Ripple August 2006

In this issue…

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

April 2006, Vol. 1, No. 2

Ripples of change ......................2Philippine outreach program makes

trackse-learning course on postharvest

debuts in AsiaIntegrated crop management kicks

off in VietnamImpact assessment training makes

wavesRat patrol in Nueva Ecija, PhilippinesRodents, beware!

Waves of action ...........................8At a glance: postharvest activities in

MyanmarSSNM, a success in India’s Cauvery

Delta Zone

Research streams ......................10Modified mat nursery produces

young, healthy seedlingsIntroducing the farmer-friendly

moisture meter

Profiles ............................................13Ms. Karen BarrogaDr. Vethaiya Balasubramanian

Publications and ........................15 upcoming events

Outreach in Indonesia and capacity building across the region

www.irri.org/irrc/

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

August 2006, Vol. 1, No. 3

International Rice Research Institute

Over the past 3 months, there have been many highlights for

the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC). Many of these are captured in the articles that appear in this issue. In particular, I draw your attention to two exciting developments.

IRRC outreach program takes its first steps in Indonesia

An IRRC outreach program started in Indonesia through a national workshop held in mid-July in Bogor, entitled Indone-sia-IRRC dialogue: collabora-tive research and extension in natural resource management in lowland irrigated rice crop-ping systems. The workshop provided national-level dialogue between the IRRC and the Indonesian Agency for Agri-cultural Research and Devel-opment (IAARD). Some 45 people attended, with a strong representation of extension staff from 14 provincial as-sessment institutes for agricul-tural technologies (AIAT).

The workshop was officially opened by Dr. Achmad Suryana (IAARD director general), who strongly endorsed the partnership with the IRRC in developing an outreach program for the delivery of new technologies to rice farmers. “This initiative contributes a

new and exciting dimension to the already strong linkages between the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and IAARD,” says Dr. Suryana.

Recent highlights of Indonesian and IRRC collabora-tive research were presented by Dr. Suyamto (site-specific nutrient management [SSNM]), Dr. Hamdan Pane (weed and labor management), Dr. Sudarmaji (ecologically based rodent management), and Dr. Ridwan Rachmat (postproduc-tion technologies). Mr. Martin Gummert, Dr. Roland Buresh, Dr. Mahyuddin Syam, and Dr. Grant Singleton represented IRRI at the meeting. Provincial extension specialists were very interested in the new technolo-

gies that were presented. They identified SSNM, ecological rodent management, and postproduction technologies as those most likely to be of interest to farmers in their respective provinces.

Identifying technologies of potential interest to farmers is not that difficult. Far more difficult is to identify an effec-tive pathway to enable farm-ers to test and validate IRRC technologies. In 2005, Indo-nesia began to roll out a new outreach program called Prima Tani, aimed at accelerating the transfer of agricultural technolo-gies to farmers. An overview of Prima Tani was presented by Dr. Udin Nugraha, director of the Indonesian Center for Agricul-

tural Technology Assessment and Development (ICATAD).

The program follows an agri-business model with the intent of increasing access by farmers to markets. Prima Tani aims to empower regional peo-

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2Ripple August 2006

> continued on page 3

Ripples of change

In the last issue of RIPPLE (Vol. 1, No. 2), we promised to give

you updates on the national outreach programs of the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC). To kick things off, here’s the latest from a country where IRRC activities are being done at a feverish pace, from north to south—the Philippines.

The outreach program in the Philippines has been progressing strongly, with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) as the lead agency, and at least seven other national government agencies, local government units (LGUs), universities, and farmer groups collaborating in various activi-

Philippine outreach program makes tracks

ties. Among these, the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) has the highest level of involvement. Ms. Karen Barroga (PhilRice), who has begun a PhD in Aus-tralia (see Using communication for development on page 13), has handed the coordination of the outreach activities in the Philippines to her colleague at PhilRice, Eng. Leo Javier.

Bohol: a basket of technolo-gies for a big rice bowl

On 5-6 July, an IRRC train-ing workshop on Implementa-tion of component technologies in irrigated rice was held at the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) for central Visayas, 7 kilometers from Tagbilaran City, Bohol. The course was

ple, especially farmers, through participatory decision-making. It began at a low level in 2005 in 14 provinces and 22 villages. In 2007, it is expected to cover 30 provinces, 200 districts, and 1 million hectares of agricultural production (many commodi-ties). Dr. Udin is confident that Prima Tani is the right pathway for facilitating the outreach of IRRC technologies to rice farmers in the lowland irrigated agroecosystem of Indonesia.

For the immediate future, IRRC scientists will contribute to this outreach program by1. Assisting in workshops

for training of trainers. We will provide training materials for our Indone-sian counterparts and will act as resource persons.

2. Assisting in the validation of IRRC technologies at three

Prima Tani demonstration sites (“lighthouse” sites for IRRC technologies)—in South Sumatera, South Sulawesi, and West Java.

3. Helping build capacity for monitoring the adoption by farmers of IRRC tech-nologies. We will provide partnering for qualitative and quantitative measures of impact of technologies.

What is the next step? The AIAT staff will conduct a participatory rural appraisal of IRRC technologies at the subdistrict level and then report back to a technical commit-tee led by Dr. Udin Nugraha. Dr. Udin expects some of the technologies to be included in the subdistrict demonstration “agri-businesses” in 2007.

Outreach in Indonesia...from page 1

Bohol training participants identify weeds. (Photo by G. Singleton)

Capacity building of NARES partners

The second exciting development is the number of training and outreach activities involving the IRRC over the past 3 months. There have been training courses in Myanmar (labor and productivity, nutri-ent management) and Vietnam (social and economic measures for impact assessment); training and outreach activities across all of the IRRC work groups in the Philippines (Bohol, Pangasinan, and Nueva Ecija provinces); and sponsored attendance at international training courses at IRRI, Los Baños (four col-leagues from China, India, the Philippines, and Vietnam), and in Korea (three colleagues from Myanmar and the Philippines). Capacity building and the development of new networks of

contact through people attend-ing these courses from different countries are ingredients im-portant to an effective “consor-tium.” Please keep a watchful eye on upcoming courses advertised in this newsletter, on our Web site (www.irri.org/irrc), and on the Web page of the IRRI Training Center (www.training.irri.org/activities/ac-tivities.htm). Contact one of the IRRC team here at IRRI if you are a NARES collaborator and reap benefits from IRRC initia-tives in your country through your attendance at one of these courses. IRRC sponsorship of attendance at courses is usually highly competitive, so inform us if you are interested in a particular course, for you to be considered.

