Contents

CURE M a t t e r s CONSORTIUM FOR UNFAVORABLE RICE ENVIRONMENTS

In Brief

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Words from the Field

Thailand’s best deepwater rice variety 2 How much salt can rice plants take and still live? 3 Adoption story from Lao PDR 6

TIS Corner: Reaching Out and Learning by Doing

Boosting up upland rice harvest in Northeast India 7 Heirloom rice: recovering a vanishing treasure 10 Government’s Department of Agriculture in Meghalaya, northeastern India, adopts a seed village program 13

Technology Generation and Validation

IR83377-B-B-93-3: a potential rice genotype with drought tolerance for upland of Nepal 14 Sweat to sweet success: 85 new stress-tolerant rice varieties released after years of scientific work 15 Increasing rice farmers’ incomes in flood-prone areas of Myanmar 20

Building Capacity for Innovation

Equipping extension workers in promoting community-based seed system (CBSS) among rice farmers 23 Try nutrient manager for rice 25 Computer-based technology for impact 27 CURE-Lao PDR partners train 372 participants in sustainable upland agriculture production 28

Tidbits

Gelia Castillo encourages CURE to give priority to heirloom rice 29 CURE honors one of its strong supporters: Ganesh Thapa 30 CURE through the years 32

Knowledge-Sharing Resources

Raising rice productivity for fragile ecosystems 31

Profiles: CURE Movers

Busting blast through breeding: meet Mukund Variar 34 This lady has a magic touch 34 New CURE coordinator, Digna Manzanilla 35 CURE family welcomes the new leader of the Drought Project, Yoichiro 36

Vol. 4 No. 1 April 2014

In Brief

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weat to Sweet Success is our theme for this issue as we end up the 4-year IFADfunded project entitled Enabling poor rice farmers to improve livelihoods and overcome poverty in South and Southeast Asia through the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE). As no one succeeds in life without first sweating it out, Sweat to Sweet Success gives us some snapshots of the journey, which involved the CURE team and the 10 country partners from 2009 to 2013. In this first issue of 2014, we feature people and institutions from some of ourpartners who have contributed to achieving the goals that CURE set 4 years ago. We have stories from India, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic

Story on page 15

Republic (Lao PDR), Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. These stories give us insights on the problems tackled and how solutions were found.. This issue is a salute to our hardworking country partners: the R&D organizations composing the national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES), the researchers, the extension agents assisting the rice farmers in unfavorable environments, and to our donor, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). While our goals have seen their fulfillment through our stories featured here, we are also happy to announce that the second phase of the CURE project has been approved by IFAD starting this year till 2017.

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Words from the Field

Thailand’s best deepwater rice variety Udompan Promnart, Peera Doungsoongnern, and Reunreudee Keawcheenchai

This rice variety, RD45, stays alive in deep waters for 2 to 3 months, and comes out with its aroma still intact…, great for desserts.

RD45 deepwater rice variety.

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hai women prefer RD45 when they cook their dessert for its milder stickiness compared with that of glutinous rice.1

As a climate change adaptation variety Every now and then, Thailand faces flooding with such a disastrous impact. In 2011, for example, floods drowned a significant portion of the country’s rice fields. According to the Voice of America, “…The damage has raised concerns about Prachinburi Rice Research Center, Bureau of Rice Research and Development, Rice Department. THAILAND

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the effect on global rice prices and supply. But rice market analysts say a record harvest, global surplus, and a second crop should prevent any dramatic disruptions2”.   The country, however, is boosting its rice supply by dedicating 3,200 hectares or 10% of the total deepwater rice area to the growing of RD45.

Features of RD45 Parents. The variety is bred by a single crossing of PCRBR83012–267-5 (Hawm Nai Pon/ IR46) and KDML 105. IR46 which is http://www.voanews.com/content/thai-floodsdamage-rice-small-impact-on-global-market-predicted-133797298/148146.html. Nov 2011.

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used here as a parent comes from the International Rice Research Institute. RD45 was first developed/ bred in 1989, it was only in 2010 that it was released. It is a photosensitive variety. Harvesting period is from 25 November to 2 December. The average plant height is 170 cm and panicle length is 27.7 cm. The average grain length and width are 10.2 mm and 2.73 mm, respectively. The average brown rice length and width are 7.44mm and 2.33 mm, respectively. The milling quality is about 55.4 % of head rice. The average yield is 3.2 tons/ha in deepwater (50-100cm) and 4 tons/ ha in shallow water (<50 cm). The annual seed production is about 125 tons (85 from PRRC & Agricultural Co-operative of Prachinburi Province and 40 from farmers). The annual production is about 2,500 tons. Normally farmers keep the product as seeds for the next cropping season. Part of it is used as food for the farmer’s family. The rest are sold to rice mills and neighbors.

Dessert with RD45 as main ingredient.

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Let’s Cook Rice Dessert: Khao Jao Kaew Ingredients 1. RD45 (milled rice) - 2 cups. 2. water - 2 ½ cups 3. coconut milk - 3 cups 4. sugar- 1 ½ cups 5. salt - 1 teaspoon 6. roasted sesame seeds ● Steam cook RD45. When done, let it cool and a little bit dry. ● Boil coconut milk at low temperature. ● Add sugar, salt and food color, constantly stir it until syrupy. For green food color, use pandan (Pandanus amaryllifolius) leaves; for pink, watermelon; and for purple, butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea). ● Mix rice with syrup and stir lightly. ● Pour in small cups and top with sesame seed Makes 15 serving

Acceptability Of the 99 farmers who were interviewed, 92 said they liked RD45 for its ability to survive in deepwater. They also said, they were impressed with RD45’s other traits: big panicles, high yield, slendershaped grains, and gentle aroma and softness when cooked.

How much salt can rice plants take and still live?1 Nguyen Thi Lang2

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alt, 6 grams of it a day, enables212 us to function normally; a dose more than this on a daily basis would cause our kidneys to fail. Fortunately, we can flush this extra salt out of our system by drinking lots of water. Unfortunately, rice plants cannot get rid of extra salt the way we do. And those near coastal areas, where seawater tides overflow onto the fields; or those in inland areas where soluble salts in river streams or canals intrude into rice paddies are at high risk.

Salt comes to steal Salt-stressed rice fields. “When water comes into our fields because of the high tide , sea water also moves into our fields, bringing in more salt. Due to high water, we plant late (dry season is from late December to early January) so we harvest late. With this late schedule, brown Popularized version of the report Research for breeding of salt tolerance in rice varieties for Mekong Delta 2009-2013 by the same author. 1

2S Site Coordinator, Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute (CLRRI).

I would need a type of rice variety that could survive flooding and salty soil (Mr. Nhuong, rear portion of the boat).

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Hinh Nguyen Minh Triet is one of the many farmers affected by salty and flooded rice fields.

planthoppers, birds, and rats attack the rice plant, causing yield losses, 30% to 50%. Rice plants also die because of the salt stress in the dry season rice,” says Nguyen Minh Triet, a farmer from Bac Lieu, Vietnam3. FAO (Redfern, undated) reports that, although many areas in Southeast Asia are appropriate for rice, salt intrusion has robbed these soils of nutrients, making these places unfit for rice production. Low water levels in Vietnam’s Mekong River Delta, the country’s rice bowl, have resulted in an inward flow of salt water, increasing salinity in the river water and stealing the nutrient richness of rice paddies4. In 2010, salt quietly crept over a 70-km inland

Farmer interview done by the author.

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Redfern, S.K., Nadine A.,, and Binamira, J.S. Rice in Southeast Asia: facing risks and vulnerabilities to respond to climate change. http://www.fao.org/ fileadmin/templates/agphome/documents/climate/ Rice_Southeast_Asia.pdf

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radius, extending its reach all the way to Cantho, claiming an estimated annual land area of 1.8 million ha hostage to dry-season salinity.5 How much salt can rice tolerate? Studies show that at 3% salinity level, rice yields were reduced by 20-45% when salt stress occurred during the tillering stage. A higher reduction of yield (10-40%) was observed when salt stress occurred at heading. Rice had a much lower yield with higher salinity level (6%) during tillering.6

McKay, E. Conforming to climate change. http:// umvietnamstudy.wordpress.com/2014/01/13/ conforming-to-climate-change/. Accessed February 3, 2013.

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Dang Kieu Nhan. Rice production response and technological measures to adapt to salinity intrusion in the coastal Mekong delta. http://www. mpowernetwork.org/Knowledge_Bank/Key_Reports/PDF/Research_Reports/Rice_response_to_ salinity.pdf

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Shielding rice farmers

Since ages past, rice farmers in the coastal Mekong Delta have faced salinity-driven problems. But these problems will be more pronounced, particularly on rice yields, as sea level continues to rise and weather patterns become more severe and unpredictable. Partnership. In shielding rice farmers from the adverse impact of low rice production, the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute (CLRRI) works in partnership with CURE scientists to develop new saline- and submergence-tolerant rice varieties. They integrate genetic improvement into existing rice varieties and incorporate management strategies in handling these varieties in farmers’ fields. As new improved rice varieties are being developed, they engage the farmers in testing and validating the performance of these varieties.

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Through participatory varietal selection, farmers are able to screen and score rice varieties that they prefer the most or the least. These activities aim at improving food security among poor farmers in Vietnam. Genetic improvement. Scientists working on salt-tolerance are also now combining this trait with submergence-tolerance. Using molecular breeding through the use of DNA markers, scientists are able to pin down and tag chromosomal regions that contain the desired traits that would be incorporated into the rice breeding program.

Salt- and flood-tolerance “In 2013 due to high water, we could not reduce salt in the soil. In addition, flooding resulted in delayed planting, harvesting, and planting again the succeeding rice crop. The delays caused high infestation of brown planthoppers, rats and birds and we spent more money on pesticides. Our rice plants, which were submerged, died after 7 days of sowing. The plants that survived had low yield, poor quality (rice grain color not bright, more unfilled grains, light weight grains) and required high labor cost. We faced heavy debts, our children stopped schooling. I would need a type of rice variety that could tolerate flooding and salty soil. I would also prefer a variety with sturdy/strong stems to prevent lodging.” Nguyen van Nhuong , Vi Thuy , Hau Giang. Using the above situation as a jumping board, scientists, aiming at combining salt tolerance with flood tolerance in new rice varieties adapted to the Mekong Delta, would significantly help rice farmers secure food for the region. Already, positive results are seen in some newly developed varieties that can

yield 5-6 t ha-1 under with salinity levels of 8.0 dS m-1. The varieties with the salt-tolerance trait include, among others, OM5629, OM4900, OM7347, OM6162, OM6161, OM6677, MNR4, OMCS2009, Mot Bui Lun , Mot bui Do, and Tep Hanh. “Last year, my problem on flooded and salty soils reduced my crop harvest by 10-20 %. Thanks to the program from CLRRI-IRRI linked with CURE and Clues7 project, the new variety, OM 6677, had high yield and tolerance for salt stress. We need the government’s help in increasing our skills and technical knowledge; we also ask for support through better extension work, agricultural information, credit provision, and appropriate farm supplies.” Nguyen Thi Ut Nau, farmer from Ca Mau. Network. The partnership between CLRRI and CURE has also established a strong network of researchers to validate and outscale these salt-tolerant varieties across participating countries. The benefits derived from this type of partnership are training of farmers and researchers on new improved stress-tolerant rice technologies. Both researchers of partner countries and farmers are able to adopt these technologies and achieve yield targets. It also ensures sustainability of collaborative research and development efforts related to food security of rice farmers.

