IRRI holds weather database management system training in Myanmar

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) conducted training on weather data retrieving, processing, and management using an automatic weather observation station (AWOS) on 22-23 August in Myanmar.

IRRI provided and installed the AWOS in an irrigated rice field inside the Department of Agricultural Research. Installed before the actual training session, the instrument includes sensors for weather elements, which affects rice growth including temperature, solar radiation, rainfall, humidity, wind speed, and direction. The Institute also provided two tablets for downloading the data from the AWOS.

Thirty-two staff from the Department of Agricultural Research (DAR), two from the Yezin Agricultural University, and six from the IRRI-Myanmar office in Yangon, participated in the event.

The participants greatly appreciated the training since the country has several extreme environments, where analysis of weather data would be useful, according to Ms. Helen Grace Centeno, coordinator of the Climate Unit at IRRI, and Ms. Justine Bonifacio, researcher at IRRI's Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology division.  Myanmar’s coastal areas get inundated from time to time while some inland areas are also prone to drought.

The 2-day training was sponsored by the IRRI-LIFT (Livelihood and Food Security Trust Fund) project that aims to improve livelihoods of rice-based rural households in the lower region of the Ayeyarwady delta.


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