Rice Today Vol. 14, No. 1

8/9/2019 Rice Today Vol. 14, No. 1

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1Rice TodayJanuary-March 2015US$5.00 ISSN 1655-5422

www.irri.org

International Rice Research Institute January-March 2015, Vol. 14, No. 1

past, present, and promising future

Wheres my GM rice?

Trends in global rice trade

Green revolutions 2.0 & 3.0: No farmer left behind

Rice in Latin America:


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contents Vol. 14, No. 1

EDITORIA L ................................................................ 4

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

MAKING RICE MORE COMPETITIVE IN LATINAMERICA ............................................................. 10

For 20 years, FLAR has been the primary force behindthe regions rice technology development

A TALE OF TWO WOMEN LEADING RICE

REVOLUTIONS IN LATIN AMERICA .................. 12Patricia Guzmn and Salom Tupa deliver on the

promise of womens hard-won leadership in atraditionally male-dominated rice sector

A PASSION FOR GROWING RICE IN VENEZUELA...14The countrys rice sector is working hard to regain

its strength through its expanding culture ofinnovation

A FOURDECADE QUEST TO IMPROVE RICE INLATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ........... 16

For four decades, rice scientists at the InternationalCenter for Tropical Agriculture have beendeveloping an ideal rice plant type for the regionschanging needs

URUGUAYAN RICE: THE SECRETS OF A SUCCESSSTORY.................................................................. 18

Competitiveness is the name of the game forUruguayan rice farmers

THE RISE OF RICE ON PERUS SACRED GROUND ..20With its rising national rice production, Peru is now

Latin Americas most important rice producer afterBrazil

BOUNCING BACK FROM TYPHOON HAIYAN ....... 24A family of farmers bounces back from a disaster by

growing a high-yielding rice variety and vegetables

RICE FABLES............................................................ 26Korea: The good brothers

WHATS COOKING? ................................................ 28Tah Chin saffron rice and chicken

RICE TODAY AROUND THE WORLD ...................... 29

WHERES MY GM RICE? .......................................... 30It is not science that has held back the use of

molecular genetics in rice breeding, it is politics

GREEN REVOLUTIONS 2.0 & 3.0: NO FARMER LEFTBEHIND ............................................................... 32

Green Revolutions 2.0 and 3.0 will benefit the poorestof the poor who did not reap rewards of the firstone

UNLEASHING THE RICE MARKET.......................... 36The global rice market is driven by factors that may

radically change how rice is traded in the future

RICE FACTS .............................................................. 40Trends in global rice trade

GRAIN OF TRUTH ................................................... 43GRiSP: Partnerships for success

3Rice TodayJanuary-March 2015

About the cover. Veteran Peruvian rice grower MarinaMeja plants a kiss on one of her grandchildren, a potential

next-generation farmer in the country's Rioja Province.Read about her story and the rise of rice on Peru's sacredground beginning on page 20. (Photo by Adriana Varn

Molina)

editor-in-chiefGene Hettel

managing editorLanie Reyes

associate editor Alaric Francis Santiaguel

Africa editor Savitri Mohapatra

Latin America editor Nathan Russell

copy editor Bill Hardy

art director Juan Lazaro IV

designer and production supervisorGrant Leceta

photo editor Isagani Serrano

circulationAntonette Abigail Caballero, Lourdes Columbres, Cynthia Quintos

Web mastersJerry Lavia, Lourdes Columbres

printer CGK formaprint

Rice Today is published by the International Rice Research Institute(IRRI) on behalf of the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP).

IRRI is the worlds leading international rice research and trainingcenter. Based in the Philippines and with offices located in major rice-growing countries, IRRI is an autonomous, nonprofit institut ion focused onimproving the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmersand consumers, particularly those with low incomes, while preservingnatural resources. It is one of the 15 nonprofit international researchcenters that are members of the CGIAR consortium (www.cgiar.org).

Responsibility for this publication rests with IRRI. Designations usedin this publication should not be construed as expressing IRRI policy oropinion on the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area, or itsauthorities, or the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Rice Todaywelcomes comments and suggestions from readers. RiceToday assumes no responsibility for loss of or damage to unsolicitedsubmissions, which should be accompanied by sufficient return postage.

The opinions expressed by columnists in Rice Todaydo not necessarily

reflect the views of IRRI or GRiSP.

International Rice Research Institute 2015

This magazine is copyrighted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License(Unported). Unless otherwise noted, users are free to copy, duplicate, or reproduce, and distribute, display, or transmit any of the articles or portions of the ar ticles, and to make translations,adaptations, or other derivative works under specific conditions. To view the full text of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/.

International Rice Research InstituteDAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, PhilippinesWeb: www.irri.org/ricetoday

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

Rice TodayEditorial Board

Bas Bouman, GRiSP

Matthew Morell, IRRI

Eduardo Graterol, Latin American Fund for Irrigated R ice

Marco Wopereis, Africa Rice Center

Mary Jacqueline Dionora, IRRI

Osamu Koyama, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences

Erna Maria Lokollo, Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Dev.

Pradeep Kumar Sharma, CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University

Gonzalo Zorrilla, National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA)

NEILPALMER/CIAT


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As we usher in the year 2015, Rice Todaycontinues

to survey the near and far horizons of the rice

world and report the latest on sustainable

development, trade, and other issues that

surround the favorite grain of half of humanity. So, what

will the new year bring? We hope that it will bring more

breakthroughs from rice scientists.

Rice Todaywill continue to examine the many issues

that affect the rice industry across its value chainfrom the

overall economic and international trading conditions ofrice and those that are alleviating poverty to resources and

technologies that farmers are turning to for help with their

rice growing.

In our first installment of 2015, we have a special set

of six ricetorical pieces (pages 10-23) that chronicle the

successes of breeding in Latin America and the Caribbean

(LAC). We highlight the Latin American Fund for Irrigated

Rice (FLAR) and its 20-year history of being the primary

force behind the regions rice technology development. We

feature two women in LAC who have put wind in the sails

of the rice revolution in the region. Read aboutA passion

for growing rice in Venezuela, which is a testament to howthe country is working hard to regain its strength through

expanding innovation in LAC. Read aboutA four-decade

quest to improve rice in Latin America and the Caribbean by

scientists at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture

(CIAT) who have been developing an ideal rice plant type for

the regions changing needs. Find out how a small country

such as Uruguay has become an exporter in less than 100

years. (Read Uruguayan rice: the secrets of a success story.) And

finally, learn about the Rise of rice on Perus sacred groundas

the country has become LACsmost important producer

after Brazil.All these success stories would not have been

possible without the regions spirit of working together and

partnership.

Elsewhere in this issue, Sam Mohanty, senior economist

at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), looks

at the current trends in the global rice market (pages 40-

42). We also report on outcomes during the Global Rice

Market and Trade Summit that took place in Bangkok, 28-29

October 2014 (pages 36-39). Economists there discussed

driving forces such as government policies, climate change,

increasing population, and migration of farmers to cities

among other factors that will most likely affect the global

From the editors desk

Expanding horizons

in ricerice industry now and what it will take to attain an open andtransparent rice trade in the future.

We have all heard about the Green Revolution.

However, during his keynote address that opened the

4th International Rice Congress (IRC2014) in Bangkok last

October, Robert Zeigler, IRRI director general, added a new

twist, suggesting that a three-phase Green Revolution series

actually exists, GR1.0, 2.0, and 3.0. He declared that GR2.0,

which already started by his reckoning in July 2008, will be

fruitfuland quicker than GR1.0and that GR3.0, which willkick in around 2030, will stagger the imagination in what will

be achieved. Read about Dr. Zeiglers intriguing presentation

and his insights in No farmer left behind(pages 32-35).

Bas Bouman, director of the Global Rice Science

Partnership (GRiSP), shares concrete examples of GRiSPs

unprecedented successes worldwide in finding solutions to

the problems in rice production, storage, and distribution

through sharing of resources, ideas, and technologies

among research development partners across the

continents. Check his Grain of TruthGRiSP: Partnership for

successon page 43.

As shown by the GRiSP model, breeders are combiningforces to modernize programs for an efficient and

effective delivery of improved varieties and biotechnology

tools are being improved all the time in accuracy and

usability. However, some of these tools remain needlessly

controversial and are being held back by politics, according

to Mark Lynas, a former anti-GM activist, who gave one

of the plenary presentations at IRC2014. He advocates

bringing about a food-secure world this century by using

both conventional and transgenic techniques to contribute

meaningfully in helping marginalized sectors of society,

particulary poor women and children. See pages 30-31 for

his thoughts as he asks, Wheres my GM rice?

On lighter notes, check out a Korean rice fable, The

good brothers (pages 26-27), which centers on helping one

another and fraternal love. And then try out our featured

Whats cookingrecipe, Tah Chin saffron rice and chicken

(page 28)a very tasty Iranian dish!

Happy reading!

