Download pdf - Ripple May-August 2012

May-August 2012 1RIPPLE

April 2006, Vol. 1, No. 2 www.irri.org/irrc

Irrigated Rice Research Consortium Rice Research for Intensified Production and Prosperity in Lowland Ecosystems

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

Volume 7, Number 2, 21st issue • May-August 2012

Consultation workshop on closing rice yield gaps in Asia held in Indonesia

In the past decade, rice output in Asia has increased by an average of 1% per annum, but

to meet growing food demand and keep the price of rice affordable to the poor, annual yield increase has to be around 1.5%. In the irrigated lowlands, there is generally a gap between achievable and actual yield of rice—about 1-2 t/ha. In Southeast Asia alone, closing the yield gap would increase total annual production of rice by an estimated 75 million tons, providing additional food for some 625 million people.

A 3-day planning workshop was held on 28-30 May, in Bogor, Indonesia, between national

partners and IRRI scientists on a new project, Closing rice yield gaps in Asia (CORIGAP). To be funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the new 4-year project will focus on enhanced productivity of rice production systems through more efficient use of resources (e.g., water, labor, and nutrients), leading to a reduced ecological footprint. The new project will begin in January 2013. The partner countries are Indonesia, China (Guangdong province), Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. All countries were represented in the workshop except Myanmar. There

are new allied projects that have just begun in Myanmar so they were not able to send a representative.

Hasil Sembiring, director of the Indonesian Center for Food Crops Research and Development, gave the welcome remarks. Partners presented topics on closing rice yield gaps, integrated crop management and best management practices in partner countries, research directions for CORIGAP, gender issues, learning alliances, and monitoring and evaluation.

Participants grouped themselves by country and identified timelines and activities, key sites, counterparts, and stakeholders/actors for learning alliances. On the last day, discussions were held on the CORIGAP logframes, progress with good agricultural practices for rice in Thailand and Vietnam, and the next steps.

CORIGAP will be closely aligned with the Sustainable Rice Platform that was launched in November 2011 (see RIPPLE Jan-Apr 2012 issue). The new CORIGAP project will fall under the umbrella of the IRRC. From 2013 the IRRC will take a new form. It will continue as an important vehicle to support cross-country learning and training, and to foster outreach efforts. However, the core funding will come primarily from IRRI. This replaces the tremendously successful co-investment by IRRI and SDC in the IRRC over the past 16 years. These developments will be discussed further in the next issue of RIPPLE.

The workshop was attended by IRRI scientists and country partners: (left to right) Nguyen Huu Huan (partly hidden), deputy director general, Plant Protection Department, Vietnam; Alfred Schmidley, IRRI business model specialist; David Raitzer, IRRI impact assessment and strategic planning specialist; Pham Van Du, deputy director general, Crop Production Division, Vietnam; Grant Singleton, IRRC coordinator; and Nguyen Do Ahn Tuan, research division dean, Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam.

2 RIPPLEMay-August 2012

Impact of IRRC’s four phases under evaluation by external panel

The Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC) commissioned an impact

assessment and process evaluation of IRRC technologies and best management practices developed from phase 1 to phase 4 of the Consortium, spanning 15 years.

An inception meeting held on 25-26 June 2012 at the IRRI Training Center marked the start of the process. The IRRC coordination unit and work groups gave presentations on the technologies developed, adoption rates, yield and income impacts, and identified sociocultural, gender, institutional, environmental, scientific, and policy impacts.

The communication approach of the IRRC was presented to highlight

Rona Niña Mae Rojas

the strategies that have been implemented to promote the best management practices to irrigated rice farmers.

This review aims to determine the achievements attained during the four phases of IRRC and how outcomes of the research contributed to rice production issues in the Southeast Asian project countries. There will be an economic assessment of the targeted countries to estimate returns on investment.

The final consultancy report is expected to document evidence of successful outcomes and impacts, as well as pathways that led to these changes. Also to be

documented are evidences of limited progress or setbacks, how these were addressed, and what lessons were learned.

The external panel members are Roderick Rejesus, agricultural economist from

North Carolina State University, USA; Adrienne Martin, social anthropologist from the University of Greenwich, UK; and Phrek Gypmantasiri, agronomist from Chiang Mai University, Thailand.

