RiceToday Vol. 5, No. 4

8/9/2019 RiceToday Vol. 5, No. 4

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Bold new visionLessons of the past help IRRI chart the way forward

ISSN 1655-5422

www.irri.org

International Rice Research Institute October-December 2006, Vol. 5, No. 4

I n t e r n a t i o n

R i c e C o n g r e s s 2

9 - 1 3 O c t o b e r

Making rice waterproof

Farming for conservation

Rice in harms way

Perspectives on IR8The rice that changed the world

Life, death, and rice at a time of war

Making rice waterproof

Farming for conservation

Rice in harms way


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contentsVol. 5, No. 4

International Rice Research InstituteDAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, PhilippinesWeb (IRRI): www.irri.org

Web (Library): http://ricelib.irri.cgiar.orgWeb (Rice Knowledge Bank): www.knowledgebank.irri.org

Rice Today editorialtelephone (+63-2) 580-5600 or (+63-2) 844-3351 to 53, ext 2725;fax: (+63-2) 580-5699 or (+63-2) 845-0606; email: [email protected]

cover photo IRRI lespublisher Duncan Macintosheditor Adam Barclayart director Juan Lazaro IV designer and production supervisor George Reyescontributing editors Gene Hettel, Bill Hardynews editor Juanito Goloyugophoto editor Ariel Javellanaphoto researcher Jose Raymond PanaligancirculationChrisanto Quintanaprinter Primex Printers, Inc.

Rice Today is published by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the worldsleading international rice research and training center. Based in the Philippines and withofces in 14 other countries, IRRI is an autonomous, nonprot institution focused onimproving the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers,particularly those with low incomes, while preserving natural resources. IRRI is one of 15 centers funded through the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research(CGIAR), an association of public and private donor agencies. For more information, visitthe CGIAR Web site (www.cgiar.org).

Responsibility for this publication rests with IRRI. Designations used in this publication

should not be construed as expressing IRRI policy or opinion on the legal status of anycountry, territory, city or area, or its authorities, or the delimitation of its frontiers orboundaries.

Rice Today welcomes comments and suggestions from readers. Potential contributorsare encouraged to query rst, rather than submit unsolicited materials. Rice Today assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to unsolicited submissions, which shouldbe accompanied by sufcient return postage.

Copyright International Rice Research Institute 2006

EDITORIAL ................................................................ 4But what has IRRI done for the world lately?

NEWS ......................................................................... 5Flood-proof riceA more powerful and efcient engine for riceInternational rice industry to gather in IndiaGM rice turmoilA greener rice industryRice domesticated at least twiceVietnam export planAfrican rice news

PEOPLE ..................................................................... 8AchievementsKeeping up with IRRI staff 2006 IRRI reunion brings together past,

present, and future

BOOKS ...................................................................... 9

BRINGING HOPE, IMPROVING LIVES ..................... 10Rice feeds roughly half the planets population and

approximately three-quarters of a billion of theworlds poorest people depend on the staple tosurvive. A carefully focused agenda for continuedresearch on this vital crop is as important as ever.

PUTTING RICE ON THE AFRICAN AGENDA ........... 16The recent Africa Rice Congress in Tanzania helped

chart the course for the future of the rice industry insub-Saharan Africa

CONSERVING THE FUTURE .................................... 18

As Indias rice-wheat belt grapples with decliningsoil health and water tables, a vanguard of young,innovative farmers and researchers is leading a newapproach that could hold the key to reversing theregions waning productivity

SNAPSHOT .............................................................. 24Rice in harms way

FROM GENES TO FARMERS FIELDS ...................... 28The practical application of gene discovery to develop

submergence-tolerant rice will help farmers avoidthe ravages of severe ooding

Identifying the submergence-tolerance geneThe mechanics of submergence tolerance

THE QUIET ACHIEVER ............................................ 32Recently retired rice scientist Vethaiya

Balasubramanian has spent his life helpingpeopleand hes not going to let retirementstop him

BREEDING HISTORY ............................................... 34Forty years ago, a remarkable rice-breeding project

culminated in the release of a rice variety under anunremarkable nameIR8. This is the story of theresearch that would ultimately change the face of agriculture across Asia.

I REMEMBER HONDA RICE ..................................... 39

How the rst Green Revolution rice varietyIR8inuenced life and death in the Mekong Deltaduring the Vietnam War

ENVIRONMENT ....................................................... 45Thinking outside the box

As society accepts the reality of global climatechange and begins to prepare for it, we need thetools to predict the risks we should expect

DONORS CORNER ................................................... 47Innovative research and extension are the key

to agricultural development: Koreas RuralDevelopment Agencys efforts over the last 100years have helped Korea achieve self-sufciency inrice and other staple foods

RICE FACTS .............................................................. 48Asia and sub-Saharan Africa: rice in numbers

Key information on rice situation, poverty, health,and malnutrition

GRAIN OF TRUTH .................................................... 50How many rice varieties are there?

On the cover:An Indian farmer

with a bumper IR8harvest in 1967

(see pages 34-38).


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NEWS

5Rice Today October-December 2006

Flood-proof rice

development of new rice varieties thatcan withstand ooding, and that couldoffer relief to millions of poor ricefarmers around the world. Flooding inSoutheast Asia alone costs farmers anestimated US$1 billion each year.

Although rice thrives in standing water, like all crops it will die if com-pletely submerged for more than a few days. The development and cultivationof the new varieties are expected toincrease food security for 70 million of the worlds poorest people. The study appeared in the 10 August issue of the journal Nature .

For more information, see Fromgenes to farmers elds on pages 28-31.

International rice industry to gather in India

The international rice industry ispreparing to meet in India at a timeof unprecedented change for the foodthat feeds almost half the planet.

Held every 4 years, the Interna-

tional Rice Congress (IRC) will bringtogether all aspects of the riceindustry with a special fo-cus on the latest research,science, and technology.Hosted by the Indian Min-istry of Agriculture and co-sponsored by the IndianCouncil for AgriculturalResearch (ICAR) and IRRI,the IRC will be held in Delhi on9-13 October and include three main

eventsthe 26th International RiceResearch Conference, the 2nd Interna-tional Rice Commerce Conference, andthe 2nd International Rice Technology and Cultural Exhibition.

According to Mangala Rai, secre-tary of Indias Department of Agricultural Research and

Education and ICAR direc-tor general, The IRC2006aims to provide a com-mon platform for sharingknowledge and exper-

tise on research, exten-sion, production, processing,

trade, consumption, and relatedactivities with stakeholders.

KOREAN AGRICULTURE CELEBRKoreas Rural Development Administration(RDA) celebrates its 100th birthday thisyear. Established in 1906 in Suwon, theagencythen known as the Experiment Sta-tion for Agricultural Encouragementhas ledKoreas modern agricultural research as wellas disseminated technology and educatedfarmers. About 1,000 people participatedin a 30 August3 September celebration,Korean agriculture100 years and beyond .Korean Minister of Agriculture and ForestryHis Excellency Hong-Soo Park (left ) and RDAAdministrator In-Sik Kim (right ) are seenhere inspecting high-yielding rice cultivarsdeveloped by the RDAs National Institute of Crop Science. For more on the RDA, seeDonorscorner on page 47.

A more powerful and efcient engine for rice

Small amounts of a genetically modi-ed rice variety not approved forsale were detected in U.S. commercialsupplies in August. The long-grainLibertyLink rice, developed by BayerCropScience and known as LLRICE601, possesses bacterial DNA thatmakes the rice plants resistant to theherbicide glufosinate. Two other strainsof rice that produce the same transgenicprotein as LLRICE 601 have previously been approved for sale. The U.S. Foodand Drug Administration issued astatement declaring that the presenceof this bioengineered rice variety in thefood and feed supply poses no food orfeed safety concerns.

The discovery has hit the U.S. riceindustry, with Japan banning imports

of U.S. long-grain rice and Europe ac-cepting only shipments that have been veried free of LLRICE 601 followinga U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved test. Since the 18 Augustannouncement of the contamination,prices for U.S. rice have dropped. Bayeris facing lawsuits from three U.S. rice-farming groups seeking damages tocompensate farmers for falling prices.

GM rice turmoil

Agene that enables rice to survivecomplete submergence has beenidentified by a team of researchersfrom the International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI) and the University of Californias Davis and Riverside cam-puses. The discovery allows for the

Amajor international scientic effort was launched in July to develop anduse a radical new approach to boostrice production and avoid potentialrice shortages, or even future famine.Knowledge generated by the recentsequencing of the rice genome is offer-ing new insights into the possibility of completely reconguring whats knownas the engine of rice production, theplants photosynthetic system.

IRRI crop ecologist John Sheehy,

convener of a workshop on C 4 Rice Supercharging the Rice Engine ,held at IRRI on 17-21 July, said, Thephotosynthetic process is the engine of growth for the rice plant. If we can im-

prove that, the whole plant benets.To meet this challenge, scientists

at the workshop focused on enhanc-ing the rice plants photosynthetic ef-ciency, or whats known scientically as converting rice from a C 3 plant toa C4 plant, where the C refers to thecarbon captured by photosynthesis forgrowth. To do this, C 4 plantssuch asmaizeuse solar energy more effec-tively for growth.

The experts at the workshop sug-

gested that it will probably take another34 years to achieve the proof-of-con-cept needed, and another 1015 yearsafter that before the rst C 4 varieties would be available.

