rice today vol. 6, no. 4

8/9/2019 Rice Today Vol. 6, No. 4

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ISSN 1655-5422

www.irri.org

International Rice Research Institute October-December 2007, Vol. 6, No. 4

chinaSpecia

Rie in chinaFeeding the worlds most populous country

Rie pries: what next?

Rie with ess waterVietnam and laos

Making the upands produtive


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contents

International Rice Research InstituteDAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, PilippinesWeb (IRRI): www.irri.orgWeb (Library): ttp://ricelib.irri.cgiar.orgWeb (Rice Knowledge Bank): www.knowledgebank.irri.org

Rice Todayeditorialtelepone: (+63-2) 580-5600 or (+63-2) 844-3351 to 53, ext 2725fax: (+63-2) 580-5699 or (+63-2) 845-0606; email: a.barclay@cgia

cover potoAdam Barclay

publiser Duncan MacintosheditorAdam Barclayart director Juan Lazaro IVdesigner and production supervisor George Reyescontributing editors Gene Hettel, Bill Hardy, Meg MondoedoAfrica editor Savitri Mohapatra (Africa Rice Center WARDA)environment editor Greg Fanslowpoto editorAriel Javellanapoto researcer Jose Raymond Panaligancirculation Chrisanto Quintanaprinter Primex Printers, Inc.

Rice Todayis publised by te International Rice Researc Institute (IRRI), te worldsleading international rice researc and training center. Based in te Pil ippines and witofces in 13 other countries, IRRI is an autonomous, nonprot institution focused on

improving te well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers,particularly tose wit low incomes, wile preserving natural resources. IRRI is one of15 centers funded troug te Consultative Group on International Agricultural Researc(CGIAR), an association of public and private donor agencies. For more information, visitte CGIAR Web site (www.cgiar.org).

Responsibility for tis publication rests wit IRRI. Designations used in tis sould not be construed as expressing IRRI policy or opinion on te l egal stacountry, territory, city, or area, or its autorities, or te delimitation of its f

boundaries.Rice Todaywelcomes comments and suggestions from readers. Potential coare encouraged to query rst, rather than submit unsolicited materials. Rassumes no responsibility for loss of or damage to unsolicited submissions, wbe accompanied by sufcient return postage.

Editorial ................................................................ 4Feeding billionstogether

NEws ........................................................................ 5Rice prices still rising

Asia-Pacic nations urged to study biouels

South Asian oods devastate rice lands

Rice vaccine ofers hope or ghting cholera

Journalistseyes opened to rice

Ancient grains

PEoPlE ..................................................................... 8Chair change

Keeping up with IRRI staf

Achievements and appointments

lookiNg uP iN thE uPlaNds ............................10In the mountains o Vietnam and Laos, lie on the

arm is tough. But more productive rice crops can

give armers the security they need to improvetheir income and help the environment.

whErE sciENcE mEEts art ................................17As he prepares or retirement ater 15 years at the

International Rice Research Institute, molecularbiologist John Bennett reveals himsel as a scientistwho not only appreciates arthe blurs thedistinction between art and science

sNaPshot .............................................................20Paddies in the mountains

chiNa sEctioN

a hybrid history ...............................................22

Hybrid rice has helped China eed one-th ohumanity and avoid mass hunger.RiceTodayinvestigates the international collaboration behindthis history-altering technology.

maPs ......................................................................26Relocating rice production in China

high aNd dry ......................................................28As Chinese armers ace a worsening irrigation crisis,

they need a way to grow rice with less water.Aerobic rice may be the answer.

CopyrightInternationalRice Research Institute 2007

This magazine is copyrighted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and islicensedor use undera Creative CommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0License(Unported).Unlessotherwisenoted, usersareree tocopy,duplicate,orreproduce,anddistribute,display,or transmitanyo thearticlesor portionsothe articles,andto maketranslations,adaptations, orother derivative worksunder the ollowing conditions:

an: The work mustbe attributed,butnot in any way thatsuggests endorsementby IRRIorthe author(s).

on e ve:Xiaoguang Yang (left)and

HuaqiWang, researchersatChinaAgriculturalUniversity

(CAU),examine aerobicricewhich yieldswell in

unoodedeldsat the CAUexperimentalstation on the

outskirtso Beijing.Read moreaboutaerobic rice in China

on pages28-33.

thrEE hEads arE bEttEr thaN oNEIn the ace o steeply rising rice prices, thr

worlds leading international agricultuinstitutes plan to combine their activitand so create a powerul new orce ocboosting Arican rice production

NEw books ..........................................Water management in irrigated rice: copi

with water scarcity

rEciPE ...................................................Sticky rice, prawn, and water chestnut du

ricE Facts ............................................Where now or the global rice market?

What do the coming years hold or themost important grain?

graiN oF truth ..................................

Challenges or rice production in China

Nnce: Thiswork may notbe usedor commercialpurposes.

seae: I thiswork isaltered,transormed,or builtupon,the resulting wdistributedonly underthe same orsimilar license to thisone.

Forany reuse ordistribution,the license termso thiswork must be made clea

Anyotheaboveconditionscan bewaivedipermissionisobtainedromthecopy

Nothing in thislicense impairsor restrictsthe authorsmoral rights.

Fairdealing andother rightsare in no way afectedby the above.

Toviewthe ulltexto thislicense,visithttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/b


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NEWS http://ricenews.irri.org

Rice TodayOctober-December 2007

The nations of Asia and the Pacicare being urged to study biofuels with greater care, before deciding onhow they will use their agriculturalindustries to generate energy.

Scientists say there is an urgent

need to support the current rush towardmajor decisions on biofuel policies in

Asia and the Pacic with solid researchand unbiased information about their

potential benets, impact, and risks.The appeal was issued at the end

of a recent Expert Consultation onBiofuels organized by the Asia Pacic

Association of Agricultural Research

Institutions (APAARI) together withthe Philippine-based InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI), theInternational Crops Research Institute

for the Semi-Arid Tropics in India,the Washington-based InternationalFood Policy Research Institute, andthe International Maize and WheatImprovement Center in Mexico.

The consultation was held at IRRIsheadquarters in the Philippines on 27-29 August.

Asia-Pacic nations urged to study biofuels

International rice prices continue torise, maintaining an upward trendsince March, according to the Food and

Agriculture Organizations Rice MarketMonitor. Prices of aromatic rice, inparticular, have continued to surge, dueto low export availability. Record-low

rice reserves, extreme weather events,ckle monsoon rains, pest and diseaseoutbreaks, and a weakening U.S. dollarare some of the key factors that havecombined to push up prices.

A recent page-one story in the 28September edition of the Wall Street

Journalsaid that, Rising prices andsurging demand for the crops that

supply half of the worlds calories areproducing the biggest changes in globalfood markets in 30 years, altering the

economic landscape for everyone fromconsumers and farmers to corporate

giants and the worlds poor. The storyquoted Dan Basse, president of Chicago-

based commodity forecasting company AgResource Co., as saying that, Thedays of cheap grain are gone.

Rice prices still risingIn addition, the 23 September

edition of Indias Economic Timesnewspaper noted that Indias riceproduction is struggling to meet

d o m e s t i c d e m a n d . I n d i a w a sconsistently exporting 5 million tonsof rice every year, but, Instead ofkeeping pace with demand, this kharif

[the summer, or monsoon, season],production has been stagnant at 80million tons, according to the firstadvance crop estimates With wheatharvests already whimsical, the last

thing India needs is unpredictable riceproduction. We managed to tide overthe wheat shortage only by pushingmore rice into ration shops. If rice

itself is scarce, India would be in theproverbial hot soup.

In the face of the rising prices,

Vietnam has banned further exportsuntil 2008. The September decision,

by the agriculture ministr y, is designedto ensure domestic food security.

Vietnams 2007 export target of 4million tons has already been reached.There are also concerns that extreme

weather and pest infestatlower production, which, in S

was down 200,000 tons comthe same period in 2006.

In the Asian region, both China

and India are gearing up for substantialinvestments in biofuels. Malaysia andIndonesia are investing heavily in oil palmplantations for biodiesel production. ThePhilippines has mandated the blending

of gasoline with 5% biofuel.However, at the same time, China

has banned the use of maizea vitalcrop for national food securityin the

production of biofuels.The consultation focused on several

issues: To discuss how bioenergy production

may have an impact on global and

regional food security

sustainability of key agrsystems in Asia

To summarize the currenstanding of bioenergy optiocrops and cropping system

To identify key options andp r i or i t i es f or d es i gnevaluating integrated food-bproduction systems for As

To develop a framework foon biofuels in key agrisystems of Asia and agree oup activities, including meepublic and private sector p

An experimentAl bioue Jaas Sh thk

480

430

380

330

280

230

US$/ton

US$2/4%

Thai 100% B

Viet 5%

Pak Irri-25%

Thai A1 Super

S

ep-06

N

ov-06

J

an-07

M

ar-07

M

ay-07

Rice export prices

Source:FAORicePriceUpdateOctober

180


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NEWS http://ricenews.irri.org

Rice TodayOctober-December 2007 Rice TodayOctober-December 2007

Certication for IRRI farmIRRIs Experiment Station (ES)E n v i r o n m e n t a l M a n a g e m e n t

System was ISO 14001 certified in August. According to ES manager Arnold Manza, ISO 14001 is aninternationally recognized standard

for environmentally sustainablesystems, and as such demonstratesIRRIs commitment to environmentalsustainability. The award requiredstrict environmental policies to be

planned, implemented, and monitoredfor compliance. One example of theenvironmental progress on the ES isthe 95% reduction in pesticide use since

the station was rst created.

