You are on page 1of 48

www.irri.

org

International Rice Research Institute April-June 2009, Vol. 8, No. 2

"Scuba rice"
New varieties save farms from floods

Zero-till hero
Drought-proof rice in Africa
Rice science in the digital age
Bangladesh copes with the hunger months

US$5.00 ISSN 1655-5422


Rice Today April-June 2009 1
 Rice Today April-June 2009
contents
Vol. 8, No. 2

EDITORIAL ................................................................ 4 DROUGHT-PROOF RICE


Reasons for hope FOR AFRICAN FARMERS...................................... 41
Research institutes, donor agencies, and community
HIDDEN TREASURE .................................................. 5 representatives collaborate to develop drought-
tolerant rice for African farmers
NEWS ......................................................................... 6
50 years of rice research helps feed the world RICE FACTS .............................................................. 44
Dr. Khush donates to Punjab Agricultural University Global rice trade: What does it mean for future food
New rice plant could ease threat of hunger for security?
poor
Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug calls for second GRAIN OF TRUTH ................................................... 46
Green Revolution Can less favorable areas obtain food security?
IRRI enters into two new rice research partnerships
Rats destroy rice crops in Bicol SNAPSHOT .............................................................. 24
From agricultural waste to useful energy IRRI and UC researchers with Harir Danga community
in northwestern Bangladesh
PEOPLE .................................................................... 10
Awards and recognition SCUBA RICE............................................................. 26
Keeping up with IRRI staff Stemming the tide in flood-prone South Asia

EASING THE PLIGHT OF THE HUNGRY ................. 32


RICE SCIENCE IN THE DIGITAL AGE ..................... 13 Monga (hunger months) occurs every year in
IRRI books move from dusty shelves to the virtual Bangladesh. Researchers revisited the country in
library. Need a book? Google it! 2008 to find out how some farming technologies
were able to help families cope during these tough
NEW BOOKS ............................................................ 16 times
Trust in the Seed
Drought Frontiers in Rice: Crop Improvement for PIONEER INTERVIEWS ........................................... 34
Increased Rainfed Production In the Punjab—an outstanding farmer revisited
Pathways from Poverty: The Process of Graduation in
Rural Bangladesh ASIAN CONSUMPTION TO DRIVE MARKETS IN
2009 ..................................................................... 37 On the cover:
World Grains Trade Summit sees Asian consumption Flood-tolerant Sub1 rice lines thrive—in contrast to
STRENGTHENING THE SYSTEM ............................ 18 driving the world grains market in 2009
For 15 years, the Rice-Wheat Consortium of the Indo- their non-Sub1 counterparts—even after 17 days'
Gangetic Plains has been working to help South submergence in the field at IRRI headquarters in the
Asian farmers reduce their costs, increase their MAPS ....................................................................... 38 Philippines. Learn about the importance of this “scuba”
productivity, and help the environment Water mapping with satellites rice to flood-prone South Asia, beginning on page 26.

Rice Today is published by The Rice Trader Inc. (TRT) in association with the International Rice Research Institute
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines
TRT, for 19 years, brought its subscribers crucial, up-to-the-minute information Web (IRRI): www.irri.org; www.irri.org/ricetoday
on rice trade through its weekly publication, The Rice Trader. Acknowledged as Web (Library): http://ricelib.irri.cgiar.org
the only source of confidential information about the rice market, this weekly Web (Rice Knowledge Bank): www.knowledgebank.irri.org
summary of market data analysis has helped both the leading commercial rice
companies and regional government officials make informed decisions, which are Rice Today editorial
critical in today’s market. telephone: (+63-2) 580-5600 or (+63-2) 844-3351 to 53, ext 2725; fax: (+63-2) 580-5699
IRRI is the world’s leading international rice research and training center. Based or (+63-2) 845-0606; email: mia.aureus@thericetrader.com, l.reyes@cgiar.org
in the Philippines and with offices in 13 other countries, IRRI is an autonomous,
nonprofit institution focused on improving the well-being of present and future cover photo IRRI
generations of rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes, publisher Jeremy Zwinger
while preserving natural resources. It is one of the 15 nonprofit international
associate publisher Duncan Macintosh
research centers supported, in part, by members of the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR – www.cgiar.org) and a range of other managing editor V. Subramanian
funding agencies. editor Mia Aureus
Responsibility for this publication rests with TRT and IRRI. Designations used associate editor Lanie Reyes
in this publication should not be construed as expressing TRT or IRRI policy or contributing writers Gene Hettel, Sophie Clayton, Sam Mohanty, Leah Baroña-Cruz
opinion on the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area, or its authorities, Africa editor Savitri Mohapatra (Africa Rice Center – WARDA)
or the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. copy editor Bill Hardy
Rice Today welcomes comments and suggestions from readers. Potential art director Juan Lazaro IV
contributors are encouraged to query first, rather than submit unsolicited designer and production supervisor Grant Leceta
materials. Rice Today assumes no responsibility for loss of or damage to unsolicited photo editor Chris Quintana
submissions, which should be accompanied by sufficient return postage. photo researcher William Sta. Clara
advertising manager Logan Wilson
The Rice Trader Inc. circulation Lourdes Columbres
2707 Notre Dame Blvd., Chico, CA 95928 Web masters Forrest Orndorff, Serge Gregorio
Web: www.thericetrader.com printer Print Town Group, Philippines

Copyright International Rice Research Institute 2009

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
(Unported). Unless otherwise noted, users are free to copy, duplicate, or reproduce, and distribute, display, or transmit any of the articles or portions of the articles, and to make translations,
adaptations, or other derivative works under the following conditions. To view the full text of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/.
 Rice Today April-June 2009
Rice Today April-June 2009 
ARIEL JAVELLANA NEWS http://ricenews.irri.org

can never forget the struggles


of the poor farmers,” he said.
Several major events are planned
for the anniversary, including
• The launch of IRRI’s 50th
anniversary by Her Royal
Highness Princess Maha
Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand,
17 November 2009, at IRRI
in Los Baños, Philippines.
• HRH Princess Maha Chakri
Sirindhorn will also open
the 6th International Rice
Genetics Symposium, 16-19
November 2009, in Manila.
IRRI HAS helped rice farmers raise the • The 50th annual meeting of the
productivity of their farms for almost
0 years, and plans to continue for Institute’s Board of Trustees,
many more. 12-17 April 2010, followed
by an alumni homecoming
for all former IRRI staff and
50 years of rice research helps feed the world scholars, both in Los Baños.
• The 3rd International Rice

T he International Rice Research


Institute (IRRI), Asia’s largest
and oldest international agricultural
recognize the hard work and
commitment of the thousands of
scientists and collaborators who
Congress (IRC2010), 9-12
November 2010, Hanoi, Vietnam.
The IRC2010, the world's largest
research institute, will mark its have worked with IRRI,” he added. gathering of the rice industry,
50th anniversary in 2010. IRRI’s Golden Jubilee comes has the theme Rice for Future
In 50 years, IRRI’s high- as Asian and world food security Generations, and will include
yielding rice varieties have helped face unprecedented challenges, the 28th International Rice
significantly increase world rice and at a revolutionary time for Research Conference, 3rd World
production, especially in Asia, rice research. The sequencing Rice Commerce Conference, 3rd
saving millions from famine while of the rice genome provides International Rice Technology
protecting the environment and researchers with new knowledge and Cultural Expo, and other 50th
training thousands of researchers. that allows them to attack many anniversary activities of IRRI.
“We look forward to celebrating old problems with new solutions.
this achievement and many others Dr. Zeigler said IRRI’s 50th Other events are expected to be
with all our partners,” said IRRI anniversary celebrations would held around Asia in 2010 as each
Director General Robert Zeigler. especially emphasize the enormous rice-producing nation celebrates
“We also want to thank our challenges faced by poor rice its research and production
host nation, the Philippines, and farmers and consumers. “We achievements.

Dr. Khush donates to


Punjab Agricultural University

S etting an example of a true alumnus, Dr.


Gurdev Khush, former IRRI principal
scientist, donated approximately US$700,000 to
Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in India.
Dr. Khush, an internationally acclaimed rice
breeder and geneticist, announced this after
delivering his convocation address at the PAU
College of Agriculture in January 2009.
CHRISANTO QUINTANA

“The amount,” he said, “was accumulated from


the prize money of various international awards
that I have received.” He asked that the donation Dr. Gurdev Khush
be used for strengthening PAU’s research work.

6 Rice Today April-June 2009


New rice plant could ease threat of hunger for poor

ARIEL JAVELLANA
A n ambitious project to re-engineer
photosynthesis in rice, led by
the International Rice Research
have evolved a much more efficient
form of photosynthesis known as C4.
According to IRRI scientist and
Institute (IRRI) through a global project leader Dr. John Sheehy, in
consortium of scientists, has received tropical climates the efficiency of
a grant of US$11 million over 3 solar energy conversion of crops
years from the Bill & Melinda Gates using the so-called C4 photosynthesis
Foundation. As a result of research is about 50% higher than that of C3
being conducted by this group, rice crops. Given the demands from an
plants that can produce 50% more increasing population, combined
grain using less fertilizer and less with less available land and water,
water are a step closer to reality. adequate future supplies of rice will
Currently, more than a billion need to come in large part through
people worldwide live on less than substantial yield boosts and more
DR. JOHN Sheehy, IRRI senior scientist, leads the
a dollar a day and nearly one billion efficient use of crop inputs. project to re-engineer photosynthesis in rice to
live in hunger. Over the next 50 “Converting the photosynthesis potentially double rice yields.
years, the population of the world of rice from the less-efficient C3
will increase by about 50% and water form to the C4 form would increase
scarcity will grow. About half of the yields by 50%,” said Dr. Sheehy, biologists, geneticists, physiologists,
world’s population consumes rice adding that C4 rice would also biochemists, and mathematicians,
as a staple cereal, so boosting its use water twice as efficiently. In representing leading research
productivity is crucial to achieving developing tropical countries, organizations worldwide. Members
long-term food security. IRRI is where billions of poor people rely include Yale, Cornell, Florida, and
leading the effort to achieve a major on rice as their staple food, “The Washington State universities
increase in global rice production benefits of such an improvement in the United States; Oxford,
by using modern molecular tools in the face of increasing world Cambridge, Dundee, Nottingham,
to develop a more efficient and population, increasing food prices, and Sheffield universities in
higher-yielding form of rice. and decreasing natural resources Britain; the Commonwealth
Photosynthesis, the process by would be immense,” he added. Scientific and Industrial Research
which plants use solar energy to “This is a long-term, complex Organisation (CSIRO), Australian
capture carbon dioxide and convert project that will take a decade National University, and James
it into the carbohydrates required for or more to complete,” said Dr. Cook University in Australia;
growth, is not the same for all plants. Sheehy. “The result of this strategic Heinrich Heine University and the
Some species, including rice, have a research has the potential to Institute for Biology in Germany;
mode of photosynthesis (known as benefit billions of poor people.” Jiangsu Academy in China; the
C3), in which the capture of carbon The C4 Rice Consortium University of Toronto in Canada;
dioxide is relatively inefficient. Other combines the strengths of a range and the Food and Agriculture
plants, such as maize and sorghum, of partners, including molecular Organization of the United Nations.

Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug calls for second Green Revolution
IRRI

If that is so, then Dr. Norman and Congressional Gold Medal


Borlaug, father of the original Green recipient, Borlaug has been credited
Revolution, is inviting this generation with saving more lives than anyone
to begin a second, more extensive, in history. His work has led to
rebellion against world hunger. breakthrough high-yield, disease-
“The Green Revolution resistant wheat harvests in Mexico,
hasn’t been won yet,” said Dr. India, Pakistan, and countries
Borlaug, who turned 95 in March. throughout Latin America, Africa,
“Developing nations need the and the Near and Middle East. As
Dr. Norman Borlaug help of agricultural scientists, a result, hundreds of millions of
researchers, administrators, and people have been provided with an

T homas Jefferson once said,


“Every generation needs a new
revolution.”
others in finding ways to feed
ever-growing populations.”
A Nobel Peace Prize laureate
otherwise unavailable food supply.

Source: AgNews site of Texas A&M University

Rice Today April-June 2009 7


NEWS http://ricenews.irri.org

continue to engage in high-impact


duncan macintosh

research and secure its food supply.


This is especially important for
Singapore as it relies on neighboring
countries to produce food.
In India, an international
IRRI Deputy Director agreement between IRRI and the
­ eneral for Research
G Indian Council of Agricultural
Achim Dobermann signed
the MOU with Professor Research will support and facilitate
Barry ­Halliwell, deputy India’s rice research for the next
president (research three years, helping the nation’s rice
& technology) of the
National University of production at a time of unprecedented
Singapore. price volatility and subsequent
need for the revitalization of food
IRRI enters into two new rice research partnerships production.
The work plan includes

I RRI has entered into two new rice


research partnerships: one with the
National University of Singapore and
research collaboration, and
student exchange. Possible areas of
collaboration include research into
agreements on three major projects
supported by the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation: Stress-Tolerant
the other with the Indian Council of the biology of rice crops and the Rice for Poor Farmers in Africa and
Agricultural Research. design of new rice strains to improve South Asia (STRASA), the Cereal
The National University of productivity, nutritional value, and Systems Initiative for South Asia
Singapore and IRRI have signed a resistance to hotter climate or harsh (CSISA), and Creating the Second
Memorandum of Understanding environments. Green Revolution by Supercharging
(MOU) to facilitate cooperation, The MOU will help Singapore Photosynthesis: C4 Rice.

