Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Rice
Science
for a Better
W o rld
Annual Report of the
Director General, 2006-07
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INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
www.irri.org
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) was
established in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller
Foundations with the help and approval of the
Government of the Philippines. Today, IRRI is one of the 15
nonprofit international research centers supported by the
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR – www.cgiar.org).
IRRI receives support from several CGIAR members,
including the World Bank, European Union, Asian
Development Bank, International Fund for Agricultural
Development, Rockefeller Foundation, Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and
agencies of the following countries: Australia, Brazil,
Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Iran, Japan,
Malaysia, Norway, People’s Republic of China, Republic of
Korea, Republic of the Philippines, Sweden, Switzerland,
Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.
The responsibility for this publication rests with the
International Rice Research Institute.
Suggested citation:
IRRI (International Rice Research Institute). 2007. Annual
report of the director general, 2006-07. Vol. 17. Los Baños
(Philippines): International Rice Research Institute. 206 p.
Production team
Writers: Adam Barclay, Gene Hettel
Editors: Tess Rola, Bill Hardy, Gene Hettel
Design and layout: Emmanuel Panisales
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n 9 October 2006, I publicly then we must focus on the livelihoods of
unveiled IRRI’s new Strategic Plan poor rice farmers and consumers
(2007-2015), Bringing Hope, because together they make up almost
Improving Lives, during the opening half the world’s population.”
day of the International Rice Congress Our four other goals focus on
(IRC) in New Delhi. It was the culmina- environmental sustainability, health
tion of a process that began 16 months and nutrition, access to information and
earlier on 31 May 2005. I am pleased knowledge, and laying the foundation
how this course of action has played out for the next generation to develop new
with the positive reactions to our Plan and improved rice varieties. All of these
from the CGIAR Science Council in are contributing both directly and
mid-2006 and its subsequent imple- indirectly to achieving the MDGs (see
mentation on 1 January 2007. figure opposite page), not to mention
The world has changed enormously having a close connection to the CGIAR
since IRRI developed its last strategic system priority areas for research.
plan a decade ago. Recent scientific We have set these five new strategic
discoveries—particularly in genetics goals by imagining a perfect world. We
and genomics—now open up new do not realistically believe that IRRI by
opportunities to achieve impact that itself can, for example, eliminate
would have been difficult if not impos- poverty and protect the environment.
sible as recently as the turn of the But, unless these are explicitly articu-
century. A reduction in poverty and lated as “goals,” it is unlikely that our
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n 2006, IRRI completed work on 11
projects under four programs of the
previous strategic plan—Genetic
resources conservation, evaluation,
and gene discovery; Enhancing
productivity and sustainability of
favorable environments; Improving
productivity and livelihood for fragile
environments; and Strengthening
linkages between research and
development. Much of the work
continued to be guided by and imple-
mented through two research consor-
tia—the Irrigated Rice Research
Consortium (IRRC) and the Consor-
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prestigious journal Nature. I am
n the financial front, I believe that Hybrid Seeds Company Limited, India.
pleased to say that this significant
IRRI’s situation is balanced in a We bade farewell to
achievement, in addition to being
very tough environment. On the Fazle Hasan Abed
published in Nature, was picked up
upside is the USAID decision not to cut of Bangladesh, who
heavily in the popular media, including
its support to IRRI and funding increas- served on the BOT
BBC, Bloomberg, Bangkok Post, Life
es from the UK’s Department for for two terms during
Style Extra, SciDevNet, Voice of
International Development (DFID) and 2001-06.
America, Sacramento Bee, Christian
Germany. On the downside are the
NEW FLOOD-TOLERANT RICE Science Monitor, FoodNavigator.Com,
already announced cuts from Japan and
OFFERS RELIEF FOR WORLD’S Truth About Trade and Technology,
the Netherlands. Of course, the inability
POOREST FARMERS Toronto Star, Earthtimes, U.S. Depart-
of the World Bank and the European
A
ment of State, and Yahoo News.
Commission to reach agreement on how gene that enables rice to survive
funds should be handled has had complete submergence has been MOU SIGNED FOR ESTABLISHING
serious negative impact on all CGIAR identified by a team of research- GMS OFFICE IN VIENTIANE
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centers. I would like to emphasize that ers at IRRI led by PBGB head David
n 12 January 2007, the Lao
the Institute is no longer looking at only Mackill (pictured at top right) and at
Minister for Agriculture and
traditional donors. We are taking the University of California’s Davis and
Forestry Sitaheng Rasphone
specific steps to interest new potential Riverside campuses. The discovery
and I signed a memorandum of
donors and we are looking at innovative allows for the development of new rice
understanding for the establishment of
ways to tap into the new spirit of varieties that can withstand flooding,
philanthropy emerging in Asia. thus overcoming one of agriculture’s
A summary of financial support oldest challenges and offering relief to
begins on page 61. Appendix 3, begin- millions of poor rice farmers around the
ning on page 170, contains the audited world.
financial statements for 2006. Although rice thrives in standing
water, like all crops it will die if
BOT MEMBERSHIP CHANGES completely submerged for more than a
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RRI welcomed few days. The development and
three new cultivation of the new varieties are
members of the expected to increase food security for
Board of Trustees 70 million of the world’s poorest people,
for 2007-09. They and may reduce yield losses from weeds
are Jillian Lenné
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collaboration and technology transfer to the region, so ASEAN has endorsed n 7 April 2006, after successful
improve food security, reduce poverty, the development of rice camps for previous testing, IRRI and CIP
improve livelihoods, and protect the young Asians to encourage them to made some CGIAR history by
environment of the GMS. Coordinating consider a career in rice. becoming the first two CG centers to
our research efforts in these six nations have a video conference using the
will increase the pace and quality of CLIMATE CHANGE AND RICE Access Grid (AG). They were joined in
development as opportunities for PLANNING WORKSHOP the conference by the Advanced Science
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synergy and mutual gain emerge. n 20-24 March 2006, we conduct- and Technology Institute (ASTI) at U.P.
ed a Climate Change and Rice Diliman, Quezon City, IRRI’s partner in
ASEAN ENDORSES IMPORTANT Planning Workshop to describe using Access Grid technology (ASTI and
RICE ACTIVITIES FOR SOUTHEAST succinctly how climate affects rice. IRRI are the only Access Grid nodes in
ASIA Coordinated by CESD senior scientist the Philippines). The Access Grid is a
R
ice production in Southeast Asia, John Sheehy, the workshop, which technology for enabling multiple
arguably the region’s most included technical sessions, field visits locations, even dozens, to participate
important industry, received a (photo at top right), group discussions, simultaneously in a video conference.
major boost with the endorsement of and group presentations and syntheses, Thanks to perseverance, Rolando
three new strategies by the agricultural also summarized the contribution of Navarro of CIP and Lino Suarez of
ministers of the 10-nation Association rice to climate change and the current IRRI’s IT Services finally succeeded in
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), understanding of climate change establishing a working connection and
who met in research, with particular emphasis on the CGIAR entered a new era. Paul
Singapore on 16 crops. The end result of this landmark O’Nolan and other ITS staff were
November 2006. gathering of experts was the develop- joined by Graham McLaren and
Implemented and ment, a couple of months later, of IRRI’s Thomas Metz from the IRRI-
coordinated by Concept for Managing Rice and Rice CIMMYT Crop Research Informatics
IRRI, the new Systems in a Changing Climate—the Laboratory (CRIL), who had been
measures are Rice Climate Change Consortium keenly awaiting this moment as the
F
eeding Asia in the 21st century and HAVOC AT IRRI AND IN SUR-
AT IRRI
ROUNDING COMMUNITIES
A
preserving natural environments
P
s part of the “New Rice Revolution”
requires a second “Green Revolu- owerful and rain-laden Typhoon
campaign of the Rural Develop-
tion.” This also requires increasing the Milenyo (international name:
ment Administration (RDA) in the
efficiency of photosynthesis in crops Xangsane) made a direct hit on
Republic of Korea, 25 tons of high-
such as rice (C3 photosynthesis) to IRRI on 28 September 2006, with the
quality rice seed were harvested at IRRI
resemble that of more efficient crops eye passing over in the late morning.
headquarters and then transported in a
such as maize (C4 photosynthesis).
fleet of trucks to the Manila airport on
31 March 2006 (photo right). The
precious cargo made its way to the
National Institute of Crop Science
(NICS), RDA in Korea, via an Asiana
Aircargo flight on 2 April. Korea’s
achievement in rice self-sufficiency
through the Green Revolution of the
1970s was made possible through
similar past memoranda of agreement
between IRRI and RDA.
