IRRI: Key Areas to Respond to Rice Crisis

The Philippine-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is calling for the committed support of donors and policymakers, as well as the better awareness among media and the general public on the problems currently being faced with regards rice production. Prof. Elizabeth Woods, chair of IRRI’s Board of Trustees, said that “The problems facing rice production in Asia are not unique to one country; they are shared by nearly all the rice-consuming nations of Asia. We need to work together to find the right solutions. We must also recognize the global scale of the problem, especially the fact that many African nations depend on Asian rice production for their food security.”

IRRI presented the following six key areas that need increased focus from both the public and private sectors:

1. An agronomic revolution in Asian rice production to reduce existing yield gaps.
2. Accelerate the delivery of new postharvest technologies.
3. Accelerate the introduction of higher yielding rice varieties.
4. Strengthen and upgrade the rice breeding and research pipelines.
5. Accelerate research on the world’s thousands of rice varieties so scientists can tap the vast reservoir of untapped knowledge they contain.
6. Develop a new generation of rice scientists and researchers for the public and private sectors.