RIPPLE January to June 2014

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

Irrigated Rice Research Consortium Rice Research for Intensified Production and Prosperity in Lowland Ecosystems

Volume 9, Number 1, 25th issue January-June 2014www.corigap.irri.org

Rice scientists, extension specialists, and other key partners from six countries gathered on 18-21 February to discuss the progress and plans of the Closing Rice Yield Gaps in Asia with Reduced Environmental Footprint (CORIGAP) Project. CORIGAP is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). This meeting is important, as the CORIGAP Project aims to increase productivity through new technologies while diversifying sources of income, said Le Hung Dung, leader of the Can Tho Peoples Committee, in his welcome remarks. CORIGAP builds on the results over the past 16 years of the Irrigated Rice

Project on closing yield gaps assesses progress in first year By Trina Leah Mendoza

Research Consortium (IRRC), through which most countries involved increased their rice production, said Carmen Thnnissen, donor representative and SDC senior advisor with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The component technologies developed through the IRRC are now integrated through CORIGAP. CORIGAPs objectives are aligned closely with the mission of the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP) of the International Rice Research Institute, said Grant Singleton, CORIGAP coordinator. We aim to reduce poverty, improve health, and reduce the environmental footprint of rice production through strong partnerships with national agricultural research and extension systems.

Whats insideIRRI facilitates workshop for

improving farmer profitability....2

Thai partners undergo workshop....3

Learning more about Indonesia....4

Learning cycles continue in Myanmar....5

Up for the challenge....6

The scientist and the five goats...7

Postharvest activities to reduce losses ramps up in Myanmar....8

Continued on page 2Participants visit farmers fields involved in the Small Farmer-Large Field initiative of Vietnam.

Pham Van Du, deputy director general of the Department of Crop Production of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, gave a presentation on the VietGAP and Small Farmer-Large Field (SFLF) initiatives of Vietnam. Participants also visited farmers fields involved in SFLF and in the use of rice straw for mushroom production. Key IRRI scientists and national partners from China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam presented their activities and results for 2013, plans for 2014, and challenges and opportunities.

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wet season and the 2014-15 dry season.. Th ey also considered other researchable and capacity-building areas, including strategies to meet the projects aims.

Th e meeting was hosted by the Can Th o Peoples Committee and the Can Th o Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Th e international advisory committee of CORIGAP also attended the meeting.

Presentations also covered research progress and plans on the development of a fi eld calculator, communication developments, market chain issues, postharvest issues, environmental indicators, and learning alliances. As CORIGAP develops, we will see more country priorities come through, said David Johnson, GRiSP Th eme 3 leader and IRRI representative on the CORIGAP Advisory Committee, during the open discussion. Th is is a great chance for a science-based approach to make better changes for the future.

Project on closing yield gaps assesses progress in rst year

Grant Singleton, CORIGAP coordinator, presents the objectives of CORIGAP and highlights of progress in 2013.

Photo by Trina Mendoza

Partners of the project Diversi cation and intensi cation of rice-based cropping systems in lower Myanmarheld a workshop on 18-19 May in Yezin. Th e4-year project, which is funded by theAustralian Centre for International Agricultural Research, conducts research on cropping options to increase and sustain productivity of cropping systems in Maubin Township in Ayeyarwaddy, and in Daik Oo Township in Bago. Th e project aims to improve farmer profi tability through developing best practices for rice production, said IRRI principal scientist Grant Singleton who heads the undertaking. It includes postharvest management, and innovative approaches to improve the productivity of rice-rice and rice-pulse cropping systems. Project partners who attended the activity included Dr. Ye Tin Htun, deputy director general of the Department of Agricultural Research, and Dr. Aye Min, project manager at the Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation. Th e IRRI Myanmar o ce was represented by Dr. Romeo Labios, U Th an Aye, Dr. Nyo Me Htwe, U Aung Myo Th ant, Daw Aye Hnin Yu, Daw Su Su San, and Christopher Cabardo. Martin Gummert leads the post harvest

IRRI facilitates workshop for improving farmer profi tability By Romeo Labios and Trina Leah Mendoza

Dr. Romeo Labios, ACIAR Project scientist, leads a discussion with partners from the Department of Agricultural Research, Myanmar.

component of the project. Th e participants discussed the work and fi nancial plans, and protocols of the prioritized activities for the 2014

CORIGAP launches its web siteTh e Closing Rice Yield Gaps in Asia with Reduced Environmental Footprint (CORIGAP) Project now has its own web site. Th e web site highlights the research topics of the project such as ecologically based pest management, environmental indicators, fi eld calculator, postharvest issues, and rice yield gaps. Key scientists and institutions, project sites, and activities in each of the six major rice granaries involved in CORIGAP are described. Th e latest news and events of the project are featured in a CORIGAP blog. Links to resources such as videos and the RIPPLE newsletter are made available. Visit the new CORIGAP web site at www.corigap.irri.org.