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t was a momentous occasion for Crop,
Soil, and Water Sciences (CSWS) and
entomology staff members on 5 June
A
that had never experienced flooding in s I have already mentioned, I used among Asian countries to safeguard the
recent memory were inundated. Sadly, the occasion of the 2nd IRC to environment and food and nutritional
the flooding and landslides resulted in publicly unveil IRRI’s new security. They agreed to “establish a
at least 20 deaths, many people injured, strategic plan. I congratulate the Indian comprehensive partnership through
and more than 3,000 homes either Ministry of Agriculture and Indian strengthened dialogue on a regular
partially or totally destroyed. In the Council for Agricultural Research basis for strengthening rice research
neighboring town of Bay, 3 people were (ICAR) for hosting and organizing this and development efforts laying greater
killed and 20 injured, with more than important event, which attracted nearly emphasis on the social, cultural, and
16,000 homes affected. Fortunately, no 1,400 rice researchers, traders, rice human dimensions, and that IRRI
one in the IRRI community was killed millers, farmers, and agriculture would host a task force comprising
or seriously injured. However, many ministers (photo below right), including experts from all the countries and
staff members in the local community 400 delegates from 45 countries other centers of excellence in the region to
had their homes badly damaged. At the than India. The Congress came at a prepare a road map for that purpose.”
height of the storm, IRRI’s Emergency crucial time for the
Brigade led a dramatic rescue of international rice
neighbors on the brink of drowning. industry. In addition
In the wake of the storm, IRRI to major international
extended the facilities of the Interna- debates on genetically
tional Rice Genebank to the National modified rice and the
Plant Genetic Resources Laboratory future price of rice,
(NPGRL) at the Institute of Plant Breed- the industry faces
ing, University of the Philippines Los several common
Baños (IPB-UPLB), to temporarily store challenges—all of
its medium-term germplasm collections which we discussed
of major Philippine agricultural crops during the IRC. I
after the typhoon damaged its genebank saluted Indian
facilities. We are committed to doing Prime Minister
S
everal past IRRI staff members, collection in the world for a single crop
who had made a significant impact plant. Desirable genes from this
in their respective professions, have invaluable resource continue today to
sadly passed away since my last update. sustain advances in global rice produc-
Te-Tzu (T.T.) Chang, 79, died of tion.”
a heart attack in Taiwan on 24 March Henry “Hank” Beachell (photo
2006. He was IRRI’s principal geneti- right), a rice breeding pioneer, passed
cist for more than 30 years and head of away at his home in Texas on 13
December 2006. Along with T.T. leaders are David Mackill for
Chang and Peter Jennings, he was Program 1, Raising productivity in
part of the research team behind the rainfed environments: attacking the
“miracle rice” IR8, which launched the roots of poverty (Dr. Mackill has
Asian Green Revolution 40 years ago. stepped down as the PBGB division
Less than 3 months previously, Dr. head); Achim Dobermann for
Beachell had celebrated his 100th Program 2, Sustaining productivity in
birthday on 21 September. After 32 intensive rice-based systems: rice and
years at the USDA, Dr. Beachell came to the environment, effective 1 September
IRRI, where he joined the research 2007 (David Johnson continues to
team. In 1996, he and former IRRI serve as the interim program leader
principal plant breeder Gurdev with full responsibility for the imple-
Khush received the World Food Prize, mentation of the program until the
the International Rice Germplasm known informally as the “Nobel Prize arrival of Dr. Dobermann); Joseph
Center when he retired in 1991. He was for Food and Agriculture.” Hank’s Rickman for Program 3, East and
considered a world authority on rice passing was a great loss not just for the southern Africa: rice for rural incomes
genetics and conservation. On 12-13 world of rice research, but also for his and an affordable urban staple;
March 2007, IRRI held a 2-day many friends and colleagues all over the Gerard Barry for Program 4, Rice
symposium The Application of Genetic world, and especially in Asia. Giving us and human health: overcoming the
Resources in Crop Improvement, in Dr. strength, however, is the wonderful consequences of poverty; Hei Leung
Chang’s memory attended by col- legacy that he left behind. for Program 5, Rice genetic diversity
leagues, family, and friends to coincide Jerry Pat Crill, a former IRRI and discovery: meeting the needs of
with the dedication of the Genetic plant pathologist (1978-81), passed away future generations for rice genetic
Resources Center in his name. on 17 January 2007 resources; Graham McLaren for
A plaque now mounted at the at his home on the Program 6, Information and communi-
entrance reads, in part: “Dedicated with Little Manatee River cation: convening a global rice
respect and affection, to a true giant in in Florida. Dr. Crill research community; and Sushil
the field of rice genetics and conserva- joined IRRI’s plant Pandey for Program 7, Rice policy
tion. His research on the evolution and pathology program, support and impact assessment for rice
variation of rice led to major advances replacing S.H. Ou, research.
in plant breeding, productivity, and in 1978, and headed the program for Heads of the six research OUs are
disease resistance, with a profound four years. Darshan Brar for Plant Breeding,
impact on agricultural productivity Genetics, and Biotechnology (PBGB);
throughout much of Asia, Africa, and UPDATE ON IRRI STAFFING To Phuc Tuong for the Crop and
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South America. His mobilization of n early January 2007, as the Institute Environmental Sciences Division
international and multiagency resources began implementing the new MTP (CESD); Mahabub Hossain for the
in Asian and African nations resulted in 2007-09, I announced appointments Social Sciences Division; Ruaraidh
enormous field collections of nearly within the research management Sackville Hamilton for the T.T.
40,000 specimens, many on the verge matrix. The seven research program Chang Genetic Resources Center (GRC);
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serving as a consultant from 1 January soil scientist and team leader, Madagas- n 9 October 2006, the plenary
to 31 to August 2007 to provide car Project (1991-94); agronomist and session of the 2nd International
assistance and advice to the interim coordinator, Crop and Resource Rice Congress featured the presen-
project leader, Roland Buresh. Management Network (1994-2000); tation of the M.S. Swaminathan
The program leaders are respon- agronomist, Training and Technology Award for Leadership in Agriculture to
sible for the development and delivery Delivery and Impact (2000-05); and former IRRI principal plant breeder
of the research outputs to achieve the IRRI coordinator for Africa (2005-06); Gurdev Khush. Sponsored by the
goals of our strategic plan and are Jingsheng Zheng, postdoctoral fellow Trust for Advancement of Agricultural
appointed for a renewable 5-year term. (2004-06); Paul O’Nolan, ITS head Sciences, the award cited Dr. Khush for
The division and center (organizational (1999-2006); and Monina Escalada, his excellent leadership for global rice
unit) heads are responsible for provid- international research fellow—commu- improvement that has benefited
ing research infrastructure and a home nications specialist, IPMO (2002-06). millions of resource-poor rice growers
base for the scientists contributing to Arrivals in 2006-07 were SSD around the world. In the photo, Prime
the programs and the quality of international research fellow Zahirul Minister Man Mohan Singh
research. The division heads are Islam; SSD agricultural economist Kei presents the award to Dr. Khush, with
appointed to a 3-year term and can be Kajisa; CESD international research Dr. Swaminathan and me looking on.
renewed. Upon completion of this fellow Jill Cairns; head of Operations
appointment, they can be assigned to be Management Terry
full-time scientists or to other responsi- Jacobsen; Training
bilities at IRRI. Center head Noel Magor;
In February 2007, Xiaochun Lu, FoSHol project team leader
postdoctoral fellow in CESD, was and IRRI representative in
transferred to PBGB. Bangladesh M. Zainul
Departures and arrivals since the Abedin; PBGB postdoc-
last DG report. Attorney Walfrido E. toral fellow Hao Chen;
Gloria (photo) retired on PBGB project scientist
Daisuke Fujita; PBGB
postdoctoral fellow
Minu Joseph; PBGB
postdoctoral fellow
Susanna Polleti; CIO Asia, the magazine for
PBGB senior scientist and INGER information executives, officially
coordinator Edilberto Redoña; recognized IRRI as one of Asia’s top
CESD coordinator of the Rice and strategic users of IT. For having
Climate Change Consortium achieved excellence in strategic IT
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RRN celebrates 30th anniversary. Review and Planning Meeting of the stations wanting to report on their IRRI
Originally named the International project “Development of technologies to adventure.
Rice Research Newsletter (IRRN), harness the productivity potential of Launch of radio soap opera. IRRI,
the first issue in October 1976 men- salt-affected areas of the Indo-Gangetic, in collaboration with the Ministry of
tioned the need for a Mekong, and Nile river basins,” funded Agriculture and Rural Development
mechanism that would by the Challenge Program on Water and (MARD) of Vietnam and the World
facilitate communica- Food (CPWF), 25-27 April in Karnal, Bank, formally launched the Environ-
tion among scientists India, international scientists discussed mental Radio Soap Opera for Rural
working on rice. Three ongoing research efforts and future Vietnam (promotional poster below)
decades later, that plans to assist farming communities
important role remains, near the Indo-Gangetic, Mekong, and
as the International Nile river basins. IRRI and its partners
Rice Research Notes continues to fill a from Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, and
special niche in rice science publishing. Iran jointly tackled problems faced by
The 30th anniversary observation thousands of farmers in areas that have
included an IRRN Best Article competi- high salt content resulting in low land
tion in which manuscripts submitted and water productivity and predomi-
were evaluated according to a set of nance of poverty.
