IRRI receives accreditation from the Excellence Through Stewardship Organization

IRRI delivers through research excellence.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is now recognized by the Excellence Through Stewardship (ETS) Organization after its successful completion of the audit cycle under the ETS Global Audit Process.

In a concerted effort to achieve global standards in stewardship for its biotech research, IRRI started the process of accreditation by becoming a member of ETS in November 2016. Under the leadership of Dr. Gururaj Kulkarni, Senior Scientist, Head of IRRI’s Research and Regulatory Compliance, supported by Eduardo Fernandez, Manager of Stewardship and Quality Management, the audit team worked with the institute’s Biosafety Function and Seed Health Unit to prepare all materials that are required by the ETS. Tony Agostino, stewardship consultant, and Shah Thankappan, stewardship technical expert from Bayer, also supported as advisors for the process.

 

Usually a three-year audit, the team was able to complete the accreditation requirements in only two years. According to Dr. Kulkarni, “IRRI is considered as the world’s premier rice research institute. It is important that we provide our partners with quality and reliable products and services. Having this certification as early as possible helps us ensure that the technologies we develop in IRRI are at par with global standards”.

The ETS is a global not-for-profit organization that drives the universal adoption of stewardship programs and quality managements systems for the full life cycle of agricultural technology products  biotech research. Members include leaders in the agricultural sector such as Bayer CropScience, BASF Plant Science, Mahyco, and Syngenta. Through the membership, IRRI will have access to expert advice and guidance in the implementation of its stewardship programs and quality management systems, and an independent third party audit to verify them.

To know more about this recognition, visit this link.

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