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the yield loss caused by rodents to be about 8%. Th e logistics for the workshop were organized by Ms. Ladda Viriyangkura and Ms. Duangporn Vithoonjit from the Th ai Rice Department.Two Rice Department zoologists working on rodents, Ms. Urassaya Boonpramuk and Ms. Th asdaw Katenate, provided assistance throughout the workshop, each presented a seminar on their current research activities.

facilitated to understand more about rodent issues throughout Th ailand. Two fi eld visits to CORIGAP treatment plots in Nong Jik Ree Village in Nakhon Sawan Province were conducted to demonstrate setting up and checking of traps, burrow counts, and damage assessment. Th e participants also experienced how to identify rodent species and determine breeding condition. Th ree rodent species, Rattus argentiventer, Rattus sakeratensis (formerly R. losea) andBandicota savilei, were trapped in rice fi elds and another species, Rattus exulans, was trapped in a grain store at the Chainat Rice Research Center. We estimated that fresh rodent damage at the ripening stage ranged from 1 to 3% per treatment plot, with an overall damage of about 2% per fi eld site, says Alex Stuart. As majority of damage by rats occurs before the ripening stage, studies have shown that damage estimates made at the ripening stage should be multiplied by four to give a conservative estimate of yield loss. We then estimated

Thai partners undergo workshop on rodent management and damage assessment By Trina Leah Mendoza

Photo by Duangporn Vithoonjit

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Rodent damage during postharvest storage was one of the problems mentioned by Th ai farmers when scientists from the Closing Rice Yield Gaps in Asia with Reduced Environmental Footprint (CORIGAP) assessed their needs in May 2013. In December 2013, rat and mouse problems were widely reported by farmers, with damage to seedlings in one of the farmers fi elds in Nong Jik Ree Village, one of CORIGAPs project sites. In other regions of Th ailand, reports of rodent damage to rice have been increasing over the last few years, with outbreaks of rodent population recently reported in Central Th ailand. To strengthen the knowledge and capacity of rice researchers in Th ailand, 38 staff members from the Th ai Rice Department attended a workshop on rodent management and damage assessment on 31 March-01 April at the Chainat Rice Research Center in Chainat Province. Th ese staff members represented 23 provinces from the north, south, center, and east of Th ailand. Th e 2-day workshop was led by rodent experts Grant Singleton (CORIGAP coordinator) and Alex Stuart (CORIGAP postdoctoral fellow). Seminars and training sessions were given on ecologically based rodent management and on how to conduct rodent damage assessments. Group discussions were

Video on participatory varietal selection of rice in Myanmar now on YouTubeRice fi elds in the lower Ayeyarwaddy Delta of Myanmar are prone to salt-intrusion and fl oods, and farmers usually do not have access to new high-yielding, short-duration varieties that can withstand these stresses. Th e International Rice Research Institute, through the Livelihood and Food Security Trust Fund Project of the United Nations O ce for Project Services, has introduced high-yielding varieties for favorable areas and stress-tolerant varieties for the salt- and fl ood-prone areas to farmers through participatory varietal selection (PVS). Th e PVS process was captured in a video titled Participatory varietal selection of rice in Myanmar. Th is video highlights the PVS steps taken by farmers in Labutta Township, Myanmar, and the experiences and new knowledge gained by some farmers who joined the PVS trials. Th e video also features the top four selected varieties in the three townships involved in the project in the 2012 and 2013 wet seasons, and in the 2012-13 dry season. Available in English and Myanmar languages in the IRRC-CORIGAP Youtube playlist.

Workshop participants are guided on how to set up rodent traps in the fi eld.

Alex Stuart (center) demonstrate how to identify di erent rodent species and determine their breeding condition.


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Learning more about Indonesian rice farmers By Trina Mendoza and Rowell Dikitanan

The air pressure from the ventilators holds up the polyethylene plastic sheet over the rice grains.

Photo by Anna Salvatierra

CORIGAP social scientists interviewed farmers in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in late May to early June to learn more about their current rice management practices, market access, gender equity, and women empowerment.

