ricetoday vol. 6, no. 1

8/9/2019 RiceToday Vol. 6, No. 1

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Once were rice fieldsTyphoons devastate Asian rice-farming communities

ISSN 1655-5422

www.irri.org

International Rice Research Institute January-March 2007, Vol. 6, No. 1

The king of rice

Political support for rice research

Environment specialThe importance of biodiversity

Environmental solutions in Java


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contentsVol. 6, No. 1

International Rice Research InstituteDAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, PhilippinesWeb (IRRI): www.irri.orgWeb (Library): http://ricelib.irri.cgiar.orgWeb (Rice Knowledge Bank): www.knowledgebank.irri.org

Rice Todayeditorialtelephone (+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 photoAriel Javellana

publisher Duncan MacintosheditorAdam Barclayart director Juan Lazaro IV

designer and production supervisor George Reyescontributing editors Gene Hettel, Bill Hardynews editor Juanito Goloyugo

Africa editor Savitri Mohapatra (Africa Rice Center)environment editor Greg Fanslowphoto editorAriel Javellanaphoto researcher Jose Raymond Panaligancirculation Chrisanto Quintanaprinter Primex Printers, Inc.

Rice Todayis published by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the worldsleading international rice research and training center. Based in the Philippines and withoffices in 13 other countries, IRRI is an autonomous, nonprofit 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 of15 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 Todaywelcomes comments and suggestions from readers. Potential contributorsare encouraged to query first, rather than submit unsolicited materials. Rice Todayassumes no responsibility for loss or damage to unsolicited submissions, which shouldbe accompanied by sufficient return postage.

Copyright International Rice Research Institute 2007

EDITORIAL ................................................................ 4

Is the rice ball rolling?

NEWS ......................................................................... 5

IRRI changes copyright policy

Three into four will go

Iron-fortified rice

Securing access to b iodiversity

Boost for rice reserve

Africa Rice Center wins United Nations award

PEOPLE ..................................................................... 8

Nobel for former IRRI board member

Achievements

Keeping up with IRRI staff

BEATING THE WEATHER ........................................... 9

Every year, typhoons and other extreme weatherevents devastate rice fieldsbut new research is

helping protect rice farmers

THE RICE KING ........................................................ 11

Thai rice farmers are fortunate to have a head of statewho does more than offer symbolic suppor tHisMajesty the King of Thailand is a monarch whogenuinely makes a difference

INDIA HOSTS WORLDS LARGEST ......................... 16

RICE GATHERING

AGRICULTURE MINISTERS COME .......................... 18

TOGETHER OVER RICE

ONCE WERE RICE FIELDS ........................................ 20The week after Typhoon Durian slammed into the

Philippines Bicol Region, Rice Todayventured intothe stricken area to find that the rice-farmingcommunities had been hit hard.

STRENGTH IN DIVERSITY ....................................... 26

Biodiversity is more than just a nice green conceptfarmers rely on it

IN SEARCH OF NEW SEEDS .................................... 30

The improved New Rice for Africa varieties are helpingnot only African grain farmers but seed producersas well

FIGHTING ASIAS POSTHARVEST PROBLEMS ...... 32The fate of rice after harvest is a crucial but often-

neglected part of the production chain. Now, amajor effort to overcome postharvest problems isgaining momentum.

On the cover:

John Oliver Leron crouches in

front of what were rice fields

in Bicol, Philippines, before

Typhoon Durian obliterated

them in November 2006

(see pages 20-25).

PROSPERITY, POLLUTION, AND THE ..................... 34

GREEN REVOLUTION

The Green Revolution in Indonesia delivered more ricebut also brought social and ecological problemsthat, almost 40 years later, still affect peopleslivesbut solutions are emerging

OBITUARY ............................................................... 40Rice pioneer passes away

BOOKS .................................................................... 40

RICE FACTS .............................................................. 41

Considering gender

As mens and womens roles change, how shouldwe address gender issues in rice-based agriculture?

GRAIN OF TRUTH .................................................... 42

Food or fuel?


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NEWS

5Rice TodayJanuary-March 2007

After being given an importantnew role by the rice-producingnations of Asia to support the free flowof rice research and knowledge, theInternational Rice Research Institute(IRRI) is making an important changeto its copyright policy from the originalall rights reserved.

The change effectively echoesthe software industrys open-sourcemovement. Others will now be able touse IRRIs intellectual property withoutrestriction provided they do not placerestrictions on its use by anyone else.

The practical change will not be greatIRRI previously offeredrelatively free use of its informationto other parties. The major differencenow is that users no longer need to

ask permission. The change is alsosymbolic, representing the Institutesgoal of promoting the free exchange ofideas and information.

IRRIs decision follows the releaseof the Delhi Declaration on Rice bythe Ministerial Round Table at theInternational Rice Congress in NewDelhi, India, on 9-13 October, whereinthe Institute was asked to host a taskforce to prepare a road map thatwould help achieve the main objectivesof the declaration, which include a

plan to establish a comprehensivepartnership among the participantsthrough strengthened dialogue on aregular basis for strengthening riceresearch and development efforts.

THE NEWLY developed Bokto seederrapidly adopted by South Korean rice farmers over the past 2yearshas been successfully tested on a North Korean farm. The seeder (pictured) allows farmers toplant rice with precise sowing depth and even seedling establishment. It also offers simultaneous silicateapplication and placement of basal fertilizer, resulting in high nitrogen-use efficiency. These featureshelp farmers improve seedling stand, avoid lodging, and improve yields and grain quality. The seederwas developed by Kwang-Ho Park from the Korea National Agricultural College of the Rural DevelopmentAdministration. Professor Park has also worked on transferring the technology to farms in South Koreaand, now, North Korea.

World agricultural research leadershave signed agreements thatguarantee long-term access to theworlds most important collections ofagricultural biodiversity while requiringcommercial users to share benefits withthe global community.

In a 16 October 2006 ceremony

Securing access to biodiversity

IRRI changes copyright policy

that took place on World Food Day, 11centers of the Consultative Group onInternational Agricultural Research(CGIAR), including IRRI, placedtheir genebank collections under theInternational Treaty on Plant Genetic

Resources for Food and Agriculture,now ratified by 105 countries.

CGIAR centers hold more than600,000 samples of crop-plantdiversity. This includes wild relativesand more than half of the world totalof farmer-created varieties, which area rich source of sought-after breedingtraits. IRRI itself holds more than100,000 rice germplasm samples in itsT.T. Chang Genetic Resources Center.

The Swiss Federal Institute ofTechnology (ETH) in Zurich hasfor the first time, been able to fortifyrice with iron. In clinical trials, thericewhich has had iron added, asopposed to rice with endogenous highiron contenthelped overcome irondeficiency in Indian schoolchildren.

A team led by scientist MichaeZimmermann conducted a study on134 primary school children between

the ages of five and nine in BangaloreIndia. For 16 weeks, a proportion of thechildrenwho all suffered from irondeficiency, and some also from anemiacaused by the deficiencywere giventhe iron-enriched rice as part of theirlunch. A control group received thesame meal with ordinary rice.

After the trial, the proportion ochildren in the fortified rice groupsuffering from iron deficiency felfrom 78% to 29%. Additionally, theproportion of those with an excessively-

high lead level dropped from 65%to 29%. The number of children inthe control group similarly afflicteddecreased only slightly, due to the meathat was offered daily.

Dr. Zimmermann said, This isa breakthrough because it is the firsttime that rice has been successfullyfortified with iron. Since there is nopatent on the technique, it can be usedanywhere.

Iron-fortified rice

The December 9 issue of TheEconomistreported on IRRI leadingan effort to transfer the more efficientphotosynthetic process of maize (calledC4) to rice, which has a less efficientC3 process. IRRI crop scientist JohnSheehy plans to screen the Institutescollection of 6,000 wild rice varietiesto see if any display a predisposition forC4 photosynthesis, which, if successfullytransferred to commercial rice varieties,

would enable higher yields undertougher conditions. IRRI DirectorGeneral Robert Zeigler admits the taskis daunting and will take 10 years ormore. But the potential is enormous.

Three into four will go

ARIELJAVELL

ANA

RDA


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NEWS

6 Rice TodayJanuary-March 2007

Flood-tolerant rice for IndonesiaIRRI has provided Indonesia withseeds of a recently developed submer-gence-tolerant version of the popularIR64 variety. The Indonesian Agencyfor Agricultural Research and Devel-opment plans to test the performanceof the submergence-tolerant lines inflood-prone areas of the country. Formore on submergence-tolerant rice, seeFrom genes to farmers fields on pages28-31 ofRice Today Vol. 5, No. 4.

Genome discrepanciesDiscrepancies between the draft ricegenome sequence released in 2002(by the Beijing Genomics Institute

and the Syngenta Corporation) andthe sequence released in 2005 (by theInternational Rice Genome Sequenc-ing Project) prompted some scientiststo question the validity of the results.The two groups used different tech-niques to obtain the sequence, withthe former employing a whole-genomeshotgun method and the latter amap-based approach. Jun Yu and col-leagues investigated this problem in theAugust 2006 issue ofTrends in Plant

Science. In their article, Comparingthe whole-genome-shotgun and map-based sequences of the rice genome,they argue that the most serious dif-ferences between the sequences aremostly found in highly variable areas ofDNA that are not part of the rice genesthemselves. Once this is factored in,say the authors, there is remarkableagreement in the sequences producedby these two methods.