IRRC Coordinator Grant Singleton and sociologist Flor Palis led preparations for this meta-impact assessment. An interim report from the consultants will be available in November 2012. The manuscript will be submitted for possible publication in a special issue of the Food Security journal in 2014.

Adrienne Martin is a social anthropologist from the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom. Her focus of review is on impact pathways, influence assessment, and process evaluation.

Phrek Gypmantasiri, agronomist from Chiang Mai University, Thailand, will concentrate on the assessment of scientific impact.

Roderick Rejesus, with microphone, an agricultural economist from North Carolina State University, USA, is the chairperson of the IRRC impact assessment team. Dr. Rejesus will review the financial and economic impact of the IRRC.

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Rice is one of the most important goods transported through the Ayeyarwady River, Myanmar’s main commercial water way.

In Myanmar, rice is the most important agricultural commodity. Myanmar people are among the

highest consumers of rice in the world, with each person averaging more than 180 kilograms per year. Rice provides 71% of their daily calorie intake.

Production statistics vary markedly, depending on the source. From our household surveys and focus group discussions, farmers harvest only about 3.5 tons per hectare in the Ayeyarwady Delta. Yields are somewhat lower in the rainfed

lowlands, especially those prone to submergence, drought, and salinity. If rice production in Myanmar is increased, poverty may be alleviated and the livelihoods of rural poor would improve because 73% of the population lives in rural areas.

IRRI has been working in Myanmar through two active consortia: the IRRC and the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE). The IRRC and CURE provide platforms for adaptive research for impact through farmer participatory research. These platforms have provided Myanma scientists and extension specialists opportunities to gain more knowledge on technologies that small-scale farmers elsewhere in Southeast Asia have found successful.

Two new projects in Myanmar began this year. The first project aims to improve the livelihoods of 1,500 rice-based rural households in the lower region of the Ayeyarwady

Delta. Funded by the United Nations Development Program, the project will run from February 2012 to January 2015. IRRI will work closely with nongovernment organization partners Welthungerhilfe, GRET, and Mercy Corp in three townships: Bogale, Mawlamyinegyun, and Labutta. These are important rice-producing areas and many families are subsistence farmers. Rice is the main food staple and the major source of income for most of the smallholder farmers in these townships.

IRRI scientists, through IRRC and CURE, will provide technical advice, assist in establishing demonstration sites of new cultivation techniques, and provide training support on adaptive research of these new techniques. IRRI will lead in coordinating a participatory varietal selection of stress-tolerant germplasm, an assessment of postharvest problems, and piloting of improved management options.

The second project focuses on diversification and intensification of rice-based systems in lower Myanmar. This project, funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, will run from July 2012 to June 2016. IRRI scientists and national partners will conduct research on cropping options to increase and sustain productivity of rice-rice and rice-pulse cropping systems in the Ayeyarwady Delta. Myanmar produces about 2.7 million tons of pulses yearly and exports these to India and China.

The 4-year project aims to increase farmers’ profitability through developing best practices for rice production, including postharvest management, and new approaches to improve productivity of rice-pulse cropping systems.

In Bago and Maubin townships of Ayeyarwady Delta, farmer-selected varieties and management options will be tested and assessed. Dissemination strategies such as learning alliances, adaptive research, and communication strategies will be conducted and evaluated. Similar to the first project, the ACIAR project aims to strengthen the capacity of partners.

Through best crop management practices, higher yielding rice varieties, innovative technology delivery pathways, and strengthened capacity of local partners, rice productivity in many lowland areas in the Ayeyarwady Delta, which have substantial untapped potential, can be improved.

Contact Grant Singleton ([email protected]) or David Johnson ([email protected]) for more details.

A farmer in Ayeyarwady Delta gathers his harvested rice and lets them dry before threshing.

Grant SingletonDavid Johnson

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Partners discuss lessons learned from postharvest and mechanization projects

One of the biggest success stories of agricultural engineering for rice production is the

axial flow thresher, which IRRI developed in 1972 and introduced to most rice-growing countries.