Farming practices, yield, and incomeA baseline household survey was conducted in four villages (two treatment and two control villages) in Yogyakarta to document current farming practices, yield levels, income, knowledge and attitudes on crop management options, as well as environmental indicators.

Mr. Dikitanan for them to become familiarized with the questions and CAPI soft ware. Regular consultations were conducted to ensure collected data were correctly entered and to address problems encountered by interviewers. Initial results indicate that majority of farmers, most of whom were male, have small rice plots of about 0.090.26 hectare. Th eir average yield ranges from 4.40 to 6.08 metric tons per hectare at 14% moisture content. Most farmers have adopted a rice-rice-palawija (e.g., corn, soybean, peanut, chili) cropping system. Th ey practice manual transplanting, harvesting, and threshing. Transplanting is usually done by female laborers. During harvesting and threshing, there is not enough labor due to the aging population of farm laborers.

Market access, gender equity, and women empowermentDr. Pieter Rutsaert, CORIGAP postdoctoral fellow, conducted focus group discussions with a total of 91 farmers to investigate market access and evaluate gender equity and women empowerment in the CORIGAP project villages. In terms of women empowerment at a household level, a good, strong balance exists between husband and wife, and household decisions are made together, shares Dr. Rutsaert. At the community level, however, women are not included in main farmer group decisions (such as variety selection), and female farmer organizations generally do not receive information from extension o cers. Women have few or no options besides rice farming, although they are open to learn new technologies. Th e respondents showed interested in postharvest quality improvement, food processing, and producing non-agricultural products such as batik

(traditional Indonesian-designed cloth), but they need access to more knowledge through extension services. Highlights of farmers discussions on market access included the time of selling rice having a big infl uence on its price. Farmers sell directly to traders, not millers, since milling is a service that farmers have to pay for. Farmers prefer a mobile milling unit that comes to their houses because it is more convenient. Th e stable milling unit, however, produces more, better quality rice (less broken rice). Dr. Rutsaert identifi ed opportunities that could improve market access such as improving the drying process to reduce broken grains, and use of airtight IRRI Super Bags for better storage to delay the time of selling until market prices increase. He also recommends strengthening training and extension services to male and especially female farmer organizations, emphasizing the need to organize female farmers and arm them with more knowledge and skills. Results of these interviews and surveys will guide CORIGAP scientists and national partners in using the best rice management practices, participatory methods, and science-based tools to raise farmers livelihoods and profi t in project sites in Indonesia.

CORIGAP agricultural economist Rowell Dikitanan and plant protection specialist Arlyna Budi Pustika from Yogyakartas Assessment Institute of Agricultural Technology (AIAT) coordinated the survey with a team of interviewers composed of o cers from AIAT and local extension, and graduates from Instiper University. A total of 180 farmers were interviewed using a computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) soft ware. Before the conduct of survey, the interviewers were trained by

AIAT and local extension o cers and graduates from Instiper University, Yogyakarta, interview farmers for the baseline household survey.

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Paperless survey on current farming practices held in Madurejo Village, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.


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For the upcoming cycle, farmer volunteers from the Bogale group will mechanically dry their harvest and assess the quality. Other farmers who have committed to store their harvest in GRET communal storage will try to sell their produce in the Yangon market. Th e group from Maubin will try and learn about adjusting timing of harvest by using threshers and short-duration varieties. An LA meeting will be scheduled at the end of the 2014 monsoon season to refl ect and share about this learning cycle. Th e village-level LA is supported by projects funded by ACIAR, the United Nations O ce for Project Services, and SDC.

Learning cycles continue in Myanmar By Reianne Quilloy, Martin Gummert, and Rica Joy Flor

Rica Flor (standing, right) facilitates a refl ection activity among participants.

Iterative learning cycles involving diff erent stakeholders target learning not only on technical aspects but also on changing the wider dimensions and values under which farming communities operate. While the key problem is that farmers do not receive good profi t from their rice crops, introducing new technologies alone will not be enough since the success of improvements will depend on many actors along the value chain (e.g., traders, seed producers, local manufacturers). Identifying and trying suitable entry point technologies is one key factor, but helping groups within communities to support these entry points is also essential.

