IRRI director general honored at the International Rice Symposium in India

Hyderabad, India - IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler received an award for his contributions to rice research and development globally, and especially in India. Hon. Bandaru Dattatreya, Union Minister for Labor and Employment, presented the award to Zeigler at the International Rice Symposium. 

Zeigler was one of the guests of honor along with Dr. David Bergvinson, the director general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics; R Rajagopal, additional secretary India's e Department of Agriculture and secretary of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research; and A. Padma Raju, vice-chancellor of Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU).

This year's International Rice Symposium had as its theme Rice Science for Global Food and Nutritional Security and was attended by about 700 rice scientists, policymakers, industry representatives, and farmers from around the world. Genetic gain, genomics, resource management, soil and crop health, biotic stress management, policy, technology transfer, postharvest technologies, and value addition were some of the topics discussed during the symposium.

The event was held on 18-20 November in Hyderabad. It was organized by the Indian Institute of Rice Research, the Central Rice Research Institute in Cuttack, Professor Jayshakar Telangana Agricultural University, IRRI, ANGRAU, and the Society for Advancement of Rice Research in Hyderabad.

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