Rice research hub for Greater Mekong Subregion opens in Laos: cooperation is key in Southeast Asia's most important rice bowl

Rice research hub for Greater Mekong Subregion opens in Laos:
cooperation is key in Southeast Asia's most important rice bowl
Vientiane, Laos
January 23, 2007
Last year was another tough 12 months for Asia's millions of poor
rice growers. But, in one of the region's most important rice bowls
- the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) - many of the age-old problems
usually facing farmers such as pests, diseases, floods, and drought hit
particularly hard.

In Vietnam, farmers watched as insects destroyed rice worth millions of
dollars in one of the worst pest outbreaks in recent history, while in
Thailand thousands of farmers saw their crops inundated by record
flooding that also affected Cambodia and Laos.

While rice is the main thing the six nations of the region share - as
well as the Mekong River - it's also clear they share many of the
same rice production problems and a coordinated approach to find
solutions could make a big difference. So, for the first time in its
46-year history, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has
established a GMS office to coordinate efforts to help farmers in the
region deal with production problems and improve their lives.

IRRI's representative in Laos and its GMS coordinator, Gary Jahn,
says the Institute will coordinate its research in the six nations
through the new office. "Laos was selected as the location for the
new IRRI GMS office for several important reasons, including because
every major rice ecosystem is represented within the country's
borders," Dr. Jahn said. "Laos also has the greatest diversity of
rice of any of the Mekong nations, and the largest collection of
indigenous rice accessions.

"We're very grateful to the government of Laos for agreeing to host
the office and providing such excellent cooperation and support," he
added.

There have been tremendous gains in rice production in the GMS in the
past two decades. The most notable examples are Cambodia and Laos,
where rice production has doubled. Yet, despite these advances, much
more still needs to be done. Population growth is leading to more
deforestation as natural lands are converted to farmland.

"To meet the needs of the growing GMS population, by 2027 average
irrigated rice yields must increase by 60 percent and rainfed yields by
100 percent," said Dr. Robert Zeigler, the director general of IRRI.
Although this would be a major challenge, it is possible, and IRRI has
done it before - in the 1970s, the Green Revolution raised rice
yields in India by 30 percent and bought India the vital time to curb
its population growth without suffering a recurrence of the devastating
famines of the 1940s.

"Working with the national research programs of the GMS, we have
developed a research strategy to reduce crop losses from floods,
drought, and pests, while improving the yield potential and management
efficiency of the most popular rice varieties," he said. "IRRI's
most recent success in this area was the discovery of a gene that
enables rice to survive complete submergence for 2 weeks. The gene is
being introduced to several popular rice varieties, including a variety
of Lao sticky rice.

"It's estimated that such innovations could save 20,000 to 70,000
hectares of rice annually in Laos alone," Dr. Zeigler added.
"Projects of this nature are in the common interest of all GMS
nations, and by working together we'll achieve better results
faster."

Dr. Zeigler and the Lao Minister for Agriculture and Forestry Sitaheng
Rasphone (left and right in photo above) signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) for the establishment of the new GMS office in
Vientiane on 12 January. The MOU stipulates IRRI's framework for
regional cooperation and complements the Institute's strong bilateral
relationship with Laos.

"It will channel our combined efforts and leverage additional
resources to meet four national goals in Laos: to improve the export
potential of Lao rice, increase Lao rice production to 3.3 million tons
by 2010, increase forested area by replacing shifting rice production
with sustainable practices, and alleviate poverty among rice
growers," Dr. Jahn said. "These goals will be achieved by helping
farmers to help themselves with new rice varieties that tolerate
drought, floods, pests, and diseases."

The MOU also fully recognizes the existing commitment of IRRI to rice
research in the GMS. To this end, IRRI and the national agricultural
research systems of the six GMS nations will formulate an agreed
strategy for rice research collaboration and technology transfer to
improve food security, reduce poverty, improve livelihoods, and protect
the environment of the subregion.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the world's
leading rice research and training center. Based in the Philippines and
with offices in 10 other Asian countries, it 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. Please visit the CGIAR website (www.cgiar.org) for more
information.

.