong>in</strong> August2008, <strong>of</strong>fered the whole town up for saleto the government for AU$3.5 billion($3.2 billion). All <strong>of</strong> it. Every bus<strong>in</strong>ess,every shop, every home, along with everyRICEGROWERS' ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIAKANGAROOS BOUND through a w<strong>in</strong>ter wheatcrop, grown on the residual moisture <strong>of</strong>the preced<strong>in</strong>g rice crop—with little or nosupplementary irrigation.drop <strong>of</strong> the area’s 600,000 megaliters <strong>of</strong>water entitlements. Although nobodytook the sale seriously, it made thepo<strong>in</strong>t that, if the government is to buywater allocations, it needs to do so <strong>in</strong> aconsidered, strategic way.Mr. Houghton says that a portion<strong>of</strong> the farmers who have sold theirallocations have stayed on their propertybecause they want to rema<strong>in</strong> farmers, buthave changed their operations to graz<strong>in</strong>gor dryland cropp<strong>in</strong>g. Others, especiallyolder farmers, have used the sale as anopportunity to exit agriculture. But,overall, “There hasn’t been a ‘sell andmove out; there’s no future <strong>in</strong> this’ k<strong>in</strong>d<strong>of</strong> mentality.”Sunny outlookSeveral factors comb<strong>in</strong>e to make rice<strong>in</strong> Australia successful: the climate(when there’s enough water), whichprovides a huge amount <strong>of</strong> sunlight;expert producers who average around10 tons per hectare (with some growersachiev<strong>in</strong>g more than 14 tons); and thetight <strong>in</strong>tegration <strong>of</strong> the production,commercial, and research arms <strong>of</strong> the<strong>in</strong>dustry.The commercial arm is representedby Ricegrowers Limited (trad<strong>in</strong>g underthe name SunRice), a company owned16 Rice Today April-June 2010


RACHELLE WARD, a Yanco cereal chemist, whocarried out much <strong>of</strong> her PhD research at IRRI,is responsible for research<strong>in</strong>g <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> qualityat Yanco.RICE BREEDER Russell Re<strong>in</strong>ke, seen here check<strong>in</strong>ghis plants <strong>in</strong> a Yanco Agricultural Instituteexperimental field, says that water productivityis fundamental to Australian rice research.PETER SNELL is thebreeder tasked withdevelop<strong>in</strong>g cold-tolerantrice varieties that canwithstand the coolnight-time temperaturesthat hit River<strong>in</strong>a even <strong>in</strong>summer.has been <strong>in</strong>disputably successful s<strong>in</strong>ceits beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> the early 20th century.A husband and wife who had movedto Australia from Japan, Isaburo (Jo)and Ichiko Takasuka, planted Yanco’sfirst experimental crop <strong>in</strong> 1915, prov<strong>in</strong>gthat rice could be grown <strong>in</strong> Australia.Subsequently, seed was importedfrom the similar soils and climate <strong>of</strong>California, where a rice <strong>in</strong>dustry hadalready been established. With theCalifornian varieties a success, ricega<strong>in</strong>ed a foothold <strong>in</strong> the River<strong>in</strong>a, aregion <strong>of</strong> New South Wales (see mapon page 16), and a vibrant <strong>in</strong>dustry thusemerged.When not ravaged by drought,the <strong>in</strong>dustry has carved a grow<strong>in</strong>gdomestic and <strong>in</strong>ternational nichefor the medium-<strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> japonica rice<strong>in</strong> which it specializes, export<strong>in</strong>gapproximately 80% <strong>of</strong> overallproduction to around 70 countries <strong>in</strong>recent nondrought years.If the Australian rice <strong>in</strong>dustry’ssuccess can be boiled down to tw<strong>of</strong>undamental bones, they would be therice region’s favorable climate (droughtnotwithstand<strong>in</strong>g) and the unique<strong>in</strong>tegration <strong>of</strong> the farm<strong>in</strong>g, research,and commercial arms <strong>of</strong> the <strong>in</strong>dustry.These factors comb<strong>in</strong>ed result <strong>in</strong> some<strong>of</strong> the highest yields <strong>in</strong> the world, witha regional average <strong>of</strong> around 10 tons perhectare and some growers achiev<strong>in</strong>gmore than 14 tons.Russell Re<strong>in</strong>ke, who runs the ricebreed<strong>in</strong>g program at Yanco with fellowbreeder Peter Snell, says that, given themagnitude <strong>of</strong> water issues <strong>in</strong> Australia,there is a constant drive to improve waterefficiency. This has been achieved us<strong>in</strong>gseveral approaches, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g breed<strong>in</strong>gmore water-efficient rice varieties,ensur<strong>in</strong>g that rice isn’t grown on leakysoils, and simply push<strong>in</strong>g the yieldenvelope to grow more rice per hectarewithout us<strong>in</strong>g more water.“The other th<strong>in</strong>g we’ve done isto reduce growth duration while notsacrific<strong>in</strong>g yield,” says Dr. Re<strong>in</strong>ke.“When you can sow a variety 2 or 3weeks later <strong>in</strong> the season, you’ve avoideda certa<strong>in</strong> amount <strong>of</strong> evaporation from thewater surface.”The next step, he says, is to developvarieties that can be established underan aerobic system (<strong>in</strong> the same way thatdryland crops such as wheat are grown)and put stand<strong>in</strong>g water on the field onlywhen it’s needed most, from around themiddle to the end <strong>of</strong> the grow<strong>in</strong>g season.Cold-tolerance puzzleThe River<strong>in</strong>a’s temperate climate help<strong>sr</strong>ice growers <strong>in</strong> several ways. First, almostno rice pests or diseases occur. Second,there’s a huge amount <strong>of</strong> sunlight—almostdouble that <strong>of</strong> the wet season <strong>in</strong> thetropics. And, third, there’s a big difference<strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>imum and maximum temperaturesdur<strong>in</strong>g the summer grow<strong>in</strong>g season—hot days and cool nights. This meansm<strong>in</strong>imal respiration losses overnight andstrong growth dur<strong>in</strong>g the day. However,sometimes the night temperature falls to<strong>of</strong>ar.“The estimate is that we lose 1ton per hectare one year <strong>in</strong> three, andmore than 2 tons per hectare one year<strong>in</strong> 10 to the cold,” says Laurie Lew<strong>in</strong>,Dr. Re<strong>in</strong>ke’s predecessor as head <strong>of</strong> thebreed<strong>in</strong>g program at Yanco.After water-use efficiency, thebiggest target for breeders is coldtolerance, which is also l<strong>in</strong>ked to waterproductivity. A body <strong>of</strong> stand<strong>in</strong>g wateracts as a thermal blanket, reta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>gprotective warmth when the ambienttemperature drops too low. Create a20 Rice Today April-June 2010


variety with high cold tolerance, andyou cut the amount <strong>of</strong> water neededthroughout the grow<strong>in</strong>g season.The breeder tasked with crack<strong>in</strong>g thecold-tolerance puzzle is Dr. Snell.“We’ve got quite high cold toleranceto start with because a lot <strong>of</strong> our stockstarted from Californian material, whichis generally tolerant,” he says. “But,with up to 30 °C between maximumand m<strong>in</strong>imum temperatures <strong>in</strong> summer,we want extreme cold tolerance. We’retalk<strong>in</strong>g about be<strong>in</strong>g able to cope withtemperatures as low as 10 °C at criticalstages <strong>of</strong> the plant’s growth.”Without that sort <strong>of</strong> cold tolerance,the aerobic rice varieties Dr. Re<strong>in</strong>kedescribes will rema<strong>in</strong> noth<strong>in</strong>g more thana nice idea. But, accord<strong>in</strong>g to Dr. Snell,that may be about to change, with apromis<strong>in</strong>g cold-tolerant variety due to bereleased later <strong>in</strong> 2010.Familial bondLeeton rice farmer Rob Houghton (seeA <strong>sunburned</strong> <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> on pages 12-17)suggests that the close relationshipbetween growers and researchers is“the reason that the <strong>in</strong>dustry is asstrong as it is now <strong>in</strong> such hard times.Geographically, we’re <strong>in</strong> a relativelysmall area, so it’s almost a familyA PLAQUE commemorates the site <strong>of</strong> the first Japaneserice planted <strong>in</strong> New South Wales <strong>in</strong> 1915.environment. One <strong>of</strong> the benefits is thatany outcomes <strong>of</strong> R&D are very quicklyimplemented on the farm. The l<strong>in</strong>es <strong>of</strong>communication are very crisp, so whenthere’s a new development it’s put outthere straight away. There’s good accessto our R&D people, everyone knowswho’s do<strong>in</strong>g what and there’s plenty<strong>of</strong> opportunity for growers to availthemselves <strong>of</strong> the latest technologies andtheories.”Added to this, the farmershave an excellent relationship withSunRice. In fact, “relationship” isan understatement—the farmers areshareholders <strong>in</strong> the bus<strong>in</strong>ess, which,as well as handl<strong>in</strong>g all process<strong>in</strong>g andmarket<strong>in</strong>g operations, guarantees to buyrice at a fair price each season. SunRicealso ensures product quality by sell<strong>in</strong>gpure seed to every farmer each season,rather than hav<strong>in</strong>g farmers reta<strong>in</strong> theirown seed.The third relationship <strong>in</strong> the triangleis between SunRice and the Yancoresearchers. Dr. Re<strong>in</strong>ke says, “One <strong>of</strong> themost productive l<strong>in</strong>ks we have with the<strong>in</strong>dustry is through the people <strong>in</strong>volved<strong>in</strong> market<strong>in</strong>g the rice. We get togetherwith them regularly, and we get feedbackabout what’s happen<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> world markets,what the limitations are <strong>in</strong> the varietieswe currently have, and what marketsmight want <strong>in</strong> the future.”Collaborat<strong>in</strong>g with IRRIDr. Re<strong>in</strong>ke expla<strong>in</strong>s that when he firstarrived at Yanco, the <strong>in</strong>dustry workedwith only two pr<strong>in</strong>cipal quality types<strong>of</strong> rice: long- and medium-<strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>japonica. S<strong>in</strong>ce then, that numberhas grown to seven. The first stage<strong>of</strong> the diversification process was thedevelopment <strong>of</strong> a fragrant, s<strong>of</strong>t-cook<strong>in</strong>glong-<strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>, similar to Thai jasm<strong>in</strong>e rice.This was followed by Arborio-stylevarieties for use <strong>in</strong> such dishes as risottoand paella, then s<strong>of</strong>t-cook<strong>in</strong>g short-<strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>rice aimed at the East Asian market.Next was a firm-cook<strong>in</strong>g South Asianstylelong-<strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> and, more recently, alarger dimensioned medium-<strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> for theMiddle Eastern market.One unexpected effect <strong>of</strong> thedrought is that several <strong>of</strong> the Yancoresearchers have become <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>ternational projects—several <strong>of</strong> which<strong>in</strong>volve IRRI—aimed at improv<strong>in</strong>g riceLAURIE LEWIN, former head <strong>of</strong> breed<strong>in</strong>g at Yanco.production <strong>in</strong> develop<strong>in</strong>g countries <strong>in</strong>Asia. As traditional fund<strong>in</strong>g has dropped<strong>of</strong>f, opportunities have emerged throughthe Australian Centre for InternationalAgricultural Research, which operatesas part <strong>of</strong> Australia’s <strong>of</strong>ficial overseas aidprogram.“We maximize our relationshipwith IRRI at every opportunity,” saysDr. Re<strong>in</strong>ke. “Historically, though, ithasn’t been easy because IRRI works ontropical rice. I can talk to the breedersthere about techniques, but shar<strong>in</strong>ggermplasm (plant genetic material) isn’tso valuable. But Melissa Fitzgerald’sappo<strong>in</strong>tment really heralded a new era <strong>in</strong>l<strong>in</strong>kages with IRRI because, with <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>quality, it doesn’t matter if it’s tropical ortemperate. Gra<strong>in</strong> quality and the genesfor quality are similar across tropical andtemperate varieties <strong>of</strong> rice.”Secur<strong>in</strong>g commercial needsOne <strong>of</strong> the key roles for Mike Hedditch,general manager, Grower Services forSunRice, is ensur<strong>in</strong>g that the R&Dprogram addresses the commercial needs<strong>of</strong> the bus<strong>in</strong>ess. Failure to do this, hesays, ultimately means a failure to meetthe needs <strong>of</strong> the farmers themselves.“We supply an enormous amount<strong>of</strong> our <strong>in</strong>tellectual property to the R&Dprogram,” he says. “We’re very keento make sure that the rice breed<strong>in</strong>g andthe <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> quality programs <strong>in</strong> particularget the right market signals about thetypes <strong>of</strong> varieties they need to developand about the quality <strong>of</strong> the <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> thatconsumers want.”Rice Today April-June 201021