The design was adopted and modified by thousands of local manufacturers as a response to users’ feedback. It is estimated that more than 80% of the rice crop in Southeast Asia is now threshed using the axial-flow principle in machines ranging from small portable threshers to large combine harvesters.

More recent successes are the introduction of flatbed dryers in Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Indonesia. These technologies are being promoted across Southeast Asia through the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded IRRI Postharvest Project and the IRRC Postproduction Workgroup. On the other hand, the introduction of other technologies like the stripper harvester has failed, not because the technology was not suitable but because wrong impact pathways had been used.

A workshop was held on 22-24 May at IRRI headquarters to consolidate project results and identify factors that led to success or that contributed to failures in other projects. Particular focus was on mechanization; to capture the learning and develop better approaches for fostering mechanization along the rice value chain from production to postharvest.

Around 60 participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, and Vietnam attended. In his welcome address, IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler said that the success of IRRI’s postharvest projects

is “pretty impressive” and cited the introduction of the axial flow thresher in Asia as a revolutionary technology that is now moving through sub-Saharan Africa.

Partners presented topics on postharvest, mechanization, promotion through the private sector, and new approaches during the first day. On the second day, participants were divided into groups and were asked to identify common factors that led to success or failure. Alfred Schmidley facilitated a session on business plans for mechanical drying pilots and development of hermetic storage technology supply chains.

The participants visited farmers who are testing flatbed dryers using the new rice husk

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Trina Leah Mendoza

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Participants interview the caretaker of a farm in Batangas Province, Philippines, the first private adopter of the rice husk furnace.

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Participants from the research group identified factors that led to sustainable mechanization and postharvest development and those that led to failures. They then developed recommendations for future initiatives.

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Swiss envoy and SDC leader visit IRRI

H.E. Ivo Sieber, ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to the Philippines, and

Willi Graf, alternate governor for the Swiss Confederation at the Asian Development Bank and deputy head of Regional Cooperation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), visited IRRI on 2 May 2012.

They were accompanied by Gisela Bissig, program

manager at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

They were welcomed by Achim Dobermann, IRRI’s deputy director general for research; Grant Singleton, Irrigated Rice Research Consortium coordinator; and Roland Buresh and Flor Palis, IRRI scientists.

Dr. Dobermann presented IRRI’s research agenda and programs, while Dr. Singleton discussed current activities, outcomes, and future direction of IRRC.


IRRC is funded by the SDC. Dr. Buresh, an IRRC work group leader, presented an update on extension activities associated with Nutrient Manager, with focus on the move to its mobile phone version.

The ambassador and his party also toured the International Rice Genebank.

This is H.E. Sieber’s second visit to the Institute; he first visited in November 2010.

furnace in Batangas and Cavite on the last day. Participants from Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam stayed on for a few more days to further assess the recirculating batch drying technologies. This is considered the next step in developing drying systems in those countries after the successful introduction of the flatbed dryer.

“The benchmark for success in mechanization of postharvest operations in rice has been set very high by the team that developed the axial flow thresher,” says project leader Martin Gummert. “However, the workshop showed that there are other success stories in the making—combine harvesting is already being introduced at an impressive rate, mainly driven by the private sector.

Mechanical drying with support from the public sector R&D has good potential to be the next revolution in postharvest, while laser leveling is already a big success in the mechanization of rice production, with around 10,000 contract service providers using the technology in India.”

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Partners discuss lessons learned...

(Left photo) Grant Singleton, IRRC coordinator, explains the program and activities of IRRC during a meeting with (right photo, from left to right) Ivo Sieber, Swiss Confederation of the Philippines ambassador ; Willi Graf, alternate governor for the Swiss Confederation at the Asian Development Bank and deputy head of Regional Cooperation of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation; and Achim Dobermann, deputy director general for research, IRRI.

Photo by Trina Mendoza

Workshop participants inspect the first privately owned rice husk furnace. The owner offered the use of the dryer as a contract service for other farmers and is planning to set up a second dryer in another rice-growing area.


April 24 was a beautiful, sunny day in Los Baños, Philippines—this I

didn’t notice as I ran to the IRRI Training Center.

It was my second day as an intern at the IRRC, and the first day of the Video Production Workshop for Outscaling Postharvest Technologies. I had what was less than 3 minutes before I was late.