Lanie Reyes

Rice Todaymanaging editor


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News


Rotary-hoe weeders reduceweeding labor by 6065%while herbicides reduce

it by more than 80%, said JonneRodenburg, a weed scientist at theAfrica Rice Center (AfricaRice).However, farmers do not always use

the herbicides correctly and this cannegatively aect their health and theenvironment.

To help farmers in Tanzanialearn how to use weed management

J.RODENBURG,

AFR

ICARICE

Technologies for weed control in rice tolessen labor in Tanzania

technologies and boost theirproduction, AfricaRice launched aproject, Building local capacities in weedmanagement for rice-based systems. Toachieve this goal, the project targetsnot only the farmers but also researchand development partners and the

private sector, among those involvedin rice production.Twenty-two R&D professionals

and 15 weed science studentswere trained initially through a

workshop at the Sokoine University

of Agriculture in Morogoro. Theylearned some weed control andmanagement practices and howto use AFROweeds, an onlineinteractive weed identicationtool, as well as how to make use ofWeedsbook, an open-access onlineAfrican weed science network toenhance their networking capacities.

Blacksmiths drawn from all overthe country took part in a trainingactivity to fabricate rotary weeders, amachine to control weeds for lowland

rice. It is hoped to make rotaryweeders widely available to farmersat competitive prices.

To increase awareness amongfarmers, the project producedtwo farmer-to-farmer videos onlabor-saving weed managementtechnologies such as the rotary-hoeweeder and how to use herbicidessafely and eciently. The videos willbe translated into four languagesand distributed to at least 10,000

farmers and extension workersfrom the rice-growing areas in sub-Saharan Africa.

Source: http://africa-rising.net

New rice technologies to boost riceproduction in Africa

Making innovations accessibleto rice farmers could boostrice production, reduce

imports, and increase food securityin Africa. This was the recurringmessage in a recently held workshoporganized by the Africa Rice Center.Aended by stakeholders in the riceproduction sector from Benin andTogo, the workshop, Rice InnovationFair of Scalable Technologies, aimed to

identify areas of collaboration to helpdeliver technologies to benet farmersin rural populations.

Eleven technologies were dis-cussed during the workshop, includ-ing new rice varieties, a high-capacitythresher for rice, a mobile applicationcalled RiceAdvice that provides tipson rice farming, mechanical weedersthat could reduce labor in rice produc-tion, and a localized farmer advice for

nutrient management.I am convinced that the

dissemination of the technologyand know-how on a large scalewould certainly increase local riceproduction, ensure food security,and improve the living standards offarmers, said Daini Tsukahara, theJapanese ambassador to Benin.

Source: www.scidev.net


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6 Rice TodayJanuary-March 2015

The Program for Rice Development

in Africa, a partnership initiative,has been recently created to

tackle the problem of inadequaterice production in Africa. Also withan aim to benet governments andrice farmers across the continent, theProgram will start in 23 countries insub-Saharan Africa and will workclosely with key rice developmentinstitutions and organizations in theregion such as the Africa Rice Center.

We expect this initiative tocontribute to reducing high food

import bills and to have an impact onsmall producers,said Bukar Tijani,FAO Africa regional representative.

Mr. Tijani added that theprogram will support synergies

New partnership for rice development inAfrica formed

and comparative advantages, aswell as lessons and experiencesof key national and internationalinstitutions, and initiatives to

promotefood securityand rice self-suciency in Africa.


RRAMAN,

AFRICARICE

JECNARCISO,

IRRI

Vietnam, IRRI to craftstrategy to boostcountrys rice industry

Vietnams Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (MARD) supported a national strategydesigned to make rice production an even larger

engine of inclusive economic growth. AgricultureMinister Cao Duc Phat (at right in photo with IRRIDirector General Robert Zeigler) and Vice Minister LeQuoc Doanh convened a multistakeholder eort to renekey elements of the strategy, which includes developing

rice varieties with high export value, adopting advancedcrop management techniques, and more intensive use ofmachines and other technologies in rice farming.

Together with the top leadership of the InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI) and other public andprivate sector partners, MARD seeks rapid and sustainedgrowth of the agricultural sector, especially the ricesubsector in which Vietnam is already a global leader.The rice industry serves as the foundation of Vietnamsinclusive development success story.

Source: http://irri.org


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With the Philippines being part of the Food BasketPillar of the Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia,Malaysia, Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area

(BIMP-EAGA), the planting of hybrid rice is currentlybeing promoted on the islands of Palawan and

Mindanao in a bid to aain food suciency, not only in

the Philippines but also for the ASEAN subregion.

According to the DA Agri-Pinoy Rice Program,

for the rst quarter of 2014, the total area of hybrid

rice plantations in the P-EAGA region was at 11,798

hectares.

Source: www.sunstar.com.ph

The U.S. Treasury's Oce ofForeign Assets Control (OFAC)has published the new trade normswith Cuba in the Federal Register.This follows U.S. President BarackObamas announcement to relax traderestrictions on food items that were inplace as part of the 50-year embargowith Cuba. This would allow Cuban

importers to make payment evenwhile goods are in transit.The regulatory changes were

welcomed by the U.S. rice industry

Japans largestsupermarket chainadds rice paddies tofarming ventures

Aeon Co. plans to add rice eldsto its farming portfolio, possiblymaking it the nations biggest

corporate grower of the grain.Starting with 11 hectares of ricepaddies leased from local farmers,its Aeon Agri Create Co. farmingsubsidiary will start producing thegrain north of Tokyo in 2015, saidAeon spokesman Norihito Ikkai.

Chiba-based Aeon aims to lease100 hectaresalmost 50 times theaverage farmers plotby 2020. Thatwould make it the biggest rice-producing company in the country,according to Arihiro Muroya, chiefeconomist at Norinchukin ResearchInstitute. Larger areas are farmed bycooperatives.

We want to supply rice and vege-tables to consumers at more aordableprices and in a stable way, Ikkai said.As Japanese farmers are aging andretiring, we can take over productionthrough our farming subsidiary.

Source: www.bloomberg.com

Hybrid rice promoted for foodsufficiency in the Philippines

U.S. rice industry welcomes trade with Cuba

The Nepal government has launchedthree new improved varietiesof paddy seedsSukhha dhan 4,Sukhha dhan 5, and Sukhha dhan 6

that are tolerant of extreme climaticchanges. These varieties of paddyseeds, which can survive under stressand retain desirable grain quality,are likely to be released to farmers byJune 2015.

These new varieties, also knownas climate-ready rice, can toleratedrought for up to one and a halfmonths and can grow under water-deciency stresses. They have beenrecommended for the Tarai, inner

Preparing Nepals farmers for climate change

Tarai, and river basin areas. Amongthese three rice varieties, Sukhhadhan 6 has the ability to re-grow eventwo weeks after submergence. It has

an average yield of 44.5 tons perhectare and, under good irrigationconditions, the output can go upto 5.5 tons per hectare on average.The plant stands 125 cm tall andthe maturity period is 120125 days.Swarna-Sub1 and Sambha Mahnsuri-Sub1 rice varieties that are ood-tolerant have already been madeavailable to farmers.

Source: www.ekantipur.com

as Cuba is one of the closestexport destinations to the U.S. andimports about 50% of its annualrice consumption needs. Farmersin the U.S. rice-producing statesof Arkansas and Louisiana wouldbenet most from the revised policy.Up until now, U.S. governmentrestrictions have limited the ability

of the U.S. rice industry to competein Cuba.

Source: www.ricepluss.com


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The Japan International CooperationAgency (JICA) is partnering withNigeria in developing the agriculturalsector in rice production with morethan 3,500 Nigerians beneting fromits training program abroad.

The chief representative of JICA,Mr. Seki Tetsuo, disclosed this at aone-day seminar titled Agribusinessand Investment organized by the

Governmentextends supportfor rice farmers innorthern Ghana

The Northern Rural GrowthProgramme (NRGP) is advancingtoward making rice a major exportcommodity in northern Ghana.Management of the NRGP is therebyencouraging smallholder farmers toadopt best farming techniques as ameans of increasing the quality andproduction of rice. The programsnational coordinator, Roy Ayariga,said that the government wascommied to rebranding northernGhana as the countrys rice city.

This, according to him, will aractmultinationals to invest in riceproduction in the three regions innorthern Ghana.

Source: www.citifmonline.com

Small-scale farmersdeserve big share of

climate funds: IFADAs important food producers, small-scale farmers in the developingworld should have a signicantshare of funds raised to help poorercountries adapt to climate changeimpacts and curb emissions,agriculture ocials said at U.N.climate negotiations in Peru.

Investment in easy-to-accessweather information, extension ser-vices, improved disaster preparedness,

and other cost-eective and ecientnew technology could help small-scalefarmers keep feeding themselves andtheir families, they said.

Farmers are more than victimsof climate change impacts, saidGernot Laganda, head of theEnvironment and Climate ChangeDivision of the International Fund forAgricultural Development (IFAD).

Source: http://uk.reuters.com

JICA partners with Nigeria on riceJICA Alumni Association of Nigeriain Abuja. He explained that JICAspecically targeted the rice subsectoras a result of the comparativeadvantage that Japan has developedin rice production and processingover decades.