JOHN LACY, <strong>in</strong>dustry leader (rice farm<strong>in</strong>g systems)at Yanco Agricultural Institute, helps to l<strong>in</strong>k theRiver<strong>in</strong>a region’s rice farmers with the latestresearch.Dr. Ward notes that this type <strong>of</strong><strong>in</strong>formation <strong>in</strong>forms her work on <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>quality. One <strong>of</strong> her key roles is to supply<strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> quality data on breed<strong>in</strong>g l<strong>in</strong>es tothe breeders.“The research is largelyaimed at expand<strong>in</strong>g the scope <strong>of</strong> thequality analysis as well as provid<strong>in</strong>gsuch data for earlier gene rations <strong>of</strong> thebreed<strong>in</strong>g process,” she says. “Ultimately,this work will fast-track the release<strong>of</strong> new varieties that have certa<strong>in</strong>agronomic benefits, such as coldtolerance, but are also ready forconsumers.”Dr. Re<strong>in</strong>ke pays tribute to hispredecessor, Dr. Lew<strong>in</strong>, who, he says,ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed enough diversity <strong>in</strong> the Yancobreed<strong>in</strong>g program to allow as rapid aresponse as possible to new challenges.“We’ve strived to have a mix <strong>of</strong>quality types so that at any po<strong>in</strong>t, whensome new feature is communicated tous, we can identify material that alreadyexists, and we can leap <strong>in</strong> and test it,”says Dr. Re<strong>in</strong>ke. “That circumvents this10-year lag phase from mak<strong>in</strong>g the firstcross all the way through to release.”Less water, more riceBy now, it is probably clear that onethread <strong>in</strong> particular runs through theentire tapestry <strong>of</strong> rice <strong>in</strong> Australia: water.Specifically, us<strong>in</strong>g less <strong>of</strong> it to grow morerice.“Our holy grail <strong>in</strong> terms <strong>of</strong> wateruseefficiency is to be able to use 10megaliters <strong>of</strong> water per hectare,” saysRuth Wade, executive director <strong>of</strong> theRicegrowers’ Association <strong>of</strong> Australia,a voluntary organization made up <strong>of</strong>current and retired rice growers (seeA <strong>sunburned</strong> <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> on pages 12-17).“We were on a nice trajectory <strong>in</strong> thatdirection. Before the drought, it wasabout 12 megaliters, but that’s slowedbecause now it’s tak<strong>in</strong>g a lot <strong>of</strong> water towet up the system. The global average isaround 15–20 megaliters. We aspire toconsistently be<strong>in</strong>g way ahead <strong>of</strong> anybodyelse.”Unsurpris<strong>in</strong>gly, much <strong>of</strong> Yancoagronomist Ge<strong>of</strong>f Beecher’s researchdraws on the same theme. One <strong>of</strong> his keyroles <strong>in</strong> more than 20 years at Yanco hasbeen <strong>in</strong> determ<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g land that is suitablefor rice production. In particular, thismeans relatively impermeable heavyclay soils that m<strong>in</strong>imize seepage <strong>in</strong>towater tables. These days, Australian ricegrowers are permitted to grow rice onsuitable soil only. Further, <strong>in</strong>dividualfarmers cannot grow rice on more than30% <strong>of</strong> their suitable land.More recently, Mr. Beecher hasbeen <strong>in</strong>vestigat<strong>in</strong>g the way that thespatial layout <strong>of</strong> rice land affects waterproductivity.“In any rice field, we get areasthat are highly productive and areasthat aren’t so productive,” he says. “Wethought that productivity might havebeen related to soil type but really it’scome back to cut and fill.”Cutt<strong>in</strong>g and fill<strong>in</strong>g land to make itlevel have been carried out for decadesand, over that time, cutt<strong>in</strong>g depth hasgradually <strong>in</strong>creased. Around 20 yearsago, 10 centimeters would have beenconsidered a big cut; now, some farmersmake half-meter cuts.“Now you’ve got huge differences<strong>in</strong> fertility between cut and filled areas,”says Dr. Beecher. “If you have a naturaltopsoil layer with reasonable organiccarbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus levels,and you come <strong>in</strong> and chop it down 400millimeters, you create an area that’snot a very nice grow<strong>in</strong>g environment.We’re work<strong>in</strong>g on how we can managethe problems caused by these really bigcuts.”Switch<strong>in</strong>g cropsMr. Beecher is also work<strong>in</strong>g on ways <strong>of</strong>sett<strong>in</strong>g up a rice field that allow farmersto switch between crops without hav<strong>in</strong>gto make major changes.“We might be look<strong>in</strong>g at a banklesschannel with raised beds <strong>in</strong>side it and aterraced layout,” he says, “which meansthat a farmer could leave the beds <strong>in</strong>place after a rice crop and then grow aseries <strong>of</strong> upland crops <strong>in</strong> rotation withoutchang<strong>in</strong>g the layout. So, you can <strong>in</strong>creasecropp<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>tensity and maximize wateruse at the same time.”John Lacy is <strong>in</strong>dustry leader (ricefarm<strong>in</strong>g systems) at Yanco. He acts as thel<strong>in</strong>k between the research and extension22Rice Today April-June 2010


sides <strong>of</strong> Australian rice to make sure thatnew <strong>in</strong>formation and technologies reachfarmers.Ricecheck systemMr. Lacy has led the development <strong>of</strong>the highly regarded Ricecheck system,which uses data from hundreds <strong>of</strong> farmseach season, to keep growers up to dateon the most effective crop managementstrategies. He says that Ricecheck camefrom a tool he <strong>in</strong>itially developed forwheat farmers.“I decided that the answers weneeded to improve crop managementwere not <strong>in</strong> research plots, but werealready <strong>in</strong> farmers’ fields,” expla<strong>in</strong>s Mr.Lacy. “So, I asked, ‘If some farmers aregett<strong>in</strong>g fantastic yields, what are theydo<strong>in</strong>g right?’ At that time, rice yieldshadn’t gone up for 20 years, so wedecided to set up a similar system <strong>in</strong> rice.”Mr. Lacy and several districtextension <strong>of</strong>ficers selected about 30farmers who were achiev<strong>in</strong>g high,moderate, and low yields. Theymonitored these closely over twoseasons, identify<strong>in</strong>g the practices thatled to the greatest success. The system—which takes the form <strong>of</strong> a simple, shortbooklet filled with crop managementrecommendations and a “crop dataform”—evolves cont<strong>in</strong>ually as eachyear farmers complete the forms andreturn them to Mr. Lacy, who updatesRicecheck for the next season.“We still have it runn<strong>in</strong>g but, withthe drought, it’s effectively stoppedbecause so many farmers haven’t beengrow<strong>in</strong>g rice,” he says. “At one stage,when there was a lot <strong>of</strong> rice around,we were gett<strong>in</strong>g up to 700 farmerrecords annually, which is an enormousdatabase.”Thus, the lack <strong>of</strong> water <strong>in</strong> theRiver<strong>in</strong>a is h<strong>in</strong>der<strong>in</strong>g extension workas well as research progress. Like theresearchers, though, Mr. Lacy sees abright future.“As soon as this drought f<strong>in</strong>ishes—and it will—and we get back to morenormal seasons,” he says, “our researchand extension programs can get back tonormal and we can get back to mak<strong>in</strong>gthe same progress we were mak<strong>in</strong>gbefore.”RICECHECK, DEVELOPED by Yanco farm<strong>in</strong>g systemsexpert John Lacy, helps rice growers improve theirproduction by distill<strong>in</strong>g the most successful practices<strong>of</strong> the farmers themselves (right).WITH FUNDING for rice research l<strong>in</strong>ked to production,the 8-year drought has wreaked havoc at YancoAgricultural Institute, which currently cannot affordto run all <strong>of</strong> its lab equipment (below).DUST, SYMBOLIZING the drought <strong>of</strong> the last 8 years, swirls over one <strong>of</strong>Yanco Agricultural Institute’s experimental fields.Rice Today April-June 201023


Isagani Serrano24 Rice Today April-June 2010Rice Today April-June 2010, Vol. 9, No. 2


A farmer takes time to tend his rice farm while the Mayon volcano, for now, Rice peacefully Today April-June “watches” 2010 over the rural village <strong>of</strong> Albay, Bicol, Philipp<strong>in</strong>es (see Courage under fire 25on page 26).


Mayon volcanoMAYON REVISITED:Courage under fireA photo update by Isagani Serrano and Chris Qu<strong>in</strong>tanaIn Bicol Prov<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>of</strong> the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es (see yellow onmap), with its more than 300,000 hectares <strong>of</strong> landdedicated to rice farm<strong>in</strong>g alone, calamities such as theMayon volcano’s eruptions and rag<strong>in</strong>g storms translate<strong>in</strong>to huge losses—almost 30,000 sacks <strong>of</strong> rice <strong>in</strong> justone cropp<strong>in</strong>g season. Yet, despite these devastat<strong>in</strong>gcircumstances, farm<strong>in</strong>g communities cont<strong>in</strong>ue to thrive.The people <strong>of</strong> these villages have learned to calmly slipback <strong>in</strong>to their daily rout<strong>in</strong>es and courageously facethese calamities as part and parcel <strong>of</strong> their daily lives.For a region <strong>of</strong>ten rocked by Earth’s fury and floodedfrom the sky, it is no wonder that its people havecharacteristically been known as oragon—a local termthat captures their tenacity and resilience <strong>in</strong> the face <strong>of</strong>adversity.Editor’s note: In October 2006, Rice Today featured the Mayon volcanoand how the changes <strong>in</strong> its mood affect the farm<strong>in</strong>g community <strong>in</strong> Bicol,Philipp<strong>in</strong>es (see Rice <strong>in</strong> harm’s way on pages 24-27 <strong>of</strong> Rice Today Vol. 5,No. 4), and aga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> January 2007, when the ra<strong>in</strong>s <strong>of</strong> Typhoon Duriandislodged tons and tons <strong>of</strong> Mayon’s volcanic ash <strong>in</strong>to the rice fields andvillages below (see Once were rice fields on pages 20-25 <strong>of</strong> Rice Today Vol.6, No. 1). When the volcano started grumbl<strong>in</strong>g aga<strong>in</strong> late <strong>in</strong> 2009, ourteam <strong>of</strong> photographers returned to capture its fits <strong>of</strong> temper, as wellas the struggle <strong>of</strong> the people who cont<strong>in</strong>ue to live under the “moody”26 Rice Today April-June 2010 volcano’s shadow.


On thefront l<strong>in</strong>esby Leah Baroña-CruzA Filip<strong>in</strong>o farmer contends withclimate and looks to scienceClimate change is on the agenda <strong>of</strong>many agricultural organizationsand experts are draft<strong>in</strong>g battleplans on every front. But what d<strong>of</strong>armers—the biggest stakeholders <strong>in</strong> thegame—have to say?About a month after TyphoonKetsana ravaged Luzon Island <strong>in</strong> thePhilipp<strong>in</strong>es (see Drowned harvest onpage 40 <strong>of</strong> Rice Today Vol. 8 No. 4), RiceToday went to the town <strong>of</strong> Morong <strong>in</strong>Rizal Prov<strong>in</strong>ce to check on a particularrice farmer whose history is tied to theInternational Rice Research Institute.Serapio “Mario” San Felipe, now75, was one <strong>of</strong> 14 Outstand<strong>in</strong>g Farmerawardees selected by IRRI from10 countries on the occasion <strong>of</strong> theInstitute’s 25th anniversary <strong>in</strong> 1985(see http://snipurl.com/v46k3 and Inthe Punjab—an outstand<strong>in</strong>g farmerrevisited on pages 34-35 <strong>of</strong> Rice TodayVol. 8 No. 2). He and his wife, Melba(who died from a stroke <strong>in</strong> 2002), raisedtheir six children out <strong>of</strong> the production<strong>of</strong> their rice farm, which they do noteven own.“Among all those Outstand<strong>in</strong>gFarmers, I was the only one who did notown the land I till,” Mario says, withoutapologies. “Our children’s education wasthe priority.”The 3.8-hectare farm that Mariostill tills <strong>in</strong> a rice-shar<strong>in</strong>g arrangementwith the landowner is along the coast<strong>of</strong> Laguna de Bay (see Google maps athttp://snipurl.com/v46zm), the largestlake <strong>in</strong> the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es. Although thelake is a generous source <strong>of</strong> irrigationwater dur<strong>in</strong>g the ra<strong>in</strong>y season (May toOctober), the water level <strong>of</strong>ten rises andfloods a good part <strong>of</strong> Mario’s land.Once <strong>in</strong> a while, as if monsoonra<strong>in</strong>s are not enough trouble, a typhoonpicks up extra moisture from the Pacificand drops sheets <strong>of</strong> it on the first landmasses it touches—more <strong>of</strong>ten than not,the islands <strong>of</strong> the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es. TyphoonFORMER IRRI Director General M.S. Swam<strong>in</strong>athan (<strong>in</strong> a suit) and formerPhilipp<strong>in</strong>e President Ferd<strong>in</strong>and Marcos (right) congratulate Mario SanFelipe when he was named an Outstand<strong>in</strong>g Farmer by IRRI <strong>in</strong> 1985.Mario's trophy stands among others <strong>in</strong>a dedicated spot <strong>in</strong> his home <strong>in</strong> RizalProv<strong>in</strong>ce, Philipp<strong>in</strong>es.Rice Today April-June 201027


Ketsana, which struck on 26 September2009, dumped a month’s worth <strong>of</strong> ra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong> just 6 hours. Large parts <strong>of</strong> MetroManila and surround<strong>in</strong>g prov<strong>in</strong>ces were<strong>in</strong>undated. Laguna de Bay overflowed<strong>in</strong>to residential areas and rice fields,<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Mario’s, along its coast. Inmost <strong>of</strong> these areas, the water did notrecede until 2 months later.Mario concedes that the biggest<strong>of</strong> his farm management problems areneither pests nor diseases but extremeweather events, which he ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>s arenoth<strong>in</strong>g new. He recalls three <strong>in</strong>stancesover the last 40 years or so dur<strong>in</strong>g whichunusual heavy flood<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>variablydestroyed all <strong>of</strong> his rice crop for theseason: 1972, 1978, and <strong>in</strong> September2009 when Ketsana came and ravagedthe country’s ripen<strong>in</strong>g rice fields.Records show that similar floods <strong>in</strong> theregion also occurred <strong>in</strong> 1919, 1934, and1941.Despite these extreme events, Mariodeclares he does not buy the idea <strong>of</strong>climate change. “These are quirks <strong>of</strong>climate,” he shrugs. He says that s<strong>in</strong>cethe climate has never really been constantto beg<strong>in</strong> with, farmers must learn toadapt and adjust to it.He also rema<strong>in</strong>s skeptical <strong>of</strong>declarations from authorities claim<strong>in</strong>gthat the rise <strong>in</strong> the water level <strong>of</strong> Lagunade Bay is be<strong>in</strong>g caused by the network <strong>of</strong>fishponds along the coast and squatters’dwell<strong>in</strong>gs built along the channel<strong>sr</strong>adiat<strong>in</strong>g from the lake—both <strong>of</strong> whichslow down outflow from the lake andimpede natural dra<strong>in</strong>age to Manila Bay.“I was born here, and I know how thewater behaves,” he <strong>in</strong>sists.Mario has always tried newtechnologies from IRRI. He was the firstfarmer <strong>in</strong> the Laguna de Bay area to plantIR8 <strong>in</strong> the mid-1960s and, to this day, herema<strong>in</strong>s loyal to IRRI-bred varieties. Back<strong>in</strong> 1985 when he was honored at IRRI, heasked IRRI scientists to f<strong>in</strong>d a solution tothe sal<strong>in</strong>ity problem—a major concern <strong>of</strong>rice farmers around the lake. His face litup when he learned that IRRI is <strong>in</strong>deednow field test<strong>in</strong>g its salt-tolerant varieties.It is for farmers like Mario, as well asothers around the world who have felt orare yet to feel the st<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> extreme climateevents, that IRRI’s stress-tolerant ricevarieties (be they for flood<strong>in</strong>g, sal<strong>in</strong>ity, ordrought) will make a significant impact.The struggle for food security goes onand undoubtedly new constra<strong>in</strong>ts toproduction will come along. But, oneth<strong>in</strong>g farmers can bet on is that scientistswill cont<strong>in</strong>ue to do what they can.ABOVE, MARIO stands on a portion <strong>of</strong> his rice farm along thecoast <strong>of</strong> Laguna de Bay that escaped the deluge brought byTyphoon Ketsana <strong>in</strong> September 2009. Most areas had it worse,such as this adjacent farm <strong>in</strong> which the near-harvest rice crophad no chance <strong>of</strong> bounc<strong>in</strong>g back after floodwaters receded amonth later.28 Rice Today April-June 2010


