IRRI South Asia Hub organized a series of events for Rice Breeding Networks

The IRRI South Asia Hub at Hyderabad organized multiple sessions to strengthen the capacities of its rice breeding networks from 5th to 10th April 2023.  The first event, the strategic planning workshop for Hybrid Rice Adoption was organized on 5th April in Hyderabad at the ICRISAT Campus in Hyderabad. The global hybrid rice adoption is progressing at a very slow pace, and in India, the adoption is still limited to a few specific regions. To address this issue, policymakers, hybrid rice scientists, and critical stakeholders convened to identify and overcome the challenges hindering widespread adoption.

Myanmar’s DAR recognizes IRRI contributions during 65th anniversary celebration

27 January 2019, Yezin, Myanmar - Dr. Jacqueline Hughes, the Deputy Director General for Research of the International Rice Research institute (IRRI), was a special guest at the 65th anniversary celebration of Myanmar’s Department of Agricultural Research (DAR), and received on behalf of the institute a plaque of recognition for IRRI’s valued partnership and contributions to research for the country.   

India: IRRI South Asia rice breeding hub opens

Robert Zeigler (left) and William Dar (second from right), directors general of
IRRI and ICRISAT, respectively, inaugurate IRRI's new rice breeding hub
in India. Darshan Brar (in red turban), former head of plant breeding
at IRRI, also came to witness the event.

The IRRI South Asia Rice Breeding Hub at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India, was inaugurated on 9 July 2012 by Robert Zeigler and William Dar, directors general of IRRI and ICRISAT, respectively.

The opening of the breeding hub at ICRISAT is part of IRRI's strategy of targeted breeding efforts for South Asia, done in collaboration with national partners in various countries in the region, and is a step toward achieving the objectives of the CGIAR Research Program on Rice-Based Production Systems through the Global Rice Science Partnership or GRiSP.

Dr. Zeigler, who was in Hyderabad to also attend an international meet on designer rice, said the new facility would go a long way in IRRI’s endeavour for a strong regional presence in South Asia. He thanked ICRISAT for its support and for hosting the hub in the ICRISAT campus.

Dr. Dar, in turn, expressed gladness for IRRI coming to ICRISAT to carry out rice research for South Asia, and assured IRRI of continued support.

Speaking during the occasion, E.A. Siddiq, former deputy director general (crop science) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and former member of the IRRI board of trustees, said that he has "desired so long for IRRI to have a regional facility in South Asia" and expressed happiness on IRRI's decision to open a regional facility in India.

B.C. Viraktamath, head of the Directorate of Rice Research in Hyderabad, is confident that the presence of IRRI in India shall complement rice research that is being carried out by ICAR and agricultural universities in India.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by several representatives from ICRISAT (Hector Hernandez, Rajesh Agrawal, and M. Prabhakar Reddy) and IRRI (J.K. Ladha, M.S. Rao, Paul Quick, Ajay Kohli, Jauhar Ali, Michael Thomson, Arvind Kumar, and Murali Krishna Gumma), including former IRRI scientists Darshan Brar and Melissa Fitzgerald.

The IRRI South Asia Rice Breeding Hub office is located in Rooms 121-126 in Building 303 of ICRISAT and can be reached by phone at 0091-40-30713071, extension 2091 to 2093.

India: Research and delivery stakeholders meet in Odisha

More than 50 representatives from the government, private sector, universities, NGOs, and various other institutions gathered for the Odisha research and delivery hub expert consultation meeting at the Mayfair Convention Center in Bhubaneshwar, India, on 10 July 2012.

Samarendu Mohanty, program leader for policy and targeting and head of IRRI's Social Sciences Division, organized the meeting to finalize planned activities of the hub as part of the Cereal Systems Initiative in South Asia (CSISA) project.

As the project moves into its second phase, plans are in place to expand its activities in the eastern state of Odisha by setting up a research and delivery hub to enable public-private-civil society partnerships for participatory technology development that are relevant and responsive to local conditions and priorities. Inputs from various stakeholders are thus needed to help the CSISA team formulate its work plan in the state.

Represented in the meeting were the Central Rice Research Institute, Directorate of Research on Women in Agriculture, Directorate of Water Management, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, BISWA, AID/IRRI Programme, Digital Green, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, ICRISAT, ILRI, IFPRI , CIMMYT, CIP, IIT Guwahati, KIIT School of Rural Management, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Orissa State Seeds Corporation, Ltd., PALLISHREE, PRADAN, PRAGATI, VARRAT, and the IRRI-CSISA team from IRRI headquarters and the India office.