$10 million scholarship program important tool for rice breeding. since 2003, according to the World
for young rice scientists Fu Xiangdong, a researcher Health Organization.
Monsanto Company has pledged at the Institute of Genetics and Source: SciDevNet
$10 million to establish the Developmental Biology, Chinese
Beachell-Borlaug International Academy of Sciences, said that his Gene found for rice root ­development
Scholars Program to identify team has found the gene dep1 in Scientists from the Huazhong
and support young scientists high-yielding rice varieties mostly Agricultural University in China
interested in improving rice and grown in the Yangtze Plains and found that a gene in rice, named
wheat research through plant northeastern China. Fu added that WOX11, is involved in the activation
breeding techniques. The program the gene can have a similar function of crown-root emergence and growth.
honors the accomplishments in other crops such as wheat and In rice, the shoot-borne crown
of Dr. Henry Beachell and Dr. barley, raising hopes of breeding roots are the major root type and
Norman Borlaug, pioneers in plant high-yielding cereal varieties. are initiated at lower stem nodes as
breeding and research in rice and Source: Xinhua part of normal plant development.
wheat, respectively. Apply at www. Source: Plant Cell
monsanto.com/mbbischolars. GM rice that protects poultry from
bird flu Modified rice may resist disease in
Critical gene for enhancing ­China's Chinese university scientists in Hong Southeast Asia
super rice yield ­identified Kong say that they have created Researchers at the Donald Danforth
Chinese scientists have identified genetically modified rice that can Plant Science Center say that they
a gene, DEP1, and its mutant, protect poultry against bird flu. The have discovered how to genetically
dep1, which have played a key role rice is modified using a gene from the modify rice to make it more resistant
in increasing the yield of China's Chinese plant Yuzhu, which is used in to a disease that is ravaging Asian
high-yielding super rice. The dep1 traditional medicine. Their research rice farms. A viral disease, known as
gene, which can accelerate the cell shows that a protein found in Yuzhu is rice tungro, destroys about US$1.5
division of rice and lead to more a strong inhibitor of the bird flu virus billion worth of rice every year in
grains per panicle, will become an H5N1, which has killed 248 people Southeast Asia. That’s roughly 5–10%

 Rice Today April-June 2009


Rats destroy rice crops in Bicol March to Libon Municipality in recent Rolex Awards for Enterprise.
Albay quantified rodent losses in “I thought of rice husk as fuel for

I RRI rodent expert Grant Singleton


and Ph.D. rodent ecology
student Nyo Me Htwe traveled to
2 barangays as greater than 35%.
Dr. Singleton recommends farmer
participatory research into effective
the stove since there is an abundant
supply of this biomass waste in
our country,” explained engineer
the Bicol region on 6-8 February management of rodents, and a Belonio. “This can be tapped as an
after receiving numerous reports training and communication program alternative source of fuel for domestic
of a rat population outbreak. on community-based ecological cooking to help households cope
“Rodent damage to the rice crops management of rats in the area. with the high cost of conventional
in the 3 barangays we visited in Albay fuel like LPG [liquefied petroleum
and Camarines Sur was severe,” said gas] and kerosene.” His past
Dr. Singleton. “Indications are that From agricultural waste to experience in the mid-1980s at the
the losses at these specific sites will useful energy International Rice Research Institute
lead to major inspired him to invent things.
losses in yield.”
Surrounding
towns along
W ho would have thought that
rice husks, which are just
thrown around and left to catch
Source: Business Mirror

ARIEL JAVELLANA
the roads in fire in fields, could be a source
Albay Province of abundant energy that would
showed obvious benefit people around the globe?
JOSE RAYMOND PANALIGAN

signs of rodent Engineer Alexis Belonio of Iloilo


damage. A City in the Philippines realized that
subsequent the by-product of rice could be used
visit by Nyo as fuel in his Rice Husk Gas Stove Rice husks—an abundant
source of energy.
Me Htwe in invention, a winning entry in the

of the yield in major rice-growing Economic Cooperation and reduces the amount of water wasted
areas in the Philippines, Malaysia, Development (OECD), is a report compared to the common method of
Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, and titled “Agricultural Policies in discharging water directly into the
Thailand. Scientists from the Emerging Economies: Monitoring highest paddy and allowing water
Danforth Center have been looking and Evaluation 2009.” The years to overflow into lower paddies.
for a solution for about 20 years. 2006-08 were marked by a Source: uSda agricultural Research Service
Recently, they discovered that a significant increase in world prices
transgenic, or genetically modified, for most, but not all, agricultural Rice and electronic gadgets
rice produces certain proteins commodities. This report analyzes Next time your iPod or mobile phone
that are more tolerant of infection policy developments during this gets wet, try nature’s desiccant, rice,
from the rice tungro virus. They period in seven emerging economies: to revive it. That’s what Ernesto
announced their findings in January. Brazil, Chile, China, India, Russia, Londoño of the Washington Post
“The breakthrough came when we South Africa, and Ukraine. did to fix his BlackBerry when it got
understood how the virus made the Source: OECD wet. His advice? Just turn off the
plant sick,” said Roger N. Beachy, device and cover it with uncooked
president of the center. “Then we New irrigation system cuts rice to help absorb the moisture and
used that information against the water use prolong the life of your gadget.
virus.” The technology is viable in The United States Agricultural Source: Washington Post
the greenhouse and in the laboratory. Research Service (ARS) and
CHRISANTO QUINTANA

The next step is to test it in the field. cooperating scientists are studying
Source: St. Louis Post-dispatch a system that, in rice field tests,
cuts water use by 24%. The system,
Agricultural policy of emerging called multiple-inlet rice irrigation
economies analyzed (MIRI), involves laying disposable,
The most recent offering from thin-walled, polyethylene irrigation
the intergovernmental think tubing to connect rice paddies as
tank, the Organisation for they are flooded with water. This

Rice Today April-June 2009 9


PEOPLE
Awards and recognition Crop and Environmental Sciences of IFAD when he takes up his post on
Division, was invited to join the 1 April.

C hromewell Agustin R. Mojica,


former intern in the International
Network for the Genetic Evaluation
Women in Science Week (28 February-
6 March) in Paris, France. She is one
of 15 who received the UNESCO-
Sophie Clayton arrived from
Canberra, Australia, in February
to begin her work as IRRI’s new
of Rice, won Best L’Oréal international fellowship award spokesperson and media relations
Undergraduate for young women in the life sciences in manager.
Research for his 2007.
thesis, Molecular Betty Sarah R. Carreon,
Mapping of assistant manager
Quantitative Trait in the Financial
Loci (QTL) for Operations Unit,
Heat Tolerance will leave for
in Rice (Oryza Kansas, USA, on 5
sativa L.) During Reproductive April as a member
Stage Using Microsatellite Markers, of the 2009 Group
by the Philippine Society for Study Exchange
the Advancement of Genetics in Team of Rotary
November 2008. Another finalist International Newly appointed scientists at
in the competition, John Eric B. District 3820. The GSE program is IRRI are Sarah J. Beebout (soil
Canicosa, was also a former intern funded by the Rotary Foundation and chemistry), Ruben Lampayan
at IRRI. Both are graduates of the is a unique cultural and vocational (water management), Tao Li (crop
University of the Philippines Los exchange opportunity for business modeling), Florencia Palis
Baños. Mojica has now joined IRRI as people and professionals between the (social anthropology), Endang
a researcher at the T.T. Chang Genetic ages of 25 and 40 who are in the early Septiningsih (molecular genetics),
Resources Center. stages of their careers. and Michael Thomson (molecular
J.K. Ladha, senior scientist and Syed M.A. genetics). Jagadish Timsina
Rice-Wheat Consortium coordinator, Jabbar, an affiliate
Jabbar joined the IRRI-Bangladesh office in
and S.K. De Datta, former IRRI Ph.D. research December 2008 as senior scientist.
agronomist and principal scientist scholar at IRRI, was New associate scientists are Ma.
(1964-91), were named fellows of conferred a lifetime Socorro Almazan, Lolita Garcia,
the American Association for the membership by and Ma. Elizabeth Naredo; new
Advancement of Science on 14 the Gamma Sigma assistant scientists are Crisanta
February in Chicago. Delta Honor Bueno, Teodoro Correa Jr.,
Jessica D. Rey, Society of Agriculture-University Manuel Esguerra, Joie Ramos,
postdoctoral fellow of the Philippines Chapter for his and Dennis Tuyogon.
at the T.T. Chang outstanding academic achievement in Wei Zhou joined the Plant
Genetic Resources his Ph.D. program. Jabbar is pursuing Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology
Center, won the his doctorate in soil science, with a Division as visiting research fellow.
2008 Outstanding minor in agronomy, at UPLB. Helal Uddin Ahmed, John
Thesis and Damien Platten, and Kurniawan
Dissertation Award Rudi Trijatmiko are IRRI’s new
(advanced S&T for biology and related Keeping up with IRRI staff postdoctoral fellows.
fields) from the Philippine Council Himanshu Pathak, senior
for Advanced Science and Technology
Research and Development. Her thesis
was titled Quantitative resistance loci
R ichard Bruskiewich, senior
scientist (bioinformatics), was
elected to an adjunct faculty position
associate scientist and co-facilitator
of the Rice-Wheat Consortium at the
IRRI-India office, left on 17 January
(QRL) against bacterial blight (caused in the Department of Molecular after completing his 3-year stay and
by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae) Biology and Biochemistry at Simon returned to his parent organization,
and leaf blast (caused by Pyricularia Fraser University, Burnaby, British the Indian Agricultural Research
oryzae Sacc.). Columbia, Canada. Institute in New Delhi, as senior
Gisella Cruz García,, a Ph.D. Kanayo F. Nwanze, former scientist. Virender Kumar will take
candidate from the director general of the Africa over from Dr. Pathak until the vacated
Crop and Weed Rice Center, or WARDA, has position is filled.
Ecology Group, been appointed president of the Mohammad Asaduzzaman
Wageningen, and International Fund for Agricultural of the IRRI-Bangladesh office, Cao
studying with the Development of the United Nations. Meng of the IRRI-China office,
Weed Group in IRRI’s Nwanze becomes the fifth president Somayanda Impa, postdoctoral

10 Rice Today April-June 2009


PEOPLE
SPECIAL REPORT
fellow, and Obdulia Jolejole, Moving on
senior manager of Food and Housing Hans-Jochen de Haas, former Remedios Corral, who served
Services, have left IRRI. Ms. Jolejole, BMZ Germany representative to as matron of Food and Housing
though, will stay for a few more the CGIAR and member of IRRI’s Services for 29 years, passed away on
months in a consulting role until strategic planning external panel, 3 March.
someone is identified to replace her. passed away on 29 January.

TR AINING COURSES AT IRRI


Rice: Research to Production

MACKY MONTECILLO
IRRI Training Center, Los Baños, Philippines, 18 May-5 June 2009
the course aims to create a new generation of plant scientists
that are well networked in the international community and
understand the importance of innovative plant science in tackling
global problems. topics include an understanding of the basics of
rice production in asia; familiarity with the germplasm collection
at iRRi and current issues related to germplasm exchange and
intellectual property; an appreciation of the research issues of iRRi
and its developing partners; hands-on skills related to rice breed-
ing, molecular genetics, and genomics; an understanding of how
to structure effective international collaboration; and a plan and
personal contacts to work effectively as part of the international
research community in the future.

Basic Experimental Design and Data Analysis Using CropStat Mixed Model Analysis Using CropStat
(2nd offering) IRRI Training Center, Los Baños, Philippines, 5-9 October 2009
IRRI Training Center, Los Baños, Philippines, 22-26 June 2009
the course is designed to acquaint researchers with mixed model
the course is designed to acquaint researchers with the principles analysis and introduce cropStat’s module on mixed model analysis
of experimental design, basic experimental designs used in rice using REmL (restricted maximum likelihood). it employs a combi-
research, analysis of variance and regression, and correlation analy- nation of lectures and hands-on exercises on cropStat to help the
sis. it also introduces cropStat, a microcomputer-based statistical participants become more familiar with basic statistical methods
package that facilitates the analysis of experimental data. such as computing descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, and
analysis of variance.
Rice Breeding Course: Laying the Foundation for the Second those interested in registering must have experience in data
Green Revolution analysis and knowledge of at least one statistical software.
IRRI Training Center, Los Baños, Philippines, 1-16 September 2009
Leadership Course for Asian Women in Agricultural R&D
the course aims to develop the next generation of rice breed- and Extension
ers adept in using modern tools for enhancing the precision and IRRI Training Center, Los Baños, Philippines, 19-30 October 2009
efficiency of their breeding programs. it will provide the theoreti-
cal background on modern breeding methods and techniques, topics include asian women in the workplace, mainstreaming
including the use of biotechnology; planning and information gender concerns in the workplace, leadership and management,
management tools and experimental techniques and software; the personality development, developing work-related knowledge and
opportunity to share experiences with other rice breeders; and the skills, and relating to others.
latest updates on areas relevant to rice breeding and the worldwide
exchange of rice genetic resources. the course is for breeders and
For more details, contact Dr. Noel Magor, head, IRRI Training Center
agronomists working on variety development or testing in both the
(IRRITraining@cgiar.org) or see www.training.irri.org.
public and private sector.

The 3rd International Rice Congress (IRC2010), set for 9-12


November 2010, in Hanoi, Vietnam, is the world's largest
gathering of the rice industry. With the theme Rice for
Future Generations, it will include the 28th International
Rice Research Conference, the 3rd World Rice Commerce
Conference, the 3rd International Rice Technology and
Cultural Expo, and 50th anniversary activities of the
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Watch for more
details in future issues of Rice Today.

Rice Today April-June 2009 11


1

1. RICE TODAY in Mt. pina-


2 3 tubo, philippines: (front
row, left to right) Vivay
Salazar, Mary Burac, Shiela
Quilloy-Mercado, tintin
Doctolero, and eJ Azucena;
(back row, left to right)
Denis Diaz, yohei Koide,
Icoy Mercado, Darlene
Sanchez, pogs Manalili,
tanguy Lafarge, and edsel
Moscoso.

. cALVIN, VIctORIA,
and craig, children of
David and Mariju Dawe,
pose with Rice Today at
Napapiiri Arctic circle,
Rovaniemi, finland.

3. MIA AuReuS, Rice Today


editor, takes the magazine
to chinatown, Singapore.

1 Rice Today April-June 2009


RICE SCIENCE
IN THE
DIGITAL AGE
by Henry Sackville Hamilton

IRRI books move from dusty shelves to the


virtual library. Need a book? Google it!