criteria (scientific content, originality, Rice campers graduate with better
relevance, and organization). I present- appreciation for rice. After working
ed individual winners (one winner from hard in the rice fields, listening to
each of the six discipline sections of various lectures, and participating in
IRRN) with a plaque and a $500 cash fun-filled learning activities, 19 students
prize during the 26th International Rice from Thailand and the Philippines
Research Conference, 9-13 October in graduated from the rice camp hosted by
New Delhi, India. IRRI, 24-28 April. Among the many
high points during a very successful
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2007); Gérard Chesnel, Republic of closed out Helping poor farmers adapt to climate
France (19 February 2007); Annika 2006 with a change will require a concerted
Markovic, Sweden (21 February keynote speech international effort to improve crops,
2007); George Rey Jimenez, on climate techniques of cultivation, and soil and
Republic of Cuba (5 March 2007): and change during water management. I think I struck the
Stale Torstein Risa, Norway (20 the Annual right chord with the CGIAR audience
March 2007). General Meeting and I am confident the CG centers will
IRRI Books for Africa and Asia. of the CGIAR in work together in a collaborative spirit to
With the imminent closing down of the Washington, D.C. come up with solutions to meet this
CPS book storage facility in Chandler We here at IRRI had been thinking threat, whether agriculture starts
Hall, about 38,450 IRRI books (with a about how to tackle this urgent chal- feeling the heat next year or a decade
retail value of more than US$384,000) lenge throughout the year as shown by from now.
were shipped via sea freight in February our Climate Change and Rice Planning
and March 2007. Soon, these books will Workshop in March and our subsequent BREAKING BREAD WITH STAFF
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be arriving at IRRI’s East and Southern creation of the Rice Climate Change n December 2005, I initiated what
Africa Region office in Mozambique, Consortium (RCCC) with the hiring of became a monthly practice (or as near
WARDA’s office in Nigeria (where IRRI Reiner Wassmann to coordinate it. to this that my schedule would
rice breeder Glenn Gregorio [shown In my presentation on Climate change permit) of having an early-morning
making book selections in photo above] and agriculture in the tropics and breakfast with a cross section of
is currently based), and IRRI’s 11 subtropics: preparing for the worst nationally recruited staff (NRS). I
country offices in Asia. They will be with a winning approach, I pointed out believe that it is very important for me,
redistributed to needy NARES libraries that poor countries are overwhelmingly as director general, to get to know the
across these regions. New IRRI policies dependent on natural resources, and, staff, find out about their work, and talk
on publication press runs and printing given their limited financial or institu- with them about their jobs, IRRI, and
on demand negate the future need for a tional ability to adapt to profound special concerns.
book storage warehouse.
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t the end of 2006, the International Rice Genebank deadline and therefore to continue germplasm exchange
(IRG) held 108,955 accessions, and total distribution without interruption. IRRI’s system has been demonstrated at
of germplasm reached a record high of nearly 95,000 international meetings as a model for others to follow.
seed packets for the year. Two key outputs supported the genetic resource sys-
A historic agreement, signed on 16 October 2006 tems of IRRI’s national partners. First, the establishment in
between IRRI and the Governing Body of the International 2006 (to be completed in 2007) of a rice biodiversity network
Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agricul- provides a mechanism for global rationalization of efforts to
ture, required IRRI to change its procedures for germplasm conserve rice genetic resources and will enhance germplasm
exchange by 14 January 2007, in particular to conform to the conservation and use around the world. Second, the improve-
requirements of a new Standard Material Transfer Agree- ment of the Lao PDR rice genebank will improve conserva-
ment. IRRI was the only international agricultural research tion and use of Lao germplasm. Samples of all remaining
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RRI’s work to collect, conserve, generated from these genetic resources,
document, and exchange germplasm which includes an understanding of the
(plant seeds and tissues) is covered biological functions encoded in the rice
by Program 1. This work encompasses genes. Beneficiaries of this information
the crucial tasks of conserving and sus- are the international research commu-
taining biodiversity. Further, through nity, national research and extension
this program, IRRI aims to make public agencies, and any other interested
and freely available the knowledge party whose goal is improving rice
Project 1
Germplasm conservation, characterization, documentation,
and exchange
Since its foundation almost 50 years
ago, IRRI has led international efforts
to collect and conserve the genetic
resources of rice. The world’s largest
rice germplasm collection is held in
trust in the International Rice Gene-
bank at IRRI (along with a collection
of biofertilizer germplasm, including
Azolla, blue-green algae, and nitrogen-
fixing bacteria). Plant breeders and
researchers worldwide use these genetic
resources to develop new rice varieties,
which are also freely available to any
interested party—including farmers.
The germplasm held in the genebank
has also allowed the re-establishment
of traditional rice varieties thought lost
and even the restoration of an entire
rice industry—such as in the case of
Cambodia, where agriculture was
devastated after years of warfare and
civil strife. Effective use of germplasm evaluation (Output 2), and access to
requires characterization (Output 1), information (Output 3).
Project 3
Genetic enhancement for yield, grain quality,
and stress resistance
The highly productive favorable bined with postharvest losses. Further, Environmentally sound, socially
irrigated environment produces nearly as laborers continue to move away from appropriate technologies and machin-
three-quarters of the world’s rice. farms to find jobs in the cities, farmers ery can help increase farmers’ income
Increased production due to improved will face worsening labor shortages and and livelihood as well as enhance or
rice varieties, expanded irrigation, a consequent increase in labor costs. At sustain the productivity of favorable
improved management, reduced losses the same time, shortages of irrigation environments. In addition to integrat-
due to pests, and higher rates of fertil- water and misuse of agrochemicals are ing management of soil, water, weeds,
izer use in the two major intensive rice causing environmental concern. pests, and diseases, such technologies
production systems—double cropping of Current irrigated rice yields in rice- must also conserve biodiversity and
rice and the rice-wheat rotation—have rice and rice-wheat systems average 5 environmental health. Fully developing
resulted in Asia’s rice production tons per hectare. This is well below the these technologies requires research on
doubling over the past three decades. estimated potential yield of 8 tons per crop physiology, nutrient cycling, pest
Yield growth in recent years, how- hectare of popular rice varieties. With- ecology, the rice crop in its environs,
ever, has stagnated. If this stagnation out new knowledge, techniques, and and mechanization systems—all within
continues, producing enough rice to sat- practices, it will be difficult for farm- the context of farmers’ management
isfy a growing population of urban poor ers to bridge this gap and achieve both approaches and limitations.
and rural landless will become increas- increased profitability and minimal
ingly difficult, especially when com- environmental impact.
Project leader
Project 5
Enhancing water productivity in rice-based production systems
Project leader
More than 2 billion Asian rice farmers tates and strengthens NARES research based on national research priorities,
and consumers depend on the produc- and technology delivery and includes facilitate activities designed to solve
tivity of irrigated rice systems for their on its steering committee policymakers, farmers’ production problems in the
livelihoods and/or food security. Three- senior scientists, and communication irrigated and favorable rainfed rice
quarters of all rice is produced with ir- specialists from Bangladesh, China, ecosystem. Each activity is designed to
rigation, making the irrigated rice agri- India, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philip- have high impact for the collaborating
cultural ecosystem—which produces the pines, and Vietnam. The IRRC also site at which it is undertaken and, most
most food to feed the most people—the seeks partnerships with nongovernment importantly, for the region. The work
most important in Asia. Despite rice’s organizations and the private sector to groups—Productivity and Sustainabil-
enormous importance, however, many identify and help solve farmers’ prob- ity, Water Saving, Postproduction (Post-
rice farmers remain poor. lems. harvest), and Labor Productivity—are
The Irrigated Rice Research Con- Phase III of the IRRC, which began linked to an overarching Coordination
sortium (IRRC) provides a framework in 2005, will continue until 2008. Unit, which provides farmer participa-
for partnership that combines IRRI The Consortium comprises four work tory appraisals, facilitates outreach
and national agricultural research and groups composed of interdisciplinary programs, and monitors and evaluates
extension systems (NARES). The Con- teams of research and extension work- the adoption and impact of improved
sortium, which is active in nine Asian ers within each of the sites at which the technologies.
countries that grow irrigated rice, facili- Consortium operates. The work groups,
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any diverse rice-farming envi- linity, and other soil-related problems.
ronments are unfavorable for Rice farmers working in these ecosys-
high levels of production—in- tems suffer from low farm income and
fertile uplands, rainfed lowlands subject high incidence of poverty. In addition to
to frequent droughts and submergence, the farmers, more than 700 million of
and deepwater and coastal areas that Asia’s poor depend on rice grown in un-
suffer from flooding, strong winds, sa- favorable environments. Many of these
Project 7
Genetic enhancement for improving productivity
and human health in fragile environments
Important gains in food security, hu- aluminum toxicity, and deficiency of such as enhanced seedling vigor, greater
man nutrition, poverty reduction, and phosphorus and other plant nutrients. It tolerance for drought and submergence,
environmental protection are emerging is crucial that we tailor rice varieties for improved ability to grow in problem
from rice breeding activities for fragile these unfavorable ecosystems by select- soils, and strengthened resistance to
environments. These are the cropping ing them under conditions resembling pests and diseases. Molecular tools
areas that serve the majority of the the target environments. Such varieties are already being deployed to enhance
rural poor and they are characterized should continue to provide the con- tolerance for submergence, salinity, alu-
by reliance on rainfall rather than ir- sumer-preferred grain type of tradi- minum toxicity, and acid sulfate soils,
rigation and by dependence on problem tional varieties but combine that with and new advances in drought tolerance
soils affected by flooding, salinity, higher and more stable yields and traits are emerging.
