PBGB risks reviewed and plans ahead

The Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division Risk Management and Quality Assurance (PBGB RMQA) team held a review and planning workshop on 20-21 March 2014 at Surga, Majayjay Laguna. The team was composed of the RMQA officers and representatives from each of the 35 groups/units within the division.  The IRRI RMQA unit facilitated the activities.

With the aim of enhancing risk awareness and and of continuously promoting the risk management culture in PBGB, the group reviewed the division’s Risk Register and its Business Continuity and Recovery Plan, and devised various strategies and approaches on how to better manage the risks the division is exposed to.

The plans will be approved by the Division Head, Eero Nissila, and Deputy Division Head/RMQA IRS, Glenn Gregorio. Specifically, the proposal to establish an off-site back-up seed storage facility at PhilRice for the elite breeding lines was discussed and will be initiated soon.  The participants also reviewed existing guidelines/policies such as (1) the IRRI review and publications guidelines, (2) the OU internal clearance, (3) the use of the IRRI Research Notebook and, (4) the PBGB Operations Manual and Guidelines.

The RMQA-Research Data Management (RDM) team reported on the status of the division’s network repository. The Biosafety Officer gave an overview of their role and function and updated the group on issues and some policies regarding transgenics.

The PBGB RMQA Officers include: Glenn Gregorio, Vit Lopena, Norman Oliva, Joie Ramos, and Mayee Reveche. RMQA unit is composed of Menchu Bernardo (Senior Manager), Rizza Mendoza (Manager, Biosafety Office), Icoy Mercado and Dec Arreza (Research Data Management).


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Nepal: 3-day rice tech transfer training workshop held

IRRI, in collaboration with the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), organized a 3-day international training workshop on “Rice technology transfer systems (RTTS) for stress-prone environments in South Asia” at Pokhara, Nepal from the 20th to the 22nd of March 2014. The workshop was supported by the EC-IFAD funded project “Improved rice crop management for raising productivity in the submergence-prone and salt-affected rainfed lowlands in South Asia” and STRASA (Stress tolerant rice for Africa and South Asia).

Thirty researchers and extension workers from Bangladesh, Nepal, and India participated in this event. The focus of the training was to share the knowledge and experiences of successful rice technology transfer models and research-extension linkages as practiced in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal and to strengthen the technology promotion and delivery system.

Dr. A. K. Agnihotri, senior associate scientist, IRRI India welcomed the chief guest Dr. Ram Chandra Adhikari, regional director of the Regional Agricultural Research Station of NARC, Lumle, and participants from India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. He talked about harnessing the productivity potential of Himalayan and Tarai regions of Nepal through introduction of suitable stress tolerant rice varieties (STRVs) and improved management practices. These practices can help augment food grain production in the regions. Dr. Adhikari applauded the continuous support of IRRI in improving the rice productivity.

“70% of the total rice area in Nepal is rainfed and prone to frequent drought, submergence and cold stresses due to climate change. There is an urgent need to offer sustainable solution to mitigate these challenges that could be achieved only through strengthening the NARC partnership with IRRI,” Dr. Adhikari said.

Mr. Julian Lapitan, senior manager, National Programs Relations, IRRI, Philippines pointed out that agriculture is facing challenges of dwindling land area, the aging of farmers, aversion of youth to practice agriculture, and the declining interest of students in the discipline of agriculture. There is a need to popularize and transfer relevant affordable and sustainable technologies to farmers to increase productivity and improve their livelihood to accelerate the dissemination efforts, he added. Dr. Bhaba Prasad Tripathi  highlighted the overwhelming success of Swarna-Sub1, Samba Mahsuri-Sub1 in Nepal and the recent release of drought tolerant rice varieties Sukha Dhan 4, 5 & 6.

Mr. Lapitan facilitated the training and demonstrated how business management practices and leadership development improve the technology transfer system. Dr. R.M. Kathresan, Dean, Annamalai University, India delivered a lecture on farming systems research options and highlighted the successful crop diversification interventions in Tamil Nadu State of India.

Mr. T.C. Dhoundiyal, project manager, STRASA South Asia talked about how project management practices and tools can be used in agriculture extension system for transfer of technologies.

