STRASA initiates new partnership between IRRI and India’s state of Arunachal Pradesh

By Maria Rowena M. Baltazar

A new protocol of discussion (POD) with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has been signed by H.E. Chowna Mein, minister for Agriculture, Horticulture, and Animal Husbandry in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Minister Mein led an eight-man delegation for a visit to IRRI headquarters in Los Baños, Philippines, on 31 August-1 September to obtain assistance in improving rice production in the state.

The group was met by IRRI Deputy Director General for Communication and Partnerships Bruce Tolentino and IRRI scientists Abdelbagi Ismail, Jagdish Ladha, Kshirod Jena, Roland Buresh, and Sudhir Yadav. The discussions resulted in prospects for which IRRI could provide assistance, such as facilitation for the development of a rice strategy for the state; provision of suitable stress-tolerant, high-yielding varieties for flood- and drought-affected areas; support for the development of an efficient seed system; facilitation of the collection, purification, and conservation of traditional varieties for improvement and future use in breeding; and training of scientists and others involved in the rice value chain. Furthermore, other areas for possible collaboration were identified such as harmonizing seed systems and policies and encouraging the involvement of the private sector.

Minister Mein’s visit included a tour of the different facilities in IRRI such as the STRASA and Ecological Intensification (EI) site and Green Super Rice (GSR) field experiments, the International Rice Genebank, the Training Center, and the Grain Quality and Nutrition Center.

  

Among Minister Mein’s entourage were Shri Hage Khoda, IAS, commissioner–agriculture; Shri A.K. Purkayastha, state consultant and agriculture advisor; Shri Dusa Lida, deputy director (PP) and SNO (NFSM); Shri T. D. Neckom, DAO(D) and State Oil Palm Officer; Shri Idar Nyori, ADO and Assistant State Oil Palm Officer; Shri Opang Moyong, Instructor (GTC), and District Nodal Officer, Pasighat; Shri R. Duchok, ADO (Hq); and Shri Techi taura, ADO (Hq). 

The visit was an initiative of the Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia (STRASA) Project.

India: Agriculture minister encourages India’s farmers to use stress-tolerant rice varieties

“Use flood- and drought-tolerant rice to get maximum profit from your small landholdings in the stress-prone areas of Bihar.” This was the key message of Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, to a gathering of more than a thousand farmers during a foundation ceremony of the National Integrated Agriculture Research Centre (Rastriya Samekit Krishi Anushandan Kendra), Motihari, Bihar, India on 21 August.

Minister Singh’s speech centered on stress-tolerant rice varieties (STRVs) and how it could help farmers improve land productivity. The Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia (STRASA) project has been developing improved rice varieties that can survive flooding, drought, salinity, and toxicity for dissemination in areas affected by such unfavorable conditions.

The agriculture minister told the farmers of how scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) took him to a pond planted with a new flood-tolerant rice variety that was fully submerged in water for 15 days. “I immediately asked them: ‘Why this much water? Wouldn’t the rice rot?’,” he related.

He shared that the crop variety that survived 15 days of full submergence had “very good yield” and proudly announced that the seeds of such a variety are available for farmers in Motihari. There were also trials conducted in several villages in Motihari for the drought-tolerant variety Sahbagi dhan.

In the same event, 10 progressive farmers from the Motihari district were honored by Minister Singh for adopting improved agricultural technologies. Four of these farmers went through demonstration trials and received training on STRV management options via the STRASA and the Improved Rice-Based Rainfed Agricultural Systems in Bihar projects.

“Following the Minister’s speech, the IRRI booth received a rush of inquiries from farmers,” said Dr. Sudhanshu Singh, IRRI scientist and rainfed-lowland agronomist for South Asia, who represented the Institute during the foundation ceremony and exhibit.

Top officials from ICAR, including Director General Dr. S. Ayappan, and its institutes were present in the ceremony.

Food security a top priority for ASEAN ministers and senior officials

"It is high time for ASEAN member countries, which are in the largest rice-growing regions of the world to support the scientific research necessary for the sustainability of their rice sectors," said Bruce Tolentino, deputy director general for communication and partnerships of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), on ensuring food security and strengthening cooperation in agriculture across the region.

Sixteen ministers are scheduled to visit IRRI on 12 September as part of the 37th meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF), in addition to the 15th AMAF Plus Three Meetings with China, Japan, and South Korea hosted by the Philippines this year.

"The crucial role that IRRI fulfills is providing the scientific foundation, technical support, and capacity-building to each of the ASEAN member-countries in pursuing their own national rice and food security programs," Tolentino said.

Each ASEAN member-nation has its own strategy and approach for meeting targets in this area.

Some Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam or Thailand, export rice, while the Philippines or Indonesia, among others, are rice importers.

Myanmar is on its way to regaining its agricultural competitiveness. In the 1950s Myanmar led the ASEAN countries in rice exports.

Brunei and Singapore, on the other hand, do import rice, and only the best quality rice. Moreover, Singapore is making investments to become the ASEAN center for biotechnology.