D A V E M A C K I L L


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NEWS

6 Rice Today October-December 20066

Bangladesh training onlineThe Bangladesh Rice Research Institutehas launched a 3-day Web-based train-ing course on aman (wet-season) riceproduction. Initially, extension workersfrom some 100 upazilas (subdistricts)

will take the course, whose develop-ment was supported by the EuropeanCommission-funded Food Security forSustainable Household Livelihoods(FoSHoL; www.foshol.org) project.

Salt-tolerant riceIndian scientists have discovered a genethat allows rice to grow in extremely salty conditions. The researchers, fromthe Bose Institutes Centre for PlantMolecular and Cellular Genetics in Kol-

kata, cloned the gene from a wild rice variety that grows in the Sunderbansmangrove delta. They have transferredthe gene into modern rice varieties as well as mustard and are testing the sa-line-resistant crops on an experimental

farm. The team is awaiting U.S. andEuropean patents.

Rice price to double?The global rice price is likely to double within 2 years, according to Stephan Wrobel, chief executive officer atDiapason Commodities Management inSwitzerland. According to a 14 AugustBloomberg report, as major rice-pro-ducing countries such as China and Vietnam dig up their paddies to make

room for urban developments, pro-duction will drop and prices will rise.Indeed, recent reports have suggestedthat increased demand in Asia is cur-rently pushing prices upward.

Name change for IPGRIFrom 1 December 2006, the Inter-national Plant Genetic ResourcesInstitute will change its name to Bio- versity International to better reectthe institutes strategy, which focuseson improving peoples lives through biodiversity research.

Malaysia to curb importsMalaysia plans to restructure its agri-cultural agencies to increase efciency

The two subspecies of modern cultivated rice Oryza sativa indica andOryza sativa japonicawere domesti-cated independently in different partsof Asia. According to Barbara Schaal,a biology professor at Washington Uni- versity in St. Louis, and her colleagues,indica arose south of the Himalayas ineastern India, Myanmar, or Thailand,and japonica was domesticated inde-pendently from a different wild rice

gene pool in southern China.Their report, Phylogeography of

Asian wild rice, Oryza rupogon , re- veals multiple independent domestica-

IRRI is working with the membercountries of the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to developa series of ve environmental indicatorsfor rice production in the region. Theindicators will focus on production,

biodiversity, pollution, land degrada-tion, and water.

When implemented, the indica-tors will allow each country to moni-tor and compare the environmentalimpact of its rice production with thatof its neighbors, and either correct any problems or improve on existing prac-tices. The project, launched in Hanoion World Environment Day on June 2, will be the rst to monitor the impact

A greener rice industry daily struggles, joys,and loves in rural life, with environmental is-sues carefully weavedinto the dialogue.

The project high-lights the use of tra-ditional communica-

tion media to educatefarmers on environ-mental conservationprinciples and pro-mote messages on is-sues such as pesticideand fertilizer use, pol-lution control, straw

burning, water conservation, wildlifepreservation, soil health, and natural biological controls.

Rice domesticated at least twicetions of cultivated rice, Oryza sativa , was published in the 20 June issue of the Proceedings of the National Acad-emy of Sciences .

The domestication of rice fromits wild ancestor Oryza rupogon isthought to have started about 9,000 years ago, somewhere within an areaspanning eastern India, Indochina, andparts of southern China. Schaal and hercolleagues, Jason Londo, Yu-Chung Chi-

ang, Kuo-Hsiang Hung, and Tzen-YuhChiang, looked at three genes shared by O. rupogon and O. sativa and com-pared the genetic variation therein.

of agricultural produc-tion on such a largeregional basis.

Also on 2 June,IRRI, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (MARD)

of Vietnam and the World Bank, formally launched the Environ-mental Radio Soap Op-era for Rural Vietnam.The new radio soapopera, Qu Mnh XanhMi (Forever GreenHomeland), is aired on radio stationsthe Voice of Ho Chi Minh and the Voiceof Can Tho. The 105 episodes feature

The Vietnamese Ministry of Agricul-ture and Rural Development hasreleased a 5-year development strategy aimed at producing at least 36 milliontons of rice per year, with a minimum4 million tons for export. Vietnam willdevelop several rice-exporting regions,including large areas in the Mekongand Red River deltas. The country willalso invest in irrigation projects andstorage facilities and encourage more

efcient production methods. In 2006, Vietnam expects to harvest 3839 mil-lion tons of paddy rice, 5 million tons of which are earmarked for export.

Vietnam export plan


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7Rice Today October-December 2006 7

and productivity as well as upgradedrainage and irrigation systems incommercial paddy elds. The country aims to increase its rice productionand reduce its imported-food bills. By 2009, all local paddy farmers will be

required to plant high-yielding rice varieties. Malaysia, which importsfrom Thailand and Vietnam, had set atarget to meet 90% of the local demandfor rice in the next 5 years, up from thecurrent 72%.

Rice as food aidRice made up 17% of global cereal foodaid deliveries in 2005, according to a World Food Program report. Globalcereal food aid deliveries totaled 7.1

million tons, which accounts for 86%of all food aid delivered. In 2005,slightly more rice food aid1.2 milliontonswas delivered than in 2004, butless than the 1.4 million tons deliveredin 2002 and 2003.

Global food supplies at risk?Climate change may put global foodsupplies at risk because rising carbondioxide levels are unlikely to boost yields enough to compensate for factorssuch as higher ozone levels and drierconditions, according to a University of Illinois study published in Sciencemagazine. The researchers used open-eld tests to study how the worlds mainstaplescorn, rice, sorghum, soybeans,

and wheatwould grow under con-ditions projected for 2050. Resultsshowed that crop yields were abouthalf those drawn from similar earlierexperiments conducted in enclosed testconditions.

Rice News Worldwide

New Africa rice leaderPapa Abdoulaye Seck of Senegal ( pic-tured right ) will succeed KanayoNwanze, whose second and nal termends in November, as director general

of the Africa Rice Center (WARDA). HisExcellency Adamu Bello, HonorableMinister for Agriculture and NaturalResources of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in his capacity as the chair of the WARDA Council of Ministers, madethe announcement at an extraordinary session of the WARDA Council on 22June 2006 in Abuja, Nigeria.

At the time of the announcement,Dr. Seck was director general of theSenegal Agricultural Research Insti-tute and adviser to the prime ministerof Senegal. A member of the executivecommittee of the West and Central African Council for Research and De- velopment and of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research, he also servedas chair of the Forum for AgriculturalResearch in Africa.

Dr. Seck said, One of my cherisheddreams has been fullled: to be in astrategic position to serve Africa bet-ter. My work at WARDA will be builton the pillars of transparency, equity,scientic excellence, strengthening of the national agricultural research sys-tems, and an open-door policy towardsall partners.

Growing rice demandThe demand for rice in Africa, whichaccounts for 20% of world rice imports,is growing at around 6% per year. About20 million farmers in sub-Saharan Africa grow rice, while about 100 mil-lion people depend on it for their liveli-hood, Peoples Daily Online reported.In 2004, some 13.2 million tons of rice were produced locally, while 5.9 milliontons were imported from elsewhere,costing the sub-Saharan African regionsome US$1.2 billion.

African rice news Nigeria rice import banNigerias decision to ban rice importsfrom 2007 has been met with both en-thusiasm and skepticism. Mike Ejemba,former secretary to the PresidentialRice Initiative Committee, warnedthat the government may be ned by the World Trade Organization (WTO)

or have WTO benefits withdrawn.If Nigeria is found guilty, she wouldlose substantial revenue in millionsof dollars as penalty and legal bills,he said.

However, in an article entitled Nigeria: the rice penalty , publishedin This Day in Lagos on 28 July, writerTayo Agunbiade hailed the move as partof an attempt to revive rice productionfor both local and international con-sumption and a positive step towardreforming and diversifying the nations

economy.Nigerias ban on the importation

of rice should in no way attract a neor withdrawal of WTO benefits. Onthe contrary, the nation should becommended for taking a bold step towards addressing some of its domesticproblems such as unemployment, andpoverty, as well as promoting agricul-tural development and diversifyingthe foreign exchange earner base, Agunbiade said.

For a wrap -up of the recent Africa RiceCongress in Tanzania, see Putting rice onthe African agenda on pages 16-17.

IRRIs Rice News Worldwide siteprovides links to a comprehensive listof the latest rice news stories. See for yourself at http://ricenews.irri.org.

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I F A S H O L A


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PEOPLE


Achievements

Henry Hank Beachell , one of IRRIs pioneer plant breeders who worked in the 1960s on the rst high- yielding modern rice variety, IR8 (see Breeding history on pages 34-38), cel-ebrated his 100th birthday on 21 Sep-tember. Dr. Beachell, who joined IRRIin 1963, shared the 1996 World FoodPrize with former IRRI senior breederGurdev Khush. According to his WorldFood Prize biography, The economicmagnitude of his achievement is in themultibillion dollar category; beyondthis, billions of people are now bet-ter fed, enjoy better health, and haveincreased life expectancy, thanks toDr. Beachell and his unexpected andexemplary efforts in rice breeding.

