IRRI DG Zeigler meets with Indian agriculture minister

IRRI DG Bob Zeigler (right) meets with Indian Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

During his recent visit to India, IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler had an audience with Minister of Agriculture Sharad Pawar, during which he apprised the minister of recent developments in rice research at IRRI and the support extended by IRRI to the Government of Assam during a recent flooding in the state.

Myanmar: Training held on participatory variety selection for the Lower Ayeyarwady Delta

A training course on participatory variety selection or PVS was conducted in the Labutta (13-15 September) and Bogale districts (18-20 September) in the Ayeyarwady Delta of Myanmar.

Vietnam: CLUES project holds workshop on assessment of new technologies

A workshop, Economic, social and environmental assessments of new technologies, was held on 19 September 2012 at Can Tho University (CTU) in Vietnam, attended by 25 technical staff of the CLUES Project from Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute and CTU.

Philippines: Postharvest Learning Alliance helps farmer groups develop business plans

Al Schmidley, IRRI business model specialist,
says that farmers can be very innovative when enabled.

The Sto. Niño Multipurpose Cooperative (SPMC) and the Taguibo Farmers’ Irrigators Association hosted working meetings in Agusan to develop business plans for postharvest enterprise activities, with support from the Postharvest Learning Alliance and Caraga State University.

Philippines: Cordillera farmers and extension workers learn to document activities

Twenty-four farmers and extension workers from the Cordillera Region in Northern Philippines were participants in a workshop on documentation of participatory activities, organized by the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE).

IRRI hosts get-together with barangay captains of Bay and Los Baños

IRRI DG Bob Zeigler (center) speaks with local barangay captains,
in a meeting arranged by DDG for Communications
and Partnerships V. Bruce J. Tolentino (standing, left).

IRRI invited barangay captains and local government officers of the municipalities of Bay and Los Baños over for merienda cena on 20 September 2012 to further strengthen relations with these local communities that host the IRRI headquarters.

Turkey: New strategic direction set for temperate rice

Temperate rice research will take on a new direction this year as the Temperate Rice Research Consortium (TRRC) revises research strategies during its steering committee meeting this week (17-19 September 2012) at the Trakya Agricultural Research Institute (Trakya Tarimsal Arastirma Enstitusu or TTAE) in Edirne, Turkey.

India: 6th hybrid rice meet held in Hyderabad

IRRI DG Robert Zeigler, addressing
hybrid rice stakeholders
in Hyderabad, India.

The 6th International Hybrid Rice Symposium was held last week (10-12 September) in Hyderabad, India, gathering scientists and policymakers from around the world to discuss developments and issues on hybrid rice.

Cambodia: Postharvest Learning Alliance sponsors forum on microfinance

The multistakeholder Cambodia Postharvest Learning Alliance sponsored a business forum, Emerging opportunities for microfinance in the postharvest rice sector, held on 14 September 2012 at the Himawari Hotel in Phnom Penh.

Nepal: Training on rice-based farming systems held in Kathmandu

Twenty IRRI staff attended Rice-based farming systems, a 5-day (10-14 September 2012) training program held in Kathmandu. The program sought to familiarize participants with rice-based farming under different ecosystems in Nepal and Bangladesh. Rice, the staple food of the Nepalese people, is grown in various physiographic conditions, from the terai (plains) to areas of about 3,000 feet above sea level.

Training on mass metrology held for IRRI staff

A training-workshop, Technical requirements for calibration and measurement traceability of weighing instruments and meter sticks, was held at IRRI on 12 September 2012 to enhance accuracy and traceability of data collected using the weighing balance and the meter stick.

IRRI scientists receive medals from Vietnam

IRRI scientists are among the recipients of medals from Vietnam’s Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development  that were presented in September this year. They were awarded during the 60th anniversary of the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences for the cause of agriculture and rural development of Vietnam.

CURE joins IFAD gender skills training for trainers

The Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE) took part in the Gender-based effectiveness skills training, or G-BEST, organized by the IFAD Philippines Program Office held on 3-8 September 2012.

Philippines: IRRI takes part in Congress hearing on NM Rice commendation

The Committee on Information and Communications Technology of the Philippine House of Representatives has invited IRRI to share its views and recommendations regarding House Resolution 905, commending SMART Communications and Globe Telecoms in partnering with the Department of Agriculture and IRRI in the implementation of the NM Rice Mobile Project.

Bangladesh: CSISA specialist wins best paper award

Harun-Ur Rashid, cropping systems specialist of the Khulna Hub of CSISA Bangladesh, won the best session paper award for Increasing productivity of rice-rice cropping system adopting short duration rice and mustard and relay cropping, which he presented during the International Conference on Environment, Agriculture, and Food Sciences held in Phuket, Thailand, on 11-12 August 2012. 