The IRRI-Asian Development Bank (ADB) Postharvest Project aims to lessen postharvest losses. With new postharvest technologies being discovered and developed, the workshop was held to help disseminate these technologies to farmers across Southeast Asia.

I panted into the room and realized it was my running that got me there in time; people had just started filing in. As the workshop started, we all introduced ourselves. I soon found out that 11 of the participants came from different parts of the Philippines: Bohol, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Cebu, Davao, and Camarines Sur.

In that room, they all had

one goal: to learn effective video production to help farmers in their provinces.

Resource speakersProject assistant Reianne

Quilloy gave an overview of the postharvest project, while IRRI agricultural engineer Christopher Cabardo briefed the participants on current postharvest technologies.

Soon after, lessons from the preproduction phase to the postproduction phase of video production were given by various resource speakers.

The scriptwriting process was discussed by IRRC communication specialists Trina Mendoza and Rona Niña Rojas.

Eric John Azucena, information management specialist at the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, discussed video composition and camera movements. IRRI video and photography specialist Chris Quintana shared new video trends, the IRRI video protocol, and his experiences from the field.

Edmund Centeno, chair of the Department of Education Communication, and Jon Paul Maligalig, both assistant professors with the University of the Philippines College of Development Communication, walked the participants through video shooting and editing.

The lectures were engaging and informative, helping the participants quickly grasp the concepts that were presented.

The workshopThe first day focused on the

preproduction phase and on scriptwriting. After the lecture, participants were divided into three groups—each group would have to write a video script. Scriptwriting was a tough feat but nothing dragged their spirits down as participants strived to finish their scripts on time.

The expected output for day two was actual video footage. As in the previous day, the morning

Communication officers produce videos to outscale postharvest technologies

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The participants took videos of postharvest technologies that they have chosen as subject for their presentation. The final editions were shown and critically examined at the end of the workshop.


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was spent getting the participants ready for hands-on work in the afternoon, which, this time, meant going to the field to shoot. The participants struggled with the excruciating heat of the noontime sun, but they managed to get the footage they needed. They ended the day satisfied with what they shot.

The workshop’s third day was spent on video protocol and video editing. After a detailed discussion,

the groups spent the whole afternoon editing their footage to weave one sound video out of it all.

The bright morning of the last day was spent with lectures by Ms. Mendoza on pretesting and evaluation, and the participatory video approach.

AwardingAt last, time had come and

as it did, I felt the room fill with anticipation. All three groups

had already submitted their videos, and as the afternoon session commenced, so did the video screening. After all the videos had been shown, the resource speakers gave their comments.

Each video had its own edge that set it apart from the other two. Group one’s (Agusan

del Norte and Davao) video about IRRI’s Superbag had very good, upbeat music and was applauded for sustaining its appeal throughout. Groups two (Agusan del Sur and Cebu) and three (Camarines Sur) both made videos about the flatbed dryer. The former concentrated on its benefits, earning praise for using graphics of rain that they needed when the weather couldn’t provide it, while the latter focused on how to use the dryer, with the panel commending the way they showed the steps on a split screen for better recall.

All in all, everybody was very satisfied with each presentation. Group one took home the most prizes, garnering the best musical score, best in cinematography, and the critics’ choice award, while groups two and three were best in scriptwriting and best in editing, respectively.

“We are very happy with the performance of our participants,” says Ms. Mendoza. “We look forward to future collaborations with them as they develop postharvest videos for their provinces.” The group that featured IRRI’s Superbag took home prizes for winning “best

musical score,” “best in cinematography,” and the “critics’ choice award.”

Communication officers...

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IRRC PhD scholar finishes with distinction

True to her goal of finishing her PhD in Biology by 2012, Nyo Me Htwe, a PhD

affiliate student with the IRRC, completed her doctorate at the Northern Arizona University (NAU), Flagstaff, USA, in May.

Her study was on rodent management strategies for different species of rice field rats in Southeast Asia. The breeding ecology of Rattus tanezumi and Rattus argentiventer in lowland rice agroecosystems of the Philippines was studied as a basis to develop ecology-based rodent management. The factors that influence high population growth rates of rice field rat populations in the Philippines and Myanmar

also were studied to develop proactive strategies to prevent high rodent population densities.