Laying the groundworkIn Myanmar, a village-level learning alliance (LA) approach was used to gather people from various sectors to address a problem in which they have a common interest. LA members in Bogale and Maubin townships wanted to learn about producing good-quality rice for higher profi t. Th ey tried using threshers, dryers, or new varieties that are suitable to the area and that will give farmers more time to manage their produce to improve rice quality. In the fi rst learning cycle in Bogale, the group explored whether setting up a dryer and linking it with an existing communal storage system managed by GRET, a partner nongovernment organization, would work. Private sector

partners locally manufactured lightweight threshers and a fl atbed dryer for village trials. Topics in the second cycle included training operators, coordinating users, defi ning the terms for ownership and equipment use, and orienting millers and traders were topics in the second learning cycle. While the technology has been made available and there is interest or knowledge among users, the LA encountered concerns about additional investment costs, no market incentives for improved rice quality, and much distrust between farmers and market actors. Th e LA members in Maubin were introduced to lightweight threshers and new varieties. Th rough participatory trials, farmers learned about suitable new rice varieties as options. Th e goal to improve timing of cropping activities through new varieties and improved quality and selling time to obtain higher profi ts is yet to be reached.

New topics, new cyclesWhile some learning cycles continue, a new goal is to fi nd avenues to link farmers with markets that could provide incentives (e.g., pay higher prices) to produce good-quality rice. LA members composed of farmers, millers, NGO partners from GRET and Welthungerhilfe, and private sector partners interacted with actors from the local wholesale depot in Wadan and the export wholesale market in Bayint Naung, Yangon, to observe how grains are priced, how trade happens in the local and export market, and to meet people who can make selling to this market an option. Links with members of the Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders Association could potentially help farmers understand how market actors value quality and what other options they have to sell their grains aside from local millers and traders. LA members also learned about possible seed sources and production through a visit to a government-owned seed farm at Hmawbi.

Plan-act-re ect-shareA key part of these iterative learning cycles are facilitated refl ections on what happened, what they experienced, and what resulted for future planning and implementation. From an activity to learn about markets, U Kyaw Ei, a Bogale rice farmer, shared the farmers observation that, rice produced in Bogale is priced the lowest of nine townships trading the same variety in Wadan. Th ey also noticed that the low price has a lot to do with low-quality grains. Th e market visit enabled them to connect with agents at the wholesale rice trading center in Wadan. Th e next step is to try and produce better quality rice and assess how that would work with this new market link.

Farmers interact with wholesale market actors in Wadan to observe trading practices and pricing mechanisms.

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mechanization, and the heavy use of pesticides. Some farmers are now concerned about the environment, she narrates. Some women complain about their husbands becoming sick from being exposed to the polluted water in the rice fi eld. Between coordinating activities for CORIGAP and leading in disseminating research innovations at ICFORD, Nuning tries to fi nd time to relax by reading novels and watching movies. She particularly enjoys science fi ction, mystery, romance, and drama novels. She however, prefers thriller and action movies rather than drama, which was infl uenced by her husband. Nuning admittedly encounters di culties in her new responsibilities as CORIGAP key scientist for Indonesia, a drastic shift from pure research to a more administrative role. But like the go-getting person that she is, she is up for the challenge and enjoys her new role. I love to learn many things, she shares. Th e more I learn, the more I become richer in knowledge and become more useful. Th e CORIGAP Project will truly benefi t from having local partners such as Nuning onboard.

Up for the challengeBy Trina Leah Mendoza

With her warm and cheerful demeanor, and driven, hard-working personality, it is not surprising that Dr. Nuning Argo Subekti likes to face challenges head on.

Research Institute under IAARD in Maros, South Sulawesi. Th ere she met senior maize breeder Dr. Marsum Dahlan, who became her supportive mentor. He taught me every detail, and I am lucky to be his staff , says Nuning. She considers Maros a special place because it was also where she met her husband, Asrul Koes, an agricultural socioeconomist from ICFORD, whom she married in 2002. Nuning graduated with MS and PhD degrees in plant breeding from the University of the Philippines Los Baos in 2004, and from the University of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, in 2011. Currently, she is the head of research and dissemination at the Indonesian Center for Food Crops Research and Development (ICFORD) in Bogor, West Java. ICFORD is responsible for coordinating research and development of food crops (e.g., rice, maize, and other cereals, legumes such as soyabean and peanuts, and tuber crops such as cassava and sweet potato) in Indonesia. Keeping her extra busy is her role as key scientist for Indonesia of the Closing Rice Yield Gaps in Asia with Reduced Environmental Footprint (CORIGAP) Project in Indonesia, with sites in Yogyakarta/Central Java, and South Sumatra. Our focus now is on reducing losses, and it is advantageous if through CORIGAP, we can adopt new concepts or approaches that are not only focused on rice production but also on the environment and fi nancial e ciency, says Nuning. She is also keen to have the fi eld calculator, a CORIGAP decision-support tool that presents scenarios on environmental and economic impacts, be tested in Indonesia. I believe we can get a lot from the project, says Nuning. She cites current issues in rice farming in Indonesia, such as farmers not being aware of

Nuning relaxes with her husband, Asrul Koes, in a park in Yogyakarta.