F
rom its huge volume of For a time during the 1980s into
research results on rice the 1990s, IRRI was undoubtedly the
and rice-related subject largest publisher of scientific books
matter, the International in the Philippines, according to Tom
Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Hargrove, CPS head during those
has, for nearly 50 years, generated days and most recently coordinator of
and disseminated knowledge and the Information and Communications
technology as public goods to rice Unit at the International Center
farmers via its partners in the for Soil Fertility and Agricultural
developing and developed world. Development in Muscle Shoals,
Since 1962 (when IRRI began Alabama, USA. “We published 18
publishing), the Institute has to 25 books annually back then,” he
produced some 500 scientific titles says. “By 1990, at least 130 editions
encompassing around 100,000 of 33 books (particularly field guides
printed pages, in the form of and manuals) had been published
monographs, workshop proceedings, by collaborating publishers in 29
field guides, and manuals. “These countries and in 42 languages. The
books have always been distributed linchpin among these, A Farmer’s
for free or at minimal cost to our Primer on Growing Rice (42
partners in the developing countries languages including 10 Philippine
primarily through their institutional dialects), was easily the world’s most
libraries,” says Gene Hettel, head widely published agricultural book.”
of IRRI’s Communication and A popular field guide in this 100,000 mark when adding 25 non-
Publications Services (CPS). “Many impressive family of extension-type English editions in Khmer, Burmese,
titles are published solely by IRRI; publications, Friends of the Rice Vietnamese, Tagalog, Tamil, Nepali,
some are copublished with reputable Farmer: Helpful Insects, Spiders, and and others.
science publishers, such as World Pathogens, just had its tenth printing Although the number of IRRI-
Scientific, Elsevier, Wiley, Kluwer, in English in March 2009, thrusting produced titles has tapered off
CABI, and others.” the total number of copies past the somewhat in recent years due to

Rice Today April-June 2009 13


declines in scientific staff Mr. Hartmann
and budget reductions, points out that the
the Institute has still IRRI Web team did
produced more than some really nice
180 significant extra touches,
monographs, which he thinks
manuals, reports, helps make
and proceedings this site so
since 1995, successful. “IRRI
including such made all their
recent titles as copyrighted titles
Economic Costs 100% viewable and
of Drought and searchable on GBS
Rice Farmers’ Coping rather than the default
Mechanisms, Water 20%,” he says. “And, IRRI
Management in Irrigated changed the text of their ‘Buy
Rice: Coping with Water Scarcity, this Book’ link on GBS to ‘Free
Technologies for Improving Rural PDF download.’ The exciting thing
Livelihoods in Rainfed Systems in digitally via our own Web site, we about this change is that the rate at
South Asia, and Direct Seeding of began scanning titles in our archives which people click the ‘Buy this Book’
Rice and Weed Management for in 2000. This was a slow process link shot up overnight. Previously,
the Rice-Wheat System of the Indo- because we were scanning at a high about one in 100 people would click
Gangetic Plains. resolution (300 dots per inch) and that link, but, after the change, the
Mr. Hettel has observed some doing optical character recognition click-through-rate shot up to more
changes in IRRI’s science publishing (OCR) at 99% accuracy. This process than 10%, which is higher than any
scenario since he became CPS head started long before there was a GBS, publisher we have ever worked with.
in 1997. “Back then,” he says, “when but just as we finished a critical mass IRRI was the first publisher on
determining the pressrun for a of the project, there GBS was—online GBS offering PDF downloads of its
book, it often exceeded 1,000 copies and ready for the ‘perfect marriage.’” books and has led the way for other
and we had just started to consider According to Erik Hartmann, centers in the Consultative Group on
occasionally producing a digital head of GBS Strategic Partnership International Agricultural Research
version for placing on a CD or on the Development for Southeast Asia, (CGIAR) to follow suit.”
Web. Today, we rarely print 1,000 hard IRRI’s presence on Google was a “We are elated over the public’s
copies (because of the now routine collaborative effort in which a “co- response to IRRI books on GBS,”
digital alternatives) and, while a digital branded book search” site was set says Mr. Hettel. “Since January 2008
version is a given, we have begun up. “This basically means using a when our books went online at GBS,
asking the question, ‘Do we need to GBS back-end to provide a custom Google Analytics has recorded more
print any hard copies at all?’” user-interface for a single publisher, than 200,000 book visits, around 2.5
According to Mr. Hettel, since so the search results are restricted million page views, and more than
January 2008, CPS, with the help to that single publisher’s books and 15,000 PDF downloads.”
of IRRI's Information Technology the appearance is designed to match This collaboration with Google
Services (ITS), has been posting most the look and feel of the publisher’s goes hand-in-hand with IRRI’s new
of its new books on Google Book own Web site,” says Mr. Hartmann. copyright policy announced by the
Search (GBS). This involves a special “In IRRI’s case, they designed a very Institute’s Board of Trustees after
presence for IRRI on the facility even beautiful background image and they its September 2006 meeting, which,
with its own URL: http://books.irri. built a page on their own Web site, in part, reads, “IRRI will release
org. “The new books join nearly 300 which allows users to download book its information products (software,
historic titles from the Institute’s PDFs from their site. This page is documents, multimedia, data), as
rich publishing history,” he says. dynamic, receiving an ISBN, which is much as possible, under a suitable
“Envisioning a time when it would passed from the GBS page and then open content license. Such license
be fundamental to have our scientific redirects the user to the appropriate shall allow copying, distribution, and
books—current and historic—available PDF download.” (usually) the creation of derivative

Book Search

1 Rice Today April-June 2009


IRRI books for Africa
and Asia
W
ith the recent closing down of the CPS book storage
facility at IRRI headquarters, about 38,450 IRRI books
(with a retail value of US$384,000) were shipped via
sea freight to Africa and Asia. One shipment of 17,000 books
topped off a container shipment of agricultural equipment to
Mozambique at no extra charge. These books arrived at IRRI’s

GLENN GREGORIO
East and Southern Africa Region office in Mozambique, the
Africa Rice Center’s (WARDA) office in Nigeria, and IRRI’s 11
country offices in South and Southeast Asia.
They are being redistributed to needy national libraries
across these regions. New IRRI publishing policies in the digital age, which will require lower book pressruns in the future,
negate the need for a book storage warehouse at headquarters.
In the photo at left, Glenn Gregorio, IRRI’s rice breeder for
Africa based at the WARDA office in Nigeria, determines some
of the titles to ship to West Africa in consultation with Anna
Arsenal, former CPS marketing and fulfillment specialist.
The photo above shows some of the books being used in
one of their new homes, the IRRI-Office library at the WARDA
Nigeria station of the International Institute for Tropical
Agriculture in Ibadan. The users are trainees of IRRI and WARDA
coming from different Nigerian agricultural universities. Says Dr.
Gregorio, “Friday afternoon is a special time for them because
they attend lectures on rice breeding and biotechnology and
GENE HETTEL

they get to use the library. Books on rice statistics, the Rice
Almanac, and biotechnology titles are their favorites.”

products; prohibit commercialization; com/irrivideo), which compositely However, IRRI’s CC policy has
and require attribution as well as have had some 75,000 views. presented the CPS staff with some
the release of derivative products According to Marco van den new challenges when they deal
under the same license as the original Berg, ITS manager, the digital with science publishers looking to
product was released by IRRI, hence, distribution of IRRI information copublish some of IRRI’s books,
some rights reserved.” and photos achieved via GBS and most of whom still request exclusive
This new Creative Commons flickr gives access to audiences publication rights if not downright
(CC) policy, which covers Rice Today that have been difficult to reach copyright assignment.
as well as spelled out at the bottom using traditional methods, for a According to Bill Hardy, IRRI
of the contents page, doesn’t really variety of reasons. “Among the top senior science editor and publisher,
change IRRI’s long-standing policy 25 countries that have downloaded some conflicts with potential
of always granting permission to books from our co-branded GBS copublishers that are not on the
use its information products for site are Vietnam, Iran, Indonesia, CC bandwagon include the outside
noncommercial purposes. “This new Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, publisher’s interest in having
policy simply bypasses the ‘permission and Myanmar,” he says. hard-copy commercial sales and
requirement’ altogether and clarifies Anyone can now obtain, a perpetual license. IRRI, on the
and enhances the Institute’s intention repurpose, distribute, and even other hand, has primary interests
where sharing of information is modify the content (self-service in delivering global public goods
concerned,” says Mr. Hettel. publishing) of IRRI publications, and providing free online access
In addition to placing books on photos, and videos with proper to its communication products.
GBS, IRRI has embraced this policy attribution using CC licenses. “Even so,” says Dr. Hardy, “IRRI is
by placing this same CC statement tackling these issues by drafting some
on its Web site (http://irri.org) and creative contractual arrangements
featuring some 4,500 images on the and compromises with some flexible
public photo management facility, copublishers, such as World Scientific
flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/ in Singapore, with which IRRI has
ricephotos), and some 60 videos and recently copublished Rice Genetics V,
counting on YouTube (www.youtube. Charting New Pathways to C4 Rice,

Rice Today April-June 2009 1


and Drought Frontiers in Rice (see albeit in a much “None of those,” says
New Books, below).” smaller volume. Mr. Hettel, “although
There is a lot of interest in the We will continue to there is certainly
publishing world in how institutions distribute traditional interest in these
such as IRRI are adopting CC and books to our nearly important topics to be
dealing with publishers who still 300 institutional sure. With just over
prefer “all rights reserved.” In depository libraries 5,600 book visits and
February and March 2009, Mr. Hettel and to others around more than 71,500
gave presentations on Adopting the world indicating page views, Small
and Utilizing Creative Commons a need. When we Farm Equipment for
to Facilitate the Dissemination of recently liquidated Developing Countries,
Rice Knowledge and Technology the inventory in our a 22-year-old out-of-
at the Regional Conference on closed-down book print proceedings of
Creative Commons in Manila storage facility on a conference of the
and the Symposium on Common the IRRI campus, we same name held at
Use Licensing of Publicly Funded made special efforts IRRI headquarters in
Scientific Data and Publications in to distribute these September 1985, wins
Taipei, respectively. books to needy libraries instead of the prize! This just goes to show that
According to Internet World shredding them.” (See IRRI books for newly digitized titles, which have not
Stats, as of 31 December 2008, only Africa and Asia, on page 15.) ‘seen the light of day’ for years in their
17.2% of Asia’s population and 5.6% So, some may wonder, which traditional format, can still have value
of Africa’s use the Internet. “Because IRRI book is, so far, the most popular and useful information to reveal—all
so many of our clients on these among the more than 200,000 book thanks to the digital age.”
continents are not yet wired to the visits and 2.5 million page views on
Internet,” says Dr. Hardy, “traditional GBS? Might it be about the latest
book production will be in IRRI’s on water management, coping with Mr. Sackville Hamilton is a former
future for some time to come, drought, or direct seeding of rice? CPS intern.

NEW BOOKS www.irri.org/publications

Trust in the Seed b.choudhary@cgiar.org and k.gaur@ (http://seeds.irri.org/drought), which


B. Chaudhary and K. Gaur; published by cgiar.org. To download a PDF copy of focuses on improving rice’s resistance
International Service for the Acquisition of the book, visit www.isaaa.org/resources/ to drought. For orders, email World
Agribiotech Applications. publications. Scientific at sales@wspc.com.sg.
This book is the latest publication of the
International Service for the Acquisition Drought Frontiers in Rice: Pathways from Poverty
of Agribiotech Applications (ISAAA). It Crop Improvement for Increased A. Orr with B. Adolph, Md. R. Islam,
highlights the significance of the seed Rainfed Production H. Rahman, B. Barua, and M. K. Roy;
and new crop Edited by R. Serraj, J. Bennett, and B. Hardy; published by The University Press Limited.
technologies. It published by the International Rice Research This book probes
captures three Institute (IRRI) and World Scientific. behind the
key development This book describes some of the statistics showing
experiences in recent advances in drought genetics declining poverty
Indian agriculture and physiology and the integration of in Bangladesh to
that sustained its highly efficient explore the process
growth, helped breeding and of getting out of
increase food genetics analysis poverty. Using a
production, and techniques variety of qualitative
eased the plight with functional methods, including
of the hungry. In genomics. The thirty household
essence, the book depicts the willingness study featured in case studies, and
of poor small farmers to embrace this publication based on research in three villages
improved seeds and adopt technologies paved the way representing different rice ecosystems,
to overcome production constraints and for the launching the authors seek to understand this
increase their income. For orders, contact of the Drought process from the inside. For orders, email
the ISAAA South Asia Office through Frontiers project University Press Ltd. at upl@bangla.net.

16 Rice Today April-June 2009


www.trtamericas.com
 The Rice Trader's "Rice Americas 2009" is the region’s
most authoritative rice forum with powerful networking 12-14 May 2009
opportunities.
Hyatt Regency
 Experts from North, South, and Central America
and the Caribbean will present relevant and current Miami, FL, USA
information to prepare you for 2009. Register today!

Build Your Brand.


Sponsorship opportunities will enable
your organization to showcase your business to
hundreds of industry players and decision
makers.

Gain Market Recognition.


Delegate representation at The Rice
Trader's "Rice Americas 2009" conference
will show your support for the rice industry
and create invaluable business opportunities.

Register today at www.trtamericas.com or call +1 530.345.4140 and ask for Mr. Brad Rudkin
STRENGTHENING
THE SYSTEM Story and photos by Adam Barclay

FOR 15 YEARS, THE RICE-WHEAT CONSORTIUM OF THE INDO-GANGETIC PLAINS HAS


BEEN WORKING TO HELP SOUTH ASIAN FARMERS REDUCE THEIR COSTS, INCREASE THEIR
PRODUCTIVITY, AND HELP THE ENVIRONMENT

I
n the early 1990s, the alarming because Philaris was the land six to eight times before
northwestern Indian state of causing havoc across the rice-wheat planting rice. Although zero-tillage
Haryana—one of the country’s belt, responsible for the vast majority wheat would undoubtedly save labor
most agriculturally productive— of the state’s wheat production costs, previous efforts to test the
faced a crisis. A weed, and employment. In the 1993-94 method had failed to gain traction.
Philaris minor
minor, had season, wheat yields crashed. The This time around, however, things
evolved resistance to only solution seemed to be newer would turn out rather differently.
all commonly available but more expensive herbicides. To Prof. Malik’s happy surprise,
herbicides. This Haryana’s farmers and not only did zero tillage cut costs, it
was particularly agricultural experts also solved the Philaris problem—the
were desperate. weed seeds inhabited the upper
In an attempt to 5 centimeters of the soil; any sort
reduce farmers’ costs of tillage resulted in substantial
and make the new Philaris emergence. Better still,
herbicides affordable, it saved farmers 2 weeks after the
R.K. Malik and rice harvest, allowing wheat to
his colleagues be planted at the optimal time in
at Haryana early November. When farmers
Agricultural spend time tilling the land after
University harvesting rice, wheat planting tends
in Hissar to occur later than is ideal, with
convinced a the attendant lower temperatures
few farmers to leading to a yield penalty of around
use a simple 50 kilograms per hectare for every
tractor-pulled day that planting is delayed.
planting machine “Although zero tillage wasn’t a
that allowed wheat part of the management strategy for
to be sowed without Philaris,” recalls Prof. Malik, “the
first tilling the land magnitude of the problem meant that
following the rice farmers were desperate, and therefore
harvest. The usual very open to new technologies.”
practice was to till Prof. Malik says that this
atmosphere converged with the
establishment in 1994 of the
Jagdeep Singh Dhillon tows a Happy Seeder behind a Rice-Wheat Consortium (RWC),
tractor. punjab State’s first farmer to sow his entire
wheat crop with a Happy Seeder, he has pledged to currently led by the International
“never, ever burn rice residue again.”

1 Rice Today April-June 2009


Feeding half the world
What is the Rice-Wheat Consortium and why is it important?

