Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia

Vol. 10 Nos. 1&2 June 2017

IRRI gears up for a modernized rice breeding program By Maria Rowena M. Baltazar

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EW DELHI, India—“Modernize your rice breeding program.” This was the challenge issued by Gary Atlin, senior program officer, Agricultural Research and Development, of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), to the scientists and partners of the StressTolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia (STRASA) project, supported by the BMGF, during the annual review and planning meeting.

What’s in this issue…

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“By modernizing the rice breeding program, we will be able to help Africa and South Asia partners to sustainably increase the rate of genetic gains they deliver, especially for smallholder farmers,” added Dr. Atlin. The IRRI-led STRASA project was recognized for its “wise leadership” that led to its successful implementation. Around 180 participants from IRRI headquarters and partners from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Africa attended the Phase 3 Annual Review and Planning Meeting held on 30 April to 2 May at the National Agricultural Science Complex, India. Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education and director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), welcomed the participants with a declaration to support the STRASA call to deliver higher rates of genetic gains to farmers and increase the rate of varietal replacement in the region. Meanwhile, the chief guest, Sh. Shobhana K. Pattanayak, secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers’ Welfare, reiterated Secretary Mohapatra’s remarks in his inaugural address. “It is now a policy of India not to promote rice varieties that are more than 10 years old,” said Pattanayak. The STRASA meetings began with concurrent sessions on the project’s four major objective groups (drought, submergence, salinity, and seed dissemination), and the cross-cutting groups on biotic stresses and grain Continued next page... 1

IRRI gears up... from page 1

quality. The concurrent sessions reviewed the progress made during the last year and discussed next year’s work plans and activities. The second day of the meeting was mostly devoted to discussing the updates on the three major activities that STRASA will focus on for the rest of Phase 3. The first major activity is developing gender-responsive, stress-tolerant rice value chains, presented by the gender team led by Dr. Ranjitha Puskur, IRRI gender specialist. The other two major activities are on modernizing rice breeding and on product development and advancement, whose sessions were chaired by Dr. George Kotch, IRRI Plant Breeding Division head. Dr. Koffi Djaman, AfricaRice agronomist, presented a summary of the progress in sub-Saharan Africa, whereas Dr. Uma Shankar Singh, STRASA South Asia regional coordinator, summarized the progress on seed multiplication, dissemination, adoption, and

targeting in South Asia. An update on monitoring and evaluation and impact assessment was also presented by Dr. Samarendu Mohanty, head of IRRI’s Social Sciences Division. The overall STRASA project coordinator and head of IRRI’s Genetics and Biotechnology Division, Abdelbagi Ismail, thanked all the participants for their continued hard work and great contribution to the project as it enters its 10th year. Other senior officials who participated in the meeting were Dr. J.S. Sandhu, ICAR deputy director general (crops); Mr. Md. Fazle Wahid Khondaker, additional secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh; Dr. Bedanand Chaudhary, rice coordinator and senior plant pathologist, National Rice Research Program, Nepal; Dr. Nafees Meah, IRRI representative for South Asia; Dr. Bas Bouman, director, CGIAR Research Program on Rice Agri-Food Systems (RICE-CRP); and Dr. David E. Johnson, head of IRRI’s Crop and Environmental Sciences Division.

Africa-wide Rice Breeding Task Force Annual Review and Planning Meeting By T. Coulibaly, M. Sie, E. Pegalepo, and B. Manneh

Group photo

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nder the auspices of the Africa-wide Rice Breeding Task Force, the annual review and planning meeting of the African component of STRASA III and GSR III projects was held on 19-20 April 2017 at the AfricaRice Training Center in St. Louis, Senegal. The objective was to review the progress of 2016 activities and plan 2017 activities to be implemented by AfricaRice and partners in Africa. Sixty-one participants from 21 countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, 2

AfricaRice/STRASA-GSR

Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and United States) attended this annual review and planning meeting. Key personalities present at the meeting were Dr. Etienne Duveiller, deputy director general of AfricaRice; Dr. Gary Atlin of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Dr. Zhikang Li of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS); Dr. Abdelbagi Ismail, overall STRASA coordinator, IRRI; and Dr. Kayode Sanni of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Kenya. The private sector was also well represented with participants coming from OLAM-Nigeria; the international company Continued next page...