Grant Singleton (g.singleton@cgiar.org)

3Ripple August 2006

Philippine outreach...from page 2

attended by 21 people: exten-sion and resource specialists from NIA (15), LGUs (4 from the towns of Alicia, Pilar, San Miguel, and Ubay), farmer irrigators’ association (1), and ATI (1). The training provided practical hands-on experience for implementing component technologies of grain drying, quality seed management, crop establishment, weed and rodent management, and site-specific nutrient management (SSNM).

Eutiquio “Boy” Lumayag, manager of the NIA Institu-tional Development Division in Bohol, comments, “All tech-nologies covered in the training are very relevant to improve the rice production capability of farmers in the province. The Research and Evaluation Division of NIA is very interested in evaluating these technologies in farmers’ fields. We will partner with farmer groups to evaluate these component technologies.”

Julian Apari, a farmer group representative, was particularly interested in the low-cost dryer developed by the Postproduction work group. “I am surprised by its price—it is affordable and will attract a lot of interest from farmers,” he says. “Bohol farmers have a big problem in drying their palay (harvested rice) because there is a lot of rain at harvest time for the two crops that we grow here.”

As reported in RIPPLE Vol. 1, No. 2, an outreach program focusing on water savings began in December 2005. Since then, farmer groups have requested assistance with further technolo-gies that would enable increases in productivity in their rice crops. This led to the develop-ment of an outreach program that encompasses a basket of IRRC technologies.

Bohol is the rice bowl of

central Visayas. However, the rice-growing districts in Bohol have the highest indices of poverty among households in the province; many farming households have only 0.75–1.2 hectares of land, and currently do subsistence farming. Therefore, the partnership among NIA, ATI, LGUs, PhilRice, and IRRC in promot-ing rice production technologies has great potential to improve the livelihood of rural families.

Social scientists and an economist from the IRRC Coordination Unit conducted focus group discussions with a cross section of farmers and NIA staff to identify their needs associated with rice production and opportunities for impact from new technologies. These were followed up with farmer household surveys conducted in June 2006 to assess the knowl-edge, attitudes, and practices of some 320 rice farmers. Socio-economic surveys (quantifying inputs and outputs) will be done in August 2006 and, in late 2008, a follow-up survey will be conducted to determine the impact of the collaborative activities in Bohol.

Pangasinan, Isabela, and Mindanao: nutrient feed-ing and water savings

Promotion of SSNM and water savings by the PhilRice Technology Promotion Program under the guidance of Engr. Aurales Corales has begun in Pangasinan, Isabela, and Mid-sayap (Mindanao). The main objective is to enable farmers to understand how local recom-mendations can be developed and implemented. In Pangas-inan, three demonstration sites (0.5–0.25-hectare areas) have been established. Activities in each region are being comple-mented by the production of a poster entitled Implementing

site-specific nutrient manage-ment for rice in the Philippines. A version of the poster in the Tagalog dialect is planned.

On 17-18 May, Dr. Mirasol Pampolino of the IRRC Produc-tivity and Sustainability work group participated in a work-shop on developing a locally adapted SSNM recommendation in Pangasinan. The workshop was coordinated by Engr. Corales. There were 23 partici-pants, all from the Department of Agriculture—two representa-tives from Region 1, La Union, and 21 from the six districts of Pangasinan in Region 2.

Dr. Pampolino facilitated a discussion on the principles of SSNM and the steps in mak-ing an SSNM recommenda-tion for a specific location and season. The participants used data provided by farmers to develop recommendations for their respective districts. These recommendations provide the starting point of an action plan for the in-country outreach program activity this wet season. The participants spent the second day further develop-ing their action plans, which will involve demonstration sites in farmers’ fields on SSNM

and conservation irrigation.

Nueva Ecija: on rat patrolA community-based rat

campaign, organized by Rolly San Gabriel and Leo Marquez of PhilRice, has begun in Zara-goza, Nueva Ecija.

Mayor Teodorico Cornes, Jr. is very supportive of this project and he attended the construction of the first commu-nity trap-barrier system. He has been providing security during the night hunting of rats in and around the rice fields. The campaign, formally launched on 3 August, had a simple, straightforward message: “Boo, boo rat! Your field is safe 24 hours” (see Rat patrol in Nueva Ecija, Philippines on page 6).

Ilocos Norte: taking the plunge

A water-saving group, under the watchful eye of Jovino de Dios of PhilRice, has begun in Batac, Ilocos Norte. This group is based on successful demonstration sites established in Tarlac and Bulacan.

Grant Singleton (g.singleton@cgiar.org)

In Nueva Ecija, PhilRice’s Ulysses Duque shows how to use an indigenous rat trap made of juice cans. (Photo by G. Singleton)

4Ripple August 2006

e-learning course on postharvest debuts in Asia

Trainees in Myanmar learn about postharvest processes through an e-learning course. (Photo by M. Gummert)

Ripples of change

To enhance their postharvest training courses, the Irrigated

Rice Research Consortium’s (IRRC) Postproduction work group integrated e-learning for the first time in its two in-country courses on Postharvest management for improved quality of rice grain and seed in Myanmar (24-26 April) and Lao PDR (10-12 May). The team was headed by Martin Gummert of IRRC and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). He was in charge of the hands-on postharvest training and Geert Claessens (IRRI Training Center) led the e-learning component.

The training in Myanmar was held at the Central Agri-cultural Research and Training Center in Hlegu Township in Yangon. This was a follow-up on the initial IRRC in-coun-try training on Implementing component technologies of seed processing, crop establish-ment, weed management, and SSNM, held in September 2005.