M ore than 3.1 billion people living


in South Asia and China—almost
half of humanity—depend on rice and
The consortium brings together
the national agricultural systems of
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan
wheat production for food. In a rice-wheat (with China as an associate member);
“system,” farmers grow at least one rice CGIAR-supported centers, including
and one wheat crop on the same piece of the International Rice Research Institute
land each year. In South Asia, the rice- (IRRI), the International Maize and
wheat region occupies nearly 13.5 million Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT),
hectares across the Indo-Gangetic Plains of the International Water Management
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. This Institute, the International Crops Research
region alone is home to 1.2 billion people, Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics,
fOR MORe than 1 years, agronomist R.K. Malik has nearly 40% of whom live in extreme the International Potato Center, and
advocated zero-till wheat in the rice-wheat region
poverty. Rice and wheat account for 90% the International Livestock Research
of Haryana State.
of the region’s total cereal production and, Institute; the Asian Vegetable Research
with the population growing at more than and Development Center; and several
Rice Research Institute (IRRI) but 2% annually, there are more than 20 million advanced research institutes, including
led then by the International Maize additional mouths to feed each year. Cornell University, CABI, the International
and Wheat Improvement Center Over the past 30 years, the rice- Agricultural Centre Wageningen, and
(CIMMYT) under soil scientist Peter wheat system has emerged as the region’s Rothamsted Research. Currently, IRRI
Hobbs, now at Cornell University. major production system, accounting serves as the convening center.
With farmers open to change and the for more than 30% of the total rice area The RWC’s key roles are as
RWC bringing together researchers, and 40% of the total wheat area, and an innovator and supplier of new
policymakers, and the private producing nearly one-third of the region’s knowledge for the rice-wheat system,
sector, momentum built quickly. rice and more than half of its wheat. a “clearinghouse” for new approaches
“The process of doing research During the Green Revolution era, and technologies, and facilitator and
changed,” says Prof. Malik. “We production increases resulted from catalyst of research for development.
went straight to farmers’ fields expansion in both rice-wheat area and The development and dissemination
and started to make farmers our productivity. Now, however, with little of resource-conserving technologies are
partners. The RWC provided us additional land available, future demand a key goal for the consortium. By the end
with four zero-tillage machines, growth will have to be met mainly through of 2007, around 0.5 million farmers used
which we immediately used to increases in yield. Further, the average 2% such technologies on 4 million hectares
plant trial wheat crops in four per year rice and wheat yield increases of agricultural land: zero till, reduced till,
villages in different districts. seen from 1970 to 1990 have dropped surface seeding, and bed planting of wheat
“We weren’t even sure if the off with a combination of environmental (1.94 million hectares); direct-seeded rice
crop would grow,” he added. We factors—such as declining soil health and (0.19 million hectares); laser land leveling
visited some of the fields, about 70 access to irrigation—and reduced support (0.07 million hectares); crop diversification
kilometers away, every day. Our first for public agricultural research causing (1.80 million hectares); the leaf color chart
observation was that not only did the yields to stagnate over the past 2 decades. (0.06 million hectares); and unpuddled
crop emerge, but it emerged at least The challenges are to produce transplanted rice (0.01 million hectares).
2 days earlier than with conventional more food at less cost and to improve The further development of the
practice. With those four machines, water productivity. Farmers need rice-wheat system received a boost in
we planted about 6 hectares, all of alternatives to help them conserve early 2009 with the announcement of
which performed wonderfully.” energy and water resources, reduce a major new project named the Cereal
In the 1994-95 season, despite greenhouse gas emissions, and improve Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA).
much initial resistance from farmers, the quality of life for farm families. To With funding from the Bill & Melinda
Haryana Agricultural University, with address these challenges, the Rice-Wheat Gates Foundation and the United States
the support of the RWC, expanded Consortium (RWC) for the Indo-Gangetic Agency for International Development, the
the zero-tillage trials to around 25 Plains was established in 1994 by the initiative will be led by IRRI in partnership
hectares throughout the rice-wheat Consultative Group on International with CIMMYT and the International
area of Haryana. Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Food Policy Research Institute.

Rice Today April-June 2009 19


“There was a huge gain in the United States Agency for
productivity,” says Prof. Malik. “At International Development, and the
the height of the Philaris problem, United Kingdom’s Department for
farmers would harvest 1.5, 1.6, International Development—and
maximum 2 tons per hectare. the Indian Council for Agricultural
With zero tillage, they were Research put its weight behind
harvesting 4.5 tons or more.” the initiative. The number of RWC
The technology provided projects grew rapidly and, according
additional opportunities for income, to R.K. Gupta, former regional
too. After the second year, some facilitator of the RWC, a critical mass
farmers bought machines and, as of scientists turned their coordinated
well as sowing their own fields, hired attention to the rice-wheat system.
the machines out to their neighbors, In Haryana in 2007-08, 0.6
a practice known as custom hiring. million hectares of agricultural land A fARMeR inspects a seed drill at a central Soil
Support for zero tillage was planted using zero tillage. The Salinity Research Institute field day in October
grew among farmers as well as figure across the rice-wheat region 00 at the institute headquarters in Karnal,
Haryana.
policymakers, with the state of the Indo-Gangetic Plains was
government in 1998-99 offering almost 2 million hectares out of a
a 50% subsidy to farmers to buy total of almost 13.5 million hectares. Bijay Singh, “so, if we want to
their own machines. Commercial But it is not only the results sustain high productivity, it’s very,
opportunities for the private sector on the land that have benefited very important that farmers adopt
were boosted accordingly—when farmers. Prof. Malik says that one resource-conserving technologies
subsidies were introduced, there of the most important things to that can improve soil health.”
were only two manufacturers of come out of zero tillage and the Development and dissemination
zero-tillage machines. By 2003- accompanying movement, known of resource-conserving technologies
04, this number had reached as conservation agriculture, is the are a key plank of the RWC. As well
70 across Haryana and the change in the way research is done. as zero-till wheat, such technologies
neighboring state of Punjab, and “Scientists and policymakers are include a leaf color chart that allows
in 2007-08 was close to 100. now convinced that the participation farmers to easily determine when and
With the RWC acting as a of farmers in research—the bottom- how much nitrogen fertilizer should
catalyst, national and international up approach—is really more be added to their rice crop, and laser
interest grew among research fruitful,” he says. “The management land leveling, which promotes better
organizations, nongovernmental of site-specific issues has to be crop establishment and reduces water
organizations, governments, and done in a participatory way.” use by up to a third. This technology,
the private sector. More funding In Punjab, immediately which should be used once every 3
agencies came on board—particularly northwest of Haryana, scientists at years or so, has been a big success in
the Asian Development Bank, the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Punjab, with the number of leveling
Australian Centre for International in Ludhiana are concerned about machines growing exponentially each
Agricultural Research (ACIAR), maintaining the high productivity year: one in 2005, eight in 2006,
enjoyed by 150 in 2007, and 650 in 2008.
farmers in this Another key resource-
state, known conserving activity—performed in
as India’s combination with zero tillage—is
breadbasket. returning to the soil rice straw left
Despite relatively in the field after harvest, rather
poor soils, Punjab than removing or burning it.
achieves the “When you till, you lose organic
country’s best matter, which leads to poor soil
rice and wheat health,” says Prof. Bijay Singh.
yields, but these “By avoiding tillage and keeping
have stagnated residue in the field, we return
in recent years. organic matter to the soil, which
“Punjab maintains or improves soil health.”
soils are Further, by returning residue
AGRIcuLtuRAL eNGINeeR Harminder Singh Sidhu, with an early-generation characteristically to the soil, farmers circumvent
Happy Seeder, says that farmers must combine a range of resource-conserving low in organic what has become a major problem
technologies if they are to achieve the productivity gains required to meet matter,” explains in the rice-wheat region of India.
growing demand.
soil scientist Despite laws (which are generally

0 Rice Today April-June 2009


Zero-till hero
A round 10 years ago, Indian rice-
wheat farmer Raj Kumar planted
his wheat without first tilling his
says Mr. Kumar. “The fact that more
and more drills keep coming into
the village is a sign of success.”
soil. His neighbors laughed, telling With better incomes, farmers
him he had wasted his seed. are able to buy more land and better
“Then, when they saw my crop,” vehicles, and send their children to good
recalls Mr. Kumar, “they became schools. It also means less drudgery.
converts to zero tillage themselves.” “My family feels good because I can
Mr. Kumar had been introduced to finish sowing in 1 week and spend more
zero tillage by R.K. Malik, an agronomist at time with them,” says Mr. Kumar. “More
Haryana Agricultural University working income means our standard of living
with the Rice-Wheat Consortium (RWC). and overall happiness have gone up.”
Now, most of Mr. Kumar’s fellow farmers Mr. Kumar says that the participatory
J.K. Ladha, Rice-Wheat Consortium coordinator. in his home village of Bainsi, as well as process fostered by the RWC, in which
in many other villages in Rohtak District, farmers work much more closely with
unenforced) to the contrary, most Haryana State, use the zero-till approach. scientists, is mutually beneficial. The
farmers deal with rice straw by In the 2008-09 wheat season, Mr. farmers get access to new technologies
burning it, with dire environmental Kumar planted his entire 24-hectare farm and the scientists get excellent feedback
and health consequences. The air in using zero tillage. Using his “zero-till seed- on their work. In the case of zero tillage,
Punjab and Haryana in November, cum-fertilizer drill,” he was able to finish Mr. Kumar has no doubt that it is the
just before wheat is sown, is thick planting in the first week of November, way of the future in this region.
with an acrid smoky haze, the around 20 days earlier than when he used “To progress, farmers in the rice-
result of tens of thousands of to till the land six to ten times prior to wheat system need to adopt zero tillage,”
hectares of burning rice straw. sowing. As a result, the wheat is planted he says. “If they don’t, they’ll be behind.”
The problem for Prof. Bijay when temperatures are optimum and his
Singh and his PAU colleagues yields are around 0.5 tons per hectare
Yadvinder Singh, a fellow soil higher. Not only that, without the need *Exchange rates are approximate for 14 January 2009.
scientist, and Harminder Singh to till, his tractor experiences less wear
Sidhu, an agricultural engineer, and tear and he spends
is that by avoiding tillage—which less money on diesel.
allows incorporation of rice residue Growing zero-till wheat
into the soil—farmers were left with costs Mr. Kumar 3,750 Indian
fields full of thick, hardy rice straw rupees (US$75) less per
that needed to be removed. Their hectare than when he tilled
challenge was to enable farmers and his income is $200−250
to sow their wheat while leaving per hectare higher. The
their rice residue in the field. seed drill itself cost $600
“Early zero-till machines couldn’t and he made that money
operate through rice residue,” back through increased
explains Dr. Sidhu. “Farmers profit in the first season.
wanted to adopt the conservation “Other farmers
agriculture technologies but had in the district have
no option other than to burn.” had similar results,”
Enter the Happy Seeder. Through
funding from ACIAR, the RWC and
Punjab Agricultural University have
Rice-wheat farmer Raj
worked to refine and distribute this Kumar (left) stands in his
machine, which can sow wheat seeds recently planted wheat
through rice residue into untilled field with neighboring
farmer Dinesh Kumar. Using
soil while simultaneously applying a zero-till drill to sow his
fertilizer. The Happy Seeder was wheat seeds, Raj Kumar
first developed in the early 2000s cuts his labor requirements
and plants his wheat at the
by John Blackwell, professor of optimum time of year, around
agricultural water technology at 20 days earlier than when he
Charles Sturt University in Australia, used to till.

Rice Today April-June 2009 21


be adopted widely: “A farmer
can afford a match but not
necessarily a Happy Seeder.”
According to Dr. Sidhu, the
combination of these technologies will
allow farmers to make huge strides.
“If we laser-level first, then use a
Happy Seeder, the performance is
much better—we have to superimpose
these technologies,” he says.
To do this, says Dr. Yadvinder
Singh, “We need local champions—
people like Jagdeep Singh
Dhillon—to spread the word.”
Mr. Dhillon, who grows rice
Recently planted wheat seedlings emerge through rice straw in Raj Kumar's untilled field (see Zero-till and wheat on 6.5 hectares in Kanoi
hero on page 21). Village, Sangrur District, Punjab, was
in 2008 the state’s first farmer to sow
who was at that time working at notes that only a few hundred have his entire wheat crop with a Happy
the Commonwealth Scientific and been made, but, as more farmers Seeder. For the previous 7 years, he
Industrial Research Organisation. use them, others are seeing the grew zero-till wheat but, without
“I’d been asked to think about results and the rate of adoption is a Happy Seeder, burned his rice
sowing wheat into rice residue,” accelerating. “That’s how it has to go; residue. Now, the rice straw remains
recalls Prof. Blackwell, “and there you can tell people how wonderful as mulch. Not only does he avoid the
was no easy answer. Rice has very it is as much as you like, but they problems of burning, but the mulch,
heavy yields of straw so any seed drill need to experience it,” he says. by trapping moisture and preventing
tends to get blocked. Using disks to “If we can prevent burning weed growth, also saves one to two
cut the straw works for a while but in South Asia and China—what a irrigations per wheat crop and allows
the disks quickly lose their edge in marvelous achievement!” adds Prof. Mr. Dhillon to avoid using herbicides.
rice straw because of its high silica Blackwell. “The health problems So impressed was he with
content. Then the straw ‘hairpins’ associated with burning, both human the results of the Happy Seeder
and is pushed into the seed furrow by and animal, are quite horrific.” that Mr. Dhillon visited his Sikh
the disk so the seed sits on top of the As with zero-till seed drills, Temple and pledged to “never,
straw and doesn’t germinate. This is he notes that custom hiring and ever burn rice residue again.”
why burning is the preferred residue government assistance will be As a member of PAU’s
management method—it’s so simple. necessary if the machine is to progressive farmers’ club, an RWC
“Initially, I thought it was
impossible but I had a ‘Eureka!’
moment. All around the world,
people manage grasslands with
something called a forage harvester,
which picks up grass and carts it to
cattle, or a silage pit, or whatever. So
I thought, why not just use a forage
harvester and mount a direct drill
behind it, so the drill is presented
with basically a bare surface.”
The first Happy Seeder was built
out of scrap at PAU and, although it
worked, it was a large, cumbersome
machine. Over the years, the
concept has been refined to the
point that the current generation
works well in up to 10 tons of
residue per hectare. Happy Seeders
are now being commercialized in Commercial manufacturers such as National Agro Industries, which manufactures zero-till seed drills like
this one, both help and benefit from the growth of resource-conserving technologies. The company, co-owned
India and Pakistan, and there is by Manmohan Singh (far right) along with his son Rajdeep Singh (second from left), employs 50 people.
interest in China. Prof. Blackwell

22 Rice Today April-June 2009


to evening on will hire out to other farmers.
the farm. I was According to J.K. Ladha, RWC
always busy. Now coordinator and IRRI representative
that I’m using for India, one of the consortium’s
resource-saving greatest achievements is bringing
technologies, my farmers into the research process as
production is up participators, not merely spectators
by 20% to 25%, or recipients.
and my labor “The RWC has applied a
requirements new model for farm technology
and cultivation development and dissemination,”
costs are down. says Dr. Ladha. “We have encouraged
J.K. LADHA (center) and R.K. Gupta (second from right), former regional
facilitator of the Rice-wheat consortium, inspect direct-seeded rice infested I have a lot more farmers, researchers, and extension
by wild rice. free time during agents to work as teams, with
which I can help farmers actively participating in
other farmers.” testing, refining, and promoting
initiative, Mr. Dhillon has been Before working with the PAU and technologies. Now, researchers
swapping ideas with the researchers the RWC, Mr. Dhillon would hire three often go straight to farmers’ fields
there since the mid-1990s. As such, or four laborers to weed, irrigate, and with promising innovations, rather
he is a prime example of the “farmer apply fertilizer. Now, he hires one than spending years in testing and
of the future,” sorely needed across or two workers (a doubly good thing refinement on research stations.”
the rice-wheat belt. By adopting with many farm workers moving With the new Cereal Systems
a suite of resource-conserving to the city to work in the industrial Initiative for South Asia (see Feeding
technologies—including laser land sector). By saving water, he saves half the world, page 19), the RWC is set
leveling, the leaf color chart for rice, money needed to buy diesel to work to continue its evolution into a major
the use of legume crops that act as the irrigation pump. The leaf color force for agricultural development.
green manures, and a tension meter chart has enabled him to reduce by “The returns of the RWC far
that indicates when irrigation is 20% his fertilizer applications to rice. exceed the investment made,”
necessary—Mr. Dhillon has achieved Mr. Dhillon’s improvements says Dr. Ladha. “The consortium
impressive results. In 2008, for have not only saved him money must continue to broaden its
example, as well as recording but also helped him improve his scope to embrace the emerging
excellent rice yields of 9 tons per income. With his spare time and challenges in South Asia.”
hectare, he has reduced the drudgery money, he has also bought nine
and cost of farm work substantially. buffaloes and begun a dairy business. Mr. Barclay is a freelance writer
“Ten years ago,” says Mr. Dhillon, He plans to buy his own Happy based in Australia and former Rice
“I spent all of my time from morning Seeder and laser leveler, which he Today editor.

