BMZ funded project holds planning meeting

The  IRRI-coordinated project, VERDE (Leveraging Diversity for Ecologically Based Pest Management) is holding its 2nd Annual Meeting and Planning Workshop at Himawari Hotel, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia that began on 27 August 2019  and followed by  field experiments’ tour in Prey Veng province on 28 August. Thirty (30) researchers and scientists from partners in Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), Cambodia; Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), Bangladesh; and the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Germany., participated in the event. This research project grant came from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

UPLB, IRRI student wins best scientific poster at prestigious Asian genomic congress

Kuala Lumpur ~ Lawrence Uy, a masteral student of the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) that is advancing his studies at the Genetic Transformation Laboratory of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), received the award for best scientific poster presentation at the 6th Plant Genomics and Gene Editing Congress Asia, held in Malaysia last 29-30 July 2019.

Vietnam and IRRI explore future collaborations for enhancing rice sector productivity and resilience to climate change

In a courtesy call in Hanoi, Dr. Matthew Morell, Director-General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) met with Dr. Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Vietnam’s Minister of Agriculture, to discuss ways to increase the resilience of domestic agriculture to climate change, as well as to enhance the productivity and access to markets of rice farmers.

Minister Cuong discussed with Dr. Morell the priority areas where Vietnam, specifically the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and its attached agencies, would like support from IRRI. Minister Cuong stressed that “MARD will coordinate with the IRRI Vietnam country office to work on our agricultural policies to help improve the lives of our farmers.” Several existing and pending collaborative programs between IRRI and MARD will also push through in the coming years.

Making inroads for food security through cutting-edge farming technology

“We could never imagine before today a farming equipment and technology exhibition being held in our village”, said Jadav Basumatary, a progressive farmer from Barkachari Gaon, block Kathiatoli, district Nagaon in Assam; a scenic state, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys in India.

“It is so encouraging to see so many new machines that could reinvigorate farming in our villages, making it profitable and maybe even generate more employment” he adds, looking over at the latest farm machinery lined up at the farm mechanization and technology exhibition organized in June by IRRI and partners under project ‘Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation’ (APART).

IRRI facilitates productive partnerships between farmer cooperatives and rice seller in Cambodia

29 July 2019, Siem Reap ~ The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) continues its strong support for the Cambodian government’s efforts to bolster their country’s rice sector.

Last week, IRRI and the Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (PDAFF) helped facilitate the contract signing of 16 rice agricultural cooperatives with AMRU Rice Company, one of the country’s fast-growing rice brands.

A total of twenty contracts were signed by AMRU President Oknha Song Saron and the farmer representatives of the cooperatives. Four were for the supply of quality seeds, and the rest were for paddy rice production and purchase.

IRRI, PhilRice, and JIRCAS hold WeRise training for researchers

Researchers from the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) received training on WeRise (Weather-rice-nutrient integrated decision support system), an information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) tool on 22-26 July 2019 at PhilRice in Nueva Ecija, Philippines.  Through an IRRI-Japan collaborative research project, WeRise was developed and piloted in Indonesia. It integrates localized seasonal climate predictions and real-time weather data with a crop growth model to provide advisories on the best time to plant, fertilizer application schedule, and the suitable varieties for planting. Under the IRRI, PhilRice and JIRCAS joint research agreement (JRA), WeRise is being localized to suit rainfed rice areas in the Philippines.