Los Baños, Philippines – Climate change poses threats to rice production across the globe. Those likely to be worst affected are the poorer rice-producing countries of the tropics, home to millions who can least afford the possible lower yields and attendant higher prices. As if that’s not enough to worry about, rice farming produces significant amounts of the greenhouse gas methane, and so is itself a contributor to climate change. The July–September 2007 issue of Rice Today asks about the major impacts of climate change, and what can be done to adapt to or mitigate them.
Rats and mice cause severe problems for rice farmers across the globe. In its Rice facts column, the magazine examines just how much damage rodents do to rice crops and stocks. The magazine also looks at how the flowering of a rare species of bamboo is catalyzing a rat plague that has the potential to cause hardship in the Indian state of Mizoram.
In April 2007, the International Network for Quality Rice gathered at IRRI’s Philippine headquarters for its first workshop. Rice Today investigates what went on, and also offers one of the delicious recipes served at workshop lunches and dinners, which showcased rice dishes and varieties from around the world.
The past 20 years have seen an evolution in researchers’ understanding of how to best apply nitrogen fertilizer to rice. The magazine investigates this progression and describes how this knowledge is being passed on to farmers.
Rice Today pays tribute to two key players at IRRI—Deputy Director General for Research Ren Wang and former Social Sciences Division Head Mahabub Hossain—who are moving on to new things. Dr. Wang is set to move to Washington, D.C., to become director of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, the organization that supports IRRI and its 14 partner institutes. After 15 years at IRRI, Dr. Hossain has returned home to Bangladesh to become executive director of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, the country’s largest nongovernmental organization and one of the largest in the world.
The map page makes its way onto the magazine’s centerfold, offering at-a-glance insight into where and how rice is grown across the globe. The Africa section examines the new partnership being forged among international research centers to address sub-Saharan Africa’s enormous rice challenge. Grain of truth takes a look at aerobic rice—high-yielding rice grown in nonflooded fields—and asks if it will become a large-scale replacement for rice grown in flooded conditions.
All of this, plus the latest news, views, and books, is available now in the July–September 2007 issue of Rice Today. Magazines are now in the mail to subscribers. To subscribe, contact Chris Quintana and copy your request to publisher Duncan Macintosh. Send editorial inquiries to Adam Barclay.
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The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the world’s leading rice research and training center. Based in the Philippines, with offices in 13 other countries, IRRI is an autonomous, nonprofit institution focused on improving the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes, while preserving natural resources. IRRI is one of 15 centers funded through the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an association of public and private donor agencies (www.cgiar.org).
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For information, contact Duncan Macintosh, IRRI, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines;
tel +63-2-580-5600; fax: +63-2-580-5699; email [email protected].
Web sites: IRRI Home (www.irri.org), IRRI Library (http://ricelib.irri.cgiar.org), Rice Knowledge Bank (www.knowledgebank.irri.org)
