PhilRice, IRRI host training to help improve productivity of African rice farmers

Engr. Eugene Castro of IRRI Education welcomes the participants from Africa and the Philippines 
to the rice seed production training at the PhilRice Central Experiment Station.

MUÑOZ, Philippines—The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) Central Experiment Station in Nueva Ecija is currently hosting a training designed to provide participants with knowledge and skills in rice seed production and the promotion of quality seed among African farmers.

The specialized course on rice seed production and extension methods, a collaborative initiative of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and its Philippine research partner PhilRice, runs from 6 March to 28 April. The course covers land and seedling preparation, planting, field problem diagnosis, harvesting, and postharvest practices. Extension methods and technology transfer strategies promoting the use of quality seeds will also be a key component of the program.  From 9 to 16 April, the participants will be at the IRRI headquarters in Laguna for some supplementary field, laboratory, and classroom activities.

There are 19 participants from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda attending the 8-week course. The participants were selected based on the work they do in their respective countries’ agricultural research institutions and public extension programs. Others represent non-government organizations, universities, and the private sector. In addition, 10 participants from the Philippine Department of Agriculture are also attending.

The training program is one of the activities under the Extension Capacity Development for Rice Food Security in Africa Project, which is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. This project stands alongside the rice value chain improvement initiatives of different members of the Coalition of African Rice Development and aims to contribute to the fulfillment of the respective national rice development strategies of its member countries.

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Myanmar farmers, extension agents join workshop on mechanized land leveling to boost agricultural development

Farmers from four townships covered by MyRice and CORIGAP projects attended the workshop on laser land leveling. They also shared the current best management practices they are trying out in their farms during a Learning Alliance meeting.

MAUBIN, Myanmar—The Ayeyarwaddy Delta, the rice bowl of Myanmar, is endowed with vast land and water resources. However, traditional practices prevent smallholder farmers from achieving optimal rice yields. Increasing farmers’ incomes and productivity require technological innovations such as laser land leveling.

“The precision land leveling using laser-guided system is a technology option that provides a more even land surface resulting in improved crop productivity through reduced irrigation water, chemical input, and more uniform crop growth,” said Engr. Caling Balingbing, an agricultural engineer from the Postharvest and Mechanization Unit at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

Balingbing was one of the experts tapped for a laser land leveling demonstration in Maubin on 23 March.  About 60 farmers, extension agents, and private sector and non-government organization personnel from Daik-U, Hlegu, Maubin, and Letpadan Townships participated in the demonstration as an option for better crop management.  The activity is part of the Learning Alliance, which brings varied stakeholders with similar interests to assess and develop ways to optimize the use of rice-based technologies and practices.

“This event is a great opportunity to interact with NGOs, the private sector, Department of Agriculture, and farmers from other townships,” said Romeo Labios, IRRI scientist and agronomist in Myanmar. “Taking advantage of the Learning Alliance platform, stakeholders can discuss how these technologies from IRRI can provide efficient use of land and water resources and other farm inputs to increase productivity and get a better income. They can learn from each other’s experiences and interact with our private sector guests how you can use this and other technologies.”

“Just by observing the field, I can immediately see the difference and the benefit of laser-guided land leveling it will bring to my farm,” said U Shwe Toe, a  rice and pulse farmer leader from Maubin. “I want to use this immediately; I hope that we can come up with ways to own these technologies.”

“This is a good initiative that helped farmers understand the benefit of the technology,” said Dr. Myo Aung Kyaw from Pioneer Agrobiz, Inc. “From the discussions, they are really convinced that this technology would really work well on their farms.”

Other IRRI experts at the laser land leveling demonstration were Yan Lin Aung, agricultural engineer, and Su Su San and Hlwan-Oo, assistant scientist and researcher, respectively at the IRRI Myanmar office.

The event was organized by Closing Rice Yield Gaps in Asia with Reduced Environmental Footprints (CORIGAP-PRO) and MyRice project. CORIGAP-PRO  is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, while MyRice is funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research.

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Role of mechanization in sustainable rice production highlighted during international exhibit

Martin Gummert, IRRI's postharvest and mechanization expert,

talks about the impact of mechanizing rice harvest. 

BANGKOK, Thailand— “There is a need to mechanize the rural areas to increase productivity as that is a key driver for change in the rice sector,” Dr. Bas Bouman, the director of a global partnership platform for making rice research more effective in meeting development challenges.

The leader of the CGIAR Research Program on Rice (RICE) made the statement at the AGRITECHNICA Asia, a trade fair for agricultural machinery and equipment held at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center on 15-17 March.