M.A. Salam , chief scientic of-cer and head of the Plant BreedingDivision at the Bangladesh Rice Re-search Institute in Gazipur, has wonthe Senadhira Rice Research Awardfor 2006. Dr. Salam was honored forhis outstanding contributions to thedevelopment of varieties for the rainfedlowlands of Bangladesh. The awardhonors the late Sri Lankan scientistDharmawansa Senadhira , one of IRRIs most successful rice breeders, who tragically died in a trafc accident

in Bangladesh in 1998.Keijiro Otsuka , chair of IRRIsBoard of Trustees, has been namedpresident-elect of the International As-sociation of Agricultural Economists.He is set to begin the role at the associ-ations Beijing Conference in 2009.

Philippine National Scientist andIRRI consultant Gelia Castillo re-ceived an Honorary Doctor of Science(Rural Sociology) degree, honoriscausa , from De La Salle University

in Manila on 17 June. The university recognized Dr. Castillos outstandingcontributions as a rural sociologist, andof her being the rst social scientist toraise the level of research as a tool fordevelopment studies.

Deputy Director General for Oper-ations and Support Services William

Padolina has been appointed editor-in-chief of the prestigious Philippine Journal of Science , a technical journalon natural sciences, engineering, math-ematics, and social sciences.

IRRI entomologist K.L. Heong was appointed adjunct professor of

the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU) on 13 August. Dr.Heongpictured ( below left ) receivingthe appointment certicate from FAFU Vice President and Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences President You Minsheng , with the Wuyi Shan(mountains) in the backgroundwas

also announced winner of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing WorldPrize in Agricultural Sciences 2006.

Glenn Gregorio and Dante Adorada of IRRIs Plant Breeding,Genetics, and Biotechnology Division,and Cristina Sison , former IRRI nu-tritionist, shared the 2006 Philippine Agriculture and Resources ResearchFoundation, Inc. Research and Devel-opment Award (research category) with Angelita del Mundo and AngelinaFelix of the University of the Philip-pines Los Baos College of HumanEcology, Jere Haas of Cornell Uni- versity, and John Beard and LauraMurray-Kolb of Pennsylvania StateUniversity, USA. Their winning paper was entitled Rice biofortication as aviable approach towards improved human nutrition.

Scientists Roland Buresh andMirasol Pampolino of IRRIs Cropand Environmental Sciences Divisionreceived awards from the PhilippineSociety of Soil Science and Technology,1-2 June 2006, during the 9th AnnualMeeting and Scientic Symposium of the society at Central Luzon StateUniversity.

Keeping up with IRRI staff

Noel Magor , former IRRI represen-tative in Bangladesh, is returningto the Institutes Philippine headquar-ters to head the Training Center. Heis scheduled to begin on 3 October.

Interim Training Center Head DavidShires will return to his position as acurriculum adviser and trainer.

Former IRRI Operations Manage-ment Head Joe Rickman moved toMozambique in September to headthe new IRRI Africa ofce. Another Australian, Terry Jacobsen , arrivedin August to take over as the new headof operations management.

Gary Atlin , senior scientist inPlant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotech-

nology (PBGB), leaves IRRI to take upa position at IRRIs sister institute inMexico, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.

Senior IRRI agronomist Vethaiya

Balasubramanian has retired andplans to return to India, where he will teach at Tamil Nadu AgriculturalUniversity (see The quiet achiever onpages 32-33).

Jill Cairns , formerly a postdoc-toral fellow in the Crop and Environ-mental Sciences Division, has been ap-pointed international research fellow, working on drought tolerance in rice.

Agricultural economist Kei Kajisa joined the Social Sciences Division.

HANK BEACHELL briefs visiting philanthropist John D. Rockefeller III on IR8 in 1967.

F A F U

I R R I


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PEOPLE


More than 150 people (former andpresent staff and families) at-tended the 2006 IRRI Alumni Reunionon the campus of the University of California-Davis in Davis, California,

E nvironment and Livelihoods inTrop i ca l Coas t a l Zones : Managing Agriculture-Fishery- Aquaculture Conicts (edited by C.T. Hoanh, T.P. Tuong, J.W. Gowing,and B. Hardy; co-published by CABInternational, International WaterManagement Institute [IWMI], andIRRI; 309 pages). This book focuses onthe challenges people face in managingagricultural crops, aquaculture, sher-ies, and related ecosystems in inlandareas of coastal zones in the tropicsof Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America. These challenges can create

conicts in theuse of naturalresources be-tween differentstakeholders.Through many case studies,the au thorsd i s c u s s t h enature of theconflicts andidentify what

is known and not known about how tomanage them. For example, some casestudies relate to the trade-offs betweenenhancing agricultural production by constructing embankments to keep outsaline water and maintaining not only the variety of rural livelihoods but also brackish aquatic biodiversity. Othercase studies provide the lessons learnedfrom the conversion of mangrove for-ests to shrimp farms. For a copy, go to www.cabi-publishing.org.

Rice in Our Life: A Reviewof Philippine Studies (by Gelia T.Castillo; co-published by De La Salle

Universitys Angelo King Institute forEconomic and Business Studies andthe Philippine Rice Research Institute;182 pages). According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer , Dr. Castillo, eminent ru-ral sociologist and Philippine NationalScientist, has written whats probably the most lucid summary of scienticstudies, over the past 30 years, on acereal that can make or break presi-dents. In a delightful prose style, shehighlights the remarkable changes in

2006 IRRI reunion brings together past, present, and future

23-25 June. The program encouragedgreat fellowship through a barrio estaon Friday evening and a Saturday sci-entic symposium, followed by a tourof rice elds and farms in this region of California, which is the second-largest

rice-producing state in the U.S. after Arkansas.

During the fiesta, Davis MayorRuth Asmundson (who had visitedIRRI earlier in 2006 and is a Los Baosnative) made honorary citizens of allthe IRRI alumni in attendance. Duringthe Saturday symposium, Duncan Ma-cintosh, IRRI spokesperson and headof Visitors and Information Services, brought the group up to date on IRRIsnew strategic plan and recent eventsand discussed how the large IRRIalumni contingent in the U.S. can keepin better touch with the Institute.

As part of the IRRI History Project, which is an element of preparations forthe 50th anniversary, Gene Hettel, headof IRRIs Communication and Publica-tions Services, interviewed (on video

the past three decades in the Philippinerice economy and society. For example,she writes, The integrity of rice sciencedeserves to be respected so the cultureof rice will rise above the culture of politics. Whether rich or poor, in a very unequal society like ours, rice is the onething we have in common. She pointsout that rice farming now relies moreon hired laborthan on family labor. Rice-farm-ing householdsare increasingly less reliant on

r i c e f a r m i n gfor householdincome, whichindicates thatsome membersof those households are earning in-come from other sources. Purchasinginformation: contact Dr. Ponciano Intal,Jr., De La Salle University, 10th Floor,DLSU-CSB-Angelo King InternationalCenter, Arellano Avenue corner EstradaSt., Malate, Manila 1004, Philippines.

Books

JUST BEFORE the IRRI reunion, on 22 June 2006 inSacramento, California, Gene Hettel, head of IRRIsCommunication and Publications Services, presentedto Mrs. Liz Havener a 1/4-size duplicate plaque of the original that names the auditorium in IRRIsChandler Hall in memory of Robert Havener, whoserved as interim director general in 1998 and whopassed away in August 2005.

FORMER directors general Klaus Lampe (left ) andNyle Brady contributed their recollections for theIRRI History Project.

tape) IRRI pioneers in attendance,including former directors generalNyle Brady (1973-81) and Klaus Lampe(1988-95). IRRI history was a runningtheme throughout the event and his-torical material, including photos and video footage shown there, can now beseen at www.irri.org/about/history.asp .


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Rice Today October-December 2006 Rice Today October-December 2006

If all goes as planned, in

2010while the InternationalRice Research Institute(IRRI) is celebrating its50th anniversarythe

tiatives spelled out in thestitutes new Strategic Plan (thean) will already be starting tove impact. IRRI titled the Planinging hope, improving lives , asat is precisely what the Institutepes to do for rice producers andnsumers around the world.

The Plan, to be ofcially unveiled

by IRRI Director General RobertZeigler during International RiceCongress 2006 in New Delhi on 9October, is also designed to enableIRRI to do its part in helping partnersand nations across the globe to reachthe United Nations MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

Developing the Plan took nearly 12 months. IRRI consulted widely among its partners and stakeholdersand sought expert guidance

throughout. Says Dr. Zeigler, During

these deliberations, we concludedthat the MDGs related to hunger,poverty, environmental sustainability,and nutrition and health formed asound basis and direction for IRRIsfuture activities. So, we developed vestrategic goals (see page 12) and sevenresearch programs (see page 11) toachieve them to reect this thinking.

Achieving IRRIs rstgoal Reduce poverty throughimproved and diversied rice-based

systems will take the Institute

beyond its traditional focus on riceproduction (increasing productivity or lling the rice bowl), whichrequired an emphasis on favorableirrigated areas, to lling the purse,a major effort to improve farmersincomes in unfavorable rainfedareas. Nevertheless, rice supplies will need to remain plentiful toprovide reliable food that even thepoorest can afford. In Southeast Asia, South Asia, and sub-Saharan

Africa, rice consumption in 2015is projected to be, respectively, 9million tons (11%), 14.9 million tons(13%), and 6.8 million tons (52%)above 2005 levels (for more details,see Rice facts on pages 48-49).