BefORe pLANtING wheat, most rice-wheat farmers opt to burn their rice
straw—with dire environmental and health consequences. the Rice-wheat
consortium has developed alternatives, such as the Happy Seeder, that
enable farmers to keep rice residue in their fields.

Rice Today April-June 2009 3


GEne Hettel

Rice24
Today April-June 2009, Vol. 8, No. 2 Rice Today April-June 2009
International Rice Research Institute and University of California researchers
Rice visit
Today theApril-June
women 2009and children of Harir Danga Village in northwestern Bangladesh
25
near Rangpur. They are soliciting views on the flood-tolerant Sub1 rice varieties being planted in nearby fields. See following article on scuba rice.
GEnE HETTEL (2)

even after 17 days of submergence in irri research


plots, Sub1 rice lines show their “waterproof” trait as
they are still standing to the left, right, and further
behind irri plant physiologist Abdel ismail.

Scuba rice
Stemming the tide in flood-prone South Asia
by Adam Barclay

New versions of popular varieties of rice, which can withstand 2 weeks of complete submergence,
are set to make a big impact in South Asia

S
cientists had long known into some of the modern high-yielding
of an Indian rice variety, rice varieties planted over vast flood-
unromantically dubbed FR13A, prone areas across Asia.
that could handle a week or His reasoning, which emerged
more of complete submergence from discussions with IRRI
and recover sufficiently to offer a deepwater rice breeder Derk
reasonable harvest. Rice, although HilleRisLambers, was that a flood-
often grown in standing water, will tolerant version of a popular modern
drown like any other plant if hit with variety could have an enormous
severe flooding. impact. In Bangladesh and India,
Despite its remarkable for example, farmers suffer annual
properties, FR13A (FR stands for crop losses because of flooding of up
“flood resistant”), as a low-yielding to 4 million tons of rice—enough to
traditional variety grown across feed 30 million people. To the farm
limited areas in the Indian state families and workers, and to the poor
of Orissa, was never expected to consumers who rely on rice for the
make a big impact on a wide scale. bulk of their food, flooding can be
Nevertheless, rice breeders—including truly disastrous.
David Mackill, a young Californian So, the IRRI breeders—people
plant breeder working at the who spend their careers mixing irri PLANT breeder Dave Mackill (right) swaps
notes at Brri’s rangpur station with Uc Davis
International Rice Research Institute the genes of plants to develop new Professor Pam ronald.
(IRRI) in the 1980s—saw the potential varieties that can handle harsh
to breed FR13A’s sought-after trait climates, or resist diseases and pests,

26 Rice Today April-June 2009


or cope with problem soils—tried. Around the same time, following

aDam BarCLaY
And they succeeded. Sort of. They Dr. Ronald’s group’s success in
created higher-yielding rice plants proving that SUB1A was indeed the
that could handle major floods, right gene, Julia Bailey-Serres, a
but they never even got close to geneticist from UC Riverside who also
releasing them to farmers. During the worked on the gene’s identification,
breeding process, which transferred began investigating exactly how
to the modern varieties whichever SUB1A confers flood tolerance. It
genes were giving FR13A its flood turns out that the secret is all about
tolerance, too many unwanted genes saving energy.
moved across as well. The result With colleague Takeshi Fukao,
was poor-tasting, flood-tolerant rice Dr. Bailey-Serres has determined
that yielded no more than existing that, when submerged, rice without
varieties. And so the idea moved to SUB1A responds by increasing the
the back burner. pace of its elongation in an attempt to
In 1991, Dr. Mackill left IRRI escape the submergence. Deepwater
for the University of California (UC) rice varieties are able to do this
at Davis. With FR13A still on his rapidly enough to succeed. In modern
mind, he and his graduate student high-yielding varieties, however, the
Kenong Xu took up the challenge of Dr. iSMAiL and Uc riverside scientist Julia Bailey- elongation is insufficient. If the flood
identifying the genes responsible Serres share a laugh at Brri’s rangpur station. lasts for more than a few days, the
for FR13A’s scuba abilities. They normal varieties expend so much
eventually pinpointed the precise energy trying—unsuccessfully—to
stretch of DNA that made the variety SUB1A into widely grown modern escape that they’re unable to recover.
so interesting, and named the rice varieties without affecting other Submergence of FR13A or any of
assumed gene SUB1. characteristics—such as high yield, the new Sub1 varieties, on the other
The group subsequently teamed good grain quality, and pest and hand, activates the SUB1A gene,
up with another UC Davis researcher, disease resistance—that made the which suppresses this elongation
Pamela Ronald, an expert in isolating varieties popular in the first place. strategy, effectively shunting the rice
genes that give plants particular By 2006, the first Sub1 varieties plant into a dormant state until the
traits. Working in Dr. Ronald’s lab, were ready for testing at IRRI. The floodwaters recede. Thus, the plants
Dr. Xu and his wife, Xia, discovered researchers set up plots of what conserve their energy for a postflood
a single gene, which they named they hoped would be flood-tolerant recovery.
SUB1A, and demonstrated that this versions of several varieties—IR64, “Understanding things from this
alone was responsible for most of the Swarna, and Samba Mahsuri—next to very basic perspective should allow us
flood tolerance. plots of their non-Sub1 counterparts. to achieve an even better plant more
Dr. Mackill, who by now had Once the plants had established rapidly,” says Dr. Bailey-Serres.
returned to IRRI, realized that the themselves, the plots were flooded, According to Dr. Mackill, the
FR13A game was back on. By that completely submerging the rice for 15 Sub1 project has shown the advantage
time, 25 years after the first breeding days. Next, the water was drained to of combining practical, applied work
attempts, agricultural science had reveal muddy plots of limp, flattened, such as breeding and upstream,
come a long way. A new “precision- deathly looking plants. fundamental research.
breeding” method, known as marker- Then, a remarkable thing ““Knowing the exact gene
assisted selection (MAS; see On your happened. Within 2 weeks of the responsible for a trait is not absolutely
mark, get set, select on pages 28-29 flood, almost all of the Sub1 plants necessary for the MAS breeding
of Rice Today Vol. 3, No. 3; also see recovered. They came back to life approach, because a larger piece
From genes to farmers’ fields on as if coached by Lazarus1 himself. A of the chromosome is transferred,
pages 28-31 of Rice Today Vol. 5, No. few scattered clumps of the original normally containing many genes,”
4), allowed breeders to do much of versions made a comeback, but there he says. “However, by understanding
their work in the lab. The new method was no comparison. At harvest, the the processes triggered by SUB1A in
shortened the breeding process and Sub1 rice yielded more than twice detail, “we hope to improve on the
vastly improved the precision with as much as its neighbor (to view a existing Sub1 varieties by identifying
which specific traits could be moved dramatic time-lapse video of the novel flood-tolerance genes that
from one variety into another. He experiment, visit http://snipurl. allow us to develop hardier plants
and his team were able to transfer com/ebql8). that survive even longer periods of

1
A Biblical name used to connote apparent restoration to life.

Rice Today April-June 2009 27


flooding, yet retain the characteristics

aDam BarCLaY (5)


that farmers want.”
With the Sub1 concept well and
truly proved, seeds were sent for
testing and refinement to national
organizations in South Asia, including
the Bangladesh Rice Research
Institute (BRRI) and, in India, the
Central Rice Research Institute
(CRRI) in Orissa and Narendra
Dev University of Agriculture and
Technology in Faizabad, Uttar
Pradesh. The trial results there were
also extremely promising.
In short, scientists had developed
rice that could handle more than a
week’s flooding with almost no loss
of yield (1 week is enough to severely
dent the harvest of the nontolerant
versions) and would recover to Brri ScieNTiST M.A. Mazid (second from right) speaks to onlookers about the success of farmer Mostafa
produce a reasonable yield after even Kamal’s (right) flood-tolerant rice trials. Mr. Kamal’s neighbor, Mohammad Shahidul islam (left), is keen to
grow the new varieties himself.
2 weeks’ submergence (enough to
almost wipe out nontolerant versions).
Aside from the flood tolerance, the varieties in farmers’ fields. In Mohammad Firoze Shah Shikder
new varieties were virtually identical this setting, there was no way of says that successful flood-tolerant
to their counterparts: farmers would controlling when flooding would rice could substantially reduce, if not
be able to manage them in exactly occur, how long it would last, or eliminate, the country’s imports.
the same way and, in the absence of whether it would even happen at all. “Sub1 varieties will add to the
flooding, achieve the same yield. Moving forward to November total production of the country,” he
But, as any agricultural scientist 2008, to a small farm in Rangpur says. “They will save a lot of money
will tell you, there is a vast gulf District in northwestern Bangladesh, that would otherwise be used for
between the tightly controlled researchers from IRRI, UC, and importing rice.”
environment of the experiment national institutes in India and Moreover, within that single,
station and the more capricious Bangladesh commenced a South large-scale outcome, there would be
nature of a real farm. By 2007, Asian tour to mark the completion of thousands and thousands of equally
the time had come to test the Sub1 the project From genes to farmers’ positive, smaller-scale achievements.
fields: enhancing and stabilizing Many farm families, eking out a living
productivity of rice in submergence- on less than a hectare, could ensure
prone environments, funded from that they had enough rice to eat year-
2004 to 2008 by Germany’s Federal round. Others would harvest enough
Ministry for Economic Cooperation to sell their surplus on the market and
and Development (BMZ). increase their income.
If ever there was a country with Mostafa Kamal is one of the
flooding problems, Bangladesh is it. farmers BRRI recruited to test the
More than 1 million hectares—20%— Sub1 varieties in his field. He and his
of the country’s rice lands are flood brothers have a 6-hectare farm—large
prone. by Bangladeshi standards—that needs
“In those areas where flooding to produce enough rice each year to
occurs once or twice and recedes feed 22 members of the Kamal family.
within 12–14 days,” says BRRI The farm suffers heavy losses because
Principal Scientific Officer M.A. Mazid, of flooding every 4 out of 5 years.
who has overseen the Sub1 trials at “In the past, many of my plots
BRRI’s Rangpur station, “the Sub1 became fallow because they were
varieties could survive and improve flooded too often,” says Mr. Kamal,
Brri DirecTOr General Mohammad firoze Shah
yields by up to 3 tons per hectare.” referring to the lowest-lying 2
Shikder (left) and Brri scientist M.A. Mazid explain Given that Bangladesh is forced hectares of the farm. “If we can
the flood-tolerant rice trials carried out at Brri’s to import around 2 million tons of cultivate on these plots, it will help
rangpur station.
rice each year, BRRI Director General us produce rice to sell on the market.

28 Rice Today April-June 2009


Two extra hectares is a big jump.” natural flooding for 15 days—the
So, how did the flood-tolerant maximum time we think SUB1A
varieties fare? Twenty-three days should be able to withstand—and it’s
after the 8 July transplanting of working. It’s really fantastic.”
the 2008 wet-season crop, the farm A short flight away in eastern
was hit by a 15-day flood. When the India, it is the same story. The states
waters receded, Mr. Kamal witnessed of West Bengal and Orissa, along
a wonderful thing. In his Sub1 plots, with Uttar Pradesh in the northeast,
95–98% of the plants recovered. In have all seen equally promising trial
the non-Sub1 plots, the figure was results and plan to completely replace
10–12%. Many of his neighboring Swarna with Swarna-Sub1 as soon
farmers, who were not involved as it is officially released by state
in the trial, lost their entire crops. seed certification agencies. In West
So encouraged was Mr. Kamal, he Bengal, Swarna dominates, with 80%
planned to give away—not sell—a of the rice area already planted to
kilogram of flood-tolerant seeds to the variety. A move to Swarna-Sub1
each of his neighbors. would therefore be relatively easy and
“When I saw Mostafa’s field stands to have enormous impact.
flooded, and then saw it recover, I was fOLLOWiNG A 10-DAY flood, Orissa farmer Bidhu “Forget Swarna! Go for Swarna-
surprised—it was like magic,” recalls Bhusan raut saw his Swarna-Sub1 recover well Sub1!” is the advice from Basant
while his nontolerant Gayatri perished. “Better
Mr. Kamal’s neighbor, Mohammad yielding is better living,” he says. Kumar Rao, a rice farmer from
Shahidul Islam. The annual flash Nuagaon Village near Cuttack in
floods mean that Mr. Islam grows Orissa. “I trust Swarna-Sub1. I’ll keep
rice on only the upper half of his 1.6- he says, “will mean more food, higher growing it. I got good money for it in
hectare farm in the wet season. Each income, and a better livelihood.” 2007,” he says.
year, he needs to buy 1 to 2 months’ Observing the success of the That year, his farm was hit by
worth of rice to cover his family’s flood-tolerant varieties in Bangladesh two floods, one of 11 days and one
shortfall. He believes that flood- was a watershed moment for Sigrid of 7 days. The flood-tolerant rice
tolerant varieties will allow him to Heuer, an IRRI molecular biologist recovered after both floods and,
plant on his low-lying 0.8 hectare and who contributed to the analysis of although he was able to salvage a
cover that shortage. “These varieties,” SUB1A. little of his regular Swarna, it yielded
“I knew all along SUB1A was nowhere near as well.
working in any type of rice we put it “Better yielding is better living,”
in,” she says. “I’ve seen it many times according to another Orissa farmer,
at IRRI and I’ve seen the data from Bidhu Bhusan Raut. In the 2008 wet
the field experiments in India. But I’d season, Mr. Raut grew Gayatri, a
never seen it in farmers’ fields with popular Indian variety, and Swarna-
my own eyes. Here, I’ve seen it after Sub1 on his entire 1-hectare farm.

“fOrGeT SWArNA! Go for Swarna-Sub1!” says


Basant Kumar rao, a rice farmer from Nuagaon
Village near cuttack in Orissa. here, he stands in
his crop of Swarna-Sub1, which recovered well after The DeVeLOPMeNT and testing of flood-tolerant rice varieties—on show here at Brri’s rangpur station—
two floods hit his farm in the 2007 wet season. have attracted keen interest from plant scientists across the world.