Source: http://allafrica.com

Vietnam, along with Bangladesh andColombia, recently partnered withthe Climate and Clean Air Coalition(CCAC) to introduce large-scaleapplication of alternate weing anddrying (AWD) technology (photosbelow), in which farmers periodicallydrain rice paddies rather than keepingthem perpetually ooded. Aside fromeconomic savings through lower waterconsumption and pumping costs,there is evidence that AWD can helpcrops perform beer and improvesoil conditions so that machines canoperate more eciently in the elds,

Vietnam eyes water-saving technology forits rice farms

says Bjrn Ole Sander, collaborativeresearch scientist at the InternationalRice Research Institute, who iscoordinating the eort.

But AWD is not without contro-versy. Adopting the irrigation methodwill increase nitrous oxide emissions.Still, given that paddy rice does notproduce much nitrous oxide to beginwith, the decrease in methane, whichthe crop produces in heaps, will morethan oset any increase in nitrousoxide, says Dr. Sander.


EDNAREYES,

IRRI(2)


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10/37


CIAT

(3)

by Eduardo Graterol

T

wenty years isnothing,say the

lyrics of a 1930ssong. But, in 2015,

as the Latin American Fund forIrrigated Rice (FLAR) celebrates its20th anniversary, many of the Fundsmembers might not agree. For them,FLARs 20 years have been lled withachievement, and theyre lookingforward to more.

From the 1960s to 1980s,international rice breeding in theLatin America and the Caribbean

(LAC) region carried the brand ofthe International Center for TropicalAgriculture (CIAT). But, by themid-1990s, funding for CIATs RiceProgram had declined, and therewas a lot of uncertainty aboutthe future. This had many peopleworried, and for a good reason,because CIAT had contributed tothe development of about 60% of themore than 400 improved varietiesreleased in LAC.

Pioneering visionUncertainty and concern plus thepioneering vision of a few key peopleprovided the necessary inputs for thegroundbreaking creation of FLAR.Time has proven that they had theright idea.

CIAT took the initiative to createFLAR and soon won support forit from Colombias National RiceGrowers Federation (Fedearroz),Uruguays National Agricultural

For 20 years, FLAR has been the primary force behind the regions rice technology development

and it is looking forward to future challenges

Making rice more competitive in

Latin America

FLAR BRINGS together farmers associations, national agricultural research institutes, governmentministries, seed companies, and the rice milling industry, together with CIAT to ensure that research andtechnology transfer meet the needs of its members. The two photos were taken when members of FLARgathered during its first technical meeting in 1995.

Research Institute (INIA), VenezuelasWestern Plains Association ofCertied Seed Producers (Aproscello),and the Rice Institute of Rio GrandeDo Sul (IRGA) in Brazil. The Fundhas since evolved into a strong andfully regional organization, whichencompasses 36 public and privatesector partners in 17 countries, andit inuences two-thirds of the 5.7million hectares sown to paddy rice

in LAC and about 80% of the 27.8million tons produced.

Through FLAR, diverse actorsin the rice value chainincludingfarmers associations, nationalagricultural research institutes,government ministries, seedcompanies, and the rice millingindustry, together with CIATallinvest in a shared agenda to ensurethat research and technology transfer


11/37


meet the needs of its members. Aunique feature of the Fund is itsability to reconcile diverse interestsaround the common pillar oftechnology development.

Testimony to successEvery year, FLAR delivers elite

rice germplasm to a network of23 breeding programs, operatedby about 150 rice breeders andtechnicians at more than 100experimental stations. The 54rice varieties released so far in 14countries give a strong testimonyto the success of FLARs breedingeort.

Juana Viruez, a rice breeder atthe Center for Research on TropicalAgriculture in Bolivia, says thatFLARs germplasm has been

fundamentally important for hercountry. Of the 30 r ice varietiesreleased by the center, six wereselected from FLAR nurseries,including MAC-18, the countrysmost widely grown variety. RobertoCeli of Ecuadors National Institutefor Agricultural and LivestockResearch (INIAP), explains howreceiving advanced lines from FLARsaves time and resources in eldevaluations. INIAP also uses FLAR

materials as parental lines in its owncrosses.

Rice breeding, however, is justpart of FLARs portfolio. Partners in12 countries work with the Fund toadopt the best agronomic practicesfor their agroecosystems. This workhas had a direct impact on more

than 500,000 hectares, with averagerice yields increasing by 1.5 tonsper hectare and production costsdeclining by 2030%.

Mario Torres of Cindearroz,a consortium of 13 organizationsworking on rice research anddevelopment in Mexico, believesthat new long-grained varieties,introduced by FLAR and releasedby the countrys National Institutefor Research on Forests, Agriculture,and Livestock (INIFAP)together

with FLAR-supported work on riceagronomywill make farmers morecompetitive. Our goal is to reducerice imports by 30% over the next 4years, says Mr. Torres.

With partners in Mexico andNicaragua, FLAR has undertakenprojects on water harvesting,which aim to switch from rainfedto irrigated rice production. Thiswork has helped smallholder ricefarmers to diversify their systems

with maize, beans, l ivestock, andother options, thus boosting ruralincome and employment, amongother benets. Norman Oviedo,manager of SENUMISA, a privateseed company in Costa Rica,suggests that more should be doneon water harvesting in my countryand others in the region, where mostrice-growing areas are rainfed, eventhough theres huge potential tocapture runo water from the rainsfor irrigation.

Looking forwardFrom its inception, FLAR has beenan integral part of CIAT, and CIAThas always been a Fund member. Therice research of the two organizationsis complementary and more closelyaligned than ever with the needs ofthe end users of the technologies that

are delivered.But it pays to be cautious:

FLARs past successes with itspartners provide no guarantee offuture success. In the face of climatechange, low yields, pest problems,land degradation, high productioncosts, inadequate infrastructure,and adverse policies, LACs ricesector needs more investment, morepartnerships, and more innovation.This is crucial for making riceproduction more competitive.

Competitiveness is the centraltheme of the XII InternationalRice Conference for Latin Americaand the Caribbean, being heldin February 2015 at Porto Alegre,Brazil. Organized by IRGA, CIAT,GRiSP, and FLAR, this is the regionsbiggest rice science meeting and alsothe occasion on which the Fund iscelebrating its 20th anniversary.

The organizers couldnt havechosen a more appropriate theme:

horizons for competitiveness. Themessage is that we look forward toseizing new opportunities, no maerhow dicult the current situationmay seem. FLAR will be there tohelp bring these opportunitieswithin the reach of all of itsmembers.

Dr. Graterol is the executive director ofFLAR.

THROUGH FLAR, 54 rice varieties have beenreleased in 14 countries, a strong testimony ofFLARs success in rice breeding.


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12

Patricia Guzmn (left) and Salom Tupa deliver on the promise of

womens hard-won leadership in a traditionally male-dominated

rice sector

Salom Tupa took a sipof hot coee, hoping itwould help her cope withthe suocating heat, as

she listened intently to her colleaguePatricia Guzmn, who was deliveringthe welcome remarks at an event forrice researchers. It was the opening

session of the technical commieemeeting and rice selection workshopfor the tropics, held by the LatinAmerican Fund for Irrigated Rice(FLAR) with representatives of itsmember organizations, at ColombiasNational Rice Growers Federation(Fedearroz) in Villavicencio. Alongwith Ms. Tupa and Ms. Guzmn,plant breeders and researchers fromall over Latin America came in searchof the best rice varieties for furthertesting in their home countries.

The making of a ColombiancomebackAddressing an audience of morethan 50 scientists, Ms. Guzmnemphasized the importance ofimproved production technologies,easier access to credit for farmers, andmore training for technicians. Shespoke with the condence that her 25years of work in the rice sector havegiven her and with the responsibility

that comes with being the technicalmanager for Colombias principal ricegrowers association.

Ms. Guzmns words wereclear and convincing. After thesession, she retired to a provisionaloce; her permanent workplaceis in Bogot, 115 kilometers fromVillavicencio. She answered emails,accepted invitations to give morepresentations, arranged a meetingwith her boss, and organized visitsto various Fedearroz experiment

stations and farmers elds for follow-up on her organizations new agshipinitiativeAmtecthe Spanishacronym for a name that meansmassive technology adoption.

Ms. Guzmn studied agronomyat the University of Tolima andearned her masters degree inagricultural science, with emphasison plant pathology, from the NationalUniversity. Her work with Fedearrozstarted in 1989. For 15 years, her job

A tale of two womenleading rice revolutions

in Latin AmericabyAdriana Varn Molina

Rice TodayJanuary-March 2015

NATHANRUSSELL,CIAT


13/37


was to combat disease problemsthrough research and technologytransfer. Later, she took up thechallenge of managing a business,Central de Granos de Cocl (CoclGrain Central), in Panama. But, likethe good child of a traditionalColombian saying, Patricia eventually

came home, returning to Fedearrozin January 2011 as technical manager,the rst woman to occupy this post inthe organizations 70-year history.

