NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet - country's highest decision making body - on Wednesday approved setting up International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), South Asia Regional Center (ISARC) in Varanasi. The Center will be established at existing campus of the National Seed Research and Training Center in the holy city of eastern India. The Center will be commissioned within six months. A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) will soon be signed for setting up the Center between the country's agriculture ministry and the IRRI, Philippines. The ministry will provide physical space for laboratories, offices and training classes with associated infrastructure and land at the National Seed Research and Training Center (NSRTC) in Varanasi. "The Center will help in utilizing the rich biodiversity of India to develop special rice varieties. This will help India to achieve higher per hectare yields and improved nutritional contents", said the government in a statement after the Cabinet meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Noting that the ISARC would also address the country's food and nutritional security issues, it said the Center would support in adopting value chain based production system in the country. "This will reduce wastage, add value and generate higher income for the farmers. The farmers in eastern India will benefit in particular, besides those in South Asian and African countries", said the statement. This Center will be the first international Center in the eastern India and it will play a major role in harnessing and sustaining rice production in the region. It is expected to be a boon for food production and skill development in the eastern India and in other South Asian and African countries.

 

The agriculture ministry will provide physical space for the laboratories, offices, training classes with associated infrastructure and land at NSRTC. The proposed centre will operate under the IRRI Board of Trustees, who will appoint the Director.

The government on Wednesday cleared a proposal to set up a regional centre of the global rice research institute IRRI in Varanasi, the Prime Minister’s constituency, to develop high-yielding rice varieties. The Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which has offices in 17 countries, is known for its work in developing rice varieties that contributed to the green revolution in 1960s. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As per the proposal, IRRI’s South Asia Regional Centre will be set up at the campus of National Seed Research and Training Centre (NSRTC) in Varanasi, an official statement said. The centre will be commissioned within six months after signing of memorandum of agreement between the agriculture ministry and IRRI, it said. The ministry will provide physical space for laboratories, offices, training classes with associated infrastructure and land at NSRTC. The proposed centre will operate under the governance of the IRRI Board of Trustees, who will appoint an IRRI staff member as Director. “This centre will be the first international centre in the eastern India and will play a major role in harnessing and sustaining rice production in the region,” the statement said. It is expected to be a boon for food production and skill development in eastern India and similar ecologies in other South Asian and African countries, it added. The proposed centre will have a modern and sophisticated laboratory with capacity to determine quality and status of heavy metals in grain and straw. It will also undertake capacity building exercises for stakeholders across the rice value chain.

THE statistics are staggering. According to the International Rice Research Institute, the Philippines wastes more than 300,000 tons of rice annually. This translates to a cost of more than P20 million a day, or about P8 billion annually. To put this in the proper perspective, the annual volume of rice wastage is equivalent to a third of rice imports, an issue that is fraught with political, economic and even health considerations. All this because Filipinos, on the average, are said to waste three tablespoons of rice every day. But the proposal to ban “unlimited rice” servings in some restaurants, apparently a knee-jerk one, by Sen. Cynthia Villar, seems misplaced. This week, in a Senate hearing on the country’s rice importation and failed attempts to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production, these statistics on rice wastage were again brought up, along with the ill effects of too much rice consumption on the health. Betraying the Big-Brother or draconian tendencies many Filipino politicians have, Villar proposed to stop restaurants from offering “unlimited rice” promotions to their customers. It touched a raw nerve especially on social media, with the senator being the subject of a few memes. On Twitter, parody accounts of local fast-food chains made fun of the proposed “unli-rice ban.” It’s likely a manifestation of Filipinos’ frustrations with the misplaced priorities of some politicos. Indeed, there are bigger problems to tackle than restaurants’ unli-rice promos. As expected, Villar walked back her proposal. Equating unli-rice to wastage is a debatable proposition. Perhaps Villar has not eaten in restaurants offering these promos. Waiters often make it a point to ask customers how many cups of rice they need, and serve rice only when requested. The restaurants, it seems, are aware of the likelihood of wastage, and often use very small cups. Needless to say, these promos are popular. To many working-class Filipinos, it’s perhaps the only luxury they could afford given the rising cost of food, but one that could easily fill their stomachs. Thus, the immediate backlash on the senator. A more sound proposal is Senate Bill 1863 filed by former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in 2013. It sought to penalize not unli-rice promos, but the practice among restaurants of refusing to serve less than a cup of rice, and proposed to fine these establishments up to P100,000. To keen observers of Filipino habit, the wastage happens with those who order more rice than they are able to consume, not with those who are willing to pay for an extra serving. To be sure, the solution to rice wastage is education, not Machiavellian impositions. Villar could instead fund an extensive campaign to curb rice wastage, for instance, by emphasizing the ill effects of a high-carbohydrate diet, among them diabetes and heart disease. To be fair, Villar is advocating more brown rice consumption. A recent Manila Times story notes that brown rice, or “Pinawa” among Tagalogs, is simply unpolished white rice, but has more protein, fiber, good fats, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B9 and E, antioxidants and minerals than white rice. According to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), brown rice can help reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, brown rice also encourages balanced eating — based on testimonial evidence, as gathered by PhilRice consultant Cezar Mamaril, people consume less rice when they eat brown rice. People get their fill sooner, because brown grains weigh heavier. An issue that touchers right at the heart of Filipino culture and lifestyle deserves greater introspection, not knee-jerk thinking. Politicians cannot simply propose to restrict the demand side of rice consumption, just because they find it harder to deal with the supply side.