"So, each of these countries has differing approaches to achieving their food security goals. But all of these countries are bound together because there is a common ASEAN-wide framework for food security," Tolentino explained.

That framework, according to him, which also includes a strategic action plan on food security, does not simply focus on strengthening the national capacity of each of the ASEAN member countries to produce any agricultural commodity, but also facilitation of trade.

The strategic action plan was conceptualized as part of the ASEAN member states’ need for a long-term agricultural development plan that focuses on sustainable food production and trade, especially in the context of problems brought about by the food price crisis in 2007–2008.

The ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework, along with the Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security in the ASEAN Region, enables sharing of any agricultural commodity. A close inspection of various countries reveals variation in natural resources for rice production. This is also the case for other crops and agricultural commodities.

"In effect, there will be a country agenda and there will be a regional agenda, tied together by trade. ASEAN countries could look at exporting high-quality rice to, say, Europe, for example. And Africa is a major growth area because of its rising demand for rice. All these topics, including IRRI’s support to the Philippine Department of Agriculture’s Food Staples Sufficiency Program will be part of the discussions during the ASEAN event next week," he noted.

Bill Gates asks a question

“Who will suffer most from climate change?” Bill Gates poses this question in his latest blog post and what the Gates Foundation and its partners are doing to help.

“The world’s poorest farmers show up for work each day for the most part empty-handed. That’s why of all the people who will suffer from climate change, they are likely to suffer the most,” Gates wrote. This aligns with IRRI’s mission on the challenges of growing rice in the midst of the changing climate. Bob Zeigler, IRRI director general, pointed out that many farmers who belong to the poorest of the poor have not benefited fully from the first Green Revolution of the 60s-70s. This time around, the second Green Revolution seeks to leave no farmer behind.

Gates is optimistic, mentioning that many of the tools these farmers need to adapt are quite basic, including better seeds, fertilizer, and training:

“The Gates Foundation and its partners have worked together to develop new varieties of seeds that grow even during times of drought or flooding,” he adds. The tools he mentioned included the “scuba” rice, a flood-tolerant rice variety that can survive underwater for up to 2 weeks. So far, ten million farmers in South Asia have access to scuba rice, among other climate-smart rice varieties.

Scuba rice is being promoted by the Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia (STRASA) Project, an IRRI-led project supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In April of this year, senior officers of the Gates Foundation came to IRRI headquarters to see for themselves the work being done at the world’s premier research center on rice. They toured IRRI’s research facilities and heard updates on the science and partnership between the two organizations, including the latest on climate change-ready rice varieties.

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

Syngenta and IRRI conduct workshop in developing strategies for rice crop health management

Syngenta and IRRI held a training workshop in developing strategies for rice crop health management and reducing production constraints. The activity was part of the Crop Health Management Project under Phase II of the Syngenta-IRRI Scientific Know-how and Exchange Program (SKEP).

Researchers from Syngenta and IRRI who attended the workshop on SKEP Crop Health and Training on Statistical Data Analysis discussed research progress and plans and conducted exercises in pest injury identification and assessment, farmer interviews, and field visits. It also included a course designed to provide the 21 participants with a working knowledge on the management, presentation, and statistical analysis of experimental data using Statistical Tool for Agricultural Research (STAR), a freeware developed by IRRI.

Since the inception of Phase II, Syngenta and IRRI meet twice a year to review the results and discuss issues and action plans on the implementation of research activities in the different sites. Syngenta researchers conduct surveys of farmers’ fields and on-farm trials in irrigated lowland rice fields of Tamil Nadu and Odisha, India; West Java, Indonesia; Suphanburi, Thailand; Red River Delta, Vietnam. IRRI researchers conduct the surveys in Laguna, Philippines. The meetings also provide opportunities for capacity building as participants are provided the knowledge and skills needed to effectively achieve project goals.

The training workshop, hosted by Syngenta–India, was held on 17 to 21 August in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India.

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

IRRI chief at global health forum

IRRI chief Robert Zeigler joined experts to talk about smarter food production to address food insecurity at the COHRED Global Forum on Research and Innovation for Health 2015. In photo (from left): Roger Barroga, Philippine Rice Research Institute; William Dar, former director general, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics; Robert Zeigler; Karen Cooper, Nestle; Howarth Bouis, Harvest Plus; and Ellen Villate, IRRI.

"If you want to address poverty and malnutrition, you have to pay attention to rice,"  Robert Zeigler, director general of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), told delegates of the Global Forum on Research and Innovation for Health 2015.  

The forum, hosted by the Philippine government, was organized by the Council on Health Research for Development to identify innovative solutions to the world’s unmet health needs through research and innovation.

Malnutrition remains a huge health concern given the challenge of providing a growing global population with a stable supply of safe, affordable, and nutritious food while using less resources. More than half of the world’s population depends on rice as a major source of calories. Enhancing the nutrient content of rice can make a big difference, especially in developing countries that face the double burden of malnutrition in the rural areas and overnutrition in the urban areas. 