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MAPSMapp<strong>in</strong>g genebank colThe genetic diversity <strong>in</strong> traditional The samples <strong>in</strong> genebanks, andand modern rice varieties, and <strong>in</strong> their associated data, can also be used tothe wild relatives <strong>of</strong> rice, is vital further explore and discover geographicto agricultural development, as it patterns <strong>in</strong> crop diversity. In fact, theseprovides the basis for rice improvement. patterns are used to reconstruct theSometimes, a s<strong>in</strong>gle rare gene found prehistorical orig<strong>in</strong>s and spread <strong>of</strong> crops.<strong>in</strong> only a few varieties can greatly These data can be used to narrow downcontribute to rice production. A good the geographical search area <strong>in</strong> f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gexample <strong>of</strong> this is the short-straw gene or samples with important traits, such as athe SUB1 gene that confers submergence certa<strong>in</strong> type <strong>of</strong> disease resistance. Thetolerance.data also serve to identify gaps <strong>in</strong> aIronically, the success <strong>of</strong> rice genebank collection, for which collect<strong>in</strong>gbreed<strong>in</strong>g has rapidly replaced traditional expeditions are still needed.varieties with modern ones, particularly Such analyses are possible only<strong>in</strong> Asia’s irrigated rice fields. Thus, the if we have a decent database <strong>in</strong>use <strong>of</strong> crop diversity bites its own tail, which each sample is described. Cropbecom<strong>in</strong>g a threat to its persistence. descriptors can <strong>in</strong>clude morphologicalOne important approach to avoid the characteristics, agronomic traits, andloss <strong>of</strong> crop biodiversity, or “genetic genetic data. For geographic analysis, iterosion,” is the use <strong>of</strong> genebanks. A is crucial also to know where the samplegenebank assembles a broad collection was taken from.<strong>of</strong> rice varieties and conserves themFortunately, “passport” <strong>in</strong>formationfor breed<strong>in</strong>g. In total, there are 780,551 such as name <strong>of</strong> species, common name,samples <strong>of</strong> rice <strong>in</strong> genebanks. The <strong>in</strong>stitute code, date <strong>of</strong> acquisition,International Rice Research Institute and location is generally available <strong>in</strong>(IRRI) has 109,136 samples, while genebank databases. However, for manygenebanks <strong>in</strong> India and Ch<strong>in</strong>a have samples, no geographic coord<strong>in</strong>ates are86,119 and 70,104 samples, respectively. 1 available. Most samples were collected*Georeferenc<strong>in</strong>g. This refers to the process <strong>of</strong> convert<strong>in</strong>g text descriptions <strong>of</strong>locations to geographic coord<strong>in</strong>ates that can be used <strong>in</strong> an analysis. This <strong>in</strong>volvesbreak<strong>in</strong>g down a description such as “14 kilometers north and 2 kilometers west<strong>of</strong> La Paz, Tarlac, Luzon, Philipp<strong>in</strong>es” <strong>in</strong>to its geographic components, which canthen be used to assign a coord<strong>in</strong>ate to the record—<strong>in</strong> this case, 15.578N, 120.704E.However, process<strong>in</strong>g such <strong>in</strong>formation is not always as straightforward as thisexample. Records <strong>of</strong>ten struggle with variations <strong>in</strong> spell<strong>in</strong>gs, obsolete names, andsometimes misspelled entries.Deal<strong>in</strong>g with <strong>in</strong>accurate or wrong location data. Records that do havelocation data are also checked for errors. Some common errors are mistak<strong>in</strong>glongitude for latitude (a mistake probably made from time to time); swapp<strong>in</strong>geast with west or north with south; miss<strong>in</strong>g a latitude or longitude coord<strong>in</strong>ate;truncat<strong>in</strong>g the decimal po<strong>in</strong>ts <strong>in</strong> a coord<strong>in</strong>ate, result<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> lower precision; orsimply putt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the wrong data. Not all errors can easily be corrected, but wehave corrected those coord<strong>in</strong>ates that fell <strong>in</strong> an ocean, or <strong>in</strong> the wrong country.Needless to say, determ<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the most likely location for an accession is a timeconsum<strong>in</strong>gtask.before the global position<strong>in</strong>g systembecame available. So, their locationswere simply expressed <strong>in</strong> text format.At IRRI, we have worked on improv<strong>in</strong>gthis situation to ref<strong>in</strong>e the Institute’sgenebank and also other genebanks. Wehave used tools such as biogeomancer 2to assign coord<strong>in</strong>ates to genebanksamples, us<strong>in</strong>g their available textdescription as references. This is called“georeferenc<strong>in</strong>g” (see box). We also crosscheckedthe coord<strong>in</strong>ates and correctedthose that were found to be wrong.12Accord<strong>in</strong>g to "The State <strong>of</strong> the World's Plant GeneticResources for Food and Agriculture," FAO, 2009.Available at www.fao.org/ag/AGP/agps/PGRFA/wrlmap_e.htm.Guarlnick et al. 2006. PLoS Biology. www.plosbiology.org/article/<strong>in</strong>fo:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.0040381; http://bg.berkeley.edu/latest/.30 Rice Today April-June 2010


lectionsby Ma. Crist<strong>in</strong>a Paule, Jane Girly Cuerdo, Mary Anne Reyes,Arnel Rala, Jacob van Etten, Andrew Nelson, and Robert J. HijmansMap <strong>of</strong> orig<strong>in</strong>s <strong>of</strong> georeferenced rice samples by genebank*IRRI = International Rice Research Institute, AfricaRice = Africa Rice Center (formerly known as WARDA), CAAS = Ch<strong>in</strong>ese Academy <strong>of</strong> Agricultural Sciences,USDA = United States Department <strong>of</strong> Agriculture, ILRI = International Livestock Research Institute.We have now almost completedgeoreferenc<strong>in</strong>g the IRRI collection. Thismap illustrates the progress we havemade so far. We have also <strong>in</strong>cluded datafor some other rice collections. 3The coverage <strong>of</strong> the rice collection<strong>sr</strong>eflects the global distribution <strong>of</strong> ricecultivation and diversity, which werefound to be highest <strong>in</strong> East, Southeast,and South Asia, and <strong>in</strong> West Africa (seemap), as well as <strong>in</strong> the regional focuses <strong>of</strong>the <strong>in</strong>stitutes with rice genebanks (mostsamples <strong>in</strong> the genebank <strong>of</strong> AfricaRiceare from West Africa).3This work was supported by the GPG2 project (WorldBank/Bioversity) and by the United States Department<strong>of</strong> Agriculture.An important question is whetheror not there are still gaps <strong>in</strong> the results<strong>of</strong> this impressive collect<strong>in</strong>g effort. Thatis hard to say because the data presentedwere taken from just a limited number <strong>of</strong>genebanks, not all, and some records didnot have coord<strong>in</strong>ates. Further analysismust also be done to <strong>in</strong>corporate geneticand other data to <strong>in</strong>clude the relativeimportance (contribution <strong>of</strong> additionaldiversity) <strong>of</strong> new sites. Nevertheless,some gaps stand out. In the collectionsmapped here, very few samples camefrom Japan and Korea (but thesecountries have genebanks <strong>of</strong> their own).Collections <strong>in</strong> parts <strong>of</strong> Myanmar andCambodia are also sparse.The process <strong>of</strong> georeferenc<strong>in</strong>g thesekey rice accession databases cont<strong>in</strong>uesand we aim to produce a completepicture <strong>of</strong> global rice diversity soon, asit will certa<strong>in</strong>ly play a crucial role <strong>in</strong> theconservation and management <strong>of</strong> ricegenetic resources for future generations.Ms. Paule, Ms. Cuerdo, and Ms. Reyesare researchers; Mr. Rala is an associatescientist; and Dr. Nelson is a geographer<strong>in</strong> IRRI’s Geographic InformationSystems, Social Sciences Division. Dr.van Etten is an assistant pr<strong>of</strong>essor,School <strong>of</strong> Biology, IE University <strong>in</strong>Spa<strong>in</strong>, and Dr. Hijmans is an assistantpr<strong>of</strong>essor, Department <strong>of</strong> EnvironmentalScience and Policy, University <strong>of</strong>California-Davis.Rice Today April-June 201031


R. RAMANTODAY, INDIGENOUS African rice is grownonly by a few farmers <strong>in</strong> isolated areas<strong>of</strong> West Africa.<strong>Pockets</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>gold</strong>by Savitri MohapatraSciensts nd a treasure trove <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>formaon <strong>in</strong> Africa’s <strong>in</strong>digenous rice that could helpbreed beer variees for tomorrow’s generaonOn the Danyi plateau <strong>in</strong> Togo,villagers still bless newly-wedcouples by spr<strong>in</strong>kl<strong>in</strong>g rice<strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>s over their heads. Theyuse <strong>in</strong>digenous African rice, which wasdomesticated about 3,500 years ago <strong>in</strong>West Africa. The villagers also cont<strong>in</strong>ueto appease the souls <strong>of</strong> their ancestors by<strong>of</strong>fer<strong>in</strong>g them this rice.African rice is not only an <strong>in</strong>tegralpart <strong>of</strong> the culture but also the preferredfood. “Once you taste our rice, you willnever like any other rice and it stays<strong>in</strong> your stomach unlike the modernvarieties,” the women say. The elderlyvillagers mourn, however, that theirchildren and grandchildren are no longer<strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> grow<strong>in</strong>g this rice.Accord<strong>in</strong>g to some historians,African rice susta<strong>in</strong>ed the great empires<strong>of</strong> Ghana, Mali, and Songhai <strong>in</strong> West andCentral Africa dur<strong>in</strong>g the 11th to 16thcentury. Today, however, this type <strong>of</strong> riceis becom<strong>in</strong>g ext<strong>in</strong>ct as it is grown only<strong>in</strong> pockets <strong>of</strong> West Africa. In some areas,the deepwater or float<strong>in</strong>g rice plantsbelong<strong>in</strong>g to this species are still found.African rice, whose scientific nameis Oryza glaberrima, is unique to Africa.About 450 years ago, the Asian species,O. sativa, was <strong>in</strong>troduced to Africafrom Asia and quickly became popularbecause <strong>of</strong> its high yield potential.Over the years, African rice hasbeen replaced <strong>in</strong> the region by Asian ricebecause it is prone to lodg<strong>in</strong>g (plants fallover) and shatter<strong>in</strong>g (the panicle scattersseed at maturity). For years, it has alsobeen neglected by research.However, new f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs presentedby Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice)scientists and their partners dur<strong>in</strong>g theAfrica Rice Congress held last 22-26March 2010 <strong>in</strong> Bamako, Mali, havesparked renewed <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> this species.A few African farmers, such asthe villagers <strong>in</strong> the Danyi plateau, havecont<strong>in</strong>ued to grow African rice because<strong>of</strong> its adaptability and its ceremonial andcultural value. These farmers <strong>in</strong>spiredAfricaRice scientists to <strong>in</strong>vestigate thespecies and tap <strong>in</strong>to its rich reservoir <strong>of</strong>genes for resistance to several stresses,<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g weeds.For example, studies have shownthat one <strong>of</strong> the O. glaberrima varieties,CG 14, is weed competitive and has32 Rice Today April-June 2010


