Hanoi, Vietnam
October 24, 2008
The world's biggest rice-exporting
and -importing nations have collectively endorsed a new Rice
Action Plan trageting many of the problems that triggered this
year's rice price crisis.
At a meeting of the ten-nation Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi this week,
ministers of agriculture unanimously endorsed a seven-point
action plan presented by the
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). ASEAN includes
two of the world's largest rice exporters, Thailand and Vietnam,
and several importing nations as well.
The endorsement came at the 30th annual meeting of the ASEAN
Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF). It was presented
as part of a comprehensive food security strategy being
developed for the region, home to more than 500 million rice
consumers, including some of Asia's poorest.
"The message is very clear," IRRI's director general, Robert S.
Zeigler, said. "We have the scientific expertise, knowledge, and
partnerships to grow the rice Asia needs and now-with this
endorsement by these nations-we have strong political support.
The only thing missing are the financial resources needed to
implement this."
Dr. Zeigler told the ministers that IRRI needs an additional
US$15 million a year for the next ten years to adequately
support the ASEAN Rice Action Plan. "At a time of
trillion-dollar bailouts for the global financial sector, $15
million a year is barely the annual bonus of a former Wall
Street executive," Dr. Zeigler said.
The Rice Action Plan was developed by IRRI earlier this year
during the rice price crisis in consultation with its partners
around the region. It includes the following measures:
1. Bring about an
agronomic revolution to reduce existing yield gaps.
Depending on production conditions, an unexploited yield gap
of 1-2 t/ha currently exists in most farmers' fields in the
rice-growing areas of Asia. This yield gap can be reduced
through the integrated use of stress-resistant varieties and
better crop management practices. This requires funding
support to programs aimed at improving farmers' skills in
practices such as land preparation, water and nutrient
management, and the control of various pests, diseases, and
weeds.
2. Accelerate the delivery of new postharvest
technologies to reduce losses.
Postharvest includes the storing, drying, and processing of
rice. Considerable losses occur in terms of both the
quantity and quality of rice during postharvest operations
because of the use of old and inefficient practices. The
active promotion of exciting new technologies that are
currently available for on-farm storage and drying will
reduce losses considerably.
3. Accelerate the introduction and adoption of
higher-yielding rice varieties.
New rice varieties are available today that can increase
production, but farmers are not using them because the
systems that introduce new varieties are under-resourced.
Enhancing germplasm exchange, variety testing, and release
pipelines can make current high-yielding stress-resistant
varieties and hybrids more widely available to farmers in
irrigated and rainfed lowland areas of Asia.
4. Strengthen and upgrade breeding pipelines for
developing new varieties and hybrids.
Funding for the development of new rice varieties has
declined steadily over the past decade or more. This must be
reversed in order to develop the generations of new rice
varieties that will be required for productivity growth in
sustainable agriculture. Several opportunities are available
to accelerate the development of new rice varieties and
hybrids with higher yield, better grain quality, and
increased tolerance of abiotic stresses and with multiple
resistances to insects and diseases through new molecular
breeding approaches.
5. Accelerate research on the world's thousand of rice
varieties so scientists can use the vast reservoir of
untapped genetic resources they contain.
Working with IRRI, the world's nations have spent
decades carefully collecting thousands of rice varieties.
More than 100,000 rice types are now being carefully managed
and used at IRRI and in Asian nations. However, only a small
fraction of these vital genetic resources has been
characterized in detail or used widely. New molecular
methods have now opened the door for revealing the valuable
genetic charateristics in each variety.
6. Develop a new generation of rice scientists and
researchers for the public and private sectors.
Part of the current rice crisis reflects the lack of
investment in science, including human capital investment.
The education and training of young scientists and
researchers are also vital concerns for the rice industry.
Asia urgently needs to train a new generation of rice
scientists and researchers to enable the region to exploit
the latest developments in modern science more effectively.
7. Provide rice policy support.
Conducive policy environments are needed to achieve the
fuller use of technology for rapid production growth in an
efficient, equitable, and sustainable manner. Rice
production is being affected by several dynamic economic
factors and their potential impact can be manipulated
through suitable policy reforms. The identification of
policy constraints, the generation of alternative policy
options, and policy advocacy are therefore essential.
For more information on the Rice
Action Plan, including detailed budgets, please vistit
http://solutions.irri.org/.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the
world’s leading rice research and training center. Based in the
Philippines, with offices in 13 other countries, IRRI 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. |
|
