Laser-guided land leveling ramps up in Isabela

Engr. Eddie Rodriquez explaining to the farmers the procedure of LLL

Isabela is the second biggest rice producer in the Philippines and one of the country’s highly mechanized provinces in rice production. With the threat to food security due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mechanization will take an even bigger role in ensuring that the country will have enough food.

Women farmers take a significant step towards seed security in Odisha

The Adarsh Dharmagarh Women Farmers Services Producer Company Ltd (ADWFSPCL) in Kalahandi, Odisha took another major stride in empowering women through entrepreneurship in seed production. 

IRRI joins local communities in COVID-19 response via 3D printing

IRRI 3D printer printing face shield frame. Video by Claire Sandro.

To support the local government in making communities COVID19-free, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), through its Mechanization and Postharvest Cluster (MPHC),  facilitated 3D printing services for several frontliners in Laguna, Batangas, and Mindoro, Philippines. 

Rice Crop Manager now available as an Android application

RCM goes offline, recommendations now available without internet

Los Banos, Laguna - The Department of Agriculture (DA) and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) launched the working version of the Rice Crop Manager (RCM) Philippines mobile Android application on March 18, 2020. The offline platform can generate and provide personalized recommendations to individual rice farmers on nutrient and crop management, even without an internet connection.

German Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development visits APART, World Bank-funded IRRI project in Assam

Dr. Gerd Muller (Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation & Development, Govt. of Germany) holds a portion of a mat nursery as he is explained by Dr Sudhanshu Singh (Team Leader, APART project, IRRI Assam) about transplanting time and crop duration of BINA Dhan 11, a climate resilient rice variety.

27 February 2020, Assam - Dr. Gerd Muller, Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Germany, and a team of senior government officials with Consulate General for Kolkata Dr. Michael Feiner, Deputy Head of Mission Mr. Egon Kochanke, and Mrs.Gerti Muller-Hoorens, visited the Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART) site.

Dr. Darshan Brar, leading IRRI breeder, passes away at 76

Dr. Darshan Singh Brar, former head of IRRI’s Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology (PBGB) Division, passed away from a heart attack on the evening of 11 March at the age of 76.

For 25 years from 1987 to 2012, Dr. Brar worked with his fellow scientists at the institute to broaden the gene pool of cultivated rice. With his expertise in genetics, plant breeding, and molecular cytogenetics, Dr. Brar successfully transferred novel genes from wild species of Oryza to cultivated rice, an important plant breeding approach that has revolutionized rice farming around the world.

IRRI celebrates International Women’s Day in Odisha

08-March-2020 - In celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day, IRRI organized a one-day interactive meeting with forty women farmers at Khamanga Village in Khordha district of Odisha to discuss challenges and opportunities and to raise awareness on improved crop management practices.