Riceworld Museum celebrates National Arts Month with iconic symbol of bountiful harvest

In celebration of the National Arts Month in the Philippines, the Riceworld Museum is featuring a special exhibit called Kiping in touch by Filipino artist Erick Dator at Asia Room, Chandler Hall, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Headquarters.

Mr. Dator hails from Lucban Quezon, the home of the very popular and colorful Pahiyas Festival. Pahiyas is a traditional celebration of the townsfolk, held every May 15, in honor of San Isidro de Labrador, the patron saint of farmers. The visual centerpiece of Pahiyas is the kiping—a brilliantly colored, leaf-shaped wafer made out of rice flour used to adorn houses during the festival—that has become a cultural icon. Inspired by the iconic symbol of thanksgiving, the artist created delightful images over a tapestry of meticulously prepared kiping celebrating the folk flavor and spectacle of the Philippines.  Mr. Dator’s other notable achievements include solo art exhibits in New York and other US cities. The artist has also exhibited his works in Germany, UK, Netherlands, and Austria. After travelling for more than 10 years, he returned to Lucban to share his Pahiyas-inspired rice art with the public.

"Rice is art and, at IRRI, we celebrate the various contributions of rice to society. We are honored to host Erick Dator's art at IRRI's Riceworld Museum, and to give the IRRI and Los Baños communities an opportunity to appreciate his unique style that draws inspiration from the Pahiyas festival from his hometown of Lucban, Quezon. We invite everyone to come and see Kiping in touch," says IRRI's Director of External Relations Corinta Guerta. Ms. Guerta, Head of Communication Tony Lambino, and Riceworld Museum Curator Paul Hilario, and Erik Dator opened the exhibit on 24 February 2015. The exhibit will be open to all visitors of the Riceworld Museum until 13 March.

Photos

Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Myanmar: IRRI provides expertise to extension training on postharvest management

The Central Agricultural Research and Training Center of the Department of Agriculture (DOA) conducted a Postharvest Management Training for extension workers in Hlegu, Yangon on 9-11 February. Daw Aye Aye Mar, deputy director and head of Postharvest and Weed Management of the Plant Protection Department, organized the event for 33 trainees from the Plant Protection Department, Extension Department of the DOA, local and international NGOs, and selected companies. Martin Gummert, a postharvest specialist at the International Rice Research Institute, provided the hands-on training and lectures.

Myanma farmers experience significant postharvest losses, especially in areas with rice-pulse cropping systems. The training was conducted to increase the participants’ awareness of new postharvest technologies and help them train farmers on good management practices and use of suitable technologies, reduce postharvest losses, and increase the quality of rice and profit.

Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Myanmar: Learning Alliance trains more farmers on rice quality and marketing

The Postharvest Learning Alliance (LA) conducted a second joint meeting to train on 31 farmer-participants rice quality and marketing in Yangon on 13-14 February.

The farmers visited the Wardan wholesale market to gain more awareness on the importance of rice quality and facilitate stronger linkages between farmers and traders at wholesale markets. They also visited the Hmawbi Seed Farm to observe seed production techniques.  The meeting also facilitated sharing of rice varieties and production practices for quality and marketing among farmers from Shwebo, Maubin, and Bogale. Shwebo is particularly known in Myanmar for its high-quality Paw San rice.

After the event, the participating farmers made plans to use the seed selection techniques they learned at the seed farm. They will also pool about 20 tons of rice and sell it to a new trader in Yangon they met through the meeting.

“The end goal of these efforts is for rice farmers to get high profits by meeting the quality standards required by the market,” said Martin Gummert, postharvest expert at IRRI. “In order to do this, farmers should choose varieties with traits that the market requires, and improve postharvest practices to prevent quality deterioration of their grains after harvest.”

Myo Aung Kyaw, IRRI consultant and a member of the millers and traders’ association , facilitated the educational visit and will continue linking farmers with traders who are willing to pay premium price for high-quality rice.


Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Myanmar: Learning Alliance conducts participatory workshop on user-friendly communication materials

The Postharvest Learning Alliance (LA) conducted the Message Design Workshop for developing communication materials on the use of flat-bed dryers in Bogale Township on 11-12 February. The flat-bed dryer was introduced by IRRI in 2013, in partnership with the Professionals for Fair Development and Welthungerhilfe. The event was organized to reach and inform more stakeholders about the benefits of using a dryer and attended by key LA members including farmers, millers, and traders.