Rice technologies feature in India farmers’ fair

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By Ashish Kumar Srivastava and Rohit Katara

he Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India, and Agriculture Department, Government of Bihar, jointly organized a Kisan Kalyan Mela 2017 (agricultural exhibition) in Motihari (East Champaran) District of Bihar from 15 to 19 April 2017 to commemorate 100 years of the Champaran Satyagrah movement initiated by the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, to help poor farmers of the region. The theme of this farmers’ fair was “Doubling farmers’ income by 2022.” In the opening ceremony, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Sh. Radha Mohan Singh (in right photo) emphasized the need for techniques to gain more economic produce from crops by using less water, using proper fertilizer management to improve soil health, and increasing the role of agricultural extension workers to increase farmers’ technical know-how. He cited the example of micro-irrigation technology to irrigate the crop with minimal water losses. He also mentioned the plight of farmers of Haryana and Punjab, where the extensive application of inorganic manure converted fertile soil into barren land. Director General Dr. T. Mahopatra of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) emphasized crop diversification for sustainable agricultural growth in India. The farmers’ fair was also IRRI-India addressed by Sri Ram Kripal Yadav, minister of rural development, Government of India; Sri Rajiv Pratap Rudi, minister of different projects such as STRASA, CSISA, EC-IFAD, and state, skill development and entrepreneurship; and Sri IRRAS in Bihar and the rest of India. Ananth Kumar, minister of chemicals and fertilizers, Scores of farmers, extension workers, and and they informed the farmers about various ongoing scientists from different parts of India visited the IRRI government schemes for farmers’ welfare by their booth. They were informed about the newly available respective ministry. drought-, submergence-, and salt-tolerant varieties of rice All leading ICAR institutes, state agricultural in India, and associated management practices such as universities, state agriculture departments, multinational crop establishment, nursery raising, weed management, and national seed- and agrochemical-producing and scale-appropriate mechanization to improve system companies such as Monsanto, Syngenta, Nuziveedu, productivity. Dr. U.S. Singh, Dr. Sudhanshu Singh, Dr. A.K. Danuka, etc., took part in the fair. The IRRI-India New Srivastava, Mr. Rohit Katara, and Mr. Ayodhya Lodhi from Delhi office also had a booth to showcase its activities. the IRRI-India office attended the fair. The union agriculture minister visited the IRRI booth The farmers’ fair was very successful. Farmers and expressed his appreciation for IRRI’s efforts in the interacted with concerned scientists and became dissemination of stress-tolerant rice varieties and system acquainted with new advances in agricultural research intensification technologies with the support of NARES and development. partners. He showed interest in IRRI’s work through

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NAFASO (a private company in Burkina Faso); FEPRORIZGF (a private company in Guinea Conakry); CIRIZ; FEPRODES; and GIE Malal (a private company in Senegal). The presentations and discussions focused on progress made by AfricaRice and IRRI-ESA project scientists and NARES partners in identifying and developing scalable products such as varieties tolerant

of abiotic stresses, breeding lines, and genes as well as dissemination strategies for the newly released stresstolerant varieties. Presentations by partners also covered improving genetic gain in breeding programs, progress in Asian components of STRASA and Green Super Rice projects, and also seed production and dissemination activities by the private sector in Africa.

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Climate-resilient rice helps stabilize yields under drought, says India’s agriculture minister

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nion Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Government of India, during the inauguration of Indian Seed Congress 2017 in Kolkata, appreciated the climate-resilient varieties performing well under drought in past years and helping to stabilize crop production. He also valued the various agricultural scientists who worked on and developed these varieties and made them available to farmers. The demand for climateresilient rice varieties promoted and disseminated by the Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia (STRASA) project in India has been steadily increasing. These rice varieties captured 27% of the total breeder seed order for kharif cropping season 2017, according to data available on the Seednet India Portal. Out of 310 rice varieties, flood- and droughttolerant varieties such as Swarna-Sub1, Sahbhagi dhan, DRR42, and Samba-Sub1 are among the top 10 varieties in terms of demand for seed production. The Indian Seed Congress, held in Kolkata from 12 to 14 February 2017, was organized by the National Seed Association of India with the theme “Seeds for Joy,” which is very much in line with the vision of this

By Mayank Sharma

IRRI-India/M. Sharma

government to bring happiness and prosperity to the lives of farmers. The main objective of the congress was to bring together all the players of the seed system, both public and large- and small-scale private seed companies, to further strengthen the Indian seed sector and enhance the availability of certified/quality seeds. Shri Singh on this occasion said that quality seed is undoubtedly essential for crop productivity, and, apart from that, he emphasized irrigation with the aim of “more crop per drop,” and nutrients based on the soil health of each field for improvement in crop productivity as well as in farmers’ income. Shri Singh further added that the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare is continuously trying to streamline the regulatory framework in order to make it transparent and progressive. The minister assured the representatives from various private seed companies that the government is making all possible efforts to help grow the private seed sector in the seed business so that both the public and private seed sector can work together for the betterment of farmers.