Rice Today April-June 2009 29


After a 10-day flood, the Sub1 plants simply had to face flooding and blame many new varieties to come out
recovered well, while the Gayatri their luck if they didn’t get a harvest.” as products of MAS. If you have a
plants perished. IRRI plant physiologist submergence-tolerant or salt-tolerant
According to CRRI Director Abdel Ismail, who is studying the variety, for example, you want it to
T.K. Adhya, the release of flood- mechanism of SUB1A’s action, says go to the field as quickly as possible,
tolerant rice has become more and there is a strong case for rapid release where it can make a big difference.”
more important as India has grown of the new varieties. N. Shobha Rani, principal scientist
economically. “When you develop varieties at India’s Directorate of Rice Research,
“People used to grow rice in more using marker-assisted selection,” he says that traditionally bred rice must
favorable areas, where you had an says, “you do not change the variety undergo testing for 3 years in all-India
assured source of water and good soil much. Because the SUB1A gene is trials, but this has been reduced to 2
quality,” he explains. “Now, those very specific in its expression and years for MAS-derived varieties.
interior areas are being taken over action during submergence, the Sub1 “The second year of testing is
by human habitation and industry, varieties should not have any other 2009,” says Dr. Rani, “so, April 2010
so farmers are forced onto marginal problems—such as susceptibility is the earliest time the Sub1 varieties
lands in the coastal areas where to diseases or insects—that their could be recommended by the Central
flooding, salinity, and many other nontolerant counterparts wouldn’t Variety Release Committee for
problems occur. In the past, farmers have also. In the future, we expect national release.” She notes, however,
that release could occur on a state
basis before then.
aDam BarCLaY (4)

In fact, on 27 February 2009,


only a few months after Dr. Rani
talked to Rice Today, the Uttar
Pradesh State Varietal Release
Committee officially released
Swarna-Sub1. Being nearly identical—
apart from its flood tolerance—to
Swarna, this inaugural release of
a Sub1 mega-variety occurred very
quickly: only 6 years after the first
cross was made at IRRI.
A quick release is also possible
because plants developed through
MAS are not transgenic (that is,
genes of interest are transferred to
the target species or variety using
eXAMiNiNG TriALS at Brri headquarters in Gazipur, K.M. iftekharuddaula (right) has bred flood tolerance particular biotechnological tools
into popular Bangladeshi rice variety Br11, which accounts for more than one-third of the country’s rather than conventional breeding).
wet-season plantings.
Therefore, the new Sub1 varieties are

30 Rice Today April-June 2009


third of the country’s wet-season “This work has shown that you can
plantings. After completing his thesis get a single gene of great agronomic
research, he returned to Bangladesh, value. I think this has set the tone for
where he is now the BRRI breeder solving other major difficulties in the
responsible for refining BR11-Sub1 field, such as problem soils.”
varieties for official release. The story of the SUB1 research
“We are very much hopeful that underscores the capacity of science
we’ll be able to release at least two to improve people’s lives, as well
varieties from our efforts,” says Mr. as the power inherent in a gene. It
Iftekharuddaula, who is also working seems a long and unlikely journey
with IRRI to incorporate disease from experimental plots in the
resistance and salinity tolerance into Philippines and the laboratory
BR11-Sub1. benches in California to a small farm
A PATch of the popular rice variety Swarna As Sub1 varieties are officially in Bangladesh.
lies flattened and dying after several days of released over the next 2 years, For Drs. Ronald and Bailey-
flooding. in contrast, the flood-tolerant version,
Swarna-Sub1, rebounds to good health. the key will be dissemination to Serres, the chance to get out of the
smallholder farmers in flood-prone lab and see the Sub1 varieties in
areas. IRRI is leading this initiative farmers’ fields has been a profound
through the project Stress-Tolerant experience.
not subject to the regulatory testing Rice for Poor Farmers in Africa “It was amazing to see that this
that can delay release of transgenic and South Asia, funded by the Bill detailed genetic and physiological
products for several years. & Melinda Gates Foundation. IRRI analysis ultimately has potential for a
The Sub1 trait also came along is also collaborating with national grand impact on people who are often
with an additional bonus, a gene organizations to test Sub1 varieties in living in pretty desperate situations,”
linked to SUB1A that turns the Southeast Asian countries, including Dr. Bailey-Serres says.
normally golden color of the hull of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Even Dr. Heuer, who, through her
Swarna into a straw color. Although Vietnam, and the Philippines, work at IRRI, is no stranger to Asia’s
the hull color is not considered an through a project funded by Japan’s rice fields, has been moved. “I had no
important varietal requirement, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. idea about the impact we can have
this allows the seeds of Swarna- Dr. Ismail adds that SUB1A’s before seeing it with my own eyes,”
Sub1 to be easily distinguished effectiveness offers hope for research she adds. “I’ve learned about the
from those of Swarna. This will be into tolerance of other so-called abiotic power of agricultural research here.
useful to maintain seed purity as stresses, such as drought and salinity. I think it will have a huge impact.”
seed producers start ramping up the “The general notion with abiotic
production of foundation seed for stresses used to be that it would be Mr. Barclay is a freelance writer
distribution to farmers. very difficult to find a single gene that based in Australia. See www.irri.
Another success to emerge can make much difference,” he says. org/flood-proof-rice.
from the Sub1 work has been
the strengthening of national
organizations such as BRRI and
CRRI.
“In India now, MAS has a lot of
support from the government,” says
Dr. Ismail. “In Bangladesh, BRRI has
its own lab for MAS, and not just for
SUB1. In the national agricultural
research and extension systems, the
project has boosted capacity through
resources and expertise, and also
through government support.”
BRRI researcher K.M.
Iftekharuddaula is a good example.
He carried out his Ph.D. research
under Dr. Mackill’s supervision at
IRRI headquarters in the Philippines,
developing a flood-tolerant version
irri MOLecULAr biologist Sigrid heuer (center) with her Ph.D. student Namrata Singh (left) and irri
of popular Bangladeshi variety BR11, assistant scientist Darlene Sanchez at the chinsurah rice research Station, in West Bengal, india.
which accounts for more than one-

Rice Today April-June 2009 31


EASING THE
PLIGHT OF THE
HUNGRY
by Trina Leah Mendoza and David Johnson

Monga (hunger months) occurs every year in Bangladesh.


Researchers revisited the country in 2008 to find out how
some farming technologies were able to help families cope
during these tough times

TrIna LEaH mEnDOZa (2)


A fArMer takes a break from weeding his field and eats lunch brought by
his wife. for many farming families, lunch consists of just rice and curry.

I
n Bangladesh, hunger and poverty some management options could institutions and nongovernment
are part of the sad reality. Here, help soften the blow on the people. organizations (NGOs), including
in one of the poorest and most The IRRC is a regional partnership Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service,
densely populated nations in program of the International Rice Solidarity, Intercooperation, and
the world, millions of people suffer Research Institute (IRRI), with 11 Grameen Atto Unnayn Sangstha.
from severe hunger each year. The countries committed to developing Together, they are promoting
streets of Dhaka City are dotted with rice-growing technologies and earlier harvests through the use
men, women, and children begging disseminating these to farmers of a shorter-duration rice variety
for alms. In the north, however, across South and Southeast Asia (BRRI dhan 33), direct seeding,
life is even harder. In five districts (see Hungry for knowledge, pages and weed control options.
(Rangpur, Nilphamari, Kurigram, 32-33 of Rice Today Vol. 7, No. 2). Compared with the traditional
Gaibandha, and Lalmonirhat) 7 hours The IRRC teamed up with the practice of transplanting, with direct
away from the country’s capital, a Bangladesh Rice Research Institute seeding of rice, seeds are sown
famine known as monga occurs from (BRRI) and a local alliance called directly into an unflooded field,
September to November each year. the Northwest Area Local Forum, either as dry or “wet” pregerminated
Monga (hunger months) occurs which is composed of government seeds. But, without the flooding of
after the previous season’s food has
run out, before the transplanted rice
is harvested in December. Millions
of rural families who rely mostly
on farm work for their livelihood
are jobless and cannot afford to buy
food in the market. In Rangpur, one
farmer shared that he simply tries to
sleep off the pangs of hunger during
this period. He gets up only when he
needs to check his field and if he has
money to buy food in the market.
A team from the Irrigated
Rice Research Consortium (IRRC)
journeyed to these districts in
A MOTher feeds her daughters
October 2007 to learn more about rice and curry for lunch.
the yearly famine and to see how

32 Rice Today April-June 2009


mD. aHaDaT HOSSaIn
fields, weeds are a major problem,
and timely and appropriate
weed management is essential
to avoid drastically low yields.
On two visits to these districts
in Bangladesh, Florencia Palis, IRRI
agricultural anthropologist and IRRC
social scientist, interviewed landless
and marginal farmers about their
hardships during monga and how
they cope during these tough times.
Joshna, a 35-year-old farmer
from Nilphamari, used to transplant
rice in her small upland and lowland Dr. fLOr Palis, irri agricultural anthropologist, interviews farmer Joshna rahni about her struggles during
monga and how direct seeding using an early-maturing variety has changed her family’s life. Md. Anarul
fields (a combined area of less than haque (far right), a Brri staff member, and Dr. M.A. Mazid (far left), head of the Brri rangpur station,
one-third of a hectare). In 2006, she translate for Dr. Palis.
harvested a meager 243 kilograms of
rice from her upland field sown with in July 2008 to probe deeper into earlier on average than transplanted
Swarna, a traditional variety. But how these technologies benefited long-duration varieties. The early
floods damaged her lowland fields. the farmers. They saw how things harvest generated employment of
Heavily in debt, Joshna sold her two have improved and found out that about 60–63 person-days per hectare,
goats and a few small trees for wood the farmers are now singing a happy which means that landless laborers
to be able to buy food for her family. tune. These changes were captured can earn wages during monga.
Ironically, while Bangladeshi in the video Easing the plight of Direct seeding of an early-
farmers suffer from annual floods, the hungry, available in English maturing variety combined with
they also rely heavily on monsoon (http://snipurl.com/d2018) and proper weed management has helped
rains to prepare the land for rice. Bengali (http://snipurl.com/d2ufv). ease the suffering during monga.
If the rains are too late or too little, Moreover, other than Joshna, This has increased people’s access
farmers may not be able to plant Panchu and his family also benefited to an early food supply, created
the crop on time. Transplanting from these technologies. At first, jobs for the landless, and generated
especially requires large quantities of Panchu’s wife was hesitant to try income for farmers to buy food for
water to flood the fields. For Joshna, direct seeding in their small field their families, and has significantly
there was not enough rainfall to in Rangpur. But Panchu convinced improved the quality of their lives.
quench the thirst of her fields. her that, if they tried direct seeding The Bangladeshi government has
In 2007, Joshna decided to try using BRRI dhan 33, they could adopted these approaches and
dry direct seeding using a lithao (a make use of the growing season technologies for a national program
traditional hand-drawn tool) to sow and eventually harvest three crops for monga mitigation with a 3-
the short-duration BRRI dhan 33. such as rice, potato, and maize. year (2008-10) action plan.
This decision changed her family’s True enough, they saw good yields Linking government
life. At harvest time, her fields at harvest time and appreciated the organizations with NGOs that have
yielded 560 kilograms of rice and benefits of direct seeding. Now, they active programs in the countryside
gained an additional US$50 gross worry less about what they are going and working closely with farmers’
income. Now, her family no longer to eat next or where they can get groups and rural communities have
goes hungry. Joshna was able to pay money for their children’s needs. improved technology transfer.
her debts and buy a pregnant cow. Other farmers tried the Thanks to these developments
Most Bangladeshi families consider technologies for the same reasons: and the active participation of the
cows very special investments that they can harvest earlier, sell at a local partners, the farmers lead
provide them with milk and cow higher price, and grow crops such happier and healthier lives as they
dung (manure) for fertilizer. Aside as potato, maize, and chickpea. no longer worry about where to find
from being able to buy meat and IRRI agricultural economist food and employment when monga
fish, Joshna is able to send her and IRRC team member Arelene comes.
children to school and buy them Malabayabas trained local
other things such as notebooks, interviewers to collect rice and other
books, clothes, pencils, and bags. crop production data from 200 Ms. Mendoza is a communication
Following the establishment farmers through household surveys. specialist with the IRRC. Dr. Johnson
and dissemination of rice-growing BRRI dhan 33 direct-seeded during is a senior weed scientist in IRRI’s
technologies among the farmers in the aman (wet) planting season from Crop and Environmental Sciences
Bangladesh, the IRRC came back June to July is harvested 30–37 days Division.

Rice Today April-June 2009 33


THE IRRI PIONEER INTERVIEWS
Conducted by Gene Hettel
GEnE HETTEL (3)

In the Punjab—an outstanding farmer revisited


On 5 June 1985, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) honored 14 exceptional farmers in 10 Asian nations—truly
pioneers in their own rite—by inviting them to the Philippines to participate in a special multilevel symposium that brought
together outstanding scientists, farmers, and political leaders—all part of IRRI’s 25th anniversary celebration. As IRRI
approaches its 50th anniversary in 2010, we are trying to locate these same farmers 25 years later to find out their progress
and get some updates. The first one we found is Sardar Jagjit Singh Hara who farms in Punjab, the breadbasket state of India.
In November 2008, departing Rice Today editor Adam Barclay and I visited him on his farm about 12 km outside of Ludhiana.
He was billed as a progressive Punjabi seed farmer 25 years ago. Since his recognition then, Mr. Hara has often been visited by
agricultural researchers and leaders who have come to see and evaluate his farming practices. Perhaps the most dramatic visit
was the simultaneous appearance of a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and a future World Food Prize Laureate on the same day.

Something I had never dreamed of aDam BarCLaY


IRRI, around 100 farmers came

M
y father, S. Ram Singh, to me and asked many questions,
was a progressive farmer which I tried to answer. So, I would
and I would say that I say I was married to IRRI.
inherited from him the
gene that bestowed upon me my Two more memorable occasions
love for agriculture. After earning On 22 April 1987, one great occasion
my master’s degree in economics happened. Norman E. Borlaug [the
in 1960, I worked full time on 1970 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate]
this farm to produce seeds, as my visited me on my farm and, just
father had. I also continued to grow by coincidence Gurdev S. Khush
various crops [wheat, potato, corn, [IRRI’s then principal plant breeder
ground nut]. In 1966, when the rice and future 1996 World Food Prize
revolution came, I started to grow Laureate] also came. So, hanging
rice, not only as a commercial crop I returned home with a “charged on my wall now is a unique and rare
but also for seed production. battery” because I had seen so many picture (photo opposite page) of these
In 1985, to my great surprise, field trials at the IRRI research two world-renowned scientists—a
I got a big honor when I was center—how to add fertilizer, the wheat breeder [Borlaug center] and
recommended for an IRRI award latest hybrid rice technology, etc. a rice breeder—with one fortunate
as an outstanding farmer. My I wanted to share those things I farmer. It is difficult to describe
wife, Surjit, was also invited but, learned with my fellow farmers here. in words how I felt that day.
because of family reasons, she I acquired this culture of sharing In September 1991, [the then
couldn’t accompany me. It was a experiences from the International IRRI director general, 1988-95]
great occasion. I was so excited and Farm Youth Exchange Program in Dr. Klaus Lampe visited the nearby
elated that such a huge international America, which I attended in 1966. Punjab Agricultural University (PAU),
honor would come to me—something Generally, people want to keep their an institution I am deeply associated
I had never even dreamed of. It knowledge to themselves, maybe to with. They told him about me, that
was gratifying to meet the 13 other put it in book form and sell it. But I I am an IRRI outstanding farmer
Asian farmers recognized that day. had a commitment, a vow, to share awardee, and so he came to see me.
I was unique [among that group] my experiences, such as those I had When he saw my setup, he invited me
because I was a seed producer. at IRRI. When I came back from to come to IRRI again. I told him, “Dr.