Output 1: Superior germplasm flowering stage, when insufficient water At least five lines and hybrids yielding
developed for rainfed lowlands can devastate an entire crop. We also 3 tons per hectare under lowland stress
One significant IRRI success in 2006 established and tested a high-through- (in trials in which IR64 and IR72 yield
was the transfer of submergence put phenotyping protocol for drought less than 2 tons per hectare) have been
tolerance to three major rice varieties. based on controlled irrigation, remote distributed to collaborators, who re-
Submergence tolerance in the genetic sensing (infrared thermal imaging), and corded improved yields in recent severe
background of two major varieties was carbon isotope discrimination. Further, drought events. The lines will be further
developed by introgressing the Sub1 researchers conducted field pheno- distributed in India via the IRRI-India
gene through marker-assisted selection typing of 50 parents of mapping popula- Drought Breeding Network, leading to
into popular varieties Swarna, Samba tions (which have been extensively used higher yields in severe drought years
Mahsuri, and IR64. The addition of to identify quantitative trait loci in the stress-prone upper and middle
Sub1 allows survival of 10–14 days of [QTLs] associated with performance terraces of river valleys in eastern and
submergence with up to three times the under drought stress) and rice mega- southern India.
yield of the same genotypes lacking the varieties under drought stress for
Sub1 gene. Seed of these varieties was reproductive-stage processes.
sent to NARES in Bangladesh, India, IRRI identified
Indonesia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar, and short-duration lines
promises greater productivity and more and hybrids with yield
secure livelihoods in areas subject to at least 50% higher
flash flooding. than that of popular
As part of our efforts to develop high-yielding variety
drought-tolerant rice, IRRI research- IR64 under severe re-
ers identified drought sensitivity at productive-stage stress.
flowering in 10 major Asian varieties. These were distributed
This offers improved focus for gene for adaptive testing
discovery—and therefore improved and use as parents by
efficiency in breeding—for enhanced NARES breeders in
drought tolerance at flowering in popu- drought-prone areas
lar varieties. Rice plants are particu- and farmers are likely
larly sensitive to drought stress at the to use some in the field.
Project 8
Natural resource management for rainfed lowland
and upland rice ecosystems
Output 1: Crop and natural re- economic cost of drought is substantial, thus help reduce the household-level
source management practices for with production losses during drought impact of drought. An invited paper was
improved livelihood in rainfed years in eastern India as high as 40% of presented on this important topic at the
lowlands developed and evaluated the value of output. The total economic 26th conference of the International As-
In 2006, we completed a comparative cost of drought in the three states of sociation of Agricultural Economists in
study of livelihoods in the saline and eastern India studied (Chhattisgarh, Gold Coast, Australia, on 12-18 August
nonsaline ecosystems in coastal Bangla- Jharkhand, and Orissa, which account 2006.
desh, leading to improved understand- for about 10 million hectares of rice) Through analysis of relevant
ing of the effect of expansion of shrimp is around US$400 million per year. literature and on-farm and on-sta-
farming on poverty and the environ- Farmers’ coping mechanisms are gener- tion data from nutrient experiments
ment in this region. ally inadequate to prevent a shortfall in rainfed lowland rice, we developed
To gain an understanding of the in consumption during drought years. new approaches for site-specific CNRM
context of livelihood systems in regions The incidence and severity of poverty for rice-based drought-prone rainfed
for which improved rice technologies increase during drought years as people lowlands. One achievement was the
are being developed, IRRI scientists “fall back” into poverty and those who basic outline of a novel framework for
reported on changes in agriculture and are already below the poverty line fall nutrient management in this environ-
livelihoods in the unfavorable ecosys- deeper into poverty. In the three states ment, which promotes flexible site- and
tems in Bangladesh. This report was of eastern India alone, as many as 13 system-specific nutrient management
based on analysis of data generated million people fall back into poverty options over uniform recommenda-
from surveys of 62 villages (including 16 during drought years. The poverty tions. The concept was applied and
coastal villages) in 2004, and is sched- impact of drought mitigation could tested at key sites and in key systems.
uled for publication in 2007. hence be substantial. Household-level The resultant increased knowledge and
A research monograph was consequences of drought depend on understanding of how to address the
compiled to improve understanding the structure of the production system variability of soil and water resources
of drought-coping mechanisms of rice and dominant livelihood strategies. in rainfed systems open the way for
farmers within different socioeconomic The immediate impact of drought is higher nutrient-use efficiency and
contexts. The monograph, which was less when agriculture is diversified and system productivity in this environ-
published by IRRI in early 2007, shows market-oriented, and rural incomes are ment. The most important conclusion
the increased relevance of technology diversified. Technologies and policies from this work was that fertilizer use
and policy for drought mitigation. The that promote income diversification in rainfed systems (including those in
Project 9
Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE)
Low and unstable yields are a feature reliance on unpredictable rains have Hence, productivity gains have been
of rice farming in rainfed unfavorable meant that, in the past, farmers have incremental and small. It is essential,
environments, which are also charac- been averse to risk and either unwill- if we are to meet the challenges posed
terized by poverty and high popula- ing to grow modern high-yielding rice by unfavorable ecosystems, to develop
tion density in both rural and urban varieties or unwilling to use sufficient a well-structured strategic research
areas. Difficult conditions and heavy inputs if they do try modern varieties. approach to address key constraints.
I
RRI understands the need to involve edge. This, in turn, improves the proba-
all levels of the rice production bility of research success. This approach
system, from farmers to policymakers, also helps to improve efficiency in the
in research planning and prioritiza- allocation of research resources, thus
tion. An inclusive interactive approach reducing the chance of technologies and
helps to improve our understanding of scientific outputs remaining unused or
farmers’ and consumers’ needs and how used only for academic purposes. In this
farmers evaluate scientific knowledge in context, one of IRRI’s key responsibili-
the context of their traditional knowl- ties beyond research is to help national
Project 10
Understanding rural livelihood systems for rice research
prioritization and impact assessment
To effectively plan and prioritize rice technologies in different agroecosys- ing the factors that drive decisions at
research, it is essential to have a com- tems, how components of farming sys- the household level and the patterns
prehensive understanding of the socio- tems and livelihood strategies interact, that operate on larger geographic and
economic factors that influence rice pro- and how farmers evaluate scientific time scales—such as trends in produc-
ducers’ and consumers’ circumstances knowledge. Through this understand- tion, pricing, and trade—can shed light
and drive their decisions. Access to and ing, we can help develop improved on emerging rice supply-and-demand
use of resources—natural, physical, fi- research strategies and policies. balances, competition for resources
nancial, human, and social—are key fac- To meaningfully assess progress by alternative economic activities, and
tors determining people’s actions. The toward meeting
main focus of Project 10 is to develop the objectives
and refine this understanding of rural of rice research,
livelihood systems. it is crucial
To design and implement a suc- that research
cessful research program, we also need managers and
to comprehend the influence and role policymak-
of institutions that can affect people’s ers know how
lives, such as government agencies, policies and
nongovernment organizations, and technologies
international research institutions and affect vari-
our national agricultural research and ous socioeco-
extension partners. If IRRI is to develop nomic groups,
strategies and technologies that can poverty rates,
improve people’s livelihoods, we must and natural
understand farmers’ current practices, resource use.
constraints to the adoption of improved Understand-
Farmer feedback and participation in sustainable, more profitable, and less play an essential role in this process.
identifying, validating, adapting, and tedious for poor farmers. Our NARES partners have invaluable,
promoting potentially useful technolo- Hundreds of millions of rice farm- local on-the-ground knowledge and are
gies is crucial. New technologies and ers across the world stand to benefit at the point of transfer of new technolo-
information aimed at farmers need from improved technologies. How can gies to farmers. IRRI’s partnerships
to be packaged for easy and effective we reach the greatest number possible? with nongovernment organizations and
implementation. To achieve this, the Project 11 meets this challenge by exam- private-sector specialists further boost
farmers themselves must contribute to ining fundamental issues of informa- our dissemination efforts. It is crucial
the process from the very beginning. tion and technology dissemination: the that NARES maintain the capabilities
An institute can develop the best rice problems and opportunities faced by needed to develop, distill, and deliver
technologies in the world—from new farmers and researchers, and the best research products. IRRI therefore runs
varieties for cultivation through to bet- way to package and present necessary strong training programs for NARES
ter ways to manage a crop—but unless and relevant messages. By understand- partners on research and delivery
they can be and are adopted by farmers, ing key communication and extension methodologies. In this way, we ensure
their value is unlikely to be realized. Re- issues, IRRI’s research remains focused that new improved technologies are
search and development are thus only on what is truly relevant and helpful. appropriately disseminated and used
part of the job of making rice farming The national agricultural research by the people who really need them: the
more productive, more environmentally and extension systems (NARES) also farmers.
