Rice Today Special Supplement For The Philippine Department of Agriculture Management Committee Meeting, 6-8 April 2015

Special Supplement for the Philippine Department of Agriculture
Management Committee Meeting, 6-8 April 2015
Is proximity to IRRI an advantage?

Bouncing back from Typhoon Haiyan
Breeding for tough times ahead
Banking seeds
We have been working with

the Philippines since our
establishment in 1960. Many
of our new technologies are
tested here first and made
available to farmers here
ahead of the rest of the world.
And, because of our location,
Filipino scientists can select
from our potential new rice
varieties much more easily
and cheaply than our other
Asian partners.
Robert Zeigler
IRRI director general
contents
IS PROXIMITY TO IRRI AN ADVANTAGE.................. 4
IRRI AND THE PHILIPPINES...................................... 6
A history that goes on
BOUNCING BACK FROM THE TYPHOON HAIYAN.. 8
A family of farmers bounces back from a disaster by
growing a high-yielding rice variety and vegetables.
WOMEN WHO MOVED MOUNTAINS..................... 10
Cordillera heirloom rice from the Philippines has
palates half-way around the globe coming back for
more.
FIRE FOR RICE: THE ORIGIN OF IFUGAO TINAWON.
......... 12
A tale on how the Ifugao tribe in the Northern
Philippines got hold of the Tinawon rice.
A NEVER-ENDING SEASON.................................... 14
An experiment that has been going on for half a
century could hold a solution to feeding an everincreasing population with shrinking resources.
BEATING BLIGHT..................................................... 16
With an ever-evolving pathogen and changing
climate, scientist continue to improve defenses
against bacterial blight.
BREEDING FOR TOUGH TIMES AHEAD................. 18
Green super rice is making its way to farmers fields.
NOURISHING A NATION......................................... 20
Rice is the Filipinos must-have food and primary
source of nourishment.
A HUMAN-EYE VIEW OF BIRDS.............................. 24
IRRI showcases the many bird species that frequent its
research fields.
BANKING SEEDS...................................................... 26
Farmers get access to good-quality seeds through
community seed banks.
UPON THE 100,000TH CROSS................................ 30
IRRI breeders mark a milestone in the Institutes
breeding history.
THE FIRST PALAY..................................................... 32
This Philippine folklore about the origin of rice.
DRIED TO PERFECTION........................................... 34
Farmers can now obtain cheaper moisture testers.
FROM RAGS TO RICHES WITH RICE FARMING...... 36
A couple from humble beginnings earns a million
pesos worth of assets from planting rice.
LESSON PLAN: SAVE WATER.................................. 38
Students in the Philippines learn how to save water in
planting rice.
HEIRLOOM IN THE MOUNTAINS............................ 40
Farmers in the Cordillera region of the Philippines
preserve their heritage rice varieties.
TRAIN US.................................................................. 42
A Filipino farmers desire to learn brought rice-growing
best practices to his farming community.
EXTENSION GOES MOBILE..................................... 44
Farmers can now use ubiquitous mobile phones
to access fertilizer Information whenever and
wherever they need it.
On the cover:
Filipino farmers are benefiting from newly released
improved rice varieties and technologies. An ACIAR
study showed that, between 1985 and 2009, improved
varieties from IRRI increased the profit of Filipino farmers
by US$52 per hectare. And, the IRRI link to rice varieties
developed in the country was strong throughout the
periodaveraging 70% of all varieties released. IRRI
has contributed to improving rice yield in the country
by 11% or $1.017 billion in 2009an annual average of
$625 million.
WHATS COOKING?................................................. 46
Fried Ominio Rice a la Purple Yam.
GRAIN OF TRUTH.................................................... 47
Precision Agriculture for small-sale farmers.
Rice Today is published by the International Rice Research Institute

(IRRI) on behalf of the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP).
GRiSP provides a single strategic plan and unique partnership platform
for impact-oriented rice research and development.
IRRI is the worlds premiere research organization dedicated to reducing
poverty and hunger through rice science; improving the health and
welfare of rice farmers and consumers; and protecting the rice-growing
environment for future generations. Headquartered in the Philippines
and with offices in 16 countries, IRRI is a global, independent, nonprofit
research and training institute supported by public and private donors.
Responsibility for this publication rests with IRRI. Designations used in
this publication should not be construed as expressing IRRI policy or
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The opinions expressed by columnists in Rice Today do not necessarily
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International Rice Research Institute
DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines
Web: www.irri.org/ricetoday
Rice Today editorial

telephone: (+63-2) 580-5600 or (+63-2) 844-3351 to 53, ext 2725;
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Rice Today Editorial Board

Bas Bouman, GRiSP
Matthew Morell, IRRI
Eduardo Graterol, Latin American Fund for Irrigated Rice
Marco Wopereis, Africa Rice Center
Mary Jacqueline Dionora, IRRI
Osamu Koyama, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
Erna Maria Lokollo, Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Dev.
Pradeep Kumar Sharma, CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University
Gonzalo Zorrilla, National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA)
editor-in-chief Gene Hettel
managing editor Lanie Reyes
associate editor Alaric Francis Santiaguel
Africa editor Savitri Mohapatra
Latin America editor Nathan Russell
copy editor Bill Hardy
art director Juan Lazaro IV
designer and production supervisor Grant Leceta
photo editor Isagani Serrano
circulation Antonette Abigail Caballero, Lourdes Columbres, Cynthia Quintos
Web masters Jerry Lavia, Lourdes Columbres
printer CGK formaprint
International Rice Research Institute 2014

This magazine is copyrighted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License
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NASA, LAADS
Bouncing back
from typhoon
Haiyan
by Lanie Reyes
A family of farmers bounces back from

a disaster by growing a high-yielding
rice variety and vegetables
usband and wife Joven and

Lydia Ganapin, farmers in a
small village in Babatngon,
Leyte, Central Philippines,
clearly remember the floods triggered
by super typhoon Haiyan on 7 November 2013 that submerged their
home and the farm they were renting.
Nothing was left, Joven said. He
was able to recover about 28 sacks of
rice from his farm before the typhoon
hit. He took them to a rice trader. He
agreed to paid by the trader after the
typhoon. But, unfortunately, all the
rice of the trader, including Jovens,
24
was looted. Joven was not paid

because his rice had not even been
weighed.
We suffered a great loss, said
Joven. All was taken by Haiyan.
He did not feel that badly because
everyone here had the same fate.
What mattered to them was that no
one in their family became part of the
6,000 casualties of the super typhoon.
Life after the storm
For this farming couple, everything

about Haiyan is now a faint memory.
Thirteen months later, all the debris
is gone. Theres almost no trace of
the scars the super typhoon left in
Babatngon, 33 kilometers away from
the provincial capital, Tacloban. Life
has returned to normal.
Rice Today January-March 2015
Lydia excused herself to attend to

someone who wanted to buy from her
small store, which doubles as their
home. At first glance, it seems that
they have no neighbors. The village
was silent. One could hear only the
swishing and swooshing sound of a
neighboring farmer harvesting his
rice.
Joven harvested his rice earlier.
His house was filled with sacks of
ricesome milled, others not. He
proudly showed the grains of NSIC
2013 Rc344SR, a high-yielding newly
released rice variety, fondly called
344 by the couple. The rice is said
to be special for some good reasons.
He raved about the quality of his
newly harvested grain just like a
father would of his newborn baby. He
excitedly mentioned the long grains
and basmati-like traits and that it
is tasty and has a good aroma, and
how the cooked rice doesnt harden
easily when it becomes cold. His wife
praised the varietys 60% milling
recovery and that they were able to
harvest a little bit more than 6 tons
per hectare.
A profitable variety
Joven does not regret trying 344,

which was introduced by Paul
Maturan, an associate scientist at the
(IRRI) through the Philippine
Department of Agriculture and IRRI
project Accelerating the Development
and Adoption of Next-Generation Rice
Varieties for the Major Ecosystems in the
Philippines (Next-Gen). Mr. Maturan
said that his mission for the NextGen project was to share the seeds
of new rice varieties, such as NSIC
2013 Rc344SR, with other marginal
farmers in Leyte and other ricegrowing areas in the Philippines.
At Jovens request, Lydia pulled
out her records of how much they
profited from 344. Lydia was very
diligent in jotting down their expenses
and computing the profit, which is
not surprising for entrepreneurs like
them. Her records indicated that
they have harvested 75 sacks of rice,
with 15 sacks used as rent payment
to their landowner. Some were used
for paying the harvesters and some
PAUL MATURAN,IRRI
LANIE REYES,IRRI (2)
1. Husband and wife Joven and Lydia Ganapin are happy to try some seeds distributed by IRRI. 2. Mr. Carlito Torreon, municipal agricultural officer of Kananga in
Leyte, receives some seeds of NSIC 2013 Rc344SR from Paul Maturan, IRRI associate scientist. 3. Dr. Francisco Dayap, the superintendent of Babatngon Experiment
Station in Leyte (right), shares some good management practices with Joven Ganapin.
went for the rent of a thresher. In the

end, they had 46 sacks of rice left.
Multiplied by 46 kilos per sack at
about US$0.39 per kilo, the couple
made $459 in profit.
Joven liked 344 so much that
he did not sell all the harvest from
this variety. He set aside 13 sacks for
family consumption and for sowing.
Mr. Maturan then decided to buy
one sack of 344 from Joven to add to
his seed stock to be distributed to
farmers in Abuyog, Kananga, and
Hinunagan, Leyte.
Overcoming adversity
The couple said that they were able to

bounce back after Haiyan because of
farming. Aside from rice, they grew
vegetable cropssweet corn, sweet
bell pepper, eggplants, and string
beansthat they planted in rotation
to avoid diseases and pests. Crop
rotation is a practice they learned
from from Dr. Francisco Dayap,
the superintendent of Babatngon
Experiment Station, one of the
research stations of the Department
of Agriculture, Regional Field Office
VIII and located just two kilometers
away from Jovens farm.
Since the vegetables can be
harvested in 40 to 65 days, they have
something to tide them over until the
next rice harvest.
During interviews with the
farmers, municipal agricultural
officers in Leyte identified the lack
of seeds suitable to the area as the
main problem. Farmers usually
plant whatever seeds are available
or distributed to them even if these
1
seeds have not been tested for

the local areas. Mr. Maturan said
that the new DA-IRRI Next-Gen
project is currently conducting field
trials for farmers to select the most
adoptable new varieties and establish
an efficient seed production and
distribution system.
Mr. Gerry Bauya, the municipal
agricultural officer in Abuyog, said
that they have not heard of rice that
can tolerate flooding, salinity, or
drought. He said they need such
varieties because 200 hectares of
their rice areas are flood-prone while
some 30 hectares have problems
with salinity. In Kananga, Ms.
Maria Cristina Aras, agricultural
technologist, said the problem of
farmers in their municipality is stem
borer infestation. She added that
the white stem borer is the most
destructive because its larval stage
could last up to 32 days.
The Next-Gen project is also
targeting remote and marginal rice
areas with similar problems. In line
with the mission of the Global Rice
Science Partnership, the project aims
to speed up the introduction and
adoption of higher-yielding rice varieties and hybrids that have resistance to
or tolerance of pests and diseases and
environment-related stresses such as
drought, flooding, and salinity.
A collaboration between IRRI,
the Philippine Department of
Agriculture, Philippine Rice Research
Institute, and the University of the
Philippines Los Baos, the project is
expected to help the country attain
rice self-sufficiency under the Food
Staples and Sufficiency Program.

Aside from the sharing of
advanced breeding methods,
expertise, and germplasm, another
strategy of the project is a modified
farmers participatory varietal
selection scheme and improved seed
system that can make these new rice
varieties and hybrids more widely
available to Filipino farmers, Glenn
Gregorio, IRRI plant breeder, said.
Multi-environment trials (MET)
of the newly developed rice lines
in many different environments
will greatly improve the quality of
materials going through the National
Cooperative Tests, leading to the
release of a better and improved next
generation of varieties and hybrids,
Dr. Gregorio added.
Developing and promoting
effective technologies through
R&D is a viable option to attain the
governments goal of self-sufficiency,
Dr. Dayap, said. A DA document
indicates that, at todays rate of
population growth, the countrys
average rice yields must rise to at
least 4.75 tons per hectare to attain
self-sufficiency.1
Hopefully, through this
partnership, varietal development
programs and continuous availability
of high-quality seeds can support
the goal of rice self-sufficiency of the
country, Dr. Dayap said.
Ms. Reyes is the managing editor of
Rice Today.
For more on Typhoon Haiyan, see http://
tinyurl.com/Haiyan-Super-Typhoon.
Tanchuling H. 2010. Palay sufficiency outlook: first quarter 2010 DA performance report. Rice Self-Sufficiency Bulletin, January-March 2010.
25
Women
who moved
mountains
by Ma. Lizbeth Baroa-Edra
he jostling streams and

golden patches that paint the
scenery tucked deep in the
crevices of the Cordilleras
in the Philippines are common
places in the bustling communities
nearby. But to those who have
never set foot in this world, shaped
by the arduousness of the terrain
and richness of its traditions,
the Cordilleras are anything but
humdrum.
Mary Hensley, then a 22-yearold Peace Corps volunteer from
Montana in the U.S., was one such
person captivated by the land.
Today, Ms. Hensley is the founder of
Eighth Wonder Inc., which markets
the traditional rice grown in the
Cordilleras to the U.S., in partnership
with the Philippines nonprofit RICE,
Inc.
Ms. Hensley has not only brought
the heirloom rice to the shores of
the United States, but she created
economic opportunities for what
was previously regarded as a dying
farming practice in the famed rice
terraces that UNESCO declared a
World Heritage Site in 1995.
And it all started with renewing
old friendships in Kalinga Province,
a familiar region where the Peace
10
22
MARY HENSLEY
MARY HENSLEY (left) and

Victoria Garcia have teamed up
to bring Cordillera heirloom rice
to the world.
The Cordillera heirloom rice from the

Philippines has palates half-way around the
globe coming back for more
Corps had originally stationed her

(see centerfold on pages 24-25).
Are you lost?
It was usually the first question

people asked me, recalled Victoria
Garcia, executive director of RICE,
Inc., which successfully linked
heirloom rice to the market. Reaching
out to the farmers was hard because
of the fragmented communities
nestled in different corners of the
mountain range.
At a waiting shed, Id usually
strike a conversation with farmers
waiting for transportation, said Ms.
Garcia. My goal was to establish contact with one farmer and, eventually,
he would take me to his relatives, and
into their community. Sometimes, we
went to farmers meetings organized
by the local government. But mostly, it
was farmer-to-farmer outreach. Mary
happens to still have friends in the
areas where she served decades ago.
So, we started with them.
Hope pulled me in
However, being accepted by the farming communities was just the beginning. When the project started, it was
like working with a clean slate, Ms.
Garcia recalled. There was almost
Rice Today October-December 2014
nothing to start with. Farm-to-market

roads were few and there was no
electricity to run the milling machines.
I talked to the Department of Public
Works and Highways, to the National
Irrigation Authority, to electricity
providers. The idea of quality had to
be taught to the farmers.
There was a point in the beginning when Vicky said she could not do
it, shared Ms. Hensley. She found it
daunting. But their common passion
for community development got them
through the moments of doubt.
The farmers are really hopeful,
said Ms. Garcia. They understood
that they have a chance to preserve
their traditions and heirloom rice.
Now, they have a reason to continue
planting. The hope she saw in the
farmers overpowered her initial
reluctance. I felt as though I was
bringing the rain to them after a long
time of living with parched dreams.
Momentum of partnerships
The two women found an ally in

