River of rice
Building success around the Mekong
ISSN 1655-5422
www.irri.org
International Rice Research InstituteApril-June 2007, Vol. 6, No. 2
Rising to the water challengeThe beauty of blackened earthRice in volcanic strife
S p e c i a l M e k o n g i s s u e
contents
Vol. 6, No. 2
International Rice Research Institute
DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, PhilippinesWeb (IRRI): www.irri.orgWeb (Library): http://ricelib.irri.cgiar.orgWeb (Rice Knowledge Bank): www.knowledgebank.irri.org
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: a.barclay@cgiar.orgcover photo
© 2007 Ken Driese, www.flickr.com/photos/kdriese
publisher
Duncan Macintosh
editor
Adam Barclay
art director
Juan Lazaro IV
designer and production supervisor
George Reyes
contributing editors
Gene Hettel, Bill Hardy
Africa editor
Savitri Mohapatra (Africa Rice Center – WARDA)
environment editor
Greg Fanslow
photo editor
Ariel Javellana
photo researcher
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circulation
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Rice Today
is published by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the world’sleading international rice research and training center. Based in the Philippines and withoffices in 13 other countries, IRRI is an autonomous, nonprofit institution focused onimproving the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers,particularly those with low incomes, while preserving natural resources. IRRI is one of 15 centers funded through the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research(CGIAR), an association of public and private donor agencies. For more information, visitthe CGIAR Web site (www.cgiar.org).Responsibility for this publication rests with IRRI. Designations used in this publicationshould not be construed as expressing IRRI policy or opinion on the legal status of anycountry, territory, city or area, or its authorities, or the delimitation of its frontiers orboundaries.
Rice Today
welcomes comments and suggestions from readers. Potential contributorsare encouraged to query first, rather than submit unsolicited materials.
Rice Today
assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to unsolicited submissions, which shouldbe accompanied by sufficient return postage.Copyright International Rice Research Institute 2007
EDITORIAL ................................................................4
Rice and life along the Mekong River
NEWS ........................................................................5
Perpetual funding for IRRI genebank Mekong branch offi ce opensStocks falling, prices risingIncreased yields with elevated CO
2
?More GM problems in U.S.Human genes for pharmaceutical rice
PEOPLE .....................................................................8
Cambodia honors former IRRI leadersWolf Prize for Agriculture to IRRI Board memberAward winner to join IRRILao Ministry recognizedKeeping up with IRRI staff
MORE CROP PER DROP .........................................10
Rice cultivation in the 21st century will need to feedmore people while reducing poverty and protectingthe environment. Success depends on how the riceindustry uses one of its most precious resources:water.
RICE AND THE RIVER .............................................14
A new research and development initiative is set tobuild on past successes and lay new foundationsfor prosperity in the countries that depend on theMekong River for their rice
MAPS ......................................................................23
Poverty and elevation in the Greater MekongSubregion
LESS SALT, PLEASE ................................................24
Farmers hampered by salt-affected soils in Bangladeshare set for relief as researchers breed salinitytolerance into locally popular rice varieties
BLACK SOIL, GREEN RICE .....................................26
An extraordinary type of soil from South Americahas implications for both rice production and theenvironment in Asia
THE RICE MAN OF AFRICA ....................................28
Growing up in Sierra Leone, rice researcher MontyJones was encouraged to become a priest. It’s luckyfor Africa he didn’t.
ACID WATER, HOT MUD, .......................................30AND DAMAGED RICE
Two volcanic disasters in Indonesia’s East Java Provinceare destroying rice crops and making life tough, if not impossible, for thousands of people
NEW BOOKS ...........................................................35
RiceGeneticsCollection
CD
Economic costsofdroughtandricefarmers’ copingmechanismsRiceinLaos
BOOK REVIEW ........................................................36
Innovations in rural extension
RICE FACTS .............................................................37
A balancing actHow do we produce enough food to feed a growingpopulation in the face of declining growth in cerealyields?
GRAIN OF TRUTH ...................................................38
Rice revolutions in Latin America
On the cover:
The Mekong River,the world’s13th longest(4,200 km)and10thlargestby volume,windsthroughextreme northwestern YunnanProvince,China,beginning its3,400-km journey to the SouthChinaSeathrough the six countriesof the GreaterMekong Subregion.Learn aboutIRRI’swork here onpages14-22.
