Gates grant for climate resilient rice

07 February 2008

Beijing: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a grant to aid the production of stress-tolerant rice varieties.

The US$19.9 million grant for the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) will be used to develop suitable rice varieties to help poor farmers in Africa and Asia mitigate the effects of climate change.

Announced last month (25 January), the three-year funding is part of a US$ 306 million package of agricultural development grants announced by the foundation at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

The money will be used to develop and distribute rice varieties that can withstand drought, floods and salty water to 400,000 farmers in Asia and Africa who rely on rain fed agriculture so are vulnerable to such effects.

The project ultimately aims to reach 18 million households and help farmers achieve a 50 percent yield increase in the next 10 years.

Duncan Macintosh, IRRI spokesperson, said that the harsh conditions caused by climate change threaten global rice production � rice prices in Asia have more than doubled in the past 2�3 years.

The rice-science community, in particular IRRI, have recently taken steps towards developing stress-tolerant crop varieties by precision breeding � the movement of specific genes from one variety to another. However, research and application in this field face difficulties.

"There are two main challenges. The first is adapting [varieties] to many local environments and conditions. It will take many varieties to cover all the conditions. The second challenge is the dissemination to farmers," says Macintosh.

According to Macintosh, IRRI will disseminate the new rice varieties through its traditional partners, the ministries of agriculture in each country, as well as new partners such as non-governmental organisations and their networks, and private sector partners.

Wang Feng, a leading scientist at the Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, says the project will greatly help poor farmers in Africa and Asia.

"But providing rice varieties alone is far from enough. Improvements in irrigation conditions and mechanisation, and providing technology training courses for farmers to improve rice planting in local areas are indispensable," added Wang.

Source: SciDev.Net

User comments

"Gates grant for climate-resilient rice"

Author: Norman Uphoff

Time: 07.02.2008 22:15

Comment: This grant may prove in the future to be a good investment for improving the lives and security of poor households affected by adverse agroclimatic changes. But it is betting on payoff from changing the genetic traits of rice plants when there are already available opportunities for achieving these goals more quickly and cost-effectively by making changes in the way that rice crops are managed.

The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) by changing the way that plants, soil, water and nutrients are managed can raise rice yields by 50-100% or more, with reduced requirements for seeds, water, cash expenditure, and even labor, once the methods have been mastered. These benefits have been validated now in 28 countries, in almost all of the countries of Asia where 90% of the world's rice is produced (and consumed) and in a growing number of African and Latin American countries.

In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, this season there are over 1 million acres (420,000 hectares) under SRI management (http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/01/stories/2008010153180300.htm), and an even larger area is under SRI management in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan and Zhejiang. Already one-third of Zhejiang rice area (5 million mu out of 15 million mu) is managed with SRI concepts and practices.

With regard to climate-resilience, SRI rice plants are more resistant to biotic stresses, i.e., pest and diseases, and more tolerant of abiotic stresses (water shortage, drought, storm damage, cold spells, etc.) -- because of the larger root systems and enhanced soil biological processes. On this see recent article: http://www.cairn.info/revue-monde-en-developpement-2007-4-p-85.htm

For more information, see SRI website: http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/ and publication from WWF: http://assets.panda.org/downloads/www_rice_report_2007.pdf For a website in French, see: http://tefysaina.net (Tefy Saina in Madagascar is the NGO that originated the promotion of SRI) and for Indian information, see: http://www.wassan.org/sri/