Gender in focus in GRiSP forum

A gender forum featuring several speakers from country partners and non-government organizations was held at IRRI headquarters on 14 March.

The forum, titled Bringing better lives to women: Experiences from the field, was organized by Bas Bouman, director of the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP), and Thelma Paris, IRRI senior scientist and gender specialist.

Laos rice policy report released

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic Rice Policy Study, an in-depth study of the Lao PDR rice sector including the prevailing policy environment and recommendations to meet future needs, has been published at the FAO website. 

The Lao government-commissioned study report, a collaboration of the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and IRRI, sought to support evidence-based policy decisions by the Lao government. This is seen as the first step in defining a comprehensive food security policy for the Lao PDR.

New project on closing rice yield gaps holds inception workshop

Country partners from six rice bowls in Asia and IRRI scientists met for the inception and planning workshop of the new project Closing Rice Yield Gaps in Asia (CORIGAP) last week (12-13 March) at IRRI Headquarters.

CORIGAP aims to generate improved food security and livelihoods for hundreds of thousands of people in Asia, while minimizing the environmental footprint of rice production. It is an initiative under the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC) and is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

Vietnam: Climate change and land use project makes plans for 2013

The second annual review and planning workshop of the Climate Change Affecting Land Use in the Mekong Delta: Adaptation of Rice-based Cropping Systems (CLUES) Project was held at Can Tho City, Vietnam, earlier this month.

The project, funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), started in March 2011 and will end in February 2015.

China: Green Super Rice project launches second phase

The Green Super Rice (GSR) Project formally launched its second phase in a meeting opened by David Bergvinson of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

Dr. Bergvinson cited the project's expanding partnerships and stated the main goal of the meeting, which was to develop a sound seed road map, or SRM, for each country covered. The project aims to benefit 500,000 resource-poor farmers from China, other parts of Asia, and Africa.

GRiSP to host young scientists in Asia Forum

The second gathering of the IRRI young scientists will be held along with the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP) Asia Forum on 14-18 October 2013 at IRRI Headquarters in Los Baños.

This year, GRiSP will feature a forum for young scientists to interact and share scientific insights with top scientists from around the world on topics related to the 6 GRiSP research themes. It will be a good opportunity for young scientists to become familiar with ongoing research under the various GRiSP institutes across Asia.

IRRI staff honored by Philippine crop scientists

Achim Dobermann, deputy director general for research, was given an Honorary Fellow Award by the Crop Science Society of the Philippines (CSSP) during the 22nd Scientific Conference of the Federation of Crop Science Societies of the Philippines.