MARS envoys join workshop on rice farming

A rice awareness workshop is ongoing at IRRI this week (30 September-4 October) for MARS Ambassadors. MARS, the global company known for its chocolates, sent representatives from its MARS food brand to IRRI to attend the workshop, Walking in the shoes of rice farmers.


The workshop on rice production and mechanization was designed to give participants a first-hand experience of what rice farmers do to produce rice in a sustainable manner. From the experience, participants are expected to gain a basic understanding of rice production principles and practices as well as the rice value chain and potential bottlenecks within it.

Participants will also be asked to design a training program that will help improve and make sustainable the livelihoods of basmati rice growers in Pakistan.

The workshop is coordinated by Joseph Rickman, mechanization and production systems specialist at IRRI, with assistance from the IRRI Training Center team.


Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Biotech advocate from U of Georgia visits IRRI

Wayne Parrott, professor of crop science at the University of Georgia in the USA, recently visited IRRI headquarters to learn more about the Institute’s work on biotechnology. 

Dr. Parrott came to the Philippines to do a series of public seminars organized by the US Embassy in Manila as part of its 2013 Biotech Outreach Program. On the same day of his visit to IRRI, he gave a special seminar titled Biotech tools for smarter agriculture at the SEARCA Auditorium inside the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños. 

Part of Dr. Parrott's advocacy on public communication of agriculture biotechnology is to highlight the main conclusion to be drawn from more than 130 research projects over more than 25 years, involving more than 500 independent research groups, that biotechnology—GM, in particular—is not per se riskier than conventional plant breeding technologies. 

Read more about IRRI’s work on Golden Rice.

Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Molecular biologist from Korea is guest in September researchers’ lunch

The Young Researchers Lunch for September hosted Sung-han Kim, molecular biologist at the Plant Molecular Breeding Center of Seoul National University (SNU) in South Korea.


Dr. Kim was visiting IRRI as part of his work on a project pertaining to a systems biology approach to heat stress in rice. During the lunch, Dr. Kim discussed with the researchers present the different aspects of molecular response to abiotic stress. He was of the opinion that multi-gene interactions should be taken into account when evaluating plant response to abiotic stresses such as heat and drought.

The lunch, held on 23 September 2013, was attended by were Ritchel Gannaban, Anshuman Singh, Manish Raorane, Isaiah Pabuayon, Toshisangba Chuba, Abraham Llave, and Yoye Yu. The group was joined by SNU students Backki Kim and Dong-Ryung Lee.

The Young Researchers Lunch is a monthly meeting for scientists at IRRI who are in the early stages of their career. The purpose is to provide an opportunity for discussions with senior scientists on a range of topics in science, including career paths.

Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Vietnam: Climate change and land use project reviewed

A midterm review of CLUES, or “Climate Change Affecting Land Use in the Mekong Delta: Adaptation of Rice-Based Cropping Systems,” reveals the following achievements of the ACIAR-funded project thus far that altogether provide a robust base for the project’s next phase:

• Established a risk map on the effect of sea-level rise and climate change on salt intrusion in the Mekong Delta up to the years 2030 and 2050. 

• Analyzed  land suitability for potential land-use systems under different sea-level rise and infrastructure development scenarios, and the socioeconomic characteristics of each system in various agroecological zones. 

• Developed improved rice varieties using conventional and complex crosses to investigate underlying genetics and the value of parental lines in breeding for stress tolerance. 

• Conducted more than 49 participatory varietal selection trials using 41 rice varieties and distributed more than 27,600 kilograms of best-bet variety seeds to farmers from 2011 to mid-2013. 

• Identified the combination of alternate-wetting-and-drying technology, reduced phosphorus use, and transplanting as a climate change-adaptive strategy for rice production in the Delta. 

• Recommended a short-duration high-yielding rice variety that can replace the local variety Mot Bui Do in the shrimp-rice system in Bac Lieu Province.

• Improved farmers’ income through integration of non-rice crops into rice-based systems  (although poor community water management remains a barrier to upland crop production).

• Identified determinants and solutions for further improvement of livelihoods of rice farmers in the Delta. 

