Philippine farmers learn about quality rice seed production and value of community-based seed systems at a partnership training

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines—Seed security means food security and the production and immediate dissemination of seeds to farmers is crucial to rice productivity.  To this end, a consortium that promotes agricultural development in Asia and a network of farmers' organizations in the Philippines formally established a partnership to address one of the challenges of rice production.

The Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE) and the Medium-Term Cooperation Programme with Farmers’ Organizations in Asia and the Pacific Phase 2 (AFOSP-MTCP2) organized the technical services and training for farmers on producing quality seeds of the most preferred, appropriate, and climate-change ready rice varieties. Around 20 farmers, farmer-leaders, and project partners from 10 provinces in the Philippines are attending the training on 4-7 April at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) headquarters.

The event aims to introduce seed health management techniques, crop management practices, and various technologies in a seed-to-seed production system. The concept of community-based seed systems was also covered.

“Ensuring food security entails making available seeds at the right time, right quality, and quantity of most suitable varieties,” said Dr. David Johnson, head of Crop and Environmental Sciences Division at IRRI.  “Community-based seed systems can be used for introducing new technological options to more farmers. It also provides the project team to identify strategies and activities that will support MTCP2 farmers as partners in policy formulation and provide services under rural development programs.”

Johnson also encouraged the participants to take an active role, share the knowledge they gain from the training, and build learning alliances.

CURE and MTCP2 are two grants implemented in the Philippines by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). CURE is a regional platform for partnerships among 26 research institutions from 10 countries in South and Southeast Asia. In collaboration with IRRI scientists and its research partners, CURE aims to benefit the 100 million farm households in Asia that are dependent on rice. MTCP2 is a network of farmers' organizations that aims to strengthen the roles and functions of farmers' organizations in policy processes and services to members, including the effective pro-poor services in actively participating in agriculture and rural development.

Dr. Bruce Tolentino, deputy director general for partnerships and communication, emphasized the importance of the partnership between MTCP2 and CURE in enhancing the delivery of new climate-smart technologies to target communities.

“This partnership as an important step in contributing to the objectives of IFAD's Country Strategic Opportunities Program and the new Philippine Development Plan toward poverty reduction,” said Mr. Jerry Pacturan, IFAD country program officer. "IRRI is an important partner of IFAD in contributing to food security and poverty reduction in the region."

“Connecting with networks of farmers' organizations is as important as developing new varieties since products of research should be need-based and acceptable to the target users in rural communities, “ explained Dr. Digna Manzanilla, the coordinator of CURE. “Through this significant partnership, more farmers can benefit from the new knowledge, management practices, and varieties that are generated by the projects that cater to the development needs of poor farmers and fragile rice ecosystems.”

Mr. Ferdie  Buenviaje, national coordinator and executive director of MTCP2, welcomed the partnership that links government and non-government organizations with farmers' network to strengthen their capacities in scaling up services and increasing their participation in agricultural development programs, as they continue to engage in policy fora for rural transformation.

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Bacterial blight management is crucial to strengthening Pakistan's rice breeding program and enhancing its rice productivity

Participants learn to identify, diagnose, and collect rice leaf samples infected with

bacterial blight. Inoculation and disease assessment in breeding populations were also part of the course.

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines—Eleven rice researchers from Pakistan attended a workshop on managing a bacterial rice disease as part of the Agricultural Innovations Program (AIP) that aims to strengthen Pakistan’s breeding program for Basmati and indica rice.

Bacterial blight is one of the most serious diseases of rice. The earlier the disease occurs, the higher the yield loss. It can damage as much as 60–70% of susceptible rice varieties and can even result in crop failure, especially when disease strikes at the seedling stage. Rice infected by bacterial blight near its reproductive phase produces poor quality grains, high sterility, and low grain weight.

The proper management of the disease would impact the value chain of Pakistan’s cereal crops, according to Dr. Jacqueline Hughes, deputy director general for Research at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) where the workshop was held on 27-31 March.

“Understanding the impact of environmental stresses on plant resistance gene interaction will guide the breeding for the best gene combinations for durable resistance under a variable climate,” said Casiana Vera Cruz, a plant pathologist at IRRI. “A set of pre-breeding lines with combined resistance to diseases and tolerance of harsh environmental conditions are being developed at IRRI, which can serve as diverse genetic resources for the breeding program in Pakistan.”

“There is a need to shorten breeding cycles and release new crop varieties in Pakistan as soon as possible,” Abdelbagi Ismail, head of IRRI’s Genetics and Biotechnology Division. He emphasized the importance of strengthening current and future collaborative efforts between IRRI and its national program partners in building up breeding programs.

Dr. David Johnson, head of IRRI’s Crop and Environmental Sciences Division and IRRI’s principal scientist as Lead for AIP, encouraged the participants to keep communications open between Pakistan’s rice research centers and IRRI. “With the excellent achievements of the NARES partners, I am optimistic that future collaborations will follow this project.”

