Los Baños, Philippines – Drought is threatening rice production across Asia this season. Australia is a startling example, where, in recent years drought has cut rice production dramatically, including one season where it was reduced by 99% from previous averages.
Before the drought, Australia contributed 20 to 25% of the world medium-grain japonica rice trade and exported around 80% of its entire rice crop. Rice Today April–June 2010 reports on how the Australian rice industry is transforming in the face of water scarcity to maintain its global export role and its claim to the world's highest average rice yields of 10 tons per hectare.
Although less japonica rice is coming out of Australia, more japonica rice is set to come out of the tropics. Dr. Kyung-Ho Kang, from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), reports on the development and release of two tropically adapted japonica varieties in the Philippines.
In Africa, scientists are making a concerted effort to characterize the genetic diversity of local African rice varieties to identify the source of their ability to grow in difficult conditions and resist local pests and diseases. This builds on the success of NERICA rice—a cross combining the best of African and Asian rice.
Rice Today also maps out the geographical source of rice genetic diversity preserved in selected rice genebanks—one of the first steps towards producing a global picture of rice biodiversity. This will help identify any gaps around the world where rice biodiversity has not been collected yet for conservation.
Also in this issue, IRRI's Dr. Samarendu Mohanty and others explore the impact of rising rice prices in India and Bangladesh. They report that rice consumption does not decrease as prices rise and that the small, marginal, and landless laborers with large families are worst hit.
More activities of IRRI's 50th anniversary are showcased in this edition, including the IRRI alumni homecoming and the release of a 50th anniversary stamp collection in the Philippines.
The country highlight for this edition is Thailand and we revisit the Philippines to meet the "Outstanding Farmer" award winner from IRRI's 25th anniversary to find him still farming and looking for new technologies.
This issue's Pioneer Interview features former IRRI geneticist Susan McCouch, who describes the challenges of being a female scientist in the early 1990s when she established IRRI's first molecular breeding laboratory.
All of these, plus the latest news, views, and books, are available now in Rice Today April-July 2010. Free online registration for the full content and notification of future issues of Rice Today is now available. Subscribers' copies are being mailed.
Contact
Sophie Clayton, IRRI: +63 2 580 5600 (ext. 2204), +63 917 552 6082 or s.clayton@cgiar.org