• Developed initial data on emissions in the Delta as a function of crop management.

The review was presented during a gathering of CLUES project partners and collaborators on 19 September 2013 at Can Tho University (CTU) in Vietnam. Attending were more than 80 scientists and partner representatives, including local staff, from Vietnam partners (CTU; Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute; Southern Institute for Water Resources Planning; Institute of Agricultural Sciences for Southern Vietnam; and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of An Giang, Can Tho, Hau Giang and Bac Lieu provinces); the Deutshe Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ); and the Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization (CSIRO), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and IRRI.

The project began work in March 2011 and will conclude in February 2014. IRRI climate expert Reiner Wassmann is the project leader of CLUES. Other IRRI scientists involved are To Phuc Tuong, Russell Reinke, Abdelbagi Ismail, Thelma Paris, Romeo Labios, and Ngo Dang Phong.

CSIRO was represented by Bennett Macdonald, Peter Brown, and John Ward, while IWMI was represented by Chu Thai Hoanh.


Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

India: IRRI’s work in South Asia presented at agri econ meet

Senior scientist Takashi Yamano shared about IRRI’s collaborative research programs, implemented under the Institute’s Social Sciences Division, during the 21st annual conference of the Agricultural Economics Research Association (AERA) held at Srinagar.


Dr. Yamano joined other representatives from the CGIAR who also presented about their respective work in South Asia conducted in collaboration with national agricultural research and extension systems.

The AERA conference aims to provide a platform for young researchers and students to promote their work and interact with senior researchers. Many students and representatives of research institutes indicated interest in working with IRRI.

Mamta Mehar of the IRRI India office also presented a paper, Trends in crop diversification by agroecological zones of India, in one of the technical sessions.

The conference was held on 10-13 September 2013 at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in Kashmir, Srinagar.


Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Farmers’ group receives computer donation

The Banca-banca Farmers’ Association in Laguna Province, represented by the group’s leader, Casiano Estrella, Jr., received a computer donated by Lenovo through the CyberVillage Project on 18 September 2013.

Mr. Estrella, on behalf of his group, thanked Lenovo and IRRI for their support. The new computer will enable members of the group to access more farming information and technology recommendations from IRRI and PhilRice, thus helping them improve farm productivity.

The group regularly receives visitors of IRRI who want to discuss with local farmers.
See related news: Lenovo donates computers for CyberVillage Project


Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column). 

IRRI takes part in local festival, environment gig

Los Baños Mayor Caesar Perez commended IRRI for its sustainable waste management and environment-friendly practices in a speech he gave before residents and local government staff to celebrate Pista ng Kapaligiran (Feast of the Environment) on 7 September 2013.

In another speech during the civic parade and program of the Bañamos festival, the Mayor also made a special mention of IRRI, which he thanked for its contribution to livelihood activities and local employment, both of which have helped improve the town's economy.


A contingent led by Deputy Director General for Communication and Partnerships V. Bruce J. Tolentino joined the parade on 17 September that opened the week-long celebration of Bañamos.

Bañamos was started 12 years ago to commemorate the colorful history and culture of the town of Los Baños, which means “the baths.”

The festival emphasizes celebration of the place’s natural wonders and local products and showcases residents’ community spirit and pride. It features a trade fair, street dancing, singing contests, a buko pie-eating contest, band performances, fun runs, and others. The week-long celebration is held every year starting on the 17th and attracts thousands of tourists, guests, and media coverage.

Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

20 undergo training on use of analysis tool for rice production

A training program on version 3 of ORYZA2000, a system analysis tool for rice production, was conducted on 2-6 September 2013 at the IT Learning Center in IRRI.

The 20 training participants are researchers and scientists from the Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (Uruguay),  Institute of Agricultural-Alimentary Research and Technology (Spain), the University of Gottingen (Germany), Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. (Japan), AfricaRice (Benin) and IRRI.


The training aims to help the participants become familiar with the basic structure and functions of this latest version of ORYZA2000, which features added functions. The program also covers data preparation for modeling studies, setting parameters, calibration of the model, interpretation of output, analysis of scenarios, and the use of the tool on participants’ respective datasets.