UNESCO Ambassador Preciosa
Soliven, who was, at that time,
advocating for the preservation and
restoration of the rice terraces.
Their advocacy was not gaining
much traction, shared Ms. Garcia.
EXOTIC HEIRLOOM rice varieties from the Cordillera rice terraces of the
Philippines now being purchased in specialty shops in the United States.
So, in 2006, when I heard that there

was going to be a UNESCO workshop,
I decided to attend, uninvited, and
shared the idea of marketing heirloom
rice. At this point, partnerships
started to take shape.
Abraham Akilit, a former
director of the National Irrigation
Authority of the Cordillera
Administrative Region and now
mayor of the town of Bauko,
immediately saw how the project
complemented their work with
farmer irrigators, said Ms. Garcia.
In 2007, OB Montessori School,
through Ambassador Soliven,
donated more than PHP 100,000
(US$2,000) to RICE, Inc. Ms. Garcia
used the fund to have a milling
machine custom-made for traditional
Cordillera rice varieties. Experts at
the Bureau of Postharvest Research
and Extension and the Philippine
Rice Research Institute provided
technical assistance, she said.
Culture is key
There is something romantic about

the role heirloom rice plays in binding
the indigenous communities of the
Cordilleras. Reverentially selected and
planted, their seeds are preserved and
handed to the next generation. But to
be part of the modern world, changes
were necessary.
Their rice is aromatic and
beautiful. But the grains are of
different sizes and broken, Ms.
Garcia added. We provided training
activities on quality control so they
could produce unbroken, uniformly
sized grains. We trained them to be
good entrepreneurs. We taught them
skills such as keeping tabs on how
much they produce and managing
their product.
Being sensitive to the culture
of the different farmer groups is
key to engaging them, she added.

We want them to be better farm
managers but without losing their
identities and traditions.
When orders poured in, farmers
were asked to make pledges. The
project shied away from getting
commitments from the farmers, as
this gives a sense of being forced to
produce something. The concept of
preparing and processing more rice
than they need for a couple of days is
new to them, said Ms. Hensley.
We made them understand that
a `pledge` is something they are free
to make, Ms. Garcia explained. We
made them understand that someone
wants to buy their rice and that it will
help their families.
One of the good things that
came out of this project was that
the Department of Agriculture has
institutionalized technology transfer
sensitivities to the Cordillera farmers.
The government now recognizes
that it must support the traditional
way of farming she said.
Ms. Garcia and Ms. Hensley are
now working with the Heirloom Rice
Project, funded by the Department
of Agriculture and led by the
(IRRI). The Project seeks to widen
the initial marketing success of Rice,
Inc. and Eighth Wonder and bring
the production of heirloom rice to the
attention of the national government
for developing policies for the
industry. The Heirloom Rice Project
will also systematically characterize
traditional varieties of the Cordilleras
and conserve them.
A very important part of the
project is helping farmers produce
quality heirloom rice seeds, which
help produce more for the market,
said Dr. Casiana Vera Cruz, a
scientist at IRRI and overall leader
OLIVE AND JOEL ENRIQUEZ
of the Project. We want to empower

highland smallholders to manage
their own enterprise, conserve their
rice biodiversity, and preserve their
cultural heritage.
We are excited to build
upon the successes of Vicky and
Mary, said Dr. Digna Manzanilla,
project co-lead and coordinator of
the Consortium for Unfavorable
Rice Environments at IRRI. The
Heirloom Rice Project, which pulls
together government agencies, local
government units, state colleges and
universities, farmers groups, and
private entities, stands to learn from
their experiences in how to make the
value chain work.
The future of ancient rice
When Ms. Hensley and Ms. Garcia

started their project, they were told
that they would fold up after 3 years.
Now, they are in their ninth year of
providing a sustainable livelihood to
farmers in one of the most marginal
rice ecosystems in the country. In
2013, 29 tons of Cordillera heirloom
rice were shipped to the United
States, valued at $38,079. This year,
19 tons valued at about $26,000 have
been produced.
Were working with 272 farming
families, said Ms. Hensley. There
are about 100,000 of them in the
region. There is a long way to go.
I believe that the farmers in the
project have found a new sense of
pride in their culture and their work,
said Ms. Garcia.
That pride is palpable as one
traverses the mountainsides of
the Cordillerasand it will save
the treasured heirloom rice of the
mountains.
Ms. Baroa-Edra is a science
communications specialist at IRRI.
11
23
Rice fables: Philippines
Fire for rice:

The origin of Ifugao
Tinawon
Retold by Ana Dulnuan-Habbiling
Carvings by Albert Magguling
A tale on how the Ifugao tribe in the Cordillera region of the northern
Philippines got hold of the Tinawon rice from the god of the Skyworld
12
26
EIGHTH WONDER, INC. (3)
here once
lived two
young
brothers,
Wigan and Kabigat, who
lived with their father,
Pudol, in Kayang, a
prosperous village in
Kiyangan. The gods
blessed them with a
good life, plenty of
chickens, pigs, ducks,
dogs, and other precious
possessions.
Upon learning from
their father that the dogs
were for hunting wild
animals, the brothers
prepared for a hunting trip. When
everything was ready, they fastened
their scabbards to their waists, tucked
in their betel nut bags, carried their
backpacks, pulled out their shining
sharpened spears and then departed
with their dogs.
Upon reaching the hunting
grounds, they let loose the dogs that
ran barking and chasing the wild
animals, among them wild pigs.
When the brothers noticed that the

dogs were chasing their quarry
towards Kabunyan, where Liddum,
a god of the Ifugao resides, they
decided to follow closely fearing that
they might lose them.
Tracking the footprints of
their dogs and quarry, the brothers
entered Kabunyan. The quarry, a
wild pig, went straight to a bamboo
grove in the backyard of Liddum.
The brothers took aim

with their spears and
hit the wild pig. The
whimper of the dying
pig prompted Liddum
and his people to come
around and investigate.
When Liddum saw the
slaughtered animal, he
confronted the brothers
and accused them of
killing his peoples pig.
The animal we
killed came from the
jungle of Kiyangan and
our dogs had chased it
into Kabunyan, Wigan
explained humbly to
Liddum. He pointed out the physical
differences between the wild pigs of
Kiyangan and those of Kabunyan.
The snout of the wild pigs of Kiyangan is longer and more pointed than
the wild pigs of Kabunyan, he said.
Liddum, being the god who
blessed them with many animals,
knew that to be true and he accepted
Wigans explanation and made peace
with the brothers.
using the fire. To show

his gratitude for the
generosity of Liddum,
Wigan built a fireplace
and cooking place for
Liddum.
Then the brothers
went home feeling
good and proud. They
had not only brought
home wild pig meat but
also a wonderful rice
plant.
The brothers
planted the Skyworld
rice in their field in
Kayang, propagated
it, and shared the
seeds with other Ifugao people. As
the people tasted it and experienced
its satisfying effect, many built rice
fields across the mountain slopes and
wherever else possible just to plant
the Skyworld rice plant. Until now,
this is the only rice variety that the
Ifugao planted in their rice fields.
Because the Ifugao people
believe that it came from Liddum of
Kabunyan, they sometimes call it the
Skyworld rice. Today, it is commonly
known as Tinawon rice, which means
planted only once a year.
thus it does not last long. Your big

granaries are filled with your harvest
but they would only last for two
months unlike our Skyworld rice that
would last a whole year.
Liddum, god of the Skyworld
and the god of plenty, traded his
aromatic large-grain rice variety to
Wigan of Kiyangan for fire. But before
Liddum handed them two bundles
of the Skyworld rice, he first taught
them the rice rituals and earnestly
told them that it is important to
perform these rituals starting from
the sowing of the rice seeds up to the
Ms. Dulnuan-Habbiling is the matriarch
postharvest.
of an Ifugao farming family. There are
By observing the rituals
different local fables of how Tinawon rice
properly and religiously this rice
came to be. Excerpts from this version
variety with its aroma and good
are the closest to her beliefs. See the full
taste will be free from rice pests and
story at www.heirloomrice.com/pages/
diseases, Liddum said. And there
Story_of Tinawon.pdf
will be a good harvest that will last
the whole year
round.
Wigan and
Kabigat thanked
Liddum and
promised him
that they would
perform the rice
rituals in caring
for the Skyworld
rice.
Before the
brothers went
home, they taught
the Kabunyan
VISITING HEIRLOOM demonstration plots at the International Rice Research
people how to
Institute during Farmers' Day on 1 October, Ms. Dulnuan-Habbiling spotted one
produce fire and
of the glutinous Tinawon varieties that she grows in her fields--a descendant of
Liddum's Skyworld rice no doubt.
how to cook food
GENE HETTEL
Wigan explained
further that most
people of Kiyangan
hunt these wild pigs for
their food
Then the two
brothers cut their
quarry and shared
some with Liddum and
his people. Much to
the brothers surprise,
Liddum and his people
quickly gobbled up
their share of meat
together with uncooked
rice. They realized that
the Kabunyan people
eat their food raw.
Wigan decided to show them
how good cooked food tastes. He
quickly brought out his flint with a
special stone and produced fire from
it. He cooked the meat of the wild pig
and some rice, which he had asked
from Liddum, in bamboo tubes.
When the meat and the rice were
cooked, the brothers invited Liddum
and his people to eat with them. The
Kabunyan people found the aroma
of the cooked food very appetizing.
They also found out that cooked rice
was so filling that a small portion is
enough to make them feel full and
satisfied. They were really amazed.
Fire can make food taste so
good, said Wigan.
Because of the good taste of the
cooked food, Liddum wanted to have
their fire. He offered them some of
his pigs, chickens, gold, and other
possessions in exchange for the fire.
But the brothers refused all of it
saying that they had plenty of those
things in their home in Kayang. What
they actually wanted was Liddums
aromatic large grain rice variety that
they found to be more filling and
satisfying compared with their rice in
Kayang.
So Wigan asked Liddum if he
would trade his aromatic largegrain rice for their fire. Liddum was
delighted by the offer because the fire
meant so much to him and his people.
That was a smart idea, Liddum
said to Wigan, It is true that you
have plenty of rice in Kayang but it
is the upland rice with no ritual and
13
27
A never-ending se
by Alaric Francis Santiaguel
An experiment that has been going on for half a century could hold a solution to a nagging concern
of feeding an ever-increasing population with shrinking resources
ou wouldnt know it by
simply looking at it, but a
one-hectare rice field at the
International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines has
been in perpetual motion since 1962.
The Long-Term Continuous Cropping
Experiment (LTCCE) recently marked
its 150th rice cropping season,
making it one of the longest running
agricultural experiments in the
world, and the most exciting.
The LTCCE, however, wasnt
conceived to make it into the
Guinness Book of World Records.
It measures trends in yield and
soil properties over its lifetime as
indicators of the sustainability of
continuous rice cropping on flooded
soil. The data being collected from the
14
10
LTCCE might not directly resonate

with the public, but this experiment
could actually answer perhaps the
most important question of our time:
how shall we produce enough rice for
a growing population in a sustainable
way?
The ghost of Malthus
In An Essay on the Principle of

Population (1798), Thomas Malthus
predicted that an outbreak of famine
and diseases was inevitable and it
was only a matter of time. About
150 years later, the world found
itself teetering dangerously on
the brink of a global famine as
food production lagged behind
population growth. But, a timely
intervention, between the 1940s
Rice Today July-September 2014
and the late 1960s, through the

Green Revolution that increased
agricultural production worldwide
and is credited with saving more than
a billion people from starvation.
But the Green Revolution did
not permanently lay to rest the
specter of a Malthusian catastrophe.
Dr. Norman Borlaug, the father
of the Green Revolution, had no
illusions that it was anything other
than a means to buy the world time,
according to Dr. Robert Zeigler, IRRI
director general.
The world doesnt have much time
when it comes to food production.
More than 7 billion people are
now living on a planet with finite
resources. Arable land covers only
3% of the worlds surface and this
season
is continually being converted into

urban area. One hectare of productive
land is estimated to be lost every
7.67 seconds. With current global
trends in diets and population, 60%
more food will be needed in 2050.
One way to meet this demand is by
putting food production on overdrive
through intensive agriculture.
Squeezing rice from land
Intensive agriculture is an approach

designed to obtain the most yield by
using techniques such as planting
more or different crops on a unit of
land and increasing the frequency
of cropping per year. Experts say
intensive farming is not new. It has
1
been practiced for thousands of

years in Egypt, South Asia, Europe,
and North and South America. In
many Asian countries, intensive rice
farming was practiced by carving
terraces on hilly and mountainous
areas to make them suitable for
growing a crop.
Today, intensive agriculture
is often equated with modern
commercial agriculturemechanized
farming, large-scale plantations, and
raising livestock in confined spaces
that started after the end of World War
II. Prior to that, agricultural systems
relied mostly on growing traditional
varieties, organic matter, biological
control of pests and diseases (through
crop diversification and rotation), and
natural rainfall patterns. These types
of farming systems were closely linked
with the natural systems and caused
1
little environmental degradation.
Although food production this way
made outputs stable, the quantity was
modest.
On the other hand, modern
commercial agriculture used modern
varieties, inorganic fertilizer,
pesticides, and irrigation, which
allowed many developing countries
to achieve dramatic increases in
farm production. But, these practices
came under heavy fire for being
unsustainable and environmentally
destructive. Criticisms included a
reduction in soil fertility because of
the heavy use of inorganic fertilizers,
narrowing of genetic diversity as
more farmers shifted to modern highyielding crop varieties, more frequent
outbreaks of pests and diseases, and
increased soil erosion. Just how far
can we push this without causing
system failure?
A brave new farm
In 1962, the LTCCE (then called the