A total of 23 participants

attended, with 13 coming from the government’s Myanma Agriculture Service-Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, seven from the Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders’ Association (MRPTA), and three from the Myanmar Rice Millers’ Association.

On the first day of the train-ing, the theories behind post-harvest processes were taught through an e-learning course. The participants were divided into groups, and the group members shared a computer.

Mr. Claessens gave a brief introduction of the course and afterward let the participants go through the course themselves. The following 2 days of smooth-sailing training were proof enough that the e-learning day was an effective jump-off point for participants, even with new topics such as hermetic storage.

On the second and third day, Mr. Gummert gave a lecture on drying systems (sun drying, shade drying, low-cost dryer from Vietnam, IRRI flat- bed dryer), storage (super bags, commercial 5-ton hermetic

storage cube), and milling. He also discussed grain and seed quality and the determination of quality traits using the IRRI quality kit.

After the training, most participants were eager to use the super bags. Some asked for a more specific course on rice milling and improved milling technologies.

Then, in early May, the team was off to Vientiane, Lao PDR, to conduct the same training with the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI) staff. The training was done to create awareness about grain and seed quality issues, and improved postharvest manage-ment options due to the low level of postharvest mechaniza-tion and poor milling quality experienced by rice millers from the dry-season crop. It was also the first time that researchers, extension workers, and the private sector were brought together to discuss postharvest

In Lao PDR, training participants get their hands dirty and manually harvest paddy. (Photo by G. Claessens)

issues. Eighteen participants from NAFRI, extension systems, and rice mills attended the training held at the Agricul-tural Research Center.

As with Myanmar, the first day was spent teaching posthar-vest principles through the e-learning course. In the next 2 days, participants were given hands-on training.

Reactions to the computer-based learning course were very positive. The course will be included in IRRI’s Rice Knowledge Bank and be made available on CD as well. Another option being looked into is for the course to be translated into local dialects. It is IRRI’s hope that this new dimension of training using e-learning will open up new possi-bilities and benefit more people and communities all over the globe.

Trina Mendoza (t.mendoza@cgiar.org) and

Martin Gummert (m.gummert@cgiar.org)

5Ripple August 2006

Integrated crop management kicks off in Vietnam

Following an October 2005 meeting in Hanoi between Vietnam’s

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), a research collaboration on integrated crop management (ICM) for rice began with co-funding from Vietnam and the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC). The project aims to provide an understanding of the best possible plant population, water management, and nitrogen management approaches to increase rice yield and profit in the major rice-growing areas of Vietnam.

The research involves detailed monitoring of plant, soil, and water in researcher-managed experiments. Through the leadership of the National Institute for Soils and Fertilizers (NISF), two experiments are planned in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam, two in the Mekong Delta, and one in Binh Dinh Province in central Viet-nam. The research is designed to provide a scientific basis for the selection of best manage-ment practices and thereby sort through the contrasting messag-es and recommendations arising from different research and de-velopment projects in Vietnam. This research is closely linked to research-extension partner-ships that enable technologies arising from research to rapidly pass to the extension system.

As part of the collaboration, IRRI trained young scientists associated with the project to enhance their research skills. IRRC’s Ruben Lampayan (Water-Saving work group) and Marianne Samson (Pro-ductivity and Sustainability work group) gave lectures and demonstrations on methodolo-gies on soil and plant measure-ments, soil-plant-water balance relationships and water-saving technology (particularly the alternate wetting-and-drying technique), field instrumenta-tion in water management, and procedures for data collection and compilation. NISF scientists received training at different sites in northern Vietnam: Xuan Kien in Nam

Dinh Province and Habac Station, Hiep Hoa District in Bac Giang Province. Training was also conducted among scientists from the Cuu Long Rice Research Institute (CLRRI) in South Vietnam, and from the Agricultural Science Institute for southern coastal central Vietnam in Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh Province.

Experiments in the Red River Delta started in late February 2006 for spring rice. In the Mekong Delta, one ICM experiment started in the 2006 wet season at the CLRRI station. In central Vietnam, the ICM experiment began in May 2006 for summer rice at the An Nhon Research Station.

To further enhance the capability of scientists in the national agricultural research and extension systems, and expose young scientists involved in the ICM experiments to hands-on training, three Vietnamese scientists, namely, Le Cong Ben, Le Xuan Anh, and Nguyen Thi Nhu Thoa, are at IRRI for 2 months from July to August 2006.

The collaboration is helping provide the scientific basis for establishing guidelines, enabling farmers to optimally adjust crop, water, and fertilizer manage-ment to their site- and season-specific conditions.

Roland J. Buresh (r.buresh@cgiar.org),

Ruben Lampayan (r.lampayan@cgiar.org),

and Marianne Samson (m.samson @cgiar.org)

Dr. Ruben Lampayan (third from right) and National Institute for Soils and Fertilizers scientists (from left to right) Mr. Nguyen Voc Hien, Dr. Nguyen Cong Vinh, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hai, and Mr. Dang Due Duy observe Mr. Le Xuan Anh install a tensiometer in the ICM plot in Xuan Kien commune. (Photo by M. Samson)

Vietnamese scientists (from left) Le Cong Ben, Le Xuan Ahn, and Nguyen Thi Nhu Thoa (partially hidden), with Briccio Salisi and Teodoro Correa, Jr. (IRRI research technician and researcher, respectively), obtain hands-on training at IRRI. (Photo by W. Larazo)

6Ripple August 2006

Ripples of change

Impact assessment training makes waves

With the dire need for credible and targeted impact

assessment of research programs growing, the International Rice Research Institute conducted a training workshop on Concepts and tools for agricultural research evaluation and impact assessment on 24 July-4 August.

The aim of the workshop was for participants to gain a shared understanding of the frameworks and processes for developing and implementing evaluation plans, and undertak-ing economic, social, and environmental impact assess-ments. Twenty-five participants from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Thailand, Uzbeki-stan, Vietnam, and the Philip-pines attended the 10-day workshop.