ORYZA2000 is an important tool that scientists can use to extrapolate their research results and verify various hypotheses prior to possible experimentation.

The training team at IRRI is composed of Tao Li, Ando Radanielson, Olivyn Angeles, Man Marcaida, and Mahlie Manalo, with Lolit Adriano as secretary.


Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

IRRI opens Myanmar office

A decades-long collaboration just got a new home.

The IRRI-Myanmar Office was inaugurated on 12 September 2013 with IRRI’s Deputy Director General for Communication and Partnerships V. Bruce J. Tolentino and Myanma Department of Agriculture Deputy Director General Aung Kyi cutting the ceremonial ribbon.

Dr. Tolentino reiterated IRRI’s commitment to help Myanmar achieve its goals of becoming a major player in the global rice market and expressed hope that the country, with the help of IRRI, will use its rich resources in a sustainable and environment-friendly manner.

Dr. Kyi, for his part, recalled the pride of being a former top exporter of rice, and said that Myanmar is set to reclaim that standing. He also thanked IRRI for being a steadfast partner in the past decades.

Dr. Kyi and Dr. Tolentino were joined by IRRI-Myanmar Liaison Scientist Madonna Casimero, IRRI National Programs Relations Head Julian Lapitan, Donor Relations and Project Coordination Head Corinta Guerta, as well as representatives from donor organizations, employees of the Myanma Department of Agriculture, and staff members from IRRI Headquarters and the IRRI-Myanmar Office.


Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

New instrument helps speed up genotyping

A new instrument for analyzing DNA and RNA is now helping advance rice research at IRRI.
The fragment analyzer, now in use at IRRI’s new Genotyping Services Lab (GSL), helps improve the genotyping of molecular markers linked to specific rice traits that can be used to breed better varieties. It does capillary electrophoresis and can run 96 samples in about 90 minutes, and is thus expected to speed up laboratory work.
Michael Thomson, molecular geneticist and marker applications specialist at IRRI, said that they decided on the fragment analyzer after careful review. “The instrument met our critical requirements, which are mainly throughput and reduced hands-on time to improve laboratory workflow and, ultimately, reduce the time it takes to get results.”

The installation of the fragment analyzer is part of a larger effort to upgrade facilities for the GSL. The instrument was supplied by a U.S.-based Advanced Analytical Technologies, Inc.

Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Sri Lanka: CORRA seeks to boost partnerships for rice research in Asia

Highlighting the strategic role and potential of the Council for Partnership in Rice Research in Asia (CORRA) in strengthening partnership among key stakeholders on rice research and development in Asia is the guiding theme of the council’s 17th annual meeting held at Kandy, Sri Lanka, on 5–6 September 2013.
Strengthening CORRA in enhancing collaboration across the region to benefit rice research is being made in the context of the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP).

Senior officials from 14 member-countries, with Singapore as an observer, attended the meeting that was jointly hosted by the Department of Agriculture of Sri Lanka (DOASL) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

Rohan Wijekoon, director general of the DOASL, informed participants that Sri Lanka is rice self-sufficient and attributed this achievement not just to Sri Lankan scientists but to global collaborations and exchanges on rice research, such as CORRA.

D.B. Wijeratna, additional secretary of agriculture of Sri Lanka, expressed hope that CORRA can also facilitate sharing of information on rice production and technologies to help Sri Lanka become a rice exporter.

V. Bruce J. Tolentino, deputy director general for communication and partnerships at IRRI, exhorted everyone about the need for CORRA to evolve “because the global rice sector is evolving.”

Presentations were made by Sam Mohanty, head of IRRI’s Social Sciences Division, on the status of and outlook for the global rice market; Digna Manzanilla, IRRI scientist and associate coordinator of the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environment, or CURE, delivering a progress report; H. Sembiring, director of the Indonesian Center for Food Crops Research and Development, on the Closing the Rice Yield Gaps in Asia (CORIGAP) project, in lieu of Grant Singleton of IRRI who heads CORIGAP; and Bas Bouman, director of GRiSP, on avenues through which CORRA can effectively participate as an advisory council to GRiSP.