34 Rice Today April-June 2009


Hara FamILY arCHIvES said that he would not pressure his
son, Gurshaminder, to follow in his
footsteps on the farm. And, true
enough, “Dr. G. Hara” is a senior
consultant surgeon at the Oswal
Cancer Treatment and Research
Foundation in Ludhiana. Now
nearing 70, Mr. Hara worries about
who will take over the family farm—
maybe his grandson, Tejeshwar,
but that is by no means certain.]
It is a burning issue these days
that no young educated, dedicated
person wants to be in agriculture.
Why? First, it is a very hard job.
Second, opportunities for growth
are limited. Most importantly,
agriculture in developing economies
like India’s is considered as a way
of living, not as a profession. When
Lampe, some of my farmer friends with the package of practices for the trying to persuade my only son to
want to come with me.” He said, Punjab cropping pattern, the crop stay on the farm, I suggested that
“Okay, we cannot pay your airfares, has been grown here ever since even he would get an opportunity to go
but all other arrangements for your though the water table is getting abroad to see farms in America and
stay will be taken care of by IRRI.” lower in this part of the country. Australia and to observe the research
Six of us came to IRRI in September- Previously, government experts trials and experiments at IRRI. But
October 1992. It was a wonderful couldn’t convince farmers to he ultimately still said, “No. What
occasion. In my life, I have had many transplant late. They transplanted is life on the farm? You work like a
great experiences, but my two visits early because there was a lack of horse and there is no social life.”
to IRRI and the visits of Drs. Borlaug mechanization, and diseases and Indeed, professions in the city
and Khush to my farm on the same insect pests were less of a problem. are more glamorous and the current
day are the most memorable ones. Recently, the government persuaded generation is more money-minded
many farmers not to transplant rather than service-oriented. Why
Hara farm—a showcase for before 10 June. Now, this year [2008], am I in agriculture? I wanted to be
the rice-wheat rotation the results are very good. The water independent and to not be tied to
Today, our farm is a joint family table is recharged and, luckily, the the monotony of the same chair in
venture of 60 acres (around 25 monsoon has also been favorable. the same office with the same job.
hectares). Since my brother works Wheat and rice are like two And, secondly, God is my boss. I
in California, in the U.S., as an wheels on the same vehicle. If one learned to drive on a John Deere
electrical engineer, I manage things wheel goes down, the other wheel tractor when I was 13 years old
around here. This is a large-scale cannot function either. I think and that hooked me on agriculture
demonstration farm, which is still these two “wheels,” wheat and rice, despite the drudgery and the risk.
in the process of resolving a big complement each other. This year, Now, the situation is changing;
controversy. There is an ongoing the yields and the price of both the world is crying for food security.
debate in Punjab and all over India crops have been good, rice with I hope good sense will prevail and
concerning whether or not wheat a slight edge over wheat, I think. that, someday soon, the world will
and paddy can be profitably grown Most importantly, we are feeding declare agriculture to be a noble
in rotation. But when disbelievers the people. I feel proud that I’m profession just like medicine, law,
come to my farm, I can prove producing good-quality seeds for and education.
to them that these two main my farmer friends so that they can
cereals can be grown together. have better and better yields (For
Prior to the Green Revolution, more on South Asia’s rice-wheat
rice was not popular in Punjab. It cropping system, see Strengthening In the complete transcript of this
was grown only in the low-lying the system on pages 18-23). interview at irri.org/today/Pioneer_
areas along the riverbeds and was Interviews.asp, Mr. Hara discusses
not a regular crop like wheat, cotton, Convincing the young that mechanization, water management,
corn, etc. But, with the arrival of agriculture is a noble profession economics, and the major challenges
IR8 in India in the 1960s, along [In his 1985 interview, Mr. Hara today in Punjabi agriculture.

Rice Today April-June 2009 35


36 Rice Today April-June 2009
Asian consumption to drive
markets in 2009 by V. Subramanian

World Grains Trade Summit sees Asian consumption


driving the world grains market in 2009

T
he global financial crisis Challenges emerged, however,
may have slowed the from the global credit crunch, the
consumption of various declines in economic growth rates in
commodities, but Asian key emerging markets (the economies
JeAN crAVeN, export Trading corporation, detailing
demand for grains (as food and feed) of China and India were expected the finer points of trading with Africa.
remains strong. The first World to drop by 3–5%), and increased
Grains Trade Summit held on 17 to awareness and policy initiatives to
18 February 2009, organized by the ensure food security. possible return to the market. India
Centre for Management Technology Nevertheless, the changing banned exports of nonbasmati rice
in Singapore, reported that demand nutritional trends in the emerging last year following the food crisis. If it
for 2009 will largely come from Asia. Asian markets and the regional lifts the ban soon and releases its rice
As the world continues to recover governments’ efforts to maintain stocks, chances are prices will come
from the effects of the 2008 crisis, and protect strategic reserves have further down. Many fail to realize,
the Summit expressed concerns about created a positive demand for grains, however, that the fundamentals have
the current grain market riddled which would help drive consumption not changed. The world continues
with risks and slowed by the world trend. to consume at a rate faster than
economic downturn. The participants production growth. The market
hoped for the market to be less False sense of comfort needs efforts to overcome this gap.
volatile, but the Summit reports Rajeev Raina, head of Olam But, results do not happen overnight.
indicated that this year’s market International’s Rice Division, It may take more than 10 years to
will be affected by policies, climate said that, following the market see the results from any research
changes, and other factors that may developments of 2008 and their initiative; hence, we can expect rice
disrupt supply such as pests and impact on trade this year, rice availability to be tight over the next
natural calamities. markets may offer the world a false decade.
sense of comfort. In addition, although buffer
The growing Asian population Not known to many, the world stocks are rising, amounts remain
According to Diego Barber, global saw high production from 2003 to relatively low. Hence, potential
head of grains at Noble Group, 2008. This increase in production short-term imbalances in supply
Asia is home to 60% of the world’s is misleading because, for 4 years and demand are becoming more
population, which continues to grow (2003-06) within that period, pronounced. Government export
at 1–1.4% per year. He stressed that consumption exceeded production. restrictions as well as climate changes
the region will play an important Stock amounts also rose since late can easily tip this finely balanced
if not critical role in bringing more 2008 on the back of food security situation over to the critical side.
demand to trade in grains. In these measures. Since 1991, yields have The Summit cautioned the
volatile times, Asian grain demand been falling behind population participants against the possible
has been upheld by population growth, which suggests that the risks of today’s market. Among the
growth, rising per capita incomes, production comfort zone has, for 18 many key features that would affect
strong food policies, as well as years now, been eroded by the rising trends were the financial crisis,
decreasing energy and food prices, tide of consumption. Raina said that how investment funds will react or
which helped reduce the risk of the world needed a 1.5% yield increase when they will return, the long-term
inflation. every year for the next 12 years just to promise of research, and the potential
“Global inflation reversed its retain the current balance. benefits offered by genetically
sharp upward trend after 2008 Production increased last year in modified crops. The event’s presenters
as energy and food prices fell as a Thailand, India, Pakistan, and even pinned much hope on Asia’s strong
result of the economic slowdown,” Vietnam because of the rice price consumption trend, which would
Barber said. “Lower inflation rates hike. Prices subsequently went down, help keep demand firm. Prices and
and declining food prices gave Asian which gave consumers a relative sense policies, however, will still greatly
consumers some relief, which helped of security. This false sense of relief determine the market’s capacity to
maintain consumption patterns.” may be further exacerbated by India’s meet these future needs.

Rice Today April-June 2009 37


MAPS

Water mapping with


by Yann Chemin and Robert Hijmans

R
ice is often produced This sensor is on board the Terra
in the lowest parts of and Aqua satellites. These satellites
the landscape. These create a daily record for each place
are good places to on Earth at a spatial resolution (pixel
grow rice because of the clayey soils size) of 250 to 1,000 m. Because of
and the relatively humid conditions clouds, however, the rainy season
because the groundwater is nearby. can have many days when certain
However, this low position, often in areas do not have values, but,
the floodplain of a river, makes the generally, one can expect to get at
crop prone to flooding. If excessive least one good observation per week.
water causes the crop to submerge, The Modis sensor records
serious yield losses can occur. It has reflectance (the fraction of incoming
been estimated that, in Bangladesh radiant energy that is reflected
and India alone, approximately 4 from a surface of the Earth) in 36
million tons of rice are lost every different wavelengths across the
year. In South Asia, this is about electromagnetic spectrum—from
equivalent to the amount annually the visible to the thermal infrared
consumed by 30 million people. (0.4 µm to 14.4 µm). Water can
However, these estimates of be easily identified by combining
production loss are rather uncertain reflectance in the red, near-infrared,
because flooding is highly variable and shortwave. Rice is identified
in time and space, and farmers using a combination of water
have, in part, adjusted their and vegetation indices computed
cropping practices to expected flood from the reflectance data.
occurrences. We would like to have The large map illustrates the
a clearer understanding of where, results using the Modis data for
when, and for how long flooding identifying water. The lower left
is likely to occur. This could help map shows surface water during
us understand where the benefits 4-12 August 2007, when
of submergence-tolerant varieties, parts of eastern India and
which the International Rice Bangladesh were affected
Research Institute has developed (see by severe inundations.
Scuba rice on pages 26-31), would be The three small maps of
greatest, and where these varieties northeastern Thailand
would most likely be adopted by show areas with water
farmers. in three different years:
We use satellite remote sensing 7-15 October 2002, 21-29
to map the area of rice production September 2004, and
and the occurrence of flooding in 15-23 October 2006.
Asia. We use freely available data Identifying surface
from the Modis (Moderate-resolution water is relatively simple.
Imaging Spectroradiometer)1 sensor. The challenge is to

1
See http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ and http://onearth.jpl.nasa.gov/.

38 Rice Today April-June 2009


SATELLITES
integrate it with data on rice planting
and development to see where fields
get submerged, and during which
stage of crop development. We are
also trying to identify areas where
farmers delay planting until the risk
of submergence has diminished.
The availability of free daily
satellite images, and algorithms
implemented in open-source software
for geographic data analysis, such
as GRASS and R, allows us to use
satellite technology to map rice
areas and some of the constraints
that farmers have to deal with. In
the future, we also plan to estimate
yield loss caused by drought.

Dr. Chemin is a postdoctoral fellow


and Dr. Hijmans is a geographer in
the IRRI Social Sciences Division.

Rice Today April-June 2009 39


s

40 Rice Today April-June 2009


Drought-proof rice
for African farmers
by Savitri Mohapatra

Research institutes, donor agencies, and community representatives


collabor ate to develop drought-toler ant rice for African farmers

I
t takes, on average, preserved in the
2,500 liters of WARDA gene bank,
water (by rainfall and then shared with
or irrigation) to researchers around
produce just 1 kilogram the world through
of rice using traditional the International
cultivation methods. Network for the
Considering the effects Genetic Evaluation
of climate change, can of Rice-Africa.
farmers continue to grow This collection of
rice if the water supply African rice genetic
becomes increasingly resources was the key
scarce? to the development
Drought is particularly of NERICA®—a cross
devastating to Africa’s rice between African
production since almost and Asian rice
rv raman (2)

80% of the region’s rice varieties—by WARDA


area is rainfed. Many (see In search of new
Africans still remember seeds, pages 30-31
The Africa Rice Center gene bank conserves seeds of African rice species and shares
the terrible droughts of them with rice breeders around the world. of Rice Today, Vol.
1972-74 and 1981-84, 6, No. 1). African
which ravaged the Sahel rice farmers have
and the Horn of Africa and caused Sié, program leader for Genetic shown particular interest in the
immense suffering and severely Diversity and Improvement at early maturity of NERICA, which
affected farming—the principal the Africa Rice Center (WARDA). can be flexible enough to avoid
source of livelihood for millions “It can recover after droughts drought and allow double cropping.
of poor people. Over the last four when water is available again.” Some NERICA varieties suited for
decades, Africa has suffered from Plasticity and the capacity rainfed production systems are now
seven major episodes of drought. to regenerate quickly are the grown in several African countries.
Fortunately, rice has a significant main advantages of African rice. In addition to the indigenous
genetic variation in traits related to “That is why, although it is not African rice, the African cultivated
drought tolerance, such as earliness, particularly high yielding, our rice gene pools also have thousands
root architecture, and water-use rice farmers continue to grow of Asian rice (O. sativa) varieties.
efficiency. Scientists desperately it in pockets,” Dr. Sié adds. Although these varieties have
look for these traits in varieties to The development of drought- just been introduced recently
be used in breeding programs and tolerant African varieties is one of in the region, they have evolved
to develop improved high-yielding the solutions to increase rice yields long enough in Africa’s harsh
drought-tolerant varieties. in drought-prone environments. conditions and have developed a
“One striking example of Generous support from donors, certain degree of resistance to local
drought-tolerant local rice is such as the UK Department for stresses such as blast and drought.
Oryza glaberrima, which was International Development and Now, WARDA scientists and
domesticated in West Africa about the World Bank, has allowed seeds their partners are investigating
3,500 years ago,” says Dr. Moussa of these precious varieties to be these gene pools. They are