The workshop’s main focus

was to provide participants with the knowledge and skills to be able to assess the economic im-pact of agricultural research and development projects, and pro-ficiency in the use of an impact assessment software package called DREAM. Other topics included within-project evalu-ation, collecting credible evi-dence for project evaluation and impact assessment, sustainabili-ty and environmental indicators, and social and poverty issues.

IRRC sponsored three participants: Mr. Joel Pas-cual from the Philippines, Mr. Zhijian Yang from China, and Dr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan from Vietnam. IRRC’s agricultural economics specialist, Arelene Malabayabas, also attended.

Mr. Yang found the topics on framework and methodology of economic impact assessment, and technology adoption issues, most interesting and useful. He is a PhD student from the Center

for Chinese Agricultural Policy, and works on agricultural technology extension in rural China.

Ms. Malabayabas added that the concepts of estimating the K-shift, benefit-cost analysis, and the counterfactual are important when undertaking project evaluation and accurate ex ante or ex post impact assessment.

“I will share what I learned with our technology promotion groups to further improve our strategies in project evaluation,” says Mr. Pascual from the Philippine Rice Research Institute. “The DREAM model software will help evaluators do faster and more accurate project impact assessment at a macro-level perspective.”

For Dr. Tuan, research division dean of the Center of

Rat patrol in Nueva Ecija, Philippines

In the German folktale Pied Piper of Hamelin, it took one mystical

man to play his pipe and lure the town’s thousands of rats into a river to drown. In the town of Zaragoza in Nueva Ecija, Philippines, they don’t have one man to do this job, they have a whole community working to win its battle against rats.

A rat information campaign was launched on 3 August as a project of Brgy. Sta. Lucia Young Development Council and Zaragoza’s local govern-ment unit, in partnership with Nueva Ecija’s office of the agriculturist, and the Philip-pine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). The campaign had a

simple, straightforward mes-sage: “Boo! Boo! Rat! Palay mo’y ligtas, 24 oras (Your field is safe, 24 hours).” This campaign is one of a number of outreach activities planned for the Philippines in 2006 that are jointly funded by the Irrigated Rice Research Con-sortium (IRRC) and PhilRice to showcase new technologies for lowland rice farmers.

A total of 333 people came to the event, composed of guests, students, and farmers. A motorcade started the morning affair, followed by a program featuring a video-showing of rat campaign activities, and a forum among farmers and guest experts, including rodent ecolo-gist and IRRC coordinator, Dr.

Grant Singleton. Information and campaign materials were exhibited, such as posters and photos, a miniature diorama of a community trap-barrier system (CTBS), and samples of rodent management tools such as flame throwers and rat traps.

Zaragoza’s municipal agriculturist Rosenita Gonzales says that rats have long been a yearly problem, especially in January to February. They had been conducting management methods before the campaign started, using flame throwers and chemicals, and going night hunting as well. But it was only in February this year when the community started organizing its activities to align with its understanding of the ecology

of the rats. This provided a focus on when and where to conduct control. The intro-duction of the CTBS adds an important reinforcement to the community war against rats.

A 20-hectare CTBS demonstration site was installed in Sitio Mabilog, Brgy. Sta. Lucia Young, with participation by 10 farmers.

“So far, results have been good,” says Ms. Gonzales. “This demonstration site is expected to benefit the whole barangay. Hopefully, the whole of Zaragoza will follow suit once people see that the CTBS, together with targeted commu-nity rat campaigns, is working.”

Trina Mendoza (t.mendoza@cgiar.org)

Agricultural Policy/Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agri-culture and Rural Development in Vietnam, the training also left him craving for more. “It has introduced basic concepts of other dimensions of impact assessment such as poverty reduction, gender equality, and environmental sustainability. I would like to learn more about operationalized methods of integrating those concepts in project/program evaluation.”

Trina Mendoza (t.mendoza@cgiar.org)

Dr. Debbie Templeton (IRRI) led the 2-week impact assessment training. (Photo by T. Mendoza)

7Ripple August 2006

To increase awareness about the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC) and IRRI activities in the irrigated rice domain, a brochure was

produced by the IRRC team led by Grant Singleton, Ria Tenorio, and Trina Mendoza, in consultation with the IRRC management team of Bas Bouman, David Johnson, Martin Gummert, Roland Buresh, Ruben Lampayan, and Ren Wang. A team from IRRI’s Communication and Publications Services helped with the design and photography.

The brochure was developed to raise the profile of the IRRC and to address frequently asked questions. It contains an overview of what the IRRC is about, the need for a consortium, the manner of operation through its work groups, and how it delivers technol-

IRRC brochure launched

Vietnam—If rats could understand humans, they’d probably be

scampering off for their lives in this Asian country. The project on integrated ecologically based rodent pest management, funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, took its first big step by holding training workshops on Knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) and Socioeconomic (SE) surveys at the plant protection departments in two Vietnamese provinces (see Ecological rodent management workshop in Vietnam in RIPPLE Vol. 1, No. 2).

These workshops were held on 8-9 June in An Giang Province (southern Vietnam) and 12-15 June in Ha Nam Province (northern Vietnam).

The two principal trainers were Dr. Flor Palis (International Rice Research Institute, IRRI, and Irrigated Rice Research Consortium, IRRC) and Dr. Peter Roebeling (Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organisation, CSIRO). Fourteen participants attended in each session, composed of staff from the provincial plant protection department, plant protection stations, and agricultural extension.

This project will focus on developing effective path-ways for delivery of integrated ecologically based methods for rodent management to poor farmers in the Red River Delta and central coastal zone of Vietnam, and in West Java and South Sulawesi in Indonesia.

Ecologically based rodent management is a concept that has grown popular since the late 1990s in developing countries,

feedback. The survey ques-tionnaire developed from this training will be used by the par-ticipants in the two provinces.

A month after the work-shop, Ha Nam trainees started the KAP and SE household sur-vey in Binh Luc and Kim Bang districts for a total of 300 farm-ers. Randomly selected farm-ers came from Trung Lương commune, Binh Luc District, and Ngọc Sơn and Le Ho com-munes of Kim Bang District.