Ms. Guzmn readily admitsthat these have been tough times.Over the past 5 years, Colombiasaverage rice yield has dropped by 1ton per hectare, from 6.2 to 5.3 tons(although 2014 saw a slight increasein productivity). Part of the problemis the rice sectors vulnerability to theeects of climate change.

In the face of this challenge,Ms. Guzmn has shown leadership,visiting other rice-producingcountries, building allianceswith international and nationalorganizations, and working closelywith the Colombian government tond ways of lowering production costsand raising yields on around 438,000hectares sown to rice in this country.

Our goal is to rst achievenational self-suciency in rice and

then within 8 years be ready topenetrate international markets,said Ms. Guzmn. To this end, shellkeep working with Colombias ricegrowers in their elds, because thatswhere the problems are and also thesolutions.

Breathing new life into a Bolivianrice growers associationThe technical discussions in Villa-vicencio lasted 2 days giving riceresearchers a good overview of recent

advances in genetic improvement forLatin America. Over the next 3 daystheory gave way to practice as theSanta Rosa experiment station, wherethe workshop was held, became anepicenter for the selection of elite ricelines.

Thats when Ms. Tupa came tolife. She didnt care anymore aboutthe 30-degree heat; as the sky cleared,she immersed herself in the rice eldsand began feeling right at home.

Accompanied by her colleagueJames Cabrera, Ms. Tupa made therounds of the experimental plots. Hermission: to identify rice varieties thatmight give good results on Boliviansoil. Like Ms. Guzmn, she went about

this task with the assurance gainedfrom 25 years of working in the ricesector and also with the responsibilitythat comes with leading Bolivias mostimportant rice growers organization,the National Association of RiceCooperatives (Fenca).

Before taking up her current post,and while still working in support ofFencas technical management, Ms.Tupa was invited to visit South Korea.During her 21-day trip, she had a

close-up look at the extraordinaryexperience of Korean rice growers.This encouraged her to accept theoer of a new leadership role in herown countrys struggling rice sector.

The immediate challenge wasgeing the nearly extinct association

back on its feet. The year 2012 wasthe most dicult in Fencas 50-yearhistory. Of the 60 cooperatives thatoriginally made up the association,only 10 remained. In a race againsttime, Ms. Tupa began to organize

events; to build strategic allianceswith public and private sectororganizations, both locally and abroad;and to show Fenca members, bothformer ones and those remaining,that the association was by no meansa lost cause. One of her main projects,as the rst woman to lead Fenca, is totrain member cooperatives in the sixsteps that make up FLARs initiativeon improved crop management forhigher yields.

The rice sector had to eithertransform itself or die, says Ms.Tupa, who was born in the city ofPotos but grew up in Santa Cruzde la Sierra, where she earned a

bachelors degree in agriculture at

the Bolivian Evangelical University.We couldnt keep on making thesame mistakes. We had to learn moreabout new technology for precisioncrop management, about options forhelping farmers obtain credit, andabout working as a team to moveahead.

Ms. Tupa inherited her commit-ment to rice production from herparents; farming is in her blood.Thats why, in addition to leading

Fenca, she also nds time to tend toher own 50-hectare farm, which shesows to upland rice. Her husband andtwo small children claim their shareof her time as well. But shell keepworking to regain credibility andcondence among the cooperativesthat have said goodbye to Fenca.

Delivering on the promise ofwomens leadershipThese are the challenges andachievements of Patricia Guzmn

and Salom Tupa. While living andworking on distant lands, they areunited by a shared commitment:to deliver on the promise ofwomens hard-won leadership inLatin Americas traditionally male-dominated rice sector.

Ms. Varn Molina is communicationscoordinator for Latin America and theCaribbean at CIAT.

SALOM TUPA selecting elite rice linesat the Santa Rosa experiment stationin Villavicencio, Colombia.

PATRICIA GUZMAN with CIAT researcherSylvain Delerce examining rice diseasesymptoms at Monteria, Colombia.

ADRIANAVARNMOLINA,CIAT2


14/37


OSCAR ALVAREZ is improving his rice yields on rented landin Portuguesa State through improved management.

byAdriana Varn Molina

ADRIANAVARNMOLINA,

CIAT(2)

A PASSION for

GROWING RICEin Venezuela

Finding a way to increase riceproduction in the country withthe largest petroleum reservesin the worldand thus ample

means to pay for importshas poseda colossal challenge for Venezuelasfarmers over the last 4 decades.Today, they produce about 1 mil liontons of paddy rice annuallydown300,000 tons from 8 years ago. But thecountrys rice sector is working hardto regain its strength of an earlier20-year period, when it not only metlocal demand but also exported itssurplus to its neighboring countries.

For now, though, Venezuelangrowers can supply only 65% of

the rice consumed domesticallyabout 1.2 million tons. Accordingto Pedro Luis Cordero, presidentof the National Rice Foundation(Fundarroz), the breaking point forthe countrys rice growers came in2006, when the government changedthe rules of the game, pushingproduction in both the public andprivate sector to the edge of the abyss.

Since then, growers have beenhard pressed to obtain inputs, such

as seed, fertilizer, and replacementparts for agricultural machinery, andhave met with logistical obstacles intransporting harvested grain. Against

this background, a resurgence ofrice in Venezuela has just one thinggoing for it: an expanding culture ofinnovation.

Six steps to successFarmer Rafael Urdaneta, thoughoriginally from the city of SanCristbal, began growing rice 23years ago near Calabozo in the stateof Gurico, one of Venezuelas mainrice-growing areas. He has decided togive new crop management practices

a try on his 600 hectares, followingto the leer the six key steps thatFundarroz and the Latin AmericanFund for Irrigated Rice (FLAR) arepromoting to boost productivity.His reward is rice yields of 811 tonsper hectare, well above the nationalaverage of 4.27 tons.

Adjusting the planting date anddensity, using treated seed to wardo disease pathogens, ensuringproper weed control and fertilization,

and managing water adequatelyare the practices that have made thedierence for Mr. Urdaneta.

The key is using exactly the

right amount of inputs and plantingat the optimum time to realize thefull genetic potential of the improvedvarieties, says Mr. Urdaneta, a

beneciary of the Gurico RiverIrrigation System. He cites two otherfactors that also help account forthe unprecedented rice productivityin his elds: direct seeding and hispassion for what he does.

Crazy neighborsAbout 500 kilometers away, near

Majaguas in the state of Portuguesa,other passionate farmers are followingthe six points to success as well, inaddition to using direct seeding intheir rice elds. Eubencio Tern, scarlvarez, Venturino Cicconei, andNicola Campo have all exchangedconventional production practices forthe new approach. After several yearsof trial and error, they now serve asmodels for other farmers who visittheir elds to see their secret formula.

The countrys rice sector is working hard to regain its

strength by expanding culture of innovation


15/37

We started rotating ricewith other crops such as maize,sugarcane, and soybean, and wevealso adopted direct seeding and nowplant in straight lines rather than incontour lines, says Mr. Cicconei,who boosted his average rice yieldfrom 5 tons per hectare to 911 tons.

Weve gone from three rice harvestsannually to two or just one, and wereusing newer machinery.

Mr. Tern is following Mr.Cicconeis footsteps. Four years ago,he began rotating crops on his farm,La Celinera: irrigated rice in the dryseason and rainfed maize in the rainyseason. Mr. Tern now harvests 8tons of rice and 5 tons of maize perhectare. But still, he has set his sightson the goal of raising the yield of bothcrops by 2 tons per hectare.

Before, people called methe crazy neighbor. They wereconvinced that the new technologieswould fail, says Mr. Tern, who has

been farming for 25 years. There

are still some small-scale farmers inthis area who are reluctant to change,

but there are also a lot more crazyneighbors like me.

Racing to close yield gapsIn Venezuelas race to raise riceproductivity and close yield gaps,

various organizations deserverecognition for their eorts in supportof this work. FLAR, the InternationalCenter for Tropical Agriculture(CIAT), and several nationalorganizationsincluding Fundarroz,the Western Plains Association ofCertied Seed Producers (Aproscello),the Venezuelan Federation of RiceProducers Associations (Fevearroz),the Danac Foundation, and otherpublic and private sector actorshave

joined forces, using their respective

experiences with innovation intechnology development, geneticimprovement, and marketing torestore the countrys self-suciencyin rice.


Daniel Brito, a Fundarrozagronomist and extension ocer, is incharge of the program for technologytransfer in the state of Portuguesa.Every week, he visits farmers in theregion who are following the sixsteps as well as those who havent yetdecided to take the technological leap

The idea is to increase the number ofrice growers to learn about successfulexperiences and to adopt innovativepractices on their farms, says Mr.Brito.

According to Fuaz Kassen, thepresident of Fevearroz, Venezuelasrice growers can satisfy local demandand cater to Central America andthe Caribbean markets. The futureof rice in Venezuela lies outsidethe country, he says. We needmore capital investment to expand

production into new areas and theadoption of new technologies withstate support.