Ongoing research CLRRI and CURE researchers are currently working on improving the grain quality of salt-tolerant rice varieties fit for the Mekong Delta environment. Through genotype analysis, researchers collect, characterize, and evaluate Climate change affecting land use in the Mekong Delta: Adaptation of the Rice-based Cropping Systems.

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We need the government's help in increasing knowledge (Nguyen Thi Ut Nau).

genetic resources of rice cultivars with good quality and with excellent agronomic, cooking and eating qualities and/or traits acceptable to farmers (Lang et al 2010). Studies along this line pursue the following objectives: ● Breeding and developing new salt-tolerant rice varieties by molecular marker method (two to three varieties) for the Mekong Delta with short growth duration, high yield, good quality grain, and resistance to major insects/pests. ● Building-up technical procedures for cultivation of new rice varieties in sub-agroecological zones of the Mekong Delta ● Salt gene screening analysis to combine evaluation of phenotypes and genotypes ● Improving the quality of scientific research and training of scientific staff

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● Training farmers and technicians (1,575 farmers in five provinces of Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, and Bac Lieu have been trained)

Adoption story from Lao PDR Annette Tobias1

“I like this variety because of its high yield and can be planted in any kind of soil”, says Mr. Kha Man from northern Lao PDR.

The future for farmers Breeding salt-tolerant rice varieties by molecular marker method is a creative breakthrough that promises a bright future for farmers. The technology of screening, tagging, and embedding the gene for salt tolerance into rice varieties brings hope to farmers as they face the adverse impacts of climate change in the Mekong Delta. How much salt can rice take and still live? Climate change and its impact on the Mekong Delta, particularly on soil and water, will remain a key challenge for Vietnamese farmers. The road to increasing salt tolerance and/or flooding/drought tolerance of rice varieties will be traversed by researchers and farmers. Already, Vietnamese researchers have developed four salt-tolerant varieties (OM5629, OM5981, OM6377, and OM4900 from 2009 to 2011), although, these were not under the auspices of IRRI-CURE. As Vietnamese researchers find the answer to the question on how much salt can rice take and still live, they can further probe how these varieties perform in farmers’ fields.

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n 2006, Mr. Kha Man was one of the many farmers who received seeds from the IFAD TAG 706 project,1 “Managing Rice Landscapes in the Marginal Uplands for Household Food Security and Environmental Sustainability.” He immediately planted the 10 kgs of “None” seeds in his small parcel of land in Mok Khar Village of Oudomxay. Oudomxay is a mountainous province in Northern Lao PDR. He believed that the variety he received would produce good seeds. From his harvest, Kha Man was able to save 150 kg seeds. He gave 10kg

IRRI Assistant Scientist.

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each to 14 farmers in his village and kept only 10kg for himself. Mr. Kha Man is also known in his village as “Mr. None” because he was the one that started to plant the None rice variety. Since then, None has become a popular rice variety in Mok har village. For 5 years, he planted None rice in his 0.5 hectare land. Mr. Kha Man is a “semi-retired” farmer, and he lets his daughter take charge of his daily farming activities.

Mr. Kha Man, Lao farmer.

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Ramen Kumar Sarma1

When the barn is full, farmers rejoice; when it is empty, they worry…

Farmers interacting with scientists at MARD project site.

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hink of two scenes: barns that are filled with rice grains versus barns that are empty. How do we fill up empty barns? At the Regional 1 Agricultural Research Station (RARS) in Diphu, Assam and at the Indian Council Agricultural Research (ICAR), in Borapani, Meghalaya, varieties are continuously being Assam Agricultural University (AAU) Jorhat 785013, Assam India

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developed and validated by scientists with the purpose of filling up empty rice barns.

Validation In 2011, through CURE – ICIMOD2 partnership under the Technology Innovation Services (TIS) funded by IFAD, three upland autumn rice varieties, namely: Inglongkiri, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.

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Dimroo, and Maizu Biron were validated at six different project sites. These sites were in Ukhrul district of Manipur, East Khasi Hills distrct, Jaintia Hills district, Ribhoi district and East Garo Hills district of Meghalaya and Hamren subdivision of Assam. The validation focused on the performance of the above varieties under varied agroecological situations in North East India.

TIS Corner: Reaching Out and Learning by Doing

Boosting up upland rice harvest in Northeast India

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Simultaneously doing continuous varietal validation work in Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur, scientists are also training the farmers on production technology of high-yielding upland autumn rice varieties at RARS.

Training and exposure visit Actual trainings on production technology of upland autumn rice varieties and autumn rice based cropping system were organized by RARS, Assam Agricultural University Diphu in 2011. A total of 18 participants (1 female and 17 male farmers) including the project supervisors of MRDS3 & NERCORMP4 were trained. Trainees were given a lecture compendium and leaflets on production technology of upland rice variety ‘Inglongkiri’ and ‘Rice based cropping system on upland’. An exposure visit was organized and participants were taken to the different demonstration sites of Karbi Anglong district. All the trainees, along with local farmers,

Inglokiri rice variety.

Meghalaya Rural Development Society

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North East Regional Community Resource Management Programme

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Exposure visit for MRDS NERCORMP and farmers.

visited the demonstration plots and exchanged their views on the cultivation of upland rice. The seeds of upland rice varieties Inglongkiri, Dimroo, and Maizu Biron were handed over to the trainees at the end of the training.

‘Inglongkiri’ was 2.8 t/ha and for ‘Maizu Biron’, 2.6 t/ha. Participating farmers were satisfied with the performance of both varieties and expressed their willingness to continue planting these varieties in the future.

Results and responses

In east Garo Hills, the performance of the varieties was well appreciated by the farming community. The farmers sowed the varieties in May and harvested these in August 2011. Farmers, however, mentioned that although the rice varieties were good, these being an early maturing variety attracted birds and wild boars. All the varieties took much shorter period to ripen in comparison with the traditional varieties owned by the farmers.

In 2012, 10 farmers participated in the validation process in four project sites under Meghalaya Rural Development Society in East Khasi Hills distrct, Ribhoi district, East Garo Hills district and North Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. Farmers’ fields were planted with the seeds that they were able to save in the 2011 validation trial. All the demonstrations were completed successfully. The average yield of

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grown in Meghalaya and Manipur states. In Manipur, Bhalum 3 performed well and multiplied seed was distributed to farmers from 22 different villages. In Meghalaya, the seed village, developed under TAG 706, produced 120 kg seed each of Bhalum 1 and Bhalum 2. These seeds were then given to Bethany Society, NERCORMP (in Meghalaya) and Phek District Farmer’s Union (in Nagaland). Bethany society distributed these seeds to 37 farmers (21 men and 16 women) in two districts. Farmers from West Khasi Hills who received these seeds got an average yield of 2.4 t/ha; while those from Ri-Bhoi obtained a higher average yield of 2.9 t/ha. Another 22 farmers (13 men and 9 women) received seeds from the produce of West Khasi Hills and RiBhoi district. Phek District Farmer’s Union (Nagaland) distributed seeds among 10 farmers with 50% of the total produce bought back by the Union. Average yield was 1.9 t/ha. Low yield is probably because of altitude of the site (1700 m asl).

Community seed bank Scarcity of quality seed is common for upland rice growers. It was observed during the implementation of TAG 706 that upland farmers in North East India used major portion of their kept seed as grain during the time of grain shortage. This resulted in the development of seed village and community seed bank for improved seed production, management and storage under TAG 706 and continued under TIS of CURE in Meghalaya. Seeds of two upland varieties (Bhalum 3 & 4) developed at ICAR, Borapani were provided to North East Regional Community Resource Management Programme and

In Ri-Bhoi district, preliminary guidance and seeds were provided to 10 farmers with options for demonstrating mono or mixed cropping system. Options for weed control were discussed and adopted by farmers. A total of 2300 kg seed was produced of which 500 kg were bought back by the Institute. Teaching farmers. Accompanying the seed packets which were distributed to the farmers was a two-page instruction sheet. Farmers were shown actual use of light and manual farm implements. In addition, short video films (also in CDs) on land preparation and line sowing were distributed to farmers for viewing, either on their mobile phones or their CD players. A seed storage structure made from locally available bamboo material and

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with charcoal as a desiccant was demonstrated. Non-rice concerns. Farmers informed a team of scientists from RARS, in their dialogue with them on October 28, 2012 in North Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, that pests and diseases are infesting their two major crops, arecanut and citrus, as a major threat to the livelihood of the farmers. To meet the information needs of the farmers, RARS organized another training program on November 14, 2012. A total of 10 farmers (9 male and 1 female) from the project sites of MRDS participated the three-day training. Scientists also covered the practical demonstration on management of citrus and arecanut orchards, preparation and application of Bordeux mixture, trichoderma enriched Farm Yard Manure etc. Trainees were taken to the arecanut orchard at RARS, Diphu experimental farm and citrus garden at Hidisajir, about 10 km away from RARS, Diphu. Here, they were shown the different aspects of orchard maintenance, disease and pest management, nutrient management etc. by the scientists. To aid in their memory recall, trainees were given lecture compendium on the different topics discussed during the training programme. They were also given leaflets on production technology of newly developed rice variety ‘Haccha’ and ‘Disease management of upland autumn rice’ during the training programme. Still during the same training, participants were taken to the experimental field, horticultural nurseries, orchards, technology information centre at Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat. All the trainees expressed their satisfaction with this exposure visit.

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“It is a great experience for me. Now I am realizing that we have so many things to learn to develop our agriculture. Farmers are not alone. There are many people thinking about their welfare, willing to work for the farmers and with the farmers. We must convey to our fellow farmers what we have observed today,” says Mr. Madhunath Sangma, one of the trainees. With the above efforts from both sides - scientists and farmers, the future for boosting up upland rice harvest in Northeast India is bright indeed.

Background Under Technical innovation services, a partnership was formed in 2011 among the CURE-NARES partners: Assam Agricultural University, Assam, Indian Council Agricultural Research, Borapani, Meghalaya and Meghalaya Rural Development Society (MRDS) and NERCORMP from ICIMOD. Activities related to upland rice production in North East India were worked out in a joint meeting held in Shilong, Meghalaya, India during March 2011 in the presence of scientists from IRRI.

Heirloom rice: recovering a vanishing treasure Heirloom rice varieties come in grains of astonishing colors: brown, black, pink, purple, and pearly white; fragrant, nutty in taste, high in fiber; healthy to eat; a gourmet’s delight. Yet for all their captivating look and taste, they thrive in the most fragile places, on mountain tops, where dew, rain, and air are their only means of sustenance. Lorna Calumpang, Isabelita Oña, Digna Manzanilla, and Casiana Vera Cruz1

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ays to preserve, protect, and1 bring heirloom rice to the market were the focus of discussion by representatives from the Philippines’ Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the University of Southern Mindanao, and other stakeholders in a series of meetings under the Heirloom Rice Project.