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IRRI is key partner in conference to mitigate climate change in Bihar, India By Ashish Kumar Srivastava and Ritu Sharma

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ihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bihar, in collaboration with the Indian Ecological Society, Punjab, organized a three-day national conference on “Climate Change and Agricultural Production: Adapting Crops to Increased Climate Variability and Uncertainty” on 6-8 April 2017 in Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) India office was also a key partner in the program along with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB). During the opening day, a full session on IRRI’s activity under the subtheme “Abiotic Stress-Tolerant Rice for Adaptation to Climate Change” was presented. Dr. Uma Shankar Singh, coordinator for the Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia project in South Asia, briefed the audience on stress-tolerant rice varieties (STRVs for submergence, salt, and drought), and provided glimpses into the varietal development program and its mass dissemination in Southeast Asia. The QTL SUB1 was introgressed for the first time into Swarna, a popular lowland mega-variety, and this variety was released in 2009 as Swarna-Sub1. Now, Swarna-Sub1 is known as a miracle rice variety in flash-flood-prone areas, and it can tolerate up to 17 days of complete submergence. These STRVs are performing well in comparison with their parents in stress-prone areas, and farmers are obtaining benefits in grain yield and improving their livelihood. Dr. Singh also emphasized that large donor agencies such as

IRRI-India/A. Srivastava

the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are targeting product delivery at the farmers’ level rather than laboratory work. Dr. Sudhanshu Singh, rainfed lowland agronomist for South Asia, informed about the conforming management practices of STRVs, evaluated through the IRRI mega-projects of South Asia, STRASA and CSISA. He emphasized the need for variety-specific management practices. In fragile rainfed rice environments, STRVs can boost yield by 1–1.5 t/ha, while the pairing of STRVs and matching management practices can further boost yield by 1 t/ha. Proper pairing of a rice variety with a suitable postrice crop can further increase cropping intensity. Dr. P.K. Chandna, scientist for remote sensing and GIS, talked about the improved targeting of STRVs in zones with multiple stresses. He highlighted the work done in Bangladesh. It was up to the Upazila (Tahsil) level, and now anyone can obtain information on flood-/ drought-prone areas and the area covered by STRVs. It is now easier to disseminate STRVs in stress-affected areas. Dr. Virender Kumar shared his experience on raising productivity in the rice-based cropping system in northern and southern Bihar through the project IRRAS (Improved Rice-based Rainfed Agricultural Systems). Dr. Amit Mishra explained precision nutrient management in rainfed environments, while Dr. Ashish Kumar Srivastava discussed risk management strategies in drought-prone environments. Several other scientists took part and shared their views on the impact of climate change on agricultural Continued next page... 5

Accelerating impact through strengthening agricultural extension: ICAR-IRRI collaboration on extension research and delivery systems in India By Manzoor Hussain Dar

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ndia faces massive challenges of poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. Although agricultural research has made and continues to make significant advances post-Green Revolution, the challenges persist and have become more complex. It is therefore time to reimagine agricultural extension to ensure that agricultural science benefits marginalized and poor farming communities. Innovative extension methods and approaches are needed to reach the unreached. Development of these new methods in public extension should be informed by rigorous extension research. IRRI is collaborating with ICAR to further this area. A workshop was organized during 4-5 May 2017 with the objective of exploring options to strengthen research in agricultural extension in order to foster innovation and accelerate the impact of agricultural knowledge and technologies.

Deputy Director General (Agriculture Extension) Dr. Ashok Kumar Singh chaired the inaugural session in the presence of several senior officials of ICAR, scientists, researchers, and practitioners in the field of agricultural extension. Several donor and resource agencies such as BMGF, USAID, and FAO joined the event and reinforced support for and interest in this critical area and for taking this initiative forward. They appreciated the efforts of ICAR and IRRI in initiating a concerted effort to pursue this high-priority agenda in the region. In his opening remarks, Dr. U.S. Singh, South Asia regional coordinator, STRASA, highlighted the need to strengthen the linkages between technological developments and impact through research in extension and delivery systems. Continued next page...