good resistance to iron toxicity, drought,nematodes, waterlogg<strong>in</strong>g, and majorAfrican rice diseases and pests. It seemsto adapt to acid soil with low phosphorusavailability.“Such multiple resistance to<strong>in</strong>digenous constra<strong>in</strong>ts is a highlydesirable character for rice cultivated<strong>in</strong> the ra<strong>in</strong>fed ecology <strong>in</strong> West Africaby resource-poor farmers, who cannotafford to adopt <strong>in</strong>tensive agronomicmeasures aga<strong>in</strong>st such constra<strong>in</strong>ts,” saidDr. Moussa Sié, senior rice breeder andcoord<strong>in</strong>ator <strong>of</strong> the Rice Breed<strong>in</strong>g TaskForce <strong>of</strong> AfricaRice.That is why AfricaRice scientistDr. Monty Jones and his team selectedCG 14 when they decided to cross O.glaberrima with O. sativa <strong>in</strong> the 1990sto develop productive rice varieties thatcan adapt to African conditions. Theysucceeded <strong>in</strong> break<strong>in</strong>g the natural barrierthat makes it difficult for the two speciesto cross. This was the genesis <strong>of</strong> the NewRice for Africa (NERICA). The bestNERICA varieties comb<strong>in</strong>e the stresstolerance <strong>of</strong> O. glaberrima with the highyield potential <strong>of</strong> O. sativa.“However, there are still gapsbetween the NERICA varieties andO. glaberrima <strong>in</strong> relation to resistanceto some local constra<strong>in</strong>ts,” Dr. KoichiFutakuchi, AfricaRice ecophysiologist,observes.AfricaRice therefore started tosystematically characterize its entire O.glaberrima collection <strong>of</strong> 2,500 samples<strong>in</strong> 2009. A special effort is be<strong>in</strong>gmade to screen for major diseases andenvironmental stresses such as acidity,iron toxicity, cold, and sal<strong>in</strong>ity.Expla<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g this comprehensiveeffort, Dr. Kayode Sanni, coord<strong>in</strong>ator <strong>of</strong>the International Network for GeneticEvaluation <strong>of</strong> Rice for Africa (INGER-Africa), says that until now only a fewaccessions <strong>of</strong> O. glaberrima have beenused <strong>in</strong> the breed<strong>in</strong>g programs.“By characteriz<strong>in</strong>g our O.glaberrima collection <strong>in</strong> our genebank,we may f<strong>in</strong>d new O. glaberrima l<strong>in</strong>eswith better traits than the current parentall<strong>in</strong>es <strong>of</strong> NERICA,” Dr. Sanni says.AfricaRice is also chang<strong>in</strong>g thebreed<strong>in</strong>g concept as well as breed<strong>in</strong>gprocedures to develop new <strong>in</strong>terspecificvarieties. “The new concept for<strong>in</strong>terspecific breed<strong>in</strong>g between O.AfricaRice upland ricebreeder Dr. Mandé Semonlooks at the new ricel<strong>in</strong>es developed fromOryza glaberrima.glaberrima and O. sativa is to comb<strong>in</strong>ethe adaptability <strong>of</strong> O. glaberrima tolocal environments with the optimalconjunction <strong>of</strong> the best traits <strong>of</strong> the twospecies <strong>in</strong> relation to yield<strong>in</strong>g ability,”says Dr. Futakuchi.Studies made by Dr. Futakuchiand his colleagues show that the O.glaberrima parent <strong>of</strong> the upland NERICAvarieties, CG 14, even produced morepanicles than the “panicle-numbertype” high-yield<strong>in</strong>g O. sativa varieties,although its <strong>in</strong>dividual panicle wassmaller. The <strong>in</strong>troduction <strong>of</strong> such anextraord<strong>in</strong>ary trait may favor yield<strong>in</strong>gability.Such studies <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly recognizethe “need to exploit the treasure trovethat is <strong>in</strong> African rice germplasm,” asAfricaRice upland rice breeder Dr.Mandé Semon puts it.Dr. Semon is lead<strong>in</strong>g the effort toobta<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>terspecific hybrids that haveBamakoDanyiplateauCentral and Western Africa.K. OROUmore O. glaberrima genes <strong>in</strong> the genomethan the current NERICA varieties,which were developed from backcross<strong>in</strong>gto an O. sativa parent. “We are us<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>terspecific bridge l<strong>in</strong>es <strong>in</strong> crosseswith O. glaberrima and O. barthii andno backcross<strong>in</strong>g has been done withthe O. sativa parent,” he expla<strong>in</strong>s. “Theprogenies will be ready for field test<strong>in</strong>gsoon.”To better exploit the assets <strong>of</strong> O.glaberrima without be<strong>in</strong>g hampered bythe sterility problems <strong>of</strong> hybridizationwith another species, AfricaRicescientists have begun work<strong>in</strong>g on the<strong>in</strong>traspecific breed<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> O. glaberrimaand are tak<strong>in</strong>g steps to develop plantsthat are less prone to lodg<strong>in</strong>g andshatter<strong>in</strong>g.S<strong>in</strong>ce O. glaberrima had beenconsidered to have generally low yieldpotential, <strong>in</strong>terspecific hybridization withO. sativa, which has high yield potential,was a major method <strong>in</strong> us<strong>in</strong>g this species.However, AfricaRice breeders now th<strong>in</strong>kthat O. glaberrima can potentially yield5–6 tons per hectare, which is sufficientfor ra<strong>in</strong>fed rice ecosystems <strong>in</strong> Africa.Initial results from cross<strong>in</strong>g differenttypes <strong>of</strong> O. glaberrima also show thatcompletely different sets <strong>of</strong> genes areresponsible for tolerance <strong>of</strong> submergence,rice yellow mottle virus, and phosphorusdeficiency <strong>in</strong> soils from those <strong>in</strong> O.sativa.Some new products will likelybe derived us<strong>in</strong>g molecular breed<strong>in</strong>gapproaches, through collaborative effortswith the International Rice ResearchInstitute and Ch<strong>in</strong>ese Academy <strong>of</strong>Agricultural Sciences. AfricaRicescientists are already us<strong>in</strong>g this approachto <strong>in</strong>troduce resistance to disease andother stresses <strong>in</strong>to some <strong>of</strong> Africa’s mostpopular rice varieties.With Cornell University <strong>in</strong> theU.S., a s<strong>in</strong>gle nucleotide polymorphism(SNP) chip is be<strong>in</strong>g developed basedon core collections <strong>of</strong> O. glaberrimaand O. barthii. This chip can efficientlyanalyze African germplasm and screen<strong>in</strong>terspecific progenies for desirabletraits.“We have new products <strong>in</strong> thepipel<strong>in</strong>e for Africa’s rice farmers,particularly those who want to cont<strong>in</strong>ueto grow African rice–like those <strong>of</strong> theDanyi plateau,” says Dr. Sié.Rice Today April-June 201033


Made for theTROPICSCHRIS QUINTANA (3)by Kyung-Ho KangTraditionally grown <strong>in</strong> cooler regions, japonica varieties,which are developed by IRRI, can now be cultivatedunder the warmer climate <strong>of</strong> the Philipp<strong>in</strong>esRice is more than a staple food<strong>in</strong> Asia. It is <strong>in</strong><strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>ed <strong>in</strong>the culture—not to mentionadapted to the topography andclimate <strong>of</strong> particular countries—thatsometimes respective ethnic groups canbe dist<strong>in</strong>guished from each other basedon the type <strong>of</strong> rice they grow and eat.While South and Southeast Asians, forexample, prefer long-<strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> rice such asbasmati and jasm<strong>in</strong>e, Northeast Asiansprefer medium-<strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> rice, known asjaponica. This latter type <strong>of</strong> rice thrives<strong>in</strong> temperate areas. Hence, <strong>in</strong> countrieswhere it is not traditionally grown,consumers need to pay more to obta<strong>in</strong> it.This may soon change, however, asthe International Rice Research Institute(IRRI) has recently developed twotemperate japonica rice varieties released<strong>in</strong> the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es. The Rice TechnicalWork<strong>in</strong>g Group <strong>of</strong> the National SeedIndustry Council through the NationalCooperative Tests Network, led by thePhilipp<strong>in</strong>e Rice Research Institute, hasapproved two temperate japonica ricecultivars, NSIC Rc170 or IRRI 142 andNSIC Rc220 or IRRI 152, for largescaleplant<strong>in</strong>g. This development isexpected to provide local farmers withhigher returns, and subsequently, allowconsumers to enjoy this quality rice at amore affordable price.Adapt<strong>in</strong>g to the tropicsIRRI’s japonica rice breed<strong>in</strong>g program,which is now known as GermplasmUtilization Value Added (GUVA),started <strong>in</strong> 1991, <strong>in</strong> collaboration withthe Republic <strong>of</strong> Korea, to develophigh-quality, high-yield<strong>in</strong>g temperatejaponica rice cultivars that can adaptand grow <strong>in</strong> the tropical zone. Underwarm conditions, most temperatejaponica rice varieties show stuntedgrowth and develop weak tillers,small panicles, and premature head<strong>in</strong>gbecause these varieties are sensitive toshort daylength and high temperature.So, dur<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>itial stage <strong>of</strong> thebreed<strong>in</strong>g program, every year, scientistsidentified and selected, from the KoreanSeed Multiplication Project’s nursery,germplasm (plant genetic material)that showed good performance <strong>in</strong> thePhilipp<strong>in</strong>es. These selections servedas base materials to develop breed<strong>in</strong>gpopulations <strong>of</strong> temperate japonica ricethat can adapt to tropical conditions.They were found to be less sensitiveto longer exposure to sunlight andhigher temperature, and also did notdiffer much <strong>in</strong> plant growth under thevary<strong>in</strong>g environments <strong>of</strong> Korea and thePhilipp<strong>in</strong>es.The first <strong>of</strong> the two cultivars <strong>in</strong>the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es, NSIC Rc170 or IRRI142, now called MS11, was released<strong>in</strong> 2008. MS11 is a cross between twovarieties from the Republic <strong>of</strong> Korea,namely, J<strong>in</strong>mibyeo and Cheolweon 46.J<strong>in</strong>mibyeo has high <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> quality, whileCheolweon 46 has high resistance topests and diseases <strong>in</strong> tropical conditions.The product, MS11, is a semidwarf (90cm), early-matur<strong>in</strong>g (112 days) variety,and has the typical characteristics <strong>of</strong>japonica <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>—short rounded shape,low amylose content (15.5%), and lowgelat<strong>in</strong>ization temperature. In the threeseasonmultilocation trials from the wet34 Rice Today April-June 2010


seasons <strong>of</strong> 2001 to 2002, MS11 yieldedan average <strong>of</strong> 4.5 tons per hectare, with apremium mill<strong>in</strong>g and head rice recovery<strong>of</strong> 70 and 61%, respectively.The second temperate japonica rice,NSIC Rc220 or IRRI 152, was released<strong>in</strong> 2009. Locally known as Japonica1, this cultivar is also a semidwarf (89cm), early-matur<strong>in</strong>g (109 days), andhigh-yield<strong>in</strong>g variety. Aga<strong>in</strong>, <strong>in</strong> threeyearmultilocation trials conducteddur<strong>in</strong>g the wet seasons <strong>of</strong> 2007 to 2008,it demonstrated a 25% greater yieldadvantage over MS11. And, strik<strong>in</strong>gly,it was evaluated to have better eat<strong>in</strong>gquality—comparable with that <strong>of</strong> thehighly regarded Koshihikari, a japonicarice widely grown <strong>in</strong> Japan.Contributions <strong>of</strong> japonica riceHistorically, japonica rice has had apr<strong>of</strong>ound impact on rice breed<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>Asian countries. IRRI produced IR8from a cross between a Ch<strong>in</strong>ese japonicavariety, Dee-geo-woo-gen, and anIndonesian variety, Peta (see Breed<strong>in</strong>ghistory on pages 34-38 Rice Today Vol.5 No. 4). As a result, this raised the yieldpotential <strong>of</strong> rice from a mere 2–3 tonsper hectare <strong>of</strong> the traditional varieties to8–10 tons per hectare—and later led toAsia’s Green Revolution. Moreover, thedevelopment <strong>of</strong> the high-yield<strong>in</strong>g Tongiltyperice cultivars by cross<strong>in</strong>g japonicawith <strong>in</strong>dica has helped Korea achieveand susta<strong>in</strong> its rice self-sufficiency statuss<strong>in</strong>ce 1972.Besides <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g rice productivity,japonica rice has been used for a widerange <strong>of</strong> gene sources to improve coldtolerance, <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> quality such as <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>shape, amylose content, gelat<strong>in</strong>ization,resistance to diseases such as blast andbacterial leaf blight, plant stature, andleaf senescence, among other traits.Now, many elite temperate japonical<strong>in</strong>es adaptable to tropical climateare be<strong>in</strong>g developed at IRRI throughthe GUVA program. These l<strong>in</strong>es areexpected to provide base materialsfor <strong>in</strong>tersubspecies hybridization todevelop <strong>in</strong>termediate varieties. These<strong>in</strong>termediate varieties will be anotherbreed<strong>in</strong>g goal for the GUVA program toachieve genetic improvement for yieldpotential, canopy architecture, lodg<strong>in</strong>gtolerance, and resistance to majorpests and environmental stresses thatcurrently pose a threat to the temperatejaponica varieties’ growth <strong>in</strong> tropicalconditions.Grow<strong>in</strong>g taste for japonicaWith the release <strong>of</strong> the two japonica ricecultivars, a grow<strong>in</strong>g taste for japonicarice <strong>in</strong> the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es, especiallyamong urban dwellers and the youngergeneration, will soon be satiated at morereasonable costs. Korean, Japanese,and Taiwanese restaurants and hotelswould no longer need to look back totheir orig<strong>in</strong>s to cater to their customers’preference. Most importantly, localfarmers who grow this type <strong>of</strong> rice couldsoon take advantage <strong>of</strong> the expand<strong>in</strong>gmarket, reap higher pr<strong>of</strong>its, and, we hope,lead better lives.Dr. Kang is a plant breeder <strong>in</strong>IRRI’s Plant Breed<strong>in</strong>g, Genetics, andBiotechnology Division.A PANICLE <strong>of</strong> a japonicarice cultivar, MS11.IRRI PLANT breeder Dr. Kang and visit<strong>in</strong>gresearch fellow Dr. Jeung-Hee Lee closelyexam<strong>in</strong>e ripen<strong>in</strong>g japonica rice.Rice Today April-June 201035


Operation20/20:Theclearpathtoasusta<strong>in</strong>ablefoodsupply.The International Commodity Institute (ICI) islaunch<strong>in</strong>g a new, fivepo<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong>itiative to br<strong>in</strong>g theworldcloser t<strong>of</strong>oodsecurity.Operation20/20:Theclear path to a susta<strong>in</strong>able food supply will be thedriv<strong>in</strong>gforcebeh<strong>in</strong>dtheICIAnnualPartnerProgram,to be launched <strong>in</strong> 2010, <strong>in</strong> conjunction with IRRI’s50th anniversary celebration. President and CEO <strong>of</strong>ICI, Mr. Jeremy Zw<strong>in</strong>ger, firmly believes that theprivatesectormustpartnerwithresearch<strong>in</strong>itiativesthat help feed the world. Zw<strong>in</strong>ger says, “It <strong>of</strong>tentakes one decade for an <strong>in</strong>vestment <strong>in</strong> agriculturalresearch to come to fruition by way <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>creasedyields, new technology, or a host <strong>of</strong> otherpossibilities. Therefore, it is imperative that morebus<strong>in</strong>ess and global leaders actively participate <strong>in</strong>fund<strong>in</strong>g research to positively impact futuregenerations.”Zw<strong>in</strong>ger believes that launch<strong>in</strong>gOperation20/20<strong>in</strong>2010hasbothstrategic and <strong>in</strong>tr<strong>in</strong>sic benefits toICI,aswellasICIAnnualPartners.Operation 20/20 is a 10yearprogram with def<strong>in</strong>ed goals thatwill aid <strong>in</strong> the progress <strong>of</strong> globalfood security, specifically as itrelatestorice.Thefivepo<strong>in</strong>tsthatwilldrivethis<strong>in</strong>itiativeare:One: Rice Today is the world’spremier rice research journal distributed <strong>in</strong> morethan 100 countries on a quarterly basis.RiceTodayhighlights rice research developments <strong>in</strong> emerg<strong>in</strong>gand developed economies to produce a susta<strong>in</strong>ableand economically viable food supply. Rice Todayhelpssecuretomorrow’sfoodsupplytoday.Two: The Rice Trader is the world’s authoritativevoice<strong>in</strong>theglobalricetrade.Thisweeklypublicationdistributedtoclientsaroundtheworldtracksglobalricemovements,supplyanddemand economics,aswellaspoliticalactionsthatdirectlyaffecttheprice<strong>of</strong> the world’s most widely consumed <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>. Thiscritical newsletter provides risk managementstrategies and strategic <strong>in</strong>sights that benefit globaltrade.Three: ICI World Conferences facilitate <strong>in</strong>teractionamong government <strong>of</strong>ficials, bus<strong>in</strong>ess leaders, andothermembersacrosstherice<strong>in</strong>dustrysupplycha<strong>in</strong>.These meet<strong>in</strong>gs, held twice a year, one <strong>in</strong> theWestern Hemisphere and another <strong>in</strong> the EasternHemisphere, highlight concerns, developments, andeconomicssurround<strong>in</strong>gtheglobalrice<strong>in</strong>dustry.Four: The Ariel Society was founded to highlight asusta<strong>in</strong>able approach to rice cultivation andshowcaseitsbenefitsasafood.Thissocietybelievesthatsusta<strong>in</strong>abilityismorethangoodstewardship<strong>of</strong>natural resources through agricultural cultivationand cul<strong>in</strong>ary practices. Susta<strong>in</strong>ability extends t<strong>of</strong>eed<strong>in</strong>g the hungry, car<strong>in</strong>g for the poor, and<strong>in</strong>vest<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>ourfuturegenerations.Five: Farm and Trade Inc. isatrustedbrokerandadvisorforthe<strong>in</strong>ternational commodities trade.Farm and Trade Inc. is an<strong>in</strong>ternational buyer and seller <strong>of</strong>rice with a vested <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong>unit<strong>in</strong>gsusta<strong>in</strong>ablecultivationandresearch techniques with ethicaltrade decisions. By comb<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>gworldclass analysis from allcorners<strong>of</strong>the<strong>in</strong>dustry,FarmandTrade Inc. is the world’s premierbroker<strong>of</strong>rice.Fromfieldt<strong>of</strong>ork,wehaveyoucovered.By partner<strong>in</strong>g with the International CommodityInstitute, your organization will be on the forefront<strong>of</strong> progress for a susta<strong>in</strong>able food supply. An ICIAnnual Partner receives the benefits <strong>of</strong> be<strong>in</strong>gfeatured <strong>in</strong> Rice Today, the ICI World Conferences,and a host <strong>of</strong> other opportunities. By comb<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>gresearch,production,andtrade,Operation20/20istheclearpathtoasusta<strong>in</strong>ablefoodsupply.Jo<strong>in</strong>thesolutionandpartnerwithusnow.F<strong>in</strong>doutmorebycontact<strong>in</strong>glogan.wilson@thericetrader.com.36 Rice Today April-June 2010