This means relatively lessresearch emphasis for IRRI on yieldgains for irrigated ricefor whichthere is now strong capacity amongthe national agricultural researchand extension systems (NARES),particularly in Asia, says Ren Wang,IRRIs deputy director general forresearch. Instead, IRRIs focuson intensive production systems will shift more to sustainability.In addition, by targeting the MDGon eliminating extreme hungerand poverty as our rst strategicgoal, we are opening profound new opportunities for IRRI to improvethe economic and social well-being of poor rice consumers and farmers.

Rainfed areas coincide to alarge extent with regions of severeand extensive poverty where rice isthe principal source of staple food,employment, and income for the ruralpopulation, says Mahabub Hossain,interim leader of the new programon Raising productivity in rainfed environments: attacking the rootsof poverty (see map on page 13).

Up to now, success has beenlimited in increasing productivity in rainfed rice ecosystemshometo 80 million farmers on 60 millionhectares. Rice yields in theseecosystems remain low at 1.0 to2.5 tons per hectare and tend to be variable due to erratic monsoons.Poor people in these ecosystemsoften lack the capacity to acquirefood, even at lower prices, becauseof poor harvests and limited

employment opportunities elsewhere.Recent research successes

have underscored the potential forimprovements in the rainfed area.For example, a team of researchersfrom IRRI and the University of California have identied a gene thathelps rice survive prolonged ooding,and which will allow breeders todevelop new submergence-tolerantrice varieties (see From genes to farmers elds on pages 28-31).

Our primary objective wito enhance household food secuand income in these rainfed areof Asia, says Dr. Hossain. Witrapid advances in genetics andgenomics, the chances of develohigh-yielding, drought- and ootolerant varieties for the rainfedsystemand, consequently, helfarmers to diversify their farminsystems and thus their incomemuch greater now than ever bef

Sub-Saharan Africa is nowthe worlds major poverty zones

Bringing hope,mproving lives

by Jay Maclean and Gene Hettel

Rice feeds roughly half the planets population and approximately

three-quarters of a billion of the worlds poorest people depend

on the staple to survive. A carefully focused agenda for

continued research on this vital crop is as important as ever.

IRRI's new programs

1. Raisingproductivityinraiattackingtherootsofpover

2. Sustainingproductivityinsystems:riceandtheenviro

3. EastandSouthernAfrica:andanaffordableurbanst

4. Riceandhumanhealth:ovconsequencesofpoverty

5. Ricegeneticdiversityandtheneedsoffuturegeneratgeneticresources

6. Informationandcommunglobalriceresearchcomm

7. Ricepolicysupportandimriceresearch

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Goal 1 targets this vast region as well.About 130 million people in

East and Southern Africa (ESA) livein extreme poverty and more than85% of these depend on agriculture,says Joseph Rickman, interimleader of the new program on East and Southern Africa: rice for rural incomes and an affordable urbanstaple . A large number of these peopleare rice consumers and many aresmall rice producers. A signicantinvestment in agriculture is critical toeradicate hunger and poverty in ESA.

Rural poverty in ESA could be

signicantly reduced if the efciency of local rice production wereimproved in the key rice-growingareas of Kenya, Mozambique,Tanzania, and Uganda, saysRickman. Our research agendahere will also focus on enhancingsmall farmers access and linkageto markets. We will collaborateclosely with the Africa Rice Center(WARDA), the national programs,and advanced research institutes

to capitalize on both the existingknowledge within the countries andthe available international expertise.

It is critical that the stability andproductivity of rice agroecosystemsin Asia and Africa not be taken forgranted and that their use by futuregenerations not be jeopardized. That

is why our second goal is to Ensurethat rice production is sustainableand stable, has minimal negativeenvironmental impact, and can copewith climate change , says Dr. Zeigler.

Rice-growing areas areamong the worlds most enduring,environmentally sound, andproductive agroecosystems, andincreased rice production in recentdecades has had a signicantimpact on poverty reduction.

Rice ecosystems provide basiccommodities and regulatory services,including nutrient and water cycling,

and biological control to reduce pestand disease outbreaks, says DavidJohnson, interim leader of the new program Sustaining productivity inintensive rice-based systems: riceand the environment . Poor peopleoften depend on these ecosystemservices to provide their needs asthey are often without infrastructureto obtain clean water, food, and fuel.Environmental sustainability andecosystem services are threatened,

The relationship between IRRIs new strategic goals and the Millennium Development Goals

Millennium Development GoalsIRRI strategic goals 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Goal 1: Reduce poverty throughimproved and diversied rice-basedsystems

Goal 2: Ensure that rice production issustainable and stable, has minimalnegative environmental impact, andcan cope with climate change

Goal 3: Improve the nutrition andhealth of poor rice consumers andrice farmers

Goal 4: Provide equitable access toinformation and knowledge on riceand help develop the next generationof rice scientists

Goal 5: Provide rice scientists andproducers with the genetic informationand material they need to developimproved technologies and enhancerice production

A direct contribution toward achieving the MDGs

An indirect contribution toward achieving the MDGs

IRRI has staff based in 14 countries

The Philippines (headquarters)BangladeshCambodia

ChinaIndiaIndonesiaKoreaLao PDRMyanmarNepalNigeria (IRRIAfrica Rice Center liaison)MozambiqueThailandVietnam

IRRI STRATEGIC PLAN

The United Nations MillenniumDevelopment Goals

The goals provide a focus for globalefforts to meet the needs of theworlds poorest people. IRRIs newstrategic plan ensures the Institutewill do its part in achieving them.

1. Eradicate extremepoverty and hunger

2. Achieve universalprimary education

3. Promote gender equalityand empower women

4. Reduce child mortality

5. Improve maternal health

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria,and other diseases

7. Ensure environmentalsustainability

8. Develop a global partnershipfor development


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however, by the loss of biodiversity,climate change, and inappropriatemanagement systems often due toland, water, or labor shortages.

Strategies are urgently needed to preserve the naturalresource base while improvingproductivity in rice agroecosystems

in the face of changing physicaland socioeconomic environments,says Dr. Johnson. IRRI will focuson land management, biodiversity, water availability and productivity,and the impact of climate change todevelop and promote technologiesand options to sustain rice-producing environments.

Nutritional deciencies,especially in women and childrenin both Asia and Africa, often gohand in hand with extreme poverty because poverty is a major factorlimiting diversity in the diet. Hence,our third goal is to Improve thenutrition and health of poor riceconsumers and rice farmers , saysDr. Zeigler. Reliance on a singlestaple, such as polished rice, doesnot provide the requisite suite of minerals and vitamins necessary for healthy growth and developmentand leads to widespread nutritionaldeciency in many of the 1.2 billionpeople in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa living in extreme poverty.

Gerard Barry is the interimleader of the new program Rice

and human health: overcoming theconsequences of poverty , which will bring together the multiple rice biofortication projects (including theHarvestPlus Challenge Programsee Breeding for nutrition on pages24-26 of Rice Today Vol. 2, No. 2)and other health-related effortsthat already investigate germplasm,farm practices, and policy options.

Underpinning maximum successin meeting many of the MDGs isthe need to solve the widespreadproblems of health and nutrition thatdebilitate people and hinder economicgrowth. Poor nutrition is manifestedin invisible nutritional deciencies(hidden hunger) and in malnutrition(visible hunger). In addition, saysDr. Barry, poor health in the contextof rice cultivation may be related

to chronic and infectious diseasesfrom water and from vectors suchas rodents and mosquitoes, as wellas illness attributed to the improperhandling of farm chemicals.

For much of the work inthis program, the delivery chainincludes partners in NARES for theco-development and deploymentof germplasm (seeds and thegenetic material they contain) andagricultural practices. However, IRRI will greatly expand its interactions with the public health sector indeveloping countries, for bothpolicy and delivery effectiveness.

This process has already begun in the Golden Rice Network for India and the Philippines andthis will serve as a model for otherproducts, explains Dr. Barry. Theexisting structures in the GoldenRice Network and in HarvestPlushave already brought together many of the relevant national and regionalinstitutions needed for impact.

Developments that will affect allof the efforts mentioned so far arethe rapidly increasing availability and affordability of information

and communication technology,such as the Internet, mobilephones, and powerful computers.These new technologies havecreated important opportunitiesto allow people with commoninterests to form communities,communicate, and collaborate.

They have also raised new obligations for IRRI to curate,exchange, and share not only itsown body of information, data,

POVERTY AND RICE distribution and irrigation by country, and subdivisions for China and India. The size of thepie diagram is scaled (not linear) to the total rice area in a country. There is a clear relationship between theprevalence of rainfed rice and the level of poverty.

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d experience but also that of theorlds knowledge about rice in allforms, says Dr. Zeigler. Thisll not only enhance global rice

search efforts but also empowerveloping-country rice scientiststh state-of-the-art informationd knowledge and their associatedols. So, our fourth goal is to Provideuitable access to information and owledge on rice and help develope next generation of rice scientists .

According to GrahamcLaren, interim leader of thew program Information and mmunication: convening aobal rice research community ,s effort will build on many

obal investments in informationd technology within and outsideRIs parent organization, the

onsultative Group on Internationalgricultural Research (CGIAR).