Indonesian awardIndonesias 2007 Achmad Bakrie

Award, presented for outstanding

achievement by a person or institution,has gone to the Indonesian Center forRice Research for its development

ApAneSe ArtiSt msak taa hs a sa vs h ga dag a d c sd has dad naa taa uvsy. m. taa has dvd h sa d c h aa aa ay yas. H cas ga ks a sg d c as h h - h da c csva. o a s h assv .- m (Jaas hd c)

ha h dcd scay irris rcd ms, ad hch as vd h 18 Ags 1994.

riCe o AGeSThe photograph at right shows small attachmentpoints o 6,5007,000-year-old rice spikelets(a spikelet is a unit o the rice ower). Datingrom 5000 to 4500 BC, the spikelets wereexcavated in April 2006 at Tian Luo Shanin Zhejiang Province, China, by UniversityCollege London archeologist Dorian Fullerand his collaborators rom Zhejiang ProvincialInstitute o Archaeology, the Institute oArchaeology o the Chinese Academy o SocialScience, and the School o Archaeology andMuseology.

The spikelets were let ater the grain hadbeen removed rom rice or consumption,said Dr. Fuller. They allow us to study theproportion o rice at that time that wasadapted to human cultivation, compared withwild rice.

eArlY pADDY CultiVAtionIn China, UK and Chinese researchers have

uncovered a snapshot o rice arming almost8,000 years ago. The study by YongqiangZong et al, reported in the 27 September2007 issue o Nature, analyzed the organiccontents o soil sediments in Kuahuqiao, inthe Lower Yangtze region o China, a center orice domestication. Some 7,700 years beorepresent, the Neolithic communities there choselowland swamps or rice cultivation. Theseearly armers used fre to frst clear wetland

Ateam of Japanese researchers hasdeveloped a rice-based vaccine thatfers mice protection against cholera.he team is optimistic that such aaccine could also provide humansth resistance to the bacterium, whichlls thousands of people each year,

ostly in developing countries.Tom onor i N ochi , f rom the

niversity of Tokyos Institute ofedical Science, and colleagues

serted a gene from the bacterium,brio cholerae, into the genome of a

ce plant. The gene caused the rice topress a subunit of the cholera toxinat causes disease. A small amount

the subunit accumulated in the riceains, which were powdered and fedmice.

of rice technology supporting foodsecurity.

Cina joins rice bodyChina has become a member of theInternational Rice Commission (IRC).Founded in 1949 by the The Food and

Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations, the IRCcurrently withmore than 60 member countries andregionspromotes cooperation amongmembers in rice production, storage,

distribution, and consumption. TheCommission also discusses rice-relatedscience and technology and economicissues, and encourages and coordinates

research cooperation.

Africa rice sortage?Diminishing imports from Asia arethreatening a rice shortage in Kenya

and possibly all of Africaaccordingto agricultural expert s there. However,

Africa Rice Center Director General

Papa Abdoulaye Seck said thcould be averted if African govfocus on boosting regional p

and avoid dependence on Dr. Seck predicted the trencontinue due to rising demagrowing populations of Asi

with a reduction in land unde

Tailand, IRRI sign riceThailands Ministry of Agand Cooperatives and IR

signed an agreement to expexisting bilateral cooperatiodevelopment to increase theThai rice, according to Thai Ag

and Cooperatives MinistSutabutr. The agreement wasMr. Thira and IRRI DirectoRobert Zeigler in Thailand onUnder the terms of the ag

cooperation between ThaiIRRI would be upgraded department level to the mini

According to the researchers reporton 26 June 2007 in theProceedings of

the National Academy of Sciences(USA), the mices immune systemconsequently produced antibodies thatneutralized the cholera toxin.

There are several advantages to

such orally administered protection,compared to the current injected

vaccine. The rice vaccine can be storedat room temperature for at least 1.5

years, making storage cheaper and saferthan that of conventional vaccine, whichmust be refrigerated. Second, there is noneed for potentially dangerous syringes,

which also make the treatment more

expensive. Such a vaccine is thus idealfor mass vaccinations in developingcountries.

scrub and then to maintain paddy-style wetgrassland vegetation. Flooding was probablycontrolled by bunds (short earthen walls).Around 150 years later, the site was abandoned

because o inundation rom rising seawater,a result o warming temperatures ater thepreceding glacial period.

The study provides evidence that ricecultivation began in coastal wetlands oeastern China.

riCe eVolutionMeanwhile, a paper published in the August2007 issue o the online journalPLoS Genetics

indicated that the species that mao todays cultivated rice, Oryza sataround 10,000 years ago rom red-crice in the Himalayan Plains. Th

team, led by ormer IRRI scienMcCouch, now proessor o plant brgenetics at Cornell University, ound98% o all todays white rice is a psingle DNA mutation that is not swild red rice species. The mutation o a protein that helps determine The white varieties may have bebecause they cooked aster than nothat was also consumed at that tim

S

evere oods, which killed more than2,000 people and displaced millions,

ve devastated rice-growing areas india, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

In low-lying Bangladesh, where 40%the country was hit by oods, there

ere concerns that the disaster wouldem the growth of the agriculture-

minated economy.The heavy rains and flooding,

hich extended through June, July,d August, affected several millionctares of farmland, most of which

as dominated by rice. In the worst-t Indian state of Bihar, damage toops and property covering 1.1 millionectares was estimated at around

ice vaccine offers hope for ghting cholera

outh Asian oods devastate rice lands

Ancient grains

US$40 million dollars. Agriculturalexperts there said that rice would be

unable to survive more than a few daysof complete submergence.

One promising sign, however, wasthe performance of a new submergence-tolerant rice variety developed by IRRI(seeFrom genes to farmers elds, pages

28-31 ofRice Today Vol. 5, No. 4).Trial crops of Swarna-Sub1 were

totally submerged for 10 days. But,when the oodwaters receded, the cropmade a near-full recovery. According

to the Bangladesh Rice ResearchInstitute, the technology may offerprotection to millions of farmers hit byoods each year.

Journalists eyes opened to rice

Western journalists had their eyesopened to rice farming, Asianstyle, at the 51st Annual Congress

of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists in Japan on17-23 September. It was the rst timethe Congress was held in Asia.

Many participantswho were

predominantly from Europe and North Americahad little prior exposure to Asian agriculture. The week involvedseminars, debates, and visits to

agricultural sites in the cities of Tokyoand Sendai, and the Southern Tohokuregion. Rice dominated the visitsand the ensuing discussions, as non-

Asian participants began to appreciate

the importance of rice to Japan inparticular and Asia in general.

Rice-focused activities included

visits to mills, organic rice farms,and biofuel research stations, and

demonstrations of planting equipment.Early in the week, many journalists

viewed rice in Asia as a mere agriculturalcommodity, to be produced and traded

according to economic whims. Inthis light, some participants found itdifcult to c omprehend some of Japansrice policiessuch as 700800% tariffson imports and high domestic prices.

By the end of the Congress,however, most delegates had gaineda sense of the enormous cultural,historical, and social importance ofrice to Japan. When viewing the rice

industry through this lens, previouslyarcane policies began to make sense.

Although some journalists did not agree with all of Japans decisions on rice,

they at least gained an understandingof the thinking behind them.

AdAmBArclAy

nAtionAltAiwAnuniversity

JournAliStSView a GpS-ad ca, hchds qa dv.


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PEOPLE


The InternationalRi ce Res earchI n s t i t u t e ( I R R I )

has announced thea p p o i n t m e n t o f leading Australianagricultural scientist

Elizabeth Woods(pictured, left) as the

w chair of its Board of Trustees. Armer Rhodes Scholar and winner ofveral honors in Australian agriculture,

r. Woods is recognized as an expert inopical and subtropical agricultured agribusiness.

She takes over from Keijirotsuka, a respected agriculturalonomist from Japan, who is stepping

down ofcially after almost 4 years inthe position. IRRIs independent 15-member Board of Trustees meets twicea year to set the Institutes policies and

review its research agenda.The Board met on 19-21 September

2007 in Vientiane, Laos, to conrm thenew appointment, which is effective 1January 2008.

Dr. Woods is currently FoundationProfessor of Agribusiness at theSchool of Natural and Rural SystemsManagement at the University of

Qu eens land i n Au s tral i a . Shepreviously chaired Australias RuralIndustries Research and DevelopmentCorporation.

Dr. Woods, who was elected to the

IRRI board two years ago, takes overas chair at a time of unprecedentedchallenge and opportunity in rice

research and production. World foodreserves, including those for rice, are

low and cereal prices are high. In thiscontext, my priorities will be to focusIRRI on its core missionto improvethe efciency and sustainability of rice

production, Dr. Woods said.IRRI needs to continue to further

strengthen its work with all its par tnersin the national agricultural systemsaround the world, as well as with

other international research centers,to maintain its impact, especially insuch important areas as adapting riceproduction to climate change.

Dr . Wood s s ai d s he wou ld

particularly encourage IRRI to focus

hair Change

Former IRRI consultant scientistMarco Wopereis has beenpointed as The Africa Rice Centers

WARDA) incoming assistant director

neral, research and development.e will take up his new functions inecember 2007.