Apart from giving Venezuelaplenty of black gold, nature hasprovided it with other riches as well,including fertile land, abundantwater, and an ideal climate. These,together with new technologies,should suce to allow innovativerice growers to regain control ofthe nations food security, win

back former clients, and open newpathways toward rice exports.

Ms. Varn Molina is communicationscoordinator for Latin America and theCaribbean at CIAT.

SOME VENEZUELAN farmers, such as VenturinoCicconetti, rotate their rice crops with maizefor making silage.


16/37


The past 40 years have seenmajor advances in riceimprovement for the uniqueand diverse growing conditions

of Latin America and the Caribbean(LAC). The Rice Program of CIAT

has contributed greatly, working incollaboration with its many nationalpartners.

In search of an ideal grainEach new rice variety is an expressionof the ideal plant type that the breederhas in mind. This is one of the insightsthat guided the work of renownedrice scientist Peter Jennings, who ledCIATs research on the crop in itsearly years. During a four-decadequest to boost yield potential, CIAT

breeders and their partners developedhundreds of rice varietiessome ofwhich demonstrate the steady geneticgains in yield amounting to 3.4 tonsper hectareand accruing over 32years between the release of CICA 8 in1978 and the development of the eliteline CT21375 in 2010.

This nding comes from anexperiment for measuring theamount of increase in performancethat is achieved through articial

by Edgar Torres

genetic improvement (or genetic gain)programs designed by the author andCamila Rebolledo, a rice physiologist,at CIAT in Palmira, Colombia.The idea was to evaluate 17 ricevarieties (see Figure) grown under

the same conditions and agronomicmanagement for two seasons.The experiment showed genetic

gains in yield (an annual averageof 106 kilograms per hectare) aswell as changes in other traitsthat characterize the plant typesdeveloped over four decades. Theresulting rice plants produced moretotal biomass, are higher yielding,and are more ecient because theywaste less energy on unproductivetillers. Instead, these plants produce

stems that mostly develop large andfertile panicles with more grains.

The plant type that has guidedmuch of the work of CIATs RiceProgram since its beginnings wasdeveloped at the International RiceResearch Institute (IRRI) in the early1960s and reached CIAT through thevariety IR8 (see Breeding historyonpage 34-38, Vol 5, No. 4 of Rice Today).The design of this plant type allowsmore sunlight and less lodging (or

falling over), and responds ecientlyto fertilizer.

In 2002, Dr. Jennings and other re-searchers proposed to develop anotherplant type based on results obtained

by CIATs Rice Program through

selection under direct seeding. Thisplant type has an adequate number ofpanicles containing more full grains,while staying green longer, thusincreasing its productive period, andit has greater height. This experimentshowed that combining several traitscan eectively raise yield potentialin ricea key aim of CGIARs IRRI-led Global Rice Science Partnership(GRiSP).

A four-decade quest to improve rice

in Latin America and the Caribbean

For four decades, rice scientists at the International Center for Tropical

Agriculture (CIAT) have been developing an ideal rice plant type for the

regions changing needs

FERTILE SPIKELETS are aprerequisite of fertility.

CIAT

(2)


17/37


Outwitting rice diseasesCIATs Rice Program has devotedconsiderable eort to combating pestand disease threats, especially ricehoja blancavirus and rice blast (caused

by the fungus Pyricularia oryzae).Genes conferring resistance to

hoja blanca were found in tropical

japonica varieties such as Takao Iku18 and its ospring, Colombia I, aswell as in African lines, such as IRAT120. Just as critical were the methodsdeveloped to check rice for resistanceto both the virus and its insect vectorunder controlled conditions.

Dealing with rice blast requiredan innovative approach designed byDr. Jennings, which involved combin-ing desirable traits, known as genepyramiding,through multiple crosses

between diverse sources of resistance

from plants from dierent locations.The idea was to combine dierent

genes that had evolved with thepathogen separately, making thepathogen unable to accumulateall of the virulence genes neededto overcome disease resistance.In addition, rice plants will beselected for resistance under a widefungus diversity at the Santa Rosaexperiment station in Villavicencio,Colombiaa hotspot site with

exceedingly high levels of riceblastthat has optimal conditions fordisease development.

Segregated populations weremoved between CIAT headquartersin Palmirawhere rice istransplanted, complete irrigationis used, and conditions are veryfavorable for high yieldand SantaRosawhere direct seeding is usedand rice is grown under rainfedconditions with more stresses, ingeneral, to enable the plants to adapt

to wider environments. The resultswere excellent.

Innovators in abundanceBreeding rice for resistance torice blast under direct seeding infavorable upland environments ledto many useful innovations. Onewas a system for detecting rice blast,developed and improved by Dr.Carlos Bruzzone, Dr. Edward Pulver,Dr. Jennings, and other researchers.

11

Tons per hectare

Variety and year of release

Rice breeding contribution to yield potential atCIAT is 3.4 tons/ha in 32 years.

3.4 tons per hectare

10

9

8

7

6

5

BLU

EBONNET

(1950)

BLUEB

BELLE(1965)

IR8(1968)

IR22(1969)

IR64(1985)

CICA

8(1978)

ORYZICA

1(1982)

ORYZICA

3(1987)

ORYZICAYA

CU9(1994)

FEDEA

RROZ50

(1998)

FEDEA

RROZ60

(2006)

FEDEA

RROZ174(2

006)

FEDEA

RROZ73

3(2

007)

Mocari(2008)

PIONER

O2010FL

(2010)

CT19021

(2010)

CT21375

(2010)

Average yield of commercial varieties evaluated at Palmira, Colombia, in the 2012 cropping seasons.

Dr. Csar Martnez and Dr. SurapongSarkarung devised an approach for

selecting rice in uplands with acidsoils. Dr. Martnez also developedsuperior lines using wild ricerelatives, such as Oryza rufpogon. Dr.

James Gibbons contributed excellentvarieties and crosses, includingCT8008, which gave rise to more than12 varieties in Latin America.

Dr. Elcio Guimares, CIATsregional research director for LAC,and Dr. Marc Chatel undertook riceimprovement through recurrent

selection, using methods developedby the Brazilian AgriculturalResearch Corporation (Embrapa)and French Center for AgriculturalResearch for Development (CIRAD).

Manuel Rosero, FedericoCuevas, and Luis Eduardo Berrodisseminated thousands of improvedlines through the IRRI InternationalNetwork for Genetic Evaluationof Rice (INGER), leading to thedevelopment of important commercialvarieties; Mr. Cuevas and Mr. Berro

also devised a method for delayedharvest under controlled conditions toselect for high milling yield.

Plant pathologist Robert Zeigler,now IRRI director general, improvedselection methods for rice blastand rice hoja blanca virus. Severalinnovative concepts, such as lineageexclusion, were introduced by PurdueUniversity Professor Morris Leviand Fernando Correa, currentlywith RiceTec Solutions, to facilitate

the development of blast-resistantvarieties. Economist Luis Sanint

conceived and played a critical rolein creating the Latin American Fundfor Irrigated Rice (FLAR), whichworks with rice organizations acrossthe region through plant breedingand other activities in an integratedapproach designed to make the sectormore competitive.

Tangible results of CIATs andFLARs ongoing collaboration withColombias National Rice GrowersFederation (Fedearroz), which focuses

on improving yields, grain quality,and disease resistance, while stabiliz-ing production, include varieties suchas Fedearroz 50, Fedearroz 2000, Fed-earroz 60, and Fedearroz 174. EdgarCorredor, Pompilio Gutirrez, JamesGibbons, and Luis Berro all contrib-uted importantly to this work.

Recent years have placed newdemands on rice research, includinggreater resilience in the face of theimpacts of climate change, higheryield potential, superb grain quality,

and more competitive rice sectorsoverall. A new generation of riceresearchers has arisen to confrontthese challenges, beneting fromnew tools and more abundantinformation. Even so, they still look tothe past for inspiration in confrontingfuture challenges.

Edgar Torres is leader of the RiceProgram at CIAT.


18/37


Uruguay is a small country inthe Southern Cone of SouthAmerica, located in a corner

between the Ro de la Plataand the Atlantic Ocean. Rolling hills,excellent natural grasslands, andtemperate climate have made the

country a perfect place for beef, wool,and dairy production, while typicaltemperate agriculture has been atradition since the early period of theSpanish colonization. The countrystraditional products are wheat, barley,sunower, and maize, with soybeandominating the scene these days.

Rice is a relatively new crop.The rst rice elds were recorded

back in 1926. In less than 100 years,Uruguay developed an export-oriented rice production system that

grew continuously on up to 180,000hectares (Fig. 1). The country hasaained high yields and a premiumposition in the international market.Having a tiny fraction of world riceproduction, it is seventh on the list ofrice-exporting countries, behind onlythe big players.

Farmer-miller alliance

How has this happened in themost intervened and protected

Competitiveness is the name of the game for Uruguayan rice farmers

grain market in the world? Naturalconditions favored rice productionwith good land, abundant water,and climatic conditions aectinghigh potential for an irrigated crop.But the key to the country having acompetitive and successful positionas a rice exporter was the private andpublic institutional array of supportthat was constructed over time.