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production. Dr. A.K. Singh, vice chancellor of RVSKVV, Gwalior; Dr. H.C. Sharma, vice chancellor, and Dr. Yaswant Singh Parmar, University of Horticulture and Forestry, in Solan, Himachal Pradesh; Dr. N.P. Singh, director, ICARNIASM; and Dr. S. Rajan, director, ICAR-CISH, were among the distinguished speakers at the conference. After ideas were gathered from fellow scientists, a joint proposal on Climate-Smart Villages was also suggested in which rainwater harvesting, laser leveling, and the drip irrigation

system would be the central themes. Remote sensing will provide help in agriculture as it provides details about plant disease, insect infestation, water availability, and water quality. All in all, the conference helped to prepare the farmers for changing climatic conditions. The proactive participation of the scientists was constructive in shaping future research aiming to examine climate change issues for farmers’ welfare and environmental security.

Dr. Sudhanshu Singh, rainfed lowland agronomist and IRRI CSISA Coordinator for South Asia, gives a presentation.

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Accelerating... from page 6

IRRI-India/M.H. Dar

Dr. Nafees Meah, IRRI representative for South Asia, emphasized the need to consider the changing social norms and transformation in communities and urged everyone to orient their efforts in research and extension with these changes. Dr. A.K. Singh (DDG, ICAR) in his remarks stated that multiple challenges in India include 60 million farmers with less than 1 ha of land and the outmigration of men and youth from rural areas, leaving the elderly and women in charge of agricultural activities. This needs to be addressed by promoting integrated food system models and the convergence of various extension efforts and agencies to cover all the segments of the farming population. He urged scientists to generate evidence and data to inform strategies for improving extension systems, assessing the impact of extension services, and quantifying the contribution of extension services to agricultural development. The workshop was attended by a diverse group of nearly 40 extension researchers and practitioners who engaged in knowledge and experience sharing and brainstorming to develop a deeper and common understanding of the constraints in extension practice and research and potential ways to overcome them.

Through multiple rounds of brainstorming sessions and rigorous and facilitated plenary discussions, the participants identified five major areas of extension research. ICAR and IRRI are committed to taking forward the agreed areas of extension research collaboratively to generate and inform policy and practice.

The STRASA project is funded by the

Follow us at http://strasa.irri.org/home and https://www.facebook.com/ STRASA.Project/ 7

ICAR-IRRI releases new rice variety for aerobic conditions: Swarna Shreya By Santosh Kumar, S.S. Singh, S.K. Dwivedi, Md. Idris, U.R. Sangle, O.N. Singh, T. Ram, and Arvind Kumar

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warna Shreya (RCPR-8-IR84899-B-179-16-1-1-1), an aerobic rice (Oryza sativa L.) variety, is now commercially released. It has been developed by the Division of Crop Research, ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna, Bihar, under the ICAR-IRRI collaborative project “Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia” (STRASA). It was released by the Varietal Identification Committee, which met on 2 April 2016 at the 51st Annual Rice Research Group Meeting held at IGKV, Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The variety was released and notified by the Central Subcommittee on Crop Standards, Notification, and Release of Varieties for Agricultural Crops, Government of India, (see notification number S.O. 3540 (E) dated 22 November 2016), for cultivation under aerobic conditions in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (Zone V). It was also identified and released by Bihar State Seed Subcommittee on 14 May 2015. The 8

ICAR-India/S. Kumar

variety Swarna Shreya was bred with a specific purpose of tolerance of water-limited/aerobic conditions. The elite breeding line RCPR-8-IR84899-B-179-16-1-1-1 (IET 24003) was selected from segregating materials of the cross IR78877-208-B-1-1/IRRI 132. IR78877-208-B-1-1, a high-yielding upland rice genotype, was derived from the cross IR55423-01/IR72. Swarna Shreya was entered as IET 24003 in coordinated trials in 2013 and consistently outperformed the national, regional, and check varieties under national testing from 2013 to 2015 at multiple locations. Over three years of national testing, this genotype exhibited stable yield in regions III, II, and V. It was found to be promising for the aerobic areas of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Bihar during three years in testing under the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Continued next page...