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA — Agriculture ministers and representatives from nine countries are seeking to create a multi-country seed policy agreement that drastically speeds up the distribution of modern rice varieties in South and Southeast Asia. The possible agreement was discussed during an International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) event. It brought together officials from Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam to discuss collaborative ways to improve the welfare of resource-poor farming families through innovative agricultural research. One such approach is to ensure that farmers have easy access to improved technologies and advancements, particularly the seeds of newly developed climate-resilient rice varieties, the IRRI said. These modern varieties have helped vulnerable farmers by securing their food supply, and providing them with added income and the opportunity to invest in their own future. The potential expansion of the regional seed-sharing agreement builds on the existing South Asia Regional Seed Policy Agreement, which was signed in 2014 by the governments of Bangladesh, Nepal, and India. Under the agreement brokered by IRRI, the new seed-sharing system allowed new and better seeds to reach the hands and fields of farmers more rapidly. In just three years, eight rice varieties already have been released and shared across the three countries. The event provided a platform for the participants to share their experience with neighboring countries and to aid other nations in determining how the extension of such an agreement could positively impact the rice sector of their respective countries. According to the IRRI, this is an opportune time for rice-growing countries to work toward a regional “seed diplomacy” that could benefit a higher number of farmers and consumers, leading to the development and strengthening of the rice sector.

A new agreement to promote sustainable agriculture in developing countries was signed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The organizations will share scientific and technical knowledge, promote capacity building activities, and assist in government strategizing, with an emphasis on benefiting small-scale farmers and women.

“With over 3 billion people across the globe eating rice every day, rice is critical to global food security,” said Maria Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director-General. “Ensuring sustainable rice production is a key contribution to the global goal of ending hunger. By teaming up with IRRI, already a long-standing partner, we will be able to scale up, complement and amplify our work towards reaching this goal.”

The stated goals of the FAO are to eradicate hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition, eliminate poverty while promoting economic and social progress for all, and sustainably manage and use natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations. Currently, two major rice-related FAO efforts are underway. First is the Asia and Pacific’s Regional Rice Initiative, and second, the Partnership for Sustainable Rice Systems Development in Sub-Saharan Africa. These are sharing technology, agricultural and pest management practices, and strategies to increase rice resilience and production efficiency.

“The world faces very significant changes over the next few decades to produce the volume and quality of nutritious food to feed a global population heading for 10 billion people,” said Matthew K. Morell, IRRI Director-General. “Addressing these issues relies on global partnerships, and today, IRRI is delighted to be reaffirming through this Memorandum of Agreement our commitment to work with FAO to enhance sustainable rice-based production and food systems through awareness raising, capacity development, knowledge exchange, and evidence-based analyses for policy support.”

IRRI is a nonprofit research and educational institute founded by the Ford and Rockefeller foundations and the Philippine government in 1960. Its goals are to reduce poverty and hunger through rice science, improve rice farmer and consumer health and welfare, and ensure the environmental sustainability of rice production. Today, IRRI has offices in 17 countries and collaborates with a variety of research partners including the food security research partnership CGIAR. Working with the United Nations Environment, IRRI developed the Sustainable Rice Platform to promote resource efficiency, sustainability, and affordability through policy development and voluntary market transformation initiatives.

By working together, the FAO and IRRI seek to increase availability and use of improved and adapted rice variety seeds. To increase nutrition and improve the income of small-scale farmers, they will develop and commercialize rice by-products. Through farmer field schools and other forms of outreach, they will better educate farmers in best-practices, including pest management. They will also work to improve working conditions for rice farmers and improve women participation and entrepreneurial opportunities.

 

VNA TUESDAY, JUNE 06, 2017 - 18:00:00 PRINT

SUSTAINABLE RICE PLATFORM PLANS INTEGRATED TRAINING STRATEGY TO SUPPORT ROLLOUT OF RICE ASSURANCE PROGRAM

ODISHA, India—Rice farmers are now receiving site-specific fertilizer recommendations for their crop without having to leave their villages through the Rice Crop Manager (RCM). Available in Odia and English, RCM is a web-based tool developed by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). It provides farmers with customized crop and nutrient management recommendations based on their actual field conditions and needs. Such recommendations can help increase the productivity and incomes of the farmers. Fertilizer consumption in Odisha is much lower than the national average of 128.34 kg/ha, according to 2012-13 agricultural statistics.  However, in some districts, there are farmers who also apply more than the required levels of fertilizers. To prevent under- and over-fertilization, Odisha's Department of Agriculture (DoA), in collaboration with IRRI, is promoting the use of RCM through a project that seeks to increase the productivity and profitability of rice-based cropping systems and farmers’ income. Launched in 2016, the project has five subprojects including Raising productivity and profitability of rice-based systems of Odisha through RCM that aims to provide millions of farmers with site-specific recommendations. During the 2016-17 rabi season, the districts of Puri, Bhadrak, Balasore, Sambalpur, Cuttack, Ganjam, and Bargarh were selected for the dissemination of RCM recommendations. The extension workers of the DoA, crop advisors, and service providers were trained to use RCM in interviewing farmers before the start of a rice cropping season. The responses given by the farmers are utilized in making tailor-made nutrient and crop management advisories. Around 3,000 farmers have received the recommendations for their rabi rice crops. The DoA and IRRI have also developed partnerships with leading non-government organizations (NGOs) in Odisha to intensify the project's reach. The field staff of the NGOs, who are being trained in using RCM, will mobilize and motivate farmers, provide them the RCM recommendations, and follow up on its proper use. RCM centers are being set up on every block in the selected districts for the upcoming kharif season. These centers are equipped with laptops, printers, and Internet connection and will be used by DoA extension staff to provide recommendations to the farmers. DoA and IRRI aim to reach around 50,000 farmers in time for kharif.