Farmers and millers organizedthe Rice Farmers Association (ACA

by its Spanish acronym) and the Rice

Millers Association (GMA by itsSpanish acronym) in the late 1940s.Since then, both organizations have

been articulating all aspects of therice agribusiness chain, knowingthat each has specic needs andinterests, but that both are in thesame boat of the rice industry. The

best example of this integration is aprivate rice price agreement, which is

based on transparency between ACAand GMA in which, for more than

50 years, the nal value the farmerreceives depends on the total value ofrice from one season (exported andsold internally), less the milling costand a xed millers gain.

This farmer-miller alliance wasreinforced with sound governmentpolicies that, without intervening inthe markets or with prices, helpedproducers with roads, electricity forirrigation pumps, opening marketswith country-to-country agreements,and farmer and miller loans, among

other things.

Institutional innovations

In 1970, Estacin Experimental delEste (Eastern Experimental Station)was established, which started localresearch and innovation for rice.Since its early days, research has beenhighly integrated with ACA andGMA, thus ensuring well-oriented,demand-focused actions. In 1980, agovernmentrice sector agreement

URUGUAYAN RICE:

byGonzalo Zorrilla

the secrets of a success story

A PLANE sprays fungicide over rice fieldsin eastern Uruguay.

NEILPALME

R,

CIAT(2)


19/37


220

200

180

160

140

120

100

80

6040

20

0

Thousand hectares

Year

1933

1938

1943

1948

1953

1958

1963

1968

1973

1978

1983

1988

1993

1998

2003

2008

2013

Fig. 1. Rice area in Uruguay.

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

Year

1970

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

Fig. 2. Average rice yields in Uruguay.

Tons per hectare

channeling private funds to EstacinExperimental del Este started theresearch investment of farmers and

millers in Uruguay.Estacin Experimental del Este

became INIA Treinta y Tres, with thecreation of the National Institutefor Agricultural Research (InstitutoNacional de Investigacin Agropecuaria,INIA) in 1989. INIA was establishedas an institutional innovation thathad its roots in the rice farmersexperience, in which government andfarmers funds come together. This isrecognized in the Institute board, of

which half of the members are electedby the Ministry and half by farmersassociations.

In the last 40 years, a wholetechnological revolution based onlocal research took place, resultingin the highly competitive indicatorstoday. Now, 90% of the area is plantedwith national varieties, which weredeveloped by considering not onlyagronomic and high-yielding traits

but also the highest standards of grainquality, and taking into account the

markets to which Uruguay exports.All rice is planted in dry soils

with minimum tillage and usingno-till planters that are adapted forplanting over levees. The countrysrice production is extensivelymechanized, with an average farmsize of 300 hectares. Rice is planted inrotation with pastures, with a typicalrotation of two years of rice and threeyears of grasses and legumes, whichallow for highly productive cale

farming. This low-intensity rotationsystem improves sustainability

because it reduces pest and disease

pressure and maintains good soilconditions. This crop technologypackage is carefully followed bymost farmers. The national averageyield reached 8 tons per hectare inthe last ve years, with top farmerssurpassing 10 tons per hectare (Fig. 2).

Well-organized farmers andmillers groups, sound governmentpolicies, and an articulated researchand innovation system broughtthe institutional framework to

success. This has become possibleeven without any kind of subsidy,without a domestic market to rely

on (Uruguays local market is only5% of the rice it produces per year),and depending on highly volatile

international markets (95% of the riceis exported).

Competitiveness is the name ofthe game for Uruguayan rice farmersand the race is never over. Now, theyare guring out how to prot withincreasing production costs andweaker rice prices, and pressing fornew technologies to further increaseyield potential.

Mr. Zorrilla is the director of the National

Research Program at the National Instituteof Agricultural Research in Uruguay and amember of the Rice Todayeditorial board.

A RICE mill in eastern Uruguay.


20/37

Csar Puertos half-hectarerice plot yields him 3 tonsof grain each harvest. Mr.Puerto has dedicated 10

of his 32 years to growing rice. Itprovides a living for him, his brother,sister-in-law, and two nieces, whohelp sow and harvest the crop on thissmall farm, located at the end of adusty road.

His neighbor, veteran growerMarina Meja, with 30 hectares,

produces 300360 tons of rice eachseason. Mrs. Mejia has been workingher land for nearly 3 decades. Thanksto rice, Ive been able to raise my foursons and nine grandchildren, shesays proudly. (See cover photo of herwith one of her grandchildren.)

Since there are two croppingseasons each year, the combinedaverage of more than 600 tons ofrice that Mr. Puerto's and DoaMarinas farms produce annuallynear the town of Sinamal in Rioja

Province of Perus San MartnDepartment contribute to risingnational production, which reached3.1 million tons in 2013. Perunow accounts for 12.25% of SouthAmericas total rice output, whichamounted to 25.3 million tons in 2013,making this country the regionssecond most important producerafter Brazil, according to the Foodand Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations (FAO).

With its rising national rice production,

Peru is now Latin Americas most

important rice producer after Brazil

About 380,000 hectares are sownto the crop in this country, with anaverage yield of 7.7 tons per hectare,which is well above the regionalaverage of 5 tons, says OrlandoPalacios, head of the National RiceProgram at Perus National Institutefor Innovation in Agriculture (INIA).In coastal areas, such as Piura andArequipa, some growers obtain yieldsas high as 16 tons per hectareamongthe highest in the world.

Secrets to successSo, whats the secret to Perusabundant rice harvests? For Csar

and Doa Marina, the answer is clear.This is sacred groundso rich

in nutrients that we dont have toapply much fertilizer, says Csar,who also believes that La Esperanza,the variety hes been planting foryears (and whose name meanshope), plays a big role in thesuccess of rice on his land.

Looking beyond localperceptions, plant breeders suchas Carlos Bruzzone, the director

for research and development atHacienda El Potrero SAC, a companyproducing certied rice seed, citeother reasons for Perus high rice

byAdriana Varn Molina

TO SOW 3 hectares of rice, Csar Puertoneeds 120 kilograms of seed, which hebuys from a neighbor.

ADRIANAVARNMOLINA,

CIAT(3)

Rice TodayJanuary-March 201520

The rise of rice on

Perus sacred ground


21/37

yields. Signicantly, 84% of the areasown to the crop is irrigated, andit is also favored by high amountsof sunlight and limited rainfall. Onan estimated 50% of the irrigatedarea, climatic conditions are justright for high yields. Dr. Bruzzonefurther believes that transplanting

of seedlings, the method used mostcommonly to sow rice in Peru,contributes importantly to risingoutput.

Eduardo Graterol, the executivedirector of the Latin American Fundfor Irrigated Rice (FLAR), cites otherfactors, particularly the adoption ofmodern varieties with high yieldpotential and resistance to pests anddiseases, together with tolerance ofenvironmental stresses as well as theuse of certied seed on about 50% of

the cultivated area.

Dreaming of exportsJames Pinedo is the president ofthe Rice Producers Association of

Jan and San Ignacio, which has88 members. All members havethe same dream: that a part of thenearly 100,000 tons of rice their farmsproduce each year will someday crossnational frontiers.

Our biggest ambition is to

export rice and to do so directly withno intermediaries, says Mr. Pinedo.According to INIA, it is within

Perus capacity to produce somesurplus for export. Currently,

between 300,000 and 350,000 tons ofwhite rice are already being exportedinformally to neighboring countries.Nonetheless, to fulll the exportambitions, small- and medium-scale growers, who have less than20 hectares and are estimated toaccount for 68.9% of the countrys

rice production, together with largeproducers, representing 31.1%,will need to meet certain qualityconditions in order to competeinternationally.

For Edgar Torres, the leaderof the Rice Program at theInternational Center for TropicalAgriculture (CIAT), its importantfor the rice sector to invest morecrop management practices thathelp realize the genetic potential

of improved varieties that are

already available, and that of newhybrids, which CIAT and FLAR aredeveloping through the Hybrid RiceConsortium for Latin America andin Peru with Hacienda El Potrero. Dr.Torres also emphasizes the need formore site-specic crop management(based on big-data approaches tothe use of soil and other data) as astrategy for boosting rice yields to 3tons per hectare above the regionalaverage, while adapting productionto the impacts of climate change.

Already high yields and theinnovative capacity of Perus farmersand the private sector are keyconditions for making our productionmore competitive, says JonatanRequejo, manager of HaciendaEl Potrero. The challenge aheadis to strengthen the ability of therice industry to open windows forexports.

In addition, growers need newproduction technology and farm

machinery plus the support of

national and local government tomake credit, training, and technicalsupport more widely available inrural areas.

Beyond potatoPer capita consumption of rice in Peruis high at 60 kilograms per year, onaverage. Rice has surpassed potatoand is the preferred food on Peruvianmenus today. About 7% of the riceconsumed is imported, with Uruguay

supplying 81% of the imports, Brazil9%, Argentina 6%, and the restcoming from other countries.