IRRC coordinator Grant Singleton, her main adviser, and the other thesis panel reviewers were impressed with her written thesis and her breadth of knowledge.

Nyo Me has gone back to Myanmar to work with the Plant Protection Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation. She plans to conduct more research on rodent ecology and management strategies in both lowland and upland agricultural systems. Nyo Me also hopes to help build capacity of students and the junior staff of the Plant Protection Division on rodent management.


During the hooding ceremony, Nyo Me Htwe poses with the old Myanmar flag as background and the new country flag on her sash.


Students troop to the middle of a rice field. With the sun at their backs, they listen carefully as a

lecturer tells them about the rice crop planted in the field. This is how they are introduced to a type of rice variety that could withstand an environment with less water. Such a scene is a picture of an outdoor lecture about water-saving technologies such as aerobic rice technology (ART) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD).

ART involves growing rice using less water than usual. Aerobic rice produces higher yield than current varieties in rainfed and upland areas—land that is generally productive only during the rainy season and is left idle in the dry season.

AWD is practiced by alternately flooding the rice field and allowing it to dry for a few days. With this technology, no losses in crop harvest occur when compared with a continuously flooding field. In general, it can reduce water use by 15–30%. In some irrigated production systems in the country, the use of AWD helped reduce tension among farmers because of the assurance that water is sufficient for all. Moreover, their farming cost decreased, which meant cash savings.

IRRI, through the IRRC, introduced these technologies to help farmers cope with limited water resources for rice production. Both technologies reduce water requirements and decrease input costs.

With these technologies benefiting farmers, it is only fitting that the knowledge and practices be passed on to a new generation of young agriculturists.

Rice goes to schoolDr. Junel Soriano, an agricultural

engineer and professor at the Bulacan Agricultural State College (BASC) in the Philippines, proposed the integration of water-saving technologies in selected course curriculae in undergraduate and graduate academic programs

on agriculture. The idea was deemed sound and was approved by the BASC council.

In La Union Province, Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) students conduct field and laboratory activities in aerobic rice production systems to complete their course requirements.

Dr. Soriano is currently working with Dr. Marina Sabado, a professor of agriculture in DMMMSU, to present a proposal to the university’s academic council to officially integrate water-saving technologies into the school curriculum.

More benefitsThe collaboration of state

universities and colleges with IRRI and government institutions in conducting research and dissemination activities on water-saving technologies reaped unintended rewards.

BASC was allocated more funds because its Aerobic Rice Research, Development, and Extension Program caught the attention of many institutions and agencies that wanted to be involved in the research, development, and extension of aerobic rice.

“With more funds, we were able to improve the facilities of the College and hire more staff,” says Dr. Soriano.

The availability of additional resources also meant a re-energized atmosphere for research.

A unified approachDMMMSU and BASC

have influenced other state colleges and universities such as Isabela State University (ISU) to follow suit. ISU developed its own program on aerobic rice technology, formulated a road map for the Cagayan Valley region, and has now implemented projects in Isabela Province and other parts of the region.

Dr. Soriano and Dr. Sabado aim to further

develop the technologies and get students more involved in research. They acknowledge the need to determine what aspects of the technologies require more research.

In fact, BASC now has projects in eight other provinces to continue its research on water-saving technologies and has demonstrated the benefits to students and farmers as well. “Soon,” says Dr. Soriano, “students will be able to learn more about the use of mechanical tools for the different operations and practices related to the technologies, organic farming practices for aerobic rice technology, and weed management.”

Another teaching tool being developed, in coordination with the IRRC, is a video documentation of farmers practicing AWD and ART. These videos will showcase success stories of farmers from different provinces.

“We will work with other state colleges and universities in creating a solid and unified proposal to fully integrate water-saving technologies in the academe, especially in instruction,” says Dr. Soriano. “The IRRC plays a strong role by providing technical and financial support.”

Meanwhile, schools like DMMMSU, BASC, and ISU continue to educate their students—the future agriculturists—on the different ways to save water, a resource so valuable in today’s food production.