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IRRI holds fourth research data management course for 2012

The fourth and last installment for the year of the Research Data Management (RDM) 101 training course started today, 11 September 2012, at the I.T. Learning Center in IRRI and will run for three half-days until 13 September.

CSIRO plant scientist is guest in researchers' lunch

Xavier Sirault, an engineer plant scientist working on high-throughput phenotyping technologies at CSIRO, Australia, was guest of the Young Researchers' Lunch for September.

HRS holds job profiling workshop

IRRI Human Resource Services organized over 20 job profile writing workshops for more than 300 staff at IRRI headquarters as part of the first phase in the creation of career paths for nationally recruited staff or NRS. These workshops are ongoing this week (5-21 September 2012).

World Agroforestry Center holds feeding program for flood victims

Staff and scholars of the World Agroforestry Center (also know an ICRAF), an IRRI-hosted center, held a feeding program to more than 1,000 evacuees at the Tadlac Tent City in Los Baños on 7 September 2012.

IFEA provides relief to flood victims

The IRRI Filipino Employee’s Association, Inc. (IFEA), with facilitation from IRRI's Host Country and Community Relations Office, distributed relief goods on 4 September 2012 to IRRI staff who were affected by recent flooding in the area around Laguna Lake. IFEA's mandate includes providing support and assistance to its members.

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IRRI staff donate to flood victims

IRRI's Host Country and Community Relations Office has turned over donations from IRRI employees to the Municipal Disaster and Risk Reduction Coordinating Councils of the towns of Los Baños and Bay and continues to coordinate relief assistance and feeding programs from volunteer organizations.

IRRI research staff group holds sports festival

The Association of Fellows, Scholars, Trainees, and Residents of IRRI (AFSTRI) held a day-long sports festival at Canyon Cove Residential Beach Resort, Batangas, on 1 September 2012.

Philippines: CURE joins Arakan farmers in field day

The Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE) joined farmers of Arakan in North Cotabato, a province in Southern Philippines, during the annual farmers' field day on 27 August 2012 organized by the University of Southern Mindanao (USM).

Philippines: DA-BAR approves ecological engineering project

The Bureau of Agricultural Research of the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA-BAR) recently approved the project Developing Ecological Engineering Approaches to Restore and Conserve Ecosystem Services for Pest Management for Sustainable Rice Production in the Philippines, which it will implement over two years with IRRI in selected sites in Laguna and Regional Agricultural Research Centers in Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro provinces.

Pakistan: CSISA reaches out to farmers outside the Hub

Cholistan Plantation, a privately owned company, is undertaking commercial agriculture in Bahawalpur in the southern Punjab. It has acquired a large area from the government for the purpose and is growing wheat, cotton, rice, and sugarcane. A 50-acre block is under rice, 9 acres of which are direct-seeded (DSR) through broadcast method.

Drought training workshop in IRRI

A workshop and training on marker-assisted breeding for drought tolerance is ongoing (2-9 September 2012) at IRRI Headquarters.

Bangladesh: CSISA holds third annual planning meeting

The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) in Bangladesh held its third planning meeting and annual retreat, attended by fifty-four CSISA employees and guests from India and Nepal.

IRRI partners with Red Cross and Rotary Club for the bloodletting activity

IRRI's Human Resource Services (HRS) held a bloodletting activity in partnership with Philippine Red Cross and Rotary Club of West Bay on 31 August 2012 at the IRRI Safety Training Office.

IRRI holds 9th supervisory training program

IRRI's Human Resource Services (HRS) and the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) delivered the Supervisory Training Program (STP) at IRRI for the ninth time on 15-17 August 2012.

New GRiSP director speaks at mentoring lunch

Bas Bouman, GRiSP director and a mentor himself, shared about his mentoring experiences during the 14 August Mentoring Lunch.

IRRI welcomes 20 new staff

IRRI's Human Resource Services (HRS) welcomed 20 new employees during the August 2012 IRRI Employee Orientation Program.

IRRI holds 'stepping-up' party for new GRiSP director

Staff of IRRI's Crop and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD) staff held a 'stepping-up' party on 28 August for Bas Bouman, CESD head, who moved onto his new role as Global Rice Science Partnership director on 1 September.

Quality assurance committee names best labs in IRRI plant breeding

The IRRI-Japan Laboratory and the Molecular Markers Application Laboratory won the Best Laboratory Award 2012, as announced during the team-building activities of IRRI's Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division on 24 August 2012.