IRRI welcomes new research chief

Los Baños, Philippines - The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has appointed Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes as its eighth deputy director general for research. She will assume her duties on 30 March 2016. Jackie brings to IRRI a combination of agricultural research leadership and management expertise, with a career spanning more than three decades in Asia, Africa, and Europe. At IRRI, she will oversee the institute’s global research agenda in plant breeding, genetics, crop and environmental sciences, and the social sciences.

Jackie comes to IRRI from AVRDC - The World Vegetable Center in Taiwan, where she served for a decade as deputy director general for research. Before that, she spent more than 10 years at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture IITA) in Nigeria, taking on positions of progressive responsibility throughout her tenure. Jackie was also technical cooperation officer in virology at the Cocoa Research Institute in Ghana and higher scientific officer at the United Kingdom’s Institute of Horticultural Research. Her early career started with work as tropical root and tuber virologist at the Glasshouse Crops Research Institute and research fellow in molecular virology at the University of Birmingham, both in the United Kingdom (UK).

IRRI’s new deputy director general has an extensive publication record in such areas as agricultural science, global nutrition, and climate change. She has held many prestigious board memberships and has been elected to various fellowships, including the Royal Society of Biology. Jackie received her Ph.D. in microbiology/virology and bachelor of science in agricultural botany from the University of Reading, UK. She succeeds Matthew Morell as IRRI’s research chief, who became IRRI's new director general on 19 December 2015.

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DA, IRRI, and SMART to boost farmers’ incomes through text messaging

Tarlac, Philippines – For two years, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have been collaborating on a decision tool that uses mobile devices and computers in providing recommendations to rice farmers to help them increase their yield.

Funded by the DA through the Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP), this decision tool called Rice Crop Manager (RCM), has posted positive results of increasing the yield and net income of farmers. Initial research shows that rice farmers in Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Oriental Mindoro, and Agusan del Norte increased their average yield by 300 kilograms and average net income by about PHP 4,000 per crop per hectare.

NFA and IRRI sign agreement to fast-track importation of rice varieties for research purposes

Quezon City, Philippines –  The National Food Authority (NFA) will soon grant a single certification, instead of multiple transport permits, for all rice varieties that will be brought into the country by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for purposes of experimentation and research.

The two agencies signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on 14 December 2015 at the NFA Central Office in Quezon City.

Rice Doctor for Bangladesh now being developed

Participants from IRRI and BRRI working on the Rice Doctor for Bangladesh.

Los Baños, Laguna – The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), in partnership with the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), has started developing the Rice Doctor for Bangladesh in a workshop held on 16-18 December 2015 at the IRRI Training Center.

The main goal of the workshop was to prepare the initial structure and plans for a version of the Rice Doctor that would specifically cater to crop problems experienced in Bangladesh. Later on, the product would be translated to the local language, Bengali.

ADB and IRRI to strengthen partnership on shared food security goals

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) are set on bringing their 40-year partnership to a new level.

“It is a good idea to formalize our partnership,” said ADB President Takehiko Nakao, who was at IRRI yesterday (17 December 2015) with members of the bank’s leadership to visit experimental sites and discuss with IRRI management and scientists collaboration on agricultural development and food security across Asia.

ADB and IRRI have worked together since 1975, with ADB financing 33 projects involving USD 26 million in grants for research, capacity building, and infrastructure development.

Green Super Rice to focus on upscaling and reaching resource-poor farmers

Hyderabad, India - The Green Super Rice (GSR) project will be completing its second phase on 31 December 2015. The completion workshop for project partners in Asia was held on 21-23 November at the Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR) in Hyderabad, India.

Stress-tolerant variety Sahbhagi dhan gets nod from farmers, NGOs

Uttar Pradesh, India – A review of stress-tolerant rice varieties (STRVs) was held in Lucknow in early November, with promising results. Drought-tolerant variety Sahbhagi dhan received good reviews from farmers as well as from NGOs.