Philippines: Stakeholders forum held on heirloom rice

A stakeholders forum was recently held in the Cordillera region of northern Philippines to bring together groups and institutions involved in the 'heirloom rice' value chain and establish linkages among them.

Stakeholders who attended were traders; producers; market facilitators; and representatives of farmer groups, NGOs, the regional, provincial, and municipal agricultural offices, and the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments project.

New country rep for Bangladesh

Paul Fox

IRRI welcomes Paul Fox, who is joining IRRI as representative for Bangladesh starting 1 August 2013.

Dr. Fox is currently an IRRI consultant serving as regional program leader for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) based at the Southeast Asia office in Vietnam.

Benin: Gender in rice research reviewed

A workshop held recently at AfricaRice in Cotonou, Benin, reviewed gender in rice research and development, specifically the findings of the study Gender and climate change in stress-prone rice environments in Asia and Africa.

Through the workshop, participants also sought to strengthen research capacity in the region on gender issues and how these may be integrated into the processes of rice research and in technologies.

Asian forestry students come to IRRI for learning visit

Delegates from the International Forestry Students
Association learn about IRRI's work from Bruce Tolentino,
IRRI's head of communication and partnerships.

Thirty-seven delegates from the International Forestry Students Association’s (IFSA) visited IRRI on the second day (21 May 2013) of IFSA's 4th Asia Regional Meeting (ARM). The delegates come from several countries around Asia.

V. Bruce J. Tolentino, IRRI deputy director general for communication and partnerships, welcomed the IFSA members to the Institute and gave a presentation about IRRI’s work in rice science and climate change, themes that are in line with the ARM’s theme for 2013—Forestry Mega-Trends in the Asia Pacific.

Former genetic resources head is guest in May researchers' lunch

Mike Jackson, OBE (center, in blue),
with some of IRRI's budding scientists.

Mike Jackson, OBE, former director of program planning and coordination and head of the Genetic Resources Center at IRRI, was the guest in this month's Young Researchers Lunch.

Dr. Jackson met with IRRI researchers Lenie Quiatchon-Baeza, Tahir Hussain Awan, Pogs Manalili, James Quilty, Kai Wang, and Zilhas Ahmed Jewel on 6 May 2013, sharing stories from the course of his career that started at the International Potato Center in Peru, before the CGIAR was even formed.

Rice pathology workshop held for East and Southern Africa

The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) partnered with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to organize the 5-day (6-10 May 2013) Rice Pathology Workshop that attracted 23 participants from the 7 countries of the East and Southern African (ESA) region—Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi.

IRRI holds Ambassadors' Day, opens bird exhibit

To further strengthen its linkages with the international community, IRRI held Ambassadors’ Day on 3 May 2013 at its headquarters in Los Baños.

Forty-three guests that included ambassadors, consuls, and representatives from donors, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Los Baños Science Community came for the day-long event.

Indian senior agricultural research official visits IRRI

Arvind Rana Kaushal, additional secretary of India’s Department of Agriculture Research and Education and secretary of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, came to IRRI on 29-30 April 2013 to learn more about IRRI’s work and discuss expansion of the IRRI-India collaboration.

Myanmar: ACIAR sponsors postharvest management training

A training course on postharvest management for improved quality of rice grain and seed was held in Daik-U Township in the Bago Region of Myanmar on 2-4 May 2013.

India: Research and extension workers get training on technology transfer systems

A 4-day training workshop, Rice technology transfer system (RTTS) for stress-prone environments in South Asia, was held jointly by IRRI and the Faculty of Agriculture of Annamalai University in India.

Indonesia: CCARA holds third annual review and planning meeting

The Climate Change Adaptation in Rainfed Rice Areas (CCARA) project held its third annual review and planning meeting on 28-29 April 2013 in Bali, Indonesia. Research results were reviewed, issues discussed, and a work plan and experimental protocol drafted.