The training program covered field disease diagnosis and assessment, pathogen isolation, culture collection maintenance, molecular approaches for detection of a pathogen, advances in breeding high-yielding rice varieties with disease resistance and tolerance to flooding, drought, and salinity.  The participants who attended the workshop were from the Rice Research Institute at Kala Sha Kaku, Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, National Agricultural Research Centre, Soil Salinity Research Institute, and Engro Fertilizer Ltd.

The AIP for Pakistan is funded by the United States Agency for International Development.

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Global rice program to explore boosting Asia’s rice-based agriculture through crop diversification

BANGKOK, Thailand—The CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on rice agri-food systems (RICE) is developing a framework for partnerships that will work to intensify and diversify Asia’s rice-based farming systems.

Under its Sustainable Farming Systems project, RICE will develop and deliver options that will improve farm livelihoods and rural diets while minimizing the environmental footprint of rice-based farming systems in potential target regions across Asia. To achieve this, the program held a workshop on 28-29 March in Bangkok to develop a framework for partnerships with other agri-food system CRPs, CGIAR Centers, and national and international institutes to improve farm livelihoods and rural diets, while minimizing their environmental footprint, through novel rice-based farming systems . Potential target regions are eastern India, Myanmar, southern Bangladesh, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

The workshop was attended by scientists and experts representing Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, World Vegetable Center, and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Participants from national agricultural research and extension systems of Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, and Thailand also joined the event.

Among the outputs of this activity include identifying the main challenges and opportunities in crop diversification, developing conceptual model systems for specific environments and countries, developing research methodologies and work plans for possible funding, and exploring options to create a consortium on rice-fallow systems in Asia.

Dr. Bas Bouman, RICE Director, and Dr. David Johnson, Head of the Crop and Environmental Sciences Division (IRRI) led the workshop.

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International food and agri conference focuses on innovative ways to ensure enough and safe food for all

Dr. Bruce Tolentino talks about IRRI's work and challenges faced in rice science at one of the plenary sessions of the International Conference on Food and Agriculture.

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—“We have reached the physical frontier for food production, so we must now stretch our imagination and use our knowledge in search of new frontiers that would help us find better, innovative ways to ensure that there is enough and safe food for all,” said Dr. Fortunato Dela Peña, secretary of the Philippine Department of Science and Technology, during the first International Conference on Food and Agriculture (ICFA).

ICFA, held at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture on 2-3 March, was convened to provide a platform for dialogue on issues, exploring options, and nurturing partnerships, especially on research collaboration. The conference was divided into these sub-themes: food security, poverty and development, climate change consequences on agricultural and food production systems, globalization and regional integration, human capital development, and innovation and technology. About 140 participants from different countries attended the conference, which centered on the theme Sharing Knowledge, Creating Solutions: Capacitating Stakeholders of Agriculture for Future Earth.

Dela Peña stressed the importance of research results being used to improve conditions for food and agriculture in developing countries with increasing population and the declining capacity of natural resources to sustain our basic industries.

Dr. Bruce Tolentino, deputy director general for communication and partnerships at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), explained the importance of research in making rice production sufficient, especially for the marginalized people. Tolentino cited IRRI’s research on improved rice varieties that can withstand drought, submergence, and salinity, among others.

“The poorest of the poor are benefiting the most from the newer discoveries,” he said. “Rice is the oldest food crop, which is eaten by 70% of the world’s poor. If you improve the crop, both in yield as well as in health, you’re helping a lot of poor people. If you look at the histories of countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and China, you’ll see that as the rice sectors bloomed, so did their economies.”

In addition to food security, Dr. Howarth Bouis, founding director of HarvestPlus and visiting fellow at IRRI, advocated reducing mineral and vitamin deficiencies through biofortification research and dissemination. Presently, more than 100 varieties of eight biofortified crops have passed agronomic tests of varietal release committees in 30 developing countries.

 “We have proven that biofortification works,” Bouis said. “Now the big job is dissemination and mainstreaming.”

Dr. Mohd Nordin Bin Hasan, professor emeritus of the Institute for Environment and Development at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and chair of the Regional Advisory Committee for Future Earth Asia, was the other keynote speaker at ICFA. Bin Hasan described Future Earth as the new international platform for research on global sustainability. It aims to promote and enhance the conduct of integrated research on challenges in global change and transformations to sustainability.

Future Earth was designed to respond to the need for a more nimble innovation system for global sustainability in the face of increasing rates of change and depletion of global resources, according to Dr. Bin Hasan.

More than 80 research results were presented during the 2-day conference. Among them was that of IRRI senior scientists David Johnson and Reiner Wassmann who discussed raising productivity and reducing risks in fragile rice environments in the face of climate change. They presented the concept of climate-smart agriculture that merges adaptation and mitigation into a comprehensive approach to help rice farmers cope with the changing climate. This includes adopting more resilient rice varieties and using alternate wetting and drying technology, a simple but effective means for conserving water and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30-70%.

ICFA was organized by the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics of the College of Economics and Management, University of the Philippines Los Baños.

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