THE IRRI PIONEER INTERVIEWSConducted by Gene HettelGENE HETTEL (3)A juggl<strong>in</strong>g act:Gender barriers and molecular mapsSusan McCouch, an associate geneticist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) <strong>in</strong> 1990-94 andcurrently pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> plant breed<strong>in</strong>g and genetics at Cornell University, was truly a pioneer—<strong>in</strong> more waysthan one. She was an <strong>in</strong>tegral part <strong>of</strong> the team at Cornell that developed the first-ever molecular map <strong>of</strong> ricewhile, at the same time, be<strong>in</strong>g among the first female scientists to break the gender barrier <strong>in</strong> agriculturalresearch. Back <strong>in</strong> 1985, when she applied to be a graduate student <strong>in</strong> Cornell’s plant breed<strong>in</strong>g program,she was placed on probation because she was a female with a young child. Even so, dur<strong>in</strong>g her July 2009<strong>in</strong>terview on the Cornell campus, she po<strong>in</strong>ted out that, although she experienced difficulties and challengesas everyone does, she didn’t really believe that hers at both Cornell and IRRI were centered on gender issues.F<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g mean<strong>in</strong>gful work <strong>in</strong> thedevelop<strong>in</strong>g world with riceIended up at IRRI <strong>in</strong> a quite roundaboutway. I actually came <strong>in</strong>toscience late <strong>in</strong> my career. I hadlived and traveled extensively <strong>in</strong>Lat<strong>in</strong> America before com<strong>in</strong>g back tothe United States for graduate school.I had realized that my background <strong>in</strong>literature and history wasn’t go<strong>in</strong>g togive me the tools that I needed to f<strong>in</strong>dmean<strong>in</strong>gful work <strong>in</strong> the develop<strong>in</strong>gworld, which was one <strong>of</strong> the aspirationsI had.So, I returned to the UnitedStates with <strong>in</strong>terests <strong>in</strong> agriculture,nutrition, food supply, and health (butnot necessarily medic<strong>in</strong>e). That range<strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>terests converged on the field <strong>of</strong>agriculture and specifically on rice asa staple food. Access to food was theunderstory for a lot <strong>of</strong> the nutritionalproblems and nutrient deficiencies that Ihad seen dur<strong>in</strong>g my travels.At the time I entered graduateschool, I didn’t know that I would be ableto study someth<strong>in</strong>g so well-suited to my<strong>in</strong>terests. I entered the PhD program <strong>in</strong>plant breed<strong>in</strong>g and genetics at CornellUniversity as an older person, after myfirst child was born. I had deferred tomy husband’s career preparation first.By that time, we were th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g veryhard about how we could “architect” alife that would give us both pr<strong>of</strong>essionalopportunities <strong>in</strong> the develop<strong>in</strong>g world.Be<strong>in</strong>g female with a young babyforces probationWhile my husband, Paul Coen,was <strong>in</strong> veter<strong>in</strong>ary school, I was astaff technician at Cornell. Dur<strong>in</strong>gthat time, I took a very well-known<strong>in</strong>ternational agriculture course. Throughconversations with many participantsdur<strong>in</strong>g that course, I concluded that Iwanted to do graduate work <strong>in</strong> plantbreed<strong>in</strong>g. It had not occurred to mebefore but it fit very well with many<strong>of</strong> the <strong>in</strong>terests I had, and with my MSpreparation <strong>in</strong> plant pathology.In 1985, when I applied to the field<strong>of</strong> plant breed<strong>in</strong>g at Cornell, it was thefirst time that a female with a youngbaby was accepted to become a graduatestudent. Several <strong>of</strong> the pr<strong>of</strong>essors feltit was too great a handicap, and that Iwould never work <strong>in</strong> the field. I th<strong>in</strong>kthey felt that, maybe, I was go<strong>in</strong>g toattend classes, get an education, but neverwork pr<strong>of</strong>essionally. So, I was acceptedon probation and I had to prove myself.Despite the fact that many <strong>of</strong> the malestudents <strong>in</strong> the department had youngbabies at home, this was not grounds forquestion<strong>in</strong>g their pr<strong>of</strong>essional aspirations.But, anyway, I entered the departmentand I worked very diligently and I th<strong>in</strong>k Idemonstrated a serious commitment.My tim<strong>in</strong>g was really fortunatebecause the Rockefeller Foundation’sProgram on Rice Biotechnology hadRice Today April-June 201037


IRRI ARCHIVEIN 1990, Dr. McCouch and laboratory technician Marifa Lanuang Corral useliquid nitrogen to harvest tissue from IRRI field plot–grown rice plants forDNA extraction.just started <strong>in</strong> 1985. Ray Wu [thelate Cornell pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> molecularbiology and genetics, who was widelyrecognized as one <strong>of</strong> the fathers <strong>of</strong>plant genetic eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g], RonnieC<strong>of</strong>fman [IRRI plant breeder, 1971-81 and currently director <strong>of</strong> Cornell’sInternational Programs], and Cornellplant breeder Steve Tanksley hadput forward a proposal to do somemolecular biology on rice that would<strong>in</strong>volve develop<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>in</strong> those days, anRFLP [restriction fragment lengthpolymorphism] map. So, as I entered thedepartment and considered the variousopportunities that presented themselvesas PhD projects, this was the one thatstood out <strong>in</strong> my m<strong>in</strong>d. Initially, I wastold that I didn’t have the qualificationsto take on that project. But I slowlyworked my way <strong>in</strong>to it and, after the firstyear, was selected for a fellowship underthat program. So, my PhD programwas largely funded by the RockefellerFoundation.Great teamwork—develop<strong>in</strong>g thefirst molecular map <strong>of</strong> riceI became a full-fledged graduate student<strong>in</strong> 1986. Dur<strong>in</strong>g that time, I worked veryclosely with two Ch<strong>in</strong>ese colleagues[Z.H. Yu and Z.Y. Wang] who werealso Rockefeller-funded scholars. Ourthreesome—the two scholars andI—put together that first RFLP map<strong>of</strong> rice, which was published <strong>in</strong> 1988[Theoretical and Applied Genetics:Molecular mapp<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> rice chromosomes,76:815-829]. It was a great achievementderived from teamwork. We learned alot from Steve Tanksley,a tomato geneticist,who was mak<strong>in</strong>g hisfirst foray <strong>in</strong>to cereals,specifically rice. TheRFLP technology, asthose who worked withit know, is cumbersomeand very tedious. It<strong>in</strong>volved a lot <strong>of</strong> workus<strong>in</strong>g radiation andalmost a 24-hour rout<strong>in</strong>e<strong>in</strong> the lab. We workedday and night to developthis map, and it was agreat accomplishment<strong>in</strong> its day—135 markersacross rice’s 12 chromosomes. Anyway,it was the first molecular map <strong>of</strong> rice,very historic, and we were very excited.I made my first trip to IRRI topresent the results <strong>of</strong> that work <strong>in</strong> 1988. Iremember be<strong>in</strong>g stunned by the number<strong>of</strong> researchers at IRRI <strong>in</strong> so manydiverse fields, all <strong>of</strong> them concentratedon rice. I was excited by it all. I th<strong>in</strong>kpeople were equally excited by the workwe were do<strong>in</strong>g at Cornell. There was avery good synergy and I th<strong>in</strong>k that firstvisit cemented a relationship that wouldevolve <strong>in</strong>to a job opportunity at IRRIwhen I f<strong>in</strong>ished my PhD.The IRRI experienceIn 1990, when I received my PhD fromCornell, I had just given birth to mysecond child, Andre. When he wasabout 8 weeks old, the family moved tothe Philipp<strong>in</strong>es so that I could take up aposition as an <strong>in</strong>ternationally recruitedgeneticist at IRRI. My first task wasto set up a molecular breed<strong>in</strong>g lab—ahistoric first.We were on the cutt<strong>in</strong>g edge <strong>of</strong>the technology based on what we haddeveloped at Cornell, and we were go<strong>in</strong>gto try to implement it at IRRI, putt<strong>in</strong>gthe molecular markers <strong>in</strong>to action <strong>in</strong>the context <strong>of</strong> plant breed<strong>in</strong>g—and <strong>in</strong>the context <strong>of</strong> rice improvement for thedevelop<strong>in</strong>g world. For me, it fulfilled mydream <strong>of</strong> comb<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g science—and theexcitement <strong>of</strong> the new k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>of</strong> sciencethat was just emerg<strong>in</strong>g at the time—withthe frontier <strong>of</strong> develop<strong>in</strong>g new varieties<strong>of</strong> rice. We aimed to encourage betteruse <strong>of</strong> the natural resources that wereavailable to people. Of course, theother underly<strong>in</strong>g theme was: could weuse genetics to m<strong>in</strong>imize the amount<strong>of</strong> pesticide use and improve fertilizerefficiency? Today, we’re very <strong>in</strong>terested<strong>in</strong> water-use efficiency as well.Creat<strong>in</strong>g excitement overcome<strong>sr</strong>esistance. All <strong>of</strong> this came together<strong>in</strong> this wonderful career opportunity. Ith<strong>in</strong>k that my family really appreciatedwhat it meant to me, after 4 years <strong>in</strong>the PhD program, to have the chance togo to IRRI and try to <strong>in</strong>tegrate the newgenetic tools <strong>in</strong>to the breed<strong>in</strong>g processthere—it was someth<strong>in</strong>g that requiredas much <strong>in</strong>terpersonal and politicalwill as scientific expertise. Dur<strong>in</strong>g theearly days, there was a fair amount<strong>of</strong> resistance to spend<strong>in</strong>g time andmoney on us<strong>in</strong>g molecular markers todo someth<strong>in</strong>g that the breeders thoughtthey already did very well. There wasa time when the new technology wasboth embraced and resisted, and a littlebit resented. I was right at that edge.So, I did my best to try to <strong>in</strong>troduce thetechnology <strong>in</strong> ways that would allowothers to share the excitement <strong>of</strong> whatI believed was possible when thesemarkers were used to identify genescontroll<strong>in</strong>g the traits that breedersselected for.And so, for the last 20 years, thatis what I have spent my life do<strong>in</strong>g.We’ve cont<strong>in</strong>ued to use a participatoryapproach. I’ve tried to br<strong>in</strong>g people fromdiverse backgrounds <strong>in</strong>to the processand share the excitement <strong>of</strong> what sciencehas meant to me. At the same time,I’ve tried to learn from others wherethe most press<strong>in</strong>g problems lie and toaddress those problems us<strong>in</strong>g germplasmand natural variation that is <strong>of</strong> most<strong>in</strong>terest to them. This has always been acomb<strong>in</strong>ed effort to show others what waspossible and to use genetics wisely forplant improvement.Greatest achievement: GenomeMapp<strong>in</strong>g Laboratory. I th<strong>in</strong>k mygreatest achievement at IRRI wasdevelop<strong>in</strong>g that first marker lab—I th<strong>in</strong>kit’s still called the Genome Mapp<strong>in</strong>gLaboratory [now referred to as theMolecular Breed<strong>in</strong>g Laboratory]. Thisprogram has been modified and enlargedand now occupies a central place <strong>in</strong>the breed<strong>in</strong>g program. Just th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>gback to what it meant to pioneer such aprogram, I remember the very first look38Rice Today April-June 2010