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ICAR-India/S. Kumar

Grains of Swarna-Shreya

Project (AICRIP). During 2013, IET 24003 (Swarna Shreya) ranked first overall under the AICRIP. It produced a mean grain yield of 4,550 kg/ha, which was 53.8%, 28.9%, 17.7%, and 12.8% higher than the yield of the national, regional, local, and hybrid check, respectively. In 2013, it stood first in Chhattisgarh and second in both Odisha and Madhya Pradesh and recorded yield superiority of 51.5%, 23.2%, and 55.1% over the best check varieties, respectively. During 2014, it recorded 19.0% more grain yield than the best check variety. It produced a mean grain yield of 3,919 kg/ha, which was 30.9%, 9.8%, and 8.4% higher than the best check varieties in regions III, IV, and V, respectively. During 2014, this variety outperformed the best check in Madhya Pradesh (3,642 kg/ha), Bihar (4,461 kg/ha), Punjab (3,613 kg/ha), Uttar Pradesh (5,172 kg/ha), Gujarat (3,983 kg/ha), and Tamil Nadu (6,214 kg/ha), with a yield advantage of 27.5%, 13.1%, 5.9%, 7.8%, 9.8%, and 25.1%, respectively. During 2015, Swarna Shreya ranked fourth with overall mean grain yield of 4,567 kg/ha and produced 31% higher yield than the best check variety (national check). State-wise, it ranked second in Bihar and Chhattisgarh with a 35% and 16% yield advantage over the best check, respectively, and ranked third in Telangana State with a 36% yield advantage over the best check. Based on three years of testing, IET 24003 recorded an overall mean grain yield of 4,298 kg/ha and showed a yield gain of 36.9%, 31.2%, 23.6%, and 2.7% over the national, regional, local, and hybrid checks, respectively. For overall mean in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh where it was released and notified, it yielded 69.0%,

Panicles of Swarna-Shreya

47.2%, 32.8%, and 14.2% higher than the national, regional, local, and hybrid checks, respectively, with mean yield of 4,048 kg/ha. IET 24003 was evaluated in 32 trials in the different states of India during 2013-15 AICRIP testing. Out of these 32 trials, IET 24003 was in the top rank for yield in 24 trials. Swarna Shreya produces long bold grains, 8–10 tillers/plant, and long panicles with test weight of 23.7 g. This variety flowers in about 85 days and matures in 120– 125 days from sowing. Swarna Shreya is a semi-dwarf (105–110 cm) genotype and produces 281 panicles/m2. Quality-wise, IET 24003 possesses high hulling recovery (77.5%), milling (69.2%), and head rice recovery (56.2%), with intermediate amylose content (21.9%) and alkali spreading value (ASV = 4.0). IET 24003 has high gel consistency (65.5 mm) with low chalkiness, indicating good cooking quality. It consistently showed superiority in quality over the best checks for two years (2014 and 2015). This variety has high resistance to leaf blast disease and moderate resistance to neck blast, brown spot, sheath rot, and rice tungro disease. It also showed moderate resistance against stem borer (deadheart), leaffolder, gall midge (Biotype 1), and whorl maggot under natural screening. IET 24003 has high N-use efficiency, requiring less nitrogen (100–120 kg/ha) for higher yield. Under field testing conducted by ICAR RCER, Patna, in various parts of Bihar during 2013-15, IET 24003 gave high yield in water-limited areas. This variety also have capacity to withstand moderate to severe drought at different growth stages of the crop. Swarna Shreya may be a good replacement for existing varieties under waterlimited/aerobic conditions in Zone V and therefore it has been recommended for cultivation in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. 9

Field day to showcase promising varieties and other research technologies at the AfricaRice Regional Center, Senegal By T. Coulibaly, K. Traore, D. Mbodj, S. Gaye, C.O. Ly, K. Djaman, R. El-Namaky, and B. Manneh

Group photo

Participants in trials

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he AfricaRice Regional Center in Senegal organized a field day on 29 June 2017 at the Ndiaye experimental field and in neighboring farmers’ fields in Senegal. The aim was to 1. Showcase the different technologies developed by AfricaRice and partners for participants in order to promote adoption and rapid dissemination. 2. Discuss the possibilities of collaboration for the establishment of demonstration trials and technology assessment in farmers’ fields. 3. Obtain feedback from participants about their priorities in new rice technologies to be developed by research. In attendance were 40 participants (31 men and 9 women) for the event. The participants included various actors in the rice value chain such as rice farmers, seed producers, a women farmers’ association, retailers, 10

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and several institutions (SAED, ISRA, DRDR, ANCAR, and Syngenta Foundation). During this event, the participants had the opportunity to visit all the trials at the station, including the following: 1. Field visit to ongoing trials aimed at developing climate-smart rice varieties mainly for tolerance of salinity, cold, drought, and iron toxicity. 2. Field visit to the hybrid rice varieties being developed by AfricaRice. 3. Visit to nucleus seed production fields of ARICAs. 4. Visit to some demonstration trials in women farmers’ fields. After the field visits, an open discussion was held to exchange ideas about the new technologies and also about possible areas for future research.