NEWS
http://ricenews.irri.org
5
Rice Today
April-June 2007
A
n unprecedented new agreementinvolving the annual dispersal,in perpetuity, of US$600,000 wasunveiled on 12 March 2007 to help fundthe protection and management of the world’s thousands of rice varieties.IRRI and the Global Crop Diversity Trust announced the historic agreementat a special dedication ceremony atIRRI’s Genetic Resources Center (GRC), which houses more than 100,000samples of rice, the biggest and mostimportant collection in the world.The agreement offers stable, long-term support to a collection of geneticdiversity that is estimated to includeat least 80,000 distinct rice varieties.The collection is kept in a specialearthquake- and fireproof facility thatis maintained at temperatures as low as –19 degrees Celsius.On the same day, IRRI alsodedicated the GRC to Te-Tzu Chang,the founder of the InternationalRice Germplasm Center—one of thepredecessors of the GRC. Dr. Chang, who passed away last year in Taiwan,China, was a world authority on ricegenetics and conservation. He spent 30 years at IRRI collecting and storing rice varieties from all over the world. Fromnow on, the GRC will be known as theT.T. Chang Genetic Resources Center.The agreement, the first majorconservation grant made by the Trust,reflects the long-term vision of bothorganizations. “Short-term thinkingabout funding has wreaked havoc with effective conservation,” said Cary Fowler, the Trust’s executive secretary.“This agreement is probably uniqueamong funding contracts in having noend date.”Under the agreement, IRRI haspledged to generate $400,000 annually to be invested in the genebank, which will unlock $200,000 from the Trusteach year. The agreement allows forinflationary increases and will remainin force “indefinitely.” Uses for themoney will include acquiring any rice varieties not currently in the repository and making sure the storage systemsfor long-term conservation are up tointernational standards.“The rice genebank is not just ascientific exercise in seed genetics but a major hedge against disasterthat ensures that farmers throughoutthe world will always have the rice varieties they need to maintain foodsecurity,” said IRRI’s Director GeneralRobert Zeigler. “Rice diversity, likeall crop diversity, is at risk for the want of relatively small amounts of money. Given that we are talkingabout the biological base upon whichthe global food supply is built, it isextraordinary that the current situationis so precarious.”
T
he Luang Prabang, Laos, Branch of the IRRI-Greater Mekong Subregion(GMS) Office was officially opened at aribbon-cutting ceremony on 7 February 2007. IRRI is expanding its activities inthe GMS, which comprises Cambodia,Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam,and China’s southern provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi (see
Rice and theriver
on pages 14-22).Bounthong Bouahom, directorgeneral of the National Agricultureand Forestry Research Institute andGary Jahn, IRRI representative andcoordinator for the GMS, cut theribbon in front of 40 guests, includingrepresentatives of Lao organizationsthat work with IRRI. The ribbon cutting was followed by a traditional Lao
Basi
ceremony, in which the community joins together to welcome and offergood wishes to new ventures.The office is staffed by agronomistBenjamin Samson, accountantOunheuane Phouthachit, and driverSommay Yasongkua. Randy Ritzemaand Hidetoshi Asai, Ph.D. students fromthe University of California, Davis, andKyoto University, respectively, are also based in the new office.
Perpetual funding for IRRI genebankMekong branch office opens
T
he international rice market is on a bull run, with a continuous up-ward trend in prices since 2002. The price for medium-quality rice hasreached nearly US$300, the highest level since 1996, and 70% higher than in 2001, when it reached record lows. The production of rice hasremained below its demand for most years since 1998. Supply has there-fore been matched with demand by depleting stocks, which have reachedalarmingly low levels—close to those of the early-1970s oil crisis.The tight supply situation compared with demand, and consequenthigh and rising prices, is causing serious concern for low-income rice-importing countries (such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and Bangladesh).According to the December 2006
Food Outlook
report of the Foodand Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, cereal prices are attheir highest levels in a decade.Production and supply constraints, including typhoons, floods,drought, diseases, and insect attacks, resulted in stagnating riceproduction in Asia in 2006. As a result, little overall growth is currentlyexpected in the region. The production forecast for Asia has beendowngraded to 570 million tons—only half a million tons less than lastseason’s level, but well below earlier expectations.The report warned that global stockpiles at the close of the 2007crop seasons are set to be cut to less than 105 million tons. This isslightly below their opening level, and counter to previous expectationsof rebuilding. The change in outlook stems from deteriorating cropprospects in several major producing countries, many of which will beforced to further use their reserves to meet domestic consumption and,for exporters, export demand (see
Rice Facts
on page 37).
Stocks falling, prices rising
DR. JAHN (
left
)participates in aLao
Basi
ceremony.DEAN CHANG, eldest son of T.T. Chang, shows a genebankrice sample to his children,Nathan and Erica, as hismother, Nancy, looks on.
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RiceToday Vol. 6, No. 2
April-June 2007
Rising to the water challenge
The beauty of blackened earth
Rice in volcanic strife
River of rice
Building success around the Mekong
Rising to the water challenge
The beauty of blackened earth
Rice in volcanic strife
River of rice
Building success around the Mekong
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