Maximum Yield Experiment) was
created with James Moomaw as its
first head scientist (see box). It aimed
to sustain high annual rice yield from
a unit area of land using an optimum
mix of rice varieties and cultural
practices.
ames Moomaw was an

agronomist at the University of
Hawaii specializing in tropical
pastures and forage crops, and had
never grown a rice crop. However,
Robert Chandler, IRRI's first director
general, knew he was the right
man to become the Institute's first
agronomist, in 1961. The North
Dakota native specialized in soil
fertility and developed a firstclass research program at IRRI
for investigating continuous rice
cropping management practices
involving fertilizer response, water
management, and weed control.
His expansive knowledge
was matched by his passion to
search for solutions to poverty
and hunger. Dr. Moomaw believed
that knowledge holds the answers.
He proved this with the LTCCE,
which he pioneered, by producing
18.8 tons per hectare of rice from
3 crops in a year, in 1966the
first rice scientist to do sousing
improved rice cropping technology.
He knew that global hunger
was a constant threat. If your
technology fails for whatever
reason at just one time, you have
a disaster on your hands, he once
said. Fifty-two years later, the
LTCCE, in line with Dr. Moomaws
conviction and vision, continues
to update and validate rice
production practices for a changing
climate and in keeping the threat
of global hunger at bay. He passed
away prematurely at age 55 in
1983.
IRRI scientists already had
foresight of envisioning continuous
rice cropping with as many as
three crops of rice per year, said
Roland Buresh, IRRI soil scientist
and current lead researcher for
the LTCCE. They were seeing
already at that time that the key
ingredients would entail varieties,
irrigation water, proper timing and
use of fertilizer, and the use of good
agricultural management practices.
Altieri MA. 1995. Agroecology: the science of sustainable agriculture. Westview Press, Boulder.
15
11
nancy castilla, irri
Beating
blight
by Lanie Reyes
With an ever-evolving pathogen and

changing climate, scientists continue to
improve defenses against bacterial blight
nmindful of the heat and

the humid air circulating
from an industrial fan in
the glasshouse, Casiana
Vera Cruz, plant pathologist at the
(IRRI), met with her team to check the
progress of the rice plants that exhibit
resistance to bacterial blight. Several
rows of plastic boxes with plants from
different rice-growing countries filled
the facility.
Some varieties are from South
Asia while others are from Southeast
Asia, said Dr. Vera Cruz. The plants
look healthy for now but, in the next
few weeks, we will see the plants that
are more resistant to bacterial blight,
as they have been inoculated.
A deadly disease
Among rice diseases, bacterial blight

is one of the most costly, said Dr.
Vera Cruz. It can damage as much
as 6070% of the plant and can even
result in crop failure, especially when
disease strikes at the seedling stage.
Once infected at the seedling
stage, the leaves turn grayish green
16
12
and roll up. And, as the disease

spreads, the leaves turn yellow to
straw-colored and then wilt. The
result can be a grim nightmare for
farmers as they helplessly watch their
seedlings dry up and die.
This is exactly what happened
to farmers in Haryana and Punjab
states in India in 1980 when for
the first time, the rice they were
growing succumbed to a bacterial
blight outbreak. It is the same disease
that has been associated with major
epidemics that ruined the fortunes of
farmers in China, Korea, Indonesia,
the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Myanmar,
Laos, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The disease also occurs in Australia
and Africa.
It is no surprise that farmers
are taking this disease seriously.
Although there are chemicals
developed to control this disease,
none of them are completely effective
at eliminating outbreaks.
Breeders at work
However, farmers no longer need to

worry spend very much on chemicals
to combat bacterial blight thanks

to the scientists at IRRI and other
research organizations who have been
scouring the world for rice plants that
have natural resistance to bacterial
blight.
Many improved rice varieties
now have major genes for resistance
to the disease, said Dr. Bertrand
Collard, IRRI plant breeder. Thus,
the chances of farmers losing their
crop to bacterial blight are lower.
As early as the 1970s and
80s, rice scientists found varieties
TKM6 and DV85 that had inherent
resistance to bacterial blight. Recently,
researchers have identified more than
30 genes (named Xa1 to Xa38) that
impart blight resistance.
Making rice resistant is not
only most economical, but it is also
a sustainable way of controlling
bacterial blight, said Dr. Vera Cruz.
A good example is IR20, one of the
elite varieties that has been promoted
by IRRI since 1975. Even after more
than 35 years, IR20, which carries
the Xa4 gene, is still resistant to some
strains of bacterial blight.
At IRRI, more than 80% of the

elite lines have the Xa4 gene and,
since 2000, released cultivars such as
PSB Rc82 carry combinations of genes
with resistance to the predominant
population of the pathogen. Other
elite lines have also been developed
with different combinations of Xa5,
Xa7, Xa13, and Xa21, among other
genes. Some elite lines and released
cultivars show broad-spectrum
resistance, indicating that unknown
or novel genes may be present in
these lines and cultivars.
Nevertheless, bacterial blight
continues to be an important concern
due to the capacity of the pathogen to
change and overcome the deployed
resistance genes. Government
agencies know well that the stakes
are high. Whenever susceptible rice
varieties are grown in environments
that favor bacterial blight, the
disease can turn green rice fields
into wastelands of dry and wilting
leaves, and empty grainswiping out
investments and potential profits.
improve the resistance of rice to the

disease. They learned that it is not
just the presence of resistance genes
Xa4 and Xa7 that is important, but
that environmental factors such as
temperature also play an important
role in how the genes protect the
plant. They found that Xa4 is more
effective as temperatures drop, while
Xa7 does its job better at higher
temperatures.
Since the two genes compensate
for each others weaknesses, this will
also help farmers withstand changes
in weather patterns, she said.
Climate change could radically alter
temperatures during the dry and wet
seasons.
Since pathogens co-evolve with
the plant, growing a single resistant
variety over large areas will push
the virulent form of the pathogen to
become dominant. Therefore, one
key questions for breeders and plant
pathologists is how to deploy the
resistance genes to prevent pathogen
epidemics while maintaining yield.
Balancing genetic protection
Diverse genetic resources
This is where the importance of

genetic diversity comes into play. The
Ms. Reyes is the managing editor of Rice

Today.
isagani serrano, irri
Recently, Dr. Vera Cruzs team

made a discovery that will further
good news is that IRRI has a genetic

gold mine of different types of rice
including wild rice accessions that
is stored in its International Rice
Genebank. The genebank continues
to provide rare versions of genes to
enrich and diversify the sources of
resistance to manage bacterial blight.
Aside from finding a critical mix
of genes, IRRI scientists are aiming to
map the genome of the blight pathogen
and understand what role genes play
in the plant. With this information,
they can precisely target certain genes
of the pathogen that cause virulence in
the plant host. According to Dr. Vera
Cruz, this will radically shorten the
breeding process for designing blightresistant rice varieties.
No one can tell what challenges
the future may bring. With the everevolving diseases and changing
climate patterns, IRRI scientists are
not resting on their past successes.
They are constantly searching for
better ways of doing things to deliver
what farmers need to win the battle
against this insidious disease.
(From left) IRRIs associate scientist Rhulyx Mendoza, researcher

Pauline Capistrano, plant breeder Bertrand Collard, and plant
pathologist Casiana Vera Cruz are working together to develop
bacterial blight-resistant rice.
17
13
Green Super Rice is making its way to farmers fields
hroughout history, humanity

has always struggled with
the specter of hunger caused
by human-made or natural
disruptions in the food supply. Back
in the 1960s, the goal of the Green
Revolution was clear: increase crop
yield to ward off widespread food
shortages and famine across poor
rice-eating countries.
However, new challenges
appeared in the decades since the
successful introduction of highyielding rice varieties. As climate
change starts to have significant
impacts on the conditions affecting
agricultural lands in vulnerable rice-
producing regions, food security is

once again a priority for rice research.
But, it is not just about yield any more.
It is about tolerance of and resistance
to new problems. Focused and cuttingedge agricultural research will be
critical in meeting this formidable and
daunting challenge.
One such technology, Green
Super Rice (GSR), is now on its way to
farmers fields.
From laboratories to rice fields
GSR varieties are products of mixing

hundreds of rice varieties that
possess traits such as drought, flood,
or salinity tolerance. These varieties
were developed to maximize yield

under a limited supply of nutrients
and water.
This is rice that seems to do the
improbableincrease yield while
using fewer inputs, such as fertilizer
and water, said IRRIs Jauhar Ali,
who has been working on developing
Green Super Rice since 1998. Green
Super Rice is not just a moniker.
The fact that GSR varieties are good
for the environment is why we are
passionate about getting these into
farmers fields.
Earlier this year, the GSR project
created a road map for GSR seeds to
reach farmers across rice-producing
isagani serrano (3)
EarliEr this year, farmers in the province of

laguna, in the Philippines, participated in a
variety selection trial of Gsr.
18
14
FarmEr BErnard Brosas and his family

are among those who will benefit once
Gsr seeds are released in the Philippines.
is very close to being released in the

Philippines, Dr. Ali said.
A long road
countries during a meeting for the

second phase of the project. At the
event, Dr. Ali announced that two
GSR varieties (BSHS6-GSR hybrid
and Weed-Tolerant Rice 1) have been
officially released in Indonesia and
Vietnam, respectively, after national
multilocation testing. GSR has
also already been nominated to the
Philippines National Seed Board. It
In 1998 until 2003, under the

International Rice Molecular Breeding
Program at IRRI, Dr. Zhikang Li
former IRRI senior scientist and still
director of the Green Super Rice
Project, led the initial research work
pertaining to the GSR breeding
strategy in 18 countries, involving 36
partners, introducing genes from 200
rice donors into their popular rice
varieties.
We screened early generations
of backcross bulk populations for
valuable traits such as drought,
salinity, flooding, and phosphorus
and zinc deficiency tolerance from a
very large collection of different types
of rice, said Dr. Ali. During that
time, only China, out of 18 countries,
followed through with the research.
The project in China involved 14
institutions and about 200 molecular
breeders under the China National

Rice Molecular Breeding Network.
From 2003 to 2008, when the project
gained momentum, valuable genes
from 500 donor varieties were
introgressed into 46 elite adaptable
recipient parents, which eventually
gave the GSR project a substantial set
of materials to work on.
Although many institutes
worldwide are working on different
key rice traits separately such as
nitrogen use efficiency and tolerance
of drought, salinity, and flooding,
researchers at IRRI are working on
combining many traits in one rice
variety.
This challenge feels like a
dream, but breeding can change
everything, said Dr. Ali. Breeders
from 50 years ago did not have
the new breeding tools we enjoy
now. A good example is the case
of farmers in Bangladesh. Some of
them require rice varieties with
flood tolerance during the early to
middle stages of the plant, and then
they require drought tolerance in
the terminal crop growth stage. The
needs are complex, and they must be
addressed.
Ms. Baroa-Edra is a public relations
specialist at IRRI.
A farmers dream come true
ernard Brosas, a farmer in the province of

Laguna, Philippines, tested Green Super Rice on
his 2-hectare farm. GSRs performance encouraged
him to become a seed supplier to his fellow farmers
and nearby towns.
At first, my fellow farmers wondered whether
Id get good rice plants from using fewer seedlings,
and using fewer inputs, Mr. Brosas narrated. After
they saw how robust my rice was, and how I was
able to save on input costs, and still got a good
harvest with good quality, they started asking for
GSR seeds from me to test on their farms.
He welcomed the news that GSR varieties are
under consideration by the Philippine National Seed
Board for distribution to Filipino farmers.
BErnard Brosas is a 51-year-old

farmer who who tested Gsr varieties
and is now reaping the rewards.
19
15
Nourishing
a nation
his year, the Philippines

is celebrating its National
Year of Rice, which is
focusing on achieving rice
self-sufficiency, improving
the income of rice farmers, and
promoting better health among
rice consumers. As part of the
National Year of Rice, the Philippine
government is encouraging Filipinos
to eat just the right amount of rice
and expand their diets to include
bananas, sweet potatoes, and maize.
1
2
20
Also, in July, the country

celebrates Nutrition Month when
there is added attention on reducing
hunger and malnutrition. The slogan
for Nutrition Month is Together we
can end hunger and malnutrition,
a clear demonstration of their
commitment to improving nutrition
among Filipinos.
So, what does rice have to
contribute towards a healthy diet?
Rice is the leading source of
sustenance for all Filipinos. In 2009,
irri
More than an agricultural commodity,

rice is the Filipinos must-have food and
primary source of nourishment
the country had an average annual

rice consumption of 123 kg per
person1among the highest in the
world. Filipinos spend more on rice
than any other food, according to
the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics
(BAS).2 The BAS survey showed,
Filipinos, especially those from lowincome households, are depending
solely on rice more than ever for their
daily dietary energy supply and
dietary protein because it remains the
most affordable food in the country.
2009 World Rice Statistics.

Agricultural Indicators System (AIS) Report: Food Consumption and Nutrition. 2011. Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, Department of Agriculture.
11
However, Dr. Eufemio Rasco,

executive director of the Philippine
Rice Research Institute (PhilRice),
points out that the increasing
consumption of rice coupled with the
decreasing intake of other foods can
contribute to an unhealthy diet.
Not by rice alone
Rice mainly contains carbohydrates,

which are an excellent source of
energy, but it does not provide all the
nutrients required for a healthy diet
when it is eaten alone. This could lead
to deficiencies in micronutrients such
as iron, zinc, and vitamin A.
Micronutrient deficiency can
occur when rice makes up most of
the daily diet. It significantly affects
the lives and health of around 2
billion people worldwide, with 26%
of all children under the age of five
being stunted and 31% suffering from
vitamin A deficiency, according to
the Food and Agriculture Office.3
And the Philippines is not exempt.
Approximately 1.7 million Filipino
children (6 months to 5 years old) are
vitamin A deficient.
A healthy nutrition
tip for a rice-based diet
is to consume rice with
lean meat, poultry, fish,
or shellfish, legumes,
and vegetables, says Dr.
Maria-Bernardita Flores,
executive director at
the National Nutrition
Council of the Philippine
Health Department. Eat
a variety of foods every
day.
However, the stark
reality is that many people
simply cannot afford
or access a diverse and
healthy diet that includes
a range of nutritious foods
alongside rice.
IRRI shares the Philippine
commitment to addressing
malnutrition and is developing rice
with more iron (see Iron-clad rice on
page 46 of Rice Today Vol. 10, No. 3),
zinc, and beta carotene (a source of
vitamin A) (See Golden grains for better
nutrition on pages 14-17 of Rice Today
Vol. 10 No. 4.) to help people get more
of these important micronutrients.