CORRA is composed of senior officials from selected national agricultural research and extension systems or NARES in Asia, which gives the council a strong intellectual and political voice on influencing rice R&D in the region and vast opportunities to deliberate on important research and policy issues affecting the livelihoods of rice farmers and consumers.

Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

IRRI’s head of research shares about career path with young researchers

The Young Researchers Lunch (YRL) meeting hosted Achim Dobermann, IRRI's deputy director general for research, on 22 August 2013, during which he described his education and career path to some of IRRI’s young scientists. His story emphasized the importance of having dynamic professors who encourage students to pursue a certain field, as well as having the time for exploratory learning as part of research activities.

Participants in the August YRL were Nikos Tsakirpaloglou, Khondoker Mottaleb, Shanta Karki, Man Marcaida, Yvette Naredo, and Ranee Mabesa.

The YRL is a monthly meeting of IRRI scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and scholars who are in the early stages of their career. The purpose is to provide an opportunity for discussion with senior scientists on a range of research topics, including career paths.

Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Bigas2 Hack winning apps announced

The winning apps from the two-day (31 August-1 September 2013) developer event, Bigas2 Hack, held by Smart Communications,Inc. (Smart) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), are hereby announced:  

Bring-your-own idea challenge winners 

• "Weather-on-the-Go" as Best Innovation App - notifies users of weather forecasts and changes via SMS and a web-based app module; developed by GoRated Team (Gian Santillan, Patrick Ofilada, and Ericson Luciano).
• "HarBestDeal" as runner-up for Best Innovation App - a platform that establishes communication and trade among farmers, traders, and IRRI; developed by HarBest Team (Tito Mari Francis Escano and Nel Vergara).

Short-term challenge winners 

• "RiceCalc" as Best Farmer App -  an online tool that helps farmers with decisionmaking and features a variety seed selector and calculators to determine profitability, moisture loss, milling quality, and others; developed by xTra Rice Team (Diony Guillen, Alexander Delos Santos, and Leandro Parmis). 
• "Visitors Kiosk App" as Best Consumer App - a web-based tool that visitors can use to view IRRI's Riceworld Museum; developed by LB Pips Team (Raven Lagrimas and Paul Elessat Caceres).   

Long-term challenge winners 

• "Butil" as Best Research Optimization App - an automated digital phenotyping system using a camera that will monitor plant development in the screenhouse for analysis of images that assist in phenotyping and monitoring; developed by Ani Mo Team (Brian Paul Samson, Ralph Vincent Regalado, Enzo Hagad, and Francis Lai).
• "OryzaOnline" as runner-up for Best Research Optimization App - a web-based user interface for IRRI’s ORYZA2000 predictive crop growth software; developed by Hackalyst Team (Nehemiah Caballong, Henry Dela Cruz Cayaban, Steve Belarmino, and Abraham Darius Allave).

Each of the 37 hackathon participants  received freebies including t-shirts, lanyards, and credits on Amazon Web Services (AWS) , Microsoft Azure, and Google App Engine cloud servers. The winning teams received Lenovo smart phones or Archos tablets for each member, Jollibee gift certificates, a freelancer.com annual membership fee, USSE data leakage protection software, SMART DevNet laptop bags, and packs of brown rice.

Smart Communications, Inc. was a major sponsor and co-organizer of Bigas2 Hack. Other sponsors are AWS, Microsoft BizSpark , Google Developers Group, freelancer.com, and Jollibee Group Foundation. Additional partners include the U.S. Embassy-Manila, Mozilla Philippines, Advance Microsystems, and Soft Microenterprises.

“The encouraging support of our co-organizer, sponsors, and partners was one of the strengths of this event,” said Charizabel Fortunado-Sapiandante, IRRI’s Bigas2 Hack sponsorship specialist. “It shows that we share the same core values of innovation and creativity. IRRI is very grateful for their facilitation of the server platform workshops prior to the hackathon; subsidy of the participants’ food, accommodation, and transportation needs; and for donating the exciting prizes for the winning teams. They also helped us in inviting our highly competent guest judges.”