Training Workshop on the Breeding Management System (BMS) By T. Coulibaly, I. Dieng, B. Manneh, and B. Ndri

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he Africa Rice Center organized a training course on the Breeding Management System (BMS) from 21 to 26 April 2017 at the AfricaRice Training Center in St. Louis, Senegal. The training involved 29 participants (25 men and 4 women) from 17 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda. The objective was to strengthen the capacity of Africa-wide Rice Breeding Task Force national

coordinators and their research assistants or technicians in good practices on breeding data management using the software BMS. AfricaRice breeders and several research assistants also attended this training. At the end of the training, each participant was given a standalone version of BMS, which was also installed on their computers for use when they returned to their respective institutes. The training was coordinated with the Green Super Rice, (an associated project with STRASA) and Korean-funded KAFACI projects. AfricaRice/GSR

Group photo (above) at the start of the training while photo below shows participants with their certificates of completion.

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Training on Trial Implementation and Management

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By T. Coulibaly, R. El-Namaky, D. Mbodj, S. Gaye, C.O. Ly, and B. Manneh

t the beginning of every year, the AfricaRice Regional Center in Senegal organizes training to upgrade its support staff. This year’s training took place on 25 and 26 January 2017 in Ndiaye, Senegal. The objective was to build the capacity of support staff who greatly contribute to improving the quality of the Center’s research results.

Thirty-seven people, including research assistants, research technicians, field observers, contract workers, and seasonal laborers, participated in the training. The training covered diverse topics such as land preparation, experimental designs, treatment randomization, nursery management, transplanting, field management, field data collection, harvesting, postharvest operations, etc.

Group photo AfricaRice/GSR

Announcement

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Directorate of Rice Research Institute of Indonesia are organizing the International Hybrid Rice Symposium, to be held on 7-10 November 2017 in Bali, Indonesia. The symposium will gather hybrid rice researchers and other experts and representatives from the public and private sectors and provide a platform for discussion among these stakeholders, specifically on issues related to hybrid rice. Covered topics will include hybrid rice development and seed production, applications of molecular technology, crop and resource management, and economics. To learn more about the symposium or register as participant, visit www.hybridrice.org.

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Odisha-IRRI personnel review and collaborative research progress By Mukund Variar and T.C. Dhoundiyal

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IRRI-India

HUBANESWAR, Odisha—Seeds of climateresilient rice varieties, cost-effective management technologies, and innovative extension approaches are among the advances that are making significant inroads to improve rice production in the Indian state of Odisha on the country’s eastern coast. This was revealed during the first annual review workshop of the collaborative program between Odisha and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), held 23 May. Highlighted at the event was the application of remote sensing for near real-time rice monitoring and yield estimation. This technology will help in developing crop insurance products to reduce the vulnerability of smallholder farmers in the state. It was also pointed out that IRRI is developing and disseminating web- and Android-based applications such as Rice Crop Manager (RCM), the Rice-Pulse Monitoring System (RPMS), and SeedCast. These apps will accelerate technology adoption that will provide real-time solutions for farmers. “Odisha is a natural reservoir of diverse rice germplasm that has helped to feed millions of people across the region,” said Dr. Damodara Rout (photo above), Odisha’s minister of agriculture, who inaugurated the workshop. “It is a great opportunity for national scientists to use this rich heritage of germplasm for developing potentially viable and economical rice varieties best suited to local ecosystems. This will ultimately lead to food sufficiency and security, not only in the state but also in the region and nation as well.” Participating were more than 100 agricultural scientists, extension officials, and policymakers representing government departments, national research institutions, universities, public-private organizations, and IRRI.

Dr. Rout went on to say, “Proven technologies developed by IRRI and national partners and critical interventions through various programs can usher in another Green Revolution in the state and country.” The minister released a manual and a pictorial calendar on the production of quality seed. In addition to Dr. Rout as chief guest, other participating dignitaries were Mr. Manoj Ahuja, principal secretary (agriculture); Dr. Surendranath Pasupalak, vice chancellor of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT); Mr. Hari Ballav Mishra, director, Agriculture and Food Production, Government of Odisha; and Dr. Uma Shankar Singh, coordinator for the South Asia region, Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia project, IRRI. Mr. Ahuja acknowledged the contribution of IRRI in developing stress-tolerant rice varieties that are performing exceptionally well under climate change adversities such as flooding, drought, and salinity. Mr. Mishra assured that his department will offer the best conducive environment for implementing modern technologies at the grass-roots level and harnessing the AfricaRice full potential of modern technologies for improving rice productivity and enhancing the livelihood of farmers in the state. “IRRI has been working with Odisha’s Department of Agriculture for almost one decade,” said Dr. Singh. “This collaboration has resulted in the promotion and dissemination of climate-resilient technologies and highyielding modern rice varieties to improve and stabilize the productivity of the state’s stress-prone areas.” Dr. Singh added, “The Odisha-IRRI program is a landmark initiative that, among others, is looking at strengthening the seed system, rice crop management, capacity building, and crop monitoring using remote sensing to develop crop insurance. These components are working in tandem to enhance the state’s rice and rice-based cropping systems.” IRRI has established linkages with, among others, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), Central Institute for Women in Agriculture (CIWA), and several public and private partners and NGOs for collaborative research and technology dissemination. Private entrepreneurs have a larger role to play in the years to come to augment the public sector so that seed production and rice cultivation can be made more market- and value chain-oriented.