F orm er IRRI s taf f m em berichard Lando passed away on June. In 1989-91, Dr. Lando was

ased in IRRIs Cambodia ofce as achnology transfer specialist, wheree worked to improve agricultural

oduction in Cambodia and helpedtablish a national agriculturaltension program.

Entom ologi s t Gary C. Jahn(pictured, right), IRRI coordinatorfor the Greater Mekong Subregion,

will receive an International PlantProtection Award of Distinction fromthe International Association for thePlant Protection Sciences. Dr. Jahn,

who was scheduled to receive the awardon 15 October at the InternationalPlant Protection Congress in Glasgow,Scotland, was honored for majorcontributions to the promotion of

global plant protection.IRRI Board of Trustees member

Ralph Anthony (Tony) Fischer(pictured, left) was included in the

2007 Queens Birthday Honors Listannouncements when he was namedas a member of the Order of Australia

(AM). He is recognized for his serviceto agricultural science in Australia and

developing countries, particularly wheatresearch in the areas of grain yield andcrop cultivation and ma nagement. Dr.Fischer was also awarded the 2007Farrer Memorial Medal, which honors

distinguished service in Australianagricultural science. He received theaward on 14 August at a ceremony in

Australias capital, Canberra, at which

he gave the 2007 Farrer Oration,Improvement in Wheat Y ield: Farrer,

on the needs of rice farmers and ot hersin the rice supply chain, includingthe many women who are playing

increasingly important roles in theirfamily farms and professions.

Dr. Otsuka said that one of his mostimportant achievements as board chair

was helping to reorient IRRIs missionto focus more sharply on poverty

reduction in poor rainfed areas in Asia, but also including sub-Saharan Africa. This new focus is backed bya very strong commitment to riceresearch and the use of science to solve

problemssomething that has alwaysbeen key to IRRIs success, he said.

Also leaving the board after 6years service are Eun-Jong Lee fromKorea and Achmad M. Fagi from

Indonesia.

Physiology, and Functional Genomics, which discussed the past successesof Australian wheat breeding and the

challenges of the future.Former IRRI Deputy Director

General for Research Ren Wang was

awarded an honorary professorshipby Chinas Huazhong Agricultural

University. Dr. Wang, now director ofthe Consultative Group on International

Agricultural Research, was recognizedfor his contributions to agriculturalresearch and capacity building of

national agricultural research andextension systems.

Nobel Peace Prize LaureateNorman E. Borlaug received the

highest honor that the U.S. Congresscan bestow upon a civi lianthe

Congressional Gold Medal. Dwas honored for his work thathe Green Revolution of th

for which he is credited wimore than one billion lives. T

was presented on 17 July in

Capitol Rotunda by Presiden W. Bush and Speaker of th

Nancy Pelosi.David Mackill, progra

for rainfed environments, elected as a Fellow of the ASociety of Agronomy (ASA)

He is scheduled to receive hduring the ASA annual me4-8 November in New OrleaIRRI consultant Gelia Cas

named this years Most DistiUniversity of the Philippi

Alumna during the UP GeneraFaculty Homecoming and RUPs Diliman campus in M

23 June.Zakaria L. Kanyeka h

IRRI as regional plant brEast and Southern Afric

based in Dar es Salaam, T

He will work with IRRI stafnational rice programs to dregional rice breeding planseed multiplication guideline

countries. Achim Dobermreturned to IRRI as leader, P( Sustaining productivity inrice-based systems: rice environment), as well as proj

for the IRRIInternational MWheat Improvement Center (CAlliance Project on Intensive PrSystems in Asia.Norman Mahas joined the Institute as di

management services. He wiIRRIs chief nancial ofcer.

C r o p a n d E n v i r o n m e n t a l

Sciences Division (CESD) Head T.P.Tuong is serving as acting deputydirector general for research untilformer deputy director Ren Wangsreplacement arrives. Bas Bouman

has taken over as acting head of CESDduring the same period. Dirk DeWaele, a professor at K.U. Leuven,Belgium, has joined CESD part time

to lead nematology research at IRRI.He will visit IRRI three times a yearfor 23-week periods.

At the Cuu Long Delta RiceResearch Institutes (CLRRI) 30th

anniversary celebrations in Ho ChiMinh City, six IRRI staff members

were awarded with medals in

recognition of their contributions to

rice research in Vietnam. The awardeeswere Director Robert Zeigler, GrantSingleton, Abdelbagi Ismail,Darshan Brar, Il-ryong Choi, andT.P. Tuong.

J.K. Ladha, IRRI representative inIndia, started his study leave at CornellUniversity on 1 July. Kyu-Seong Lee

joined IRRIs Plant Breeding, Genetics,

and Biotechnology Division as seniorscientist, seconded from Koreas RuralDevelopment Administration. Hismajor responsibilities are to developtemperate japonica rice varieties that

can be adapted to the tropics, generatebreeding materials, and multiply seedsof elite breeding lines.

tHe riCe o rome: Rice Todayad G J Casss, bg, shs hs Rice Todayt-sh h Css r. Ay ads h sd a hgah hsvs hdga cy h aga a as adak cv a t-sh.

Achievements and appointments

eeping up with IRRI staff

irri boArD member ty schks a a ada la cvay a h Sad g.

etirinG irri boArD -Jg l h ca chd h ad g las.

clAessensPersonAlcollection


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dont have alternatives. The onlyland they can use is on these steep

slopes. With very little income,they have no choice but to eke out aliving by growing their food here.

What we want to do,says Dr. Pandey, is to help

them develop options.And the key that can unlock

alternatives for the farmers isricespecically, increased rice

productivity. Dr. Pandey seesproducing more rice on less land, and

with less labor, as one of the mostpromising entry points for breakingout of what IRRI calls the vicious

circle and moving into the virtuouscircle (see gures on page 12).

There are several key constraints

to agricultural production anfor farmers on sloping upland

visibly obvious is the unforgifragmented topography, whipeople to work on gradients othan 25 degrees up to a back45 degrees. The predominan

of agriculture on these slopeshifting cultivationotherwiknown as slash-and-burn farThis involves farmers clearin

burning a patch of land on whgrow crops for a few seasons leaving the land fallow and mon to another patch of land. Aa time, they return to the ori

area, cycling through as manof land as are available, and the mountainsides in northe

HA DinH tuAn (front)ad Ssh padyad h sacha ag a -a a hVa.

The land around PangCang village of Suoi

Giang Commune inVietnams northernprovince of Yen Bai is

eep. To give you an idea of just howeep, when the locals cycle down

Van Chan, 12 kilometers away,me of them hook a tree branch toe back of their bike to act as antra brake. Some dont even bother

eping a chain on their bikesyouther roll downhill or walk up.ding uphill is not an option.

Seeing this terrain for the rstme, one cant help but ask: why

earth would anybody want torm this land? On hills that mostople would refuse to hike, people

thats thrown at itfrom seedsto arduous, spirit-crushing

laborand offers little in return.Who would do that if they had

other options? asks Sushil Pandey,senior agricultural economist at theInternational Rice Research Institute

(IRRI). Dr Pandey, leader of IRRIsRice policy support and impactassessmentresearch program, isleading two projects in Vietnam and

Laos, as well as India and Nepal (seeWho, what, and where on page 15).The research team is investigating

ways of improving food security,reducing poverty, and minimizing

environmental degradation in theuplands. His question is rhetorical.The point is that most people here

Looking up in the UplandsStory by adm Brcly, photos by ariel Jvelln

plant rice, maize, tea, cassava,soybeans, peanuts, and more. There

is no irrigation for these slopinguplands; farmers rely solely on the

wet-season rains that (they hope)begin in May or June. And theseslopes are not farmed for their

high yields. In some cases, 100kilograms of seed produces a mere800 kilograms of rice at harvest.The answer, then, is that nobody

would wantto farm herethey doit because they have no choice.

Not far away, in the agriculturallyand climatically similar uplandsof northern Laos, the situation

is the same. Through a lack ofalternatives, families are forced tofarm land that sucks in everything

In the mountains of

Vietnam and Laos, life on the

farm is tough. But more productive

rice crops can give farmers thesecurity they need to improve their

income and help the environment.

A SweepinG View acss h Va aks acs h c adscc ad s ss, c cs, s, ad aha hav cad


7/21


plantations, or forestry production.

There are other ow-oneffects that stem from increasedrice productivity. Ultimately, it

will mean that the amount ofland used for shifting cultivation,

which encroaches on forests andcontributes to environmentaldegradation, will decrease.

Chanh Tuln (pictured) is a armer who lives

in Muka village, Oudomxay Province, in

northern Laos. The 57-year-old has our

children: three sons, 26, 24, and 22, and a

daughter, 13. His arm comprises 0.5 hectare o

lowland (irrigated) area and 1 hectare o upland

(rained) area. But that will soon change.

In 2006, Mr. Tuln was orced by a lack o

labor to cultivate rice on only 0.3 hectare o

his lowland arm. From this, he harvested 900

kilograms. Because o poor rainall, his upland

arm oered him a mere ton o rice. Despite

these low yields, he and his amily coped. A

recently constructed road has linked Muka to

other villages and, thereore, to markets where

Mr. Tuln was able to sell his nonrice crops.

But 2006 also marked the beginning o

Mr. Tulns move away rom upland arming.

He received rom the Oudomxay ProvincialAgriculture and Forestry Ofce 5 kilograms

o B6144, an improved upland variety that

armers have ound grows well under lowland

conditions also. This nonglutinous variety

yields higher than the traditional glutinous

(sticky) varieties avored by most people in

this region.

The seeds were part o 1,500 kilograms

o modern and purifed traditional varieties

supplied as part o the Managing landscapes

in marginal uplands or household ood security

and environmental sustainabilityproject to 150

armers in 22 villages or an initial demonstration.

Mr. Tuln planted hal o his seeds in his lowland

felds and gave hal to his brother. Each o them

harvested 100 kilograms.

Were very happy with B6144 because

its high-yielding, says Mr. Tuln. I saved 30

kilograms o seed and this year will sow 10

kilograms. Ill give 20 kilograms to relatives

and keep 70 or eating.

Because o B6144s increased yield, Mr. Tuln

planned to plant only this variety in lowland

felds in 2007. This will allow him to use his

upland plots to plant more cassava and maize,

which require less weeding (and thereore

less labor) than rice, and which he can sell.

Consequently, Mr. Tuln is anticipating a higher

income in 2007, which will allow him to buy

medicine and clothes or his amily and help

pay or his daughters schooling.

The news o success stories like

has traveled rapidly through

Province. More and more armers

obtain seeds o improved variet

them or themselves.

But most armers in upland area

small areas o lowland felds or n

Restricted to growing rice in slop

areas, they need rice varieties that c

higher yields. Several upland arme

in the project are already seeing

yields through their use o puri

o popular traditional varieties su

Makhinsong, and Chaomad (see

technologies on page 14).

Only when poor armers achieve a

supply can they can begin to think a

increase and diversiy their income by,

growing cash crops or raising livestoc

mvg d v

The basic motto of our work is

income growth with household foodsecurity, says Dr. Pandey. Oftenthese are seen as competing goals.

What we are saying is that you canhave income growth built on the

foundation of food security. If youcan use fewer resources to grow food,

you free up resources so that you can

start the process of income g

There have been attemptpast to encourage upland farto reduce the amount of landplant to rice and grow crops

be sold on the external mark

raising income and allowing to buy the extra rice they neefeed themselves. IRRI social

aos and Vietnam their distinctive

een-brown-black patchwork look.The endemic poverty in these

eas means that farmers either

nt afford or are unwilling to buysic inputs such as fertilizer. Living

nditions are as austere as theyme. Many people live in small hutsth a few basic possessionslittleore than some cooking pots and a

w utensils. This tenuous day-to-dayistence means that farmers in these

nfavorable areas are risk-averse andther unable or reluctant to invest inchnologies that may help them later.

The harsh weatherlong,y, cold winters and very wet,t summersis another majornstraint. Pests and weeds are

e VirtuouS CirCle avsay ssaa cdc ad ds aayh h vcs cc, hchas d scy,

vy, ad vaada.

(IFAD) and the Consultative Group on

International Agricultural Research(CGIAR) Challenge Program on Waterand Food (CPWF)aim to develop,

validate, and deliver technologies forpoverty reduction through improved

management of rice landscapeswhile also improving the way wateris used in poor farming areas.

The rice landscapes approach

calls for intensication of foodproduction in favorable pockets of theuplands so that pressure to intensifyproduction in the less favorable, morefragile areas can be reduced. These

favorable pockets include productivewetland paddies in valley bottomsand terraced elds (or uplandpaddies) where irrigated rice can begrown. They also include dry terraces

and elds with lower slopes that arebetter able to retain moisture andnutrients than the steeply slopingareas. Dr. Pandey emphasizes

that, rather than being limitedto the management of rice eldsalone, these projects are about ricelandscape management as a whole.

By increasing rice

productivity, farmerscan free up land

and labor for cashcrops or other

income-generatingactivities. If a family

is assured enough rice tofeed itself each year, farmers

can consider other components

of agriculture that may be moreappropriate for these steeply slopingareas, such as animal husbandry, tree

constant problems and weed

management requires intensivelabor (manually weeding at eldsis a thankless task in itself; imagine

doing it in the scorching, humidsummer on muddy, 45-degree slopes).

Compounding the problem ofpoor productivity is inadequateaccess to markets. Even if farmersdo manage to grow a cash crop or a

rice surplus, many farms are severalhours along narrow mountainfootpaths from the nearest place

where they can sell their produce.The research, which represents

IRRIs strategic efforts to reducepoverty and improve environmentalsustainability in uplands, focuseson managing rice landscapes inmarginal uplands. The projects

partly funded by the InternationalFund for Agricultural Development

A riCe Armer as addsa Sa lg vag, na

bg C, Va.

riCe terrACeS ad ad fdssha h cs h Kah phaVay, Y ba pvc, Va.


8/21


wh, ha, ad h

Two projects on rice landscape management are currently being managed by IRRI aspart o a broader initiative in the uplands o Asia. The projects involve a wide range ointernational and national organizations: Assam Agricultural University, Assam, India Chiang Mai University, Thailand Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Nepal Institute o Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Nepal Indian Council o Agricultural Research Center or North-Eastern Hills Region, Meghalaya National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Laos Northern Agriculture and Forestry Research Center, Laos Northern Mountainous Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute, Vietnam Thai Nguyen University o Economics and Business Administration, Vietnam World Agroorestry Center (ICRAF) French Agricultural Research Centre or International Development (CIRAD) University o Caliornia, Davis Yunnan Academy o Agricultural Sciences, Yunnan, ChinaThe research program is unded through grants rom the International Fund orAgricultural Development and the Challenge Program or Water and Food.

areas are already adopting improvedtechnologies. In the Lao province ofOudomxay, for example, farmers are

increasingly growing several varietiesbeing promoted by the project. Some

of these are improved varietieswhile others are local varietiesadapted to upland conditions.

In 2006, the projects supplied

1,500 kg of seeds of improvedand adapted traditional varietiesto 150 farmers in several villagesin northern Laos for an initialdemonstration. The farmers are now

expanding the area on which theygrow these varieties. Neighboringfarmers are also interested andhave obtained seeds from the 2006harvest. Thus, the dissemination

of these varieties at the villagelevel has already commenced.

Alternative cropping systemsare being explored to identify crop

combinations and rotations with

upland rice that reduce soil erosionand weed infestation, improvesoil fertility, and generate income.These alternative systems, whichinclude rotations such as rice-

pigeon pea, rice-ricebeans, andrice-paper mulberry, are also being

validated and made available tofarmers. In other areas, farmers

have started to grow spring rice (a

second annual rice crop planFebruary and harvested in Juor plant spring legumes suchsoybean, peanut, or pigeon p

According to Damien JouHanoi-based agricultural ecoseconded to IRRI from the F

Agricultural Research Centrfor International Developme

(CIRAD), the project is implein partnership with farmers are involved in the conduct aevaluation of various eld tri

many of which are managed the farmers themselves. Farmare regularly invited to reseatrials to offer feedback on whsee as the technologies with t

greatest potential. Thus, the avoid wasting time and moneon technologies that may be

intentioned and scienticallybut would stand little chance

adoption. Examples include varieties that offer pest resisand high yields, but have poocooking quality, or nonrice w

crops that improve soil fertilare prohibitively labor intens

Dr. Jourdain, whose prorole includes supervision of s

Vietnamese postgraduate stu

points out that the work is vanot only because it directly afarmers but also because it h

build the capacity of the locaresearch institutions. I woul

underestimate the impact oftogether with research partnstudents, he says. Its not ju

whole impact of the project,

the process of tackling a resequestion together. You can bsome new ideas, some new m

According to KhamdokSongyikhangsuthor, agricult

scientist at Laoss NorthernAgriculture and Forestry ReCenter (NAFReC), as shiftingcultivation fallow periods gro

shortera trend accelerated government policies of limitithe area under slash-and-bufarmingthere is a growing

varieties suited to the shorte

cycles. Already, NAFReCs wpurify stocks of traditional sresulted in higher yields for f

Armer lY Hieu Vg, Sa lg vag,Va, as a cas c dc c-sday a adg a hgh-ydg vay.

DAmien JourDAin (left) ssss h ac kg h as. b Sas dscsss ad a-g s h h vags mka, h l a vc oday.

Aa chgs

Oering armers appropriatetechnologies can help themshit rom the vicious to the

rtuous circle. Such technologiesnclude

New and improved seeds. Thesere improved aerobic varieties suitedo upland conditions that produceigher yields than the varietiesurrently being grown (suitableerobic varieties can achieve 11.5ons per hectare more than the 11.2ons per hectare yield o traditional varieties).

New breeding lines. Through the International Network or Genetic Evaluation oice, Lao and Vietnamese national research institutes have received breeding lines thatre being used to identiy improved rice varieties adapted to both paddy (irrigated) andpland (nonirrigated) conditions. Purifcation o seed stocks o traditional rice varieties. Most armers in the sloping

plands plant rom a mixed seed stock. Identiying the best traditional varieties or therevailing conditions and management practices, and using pure stocks o these, result inetter yields. Local agricultural agencies will have the responsibility o training armers toaintain pure seed stocks. In Laos, where NAFReC has done most o the seed purifcation

nd multiplication work, there is interest in setting up a community-based seed productionystem to meet local seed requirements.

Best-practice management o rice cropping systems. For example, the addition o short-uration legume crops such as soybean or mungbean, or direct seeding o rice in rainedowlands, may allow armers to harvest earlier and grow a second rice crop in one year.

Alternative cropping systems. These are crop combinations with upland rice andmproved allow rotations that reduce soil erosion and weed inestation, enhance soilertility, and generate income. These systems include rice-based rotations with leguminousash crops such as pigeon pea and paper mulberry, and rice-beans. Besides grain production,igeon pea may also serve as a host or the insects that secrete sticlac, which is useds an industrial resin and etches a good market price. Ater several years o ha rvestingticlac, pigeon pea can be incorporated into the soil as a green manure in preparation orreturn to rice or other crops. Restoration o weed-inested areas. For example, this involves combining appropriate

erbicide use to control the perennial grass Imperata, which commonly invades landnder short allow rotations, and subsequently establishing pigeon pea to preventeinestation.

Technologies or soil ertility maintenance. In combination with ertilizers, rice cropsan be interspersed with crops that add nitrogen to the soil and/or deep-rooted specieshat enhance nutrient cycling.

Technologies or improved water use. Aerobic rice varieties, which require less waterhan irrigated varieties, are an example o an important technology or increasing waterroductivity. Rice irrigation regimes, such as alternative wetting-and-drying similarly canncrease water productivity by enabling armers to plant a larger area o irrigated rice thanould be possible otherwise.

Hari Gurung cautions that thesestrategies are often perilous, though.

One option might be toencourage upland farmers to stopgrowing rice and grow cash crops

such as tea, coffee, or rubberbutthat can be socioeconomicallydisastrous, says Dr. Gurung. Thesubsistence-oriented highlandcommunities are already vulnerable;

rapid exposure to markets anductuating market forces can increasetheir vulnerability. If the marketcollapses, not only will people be left

with nothing to eat, but they will alsolose the basis of their livelihoods.

Strategies to improve riceproduction in the sloping uplands(seeAppropriate technologies, left)

include the introduction of superiorseeds (either higher-yielding modern

varieties or pure seed stocks ofhigh-quality traditional varieties)

and improved management optionsthat maintain or rejuvenate soilfertility. This approach includes

better fallow systems in whichlegumes, for example, are planted

and later incorporated into the soil.Although the projects are still

in their early stages, people in some

A SlASHeD-AnD-burneD a oday pvc, las.ag sch s ss s

ackakg k.

riCe terrACeS a pag Cagvag, S Gag C,Va, a a scd yayc c.

rAnDY ritzemA s aacvy a a sach s lag paag, las.


9/21


Scientists are basically

storytellers; we haveto tell convincingstories. Musical

and theater performers are

storytellers too. I enjoy the taskof converting a written word intoan entertaining experience.

His own words best encapsulatewho John Bennett is and what he

does. Since 1992, as senior scientistat the International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI), he has been using

As he prepares for retirement after 15 years at the International Rice Rese

Institute, molecular biologist John Bennett reveals himself as a scientist w

not only appreciates arthe blurs the distinction between art and scien

biotechnology and molecular biologyto work on challenges ranging frominsect resistance to drought tolerance.

At the same time, he has mentoredPh.D. students, sung as a member ofthe IRRI choir, and acted in plays andmusicals with his IRRI colleagues.

Dr. Bennett nds all of thesevery fullling, but mentions thatsharing his expertise throughteaching is perhaps the sourceof greatest satisfaction.

One joy for me is workingwith students from the Philippinesand other countries, including

China, Vietnam, India, BangPakistan, Iran, and Nigeria,says. These students have m

major contribution to the wogroup, although they would brst to say that the Philippinhere has made a major contr

to their work. It is very nice twe can have students come tand nd a team of people wilhelp them, the Philippine staalso learn a lot from the stud

Listening to his manystories about his life at IRRI,Bennetts passion for teachin

by Meg Mondoedo

Where science meets aArielJAvellAnA

NAFReC Director Houmchithsavathdarak, who has been a championr the project in Laos, notesat the Center is also evaluatingveral improved upland varietiesnerously provided by the Yunnan

cademy of Agricultural Sciences.This has allowed farmers to

art or increase the planting of cash

opsfruit trees, maize, soybean, foramplewhich can get good prices

the market, says Mr. Khamdok,ho adds that, through the Laoovincial agriculture and forestryces, NAFReC is also distributing

mproved nonglutinous (nonsticky)rieties. Although most Laohnic groups prefer the glutinousce, he says, many farmers arearting to grow the nonglutinous

ce because of its higher yields.Farming in irrigated paddies

ther at areas in valleys or terracedopesis considered lowlandrming, even if its high in the

ountains. These irrigated paddies,though limited in area, can produceuch higher yields because ofvorable conditions for rice growth.

ften, farmers are unable to fullye such land for rice production duea shortage of water, especially ine dry season. One of the projectms is therefore to develop and test

ater-efcient rice technologies, suchaerobic rice (rice that yields well

hen grown in at but nonoodedlds) and alternate wetting-

d-drying irrigation regimes.uch approaches have potential

ensure against unpredictableinfall or allow farmers to growsecond rice crop each year.

Irrigation in the mountainouseas is also very poor, says Hanh Tuan, deputy director general

will help increase rice productionand support income growth.

The problem is, most farmersin these mountainous areas do

not have access to at land wherepaddy rice can be grown.

Even though our objectiveis to give people options that willdraw them away from the sloping

uplands, says Ben Samson, anagronomist based in IRRIs ofcein the northern Lao city of LuangPrabang, we are still doing work

in these unfavorable areas becausethere is limited at land available.

Both projects are now in theirsecond year and the major thrustso far has been assessment and

understanding of the relationshipsamong rice production, landscapemanagement, poverty, and water

access and use. Dr. Samson saysthat once this phase is completed,

researchers and farmers willdevelop and test technologies thatcan provide the transition fromthe vicious to the virtuous circle.

We are already testingtechnological interventions, evenas we undertake the assessmentand understanding phase of theupland work, he says. We are able

to do this by using and building onprevious collaboration between IRRIand the Lao National Agricultureand Forestry Research Institute.

The research team is optimistic

about the projects impact. If we areable to put appropriate technologiesin place, it shouldnt be too long

before we see signicant gains,

says Dr. Pandey. A similar approachpromoted by the Chinese governmentin Chinas Yunnan Province sawmajor improvements to farmfamilies livelihoods in 57 years

(seeA mountainous success on pages30-35 ofRice Today Vol. 5, No. 1).

Having enough food is oneof humanitys most fundamental

requirements. Food insecurity acts asa wall between a n arduous hand-to-mouth existence and a more fulllinglife. By providing options that helppeople feed themselves and their

families, Dr. Pandey and his teamhope to give upland farmers the boostthey need to get over that wall.

ASH-AnD-burn agcachs ss ads vagada.

KHAmDoK SonGYiKHAnGSutHor s a agcascs a las nh Agc ad syrsach C.

of Vietnams Northern Mountainous

Agriculture and Forestry ScienceInstitute (NOMAFSI). We are

wasting water. If we can preservewater better, we could avoid watershortages during the dry season.

This requires a very big investmentand the current irrigation systemsare inadequate and may be

uneconomical in some localities.Environmental systems analyst

Randy Ritzema, a University ofCalifornia, Davis, Ph.D. student,is based in Luang Prabang, wherehe is investigating how water

ows in upland farming areas.Using computer modeling andgeographic information systems(mapping), he is looking at howland use in these areas has changed

over time and how this is likely toaffect water ows downstream.

Rice production must be seen inthe context of general environmentalresource managementand the

central resource is water, says Mr.Ritzema. Once we understand

where the water goes and howits managed, and how thats

related to land use, we can see ifchanging different components


10/21


obvious. The wisdom he

mparts is delightfully candid.There are two aspects in my

hilosophy of doing science, whichell to my students: if a thingworth doing, its worth doing

ell; but if a thing is worth doing,is also wor th doing badly, helates with a spark in his eyes.

For example, if you wanted to

arn to ride a bike, you expect tol off the bike, right? You expectride it badly. But its worth

arning because it will make thingsore efcient and easier for you

ter. Similarly, in understandingcomplex biological system sucha drought-stressed rice plant,

any of the experiments that we

ould like to do are too complicated.heres a certain skill in knowing

w to initially simplify a complexstem in an illuminating way.

For a number of years now,

r. Bennett has given incomingudents a list of 10 things that theyould expect to learn. Through

the years, these 10 things (see box,

right) have served as a compass thatguides students in their learningaconsistent and simple list for thestudents to help them prioritizetheir tasks and organize their time.

Time is their enemy, not thesupervisor, insists Dr. Bennett, so

being able to organize their time isvery, very important. However, I try

to make sure they dont spend thewhole time in the lab; Im very happyif they go out and do other things.

When hes not in his lababsorbed in molecular biology, Dr.

Bennett is out there doing otherthings himselfonstage, acting inan IRRI play, singing with gusto

with the IRRI choir, or at home,

reading novels to his wife andmother, a pastime he relishes.

During my rst Christmas atIRRI, in 1992, I was really excitedto seeSnow White and the Semi

Dwarves [a play on semidwarf,the type of modern high-yieldingrice variety that drove the Green

Revolution in Asia]. For 4 or 5 years,we had these very enjoyable plays.

In 1994, Dr. Bennett playedthe role of sultan in the IRRI play

Aladdin and the Forty Thieves. More than a decade later, one of hisco-stars, plant pathologist RobertZeigler, would become the institutesdirector general. I had three very

beautiful daughters; one daughterwas named Jasmine, one wasJaponica, and the third was Indica,played brilliantly by Dr. Zeigler.

Dr. Bennett also enjoyed singingin the IRRI choirincluding at the1995 visit of then Philippine PresidentFidel Ramos, for whom they sangthe Philippine national anthem.

Sharp, energetic, committed,and talented, Dr. Bennett seemsunstoppable, be it in his science

or in his art. Not even his boutwith cancer back in 1999 could

dampen his spirit and zest for life.Having cancer just made me

more aware of how much cancerthere is in the Philippines, he

explains. I became much moreinvolved, much more aware of

whats happening with IRRI staffand their families in that respect.

Prior to IRRI, Dr. Bennett

worked at the International Centrefor Genetic Engineering andBiotechnology in New Delhi, where

to mAKe y sca: css-scs h s d h c s, k as hc, c h ac edvad mchs 1893 ag, The scream.

nAtionAlgAllery,oslo,norwAy

th (scfc) daccdg Jh

Dr. Bennetts list o 10 undamental skillsor rice research, which Ph.D. studentsshould master by the time they fnish theirstudy:1. Become more uent in written and

spoken English2. Understand the rice plant in the context

o your research3. Understand the scientifc literature in

the same context4. Understand and master techniques

needed in this context5. How best to organize your time6. How best to work with other people7. How to design a research program8. How to design an experiment9. How to write a scientifc paper10. Understand the scientiic method,

especially statistical analysis andreplication o data, and the ormulationand testing o hypotheses.

he and his team looked at insectresistance using marker-aidedselection (a technique that allowsresearchers to rapidly search for

candidate plants that possess agene for a desired trait) and geneticengineeringtwo approachesthat IRRI was developing too.

In 1991, some scientists from

IRRI visited my lab in India, herecalls. They must have liked whatI was doing there and they thoughtit would be nice to have me come

to IRRI. Working in India for 3years was very, very exciting butit was very attractive to be able tocome to a place which conducts riceresearch across the whole board,

from social sciences to genetics tonatural resource management. Andnot to forget things like the library

and historical records of rice, and thewonderful traditionit seemed like

an opportunity not to be missed.Thus began his career at IRRI,

which is highlighted by an impressivelist of research achievements. From

1992 to 2000, Dr. Bennetts work oninsect resistance allowed his teamto map rice genes for resistanceto Asian rice gall midge. Throughmarker-aided selection, the genes

were used to develop varieties withenhanced gall midge resistancein Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh,and Tamil Nadu (India), andGuangzhou (China). His research

on disease has resulted in ricewith increased resistance to sheathblight fungus and bacterial blight.

One of Dr. Bennetts most

challenging, and potentiallyrewarding, areas of research has

been his work on apomixisa trait,seen in other cereals but not rice,that allows seed formation without

fertilization. Achieving apomixis inhigh-yielding hybrid rice varieties

would allow farmers to reuse hybridseed rather than purchase new seed

each season, thereby decreasing thecost and increasing the exibilityof hybrid rice production.

More recently, Dr. Bennett hasturned his attention to unraveling

the secrets of why rice plants aresusceptible to drought and heat, twoenvironmental stresses that devastate

rice farms across the globe every year.Drought is associated with

both water decit and heat stress,he explains. I enjoy studying the

elongation of the topmost joint ofthe stemthe peduncle. It grows at aphenomenal 6 to 12 centimeters a day,

but growth stops under water decit,leaving the panicle sterile and trapped

within the top leaf. Were usingmicroscopy and molecular analysisto identify whether drought stopscell division, cell elongation, or both,

and which varieties are better thanothers at this process under stress.

As far as heat stress isconcerned, we know that plants are

vulnerable to heat when they open

their owers. I was fascinated tosee that the heat-sensitive varietyMoroberekan opened its owers

between 10 a.m. and noon, whentemperatures are high, whereas the

more heat-tolerant variety IR64opened its owers between 8 a.m.and 10 a.m. We are looking at thegenetic basis of this difference in

opening time to see if it explainsthe difference in heat sensitivity.

After IRRI, Dr. Bennett has

no plans for an idle retiremenMolecular biology is a very rdeveloping eld, he says. Yo

people coming into the eld hto learn a lot of molecular bio

both practical techniques an

the theory underlying it, but are falling behind a little bit

linking this molecular biologother sorts of biology, particuphysiology. In my retirementto explore systems biology, w

different levels are integratedDr. Bennett grew up in S

Australia, and will divide histime between Sydney and his

wifes hometown of Colombo

Lanka, after he nishes at IRin December. But his home fothe past 15 years, Los Baos,Philippines, will not be forgo

Life has been very nice

Weve really enjoyed being wFilipino people; it was a brillidea to put IRRI in the Philip

Like a child promised a

after hard work, Dr. Bennettforward to the day when he csit back and look after the thmothers in his lifehis wifhis mother, and his mother-i

law. He recites the question hwill delight in: Would you lia book to be read to you?

It is, of course, a questio

will be met with a resoundinWith a big smile, Dr. Ben

says that Reading to someonit science or art, is a way of sh

When youre reading a book t

yourself, you dont immediatit; if youre reading to someo

you share it with them imme

tHeAtriCAl lAir: D. b ( right) ad irriDc pga pag ad Ccasmk Jacks, h had h iss Gcrscs C, as, scvy, Kg rchad hlhad ad pc Jh a 199 irri dc- Robin Hood.

crissAnZeigler

rowenAoAne(3)

enHAnCinG inSeCt reSiStAnCe: D. ba cvas, scs a asg


11/21

TodayOctober-December 2007, Vol. 6, No. 4 In the mountainous areas of northern Vietnam, terraces allow farmers to control irrigation and gro


12/21


and, consequently, higher yields.The downside is that farmers

need to buy new seeds each season.The grains produced by inbred

varieties are almost geneticallyidentical to their parents and socan be saved and planted later. If afarmer tries to plant the geneticallydiverse seeds (produced by sexual

reproduction) saved from a previoushybrid crop, the resultant plants

will display widely varying traits,in much the same way that human

siblings look different. The ensuingcrop will be an inconsistent,low-yielding disappointment.

Although the rst paper onthe application of heterosis to rice

production was published wayback in 1926, China was the rstcountry to seriously investigate

the technologys potential. Led byfather of hybrid rice Longping

Yuan, director general of the ChinaNational Hybrid Rice Research andDevelopment Center (CNHRRDC),research began in earnest in 1964.

Prof. Yuan received the World FoodPrize in 2004 for his efforts.

The Chinese researchers realizedthat, to produce commercially viablehybrid varieties, they would actually

need three breeding linesnotsimply two parents. These areknown as the male-sterile line, themaintainer line, and the restorerline (see gure on page 25).

The male-sterile plant does notproduce pollen itself, but accepts

pollen fromother plants,thus allowing ahybrid. In the

late 1960s, theChinese hybridteam scouredthe countryfor naturally

occurring (wildrice) male-sterileplants, eventuallynding such a

species in 1970 onHainan Island.

When theytried to crossthis species

with a rangeof commercialChinese varieties,

the researchersfound that

almost all thecommercial

varieties actedas maintainer

lines. This meantthat, if they

were crossedwith the male-sterile line, the

next generation(known as theF1 generation) would also be male-sterile, and would be similar to theoriginal male-sterile parent. As its

name suggests, the maintainer line istherefore used to maintain a male-

sterile line.So far, so

good. It wasat this point,though, thatthe researchhit a wall. The

scientists hada male sterileline, which couldaccept pollen

from otherplants. They hada maintainerline, which

would allow

a continuoussupply of male-sterile seeds. But

they didnt have a restorer lincultivar that restores fertilityF1 generation when crossed w

male-sterile line and, hence, used to pollinate the male-stparent and produce hybrid rithat can be used in farmers

The potential of hybrid rwas threatening to remain juthatpotential. Fortunes chain 1970, however, when germ(seeds and the genetic mater

contain) from the InternationResearch Institute (IRRI) wasent to China for breeding in

varieties. According to IRRI

rice breeder Fangming Xie, ia eureka moment: They testIRRI lines to see if they couldrestorer lines, and bingogo

For farmers to make a w

investment in hybrid seedscan be used for only one seasneed to produce a yield at lea

Acountry that is home toaround one-fth of theentire planets population

faces some seriouschallenges. Perhaps the most

ndamental of these is the questionhow it feeds itself. Ensuringough food for 1.3 billion stomachs

to say the least, extraordinarilyfcult. But it is something that,er the past few decades, Chinas done remarkably well.

One of the reasons for Chinascent food-security success is its

mpressively high rice yields. In theidst of much hunger and starvationthe 1960s, it was clear the country

eded to boost its agriculturaltput. Now, at an average of morean 6 tons per hectare, Chinas

yields are higher than those of most

of its neighboring countries. Thereare many reasons for this, but one inparticular is the way that the countryhas not only embraced hybrid rice

but also become the world leaderin its research and development.

In conventional rice varieties,

each ower contains both male and

female organs, allowing the plantto reproduce itself through self-pollination (inbreeding). Hybridrice seeds, however, are produced

from crossing two geneticallydifferent parents. This results in thephenomenon of heterosiscommonlyknown as hybrid vigorand theconsequent higher yields.

Hybrid vigor is expressedduring the plants early vegetativeand reproductive growth stages.

Young hybrid seedlings have faster

root and leaf-area development andbetter canopy development; themature plant has increased totaldry matter, larger panicles (theterminal shoots of a rice plant that

produce grain), more spikelets (unitsof the rice ower) per unit area,increased total weight of grains,

A hybrid historyy adm brcly

ChINA SPECIAL

Hybrid rice has helped China feed one-fth of

humanity and avoid mass hunger. Rice Todayinvestigates the international collaboration

behind this history-altering technology.

ormer irri sscs ad hydc sach adSa Va.

AtHer o HYbriD riCe lgg Ya ( right) aks Gad bay, ad irris c ad ha hahga, dg a vs h is 2004.

rodolFo toledo (2)

ArielJAvellAnA(2)

YbriD riCe yd Jag, Cha.

tHe lowerS

a dc a(Oryza sativa).

rowenAoAne


13/21


Rice Research Institutehas broughtChinese experts to South andSoutheast Asian countries to furtherdevelop the hybrid rice seed industry

and the necessary productiontechniques. In turn, trainees fromthese countries have receivedhybrid rice training in China.

Under Dr. Xie, IRRI is continuing

to develop hybrid rice products anddisseminating IRRI germplasm torice-producing countries and to theprivate sector. The Institute also

conducts training in seed productionand breeding, and helps othercountries develop plans and policysupport for hybrid rice programs.

Due to farmers need for

new seeds every season, theprivate sectorwhich produces99% of commercial hybrid rice

seednecessarily plays a key rolein the hybrid rice industry. Public

institutions perform much of theresearch and breeding, and developthe products, which are thentransferred to the private sector for

marketing and seed distribution.Although already strong,

the hybrid rice industry in Chinacontinues to grow. Currently, Chinesehybrids, which have an average

1520% yield advantage over inbreds,are planted on around 16 millionhectaresmore than half of Chinastotal rice area of 28 million hectares.

China grows both of the main

subspecies of commercial rice,japonica (sticky) and indica (lesssticky). Indica is grown in thesouthern and central latitudes;

japonica is grown in the north. Ingeneral, people prefer japonica overindica because of its higher grainquality, but japonica prices are higher.

About 85% of Chinas indica rice is

already hybrid, so current effortsto increase hybrid production arefocused on boosting the proportion of

japonica hybrid rice, which presently

makes up only 3% of total japonicaarea. The Chinese government isaiming for 70% of all Chinas riceto be hybrid within 5 to 8 years.

Chinese researchers are also

continuing to develop what are knownas two-line hybrids. Most of thecurrent varieties require three lines

male-sterile,maintainer, andrestorer. Two-linehybrids, although

still variable fromyear to year, dontneed a maintainerline and outyieldthree-line

hybrids. Aftersuccessfulcommercializationin 1995, the area

planted to two-line hybrid ricehad reached 1.6million hectares,or 10% of the

total hybrid ricearea, by 2003.

So-called

super hybridrice varieties are

two-line hybridsproduced frommore diverseparent rice lines.

The relativelylarge geneticdifference

betweenthe parents

causes greaterheterosis and,therefore, even greater yields(a 10% yield advantage overthree-line hybrids, or a 3040%

advantage over inbred varieties).In a paper entitled The second

generation of hybrid rice in China,published in the Proceedings of the

20th Session of the International RiceCommission (Bangkok, Thailand,2326 July 2002), Prof. Yuan said,If super hybrid rice covers anannual area of 13 million hectares

in China, and calculating a yieldincrease of 2.25 tons per hectare, itis expected that the annual increasedgrains will reach 30 million tons,

which means 75 million peoplemore can be fed every year.

The higher yields of hybridscan come with a cost, though. Grainquality in the rst generation of

hybrid rice varieties was often lowerthan that of inbreds. Chalkinesscan also be a problem. High-quality

hybrid rice seed is available, at a higher cost. However, quhas improved in recent years

two-line hybrids are expectefurther enhance hybrid eatinand cooking characteristics.

InHybrid rice for food s

in the world, a paper presentUnited Nations Food and AgOrganizations (FAO) 2004 RConference, Prof. Yuan said thybrid rice has been playing

critical role in solving the fooproblem of China, thus makithe largest food self-sufcien. I rmly believe that hybri

relying on scientic and techadvances and the efforts fromother aspects, particularly frFAO and IRRI, will have a veprospect for commercial pro

and continue to play a key roin ensuring future food secu

worldwide in the new century

gher than that of the farmersst available inbred variety. Dr.e, who obtained his mastersgree at CNHRRDC as a student

Prof. Yuan, says this was anotherea in which the IRRI germplasmlped springboard Chinas hybrid

ce program. Because the IRRIrmplasm was relatively genetically

fferent from the Chinese maintainernes, it prompted sufcient heterosis

boost yields to the requiredvel. As a bonus, the IRRI lines

ere more resistant to pests andseases than the Chinese varieties.

Without IRRI germplasm, theccess of hybrid rice in China wouldve been much delayed, says Dr.

e. In fact, pedigree studies haveown that 90% of the restorer-

ne donors for Chinese hybrid

ce varieties came from IRRI.Since those early days, many

RRI lines have been distributedChina for use in hybrid ricevelopment, and scientist exchangetween the Institute and China

s boosted research capacity onth sides. The contribution goesth ways, tooChina has providedpertise to IRRI, along with severalrieties for the development of

omising male-sterile lines suitabler tropical and subtropical areas.

Dr. Virmani, who left IRRI in the

early 1970s but returned a decadelater to again lead hybrid researchthere. Seeing its widespreadadoption in China in the late 1970s

convinced me that it was a seriousand important option for the restof the worlds rice farmers.

Unsuited to the tropics becausethey lacked disease resistance,

the Chinese varieties were notviable for farmers across much oftropical Southeast Asia. More work

was needed to develop hybrid ricevarieties that would thrive in the

regions hot, humid climate. Thanksto the efforts of Dr. Virmani, whoretired in 2005 (seeA hybrid pioneeron pages 28-31 ofRice Today Vol.

4, No. 2), IRRI now has a vibranthybrid rice research program andmany countries in Southeast Asiahave established, and are expanding,their hybrid rice production.

Apart from Vietnam, India,and the Philippines, which havecommercialized hybrid rice forsome time, countries such as

Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Pakistanhave achieved recent success withhybrid rice. The Asian DevelopmentBankfunded collaborative projectThe Development and Utilization

of Hybrid Rice in Asiamanagedby IRRI with participation fromCNHRRDC and the China National

ChINA SPECIAL

Only after Chinas initial success

with IRRI germplasm did IRRI startits own hybrid program in 1972,led by retired plant breeder Sant

Virmani. But, in the face of skepticism

from some scientists, the Institutehalted its research the following year,only restarting it in 1979 after Chinahad red up international interest

by commercializing the technology.

I had always known hybrid ricewas technically possible, explains

h pe ee-ne

*A cytoplasmicmale-sterile line is the type of rice l ine required for the prothree-line hybrid rice varieties.

irri hyd c dagg x.

FAngmingXie

HYbriD riCe ba.


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Between 1979 and 2005, rice

area in China decreased from32.4 to 28.8 million hectares.

the same time, average yields wentp from 4.2 tons per hectare in 1979

about 6.3 tons per hectare in 1997

d thereafter. Becausethese opposite trends,nual Chinese riceoduction has been

irly stable at 170190illion tons since83.

1But this apparent

ability concealsajor shifts in the location and

opping patterns of rice in China.Rice cultivation in China is

oving northward (see Map 1).om 1979 to 2005, the southernovince of Guangdong lost half

rice area, a decrease of 85,000ctares per year. Over the sameriod, the northeastern provinceHeilongjiang gained 64,000

ctares per year. Together, the fourrthern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin,

ei Mongol, and Heilongjiang had7% of the Chinese rice area in 1979d 11.5% in 2005. These provinces

ve also seen relatively strongcreases in yield. In Heilongjiang,r example, yields have gone up0 kilograms per hectare peraralmost twice the annual

eld gain for the whole of China.Economic development has

rongly contributed to the decreaserice area in the south. Because of

increased demand for off-farmbor, double cropping of riceonlyssible in southern Chinaising replaced by a more labor-cient single rice crop. Some of

e land and labor that were usedr rice production are now used to

produce high-value vegetable cropscatering to wealthier consumers

who have diversied their dietand eat less rice. Other rice lands

have been used for construction.The decline in rice area in

the relatively poor southwesternprovinces of Guizhou and Yunnanhas been much less than that of

other southern provinces.However, economicdevelopment does not seemto explain the increase

in rice production inthe northeast. The mainincome gradient in China

(Map 2) is from east towest and not from north to south.

The increase in rice area in thenorth may be related to an increaseddemand for japonica-type rice,

which is better adapted to temperateclimates, or to an expansion of

irrigation infrastructure. Anotherfactor that may have contributed

is climate change. Since the mid-1960s, Earth has experienced verystrong global warming of about0.03 C per year.

2Warming has

been strongest at high latitudes, andminimum temperature has increasedmore than maximum temperature.

Warming in northeast China hasbeen particularly strong (Map 3).

The average minimum temperaturein Heilongjiang is now about 2.5 Chigher than it was in the early 1960s!

A yield decline associated with

increasing minimum temperatureshas been observed in long-termtrials at the International Rice

Research Institute in the Philippines.3

But, in relatively cool areas such

as Heilongjiang, warming mayhave contributed to higher yieldsthrough a longer growing seasonand reduced cold stress.