To this end, Zeigler explained IRRI’s work on developing healthier rice varieties. Rice biofortification is an innovation in staple crop improvement that has become a complementary strategy to help reach rice-eating communities with limited access to diverse diets.  In these areas, rice is crucially important because alternative foods may not be acceptable, available, or affordable. Nutrient supplementation alone may also be insufficient and unsustainable.

IRRI conducts biofortification to develop healthier rice varieties with enhanced beta carotene (pro-vitamin A), iron, and zinc content.  These nutrient-packed rice varieties can help address micronutrient deficiency that affects at least 2 billion people globally. 

For these healthier rice varieties to be successful, they should be recognized by farmers, consumers, and the rice sector as a potential complementary solution for micronutrient deficiency and for delivering clinically proven health benefits. Looking to the future, we can imagine combining traits for higher zinc, iron, and beta carotene with high yields, adaptability to a changing climate, and other traits that are attractive to farmers. These varieties must also pass regulatory muster in target countries. 

“Food security is not just about improved production, but improved quality of food’ said Zeigler. “Agriculture has a key role to play in improving nutrition, not just as a provider of calories but as a provider of nutritionally-enhanced foods.  Rice has an important role to play given its significance in the diet.” 

Zeigler also inspired researchers, health workers, and innovators wanting to make a significant social difference in a session on “Translating Research into Innovation.” 

Over 4,000 delegates from 72 countries attended the forum held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila on 24-27 August. The event attracted the participation of public, private, and nonprofit health and innovation stakeholders.

COHRED’s partners in the Philippines are the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Health, and the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development. IRRI is a proud content partner of the Global Forum 2015.

View the Global Forum eBulletin here.

Indonesia and IRRI to revolutionize rice technology for swampy areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan

The Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (IAARD) is aiming to modernize the technology for growing rice in the swampy areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan Provinces.

Indonesia is the world’s third-largest rice producer and also one of the world’s biggest rice consumers. With its increasing domestic production and declining dependence on imports, the government is aiming to attain self-sufficiency in rice within the next 3 years.  Sumatra and Kalimantan Provinces could play major roles in helping Indonesia reach this goal.  The government expects South Kalimantan to maintain its projected surplus rice production this year despite the current El Niño that has caused harvest failure in a number of rice-growing areas in Indonesia. The resiliency of the province’s rice production is credited to its swampy areas that provide a stable source of water for irrigation.

The Indonesian Swampland Agriculture Research Institute (ISARI) and the Indonesian Center for Rice Research (ICRR) conducted a workshop on Developing Best-bet Management Practices (BMP) Specific for Swampy Rice Environment to take full advantage of the potential of the country’s swampy areas.

Indonesia has around 33.4 million hectares of swampy areas in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Papua, and the Sulawesi islands, collectively. However, only 1.3 million hectares of these have been reclaimed by the government, mostly in Sumatra and Kalimantan islands. Swampy areas also have various rice production constraints including flash flooding, stagnant flooding, acid sulfate soils, pest, diseases, and weeds. Droughts also often occur in the upper portion of the swamps.

“These factors hamper the sustainable reclamation and development of Indonesian swampy lands,” said Ms. Rina Dirgahayuningsih, a researcher from the Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology (AIAT) of South Kalimantan Province.

“The good news is ICRR recently released several rice varieties suitable for the swampy areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan,” said ICRR scientist Dr. Indrastuti Rumanti, “These varieties are tolerant of flooding, salinity, acid sulfate soil, tungro and blast diseases.  Now, we need to integrate all the technology components from land preparation to post harvest as farmer-friendly products, in order for the new technology and rice varieties to be easily adopted by smallholder farmers living in marginal areas.”

At the workshop, a total of 17 scientists and researchers from ISARI, ICRR, AIAT-South Kalimantan, AIAT-South Sumatra, and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) discussed the current constraints and opportunities for rice technology innovation. And these experts from diverse fields—soil and water management, landscape management, crop management, rice breeding, and crop protection—jointly prepared the best-bet management options for swampy rice areas.

“The multi-disciplinary work on technology development is always challenging, but we can learn many things from each other,” said Dr. Yoichiro Kato, IRRI’s rainfed lowland agronomist.

The participants also visited the farmers’ fields in South Kalimantan’s swampy and tidal areas, and discussed with farmers their practices and problems. This allowed them to compare their prepared management recommendations with farmers’ practices. These recommendations will be reviewed by scientists and extensionists working in the swampy rice areas at a national workshop at ICRR in September.

“The attempt to develop an integrated approach to managing rice is an important point for helping extensionists transfer the applied technology to farmers, and we hope the partnership between our Indonesian institutes and IRRI will get stronger in the future,” said Dr. Herman Subagio, ISARI director. He was also thankful to the support from the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments, which is funded by the International Funds for Agricultural Development, and Give2Asia project.

The workshop was held in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan Province on August 18-21.