Record rice yieldsEgypt recorded the worlds highestnational average yield9.5 tons perhectarein 2005, thanks in part to aUnited Nations Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO)-led project todevelop and use hybrid rice varieties.Some of the locally developed hybridvarieties outperformed the best Egyp-tian varieties by 2030%, accordingto the FAO. The project, aimed atgrowing more rice with less water andless land, also involved training seedbreeders, production personnel, ex-tension workers, and farmers. Despitethe success, the FAO notes that hybridrice seed production is not appropriate

for some areas, as many countries lackthe technical capabilities and infra-structure to carry out such programs.

Vietnam trade restrictedVietnamese Prime Minister NguyenTan Dung last November instructedtraders to stop exporting rice withoutgovernment approval, according toa November 2006 Associated Pressreport. In a statement, the prime min-ister said that natural disasters suchas typhoons and pest infestations hadreduced food production, increasedprices, and threatened food security.According to the report, traders would be able to export rice as part of gov-

ernment-sponsored export contractswith Cuba and Indonesia. Any othercontracts would need governmentapproval.

Rice fashionScientists at the University of Nebras-kaLincoln plan to turn rice straw intoconventional-looking fabric as a wayto reduce the use of petroleum-basedsynthetic fabrics. The researchers aredeveloping cotton-like fabric from the

Japan, South Korea, and China may join the emergency rice reserveprogram of the ten-nation Associationof Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),according to a 22 November Bloombergreport.

The newcomers would boost bymore than five timesfrom 87,000tons in 2006 to as much as 500,000tons in 2007the stocks available tothe groups members should they beaffected by calamities.

Although, according to the UnitedNations, global rice production mayhave increased to 634 million tonsin 2006, the U.S. Department ofAgriculture has said that inventoriesof the worlds most important cropare near a 26-year low and will drop

further.The reserve, established in 1979,

is made up of rice stocks held in eachof the member countries that areearmarked for emergency distribution

Boost for rice reserve by ASEAN countries that requirefood after natural or human-createddisasters.

ASEAN comprises Indonesia,Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand,Myanmar, Lao PDR, Cambodia,Vietnam, Brunei, and the Philippines.

RENOWNED Japanese sculptor Mitsuaki Ta-nabecreator and donor of the Momi wild riceseedling sculpture in IRRIs Riceworld Museumand Learning Centerplans to hold an exhibitionentitled MOMI-TAIWAN 2007: In Situ Conser-vation of Wild Rice, at the National TaiwanMuseum of Fine Arts in March and April 2007.

Momi is the Japanese word for unhulled rice.The exhibition will promote the need to reviveTaiwans traditional wild rice growing areas, whichhave been lost since the 1970s. Tanabe has longchampioned the conservation of wild rice, manyspecies of which harbor traits that can be bredinto cultivated varieties.

ALBENAVENTE

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straw, as well as wool-like fabric fromchicken feathers. Rice-straw fibershave already been developed using achemical process that is now underpatent review. The researchers antici-pate that rice fibers will be able to bespun into fabrics using common textilemachinery.

Espresso pesticideResearchers at the U.S. Department ofAgricultures National Wildlife ResearchCenter in Fort Collins, Colorado, thinktheyve discovered a simple way tokeep blackbirds away from rice fields:coffee. It seems that, unlike humans,birds dont like caffeine. Working with

chemists, the team was able to make acaffeine solution that could be sprayedon fields. When applied to rice cropsin trials, the caffeine spray reducedthe number of seeds lost to pecking byup to 76%.

Mobile rice clinic A team of PhilRice rice productionexperts will tour towns in Pangasinan,Nueva Ecija, and Pampanga provincesas part of the mobile rice tekno

klinik (techno clinic), a consultationactivity whereby some 100 farmers permunicipality will be given a chance toconsult with rice experts on varietiesand seeds, crop protection, and nutrientmanagement.

Rice News 1,000th story

In December 2006, a feature quotingIRRI Director General Robert Zeigleron climate change in the UK newspa-

per The Guardianbecame the 1,000thstory placed on IRRIs Rice NewsWorldwide since it began on 22 June2005. See for yourself stories fromother major outlets such as the BBC, theInternational Herald Tribune, IndiasFinancial Express, Reuters, and manyothers at http://ricenews.irri.org.

Pollution stunts rice harvestA paper published in the 26 December2006 issue of the Proceedings of the

National Academy of Sciences suggeststhat the combination of global warmingcaused by greenhouse gas emissions andthe smog seen over much of Asiaknownas the atmospheric brown cloudhasnegatively affected rice harvests in Indiaover the past two decades. According tothe researchers, Indias rice productionwould have been more than 14% betterfrom 1985 to 1998 without the negativecombined effects of greenhouse gasemissions and the brown cloud. Furtherthere has been no sign of improvementin more recent years.

Rice commerceThe World Rice Commerce Conference

held 18-19 October in Ho Chi MinhCity, Vietnam, attracted more than200 delegates, representing most ofthe worlds major rice buyers andsellers. Melissa Fitzgerald, head ofIRRIs Grain Quality, Nutrition, andPostharvest Center, gave a presentationon Certification and the internationarice trade: developing a way forwardwhich focused on new technologies thatallow rice traders to better certify therice they buy and sell.

Nations General Assembly.The groundbreaking NERICA

work earned research leader MontyJonesthen an Africa Rice Centerscientistthe 2004 World Food Prize,the first-ever won by an African.

Dr. Jones is currently the executivesecretary of the Forum for AgriculturalResearch in Africa.

The formal award ceremony was scheduled to take place on 19December 2006 at United Nationsheadquarters in New York City, USA,to mark the third United Nations Dayfor South-South Cooperation. HisExcellency Kenzo Oshima, permanentrepresentative of Japan to the UnitedNations, has been invited to presentthe award and invited speakers include

United Nations Secretary-General KofiAnnan and former U.S. President BillClinton.

For more on NERICA, seeIn searchof new seeds on pages 30-31.

Africa Rice Center wins United Nations award

The Africa Rice Center has beennamed as winner of the 2006United Nations Award for South-SouthTriangular Partnership in recognitionof its New Rice for Africa (NERICA)initiative.

T h i s a w a r d i s p r e s e n t e dt o i nd i v i d u a l s o r i ns t i t u t i o nsfor spearheading, transforming,empowering, mobilizing, and/orexpanding the South-South agendaby increasing human and financialresources of the South throughpartnership for development.

WARDA is receiving this award because of its pioneering efforts in brokering North-South partnershipsin order to create hybridized varietiesof rice applicable to conditions in the

South, said His Excellency EladioLoizaga, permanent representative ofParaguay to the United Nations andpresident, High-level Committee ofSouth-South Cooperation of the United

IRRI DIRECTOR General Robert Zeigler (right)briefs World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz onIRRIs new Strategic Plan Bringing Hope, Improv-ing Lives at the annual general meeting of theConsultative Group on International AgriculturalResearch (CGIAR) in Washington, D.C., on 5December 2006. At the same meeting, Dr. Zeigler

gave a presentation that outlined the plans ofCGIAR-supported centers, including IRRI, toengage the climate-change research communityin an increasingly urgent effort to develop cli-mate-adapted agricultural technologiessuch asdrought-tolerant cropsand help mitigate globalenvironmental change.

SHIRLEYGEER


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PEOPLE


Nobel for former IRRI board member Keeping up with IRRI staff

MARD

Reiner Wassmann joins theCrop and Environmental SciencesDivision (CESD) as coordinator of theRice and Climate Change Consortium.Dr. Wassmann previously workedat IRRI on secondment from theFraunhofer Institute for AtmosphericEnvironmental Research in 1993-9 9 . E l i z a b e t h H u m p h r e y s ,former principal research scientistat the Commonwealth Scientific andIndustrial Research OrganisationsLand and Water Division in Australia,also joins CESD as an internationalresearch fellow and Challenge Programfor Water and Food team leader.Zainul Abedin has rejoined IRRI asFoSHol project team leader and IRRIrepresentative in Bangladesh.

Marco van den Berg began inNovember 2006 as head of InformationTechnology Services. He replacesPaul ONolan, who, during 7 yearsat IRRI, oversaw a period of immensechange during which the Institute madeimportant gains in its informationtechnology capabilities.

IRRI also welcomes Zhao Ming,IRRI liaison scientist for China; HaoChen, postdoctoral fellow, PlantBreeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology(PBGB); Daisuke Fujita, project

scientist, PBGB; Zahirul Islam,international research fellow, SocialSciences Division; Minu Joseph,postdoctoral fellow, PBGB; SusannaPolleti, postdoctoral fellow, PBGB;Edilberto Redoa, senior scientist,PBGB, and International Network for theGenetic Evaluation of Rice coordinator;and Dule Zhao, postdoctoral fellow,PBGB. IRRI bids farewell toJingshengZheng, postdoctoral fellow in PBGB(200406).