Australia
• Australian Centre for International Agricultural Application of Participatory Approaches to Agricultural
Research (ACIAR). Variation No. 1 relating to Project No. Research and Extension (DPPC2006-74). 20 Jul 2006
PLIA/2000/039 Impact of migration and/or on-farm • Australian Centre for International Agricultural
employment on roles of women and appropriate Research (ACIAR). Contract (No. L2005109) between
technologies in Asian and Australian mixed farming ACIAR and IRRI re: Publication of Rice in Laos
systems, extending the project until 31 December 2007 (DPPC2006-75). 28 Jun 2006
(DPPC2001-06). 10 Feb 2006 • BCM Software Tools PTY Ltd. Software License-Services
• Australian Centre for International Agricultural Agreement between BCM Software Tools PTY Ltd. and
Research (ACIAR). Deed of Agreement between ACIAR IRRI relative to the Shadow Planner Business Continuity
and IRRI for the project Implementation of rodent Software for the project ICT-KM Project on Security and
management in intensive irrigated rice production Business Continuity (DPPC2005-31). 13 Nov 2006
systems in Indonesia and Vietnam (DPPC2005-67). 01 • Charles Sturt University (CSU). Memorandum of
Apr 2006 – 30 Sep 2009 Agreement between the Charles Sturt University and
• Australian Centre for International Agricultural IRRI for the supervision of Doctor of Philosophy
Research (ACIAR). Contract (No. C2006/058) between students. 27 Jan 2006 – 26 Jan 2009
ACIAR and IRRI for the project Workshop on Leader- • The Cooperative Research Centre for Value Added Wheat
ship for Asian Women in Agriculture R & D and (Value Added Wheat CRC). Project agreement between
Extension (DPPC2006-119). 10 Oct 2006 Value Added Wheat CRC and IRRI for the collaborative
• Australian Centre for International Agricultural project Further development of ICIS (DPPC2006-58). 01
Research (ACIAR). Contract (No. C2005/147) between Jul 2006 – 30 Jun 2008
ACIAR and IRRI for the project Training workshop on • New South Wales Department of Primary Industries for
Evaluation Training for Agricultural Research Projects and in behalf of the State of New South Wales (NSW
for Papua New Guinea researchers and officials DPI). Memorandum of Understanding between the New
responsible for planning, implementing, and evaluating South Wales Department of Primary Industries and
research programs in Papua New Guinea (DPPC2006- IRRI to further strengthen cooperation in relevant areas
49). 24 Apr 2006 of collaboration among IRRI and NSW DPI scientists and
• Australian Centre for International Agricultural professional and technical staff, and in the training of
Research (ACIAR). Contract (No. C2005/222) between graduate students. 10 Apr 2006 – 09 Apr 2011
ACIAR and IRRI for the project Training Workshop on
Kenya Mexico
• International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Letter • Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo
of Agreement between ILRI and IRRI for the project ICT- (CIMMYT). Award letter between CIMMYT (on behalf of
KM Project on Security and Business Continuity the Generation Challenge Program) and IRRI for the
(DPPC2005-31). 26 Oct 2006 2006 GCP-commissioned research project Development
• World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Letter of Agreement of GenerationCP domain models (DPPC2005-85). 14 Feb
between ICRAF and IRRI for the CPWF-funded project 2006
Rice landscape management for raising water produc- • Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo
tivity, conserving resources, and improving livelihoods (CIMMYT). Award letter between CIMMYT (on behalf of
in upper catchments of the Mekong and Red River the Generation Challenge Program) and IRRI for the
basins (DPPC2003-23). 12 May 2006 2006 GCP-commissioned research project Application
and development of Web services technology
Korea (DPPC2005-86). 14 Feb 2006
• Gangwon Agricultural Research and Extension Services • Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo
(GARES). Memorandum of Agreement between GARES (CIMMYT). Award letter between CIMMYT (on behalf of
and IRRI for the project Major characteristics evalua- the Generation Challenge Program) and IRRI for the
tion of early maturing japonica rice (MEJR) 2006 GCP-commissioned research project Developing
(DPPC2006-139). Dec 2006 – Nov 2007 strategies for allele mining within large collections
• National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), Rural (DPPC2005-87). 14 Feb 2006
Development Administration (RDA). Letter of Agree- • Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo
ment extending the Memorandum of Agreement for (CIMMYT). Award letter between CIMMYT (on behalf of
Scientific and Technical Collaboration in Research and the Generation Challenge Program) and IRRI for the
Training on Temperate Rice between NICS, RDA and 2006 GCP-commissioned Research project Development
IRRI. 20 Sep 2006 – 21 Sep 2011 of an integrated GCP information platform (DPPC2005-
• Rural Development Administration (RDA). Cooperative 88). 14 Feb 2006
Agreement between RDA and IRRI on Germplasm • Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo
multiplication of rice genetic resources. 11 May 2006 – (CIMMYT). Award letter between CIMMYT (on behalf of
10 May 2009 the Generation Challenge Program) and IRRI for the
2006 GCP-commissioned research project Generation-
Adelaida A. Alcantara, Roniela H. Prantilla, Ma. • Received an Achievement Award for his notable achieve-
Corina Habito, Flora de Guzman, Thomas Metz, ments in research on soil and nutrient management and
and Nigel Ruaraidh Sackville Hamilton, PBGB in actively collaborating with soil scientists from Asian
• Won the Best Poster Extension (Education Category), and African countries, particularly the Philippines, 9th
Management of the world’s largest rice collection Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium, Philippine
through information technology, 36th Conference, Crop Society of Soil Science and Technology, June.
Science Society of the Philippines Palawan, May.
Maria Gay C. Carillo, PhD research scholar, PBGB
Adam Barclay, international research fellow, CPS • Awarded as one of five student speakers, 6th I. E. Melhus
• Won a Gold Award (1st place) in writing (Magazine Graduate Student Symposium. She presented Integrat-
Category), Dreams beyond drought, Association for ing phenotypic, molecular, and in silico approaches for
Communications Excellence Annual International quantitative resistance to rice blast, 98th Annual
Meeting, Quebec, Canada, June. Meeting, American Phytopathological Society, Quebec
City, Canada, July.
• Won first prize, Direct success, 2006 CGIAR photo
competition, Washington, D.C., USA, December. Gelia T. Castillo, national scientist/IRRI consultant
• Conferred with a Doctor of Science (Rural Sociology,
L.M. Borines (Leyte State University), S.A. Ordoñez
honoris causa) for outstanding contributions as a rural
(PhilRice), M.P. Natural (UPLB), B.W. Porter
sociologist and first social scientist to raise the level of
(Kansas State University), F. White (KSU), C.M.
research as a tool for development studies, De La Salle
Vera Cruz (IRRI), H. Leung (IRRI), and E.D.
University, Manila, June.
Redoña (PhilRice)
• Won the Best Paper Award (Upstream Category), K.L. Heong, deputy division head, CESD
Development of bacterial blight-resistant hybrid rice • Appointed adjunct professor, Fujian Agriculture and
parental lines through bi-directional marker-aided Forestry University, China, August.
selection, 36th Conference, Crop Science Society of the • Named recipient of the Third World Academy of Science
Philippines, Palawan, May. (TWAS) Prize in Agricultural Sciences 2006, TWAS 10th
General Conference, Brazil, September.
Darshan Brar, senior scientist, PBGB
• Named Fellow and Honorary Fellow of the National IRRI
Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Punjab Academy • Named among CIO 100 Honorees for 2006 as one of
of Sciences, India, 9th Punjab Science Congress, Suman, Asia’s top strategic users of IT, CIO Asia, April.
India, February.
IRRI Emergency Brigade
Roland Buresh, soil scientist, CESD • Received a commendation for quick response to a
• Presented with a merit medal for his long-term efforts in dormitory fire on 5 February, Municipal Government of
support of Vietnamese agriculture and rural develop- Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines, March.
ment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, • Received the IRRI Award for Outstanding Support of
Vietnam, August. IRRI’s Mission, NRS Awards Ceremony, April.
January
Dr. Rachid Serraj joined as senior scientist, crop physiology, Mr. Orlando Santos, consultant, Office of the Deputy
Crop, Soil, and Water Sciences Division. Director General for Partnerships, died.
Mr. Ian Wallace, director for administration and human Dr. Humnath Bhandari, visiting research fellow, Social
resources, left. Sciences Division, left after completion of his assignment.
Dr. Samart Wanchana joined as postdoctoral fellow,
Biometrics and Bioinformatics Unit. February
Dr. Madhusudan S. Kundu joined as consultant, Social Dr. Hari Gurung joined as international research fellow
Sciences Division. (farming systems), Social Sciences Division.
Dr. Bijay Singh joined as consultant, Crop, Soil, and Water Dr. Rubenito Lampayan joined as postdoctoral fellow, Crop,
Sciences Division. Soil, and Water Sciences Division.
Dr. Joong-Hyoun Chin joined as visiting research fellow, Mr. Yong-Hee Jeon, visiting research fellow, Plant Breeding,
Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division. Genetics, and Biotechnology Division, left after comple-
Dr. Binying Fu joined as visiting research fellow, Plant tion of his assignment.
Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division. Dr. Jung-Phil Suh joined as visiting research fellow, Plant
Mr. San-Jin Han joined as consultant, Plant Breeding, Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division.
