IRRI calls for 'Green Revolution' to stave off rice crisis

MANILA, Philippines - The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has called for a second Green Revolution and the implementation of a nine-point program of short- and long-term interventions to deal with the rice crisis and prevent future crises from happening. The IRRI, in a background paper on the crisis, said national governments and international agencies should increase rice yields through “technological opportunities" and implement policy reforms to improve poor people's food entitlements. “Rice production can be revitalized, but there are no silver bullets. The world community must invest now and for a long time to come," it said. It said the best strategy to prevent shortages and keep rice prices low is to ensure that production rises faster than the demand, by expanding the area planted to rice and increasing the yield per unit area, or both. IRRI said it is “unlikely" that the total rice area in Asia would increase beyond the current 136 million hectares because of industrialization and conversion to other crops, so additional production would have to come from yield growth through improved technologies. “Global average rice yields must continue to rise at an annual rate of at least 50 kg per hectare to keep pace with the expected demand, or by 0.5 tons per hectare over the next 10 years (about 12 percent above current levels)," it said. It said a “Green Revolution is needed now as much as the first Green Revolution was needed to avoid famine and mass starvation." IRRI's proposed nine-point program involves: *Bringing about an agronomic revolution in Asian rice production to reduce yield gaps; accelerating the delivery of new postharvest technologies to reduce losses *Fast-tracking the introduction and adoption of higher yielding rice varieties; strengthening and upgrading the rice breeding and research pipelines *Accelerating research on rice varieties in order to tap the knowledge they contain *Developing a new generation of rice scientists and researchers for the public and private sectors *Increasing public investment in agricultural infrastructure *Reforming policy to improve the efficiency of marketing systems for both inputs and outputs *Strengthening food safety nets for the poor The rice institute said the existing yield gap of 1-2 tons per hectare among rice farmers in Asia could be reduced through better crop management, land preparation, water and nutrient management and control of pests and diseases. It said most rice farmers in Asia need new post-harvest facilities in order to cut down on losses in terms of quantity and quality of rice during postharvest operations. IRRI said the decline in terms of funding for the development of new rice varities must be reversed to speed up the development of new varieties that are tolerant to drought, flooding and salinity and resistant to insects and diseases. It said while IRRI and Asian nations have gathered more than 100,000 types of rice, scientists have studied only about 10 percent of the grain varieties. It said researches have to learn more about the 90 percent so that new varieties could be developed. It said Asia also would need to train a new generation of rice scientists and researchers before the current generation retires so that the rice industry could benefit from the advances in science. It also said domestic and international marketing systems need to be improved so that changes in consumer prices are reflected in producer or farm-gate prices. IRRI said yield growth in Southeast Asia has gone down, with global yields rising only by 1 per cent in recent years. Public investment in agriculture research and development was also at a low of 0.53 percent for developing countries as a whole. The rice institute estimates that Asia would need to produce 38 million more tons of unmilled rice in 2015 than it produced in 2005. Since the global demand is increasing by five million tons per year, the world would need 50 million tons more in 10 years. IRRI also said the rising rice prices are also taking their toll on the world of international relief agencies such as the “food-for-work" program of the UN Population Fund and the World Food Programme. - GMANews.TV