IRRI also says farewell to Board of

Trustees member Fazle Hasan Abed(2001-06) and welcomes three new boardmembers: plant pathologist JillianLenne (U.K.), financial managements p e c i a l i s t M . S y e d u z z a m a n(Bangladesh), and plant biotechnologistUsha Barwale Zehr (India). Dr.Zehr, as part of the IRRI-InternationalMaize and Wheat Improvement CenterAlliance, will act as the institutes firstshared board member.

Achievements

Former IRRI Board of Trusteesmember (1989-94) and economistMuhammad Yunus has won theNobel Peace Prize for 2006.

Dr. Yunus developed microcreditunder the belief that credit is a right,not a privilege, and that those whopossess the least should be the first,not the last, to receive a loan. Thisphilosophy led him to set up theGrameen Bank in Bangladesh in 1976.

Colin McClung, former associatedirector at IRRI (1964-71), sharedthe 2006 World Food Prize with formerBrazilian Agriculture Minister AlyssonPaolinelli and former technical director

of the Brazilian Agricultural ResearchCorporation's Cerrado Research CenterEdson Lobato. The recipients played avital role in transforming the Cerradoa formerly infertile region of tropicalhigh plains stretching across Brazilinto highly productive cropland.

The United States House ofRepresentatives voted on 6 Decemberto honor World Food Prize Founderand 1970 Nobel Peace Prize LaureateN o r m a n B o r l a u g w i t h t h eCongressional Gold Medal of Honor,

the nations highest civilian honor.Dr. Borlaug led the development ofmodern, high-yielding wheat varietiesthrough his work with the RockefellerFoundation and the InternationalMaize and Wheat Improvement Center.His approach was subsequently adoptedwith similar results in rice. Dr. Borlaugis widely credited with ushering in theGreen Revolution of the 1960s, thusaverting widespread famine.

The Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture

IRRI GEOGRAPHIC informationsystems (GIS) researcherAileen Maunahan performsground truthingcollectingGIS data on locationwitha global positioning systemdevice in an IRRI experimentalfield. The photo won socialscientist Aileen Lapitan thirdprize in the 2006 IRRI FilipinoScientists Association photocompetition in November.

Grameen Bank itself shares the prizewith Dr. Yunus.

Another key Grameen Bankprinciple is that loans should be madepredominantly to women, who are oftenbest placed to serve the needs of theirentire family. As of May 2006, the bankhad 6.61 million borrowers97% ofwhom are womenand more than 200branches providing services in more than70,000 villages across Bangladesh.

and Rural Development presented amedal of merit to IRRI soil scientistRoland Buresh in August 2006.IRRI anthropologist Florencia Palisreceived a best paper award forThe socialand cultural dimensions of rodent pestmanagementduring the InternationalConference on Rodent Biology andManagement in Hanoi, Vietnam, 28August-1 September 2006.

Vito Butardo, Jr., of IRRIs GrainQuality, Nutrition, and PostharvestCenter, received a Ph.D. scholarshipunder the Australian LeadershipAwards program.

Rice breeder B.D. Pathinayakaof the Sri Lankan Department ofAgriculture received the IRRI awardfor outstanding rice scientist during theSri Lanka-IRRI Work Plan Meeting atthe Plant Genetic Resources Center inGannoruwa on 30 September 2006.

ROLAND BURESHreceives his medal

from IRRI seniorscientist T.P. Tuong.

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Every year, typhoons and other extreme weather events

devastate rice fieldsbut new research is helping

protect rice farmers

WEATHERby Duncan Macintosh

T

yphoons are one of theoldest and most destructivechallenges facing riceproduction in tropical

Asia. These vicious stormsflatten crops, shatter grain, andmake harvests impossible.

And its not only the areashit with the violent winds of atyphoon that suffer. Every year,crops in some of Asias mostimportant rice regions are floodedby rains that emanate fromtyphoon weather systems. Seasonal

flooding causes an estimatedUS$1 billion in losses each year.

AsRice Today went to press, 22tropical storm systems had sweptacross rice-growing Asia in 2006,causing widespread destruction. InSeptember and October, Typhoon,Xangsane (seePacking a nastypunch on page 10), destroyed morethan 800,000 hectares of rice andcaused over half a billion dollarsin damage in rural areas alone.

TYPHOON XANGSANE flattenedrice fields around IRRI'shometown of Los Baos and(below) flung debris acrossthe research campus.



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Packing a nasty punch

In late September and early October2006, Typhoon Xangsane or its remnantsswept across five nationsthe Philippines,

Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. A

category 4-equivalent storm (wind speeds

of 210249 km per hour and storm surges

of 4.05.5 meters), Xangsane was the 16th

tropical storm and ninth typhoon of the2006 season.

Xangsane made landfall in the

Philippines on 27 September, battering

the archipelagos northern islands with

torrential rains and strong winds, and

causing widespread flooding and landslides.

On 28 September, the typhoon passed

directly over the International Rice Research

Institute (IRRI) just south of Manila and,

after emerging over the South China Sea,

made a second landfall in central Vietnam,

before moving on to cause major flooding

and landslides in Thailand. It also caused

heavy rains in northern Cambodia andsouthern Laos. Xangsane was responsible

for around 300 deaths, with two-thirds of

these in the Philippines.

IRRI itself sustained extensive damage

but escaped lightly compared with many

residential areas and other organizations.

The Philippine National Plant Genetic

Resources Laboratory in the Institute of

Plant Breeding, University of the Philippines

Los Baos, for example, suffered damage to

or loss of 70% of its accessions.

The overall regional damage estimates

for the storm are

Rice area damaged or destroyed: 869,000hectaresPhilippines: 125,000 hectares;

Thailand: 444,000 hectares; Vietnam:

300,000 hectares.

Rice price increases recorded across theaffected region.

Damage estimated at more than US$700millionVietnam: more than $600 million;

Philippines: more than $100 million.

People affected (mainly rural): 6.8millionPhilippines: 2 million; Thailand:

3.5 million; Vietnam: 1.3 million.

On 30 November, Typhoon Durianslammed into the Bicol region of thePhilippines, causing landslides thatkilled hundreds of people (see Oncewere rice fields on pages 20-25).

Many scientists now expect thatclimate change may increase thefrequency and severity of extremeweather events such as typhoons,

andperhaps just as damagingalter their timing and location.

In 2004, the final sequencingof the rice genome by a Japan-ledinternational consortium signaleda knowledge revolution in ourunderstanding of the rice plant.This new knowledge accelerated thedevelopment of flood-tolerant rice, atechnology that could save hundredsof millions of dollars in losses acrossAsia every year. Although rice thrivesin standing water, like all crops it willdie if completely submerged for morethan a few days. The developmentand cultivation of the new flood-tolerant rice varieties are expected toincrease food security for 70 millionof the worlds poorest people andprovide protection for millions of ricefarmers in Asia and Africa (seeFrom

genes to farmers fields on pages28-31 ofRice Today Vol. 5, No. 4).

The development of a flood-tolerant rice variety for India showsthat modern science can help protectrice farmers from the flooding causedby typhoons. Every year, extremeweather events such as typhoonsaffect rice production. As the climatecontinues to change, this is onlyexpected to get worse. Already,IRRI has had urgent requests fromBangladesh, the Philippines, andIndia for the new flood-tolerant rice.

But there is good news. Asour knowledge of the rice plantgrows rapidly, rice researcherscan help protect rice farmersandtherefore rice consumersfromthe disastrous effects of extremeweather such as typhoons.

CLAIRE ARBOLEDA, seen here holding her one-month-old son Angelito, lives with her husbandin the town of Bay, close to IRRI headquarters.On 28 September, in the same place she standshere, floods from Typhoon Xangsane rose to thelevel of her shoulders when the raised roadbedof the national highway effectively formed along dam that flooded upslope areas. Less than200 meters away, a man drowned in his house.

AS WELL as rudely damagingIRRIs welcome sign, Xang-sane destroyed research trials(top left) and caused floodingthroughout the campus (topmiddle and right).

IRRI

GREGFANSLO

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Apatron is defined as a distinguishedperson who gives support toan organization or cause byaccepting an honorary position.

Since there is no more distinguishedperson than a king, it follows that royalpatronage is something special. It isrecognition from a royal figure that the workof an organization is so deeply favored that

it warrants not only a public declaration ofsupport, but also that such support is of a long-standing nature. Moreover, royal patronage israrely granted outside a monarchs kingdom.

The International Rice Research Institute(IRRI) is both privileged and honored tohave as its Royal Patron the DevelopmentKing, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand.For while mental visions of spectacle and

RICE KINGThe

Thai rice farmers are fortunate to have a head

of state who does more than offer symbolic

supportHis Majesty the King of Thailand is a

monarch who genuinely makes a difference

by Bob Hill

HIS MAJESTY King Bhumibol Adulyadejharvests rice at Prachin Buri in 1998.

