Los Baños, Philippines
May 7, 2007
A major international initiative
is being launched to try to boost the income of the world’s
millions of poor rice farmers and at the same time provide
consumers with more nutritious, better tasting food.
New scientific knowledge is allowing rice researchers to develop
better quality rice varieties that could fetch a higher price
from consumers, especially increasingly affluent rice consumers
in Asia.
The main aim of the new International Network for Quality Rice
is to help rice breeders around the world develop varieties with
improved quality traits such as better taste, aroma, and cooking
characteristics as well as higher levels of nutrition. Once
provided to farmers, the new varieties are expected to command a
higher price among consumers, especially those in Asia, who, as
they become increasingly affluent, are seeking – and paying for
– better quality food.
"Much of this research would not have been possible ten years
ago because we simply did not have the knowledge or the
understanding of quality that we do now," Robert S. Zeigler, the
director general of the Philippines-based
International Rice Research
Institute, said. "It really is a very exciting time to be
involved in such research, especially because we can take the
new scientific knowledge generated by activities such as the
recent sequencing of the rice genome, and use it to improve the
lives of the poor by providing either better quality food or
increased income."
The quality rice network – which was formed electronically in
2006 – met for the first time last month during a three-day
workshop entitled "Clearing Old Hurdles with New Science:
Improving Rice Grain Quality" at IRRI. The event attracted 71
cereal chemists and other experts from more than 20 nations.
"It’s very clear from the great response we got to the workshop
that rice quality is becoming a very hot topic in rice research
almost everywhere," the convener and head of IRRI’s Grain
Quality, Nutrition, and Postharvest Center, Melissa Fitzgerald,
said. "Many of the issues we discussed may not have even been
considered a few years ago, but, with the recent advances in
molecular biology and exciting new areas such as metabolomics
(the whole-genome assessment of metabolites), we can do things
now that we could only dream about before."
During the workshop, the latest research was presented in
several new areas, including:
- Breeding for better
quality and genetically mapping specific quality traits in
rice such as taste and aroma.
- The cooking and eating
qualities of rice and how to measure sensory qualities more
accurately.
- The role of important
substances such as starch and amylose in cooking rice and
how they are measured.
"IRRI is very fortunate to have a
strong foundation of previous rice quality research to build
on," Dr. Fitzgerald said. "We needed that to ensure we made the
right decisions as we move into a whole new era of rice quality
research."
For many years, rice breeders have focused on developing
varieties that would boost production and provide some insect
and weed resistance to help farmers reduce their use of
pesticides; quality was not a high priority. However, major new
advances in rice research and Asia’s continuing economic
development have created important new opportunities.
"These are the two key changes driving the whole process and
making this research area so exciting," Dr. Zeigler said. "If we
can link these two things together – our new and improved
knowledge and understanding of rice quality with
affluent-consumer desires for better rice – then it’s possible
we can also help poor farmers improve their lives.
"This would be an outstanding example of using the latest in
science to improve the lives of the poor, while satisfying the
desires of the affluent," he added.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the
world’s leading rice research and training center. Based in the
Philippines and with offices in 10 other Asian countries, it is
an autonomous, nonprofit institution focused on improving the
well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and
consumers, particularly those with low incomes, while preserving
natural resources. IRRI is one of 15 centers funded through the
Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an association
of public and private donor agencies.
Web sites:
- IRRI Home (www.irri.org)
- IRRI Library (http://ricelib.irri.org)
- Rice Knowledge Bank (www.knowledgebank.irri.org) |
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