Background The Heirloom Rice Project was conceived during one of the need identification sessions conducted by Technical Innovation Services (TIS), one of the CURE components under Working Group 4 (Uplands), currently funded by IFAD. In support of the Philippine Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP), DA and IRRI have signed a memorandum of agreement in 2013 to fulfill DA’s goal of meeting the domestic requirement for rice by 2013 and beyond. FSSP aims to strengthen the national resilience in

International Rice Research Institute.

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food against the impact of climate change. One of the seven projects identified and supported under this collaboration is this project on Raising Productivity and Enriching the Legacy of Heirloom/Traditional Rice through Empowering Communities in Unfavorable Rice-Based Ecosystem, hereafter called the Heirloom Rice Project. Specifically, the Heirloom Rice Project aims to enhance productivity and livelihood and conserve in situ on-farm farmerpreferred heirloom/traditional, climate-resilient varieties and upland food crops by increasing

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productivity of these varieties through technologies, processes, and management options to smallholder groups and enterprises as models. Many of the heirloom or indigenous rice varieties are grown in the CAR and certain regions of Mindanao such as the Arakan Valley Complex (AVC) and Lake Sebu in Cotabato Province. The project will cover the two regions ofCAR and AVC.

The project has four main components: (i) varietal product identification and characterization, (ii) local capacity enhancement and enterprise building, (iii) linking smallholders to value chain, and (iv) documentation of models and knowledge management, and M&E. The pre-project launch was held at IRRI last February 11-12, 2014 with stakeholders from Department of Agriculture (DA)-Regional Field Offices (RFO)-Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR), University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), Non Government Organizations (NGOS), PhilRice, IRRI and State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) representatives from CAR and Mindanao. The research and development activities of the project were discussed and verified based on identified target beneficiaries and stakeholders. At the pre-project launch, Dr. Casiana Vera Cruz, IRRI plant pathologist and project leader, gave an overview of the project, while Dr. Ruben Miranda, co-project leader and leader of the Upland Rice Development Program of PhilRice, gave a background on identification of target self-help groups (SHGs) and component activity on local mobilization and capacity enhancement. The overview of component activities

Vicky Garcia

The Heirloom Rice Project

on linking smallholder groups to the value chain, documentation of models and processes, knowledge management, and monitoring and evaluation was discussed by Dr. Digna Manzanilla, IRRI social scientist and co-project leader.

Cordillera, Philippines In one of the discussions during the pre-launch, Mr. Jimmy Lingayo, president of the Rice Terraces Farmers’ Cooperative (RTFC) in Banawe, Ifugao, Philippines, said that when they started exporting heirloom rice to the US, “We all felt happy because, finally, for the first time, we were recognized as a group.” Jimmy recalled that, in 2005, 8th Wonder, a nongovernment organization from the USA, came to our place to buy heirloom rice. For us to be able to export heirloom rice, Ms. Vicky Garcia, founder and executive director of RICE Inc., organized us into a formal farmercooperative. In 2006, we were registered formally as RTFC.

Arakan, northern Cotabato, Philippines Local demand. Unlike Cordillera farmers whose heirloom rice has reached the export markets, Mindanao farmers target the local markets for their heirloom rice and traditional varieties. Although more costly than modern varieties, heirloom rice is in great demand locally. Dr. Rose Hondrade, professor at USM and CURE collaborator, reports that the farmers’ CBSS marketing strategy in Arakan is to sell seeds instead of grains.The idea of creating a traditional seed upland rice value chain is most welcome.

Expanding market horizons: the SFVC Dr. Matty Demont, IRRI senior economist and market and value chain specialist, said that one of the pathways for heirloom rice to expand its market horizon is through a sustainable food value chain (SFVC). SFVC is the full range of farms and firms and their successive coordinated valueadding activities. These activities

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produce raw agricultural materials and transform them into food products. These are then sold to final consumers and disposed after use, in a profitable manner throughout the chain. Elaborating on Dr. Demont’s discussion, Dr. Alfred Schmidley, IRRI value chain specialist enlightened the participants with his topic on community SHGs as business entrepreneurs: opportunities and challenges. He explained that a business model describes how an enterprise creates, captures, and delivers value. He cited the need to describe key partners, activities, resources, value proposition, and profit, picking up on Cambodia’s experience in mechanical paddy drying and rice milling. In this particular example, the learning alliance, technical support, and training were synchronized to result in enabling the farmers to become entrepreneurs in the long-run.

The Heirloom Rice Project Launch The Heirloom Rice Project in CAR was formally launched at Benguet

State University, Benguet Province, on March 11-12, 2014.The launch was complemented with a regional stakeholders’ consultation and planning workshop coordinated by the DA-CAR Regional Field Office. Participants discussed the roadmap for heirloom rice production in CAR to support the 60-ton rice export target of the Philippine government. In her opening message, Dr. Marilyn Sta. Catalina, Regional Director, DARFO, CAR, highlighted the region’s goal to preserve the cultural heritage of heirloom rice, to make heirloom rice more competitive in the global market, and to have a partnership with other stakeholders. Dr. Vera Cruz discussed the details of varietal product characterization to identify the unique characters of heirloom rice varieties. These characters are bases for varietal registry and labeling of heirloom rice for the market. Dr. Choy Mamaril, designated head, Plant Variety Protection Office (PVPO), Bureau of Plant Industry, discussed the importance of plant varietal protection, particularly for the existing heirloom rice varieties intended for export. He emphasized the need to register the heirloom rice varieties at PVPO to protect the community’s ownership of these varieties.

Heirloom Rice Project launched, Benguet State University.

Dr. Manzanilla talked about the third and fourth components of the project on linking smallholder groups to value chain, documentation of models and processes, knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation. She noted that gaps and priority interventions could be identified for heirloom rice community-based production through value chain analysis. Mr. Democrito Rebong, PhilRice station manager, who represented Dr. Miranda, described in detail the component activities on local mobilization and capacity enhancement of target SHGs. Registration under Geographical Indications is another way to protect the identity of heirloom rice in CAR, as explained by Ms. Jeanne Dugui-es of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines and field operation specialist for CAR and Region 1. The partnership among various stakeholders from DA-RFO-CAR, ATI-CAR, PhilRice, and IRRI was formalized with the signing of a

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Government’s Department of Agriculture in Meghalaya, northeastern India, adopts a seed village program Arunava Pattanayak

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he Sanskrit word1 Meghalaya means “abode of clouds.” It is the name of a northeastern Indian state whose socioeconomic system might seem Utopian to some at first glance. The Khasi people, who make up the largest ethnic group in the state, live in a matrilineal society where wealth is passed on from mother to daughter. In this part of the world, women are the ones who own land and property2. Meghalaya is a hill state in northeastern India. Rice is the main crop and constitutes about 81% of the state’s total food grain production. The crop is grown in about 108,000 ha at altitudes ranging from 180 to 2000 m asl. Considering a 10% seed replacement rate and an annual area expansion in the boro season at 1000 ha, the seed requirement in the state is expected to be about 225 tyrs by 2015. Estimated seed production in the semi-formal and informal seed system together is about 50 t, way below the target. The seed village program in Meghalaya started in 2006 as a collaborative effort of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, under IFAD TAG 706) and the Meghalaya Rural Development Society (an IFAD loan project). Principal Scientist,ICAR Research Complex for NEH

1

India’s undiscovered gem: the hills of Meghalaya. http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/feb/01/ meghalaya-north-east-india-state

2

Table 1. Seed production in the three seed village clusters developed by the state department. Village cluster (m asl)

Approx. altitude

Farmers (no.)

Variety produced

Quantity produced (t) 6.5

Male

Female

Mawpynthih

1500

5

0

NEH Megha Rice 1

Ponkung, Mawryngkang and Mawsymphut

1500

7

0

NEH Megha Rice 1

3

2

NEH Megha Rice 1

NEH Megha Rice 2 Mylliem

10 1600

Total

Between 2011 and 2013, three seed villages were developed and these villages, on an average, produced 2 t of seed of upland rice varieties. Under Technical Innovation Services (TIS), several farmer groups were trained on seed production, grading and storage. However, no regular seed production program for highaltitude rice (1,500-1,600 m asl) was set up. In 2013, the research wing of the Department of Agriculture, Government of Meghalaya took up seed production of high-altitude rice following the seed village model. Seventeen farmers from three village clusters in the East Khasi Hills District took part in the seed production program (Table 1). Breeder seeds of two high-altitude rice varieties, North Eastern Hill (NEH) Megha Rice 1 and NEH Megha Rice 2 were supplied by the Institute. The entire program was supervised by two officers of the department with expert technical help from CURE scientists. The farmers were trained on rouging of off-types, proper fertilizer application, and maintenance of

6.0 22.5

optimum plant population. At the harvesting stage, farmers were trained on seed grading, seed drying, and storage using IRRI Super bags. The two officers from the state department and a rice breeder from ICAR jointly assessed the quality and health of the produced seed. A total of 22.5 t of seed was produced in 2013 (Table 1). In all village clusters, farmers mentioned the need to dry and store seed in a rat-proof enclosure.

High purity and healthy seeds produced by Ms. Nebida Sohtun.

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Technology Generation and Validation

IR83377-B-B-93-3: a potential rice genotype with drought tolerance for upland of Nepal Ram Baran Yadaw1

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n Nepal, the present rice1 production is not sufficient to meet the demand of the nation because 30 % of the total area planted to rice is prone to drought. To augment rice production, Nepal researchers are developing selected breeding lines developed from crosses of droughttolerant donors with high-yielding varieties from IRRI. The research goal is to identify superior genotypes through CURE project under direct seeding in upland conditions. Handin-hand with the farmers, scientists

Senior Scientist (Rice Breeder) National Rice Research Programme (NRRP), Hardinath, Dhanusha NARC, Nepal.

1

are conducting participatory varietal selection trials in CURE project sites to identify superior varieties under direct seeding and transplanting in upland conditions. In these trials, the genotype IR 83377-B-B-93-3 performed well in the upland. This genotype produced 3.5-4.2 t/ha under seeding in rainfed lowland condition. This variety could be one option for farmers to grow in upland condition. Field days and exposure visits were organized for preference ranking. Most of the farmers who participated during field days responded that they would grow this genotype in the coming year.

The genotype was selected from among 13 other entries that also have good combination of agronomic characteristics under the PVS trials, transplanting method, at Patu of Mahottari district, 2013. A total of 38 farmers (20 males and 15 females) together with 3 NARC scientists, participated in the preference analysis event. The selection of IR83377-B-B-93-3, as the most recent identified farmers’ most-preferred variety or genotype is just one of the achievements under the NRRP, in partnership with CURE. A total of 96 promising rice varieties were tested to identify high-yielding with best quality for upland and paddy in

IR83377-B-B-93-3 under irrigated in PVS trial at CURE site, Patu of Mhottari district.