"I saw a lot of excitement and buzz around the hackathon products from our partners," said Katie Nelson, who led the Bigas2 Hack organizing team. “Many of them mentioned that it was great that we had an interesting theme because not many hackathons focus on IT in agriculture. We have lots of data to back up the ideas, and strong involvement from the researchers. In my opinion, this is a great recipe for start-up success."

"Before the event, I was a bit worried that some of the challenges set would be preferred over others,” said Nicola Wunderlich, one of the hackathon’s challenge coordinators. “I would have been disappointed for the resource persons that spent quite a lot of time and effort to come up with the challenges, if their particular challenge would have not been attempted at all. I was relieved and excited to see that just about all challenges were taken on almost evenly."

Katie sees the expansion of these types of hackathons. “We have discussed doing a similar hackathon in one of our partner countries. But, even more exciting to me would be to see global involvement from other international agriculture research centers, the CGIAR centers. Like other global hacks, such as Angel Hack, each center would come up with their own issues to solve and each would organize the hack individually to take place on the same day around the world. It would be a global 'Hunger Hack', if you will,” she said.

“I wish to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the Bigas2 Hack—for organizing another splendid event—including the organizing team led by Katie Nelson, Marco, the whole ITS team, EVO, and many others,” said Achim Dobermann, IRRI’s deputy director general for research. “I can only recommend to all IRRI staff to take a closer look at the 12 ideas that were presented on Sunday, because I saw potential for use in IRRI for nearly all of them. Well done.”


Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Climate change modeling workshop ongoing at IRRI

The inception workshop for the Integrated Modeling of Climate Change Impacts on Agricultural Productivity and Socio-Economic Status, or IMCASE, is now being held (3–5 September 2013) at the Social Sciences Division, IRRI Headquarters.


The workshop aims to present an overview of the IMCASE project to stakeholders, introduce various modeling tools that the project will use, discuss the integration mechanism of these modeling tools, and explore potential collaboration with ongoing related projects and institutions.

Participants of the inception workshop were from government agencies and NGOs and include the Food and Agriculture Organization; Global Information and Early Warning Systems; International Center for Tropical Agriculture; Asian Development Bank; International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center; Regional Integrated Multi-hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia; International Research Institute for Climate and Society; DA-Bureau of Agricultural Statistics; the Climate Monitoring and Prediction and Philippine Impact Assessment and Applications sections of the Climatology and Agrometereology Division, PAGASA; Analysis and Mapping of Impacts under Climate Change for Adaptation and Food Security; and IRRI.


Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Laos and Indonesia: Training held on weather-rice-nutrient decision tool prototype

A training course on the use of a prototype of the Weather-Rice-Nutrient Integrated Decision Support System or WeRise for rainfed lowland rice production was held on 19–20 August 2013 at Vientiane, Laos, and on 22–23 August 2013 at Bogor, Indonesia.

The WeRise training course covers simulation of crop growth for the forecast weather scenario in the prototype, and feedback collection from potential users to ensure user-friendliness of its features.

Specific topics included modeling crop growth, database management, crop-weather-nutrient model interface, and practical exercises on the WeRise prototype.

Participants’ feedback indicate that majority of the respondents found the WeRise prototype easy to use and the output easy to understand. Of the 10 respondents who have experience in using other Decision Support tools, 9 respondents found WeRise prototype easy to use and 5 respondents found the prototype simple and more complete. Four respondents expressed interest and excitement in using the final version of the WeRise.

Rainfed rice yields are low and unstable mainly because of uncertainty in rainfall amount and distribution, nutrient stress, and pests. Extreme weather events caused by climate change could further reduce rice productivity in these areas.

WeRise aims to assist rainfed rice farmers under current and future climate scenarios. It uses a seasonal weather forecast that provides farmers crucial weather information, such as the start and end of the rainy season and rainfall distribution during the crop-growing season. It also advises farmers when to sow and transplant the crop, what variety is appropriate, and how fertilizer and other inputs may be efficiently applied.

