WeRise-RR orientations conducted for ICRR researchers

The IJCRP on CCADS-RR team poses for a group photo with ICRR researchers

Sukamandi, Indonesia, 15 August 2018 – The IRRI-Japan Collaborative Research Project (IJCRP) on Climate Change Adaptation through Development of a Decision-Support tool to guide Rainfed Rice production is catalysing partners to drive the adoption of the Weather-rice-nutrient integrated decision support system (WeRise), a decision support tool for rainfed farmers.

Water availability is crucial to rice production in rainfed areas. However, climate change has made it difficult for farmers to predict rains that will determine the best time to plant rice in their area.

In order to help farmers in such unfavorable areas, IJCRP has developed WeRise, a seasonal climate prediction-based app that could help rainfed rice farmers plan their upcoming production more strategically. WeRise could provide advisories on the best time to plant, suitable varieties to use, and fertilizer application schedule according to the weather characteristics of the upcoming cropping season. This includes the onset, amount and distribution of rainfall; and simulated crop growth.


Using seasonal climate prediction and crop growth model, WeRise is able to generate advisories three months before the cropping season. This enables farmers to plan their production, especially their purchase of inputs and labor requirements. The advisories also show the potential yield of a certain variety if planted at the optimum sowing time allowing farmers to see any surplus he/she might have. WeRise also shows if a second rice crop is possible. Normally, farmers are only able to plant one rice crop a year followed by a non-rice crop.

Results of the initial on-farm validation experiments in selected rainfed areas showed that farmers could potentially improve their yield if they followed the WeRise advisories. Additional validation activities will be conducted by IJCRP in the upcoming cropping seasons in collaboration with key stakeholders identified for the uptake and dissemination of WeRise.

Lizzel Llorca, IRRI Researcher - Crop Modeling, demonstrates WeRise-RR

In order to support the adoption of WeRise, IJRCP has led an orientation for researchers from the Indonesian Center for Rice Research (ICRR) which was attended by 27 researchers and research technicians from various divisions of ICRR. Iris Bugayong, IRRI project officer gave an overview of the project. This was followed by a demonstration of WeRise-RR, the updated version of WeRise, by Lizzel Llorca. Central Luzon State University professor and project collaborator, Maria Excelsis Orden also presented the results of focus group discussions with extension agencies conducted by the project as part of the stakeholder analysis. An open discussion was then facilitated by Nurwulan Agustiani, a national collaborator in Indonesia.

ICRR is among the stakeholders who will play a significant role in the technology transfer process and adoption. Currently, on-station experiments are conducted by ICRR. ICRR also facilitates the project activities in Indonesia including the on-farm experiments, resource generation, and relationship building with other NARES.

IJCRP is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries of Japan and the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences.

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