Rona Niña Mae RojasLesson plan: save waterStudents in the Philippines learn how to save water in planting rice

Dr. Junel Soriano, professor at the Bulacan Agricultural State College, Philippines, teaches his students about the principles and benefits of water-saving technologies.


Communicating her science

The IRRC has engaged in communication activities to disseminate information

on natural resource management to farmers. The Consortium’s communication component has produced countless print, video, and online materials about various rice-growing technologies and best management practices. These are done to help bring science to the communities, and thereby address the needs of rice farmers and facilitate adoption of technologies.

Behind all these is a person who goes out of her way to provide impetus to the IRRC communication component. This she does by helping out her colleagues and giving her support to research. She is Trina Mendoza, senior communication specialist of the IRRC.

A balancing act across culturesWith a bachelor’s degree in

development communication and a masters in media studies from the University of the Philippines (UP), Trina helped develop the communication strategies for the IRRC and the IRRI-Asian Development Bank Postharvest Project. Her work cuts across programs in 12 Asian countries. It is a tough balancing act: producing materials that are both technically sound and easy to read. These materials also need to be relevant and understandable across an international audience with different cultural backgrounds.

The IRRC communication strategy includes printed materials in the form of fact sheets, leaflets, and newsletters; video materials distributed in CDs and via the Internet; e-learning materials; and Web sites on IRRC and other natural resource management tools. Added to that, there is also close coordination with various people—scientists, farmers, extension specialists, government officials, etc.


Trina takes great pride in her work, which she also considers to be her biggest achievement. “I know I still have many things to learn in my field, but I am happy and honored whenever my work is acknowledged by my bosses or other scientists, partners, or peers. I feel fulfilled whenever we create a good product like a video and we receive positive feedback,” she intimates.

For her diverse portfolio of communication strategies that successfully promoted the work

of the IRRC and IRRI, both internally and internationally, Trina was awarded the IRRI Nationally Recruited Staff Award for Outstanding Research Support in 2009. In a 2011 report prepared by an external group of reviewers on the IRRC, the IRRC’s media team was assessed to be “particularly strong.”

The silent communicatorIn spite of the many ways

she interacts with people in the Philippines and abroad, Trina maintains that she’s still an introvert at heart. To relax and

PROFILE

recharge, she likes to watch her favorite television shows, see the latest movies, and read books and magazines.

Though she knows a lot about rice science and technologies, she doesn’t lag behind in the latest trends in popular culture either. Her quiet demeanor gives way to an easy smile and an excitable lady whenever she catches up with her friends, usually over dinner. She also likes spending

time with her family on weekends.

With a job that’s hard to leave, she sees herself still working at IRRI in the next few years. She also hints that she might be pursuing her PhD by then and probably teach in the future.

An answered prayerIn her 6 years with IRRI, what

Trina likes most is the continuing challenge that her job offers—they are anything but boring. “Some days you’re doing RIPPLE, other days you’re shooting videos. I like that I’m able to do what I love, which is writing and making videos.” She also gets to travel and work with IRRC partners in different countries.

The IRRC is like family for Trina. She looks forward to going to work each day, happy to see her officemates. “The IRRC team members are all very easy to work with and very professional; I learn a lot from them. Plus my bosses, Grant (Singleton) and Martin (Gummert), are also kind and supportive,” she says.

She confides that she could go on and on about why she loves her job at IRRI. But she sums it all up by revealing that what she gets to do right now is a blessing for her. Indeed, doing what you love to do and, at the end of the day, still have time for yourself, your friends, and your family is an answered prayer.

A rare shot of the person behind the camera: Trina, while shooting videos in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

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Trina, on a weekend outing in Manila, Philippines, with her mother, brother, and his children.


IRRI moisture tester now commercially available

After discussions with several electronics manufacturers in the Philippines, Cambodia,

and India, IRRI finally found an industry partner to commercialize the low-cost IRRI moisture tester.

Many inquiries and orders for the previous version showed that the moisture tester has a huge potential to finally provide an affordable tool to measure moisture content in village postharvest operations. Through this device, farmers benefit from making more informed decisions regarding safe storage. By being able to quantify moisture content, they are in a better negotiating position when they sell their paddy to traders.