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Rice TodayJanuary-March 2007 Rice TodayJanuary-March 2007

rmality inevitably tumble intoy consideration of royalty, it istonishing, with a perception thusurred, to discover that there is

other, largely unpublished, sidethe remarkable reign of King

humibol: a selfless dedicationthe welfare of his subjects thatstly outweighs the notional

unds of noblesse oblige.For much of his 60 years on

e Thai throne, King Bhumibols ventured restlessly throughout

ery corner of his kingdom, oftenending more than half of any year

way from Bangkok, studying theuntryside, listening to the problemshis people, proposing, suggesting,

novating, and inventing.His ideas and suggestions, after

nsidering the peoples needs,

e physical environment, andricultural practices, have been

ut to the test in more than 4,300yal projects. They cover almostery conceivable aspect of what isnerally labeled development,

ut they concentrate heavily onater resources, agriculture, andnservation. The Kings projectsve long supported the livelihood of

mall-scale farmers and particularly

e rice farmers that constitutee heart of rural Thailand.

His innovations have benefitedillions of people, and have givene little people of Thailand the

nd of strength that saw themice deliver record rice harvests,hancing the countrys capacity toport, in the bleak years following

hailands financial collapse in 1997.During the massive gatherings

Bangkok to mark the 60thniversary of his accession to therone, in June last year, it was a

mmon sight to see mature Thaiople weeping unashamedly,ercome with the emotion of sharinge moment with their King. For

there is one characteristic thatarks King Bhumibol, and has

urtured the success of his manyojects, it is his almost uncannynnection with the common folk,

e poor, and the dispossessed.His landmark Royal Crop

eplacement Project, which

successfully eliminated opiumgrowing in the countrysmountainous north, directlyaffected the lives of at least 50,000

people, and won the 1988 RamonMagsaysay Award. Early last year,the United Nations recognized KingBhumibol as the DevelopmentKing, and, in October, His Majesty

received the first Dr. Norman E.Borlaug Medallion, awarded by the

World Food Prize Foundation forindividuals at the highest levels of

international society who have givenexceptional humanitarian servicein reducing hunger and poverty.

His efforts to improve thelivelihood of his people are never

remote or detached. His is ahands-on, sweat, and rolled-upshirtsleeves commitment. He

holds patents for a cloud-seeding

procedure to make artificial rain,two floating aerators for improvingthe quality of polluted water, anda process for making bio-diesel.

On the occasion of the 50thanniversary of his accession tothe throne, in June 1996, KingBhumibol accepted the first andonly International Rice Gold Medal

awarded by IRRI in recognition of hispassionate personal interest in, anddevotion to, improving the well-beingof rice farmers and consumers. Just

over a year later, in September 1997,King Bhumibol recognized IRRIs

work and became the InstitutesRoyal Patron. The Royal Plaque, theGreat Crown of Victory, together

with His Majestys portrait, havesince taken pride of place in IRRIsmain administration building.

Looking back, it was on 9

June 1946, when his country wasstill emerging from the Japaneseoccupation of World War II and

was finding peace after having

declared war against England,France, and the United States, thatBhumibol became Thailands KingRama IX. Much of the country

was undeveloped; sickness and

malnutrition were commonplace.Despite his tender age of 19, it wasonly a few brief years before his firstroyal projects began to emerge.

The first involved public health,including a laboratory to produceBCG vaccine to combat tuberculosis, aplant to refine intravenous saline, anda Red Cross river barge dispensing

mobile medical help from the banksof the countrys rivers. At first,they were funded from the Kings

own pocket, but a campaign was

experimentation, and are fun

from his private resources. Inother cases, the King gives ad

and guidelines to private-secprojects, while in many otheHis Majesty plans and advisegovernment agencies in the s

implementation of developmHis Majesty championed

grass as a means of stabilizinerosion-prone land, and hisadvances in the difficult field

artificial rain-making have leto the formation of a year-roucloud-seeding force with 45 flying from 12 bases around country, bent on avoiding dr

It may be easy to assumesince he is the King, what hehappen. It is not that simple.constitutional monarch and,

can only give advice. Neverthhis moral authority is monumStill, his initiatives must be fand complement governmenpolicy, and each is judged on

bases before adoption. Direccoordinating, and monitorin

vast development network isRoyal Development Projects

whose office is a departmentthe Office of the Prime Minis

The nature and purpose the projects are guided by thKings pronouncements, man

which established clear princthat, some years later, were t

become accepted practices fo

launched for publicdonations, so hecould do more.

Soon, the

projects assumedthe distinctivenature ofphysical, social,and economic

development,driven by HisMajestys often-expressed

conviction thatto be strong andindependent, Thaipeople should first

be self-sufficient.

First, His Majestywas given a giftofTilapia fingerlings by the emperor

of Japan. He raised them in a pond,then had them distributed to village

and district leaders so they could befarmed as an alternative source ofprotein. Then he donated bulldozersfor a road development project,

and later proposed constructionof a dam to supply irrigation waterto a district in Prachuap KhiriKhan Province. And so the projectsgrew. However, individually, they

never assumed a grand, sweepingscale. King Bhumibol insists thatsuch work should never attemptto overhaul the whole system,

but rather, development should be

taken one small step at a time.Now, after more than half a

century, there are so many royalprojects, and their scope is so broad,

that to refer to them individuallyis virtually impossible. They aregrouped under headings: agriculture,animal husbandry, crop substitution,education, fisheries, irrigation,

land development, medical,personal, rain-making, river basindevelopment, road development,and watershed development.

Some of them involve only study,and are intended to fully informHis Majesty of social and physicalparameters, so that developmentguidelines can be written. Others

relate directly to solving problemsfaced by the people. Some are

based on His Majestys own

THE KING said: If there isany land where rice can grow,then it must be grown. HerRoyal Highness Princess MahaChakri Sirindhorn heeds herfathers words by transplant-ing rice on a vacant plot ofland at Chulachomklao RoyalMilitary Academy in NakhonNayok Province in 2001.

THAILANDR

ICE

RESEARCHI

NSTITUTE

KING BHUMIBOL greets former IRRI DirectorGeneral Ronald Cantrell during an August 2004visit to update His Majesty on IRRIs work.


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wider international developmentcommunity. Some examples are

Understanding the situationfacing those we want to help ismost important. Helping them toacquire the basic needs of life is themost effective means of assistance.Therefore, in each case, beforegiving assistance, we must takeaccount of their wants and needs.We must understand the situationthey are encountering and decidethe means and extent to whichthey can be helped. We should alsoadhere to the important principlethat we help them in order toenable them to help themselves.

Providing occupationalassistance to farmers to enablethem to be self-supporting iscrucial because once they becomeself-supporting, they will certainlybe able to build up a higher levelof development. In undertakingthe step-by-step approach to

development, it is significant topromote caution and economy,to protect against failure, andto ensure full success.

It is not necessary to promoteagricultural production only interms of quantity because this maybe a waste of production costs anddestructive to the quality of the soil.In fact, we should examine the stateof the agricultural market, includingsome form of price regulation, to

prevent farmersfrom beingaffected by pricefluctuations.

Developmentmust takeaccount of thetopographical

and sociologicalenvironmentsinvolved. Thesociologicalenvironmentmeans the habitsand attitudesof the people.We cannot forceothers to thinkin the same wayas we do. We canonly approach,

and suggest. We cannot offerassistance by expecting them to thinkthe same as us. When we approachthem we must learn what their realneeds are, and explain to them howthey can best achieve their aims andhow the principles of the developmentplan can be successfully applied.

Explaining those principlesbecame the driving force behinda unique show window on theroyal projects launched in the early1980s. His Majesty established sixRoyal Development Study Centers,scattered throughout the countryand catering to the different climatic

and environmental conditions ofthe countrys different regions.

The centers set out to be livingnatural museums, bringing togetherand integrating the innovations,techniques, and systems developedover decades of experimentation,research, and trial. The doors of

the centers are open to anyonewishing to learn. People in each ofthe regions can observe models ofmodern knowledge and technology,which they can then apply on theirown farms. Likewise, studentsand researchers use the centers,which have become popularmeeting-grounds for scientists,bureaucrats, nongovernmentalorganization workers, andordinary people, from districtand village officials to farmers,

housewives, and school children.Of particular emphasis in the

study centers is the Kings conceptof sufficiency economy. Originallycalled The New Theory, it aimsto promote sustainable self-sufficiency on small farm holdingsby combining organic rice, vegetable,and fruit growing with fish andlivestock production. It preachesfull integration of farming systemsand careful resource management.His Majesty urged farmers to adoptthe system following the Asianfinancial disaster in 1997, and manyhave successfully taken it on.

Although many of the royalprojects have been aimed atagriculture in general, some haveinvolved rice growing in particular.His Majesty established a ricebank, from which farmers canborrow, either for seed or for familyconsumption. In a drive to providea greater range of rice varieties for

farmers in the countrys diverseenvironmental zones, differentvarieties were evaluated underdifferent growing conditions.

Soil fertility studies havealso been aimed at rice farmingproblems, particularly declines inirrigated rice yields and the effectsof acidity and salinity, but also atdeveloping composting techniquesto support organic rice farming,with an emphasis once more on

PALACE WORKERAkkhradat Kuamklangshows charcoal tubesmade from compressedrice husks in an ex-perimental plant on thegrounds of BangkoksChitralada Palace.

BOBHILL

THE DR. NORMAN E. BORLAUG Medallion, awardedby the World Food Prize Foundation for individualswho have given exceptional humanitarian service inreducing hunger and poverty. King Bhumibol was thefirst-ever recipient in October 2006.