Nuning (center) enjoys the harvesting of their

Even as a young girl, Nuning had always been the kind of person who tried diff erent things. Nuning lived in a small, laidback town in Madiun, East Java, with her parents until she graduated from high school. She took up her bachelors degree in plant breeding at the University of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, in the mid 1990s, when plant breeding was a rare study program, and hers was the only university that off ered the course in Indonesia. She remembers a professor who was a perfectionist, who drove her and her classmates to study hard. She later on found out that she was enjoying his classes immensely. I loved biology and crossing fl owers, recalls Nuning. I was amazed and curious about nature. Aft er graduation, work was already waiting for Nuning and her classmates. Th ey were all women who were off ered jobs at the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (IAARD), the research arm of the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture. From 2000-11, Nuning worked as a maize breeder at the Indonesian Cereals


rice crop from an experiment in Central Java with Zulkifl i Zaini, IRRI representative and liaison scientist for IRRI Indonesia (left), and Eman Paturohman, ICFORD researcher.

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new technology looked too poor at the early-growth stage to achieve high yield because of the reduced nitrogen input at the basal and tillering stages. To allay fears and show them the results, Dr. Zhong and his team conducted on-farm demonstrations repeatedly at selected rice-growing areas. Farmers, extension workers, and local o cials were invited to visit the demonstration farms. Once they saw the good results, their initial hesitation disappeared and the farmers spread the good news themselves. To see is to believe, confi rms Dr. Zhong. When hes not out working in the fi eld, Dr. Zhong enjoys the benefi ts of hiking in the mountains. During his stay in Los Baos, he used to hike up Mt. Makiling every chance he got. Mountain hiking

is a good time for me to think over my work. Many good ideas for overcoming di culties suddenly come to me when hiking, he says. Th is hobby also taught him a philosophy he lives by to this day: Going up is always more di cult than going down. Persistence is crucial for success. If one wishes to achieve his mission, he shouldnt stop halfway up. Only those who do not change his direction and persistently continue his eff ort will arrive at the summit. And it sure is a good thing for the countless rice farmers who benefi t from Dr. Zhongs work. For continue he must, and arrive he will.

The scientist and the fi ve goats Prof. Xuhua Zhong, 2014 IFA Norman Borlaug Award Laureate

By Rona Nia Mae Rojas-Azucena

My dream is to eliminate hunger in the world, especially for the poor rice farmers, says Dr. Xuhua Zhong, a crop physiologist from the Rice Research Institute of Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GDRRI), and the main proponent of the widely adopted ree Controls Technology (3CT) in China. For Dr. Zhong, a hardworking scientist with a friendly and approachable manner, his dream is inspired by the city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. Th e fi ve goats were said to be those who brought rice panicles to ancient Guangzhou to save the people who were starving. Th ats why Guangzhou City is also known as the City of Five Goats and the City of Rice Panicles, explains Dr. Zhong. He fi nished his PhD in plant physiology at the South China Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 1999. He conducted his doctoral research at IRRI for two years and worked at the Institute as a postdoctoral fellow for one year. As the head of the Crop Physiology and Ecology Laboratory of GDRRI, his team has been developing theories and technologies for high yield, high e ciency, low carbon, and sustainable rice production through improved crop management. One of the outputs is the 3CT, which was o cially released in 2007. He has been a long-time partner of the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium in the development and promotion of the technology, resulting in the 3CT, becoming a government-recommended technology in Guangdong in 2008. It has since been adopted by farmers in other provinces in China as well. (Read more on 3CT in the RIPPLE Sep-Dec 2009 issue) Because of the substantial contribution he has made in his fi eld of research and his extension work on rice nutrient management in China, Dr. Zhong was hailed as the 2014 International

Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) Norman Borlaug Award Laureate. Dr. Zhong admits that the early stages of the development of the 3CT were di cult. For many years, grain yield has been the main, if not the only, concern for many scientists. Nitrogen-use e ciency and environmental eff ects were not considered important issues at that time. It was very di cult to obtain funding. He persuaded scientists and o cials of the importance of proper nutrient management by presenting his survey data and statistical results on fertilizer use. Th e other challenge was to convince farmers. Th e rice crops grown with the

Dr. Zhong (center) holds an impromptu meeting with farmers in Yangdong Country, Guangdong, China.