The project partners from India, Bangladesh and Nepal shared their experiences and lessons learned from the outcomes of the EC-IFAD and STRASA projects. These useful deliberations helped get the participants acquainted with new advancement in the agricultural research, extension and development.

A field visit to RARS, Lumle was organized for the participants. Dr. R.C. Adhikari, along with ateam of scientists and officials welcomed the participants and presented the overview of research and extension works of the station. RARS Lumle is mandated for generating suitable technologies for Western Development Region including screening and evaluation of new rice germplasm. Dr. Adhikari sought a collaboration with IRRI in developing cold tolerant rice varieties suitable for the region.


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Myanmar: Village-level learning alliance meetings conducted

Two village-level learning alliance (LA) meetings were held in the Maubin and Bogale townships last March 15th and 18th of 2014. These meetings aim to support project activities and the use of new technologies, including new varieties and postharvest technologies.

For the Maubin LA meeting facilitated by Rica Flor, 44 participants (13 women) from the Department of Agriculture (DOA), four key project villages, partner NGOs, millers, traders,  private sector stakeholders, and IRRI personnel attended the event in the Maubin Township. Updates on the ongoing participatory varietal selection trials and postharvest h issues were discussed among the group.

Meanwhile, a total of 36 participants joined the Bogale LA meeting held in the Bogale Township Library and facilitated by Reianne Quilloy. 23 farmers (six women), four from partner NGOs, two from the DOA, one miller, and six from IRRI attended the event.

One of the event highlights was the discussion of farmers about the benefits and challenges in piloting the flatbed dryer (FBD). The FBD, which the farmers’ group has already used in the last postharvest season, was installed by the IRRI Postharvest group and village farmers on October 2013.

The Group for Research and Technology Exchanges (GRET), which funded the FBD, has in the meantime established an inventory storage system to be used for the drying operation, enabling farmers to store high quality rice coming from the dryer until market prices are favorable for selling grains.


As a result of the meetings, the farmers have identified future learning opportunities. For instance, farmers will produce good quality grains using postharvest technology, like the FBD, sell the grains to miller partners, document how the crop is assessed, and see if the millers will give price incentive for quality.

The Learning Alliance is a platform to engage project stakeholders to share, learn from one another, and collaborate on providing solutions to produce better quality grains and link farmers to better markets in Myanmar.

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Vietnam: IRRI country office welcomes new staff

With the merging of the IRRI Vietnam office and IRRI-CCAFS SEA office in Hanoi, IRRI welcomes  Ms. Dinh Kim Dung, (the first name is pronounced as Dzung), who will officially assume the post of associate manager starting 1 April 2014.  Dung will handle the day-to-day operational (administrative and financial) activities of the IRRI Hanoi office.

She comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience in finance/accounting as well as administrative processes and project management.  Her experience includes working in foreign-funded projects that allowed her to network with different NARES partners and other stakeholders in Vietnam.

Another new staff at the IRRI office in Hanoi is Mr. Nguyen Chi Kien (first name is Kien), driver-cum-office assistant. Kien has been working at the IRRI office in Hanoi for about 5 months.  A competent driver, he is comfortable working with foreigners as he has worked with foreign-aid assisted projects like DfID in the past.
           
Leocadio S. Sebastian, IRRI country representative in Vietnam and regional program leader for Southeast Asia CGIAR Research Program for Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) would also like to thank Ms. Nguyen Thanh Huyen, assistant manager, IRRI Vietnam office, for the commitment and dedication she has shown for the past 20 years. She manned the IRRI office in Hanoi alone most of those years. Many of you who have visited Vietnam will remember the hospitality and friendliness of Huyen.  She will return to her mother agency, the Department of Science, Technology and Environment (DOSTE) in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.  