The survey is expected to be finished by 18 August. Community trap-barrier systems have already been established at several sites in the two districts. In An Giang, the survey is expected to start by mid-August.

Florencia Palis (f.palis@cgiar.org)

and aims to combine basic and applied research on rodents by focusing on the population ecology of rodents, and develop-ing management skills directed at the agroecosystem level.

In An Giang, activities were led by Ms. Nguyen Thi My Phung, vice director of the province’s Plant Protection Department (PPD), and Le Ahn Tuan of World Vision, a nongov-ernment organization project partner. In Ha Nam, Dr. Dinh Van Duc Duc, principal officer of Plant Protection Hanoi, took charge, together with Dr. Huy, Ha Nam’s PPD director, Nation-al Institute of Plant Protection’s Dr. Tuan, and Ms. Nga from Hanoi’s PPD planning office.

The workshops aimed to train our partners in the national agricultural research and exten-sion systems in conducting surveys and to enhance their interviewing skills. Key parts of the training included lectures, a discussion of the survey questionnaire (initially devel-oped by scientists at CSIRO and IRRI), and hands-on training in conducting interviews with farmers in the field. After field interviews, the question-naire was revised based on participants’ experiences and

Rodents, beware!

ogy through country outreach programs.It is intended for scientists, extension workers, communicators,

managers, policy advisers, and donors.

Impact assessment training makes waves

Rat patrol in Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Plant protection department staff discuss the survey question-naire. (Photo by F. Palis)

Ms. Nguyen Thi My Phung, vice director of An Giang’s PPD, interviews a farmer. (Photo by F. Palis)

8Ripple August 2006

At a glance: postharvest activities in Myanmar

In the past issues of RIPPLE, you’ve seen the flurry of activities going on in each partner country—workshops and training, research updates, outreach programs, and

more. Myanmar is one example of a partner country pressing forward. And, in this section, you’ll get a glimpse of the frenzy of postharvest activities of the Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders’ Association (MRPTA), working hand in hand with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC).

April 2006 In-country training on laser land leveling in rice production was held at Ye Kyi Village, Nat Ta Lin Township, West Bago Division. This was a collaborative activity among the IRRC, Myanma Agriculture Service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (government sector), and MRPTA (private sector). MRPTA believes farmers can get better financial returns by investing in long-term laser leveling, because they can manage and save water through minimal irrigation, control weed problems, and thus save on labor and get better crops from uniform ripening of panicles. MRPTA will continue to develop laser land leveling as a contract business for private entrepreneurs and farmers in the future.

Technology development and transfer

Feb 2006 This Vietnamese-designed commercial-scale paddy dryer was constructed at the Yadanar Mandaing Private Rice Mill in Zee Gone, West Bago Division. The technology transfer was a result of the collaboration between IRRI and Nong Lam University’s Centre for Agricultural Energy and Machinery in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Capacity building

May 2006 The low-cost dryer was demonstrated in front of farmers in West Bago Division.

Reaching farmers

Rice market survey

Nov 2005 A market survey is being done with IRRC until November 2006 to study price trends, fluctuations, customers’ preferences in choosing rice varieties, and factors that determine price trends. Photos and text by Dr. Myo Aung Kyaw of MRPTA

(makmrpta@myanmar.com.mm)

Waves of action

9Ripple August 2006

SSNM, a success in India’s Cauvery Delta Zone

Rice is the lifeline for farmers in the Cauvery Delta Zone,

one of the major rice-growing tracts and popularly known as the rice granary of Tamil Nadu State in southern India. The Cauvery Delta has two distinct regions: the Old Delta, which has clay and clay loam soil, and the New Delta, with sandy and sandy loam soil.

Sadly, even though the Cau-very Delta may be the most fertile agricultural zone in drought-prone Tamil Nadu, its irrigated rice area is steadily declining due to the scarcity of water and labor, and diminish-ing profit. Hundreds of on-farm trials have been conducted to identify and evaluate practices to help boost rice productivity in the area, and results revealed that improved management technologies could increase rice yields—relatively more in the Cauvery New Delta than in the Old Delta.

Rays of hopeWe learned that one way

of boosting rice productivity is through site-specific nutri-ent management (SSNM). The findings of the Reaching Toward Optimum Productivity (RTOP) work group of the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC) Phase 2 (which followed up on activities begun in the Cauv-ery Delta from 1994 to 1996) revealed that SSNM increased irrigated rice productivity by 0.45 ton per hectare in the Old Delta and 0.7 ton per hectare in the New Delta as compared with the existing farmers’ fertilizer practice (FFP).

SSNM is a plant-based approach in “feeding” rice

with nutrients, as needed. By adopting the SSNM technol-ogy, Cauvery Delta farmers could benefit from applying need-based nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilizer and achieve higher profit from optimized fertilizer use, reduced pest and disease incidence, and eco-friendly soil and nutrient management.

Improved fertilizer prac-tices were developed through the SSNM approach evaluated with farmers starting in 1997. With SSNM, the use of fertilizer N was optimized and fertilizer K increased, while fertilizer P decreased slightly. The SSNM approach consistently increased grain yield and profit in the Cauvery Delta as confirmed through on-farm evaluation tri-als conducted during 2001-04.

Spreading the wordDuring the interactive

workshop on SSNM held at Thanjavur, India, in August 2004, SSNM recommendations were developed in consultation with extension workers and

fertilizer industry personnel for wider scale adoption of SSNM technology by Cauvery Delta farmers.

Researchers (agronomists and soil scientists) working in the region and extension staff involved in large-scale demon-strations were trained on SSNM. They participated in the monthly zonal workshop meetings of extension staff and discussed the benefits of adopting a fertilizer schedule calibrated through SSNM principles.

In Coimbatore, India, the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University promoted the SSNM approach as a management technology to enhance irrigated rice yields. Booklets and stickers on SSNM recommenda-tions and benefits were distrib-uted to farmers with the help of extension staff.

