Philippines: "Birds of IRRI" takes flight

Photo exhibit tour continues until June 

Avian enthusiasts are in for a real treat as birds found in the rice fields of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) are showcased  in a spectacular photo exhibit entitled Feathers in the Fields: The Birds of IRRI.  IRRI, together with the National Commission for Culture and Arts and the Filipino Heritage Festivals, launched the traveling exhibit at The Gallery, Greenbelt 5, in Makati City on May 6 in celebration of the National Heritage Month.

Feathers in the Fields: Birds of IRRI,  featuring stunning photos taken by renowned photographers Segfredo Serrano and Tirso Paris, was originally unveiled at the Riceworld Museum at the IRRI headquarters. The exhibit was meant to help people understand that not all birds found in rice fields are pests.

“Our research indicates that these birds contribute to maintaining a healthy rice crop by consuming large numbers of insects and snails thereby regulating pest population,” said Finbarr Horgan, an ecologist at IRRI.

But the presence of numerous birds species also indicates a healthy rice ecosystem that provides them with an ideal habitat.  “The ecologically-based management of rice fields at IRRI has been rewarded by a multitude of farmer-friendly birds,” said Dr. Horgan. “Recently, large numbers of rails and moorhens have successfully reproduced at IRRI, an indication perhaps of the success of IRRI’s focus on environment-friendly agriculture. This is just the start, and hopefully continuing efforts will invite even more birds to make IRRI’s rice fields their home.”

The exhibit is now on display at SM Calamba until 29 May. It will be available for viewing at the Makati City Hall starting 8 June.

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Myanmar: Positive results of technologies for unfavorable environments highlighted in CURE meeting

CURE participants during a field visit in Zay Yar Thiri Township, Myanmar.

Seventy participants from 10 countries in South and Southeast Asia, along with IRRI scientists and donor representatives, met to discuss and share their most significant accomplishments in developing, validating, and delivering technologies and information to millions of resource-poor rice farmers in Asia. This meeting is the 14th Annual Review and Steering Committee Meeting of the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE) and was held on 19–22 May in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. 

IRRI scientists and partners of the Consortium presented the progress of their research in different partner countries (i.e., Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh). These include knowledge sharing, building learning alliances, and exchanging science products. 

In his speech at the start of the meeting, IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler urged CURE to continue developing technologies that are useful for farmers in dealing with future problems and to make sure that these technologies reach them. 

Dr. Digna Manzanilla, IRRI scientist and CURE coordinator, said that “the cross-country partnerships formed by CURE have generated a lot of research and well-targeted technologies that benefit farmers from fragile ecosystems.” This was seconded by Dr. Fabrizio Bresciani, donor representative of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and added that “the Consortium should now tackle the systems that might slow down the adoption of stress-tolerant varieties or might be bottlenecks for dissemination of varieties produced under the CURE program.”

Participants also visited a rainfed lowland area in Zay Yar Thiri Township to interact with farmers, local leaders, local extension staff, and scientists from the Department of Agricultural Research (DAR) and the Department of Agriculture (DoA) to discuss issues, coping mechanisms, and strategies of the local government in combating the impact of multiple stresses in rice production. 

Based on the scientific achievements of CURE, Dr. Ye Tint Tun, director general of DAR, asked the Consortium for continued technical assistance on biotechnology, germplasm access, extension support, and the development of the Rice Crop Manager for Myanmar. 

Myanmar poised to regain major role in global rice trade

IRRI Director General Robert Ziegler (2nd from left) presents the Myanmar Rice Sector Development Strategy with  former IRRI representative for Myanmar Madonna Casimero (left most), Myanmar President U Thein Sein (3rd from left), and MoAI Minister U Myint Hlaing.

NAY PYI TAW, Myanmar - The Republic of the Union of Myanmar is poised to not only transform its rice sector but to also recapture its prominence in the international rice market.

The Myanmar government made this commitment via the launch of the Myanmar Rice Sector Development Strategy (MRSDS) on 20 May 2015 at the Department of Agricultural Research in Nay Pyi Taw.

The MRSDS was drafted by the Myanmar government, led by its Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MoAI), with technical input from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and international partners such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Bank.

Myanmar President U Thein Sein said the MRSDS symbolizes the collaboration between his country and IRRI toward a food-secure future for Myanmar and the rest of the world. He cited the work of IRRI scientists in the development of pest- and disease-resistant and stress-tolerant rice varieties; improved cropping systems; postharvest technologies; and better soil, pest, and water management practices that have raised productivity of rice systems in Myanmar, greatly benefiting smallholder farmers.

IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler said that “the wonderful scientific achievements of IRRI need to be combined with development strategies and coherent programs that governments are willing to implement over a long period of time” to ensure that farmers have access to and are able to use these.

Zeigler added that having a government demonstrably willing to transform and develop its rice sector, an environment conducive to rice production, and growing global demand for rice make Myanmar a good opportunity for investment.

U Myint Hlaing, Myanmar’s minister for agriculture and irrigation, said it is possible to break the cycle of poverty and hunger by “strengthening rural resilience, achieving social protection, and sustaining agricultural development,” all of which can be achieved through a clear road map for sustainable rice sector development such as that detailed in the MRSDS.

Also during the launch, Zeigler awarded a special rice memento to honor the Myanmar president for his visionary leadership of the rice sector and to commemorate the visit the president and his cabinet members made to the IRRI headquarters in Los Baños, Philippines, in December 2013.