The IRRI office located at the Directorate of Fisheries will be closed effective 31 March 2014.   The IRRI office in Hanoi will now be located at the following address:

IRRI-Vietnam/CCAFS SEA Office

c/o Agricultural Genetics Institute (Vien Di Truyen Nong Nghiep)

Km 2, Duong Pham Van Dong, Tu Liem District

Hanoi, Vietnam

Effective  1 April 2014, please send your requests for logistical assistance to our partners in Vietnam, to d.dinh@irri.org, with copy to l.sebastian@irri.org

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UK Ambassador visits IRRI and looks into creating energy from rice straw

In his visit to IRRI on the 24th of March 2014, UK Deputy Ambassador H.E. Trevor Lewis discussed several UK-supported initiatives, including a new one that looks at how to harness bioenergy from rice straw.

The initiative, which began last year is called the “Rice Straw Energy Project” and is a research partnership between UK-based SUPERGEN Bioenergy Hub and IRRI. The project aims to study promising ways to use rice straw for energy, such as by creating electricity from burning it or producing gas for cooking.

Craig Jamieson, coordinator of the project, explained why they were investigating this: rice straw is often simply burned by farmers after harvesting, and this contributes to climate change and serious health issues.
Engr. Martin Gummert, head of IRRI’s Postharvest Unit, said that using rice straw for generating energy rather than burning it in the field also provides opportunities for farmers to add value to what is currently considered a waste and thus increase incomes from rice production. The project runs until 2016.

The team recently held a workshop last week which ended on 27th of March 2014.

Several UK-supported initiatives such as sourcing renewable energy from rice straw were the topics of discussion in this week’s visit by the UK Deputy Ambassador.

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Ambassador of Vietnam affirms IRRI’s work and contribution to the country’s rice sector

Together with five officials from the Vietnam embassy in the Philippines, the Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the Philippines visited IRRI on Wednesday to learn more about the Institute and explore its facilities.

H.E. Truong Trieu Duong expressed his admiration for the Institute’s contributions to the country’s rice sector. “Your work has helped save millions around the world. We appreciate all your endeavors.” he said. In his speech, Ambassador Duong stated his country’s strong reliance on rice and delighted to learn that IRRI has a good knowledge of rice production in Vietnam.

Bruce Tolentino, deputy director general for communication and partnership, welcomed the Ambassador and embassy officials with a presentation of the Institute’s research agenda.

David Johnson, head of Crop and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD), briefed them on collaborative projects with Vietnam such as Mot Phai, Nam Giam (1 Must, 5 Reductions) on good agricultural practices.

A discussion with scientists on IRRI-Vietnam projects and a visit to the key facilities at IRRI ensued.

Vietnam and IRRI have worked hand in hand in areas of varietal improvement, conservation of rice diversity, sustainable farming systems, and capacity building since 1963. As of 2012, 89 IRRI-bred lines have been released as varieties in Vietnam.

More photos 

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CCAFS R4D maps out agenda & strategy for Southeast Asia

A team of researchers from various CGIAR Centers centers and the National Agricultural Research Systems of Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar,  Philippines  and  Vietnam gathered in Hanoi on  the 12th to the-14th of March to map out the regional R4D agenda and strategy for CCAFS in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Vice Minister Mr. Ha Cong Tuan, gave  gave the keynote speech in which he emphasized climate change as one of the most serious challenges facing Vietnam.

“Our major concern is the extent to which climate change will hit poor households, partly because of the decline in agricultural incomes and because of an increase in food prices,” he said. “We foresee that the poorest 20 percent of our households, both urban and rural, will experience larger reductions in standards of living due to climate change than the top 20 percent,” he added.

The four CCAFS flagship themes: (1) climate smart agricultural practices, (2) climate information services and climate-informed safety nets, (3) low emissions agricultural development, and (4) policies and institutions for resilient food systems, were put into the Southeast Asia context by identifying and defining their corresponding regional outcomes,  next users, milestones, outputs and R4D priority activities. A  regional impact pathway-driven R4D agenda was mapped out  and the full strategy is currently being finalized, linking existing projects with future research activities.

Read also:  CCAFS R4D Agenda & Strategy for Southeast Asia

MARD Vice Minister Mr. Ha Cong Tuan delivering the keynote speech during the CCAFS-SEA R4D workshop with Dr. Leocadio Sebastian, CCAFS-SEA regional program leader), Dr. Nguyen Van Bo, president of the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Dr. V. J. Bruce Tolentino, deputy director general for partnerships and communication, IRRI.






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