Since then, the focus has been on making SSNM known throughout the entire Cauvery Delta. On 23 June 2005, another interactive workshop was held at Thanjavur, India, attended by

researchers, extension workers, fertilizer industry personnel, and farmers. As proposed dur-ing their discussion, large-scale SSNM demonstration plots were laid out in farmers’ fields during 2005-06 (dry and wet seasons) to popularize the SSNM technology, devel-oped by IRRI and its national research and extension partners through a decade of untiring research and extension efforts.

Trying it outScientists from the Tamil

Nadu Rice Research Institute (TRRI) and the Soil and Water Management Research Institute (SWMRI) organized SSNM demonstration trials in 179 farmers’ fields in the Old Delta and in 116 farmers’ fields in the New Delta, through collabora-tion with IRRI, the Agricul-ture Department’s extension workers, and fertilizer industry personnel in the region.

FFP and SSNM treat-ments were evaluated through large-scale demonstration plots. Field days were conducted at the time of harvest in about 10

Researchers and farmers in Tamil Nadu compare rice grain produced from plots exposed to contrasting nutrient management options. (Photo by Dr. Rajendran)

The sites for the development and evaluation of SSNM in the Cauvery Delta in Tamil Nadu, India.

> continued on page 10

10Ripple August 2006

Waves of action

Modified mat nursery produces young, healthy seedlings

SSNM can be used as an alternative to blanket application of N, P, and K fertilizers in the Cauvery Delta. The SSNM technology has been refined from time to time,

and simplified to ensure successful farmer adoption. SSNM recommendations have been drawn for Old and New Cauvery Delta as follows:

• Leaf color chart (LCC)-guided N application.• Full P as basal application at planting (35 kilograms

of P2O5 per hectare for Old and New Delta).• K (50 kilograms of K2O per hectare for Old Delta and

80 kilograms of K2O per hectare for New Delta) in two equal splits at planting and early panicle initiation. About 20–30 kilograms of N per hectare is recommended as

basal or within 14 days after transplanting (DAT) for soils that are low in indigenous N (grain yield less than 3 tons per hectare). Farmers are advised not to use the LCC with this early N application and reduce the application of early N when high-quality organic materials and composts are applied. LCC readings are to be taken every 7 days for the dry-season crop (kuruvai) and every 10 days for the wet-season crop (thaladi), starting at 14 DAT and continuing until booting (about 49 DAT in the dry season and 63 DAT in the wet season). Whenever the LCC reading falls below the critical value, a preset amount of fertilizer N is applied.

SSNM, a success ... from page 9

locations each in the Old and New Delta. Yields and prof-its of rice crops from SSNM compared with those from FFP were obtained and discussed by TRRI and SWMRI scientists with the farmers, emphasizing their fertilizer costs and sources.

The big winnerThe performance of SSNM

was more spectacular than that of FFP in both the Old and New Cauvery Delta. The grain yield increase due to SSNM over the FFP plots ranged from 0.34 to 1.07 tons per hectare, with an average of 0.75 ton per hectare. Farmers realized additional profits ranging from US$50 to $140 per hectare, averaging about $100 per hectare using SSNM. This benefit was achieved through more optimal use of fertilizer N, slightly

Producing young and robust rice seedlings is a challenge for rice

farmers everywhere. To help meet this challenge, scientists from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) in India have developed an improved method in crop establishment: growing seedlings in a modified mat nursery.

The technology establishes seedlings in a layer of soil mix, arranged on a firm surface. It uses less land and requires fewer seeds and inputs, such as fertilizer and water, reducing nursery costs by up to 50%.

After 15–20 days, the seedlings reach the four-leaf stage—which favors quick establishment in the field and rapid growth—and are ready for transplanting. This is much quicker than the 25–35 days required for traditional wet-bed nurseries.

How to establish a modified mat nursery

1. Use good-quality seeds. To plant 1 hectare with 1 to 2 seedlings per hill, 20 centime-ters apart, use 12 to 25 kilo-grams of good-quality seeds with a minimum germination rate of 80%. It is important to use good seeds because they

Cauvery Delta Zone’s SSNM dose

Research streams

reduced use of fertilizer P, and increased use of fertilizer K compared with farmers’ current practices. Farmers became aware of the benefits through result-oriented SSNM demon-strations and discussions.

Future directionsOne of the major plans is

to introduce the SSNM tech-nology in other rice-growing domains of Tamil Nadu by involving active players from the fertilizer industry and the Department of Agriculture.

S. Ramanathan (samyram@rasiseeds.com).

The development and extension of SSNM recommendations was made possible through the efforts of a team of scientists including Dr. R. Rajendran, Dr. P. Stalin, and Dr. B. Chandrasekaran from TRRI; and Dr. T. Jayaraj from SWMRI. The team leader from 2000 was Dr. S. Ramanathan, and Dr. Roland Buresh was the collaborating IRRC work group leader.

Modified mat nursery seedlings are robust and fast-growing, and give an additional 20–40% yield and about US$100–250 additional income per season for farmers. (Photo from IRRI Training Center)

11Ripple August 2006

result in a lower seed rate, more uniform germination, less replanting, fewer weeds, healthy seedlings, and 5–20% higher yields.

2. Pregerminate your seeds. Soak your seeds for 24 hours (some varieties may need a longer time to bud). Drain the water after 24 hours, and keep the seeds moist by covering them for another 24 hours. By this time, the seeds will have sprouted buds and the first seed root will be about 2 to 3 mil-limeters long.

3. Prepare the soil mixture. You need 4 cubic meters of soil mix for every 100 square meters of nursery area. Mix 7 parts soil with 2 parts well-decomposed chicken manure, and 1 part fresh or charred rice hull.

4. Prepare the nursery area. Prepare a 100-square-meter nursery area for every 1 hect-are that will be planted. Select a level area in your backyard or in the main field. Level your seedbed and spread banana leaves or plastic sheeting on

top to prevent the roots of the seedlings from penetrating into the soil.