Participatory message design workshops have been used by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in developing information to create locally relevant and suitable materials for the target audience with the help of specialists, communicators, and artists. Through facilitated group exercises, the participants were able to 1) identify their target audiences, 2) define communication objectives, 3) develop key messages about the flat-bed dryer, and 4) develop materials for their targeted groups. The participants in Bogale developed 1 poster, 2 flyers, and 1 leaflet for farmers, millers, and traders. They also pre-tested the materials, and planned for extension activities.

The workshop was conducted through the Livelihood and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) and the Closing the Rice Yield Gap with Reduced Environmental Footprint projects (CORIGAP).


Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Philippines: Deputy head of PBGB specializing in salt stress tolerance in rice joins the February Young Researchers Lunch

The Young Researchers' Lunch hosted Glenn Gregorio, the outgoing deputy head of IRRI's Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology Division. Dr. Gregorio is a plant breeder who has specialized in salinity stress tolerance in rice at IRRI. He is noted for his excellent knowledge of rice as well as his flair for witty rice breeding slogans.

Dr. Gregorio shared his perspective on career planning and how IRRI has changed over the years. He encouraged the young researchers to take advantage of all the training courses and other opportunities at the Institute, and develop their own identities as researchers. He left the group with his personal mantra "Know what you want and love what you want."

Participants were Renee Lorica, Marjorie de Ocampo, Myrish A. Pacleb, Terry Velasco,  Mark Jeffrey Morete, and Anny Ruth Pame. 

The Young Researchers Lunch is a monthly meeting for NRS and AFSTRI scientists who are in the early stages of their career. The purpose is to provide an opportunity for discussions with senior scientists on a range of topics including science and career paths.

Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Research on C4 rice makes MIT Breakthroughs list for 2015

The pioneering work being done at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to transform rice, a C3 plant, into a C4 plant (like maize and sorghum) that uses sunshine more efficiently has made it to the MIT Technology Review’s prestigious 10 Breakthrough Technologies list for 2015.

The Breakthroughs list identifies 10 milestones from the past year “that solve difficult problems or create powerful new ways of using technology” and that will matter for a long time to come.

The C4 Rice Project is a consortium of research institutions, led by IRRI, that implements ‘frontier’ research that seeks to find a new way to radically increase rice yields, anticipating continued rise in global food needs decades into the future.

From the same amount of sunlight, plants that use C4 photosynthesis produce more food mass in its grains overall compared to C3 plants. If this trait can be bred into the rice plant, it could mean up to 50% more grain yield from current global levels. This is the big vision of the project, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“This is an important recognition of the work of the C4 Rice Consortium, and further inspires all the efforts being made to realize this vision,” said Paul Quick, IRRI scientist and leader of the C4 Rice Project.

The story on C4 rice research, titled “Supercharged Photosynthesis,” goes online and can be accessed here on February 18. The print version hits newsstands on March 3.

~

Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Sri Lankan envoy visits IRRI, discusses building capacity for research

H.E. Dr. Gamini Samaranayake, Ambassador of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the Philippines, visited the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Headquarters to learn more about IRRI's research program and training activities, and strengthen collaboration between Sri Lanka and IRRI.

Ambassador Samaranayaka and his party were welcomed on 12 February by IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler, IRRI Director of External Relations Corinta Guerta, IRRI Training Center Head Noel Magor, and Benedict Pamatmat of the Partnerships Unit. Sri Lankan scholars Buddhika Sampath Channara and Swarna Herath also joined in welcoming the delegation. Part of the visit  included a trip to the International Rice Genebank which holds about 2,027 types of rice from Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka and IRRI started collaboration in 1960 through exchange of rice varieties and training. In 1967, an agreement between Sri Lanka and the Ford Foundation led to a 2-year program between IRRI and the country’s Department of Agriculture (DOASL). Under the program, DOASL scientists underwent training at IRRI. It was renewed in 1969 and included technology transfer activities.

From 1964 to 2014, 135 scholars from Sri Lanka have completed their studies and 426 trainees attended short courses at the Institute.

Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).