Dr. Xuhua Zhong, an avid hiker, enjoys hiking up mountains whenever he has the time. He is seen here at Baiyun Mountain Park.


Volume 9, Number 1January-June 2014

This newsletter is produced by the CORIGAP Project under the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC) with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and IRRI. The IRRC promotes international links among scientists, managers, communicators, and farmers in lowland irrigated rice environments.

Materials in this newsletter do not necessarily re ect the of cial views of IRRI, SDC, or collaborating institutions of the IRRC.

EDITORSGrant Singleton, Trina Leah Mendoza,

Rona Nia Mae Rojas-Azucena

COPY EDITORS Tess Rola, Priscilla Grace Caas

LAYOUTEmmanuel Panisales

CIRCULATIONJennifer Hernandez

Please direct further correspondence, comments, and contributions to

Trina Leah MendozaSenior Communication Specialist

International Rice Research InstituteDAPO Box 7777

Metro Manila, PhilippinesEmail: [email protected]

Web: www.corigap.irri.org

Rice production in Myanmar is hindered by ine cient postproduction management and inadequate facilities, resulting in high postharvest (PH) losses and low-quality grains that aff ect farmers income. Initiatives to spread technology options and build capacity of diff erent stakeholders are being led by various projects at IRRI. Th ese include the CORIGAP Project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and projects funded by the United Nations O ce for Project Services and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. Th ese projects focus on stakeholders in the Ayeyarwaddy Region and Central Dry Zone, where more than half of Myanmars rice supply is sourced.

Technology demonstrations Technologies such as the solar bubble dryer (SBD) and fl atbed dryer (FBD) were demonstrated in Myanmar. Th e SBD is a new and portable alternative to dry grains, which uses the suns energy even during overcast days and at night. Another drying technology that has been researched and used in other countries is the FBD. It is a 1-ton-capacity airtight storage system that protects grains from deterioration and quality loss. IRRI PH staff demonstrated these technologies in Maubin, Labutta, Bogale, and Daik-Oo townships to over 200

participants in separate events from November 2013 to April 2014. Th ey were farmers, IRRI staff , staff from local and international nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and government staff from the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Agricultural Research. Th e events featured discussions on principles of grain quality, drying, and hermetic storage to help participants understand PH techniques to produce good-quality grain. Th ey also learned how to operate the equipment correctly. Participants also provided the feedback needed to assess technology adaption measures in the communities. Th e SBD is currently in the testing and development stage, where feedback such as those coming from Myanmar can help further improve the technology. Th ese are simple technologies that can be promoted and integrated into existing programs of the other organizations that aim to increase farmers productivity, Martin Gummert, CORIGAPs postharvest expert said. In the coming months, Engr. Gummert and his team will continue to conduct training and technological demonstrations in the major rice-producing areas in Myanmar. Th e team will also complete the postharvest loss assessment trials and farm-level adaptive trials of IRRI Super Bags, a 50-kilogram capacity airtight storage bag, in the near future.

Postharvest activities to reduce losses ramp up in Myanmar By Reianne Quilloy, Christopher Cabardo, and Rica Joy Flor

Demonstrating a technology, such as the solar bubble dryer, includes a hands-on exercise for particpants to experience and assess the feasibility of a technology.

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Publications Htwe NM, Singleton GR. 2014. Is quantity or quality of food infl uencing

the reproduction of rice fi eld rats in the Philippines? Wildlife Res. 41:56-63.

Malabayabas AJB, Kajisa K, Mazid MA, Palis FG. 2014. Impacts of direct-

seeded and early-maturing varieties of rice on mitigating seasonal hunger

for farming communities in northwest Bangladesh. Int. J. Agric. Sustain. 12.

(In press.)

Malabayabas AJB, Templeton D, Singh P. 2013. Ex-ante impact of direct

seeding as an alternative to transplanting rice in the Indo-Gangetic Plain.

Asian J. Agric. Dev. 9:13-29.

Stuart AM, Prescott CV, Singleton GR. 2014. Habitat manipulation in

lowland rice-coconut cropping systems of the Philippinesan eff ective

rodent pest management strategy? Pest Manage. Sci. 70:939-945.


RIPPLE January to June 2014

Documents

irrigated rice project

research progress

corigap coordinator

closing rice yield gaps

use of rice straw

rural development

th e meeting

intensified production