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Special Feature Nepal holds a grand National Rice Day celebration By Bhola M. Basnet and Bhaba P. Tripathi

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ATHMANDU, Nepal—The 14th National Rice Day was observed by all sectors—public, private, cooperative, farmers’ organizations, and others— in a grand manner across Nepal on 29 June 2017 with the participation of Nepalese as well as foreigners. The Nepal Tourism Board has also been celebrating the National Rice Day in Pokhara, the hub for tourists, for the past 14 years. Now, the National Rice Day has been internationalized in Nepal. Fifty print and electronic media published, broadcast, and telecast the events with great enthusiasm. Honorable Prime Minister Mr. Sher Bahadur Deuba mentioned the government’s various programs, giving high priority to rice, and also extended his best wishes for the success of the 14th National Rice Day. Paddy planting events (photos above and next page) at the central level were also organized by the Ministry of Agricultural Development, Department of Agriculture, Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), and grass-roots organizations at the Agronomy Division in Jhaukhel, Bhaktapur, where the celebration was also a platform for policymakers, planners, financiers, donors, farmers, journalists, experts, and related stakeholders who had gathered there to engage in discussion, interaction, experience-sharing, and healthy debate. During that time, Dr. Uma Shankar Singh, South Asia coordinator for the Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia (STRASA) project coordinated 14

IRRI-Nepal Office

by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), also participated and mentioned the historical relationship between IRRI and Nepal concerning rice research and development. IRRI and Nepal share more than 50 years of historical R&D collaboration. The IRRI-Nepal office was established in 2005 after the International Year of Rice (IYR) 2004. The theme of this year’s 14th National Rice Day was “Double-crop rice promotions enhance economic motions.” Rice is one of the most important cereal crops plus staple food in Nepal. Rice is not only a key source of food but also a major employer and source of income for the poor. Rice’s share in total food grains is 50%. Nepal’s economic growth depends on rice production. As per the preliminary estimate of fiscal year 2016-17, the rice crop was grown on 1.553 million hectares with historical production of 5.230 million metric tons and productivity of 3.4 t/ha. The Nepal Government and the World Bank have forecast economic growth (GDP) of Nepal as 7.0% and 7.5%, respectively, because of historical rice production. The national contribution of rice to AGDP and GDP is approximately 21% and 7%, respectively. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in its 57th session, decided to declare 2004 as the International Year of Rice (IYR) with the theme of Rice Is Life, reflecting the importance of rice as a primary food source. This was drawn from an understanding that riceContinued next page...

Nepal holds... from page 14

IRRI-Nepal Office

based farming systems are essential for food security, poverty alleviation, improved livelihoods, and global peace. The Government of Nepal also declared Asadh 15 (in Nepalese culture, the tradition of eating curd/yogurt with beaten rice) as the Nepalese calendar day of every year as National Rice Day. Nepal recently celebrated its 14th National Rice Day on 29 June 2017 (Asadh 15, 2074). Nepal is the only country in the world that regularly and continuously celebrates this event (for the past 14 years). With Nepal’s good performance during IYR-2004, IRRI in its Rice Today (Vol. 3, No. 3, 2004) Magazine featured the article “Year Achieves High Profile in Nepal,” as part of the Rice Year Reports from various countries. This year’s paddy harvest has encouraged farmers and policymakers and boosted the economy and the government wants to continue this trend in the next fiscal year too. The government has targeted increasing paddy output to 5.4 million tons in the next fiscal year from this year’s historical record of 5.23 million tons. This target is attainable because several programs and projects have been launched to boost paddy production. In 2016, the government launched the first megapaddy promotion program aimed at boosting output and productivity to feed the country’s swelling population. The three-year mission has set a target of becoming selfreliant in rice and being in a position to export paddy by the end of the scheme. The mission covers 35 districts. Similarly, another project was launched two years ago to produce fine and aromatic varieties of paddy amid the growing demand.