Through this program, we arermally attempting to consolidateIRRI research and developmentinformation and communication

chnology for rice science andtension under a single coordinatedtivity, says Dr. McLaren. We

an to place bioinformatics andmmunication tools directly in thends of crop scientists, extensionents, and farmers to deliver impactrough two major pathways, whichll enhance the capacity of IRRIs

x other research programs toliver impact more effectively.

The rst pathway is Internetssemination via a World Riceommunity Portal of restructuredd cross-linked information on crop

IRRIs new Frontier Projects Drought and productivity in unfavorable rice environmentsRecent IRRI research has shown that the drought tolerance trait is strongly inuencegenes and gene networks with large effects. This project will scale up their detection, analysand delivery for use in marker-aided breeding. By incorporating genes for this trait frice and other species into widely grown rice varieties, tech nologies can be developed wnational agricultural research systems and provided to farmers to enhance and stabilize thrice yields and income. (See Diagnosing drought on page 32 of Rice Today Vol. 5,

Climate change and sustainability Climate change brings new problems for the sustainability of rice production. Further, chain air quality and composition, acid rain, and Asian brown clouds will produce abio-climate for food production systems. Rice cultivation is often viewed a s a contribto climate change through the production of greenhouse gases. Given the essential rolerice in the food system, solutions must be sought that not only minimize the i mpact of rproduction on the environment but also sustain productivity and environmental qualStrong science will decipher the causes and effects involved, improve germplasm adaptto expected future climatic conditions, and mitigate the negative effect of agriculture climate. (See Climate change initiative ramps up on page 5 of Rice Today Vol. 5, N

A much more productive and efcient rice plant Plants like maize and sorghum have a more efcient photosynthetic mechanism (callefor converting energy to biomass than rice (a so-called C 3 plant). C 4 plants are aefcient in nitrogen and water use, and are generally more tolerant of high temperaturGenomic sciences and comparative biology may be a ble to break the yield ceiling of riceenhance its water- and nitrogen-use efciency by changing the photosynthetic mechanin rice to that of the more efcient plants. IRRI has formed a C 4 rice consortium scientists from both advanced research institutes and developing countries to chart aconduct research to develop a C 4 rice plant. (See A more powerful and efcient enrice on page 5.)

science and extension. The secondpathway is direct engagement of science and extension communitiesusing current communicationtechnologies, both new, such as

Web portals, videoconferencing,and cell phones, and traditional,such as radio and tele vision.

Another ingredient in the mixthat will continue to contributeto the impact of IRRIs researchagenda is the rice germplasm ithas assembled over nearly half acentury. IRRI now maintains, on

behalf of humanity, the worlds mostcomplete and diverse collection of rice germplasm, says Dr. Zeigler,and this leads to our fth andnal goal, to Provide rice scientistsand producers with the geneticinformation and material they need to develop improved technologiesand enhance rice production.

According to Hei Leung, interimleader of the new program Ricegenetic diversity and discovery:meeting the needs of futuregenerations for rice geneticresources , there are still signicantgaps in IRRIs germplasm collection

and, despite the advanced stateof knowledge of the rice genome,information is scant on what diversity of genes exists within the rice genepool, what these genes do, and how they may help meet the needs of riceproducers and users. Meanwhile,genetic erosion in the eld continues.

We expect a greater demand forspecic genetic resources to addressproduction and environmentalproblems in the fut ure, says Dr.

Leung. This will translate intoa greater demand for the geneticknowledge and tools that are neededto identify and use resourcesthat meet specic needs.

Through genomics (the scienceof discovering genetic structure, variation, and function, and theinterrelationships among these),genetic knowledge can now beintegrated across species, leadingto accelerated discovery of genefunctions. Furthermore, genome-wideanalysis has the potential to revealnew insights about genetic pathways,and create new opportunitiesto meet both anticipated andunforeseen challenges.

Bringing together germplasmconservation, diversity analysis,and gene discovery under this singleprogram, says Dr. Leung, presents aunique opportunity to maximize theutility of conserved and customizedgermplasm. This program will offera comprehensive, well-documentedgermplasm base, a public researchplatform to enable gene identication,and genetic knowledge for priority traits. Building on the investmentsand achievements made in germplasmcharacterization, functionalgenomics, and bioinformatics, IRRIis poised to play a major role in genefunction discovery, applications of genetic knowledge, and conservationand sharing of genetic resources.

The last new program, which will be critical to achieving the vePlan goals, is Rice policy support

and impact assessment for riceresearch . According to Dr. Zeigler,the impact of rice research onpoverty reduction and environmentalsustainability depends on policiesand appropriate technologies thataddress farmers livelihood needs.

To effectively set researchpriorities, we must understand the broad trends in socioeconomic andpolicy environments that affect theeconomics of rice production, hesays. This involves analyzing trendsin rice production and consumptionat national and subnational levels andshifts in comparative advantages inrice production relative to other cropsacross regions and ecosystems.

According to interim programleader Sushil Pandey, IRRIaims to provide sound advice topolicymakers, research managers,and donors regarding researchpriorities and the design of agricultural interventions throughpolicy analyses, livelihood studies,and impact assessments focusedon rice-based systems of Asia.

By making regional comparisonsof rice economies and associatedlivelihoods, the program will helpproduce a global view of the driversof change and their impacts,says Dr. Pandey. In addition, we will develop research approachesand tools that will have widerapplication for policy researchand impact analysis. We will alsoclosely partner with NARES to help build their capacity for broader

socioeconomic and policy analysesof the agricultural sector. NARES,sister CGIAR centers, and advancedresearch institutes will all have key collaborative roles in the program.

IRRI has a 46-year history of investing in visionary frontierresearchresearch that, whensuccessful, has revolutionizedagriculture. The original frontierproject was none other than theincorporation of semidwarf genesto create the modern high-yielding varieties that began with the releaseof IR8 40 years ago and spurredthe Green Revolution in rice. (See Breeding history on pages 34-38.)

Three new Frontier Projects,involving work on drought tolerance,climate change, and producing a more

Complete details of IRRIs exciting Strategic Plan 2007-2015, Bringing hope, improving lives,are available online in pdf format at www.irri.org/bringinghope/improvinglives.pdf copies are available upon request from the ofce of IRRIs Director for Program Planning and Communications at [email protected] or DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines. IRRI Medium-Term Plan, 2007-09, which provides details on the seven research programs for the rst 3-year period of the Strategic Plan, is available online at www.irri.org/mtp2007-09.

productive and efcient rice pla(see IRRIs new Frontier Projecabove), are intended to accentuathe Institutes commitment toachieving its new goals. Says D

Wang, They will constitute novand focused research on problemstrategic importance to future riproduction and the environmentThe projects will be undertakenmulti-institutional, internationalresearch teams, and we expect tsignicant portions of the resea

will be conducted at collaboratiinstitutions in both developedand developing countries.

Jay Maclean is a freelance writer and information specialist with more than 3years experience in agriculture and s

IRRI STRATEGIC PLAN

J O N N A S O / T H E S T A R - L

E D G E R

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Rice was one of thecornerstones of the AsianGreen Revolution. Willit play a similar rolein sub-Saharan Africa

SA)? Participants at the Africace Congress in Dar es Salaam,nzania, on 31 July4 August06, urged African governmentsrecognize the strategic role of riced urgently put in place policiesd infrastructure to transforme rice sector in the region.

The rst of its kind in SSA, theongress brought together more

an 200 participants, includingtional and international riceentists, policymakers, economists,ernational nongovernmentalganizations, representativesom rice networks in West andst Africa, farmers associations,

e private sector, the donormmunity, and media. The mainrpose of the Congress was toart the way forward for ricesearch and development in SSA.

Rice is of signicant importanceto food security in many Africancountries. Although per capitarice consumption in some Asiannations is declining, it is growingrapidly in most countries in SSA.

Annual demand for rice in SSA isincreasing by 6% per year, fueled

by rapid population growth andchanges in consumer preferences.

Although rice production inSSA rose from 6.2 million tons of paddy (unhulled) rice in 1980 to 12.6million tons in 2005, it has not beenable to keep pace with increasingdemand. As a result, the quantity of rice imported yearly by the regionincreased from 2.5 million tons in1980 to 7.2 million tons in 2005.Rice imports cover more than 45%of SSAs consumption and representa third of world rice imports.

Since only 46% of worldrice output is subject to trade, Aliou Diagne, impact assessment

economist from the Africa RiceCenter (WARDA), cautioned that SSA would be ill advised to rely on thisrelatively thin world rice marketfor its growing rice demand. SSA should urgently review its rice importpolicy to avoid a crisis in the nearfuture, he said at the Congress.

Dr. Diagne emphasized theneed for African smallholderfarmers to get a more level playingeld to access markets, inputs,

and credit. While SSAs 36million farmers scrape a livingout of rice farming in a liberalizedmarket, Asian and American ricefarmers are highly supported by their governments, he said.

Conrming the vital needfor government support to therice sector, World Food PrizeLaureate and former InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI)principal breeder Gurdev Khushsaid that the development of high- yielding varieties alone couldnot have provided the boost inrice production that led to IndiasGreen Revolution in the 1960s.

It was a combination of successfactors that included the governmentsdecision to support its rice farmers

by providing a fertilizer subsidy,price support, and a ready market,in addition to irrigation, roads,and machinery, said Dr. Khush.

