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.


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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.


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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”


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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.


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