5. Lay the soil mixture. You can do this with or without us-ing a wooden frame. For those using a wooden frame, place the frame on top of the banana leaves. The frame should be half a meter long, 0.3 meter wide, and 4 centimeters deep, divided into equal segments. Then, fill the frame almost to the top with the soil mixture you prepared.

6. Sow the pregerminated seeds uniformly. Sprinkle soil and pat gently to embed them at about 2–3 centimeters into the soil, then sprinkle water immediately.

7. Remove the wooden frame and repeat laying the soil mix-ture and sowing seeds until you have finished the whole nurs-ery area. For those who prefer not to use a wooden frame, you can use banana stalks instead. Simply create a fence around the nursery using banana stalks pegged with wooden sticks,

nursery. Maintain a 1-centi-meter water level around the mats. Then, drain the water 2 days before removing the seed-ling mats for transplanting. If your seedlings show yellowing after 7 days, it means that they lack nitrogen. You can solve this by sprinkling the seed-lings with 0.5% urea solution. Simply dissolve 1.5 kilograms of urea in 300 liters of water to sprinkle over 100 square meters.

10. About 15 to 20 days after seeding, either transport the seedlings as such or pull them gently and transport them to the field.

At present, the technology has been adopted in the south-ern states of India and was re-cently introduced in Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, East Timor, and the Philippines. One major advantage of the method is that it can be applied in all countries and on all soil types, as long as the soil is kept moist. In areas where modified mat nurseries have been successfully imple-mented, they have produced robust, fast-growing seedlings, an additional 20–40% yield, and about US$100–250 additional income per season for farmers.

Trina Mendoza (t.mendoza@cgiar.org)

pour the soil mixture inside, and level before sowing. Cover the nursery with banana leaves or plastic sheeting once you’re through.

8. Water the nursery twice a day for 5 days and keep it cov-ered with banana leaves or rice straw to keep the soil moist. Make sure that you protect the nursery from heavy rains for the first 5 days after seeding.

9. Five days after seeding, remove the cover and flood the

Pregerminated seeds are sown uniformly into a special mix of soil, rice hull, and chicken manure. (Photo from IRRI Training Center)

After 15–20 days, seedlings reach the ideal four-leaf stage, and are ready for transplanting. (Photo from IRRI Training Center)

12Ripple August 2006Ripple August 2006

Research streams

Imagine the trouble of growing your seedlings, feeding them with

nutrients, and getting rid of pests and diseases, only to have your rice rot or overdry after harvest? Well, the key to preventing that postharvest nightmare from happening is accurate moisture determination.

Moisture determination is the most critical factor when drying, storing, and processing rice seed and grain. Paddy or unhulled rice needs to be dried without delay to moisture con-tent below 14% to prevent rapid deterioration after harvest. Rice seeds should be dried to 12% moisture content or below to maintain optimum germination levels. In most rice mills, the maximum amount of milled rice is obtained when the paddy is milled at 14% moisture content. When grains are overdried to lower moisture content, the producers also lose money from excessive weight loss. During storage, the moisture content needs to be monitored to prevent grains from absorb-

Introducing the farmer-friendly moisture meter

IRRI’s affordable moisture meter can help farmers reduce losses and maximize profits from their harvests. (Photo by M. Gummert)

Farmers and extension officials test the moisture meter during a training in Hau Thanh Village, South Vietnam. (Photo by M. Gummert)

ing water from the surrounding air, especially in the wet season when relative humidity is high.

The cheapest commercial moisture meter costs approxi-mately US$200, far more than rural budgets permit. Farmers and processors therefore rely on estimating the moisture content; one way is by biting the grains. Consequently, the International Rice Research Institute’s (IRRI) Agricultural Engineering Unit developed an affordable moisture meter that uses standard electronic components and can be produced locally.

The low-cost moisture meter is designed as a decision-making tool with an analog display, and with ranges instead of a number scale indicating the appropriate action to be taken. The red section for moisture content above 14% indicates that the paddy needs to be dried. The green section ranging from 12% to 14% moisture content tells the user that paddy is ready for mill-ing, and is also safe for short-term storage of grain. The blue section for moisture content below 12% indicates safe storage moisture content for seed. The moisture meter is thus a decision-making tool and not intended for commercial purposes.

Eugene Aquino, the IRRI engineer who designed the electronic circuit of the moisture meter, points out that the accu-racy is within + 0.5% compared with data gained using the oven method, and is comparable with that of regular commercial mois-

ture meters. It is calibrated for paddy, other cereals, and coffee.

The moisture meter costs $30, and feedback obtained from villages in Indonesia, Cambodia, and Vietnam showed that this is affordable for farm-ers’ groups or cooperatives. So far, we have provided around 175 units to our collaborators in the national agricultural research and extension sys-tems and projects in partner countries. It is currently being field-tested by seed produc-ers and in several villages in Cambodia and Vietnam.

The moisture meter can help farmers to reduce losses and maximize profits from their rice harvests. Two small manufacturers in the Philippines can now produce the moisture meter, and one in Cambodia has made several prototypes and has sent them for testing to IRRI.

Martin Gummert (m.gummert@cgiar.org)

EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION TEAM: IRRC: Trina Leah Mendoza, Grant Singleton, Ma. Theresa Tenorio CPS: Tess Rola, Bill Hardy, George Reyes

CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS: Martin Gummert, Florencia Palis, Marianne Samson, Ruben Lampayan, Roland Buresh, S. Ramanathan, Myo Aung Kyaw

Team

13Ripple August 2006

Profiles

Karen explains PhilRice’s promotional strategies to the president of Gambia.

Using communication for development—the Karen Barroga prescription“I think of ways to best tell farmers, and the people who help them, of the products of science that can lead to better rice and income—so they will use them. It is, in a way, like what the people who make TV commercials do to convince you to buy their food or their toys.” And Karen Eloisa T. Barroga, through inspiration, perspiration, and persistence, has made these words a reality.