The Congress participantsacclaimed the achievements of WARDAs part nership-basedresearch, especially its New Ricefor Africa (NERICA) varieties. Weare just witnessing the beginning of the NERICA revolution in Africa,stated Keijiro Otsuka, chair of IRRIs

Resolutions of the rst Africa Rice Congress

Given that Africa has to import almost 50% of the rice it needs and that demanincreasing at the rate of 6% per year, rice should be one of the cornerstones of a GrRevolution for Africa that anticipates the needs of future populations.

Transform the low level of available scientic expertise in sub-Saharan Africa, whereare only 83 scientists per million people, compared with 1,100 scientists per millioindustrialized countries and 785 per million in Asia. The Congress resolves that for the GRevolution to succeed in Africa, a new capacity-building program focusing on the developof a multidisciplinary cadre of scientists and extensionists is urgently needed.

To accelerate farmer adoption of New Rice for Africa (NERICA) varieties and other imtechnologies, concerted actions by a broad partnership including governments, reseainstitutions, the private sector, and local, regional, international, and nongovernmenorganizations are needed. The Congress recognizes the value of micro-nancingparticipatory learning as powerful means both for technology dissemination anddeveloping appropriate infrastructure to improve access to seeds, fertilizer, mechanizatand market systems.

The Congress is deeply appreciative of the support and hospitality of the governmethe United Republic of Tanzania. It recognizes the role played by the Africa Rice C(WARDA), not only in African agriculture and, therefore, in the continents ecogrowth but also in providing leadership in rice science and development. Desirtherefore, of the necessity for the Center to continue to provide such leadership in rdevelopment in Africa, the Congress resolves and urges all stakeholders to maintaiCenters identity, as previously resolved by the WARDA Council of Ministers in Se2005 and the National Experts Committee in June 2006, and to strengthen its capafor the welfare of African rice farmers.

Board of Trustees. Discussions began on the development of next-generation NERICAs.

The need to strengthen thecapacity of human resourcesof the whole range of ricestakeholdersfrom researchers toextension workers, farmers, andprocessorswas underscored.

A Committee of EminentPersons comprising mainly thekeynote speakers at the Congressprovided overall guidance to thediscussions on some of the criticalissues relating to rice researchand development in SSA.

The committee included Dr.Khush; Ruth Oniango, member of parliament, Kenya; Eric Tollens,Catholic University of Leuven,Belgium; Susan McCouch, CornellUniversity, USA; Marco Quinones, Africa director of Sasakawa-Global2000; Toshiyuki Wakatsuki, KinkiUniversity, Japan; Prof. Otsuka;Oumar Niangado, SyngentaFoundation, Mali; Mpoko Bokanga, African Agricultural Technology Foundation, Kenya; Kallunde Sibuga,Sokoine University, Tanzania;

Putting rice on the African agendahe recent Africa Rice Congress in Tanzania helped chart the course for the futuref the rice industry in sub-Saharan Africa

by Savitri Mohapatra

and Richard Musangi, Kenya.The Congress was organize

WARDA, in association with thand Central Africa Rice ResearDevelopment Network and the and Central Africa Rice ResearNetwork, under the aegis of theTanzanian Ministry of AgricultFood, and Cooperatives. Spons

were the U.S. Agency for InternDevelopment, the Canadian Fufor Africa, the Sasakawa Africa

Association, the West and Cent African Council for AgriculturResearch and Development, the

Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in EasterCentral Africa, the European Uand the Rockefeller Foundation

The rst Congressional Ho was bestowed on Kanayo F. Nwin recognition of his outstandincontribution to rice research andevelopment in Africa duringhis term as WARDA directorgeneral from 1996 to 2006.

Savitri Mohapatra is head of communications at the Africa Rice Center (WARDA).

PAPA ABDOULAYE SECK (left ), whois set to become director generalof WARDA in November 2006,prepares to speak while WARDAentomologist Francis Nwilene(center ) and IRRI agronomistVethaiya Balasubramanian assist.

ARTICIPANTS at the Africa Rice Congress includedont ) Josephine Maseruka, a journalist from Newsion, Uganda; ( second row, left to right ) Mpoko

okanga from the African Agricultural Technologyundation, Kenya, and rice breeder Susan McCouch

om Cornell University, USA; (third row, left toht ) Yousouf Dembele, Leonard Ouedraogo, Thio

ouma, and Ibrahim Ouedraogo, all from the Insti- de lenvironnement et des recherches agricoles,

urkina Faso.

VICKY NTETEMA, BBCBureau Chief in Dar es

Salaam, Tanzania, inter-views a Tanzanian rice

farmer during the AfricaRice Congress.

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Youve been farming for20 years. You do thingsas your father did them,and his father beforehim. Then, one day,

cientist visits your farm. Youscuss the problems that have beentting worse for the past few years.oductivity is declining and youed more fertilizer to get the sameelds. You both agree that somethingfferent needs to be done. Together,u decide on a new approach.

Despite some skepticism,u allocate a signicant portionyour land to a trial. But, early the season, this experiment

is looking disastrous. Your croplooks terrible. Your neighborstell you youre crazy and laughat you. You seriously considerplowing the whole eld under.

Now jump ahead to harvesttime. That same plot of land is now admired by your neighbors as oneof the best in the area. The otherfarmers are lining up to try the samething in their elds next season.On top of that, youve saved money and helped the environment.

Conservation agriculture, asthis new approach is known, is still

young. We wont know for a few years yet whether it lives up to its promise.

Right now, though, that promise isexciting. And, make no mistakeconservation agriculture could be very important indeed. This isntabout niche farming to supplementthe way things have always beendone. This is about feeding a nation.

Agriculture in India is currently at a crossroads. In many areasespecially on the most productivefarms in the rice-wheat belt of the Indo-Gangetic Plains in thecountrys northwestdecades of conventional farming have begun totake their toll. Years of the intensiveirrigation required to grow rice havesucked the water table down, andit is dropping further each year.

On top of this, the combinationof ooding the elds and the ever-increasing use of inputs, suchas fertilizer, has led to sick anddeteriorating soil. The situationis simply unsustainable.

This is one of the biggestproblems, although we dont see that

yet, says J.K. Ladha, InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI)representative to India and IRRIsRice-Wheat Coordinator. Right now,productivity is maintained becausefarmers are putting in more chemicalinputs. But I think its just a matterof timeve, ten years down theroadand well really start to see the visible effects of land degradation.

If that isnt disheartening enough, you can add another problem to

the mix. Fewer and fewer of Ind young want to farm. Growing u watching their parents work thengers to the bone, often for litreward, has dissuaded a generatthat sees a brighter future in Ind

burgeoning urban economy. Anoften, they have the understandand support of their parents.

Both my sons want to get of farming, explains Akhtar, a45-year-old farmer from Kalug

village in the northwestern statof Uttar Pradesh. My land is sosmall, I dont make protsI cfulll my childrens needs. I wathem to get out. Im not againstchildren staying on the farm. Bmy land will be divided betweemy childrenmore fragmentatiThis is already a problem. Weshould look for alternatives.

But what are the alternativIn the next few years, scientistsand farmers will discover whethconservation agriculture is one

s Indias rice-wheat belt grapples with declining soil health

nd water tables, a vanguard of young, innovative farmers

nd researchers is leading a new approach that could hold

e key to reversing the regions waning productivity

Conservingthe future

tory and photos by Adam Barclay

APPROPRIATE MACHINERYsuch as these drill seedersis key tothe conservation agriculture approach. Equipment like this allowsfarmers to reduce seed and fertilizer waste, seed through existingcrop residue, and incorporate residue into the soil.

DR. JAT points to an experimental eld at theProject Directorate for Cropping Systems Researchin Modipuram, Uttar Pradesh. The eld is part of anexperiment on tillage and residue management inthe rice-wheat cropping system. A eld worker (left )at the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute inKarnal, Haryana, helps load just-harvested rice. Dr.Ladha (top, at right ) talks to Uttar Pradesh farmer Akhtar Khan about the progress of his conservationagriculture trials.


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em. In Indias rice-wheat belt,nservation agriculture holdseat potential as part of an urgentd necessary change in the way ople think about agriculture.at potential is currently being

sessed in an Asian Developmentnk-sponsored project, Enhancingmers income and livelihoods

rough integrated crop and source management in thee-wheat system in South Asia .e project, which is managed by

IRRI under the leadership of Dr.Ladha, falls under the umbrellaof the Rice-Wheat Consortiumfor the Indo-Gangetic Plains.Collaborating institutes includethe International Maize and WheatImprovement Center along withthe national agricultural researchand extension systems of India,Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan.

One of the keys to its successis not only that it maintains orincreases productivity but also

that it is economically viable. If itcannot help farmers increase theirincomes, it is doomed from thestart. Several characteristics of conservation agriculturesuch aszero-tillage and direct seedingarelikely to save farmers money (formore information on direct seeding,see The direct approach on pages12-18 of Rice Today Vol. 5, No. 2)and, so far, farmers have achieved yields as high as or higher thanthose obtained by the conventionalpractice of transplanting seedlingsinto ooded elds (see table belowfor a description of conservationagriculture principles).