WORLDFOODPRIZE


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self-sufficiency. One royal studyeven discovered that a rat infestationproblem afflicting one group of ricegrowers was a direct result of a localhabit of killing and either eating orselling snakes, thereby disrupting thenatural biological balance in the area.

His Majesty maintains a

close interest in the work ofboth Thailands rice sciencecommunity and international riceresearch, and regularly speaksout against farmer pessimismfor the future of rice growing.

If someone says it is nonsenseto grow ricethat it brings poorreturnsthen just think: if wedo not grow rice, we will end uphaving to buy it from Vietnam orBurma (Myanmar), the King said.If we buy from Vietnam, we will

have to pay for transportation andgive profits to someone else.

Thailand must grow morerice because in another 20 yearswe may have 80 million peopleand, without enough rice, theremay be disagreements among theThai people. Even if the quality ofThai rice is not as high as that inother countries, we must still growit. And who cares if people say Imfoolish for saying this. If there isany land where rice can grow, thenit must be grown. Thais must eatrice, three times a day. Thais donteat breadthat is just a snack.

In recentyears, KingBhumibolshealth, as heapproaches his80th birthdaythis year, hasrestricted his

constant roamingof the Thaicountrysideand his directintervention toimprove the livesof his subjects.But Her Majestythe Queen Sirikit,the CrownPrince, HisRoyal HighnessPrince Maha

Vajiralongkorn, and Her RoyalHighness Princess Maha ChakriSirindhorn are ensuring that theKings work continues. All havetheir own development projectsmodeled after those of the King.

If there is one example thatepitomizes the Kings extraordinarydevelopment work, it is the ChitraladaPalace in Bangkok. Hidden frompublic view behind a moat, tallfences, spreading trees, and armedsentries, it is easy to imagine thatwithin the one-square-kilometercompound are manicured lawnsand tropical gardens, ornate statues,

ponds and fountains, polo fields,and stablesperhaps resembling theEuropean style of regal grandeur.

The Chitralada compound, in thejam-packed mayhem of downtownBangkok, is a complex of agriculturalstations, model industrialplants, laboratories, and farmingexperiments. Crowded with workers,the palace has a full-scale dairyfarm, a milk-processing and cheese-making factory, a fruit-processingplant, factories producing bio-gas andbio-diesel, a tissue culture laboratory,experimental rice fields, a factoryproducing charcoal from rice husks,and a germplasm bank. It also has aschool for more than 1,000 childrenof the people who work on the Kingsprojects. And, at its heart is theChitralada Villa, with King Bhumiboland Queen Sirikit in residence.

Rather than isolating himselfwithin the pomp and ceremonythat are the common view of his

extraordinary reign, ThailandsDevelopment KingIRRIs RoyalPatronprefers to live at the activeheart of a development enginethat promises a better futurefor his 64 million subjects.

We are grateful for the assistance of

the National Rice Research Institute

of Thailand in preparing this story.

Bob Hill is a Thailand-based writer

specializing in science and technology.

HER MAJESTY Queen Sirikit harvestsrice from an experimental plot.

KING BHUMIBOLand Queen Sirikitinspect the IRRIagriculturalengineering unitduring a July

1963 visit.

IRRI


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Rice TodayJanuary-March 2007

Each day of the 2ndInternational Rice Congress

(IRC) 2006, delegates from47 countries crisscrossedthrough the office block

bby at the impressive New Delhiadquarters of the Indian Council

Agricultural Researchs Nationalgricultural Science Complex

NASC). Here, the global nature ofce was thrown into sharp relief.ople from every corner of the globe

ossed paths and, more often thant, stopped to chat. Every continent

and every major religion on Earthwere represented here. And all were

drawn together by one simplebutalso not so simplething: rice.

In total, 1,383 delegates from 46nations, including host-country India,attended the IRC, which aimed for

greater application of rice science andtechnology, and cooperation amongcountries to address the problemsof poverty and hunger. Almostone-third of the attendeeswho

included rice researchers, traders,rice millers, farmers, and agriculture

ministerstraveled from othercountries to make up the largest-

ever gathering of rice workers.Participants deliberated on variousaspects of rice production, commerce,and international cooperation,

with a special focus on the latest

research, science, and technology.The event was inaugurated by the

Honorable Prime Minister of IndiaManmohan Singh at Vigyan Bhawan,New Delhi. During his speech, the

prime minister noted that Despiteremarkable achievements, hunger

and malnutrition continue to afflictmillions and millions of people across

the world. About 815 million peoplein developing countries are reported

by the FAO (Food and AgricultureOrganization) to be undernourished.Hunger and malnutrition are the

underlying cause of more than halfof all child deaths, killing nearly6 million children each year. Dr.Singh said he was confident that

the IRC 2006 would help pavethe way for a better tomorrow forthe rice farmers of the world.

Held on 9-13 October 2006,

India hosts worlds largest rice gatheringIRC conclus

The IRC would be meaningle

promote action. Key recom

conclusions included the follow

Hybrid rice breeding and modarchitecture were discussed

increase yield potential and

production demand.

Site-specific nutrient manageused to minimize nutrient

improve rice production with

the most appropriate fertilize

Climate change is a real threatstrategies need to be dev

observed benefits of increase

are smaller than first predi

be overridden by the nega

increasing temperatures.

Quality seed is the single mofor securing rice productivity

Farmers need access to afford

of the right variety and at th

ensure this, strong linkage is

the private and public sector There is a need for harmoni

treaties and intellectual prop

support resource-poor farming

nations.

There is a worldwide need taverage 20% losses caused

pests. Both biotechnology

germplasm exchange have sig

play.

Information and communicatare readily adaptable tool

increase profitability by off

market information and linki

A consistent scientific basis quality for export is needed.

the IRC incorporated the 26thInternational Rice ResearchConference (at which 900 research

papers were presented), the 2ndInternational Rice CommerceConference, the 2nd InternationalRice Technology and CulturalExhibition (which featured displays

from 49 companies, institutes,and organizations from countriesincluding India, the United States,Japan, China, and the Philippines),

and the 2nd InternationalMinisterial Round Table Meeting(seeAgricultural ministers come

together over rice on pages 18-19).The event was sponsored by the

Ministry of Agriculture, Governmentof India; the International RiceResearch Institute (IRRI); and the

Agricultural and Processed FoodExport Development Authority, and

was organized by the Indian Councilfor Agricultural Research and theNational Academy of AgriculturalSciences. Special recognition

was also given to the organizingteam led by Indian AgriculturalResearch Institute Head Pramod

Aggarwal and IRRIs J.K. Ladha.

Rice TodayJanuary-March 2007

REPRESENTATIVES from IRRI and the national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES) of 15 countries attended the 10th meeting of the Counnership on Rice Research in Asia (CORRA) on 14 October 2006 at the National Agricultural Science Complex in New Delhi. One of the meetings key outcoCORRAs approval of Vietnam as host of the next CORRA meeting, and a resolution to support efforts for Vietnam to host an international rice research co2007. The annual meeting is the major get-together of NARES heads in their efforts to gui de, facilitate, support, and thereby strengthen partnership amoIRRI, and other relevant institutions.

INDIAN PRIME Minister ManmohanSingh presents the M.S. SwaminathanAward for Leadership in Agricultureto former IRRI principal plant breederGurdev Khush, with Dr. Swaminathanand IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler(second from right) looking on.

International Rice ResearchConsortium Coordinator GrantSingleton chats with Haryanarice farmer Bhavneet Singh atthe IRRI exhibition.

T TO RIGHT: at an 11 October dinner, retiring IRRI Board of Trustees member Fazle Hasan Abed (at right)founder and executive director of the Bangladesh Rural

vancement Committeeaccepts a toast from IRRI Spokesperson Duncan Macintosh and Michiko Otsuka, wife of IRRI Board Chair Kei Otsuka; M.A. Salam, chief scien-c officer and head of the Plant Breeding Division at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute in Gazipur, accepts the 2006 Senadhira Rice Research Award, with Dr. Zei-r looking on; the main building of the National Agricultural Science Complex; a Greenpeace activistone of several who interrupted a press conference to voice fearsout genetically engineered ricesits beside a bowl of rice containing a symbolic question mark; traditional Indian dancers at the IRC cultural night on 10 October.

ADAMB

ARCLAY(6)


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Adopted at the 2nd International Ministers RoundTable Meeting held on 10 October 2006 during the 2ndInternational Rice Congress in New Delhi, India.

The undersigned ministers and representatives of agriculture:

Confirming the spirit of the Beijing Declaration following theFirst Round Table Meeting held on 15 September 2002;

Confirming our commitment to intellectual property rightsas per World Trade Organization stipulations and provisionsincluding indigenously developed improved varieties of rice;

Stressing the strategic importance of the Asian nations inthe production of rice and moved by the will to give theirfuture thrusts a new dimension, based on comprehensivecooperation, in keeping with the privileged nature ofthe links forged by neighborhood and history;

Aware that the farmers are facing the challenge of producingmore rice at less cost in a deteriorating environment and riceresearch and development needs to address the MillenniumDevelopment Goals on poverty alleviation, food and nutritionalsecurity, and environmental conservation in a partnership mode;

Resolve to establish to that end a multilateralframework based on a spirit of partnership;

Regarding this multilateral framework as the counterpart toa strengthening of bilateral relations which it is important tosafeguard, while laying stress on their specific nature;

Stressing that this initiative is not intended to replace theother activities and initiatives undertaken in the interestsof the peace, prosperity, stability, and development of theregion, but that it will contribute to their success;

Hereby agree to establish a comprehensive partnership amongthe participants through strengthened dialogue on a regular basis forstrengthening rice research and development efforts laying greateremphasis on the social, cultural, and human dimensions and IRRIwould host a task force comprising experts from all the countries andcenters of excellence in the area to prepare a road map for the purpose.

Rice production in Southeast Asia

arguably the regions most important

industryhas received a major boost with

the endorsement of three new strategies by

the Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry of

the ten-nation Association of Southeast Asian

Nations (ASEAN).

The International Rice Research Institute

(IRRI) implemented and coordinated the new

measures, which are aimed at three major

challenges facing rice production in ASEAN:

protecting the environment, ensuring that

rice farmers receive the latest knowledge

and information, and developing the next

generation of rice farmers and scientists.

ZHANG BAOWEN

Honorable Vice Minister ofAgriculture, Government of the

Peoples Republic of Chin a

SUTARTO ALIMOESO

Director General of Food Crops, Ministryof Agriculture, Government of Indonesia

TY PHOMMASACK

Honorable Vice Minister ofAgriculture, Government of Laos

MAHANTH THAKUR

Honorable Minister of Agriculture andCooperatives, Government of Nepal

FAZAL ABBAS MAKEN

Minister (Trade), High Commissionfor the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

DOMINGO F. PANGANIBAN

Secretary (Minister) of Agriculture,Government of the Philippines

MAITHRIPALA SIRISENA

Honorable Minister of Agriculture,

Irrigation, and Mahaweli Development,Government of Sri Lanka

BUI BA BONG

Honorable Minister of Agriculture,Government of Vietnam

SHRI SHARAD PAWAR

Honorable Union Minister of Agriculture,Consumer Affairs, Food, and PublicDistribution, Government of India

The Delhi Declaration

During the International Rice

Congress 2006, nine ministersagriculture representing China,donesia, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan,

the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam,

and India made a historic DelhiDeclaration at the 2nd InternationalMinisterial Round Table Meeting, in

which they stressed the fostering of

cooperation among Asian countriesto safeguard the environment andfood and nutritional security.

Agriculture ministers come together over rice

Specifically, ASEAN has endorsed the

development of a series of environmental

indicators for rice production focused on

production, biodiversity, pollution, land

degradation, and water ; the further

development of the Rice Knowledge Bank

for rice farmers (www.knowledgebank.irri.

org), Asias first digital extension service

in agriculture; and the development of rice

camps for young Asians to encourage them to

consider a career in rice.

The decision to endorse the three new

activities was made at the 28th meeting

of the ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and

Forestry in Singapore on 16 November 2006.

ASEAN includes Brunei Darussalam,

Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia,

the Philippines, Singapore, Thai

Vietnam.

To have ASEAN member

endorse these very important activi

ministerial level is obviously a cr

forward, and we are very gratefu

high-level political support, IRR

General Robert Zeigler said. With m

rice producers such as Thailand,

Indonesia, the Philippines, and Mya

officially part of these activities, w

reach out to other countries in Asia

China and Indiafor their support

SHRI SHARAD PAWAR, Minister of Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food,and Public Distribution, Government of India (left), talks with IndianPrime Minister Manmohan Singh at the IRC inauguration at VigyanBhawan, New Delhi.

MINISTER PAWAR outside the National Agricultural ScienceComplex with Mangala Rai, director general of the Indian Councilof Agricultural Research and chair of the organizing and advisorycommittees of the IRC.

D.K.SETH

LED BY Minister Pawar, the ministers ofagriculture of China, Indonesia, Laos,Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, SriLanka, and Vietnam, together signed theDelhi Declaration on 10 October 2006.

Southeast Asia endorses major initiatives to boost regional r ice produ


17/32

he week after Typhoon Durian slammed

to the Philippines Bicol Region, Rice Today

entured into the stricken area to find that the

ce-farming communities had been hit hard.

The road to Albay from theLos Baos headquartersof the InternationalRice Research Institute(IRRI) is long but not

tedious. After 12 hours of drivingthrough town after town of busymarkets lined withparol(Christmaslantern) vendors, deep green coconut

plantations, quiet rice fields, andshimmering blue coast, the landscapegave way to a city of darknessand desolationLegaspi in AlbayProvince, Bicol, Philippines. Five

days earlier, Typhoon Durian (locallyknown as Reming) had struck theregion, bringing winds upward of 220km per hour and leaving hundreds

dead, missing, and homeless.Children are in the streets,

barefoot and begging, the housesbehind them destroyed. Everywhere,people are digging, either to rebuild

homes or find missing relatives.With no power, no water, androads that have collapsed into

rivers,Rice Today set out to findthe rice farmers who live at thefoot of Mayon Volcano in Albay.

It has been a difficult year forAlbay, to say the least. Only a few

months previously, Mayon wasthreatening to erupt (seeRice inharms way on pages 24-27 ofRiceToday Vol. 5, No. 4). The volcanic

activity died down, and but thenDurian did what the volcano, thistime, couldnt. The intense typhoonrains dislodged the tons and tonsof volcanic ash, creating massive

landslides that obliterated houses andrice fields and, asRice Today went topress, killed more than 400 people,

with at least that many still missing.

Here,Rice Today brings youimages and stories that offer aglimpse of the terror that Durian

blasted into the lives of some ofthe Albay rice-farming families,

as well as the despair and hopethat the typhoon left behind.


Once were rice fields

story by Meg Mondoedo, photography by Ariel Javellana

E FIELDS in Albayvince, Bicol, stretch outthe foothills of Mayoncano when it was threat-ng to erupt in July 2006.days after Typhoon

rian struck, the sceneght) is very different. Thege mudflow at the rightthe photo claimed manyes and obliterated riceds and homes.

A GROUP of children posein front of rice fields inSanto Domingo, AlbayProvince, in happier timesin 2001. John OliverLeron (below) sits in thesame area after TyphoonDurian triggered thedevastating mudslides.

THE REMAINS of a house in SanIsidro, Albay, perch precariouslyover a ditch fashioned by the riverof mud, rocks, and volcanic ashthat carved through the region.

CHILDREN IN DARAGA, Albaya mammoth boulderevidendeadly forces unleashed by thswept into town by the muds

ALBENAVENTE


18/32

TodayJanuary-March 2007, Vol. 6, No. 1 30 November 2006: Typhoon Duria n triggers deadly mudslides that swallow entire rice farms in Albay Province, Bicol


19/32


loria Miranda, 51oria lives with her partner and their

enage daughter, Fanela. Durianstroyed most of her crops and more

an half of her house (see photosove), and killed her farm animals.

We just stayed inside the housefrom 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. We couldntgo out because the rain was sohard. All our things got wet.

We will plant again, start over,and raise animals again. Werenot leaving. Its hard to evacuatebecause this is our home.

As long as we have rice, fish sauce,dried fish, and water, well be ok.

ofroneo Fron Rodriguez, 59July, Fron and his family were

king refuge from Mayon volcano inevacuation center. This time, he

as taking stock of what used to be

s farm and is now a swath of lahar,e black, tar-like mix of ash and mudaracteristic of volcanic eruptions.

Many cows, carabaos,

and pigs died. I dont know thenumber, but even the piggery was

destroyed. The flood was caused

by the mud flow from Mayon.This is the strongest typhoon I have

seen. Good thing my house did not fallapart, but all of my seedlings are dead.

Thank God no one died in my family.Because of the damage, I will

lose my income of 5,000 Philippinepesos [US$100] a month unless Ican get new seedlings soon. We will

have to start over again. Our onlysource of income is now gone.

Im thinking of moving my house toa higher place so my family can be safe.

We were safer during

Mayons lava flow. With thistyphoon, we lost everything.

Two farmers. Two stories.Although they lost so much, Gloriaand Fron can count themselveslucky. They and their families arealive and well. As well as losing their

fields to mud, rocks, and ash, manyothers lost loved ones. Thousandsare living in evacuation centersand will be there for who knows

how long. Hundreds of bodies wereburied in mass graves, unidentified.

AsRice Today leaves Albay, thesmell of rotting garbage and deadanimals is at times overwhelming.

Peoples bodies are still trappedbeneath the earth. The air is cool,with the tropical winter bringingrelief from the usual humid heat.Its almost Christmas but not a

singleparolcan be seen. MayonVolcano remains a beautiful sight,

its spectacular silhouette risingabove the lahar. But, right now, its

hard not to think its just anotherdisaster waiting to happen.

E FARMER Gloriaandas house at thet of Mayon Volcano waseatened by lava flowsuly 2006 and (right)f-destroyed by Typhoonrian in November 2006.

ICE FARMER SofroneoFron Rodriguez.

THE LANDSLIDE consisting of mud, rocks, and volcanicash inundated towns throughout Albay Province.

THIS RICE MILL in San Isidro, Albay, is owned by Luis Balilo, 22 ( in white t-shirt), who is now unsureabout when he can resume his milling operations after his one and only mill was buried deep in mud.I dont know what my plans are, he said. Ill just open it again when I have the budget. Moreimportant to him in the immediate aftermath was the loss of his three German shepherds, who used toguard the mill.

RICE FARMER Oscar Bwhose photo appearRice in harms way(24-27 ofRice TodayNo. 4), lost his hous

Isidro, Albay. Thankffamily was unharme

CorrectionIn Rice TodayVolincorrectly namelaran as SofroneoWe would like toboth men for the

GODDARDS

PACE

FLIGHTCENTER,NASA

A SATELLITE photo of TyphoonDurian over the Philippines on30 November 2006, the dayit hit the Bicol region, severalhundred kilometers southeastof Manila.

ALBAY PROVINCE,BICOL REGION


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ARIEL

JAVELLANA

(4)

The loss of biologicaldiversity is one ofthe most seriousenvironmental problemsin the world today. The

aintenance of biodiversity inalthy balanced ecosystems isucial to the survival of life onarth. Yet, the loss of biodiversity

alarmingly high worldwide. Up

to 60,000 plant species could belost by 2025 if the present rate ofextinction is maintained. The Foodand Agriculture Organization ofthe United Nations has estimated

that, since 1900, about three-quarters of the genetic diversityof domestic agricultural cropshas already been lost.

Rice includes more than 20 wildspecies and two cultivated speciesof the genus Oryza, with probably

well over 100,000 varieties of thecultivated forms. The worldwide

loss of biodiversity is also affectingrice biodiversity in all rice-growingcountries, especially after theintroduction of modern high-

yielding varieties of rice from the1960s onward. In the Philippinesalone, where several thousand

varieties of rice were grown in the1950s, only a few varieties now

cover the majority of the rice area.The rice-farmed landscape is

more than just rice. It is a patchwork

of terrestrial and aquatic habitats.The rice field itself can be rich in

biodiversity, with more than 100useful species associated with it. Ricefields provide habitats for wildlife

species, including fish, amphibians,reptiles, crustaceans, mollusks, andinsects, besides various aquatic andfree-standing plants. Domesticated

species, such as ducks and cattle, alsomake use of the vegetation for theirfood. A balanced farm also contains arange of other crops, trees, and wildhabitats. The rice-field ecosystem

has developed over thousands ofyears: it is dynamic, stable, andsustainable, and has adapted todifferent environmental conditions

in different countries and regions.The overall impact of traditional

agriculture on biodiversity is positive.Traditional farmers have, over 10,000

years or more, created huge amounts

of novel and valuable biodiversity.Starting with the unproductive wildancestors of our crop plants, they

and therefore at risk of erosioIn contrast to traditiona

agriculture, intensive agricuwhich requires the use of cheinputs and uniformity of see

material, threatens this richbiodiversity. Pesticides also kthe natural enemies of rice p

and remove forms of biologiccontrol that occur naturally i

more balanced ecosystem. Rof fertilizer and pesticides pogroundwater and surface wacan cause epidemic outbreak

and the few other wild plant that thrive on nitrate-polluteRice breeding by large multicorporations is economicallyprofitable if based on a small

of mega-varieties that dominmarketplace and achieve widadoption. Legal restrictionsprotecting plant breeders rigmany countries dictate that m

varieties must be geneticallyunlike the older, genetically dand adaptable farmer-bred vthat they replace. In some co

(but, as of now, few rice-growcountries), those restrictionsprohibit farmers from savingown seed for sowing the nextcommercial crop, thus forcin

to choose from the comparatsmall number of modern varand destroying the traditionfarmer-breeding system on w

the whole of agriculture is baAt the landscape level an

above (regional, national, glothe need to devote an increaspercentage of the landscape t

agriculture in order to feed aincreasing world population se reduces biodiversity. Ther

Strength in

diversity

Biodiversity is more than

just a nice green concept

farmers rely on it

by Ruaraidh Sackville Hamilton

created new species and new formsfar more dramatically novel thananything being produced by modern-day genetic technologies. Imaginehundreds of thousands of farmers,

each farmer working to breedbetter crops, and all with their ownperceptions of the quality of productthey want, their own distinctive set of

constraints (pests, diseases, weeds,soil types, climate) to overcome,and their own parental materials tostart breeding with. The result wasmillions of different varieties of crops,

and a huge diversity of crop plants.

Traditional farmers knowwell the value of diversity on theirfarms. Many of them grow mixturesof crops or mixtures of strains ofone crop, knowing that a mixture

suffers less damage from pests anddiseases and can produce a morereliable yield from year to yeardespite the vagaries of weather and

rainfall. In some places, farmersdeliberately re-constitute mixtureseach year. In some places, theyuse mixtures with overlappingcropping seasons to reduce the

length of time that soil remains bare


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of a biodiverse system, we canpromote productivity sustainably.

Biodiversity of both the farmed

and unfarmed areas of the landscapecan positively affect agriculturalproductivity in many ways. Certainforms of animal life can benefit a crop

because they act as natural enemiesof the pests and diseases of the crop.

These natural enemies may havetheir primary habitat outside the cropitself, and so rely on the presence

of other forms of biodiversity,which can be in various placessuch as the ecosystem of a healthy

soil under the crop, nonfarmedecosystems adjacent to the crop, the

weed flora growing with the crop,adjacent fields of other crops, andadjacent plots of other managedsystems such as aquaculture,

orchards, or timber trees.The mechanisms by which

biodiversity can promote productivity(seeImproving productivity throughbiodiversity, opposite) depend

on environmental heterogeneity.Yet, intensive agriculture usuallyreduces environmental heterogeneityto produce a uniformly optimalenvironment for high productivity

we plough the field to get a uniformseedbed, we level it for efficientirrigation, we fertilize the field tomake it uniformly fertile throughout,

we weed the field to keep it uniformlyfree of weeds, and we spray fora field that is uniformly free ofpathogens and pests. Moreover, withmechanized harvesting, we need

the mature seed to be presented tothe harvester on the same day atthe same height with the same easeof threshing. To the extent that we

are successful in maintaining theuniformity of these components of theenvironment, a system that is diversefor response to those componentsis likely to be less productive than

one that is a uniform optimal fit forthose conditions. Despite appearingto be at odds, rice production and

biodiversity conservation ca(seeBalanced on a wing on 34-36 ofRice Today Vol. 5, N

The necessary basic researchon two key underlying issues

The first issue is the relabetween diversity and produ

This encompasses a whole serelated issues concerned withdifferent elements of diversitand the different componentproductivityparticularly th

stability, resilience, sustainaband reliability of productionin diverse systems. There is n

generalized relationship betwdiversity and productivity, b

by choosing the appropriatecomponents, we can build disystems that are stable, resilsustainable, and reliable.

The second issue covers social aspects of biodiversityagriculturehow communitican base productive agriculton diversity, and how extens

officers, agricultural scientisand policymakers can refocuoutlook to help base sustainadevelopment on diversity.

Applied agricultural rese

playing an increasing role byecological and evolutionary eand applying it to understanthe dynamics of the farmed a

interacting nonfarmed compa farmed landscape. The nocomponents have to include only the organisms that reduproductivitypests, diseases

weedsbut also those that arbeneficial to the farm economnatural enemies of harmful oisms and their primary habit

or less diverse than other cerealcrops. It is believed that rice wasdomesticated at least twice in Asia,independently by farmers in China

and the southern Himalayan belt,from different ecotypes ofOryzarufipogon. The mixing of the twoprimitive types has generated loads ofdiversity. Recent estimates of the date

of domestication make it older thanother crops too, so there has beenmore time for diversity to evolve.

On the other hand, rice is quite

possibly no more diverse than othercrops. Compared with wheat andpotatoes, for example, cultivatedrice is relatively close to its ancestral

wild form and so hybridizes quite

readily with its wild relatives.One can therefore find almost acontinuum of variation along the

wild-weedy-cultivated forms. Incontrast, cultivated maize and wheat

have become so distinct that its verydifficult to hybridize them with their

wild relatives. In fact, maize is sodistinct that it took a lot of effort just

to identify its closest wild relative.In theory, the same principle

applies to all cropstheir formsand traits are shaped by a balanceamong natural selection for fitness,

farmers selection for productivity,and distinctive selection pressures

by different farmers withdifferent preferences. All theseselective pressures contribute

to a rich crop biodiversity.Landscape management

is another key factoraffecting biodiversity, either

positively or negatively.As a broad generalization,

one can state that individualchoice and small enterprisesin landscape management

tend to be more beneficial tobiodiversity than centralizedcontrol and large businesses.

Individual choice and small

enterprises result in differentmanagement decisions beingmade on different parcels of land.This in turn leads to a diversepatchwork landscape in which no

one ecosystem dominates. Thechoices can be different drainage, adifferent balance between managed

the life around them. Every stream,every death of an insect, every strikeof lightning, and every rice plant

create around them a distinctiveset of environmental conditionsthat are favorable to the survival ofsome organisms and unfavorable

to others. Even a sulfur-laden hotwater spring by a volcano, whilekilling most forms of life, providesthe conditions for a particularlydistinctive ecosystem of sulfur-

loving and heat-loving organisms.Even large-scale events such as ElNio or the North Atlantic Current

create distinctive niches favoring thesurvival of a distinctive set of species.

Although a catastrophic eventlike a volcanic eruption may destroyall biodiversity under the eruption,in the longer term, this results in

the creation of new types of habitatwith distinctively fertile soils inwhich new forms of life appear.

Agricultural intensificationduring the 20th century was based

on reducing biodiversity, but itis not clear whether or to whatextent increasing biodiversityper se might reduce productivity.In theory, by judicious selection

of the appropriate components

Dr. Sackville Hamilton is head of thInternational Rice Research Institu

T.T. Chang Genetic Resources Cente

This feature story is adapted from

an article originally published on

GreenRice.net (www.greenrice.net

Improving productivitythrough biodiversity

On farms, biodiversity of the farmingsystem itself can be diversified inmany ways to improve productivity:

Mixtures of crops or mixtures ofvarieties of one crop can dramatically

reduce the instance of diseases, in

some cases even from near total

failure of unmixed crops to almost no

detectable disease in mixtures.

Mixtures of crops, or different varietiesof one crop, with diffe rent adaptation

to temperature and rainfall can

increase the reliability of yield in the

face of climatic uncertainties from

year to year.

Planting different fields to differentcrops or different varieties that differ

in their harvest date can spread theharvesting period over a longer period

of time, giving farmers time to obtain

a bigger total harvest.

Sequentially planting different cropsin the same field can reduce soil

erosion by reducing the duration of

bare, unprotected soil.

Mixing products with complementaryresource requirementssuch as rice

and fishcan dramatically increase

productivity compared with keeping

them separate.

and unmanaged parcels, and adifferent balance between farmedparcels and parcels managed fornonagricultural use such as orchards,

timber, tourism, and aquaculture.As long as diverse choices are made,the landscape will be diverse.

Centralized control and largebusinesses tend to result in similar

decisions being made over largetracts of land. Even if the businessis for ecotourism, sustainableforestry, or other environmentally

friendly purposes, the impact onbiodiversity can be negative at thelevel of the whole landscape.

Increasing population densityalso amplifies the degradation of

biodiversity, as more and more landmust be taken under cultivation orused for houses, factories, shops,

and roads. Wealth helps mitigatethe loss of biodiversity. People stuck

in the poverty trap may regardloss of biodiversity as the least oftheir troubles. Poor governmentslikewise may place biodiversity low

in their development priorities.Generally, the more complex the

interactions between organisms andtheir environment, the more variedthe surrounding environment and,

in turn, the greater the biodiversity.To an extent, one can say

that almost every natural processpromotes biodiversity in some wayprovided it involves events or states

that persist for long enough to affect

st less and less land availabler nonfarmed ecosystems. Thenversion of rare and threatenedbitats to farmland is causing a

ajor continuing loss of biodiversity.Thus, modern intensive

riculture has reversed the trendincreasing biodiversity under

aditional agriculture. This is

ten cited as one of the key factorsiving the loss of biodiversity.

In many places, rice farmersow a range of crops for special

urposesone rice variety thatideal for rice wine, another for

dish used in religious rituals,other that grows particularly wellthat shaded field at the bottom

the valley, a set of varieties withffering maturity dates to spread thebor of harvesting, a small plot of a

rticularly early-maturing variety toert a period of hunger, and so on.

Although rice is impressivelyverse, it is a complex issue toeculate whether rice is more

ARIEL

JAVELLANA

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R

.RAMAN,

WARDA(3)

It is said that if you want to be agood gardener you should always

sow three seeds: one for the bugs,one for the weather, and one for

urself. But if you tell this to Seybou

ma, who produces and sells seedsthe New Rice for Africa (NERICA)

the West African country of Togo,wouldnt agree to waste even

single seed.

he improved New Rice for Africa varieties are helping not

nly African grain farmers but seed producers as well

for their own use, and to exchangeor sell excess seed to other farmers.

A major advantage of CBSS is that itshortens the time required for seed of

improved varieties to reach farmers.CBSS-trained farmers, such as

Seybou, are now quietly changingthe rice scenario in sub-Saharan

Africa, where farmers traditionally

save, exchange, and use rice seedsfrom one harvest to the next or, intimes of shortage, buy rice paddyfrom the market to use as seed.

Even for Seybou, it was difficult

to accept at first that one could sellseeds. But, when he found out to hisgreat amazement how much money hecould make by selling NERICA seeds,

he abandoned cotton farming andbegan to devote all his time, effort,and land to NERICA seed production.

Seybou started NERICA seedproduction on half a hectare in 2004

and gradually increased the area to6 hectares in 2006. But I am stillunable to cope with the demand forseed from farmers of neighboring

villages, he told a delegation fromthe African Rice Initiative.

The African Rice Initiativeis particularly interested inNERICA seed production because

it was established to scale up thedissemination of NERICA andcomplementary technologies across

The African Rice Initiativeand WARDA are exploring withrelevant partners, particularlythe national systems, to put in

place sustainable NERICA seedproduction and delivery strategies,says Inoussa Akintayo, ARI regionalcoordinator, who is based at WARDA.

The demand for NERICA

seed is not restricted to West andCentral Africa. In fact, the biggestsurprises are emerging fromUganda, Kenya, and Tanzania in

East Africa, where NERICA wasintroduced just 4 years ago.

NERICAs potential as a cashcrop has captured the attention ofUgandas seed companies. This is

partly explained by the fact that riceis considered more of a cash cropthan a food crop in East Africa in

contrast to West and Central Africa.Subsistence farmers are

also seeing the positive impactof commercial NERICA seedproduction in Uganda. The newrice has changed our living, says

one Ugandan farmer. Our incomeshave increased. We have boughtclothes, a house, and a bicycle.

At present, targeted NERICAseed production and distribution

projects across sub-Saharan Africaare supported by many donors andinternational nongovernmentalorganizations, including Japan,UNDP, Rockefeller Foundation, the

African Development Bank, Canadian

International Development AInternational Fund for AgricDevelopment, World Bank, Fand Agriculture Organization

the United Nations, SasakawGlobal 2000, Centre Songha

World Vision International.To overcome problems o

rice seed quality and health,

initiative to scale up technolotransfer of good seed productechniques using video has blaunched by an Internationa

for Agricultural Developmenfunded WARDA project in MGuinea, The Gambia, and GhRice seed health videos prod

by the International Rice Re

Institute, CABI, CountrywiseCommunication, and the RuDevelopment Academy Bogr

association with rural womeBangladesh are being shown

African rice farmers to enablto learn from their Asian coll

We are getting these vidtranslated into French and lo

languages in close associatiowith our national and localnongovernmental organizatipartners, says WARDA TechTransfer Specialist Paul Van

In Guinea, where NERICA hbeen widely adopted, these vhave reached thousands of fain less than 6 months, contrito better seed quality of local

and improved rice varieties.

Seybou doesnt want to be just agood farmer; he wants to be efficient

as well because the happiness ofhis entire family depends on thequantity and quality of the NERICA

seeds he produces. The NERICAvarieties, which are bringing hope

to millions of poor people in Africa,were developed by the Africa RiceCenter (WARDA) and its partners.

With the money I got from

selling NERICA seeds, I bought food,paid school fees for my children, and

bought clothes for them, Seybousaid. I have also used the cashto extend our house, he added,

proudly showing the new extensionmade of concrete, next to his hut.

Seybou belongs to a new breedof African rice farmers trained inseed production techniques as part

of a program on a community-basedseed production system (CBSS) that

was introduced by WARDA and itspartners as an integral part of the

NERICA dissemination program.In sub-Saharan Africa, seed

production and distribution are majorbottlenecks to the dissemination ofnew crop varieties. A study conducted

by WARDA economists in 2005found that only about 30% of ricefarmers interviewed were growingimproved high-yielding rice varieties

because of a severe shortage of seed.The main reason for the seed

shortage is that national seed systemslack the staff, equipment, and fundingto assure farmers an adequate supply

of quality seeds on a regular basis. Toovercome this problem, CBSS trainsfarmers on how to produce good seed

sub-Saharan Africa through acoordinated effort. The Initiativehas been actively involved in theproduction of NERICA foundation

(basic) seed as well as in the trainingof extension staff and farmers inseed production, with the supportof many partners and donors,including the African Development

Bank, Rockefeller Foundation,Japan International Cooperation

Agency, and the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP).

In 2005, a US$35 million 5-

year project was launched by theAfrican Development Bank to supportNERICA dissemination in seven

West African countriesBenin,

Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, SierraLeone, and The Gambia. About80% of the targeted beneficiaries ofthis project, which is coordinated

by the African Rice Initiative, are

the rural poor, mostly women.The project estimates that by the

5th year, about 33,000 farm familieswill be involved in participatory

varietal selection, a process inwhich farmers and breeders worktogether to choose new varieties

best suited to the farmers needs(see Taking parton pages 22-26 of

Rice Today Vol. 3, No. 2). Many ofthem will also be involved in CBSS toaccelerate NERICA

ricetoday vol. 6, no. 1

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