Genetics, and Biotechnology Division, and left after Dr. Jae-Hwan Roh joined as visiting research fellow,
completion of his assignment. Entomology and Plant Pathology Division.
Mr. Woo-Tack Hyun joined as consultant, Plant Breeding, Dr. Walter Roeder joined as consultant, Lao-IRRI project.
Genetics, and Biotechnology Division, and left after Dr. Jeong-Eung Gi joined as visiting research fellow, Plant
completion of his assignment. Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division.
Dr. Manoranjan K. Mondal joined as postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Hatsadong joined as consultant, Lao-IRRI project.
Crop, Soil, and Water Sciences Division. Dr. Yongming Gao, visiting research fellow, Plant Breeding,
Dr. Yuichiro Furukawa joined as project scientist, Crop, Soil, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division, left after comple-
and Water Sciences Division. tion of his assignment.
Mr. Doh-Won Yun, visiting research fellow, Entomology and Dr. Young-Chan Cho, visiting research fellow, Entomology
Plant Pathology Division, left after completion of his and Plant Pathology Division, left after completion of his
assignment. assignment.
Prof. Guoan Lu, visiting research fellow, Crop, Soil, and Dr. Yuka Sasaki, project scientist, Crop, Soil, and Water
Water Sciences Division, left after completion of his Sciences Division, left after completion of her assign-
assignment. ment.
As the centralized analytical service facility for the Institute, OU Samples (no.) Percent Analyses (no.) Percent
the Analytical Service Laboratories (ASL) continues to CESD 17,806 82.98 44,778 80.73
provide routine analyses in plant, soil, and water samples to PBGB 2,983 13.90 8,785 15.84
various clients within IRRI and outside collaborators and to GQNPC 50 0.23 140 0.25
SSS 4 0.02 4 0.01
UPLB. It also provides liaison-related services to projects IPMO 72 0.34 72 0.13
involving use of radioactive materials. ICRAF 61 0.28 61 0.11
UPLB 451 2.10 1,591 2.87
PHILSURIN 32 0.15 32 0.06
Analytical services
ASL completed a total of 55,463 analyses for routine plant, Total 21,459 100.00 55,463 100.00
soil, and water samples. Plant samples accounted for 65% of
the completed analyses with N, Fe, and Zn as the most
requested determinations (ASL Table 1). About 83 % of the Nutrition, and Postharvest Center (GQNPC), Safety and
total samples received came from Crop and Environmental Security Services (SSS), International Programs Management
Sciences Division (CESD); the rest came from Plant Breeding, Office (IPMO), World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Univer-
Genetics, and Biotechnology Division (PBGB), Grain Quality, sity of the Phillipines Los Banos (UPLB), and the Philippine
Sugar Research Institute (PHILSURIN) (ASL Table 2).
Bioinformatics
Course/workshop Date Participants (no.)
Bioinformatics activities in 2006 focused primarily on the
In-house training work related to two projects: the Generation Challenge
Introduction to the SAS System 7-11 Nov 2005 22 Program (GCP) and the Perlegen SNP Discovery Project.
Basic Experimental Design and Data 17-21 Apr 2006 21 For the GCP, IRRI staff convened back-to-back scientific
Analysis Using IRRISTAT
consultations on IRRI-led GCP projects for platform software
Analysis of Experimental Data Using the SAS System 10-14 Jul 2006 19
Introduction to Data Quality Management 24-28 Jul 2006 23 and the GCP scientific domain model development, in
partnership with the African Centre for Gene Technology, in
Other short-term course/workshop Pretoria, South Africa. Following these review meetings, the
Interpretation of Research Results from 9-20 Jan 2006 15 domain models and platform technologies were developed
Experiments on Crop Residue Management
further, resulting in new Web-based tools for accessing GCP
Increasing the Impact of Rice Breeding 17-18 Apr 2006 22
Programs
research data across local and internet-dispersed databases
(prototype site at http://rice.generationcp.org).
In-country training/workshop Complementary to these GCP software development
Introduction to SPSS and Analysis of 4-8 Apr 2006 20 activities, two postdoctoral scientists, Dr. Samart Wanchana
Categorical Data, RNR-RC, The of Thailand and Dr. Ramil Mauleon of the Philippines joined
Kingdom of Bhutan
CRIL in 2006 as bioinformatics data curators on two GCP-
International Crop Information System 8-12 May 2006 28
(ICIS) Training Course, El Batan, funded projects: a comparative stress gene catalog (see http://
Mexico dayhoff.generationcp.org) and comparative microarray data
analysis, respectively.
Concurrently, the CRIL bioinformatics team, led by NRS
team leader Victor Jun Ulat, was engaged in bioinformatics
analysis of rice genome sequences for the IRRI-hosted
Land use
A total of 312.28 ha were used in 2006. ES was the biggest
user of the farm with the utilization of some 144.06 ha for
field demonstration, seed increase, and rice production
purposes. PBGB, the second biggest user, planted a total of
127.91 ha.
Seedling requirements of the various field experiments
were established and maintained by the ES in 5.72 ha of dry
and wet nursery beds, using field nurseries covering 3.72 ha ES crop production hectarage (1994-2006).
holds. CIAT 2 3
• Lent 40 books to the libraries of UPLB, PhilRice, and the CIFOR 2 14
Badham Library, University of Sydney. LDS borrowed 37 CIMMYT 47 49
CIP 110 39
books from the UPLB Main Library and 1 from the
ICARDA 6 7
Badham Library. ICRAF 58 48
• Issued 55 current awareness announcements in the ICRISAT 85 38
IFPRI 35 20
electronic IRRI Bulletin and the IRRI Announcements
IITA 37 24
Wiki. These included New Books of General Interest, ILRI 13 16
New Reference Sources, Useful Web Sites, Publications IPGRI 9 9
IRRI 289 231
by IRRI Staff, Newly Acquired Technical Rice Literature,
IWMI 19 25
Rice Theses, Table of Contents Alerts, Free Access to WARDA 22 3
Journal Issues, etc. Some lists carry links to electronic WorldFish 2 5
full-text documents. Other institutions 332 777
Total 1,068 1,308
• Updated the featured lists of new acquisitions, videocas-
settes in the AVLC, and rice theses on the library’s Web
site monthly.
LDS Table 3. Document delivery/reference questions answered in 2006.
• Conducted orientation and briefings to 161 new staff,
scholars, trainees, and visitors. Country Reference Documents Country Reference Documents
• Gave instruction to 15 IRRI staff on the installation and questions delivered (no.) questions delivered (no.)
received (no.) received (no.)
use of database and management software such as
EndNote, Procite, and WebAGRIS. Australia 4 13 Peru 39 110
• Facilitated the inclusion of IRRI Library’s online catalog Bangladesh 1 Philippines 494 362
Benin 3 22 Poland 2
in the CG Virtual Library. This can be searched, along
Brazil 2 Singapore 3
with other CGIAR library catalogs, at http://cgvlib.cgiar. Cambodia 1 Spain 1 3
org. Several requests for literature were answered Canada 5 Sri Lanka 25 19
Chile 1 Switzerland 2
through this portal.
China 8 Syria 7 6
• Added content to the CG Virtual Library by compiling a Colombia 4 2 Taiwan 1
list of CGIAR databases and feeding the information to Costa Rica 1 2 Thailand 1 1
the Virtual Library Team. Croatia 1 1 Turkey 3
Egypt 58 UK 1
• Purchased and cataloged 146 books for other units of Ethiopia 16 13 USA 26 43
IRRI. France 2 Vietnam 1
• Trained a library science student from Germany, Mr. Kai Germany 1 IRRI staff 231 289
Ghana 1 (local &
Scheuing, on all aspects of library operation up to foreign)
Guyana 1
February 2006. India 53 152 Total 1,068 1,308
• Bound 1,128 volumes of books and journals and fabri- Indonesia 15 2
Iran 1 5
cated 136 Princeton files and folders.