Rice Today April-June 2009 41


integrating phenotypic screening in implementing the African
(physical characteristics) with component of this project. STRASA’s
molecular analysis (genetic member countries in Africa are
composition) to unravel the Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia,
secrets of drought tolerance. Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, and
Through molecular analysis, Senegal in West Africa, as well as
scientists identify the genes and/or Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique,
the genetic regions (quantitative Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda
trait loci or QTLs) that possess in eastern and southern Africa.
drought-tolerance traits. After In February 2009, stakeholders
identifying these specific genes, met at WARDA’s regional station
scientists can then transfer in Ibadan, Nigeria, to review the
them into improved varieties. project’s progress and plans for
With support from donors such 2009. In this meeting, Dr. Manneh
as the Rockefeller Foundation and highlighted some of the achievements
the Generation Challenge Program, made in 2008: seed production
WARDA’s research on drought of improved and stress-tolerant
has been carried out with several varieties that will be evaluated in
partners. These include national the project countries through farmer
programs, the International Rice participatory varietal selection;
Research Institute (IRRI), Japan AfricAN rice is a rich reservoir of genes for training of national scientists,
International Research Center resistance against local stresses. technicians, and farmers in modern
for Agricultural Sciences, Cornell breeding approaches, improved seed
University, and Centro Internacional production, and impact assessment;
de Agricultura Tropical. “One of the most viable options to implementation of improved and
Scientists used a 3-pronged enable farmers to adapt to climate standardized screening facilities
approach to improve rice varieties’ change is the use of rice varieties at WARDA research stations for
tolerance of drought. It involved the with good tolerance of drought.” the different stresses; and the
characterization of drought profiles of Dr. Manneh is coordinating establishment of a network of
rainfed rice production systems using the African component of an national scientists and partners
GIS, the use of conventional breeding IRRI project on stress-tolerant in the project countries. The plans
and marker-assisted selection (see rice for poor farmers in Africa for 2009 include participatory
On your mark, get set, select on and South Asia (STRASA), varietal selection methods,
pages 28-29 of Rice Today Vol. 3, No. which was launched last year. seed production mechanisms,
3; also see From genes to farmers’ Funded by the Bill & Melinda impact assessment studies, and
fields on pages 28-31 of Rice Today Gates Foundation, the STRASA monitoring and evaluation.
Vol. 5, No. 4) to develop drought- project aims to accelerate the Dr. Manneh felt that the meeting
tolerant rice, and the use of integrated development and delivery of improved was special because, aside from
management options (manipulation rice varieties tolerant of five major the participation of representatives
of sowing dates, fertilizer regimes, stresses—drought, submergence, from 16 sub-Saharan African
and sowing density) to cope with salinity, iron toxicity, and low countries, Mrs. Penda Gueye-Cisse,
the effects of drought stress. temperature. It seeks to develop president of the West and Central
As a result, several traits integrated management options that Africa Women Rice Farmers’
contributing to drought tolerance would mitigate the negative effects of Association, and a number of private
have been identified, along with the climate change in rice-based systems seed producers also came to give
sources of drought tolerance. Work is in these regions. Ultimately, however, their feedback on the project.
under way to identify drought QTLs it hopes to increase rice yields and the Local scientists and farmers
and produce drought-tolerant lines. incomes of resource-poor smallholder will collaborate to field-test those
The threat of climate change, farmers. new stress-tolerant varieties in
however, is greatly aggravating International researchers some “hotspots” in Africa.
the drought problem. “The impact from IRRI and WARDA as “We realize that drought is a
of climate change is already being well as partners from national complex problem and it has to be
felt in Africa through increased agricultural research institutes, addressed on several fronts,” Dr.
incidences and severity of droughts government extension, and civil Manneh explained. “But we are sure
and floods,” states Dr. Baboucarr society groups in 17 countries are that this joint effort on stress-tolerant
Manneh, a WARDA biotechnologist very much involved in STRASA. rice will have widespread application
deeply involved in drought research. WARDA is IRRI’s main partner in rainfed systems in Africa.”

42 Rice Today April-June 2009


POSTHARVEST 2009 THAILAND
Opportunity to optimize investments to boost rice production

P ostharvest losses in rice make up an alarming share of the overall rice


production losses. In the developing world, these losses can reach 25%
in weight and 50% of the value of total production. By minimizing postharvest
losses, the rice industry can substantially increase the global, national, and
local rice supply.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Asia Congress Events Co. Ltd.
proudly organize Postharvest Rice Exhibition & Conference. The international
event is Asia’s first-ever international conference and exhibition on postharvest
where people can extensively discuss global postharvest losses, their implications
for global rice production, and the opportunity to
optimize investments in the postharvest
industry to increase rice
production.

Be part Of pOstharvest 2009


• Join the International Conference
It is an excellent international forum where people can
connect and collaborate on new technologies, research, and
business ventures that support the overarching goal of improving
rice production, increasing the income of producers and processors,
and achieving food security.
Group discount and early bird registration are available.

• Book your space at the International e exhibition


xhibition
The international exhibition will showcase the latest postharvest technological
innovations, inventions and research and will provide a unique forum for
networking with key industry contacts, enhancing brand and product visibility,
and promoting new and existing products.

rg
.o
st
• submit
ubmit an a abstract
bstract online at www.post-harvest.org

e
rv
Take the opportunity to present technological advancements and research
findings to an international audience.
a h
-
Deadline for submission is 15 april 2009. st
o
.p
• Grab sponsorship opportunities w
w
Boost your company’s visibility. Grab the event partnering packages that offer w
sponsorship, exhibition, and marketing benefits.

for more information please contact: Hosted by: Jointly organized by: Supported by:
Postharvest Secretariat
ASIAConGRESS EvEnTS Co. LTd.
+66 2 748 7881 Ext 106
inquiries@postharvest.org Rice Today April-June 2009 43
RICE FACTS
GLOBAL RICE TRADE:
What does it mean for future
food security? by Samarendu Mohanty
Head, IRRI Social Sciences Division

R
ice is different from other major availability of rice in the domestic
field crops such as wheat, maize, market have affected many importing
and soybeans because of its high countries that rely on rice in the world
geographical concentration in market. In many rice-consuming
production and consumption (around countries, rice self-sufficiency has
90% in Asia), literally making it an become a sensitive political issue,
Asian crop. Historically, a very small prompting policymakers to implement
proportion, around 5–7%, of total programs to reduce dependence on the
rice production has been traded global market.
compared with 20% for wheat, 13% Since rice is a staple food for about
for maize, and 30% for soybeans. half of the world, it is understandable
More importantly, four of the top five 2007-08 import share on the part of rice-consuming
Data source: USDA
exporters, with a 70% share of total countries to protect domestic supply
global rice trade, are from Asia, for fig. 2. countries dependent on rice imports. in uncertain times either by imposing
which domestic food security comes trade restrictions or by expanding
first and trade is a distant second (Fig. As part of the GATT market access domestic production. These actions
1). For these rice-producing countries, commitments, countries partially of both the exporting and importing
trade is an afterthought when opened up rice trade, which caused countries are likely to reverse the
domestic need and an adequate buffer the volume to rise more than 50% in recent upward trend in rice trade.
stock are secured. However, on the the past decade. Rising trade flows in The United States Department of
import side, the top five rice import- the 1990s, characterized by a growing Agriculture’s rice outlook report now
dependent countries accounted for dependability between exporters and projects 2009 global rice trade to be
only 29% of the total trade in 2007-08 importers, contributed to the high 8% below the record level witnessed
(Fig. 2). Even the top ten importers degree of price stability during this in 2007. All this points to lower trade
accounted for only 45% of the total period. and the risk of making shortages and
trade in the same year. high prices more frequent. It may
After almost two and a half Political repercussions of the rice crisis sound odd to argue in favor of free
decades (the 1960s to late 1980s) of The recent crisis that triggered riots trade in the face of the ongoing global
being stagnant, rice trade zoomed and protests in different parts of the financial crisis, but, for rice, which
upward in the wake of trade developing world has put a big question is highly protected and regulated,
liberalization by many countries in the mark on the future of global rice trade. further protectionism can be severely
late 1980s and the General Agreement The market was primed for such a damaging for the food security of
on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994. crisis with the drawing down of stocks millions of poor people.
in the last few years to fill the supply-
demand imbalance arising from the What needs to be done?
slowdown in yield growth, drought, The crisis has renewed the call for a
and pest problems. However, the second Green Revolution to revamp
situation did not warrant the tripling the sagging yield growth to feed the
of rice prices in the span of six months growing global population. In 2008,
between November 2007 and May the International Rice Research
2008. Rising wheat prices due to the Institute (IRRI) identified investment
expansion of biofuel crops put pressure in agricultural infrastructure and
on rice, which led to trade restrictions rice research and extension as
in many rice-producing countries and one of the keys to improving rice
2007-08 export share
Data source: USDA unprecedented rises in prices. production. All members of the
fig. 1. Dominance of Asian rice producers in the Measures taken by many Association of Southeast Asian
global market. exporting countries to ensure the Nations have endorsed this position.

44 Rice Today April-June 2009


Several constraints, including land and 95% of total exports throughout total domestic consumption (Fig. 4).
and water scarcity, environmental the 1960s and 1970s. The ban on It is true that the current situation,
degradation, and high input prices, soybean exports imposed by the U.S. in terms of land and water availability,
will make achieving higher rice yields in the early 1970s changed the entire is quite different from what it was
challenging. But, we have proven our landscape of soybean production and in the 1970s and 1980s. Nobody
success in delivering research-driven trade when other countries started expects countries to give up rice
solutions to farmers that increase yield looking for alternative suppliers of production and become dependent on
and, with further investment, we can soybeans. Although the soybean crisis the international market even if new
continue to do this. However, none ended in a few months, the confidence suppliers emerge. But, more surplus
of this is possible without supportive in the U.S. as a reliable supplier was rice produced by new suppliers could
polices and institutions in place. gone. Two South American neighbors, help stabilize the market and reassure
Apart from revamping the yield Argentina and Brazil, emerged from the importing countries.
growth, the conduct of the world rice this crisis to become formidable Within Asia, Myanmar and
market, which played an important competitors for the U.S. in the world Cambodia potentially seem to
role in magnifying the intensity of soybean market. Currently, these two have surplus rice production. Rice
the recent crisis, needs to be reined countries account for around half of production in these countries can
in if future crises are to be averted. the global soybean trade (Fig. 3). The be expanded through intensification
The rice crisis starkly reminded us emergence of multiple dependable and by bringing additional fallow
that the current structure, in which suppliers also convinced many land into production. However, this is
the majority of exporters are residual countries, including China, Japan, the possible only under stable political and
suppliers, does not bode well for the European Union countries, Taiwan, economic conditions. Outside Asia, the
future of the global rice market. The South Korea, and others, to liberalize potential to increase rice production
future stability of the rice market their oilseed sector and depend on exists primarily in South America
clearly hinges on re-establishing the imports. This is clearly evident for and Africa. Currently, South America
relationships between exporters and China, with 38 million tons of imports is more or less self-sufficient in rice
importers. It may be worthwhile to in 2007-08, accounting for 76% of the and has the land mass to expand rice
hold a summit of major rice- production if the underlying
exporting and -importing economics make sense.
countries to build those Africa, on the other hand,
relationships, and at the same probably has more potential
time collaboratively develop than even South America
some basic rules in rice because of its underused
trading. Another option, which land and water resources.
could be expensive but worth But, Africa requires a stable
considering, is to rebuild political environment and
buffer stocks in the major the necessary investment for
rice-producing countries, infrastructure and market
particularly in China and development to boost its rice
India, to have a calming effect production.
on the market. Nonetheless, the bottom
Aside from making line is that the rice supply
Data source: USDA
investments and changes to needs to increase to improve
increase rice yield within fig. 3. Transformation of the global soybean market. future food security. Rice
Asia, another potential yields within existing rice-
long-term solution to this growing regions in Asia can
problem lies in developing be increased if technology-
rice exporters outside Asia driven solutions are delivered
where rice can be produced to growers through effective
primarily for export. The extension mechanisms, and if
transformation of the global investments are made. Better
soybean market three agricultural infrastructure
decades ago may give a clue and policies must support
as to what is needed in the this to improve the reliability
rice market. In the soybean of supply. Finally, new
market, the United States international suppliers of rice
used to be the big guy on the could also play an important
Data source: USDA
block, accounting for around role in providing new sources
80% of world production fig. 4. chinese dependence on foreign soybeans. of rice to importers.

Rice Today April-June 2009 45


grain of truth
can less favorable areas
obtain food security?
BY GELIA T. CASTILLO

R
ice is life. So, when the and diverse rainfed environments in establishment and harvest, less
global rice crisis hit in monsoon South and Southeast Asia, labor, and better weed control. With
2008, it threatened many through more sustainable and resilient shorter-duration varieties and time-
lives. The year became well rice-based production systems. saving crop establishment, it also
remembered for the soaring prices, the Using an ecosystems paradigm, became possible to grow nonrice
long lines in the market, the panic, the the research sites under the CURE crops for cash and employment.
blame game, and the social unrest in project include drought-prone plateau Anthropologist Stephen Zolvinski
different countries. A sense of alarm uplands, drought-prone lowlands, salt- observed some of the technologies
grew when rice, known to be the affected lowlands, sloping rotational that resulted from the process. The
most “affordable” food for the poor, upland systems, the submergence- submergence-tolerance gene known
suddenly became “unaffordable.” It prone environment, and the intensive as SUB1A was transferred to Swarna,
reminded the world of rice’s crucial upland systems with long growing a popular variety in South Asia (see
role in human existence. It also seasons. The project uses a common Scuba rice, stemming the tide in flood-
revived interest in agriculture. approach to examine eight generic prone South Asia on pages 26-31).
Researchers often focus on themes (germplasm improvement, rice The development of this variety is
farming on irrigated, favorable, an example of how modern scientific
and accessible farms. But we may tools are combined with locally
fail to realize that many farmers
Using science in combination popular varieties to produce improved
contend with unfavorable areas just with local practices to meet varieties that are stress tolerant and
so their families can have enough the challenges of diverse rice acceptable to farmers. The SUB1A gene
rice to eat and survive. These so- can now be found in Samba-Mahsuri-
called unfavorable areas are rainfed
environments, CURE made Sub1, IR64-Sub1, and Swarna-Sub1.
parcels; uplands; drought-prone, rice security in less favorable More importantly, these technolo-
flooded, and submerged farms; areas a realizable goal. gies have helped reduce the number of
farms with saline soils; etc. farmers who migrate to nonfarm jobs
For a long time, rice science during the hunger months.
did not favor investing in unfavor- varietal diversity, seeds and seedling “If we have enough rice to eat,
able areas as they were too diverse, management, crop establishment, why would we leave the village?” the
complicated, and difficult. Compared cropping system enhancement, up- farmers said.
with irrigated farms, these topograph- scaling activities, patterns of labor use, In summary, to achieve the
ically, ecologically, and climatically and food security) across the different goal of rice security, CURE’s general
challenged areas provided meager sites, but the resulting technologies strategy involves early-duration and
harvests. When the international are specific to each ecosystem. higher-yielding varieties; improved
development community adopted Among these technologies, the labor-saving practices; and earlier crop
poverty as its flagship challenge, the primacy of seeds is the most recurrent. establishment and harvest, which allow
opportunity came to establish the For the Filipino farmers in the Arakan a nonrice crop to be sown on time and
Consortium for Unfavorable Rice En- Valley, for example, rice seed security intensify system productivity, enhance
vironments (CURE) in 2002. Foster- is food security. When they run out food security, and generate income.
ing cooperation between the national of food, the people start to eat their Using science in combination with
agricultural research and extension seeds. Hence, they set up a community local practices to meet the challenges
systems and the International Rice seed bank. of diverse rice environments
Research Institute, this initiative Through participatory varietal through a common approach, CURE
involves 10 countries: Bangladesh, selection, farmers chose seeds among found the common denominators
Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, different varieties that performed and made rice security in less
Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, well in the field compared with the favorable areas a realizable goal.
Thailand, and Vietnam. As CURE traditional ones. Along with this,
focuses its research on the develop- CURE introduced the concept of clean
ment of less favorable areas, the goal and healthy seeds, lower seeding rates, Dr. Gelia T. Castillo is a national
is to provide more food security for and quality seedlings. Direct-seeding scientist of the Philippines and IRRI
the poor families in the marginal technologies resulted in earlier crop consultant.

46 Rice Today April-June 2009


Rice Today April-June 2009 47
You want rice. We have rice.

Let’s trade!

48 Rice Today April-June 2009

You might also like