Paving the way for sustainable rice production in Asian countries

Farmers from Chainat Province share their experiences about using Laser Leveling. “Before, we experience lodging. After using Laser Leveling, I noticed an improvement in my crops and there was less lodging,” said Mr. Chaleaw Noiseang

IRRI, in strong collaboration with national partners, is implementing innovative pathways to alleviate poverty and promote gender equity by optimizing productivity and environmental sustainability of irrigated rice production systems. The Closing Rice Yield Gaps in Asia with Reduced Environmental Footprint (CORIGAP-PRO) project, which is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), brought together national partners from eight countries during its annual meeting to discuss key outcomes for 2017 and to plan activities for the next year.

“In 2017, the best management practices promoted by CORIGAP have currently reached more than 375,000 farmers across the six target countries (China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam), with yield increase ranging from 14 to 30%,” according to Grant Singleton, IRRI Principal Scientist and CORIGAP project coordinator. “With this exciting outcome, we will hear how each country has progressed and their plans for future initiatives to take us closer to our target in 2020 of reaching 500,000 farmers,” he added.