High-nutrient rice could be an
effective way to provide many rural
and impoverished households in Asia
with improved nutrition because rice
is already widely grown and eaten in
these regions.
Old-school nutrition
The Philippine government is also

promoting the consumption of brown
rice.
Not a specific variety, brown rice
refers to any kind of rice that still has
its outer layer of bran and the germ
where most of the nutrients (such as
niacin, thiamine, and phosphorus)
are found. Moreover, brown rice is
rich in insoluble and soluble fiber.
Soluble fiber slows down digestion
and can lower bad cholesterol,
while insoluble fiber helps relieve
constipation. The two types of fiber
work together to promote a healthy
digestive system.
Despite its health benefits, brown
rice consumption remains low in the
Philippines (and across other parts of
Asia) compared to white rice. Cielito
Dr. Cezar Mamaril mills his own paddy to

commercially produce brown rice.
Supplementing a rice-based diet

with a diversity of other nutrient-rich
foods is an effective way of ensuring
a nutritious diet.
isagani serrano
Balancing rice
The state of food and agriculture 2013: Food systems for better nutrition (www.fao.org).
12
21
22
time follow the usual way of

cooking white rice where they
add water to rice at a ratio of
1:1. It should be a 1:2 ratio of
rice to water. They should also
soak it in water for at least 1
hour before cooking.
Dr. Mamaril says using
the right variety with the
right amylose content is just as
important. Amylose content is
the chemical characteristic that
makes cooked rice dry and
flaky, or moist and sticky. Rice
with high amylose content
tends to be dry and less tender
and it becomes hard upon
cooling when cooked. Low
amylose makes cooked rice
soft and sticky.
Most of the brown rice
sold commercially is likely a
mixture of different varieties
with different amylose content giving
the product an uneven texture, he
explains. But, if you use one variety
with medium amylose content, you
dont even have to soak it in water.
You need more water and the time of
cooking may be longer but the cooked
brown rice will be soft.
But it is the price of brown rice
that is really preventing more people
chris quintana
lanie reyes
Habito, former director general

Brown riCe is enjoying
renewed popularity among
of the Philippines National
health-conscious people
Economic and Development
because of its high fiber
Authority, reported on brown
and nutritional content.
rice consumption in his column
No Free Lunch in the Philippine
Daily Inquirer.4 Dr. Habitos
article explains that before rice
mills were introduced to the
Philippines and neighboring
countries a century ago,
pounding the grains was the
only processing available and
so people ate only unpolished
or brown rice. The advent of
modern mills made pounding
of the grains unnecessary and
eventually Filipinos shifted
to eating polished or white
rice. Brown rice disappeared
from dining tables as more
Filipinos shifted to eating
white rice. It was soon seen as
an inferior, dirty product. While
of rice and could help solve the
white rice was considered modern
countrys perennial rice shortage.
and sophisticated, brown rice was
He admits that some barriers
associated with poverty. But in recent exist that make consumers shy away
years, the tables have turned in favor
from brown rice, but he believes
of brown rice.
these can be overcome. Many people
dont like the rough texture of cooked
brown rice. This is probably due to
Benefits of brown rice
improper cooking, Dr. Mamaril
Brown rice is rich in minerals,
says. People who cook it for the first
vitamins, and antioxidants,
particularly the pigmented rice,
says Cezar Mamaril, former IRRI
scientist and currently a consultant at
BasMati riCe has a low to medium Gi.
PhilRice.
He is also a rice farmer who sells
brown rice and he says business is
good as more Filipinos are realizing
the products health benefits. My
supply of brown rice does not
last into the next season and we
sometimes run out of stocks to sell.
Brown rice is popular among
well-informed, middle-class
professionals, but not the vast
majority of Filipinos. However, Dr.
Mamaril feels more Filipinos should
eat brown rice.
Based on testimonial evidence,
people consume less rice when they
eat brown rice, he says. This could
lead to lower per capita consumption
http://opinion.inquirer.net/32743/win-win-with-brown-rice.
13
suppleMentinG a rice-based diet

with a diversity of other nutrient-rich
foods is an effective way of ensuring a
nutritious diet.
difficult, while foods

with a low GI are
considered healthier.
Rice has
previously been
classified as a
high-GI food,
says Melissa
Fitzgerald, former
head of IRRIs grain
quality research.
But this single GI
classification for all
rice is turning out to
be ill informed.
In 2011, Dr.
Fitzgeralds IRRI team
and her colleagues at
the Commonwealth
Scientific and
Industrial Research
Organisation in
Australia published
research that
showed the GIs of
235 varieties of rice
from different ricegrowing countries
were more varied
than previously
thought.
Our research
showed that there was large
isagani serrano
from buying it, Dr. Mamaril says.

Brown rice is more expensive because
there is a smaller supply; plus it has
a shorter shelf life. According to him,
adding to the cost of production is
that most mills in the country are
not set up to process brown rice, so
the cost of milling brown riceeven
though it requires less processingis
higher.
variability in GI between the

different varieties of riceranging
from a low of 48 to a high of 92, with
an average medium GI of 64, Dr.
Fitzgerald says.
The identification of low-GI rice
varieties makes it possible to conduct
studies on the effect of low-GI rice on
people with metabolic health issues.
This information will be useful in
developing long-term public health
strategies and management plans for
people with diabetes.
Eating smart
In the Philippines there is a popular

saying that goes if you havent had
your rice today, then you have not
eaten.
The good news is that rice can be
part of a healthy diet. Consumers can
choose brown rice or low-GI rice for
additional health benefits. Plus, rice
can be combined with other healthy
foods to provide complete nutrition.
And, with the potential coming of
high-nutrient rice even consumers
with limited choices who are likely to
keep eating high quantities for rice,
may be able to get a more nutritious
diet.
Mr. Santiaguel is a writer at IRRI.
Filipinos eat an average of 123kg of rice per person

every year, for them a meal isn't a meal without rice.
Although brown rice is the darling of

many nutritionists, polished or white
rice has sometimes been placed on
the opposite end of the spectrum. It
has been blamed by some as being
one of the worst foods for diabetics.
All foods are assigned a Glycemic
Index (GI) number, which measures
how rapidly food can raise blood
sugar after consumption. HighGI foods can increase the chances
of getting diabetes, and make
management of type 2 diabetes
14
irri
White rice and diabetes: fact or

fiction?
23
A human-eye view of birds

Feathers in the fields showcases the many bird species that frequent IRRIs research farm with
compelling images, videos, and sounds to create an engaging educational exhibit
o the untrained eye, the

research farm at the
International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI) in the
Philippines may look like nothing
more than a verdant sea of rice
plants. But, through the eyes of bird
enthusiasts and the lens of bird
photographers, it is a habitat for many
spectacular bird species.
In Feathers in the fields: The birds of
IRRI, bird photographers Tirso Paris,
Jr. and Segfredo Serrano exhibit a
bevy of bird species (see centerfold)
they have captured via their cameras
over the years, representing a portion
of their portfolios of what Dr. Paris
described as their addiction.
24
20
Bird photography is a passion,

Dr. Paris said. You need to be a little
bit crazy to go into it. It takes a lot of
money, time, and patience to capture
beautiful images of birds. But it is
very addictive.
Bird photography also requires
special skills that go beyond
being very efficient with a camera,
according to Dr. Serrano.
You need to be a good bird
watcher and know the habits and
forms of birds so that you can easily
identify the species on the run,
he said. And, you have to have a
genuine affection for your subject. If
you dont have a genuine affection
for our avian friends as part of our
Rice Today April-June 2013
environment and their role in our

environment, it will be very difficult
to have the required patience to
document your subject.
The rewards of their patience
and efforts are stunning photographs
that reveal the avian world behind
the green curtain of rice that will no
doubt surprise many.
The fascinating feathered
creatures featured in this exhibition,
some native to the area while others
use IRRI as a stopover site on their
migration, provide a glimpse of
birds that are rarely seen by most
peopleeven those who work in the
fields every day, said Paul Hilario,
curator of the Riceworld Museum
Segfredo Serrano
Migrant snipe
Feathers in the fields: The birds of IRRI

A photo exhibit
May through September 2013
Asia Room
The Riceworld Museum
IRRI, Los Baos, Laguna, Philippines
Little egret
tirSo pariS
and Learning Center where the

exhibit will be on display through
September 2013. These birds are
alert to movements and sounds,
and are quick to hide or use natural
camouflage.
Many might assume that
bird photography is best done in
undisturbed areas but agricultural
areas can double as bird sanctuaries.
Although farms cannot replace
natural wetlands, flooded rice fields
act as an artificial wetland and can
provide some resources for birds,
according to Mr. Richard Smedley, an
IRRI scholar who studies birds in the
experimental fields (see Dont scare
away the birds! on pages 24 to 25).
Keeping a healthy rice ecosystem
is a target for IRRI on its research
station. For example, IRRI uses
integrated pest management
(IPM), which reduced pesticide
use by 96% between 1993 and 2008,
and encourages richer natural
biodiversity. Although we dont
have direct evidence on the impact
of the reduced pesticide use, it is
certainly a contributor to the richer
bird life in and around the farm,
said Dr. K.L. Heong, an IPM expert
at IRRI.
Most farmers may not be as
happy, though, to see thriving bird
communities flocking to their fields
because they are widely regarded as
pests. They are seen in association
with rice and theyre presumed to
eat rice, but that assumption may
not always be correct, local bird
enthusiast Paul Bourdin explains. The
diet of the lesser coucal, bee-eater,
swallows, pacific skylarks, and pied
bushchat consists almost entirely of
insects, he explained.
To help people better understand
that not all birds are pests, Feathers
in the fields: The birds of IRRI will
include descriptions provided by
Mr. Bourdin about each species on
display at the exhibit, including
their scientific, English, and Filipino
names; diet; and habits. Read these
descriptions online at IRRI.org/
ricetoday.
Mr. Santiaguel is a writer at IRRI.
25
21
seeds
by Lanie C. Reyes
Farmers have more access to good-quality seeds through community seed banks
n Arakan Valley, the upland

rice belt of North Cotabato,
Philippines, farmers hold dear
a rice varietyDinorado, a
native upland rice characterized
by its pinkish grain, sweet aroma,
and good eating quality. For the
Arakeos, Dinorado has been part of
their community as far as they can
remember. Long ago, the Arakan
Valley was home to exotic Dinorado
rice. So much so that Dinorado has
become part of their pride and social
identity.
Dinorado is a special rice that is
sought for weddings, birthdays, and
fiestas, among other occasions, and
it is a status symbol in the country.
Its price is 50% higher than ordinary
rice. Unfortunately, the quality of
Arakan Dinorado diminished as
the genetic purity of its seed stocks
declined.1
To preserve the purity of the
seeds, farmers must know how to
manage the health of their seedsand
this lack in management was found
in the farm communities in an initial
needs assessment of the Consortium
for Unfavorable Rice Environments
(CURE) of the International Rice
Research Institute (IRRI).
Also, most of these farmers lack
access to higher-yielding modern
varieties. Traditional varieties tend to
These are some of the challenges

that CURE aimed to tackle in Arakan.
In a team effort, the CURE scientists
at IRRI joined forces with USM, the
Philippine Rice Research Institute,
the Municipal Agricultural Office
of Arakan, and the Department of
Agriculture. They call themselves the
Arakan Valley team.
Seeds of survival
have a lower yield (an average of 1.6

tons per hectare). Thus, 46 months
of hunger is a common experience
among farmers who cultivate
traditional varieties. During these
months of hunger, farmers and their
family sometimes eat the seeds set
aside for the next cropping season.
Another problem is that upland
rice farming, which is mostly rainfed,
is at the mercy of the weather. For this
same reason, seed producers do not
usually lend seeds to upland farmers;
even local moneylenders are less likely
to invest in farming that is deemed high
risk, related Dr. Rosa Fe Hondrade,
a social scientist at the University of
Southern Mindanao (USM).
The Arakan Valley team understands

the value of seeds to farmers. Farmers
depend on viable seeds for the
survival of their households; when
seeds are scarce, so is food security.
To avoid this problem, the team set its
sights on improving seed health and
quality management practices of the
farmers and making modern varieties
along with other traditional varieties
available to them.
So, they mobilized a group of
farmers who were willing to be
trained on how to properly produce
good-quality seeds and to know
about modern rice varieties suitable
in their area. This group of farmers
evolved into a local network called
the community seed bank.
Benefits to the farmers
Through the community seed bank,

We learned how to produce quality
seeds such as getting rid of unwanted
Zolvinski S. 2008. Listening to farmers: Qualitative impact assessments in unfavorable rice environments. IRRI Technical Bulletin No. 12. 47 p. (http://snipurl.com.
listen_to_farmers).
26
16
The community seed bank in

Arakan achieved a momentum
that allows farmers access to the
seeds they need while maintaining
biodiversity, said Dr. Casiana Vera
Cruz, senior scientist at IRRI and
CURE work group leader for upland
farming areas.
Arakans community seed bank
is categorized as in situ conservation
(or on-farm conservation). In contrast
to off-farm conservation (gene banks),
in situ conservation allows farmers
to be stewards of crop diversity
they grow varieties as a way of
conserving them and preserving
plant genetic diversity, Dr. Vera
Cruz explained. By increasing the
diversity of varieties that farmers
grow and preserve through active use
of traditional varieties, particularly
those with useful traits such as good
grain quality, adaptability, resistance
to many biotic stresses, and tolerance
of abiotic stresses, farmers can
government unit
even recognized and
supported it.
Amidst progress
Farmers Hernani Dumalag and nestor

nombreda benefit from the community seed
bank by having access to good quality seeds.
increase yield and reduce disease and

pest problems.
Plant genetic diversity is perhaps
more important to farmers than
any other environmental factor. It
provides them and breeders with
options to develop, through selection
and breeding, new and more
productive crops that are resistant
to pests and diseases and are well
adapted to changing environments.2
More productive crops
Genetic diversity made it possible for

plant breeders to develop new highyielding modern rice varieties, which
the Arakan Valley team introduced to
farmers. These varieties were shown
on demonstration during farmers
field days for farmers to judge how
modern varieties perform when it
comes to yield, grain quality, and
resistance to pests and diseases,
among other factors important to
farmers.
Farmers can then make an
informed decision on what to sow
on their respective farms, said Dr.
Edwin Hondrade, CURE key site
coordinator of USM.
With ACSBO knitting the Arakan
farm community closer together, it
becomes easier for farmers to share
their experiences on the type of
varieties they grow, their farming
practices, and their seed health
management practices.
In short, the community seed
bank was widely accepted in several
villages of Arakan, and the local
So much has changed

in Arakan since
the 1990s. Going
to the upland areas
of Arakan from
Kidapawan, its nearest
city, used to take
almost a half day,
noted Dr. Vera Cruz.
But now, it takes
just over an hour. Gone are the rocks
that speckled the unpaved roads,
which made them rougher and more
slippery during the wet season.
Now, a long stretch of
cement roads connects farms to
markets. North Cotabato has been
transformed from the fifth-poorest
province in the Philippines in 1998
into one of the progressive provinces
and a favorite investment area in the
region.
This influx of investments
transformed some of the upland
rice areas in Arakan into plantation
crops, particularly the revival of
old and new rubber plantations.
Rubber trees did make some Arakan
farmers financially well-off. This
Known For its
aroma and good
eating quality,
Dinorado fetches
a good price in
the market.
ISaganI Serrano
On-farm conservation
Jack alberto S. Herrera (3)
types of rice from our fields, as

well as selecting, drying, and
storing seeds, and other seed health
practices, said Nestor Nombreda, a
54-year-old farmer and president of
the Arakan Community Seed Bank
Organization (ACSBO).
In 2006, ACSBO came into the
picture because farmers wanted
their community seed bank to
continue even after the project ended,
explained Dr. Rosa Fe Hondrade.
An important benefit of being
a member of the community seed
bank is that, if my crop fails, I can
borrow seeds from another farmer,
said Hernani Dumalag, 59 years
old. If I need a variety of seed, I
can barter even a small amount
of rice, let us say, 5 kilos. Besides,
buying seeds from a seed producer
is expensive.
Aside from the benefit of readily
accessible seeds, farmers know the
source and the quality of the seeds.
Thus, the community seed bank
provides an informal guarantee of
quality.
Rao NK. 2004. Plant genetic resources: Advancing conservation and use through biotechnology. African Journal of Biotechnology 3(2):136-145.
27
17
ISaganI Serrano
HusbanD anD wiFe Dr. edwin Hondrade

and Dr. rosa Fe Hondrade helped mobilize
the arakan community seed bank.
UPL Ri5 has been preferred by

both growers and local rice traders
for almost two decades since it was
introduced by the USM team, said
Dr. Rosa Fe Hondrade.
In fact, ACSBO is so successful

that it has become a model in nearby
towns, said Dr. Edwin Hondrade.
The more, the better
Crop diversification is also promoted

in Arakan. We always encourage
farmers to grow different rice
varieties as well as crops, said
Dr. Edwin Hondrade. A kind of
insurance in case one variety or crop
fails.
This strategy was proven helpful
in 2011 when most of the rice crops
in Arakan failed because of rat and
pest infestations. Because many kinds
of rice varieties were sown, some
varieties survived. It can be noted
that most farmers mentioned modern
variety UPL Ri5 as having survived.
Seed banking with a twist
Jack alberto S. Herrera (2)
economic progress became evident

with some changes in the Valley:
some nipa huts became houses of
stones; the usual sight of horses tied
to a tree became pickup trucks and
utility vehicles; plus, some signs
of development here and therea
gasoline station, a grocery store, and
a hospital.
With rubber sap priced at almost
US$1 (40 pesos) per kilogram, a farmer
can earn as much as $2,300 (more
than 100,000 pesos) from a hectare of
a 6-year-old rubber plantation. As the
trees mature, this gives more income
to farmers. And, farmers can sustain
this potential income until the trees
reach 25 years old.
But what has become of the
upland rice farmers in Arakan Valley?
Are they a case of poverty caught in
the midst of progress?
Those farmers who converted
their rice areas into rubber
plantations earlier are reaping the
benefits of their investments, whereas
some others still need to wait for a
year or two before they start to tap
their rubber trees.
Surprisingly, despite the
popularity and the potential income
from rubber plantations, the Arakan
farmers did not stop cultivating rice.
For them, nothing beats the security
of having some rice saved for their
consumption. For this reason, ACSBO
continues to be relevant even with
this change in the community.
some rice areas in arakan are converted

to rubber plantations because of higher
potential income from rubber.
28
18
The Arakan farmers often cultivate

Dinorado as a cash crop, but the
well-off farmers, on the other hand,
grow Dinorado for their food. Among
Arakeos, no other rice can compete
with its taste.
Under the leadership of
municipal agricultural officer Edgar
Araa, Dinorado, Arakans priority
product, is listed under the one
town, one product program of the
national government. That is why
knowledge of good seed health
practices is of great value for the
Arakan community.
Moreover, the community seed
bank model has been embraced
by the local government unit of
Arakan, but with a twist. It applies
the principles and practices of a
community seed bank to develop and
preserve its exotic Dinorado variety,
and it promotes organic farming.
Applying organic amendment to
the Arakan Dinorado brand further
increases its value, Mr. Araa
said. It can be sold for up to 80
pesos (almost $2) per kilogram.
This is more than double the price
of standard types of rice in the
Philippines.
For Mr. Araa, the local
government unit is not only
some members of the arakan Valley team: (L-r) James Dulay of the
local government unit of arakan, Dr. edwin Hondrade of the university
of southern mindanao, arakan municipal agricultural officer edgar
araa, Dr. casiana Vera cruz of irri, and mr. enrique Layola of the
Department of agriculture.
herbicides, farmer Nestor Nombreda

said.
If ones area is small, hand
weeding is okay, he explained. But,
if the area is more than a hectare, it is
difficult to weed by hand.
A farmers choice
Whether it is about the type of rice

varieties to cultivate or the methods
of farming practiced, farmers
have to judge the opportunities
available to them and what suits their
conditions best before they decide for
themselves, said Dr. David Johnson,
IRRI weed scientist and CURE
coordinator.
It is important that we offer
farmers options, as we recognize that

farmers often know better than we do
in many ways, he added.
Surely, the community seed bank
has helped farmers in Arakan. They
learned how to produce good-quality
seeds that resulted in an increased
seed supply of a culturally important
traditional variety that fetches a high
price such as Dinorado and a highyielding modern variety such as UPL
Ri5. Now, with access to modern
varieties, they can have more stable
and better yields that can stand up to
unfavorable conditions. As a result,
more and more farmers will no
longer experience food insecurity and
hunger.
lanIe reyeS
preserving Arakans Dinorado and

conserving biodiversity but also
nurturing the soilthe source
of lifeon which rice grows.
Organic farming is friendly to
the environment and healthy for
humans, he said.
Within the context of
conserving the source of life, in
2009, the local government unit
established the Land Utilization
Program for Sustainable Livelihood
of Arakeos (LUPA, the Tagalog
word for soil). The LUPA conducts
farmers field schools that
incorporate community seed
banking and organic farming.
In addition, Mr. Araa shared
that the community seed bank has an
ecotourism aspect, which is deemed
a spillover success. People are
interested in visiting Arakan to see
how its exotic Dinorado is cultivated
organically.
Confessions of a backslider
Although organic farming is

believed and followed faithfully by
members of the LUPA, there are some
backsliders.
We are called backsliders
because we reverted back to using
chemicals such as pesticides and
Hinumay, Lambog, and amma are

among the traditional varieties
that farmers grow in arakan Valley.
29
19
Upon the
100,000thcross
With the 100,000th time rice has been crossed by IRRI breeders, a milestone is marked in the
Institutes breeding history. The event allows for reflection, appreciation, and anticipation of
how breeding saved lives in the past, and will save more in the future.
efore scientists
ever started
crossing
different rice
plants, farmers had
inadvertently been
at it for centuries.
By the mid1800s, scientists
were catching
up, with Gregor
Mendels research
on inheritance
and genetics
paving the way
for more advanced
IR100,000aptly named as a product
approaches to plant
of the 100,000th cross made at IRRI.
breeding into the
1900s.
These scientific discoveries
of the Philippine government in 1960.
couldnt have been timed better. By
IRRI scientists sought to replicate in
the middle of the 20th century, fear
rice what had been done in wheat in
of famine loomed when population
Mexico, and successfully bred IR8a
growth seemed to have outstripped
semidwarf variety that journalists
food production. Rice and wheat
dubbed miracle rice because it
two of the most important food crops could produce twice the amount
in the developing worldbenefited
of rice grains that tall varieties
from international efforts to improve
produced. IR8 has been credited with
their productivity using a scienceaverting a humanitarian crisis that
would have plunged the worlds poor
based breeding approach.
into abject hunger (see Breeding history
on pages 34-38 of Rice Today Vol. 5,
The pivotal semi-dwarf
No. 4).
IRRIs hand in helping the riceSince then, more than 900 IRRI
eating world through breeding better
varieties have been released in 78
varieties of rice began shortly after
the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations countries, across five continents.
established the Institute with the help Some of these were bred to be
30
resistant to insects
or diseases, and they
can withstand poor
soils. Two popular
breeding lines, IR64,
released in 1985,
and IR72, released
in 1988, have both
high yield and good
grain quality.
Fifty years ago,
it was a different
scenario in terms
of tools available
to create better rice
varieties, said
IRRIs head of plant
breeding, Dr. Eero
chris quintana
C. Nissil. Today,
we have modern breeding tools that
help us do the work in less time.
IRRI breeding was there
The progression of new rice varieties

has reflected the challenges that
farmers have faced over the years.
In the late 2000s, after decades of
tracking down the gene that provides
tolerance of flooding in rice, and
after infusing this gene into popular
varieties, IRRI released its floodtolerant line.
Today, millions of hectares of rich
rice farmlands in the delta regions
of Asia have benefited from scuba
ricethe rice that can withstand more
than 2 weeks of total submergence.
17
irri
In late 1962, Peter Jennings, IRRI's first

breeder, made the eighth IRRI crosswhich
led to the selection of IR8, setting the Green
Revolution on its course. the parents were
Peta, a tall, vigorous variety from Indonesia,
and Dee-geo-woo-gen (DGWG), a dwarf
variety from China.
An independent study of Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines by

the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research showed that
IRRIs breeding program has helped
increase rice yield up to 13%, giving
these countries an extra $1.46 billion
worth of rice each year.
What makes IRRI breeding

exciting?
Today, IRRI scientists are working on

rice that responds to specific needs
of farmers in a particular region or
ecology. An example is rice that can
survive under stagnant water. This is
a problem in rice-growing areas near
delta regions such as those in Vietnam
(see Appeasing nine dragons enraged by
climate change on pages 22-23).
Another example is rice that
is tolerant of salinity. Salt-tolerant
varieties have already been released
in the Philippines and Bangladesh.
Work is also under way to create
2-in-1 ricerice with combined tolerance of flood and salinity, said Dr.
Glenn Gregorio, deputy head of IRRI
plant breeding. The goal is not only
to confer tolerance of flood and salt in
popular varieties but also to make sure
that they have good eating quality.
Trends in farmers practices,
observed in decades of household
data gathered across Asia, are also
finding their way into IRRIs breeding
agenda. An example is the increasing
practice of direct seeding.
18
Irrigated rice is an inputintensive undertaking as farmers

have to pay laborers to transplant
rice, said Dr. Nissil. Farmers thus
resort to direct seedinga trend that
has been observed in farmers fields.
Once again, IRRI plant breeders see
an opportunity to help. IRRI is now
developing rice that germinates in
anaerobic conditions, and we have
been making good progress in this.
To facilitate the spread of these
improved rice types in areas that need
them, IRRI is also creating breeding
research hubs in South Asia as well as
East and Southern Africa, so that upcoming lines can be tested in regional
conditions. These hubs are facilities
where IRRI breeding lines are evaluated in conditions unique to the region,
in collaboration with national partners.
Also, to facilitate the efforts in
breeding to respond to farmers needs,
IRRI is creating product profiles
for rice, per various rice ecologies,
regions, and consumer needs.
Rice is very cultural, and qualitynot just yieldis also a major
consideration in different rice preferences, said Dr. Nissil. These product
profiles will also help enhance our
precision breeding, putting more value
in our resources and efforts.
IR100,000
Last 29 November, IRRI celebrated

its 100,000th cross. But, whats so
special about the 100,000th cross?
It tells us how much weve gone

through in our commitment to feed
the world, mused Dr. Gregorio.
More importantly, we hope that,
by highlighting such a milestone,
we renew enthusiasm toward plant
breeding and the fact that it has
benefited so many people globally.
In breeding jargon, the 100,000th
cross was between IRRI 151
(NSICRc214), a high-yielding popular
variety with good grain quality, and
IR09M105, a high-micronutrient rice.
We hope to be able to get the best
traits from both parents and create a
variety that provides what farmers
really need: more grain, with good
quality, and high in micronutrients for
human health, said Dr. Gregorio.
Reflecting on how the world
would have been without the work on
improving rice varieties, Dr. Nissil
said, In Asia, highly populated riceeating countries such as China and
India would not have been able to
develop the way they have. The world
would have been a much more difficult
place to live in. It is as simple as that.
Ms. Baroa-Edra is a public relations
specialist at IRRI.
See a related video on YouTube at http://
youtu.be/vSPjWLysdzo.
For a related podcast on IRRI Radio
associated with this article, go to https://
soundcloud.com/irri-radio.
31
Rice fables: Philippines
The firs
This Philippine folklore about the origin of rice has been told in various ways in
many a gathering as it was passed from generation to generation.
ong ago, when the world was new and peaceful,

trees grew tall and strong, flowers bloomed,
oceans and swift rivers rippled under sunny skies,
and animals roamed in abundance.
All people were hunters and gatherers. They moved
from place to place, living under leafy shelters or in dry
caves. Food was easily available. Fish were easy to catch,
fruits and tubers were plentiful, and they could always
trap an animal to roast.
32
34
Makisig and Liwayway lived happily. Life, like the

world around them, seemed idyllic. Being newly married,
they wanted time to be alone, so they moved their camp
away from the clan and closer to the sea.
Late one afternoon, Makisig returned from collecting
shellfish from the rocks near the shore.
Liwayway, I like this place, he said.
Me, too! Liwayway replied, taking the laden basket
from him.
The setting sun caught the crests of the waves and
turned them from golden orange, then red, until the sun
disappeared below the horizon of the South China Sea.
The fragrant warmth of the night enveloped the contented
couple.
Liwayway soon became pregnant. They were both
delighted and they decided to stay in their own place,
where Makisig cut bamboo to build a stronger shelter.
But then, the expected rains did not come. The sun
continued to shine every day, the soil dried and cracked,
the leaves on the trees turned brown and fell, and animals
left in search of food.
Makisig had to walk farther each day searching
for something to fill their food basket. He knew good
food was important for his wife and their coming child.
Sometimes, he ate only a few berries, saving the more
succulent ones for Liwayway.
One hot afternoon, Makisig trudged a long way. He
found nothing to eat. He searched in a small valley, but
found nothing. He trudged on up a steep hill to find only
yellowing grass. Exhausted, he lay down under a small
scrubby tree.
He lay with his eyes closed, tired, worried, but
enjoying the respite from walking. After a while, a light
cooling breeze fanned him. Feeling refreshed, he opened
his eyes.
I must be dreaming, he thought, the grass is
dancing.
He shut his eyes and rested again. Then he heard
sounds like music. The dry grass rustled rhythmically,
and seemed to say, Makisig, we want to help. We have
st palay
retold by Alice Flinn-Stilwell
illustrated by Sherri Maigne Meneses
something for you. Pick our grains. We are good food and
delicious.
Makisig peered through half-opened eyes, then
looked again more closely. He stared in disbelief. The
grass was bowed down with grains. He struggled to his
feet and picked a drooping stalk.
Smells good! he said aloud.
The breeze rustled the grass again, and seemed to
say, Pound the grains lightly with a stone to remove
the golden brown husk. Boil the pearly white parts. The
grains are good.
Makisig doubted that this dry hard grain could taste
good. But, his basket was still empty, so he filled it with
heads of this grass and set off home.
We can only try, he thought.
As he reached their bamboo shelter, he worried.
Did I imagine it all? But, his basket was full, so
he told Liwayway the whole story. They removed the
husks, and the white grains were soon bubbling in a
clay pot over a fire.
What the grasses told Makisig was true. The hard
grains softened, and also became much larger. They
put the hot grains on banana leaves to cool, added a few
small fish, and sat down to a feast.
Mmm, delicious! said Liwayway.
And how good to feel full, murmured Makisig.
They slept well that night.
Makisig returned the next day to cut as much grain
as he could carry. The wind whispered again. Plant the
best grains in the valley, in muddy soil. If it doesnt rain,
carry water from the river. The plants will grow lush and
green and will give you more grainsplenty for you and
Liwayway, and for the new child. In time, there will be
enough to share with your clan. Call the grains palay!
Makisig and Liwayway never went hungry
again, nor did their clan. Soon, all were growing
this wonder grain.
Ms. Flinn-Stilwell is a writer based in
Hobart, Australia. This story is part of
her forthcoming book, Ricea grain with
many stories, a collection of 28 legends
about rice and the many customs associated
with this amazing grain. Ms. Meneses is a
communications associate at IRRI.
33
35
Dried to perfection
1
by Martin Gummert and Paterno Borlagdan
Farmers can now obtain

cheaper moisture testers
armers need not crack rice

between their teeth to check
whether the grains are dry
enough for milling and storing
because gauging the dryness of the
grains no longer needs to be hitand-miss. They can now be sure of
the moisture content of their paddy
because the International Rice
Research Institute (IRRI) has found
an affordable alternative.
After searching high and low
and after many discussions with
several electronics manufacturers
in the Philippines, Cambodia, and
India, IRRI scientists finally found
an industry partner to produce and
commercialize a low-cost moisture
tester.
With the new IRRI moisture
tester, farmers can benefit by making
more-informed decisions on safely
storing their harvest. And, they will
have more negotiating power when
they sell the paddy to traders.
Compared with previous
versions, which were made
by two small cottage industry
workshops in Los Baos, Laguna,
in the Philippines, the new device is
equipped with improved electronics
using state-of-the-art processes
of the Manila-based Nanodevice
Technologies, Inc. The tester now also
comes with a warranty.
Moisture testing is important
to farmers so they can check
whether or not the paddy is dry
enough, and can be stored safely.
Also, when storing seeds in airtight
storage systems, the IRRI moisture
tester will help determine the seed
moisture content before the storage
container is sealed.
34
12
This new device has three lightemitting diodes (LEDs) and a beeper
to visualize the results: red, green,
and yellow. Red indicates that the
paddy is still too wet (above 14%)
and needs to be dried, green means
the paddy is dry enough for safe
storage and at optimum moisture
content for milling (1214%), and
yellow indicates the paddy is ready
to be distributed as seed or is safe for
seed storage (less than 12% moisture
content).
Moisture content can be
determined at a resolution of
1% within a range of 1016% by

observing the pattern of lights. The
accuracy within this range is similar
to that of a digital resistance-based
moisture meter, which typically
costs US$200400. This affordable
moisture tester is kept as simple as
possible to keep the cost down, so it
does not have a digital display.
It is always a challenge to
leap from solid research results to
commercially viable products because
of the initial investment needed for
adaptive R&D to develop something
that can be mass-produced.
price tag is still relatively high. Hence,

the 350 units are being distributed
strategically to further develop the
market for a larger order. Some will
be sold through IRRI at a subsidized
price of $55. Once orders reach 10,000
units, the price per unit may come
IsaganI serrano (4)
1. The new IRRI moisture testers can help farmers

come up with more-informed decisions on safe
storage.
2. The low-cost device, shown here by Dr. Paterno
Borlagdan, is now affordable with a warranty
under the Manila-based Nanodevice Technologies,
Inc.
3. Martin Gummert shows the three LEDs that
visualize the results of moisture tests.
4. With the moisture meter, farmers can now be sure
that the moisture content of their paddy is just
right.
Why moisture
content must be
just right
hecking the moisture content of the

grain is important in rice production
because high moisture will create
problems for farmers, especially during
postharvest activities.
Heat buildup
The natural respiration of stored wet
grain can generate excessive heat. Heat,
combined with high humidity, provides
excellent growth conditions for molds
and insects and will thus contribute to
grain deterioration.
By pooling resources from the

Asian Development Bank and the
Irrigated Rice Research Consortium
(IRRC) among other sources, IRRI
was able to place an initial order
of 350 units, which was sufficient
for Nanodevice to be interested in
conducting the R&D and to be able to
replace expensive circuits imported
from developed countries with
cheaper components from China and
to redesign the electronics to allow
for a more automated production line.
Because of the small initial order
volume and the development cost, the
Mold growth
Molds propagate diseases and may also
release toxins into the grain. Although
some mold-causing fungi may be
present in the grain at harvest time, a
safe moisture content can impede mold
development. If the fungi are in the
mycotoxin-producing family, rice can
be unsafe for both human and animal
consumption.
Insect infestation
Insect infestation is always a problem in
storage facilities in tropical climates, even
if the grain is completely dry. However,
with less moisture content in the grain,
insect problems will probably be fewer. A
combination of proper drying procedures
and storage practices, including storage
hygiene, will keep insect infestation at
acceptable levels.
down to $35. Further streamlining

and improvements, such as investing
in a mold for a custom housing, could
lead to even lower prices.
Small orders of the moisture
tester can be placed at the IRRI
Riceworld Bookshop (riceworld
bookstore@irri.org). For larger
quantity orders, please contact
Nanodevice Technologies, Inc., at
tel. no. (63) 2 477-1379, telefax (63) 2
470-6485, or visit nanodeviceonline.
com. For more information,
email postharvest@irri.org.
Mr. Gummert and Dr. Borlagdan are
mechanization and postharvest experts at
IRRI.
Loss in seed germination

High moisture will also gradually reduce
germination ability if the stored grain is
destined to be used as seed.
Rice of less value
Heat buildup in stored rice due to a
combination of insects, molds, and/or
high humidity often leads to a musty
odor, which will considerably reduce the
grains market value.
Heat buildup also results in
a general yellowing of the grains.
Discolored grain drastically reduces
market value since whiteness is
important to rice consumers.
Reduced head rice recovery
Fissuring or cracking of rice grains can
occur when individual grains that were
already dried reabsorb some moisture.
This happens either when wet grain
is mixed with dry grain or when dry
grain is exposed to ambient air that has
more moisture in it than the grain does.
During milling, this fissuring reduces the
recovery of head rice, which refers to the
whole grains of milled rice that can be
obtained from a given quantity of clean
paddy.
On the other hand, if rice is
overdried, that is, more water than
necessary is removed, it will weigh less.
Since rice is sold by weight, sellers
profits will be less. In addition, rice
grains that are too dry are more brittle
and more likely to break in the milling
process, again reducing head rice
recovery.
Source: Rice Knowledge Bank
http://snipurl.com/grain-moisture
35
13
Putting eggs in other baskets
In 2006, the couple also started

cultivating onions on their
3.25-hectare farm. They were lucky
that year because they earned about
PhP80,000 ($1,920), some of which
they used to buy a motorcycle.
Later on, they added a sidecar to
transform it into a tricycle for hire
joyce luis
n 1989, Marcelino Castaeda

and his wife, Leticia, used their
savings from rice farming to
buy a bull, which they sold after
a year. From their earnings, they
bought two calves, a male and a
female, for breeding. At that time,
fodder for livestock and grazing
fields was still abundant. Gradually,
they were able to increase their herd
to 20 cattle. One of the major assets
they purchased from the sales of
their cattle was a 1,428-square-meter
residential lot in a village.
Transplanting crew
For 15 years now, since she started

rice farming in Guimba, Nueva Ecija,
on the island of Luzon, Philippines,
Leticia has been leading a group of 15
women and 5 men farmers in off-farm
transplanting. For the first 2 years,
they engaged in suyuan, an exchange
labor system, in which groups of
farmers agree to work on each others
farm by turns for free.
During the 1999 wet season,
the group agreed to try a contract
system of transplanting. In this
system, the group of farmers is hired
as transplanters by both members
and nonmembers. Farmers would
approach the group leader to hire
services during the transplanting
season. The group is paid PhP2,300
($55) per hectare, which is divided
among the group members; an
additional PhP100 ($2.40) is given
to the group leader for each hectare
transplanted.
We work all day long and we
transfer from one field to another,
Leticia said. Aside from the cash
benefits, I gained the trust and
respect of the members, which I
repay by doing my part in looking
for other farmers who need our
services.
I also provide the members
cash advanceusually a month
before the transplanting job, she
narrated. They use this cash to pay
for their childrens tuition fees. Since
we are paid immediately after we
transplant, and sometimes even in
advance, the members are able to pay
back the money they borrow.
36
28
an additional source of income for

the family. Because of a good harvest
and a good price for onions, they
were able to earn more profits, which
they used to buy a power thresher.
Risk management
Unfortunately, bad weather in

2007 caused losses in their onion
production. I realized that onions

are sensitive to changes in the
weather during the summer months,
Leticia recounted. Since then, we
stopped planting onions.
Although rice production is less
profitable than onion production, rice
gives us food security throughout the
year, she added.
In 2008, they went back to

planting rice during the wet and dry
seasons.
Flowing with change
Intially, they used a diesel-fueled

water pump to supplement the
primary source of irrigation. But, in
2009, when irrigation facilities were
From rags to
riches with
rice farming
by Joyce S. Luis, Thelma Paris, and Teodora Malabanan
A couple from humble beginnings earned a

million pesos worth of assets from planting rice
installed in their village, irrigation

water from the canal reached their
fields. Irrigation and the assurance
of a continual water supply brought
about a lot of changes not only for
the members but also for the entire
farming community.
On our farm and in neighboring
villages, transplanting is done
simultaneously because of this
irrigation, she said. Farmers grow
two crops of rice, thus increasing the
demand for the transplanting crew
during the dry season.
With the irrigation canal in
place, we mortgaged 2 hectares of
rice land worth P110,000 ($2,644)
in 2010, and our son volunteered
to cultivate it, Leticia continued.
In 2011, we mortgaged another
1-hectare farm worth PhP50,000
($1,200).
Proof of profitability
Now, my husband, my children,

and I are engaged in rice farming
and the total rice area that our family
is working on is 7 hectares, she
disclosed. Although my children live
in separate houses, we all help one
another.
Aside from our farm income
(sales from rice and livestock), our
daughters remittances from Manila
help us buy farm inputs at the right
time, she said, accounting for other
sources of their income. As a wife
and mother, I manage our budget
quite well. I save and allot budget for
farm inputs and for the mortgage of
our lands.
Good farm management,
hard work, and available capital to
buy farm inputs are necessary for
profitable farming, she indicated.
Most of all, we keep on farming
because it is our food security for
the whole year, said Leticia. My
husband and I believe that all our
children will not abandon rice
farming because it has given us a
good life. We believe that there is hope
for a better life through rice farming.
Ms. Luis is an associate scientist, Dr.
Paris is a gender specialist, and Ms.
Malabanan is a statistician in IRRIs
Social Sciences Division.
37
29
Lesson plan:
Save water
by Rona Nia Mae Rojas
Students in the Philippines learn how to save water in planting rice
Bulacan agricultural State college
tudents troop to the middle

alternately flooding rice fields and
of a rice field. With the sun
allowing them to dry for a few days.
at their backs, they listen
With this technology, no losses in
carefully as someone tells them crop harvest were shown when
about the rice crops planted in the
compared to fields using continuous
field. This is how they are introduced
flooding methods and, in general, it
to a type of rice variety that could
can reduce water use by 1530%. In
withstand an environment with less
some irrigated production systems
water. Eventually, these agricultural
in the country, the use of alternate
students from a Philippine state
wetting and drying helped reduce
college will learn more as they get to
tension among farmers because they
visit the field more often.
are assured that water is sufficient for
Such a scene is a picture of an
all of them. Moreover, their farming
outdoor lecture about water-saving
costs decreased, which meant some
technologies such as the aerobic rice
savings in money.
technology and the alternate wetting
The International Rice Research
and drying irrigation method that
Institute (IRRI), through the Irrigated
are used in rice
production.
The aerobic
rice technology
involves growing a
rice variety using
less water than the
regular amount.
The aerobic rice
variety produces
high yields and
is best adopted in
rainfed and upland
areasland that is
generally productive
only during the rainy
season and is left idle
in the dry season.
Dr. Junel Soriano, professor at the Bulacan agricultural State College,
Alternate
Philippines, teaches his students about the principles and benefits of
wetting and drying
water-saving technologies.
is practiced by
38
Rice Research Consortium (IRRC),

introduced these technologies to
help farmers cope with limited water
resources for rice production. Both
technologies have favorable results
in reducing water requirements and
decreasing input costs.
With these technologies
benefiting farmers, it is only fitting
that the knowledge and practices
be passed on to a new generation of
young agriculturists.
Rice goes to school
Dr. Junel Soriano, an agricultural

engineer and professor at the Bulacan
Agricultural State College (BASC) in
the Philippines who
once worked in the
National Irrigation
Administration,
proposed the
integration of watersaving technologies
in selected courses
in undergraduate
and graduate
academic programs
on agriculture. The
idea was deemed
sound and was
approved by the
BASC council.
Thus, Dr.
Soriano was able to
include technologies
such as aerobic
rice and alternate
13
Bulacan agricultural State college (2)
Dr. Junel Soriano (second from left), together with

farmers and technical staff from the Department of
agriculture regional office, visit a site demonstrating
the use of water-saving technologies.
wetting and drying and they are now

integrated in the curriculum.
In La Union Province, Don
Mariano Marcos Memorial State
University (DMMMSU) students
conduct field and laboratory activities
in aerobic rice production systems to
complete their course requirements.
Now, Dr. Soriano is working
closely with Dr. Marina Sabado,
a professor of agriculture in
DMMMSU, to present a proposal to
the universitys academic council to
fully and officially integrate watersaving technologies into the school
curriculum.
More benefits
The collaboration of state

universities and colleges with
IRRI and government institutions
in conducting research and
dissemination activities on watersaving technologies reaped
unintended rewards.
BASC was allocated more funds
because its Aerobic Rice Research,
Development, and Extension
Program caught the attention of
more institutions and agencies that
wanted to be involved in the research,
development, and extension of
aerobic rice.
With more funds, we were able
to improve the facilities of the College
and hire more staff that the whole
College can benefit from, says Dr.
Soriano.
The availability of additional
resources also meant a re-energized
atmosphere for research.
14
A unified approach
DMMMSU and BASC have

influenced other state colleges and
universities such as Isabela State
University (ISU) in following their
path in water-saving technology
research, development, and extension.
ISU developed its own program on
aerobic rice technology, formulated
a road map for the Cagayan Valley
region, and has now implemented
projects in Isabela Province and in
some parts of the region.
Dr. Soriano and Dr. Sabado
aim to continuously develop the
technologies and get students
more involved in research. They
acknowledge the need to determine
what aspects of the technologies need
more research. Any new development
would be included in the schools

instructional and extension materials.
In fact, BASC now has projects
in eight other provinces to continue
its research on water-saving
technologies and has demonstrated
the benefits to students and farmers
as well. Soon, says Dr. Soriano,
students will be able to learn more
on the use of mechanical tools for the
different operations and practices in
the technologies, organic farming
practices for aerobic rice technology,
and weed management.
Another teaching tool being
developed, in coordination with
the IRRC, is a video documentation
of farmers practicing alternate
wetting and drying and aerobic
rice technology. These videos will
showcase the success stories of
farmers from the different provinces.
We will work with other state
colleges and universities in creating
a solid and unified proposal to fully
integrate water-saving technologies
in academe, especially in instruction,
says Dr. Soriano. The IRRC plays a
strong role by providing technical
and financial support.
Meanwhile, schools like
DMMMSU, BASC, and ISU will
continue toward their goal of
educating their studentsthe future
agriculturistson the different ways
to save water, a resource so valuable
in todays food production.
DePartment of agriculture technical staff and local officials from lanao del
norte (in southern Philippines), where the Bulacan agricultural State College
has a project for water-saving techonologies, take part in a field demonstration
of aerobic rice technology.
39
ost organizations working

toward sustainable
development believe that
giving people money
does not get rid of poverty. Instead of
giving doles, empowering people
and communities to take control of
their situations has been deemed a
more sustainable approach.
In the Philippines, the second
phase of the Cordillera Highland
Agricultural Resource Management
Project (CHARMP2) works to reduce
poverty and improve the quality of life
of rural communities in the highlands
of the Cordillera Administrative
Region (CAR). The CHARMP2 project,
an International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD) investment
within the Department of Agriculture
(DA), provides interventions such as
community mobilization, watershed
conservation, agriculture
and agribusiness
development,
A trAditionAl storage house

in Pasil, Kalinga.
the promotion of income-generating

activities, and the development of
rural infrastructure.
Recently, CHARMP2 forged a
partnership with the Consortium
for Unfavorable Rice Environments
(CURE), which is coordinated by the
(IRRI). Through this, CHARMP2s
development interventions will
hopefully be strengthened with
the support of CURE. In turn, the
partnership will enable CURE to
introduce and extend technological
options over a wider area.
Threatened heirlooms
Under CHARMP2, three remote

upland villagesBagtayan in
Pasil, Kalinga; Fiangtin in Barlig,
Mountain Province; and Bangbang in
Hungduan, Ifugaoare the focus of
the collaboration with CURE. These
villages were selected because they
have existing activities that are in
line with CUREs goal, which is to
empower local rice growers to reduce
poverty. Also, they have strong local
government unit support, connection
to rice markets, and a well-prepared
village participatory investment
plan that matches the needs and
development priorities of stakeholders
with local resources/budget.
Farmers in these villages grow
traditional rice varieties that
An extension
worker in
Hungduan,
ifugao,
examines a
rice plant with
blast.
their ancestors have cultivated for

hundreds of years. In Bagtayan,
heirloom rice varieties are classified
according to the season when they
were growndry season (Unoy)
or wet season (Uyak) and whether
they are glutinous (Alig, Lachok,
and Yonga) or nonglutinous (Chongak, Chumalling, Ifuwan, Finuga,
Chiplog, and Ginonnaw).
In Fiangtin, farmers grow the rice
variety Mountain Violet (or Ominio),
which is named after its color. This
variety has been recently recognized
as a heritage food in danger of
extinction by the International Ark of
Taste, which seeks products from all
around the planet at risk of extinction
but that can be rediscovered and be
returned to the market.
Heirloom
in the
mountains
by Elenor de Leon, Digna Manzanilla, and David Johnson
40
20
elenor de leon (3)
Farmers in the Cordillera

region of the Philippines
actively preserve their
heritage rice varieties
Farmers of Bangbang also have a

range of traditional rice varieties such
as Oklan, which comes in white, red,
and green forms, and Minaangan, a
traditional red rice. Also, they have
a sticky rice variety called Diket,
which literally means to stick.
Best practices for conservation
Revitalize Indigenous Cordilleran

Entrepreneurs (RICE) Inc. is a
Filipino nonprofit, nongovernment
organization that aims to preserve
these heirloom rice varieties and the
culture of community rice production
that surrounds them in the Cordillera
region. Farmers have noted that the
purity and quality of their traditional
rice varieties have deteriorated through
the years, so they see the importance
of restoration or preservation of
these varieties. They also face many
production problems related to changes
in weather and infestation of rodents,
pests, and diseases.
RICE Inc. buys rice from the
farmers at prices higher than those
in the local market and sells it in
the United States. For this market,
however, farmers have to follow
higher standards in terms of selection
of acceptable seeds, harvesting,
drying, milling, and storage. The
organization also discourages
farmers from using pesticides, despite
problems of rodents, earthworms,
and rice blast disease in their fields.
In Bagtayan, farmers have
observed that applying mineral
fertilizers affects the distinct aroma

and taste of Unoy, a local dry-season
variety. These mineral fertilizers
are difficult to obtain because of
the inaccessibility of their village.
Farmers have therefore adopted
organic farming methods, such as
the Korean-inspired method that
uses fermented plant juice. They also
use botanical insecticides, or plants
that have insecticidal properties.
It is reported that about 100 plants
in the Philippines have insecticidal
properties that could be used to
control pests. Farmers here are
also taught the Palay Check System
from the DA in combination with
indigenous practices through the
farmers field school.
Across the villages, farmers are
concerned about several problems:
their rice terraces are eroding, their
rice yield is low and unstable, and
they need to intensify their crop to
improve their farm productivity and
income. Farmers also worry about
a lack of interest in rice farming
among the younger generation, who
prefer to seek work elsewhere. This
means that no one else will preserve
their tradition and maintain the
productivity of their rice system (see
Contours of change on page 8-13 of Rice
Today Vol. 3 No. 1).
Where two points meet
To improve the livelihoods of the

farmers in the remote areas of
northern Luzon, CHARMP2 links
rePresentAtives from irri-CUre dr. digna manzanilla

and dr. Casiana vera Cruz, along with dr. nenita desamoro
(Philrice), and mr. Ceferino oryan (municipal agriculturist
of Barlig, mt. Province), meet the members of the
Kadaclan farmers' Association, to explore possible areas
for collaboration.
with rural communities in the area

and partners with CURE to help
provide rice technologies to benefit
farmers. Together with farmers, they
conduct meetings and site visits
in the three villages and produce
participatory videos that show a
combination of indigenous and
modern methods of farming.
The farmer-beneficiaries and
CHARMP2 staff document their
best management practices for
them to share their knowledge and
experiences with other farmers on
topics such as nutrient management
in an organic system. Project staff
members also provide training on
participatory process documentation,
which includes organizing,
analyzing, and documenting fieldbased information and reporting in
various formats and media.
Other activities include
participatory adaptive research and
varietal selection in the highlands
of Kalinga, technology clinics to
respond to problems of rice blast
and other diseases, organic farming,
and disseminating technologies
such as trap barrier systems for
rodent management (see Building a
better rat trap on pages 34-35 of Rice
Today Vol. 4, No. 2). As an example of
success elsewhere, the introduction
of community-based trap barrier
systems in Vietnam and Indonesia
has successfully reduced farmers use
of chemicals by up to 66% and 50%,
respectively; helped them increase
yields by up to 0.5 ton per hectare;
and significantly reduced their costs
of rodent control.
As a good working synergy,
CURE, CHARMP2, and the farmers
greatly helped in the process
of responding effectively to the
needs of the community. Involving
farmers in activities such as varietal
selection, adaptive research, and
documentation not only empowers
the farmers but also sustains
development in the community.
Ms. de Leon is a communication specialist
at IRRI, Dr. Manzanilla is a social
scientist at IRRI and CURE associate
coordinator, and Dr. Johnson is a senior
scientist and CURE coordinator at IRRI.
41
21
Train us
Story and photos by Ma. Lizbeth J. Baroa
A Filipino farmers desire to be taught brought rice-growing best practices

to his farming community
ack in 2006, a farmer in the town

of Victoria in the Philippine
province of Laguna asked his
local government to assist him
in sending a message to the International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI): Train
us.
Soon after, Mr. Casiano Estrella Jr.
and his fellow farmers in his municipality
went through the Cyber-Village
Projecta coaching of farmers on how
to get important farming information
from an Internet-based portal of rice
technologies called the Pinoy Rice
Knowledge Bank (Pinoy-RKB).
Pinoy-RKB
The project, now in its second phase,

started in 2006 and has reached about
3,500 farmers in 12 municipalities across
the country. IRRI is working closely
with the Philippine government, through
the Philippine Rice Research Institute
42
36
(PhilRice), in carrying out the project.

The Pinoy-RKB is a country-specific
off-shoot of the Rice Knowledge Bank,
which shares information about best
practices, as well as updated technologies
for all stages of rice production, with
farmers (see Banking on our rice
knowledge on pages 36-37 of Rice Today
Vol. 8, No. 3).
On a rainy morning in August
2011, a second group of rice farmers
from Victoria was about to get the
same training as their fellow farmers
did 5 years back. The local farmers
enthusiasm could be traced to one man:
Casiano Estrella Jr., or Mang Jun, as he
prefers to be called.
A community man
Mang Jun is a high school graduate who

never stopped learning. His thirst to learn
was fueled by another passion: serving
his community.
A young Jun landed his first job as

an assistant to community projects at
the University of the Philippines Los
Baos (UPLB), located a few kilometers
north of Victoria. He went on to work
for UPLBs sister campus in Manila as
a clerk. His stint with UPLB, however,
stirred his heart for the community,
something that never really left him. So,
he left his job at UP Manila, and returned
to Victoria.
He took his desire of serving his
community further by running for
municipal councilor as an independent
candidate in 1995, and won. During this
time, Mang Jun established ties with
the municipal agriculture system, which
proved helpful for him several years after
he embarked on rice farming.
I ran again in the following election
for a second term, but I lost, Mang Jun
said. That was the time when I decided
to become a rice farmer.
Filipino Farmer Casiano

estrella Jr. benefited
much from irris
training.
Banca-Banca
To aid in his early years as a rice farmer,

Mang Jun applied for membership in a
local rice farmers' group named BancaBanca Multi-Purpose Cooperative.
I wanted to avail of the credit
privilege to start up my farm, he said.
But as Mang Jun would realize soon, he
had established himself as a community
leader well enough that, in 2003, not only
was he accepted into the cooperative, but
was voted to lead the organization.
Train them
As a leader, Mang Jun looked to

educating his fellow farmers as a way to
tackle the problems on their farms.
Id long heard about IRRI when I
was still with UPLB, and that it is located
right in our backyard, he recalls. It was
during one of his municipal governmentsponsored tours to the Institute that
Mang Jun recalls a light bulb moment.
I heard during one of my field trips
to IRRI that they were conducting a
project called cyber-village, he said.
After understanding that the project
targets different municipalities across the
country to introduce rice technologies
through the IRRI Rice Knowledge Bank,
Mang Jun wanted his fellow rice farmers
in Victoria to have such training.
I asked for the help of our local
municipal agriculturist and provincial
officials to facilitate Victorias rice
farmers training, he said.
Farmers learning hub
We have a center in our

community where we have
reading materials and a computer
that allow us to access the Rice
Knowledge Bank, Mang Jun
said. Before, we could not even
identify a disease properly so we
sprayed pesticides anytime we
wanted.
Because of the training we
had, and the constant checking
with the RKB, we now know that
you should not just spray anytime
you want to because there are
insects in the field that actually
help fight pests, he added.
Mang Jun said that, after
their training, they became aware of
integrated pest management (IPM),
and promptly practiced it. They soon
realized that IPM was not only good for
the farms health, but it also kept their
overhead costs lower than before (see also
Managing pests with nature on page 46).
Now, they can balance what they
heard from the pesticide agents who used
to visit them with what they know about
best practices in pest management.
Due credit
Perhaps the clearest indication of

change that Mang Jun observed in his
community is that his fellow rice farmers
can now be trusted by their cooperatives

credit system with bigger loans.
Before we applied these
technologies on our rice farms, our credit
program in the cooperative lended only
about Php18,000 (about US$400) per crop
to a farmer for fear that he might not be
able to pay it back, he said. But now,
after improving the ways they manage
their rice, their yields have increased
over the years, and so the average
credit that our cooperative now gives to
farmer-members increased to between
Php30,000 and 50,000 ($1,300$2,100).
Changed
We have always been committed to

helping the Philippines rice-growing
sector, said Mr. Julian Lapitan, head of
IRRIs National Programs Relations. We
are happy to see a positive response to
our efforts in communicating good ricegrowing practices to Filipino farmers.
As I said my goodbyes to Mang Jun,
he joined the rest of his fellow farmers
and Victoria municipal extension staff,
who at the time were inside a local
Internet cafe, receiving tutorials from
IRRI and PhilRice staff on how to
use the newly launched technology on
managing the application of nutrients on
their rice farms.1
Things have really changed around
here, he smiled.
Farmers Constantly visit the

rice Knowledge Bank Web site to
learn more about rice farming.
http://snipurl.com/fertilizer-tips.
37
43
Extension goes
mobilE
by Katherine Nelson
Farmers can now use ubiquitous mobile phones to

access fertilizer information whenever and wherever
they need it
44
joseph sandro (2)
fter labor, fertilizer is the

most expensive input in
rice farming. However,
as crucial as fertilizer
may be in improving rice production
despite the coststhe inefficient use of
fertilizer can render its application futile
and, worse, it can even be harmful to the
environment.
On large-scale, mechanized farms in
North America, Europe, Australia, and
parts of South America, fertilizer can
become more efficient through precision
farming, which matches the application
of fertilizer with location-specific needs
of the crop by using such technologies
as global positioning systems (GPS),
variable rate application equipment, and
accurate field-mapping technologies.
However, these sophisticated and
expensive technologies are typically
unsuitable for small-scale farmers,
which include most rice farmers in Asia.
So, what methods are appropriate to
deliver fertilizer information to smallscale farmers in a rapid, accessible, and
inexpensive way?
Roland Buresh, principal scientist
at the International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI), and his team have spent
thousands of hours turning the idea of
small-scale precision farming into a
reality through the decision tool known
as Nutrient Manager for Rice (NMRice).
This computer-based software guides
farmers in applying fertilizer properly
and efficiently in their respective rice
fields. The software, which was first
A fArmer in Laguna Province

pretests the mobile phone
service to receive fertilizer
recommendations.
made available on CD and through the

Internet, was intended to assist extension
workers and farmers in accessing
recommendations regarding fertilizer
application specific to the conditions
of a rice farm. But the necessity for
computers, Internet, and even electricity
to run these tools limits access for many
small-scale farmers in Asia.
Hence, Dr. Bureshs team thought
of using the mobile phone since it is
affordable and widely available to farmers.
NMRice Mobile was created to transfer
the information available from the Web
version to a mobile phone application that
provides rapid, accessible, inexpensive,
and credible field-specific fertilizer
recommendations to farmers through a
basic SMS (short messaging system). A
farmer simply calls a toll-free number and
is guided by an automated voice to answer

several questions about his or her farm
by pressing the corresponding button on
the mobile phone. After all the questions
have been answered, the farmer receives a
text message, which recommends optimal
timing, amount, and type of fertilizer to
be applied to the farmers rice field.
NMRice Mobile was launched in the
Philippines in September 2010 to reach
farmers without access to the Internet
version of NMRice. The Philippines
was an ideal pilot location for NMRice
Mobile because the Nutrient Manager
had already been developed and released
in the country as a Web version (NMRice
Web) and was supported by partners as
an accurate recommendation.
The team achieved its objective of
providing farmers with rapid, accessible,
inexpensive, and credible field-specific
recommendations by making the service
available by mobile phone free of
charge, and by accessing the previously
validated Nutrient Manager software to
make sure generated recommendations
are consistent and accurate. The mobile
service is available in English and in
three local languages, namely, Tagalog,
Ilocano, and Cebuano so it can be better
understood and used properly by farmers
throughout the Philippines. The longterm vision is to create a platform that
can benefit farmers through improved
access to information, including finance
and marketing opportunities, better
management practices, location-specific
information and warnings, and supplier
29
Farmers speak
A recent survey conducted among farmers
highlights the benefits of the Nutrient Manager
Rice Mobile program
by Kyeong Ho Ken Lee
A fArmer in mindanao
gives feedback about
NMRice Mobile.
contacts. The user will have the option

to accept or deny receiving additional
information.
An important step in developing
the application is involving the social
network, both national partners and
farmers. The participation of national
research and extension partners at an early
stage is crucial to ensure consistent and
accurate messages in training, promotion,
and dissemination. This was accomplished
through two workshops where public
and private partners from the Philippines
contributed to the development of NMRice
Mobile. In addition, pretesting and farmer
interviews in four provinces provided
critical insight into the practical use of
NMRice Mobile, and these interactions
resulted in valuable changes to the service.
The first workshop, during the initial
phase of the project, aimed to formulate
the decision tool, tailor which questions
to ask and how, determine which local
languages should be available, and build
ownership among national partners. In
creating a product from multipartnership,
many compromises need to be made
along the way. Ideas were challenged
and criticisms were accommodated.
Translations, the questions asked or
not asked, the length of the call, the
instructions and disclaimers, the phone
number, and the product name, among
other topics, were discussed.
The second workshop took place
during the final stages of development
and helped further test the service with
30
farmers in the field. Promotional and

training materials were critiqued and
translated into local languages. Field
testing revealed valuable information
on ways farmers answered questions.
With this information, it was necessary
to re-word some questions and fine-tune
the program. These workshops and field
tests involved public and private partners
from the early stages all the way through
to the final product and engaged them
in the entire process of developmenta
collaboration essential to the success of
the project.
NMRice Mobile confirms that
precision agriculture can be made
available to small-scale farmers by
using a basic mobile phone to tap into
decision-making tools that determine
fertilizer needs based on variable rice field
conditions. Participation from the public
and private sector has contributed to the
development of the service, and these
partnerships will continue to guide the
development and use as extension workers
provide feedback from farmers for
enhanced applications of NMRice Mobile.
For a 12:37 YouTube demonstration
video on how Philippine rice farmers
can use the mobile phone to get
fertilizer information, go to http://
youtube/3GbguNguk-8.
Ms. Nelson is a graduate student in
Cornell University and served as
communications consultant at IRRI.
ice farmers from the provinces of Isabela and

Iloilo in the Philippines who tried Nutrient
Manager for Rice (NMRice) Mobile for the first
time praised the new phone application.
Its so fast and easy to understand, states
rice farmer Mamerto Jimenez from Isabela.
Farmers generally commended the
applications ability to adjust to specific field
conditions and its quick response and precise
recommendations via text messages that help
make farmers use of fertilizer more costeffective, with the added benefit of maintaining
or possibly increasing yield. According to Romeo
Pungan of Isabela, he does not have to guess the
amount of fertilizer needed anymore. The use
of a toll-free call from a mobile phone greatly
increases access to NMRice because most farmers
do not own computers, let alone have access to
the Internet.
Interestingly, 14 out of the 47 farmers
interviewed admitted that, even if they own
a mobile phone, they do not feel comfortable
using it. Hence, these farmers, with an average
age of 60 years, opted not to use the application.
Considering that the younger generation
is more attuned to technology these days,
NMRice Mobile seeks to target farmers children
and spouses. All the interviewed farmers had
younger family members in the household who
owned and knew how to use mobile phones. In
fact, most of the farmers preferred to have their
children or spouse use NMRice Mobile, even if
they were somewhat proficient with a mobile
phone.
Many farmers said that their wives are more
adept at using mobile phones because they
are the ones who are likely to keep in touch
with family members who have moved out
and are living in different places. Their children,
on the other hand, quickly adapt to the new
technologies because of peer influence and
fervent curiosity. Many farmers also described
their children as far more modern than they are.
Although some of the farmers were hesitant
to test the application, many of them requested
training on mobile phones as NMRice Mobile
reinforced the importance of keeping up with
technology.
In this regard, NMRice Mobile should not
be promoted only to farmers. Although it is
vital that farmers understand the merits of the
technology, it is equally important to teach
farmers spouses and children how to use NMRice
Mobile. Many of these children attend public
schools. Training workshops can be organized
in cooperation with the local Department of
Education and municipal agriculture offices,
especially since agriculture is included in the
school curriculum.
It is also crucial to recognize the essential
role of extension workers in guiding farmers in
the use of a phone application such as NMRice
Mobile. With proper training, they are key to the
successful transfer of skills and information to
farmers.
Mr. Lee is a Robertson Scholar at the Sanford
School of Public Policy at Duke University who
served as an intern at IRRI.
45
Whats cooking?
by Amy Besa
46
28
Fried Ominio rice

la Purple Yam
ers. Farmers should know who will be
eating their product. And, it is the
responsibility of a diner, a restaurateur, and a home cook to know the
amount of work it takes to produce a
Ingredients
300 grams Ominio rice (preferably dayold or slightly cooked)
50 grams carrots, diced
50 grams white onions, sliced
50 grams green peas
50 grams corn kernels, steamed
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons turmeric oil
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Rinse uncooked rice in a pot with water
and drain. Do this several times until
the water becomes clear.
2. Cook the rice in a pot with equal parts
water. As soon as the water starts to
boil vigorously, put a lid on the pot
and turn the heat down to low. Simmer
for 2030 minutes until all the water
has been absorbed and the rice is
tender. The rice can also be cooked in
a rice cooker using equal parts water.
(Note: This can go up to 40 minutes
depending on the moisture content of
JEC NARCISO (3)
he Purple Yam is a restaurant

in Brooklyn, New York,
founded in 2009 by me and
chef Romy Dorotan, with a
branch in Manila in the Philippines.
The restaurant specializes in the
culinary heritage of the Philippines
infused with modern innovative
flair and influences from other Asian
countries, particularly Korea. In a 2009
review, the New York Times described
dining at the Purple Yam, for dishes
such as its adobo and halo-halo, as
something worth experiencing.
Ominio fragrant rice is a
medium-grain variety cultivated
in the rice terraces of Mountain
Province and Ifugao Province in
the Central Cordillera Mountains in
northern Philippines. This heirloom
rice has a deep violet or black color
and is the preferred variety of the
indigenous people in the area for
making rice desserts and rice wine.
Ominio has been included in the
Ark of Taste, an international list
of endangered heritage food from
different countries.
In the 1990s, I was introduced to
heirloom rice and was asked to help
develop a market in the U.S. For me,
it was a no-brainer because organic
heirloom rice passes my standards of
quality ingredients. Heirloom rice is
healthypacked with nutrients and
flavorful. In fact, it is so flavorful that,
at my restaurants, heirloom rice is not
an accompaniment but is considered
as a dish.
My mantra is that, if we want to
preserve heirloom rice, we should
eat and cook with it on a daily basis.
Preserving it is not just keeping it
and treating it just as an interesting
factoid. Eating it and bringing it back
to the table will take heirloom rice out
of anonymity and hence increase its
commercial viability.
In turn, patronizing heirloom
rice will increase farmers incentive
to grow it and help them earn a
lucrative livelihood.
I am is also espousing establishing
a link between farmers and consum-
grain of rice. If they understand how

rice is produced, they wont throw
away a single grain of rice. They will
respect not just the product but the
farmers who grew it.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
the rice grains. If the grains are newly

harvested, they will not require as
much water and as long a time to cook,
but if the grains have been stored for
a while, they will need a little bit more
water and longer cooking time.)
Spread the cooked rice on a tray to cool
down and dry off some of the excess
moisture. Set aside.
Dice the carrots and white onions.
Crush the garlic. Rinse the green peas.
Steam the corn in the husk and then
remove or scrape the kernels from the
cob.
In a wok, heat the turmeric oil with
crushed garlic over medium-high heat.
When hot, add the carrots, onions, and
corn kernels. Saut until translucent
and soft.
Add the cooked Ominio rice and mix
well with the vegetables. Add the green
peas.
Crack the egg directly over the rice and
mix thoroughly.
Add salt and pepper to taste and serve
immediately.
In a YouTube video, watch the Manila Purple Yam's sous chef, Rap Cristobal (lower inset photo), demonstrate how to make a
tasty fried rice dish using the heirloom Ominio (violet) variety: http://youtu.be/9rU0r_0Ezmo.
grain of truth
Precision agriculture for small-scale

farmers
by:
Roland J. buResh
rop management has no such

thing as a one-practice-fits-all
solution. In fact, awareness is
increasing throughout the world
that crop management practices must
be tailored to location-specific needs
in order to produce more food with
higher profitability and to reduce risks
to the environment. This is particularly
important for the application of nutrients
to cereal crops because optimal amounts
and sources of nutrients to meet the needs
of the crop can vary, even across short
distances within and among fields. If
the application of nutrients as fertilizers
is insufficient, it can result in loss of
yield and profit, whereas applications
in excess of crop needs not only reduce
profit but can also increase risks to the
environment.
In Europe, North America, Australia,
and parts of South America, where
agriculture is mechanized on a large scale,
concerns about the environment and high
cost of fertilizers relative to the value of
harvested crop have resulted in precision
agriculture technologies. Precision
agriculture aims to better match fertilizer
applications with the spatial and temporal
needs of the crop for nutrients. In largescale farming, sophisticated technologies
often based on crop sensors, global
positioning systems, or remote sensing
are being developed and used to carry out
precision agriculture. This is unsuitable
to most Asian rice farming, where fields
and the entire landholding of one farmer
are typically smallusually fractions of
a hectare up to only a few hectares. Thus,
sophisticated sensors must be replaced
with other means for rapid, cost-effective
acquisition and processing of locationspecific information for a field.
Computer-based decision tools
with simple questions for farmers to
answer and able to quickly provide a
field-specific guideline (www.irri.org/
nmrice) represent a cost-effective option
for small-scale farmers to implement
precision agriculture. But such tools must
be readily accessible to extension workers
and farmers in rural areas.
Computers are one option for
accessing decision tools provided
46
either on a CD or via the Internet.

But computers are not always readily
accessible by small-scale farmers.
Web-based mobile phones with Internet
access provide another option but, again,
not many farmers have such phones or
Internet connectivity.
However, one alternative is available
to many small-scale farmers: mobile
phones with SMS (short message service)
capability. With such mobile phones, text
messaging and call centers are options
for getting information to farmers. These
require trained staff to handle texts and
calls and ensure that accurate, timely,
and consistent information is provided
to farmers. Another way to reach many
farmers with mobile phones is through
interactive voice response (IVR).
With IVR, a farmer calls a phone
number with a voice recording that
presents a menu of questions about the
farmers rice field and growing conditions.
The farmer answers each question by
pressing an appropriate number on the
keypad. Once all questions are answered,
the farmer receives a text message with
a guideline on the amounts, sources, and
timings of fertilizer application for his or
her specific rice field.
The Nutrient Manager decision tool
for rice has already been released and
used with CD and Web-based applications
in the Philippines. To reach more farmers,
especially those without computers,
the Philippines has been selected as the
country to develop and provide, through
a partnership with the public and private
sector, a mobile phonebased IVR
application that sends farmers a text
message with a field-specific fertilizer
guideline based on information they

provide about their rice field. This tool
is set to be released in mid-2010. More
information on this tool will be featured
in the next issue of Rice Today.
Information technology and mobile
phone applications could change the role
of extension workers. In the future, they
could become less of a technical expert
on a topic such as nutrient management
and more of an expert on where and how
to access informationan important role
in orienting farmers to new IT tools and
how to effectively use them.
Mobile phones are already capable
of wireless banking and connecting
farmers to microfinancing and loans, and
purchasing power they have never had
before. Bringing precision agriculture
with IT to small-scale farmers can open
up opportunities for farmers to obtain
a fertilizer recommendation via a text
message and then use their phones to
access suppliers of the fertilizer and
financing options to purchase it.
Nutrient Manager decision tools
to provide field-specific guidelines for
rice, wheat, and maize are now under
development for specific countries
and crop-growing regions (www.irri.
org/ssnm). Information technology
and the use of mobile phones offer the
opportunity to bring precision agriculture
to small-scale farmers. The farmer
becomes the sensor for rapid, costeffective acquisition of location-specific
information, the IVR and Nutrient
Manager software become the processors
of this information, and the mobile
phone becomes the vehicle for fast and
effective transmission of the information
to farmers.
Precision agriculture, such as fieldspecific nutrient management, could
become available to small-scale farmers
at their fingertips within a few minutes.
Dr. Buresh is a principal scientist,

specializing in nutrient and crop
management for intensive rice-based
cropping systems, at the International
Rice Research Institute.
47
48

Rice Today Special Supplement For The Philippine Department of Agriculture Management Committee Meeting, 6-8 April 2015

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Special Supplement for the Philippine Department of Agriculture

Management Committee Meeting, 6-8 April 2015

Is proximity to IRRI an advantage?

We have been working with

Rice Today is published by the International Rice Research Institute

Rice Today editorial

Rice Today Editorial Board

International Rice Research Institute 2014

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