The new unit is equipped with improved electronics and manufactured using state-of-the-art processes by Nanodevice Technologies, Inc., an electronics manufacturer in Manila. Manufacture quality is therefore greatly improved. The company also applies quality control procedures and provides a warranty, which was not the case with the older units.

The moisture tester is kept as simple as possible to keep the cost down. Three small lights indicate whether the paddy needs to be dried (above 14% moisture content), is safe for storage for milling purposes (12-14% moisture content), or is

Martin GummertPaterno Borlagdan

safe for seed storage (less than 12% moisture content). Within a range of 10–16%, the moisture content can be determined within a 1% range by observing the patterns of lights. Accuracy within this range is comparable with that of a digital resistance-based moisture meter that typically costs US$200–400.

It is always a big challenge to take the next step from having viable research results toward making a commercially viable product because of the initial investment needed for adaptive R&D for mass production. With the moisture tester, IRRI faced a chicken-and-egg problem: manufacturers of electronic equipment shy away from these investments if they do not have proof of an available market. But, to develop the market, one needs a certain amount of initial units to demonstrate its potential.

By pooling resources from the IRRI Postharvest Project, IRRC Postproduction Work Group, and other sources, IRRI was able to place an initial order of 350 units. This enticed Nanodevice to do the adaptive R&D to replace expensive circuits imported from developed countries by cheaper components and redesign the electronics for more automated production.

Due to the small volume of the initial order and the development cost, the price tag is still relatively high. The 350 units will be used strategically to further develop the market for a biggersized order. Some units will be sold at the IRRI Riceworld Bookstore at a subsidized price of $55 (the cost of the previous version). However, the price will go down to around $35 once orders reach 10,000 units. Further streamlining and improvements (e.g., investing in a mold for custom housing) could lead to an even lower price.

Individual units for demonstration and evaluation purposes can be purchased at the IRRI Riceworld Bookstore. For bulk orders, please contact Nanodevice Technologies, Inc. (Unit 104 Oxford, #20 Evangelista St., Santolan, Pasig City, telephone numbers +63 2 477 1379 or telefax +63 2 470 6485).

Super Bags now available to Filipino farmers

An airtight, reusable plastic bag that protects stored rice from moisture, pests, and

rats, and keeps rice seeds viable is now available to Filipino farmers in almost 200 retail stores nationwide.

IRRI Super Bags reduce losses incurred after harvest. These losses usually stem from poor storage

conditions. The bags help prevent physical postharvest losses that could reach 15%. On top of these, farmers also experience loss in quality.

The IRRI Super Bag is made by GrainPro Inc. and is marketed as SuperGrainbag™. The Super Bags can be bought in Pacifica Agrivet branches nationwide.

IRRI, through its national partnerships, has verified the benefits of the IRRI Super Bag with tens of thousands of farmers throughout Asia, but acknowledges it is a challenge

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Ma. Lizbeth Baroña

The new IRRI moisture tester is manufactured with state-of-the-art technology.

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Phetsoulaphonh “Phet” Choulatida, a scholar of IRRI and the Asian

Development Bank-Japanese Scholarship Program, won the 2012 best thesis award (master’s degree level) for his study on extension gaps in the production, postharvest, and marketing system of organic rice in Sangthong District, Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR. He is the second IRRI postharvest scholar to receive the award.

Phet received his degree in extension education from the University of the Philippines Los Baños during its graduation and recognition ceremony in April. He was staff of the Helvetas-funded project ProRice, which helps in establishing an organic rice chain in Lao PDR. During his studies, he worked as a rice postharvest researcher at IRRI headquarters with IRRC

Postproduction Work Group leader Martin Gummert as his adviser.

He surveyed farmers’ practices, evaluated a flat bed dryer that ProRice installed for a farmers’ group that produces organic rice, and

conducted laboratory tests on rice paddy. His results confirmed that premium grain quality is not achieved because farmers fail to meet desirable levels of moisture content. The study mainly provided local evidences of the effect of moisture content on grain quality, coming up with a price-based incentive scheme based on actual data from surveys and export data from processors in Santhong District.

Phet’s study recommended the conduct of a broad-based, participatory, and market-oriented extension campaign

to facilitate improvement in organic rice quality.