Italy 12 9
As in the past, IRRI continued to be a major provider of Japan 6 6
free documents to CGIAR center libraries (LDS Table 2). In Kenya 48 58
return, IRRI received 58 free documents from CGIAR center Lao PDR 3
Malawi 2
libraries. Malaysia 1 11
Countries, availing of LDS services, were reduced from 49 Mexico 28 47
in 2005 to 46 in 2006 (LDS Table 3). One possible explana- Myanmar 1 1
Nepal 2 1
tion is the increasing number of hyperlinks to full-text Netherlands 3
documents provided via the library’s databases. Nigeria 25 37
Pakistan 5 9
Visitor group Philippines Asia Africa Australasia Europe Latin America North America USA Total
Museum improvements were done on the art and culture Md. Abu Yusuf Mia, additional deputy director, administra-
exhibit section by restoring two kiping (rice wafer) chande- tion, DAE, Bangladesh, 7 Mar
liers, two Riceworld panicle signage, and three rice panicle Hon. Qinglin Du, minister of agriculture, People’s Republic of
chandeliers. Repairs were also done on the Rice Song section. China, 26 Mar
The Rice History section was painted over to make way for Hon. Ruth Uy Asmundson, mayor of Davis City, California,
a future updated version. USA, 30 Mar
Non-IRRI groups requesting to use IRRI facilities but with Atty. Noel Servigon, division director, DFA-UNIO, 13 May
activities not in line with IRRI’s mission and vision were not Ms. Azlina Binti Abdullah, Division of Paddy and Rice
allowed in the Institute in 2006. IRRI, however, hosted Industry, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based
ICRAF, PhilRice/Department of Agriculture/UPLB, UPLB Industry, Malaysia, 29 Jun
Dev Com, and the Southern Luzon Association of Museums. H.E. Abdalla Yahia Adam, secretary general, Afro-Asian
Rural Development Organization, New Delhi, India, 24 Jul
Distinguished visitors in 2006 Hon. Dr. Xu Guanhu, minister, Ministry of Science and
Legislators and government officials Technology, China, 25 Aug
Hon. Thomas Mandlate, minister of agriculture, Maputo, Hon. Ramon Magsaysay, Jr., member of the Philippine Senate,
Mozambique, 13 Jan 7 Sep
H.E. Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, president of H.E. Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup, minister of agriculture, Royal
India, 5 Feb Government of Bhutan, 20 Oct
Hon. Roberto M. Pagdanganan, secretary, Department of Dr. Kyaw Than, vice president, Myanmar Academy of Agricul-
Tourism, Philippines, 5 Feb tural, Forestry, Livestock and Fischery Sciences, 13 Nov
Mr. Kentaro Kawaguchi, assistant director, Biotechnology Chief internal auditors, The Royal Kingdom of Bhutan, 5 Dec
Safety Division, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Mr. Ir. Sutarto Alimoeso, director general, Good Crop,
Research Division, MAFF, Tokyo, Japan, 21 Feb Ministry of Agriculture, Indonesia,14 Dec
Md. Hamidur Rahman, director general, Department of Mrs. Atik Wasiati, director, Plant Crop Protection, Indonesia,
Agricultural Extension (DAE), Bangladesh, 7 Mar 14 Dec
Md. Abdur Razzaque Buiyam, project coordinating director, Ms. Yang Xinyu, deputy secretary general , China Scholarship
Small Holders Agricultural Improvement Project, DAE, Council, Ministry of Education, China, 14-15 Dec
Bangladesh, 7 Mar Mr. Xu Haijiang, deputy director, Foreign Economic Coopera-
Md. Rejaul Haider, private secretary to the Secretary, tion Center (FECC), Ministry of Agriculture (MOA),
Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh, 7 Mar China, 22 Dec
Md. Fazlul Jaque Mollah, deputy director, administration, Ms. Zhang Li, director, Foreign Economic Cooperation
DAE, Bangladesh, 7 Mar Department, FECC, MOA, 22 Dec
VIS Table 2. International and regional conferences, workshops, symposia, and meetings hosted or cosponsored by IRRI in 2005.
SHU Table 1. Distribution, by region and country, of rice seeds exported by IRRI, 2006.
Region/country Total shipments (no.) Total seedlots (no.) Total weight (kg) Region/country Total shipments (no.) Total seedlots (no.) Total weight (kg)
SHU Table 4. Distribution, by region and country, of rice seeds exported by IRRI through INGER, 2006.
Region/country Total shipments (no.) Total seedlots (no.) Total weight (kg) Region/country Total shipments (no.) Total seedlots (no.) Total weight (kg)
Region/country Total shipments (no.) Total seedlots (no.) Total weight (kg) Region/country Total shipments (no.) Total seedlots (no.) Total weight (kg)
SHU Table 7a. Results of visual inspection conducted on incoming rice seeds
received by SHU for post-entry clearance, 2006.
Category 1 100
Category 2 215
Category 3 1,378
Category 4 145
a
Based on 1,838 seedlots visually inspected.
a
Diseases observed on plants originating from incoming seeds were not of an introduced nature.
SHU Table 10. Routine seed health test results of untreated SHU Table 11. Distribution, by region and country, with corresponding total number of shipments,
GRC seeds for long-term storage (January to July, 2006). and total number of samples of nonseed biological materials exported by IRRI, 2006.
Organizational unit Total Unit of Nature of Organizational unit Total Unit of Nature of
samples (no.) measurement materials samples (no.) measurement materials
Crop and Environmental 1 Packet Beech leaf dried plants 130 Packs Straw ground samples
Sciences Division (CESD) 1 Packet Corn ground-dried samples 1 Packet Tulip ground
4 Packets Grass ground-dried plants, Subtotal 21 959
wheat ground-dried plants;
melon ground-dried plants; International Programs 16 Packets Corn ground-dried samples
tulip tuber ground-dried Management Office (IPMO) 16 Packets Mungbean ground-dried
plants plants
1 Packet Grass ground -dried samples 56 Packets Rice plant ground samples
404 Plastic bags Ground soil, charcoal, 72 Bags Soil samples
fertilizer and water Subtotal 4 160
1 Packet Melon ground-dried samples
1 Packet Pepper ground-dried plants Plant Breeding, Genetics & 20 Packets Corn seeds
4 Packets Potato ground plants, barley Biotechnology (PBGB) 11 Glassine bags Fresh leaves
ground plants; Lucerna Subtotal 2 31
ground plants; grass ground
plants Grand total 27 1,150
1 Packet Reed ground-dried samples
276 Vials Rice ground leaf powder
1 Packet Rice plant ground samples
77 Packets Rice straw dried samples
9 Bottles Soil ground dried samples
36 Bags Soil samples
11 Plastic bags Soil, wheatgrain, wheat
straw and rice straw
International/special courses
Two-week Rice Production Training Course 27 Mar - 7 Apr 16
Interpretation of Research from Multiyear and Multilocation Experiments on Crop Residue Management Jan 9-20 15
Increasing the Impact of Rice Breeding Programs 17-28 Apr 19
Quality Assurance 22 May - 2 Jun 202
Improving and Assuring Data Quality in Crop Research 24-28 Jul 25
Participatory Research and Extension 7-18 Aug 27
Upland Rice Variety Selection Techniques (for African countries) 16-20 Oct 10
Production Technology for Better Quality Rice Quality (for Sri Lankans) 30 May- 4 Jun 36
Subtotal 350
In-country
Introduction to SPSS and Analysis of Categorical Data, RNR-RC, The Kingdom of Bhutan 27-31 Mar 20
Laser Levelling Course, Myanmar 19-21 Apr 12
Healthy Rice Seed Management, BAU, India 21 Apr 28
Healthy Rice Seed Management, AAU, India 24 Apr 22
Post Harvest Training, Myanmar 24-26 Apr 23
Healthy Rice Seed Management, India 26 Apr 30
Briefing and Course on International Laws & Regulations Relating to Plant Genetic Resources and IP Management, Myanmar 2-6 May 36
Post Harvest Training, Laos 10-12 May 22
International Crop Information System Training Course, Mexico 8-12 May 28
RKB Fact sheet Writeshop and Presentation Skills Workshop, Sri Lanka 5-7 Jun 36
Scientific Writing and Presentation Skills Course, Myanmar 26 June - 1 Jul 25
Improving Technology Promotion through the use of RKB, Laos 18-19 May 16
Rice Technology Transfer Systems in Asia, South Korea 20 Aug - 3 Sep 16
Training on Biology, Epidimiology, and Management of Rice Ragged and Grassy Stunt Virus Disease, Vietnam 10-12 Oct 16
Basic Experimental Designs and Data Analysis, Indonesia 13-17 Nov 41
Subtotal 371
Scientist visits/tours
Trainers Training on Computer Use and application 3-4 May 17
Village iCT Project Stakeholders Workshop 5-May 28
Phi-ICT Planning Workshop 14-Jul 28
ANGOC-ICDAI Scientific Visit 8-Sep 14
Subtotal 87
Team-building activities
Entomology and Plant Pathology Division, Sta Cruz, Laguna 26-Jan 84
Seed Health Unit, Caliraya, Laguna 27-Jan 12
Tissue Culture Unit, IRRI 15-May 17
Association of IRRI Secretaries, IRRI 20-Jul 30
Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division, Bay, Laguna 18-Aug 204
Crop and Environmental Sciences Division, NAC, Laguna 14-15 Sep 206
Subtotal 553
Scholars on board in 2006, by country and type. Scholars, by country and type, who completed their training
in 2006.
