Overview of rice breeding task force and data management strategies

Agronomy & processing and value addition task force workshop

Ibnou Dieng, biometrician

on behalf of Moussa Sie, Senior Breeder & Africa Rice Breeding Task Force Coordinator

AfricaRice

Cotonou, Benin, 22-25 November 2011

Overview of Africa Rice Breeding Task Force

Outline

A. Overview of the Africa Rice Breeding Task Force

1. Introduction

2. Objectives

3. Partnership

4. General approaches

B. Data management strategies


1. Introduction: history of partnership

• IRTP - 1985• CORAF Rice

network - 1986

1980s

• WARDA working group -1990

• INGER - 1991• WCA breeding TF

- 1992

1990s • ROCARIZ - 2000• …

2000s


1. Introduction: call for a Task Force

1. Despite a long tradition of partnership, rice breeders in SSA are always an endangered species

2. To overcome this situation, the Second Africa Rice Congress (march 2010) called for the revival of the successful Task Force approach,

3. For an improved research and extension capacity on the continent through a collaborative approach to rice breeding


2. Objectives:

1. General objective• To accelerate the

development and deployment of the next generation of elite rice varieties for major production systems in SSA.


2. Objectives:2. Specific objectives• Adopt a systematic

collaborative approach to rice breeding

• Facilitate access of African rice breeders to new materials

• Stimulate rice germplasm evaluation across the continent,

• Shorten the time needed to deploy new rice varieties for major productions systems in SSA


3. Principles of partnership

Bring together both National and International rice researchers as a regional group for a well focused and sustainable approach to the problem


3. Principles of partnership

The Task Force consists of

an Africa-wide collective research for development effort on critical thematic areas in the rice sector, based on the principles of

1. sustainability,

2. buildup of critical mass,

3. and ownership by NARS


4. General Approaches of BTF1. Enhance collaboration with

NARS breeders to improve adaptability of new germplasm to farmer growth conditions and consumer preferences, through

• early involvement of NARS breeders and farmers in the varietal development and testing process, and

• more effective and faster variety testing and release mechanisms


4. General Approaches of BTF

1. Coordinator of Africa Breeding Task Force: Dr. Sie Moussa, senior breeder

2. Regional breeding coordinators lead breeding teams for all major mega-environments:

• WCA – irrigated lowland, rainfed lowland, upland, other ecosystems (mangrove, deep water)

• ESA – irrigated and rainfed lowland, upland, high elevation


1. Platform to evaluate lines in multi-environment using the same evaluation method

2. From 500 lines in regional trial to 5 nominated line per year




1. The breeding lines are provided by partners (IARCs, NARS)

2. For example, in 2011, 13% of the breeding lines were nominated by NARS, 34% by AfricaRice, 14% by IRRI and 39% by CIAT

13%

34%

14%

39%

NARS AfricaRice IRRI CIAT



In addition to standardizing rice breeding practices and to facilitating experience-sharing for problem solving

A key issue is

3. Capacity building• Experimental designs • Germplasm database

management• Data collection and

analysis• Support MSc and PhD

students



A Web site has been developed

http://www.africarice.org/afribreed/

• Share information and documents within the TF and from TF to the public

• Jointly write documents online• Plan activities and share calendars

1. Public: the users will be able to see general information only

2. Members: the Task Force national focal point can see, add, delete, and modify any section of the site.


Visit with Dr. Maji Nigerian breeder


2010 Monitoring tour for some key sites


AfricaRice Breeding Task Force Annual Meeting

Ibnou Dieng, biometrician

AfricaRice

Cotonou, Benin, 22-25 November 2011

Data management strategies

Introduction1. Data is the driven force

behind any successful business

2. The use of standard data formats for documenting experiments and modeling crop growth and development can greatly facilitate exchange of information and software, allowing researchers to focus on science rather than on re-formatting data


The information challenge

1. Where is my information?

2. How do I get it when I need it?

3. What does it mean?

4. Can I trust it?

5. How do I get it in the form I need?

6. How do I get it where it needs to go?

7. How do I control it?


Some existing tools

1. Some largest sustained effort to promote the use of standards in relation to field research:

• International Benchmark Soils Network for Agrotechnology Transfer (IBSNAT) -

• International Consortium for Agricultural Systems Analysis (ICASA)

• Integrated Breeding Platform (GCP)


ICASA standards: the goal

AfricaRice Breeding Task Force Annual Meeting, Cotonou, 11-12 May 2011

1. To provide a reliable, portable, and flexible structure both for documenting field experiments (or their equivalents in greenhouses or growth chambers) and for specifying realistic conditions for running dynamic simulation models.

Relations among subsets in one experiment dataset


Data collection and submission


1. Automatic data gathering using handheld device (tablets).

2. Development of a web-portal application between the partners to ensure on-line submission of the data, including metadata and raw data

Research Days 2010, 29 Nov-2 Dec 2010, Cotonou, Benin

Thank you! Merci!

Center of Excellence for Rice Research

Overview of rice breeding task force and data management strategies

Documents

driven force

theproblemagronomy processing

narsagronomy processing

year agronomy processing

1980s2000s agronomy

key sitesagronomy processing

breeding lines

general approaches of