CURE Matters ▌Vol. 4 No.1 | April 2014

Success is not where you are in life, but what you have to go through to get where you are in life…it does not come cheaply, … does not come quickly… (Maxwell 2014).

CURE project sites during 2009-2014. Among these: IR877077-446-B-B-B, IR 83383-B-B-129 and IR83383B-B-108-3 rice varieties were found most promising for rainfed upland and lowland conditions.

The last 4 years of research and development work of CURE under IFAD support, from laboratories to farmers’ fields, have flown swiftly, but this was not accomplished at a flick of a finger. Sweat, tears, and countless hours of labor have been invested in order to come up with stresstolerant rice varieties.

The Variety Release Committee has completed the review of supporting materials and agreed to release this rice variety, IR877077-446-B-B-B of IR 64 isogenic lines with the name of Sukha-dhan4. To continue building the momentum, the CURE partner-scientists have also scheduled future field days and exposure visits to be organized in 2014, especially timed during heading stage to make the farmers see actual performance of this genotype. At the moment, market demand for seeds of this genotype from farmers has increased.

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Sweat to sweet success: 85 new stress-tolerant rice varieties released after years of scientific work

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Lorna M. Calumpang and Digna O. Manzanilla1

n1 the next years to come,2 Asia in particular will become more vulnerable to drought, flooding, and other extreme climate pattern changes. The challenge to Asian governments is in creating and implementing policies and institutional structures that will embed and strengthen the process of climate-proofing of basic amenities, a crucial factor in ensuring society’s survival when extreme climate changes occur in unpredictable magnitude. CURE, with its research breakthroughs on climate-ready rice, gives farmers much hope as it pursued its major goal of raising rice productivity in fragile ecosystems.

Respectively, CURE communication specialist and coordinator, IRRI, Philippines.

1

Maxwell, J. 2014. Perseverance. Video footage. http://johnmaxwellteam.

2

Sweat to sweet success unfolds 4 years of dedicated work on climateproofing of rice in drought, flooded, salty, and upland soils-enabling the rice crop to be productive amidst adverse weather and soil conditions. Read through and learn about the importance of STRESS-tolerant rice varieties to farmers and where CURE comes in.

Fruits of years of labor New rice varieties are now available to shield farmers from environmental stressors. Be it drought or flooding or salinity, each is a stressor to both the rice crop and the farmers. Consequently, rice production is significantly reduced. Farmers’ households cope with the reduced yield by not eating rice for some meals or days; husbands get out of their communities to find alternative jobs, and children quit school.

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In these uncertain times, CURE was born. Through decade-long research efforts, IRRI and the NARES have made significant strides in improving rice productivity in harsh environments: ● At least 88 new stress-tolerant rice varieties have been developed. These are released, validated on farm and on station and at various stages of the dissemination and adoption process through collaborative work among NARES and IRRI scientists. Grown in four ecosystems (Table 1), these varieties have been developed, validated, and released through the partnership and support of different funding sources and government programs:

— Drought–20 — Submergence–24 — Salinity–35 — Uplands–9

● Management options/ricebased cropping systems have been established. In addition to varietal development, CURENARES scientists also worked on management options that would enable improved stress-tolerant rice varieties to perform at their best. Farmers need to choose among certain packages of management options to get the most out of these improved varieties. These include the following: — Management guidelines for nursery, pre-flood, and postflood conditions. — Management options for salinity-prone areas. Fertilizer application in rainfed saltaffected coastal areas is often not feasible; hence, fertilizer application in the nursery is very important. Further,

raising seedlings in non-saline fields and using them along with soil from the seedbed for transplanting are practiced in certain areas to cope with salt stress. — Better management of blast in the uplands. — Mulching with plant residues, crop rotation, along with other conservation agriculture technologies (Vietnam). — Crop combinations that can be grown with rice for drought (Nepal and Philippines). The cultivation of short-/long-duration leguminous crops in combination with upland rice not only reduces the risk of crop failure but also improves soil fertility. Growing Ghaiya-1 with two crop combinations, 1) rice + groundnut and 2) rice + maize, under farmermanaged conditions in the uplands in Bail of Bajhang district has been validated by farmers and proven beneficial.

The two crops (maize and groundnut) can escape from latent drought and farmers can minimize the risk of failure of the rice crop due to drought. Farmers liked these two crop combinations. — Upland rice-based cropping sequences: upland ricechickpea and upland ricepigeon pea (India) and ricemungbean (Philippines). — Nutrient Manager for Rice (NMR) is a tool for optimally managing fertilizer application for high grain yield and profitability in rainfed lowlands. Farmers from Barangays San Jacinto and Cabuluan, Victoria, Tarlac validated and adopted the use of

NMR. Local government units, farmers, and farmerleaders participated in planning and conducting the field evaluation. The experiment mainly focused on the effect of the NM recommendation and the NM +PK recommendation in comparison with farmers’ practice. The NM recommendation not only produced higher yield in most cases but also resulted in lower fertilizer cost compared with farmers’ practice. ● Increased access to rice technologies is given to farmers. Studies show that farmers in remote areas find it difficult to obtain farm inputs, new technologies, and knowledge about agriculture-based technologies. To bridge this technology access gap, CURE and NARES partners have set up some enabling mechanisms. A major component needed to influence adoption of new improved stress-tolerant rice varieties is the seed factor. CURE and NARES staff simultaneously produce and distribute seeds during field trials managed by either a researcher or a farmer. In between these field trials, farmer-to-farmer access to seeds and exchange of seeds with other farmers happen. Seeds are informally distributed in this manner. This shortens the dynamics of distribution and consequently swells into community-wide adoption. The journey of a seed needs to be shortened to fasttrack delivery to farmers. With CURE interventions, before a variety’s certification and official release, farmers are able to test, validate their preference, and

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Table 1. New stress-tolerant rice varieties released from 2009 to 2013. Ecosystem Drought

Country

Name of variety

Bangladesh

BRRI dhan56 BRRI dhan57 Sahbhagi dhan Inpago Lipi 1 Inpago Lipi 2 Sookha dhan 1 Sookha dhan 2 Sookha dhan 3 Sookha dhan 4 Sookha dhan 5 Sookha dhan 6 Ghaiya-1 NSIC Rc274 (Sahod Ulan 3) NSIC Rc278 (Sahod Ulan 5) NSIC Rc280 (Sahod Ulan 6) NSIC Rc284 (Sahod Ulan 8) NSIC Rc270 (Sahod Ulan 1) OM 8928 OM 7347 OM7398 BRRI dhan61 BINA dhan10 BRRI dhan55 BINA dhan8 BRRI dhan53 BRRI dhan54 CR dhan 405 (Luna Sankhi) CR dhan 406 (Luna Barial) CSR 43 NDRK 5088 (Narendra Usar dhan 2008) CR dhan 402 CR dhan 403 Sangankhan Sinthwelatt NSIC 2013 Rc324 (Salinas 10) NSIC 2013 Rc326 (Salinas 11) NSIC 2013 Rc328 (Salinas 12) NSIC 2013 Rc330 (Salinas 13) NSIC 2013 Rc332 (Salinas 14) NSIC 2013 Rc334 (Salinas 15) NSIC 2013 Rc336 (Salinas 16) NSIC 2013 Rc338 (Salinas 17) NSIC 2013 Rc340 (Salinas 18) NSIC Rc290 (Salinas 6)

India Indonesia Nepal

Philippines

Vietnam

Salinity

Bangladesh

India

Myanmar Philippines

Ecosystem Year released 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2014 Submergence 2014 2014 2010 2011 2011 2011 2011 2009 2012 2012 2012 2013 2012 2011 2010 2010 2010 2012 2012 2011 2010 2009 2009 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2011

Upland

Country

Bangladesh

India

Indonesia

Lao PDR Myanmar Nepal

Philippines Vietnam

Indonesia

Myanmar Philippines

Name of variety

Year released

NSIC Rc292 (Salinas 7) 2011 NSIC Rc294 (Salinas 8) 2011 NSIC Rc296 (Salinas 9) 2011 NSIC Rc182 (Salinas 1) 2009 NSIC Rc184 (Salinas 2) 2009 NSIC Rc186 (Salinas 3) 2009 NSIC Rc188 (Salinas 4) 2009 NSIC Rc190 (Salinas 5) 2009 BINA dhan 11 2013 BINA dhan 12 2013 BRRI dhan52 2011 BRRI dhan51 2010 Samba Mahsuri-Sub1 2013 Narendra Jal Pushp 2009 Narendra Mayank 2009 Narendra Nariani 2009 Swarna-Sub1 2009 Inpari 29 (Rendaman) 2012 Inpari 30 (Ciherang-Sub1) 2012 Inpara 1 2009 Inpara 2 2009 Inpara 3 2009 Inpara 4 (Swarna-Sub1) 2009 Inpara 5 (IR64-Sub1) 2009 TDK-Sub1 (Candidate for release) Yemyoke khan saba (Swarna- 2012 Sub1) BINA dhan 12 2013 Samba Mahsuri-Sub1 2012 Swarna-Sub1 2012 Submarino (IR64-Sub1) 2009 OM8927 (Recommended for release) IR64-Sub1 (Recommended for release) Inpago 9 Inpari 28 (Kerinci) Inpago 7 Inpago 8 Inpago 4 Inpago 5 Inpago 6 Yeanelo-2 NSIC Rc23 (Katihan 1)

2012 2012 2011 2011 2010 2010 2010 2013 2011

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provide feedback. This, in a way, has given farmers an opportunity to access seeds even prior to official release. What happens in this context is that, aside from several iterations of on-station trials by researchers, farmers among themselves also carry out their own on-farm trials side-byside with their traditional local and popular varieties. Four mechanisms function as main avenues through which farmers draw technologies: use of participatory varietal selection (PVS)/demonstration trials, minikit/seed packet distribution, community-based seed system (CBSS), and training. Informal training falls under the PVS mechanism (e.g., cross visits where farmers are able to see technology demonstration sites, exchange of ideas and seeds). PVS. This involves an initial round of researcher-managed on-farm “mother trials,” from which farmers choose their preferred materials, which are often evaluated in

Nepali women are being engaged in the participatory varietal selection trials.

farmer-managed “baby trials” to give farmers actual experience in testing new germplasm. In both trials, visiting farmers vote their preferences. There is a follow-up group discussion to generate their criteria for selection. PVS activities leading toward rice varietal release, validation, and adoption have been done in the 10 partner countries Volume of seeds distributed. Minikits or seed packets were distributed to direct farmercooperators or partners. Each minikit contains packets of seeds of a specific weight, which may range from 1 to 5 kg, depending on the country or location of origin. About 4,504 minikits have been distributed to farmers in 4 years. The total seed volume was 1,997 tons. This volume includes seeds distributed through various activities (minikits/ seed packet distribution, PVS, demonstration/yield trials, seed exchanges during seed fairs, etc.).​ CBSS. Farmers usually share seeds among themselves. The CBSS involves individual storage and

seed exchange and the more formal and elaborate seed exchanges and seed networks that have greater geographical reach. Seeds stored on farm are a primary form of in situ preservation of genetic resources. Usually, farmers group themselves and formally register as a seed cooperative to sell seeds. In Nepal alone, a total of 51.8 tons of seeds were released to farmers from 2009 to 2013. In particular, the IFAD-supported project completed in 2009, Managing Rice Landscapes in the Marginal Uplands for Household Food Security and Environmental Sustainability, paved the way in forming CBSS in Nepal. CURE continues this initiative. Today, it has facilitated the formation of wellfunctioning seed producer groups. In the Philippines, partners from the University of Southern Mindanao also labored to form farmers’ groups, now called Arakan Community Seed-Based Organization. In India, Vietnam, and Indonesia, interest and activities in the formation of

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CBSS have grown. Different models of CBSS have evolved out of CURE experience, basically providing a package of introduced/improved varieties and crop management practices (including crop diversification systems). Specifically, each CBSS consists of at least four minimum elements: ● improved traditional varieties and modern varieties ● crop diversification techniques ● seed health management options (roguing, seed cleaning and seed selection, etc.) ● better crop management practices ● Capacity development programs have been pursued. One of CURE’s major intervention is developing the capacity of NARES researchers in partnercountries. Farmers are also trained on various technical aspects that are related to the adoption and management of improved stress-tolerant rice varieties. To date, the following have been accomplished:

Upland rice combined with leguminous crops reduces the risk of crop failure.