Any gains from conservationagriculture will be limited if only a few scattered farmers becomeconvertstrue success will mean wide-scale adoption across the rice- wheat belt. But, with any technology,good potential is no guarantee of success. More than 20 years ago,S.K. Sharma, director of the ProjectDirectorate for Cropping SystemsResearch (PDCSR) in Modipuram,Uttar Pradesh, was heralding the

onservation agriculturechnologies Potential benets relative to transplanted rice

aser leveler

Cuts water use; fewer bunds and irrigation channels; better soilnutrient distribution; less leaching of nitrates into groundwater;more effi cient tractor use (reduced diesel consumption); increasedarea for cultivation.

ero-tillage

Less labor required; soil physical structure is maintained (reducednutrient loss, soil health maintained); less water required; avoidslarge cracks in soil after dry periods; can keep previous cropsresidue in eld for mulch (if appropriate drill seeder is used forseeding); subsoil layer is not compacted by tractors ( compactedsubsoil impedes root growth).

rop residue mulch Increases soil water-holding capacity, increases soil quality,reduces weed pressure, avoids burning.

ry seeding

Less water required; less labor required (especially at peak

transplanting time); postharvest condition of eld is better forsucceeding crop; deeper root growth (meaning better tolerance of dry conditions, better access to soil nutrients).

rill seeder

Precise seeding (reduced seed rate); applies fertilizer and/orherbicide simultaneously with seed (increased input effi ciency);seeds through previous crops residue; incorporates previous c ropsresidue into soil (adds to soil fertility).

reen manure ( Sesbania )Fast early growth suppresses weeds; after herbicide treatment, itacts as mulch (reduces evaporative water loss; adds soil organicmatter plus nutrientsespecially nitrogento the soil).

rop diversication (raisedeedbeds, intercropping)

Two to three crops grow simultaneously (e.g., rice, chickpea,pigeon pea, maize); increased income; increased nutritionalsecurity.

otential benets of key conservation agriculture technologies.

benets of direct-seeded rice, but it was never taken up in farmers elds.

There were concerns about weedmanagement in direct-seeded rice, but now several technologies allow effective control of weeds, says Dr.Sharma. Further, people said youneed more water for direct-seededrice. This is a myth! By using direct-seeded rice, farmers cut water use.

Yashpal Saharawat, a soilscientist based at the IRRI-Indiaofce in Delhi, points out thegrave importance of such watersavings. In India, farmers areusing underground water very fast.Currently, in Haryanas Karnalregion, for example, the watertable is dropping at around 1 meterper year. But farmers using directseeding in this region are reducingtheir water use by around 25%.

When Dr. Sharma rstchampioned direct seeding, it was in some ways ahead of itstime. The ideas were good but themachine technologies that wouldmake it attractive to farmers werenot available. That is no longer

the case. Recent advances inmachinery, along with growingshortages of labor and water andconcerted research and technology dissemination efforts, mean thetime is ripe for a fresh approach.

According to R.K. Gupta, theregional facilitator of the Rice-WheatConsortium, machinery has a key roleto play if conservation agricultureis to succeed on a wide scale.

Recently developed machinesallow more precise seeding, explainsDr. Gupta. Seeders are now availablethat can meter the seed rate andsimultaneously apply fertilizer. Suchprecision allows farmers to reducethe amount of seed and fertilizerthey use and so save money.

The new seeders can alsoplow through the residue of theprevious crop. The rotor disk drill,for example, can seed throughup to 7 tons per hectare of looseresidue. This offers two signicantadvantages. First, it allows farmersto leave their elds untilled,resulting in a big savings of labor.

M.L. Jat, senior agronomist at

PDCSR, says that through redulaborusing traditional methodfarmers plow at least 10 timestillage alone can save farmers3,000 rupees (US$65) per acre hectare). Yields are more or lesssame as for conventional tillage

but even where they are slightlyless, farmers win economically.

The second big advantage ozero-tillage is that farmers can lthe residue of the preceding croin the eld. That residue can theact as mulch, providing the soil

with moisture and nutrients, ansuppressing weed growth. And,a double bonus, farmers no longneed to burn the residue, a practthat can harm the environment

well as soil and human health.Weve developed some ve

machines that can actually pickthe straw and then, after drillingseed and putting fertilizer into pthrow the straw back for mulch,Dr. Ladha. If those machines bpopular, then we are really intoconservation agriculture concep

One of the reasons for tillinthe land is to ensure that the soimoist enough for germination. S

why is zero-tillage, combined wdirect seeding, now possible? Tanswer, again, lies in the availaof appropriate machinery. Olderseed drills opened large furrowof 7.510 cm. If you used these direct-seed an untilled eld, theseeds would quickly dry out. Thprecise machines leave much smfurrows, thereby eliminating th

Presently, we have aroundmillion hectares under zero-till

A COMMON SIGHT: smoldering piles of rice straw (left )pouring carbon dioxide into the air and reducing soilorganic content. This is one of the practices thatDrs. Saharawat (left ) and Gathala want to end. Withmachinery that can sow seeds through crop residue,leaving the stubble alone is a much more attractiveoptionas can be seenbelow , where rice seedlingsare growing through wheat straw.Right , Drs. Saharawatand Gathala crouch in a rice eld that has been dry-seeded after zero-tillage, thus reducing water use,labor requirements, and cracked soil.

FARMERS INSPECT a seed drill at a Central Soil SalinityResearch Institute eld day in October 2005 at theinstitute headquarters in Karnal, Haryana.

DR. S.K. SHARMA,from the ProjectDirectorate for Cropping SystemsResearch inModipuram, Uttar Pradesh, helpedpioneer directseeding.

I R R I - I N D I A O F F I C E

I R R I - I N D I A O F F I C E


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the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India,says Dr. Jat. This is after 3 or 4 years. We have a total of 10 million hectaresunder the rice-wheat cropping systemin this region. I expect that, in thecoming years, the whole area willgo under conservation agriculturepractices, including zero-tillage.

Another aspect of conservationagriculture that is gaining favoris planting the legume Sesbaniasimultaneously with rice. After2530 days, farmers spray theircrop with a herbicide that killsthe Sesbania along with other broadleaf weeds, but doesnt affectthe rice plants. The quick-growing Sesbania initially suppresses weedgrowthoften enough for farmersto perform one less hand weeding,thus saving 1,500 rupees ($32). Then,after spraying, the Sesbania leavesact as mulch, further suppressing weed growth, reducing evaporative water loss, and providing around

15 kg per hectare of nitrogen.One challenge, though, isproviding equitable access tomachinery, as many farmers cantafford their own seeders. A singlemachine, however, can serviceseveral farms. Currently, groupsof farmers share machines or rentthem from larger farmers. Thesame system is gaining momentum with laser land levelers.

According to Dr. Jat, laser

leveling, which was rst promotedfour years ago on just a few hectares,has now been adopted on morethan 3,000 hectares. By ensuringa perfectly at, horizontal eld,the technology reduces the needfor bunds and irrigation channelsand can cut average water use by 2025% as well as reduce laborrequirements. Further, the resultantuniform application of water leadsto uniform distribution of nutrientsin the soil and the fewer bunds andchannels mean a 45% increase incultivated land. Also, an undulatingeld leads to an accumulation of nitrogen fertilizer in low-lyingareas, increasing the chance of nitrates polluting the groundwater.

Its such an attractivetechnology; farmers really like tohave it, and its really an entry point,adds Dr. Ladha. Once youve leveledthe land, zero-tillage becomes easy, water management becomes easy, and

weed management becomes easy. A major part of the reasonfor the success of machinery adoption by farmers in this regionis the consultation with farmers.We consider our farmers asresearch partners rather thanresearch clientsand there is a big difference between a partnerand a client, explains Dr. Jat.

But all the machinery in the world is no good if no farmers are

around to use it. So, in the face of the exodus from the farm to thecity, who will produce Indias food?Fortunately, there is light on thehorizon. A new breed of farmers isemerging from Indias agriculturalcommunities. Young and innovative,they believe in science, they are open

to new crop management systemsand technologies, and they contradictthe idea that farming is some sortof hell from which to escape.

Older farmers often see farmingas merely a livelihood, says M.K.Gathala, an IRRI agronomist basedin Modipuram. These young farmerssee it as a business. They understandthe market, theyre aware of issueslike water and soil health. If they havea problem, theyll go to the scientistsand the private sector; they wont wait for someone to come to them.

Sandeep Kumar, a 25-year-old farmer from Lalpur village inModipuram, typies the new breed.

SAMAR SINGH (with microphone), senior agronomist at the International Maize and

Wheat Improvement Center-India Ofce,talks to farmers at the Central Soil Salin-

ity Research Institute eld day in October 2005. One of Dr. Singhs research areas is

the co-planting of Sesbania with rice tosuppress weed growth, act as mulch, and

provide extra nitrogen.

UTTAR PRADESH farmer Sandeep Kumar standsin a eld of sugarcaneresidue. Newly developeddrill seeders can happilysow rice seeds throughresidue this thick, meaningSandeep can avoid theeconomic and environ-mental costs of burning or disposal.


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The families of Akhtar Khan and Pradeep Singh have farmed near Kalugarhi villagein Modipuram, Uttar Pradesh, for generations. Both 45 years old, they rst triedconservation agriculture in the 2005 season, each dedicating 1 acre (0.4 hectare) todirect-seeded, zero-tilled rice. Akhtar recalls the initial skepticism of his neighbors.

This was a complete shift, moving from puddling, he says. My neighbors said, Yourecrazy! Now, some of them are also trying it. The price of diesel [used to pump water] hasgone up like crazy; zero-tilled rice saves water and therefore saves money.