Country By type
Country By type
Africa
Sierra Leone 1 Summary Africa
Ghana 1
Asia Summary
Type I - PhD & MS scholars, Ethiopia 1
Bangladesh 6 thesis research at IRRI
Cambodia 1 Type I - PhD & MS scholars,
PhD 21 Asia
China 9 thesis research at IRRI
MS 9 Bangladesh 11
India 7 PhD 41
China 12
Indonesia 2 MS 18
Type II - PhD & MS scholars, India 3
Iran 1 coursework and thesis research Indonesia 2
Japan 4 Type II - PhD & MS scholars,
at IRRI Iran 3
Korea 3 coursework and thesis research
PhD 4 Japan 3
Lao-PDR 1 at IRRI
MS 3 Korea 6
Nepal 1 PhD 16
Lao PDR 2
Philippines 22 MS 6
Type III - OJT/nondegree, Myanmar 8
Vietnam 9 Interns Philippines 58
Type III - OJT/nondegree
OJT/nondegree 44 Singapore 1
Europe OJT/nondegree & interns 40
& interns Sri Lanka 1
Belgium 1
Thailand 2
France 3 Total 121
Total 81 Vietnam 3
Germany 2
Netherlands 2 Europe
United Kingdom 1
North America
Canada 1 North America
United States 2 United States 1
Canada 1
Oceania
Australia 3 Oceania
Australia 1
Total 81
Total 121
Annual rainfall for year 2006 was 2,185 mm for the IRRI recorded maximum temperature at the dryland site and 35.0 oC
dryland (upland) site and 2,122 mm for the wetland (lowland) at the wetland site. The seasonal pattern of minimum
site (Fig. 1). These values were 126 mm higher than the long- temperatures was more stable than the pattern of the
term average rainfall for the dryland site and 132 mm higher maximum temperatures. The coldest days for 2006 were on
for the wetland site. In terms of monthly rainfall, Los Baños 10 and 21 Jan with 20.3 oC in the dryland site and on 11 Jan
experienced exceptionally high rainfall (more than twice of with 21.0 oC at the wetland site.
the long-term average) in January and September and Midday vapor pressure deficit was consistently higher in
exceptionally low rainfall (less than half of the average) in the dryland site than in the wetland site (Fig. 4). Mean early
April and October of 2006. The wettest day at IRRI occurred morning relative humidity ranged from 79 to 90% in the
28 Sep with more than 300 mm rainfall per day due to the dryland site and from 81 to 89% in the wetland site (Table 1).
passing of typhoon Milenyo; the cumulated rainfall of the Daily mean windspeed, measured at 2-m height was 1.6
days of the three major typhoons in 2006 accounted for 38% m s-1 for the dryland site and 1.4 m s-1 for the wetland site
of the total rainfall in 2006. The longest recorded continuous (Table 1). Windspeed was generally low (<1.9 m s-1), except
wet spell was 11 d at the dryland site (4−14 Aug) and 7 d at the during typhoons. The highest windspeed was recorded during
wetland site (8–14 Aug and 23–29 Sep). The longest continu- typhoon Caloy (5.5 m s-1 at the dryland site and 6.5 m s-1 at the
ous dry spell was 18 d (1–18 Apr) at the dryland and wetland wetland site on 13 May ), which exceeded the windspeeds of
sites. Milenyo (5.3 m s-1; 28 Sep) and Senyang (3.6 m s-1; 10 Dec).
Mean monthly solar radiation reached a peak in April Because of a slightly higher air temperature, higher
(more than 20 MJ m-2 d-1) and lowest record of 11.0 MJ m-2 d-1 amount of rainfall, and higher vapor pressure deficit at
in December (Fig. 2). The months of July and December had midday, free water evaporation at the dryland site was slightly
exceptionally low records of solar radiation. The annual higher than at the wetland site (Table 1). Open-pan evapora-
average duration of bright sunshine was about 6.2 h d-1 tion totals were 1,742 mm at the dryland site and 1,615 mm at
(Table 1). The highest monthly mean value was 10.1 h d-1 in the wetland site. These values were 91 mm lower than the
April and declined to low values of 3.8 h d-1 in July. The long-term evaporation total at the dryland site and 59 mm
longest record of sunshine at Los Baños was on 8 May with lower at the wetland sites (Table 1).
12.0 h of bright sunshine. Twenty tropical cyclones (including 10 typhoons) passed
Maximum temperature reached its highest monthly through the Philippines’ area of responsibility. Three of these
mean value (Fig. 3) in April (32.8 oC), then declined to its typhoons had major impacts in Los Baños: Caloy (9–15 May),
lowest monthly mean value in December (29.2 oC). The Milenyo (25–29 Sep), and Senyang (7–14 Dec).
hottest day in Los Baños was on 29 Apr with 36.0 oC of
Sunshine (h)
Wetland site 5.6 6.7 8.2 10.1 7.2 7.0 3.8 4.5 5.5 5.1 6.9 4.2 6.2
Long-term average 5.5 7.2 8.0 9.0 7.6 6.0 5.1 4.8 4.8 5.1 5.3 4.4 6.1
3. Monthly maximum and minimum air temperature in 4. Midday vapor pressure deficit at the dryland and wetland
2006 and long-term averages. IRRI, 1979-2006. sites. IRRI, 2006.
Administrative staff
Robert S. Zeigler, PhD, director general Kong Luen Heong, PhD, senior scientist, entomology/IPM specialist8
William G. Padolina, PhD, deputy director general for operations Yasukazu Hosen, PhD, scientist, soil science
and support services14 Abdelbagi M. Ismail, PhD, senior scientist, plant physiology
Ren Wang, PhD, deputy director general for research David E. Johnson, PhD, senior scientist, weed science
Kwame O. Akuffo-Akoto, CCA, treasurer and director for Jagdish K. Ladha, PhD, senior scientist, soil science; coordinator, Rice
management services14 Wheat Consortium; and IRRI representative for India
Michael T. Jackson, PhD, director for program planning and Tanguy Lafarge, PhD, senior scientist, crop physiology
communications14 Shaobing Peng, PhD, senior scientist, crop physiology
Ian M. Wallace, MLS, director for administration and human Rachid Serraj, PhD, senior scientist, crop physiology4
resources1 John E. Sheehy, PhD, senior scientist, crop ecology/crop modeling
Gelia Castillo, PhD, consultant Yolanda H. Chen, PhD, scientist, entomology8
Benito Vergara, PhD, consultant Benjamin K. Samson, PhD, scientist, agronomy4
Fernando A. Bernardo, PhD, consultant Grant Singleton, PhD, coordinator, Irrigated Rice Research
Consortium8
Director General’s Office Reiner Wassmann, PhD, coordinator, Rice and Climate Change
Consortium4
Sylvia R. Arellano, BS, executive assistant II
Jill E. Cairns, PhD, postdoctoral fellow,13 international research fellow4
Rosalinda D. Del Rosario, BS, executive secretary
Elizabeth Humphreys, PhD, international research fellow/leader for
Theme 1 of the CPWF4
Office of the Deputy Director General Sarah Johnson Beebout, PhD, international research fellow, soil
for Research science
Adonna M. Robles, MS, executive assistant I Christine Kreye, PhD, international research fellow, agronomy
Lucia V. Gamel, BS, executive secretary Georgina Vergara, PhD, postdoctoral fellow
Ma. Velinda E. Hernandez, BS, secretary II19 Xiaochun Li, PhD, postdoctoral fellow
Rubenito Lampayan, PhD, postdoctoral fellow4
Crop and Environmental Sciences Division Florencia G. Palis, PhD, postdoctoral fellow18
To Phuc Tuong, PhD, water management engineer and head Yuichiro Furukawa, PhD, project scientist4
Bas A.M. Bouman, PhD, senior scientist, water science Manoranjan K. Mondal, PhD, postdoctoral fellow4
Francois Affholder, PhD, senior scientist, agronomy, IRS seconded Nguyen Hong Thuy, PhD, postdoctoral fellow1
from CIRAD, based in Vietnam1 Jingsheng Zheng, PhD, postdoctoral fellow1
Roland J. Buresh, PhD, senior scientist, soil science, and leader, Michael Thomson, PhD, postdoctoral fellow
Enhancing Productivity and Sustainability of Favorable Yuka Sasaki, PhD, project scientist1
Environments Program Sang-Su Kim, PhD, visiting research fellow3
Stephan M. Haefele, PhD, senior scientist, soil science/agronomy Dongcheng Liu, PhD, visiting research fellow3
National agricultural research and extension systems Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Bangladesh Huazhong Agricultural University
Agricultural Advisory Society Hunan Agricultural University
Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council Nanjing Agricultural University
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute Northeast Agricultural University
Bangladesh Agricultural University Peking University
Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute Wuhan University
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute Yangzhou University
Bangladesh Water Development Board Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Department of Agricultural Extension Yunnan Agricultural University
Department of Agriculture -Karnal Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Health Education and Economic Development Zongnan University of Economics and Agriculture
Local Government Engineering Department
Egypt
Rajshahi University
Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation
Rural Development Academy
Rice Research and Training Center
University of Dhaka
Guatemala
Brazil
Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnologia Agricolas
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária
India
Cambodia
Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University
Battambang Provincial Department of Agriculture
Anand Agricultural University
Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute
Assam Agricultural University
Department of Agricultural Extension
Banaras Hindu University
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Birsa Agricultural University
Prek Leap National School of Agriculture
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Rice Research Station,
Prey Veng Provincial Department of Agriculture
Kaul (Kaithal)
Royal University of Agriculture
Central Rainfed Upland Rice Research Station (Hazaribagh)
China Central Rice Research Institute
China Agricultural University Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and
China National Rice Research Institute Technology, Kanpur
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Directorate of Rice Research
Chinese Academy of Sciences Goa University
Fudan University Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology
Canada Switzerland
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
McGill University
United Kingdom
University of Alberta
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
Horticulture Research International
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
AND SUPPLEMENTARY SCHEDULES
AS OF AND FOR THE YEARS ENDED
DECEMBER 31, 2006 AND 2005
i
INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
www.irri.org