Peru imports rice for class Amarkets with high prices, says Mr.Requejo. We dont have varietiesthat can compete with imported rice,which varies between 80,000 and150,000 tons per year.

For now, the scientists willcontinue to release new varietiesand, in the future, rice hybridsthatcan surpass the varieties IR43 and

INIA-La Esperanza (based on anelite line from CIAT) and subverttheir rule in Perus rice elds. In themeantime, small, medium, and largeproducers will continue buildingknowledge and investing resourcesfor them to take advantage of thehidden properties of Peruvian soils.

Ms. Varn Molina is a communicationscoordinator for Latin America and theCaribbean at CIAT.

IN SOME areas of Peru, rice yields are ashigh as 16 tons per hectare, among thehighest in the world.

RICE CULTIVATION in

Peru employs about161,000 people.



22/37

Rice TodayJanuary-March 2015Rice TodayJanuary-March 2015odayJanuary-March 2015, Vol. 14, No. 1

In the Piura area of northeastern Peru, rice growers regularly obtain yields as high as 16 tons per hectareamong the highest in the world. Accord

researchers, this is the result of high s olar radiation, low rainfall, and (in a departure from common practice in Latn America, where direct seeding p

transplanting of rice seedlings in irrigated fields.


23/37


H

usband and wife Joven andLydia Ganapin, farmers in asmall village in Babatngon,

Leyte, Central Philippines,clearly remember the oods triggered

by super typhoon Haiyan on 7 No-vember 2013 that submerged theirhome and the farm they were renting.Nothing was left, Joven said. Hewas able to recover about 28 sacks ofrice from his farm before the typhoonhit. He took them to a rice trader. Heagreed to paid by the trader after thetyphoon. But, unfortunately, all therice of the trader, including Jovens,

A family of farmers bounces back from

a disaster by growing a high-yielding

rice variety and vegetables

Bouncing backfrom typhoon

Haiyanwas looted. Joven was not paidbecause his rice had not even beenweighed.

We suered a great loss, saidJoven. All was taken by Haiyan.He did not feel that badly becauseeveryone here had the same fate.What maered to them was that no

one in their family became part of the6,000 casualties of the super typhoon.

Life after the stormFor this farming couple, everythingabout Haiyan is now a faint memory.Thirteen months later, all the debrisis gone. Theres almost no trace ofthe scars the super typhoon left inBabatngon, 33 kilometers away fromthe provincial capital, Tacloban. Lifehas returned to normal.

Lydia excused herself to aend tosomeone who wanted to buy from hersmall store, which doubles as theirhome. At rst glance, it seems thatthey have no neighbors. The villagewas silent. One could hear only theswishing and swooshing sound of aneighboring farmer harvesting his

rice.Joven harvested his rice earlier.

His house was lled with sacks ofricesome milled, others not. Heproudly showed the grains of NSIC2013 Rc344SR, a high-yielding newlyreleased rice variety, fondly called344 by the couple. The rice is saidto be special for some good reasons.He raved about the quality of hisnewly harvested grain just like afather would of his newborn baby. Heexcitedly mentioned the long grains

and basmati-like traits and that itis tasty and has a good aroma, andhow the cooked rice doesnt hardeneasily when it becomes cold. His wifepraised the varietys 60% millingrecovery and that they were able toharvest a lile bit more than 6 tonsper hectare.

A profitable varietyJoven does not regret trying 344,which was introduced by Paul

Maturan, an associate scientist at theInternational Rice Research Institute(IRRI) through the PhilippineDepartment of Agriculture and IRRIprojectAccelerating the Developmentand Adoption of Next-Generation RiceVarieties for the Major Ecosystems in thePhilippines(Next-Gen). Mr. Maturansaid that his mission for the Next-Gen project was to share the seedsof new rice varieties, such as NSIC2013 Rc344SR, with other marginalfarmers in Leyte and other rice-

growing areas in the Philippines.At Jovens request, Lydia pulled

out her records of how much theyproted from 344. Lydia was verydiligent in joing down their expensesand computing the prot, which isnot surprising for entrepreneurs likethem. Her records indicated thatthey have harvested 75 sacks of rice,with 15 sacks used as rent paymentto their landowner. Some were usedfor paying the harvesters and some

by Lanie Reyes

NASA,

LAADS


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1 Tanchuling H. 2010. Palay suciency outlook: rst quarter 2010 DA performance report. Rice Self-Suciency Bulletin, January-March 2010.

went for the rent of a thresher. In theend, they had 46 sacks of rice left.Multiplied by 46 kilos per sack atabout US$0.39 per kilo, the couplemade $459 in prot.

Joven liked 344 so much thathe did not sell all the harvest fromthis variety. He set aside 13 sacks for

family consumption and for sowing.Mr. Maturan then decided to buyone sack of 344 from Joven to add tohis seed stock to be distributed tofarmers in Abuyog, Kananga, andHinunagan, Leyte.

Overcoming adversityThe couple said that they were able to

bounce back after Haiyan because offarming. Aside from rice, they grewvegetable cropssweet corn, sweet

bell pepper, eggplants, and stringbeansthat they planted in rotationto avoid diseases and pests. Croprotation is a practice they learnedfrom from Dr. Francisco Dayap,the superintendent of BabatngonExperiment Station, one of theresearch stations of the Departmentof Agriculture, Regional Field OceVIII and located just two kilometersaway from Jovens farm.

Since the vegetables can beharvested in 40 to 65 days, they have

something to tide them over until thenext rice harvest.

During interviews with thefarmers, municipal agriculturalocers in Leyte identied the lackof seeds suitable to the area as themain problem. Farmers usuallyplant whatever seeds are availableor distributed to them even if these

seeds have not been tested forthe local areas. Mr. Maturan saidthat the new DA-IRRI Next-Genproject is currently conducting eldtrials for farmers to select the mostadoptable new varieties and establishan ecient seed production anddistribution system.

Mr. Gerry Bauya, the municipalagricultural ocer in Abuyog, saidthat they have not heard of rice thatcan tolerate ooding, salinity, ordrought. He said they need suchvarieties because 200 hectares oftheir rice areas are ood-prone whilesome 30 hectares have problemswith salinity. In Kananga, Ms.Maria Cristina Aras, agriculturaltechnologist, said the problem offarmers in their municipality is stem

borer infestation. She added thatthe white stem borer is the mostdestructive because its larval stagecould last up to 32 days.

The Next-Gen project is alsotargeting remote and marginal riceareas with similar problems. In linewith the mission of the Global RiceScience Partnership, the project aimsto speed up the introduction andadoption of higher-yielding rice variet-ies and hybrids that have resistance toor tolerance of pests and diseases and

environment-related stresses such asdrought, ooding, and salinity.

A collaboration between IRRI,the Philippine Department ofAgriculture, Philippine Rice ResearchInstitute, and the University of thePhilippines Los Baos, the project isexpected to help the country aainrice self-suciency under the Food

Staples and Suciency Program.Aside from the sharing of

advanced breeding methods,expertise, and germplasm, anotherstrategy of the project is a modiedfarmers participatory varietalselection scheme and improved seedsystem that can make these new rice

varieties and hybrids more widelyavailable to Filipino farmers, GlennGregorio, IRRI plant breeder, said.

Multi-environment trials (MET)of the newly developed rice linesin many dierent environmentswill greatly improve the quality ofmaterials going through the NationalCooperative Tests, leading to therelease of a beer and improved nextgeneration of varieties and hybrids,Dr. Gregorio added.

Developing and promotingeective technologies throughR&D is a viable option to aain thegovernments goal of self-suciency,Dr. Dayap, said. A DA documentindicates that, at todays rate ofpopulation growth, the countrysaverage rice yields must rise to atleast 4.75 tons per hectare to aainself-suciency.1

Hopefully, through thispartnership, varietal developmentprograms and continuous availability

of high-quality seeds can supportthe goal of rice self-suciency of thecountry, Dr. Dayap said.

Ms. Reyes is the managing editorofRice Today.

For more on Typhoon Haiyan, see hp://tinyurl.com/Haiyan-Super-Typhoon.

1.Husband and wife Joven and Lydia Ganapin are happy to try some seeds distributed by IRRI. 2.Mr. Carlito Torreon, municipal agricultural officer of Kananga inLeyte, receives some seeds of NSIC 2013 Rc344SR from Paul Maturan, IRRI associate scientist. 3.Dr. Francisco Dayap, the superintendent of Babatngon ExperimentStation in Leyte (right), shares some good management practices with Joven Ganapin.

1 2 3

LANIEREYES,I

RRI(2)


25/37

Rice fables: Korea

Along time ago, two brotherstogether owned a rice feld,which was the only inheritancethey received from theirrents, who passed away because of

d age.These two brothers knew how

eir parents had valued the land,they cared for it the way theirrents did. They worked together

told and illustrated by Jeehyoung Shim-Chin

The good brothershis rice fable centers on fraternal love, a value that many Koreans have considered

mportant for a very long time

to grow rice from plowing the soil tosowing the seeds, from weeding untilthe rice was ready for harvest. Theywere diligent and industrious; theyworked on the farm from dawn tilldusk. Come harvest time, their laborcame into fruition. They had a verybountiful harvest, the largest in thevillage.

