Partnership between India, one of the world’s rapidly growing countries; the International Rice Research Institute, a leading agricultural research organization; and crop researchers in poor countries produces innovative submergence-tolerant rice, and helps some of the world’s poorest farmers grow more food.

Problem: In areas of Asia and Africa where rice-growing farmers depend on rain fed agriculture, rice productivity is low and unstable due to stresses such as flooding, drought and poor soils. •Floodingregularlyafflictsover6millionhectaresinSouthAsiaandasmuchasone-thirdofthe

rain-fedlowlandrice-growingareasinsub-SaharanAfrica.

•Neithernewerricevarietiesnorfarmers’traditionalvarietiesareabletosurviveprolongedsubmergence under water.

•There’saneedfornewricevarietiesthatcanwithstandarangeofenvironmentalstresses.

Innovation: Harness the knowledge of leading global, regional and national agricultural researchers and combine it with local know-how to develop and distribute submergence-tolerant rice to small farmers. •ThroughStressTolerantRiceforAfricaandAsia(STRASA),theInternationalRiceResearch

Institute(IRRI)partnerswithresearchersattheAfricaRiceCenter,anAfricanresearchorganization, and national scientists in poor countries, creating submergence-tolerant rice varieties that can “hold its breath” underwater.

•STRASAdevelopedimprovedvarietiesthroughidentifyingandusingtraitsthatallowricetomake better use of oxygen even while submerged—coping with this stress that can devastate crops.

Innovation With Impact: India Shares its Innovative Capacity to Help Feed the World

Impact: STRASA’sinnovativepartnershipsaredevelopingnewvarietiesforricefarmersin two continents with very different conditions. •Morethan1.1millionfarmersinIndiaareusingSTRASA’s“scubarice,”whichcansurvive20

daysofsubmergence.Thisnewvarietyhassavedentirecropsfrombeingwipedout.

•ThegovernmentofIndiahasbeeninstrumentalingettingnewvarietiestopoorfarmers,andAfrican governments are being increasingly proactive.

•Inthenextsixyears,STRASApredictsthatover20millionfarmerswillbeplantingscubariceandotherstress-resistantvarietiesinSouthAsiaandAfrica.

Video: Time-lapsevideoshowsfloodtoleranceinricehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJsNwYX1Nc0&feature=player_embedded

MoreInformation:www.irri.org

http://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2011/06/New-Rice-Gives-Hope-for-Indian-Farmers?view=infographic