— 19,953 farmers (for activities with gender-disaggregated data: 60% male and 40% female) were trained on various topics related to improved rice technologies and management across the four ecosystems. — 3,060 researchers and scientists (59% male, 41% female) were trained on various technologies, social science aspects, gender and development, varietal development, validation, and extension strategies.

Gender as a guiding principle of CURE CURE gives importance to the participation of women in networking arrangements with respect to activities on germplasm development, testing and release of varieties, validation of natural resource management (NRM) practices, as well as, in adaptive research that would bring technologies and information to a

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greater number of farmers and in capacity-building for NARES and partners. In the Philippines, CURE is a member of the IFAD Philippines Gender Network (IPGN). The country network serves as an avenue for sharing, exchanging experiences, identifying partners, and other activities. The presence of the network not only strengthens gender knowledge and strategies but also serves as an avenue for grants and investment projects to identify potential areas and activities for partnerships. CURE and IRRI programs on gender have been sharing expertise and experience in examining gender issues in rice farming in fragile areas. With enriched learning and additional guidance from the IPGN, CURE crafted its framework/guidelines for gender mainstreaming (as an internal guide) for two projects, TAG 1108 and TAG 1227.

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development to technology adoption.

CURE provided guidance to project management and staff in their journey to being gender-aware, gender-sensitive, and genderresponsive. It encouraged partners to implement activities having gender concerns and, where resources are available, identify gender-related activities and emphasized that training specific to project management and activities include a gender-lens. Among CURE’s achievements are at least 40% participation of women scientists, partners and farmers in a significant number of activities, including involvement in PVS, demonstration trials, and training programs, particularly on seed health management, CBSS, application of technologies, and livelihood options through rice-based farming and livestock production.

Background of CURE In context, IFAD supports CURE through a grant (#1108-IRRI) that would implement the project entitled, Enabling the Poor Rice Farmers to Improve Livelihoods and Overcome Poverty in South and Southeast Asia through the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE). This grant was approved by the IFAD Board in April 2009.

Fig. 2. Process flow of CURE activities from varietal development to technology adoption. )

This project began on 28 July 2009 and had a completion target date of 31 March 2013. Ten countries partnered with CURE in implementing this project: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Figure 2 describes the process flow of CURE activities from varietal

CURE aims to ● identify, adapt, and validate improved rice technologies for the unfavorable environments in South and Southeast Asia, particularly the upland systems; ● enable farmers in unfavorable rice environments, including IFAD-supported investment projects, to access rice technologies that sustainably improve productivity; ● develop information and training materials relevant to a range of clients from NARES to rural communities; and ● enhance capacity of NARES and local communities and IFADsupported investment projects to effectively plan and use development initiatives, access information and innovations, and adapt and deliver products through partnerships.

Increasing rice farmers’ incomes in flood-prone areas of Myanmar Tin Tin Myint, 2Ohnmar Myint, 3Cho Cho Aung, 4Khin Than Nwe, and 5Abdelbagi M. Ismail1

1

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n August 2012, the worst flooding in years hit Myanmar, submerging 240,000 ha of rice fields and1 making about 85,000 people

1. Tin Tin Myint, Director, 2. Ohnmar Myint, Senior Research Assistant, 3. Cho Cho Aung, Senior Research Assistant, 4. Khin Than Nwe, Former Director, Department of Agricultural Research, Myanmar, 5. Abdelbagi M. Ismail, Principal Scientist, IRRI.

1

flee from their homes2. Flooding has been a yearly occurrence in Myanmar and has robbed farmers of their income and food sustenance. There are two types of flooded areas in Myanmar: the submergence areas (caused by flash floods from rivers) and the deepwater areas (caused

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/myanmar-floodingforces-85000-people-flee

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by stagnant water resulting from heavy rain).

Impact On rice production. Myanmar thrives predominantly on rice production, which is the core of the country’s agricultural economy. Sixty-eight percent of favorable area and 32% of unfavorable area are planted to rice. Of these, 14% is flood-prone: 9% submergence areas and 5% stagnant areas. These flood-prone areas are situated in 12 states and regions. Figure 1 shows the location and area in hectares. The largest flood-prone areas are in regions Bago and Ayeyarwaddy, which occupy 19.5% and 18.7% of the total rice-growing area, respectively.

Efforts in increasing income Farmers’ practice. Farmers continue to grow traditional varieties, although these have low yields, late maturity, high photosensitivity, and poor grain quality. The reason is their good flood tolerance, a trait that some modern high-yielding varieties do not have. In some years, farmers do not profit from their rice fields. When floods occur and damage their rice crop, replanting cost a lot. Sometimes replanting is impossible. There is thus a need to develop flood-tolerant rice varieties that can survive in submerged and long-/ short-term deep water areas.

The IRRI-CURE Research Program Collaboration. IRRI-CURE’s Working Group on Submergence and Myanmar’s Department of Agricultural Research (DAR) started collaboration to develop floodtolerant rice varieties in 2006-07. This was followed by another joint

120000

100000

80000

60000

40000

20000

hectares 0

Figure 1. Extent of flooding in various flood-prone rice areas.

research by IRRI-Japan and the DAR’s Rice Division in 2008-09. The latter was designated the key institution and Ayeyarwaddy Region as satellite site. Rice lines. In 2007, IRRI developed Sub1 lines, including Swarna Sub1, BR11-Sub1, TDK1-Sub1, and IR49830-7-1-2-3. These rice

lines were evaluated along with existing local cultivars (Sitpwa, Tharpaung Meegauk, and Meegauk Dume). Replicated trials were done at Pathein and Ngwesaung townships. At that time, flooding episodes occurred thrice during the vegetative stage; duration ranged from 5 to 21 days. Swarna-Sub1 and local variety Meegauk gave

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acceptable yields, 3.5 -4.5 t ha-1 in 2007. Three best performers. In 2008, 13 lines including five Sub1 lines and three local varieties were tested in Pathein and Ngwesaung. Four rice lines performed very well: SwarnaSub1, BR11-Sub1, TDK1-Sub1, and IR49830-7-1-2-3. A year later, these same promising Sub1 lines were assessed again through PVS. Research-managed PVS trials were done in Pathein, Ngwesaung, and Kaunggyidaunt. Results of the PVSresearch-managed trials showed Swarna-Sub1, BR11-Sub1, and TDK1Sub1 to be the best performers. On-farm trials. From 2007 to 2011, on-station and on-farm demonstration trials were conducted in the townships of Yezin, Ngwesaung, Kyaungkone, Pathein, and Einmae. Other trials in the same years were done in the Myaungmya research farm, Mandalay region, Yangon region, Bago (east and west) region, Rakhine, Kayin, Thanintharyi, and Mon states. Yield results. From these on-farm trials, Swarna-Sub1 bested all other rice lines with a yield of 3.5-5.0 t ha-1. The local check variety yielded only 1.5-3.0 t ha-1 in Pathein from 2007 to 2011. Although the test locations Pathein and Ngwesaung were severely flooded in 2007 and 2008, Swarna-Sub1 yield was better than that of local check Meegauk (15.63%-64.32%). Likewise, under normal condition, Swarna-Sub1 also gave higher yield (4.5-5.5 t ha-1) in Yezin, Myaungmya, Pathein, and Einmae. It consistently showed good yields in both flooded and normal conditions, affirming its submergence-tolerance trait. The variety survived 10-to-14-day flooding duration.

Preference analysis. In flash-flood submergence areas of Ayeyarwaddy Region, farmers preferred SwarnaSub1 because of the following reasons: ● It has the same grain size as that of farmers’ popular variety, Manawthukha. ● It has high milling recovery, dark green leaves, lodging resistance, and good erect plant type. For these reasons, farmers said that Swarna-Sub1 is highly marketable. They call it Kyee Ma Naing, which means high yield in a stored container. The Myanmar National Seed Committee’s (NSC’s) preferred agronomic traits which are as follows: ● ● ● ●

Average yield of 4.0-5.0 t ha-1 Plant height of 102 cm Tiller number of 8-10 Maturity at 155 days and darkgreen leaves ● High milling rate ● Medium long grain ● Amylase content of 26.6% (regarded hard rice, which suits consumer taste and preference in Myanmar) The Myanmar NSC approved the registration of Swarna-Sub1 as a new submergence rice on March 13, 2013. It is the first submergencetolerant rice variety in Myanmar. The NSC Committee also approved Yemyokekhan 1 as Swarna-Sub1’s commercial name.