VIEW FROM the w<strong>in</strong>dows <strong>in</strong>stalled <strong>in</strong> theremodeled Genome Mapp<strong>in</strong>g Laboratory <strong>in</strong>1990. The electrophoresis units <strong>in</strong> front are<strong>in</strong>dicative <strong>of</strong> the age <strong>of</strong> RFLP technology.MCCOUCH ARCHIVE (2)THE FAMILY—Andre, Susan, Amanda, andPaul—lived <strong>in</strong> <strong>of</strong>f-campus hous<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> 1990-91because they wanted to get more <strong>in</strong>volved withthe local Filip<strong>in</strong>o community.I had at what the space would be—therewere no w<strong>in</strong>dows; it was just a brickbuild<strong>in</strong>g with a garage underneath. Isaid: “I th<strong>in</strong>k the first th<strong>in</strong>g we need todo is to put <strong>in</strong> w<strong>in</strong>dows so we can lookout on the rice paddies and the beautifulvolcanic mounta<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> the background.”Indeed, we <strong>in</strong>sisted on that. I still walk<strong>in</strong>to that laboratory and remember thedecision to put <strong>in</strong> the w<strong>in</strong>dows thatwas part <strong>of</strong> design<strong>in</strong>g the facility. Tosee it function<strong>in</strong>g and work<strong>in</strong>g todayand boot<strong>in</strong>g out good science and goodproducts is probably the greatest reward.Greatest frustration: no work forspouse. The hardest th<strong>in</strong>g for me wasthat my spouse was unable to acquirea work visa. In 1990, spouses couldnot get work visas. [Even today <strong>in</strong> thePhilipp<strong>in</strong>es, a work permit for a spouse isnot automatically given upon applicationand depends on what k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>of</strong> work thepermit is be<strong>in</strong>g requested for.] Paul hada veter<strong>in</strong>ary practice <strong>in</strong> New York andhe had expected to be able to work <strong>in</strong>the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es. He was pay<strong>in</strong>g back hisstudent loans and forego<strong>in</strong>g a normalsalary l<strong>in</strong>e. He had a skill set that wouldhave been useful. I th<strong>in</strong>k the greatestfrustration was that he couldn’t workand he found it very difficult to developmean<strong>in</strong>gful pr<strong>of</strong>essional relationships.That is why the family moved <strong>in</strong>to a“shuttle” research relationship dur<strong>in</strong>g thelast 3 years <strong>of</strong> my 5-year contract, that is,I traveled back and forth between NewYork and the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es.Mistaken identity: all Caucasianwomen look alike. There were just tw<strong>of</strong>emale <strong>in</strong>ternationally recruited staffmembers at that time at IRRI. It wa<strong>sr</strong>are to be female <strong>in</strong> the scientific arenaand my colleague Rebecca Nelson [IRRImolecular plant pathologist, 1989-96]and I were the two females. Other thanthe fact that we both are Caucasians, wereally didn’t look alike. She has darkbrown eyes; I have blue eyes; she hasvery curly hair; I have very long straighthair; and dur<strong>in</strong>g one year she waspregnant. So, about the time she was 9months’ pregnant, walk<strong>in</strong>g around witha big belly and her curly hair and browneyes, and me with my long, straight hair,and no belly, I can remember that manypeople would see me pass<strong>in</strong>g and say,“Hi, Rebecca,” and they’d see her pass<strong>in</strong>gand say, “Hi, Susan,” because, I th<strong>in</strong>k,to them we looked very much the same.We laugh about that even today. Peoplestill ask me, when I visit IRRI, how is myhusband, Johnny? Of course, Johnny isRebecca’s husband and Paul is m<strong>in</strong>e—they still confuse us! That is someth<strong>in</strong>gwe always found very humorous.National staff make IRRI tick. Ith<strong>in</strong>k the national staff are what reallymake IRRI tick. When I first went toIRRI, my learn<strong>in</strong>g curve about Asia,about rice, and about many <strong>of</strong> the th<strong>in</strong>gsthat I now do pr<strong>of</strong>essionally started withthe knowledge that was transmitted to meby the national staff.Cultivat<strong>in</strong>g a loyal “extended” familyI was at IRRI for a relatively shorttime—really just under 2 years with myfamily, although I’ve spent many weeksand months there s<strong>in</strong>ce that time. I th<strong>in</strong>kit was really the foundation <strong>of</strong> my career.It allowed me to jo<strong>in</strong> that “extended”family that IRRI has created over its 50years and to be a participant both fromwith<strong>in</strong> and from without.A great joy has been the <strong>in</strong>teractionwith the Filip<strong>in</strong>o staff and the peoplewhom I tra<strong>in</strong>ed and the many<strong>in</strong>ternational scholars who came to mylab or whom I’ve known through mycollaborations over the many years.Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g people enables one to keepextend<strong>in</strong>g the sense <strong>of</strong> family. Peoplego back to their countries where theycont<strong>in</strong>ue to work and <strong>in</strong>teract <strong>in</strong> the<strong>in</strong>ternational arena. Hav<strong>in</strong>g participated<strong>in</strong> an emerg<strong>in</strong>g program when molecularbreed<strong>in</strong>g technology was just com<strong>in</strong>gon-l<strong>in</strong>e really solidified a k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>of</strong> familybond<strong>in</strong>g that we still enjoy today.Overall, I believe that this extendedfamily is very loyal to the vision andto the ideal that IRRI represents. So,even if I feel that we need to re<strong>in</strong>ventourselves and to re<strong>in</strong>vent many <strong>of</strong> our<strong>in</strong>ternational organizations, I th<strong>in</strong>kwe all keep somewhere deep with<strong>in</strong>us the vision <strong>of</strong> what the organizationrepresents, even as it evolves andbecomes someth<strong>in</strong>g new.Go to www.irri.org/publications/today/McCouch.asp for the full transcriptand video clips <strong>of</strong> Dr. McCouch’s<strong>in</strong>terview, <strong>in</strong> which she also refl ectson the challenges <strong>of</strong> be<strong>in</strong>g a female <strong>in</strong>scientifi c research; the creation <strong>of</strong> IRRI’snew tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g course, Rice: research toproduction; IRRI challenges <strong>in</strong> 2010 andbeyond; and what the future holds, <strong>in</strong> herview, for packag<strong>in</strong>g better rice varietiesfor the world’s production systems.Rice Today April-June 201039


IRRI welcomesits alumni to a homecom<strong>in</strong>g partyby Sophie ClaytonThe International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI) is host<strong>in</strong>g (18-26April 2010) its 50th anniversaryalumni homecom<strong>in</strong>g party for allits current and past staff and scholars fromthe Philipp<strong>in</strong>es and around the world.S<strong>in</strong>ce 1960, many thousands <strong>of</strong>people have worked for IRRI from allcorners <strong>of</strong> the globe. Currently, about1,300 people work at IRRI. Most arelocated at the Philipp<strong>in</strong>e headquarters,while the rest are grouped <strong>in</strong>to smallteams and assigned to country <strong>of</strong>fices.IRRI’s staff members are its mostimportant asset. The Institute recruitsscience leaders who are considered to beamong the best <strong>in</strong> their fields—and <strong>in</strong> theworld. They are supported by nationallyrecruited staff that br<strong>in</strong>g their expertise,local knowledge, and skills to IRRI andhelp connect with the local communitieswhere IRRI works.Our alumni celebrations areacknowledg<strong>in</strong>g the important work <strong>of</strong> thestaff—both past and present. Activities arescience forums, the ceremonial harvest <strong>of</strong>the 138th Long-term Cont<strong>in</strong>uous Cropp<strong>in</strong>gExperiment, Nostalgia Theatre screen<strong>in</strong>gs<strong>of</strong> historic and contemporary videosabout IRRI (see www.irri.org/about/Nostalgia_Theatre.asp), arts and culturalperformances, and open houses <strong>of</strong> IRRIresearch and support groups cover<strong>in</strong>gplant breed<strong>in</strong>g, postharvest technology,crop and environmental sciences,communications, and much more.The IRRI alumni homecom<strong>in</strong>g waspreceded by the 50th annual meet<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong>IRRI’s Board <strong>of</strong> Trustees, on 12-17 April2010.Expand<strong>in</strong>g expertise <strong>in</strong> riceOver the past 12 months, IRRI has beenexperienc<strong>in</strong>g rapid growth. In 2009,more than 200 new employees wereappo<strong>in</strong>ted and, on average, 17 newpeople were hired every month. Inaddition, dur<strong>in</strong>g this same period, IRRIhired over 260 <strong>in</strong>dividuals on shorttermcontracts and supported 99 onthe-jobtra<strong>in</strong>ees.Although the majority <strong>of</strong> thisgrowth has been based at IRRIheadquarters <strong>in</strong> the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es, therehas been a rise <strong>in</strong> the number <strong>of</strong> staffrecruited at IRRI’s country <strong>of</strong>fices acrossAsia and Africa.In March 2010, IRRI had 74vacancies to fill. This high volume <strong>of</strong>recruitment is expected to cont<strong>in</strong>ueuntil mid-2010.40 Rice Today April-June 2010


<strong>Stamps</strong> <strong>of</strong>APPROVALby Gene HettelIn honor <strong>of</strong> the 50th anniversary <strong>of</strong>the International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI), which is based <strong>in</strong>the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es, the Philipp<strong>in</strong>e PostalCorporation (PPC) has issued a set <strong>of</strong>four stamps celebrat<strong>in</strong>g the Institute’simportant work <strong>in</strong> rice research for theworld—much <strong>of</strong> it done <strong>in</strong> IRRI’s hostcountry.The four stamps were <strong>of</strong>ficiallyreleased by Philipp<strong>in</strong>e PostmasterGeneral Diomedio P. Villanueva <strong>in</strong> aspecial first-day issue ceremony at IRRI’sheadquarters <strong>in</strong> LosBaños on 14 April 2010,a date that co<strong>in</strong>cideswith IRRI’s <strong>of</strong>ficialbirthday as this is whenthe Board <strong>of</strong> Trusteesfirst met back <strong>in</strong> 1960.Accord<strong>in</strong>gto Elenita D.L.San Diego, act<strong>in</strong>gmanager <strong>of</strong> the PPC’sPostal and PhilatelicDepartment, the PPCreceives, on average,around 50 requestseach year to producecommemorative stamps for variouscauses, subjects, events, and avariety <strong>of</strong> organization and celebrityanniversaries, but only around 20–30can be produced annually. Some <strong>of</strong> themost recent Philipp<strong>in</strong>e stamps featurePhilipp<strong>in</strong>e mar<strong>in</strong>e biodiversity, 90 years<strong>of</strong> Philipp<strong>in</strong>e Rotary Club activities, the77th birth anniversary <strong>of</strong> the late formerPhilipp<strong>in</strong>e president Corazon C. Aqu<strong>in</strong>o,and now, IRRI’s50th anniversary.“We were onlygo<strong>in</strong>g to recommendone design to thePPC,” said MichaelJackson, IRRI’sformer directorfor ProgramPlann<strong>in</strong>g andCommunications.“However, ourdesigner came upwith so many great studies that we sentfour different render<strong>in</strong>gs, all <strong>of</strong> whichwere accepted by the PPC!”The stamps’ designer, Juan V.Lazaro IV, is a self-taught artist wh<strong>of</strong>irst jo<strong>in</strong>ed IRRI <strong>in</strong> 1980 as a laborer <strong>in</strong>the Plant Pathology Division, work<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong> the field, greenhouse, and laboratory.Now head <strong>of</strong> the Creative ServicesSection <strong>of</strong> IRRI’s CommunicationCPS HEAD Gene Hettel, Mr. Lazaro, and Dr. Jackson discuss various stamp design possibilities and thenMr. Lazaro gets down to f<strong>in</strong>aliz<strong>in</strong>g the four designs submitted to the PPC.and Publications Services (CPS) andart director <strong>of</strong> Rice Today, Mr. Lazarodescribed the elements <strong>in</strong> the fourstamps.“In the first stamp, I <strong>in</strong>corporatedan illustration <strong>of</strong> women transplant<strong>in</strong>grice—depicted as an element <strong>in</strong> IRRI’sorig<strong>in</strong>al seal and logo <strong>in</strong>troduced <strong>in</strong>1961,” he said. “The second stamp<strong>in</strong>corporates a recent aerial photo <strong>of</strong>the 252-hectare facility located on thema<strong>in</strong> campus <strong>of</strong> the University <strong>of</strong> thePhilipp<strong>in</strong>es at Los Baños, 60 kilometerssouth <strong>of</strong> Manila. Thethird stamp featuresa recent photo taken<strong>in</strong> the IRRI fieldplots and the fourthstamp depicts arepresentative verdantpanicle <strong>of</strong> a highyield<strong>in</strong>grice varietydeveloped by IRRIscientists.”This is not thefirst time the PPC ha<strong>sr</strong>ecognized IRRI with“stamps <strong>of</strong> <strong>approval</strong>.”A two-stamp set(above left) was issued on 27 May 1985to co<strong>in</strong>cide with IRRI’s 25th anniversaryevents.Stamp collectors and hobbyists canorder a souvenir folder, which featuresthe four-stamp set and the <strong>of</strong>ficial firstdaycover on a special envelope with acancellation postmark dated 14 April2010, by contact<strong>in</strong>g IRRI’s RiceworldBookstore at RiceworldBookstore@cgiar.org. The cost isUS$15 per set whilesupplies last.To view an8-m<strong>in</strong>ute YouTubevideo show<strong>in</strong>gIRRI’s rich history<strong>in</strong> a montage <strong>of</strong>still photos and therelated development<strong>of</strong> the stamps, go tohttp://snipurl.com/uvbkg.Rice Today April-June 201041


COUNTRY HIGHLIGHT:IRRI <strong>in</strong> ThailandCompiled by Sophie ClaytonThe International Rice ResearchInstitute has had a longstand<strong>in</strong>grelationship withThailand. The first formal l<strong>in</strong>kwas made <strong>in</strong> 1960—the year IRRI wasestablished—when Thailand’s Pr<strong>in</strong>ceChakrabandhu became a found<strong>in</strong>gmember <strong>of</strong> the IRRI Board <strong>of</strong> Trustees.Follow<strong>in</strong>g this, <strong>in</strong> 1966, IRRI’s Thai<strong>of</strong>fice was established <strong>in</strong> Bangkok withthe appo<strong>in</strong>tment <strong>of</strong> the first IRRI scientistassigned to Thailand. Dur<strong>in</strong>g that year,the IRRI variety IR8-288-3 was crossedwith tall Thai rice cultivars to produceRD1 and RD3—the first nonglut<strong>in</strong>ous,semidwarf, photoperiod-<strong>in</strong>sensitive,high-yield<strong>in</strong>g varieties released t<strong>of</strong>armers <strong>in</strong> the country.IRRI has ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed a closerelationship with Thailand over the last50 years and, with<strong>in</strong> this period, fourThai scientists have worked at IRRIheadquarters. Moreover, between 1966and 2009, IRRI received 191 scholarsfrom Thailand.Thailand’s royal connectionwith IRRI has cont<strong>in</strong>ued throughoutthe years. In July 1963, His MajestyK<strong>in</strong>g Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX)visited IRRI to show his support for thefledgl<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>stitute and then, <strong>in</strong> 1996, hebecame the first and only Royal Patron <strong>of</strong>IRRI. Recently, <strong>in</strong> November 2009, HerRoyal Highness Pr<strong>in</strong>cess Maha ChakriSir<strong>in</strong>dhorn came to IRRI to launch theInstitute’s 50th anniversary.Rice <strong>in</strong> ThailandRice is the most important crop <strong>of</strong>Thailand. It occupies about 55% <strong>of</strong>Thailand’s total arable land. Rice isalso the staple food <strong>of</strong> all Thai people,regardless <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>come.Thailand is the world’s biggestexporter <strong>of</strong> rice. In 2008, it exportedabout 10 million tons <strong>of</strong> rice (milledequivalent), which makes up about 33%<strong>of</strong> the world rice trade.If there is anyth<strong>in</strong>g this countryis famous for, it is Thai jasm<strong>in</strong>e rice, ahigh-quality, long-<strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>, aromatic whiteMAP BY NEL GARCIA AND ARNEL RALARice production areasThailand: fast factsPopulation 67 million 1Rice production area 10 million hectaresTotal land area 51 million hectares 2Average rice yield (2007) 2.97 tons per hectare 3Total rice production (2008) 31.7 million tons 3Rice exported (2008) 10 million tons(milled equivalent) 31World Bank2CIA world fact book3FAOrice, which commands a price advantageover lower grades. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to theBoard <strong>of</strong> Trade <strong>of</strong> Thailand, the biggestimporters <strong>of</strong> Thai jasm<strong>in</strong>e rice <strong>in</strong> 2009were Ch<strong>in</strong>a, the U.S., and Malaysia.Countries such as S<strong>in</strong>gapore, Japan,Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa haveall become major importers <strong>of</strong> Thailand’smany other grades <strong>of</strong> rice that <strong>in</strong>cludePathumthani rice <strong>in</strong> whole <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> andbroken and white rice <strong>in</strong> parboiled,broken, and glut<strong>in</strong>ous rice. Thailand’<strong>sr</strong>ice products cross the wide spectrum<strong>of</strong> rice available for trade <strong>in</strong> the world.Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, the country’s export riceprices are commonly considered to be thebenchmark price for rice products fromother nations.Help<strong>in</strong>g Thai rice production with IRRIscienceSome prime examples <strong>of</strong> IRRI’s researchtargeted at help<strong>in</strong>g rice production <strong>in</strong>Thailand are pest management research,genetic diversity conservation, the ThaiRice Knowledge Bank, and grow<strong>in</strong>g rice<strong>in</strong> unfavorable environments.Pest management. Brownplanthoppers (BPH) are a major pest <strong>in</strong>rice fields. In the recent 2009-10 season,BPH have reached plague proportions <strong>in</strong>Thailand and may cause yield losses <strong>of</strong>up to 30% <strong>in</strong> affected paddies.IRRI helps farmers manage pests<strong>in</strong> a susta<strong>in</strong>able way by develop<strong>in</strong>gpest-resistant rice varieties, <strong>in</strong>tegratedpest management (IPM) strategies, andecological eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g approaches.IRRI has been monitor<strong>in</strong>g the BPH andassociated virus situations across Asiawith <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g concern over the pastseveral years.In l<strong>in</strong>e with this, IRRI ha<strong>sr</strong>ecommended some practices to reducethe onset and severity <strong>of</strong> BPH outbreakssuch as adopt<strong>in</strong>g IPM practices,limit<strong>in</strong>g pesticide use, careful nutrientmanagement, plant<strong>in</strong>g resistant varieties,synchroniz<strong>in</strong>g rice plant<strong>in</strong>gs, andencourag<strong>in</strong>g beneficial <strong>in</strong>sects.For more <strong>in</strong>formation on manag<strong>in</strong>gBPH problems and prevent<strong>in</strong>g futureBPH outbreaks, visit the Ricehopper blogat http://ricehoppers.net/.Shar<strong>in</strong>g the genetic diversity <strong>of</strong>rice with Thailand. The InternationalRice Genebank currently has 5,185types <strong>of</strong> rice received from Thailandthat are available for shar<strong>in</strong>g under theInternational Treaty on Plant GeneticResources for Food and Agriculture.Another 417 are also conserved, but notshared, as requested by Thailand.Thai rice breeders and farmers can42 Rice Today April-June 2010


Paddy rice (tons per hectare)5.04.54.03.53.02.52.01.51.00.0Data source: FAOSTATWorldThailandAverage rice yield1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985Yearaccess this rice and other non-Thai ricefrom the International Rice Genebank’scollection <strong>of</strong> more than 110,000 types <strong>of</strong>rice. So far, 5,245 different rice sampleshave been dispatched to Thailand to helpbreed new rice varieties.The <strong>in</strong>tegrity and uniqueness <strong>of</strong>Thai jasm<strong>in</strong>e rice will not, however,be compromised through this shar<strong>in</strong>gprocess because the unique aromaticproperties <strong>of</strong> Thai jasm<strong>in</strong>e rice are acomb<strong>in</strong>ation <strong>of</strong> the presence <strong>of</strong> variousaroma genes and the climatic and soilconditions where Thai jasm<strong>in</strong>e rice isgrown. Such conditions are not easilyreplicated outside <strong>of</strong> Thailand, thusprotect<strong>in</strong>g the prestige <strong>of</strong> Thai rice <strong>in</strong> themarket for many years to come.Moreover, IRRI scientists havediscovered that the version <strong>of</strong> the majorPercentage <strong>of</strong> rice export trade bycounty <strong>in</strong> 2007Egypt4%Ch<strong>in</strong>a4%UnitedStates 6%Pakistan11%Vietnam17%Data source: FAOSTATOthers8%Thailand27%India23%gene for fragrancefound <strong>in</strong> Thaijasm<strong>in</strong>e rice isshared with at least300 other varieties<strong>of</strong> aromatic ricefrom 17 Asiancountries. Theresearch suggeststhat the aromagene did notorig<strong>in</strong>ate <strong>in</strong> Thaijasm<strong>in</strong>e rice.Thai RiceKnowledge Bank.In 2007, Thailand’sRice Department,under the L<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>gResearch andExtension Needs through InformationTechnology (LEARN-IT) Project,launched the Thai Rice KnowledgeBank (RKB), an onl<strong>in</strong>e tool that rapidlydissem<strong>in</strong>ates current rice production<strong>in</strong>formation to extension workers andfarmers. The orig<strong>in</strong>al concept <strong>of</strong> theRice Knowledge Bank was developedat IRRI to ensure that farmers quicklyand efficiently receive consistent andhigh-quality rice production knowledgegenerated from the latest scientificadvances.An evaluation <strong>of</strong> the Thai RKBshowed that extension <strong>of</strong>ficers eachsaved, on average, about US$2,500 a yearwhen they used the RKB. This is basedon the time they saved search<strong>in</strong>g for<strong>in</strong>formation and revisit<strong>in</strong>g farmers, andthe costs they saved on photocopy<strong>in</strong>g.More importantly, Thai farmers whoused the RKB had fewer costs, higherrevenues, and a total net <strong>in</strong>come <strong>of</strong> $60per hectare more than non-RKB users.The evaluation also suggested howto <strong>in</strong>crease the use <strong>of</strong> RKB <strong>in</strong>formation,<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g encourag<strong>in</strong>g farmers toparticipate <strong>in</strong> RKB meet<strong>in</strong>gs andimprov<strong>in</strong>g the general knowledge <strong>of</strong>farmers about computers. This feedbackwill be used to further improve theextension <strong>of</strong> the RKB program (seeBank<strong>in</strong>g our rice knowledge on pages 36-37 <strong>of</strong> Rice Today Vol. 8, No. 3).The second version <strong>of</strong> the Thai RKBis now <strong>in</strong> use by extension workers <strong>in</strong>many major rice prov<strong>in</strong>ces <strong>in</strong> Thailand.It has also been reported that somecommunity radio stations <strong>in</strong> the rice-1989 1993 1997 2001 2005“Rice is the backbone <strong>of</strong> Thai society andcountries <strong>of</strong> Southeast Asia and thereforeits development is tantamount to thedevelopment <strong>of</strong> these countries.I believe that the work IRRI has doneover the years has benefited the well-be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong>people across the globe, improv<strong>in</strong>g their foodsecurity and <strong>in</strong>come.I would like to congratulate IRRI onits anniversary and wish the Institute everysuccess.”Her Royal Highness Pr<strong>in</strong>cess Maha ChakriSir<strong>in</strong>dhorn <strong>of</strong> Thailand, speak<strong>in</strong>g at the launch<strong>of</strong> IRRI’s 50th anniversary on 17 November2009 (see YouTube video at snipurl.com/v4a2x).produc<strong>in</strong>g prov<strong>in</strong>ces <strong>in</strong> the north-centraland northeast regions <strong>of</strong> Thailand areus<strong>in</strong>g the Thai RKB as a source <strong>of</strong> newrice technologies and <strong>in</strong>formation forbroadcast<strong>in</strong>g.Grow<strong>in</strong>g rice <strong>in</strong> unfavorableenvironments. Ra<strong>in</strong>fed drought-proneand submergence-prone areas dom<strong>in</strong>ateThailand’s rice-grow<strong>in</strong>g regions.IRRI has been work<strong>in</strong>g with its Thaicolleagues to solve rice productionproblems <strong>in</strong> these areas for the last 20years.As part <strong>of</strong> the Consortium forUnfavorable Rice Environments (CURE),IRRI and its national agriculturalresearch and extension system partners<strong>in</strong> Thailand are help<strong>in</strong>g develop droughttolerantrice and improved managementpractices for nutrient and weedmanagement.With Thailand’s Rice Department,IRRI is also adapt<strong>in</strong>g submergencetolerantrice to Thai conditions andlook<strong>in</strong>g at ways to facilitate adoptionand build capacity <strong>of</strong> local rice breedersand rice scientists. Thai rice breedershave also contributed to IRRI’s ra<strong>in</strong>fedrice breed<strong>in</strong>g program by provid<strong>in</strong>g thematerial for rice varieties now used allover Laos.Rice Today April-June 201043


RICE FACTSGlobal rice crisis hurts South Asia’s poorby Samarendu Mohanty, Valerien Pede, and Alison ZeiglerWe all know what happened tothe rice market <strong>in</strong> late 2007and early 2008. With<strong>in</strong> 6months, global rice price<strong>sr</strong>ose by more than 300%, reach<strong>in</strong>g anunprecedented figure <strong>of</strong> US$1,000 perton. Soon afterward, prices retracted; but,unfortunately, they stabilized at a levelmuch higher than what it was before thecrisis began <strong>in</strong> October 2007. For example,the price <strong>of</strong> 5% broken Thai rice has beenhover<strong>in</strong>g between $500 and $600 for thepast year and a half compared with thelow $300 range dur<strong>in</strong>g the 2-year periodprior to the crisis (Fig. 1). Higher worldprices have also been reflected <strong>in</strong> therise <strong>of</strong> domestic retail prices <strong>in</strong> majorrice-consum<strong>in</strong>g countries across Asiaand Africa <strong>in</strong> the past 2 years. Rice retailprices <strong>in</strong> December 2009 across majorretail markets <strong>in</strong> Asia, except the Hubeimarket <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a, were around 40% higherthan what they were before the crisis (Fig.2). The situation <strong>in</strong> Africa dur<strong>in</strong>g thesame 2-year period was even worse, asthe retail price <strong>in</strong>creased by 40–80% <strong>in</strong>most countries, except <strong>in</strong> Somalia, whereit exceeded 100%. Still, this has happeneddespite measures taken by countriesglobally to <strong>in</strong>sulate domestic markets fromworld market <strong>in</strong>stability.The case <strong>of</strong> South AsiaMajor rice-consum<strong>in</strong>g countries <strong>in</strong>South Asia such as India and Bangladeshhad also taken measures at the onset<strong>of</strong> the global rice crisis to protecttheir domestic markets. Despite suchmeasures, domestic rice retail prices <strong>in</strong>these two countries’ major markets (Fig.3) have <strong>in</strong>creased significantly s<strong>in</strong>ce thebeg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> the crisis.In the case <strong>of</strong> India, high food price<strong>in</strong>flation <strong>in</strong> rice, sugar, and lentils has,<strong>in</strong> recent months, become a regularfront-page news story <strong>in</strong> lead<strong>in</strong>g Indiannewspapers. Rice prices <strong>in</strong> major retailmarkets have been ris<strong>in</strong>g steadily s<strong>in</strong>cethe start <strong>of</strong> 2008 and current prices aremore than 50% higher than 2 years ago.In Bangladesh, rice prices rose andfell <strong>in</strong> late 2007 and 2008, follow<strong>in</strong>g thetrends <strong>in</strong> the global market, but pricesFig. 1. Price <strong>of</strong> 5% broken Thai rice (March 1998 to January 2010). Source <strong>of</strong> raw data: The P<strong>in</strong>ksheet, World Bank.US$/ton (FOB)140120100806040200BangkokKarachiNew DelhiAsiaHanoiPhilipp<strong>in</strong>esMyanmarHubeiAfricaPlaceFig. 2. Change <strong>in</strong> rice retail prices (December 2009 vs two years earlier). Data source: FAO Rice Monitor (12-2009).have started to rise aga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> the last 6months. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to an article <strong>in</strong> the 15February 2010 issue <strong>of</strong> Star Bus<strong>in</strong>ess, aBangladeshi newspaper, rice prices have<strong>in</strong>creased by as much as 37% s<strong>in</strong>ce thebeg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> the current fiscal year (1July 2009).In order to assess first-hand howpeople <strong>in</strong> farm<strong>in</strong>g communities copewith ris<strong>in</strong>g rice prices, we conducteda short survey <strong>in</strong> parts <strong>of</strong> India andBangladesh dur<strong>in</strong>g our recent trip to theSouth Asia <strong>in</strong> February 2010.AccraK<strong>in</strong>shasaMogadishuKigaliKampalaLilongweMaputoA snapshot <strong>of</strong> IndiaOur first stop was the district <strong>of</strong> Kush<strong>in</strong>agar<strong>in</strong> eastern Uttar Pradesh. Wevisited a few villages to conduct afocus group discussion and pretest ourvillage survey questionnaire as part <strong>of</strong>the Cereal Systems Initiative for SouthAsia (CSISA) project funded by the Bill& Mel<strong>in</strong>da Gates Foundation. We tookthis opportunity to <strong>in</strong>terview variousfarmers, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g marg<strong>in</strong>al farmers andlandless laborers, regard<strong>in</strong>g the impacts<strong>of</strong> the rice price hike. The questionnaire44 Rice Today April-June 2010


Takas/kgRupees/kg60 30F<strong>in</strong>eF<strong>in</strong>e50Coarse25Coarse403020100Apr-06Jul-06Jan-06Oct-06Jan-07Apr-07Sep-07Oct-07Jan-08May-08Jul-08Oct-08DateBangladeshJan-09Apr-09Jul-09Oct-09was designed to <strong>in</strong>vestigate the variousadjustments these categories <strong>of</strong> farmershave to make with regard to foodconsumption and expenditures, and onand<strong>of</strong>f-farm activities, <strong>in</strong> response toris<strong>in</strong>g rice prices.Our survey showed that most farmersare aware that rice prices have gone up<strong>in</strong> the last year, but only the marg<strong>in</strong>aland landless laborers with large familiesseem to have been affected by such price<strong>in</strong>creases. Farmers who produce enoughrice for their own consumption seem tohave not been affected by the recent pricerise. This <strong>in</strong>cludes farmers <strong>of</strong> all typeswhose own production is large enoughto meet their year-round needs. In thosevillages, marg<strong>in</strong>al and landless laborers,who fall below the poverty l<strong>in</strong>e, are alsonot affected by higher prices because riceand wheat were heavily subsidized by thePublic Distribution System (PDS). Veryfew landless laborers with large families,who needed more than the monthlyallotment <strong>of</strong> 35 kilograms <strong>of</strong> <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>s (riceand wheat) from the PDS, seem to havebeen affected by higher rice prices. All<strong>of</strong> those who said they buy rice fromthe market admitted that they have cutdown their other expenses, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g thepurchase <strong>of</strong> other food items, to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>rice consumption.Our next stop brought us to a village<strong>in</strong> Maharajgang District <strong>of</strong> Uttar Pradesh,located near the Nepal border.Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the marg<strong>in</strong>al andlandless women laborers with whom wespoke, ris<strong>in</strong>g rice prices have severelyaffected their food consumption patternbecause <strong>of</strong> the nonavailability <strong>of</strong> PDS<strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong>s. They have spent less on otherfood items such as pulses, meat, andmilk to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> rice consumption at the20151050Jan-06Jun-06Nov-06Apr-07Sep-07Feb-08Jul-08DateFig. 3. South Asia rice retail prices. Data source: Bangladesh Directorate <strong>of</strong> Agricultural Market<strong>in</strong>g.*Average for major Indian markets. Data source: Indian M<strong>in</strong>istry <strong>of</strong> Agriculture and Cooperation.Jan-10precrisis level. In addition, some <strong>of</strong> themhave been work<strong>in</strong>g extra hours to earnmore and keep their food consumptionpattern unchanged.After this, we headed to the easterncoastal state <strong>of</strong> Orissa. We stopped at aprogressive village named Nuapada <strong>in</strong>Jajpur District. The story was more orless the same as <strong>in</strong> the villages <strong>in</strong> easternUttar Pradesh. People with sufficientland to feed their own family were hardlyaffected by higher rice prices. Thesemarg<strong>in</strong>al and landless laborers withsmall families were protected by thePDS program. These farmers felt the ricecrisis, and their need exceeded the riceobta<strong>in</strong>ed from the PDS.This story didn’t change muchdur<strong>in</strong>g our visit to a fish<strong>in</strong>g village <strong>in</strong>Kendrapada District and to anothervillage <strong>in</strong> Khurda District near the capitalcity <strong>of</strong> Bhubaneswar. The overall picture<strong>in</strong> India didn’t vary much as we movedacross villages <strong>in</strong> these two states. ThePDS is def<strong>in</strong>itely act<strong>in</strong>g as a buffer forthe most vulnerable section <strong>of</strong> societyaga<strong>in</strong>st such price fluctuations.A quick look at BangladeshOn our next stop <strong>in</strong> neighbor<strong>in</strong>gBangladesh, we visited a few villages<strong>in</strong> Kishoreganj District <strong>of</strong> Dhaka,situated <strong>in</strong> the northeastern region <strong>of</strong> thecountry. The situation <strong>in</strong> those villagesappeared to be different from those <strong>in</strong>India. As <strong>in</strong>dicated earlier, rice prices<strong>in</strong> the country have been ris<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> thelast several months after stay<strong>in</strong>g underwrap for the first half <strong>of</strong> 2009. Like thefarmers <strong>in</strong> India, Bangladeshi farmerswho have enough resources to producesufficient rice for their own consumptionseem to have been unaffected by theRice Today April-June 2010*IndiaDec-08May-09Dec-09crisis. But, small, marg<strong>in</strong>al, and landlesslaborers have started to feel the p<strong>in</strong>ch<strong>of</strong> ris<strong>in</strong>g rice prices. Some familiesobta<strong>in</strong> 5 kilograms <strong>of</strong> rice twice a monthat 22 takas (US$0.32) per kilogram,but, for many, the price differentialis too small and the quantity is notenough to meet their needs. Similarto their Indian counterpart, this groupalso overwhelm<strong>in</strong>gly agreed that theirrice consumption has not changeddespite higher prices. However, cop<strong>in</strong>gmechanisms differ from person toperson. Some work extra hours to earnadditional <strong>in</strong>come, while others try toreduce their expenses on other items,<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g high-value food items suchas meat and fish, to keep their riceconsumption unchanged.What have we learned?Generally, a country is not <strong>in</strong>sulatedfrom the happen<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> the global ricemarket. Interventions <strong>in</strong> the domestic andtrade sectors may protect aga<strong>in</strong>st shorttermfluctuations <strong>in</strong> world prices but,eventually, the domestic market will be<strong>in</strong>fluenced by global price changes. In thecase <strong>of</strong> Bangladesh and India, domesticretail prices are higher than prices 2years ago despite several measures takenby their respective governments to keepprices low. For these two South Asianneighbors, rice cont<strong>in</strong>ues to occupy acentral place <strong>in</strong> the rural food basket. Itis also worry<strong>in</strong>g that price rises have adirect impact on the most vulnerable <strong>in</strong>society—marg<strong>in</strong>al farmers and landlesslaborers.Government programs such as thePDS def<strong>in</strong>itely play an important role <strong>in</strong>protect<strong>in</strong>g the rural poor aga<strong>in</strong>st priceescalation, but they do not necessarilycushion everyone from the ill effects.These programs, although important fromthe national food security perspective, aresignificant burdens on government c<strong>of</strong>fersand may not be effective if the system isnot clean. These programs may providetemporary relief aga<strong>in</strong>st price escalation,but they are not a long-term solution. Thelong-term food security problem can besolved only by keep<strong>in</strong>g rice affordable byexpand<strong>in</strong>g production primarily throughyield improvements.Mr. Pede is a scientist at IRRI’s SocialSciences Division and Ms. Zeiglercurrently works as an <strong>in</strong>tern <strong>in</strong> the same<strong>of</strong>fi ce.45


<strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> <strong>of</strong> truthLearn<strong>in</strong>g lessons from the HRDCBY FANGMING XIEThe Hybrid Rice DevelopmentConsortium (HRDC) wasestablished at the InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI)<strong>in</strong> 2008 with 38 public and privateorganizations. Its membership thenexpanded to 47 organizations <strong>in</strong> 2009as it aimed to renew and strengthen thecollaboration between the private andthe public sector and to enhance thedissem<strong>in</strong>ation <strong>of</strong> hybrid rice technology.This technology has been used as akey tool <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g rice production andproductivity s<strong>in</strong>ce the 1970s. The areacovered by hybrid rice <strong>in</strong> 2008 reached20 million hectares globally, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g3 million hectares <strong>in</strong> countries outsideCh<strong>in</strong>a. IRRI, collaborat<strong>in</strong>g with publicand private partners, has contributedsignificantly to the research anddevelopment <strong>of</strong> hybrid rice <strong>in</strong> the tropics—provid<strong>in</strong>g many research f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs,technical support, and germplasm andhybrids for breed<strong>in</strong>g and release.Hybrid rice research began <strong>in</strong>public <strong>in</strong>stitutes, as it was essential toprovide basic scientific <strong>in</strong>formation andknow-how on the technology, adoption,economics, and policy support. As thetechnology advanced, private enterprisesbecame more <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> all aspects <strong>of</strong>hybrid rice research and development;they even <strong>in</strong>vested <strong>in</strong> hybrid rice seedbus<strong>in</strong>esses. The shift <strong>of</strong> hybrid rice fromacademic research to commercializationrequires a close partnership betweenthe public and the private sector toenhance the steady stream <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>novationand research outputs, and to improveproduct accessibility and commercialuse ultimately by rice farmers. Theprivate sector <strong>in</strong> the seed <strong>in</strong>dustryhas a comparative advantage <strong>in</strong> largescalecommercial production, seedprocess<strong>in</strong>g, and market<strong>in</strong>g—areas <strong>in</strong>which IRRI and public <strong>in</strong>stitutes haveno direct <strong>in</strong>volvement. However, thepublic sector has expertise <strong>in</strong> scientificresearch, product assessment, germplasmdevelopment, technology dissem<strong>in</strong>ation,and capacity build<strong>in</strong>g. To comb<strong>in</strong>e thesecomplementary advantages is beneficialto both parties and encourag<strong>in</strong>g privatesector<strong>in</strong>volvement is critical <strong>in</strong> ensur<strong>in</strong>gthe susta<strong>in</strong>able growth <strong>of</strong> hybrid rice.Through the HRDC, IRRIcontributes <strong>in</strong> three areas: (1) enhancedresearch on specific traits <strong>of</strong> hybridrice, such as <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g yield and<strong>in</strong>creased and stable yield <strong>of</strong> seedproduction, improved resistances tostresses, and improved <strong>gra<strong>in</strong></strong> quality;(2) improved germplasm/hybrids thathave diverse genetic background andthat have been evaluated by networkorganizations around the world; and(3) better <strong>in</strong>formation and capacitybuild<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the best managementpractices to realize high yield potential,germplasm/hybrid evaluation, moleculartechnology application, and otheradvanced research related to rice.Dur<strong>in</strong>g the past years, HRDCmembers have met annually to reviewthe progress <strong>of</strong> hybrid rice at IRRI. Theyidentified and validated common issueschalleng<strong>in</strong>g the research and development<strong>of</strong> hybrid rice and the constra<strong>in</strong>ts thatlimited public-private partnership. As aresult <strong>of</strong> these evaluations, the membersdeveloped a new transparent mechanismto improve their collaboration. Theydiscussed priorities and identified areasthat urgently needed to be improved.Recogniz<strong>in</strong>g the importance <strong>of</strong> access<strong>in</strong>gIRRI’s hybrid rice products and<strong>in</strong>formation, IRRI’s hybrid rice programhas taken a product-oriented approach t<strong>of</strong>ocus more on product development anddelivery.The HRDC has built a regionalhybrid test<strong>in</strong>g network to assess itsmembers’ hybrid rice <strong>in</strong> vary<strong>in</strong>genvironments across the differentcountries and locations. Memberbreeders are <strong>in</strong>vited to participate <strong>in</strong>selection for hybrid rice breed<strong>in</strong>g l<strong>in</strong>esdeveloped at IRRI—and these l<strong>in</strong>escan be further evaluated <strong>in</strong> members’environments and then <strong>in</strong>tegrated <strong>in</strong>totheir own breed<strong>in</strong>g programs.The HRDC believes that memberscan speed up research on hybrid rice ifthey can all pool together the resourcesgathered from the private and publicsector. This would allow them to formstrong support and an endowment thatwould result <strong>in</strong> the development <strong>of</strong> awider range <strong>of</strong> hybrid products—fromwhich the general public could alsoconsiderably benefit.The HRDC significantly enhancesthe capacity for hybrid rice researchat IRRI and also works to boostproduct delivery with improved hybridrice germplasm, research output,<strong>in</strong>formation, and tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g. The publicsector benefits from the collaborationby actively participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the researchand development: learn<strong>in</strong>g the needs <strong>of</strong>the seed market and adjust<strong>in</strong>g researchactivities. Farmers, however, benefit themost from the improved pipel<strong>in</strong>e forproduct development because they canavail <strong>of</strong> more and better rice hybrids thatcan <strong>in</strong>crease rice productivity at reducedcosts.It is important to note that theHRDC, which is hosted at IRRI, is nota competitor <strong>of</strong> private enterprises <strong>in</strong>the seed market. Its role is to provideresearch services and support to both thepublic and private sector. The consortiumendeavors to establish a new publicprivatepartnership model that willmaximize the use <strong>of</strong> modern agriculturaltechnology to produce hybrid rice andmake an impact on rice production.Successful partnerships betweenthe private and the public sector canprove to be the key to mak<strong>in</strong>g researchprograms susta<strong>in</strong>able. This would createclear accountability among partnerorganizations, and allow all partiesto capitalize on each organization’sstrengths. Draw<strong>in</strong>g lessons from theHRDC’s experience could serve well <strong>in</strong>build<strong>in</strong>g new public-private partnershipsfor seed-based technologies <strong>in</strong> the future.Dr. Xie is a hybrid rice breeder <strong>in</strong>IRRI’s Plant Breed<strong>in</strong>g, Genetics, andBiotechnology Division. He is currentlythe coord<strong>in</strong>ator <strong>of</strong> HRDC. See the HRDCWeb site at http://hrdc.irri.org46 Rice Today April-June 2010


8-12 November 2010Vietnam National Convention Center, Hanoi VietnamThe world’s latest discussionplatform for rice <strong>in</strong>frastructure<strong>in</strong>vestments, trade & policyplann<strong>in</strong>g.One <strong>of</strong> the ma<strong>in</strong> events <strong>of</strong> the International Rice Congress 2010,the International Rice Policy & Investment Conference will gatherthe <strong>in</strong>dustry’s politicians, bus<strong>in</strong>essmen, traders, rice processorsand policy-makers.Witness the live discussion on <strong>in</strong>ternational policy and <strong>in</strong>vestmentopportunities <strong>in</strong> rice from the movers and shakers <strong>of</strong> the rice<strong>in</strong>dustry.


8-12 November 2010Vietnam National Convention Center, Hanoi VietnamJo<strong>in</strong> the world’s largestgather<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> rice scientists, researchers,technology experts, traders, and policymakersTHE MAIN EVENTSThe 28th International Rice Research ConferenceInternational Rice Policy and Investment ConferenceThe 3rd International Rice Technology & Cultural ExhibitionThe 3rd M<strong>in</strong>isterial Roundtable Meet<strong>in</strong>gIRRI’s 50th AnniversaryEXHIBITION & SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIESNOWAVAILABLE!Submit an abstract for poster presentationDEADLINE: 30 APRIL 2010www.ricecongress.comJo<strong>in</strong>tly organized byHosted by48Rice Today April-June 2010

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