Bouman, an expert on sustainable agricultural development and food security at IRRI, presented IRRI’s mission to combat poverty, food security, health and environmental issues, and promote sustainable rice production.

“Mechanization should benefit farmers to have a better life and income and make good quality rice available in the market,” he said. Bouman also rallied the audience to take part in the sustainable rice platform in order to help small farmers maintain productivity while minimizing the environmental and social footprint.

Bouman was joined by his colleagues who discussed other issues at the exhibit’s series of seminars on the role of mechanization in sustainable rice production. Engr. Martin Gummert, IRRI’s expert in postharvest technologies, presented the advantages and drawbacks in mechanizing rice harvest (in photo).

“The rice combine harvester is a game-changing technology that made wetter grains available in big volume at harvest seasons putting pressure on the traditional postharvest system, especially grain drying,” he said.  “Combine harvesters solve the problem of labor shortage and harvesting cost can be lowered by up to 60%.

“However, unlike manual harvesting, combines leave rice straw in the field causing new problems,” Gummert added.

For every 4 tons of rice grain, 6 tons of straw are produced. In Asia, this amounts to about 550 million tons of straw.  Farmers usually dispose of the rice straw by burning or by incorporating the byproduct into the soil.

“Both practices of burning and incorporating in the field have adverse impacts on human health and the environment through smoke and greenhouse gas emission, respectively,” said Dr. Bjoern Ole Sander, a climate change specialist at IRRI, as he discussed the effects of a changing climate on rice production and the environmental impacts of farmers’ practices in managing the rice straw after harvest. Sander proposed a combination of limited straw incorporation combined with the straw collection and off-field use as a climate-friendly alternative.

Dr. Nguyen Van Hung,  a research scientist working on rice postharvest and byproduct management at the institute, also provided workable options in managing the massive amounts of rice straw from the use of combine harvesting and how farmers can earn additional income while ensuring environmental sustainability and protecting the health of people in the community.

“We are using life cycle assessment of different rice straw management practices to help identify sustainable straw management practices and provide recommendations to policy makers,” he said.

Engr. Carlito Balingbing presented the numerous advantages of laser-assisted land leveling technology and the many benefits that small rice farms have gained since it was introduced by IRRI in Asia in 1996. Laser land leveling is a climate-smart agriculture practice that helps conserve resources while increasing yields and farmers’ incomes. The benefits from a laser level fields include efficient water use, better weed and nutrient management, uniform crop maturity, among others.

The current trends in contract farming and the different strategies for promoting sustainable rice in the market through appropriate packaging and labeling were covered by Dr. Matty Demont, the lead of IRRI’s market and value chain research team.

“Survey results from Vietnam on customers’ preferences show that there is a market for sustainably produced rice,” he concluded. “It is very encouraging to observe that urban Vietnamese consumers are willing to pay price premiums up to 30% for sustainably produced rice when the product is accompanied by information on its production standards and traceability.”

The seminars led to enthusiastic discussions between IRRI and other organizations.

“We will develop further projects related to sustainable rice production using the updated information on rice straw management,” said Dr. Juejan Tangtermthong, the regional advisor on monitoring & evaluation at Better Rice Initiative Asia.

Dr. Mayling Flores Rojas, an agricultural systems mechanization officer at the Food and Agricultural Organization, also expressed interest in developing collaborative activities with IRRI, particularly in mechanization and postharvest technologies.

The AGRITECHNICA seminar series on the role of mechanization in sustainable rice production was organized by the German Agricultural Society (DLG) in collaboration with IRRI’s Postharvest and Mechanization Unit and GIZ through the ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood System.

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Sustainable rice production is critical to environmental conservation

Dr. Grant Singleton, rodent ecologist and CORIGAP-PRO coordinator, discusses some of IRRI's contribution to environmental conservation. 

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines—“As the rising global population demands for more food, there is also increasing pressure in producing rice sustainably,” said Grant Singleton during a lecture on environmental conservation at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

“People, especially students, should be aware and concerned about the need to improve rice production," Singleton said. "The poor use of pesticides and other inputs can have an adverse effect on our environment and human health. We have a toolbox that will increase rice production in an environmentally sustainable way.”

Singleton, a principal scientist and rodent ecologist at the International Rice Research Institute, was one of the notable speakers from different fields of environmental research at Overshoot: The Earth is an apple I can consume for a day, a seminar series organized by the UP Ecology and Systematics Major Students Society.  The seminar, held on 13 March, featured the insights of experts on overconsumption and exploitation of natural resources practices and the potential solutions for sustainable growth and development.