He is now working as a strategy development and policy advisor for the SNV Netherlands Development Organization in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

IRRI postharvest scholar bags best thesis award Trina Leah Mendoza

Phetsoulaphonh Choulatida, scholar of IRRI and the Asian Development Bank-Japanese Scholoarship Program, raises his trophy for the 2012 best thesis award given by the College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna.

to bring the bags to millions of farmers in a commercial way.

Manuel Luzentales Jr., a farmer from Bicol Region, decided to test the Super Bag after attending a seminar.

“Previously, 7 months of storage caused my rice grains to break due to moisture and pest infestations,” Luzentales recalls. “I tested the IRRI Super Bags on my harvest for the second planting season of 2010. After keeping my harvest in the IRRI Super Bags for 10 months, the seeds were 100% viable, and none were wasted.”

IRRI has initiated and is facilitating national postharvest learning alliances (PLA) that embrace public and private stakeholders who have an interest in and the mandate to establish local

supply chains for technologies. Through this PLA, IRRI assists in setting up and training local distributors for technologies such as the IRRI Super Bag.

“The rollout of the IRRI Super Bag would have been difficult without the help of the Philippines’ PLA,” explains Engr. Gummert. “These alliances allow cross-sector actors to share information, foster learning, and better address a range of technical and market support needs.”

Tom de Bruin, GrainPro’s president and CEO, said that a national retail network with close to 200 outlets will be involved to ensure availability of the bags to farmers.

Super Bags now available...continued from page 10

Phot

o by

Rei

anne

Qui

lloy

Christopher Cabardo, an agricultural engineer from the IRRI Postharvest Project, demonstrates how to knot the Super Bag to keep it airtight.


Volume 7, Number 2May-August 2012

This newsletter is produced by the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC) with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The IRRC promotes international links among scientists, managers, communicators, and farmers in lowland irrigated rice environments.

Materials in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the official views of IRRI, SDC, or collaborating institutions of the IRRC.

EdItORIaL and PROductIOn tEam

Grant SingletonTrina Leah MendozaRona Niña Mae Rojas

cOPY EdItORS Tess Rola

LaYOutRona Niña Mae Rojas

cIRcuLatIOnJennifer Hernandez

cOntRIbutIng WRItERS Alexandra Ezequiel, Lizbeth Baroña, Paterno Borlagdan,

Martin Gummert

Please direct further correspondence, comments, and

contributions totrina Leah mendoza

Senior Communication SpecialistInternational Rice Research

InstituteDAPO Box 7777

Metro Manila, PhilippinesEmail: [email protected]: www.irri.org/irrc

Uzbek PhD student: an intern with Climate Change Group

Oksana Forkutsa, a PhD student from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is an intern

with the IRRC Climate Change Work Group (CCWG).

Oksana’s internship involves the modeling of methane and nitrous oxide gas emissions in rice and wheat cropping systems in dry/ arid conditions. Her research was conducted in Khorezm Province, northwest of Uzbekistan where the


annual evapotranspiration (sum of soil evaporation and plant transpiration) level of 1,400–1,600 millimeters exceeds the precipitation level of only 80–100 millimeters. In this arid continental climate, agricultural production is only possible with irrigation.

The data from Khorezm will be compared with those collected from subhumid and humid conditions to assess emission potentials in different climates. Greenhouse gas emissions greatly affect the Earth’s temperature, which leads to climate change.

One of the objectives of

Oksana Forkutsa (left) also studied the farming practices used for different cash crops in Khorezm Province, Uzbekistan.

her study is to assess the impact of different agricultural techniques on greenhouse gas emissions—that is, comparing flooded rice fields (conventional agriculture) versus fields practicing alternate wetting and drying technology (AWD) with varying levels of crop residues left in the soil (conservation agriculture). AWD is a water-saving technology that allows the rice field to be flooded and then left dry for

a number of days. With the guidance

of CCWG leader Reiner Wassman, she will simulate and estimate the potentials of conservation techniques for carbon and nitrogen dynamics in soil-atmosphere exchange with the denitrification-decomposition (DNDC) model.

The results of her work at IRRI will be included in her PhD research at the University of Bonn, Germany.

Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan.