strasa newsletter vol 5 nos 3-4 aug-dec-2012-12pg
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tress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia Vol. 5 Nos. 3-4 Aug-Dec 20
Whats inside...
M.H. Dar, S. Singh, N.W. Zaidi, and S. Shu
Drought is more complex than otherabiotic stresses. It can occur atany point during the season and for
any length of time, causing heavy
crop losses. IRRI, in collaboration with
national programs in India and other
countries in South Asia, developed a
range of lines with different maturity
groups by conventional breeding.
One such line, IR74371-70-1-1-
CRR-1, showed a consistently good
performance under rainfed direct-
seeded upland and transplanted
lowland conditions in India,
Bangladesh, and Nepal. In India, it
was recommended for cultivation in
the states of Odisha, Jharkhand, and
Chhattisgarh, and for transplanted
conditions in Tamil Nadu. This line
was released and notied in October
2010 with the name Sahbhagi Dhan
(SD) by the Central Rainfed Upland
Rice Research Station, Hazaribagh,
although prerelease seed
multiplication and dissemination have
been undertaken ever since 2009.
During its rst evaluation in
farmers elds in eastern Uttar
Pradesh (UP), when seed was
provided through NGOs such as
Grameen Development Services
(GDS) and Gorakhpur Environmental
Action Group (GEAG), a femalefarmer, Meera Devi from Mohanjyoth
Village, Maharajgung, who cultivated
SD for the rst time, harvested 4.5
tons/ha in 105 days with more straw
than the earlier variety to feed her
cattle. Her fellow farmer, Prabhavati,
harvested 5 t/ha, more than a 1 t/ha
increase from her earlier variety. Both
women also acknowledged its better
grain and cooking quality than NDR
97, which is one of the most popular
varieties in that area. Realizing thepotential of this variety, GDS decided
to scale up its seed multiplication
through its cooperative Lehera APCL
(Agricultural Producers Company
Ltd.). Demand for the seed also rose
exponentially because of requests
from farmers in neighboring villages.
During the last two years, many
farmers have switched over to SD,
resulting in almost total replacement
of NDR 97 in those villages. Farmers
benets are multiple: in addition to
higher yield, this variety is changing
the cropping pattern in many areas
where farmers can grow three
cropsrice and early peas followed
by late-sown wheat varieties, thus
increasing their annual production and
income. Some farmers prefer potato
because it fetches a good market
price in March, followed by cowpea,
chillies, or mungbean.
Things did not stop here. Seed
was distributed to many states through
various channels, including the minikit
distribution of the National Food
Security Mission (NFSM) program
of the government of India. Various
promotional activities took placeacross the states, which inspired the
KVK Saran in Bihar, with the help
of the NICRA (National Initiative on
Climate-Resilient Agriculture) project
to distribute SD seed to farmers in the
2010 kharif season. Narvadeshwar
Giri, a progressive farmer from
Aphaur Village, afrmed that he
planted SD on 5 kathas (a local unit)
and Rajendra Mahsuri on his adjacent
plot of 1 acre. Both varieties were
cultivated with good managementpractices, which he calls SRI (the
System of Rice Intensication). Giri
explained how he beneted by
growing SD, with numbers to back
him up. He got an average yield of
5 t/ha from a neighboring variety
in 140 days and 4 t/ha from SD in
110 days. However, he did not need
to irrigate 5 ha of his eld with SD,
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which saved him a signicant amountof money (each irrigation cost 1,700
rupees/ha). He roughly estimatedsaving 30% in production cost for SDcompared with Rajendra Mahsuri.
Also, he was able to geta mid-crop of fenugreek
before wheat, whichgave him additionalbenets. Another farmer,Babban Singh, claimed tohave harvested 5t/ha in his eld. Manyother farmers who arecurrently using hybridswanted to switch to SD inthe next season if seedwere available for them.
STRASA-I
RRI/India
Year-end Address
by Abdelbagi M. IsmailOverall Project Leader, STRASA
During our visit to NalandaDistrict in Bihar, we talked withDeputy Director for Agriculture Mr.Sudama Mahto, who mentioned theperformance of SD in his area, where
it was distributed by the NFSM. Heexcitedly mentioned how he had seenthis crop yielding well under severedrought when elds were showingprominent cracks.
Large-scale demonstrations of SDare being carried out by differentstates. Moreover, STRASA, underNFSM-IRRI collaboration, has carriedout 1,700-ha cluster demonstrations
The year 2012 witnessed exciting
developments for STRASA, in both South
Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. This year is
particularly important for us, as it marks the
5th year of the projected 10-year period of
the project. These rst 5 years have been
exceedingly successful, with STRASAestablishing a strong network of partners in
both South Asia and Africa. Numerous stress-
tolerant varieties were developed and over
20 of them were commercialized in the past
4 years, reaching over 4 million farmers, at
a pace implying STRASA will not fall short of
reaching its ultimate goal of 20 million farmers
by 2017. We had a good share of media
coverage this year, reaching over 140 in
Bangladesh alone.
Several elements have been critical
to the success and visibility of STRASA. A
marketable product, the choice of varietiespopular among rainfed lowland farmers
for deploying SUB1 with such consistent
effects in different backgrounds and
environments was the rst triumph, followed
by additional varieties with discernible yield
advantages over existing ones, especially
when conditions were less favorable, with
incidences of drought or excess water and
salt. Sabhagi dhan was the front-runner this
year where rice production in most areas was
severely restricted by delays in monsoon
and shortages of rain (see page 1). The
joy expressed by farmers in these areas isgratifying; in one of our visits in Odisha last
October, David Bergvinson inquired, Why
did we let these farmers wait so long? And
Achim Dobermann saw it as the best impact
assessment upon his recent visit to a similar
group of farmers in UP. Other success factors
include a far-reaching network of partners
along the research to adoption continuum,
exceeding 450 in South Asia alone; an effective
awareness program targeting appropriate
partners, policymakers, and farmers; and strong
policy support and additional resources made
available by international donors and national
programs, primarily to supplement STRASA
activities in producing and distributing good-quality seeds and to strengthen national seed
systems. To all of them, we are particularly
grateful.
The strong backing and support by the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, especially
by David Bergvinson over the past 5 years,
in being part of the team, contributed
tremendously to such success. David now took
over another responsibility in the Foundation
but promised to keep up with STRASA and use
it as his rst case study in the new initiative
he is leading to develop a new eld of Digital
Revolution in Agriculture. We wholeheartedlywelcome Gary Atlin as the new senior
program ofcer of the Foundation responsible
for STRASA. Gary is not new to rice, and
his previous work on drought contributed
considerably to STRASA success in this major
component of the project. We are excited to see
him back in rice again and look forward to team
up with him. Gary spent a few days in India
visiting STRASA sites last November, and then
at IRRI; he held discussions with the STRASA
team and IRRI management.
The expansion of STRASA activities
means challenges: more resources arein demand and more partners are being
added. We were privileged to have additional
investments from governments, donors, and
development agencies to support STRASA
activities over the last few years, and we do
hope this trend will continue to keep STRASA
in the spotlight and as the agship project,
both for IRRI and for the Foundation. Nothing
is more fullling than having Bill Gates praising
STRASA in several of his talks and as the best
example where all pieces come together in
his address at IFAD on 23 February.
Numerous collaborative and awareness
visits were organized this year. Of those, 33
scientists and senior ofcials visited IRRIfor various purposes. The recent visit of the
secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and
Cooperation, government of India, is featured
in this issue (see page 3). The most recent
visits of Baboucarr Manneh and Venuprasad
Ramiah of AfricaRice Center coincided with the
visit of Gary Atlin to IRRI; we had stimulating
discussions covering various strategic issues
for STRASA, and what is needed to keep
up the tempo, in both product development
and the delivery pipeline. Several signicant
workshops were also organized during this
year, including an awareness workshop atIRRI involving 10 senior ofcials from India,
Bangladesh, and Nepal, and a Leadership
Workshop for Asian and African Women held a
IRRI. Several women from STRASA countries
were sponsored.
Several events are lined up for 2013,
including the mid-term external review of
STRASA, holding annual planning and review
meetings in March-April, and putting together
elements for building Phase III of the project.
Sincere gratitude goes to my colleagues at
IRRI and AfricaRice and to all our partners,
advisors, and support staff; only with yourseless efforts and commitments did STRASA
make it this far, but we are just half way!
I wish all of you and your families a
marvelous festival season and a healthy and
prosperous 2013.
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Indian Agriculture Secretary visits IRRI, signs MOA forstronger ties Paula Bianca Ferrer and Maria Rowena Baltazar
Hon. Shri Ashish Bahuguna,secretary, Ministry of Agricultureand Cooperation, government of India,visited IRRI on 8-11 November 2012.
He was accompanied by Ms. Reena
Saha, director for crops, and Mr. R.K.
Trivedi, deputy commissioner for seed
quality control in the Ministry.
IRRI Director General Robert
Zeigler and Deputy Director General
for Communications and Partnerships
Bruce Tolentino, along with several
scientists, made short presentations
about ongoing activities of IRRI in
India and discussed potential areasfor future collaboration. "Working with
India for the last 12 years and also its
research institutions, I noticed that India
is quite progressive in the improvement
in the capacity of its research
institutions, said Dr. Abdelbagi
Ismail, overall leader of the Stress-
Tolerant Rice for Africa and South
Asia (STRASA) project. In the past, we
used to develop technologies, but right
now things are changing, and Indian
institutions are involved in technology
development at all levels. We have
good scientists, and good platforms to
take this partnership forward."
The secretarys visit to IRRI was an
initiative of STRASA and the project
facilitated this. Dr. Ismail and STRASA-
South Asia Regional Coordinator
Dr. Uma Shankar Singh briefed
him about the STRASA project. The
impact of the project in developing
drought-, salt-, and submergence-
tolerant varietiesand their proper
managementwas also
discussed during the
meeting with Dr. Ismail,
Dr. Singh, and other IRRIscientists.
On 10 November
2012, Hon. Shri Ashish
Bahuguna signed
a memorandum of
agreement with IRRI
ofcials (Dr. Robert
Zeigler, Dr. AchimSecretary Bahuguna (left) after signing
the MoA with IRRI DG Robert Zeigler. IRRI-Philippines/CPS
in drought-prone areas of UP, Bihar,West Bengal, and Odisha. Farmersfrom all the states have shown anoverwhelming response for thisvariety. Different state governmentsare carrying out approx. 8,000-ha cluster demonstrations under
the Bringing the Green Revolutionto East India (BGREI) program. InMayurbhunj District of Odisha, wheretribal farmers grow long-durationvarieties and always face threats, theycultivated SD in 2012 and harvestedalmost double their usual yield withless expenditures than for the existingvarieties. This project has helped in thepenetration of this valuable variety inthese areas where farmers could havenever imagined being successful.
Farmers in Mayurbhunj generallyleave land fallow after rice andthey look for work in other areas as
laborers. The early harvest of thisvariety has added to the number ofdays they can work and thereforethey can earn more to supporttheir families. One farmer whohad cultivated SD wants to growearly brinjal (eggplant) so that hecan obtain a good market price.
During a eld day organized by alocal NGO, DDA, Mr. SudharshanMohanty expressed his happinessabout the performance of the varietyand its demonstrations in the area.He mentioned to the farmers theunavailability of such varieties in thepast. Raygada, another drought-prone district where a 100-hademonstration of SD was carried outin 2012, considered SD as a blessingto its farmers as it outyielded earlier
varieties such as Konark, which hasgiven only half the yield of SD.Similar results have been obtained
from other districts in Odisha andWest Bengal.
Different characteristicshave contributed to the successand versatility of this variety. Itsperformance under both droughtand favorable conditions has beengreat, which has not only encouragedfarmers to consider this variety but
also encouraged seed producers tocome forward. Seed multiplicationwas immense immediately after itsrelease. The Central Rainfed UplandRice Research Station in Hazaribagh,the center from which this variety wasreleased, obtained a record breederseed production of 19 tons underthe Department of Agriculture andCooperation, Ministry of Agriculture.This amount of seed can be used toproduce more than 50,000 tons of
certied seed in the next two years,which will sustainably reach thousandsof farmers.
Dobermann, Dr. Bruce Tolentino,
Dr. Abdelbagi Ismail, and Dr. Uma
Shankar Singh) to further strengthen
future collaborative undertakings.
Other activities by the secretary
and his party during their 2-day stay
at IRRI were a visit to the IRRI farm
and an ecological intensication site,
greenhouse and eld experiments, C4
rice plant growth facilities, Riceworld
Museum, the Training Center, the
International Rice Genebank, the
Cyber village project in a nearby
village, and several IRRI laboratories.
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Annual meeting of the Eastern Indian Rainfed LowlandShuttle Breeding Network (EIRLSBN) completed
Bertrand Collard
The annual selection meeting of the
Eastern Indian Rainfed Lowland
Shuttle Breeding Network (EIRLSBN)was held at the Central Rice Research
Institute (CRRI), Cuttack, India, on 16-
17 November. During these meetings,
breeders from all centers of the
network participated in joint selection
of segregating material for use at
their own stations and evaluated xed
lines that are suitable for each region.
Typically, hundreds of single-plant
selections were made and the meeting
also provided participants with
opportunities to spend valuable timeinteracting and discussing matters. This
activity was coordinated by Dr. J.N.
Reddy (CRRI), the network coordinator
at CRRI, Cuttack, Odisha.
Participants were Dr. K.K. Sharma,
Assam Agricultural University, North
Lakhimpur, Assam; Dr. S.K. Chetia,
Regional Agricultural Research
Station, Titabar, Assam; Drs. P.K. Singh
and S.P. Singh, Bihar Agricultural
University, Sabour, Bihar; Drs. S.R. Das
and D.N. Bastia, Odisha University of
Agriculture and Technology (OUAT),
Bhubaneswar; Dr. Indira Dana, Rice
Research Station, Chinsurah, West
Bengal; and Drs. Bert Collard (IRRI
coordinator of EIRLSBN) and Yoichi
Kato (physiologist) from IRRI.
In 2012, three participants from
Meghalaya (a northeastern state in
between Assam and Bangladesh)
were also invited to participate in
the selection activity (Ms. Rita Bahun
Mylliem Umlong, Ms. Baphiralin
Kharshiing, and Mr. Batseng W.
Momin) as part of collaborative
activities between IRRI and the state
of Meghalaya. It is hoped that
Meghalaya will be formally included
in the EIRLSBN in the near future, as
the state establishes its rice breeding
program.
IRRI DG meets with Indias Honorable Minister
of Agriculture Uma Shankar Singh and Tara Chand Dhoundiya
During his visit to India in
September, IRRI Director
General Dr. Robert S. Zeigler had an
audience with the Indian governmentsHonorable Minister of Agriculture
Mr. Sharad Pawar. In their meeting
on 12 September 2012, Dr. Zeigler
apprised the minister of recent
developments in rice research at
IRRI and the support extended to
the government of Assam during a
recent ood in the state. Dr. Zeigler
extended an invitation to Mr. Pawar
to visit IRRI in the near future. Mr.
Pawar appreciated IRRIs contributions
in India and accepted the invitation to
visit IRRI. Dr. Zeigler was accompanied
by Dr. J.K. Ladha, Dr. U.S. Singh, andMr. M.S. Rao during this meeting. Dr. S.
Ayyappan, secretary, Department of
Agricultural Research and Education,
and director general, Indian Council
of Agricultural Research, was also
present during the meeting.
On 11 September 2012, Dr.
Zeigler met with Secretary of
Agriculture Mr. Ashish Bahuguna
and other senior ofcials, including
additional secretaries and joint
secretaries of the ministry. Dr. Zeigler
shared his views on various aspects
related to rice. He also provided asummary of recent developments in
rice research and technologies that
are likely to be available to farmers
in the near future. Mr. Bahuguna
appreciated the IRRI-India partnership
and acknowledged the contributions
of IRRI in India, particularly the great
success of stress-tolerant rice varieties,
namely, Swarna-Sub1, in farmers
Drs. Bert Collard and Yoichiro Kato (2nd and 3rd from left, respectively)of IRRI with some of the participants at the EIRLSBN meeting during
a field visit
IRRI-Philippine
s/BCollard
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M.G. Neogi
Ensuring food security in a changing climate: additional
harvests of short-duration rice in the aus season usingrainwater for reduced cost
Food insecurity is a fundamental
feature of poverty in Bangladesh.
Though there has been impressive
agricultural and socioeconomic
progress in the recent past, feedingthe increasing population remains
a major concern. The increasing
population has also made many
people subject to marginalization and
landlessness. In a subsistence rural
economy like Bangladeshs, poverty
and food insecurity are directly linked
to land productivity. Some 70% of
the rural poor are landless. Per capita
land availability today stands at 0.09
ha and is decreasing with population
growth and expanding urbanization.
Even for those who have access to
land, agricultural production systems
are not adequately sufcient to attain
food security on a sustainable basis
for various reasons, including poor
agricultural technologies and a lack
of improved seeds, seedlings, modern
production techniques, irrigation,
marketing, and storage facilities.
Frequent natural disasters also reduce
or destroy the scarce land resources
of the poor, thus increasing their
indebtedness and taking them deeper
into poverty traps.
The people of the southernregion have to ght against all
kinds of natural disasters, such as
oods, drought, increasing salt, etc.,
making them the most vulnerable to
food insecurity. Late oods being
experienced lately in Bangladesh
are believed to be caused by climate
change. Because of these late oods,
the aman rice crop (monsoon rice)
is often destroyed and the farmers
can no longer replant the crop.
People face untold miseries when
they lose their harvest. In order to
ensure adequate food to feed these
populations, ways to increase food
production are tapped.
Short-duration rice cultivation in
the aus season (immediately after
the harvest of boro rice in late April
or early May) as additional rice
production technology may be a
blessing for southern Bangladesh.
Normally, farmers transplant boro
rice seedlings in late December to
January, and harvest in late Aprilto early May. Farmers generally
transplant aman rice seedlings on
the same land in late July to early
August, and harvest in late November
to early December. So, the land is
left fallow for more than 2 months
between the boro and aman seasons.
Farmers can use this fallow period
by introducing aus cultivation as an
additional rice production technology
and can obtain three harvests (boro,
aus, and aman) in the same yearinstead of only two (boro and aman),
and thus ensure higher income for
better livelihood. If farmers are able
to harvest aus as an additional rice
crop in early August, farmers will get
rice, and agricultural day-laborers
will get work and straw to feed their
cattle. Immediately after harvesting
aus, farmers can cultivate the aman
crop. Through aus rice technology, it
will be easier to motivate farmers tocultivate other crops such as wheat,
maize, mustard, pulses, etc., in the
boro season, especially in highlands
instead of boro rice, as this will ensure
two rice crops (aus and aman) in a
calendar year. If boro in particular
is replaced with other crops without
affecting total rice production, a
signicant amount of nonrenewable
energy will be saved.
In partnership with the USAID-
supported IRRI-SRSPDS project, arecent innovation has been piloted
in farmers elds, showing that the
production of short-duration rice
between boro and aman seasons,
referred to as aus rice, can produce
around 1 million tons more rice from
a half million hectares of land in
southern Bangladesh. If this production
technology is extended throughout the
Wastage of rainwaterUSAID-S
TRASA\IRRI-
Bangladesh
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country, it is possible to produce more
than 6 million tons of additional rice
from about 3 million hectares of land.
The varieties tested for suitability for
the aus season are BRRI dhan56, BRRI
dhan57, BINA dhan-8, BR26, BRRI
dhan27, BRRI dhan48, CR dhan 40,Ciherang-Sub1, IR64-Sub1, Pariza,
and Nerika.
Upon the success of these
adaptive trials on short-duration
rice varieties in farmers elds in
the aus season, it may be possible
to develop an alternative cropping
pattern or technology of three crops
a year. Most of these varieties are
now acceptable to farmers in terms of
their relatively shorter duration and
higher yields compared with otherlocal short-duration rice varieties. As
most of these varieties ripen before
late oods, the harvest is also secure.
Aus rice cultivation is a traditional
cultivation technology in Bangladesh,
but, due to the introduction of high-
yielding varieties (HYVs) of rice in
the boro season using groundwater
or surface-water irrigation, the aus is
now almost extinct. Out of all these
tested varieties, Pariza requires
95100 days from sowing seeds
to harvest, while BINA dhan-8 and
CR dhan 40 require 105110 days
and remaining varieties require
110118 days. However, if 20-day-
old seedlings are transplanted, Pariza
can be harvested in just 7580 days,
while BINA dhan-8 and CR dhan
40 can be harvested after 8590
days and others will be harvested
within 100 days of transplanting. Per
hectare yield of Pariza can be 33.5
tons, and 3.54 tons for the remaining
varieties. These rice varieties also
attract farmers because of their lower
production costs and the medium-ne
grain of some varieties, which secures
better market value. In this way,
farmers can manage three harvests
instead of two in a calendar year on
the same piece of land.
elds. Dr. Zeigler also addressed
various queries from senior ofcials of
the ministry.
Dr. Zeigler also met with Dr.
S. Ayyappan on 12 September
and discussed with him ICAR-IRRI
collaborative programs. Dr. Rita
Sharma, secretary, National Advisory
Council, and IRRI Board member,hosted a dinner in honor of Dr.
Zeigler. The secretary of agriculture
and joint secretary (seed) from
the Ministry of Agriculture and the
director general and deputy director
general (crops) from ICAR joined the
dinner.
USAID-S
TRASA\IRRI-Bangladesh
Hon. Minister of Agriculture Mr.
Sharad Pawar talks with IRRI
DG Robert Zeigler.S
TRASA\IRRI-India
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Highlights on submergence research under STRASApresented in IRRI Seminar Maria Rowena M. Baltaza
a monthly meeting for nationally
recruited staff and scientists at
IRRI who are in the early stages of
their career. Its aim is to provide
an opportunity for discussion with
senior scientists on a range of topics
that include science and career
paths (http://irri-news.blogspot.
com/2012/11/africarice-breeder-is-
guest-in.html).
Current developments onsubmergence research, which is
the focus of objective 2 of the STRASA
project, were presented in one of the
weekly IRRI Thursday Seminars (on
13 September 2012). Dr. Bertrand
Collard, IRRI plant breeder and
STRASA project objective 2 leader,
gave the seminar. He explained
the previous work in developing
Sub1 varieties, for which the major
milestone in the development
of ood-tolerant rice
varieties was the discovery
and characterization of
SUB1, a major quantitativetrait locus (QTL) conferring
protection for 10 to 14 days
of complete submergence,
commonly caused by ash
oods.
Dr. Collard detailed
that the SUB1 gene was
subsequently incorporated
into many rice mega-
varieties such as Swarna
both South and Southeast Asian
countries for Nepal, Sabitri-Sub1;
for the Philippines, PSBRc82-Sub1
in collaboration with the Philippine
Rice Research Institute; and for
Pakistan, IR64-Sub1 and Super
Basmati-Sub1. Work is also being
done on improving disease resistance,
particularly for bacterial leaf blight,
and on developing shorter duration
versions of Swarna-Sub1, and others
with photoperiod sensitivity, as well
as developing promising elite lines
with SUB1 and tolerance of stagnant
ooding.
Dr. Collard capped his
presentation with proposed activitiessuch as building new rainfed varieties
with multiple stress tolerance and
getting the SUB1 gene to become
a default gene for all breeding
programs.
Considerable further work
is required, however, to develop
improved varieties for ood-prone
environments and to disseminate and
upscale/outscale them.
AfricaRice breeder is guest at researchers lunch
The monthly IRRI Young Researchers
Lunch welcomed Baboucarr
Manneh, irrigated rice breeder and
coordinator of the STRASA Project in
AfricaRice, as its guest for November.
Lunch attendees (Changrong Ye,
Nurul Hidayatun, Yam Kanta Gaihre,
Samir Ebson Topno, Tahir Awan, and
Zilhas Ahmed Jewel) were curiousabout Dr. Manneh's career and rice-
growing conditions in Africa.
Dr. Manneh cited the widespread
problem of cold-temperature stress in
Africa, a surprising discovery for the
group, and explained that overcoming
this particular stress could greatly
impact the size of land area on which
rice can be grown in Africa.
The Young Researchers Lunch is
and IR64 using an approach called
marker-assisted backcrossing during
the last 10 years. Because the
essential properties of the original
varieties were retained (such as yield
and quality), these new Sub1 varieties
have been, and continue to be, widely
adopted by farmers.
For current breeding activities,
Dr. Collard reported that new Sub1
varieties are being developed, for
Dr. Manneh (center) with IRRI participants
IRRI/Ph
ilippines-C
PS
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Participatory varietal selection of stress-tolerant rice
varieties in submergence-prone areas of LakhimpurDistrict, Assam, India
Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts areknown for their preponderance
of ood-prone areas in Assam and
rice is life for more than 90% of
the people but rice production and
productivity are greatly affected
because of the occurrence of ash
ood, waterlogging, and intermittent
drought in these districts. Stress-
tolerant rice varieties are needed
urgently for farmers to harvest a
good and stable yield over time
and locations. The implementationof the STRASA project in 2010-11
in Lakhimpur District was expected
to boost rice production, especially
in ood-prone areas. In addition, it
will help ensure food and livelihood
security for the poor farmers living in
such areas.
Under the project, 17 varieties
developed in different research
institutes for the ood-prone ecology
were evaluated in the district
during 2012. Two mother trials
were conducted with 17 varieties in
Dakhinkolabali Village located about
25 km away from the research station
along with baby trials in 17 farmers
elds in the same village. One mother
trial was conducted in a ash-ood-affected area and another in a
waterlogged eld. Another mother
trial was conducted with the same
varieties on the research farm of
the Regional Agricultural Research
Station, North Lakhimpur, under
shallow lowland conditions.
Before transplanting of rice
in a farmers eld, a 1-day
training of both participating and
nonparticipating farmers was
conducted. Altogether, 39 farmers,including 13 women, took part in
the training program. The farmers
were apprised of the objective of
the program under STRASA and the
varieties given to the participating
farmers. Thereafter, training on
scientic cultivation and management
of rice was also provided. In addition,
the identication of various pests and
diseases along with proper treatment
was also demonstrated to them. These
farmers were also apprised of the
different methods of integrated pest
and disease management in rice.
Two preference analyses were
conducted in the mother trial. One
was conducted in Dakhinkolabali
Village and the other at the researchfarm. Preference analysis was
conducted for the mother trial at the
maturity stage before harvesting of
the crop in Dakhinkolabali Village on
3 November 2012. Altogether, 36
farmers took part in the preference
analysis, of which 33% were female
farmers. The socioeconomic prole
of these cooperators in participatory
varietal selection (PVS) showed that
more than 87% of the farmers were
marginal and small farmers and therest (13%) were large farmers. The
average age of male farmers was
39 years while that of females was
36 years, indicating that women were
younger than men by an average of
3 years. Similarly, the study showed
that men are more educated than
women, with an average of 9 years
of schooling for men and 5 years
for women. Male farmers were more
experienced in farming, by 3 years,than women.
The result of preference analysis
in Dakhinkolabali Village showed that
variety TTB 281-9-2-1 is the most
preferred by the farmers, with a high
preference score of 0.10 because the
plant is tall with a strong culm and it
has medium slender grains, uniform
and compact panicles, more grains
(300) per panicle, fewer leaves but
more panicles, and no lodging.
The next preferred variety was TTB283-3-38-2, with a preference score
of 0.071. Among the 17 varieties
evaluated, IR69485-10-2-B-1-TTB
86-1-4 and IR73728-TTB-3-1 were
the least preferred by the farmers,
with a negative preference score of
0.075 and 0.054, respectively.
The preference analysis of the
mother trial at the research farm
M. Maibangsa, K.K. Sharma, D. Chowdhury, S. Maibangsa, T. Paris
A. Cueno, and D. Villanueva
ST
RASA-R
ARS/India
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Nepal recognizes three IRRI scientists
under shallow lowland conditions
was conducted on 23 November
2012. The analysis revealed that
varieties BR11-Sub1 and IR69485-
10-2-B-1-TTB 86-1-4 were the
most preferred by the farmers, with
a high preference score of 0.092
and 0.067, respectively. This is dueto their medium height with strong
culm, medium size, lled grains, and
fewer leaves but more grains per
panicle, and the panicles are uniform.
Swarna-Sub1 and Jalashree were
the least preferred varieties by the
farmers, with a negative preference
score of 0.050. These two varieties
were least preferred because they
are short, panicle initiation is
not uniform, they are susceptible
to pests and diseases and to
rat damage, the panicles are
short with fewer grains, and are
susceptible to lodging, and the
grains are bold and colored, with
chafness.
The two preference analyses
under different submergenceconditions revealed that the
varieties performed differently
in each situation, that is, shallow
lowland area and waterlogging
area. In waterlogging area,
variety IR69485-10-2-B-1-TTB
86-1-4 was the most preferred by
the farmers while it was the least
preferred in shallow lowland area.
Three IRRI staff were awarded
plaques of appreciation by
the Nepal Agricultural Research
Council (NARC) during the workshop
Enhancing womens livelihoods in rice-
based farming systems, held at Hotel
Annapurna in Kathmandu, Nepal, on
4-6 November 2012.
Thelma Paris, senior scientist(socioeconomics) and gender
specialist, was recognized for her
contributions to the capacity building
of women scientists, researchers,
and farmers of Nepal as well as to
research and development (R&D) in
rice and rice-based cropping systems
at the grass-roots level.
Uma Shankar Singh, senior
scientist and South Asia regional
project coordinator of STRASA,was cited for his contributions to the
dissemination of stress-tolerant rice,
particularly submergence-tolerant
varieties, and for capacity building of
Nepalese scientists.
Julian Lapitan, senior manager
of National Program Relations, was
acknowledged for his contributions
to and support of establishing
the IRRI Country Ofce in Nepal,
for collaboration in rice and rice-
based cropping systems, and
for development of Nepal's Rice
Knowledge Bank.
The awards were presented by
Dil Bahadur Gurung, NARC executive
director.
The workshop was attended by
20 women from Nepal, Bangladesh,
and India and was conducted to (1)provide opportunities for women
engaged in research, development,
and extension to acquire and use
their technical knowledge in rice
production, postharvest, seed
management, and seed health to
enhance the livelihoods of poor
women farmers in India, Bangladesh,
and Nepal; (2) develop an action
plan for addressing the technology
needs of women in production, seed
management, and seed health by
their institutions; and (3) develop a
cadre of women leaders who can
Three IRRI scientists, holding plaques of recognition (L-R): Julian Lapitan, Thelma
Paris, and Uma Shankar Singh, with NARC ED Dil Bahadur Gurung
IRRI/Nepal
The participants making a tally of the
preference analysis results
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Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, India, 11-13
April
Annual planning and evaluation meetings...
Field visits...
Sahbhagi dhan in a field in
Gorakhpur (top photo) and
harvesting Swarna-sub1 during
Chief Minister of Bihars visit (right).
Ghana, West Africa, 22-26 February
Spectra Convention Centre, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 16-17 April
Salt-tolerant variety seeds distributed to
farmers through IRRI-NFSM collaboration
Swarna-sub1 in fields of West Bengal
Sierra Leone, West Africa, 22-26 February
Field day in Madagascar, Africa, March
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Trainings...