Singleton discussed the research activities of the CORIGAP-PRO (Closing rice yield gaps in Asia with reduced environmental footprint) project in alleviating poverty and improving food security and gender equity of small rice farmers in an environmentally sustainable manner.  The project conducts adaptive research with rice farmers in demonstrating, testing, and validating the best management practices for sustainable rice production in major granaries in Asia.  Some of these include One Must Do, Five Reductions in Vietnam, the Three Controls Technology in China, the cost reductions initiative in Thailand, and integrated crop management in Indonesia. CORIGAP-PRO aims to sustainably increase rice yield by 10% for 500,000 smallholder farmers in Asia by 2020.

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Biometrics training to enhance researchers’ skills in crop research

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines—Twenty-one researchers and graduate students from eight countries attended a training on biometrics to improve their skills in analyzing data in crop research. Their new knowledge is expected to guide them in making appropriate conclusions and recommendations to different stakeholders.

Basic Experimental Design and Data Analysis (BEDDA), developed by the Biometrics Group at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), aims to teach the participants in planning and managing their own research investigation. It covers the principles of experimental design, randomization and analysis of basic experimental designs for crop research, and simple correlation and regression analysis. The course uses a combination of lectures, group discussion, and hands-on exercises via the Statistical Tool for Agricultural Research (STAR), a user-friendly software developed by the group.

Held at IRRI headquarters on 6-10 March, BEDDA was headed by Ms. Alaine Gulles, senior specialist, and Ms. Rose Imee Zhella Morantte, specialist.

BEDDA is one of the courses offered by the Biometrics Group. Similar courses are also available such as the Design and Analysis of Breeding Trials (DABT) conducted with the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) for the Transforming Rice Breeding - BRRI project held in Gazipur early this year.

The next DABT using the Plant Breeding Tools (PBTools) software will be held in May. For more details please see http://bbi.irri.org/trainings/dabt.

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Rice-fish farming could help boost farmers’ income in Myanmar’s “rice bowl”

H.E. Senator Concetta Anna Fierravanti-Wells and party consult farmer beneficiaries, 

DoA and DoF partners. (Photo by Hnin Thiri Naing).

MAUBIN Township, Myanmar—Aquaculture production in rice-based cropping systems could potentially boost farmers' productivity, income, and nutrition in the Ayeyarwaddy Region, the country’s main rice-producing area.

Funded by Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the 12-month mini rice-fish project aims to assess the potential of integrated rice-fish business models to increase the income of farmers in the disadvantaged flood-prone areas of the Ayeyarwady Delta.

“I am happy to see that farmers are benefiting from the investment provided by the Australian government in improving food security in Myanmar,” said H.E. Concetta Anna Fierravanti-Wells, Minister of International Development and the Pacific. The Minister, along with Mr. Nicholas Coppel Australian, ambassador to Myanmar, and other Australian officials visited the site in Tar Pat West Village on 14 March.

H.E. Senator Concetta Anna Fierravanti-Wells and other Australian officials visit the rice-fish trial project site in Tar Pet West Village. (photo by Hnin Thiri Naing).

The mini rice-fish project is led by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in collaboration with WorldFish, the Department of Agriculture (DoA) and Department of Fisheries (DoF).

“It promotes the use of new high-yielding stress-tolerant rice varieties, new techniques in rice farming, and best management practices while raising fish in the same area,” said Dr. Romeo Labios, an IRRI scientist and agronomist in Myanmar.

“The rice field may be deliberately stocked with fish as in our study or enter the fields from the surrounding water ways when flooding occurs or both,” explained Dr. Manjurul Karim, the program manager of WorldFish.

Fish yields can range widely from 350-1000 kg/ha/season depending on the type of rice-fish systems, species present, and the management, according to Karim.The fish provides a source of protein and farm income.

During the visit, the Minister had the opportunity to interact with some of the target beneficiaries of the project, many of them were women farmers. She found that, while most male farmers’ are mainly interested in growing rice, all the women farmers showed great interest in the rice–fish system for the nutritional value of the fish as a dietary component, as well as the extra income from selling their fish harvest.

“I hope that the fish harvest from the project could help the nutrition requirement of the family,” H.E. Fierravanti-Wells said. She is also looking forward to outcomes from a larger rice-fish study funded by ACIAR that planned to begin in July.

U Aung Kyaw, a participating farmer in the rice-fish project, informed the Minister that he will invite other farmers to visit his farm before and during harvest and explain the benefits of the rice-fish systems. He plans to expand the system in his 6-hectare farm next season.

“The DoF also plans to apply the new techniques of rice-fish systems on a larger scale in areas where it is applicable,” said U Tin Mg Oo, DoF Maubin District Manager.