A donors’ forum was held alongside the launch of the MRSDS, to provide international agencies the opportunity to discuss their respective efforts for the Myanmar rice sector. The forum, facilitated by Corinta Guerta, IRRI director for external relations, was attended by representatives from the FAO, Japan International Cooperation Agency, The World Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development, Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund, Welthungerhilfe, Mercy Corps, Food Security Working Group, Action Aid, International Fertilizer Development Center, Proximity, Korean International Cooperation Agency, and the Rural Development Administration.

IRRI has been working with the government of Myanmar since the early 1960s.

RMQA-RDM conducts research data management course

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Risk Management and Quality Assurance-Research Data Management (RMQA-RDM) training team conducted its Research Data Management (RDM) 101 course on 26-28 May at IRRI headquarters.

Three participants from IRRI attended the three-day training course, namely Rafael Panerio and Mostafa Ahmadizadeh, researchers at  the Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division, and Shiela Ann Franco, a molecular biologist at the Grain Quality and Nutrition Center. Bibek Sapkota, a scientist from Nepal Agricultural Research Council and Dhiraj Srivastava, head of Relief Operations at Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, also attended the course.

RDM 101 covered various areas of data management including research data planning; data collection, authentication and analysis; data storage, backup and security; and data archival and sharing. The training team also discussed and demonstrated file management tools and software including Beyond Compare, Cobian, WinDirStat, Mendeley, Google Drive, and the IRRI Dataverse, an online repository for data archiving and sharing.

The training team is headed by IRRI-RMQA Senior Manager Menchu Bernardo with Enrico Mercado, and Sheenah Tan. Rogelio Alvarez of Information Technology Services provided a lecture on data backup, security, and storage.

This is the second RDM 101 course for the year. The course is conducted quarterly.


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RMQA team meet on developing a more robust risk management strategy at IRRI

The Risk Management Quality Assurance (RMQA) team convened to discuss a comprehensive approach for preventing  the occurrence and reducing the impact of hazardous  events at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). 

Spearheaded by RMQA Senior Manager Menchu Bernardo, the 33-member team formed the steering committee for the 1st Safety Awareness Summit at IRRI HQ to be held in August. The summit aims to promote safety in the workplace through lectures on ergonomics, emergency and disaster preparedness, biosafety compliance, general waste management, and best field and laboratory safety practices.  The RMQA team also discussed the documentation standard operating procedure for all units where all documents will be uploaded in a common repository as part of IRRI’s Quality Management System (QMS).

Jose Luis of the Safety and Security Services presented a plan for assessing and reviewing existing safety practices used at IRRI’s laboratories, greenhouse, screenhouse, and offices in compliance with the Board-approved Occupational Health and Safety Policy.  Reah Gonzales of the Grain Quality and Nutrition Services Laboratory (GQNSL ) also shared their experience in developing QMS and SOP documentation as part of the successful renewal of the laboratories ISO 17025 accreditation.

The new members of RMQA were also introduced during the worskshop and meeting on 19 May at the IRRI Guest House. They include Francis Rubianes from Crop and Environmental Sciences Division, Cindy Llorente from GQNSL, Janet Lazarte from Human Resource Services, Fernando Artates from Financial Planning and Reporting,  and Jun Correa from Experiment Station (ES). 

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Philippines: IRRI conducts laser leveling training to make rice farming more climate friendly

Twelve participants (10 male, 2 female) from India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines underwent a rigorous hands-on training course on  laser land leveling at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) headquarters.

Laser land leveling is a climate-smart agriculture practice helps save scarce resources while increasing yields and farmers’ incomes. “A number of benefits can be obtained from a laser level field,” says Joseph Rickman, IRRI senior scientist with specialization in mechanization and production systems. “These include efficient water use, better weed and nutrient management, increase in farm area due to consolidation of smaller fields, uniform crop maturity, and increase in grain and head rice yields.”

Ms. Lin Lin Ho from Trimble, the company that introduced commercial laser leveling technology in 1996, says, “Around 500,000 hectares of land have been made climate friendly through the use of laser leveling system.” Ralph Go of Go Traktora, a local distributor of Trimble equipment gave a presentation on local distribution and after sales service of laser leveling system.

The laser leveling module, second offering of the course, covered the following topics: 1) understanding the principles and benefits of laser leveling; 2) conducting topographic surveys; 3) making field plan for efficient laser leveling;  4) conduction of laser leveling in an IRRI field; and 5) learning the economics of laser leveling technology.

“This training unpacked the ease and practicality of using the laser leveler technology,” says Roger Barroga, a participant from the Philippine Rice Research Institute. “By proper land leveling, we can better manage water, weeds, and fertilizer, and increase the yield of our rice crop,”

The Postharvest Unit of IRRI’s Crop and Environmental Sciences Division in collaboration with the Training Center conducted the course that also included a module on tractor operation and maintenance. The module on tractor operation covered the principles of operation and maintenance of a 4W tractor and underwent actual driving lessons. The course was held on 18-21 May.


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GQNSL receives recommendation for renewal of its 2015-2020 ISO accreditation

The Grain Quality and Nutrition Services Laboratory (GQNSL) successfully passed the assessment by the Philippine Accreditation Bureau (PAB)  for the renewal of its PNS ISO/IEC accreditation for another 5 years.

The two-day audit of GQNSL and all its analytical and grain quality evaluation tests was conducted by Ms. Fe Consuelo Natarte from Supra Management System Consulting, and Mr. Christian John Rodly Navarro and Ms. Maria Soledad Distor from Systems Technology Institute. The evaluation was conducted on 11-12 May.

The new certificate for GQNSL’s PNS ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for 2015-2020 will be issued by PAB by the 3rd quarter of 2015.


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