Forty-three researchers and agricultural extension workers from Laos (National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute; National University of Lao PDR; Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment; IRRI-Laos; Department of Agriculture, Extension and Cooperatives; Department of Agriculture; Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office; District of Agriculture and Forestry Office; and the Department of Agriculture, Land Management, and Development); Indonesia (Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology; Indonesian Agroclimate and Hydrology Research Institute; Indonesian Center for Food Crops Research and Development; Indonesian Center for Rice Research; Executing Agency for Food Security and Agricultural Extension, Fisheries and Forestry; Food Security Office; and IRRI-Indonesia); and Bangladesh (Bangladesh Rice Research Institute) participated in the training course.

The training course was hosted by the Climate Change Adaptation in Rainfed Rice Areas (CCARA) project, an IRRI-Japan collaborative research initiative, and was organized by IRRI and the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences.

Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Lenovo donates computers for CyberVillage Project

Two all-in-one computer units and a laptop were donated to the Philippine CyberVillage project by Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.

The equipment was turned over to representatives of the CyberVillage project by Maria Victoria Agorilla, Lenovo country general manager and officer of the InfoCom Technology Association of the Philippines or ITAPhil.

The Philippine CyberVillage project is the short name for "Enhancing Knowledge Exchange and Decision-making among Rice Stakeholders through the Development and Promotion of Location-Specific Rice Knowledge Products and Delivery Systems,” which aims to teach farmers to use information and communication technology (ICT) tools to improve their access to farming advise and rice research products, and thus improve their livelihood.

The project uses at least three ICT tools to inform extension workers and farmers about better farm management practices:

• The Pinoy Rice Knowledge Bank (www.pinoyrkb.com/), a repository of science-based information on rice run by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice);
• The IRRI Rice Doctor (http://knowledgebank.irri.org/RiceDoctor) to assess rice crop diseases and explain relevant management options; and
• The Nutrient Manager for Rice, a fertilizer management program developed by IRRI that provides location-specific recommendations via the Internet and as an app on Android smartphones (http://webapps.irri.org/nm/nmtutorial/).

IRRI has partnered with the local government units of eight municipalities (Batac, Ilocos Norte; Apalit, Pampanga; Victoria, Laguna; Infanta, Quezon; Banay-Banay, Davao Oriental; Kabacan, North Cotabato; and Dingle and Oton, Iloilo—a total of 39 barangays) and several NGOs, regional and local state colleges and universities, and rice research institutions in the country.

"The donation demonstrates the working partnership between ITAPhil and IRRI in helping accelerate the impact of rice research and technologies that are crucial in improving the livelihood of rice farmer-cooperators in our pilot CyberVillage. Farmer-cooperators who will use these computers will surely be very pleased and inspired to move the project along in its aim of getting relevant rice information and technologies to farmers through these ICT tools," said Julian Lapitan, senior manager of IRRI's National Programs Relations.


Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Local residents affected by typhoon get help from IRRI personnel

IRRI employees responded quickly to a call for relief goods for those affected by Habagat (monsoon) rains exacerbated by Typhoon Maring in August 2013.

Sacks of rice, canned food, milk, coffee, hygiene products, and clothing were turned over to residents of Barangay Lalakay who were staying in evacuation centers because their homes were destroyed by mudslides. Donated goods were likewise distributed to households in Barangay Malinta, where houses were partly still partly flooded. Both barangays are located in Los Baños, Laguna.
The Host Country and Community Relations office (HCCRO) team, which organized the relief operation, is also currently extending assistance to residents of flooded areas in barangays Tagumpay and San Antonio in Bay, Laguna.

Residents and local government officials have thanked IRRI’s HCCRO and Neighborhood Emergency Services Team for immediate and efficient monitoring and disaster response, including management of the evacuation center, during the monsoon rains that lasted for several days.


Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

IRRI trains neighboring communities on disaster preparedness

Twenty six responders completed the Neighborhood Emergency Service Team (NEST) training on light search and rescue in difficult mountain areas, medical preparedness, fire and earthquake response, anti-terrorism skills, and hazard mapping among others on August 26-30.  The new members of the NEST team were resident of upland barangays of Sta. Cruz, and Bitin in Bay, Laguna.