In addition to the rice-fish production, the Australian officials were also briefed about the Solar Tunnel Dryer for fish and the Solar Bubble Dryer for rice, two postharvest technologies developed by IRRI and the University of Hohenheim in Germany that prevent smallholder farmers from losing large portions of their harvests.

Ms. Su Su San explains the advantages of drying the harvested fish using the Solar Tunnel Dryer. (Photo by Hnin Thiri Naing)

Unlike traditional sun-drying, the Solar Tunnel Dryer protects the fish from dust, flies and other insects,” said Ms. Su Su San, an IRRI assistant scientist in Myanmar. “Farmers do not need pesticides to control insects. It can use battery and solar panel as its power source and can be used to dry other product like chili and fruits.”

Mr. Yan Linn Aung, a postharvest development specialist, explained the benefits and advantages of Solar Bubble Dryer for rice.  The dryer minimizes the effects of unpredictable weather during the drying of the grains.  It also traps solar radiation to heat the paddy while ventilators push the moisture out.

“This field visit provided me additional knowledge on the technologies IRRI and World Fish have developed on-farm,” said Ambassador Coppel.

The IRRI Team is led by Dr. Labios with Dr. Jongsoo Shin, Mr. Aung Myo Thant, Mr. Aung, Ms. San, and Ms.Tin Tin Myint. The WorldFish team is led by Dr. Karim with Dr. Nilar Shein.

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International food and agri conference focuses on innovative ways to ensure enough and safe food for all

Dr. Bruce Tolentino talks about IRRI's work and challenges faced in rice science at one of the plenary sessions of the International Conference on Food and Agriculture.

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—“We have reached the physical frontier for food production, so we must now stretch our imagination and use our knowledge in search of new frontiers that would help us find better, innovative ways to ensure that there is enough and safe food for all,” said Dr. Fortunato Dela Peña, secretary of the Philippine Department of Science and Technology, during the first International Conference on Food and Agriculture (ICFA).

ICFA, held at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture on 2-3 March, was convened to provide a platform for dialogue on issues, exploring options, and nurturing partnerships, especially on research collaboration. The conference was divided into these sub-themes: food security, poverty and development, climate change consequences on agricultural and food production systems, globalization and regional integration, human capital development, and innovation and technology. About 140 participants from different countries attended the conference, which centered on the theme Sharing Knowledge, Creating Solutions: Capacitating Stakeholders of Agriculture for Future Earth.

Dela Peña stressed the importance of research results being used to improve conditions for food and agriculture in developing countries with increasing population and the declining capacity of natural resources to sustain our basic industries.

Dr. Bruce Tolentino, deputy director general for communication and partnerships at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), explained the importance of research in making rice production sufficient, especially for the marginalized people. Tolentino cited IRRI’s research on improved rice varieties that can withstand drought, submergence, and salinity, among others.

“The poorest of the poor are benefiting the most from the newer discoveries,” he said. “Rice is the oldest food crop, which is eaten by 70% of the world’s poor. If you improve the crop, both in yield as well as in health, you’re helping a lot of poor people. If you look at the histories of countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and China, you’ll see that as the rice sectors bloomed, so did their economies.”

In addition to food security, Dr. Howarth Bouis, founding director of HarvestPlus and visiting fellow at IRRI, advocated reducing mineral and vitamin deficiencies through biofortification research and dissemination. Presently, more than 100 varieties of eight biofortified crops have passed agronomic tests of varietal release committees in 30 developing countries.

 “We have proven that biofortification works,” Bouis said. “Now the big job is dissemination and mainstreaming.”

Dr. Mohd Nordin Bin Hasan, professor emeritus of the Institute for Environment and Development at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and chair of the Regional Advisory Committee for Future Earth Asia, was the other keynote speaker at ICFA. Bin Hasan described Future Earth as the new international platform for research on global sustainability. It aims to promote and enhance the conduct of integrated research on challenges in global change and transformations to sustainability.

Future Earth was designed to respond to the need for a more nimble innovation system for global sustainability in the face of increasing rates of change and depletion of global resources, according to Dr. Bin Hasan.

More than 80 research results were presented during the 2-day conference. Among them was that of IRRI senior scientists David Johnson and Reiner Wassmann who discussed raising productivity and reducing risks in fragile rice environments in the face of climate change. They presented the concept of climate-smart agriculture that merges adaptation and mitigation into a comprehensive approach to help rice farmers cope with the changing climate. This includes adopting more resilient rice varieties and using alternate wetting and drying technology, a simple but effective means for conserving water and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30-70%.

ICFA was organized by the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics of the College of Economics and Management, University of the Philippines Los Baños.

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