It hasnt been all smooth sailing, though. Pradeep explains that they encountered someearly challenges.

Weed management is one problem, he says. I feel the problem is worse in zero-tilledversus tilled land. I can overcome this, but I have to put in more herbicides. But I wontgive up. These problems can be solved.

In addition, the rst zero-tilled seeds did not germinate as well as hoped, although thisis improving as the farmers optimize settingssuch as seed depthon the drill seeder.

IRRIs J.K. Ladha emphasizes that early problems are to be expected: Whenever youbring in new technology, its never a clean sweep. Never. There are always problems youhave to solve.

Both Pradeep and Akhtar, who have two and four children, respectively, are concernedabout the next generation.

Farming is becoming less attractive, says Pradeep. The younger generation wantsto get out. We have seen benets from conservation agriculture, but not yet on a largerscale. We dont know if this will work on a large scale. But the involvement of international centers gives us hope and condence. Having the scientists come is having a very positiveimpact on our children, too.

Part of the solution, suggests Pradeep, lies in changing the way farmers think aboutfarming.

Our fathers and forefathers were stubborn, he says. They wouldnt listen to anybodyabout new technologies. But, because of our education, were ready to change thatmindset.

And, in the face of farmings trials and tribulationsthe rising costs, the declining soil health, the backbreaking workPradeep and Akhtar remain philosophical.

One of my children has left the farm already; the second is trying to get out, saysPradeep. His father is trying to keep him here! I have 30-odd years of experience and I

cant pass this on to my childrenthis is deeply frustrating. But, sitting here, people thinkthe outside world has no problems. But its full of problems. Im happy. I want to stay here.At least I have time in the evenings to sit with my wife.

Changing a mindset

We have a group of young,educated farmers, explainsSandeep. Were saving a lot of money and water. We want to adoptconservation agriculture as a whole.

Our natural resources are beingdegraded; we need to sustain them.I hope this whole area will go forthese technologies. We were therst farmers to adopt. At rst, the

district administration didnt believe, but after I showed them that mine was the best eld in the area, they believed. Last year there was oneeldmine. Next year, there will be50! Next year, I want to plant othercrops using conservation agricultureprinciples and technologies.

If a major shift is to take place,much more is needed than to merely disseminate technology and trainpeople to use it.

What is required is a change inmindset that prompts farmers tounderstand that good farm manage-ment is essential, says Dr. Gupta.

Younger, scientically knowledgeable, innovative farmers will lead the next generation; havingthem on board the conservationagriculture bandwagon is crucial.

The next few years will reveal whether conservation agriculture

takes hold and lives up to its early promise. The signs are good, though,and it is indisputable that somethingneeds to change. The farmers whohave tried it for themselves areenthusiasticand it is these pioneers who will ultimately lead the way.Time and again, when asked abouttheir early experiences, one commonanswer emerged: My neighborslaughed and said I was crazy. Now they want to do the same as me.

FARMERS AT the Central SoilSalinity ResearchInstitute eld dayin October 2005.

FARMERS PRADEEP SINGH (center ) and Akhtar Khan (left ) contem-plate change with Drs. Ladha (arms raised ) and Jat ( right ).


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Rice Today October-December 2006 Rice Today October-December 2006Rice Today October-December 2006

RICE in harms wayO

n 24-28 July 2006, intrepid IRRI photographers Ariel Javellana and Jose Raymond Panaligan braved the area around the base of Mayon volcano, in Bicol, Philippines (see map,

right ). Mayon, famous for its near-perfect conicalshape, began showing increased volcanic activity in mid-July (see centerfold on pages 26-27). Theactivity continued throughout August and, asRice Today went to press, the Philippine Instituteof Volcanology and Seismology was maintainingan 8-km danger zone and recorded the volcanosstatus at alert level 4, which corresponds to ahigh probability for a hazardous eruption.

Although a boon to our photographers, thevolcano has the capacity to cause great hardship forthe surrounding rice-farming communities. Asidefrom causing danger to life and limb, lava, ash falls,and pyroclastic owsfast-moving mixtures of hotgas, rocks, and ash that travel quickly down themountaincan also damage or destroy crops, housing,and infrastructure. Presented here are some images of Mayon volcano and the people who live in its shadow.

Clockwise from main photo (left):Steaming lava on the mountainside in Barangay Tagas, Daraga,

Albay Province; a woman protects herself from the sunand ashin Bonga Gully; 57-year-old rice

farmer Sofroneo Rodriguezwhose farm was damaged in Mayons 1984 eruptionsought refuge

with his family in the Sitio Bical evacuation center; Rodriguezs granddaughter occupies herself at

Sitio Bical; Rodriguezs son, who takes turns with other family members to return to the farm each

night to guard against looters and thieves; lava creeps toward the bell tower of the old Cagsawa

churchone of the only structures remaining above the lava that buried Cagsawa town in the

1814 Mayon eruption, which killed more than 1,000 people.

Rice Today October-December 2006

Bicol Region, Luzon Island,Philippines

P h i l i p p i n e S e a


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Rice Today October-December 2006 Rice Today October-December 2006y October-December 2006, Vol. 5, No. 4 Rice fields at the edge of Mayon volcanos 8-km danger zone, near Legaspi City in the Philippines Bicol Region, 27 July 2006.


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From

Rice is considered asemiaquatic plant, andit thrives in the wettestagricultural environments.However, most rice varieties

ll be heavily damaged and die if ey remain underwater for morean 4 days. A few varietiessuch

the traditional Indian variety R13Acan tolerate 2 to 3 weekssubmergence and rapidly recover

hen the water subsides. Thisimportant for the vast rainfedwland areas of Asia whereermittent ooding causes frequentbmergence. Estimated cropsses are around a billion dollarsnually. Compounding the problem,bmergence stress tends to be moremmon in areas where poverty is

high. Rice production in these areasis highly variable due to ooding.

Relief may be at hand, though.Researchers at the InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI) andthe University of California (UCRiverside and Davis) have recently discovered a gene from FR13A that

is responsible for that varietysstrong tolerance of submergence.This gene belongs to a class of genesknown as ethylene response factorsor ERFs. The signicance of theresearchrecently reported in thescientic journal Nature 1is that itprovides new tools to develop rice

varieties that combine high yields and

tolerance of submergence. Despitecontinuing efforts by rice breeders,these varieties were not adopted by farmers because of unacceptabletraits such as poor taste or inadequateadaptation to the location.

Work on the genetics of submergence tolerance began inthe early 1990s. Graduate studentKenong Xu and Ithen working forthe Agricultural Research Serviceof the United States Department of Agriculture and UC Davisusedmolecular markers (a molecularmarker is a segment of DNA that

is linked to a gene that controls animportant trait and can easily bedetected in the lab) to map a regionof DNA on rice chromosome 9 that was responsible for most of thetolerance. We named the gene (orgenesat the time, we didnt know whether it was a single gene or severallinked genes) Sub1 (Submergence1) .This began the search topinpoint the genes responsiblefor submergence tolerance.

1XuK, Xia X, FukaoT, CanlasP, Maghirang-Rodriguez R, Heuer S, Ismail AI, Bailey-Serres J, Ronald PC, Mackill DJ. 2006.Sub1A isanethyleneresponsefactor-likegenethat conferssubmergencetoleranceto rice. Nature (10August 2006)

tolerance of temporary submergence.Submergence-tolerant varieties

have been known for a long time,and submergence tolerance has beena breeding focus at IRRI since theearly 1970s. In India, varieties likeFR13A (FR stands for ood resistant) were selected from farmers varieties

as early as the 1940s and showed ahigh level of submergence tolerancecompared with other varieties. FR13A and other tolerant varieties werecrossed with high-yielding semidwarf varieties (which are shorter thanmost traditional varieties and thusresistant to damage from rain and wind), producing short varieties with

The practical application of gene discovery to developsubmergence-tolerant rice will help farmers avoid the ravages of severe ooding

genesfarmers elds

to

by David Mackill

We were then joined by PamelaRonald, an associate professor at UCDavis. Ten years of hard work by Dr.Xu plus a strong contribution fromhis wife, Xia Xu, would ultimately unravel the DNA sequence of the Sub1 region. The group was joined by molecular biologists Julia Bailey-Serres and Takeshi Fukao at UCRiverside and Sigrid Heuer at IRRI, who helped analyze the genes inthe Sub1 region (see Identifyingthe submergence-tolerance gene ,page 30). IRRI plant physiologist Abdelbagi Ismail and his team have been studying the mechanism of action of Sub1 (see The mechanics of submergence tolerance , page 31) as well as management options for thenew submergence-tolerant varieties.

Parallel to the gene-hunting work is research using marker-assistedselection (see On your mark, get set, select! on pages 28-29 of RiceToday Vol. 3, No. 3) to develop new submergence-tolerant varieties by introducing Sub1 into widely grown varieties. Using marker-assistedselection, breeders can selectively transfer a small chromosomefragment containing a benecialgene or genes, while leaving therest of the genes untouched. Forexample, the IRRI team hasdeveloped a version of the widely

grown variety Swarnagrownmore than 5 million hectares inand Bangladeshthat contains chromosome segment containinthe Sub1 gene, while the genesother chromosomal regions are of Swarna. This ensures that thesubmergence-tolerance trait is a

without changing other desi

RiceToday Vol. 5, No. 4

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