Rice breeding course at AfricaRice in Senegal Three African scientists train at IRRI Headquarters,
Philippines
STRASA-sponsored visits to IRRI Headquarters...
Indian Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and
Cooperation, and party, 8-10 November
Several participants from South Asia were
sponsored by the project(photo: IRRI-CPS)
Key government officials of India, Bangladesh, and Nepal for an
awareness and consultation workshop, 23-25 May
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12
Contributors
Bertrand Collard, IRRI, Philippines
D. Chowdhury, RARS-Assam University, India
Amelia Cueno, IRRI, Philippines
Manzoor H. Dar, IRRI-STRASA, India
Tara Chand Dhoundiyal, IRRI-STRASA, India
Paula Bianca Ferrer, IRRI, Philippines
Mercydi Maibangsa and S. Maibangsa, RARS-AssamUniversity, India
M.G. Neogi, STRASA-USAID, Bangladesh
Thelma Paris, IRRI, Philippines
K.K. Sharma, RARS-Assam University, India
S. Shukla, IRRI-NFSM, India
Sudanshu Singh, IRRI-IFAD, India
Uma Shankar Singh, IRRI-STRASA, India
Donald Villanueva, IRRI, Philippines
Najam Waris Zaidi, IRRI-STRASA, India
Content/editorial advisers
Abdelbagi Ismail, STRASA overall coordinator
Baboucarr Manneh, SSA coordinator, AfricaRice
Uma Shankar Singh, South Asia coordinator, IRRI-India
Editor
Bill Hardy, IRRI-CPS
Editorial stafPriscilla Grace Caas, IRRI-CPS
Writer/graphic design and layoutMaria Rowena M. Baltazar, STRASA/IRRI-Philippines
Issue coordination and circulation
Krystle Anne M. Ambayec-Dino, STRASA/IRRI-Philippines
For comments, suggestions, and submissions, pleasesend them toDr. Abdelbagi M. Ismail [email protected]
PRODUCTION TEAM THIS ISSUEaddress the technology and livelihood needs of grass-roots
women engaged in rice-based farming systems.
Resource persons for the workshop were Dr. Paris, Dr.
Singh, and Mr. Lapitan; Sudhanshu Singh, postdoctoral
fellow (IFAD-EC Drought Project, IRRI-India); P.K. Singh,
associate professor and nodal ofcer, Mega Seed Program
of Banaras Hindu University, India; Karuna Vishnawat,
professor of plant pathology and site coordinator, All-IndiaCoordinated Project on Seeds, GPUAT, Pantnagar, India;
Devendra Gauchan, chief of the Socioeconomic Division
of NARC; and Mirza Islam, principal scientic ofcer and
head, Plant Breeding Division, Bangladesh Institute of
Nuclear Agriculture.
The workshop participants shared experiences in
working with women farmers through participatory varietal
selection (PVS) for stress-tolerant rice varieties, community
seed banks, small-scale seed businesses, and other training
activities for womens groups.
Three country proposals were presented and discussed
at the end of the workshop, highlighting their action plans
for strengthening mainstreaming efforts in addressing the
technology and training needs of women at the grass roots,
in collaboration with IRRI.
The workshop was supported by IFAD-EC, the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, and USAID (http://irri-news.
blogspot.com/2012/11/nepal-recognizes-work-of-three-
irri.html).
STRASA is funded by the
Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation
Visit our Web site at http://strasa.org/
Flood tolerant paddy farming becomes popular amongfarmers, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), 8December 2012
Submerged ood tolerant paddy plant growing well,The
New Nation-Bangladesh, 29 October 2012
Drought-tolerant paddy grows well in Gaibandha, Daily
Sun-Bangladesh, 24 September 2012
Salt-tolerant rice in a changing climate, Daily Sun-
Bangladesh, 19 September 2012
http://thenewnationbd.com/newsdetails.aspx?newsid=55718http://thenewnationbd.com/newsdetails.aspx?newsid=55718http://www.daily-sun.com/details_yes_19-09-2012_Salt-tolerant-rice-in-changing-climate_266_2_17_1_0.htmlhttp://www.daily-sun.com/details_yes_19-09-2012_Salt-tolerant-rice-in-changing-climate_266_2_17_1_0.htmlhttp://www.daily-sun.com/details_yes_19-09-2012_Salt-tolerant-rice-in-changing-climate_266_2_17_1_0.htmlhttp://www.daily-sun.com/details_yes_19-09-2012_Salt-tolerant-rice-in-changing-climate_266_2_17_1_0.htmlhttp://thenewnationbd.com/newsdetails.aspx?newsid=55718http://thenewnationbd.com/newsdetails.aspx?newsid=55718