Achievements of research collaboration with IRRI The Rice Division of DAR has continuously produced SwarnaSub1 breeder and foundation seeds. Registered seed production is also done at the Myanungmya research farm in Ayeyarwaddy and at the Lapadan research farm in Bago. The

following are the specific outputs of the research collaborative work with IRRI: ● 95 kg of breeder seed and 1,260 kg of foundation seed were produced at DAR in the 2012 wet season ● 21,000 kg of registered seed were produced at Rice Division, Yezin, and in the two rice research farms ● Registered seed of Swarna-Sub1 were distributed to farmers in Ayeyarwaddy and Bago regions (funded by the IRRI-ACIAR Project Program in the 2013 wet season) ● 500 acres were planted to Swarna-Sub1 and Shwe Pyi Tan (IRRI 119) in Rakhine State; — 10,635 acres in Bago (west) — 674 acres in Pathein township of Ayeyarwaddy region — 1,000 acres in Mandalay region; widely spreading in Mon, Thanintharyi and Kayin states (DOA 2012)(AUTHOR: you used hectares earlier, not acres; pls convert) New promising varieties. BR11Sub1 and CR1009-Sub1 are the next promising submergence varieties. The 2013 results of the wet-season on-farm trials of these varieties in flash-flood submergence areas of Bago, Taninthari, Rakhine, Kayin, and Mon states showed that they have tolerance for flooding, more grains per panicle, more seed weight, and same grain type as local popular variety Pawsanhmwe. Increasing farmers’ income. News about the good qualities of Swarna-Sub1 spread like fire from farmer to farmer. This, along with seed distribution, created a market demand for Swarna-Sub1 seeds in Ayeyarwaddy and Bago regions. Farmers from flash-flooded areas now grow Sub1 varieties to cope with the higher market demand. The need for Swarna-Sub1 seeds is high in areas hit by cyclone Nargis

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Traders’ preference. Consumers, growers, brokers, and traders like Swarna-Sub1 for its grain shape, which is similar to that of Manawthukha, a popular variety. It was popular not only because of submergence tolerance but market preference as well. Some seed growers cultivate Swarna-Sub1 in favorable land due to high seed demand. Traders also sell SwarnaSub1 seeds to farmers from floodprone areas. This milestone of the IRRI-CURE program showcases the positive impact of research collaboration between IRRI and Myanmar. Other concerns. In addition to flooding, other concerns get the attention of both researchers and farmers. These include, among others, increasing salinity, anaerobic germination, drought, and disease problems in submergence rice areas, particularly in the Ayeyarwaddy Region. Researchers and farmers will have to work hand-in-hand to develop and validate submergencetolerant rice varieties that are, at the same time, tolerant of other stresses. This would be the next pathway for rice research in Myanmar as it tackles ways and means to increase farmers’ incomes in flood-prone areas.

Equipping extension workers in promoting community-based seed system (CBSS) among rice farmers Indrastuti A. Rumanti and Suhartini1

The situation1

A

ddressing farmers’ seed needs and concerns is the priority of the Indonesian government. It has formalized the rice seed production system across the archipelago. The established system involves formal (government, research centers, private and public sectors) and non-formal (rice growers, farmers) institutions. In selected areas, interventions such as government

Indonesian Center for Rice Research (ICRR), Indonesia

1

Practice to identify virus and bacterial disease at Fitopathology's laboratory.

subsidy were implemented. In the process, various issues have risen, mostly on proper timing of planting and the use of rice varieties.

Building Capacity for Innovation

(Ayeyarwaddy region) and typhoon Giyi (Rakhine State). In particular, the demand for Swarna-Sub1 is rising in Mon State. Myanmar’s state government has encouraged the growing of stress-tolerant rice varieties, including Swarna-Sub1.

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Moreover, in farmers’ minds, the concept of a community-based seed system (CBSS) is not clear. In unfavorable areas, farmers end up receiving low-quality seeds and paying a higher price for unsuitable varieties. In addition, some factors have further worsened cost and access to quality seeds. These include big seed companies taking a major share of the seed market, lack of knowledge on high-quality seed production, inadequate quality-seed

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supply from the public sector, and slow acceptance of new varieties among farmers (only 50% of them use certified seeds2).

Interventions Capacity building. The CURE project in Indonesia does not merely focus on technology discovery and assessment. It also works on spreading both knowledge and technology to farmers. To achieve these objectives, CUREIndonesia held, for the second time, a workshop-training program on CBSS in June 2013. Eleven extension workers/officers-in-charge of seed production systems participated in the training. They came from seven Assessment Institute of Agricultural Technology (AIAT) offices from seven rice-producing provinces in Indonesia, namely Banten, West Java, Central Java, Jogjakarta, East Java, Bali, and West Nusa Tenggara. The extension staff of AIATs in Indonesia play a significant role being the frontliners of technology innovation from central research institutes to local extension units or directly to farmers. Training overview. The training aimed to introduce seed health management techniques, crop management practices, and various technologies involved in the seedto-seed production system. The participants learned about the concept of CBSS in rice production systems, its context, methodology, information requirements, and role in delivering appropriate seed technologies and management practices. Participants were exposed to field visits, discussions, and group planning activities. Most of the Jamal, Erizal (undated). The role of improved seed in transforming agriculture in Indonesia. Indonesian Institute of Agriculture Technology Transfer (IIATT). Ministry of Agriculture. www.slideshare.net.

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resource persons came from ICRR and IRRI.

preferences toward local traditional varieties.

Discussion outputs. A preliminary session enabled extension workers from different provinces to share their experiences. The following topics were discussed:

● The seed production unit of Jogjakarta AIAT was primarily a distributor. It has attempted to promote newly released varieties to farmers by conducting organoleptic (sensory) testing to introduce eating quality.

● West Nusa Tenggara AIAT — Extension workers described a very good seed provision system in terms of quantity and quality of seeds produced throughout the year. Their data showed that 60% of the farmers have been using certified seeds introduced through the government’s seed subsidy program. — The number of seed growers also increased both in irrigated and rainfed-lowland ecosystem. — The seed production unit of West Nusa Tenggara AIAT has introduced and supplied the newly released varieties from ICRR. Major concerns were pests and diseases, especially in rainfed areas. The drought-tolerant varieties are getting vulnerable to disease, especially blast. There is a need for these new varieties to have tolerance for blast. ● Bali AIAT extension workers said that they have no problem supplying seed to farmers in Bali Province. ● Central Java extension workers said that the seed production unit of CJ AIAT has ably supplied farmers and growers with seeds of newly released varieties for 4 years. The major issues raised were competition with other seed growers and consumer

● The West Java AIAT extension workers mentioned the existing competition between the AIAT seed production unit and the seed growers. Through an informal approach, seed growers were made partners of AIAT in supplying seed to West Java farmers. Mostly seed growers have established producers’ associations to gain more access to the national seed system. ● In Banten Province, the Banten AIAT seed production unit acted as distributor and partnered with seed growers. A major concern was the presence of big seed companies that take the lion’s share of the market. Banten AIAT extensions workers predict that, in 2 years’ time, they will improve their dissemination strategies by selecting appropriate sites, choosing the right varieties, and fully harnessing their human resources. Specifically, the goal will be to increase rice productivity of about 1,000 farmer individuals by 10% through the provision of good-quality seeds and highyielding varieties, as well as the establishment of a CBSS network. Banten AIAT will also concentrate more on farmer group education and capacity building, field activities such as demonstration and PVS,new technologies, and forging official/formal agreements with stakeholders.

CURE Matters ▌Vol. 4 No.1 | April 2014

Plans and agreements. Each AIAT presented its planned program. Most of the participants agreed that CBSS could be established. In fact, this has already been initiated in some districts by seed grower associations. They confirmed the need to strengthen existing CBSS and reiterated that the local government give it top priority. The extension workers regarded CBSS as the most realistic way to distribute good quality seeds of the desired varieties during the appropriate planting season. Another training is set for 2014 for other AIATs of other provinces in Indonesia. The West Nusa Tenggara AIAT suggested that the functions of the seed production unit in AIAT should be clearly defined to enable it to effectively address seed distribution problems.

What’s next? The training inspired participants and they came up with some ideas and scenarios regarding the improvement of seed systems in each respective region. The bottom line is the strengthening of existing systems of seed networking in each site. Empowering other farmers’ groups. The most impressive scenario is that offered by the West Nusa Tenggara AIAT. The next envisioned steps will involve site selection, empowering existing farmer groups, establishing better organized groups, and holding PVS demonstrations. The overall objective is to achieve well-established seed production systems. Harmonizing. Activities of every sector involved in seed production should be harmonized. Extension work should focus on efforts to

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ensure a continuous supply of good-quality seeds amidst erratic weather conditions and to expose farmers to innovative technologies to overcome possible constraints. Expanding the CBSS. The next step also would include expanding and incorporating seed production systems of other crops to support food security strategies to cope with an unstable climate. The plan would look at using rice-sesame or ricemungbean intercropping schemes. Overall, the other participants expressed the same ideas. ICRR will continue to encourage similar collaboration in the future, if possible, with assistance from CURE. The vision of a steady supply of high-quality rice seeds may be hard to attain, but extension workers equipped with appropriate knowledge and skills in promoting CBSS to rice farmers would make a difference.

Want less fertilizer and more profit? Want a cleaner and healthier environment?

Try nutrient manager for rice

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armers often use1 fertilizer inefficiently because the amount of nutrients applied does not match those required by the crop. Fertilizers are expensive and when these are wasted because of a mismatch, farmers’ profit is reduced and the health of the environment is endangered2.

Philippine Rice Research Institute.

1

Castillo, R.L. et al. 2010. Nutrient management decision support tools for rice: helping to quickly implement a knowledge-intensive technology. Presented at the 28th International Rice Research Conference, 8-12 November 2010, Hanoi, Vietnam. http://ricecongress.com/previous/extPdfs/OP05-4085-Castilloedited.pdf.

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Charisma Love B. Gado1

To help farmers cut fertilizer expenses by half, extension workers in three regions in the Philippines are learning to use Nutrient Manager for Rice (NMRice) (http://webapps.irri.org/nm/ph/). It is a computer-based decision support tool featuring fertilizer recommendations based on farmers’ field conditions, varieties, and current practices. Farmers can access NMRice through mobile phone-based application when they need science-based fertilizer advice that matches their particular farming conditions (http://irri.org/ tools-and-databases/nutrientmanager). 

Crispulo Bautista Jr, regional technical director for operation and extension in Region 3, said that the NMRice will benefit farmers in rainfed areas who usually spend P5,000 on fertilizers per season. “I’m confident that farmers will not spend more than P3,000 on fertilizers should they apply the recommendations in the Nutrient Manager. I encourage extension workers to help farmers gain access to this new tool because this will also help them increase their income,” Bautista said during a recent ICT skill training for extension workers in Regions 1, 2, and 3.

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April 2014 | Vol. 4 No.1 ▌CURE Matters

Dr. Nenita V. Desamero, training lead and principal investigator, said that NMRice developed by IRRI and partners is the product of a 15-year research on site-specific nutrient management. “Recommendations in Nutrient Manager are based on very extensive studies conducted in different locations in the country. Despite the complex research basis, extension workers and farmers will only have to answer 15 questions. Nutrient Manager will give recommendations in a minute or less,” Desamero said. In a survey, it was found that extension workers perceive Nutrient Manager as beneficial to farmers and that its recommendations are reliable. Despite the age and the lack of skills in navigating the Internet, extension workers also said that Nutrient Manager is easy to use and that the questions are easy for them and the farmers to understand. Researcher Gado, who conducted the study in 2013, said, “In spite of the novelty, preference towards the Nutrient Manager is surprisingly quite higher than to other tools used in identifying the right amount and time of applying fertilizers.”

Training of trainers for NMR and ICT-based skills development.

The training sessions on Nutrient Manager for extension workers were jointly sponsored by the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office of Regions I, II, and III; the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice); and IRRI. Part of the training activities of the IFADfunded project titled, Improving livelihoods and overcoming poverty in the drought-prone lowlands of Southeast Asia, were jointly conducted by PhilRice and IRRI on June 11, July 2, and June 18, 2013.

CURE Matters ▌Vol. 4 No.1 | April 2014

Computer-based technology for impact

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103% higher fertilizer cost efficiency with NMR recommendation.

Nenita V. Desamero and Daisy D. Pablero1

Challenges

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ome of these farmers are 70 years old or older. They are not the typical computer-savvy people whom you get to meet everyday. They have never been trained in using computer keyboards, mouse, and all. In fact, their fingers are more at home with touching the rough surfaces of their plows and removing the mud that many times gets stuck on their trousers, rather than ticking those computer keys. Yet, for all their lack of computer literacy, they still are thirsting, they still are willing to go high tech to learn new farming technologies. Old age, lack of computer skills, and the like. How does one beat these odds? How can we best share computer-based technology for impact? The technology for sharing: the Nutrient Manager for Rice (NMR).

Technology: what’s in it for the farmers? NMR is a computer-based decision support tool providing site-specific fertilizer application recommendations based on farmers’ actual rice production practices, field condition, variety, and actual and target grain yield. The recommendations guide farmers when to apply what and how much fertilizer is required to achieve a certain target yield with a particular variety in a specific field. NMR was developed originally for irrigated

Philippine Rice Research Institute.

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areas, for sequential adaptation, dissemination, and adoption by target farmers in the rainfed lowland. Per peso investment. Across sites, for every peso invested in applied fertilizer, 16 (84%) farmers produced an average of 725 kg grains with NMR compared with 416 kg with farmers’ practice. The farmers gained, on the average, 309 kg more produce per peso investment or

2011 training. Before the end of the season, on 15 September 2011, during the first project evaluation and planning workshop, the research team trained the first nine beneficiaries from the LGUs on NMR. The nine initial beneficiaries became instrumental in the initial technology diffusion. They provided Farmers' children as participants in the Nutrient Manager trainingworkshop.

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target farmers of their domain access to NMR recommendations.

Out-scaling the technology Trained human resource. As an initial out-scaling, the research team expanded in the 2012 wet season the NMR adaptation cum techno-demo trials in Pura, Tarlac, and General Tinio, Nueva Ecija, with seven and eight farmer partners, respectively, exploiting the most of the participatory approach. Tapping farmers’ children. Children nowadays are highly computer literate. They are fond of spending time and resources in computer gaming. With this computer skill already embedded in the children’s system, they can greatly help their parents in accessing the NMR site and generating recommendations for their parents’ farms. These children, while having fun, will serve as effective infomediaries to their families. 2012 training. To empower farmers and their children on how to use NMR, the project leader and author of this paper and researcher Daisy Pablero, together with LGU partners, conducted NMR hands-on training. Trainees came from the four pilot sites: Pura and Victoria, Tarlac; San Nicolas, Pangasinan; and General Tinio, Nueva Ecija. A total of 171 (82 farmers and 89 children) participated in the training. Of the farmer participants, 80% and 20% were male and female, respectively; 53% of the children were male and 47%, female. The female children were from 11 to 28 years of age, while those of the males were from 15 to 38 years old. The ages of female farmer participants, on the other hand, ranged from 25 to 66, while those of the male were from 22 to 77 years. During the sessions, the training team observed

that, with proper motivation, farmers in their 70s were still willing to go ‘high tech’ to enable them to learn new farming technologies.

Up-scaling the technology 2013 training of trainers. To reach more target beneficiaries in 2013, the third year of project implementation, the paper author and Ms. Pablero organized a regionwide hands-on training on NMR and other ICT-based tools. Trainees were researchers from the Department of AgricultureRegional Field Office (DA-RFO), provincial agricultural officers (PAOs), municipal agricultural officers (MAOs) and research and extension workers from the state colleges and universities from regions 1, 2, and 3. Gender. Across the region, there were more female participants (59%) than males (41%). The ages of female participants were from 20 to 64; the males belonged to the 21 to 62 age bracket. About 42% of the participants were 51 to 60. The younger participants guided the older ones who have difficulty using computers, nonetheless, interested to learn the NMR, so they can provide their farmers

appropriate fertilizer application recommendations.

Impact of training of trainers An immediate impact of the hands-on training of trainers was seen, when a participant, Ms. Evelyn C. Santos, the provincial rice coordinator of Nueva Ecija, requested the research team to also train the technicians and farmers under her domain. She arranged the training of three batches of beneficiaries within a span of 3 weeks right after the training in Region 3 (18 June 2013). Thus, on 26 June 2013, the research team trained 28 and 36 agricultural technicians and farmer beneficiaries combined in barangays San Isidro and San Leonardo, respectively, and 33 beneficiaries in Sta. Rosa, on 11 July 2013. As an offshoot of the regionwide training, 35 NMR adaptation trials cum techno-demo, spread across Region 1 (17 trials), Region 2 (4 trials), and Region 3 (14 trials), were established in the wet season of 2013. These activities were led by the graduates of the training of trainers courses.

CURE-Lao PDR partners train 372 participants in sustainable upland agriculture production

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Khamla Phanthaboun1

total of 372 participants (253 male and 119 female) were trained1 on topics such as sustainable upland

Researcher/Head, Crop Production Section, Northern Agricultural and Forestry Researcher Center, Ban Houay Khot, Luang Prabang Lao PDR

agriculture production, data analysis and writing of reports, methodologies in data collection and analysis on TDK1-sub1, seed production, and community-based seed system CBSS) in Lao PDR (Table 1).

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Participants came from these organizations: the Northern

CURE Matters ▌Vol. 4 No.1 | April 2014 Table 1. CURE training in Lao PDR from 2011 to 2012. Activity

Type

Ecosystem

Male

Female

Total

Training on methodologies in data collection and analysis on TDK1-sub1 in Lao PDR Field visit

Training of trainers

Submergence

17

1

18

Date/ Year 2012

Farmers' field day Training of farmers Training of farmers Training of farmers

Upland

13

4

17

2012

Upland

34

21

55

2012

Upland

29

20

49

2012

Upland

18

4

22

2012

Training of farmers

Upland

12

10

22

2012

Training of farmers

Upland

31

17

48

2012

Training of farmers

Upland

22

15

37

2012

Training of farmers

Upland

10

2

12

2012

Training of farmers

Upland

17

2

19

2012

Training of farmers Training of trainers

Upland

25

11

36

2011

Upland

14

8

22

2012

Upland

11

4

15

2011

Total

253

119

372

Training on seed production Training on seed production Training on sustainable upland agricultural production Training on sustainable upland agricultural production Training on sustainable upland agricultural production Training on sustainable upland agricultural production Training on sustainable upland agricultural systems and seed production Training on sustainable upland agricultural systems and seed production Training on upland rice production Training on data analysis and report writing Trainers' training on CBSS

Training of trainers

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n December 9, 2013, the CURE coordinating unit convened a brainstorming workshop to review overall accomplishments of CURE and chart new directions and strategies for CURE Phase 2. Participants agreed that more focus be given to crop management, particularly nutrients and decision support for site-specific recommendations.

In addition, Dr. Gelia Castillo1, CURE consultant, expounded on how CURE could make a difference in farmers’ lives through heirloom rice. Below is her message during the workshop.

Gelia Castillo currently serves as CURE consultant. She is a social scientist by profession and has authored several publications useful for agriculture, forestry, and natural resources and development researchers and extension officers.

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Agriculture and Forestry Research Center, the ADB/IFAD/GoL Project in the southern provinces, the Agricultural Research Center, the Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Service of Luang Prang, Oudomxay, and Luang Namtha, and World Vision. For the training on CBSS, participants learned about the concept of CBSS, its context, methodology, information requirements, and role in delivering appropriate seed technologies and management practices to ensure seed and food security and enhance agricultural biodiversity. In addition, they were taught the techniques of seed health management, practices on crop management, and various seed-to-seed production system technologies. Most importantly, the participants also were given the opportunity to develop an action plan for establishing a CBSS as a delivery system in enhancing adoption of appropriate technologies and use of relevant information.

Carving the way ahead: heirloom rice

Tidbits

Gelia Castillo encourages CURE to give priority to heirloom rice

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“I have always believed that science must serve a human purpose. Through the years, I have come to believe that, in rice, science best serves its human purpose. From IR8, which until now I think is the best-looking rice on the ground, to SPIKE gene, which can raise yields by 13-36%, we have succeeded in having a grain of rice change the world. My attraction to CURE’s mandate is its focus on unfavorable rice environments where people who grow rice don’t get enough rice

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to eat and where indigenous people live their lives. They grow heirloom rice. An heirloom is an heirloom. We have to keep it as such. Can we increase the yield of heirloom rice without changing its structure, its taste, its character, its aroma and its distinctiveness, its locality specificity-ownership qualities? Let’s do it without mixing them up, without changing its inherent characteristics like Tinawon Fancy, which belongs to Banawe and Hingyon, Ifugao. It is light pink in color, noted for its taste and texture, mild aroma, and fast cooking qualities. There are, at the moment, seven heirloom varieties being exported by the farmers through the support of a nongovernment organization, the Revitalize Indigenous Cordillera Entrepreneur (Rice Inc.). Dinorado in Arakan Valley was easier to rehabilitate and restore to its former glory because Arakan was open to its revival, although it claims to be the home of Dinorado. The Cordilleras want to keep the distinctive qualities of each heirloom rice variety. We have to understand their system without changing it according to our values. How do we do it? Capacity development of the Cordillera staff so they can lead in

this effort seems to be the way to go. Let’s link this with Nepal’s and Lao PDR's heirloom varieties so IRRI will later be known as the institute that did not only save heirloom varieties but also assisted in improving their performance while maintaining the heirloom qualities along with community-based seed banks and a broadened market niche for those who hunger for the old, the traditional, the distinctive heirloom varieties. Let’s give and add value to them. Finally, how can

heirloom rice farmers participate in CURE?” Participating in the workshop discussions were Dr. David Johnson, Dr. Digna Manzanilla (CURE coordinator and workshop facilitator), Dr. Abdelbagi Ismail, Dr. Casiana Vera Cruz, Dr. Glenn Gregorio, Dr. Yoichiro Kato, Dr. Ole Sander, Dr. Lorna Calumpang, Mr. Christian Umali, and Mr. Joel Janiya. (Lorna M. Calumpang)

CURE honors one of its strong supporters: Ganesh Thapa

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inner of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award1, often considered Asia’s Nobel Prize, Ganesh Thapa is best recognized for his work favoring the small farmers’ plight to achieve food and income security in Asia and the Pacific region. For CURE in particular, Dr. Thapa has been instrumental in furthering its advocacy on rural poverty reduction in unfavorable areas of Asia and the Pacific region. His policy recommendations for CURE to anchor its teeth on the ground by showcasing its impact in terms of increases in productivity and income, the number of men and

The Ramon Magsaysay Award was established by the trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund based in New York City in 1957 with the concurrence of the Philippine government. It was set to honor and perpetuate the late president’s example of integrity in public service and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society. He was well-loved for his simplicity and humility, his passion for justice, particularly for the poor, and his advancement of human dignity. http://www.rmaf.org.ph/newrmaf/ main/the_foundation/about.

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women farmer-beneficiaries, the volume of seeds produced and distributed, and scaling up of impact to larger groups of rice farmers in unfavorable areas have become CURE’s guideposts as it lunges towards the second phase of implementing another series of technology generation through adoption projects in Southeast Asia. He works with national and regional partner organizations and professionals in understanding the impact of emerging socioeconomic issues on the rural poor. He has led various projects and groups in formulating strategic development priorities for IFAD with the main

CURE Matters ▌Vol. 4 No.1 | April 2014

“Gentle, helpful, and accommodating but is tough in getting the work done on time and efficiently,” these are how a colleague, Dr. William D. Dar, current director general of ICRISAT2 remembers Ganesh. Dr. Thapa is the regional economist of Asia and the Pacific Division of IFAD based in Rome, Italy. He has a PhD in agricultural economics from Cornell University, USA. Before joining IFAD, he worked as country director in Nepal for Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development. Prior to this, he was senior economist of the Ministry of Agriculture in Nepal. (Lorna M. Calumpang)

Raising rice productivity for fragile ecosystems

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ood news for Indonesian extension officers and farmerleaders in upland, rainfed, and swampy areas who want to learn how to produce quality rice seeds. You can now get your copies of Membangun Sistem Perbenihan Berbasis Masyarakat Manual Pelatihan.1 Zulkifli Zaini, IRRI liaison scientist for Indonesia; Hermanto, ICFORD editor; and Diah Wurjandari,IRRI assistant researcher, Indonesia Office translated the publication Establishing Community-Based Seed Systems: A Training Manual2 into Bahasa.

English version can be accessed through http:// www.scribd.com/doc/140296550/EstablishingCommunity-Based-Seed-Systems-A-TrainingManual; Bahasa version can be accessed through http://www.scribd.com/doc/202694768/ Establishing-Community-Based-Seed-Systems-ATraining-Manual-Bahasa

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Edited by Dr. Digna Manzanilla, Joel Janiya, and Dr. David Johnson. IRRI-CURE, Los Banos, Laguna; Philippines.

2

International Crops Research Institute for the SemiArid Tropics (ICRISAT) based in India.

2

Knowledge Sharing Resources

objective of making the arena for small farmers more conducive to micro-enterprise building.

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The Indonesian Center for Food Crops Research and Development (ICFORD) provided a grant of US$29,350 in December 2013 to publish Membangun Sistem Perbenihan Berbasis Masyarakat.

To date, 500 copies have already been distributed to the Indonesian Center for Rice Research (ICRR) and to the Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology (AIATs) in 33 provinces in Indonesia. This training material is a valuable reference for Indonesian extension officers who teach key farmerleaders and communities interested in producing quality rice seeds in upland, rainfed, and swampy areas. AIAT is an agency under the

coordination of the IAARD. One of its objectives is to accelerate technology dissemination from NARES to users such as agricultural extension workers and farmer groups. For copies of this manual, please contact Zulkifli Zaini through his email address: [email protected]. (Lorna M. Calumpang)

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CURE through the years . . .

2013 CURE Review and Steering Committee Meeting, Lombok, Indonesia.

2012 CURE Review and Steering Committee Meeting, Bangkok, Thailand.

2011 CURE Review and Steering Committee Meeting, Nepal.

CURE Matters ▌Vol. 4 No.1 | April 2014

2009 CURE Review and Steering Committee Meeting, Vientiane, Lao PDR.

CURE Review and Steering Committee Meeting, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.

2005 CURE Review and Steering Committee Meeting, Indonesia

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Profiles: CURE Movers

Busting blast through breeding: meet Mukund Variar

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last caused by a fungus infects rice and causes more severe damage to upland rice compared with irrigated rice1. When blast infects rice, future gains disappear like smoke in the air. Farmers worry about ways to recoup their lost investment. Blast-busting is Mukund’s cup of tea. He has spent most of his research career developing, testing, and validating the performance of blast-resistant upland rice lines/ varieties. Plant pathologist, breeder, organizer–these three features best describe our CURE site coordinator from eastern India, Mukund Variar. Mukund has had the privilege of working with experts on developing and breeding blast-resistant rice. He is part of the team that made possible the release of seven rice varieties in India from 2002 to 2010.

http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/RiceDoctor/ information-sheets-mainmenu-2730/diseases-mainmenu-2735/rice-blast-mainmenu-2767.html

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The latest rice blast-resistant variety, Sahabhagi dhan, was released for Jharkhand and Orissa in eastern India. The impact analyses of these improved rice technologies showed that the farmers were able to meet their rice needs for an additional 3 months, the result of increased cropping intensity from 116 to 150%. As the CURE key site coordinator, Mukund’s typical day includes organizing on-farm trials in

several villages in Indian plateau uplands. These trials showcase crop establishment and best-bet management options for stresstolerant rice, providing the learning ground for farmers to experience the use of technologies on stress tolerance, including seed purity maintenance and varietal choices. He has authored more than 35 papers in refereed journals, four book chapters, and 25 presentations in symposia and workshops. Mukund Variar is principal scientist and officer-in-charge of the Central Rainfed Upland Rice Research Station in Hazaribag. (Lorna M. Calumpang)

This lady has a magic touch

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ot with a fleeting touch of a magic wand but with an enduring touch of genetic modification, this lady, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lang, has successfully ‘empowered’ rice

plants to stay alive in salty soils. This feat was achieved through 10 years of hard work, in tandem with her husband, Prof. Bui Chi Buu, also a well-known-scientist. Dr. Thi Lang went to Dong Thap Muoi to isolate some strong traits of “magic

CURE Matters ▌Vol. 4 No.1 | April 2014

rice” and embed these in another promising rice variety so that the resulting offspring would be a lot stronger than the original set of parents. AS996 (or OM2424) was born out of the union of magic rice with another high-yielding variety. It grows well in alkaline soil with less phosphate, persists in salty soils, survives against attacks of brown planthoppers, develops well in different areas, and gives high yield1. To her credit, this lady has developed 24 new rice varieties recognized by the Vietnam government as national varieties. Her efforts in breeding rice varieties for harsh environments have earned her various forms of recognition and awards. In 2011, she received the Vietnamese Women’s Award for her outstanding achievements in producing dozens of salt-resistant hybrid rice varieties with high yield and good quality. A prolific scientist, she was awarded yearly, from 2002 to 2013, for developing new varieties. The government of Vietnam bestowed on her five gold medals for her contribution to agricultural development. She currently serves as the head of the Genetic and Plant Breeding Division of the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute. (Lorna M. Calumpang)

http://talkvietnam.com/tag/nguyen-thi-lang/

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New CURE coordinator, Digna Manzanilla

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he’s good at creating spaces for people to share ideas, chart new routes, and mark milestones. She is also equally adept at orchestrating events in multicultural settings. Digna Manzanilla takes the baton from former CURE coordinator David Johnson and leads the second phase of IFAD funding support for the Consortium (2014-17). Before taking on this huge responsibility, Digna served as CURE associate coordinator from 2010 to 2013. During these 3 years, she brought in her expertise as a social scientist by taking the lead in monitoring and evaluating the impact of stress-tolerant varieties on the lives of farmers. Digna’s research aims to find out farmers’ preferences, the reasons for preferring to adopt certain varieties and not others, the basis for nonadoption, and gender-related issues that arise when men and women also try the new improved rice technologies. Moreover, at CURE, she champions the strengthening of the informal seed sector through the CBSS. She is passionate about linking communities interested in CBSS with other groups who are in the best position to assist, training them, and capturing lessons learned to help others carry on the same advocacy. Two of the more

important manuals produced are the Community-based Seed System Manual, which was recently adapted and translated by Indonesian CURE partners and the Participatory Varietal Selection Manual. Digna, currently an IRRI Scientist (social sciences), dreams of making CURE a knowledge bank, a onestop-shop that would contain and unite all data and knowledge resources for rice research in unfavourable environments. She holds a PhD in Environmental Science and Management, minor in Social Theory, Environment, and Development Communication, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippines and a Masters degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Hawaii. (Lorna M. Calumpang)

CURE family welcomes the new leader of the drought project, Yoichiro A prolific writer, he has published more than 20 papers in refereed journals. These papers document his research work on rice genotypes, physiology, crop management, and themes related to drought, flood, and saline areas.

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brilliant young scientist, Yoichiro Kato, or Yoichi among his peers, is a welcome addition to the CURE family at the International Rice Research Institute. As the new Leader for the drought project, Yoichi brings into CURE a wealth of field experience that is sure to enrich the pool of experts working in unfavorable rice areas.

CURE Matters, Volume 4, Number 1, April 2014. This Newsletter is produced by the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE) with support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). CURE is a regional platform for partnerships among institutions from South and Southeast Asia. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), as the host institution, provides the coordination function. Scientists from IRRI and the national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES) of partner countries work together to help raise productivity and contribute to improved livelihoods in unfavourable rice ecosystems. Materials in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the official views of IRRI, IFAD, or collaborating institutions of CURE.

He finished his doctoral degree in 2007 at the University of Tokyo studying the genotypic differences of drought resistance traits for upland rice. For this he became one of the awardees of the 13th Research Award for Young Scientists given by the Japanese Society of Crop Science in 2008. In 2009, Yoichi made it to the list of the Young Scientist Achievers when he received the 8th Investigator Award given by the Foundation of Agricultural Sciences of Japan for his work on the development of water-saving

technology in dry-seeded rice in Japan. Currently, Yoichi works as Scientist ll at the Crop and Environmental Sciences Division of IRRI. He first joined IRRI as a visiting research fellow in 2011. Before coming to the Philippines, he taught at the Institute for Sustainable Agroecosystem Services, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo in Japan. He now leads the IFAD project Improving Livelihoods and Overcoming Poverty in the DroughtProne Lowlands of Southeast Asia. Welcome to the CURE family, Yoichi! (Lorna M. Calumpang)

www. irri.org/cure EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION TEAM CURE Digna Manzanilla, David Johnson, and Lorna Calumpang COMMUNICATION TEAM Tess Rola (Editor) Ariel Paelmo (Layout Artist) Contributing authors: Digna Manzanilla, Isabelita Ona, Casiana Vera Cruz, Nguyen Thi Lang, Arunava Pattanayak, Nenita Desamero, Daisy Pablero, Charisma Love Gado, Tin Tin Myint, Ohnmar Myint, Cho Cho Aung, Kin Than Nwe, Adbelbagi Ismail, Indrastuti Rumanti, Suhartini, Udompan Promnart, Peera Doungsoongnern, Reunreudee Keawcheenchai, Ramen Kumar Sarma, Khamla Phantaboun, Ram Baran Yadaw, and Lorna Calumpang. Please direct queries, comments, and contributions to: Digna Manzanilla, Scientist (Social Sciences) and CURE Coordinator, Email: [email protected] Lorna Calumpang, Communication and Extension Specialist, Email: [email protected]

CURE M a t t e r s

Raising productivity for fragile ecosystems