Only a few studies have analyzed

the inuence of past climate changeon crop production.

4A challenge in

ataavailableintheWorldRiceStatisticsdatabaseatwww.irri.org/science/ricestat.obalaverage,onlyconsideringtemperaturesoverland,excludingAntarctica.EstimatebasedondatayMitchellandJones(2005),InternationalJournaloClimatology25:693-712.engetal(2004).ProceedingsotheNationalAcademyoSciencesUSA101:9971-9975.www.pnas.org/cgi/content/ull/101/27/9971.xamplesosuchworkincludeYouetal(2005),EnvironmentandProductionTechnologyDiscussionPaper143,IFPRI.www.ipri.org/divs/eptd/dp/papers/ptdp143.pd,andLobellandField(2007),EnvironmentalResearchLetters2:014002.www.iop.org/EJ/article/1748-9326/2/1/014002/erl7_1_014002.html.

Relocating rice production in China

Stable rice production

conceals major shifts

in the location and

cropping patterns

of rice in China

y Robert Hijmans

Rice TodayOtobr-Dmbr 2007

such analyses is disentangling therole of climate change from that ofother factors inuencing land use.For example, although warming

increases the potential for doubleand triple cropping of rice, prevailingeconomic conditions are nudgingfarmers in the opposite direction.

The spatio-temporal coincidence

of warming and rice area expansionin northern China is striking, buta much more rened analysis isnecessary to assess whether warming

is contributing to this expansion.In areas such as northern China,

which have witnessed rapid climatechange over the past decades,looking backward can improve

our ability to predict the future.

Dr. Hijmans is a geographer in

IRRIs Social Sciences Division.

1

Rice TodayOtobr-Dmbr 2007

Attimeoprinting,US$1=7.52Chineseyuan.

Maps china special


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Rice TodayOtobr-Dmbr 2007 Rice TodayOtobr-Dmbr 2007

On a steaming hot Beijing

day in August 2007, agroup of researchersfrom China AgriculturalUniversity (CAU) visited

eir experimental station on thege of the gigantic city. Severalctares of what has come to beown as aerobic ricegrown

ke any other nonrice crop, in

nooded eldsstood obliviousthe brutal, unforgiving sun.

This is whyRice Today was in

China. The push to establish a large-

scale aerobic rice production system,which achieves high yields using afraction of the water required forood-irrigated rice (known simply as

lowland rice), is gaining momentum.There are wrinkles to be ironedout, but the potential, in the faceof widespread and ever-worsening

water availability, is enormous.

On this day, though, it w asntthe aerobic rice that grabbedour attention. As we climbed

into the car to head back to

the university campus, HuaqiWangthe breeder responsible forthe several aerobic rice varieties

wed inspectedturned to us.

Before we return, I wantto show you something, saidProf. Wang, director of CAUsUpland Rice Research Center.

Without any explanation, we

drove to another rice eld, a fewkilometers away. This half-hectare ofhealthy looking rice, belonging to a

local farmer, represented something

truly momentous. It was the lastremaining plot of commercial lowlandrice in the municipality of Beijing.

With a wry laugh, Prof. Wang

told us that soon it would be gone too,muscled out by a still rapidly growingpopulation and fast-encroachingurban and industrial works, whoseprodigious hunger for land and thirst

for water mean that there simply isntenough of either for lowland rice.

CAU water expert Xiaoguang

Yang, who researches water-savingagricultural technologies, saysthat the water situation, especially

in northern China, has becomedesperate. In Beijing, she says, thegroundwater depth is very lowat

least 20 meters below the surfaceand dropping further every year.

Beijing, in Chinas north, ishome to more wheat and maizethan rice, but the eld in front of ussymbolized not only a dying practice

but also the promise of water-savingtechnologies like aerobic rice.Perhaps, we lamented, it should bepreserved as a museum exhibit.

According to Prof. Yang, as

recently as 10 years ago, a lot oflowland rice was grown in Beijing.Now, she says, apart from this eld,theres none. But people here wantricetherefore, we need aerobic rice.

When water is scarce, riceis inevitably the worst-affectedcrop. Compared with the worldsother major staples, wheat and

maize, rice uses around twice asmuch waterroughly 2,000 litersto produce a single kilogram.

Plant nutritionist Shan Lin, fromCAUs Department of Plant Nutrition,

points out just how thirsty lowlandrice is. In China, 70% of water is usedin agriculture; 70% of that is used inrice production, he says. In terms of

rainfall or irrigation water, lowlandrice needs approximately 1,0001,500 millimeters. Aerobic rice needsaround 600 millimeters. Aerobicrice can really help us save water.

Bas Bouman, senior waterscientist and aerobic rice work-groupleader at the Philippines-based

High and dryStory and photos by

Adam Barclay

As Chinese farmers face a

worsening irrigation crisis,

they need a way to grow

rice with less water. Aerobic

rice may be the answer.

International Rice Research (IRRI), is acutely aware of thproblem. When he arrived at1999, Dr. Bouman had an ide

cant we grow rice as an irrigunooded dryland crop, likemaize? There already existedrice cropstraditional variet

yield poorly but are able to co

with extremely harsh conditiincluding very dry climates, soils, and often sloping land.if the sturdiness of upland ri

could be combined with the hyielding traits of lowland rice

So, in 2000, Dr. Boumanstarted asking agronomists aplant physiologists about the

The answer I always gotsays, was, Its just not possiis not like that, rice is differe

So I parked the idea for a whuntil I learned about the wor

to improve upland rice in mofavorable environments. Thepeople at IRRI with basicallysame idea, but not in the irrig

lowland environment. They wworking in the sloping uplantrying to improve upland rice

Like most good ideas, aewas, in theory, fundamentall

It also turned out that it wasnrst time somebody had thouof it. The IRRI upland researintroduced Dr. Bouman to Pr

Wang, who, at that time, had

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china special


16/21

Rice TodayOtobr-Dmbr 2007 Rice TodayOtobr-Dmbr 2007

orking on aerobic rice for morean a decade. Sure enough, he hadossed hardy upland rice varietiesth modern lowland varieties.

I realized that what Prof.ang was doing was exactly what

had in mind and that, yes, it isssible, recalls Dr. Bouman.

Prof. Wangs progress was

couragingdespite very littlesearch support, he claimed tove achieved yields of above 6 tonsr hectare. He was working in

w, at areas where farmers havesufcient irrigation to ood theld, but have access to enough waterr two or three small irrigationsr season or as much rainfall as

needed for wheat or maize. This,ys Dr. Bouman, is precisely therget zone for aerobic rice. In water-

arce China, it is an environmentowing in area every year.

For farmers who have beenrced by lack of irrigation to endeir lowland rice production,robic rice offers the chance to

ow rice once more. Rice is sondamentally important to theet of most Chinese people thatrmers will go to great lengths toow rice for themselves and their

mily, even if it means sacricingcome that would allow them to buyce on the market. It is a cultural asuch as an agricultural decision.

When we say, well, you can

so buy it on the market, says Dr.ouman, they look at you and say,

Although many armers are impressed byaerobic rices potential, most would optor lowland (ood-irrigated) riceand itssignifcantly higher yieldsi they had thechoice. But, as water becomes scarcer andmore and more armers lose that choice,aerobic rice is becoming an increasinglyimportant technology.

Two neighboring villages in FengtaiCounty, Anhui Province, oer a graphicillustration o the dierence between armingwith and without plentiul access to water.Xiwang and Cuihai villages may share aboundary, but they dont share water.

In 2000, the irrigation system thated Cuihai rom the nearby river ceased tooperate. Xiwang, meanwhile, has a unctioningirrigation system that delivers enough wateror lowland rice production.

At the village boundary, Xiwangs lowlandrice crops stand side by side with Cuihaisaerobic rice felds. The aerobic rice is doing

well at this stage o the 2007 season, but,until varieties and crop management systemsimprove urther, it cant compete with thelush, green lowland rice.

Three armers rom CuihaiChunguoWang, Chunjian Wang, and Chunqiao Wangwould love to have access to Xiwangsirrigation, but theyre not complaining. Beore2000, all three grew lowland rice. The next 2years, with no rice in their felds, their maize

crops were ooded and returned very lowyields. In 2003, they heard about aerobic ricerom a local agricultural technician and wereimmediately interested.

With the other village armers, the threemen started growing aerobic rice in 2004. Thevillages combined aerobic rice area that yearwas 35 mu (2.3 hectares). In 2006, it climbedto 50 mu (3.3 hectares). When Rice TodayvisitedCuihai in August, the 2007 crop was lookinggood, and the armers were expecting a yieldo around 350 kilograms per mu (5.25 tons perhectare). I this prediction holds, the villagemay plant 150 mu (10 hectares) in 2008.

In July and August o 2007, the maizecrops were again hammered by heavy rainand oods; the armers expect yields 4050%

lower than in 2006. The aerobic ricewithstood the weather unscathed

Chunqiao Wang is a true aebeliever, renting neighboring armhe can grow 9 mu (0.6 hectares) rice2 mu more than the total aland he actually owns.

Overall, I eel good about aeespecially i the yield can reach 400per mu [6 tons per hectare], he uture will be bright i we can getvarieties. Even i the irrigation imwe get improved varieties, I mightaerobic riceit costs much less tharice. I everything goes well, our vgrow more than 200 mu [13.3 heaerobic rice.

Aerobc beleversyes, thats ne, but I wantit in

rice today vol. 6, no. 4

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