The NEST training is facilitated by the disaster preparedness team of the Emergency Research Center (ERC), funded by the United Parcel Services, (UPS) and managed by IRRI's Partnerships Office through the HCCRO, and the Safety and Security Services (SSS).


Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Indian state extends use of drought-tolerant rice

An awareness and review workshop on cluster demonstrations of drought tolerant rice in India’s eastern state of Jharkhand was held by IRRI and the State Agricultural Management and Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) on 30 August 2013 in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India.


More than 70 people, including 11 women, agricultural officers from all the districts, training coordinators, and extension officers from KVKs, NGOs, and seed producers, participated in the workshop. Mr. Kamal Kishore Soan, Director of Agriculture (Jharkhand) was chief guest of the event and other officials included Mr. Jata Shankar Chaudhary (Director, State Agricultural Management & Extension Training Institute, or SAMETI), Dr. Mukund Variar (Director, Central Rainfed and Upland Rice research Station or CRURRS, Hazaribagh), Dr. D N Singh (Rice Breeder, Birsa Agricultural University, or BAU), and Dr. Ratan P. Singh (Director Extension, BAU, Ranchi).

Dr. Manzoor Hussain Dar (IRRI, STRASA) welcomed the participants. He presented an overview of the cluster demonstrations of stress-tolerant rice varieties  and objectives of the workshop. He emphasized the need for partnership development between different stakeholders across the state to ensure the speedy dissemination of information, seed up-scaling, and faster diffusion of drought-tolerant rice varieties. He acknowledged the initiatives of the Department of Agriculture, Jharkhand, to undertake large scale seed production of Sahbhagi Dhan – a drought-tolerant rice variety – through seed village programmes and their evaluation of the drought-tolerant rice IR64 NIL at various locations in the lead-up to its planned release. Dr. Dar also acknowledged the strong coordination between the Stress-tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia, or STRASA and SAMETI as an example for other states.

Other presentations were given by Dr. Variar, who talked about the rice situation in Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh with respect to climate change, and Mr. Jata Shankar Chaudhary, about the initiatives that the department has taken to scale up the seed production and dissemination of drought-tolerant rice varieties like Sahbhagi Dhan. Mr. Shankar provided assurance that their efforts will be intensified by linking their work with other schemes. He also offered help and cooperation to  STRASA to undertake their activities including the evaluation of new genetic material and awareness creation.

Meanwhile, Chief Guest Mr. Kamal Kishore Soan endorsed the suitability and profitability of Sahbhagi Dhan in Jharkhand, and recommended the development of an action plan to prepare the state for droughts in the future. He proposed the need ffor buffer stock of Sahbhagi dhan seed as a part of a contingency plan to help the state cope during drought years.

In the final session of the workshop, the possible strategies and action plan for the upscaling of stress-tolerant rice technology and sustainable seed production for the Jharkhand state was discussed. An action plan with the timeline including the roles of all possible stakeholders involved will be jointly structured by SAMETI and IRRI and submitted to the department for the instant implementation. Mr. T C Dhoundiyal (STRASA) formally delivered the vote of thanks to all the participants.

Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).

Hei Leung honored for work in rice blast

Dr. Hei Leung during the 6th International
Rice Blast Conference in South Korea.

Hei Leung, IRRI Principal Scientist and Program 1 Leader, received the "Lifetime Achievement for Rice Blast Research" award at the 6th International Rice Blast Conference in Jeju, South Korea on 23 August 2013.

Dr. Leung is one of the pioneering plant pathologists in molecular analysis of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. His fervent interest in blast research began early in his career and, over the last 30 years, he has made significant contributions to many aspects of rice/pathogen interactions, application of pathogen population biology, and dissection of qualitative and quantitative disease resistance in rice.

He has been a key player in helping many institutions and national partners in developing countries  to build their research capacity and enabling them to develop varieties with better resistance by applying new knowledge in host-pathogen interactions and plant genomics.


Learn more about IRRI (www.irri.org) or follow us on the social media and networks (all links down the right column).