They divided the har vest equally.As they were stacking their harvest,the older brother thought, Myyounger brother is newly married; hewill need more rice to sell to cover theexpenses of a new home.

Knowing that his youngerbrother would not accept his oerof an additional sack, he t hought ofgoing to his brothers barn at night

and secretly placing the extra sack ofrice on his younger brothers pile.

As soon as night came, he foundhis way in the dark carrying a heavysack of rice and placed it above hisyounger brothers pile of rice.

The next morning he wassurprised to see that the height of hispile of rice seemed to be the same.He counted the number of sacks a ndwondered why the number did notchange.

"I think we miscounted themwhen we frst divided the sacksof rice between us," he said to hisyounger brother.

Thinking about his youngerbrother, who will be starting to builda family, he decided to carry anothersack of rice to add to his his brothersstack that night.

The next morning, he went tohis barn to check how many morewould be left should he decide tosell some. He was shocked to knowthat the number was still t he same.He asked his son to count it for himand lo and behold he arrived at thesame number. Well, he said. Illjust carry a sack of rice to my youngerbrother again tonight.

After dinner, he again loadedanother sack of rice on his backand started walking on the sameroad to his brothers place. Themoon shone so bright thatnight and he could clearlysee the pathway to hisbrothers place. As hewas halfway to hisdestination, hesaw a silhouee

of a man who seemed to be carryinga bulky load. As t he shadow camenearer, the moonlight revealed thefamiliar face of his younger brother.

As soon as their eyes met, theyboth called out to each other, Whybrother! They heartily laughedtogether as they both understood themystery of the unchanging number oftheir respective stacks of rice. Happyto see each other, they unloaded theirsacks of rice, sat down, and talked.The older brother found out that hisyounger brother was also thinkingthe same way. He thought of his olderbrother having many children andthus his family would consume more

rice than he would. Surely hibrother could use some of hi

It is said that the story ofloving ways of these two browas the talk of t he village. Itfrom village to village until ifar and wide.

Ms. Shim-Chin likes telling stoactivity she enjoyed when shewas a preschool teacher in SouShe temporarily gave up her joto join her husband, IRRI planJoong Hyoun Chin, and their cthe Philippines. She devotes sofree time to painting.

Rice TodayJanuary-March 2015Rice TodayJanuary-March 2015


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Whats cooking? byIman Zarei

Ingredients

500 grams basmati or other long-grain rice

1 kilogram chicken, cut into desired pieces

300 grams yogurt

1/2 cup cooking oil

1/2 teaspoon saffron

1/4 cup rose water, optional

2 to 3 pieces large onions, peeled

3 to 5 cloves garlic

3 eggs

saltblack pepper powder

red pepper powder

turmeric

parsley for garnishing

Directions

Wash uncooked rice in a pot with water.

Do this three times. Add enough water to

cover the rice. Add 3 tablespoons of salt

and soak for 15 minutes.

After soaking for 15 minutes, remove the

water.

JEC

NA

RCISO(

3)

Iranian culinary style, alsoknown as Persian cuisine,has a long history and it is

strongly inuenced by the countrysneighboring regions. In fact, severalof Irans famous dishes originatedfrom Greece, the Middle East, Turkey,and Russia. These dishes commonlyuse dairy products, fresh herbs, andfruits such as plums, pomegranates,

quince, prunes, apricots, and raisins.Typical Iranian main dishes are a

Watch Iman prepare this sumptuous Persian rice dish in an11-minute video on YoutTube at http://youtube/kIcIqXeoOq4.

Put the yogurt in a pan and add eggs,

cooking oil, a pinch of turmeric, black

pepper powder and red pepper powder,

1 tablespoon of salt, half a cup of oil,

the saffron dissolved in water, and

the mashed onion and garlic. Mix all

ingredients well.

Add the shredded chicken and rice, and

mix well.

Cover and cook for about 45 minutes.

After 10 minutes, add 3 tablespoons of

rose water (optional). Wrap the lid with a clean towel or cloth,

and cover the pan to absorb the water

forming from the steam.

When done, invert the pan on a dish.

To serve, cut into wedges and garnish

with parsley.

Iman is working on his PhD in human nutritionat the University of the Philippines Los Baos. He

joined the Grain Quality and Nutrition Center atIRRI in 2012 and worked on research under theglobal rice core collection. His work included ricemetabolomic experiments and the development

of predictive models based on the results of thoseexperiments. Currently, he is working on iron bio-fortification in rice.

Cooking is a relaxing and enjoyable hobbyfor Iman. As a nutritionist, he likes to add newtwists and variations to traditional dishes.His favorite cuisines are Middle Eastern, Indian,Russian, Uzbek, and Thai. Tah Chin saffron riceand chicken, based on his grandmothers recipe,is his favorite Persian dish.

Tah Chin saffron rice and chickencombination of rice with meat, lamb,chicken, or sh and onion, vegetables,nuts, and herbs. In special dishes,saron, dried limes, cinnamon, andparsley are often added to give themunique and subtle avors. Tah Chin(rice cake in Persian) combinessaron, chicken, and yogurt to createan exotic blend of decadence andextraordinary avor. It is traditionally

served on special occasions such asweddings and family reunions.

Boil the water in a pot. Add the soaked

rice when the water starts boiling. Cook

for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove any foam

that forms on top while cooking.

Take a grain of rice and squeeze it with

your middle finger and thumb. The rice is

parboiled if you do not feel any hardness.

Remove from heat. Place the rice in a

strainer and drain the water. While the

rice is in the strainer, pour water over it to

reduce stickiness. Place the chicken in a pot and add onion,

garlic, salt, and turmeric. Add enough

water to cover the chicken. Cook for 30

minutes.

When the chicken is tender, take the

chicken from the pot. Remove the meat

from the bones and shred it. Set aside.

Remove the onion and garlic from the

pot. Put in a bowl, add some broth, and

mash them. Set aside.

Add half a cup to one cup boiling water

to the saffron. Set aside.


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RICE ON Africas peak. Dr. Negussie Zenna (left), rice breedefrom Africa Rice Center, and a fellow hiker from New Yorktake Rice Todaymagazine to new heightson top of Mt.Kilimanjaro. Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain inAfrica and the worlds highest free-standing mountain at5,895 meters above sea level.

NETWORKING WITH Rice Today. Savitri Mohapatra (left), the head of marketing and communications ofAfrica Rice Center, joined staff of CGNET Services International to cultivate productive relationships.CGNET, based in Menlo Park, California, is one of the worlds most well-known email providers in theinternational nonprofit community. Its first client was the CGIAR, from which CGNET derived its name.From left to right after Savitri are Kim Reed, administrator; Karin Cornils, senior systems engineer,Lonni Ton, systems and network engineer; Georg Lindsey, president and CEO; Dan Callahan, vice-president for cloud services; Dante Palacios, global technologies and services manager; and RichardHsu, data center engineer.

IN THE midst of the judges.Rice Todayeditor-in-chiefGene Hettel (left) meetswith members of thePhilippine Agricultural

Journalists, Inc. (PAJ) andfellow judges in the annualBinhi Philippine JournalismAwards. From left after Mr.Hettel are Noel Reyes, PAJvice president and chairmanof the 2014 Binhi awardscommittee; Jayson Brizuela,San Miguel Corporation(SMC) Media Affairs Group;Roman Floresca, PAJpresident and business

editor of The PhilippineStar; Rolly Gonzalo, PAJcoordinator for broadcast;Cora Abio, PAJ director;Gani Oro, Binhi judge andanchorman of SerbisyoAll-Access, 9NewsTV; SenenBacani, chairman of theboard of Binhi judges andpresident of La Frutera, Inc.Inez Magbual, PAJ treasurer;and Ruby Lumongsod, PAJsecretary. SMC was a majorsponsor of the 2014 Binhiawards program.



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Rice TodayJanuary-March 2015Rice TodayJanuary-March 2015

It has been estimated that, forevery 1 billion people added tothe worlds population, 100million tons more of paddy rice

ed to be produced annuallyeally using less land, water,trogen, and energy, and resulting inwer greenhouse gas emissions.

Crop genetics comes into everypect of this picture. Changing theology of rice plants oers a chancecombat major and emergingseases, to tackle pests with fewerd less toxic pesticides, to increaseater- and nitrogen-use eciency,d to incr ease overall productivityfeed more people on less land.

However, in order to be able to

cess the widest possible pool ofrmplasm, it will be essential for riceeeders to be able to use transgenicchniques as well as conventionaleeding.

And yet, the use of theseolecular biotechnology toolshich are improving all the time

in accuracy, variety, and usabilityremains needlessly controversial.It is not science that has held backthe use of molecular genetics in r icebreedingit is politics.

Indeed, politics can surely be theonly reason why, after two decadesof rice breeding invo

Documents

Rice Today Vol. 14, No. 1