In this fiscal year, the government implemented the NPR 130 billion plan for ten years as the Prime Minister Agricultural Modernization Project (PM-AMP), which envisages adopting modern farm techniques to boost productivity and make the country self-reliant in food. Rice security means food security in Nepal. Jhapa District has been named a super zone for paddy under the scheme. “All these projects are making big impacts,” said a spokesperson for Nepal’s Ministry of Agricultural Development (MoAD). To ensure the timely availability of chemical fertilizers, the government procured the highest amount of soil enrichers in this fiscal year. According to the Ministry of Agricultural Development, the government bought a record 332,000 tons of fertilizers, of which 220,000 tons have been sold. Nepal is providing subsidies to farmers in seed, fertilizer, agro-machinery, etc. An increase in irrigated area is another government priority. The government is also planning to increase early/spring season paddy production in 50 districts to 300,000 hectares from the existing 118,000 hectares. The government has accorded priority to small irrigation systems under the 10-year farm modernization project. From an optimistic angle, if Nepal’s productivity increases to even 4 t/ha, the country can graduate to a rice-exporting country. The government has therefore been studying various factors to boost productivity. Thanks to a good monsoon along with technologies plus inputs, Nepal’s farm sector is expected to register a 9-year-high growth rate of 5.32% this fiscal year ending in mid-July after hitting rock bottom in the last fiscal year, the Economic Survey 2016-17 shows. The survey indicated that bumper paddy harvests and growth in the production of other key food grains helped the sector to recover. Nepal’s farm sector saw negative growth of 0.19% for the first time in the last fiscal year because of summer and winter droughts. The Nepalese government, with the collaboration of IRRI, has already released rice varieties such as Sukkha Dhan 1, Sukkha Dhan 2, Sukkha Dhan 3, Sukkha Dhan 4, Sukkha Dhan 5, and Sukkha Dhan 6 as drought-tolerant ones and Swarna-Sub1, Sambha Masuli-Sub1, and Ciherang-Sub1 as submergence-tolerant ones. Promising rice variety DRR 44 is in the pipeline. Nepal so far has released 81 rice varieties and IRRI has contributed to 50% of the varieties.

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STRASA South Asia partner dignitaries attend seed policy workshop

IRRI-Philippines/i. Serrano

S

IEM REAP, Cambodia (9-10 June 2017)—Sh. Shobhana K. Pattanayak, secretary of the Department of Agriculture under India’s Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, and Dr. Suroj Pokhrel, secretary of the Ministry of Agricultural Development of Nepal (2nd and 4th from left in photo, respectively), participated in the meeting of agriculture ministers and representatives of nine countries titled “Seeds without Borders: Regional cooperation for seed-sharing.” Originally signed by India, Bangladesh, and Nepal in 2014, the regional seed-sharing agreement has now expanded to include Sri Lanka and the Kingdom of Cambodia, the event’s host. Further, the agreement will now expand to include other crops in addition to rice. The meeting, organized by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), brought together government and policy leaders from Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam for a multi-country dialogue on collaborative ways to improve farmer and consumer welfare through innovative agricultural technologies. For a related article, see http://irri.org/news/ media-releases/agreement-on-multi-country-seedsharing-reached.

AfricaRice T. Coulibaly, I. Dieng, K. Djaman, R. El-Namaky, S. Gaye, C.O. Ly, B. Manneh, D. Mbodj, B. Ndri, E. Pegalepo, M. Sie, and K. Traore ICAR, India Santosh Kumar, S.S. Singh, S.K. Dwivedi, Md. Idris, U.R. Sangle, O.N. Singh, and T. Ram IRRI Manzoor Hussain Dar, T.C. Dhoundiyal, Rohit Katara, Mayank Sharma, Ritu Sharma, Ashish K. Srivastava, and Mukund Variar, India Bhola M.S. Basnet and Bhaba P. Tripathi, Nepal Arvind Kumar, Philippines Content/editorial adviser Abdelbagi M. Ismail, STRASA project leader

Editor Bill Hardy/IRRI-Communication Unit

For any comments/suggestions and contributions or article submission, please contact:

Writer/graphic design and layout

Abdelbagi M. Ismail, [email protected]

Issue coordination and circulation

Maria Rowena M. Baltazar, [email protected] 16

This issue’s contributors

Maria Rowena M. Baltazar, IRRI-STRASA/Philippines

Krystle Anne M. Ambayec-Dino, IRRI-STRASA/Philippines T.C. Dhoundiyal, IRRI-STRASA/South Asia