Karen is a chief science research specialist at the Philip-pine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and, for almost five years (from June 2001 to May 2006), the indefatigable leader of the Technology Promo-tion Program (now called the Knowledge Management and Promotion Program). She put in place an area-based technology promotion approach, assign-ing to PhilRice branch offices a service area composed of adjacent provinces that led to a more focused extension agenda. Several rice production tech-nologies, such as hybrid rice, have been promoted nationwide using this approach, which the National Economic Develop-ment Authority cited as a good extension model to follow.

Using her educational communication skills, Karen led and conceptualized the develop-ment of many conventional and modern extension materials that simplified and emphasized the scientific principles of rice production such as the Palay-tandaan booklet, a PhilRice bestseller; the interactive learning videos on rice produc-tion, which were distributed to almost 10,000 extension workers nationwide; computer-based learning materials such as ProRice (a rice technology information warehouse and decision tool); the Rice visuals

PhilRice executive director, has high praise for Karen: “Karen is the ideal technology promotion expert—open to new ideas, very innovative, and very creative. The strategies and programs she has developed, together with her team, help us connect effec-tively with our clients and partners (farmers, NGOs, private sector). These strategies and programs enabled PhilRice technologies to have more impact on our clients and partners.”

A highly sought-after resource person, consultant, scriptwriter, and editor, Karen is a member of many profes-sional organizations. She was really pleased when IRRC found it important to have people from her field (not necessar-ily her!) to become part of its Steering Committee.

Currently a graduate stu-dent at the University of West-ern Australia under ACIAR’s John Allwright Fellowship, Karen is developing a research proposal on communication and adoption of weed management in the Philippines. She plans to produce high-quality research on extension-communication, have her work published, and learn the latest developments in her areas of interest.

In her spare time, Karen

CD (an organized collection of 1,500 photos/graphics related to rice); iLearn Rice (an interactive and innovative way of learning rice science and technology, S&T) through problem-based learning scenarios; and Rice Doctor (a diagnostic tool for tropical rice disorders intended for extension workers).

To hasten the dissemination of rice science and technology without spending much, Karen implemented on a regular basis the Rice S&T Updates, which is both an in-house PhilRice course and one that can be flexibly offered as an adjunct to conferences and meetings.

As development communi-cation head from 1998 to 2001, Karen introduced innovative, modern, and low-cost knowl-edge and campaign products, whose ideas came mostly from observing and studying the private sector’s approaches and people’s behavior. Thus, she came out with small packs of milled premium Mestizo Hybrid Rice, tricycle banners to reach far-flung villages, videos, and streamers. She was also responsible for conceptualizing and transforming the PhilRice Newsletter into a science and technology-oriented magazine.

Dr. Leocadio Sebastian,

loves to visit science muse-ums, watch craftsmen, read magazines, go sightseeing, and have a body massage. She also loves to dance (especially the swing), and has a ten-year-old son, Gio Anton, with husband and PhilRice colleague Roger. Had she not been a develop-ment communication specialist, she says she’d probably be a newscaster (many people say she has a good speaking voice).

She started her career as a development communication teacher at the Don Mariano Marcos State University in Batac, Ilocos Norte. She wants her last job also to be in teaching, as she wishes to share or give back what she has learned in life and work. “Being a teacher may not really sound like your usual great ambition, but I think this is what will make me happy and satisfied,” says Karen.

In the Philippines, we are now losing devcom graduates to call centers and advertising agencies maybe because they pay more. But from interview-ing Karen, it is clear that great and rewarding challenges in the field of development communi-cation await our more commit-ted and adventurous graduates.

Ma. Theresa Tenorio (m.tenorio@cgiar.org)

Introducing the farmer-friendly moisture meter

14Ripple August 2006

Profiles

Dr. Bala—life in IRRI and Africa, and giving back to India

improve the education and training facilities in the rural areas so as to remove the gap between the skills and ca-pabilities of rural and urban children,” Dr. Bala explains. “I want to go back to my village and develop a model that can be duplicated all over India and in other countries as well.”

Dr. Bala says he has a long way to go to fulfill his dream, but it is his way of giving back to his country all the great opportunities that have come his way.

“When I look back, I’m really proud that I had the strength and courage to work under extreme conditions and with different groups of people,” he says. “For each country, each university, and each institute I have worked with, I feel satis-faction that I’ve done something for them. They’re happy to see me when I go back and visit them. That is really satisfying.”

Trina Mendoza (t.mendoza@cgiar.org)

all over Indonesia and in some parts of India, and was recently introduced in Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, East Timor, and the Philippines (see Modified mat nursery on page 10).

When he’s not on a trip or working in his office at the IRRI Training Center, Dr. Bala likes to watch TV or read the news at home. To relieve the daily stress, he does yoga religiously every morning and tries to go walking in the evening.

As he returns to his home-town in Voimedu, India, this year, he has no plans of slowing down. He plans to teach and has taken on IRRI’s goal to reduce poverty and hunger, starting with his own village. Dr. Bala has been cooking up a project called “Revive Your Village,” in which he plans to estab-lish—with his own money—a Village Knowledge Center in his hometown that will serve as a play area for preschool children, a reading room and lending library, a computer room, a preventive health advi-sory clinic, and a training hall.

“What I want to do is to

Bala. In the last five years, Dr. Bala was heavily involved with the institute’s Training Center, co-presenting the rice produc-tion course and a workshop on scientific writing and presenta-tion skills for young scientists.

“I really want to share what I know, and all the technolo-gies, all the information, all the skills that I have,” he says.

In Dr. Bala’s 15 years at IRRI, he cites the leaf color chart—a simple piece of technology used for fer-tilizer management—as one of the most successful developments for rice.

He also considers inte-grated crop management (ICM) as an IRRI success story. ICM brings together technolo-gies to provide farmers with a basket of crop management options that offer solutions to a wide array of problems (see Integrated crop on page 5).

He adds direct seeding and the drum seeder as booming IRRI technologies. Dr. Bala is also a pioneer of the modi-fied mat nursery technology, which is now being adopted

After 15 memorable years at the International

Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Dr. Vethaiya Balasubramanian, a.k.a. “Dr. Bala,” retires this month. He leaves behind many significant achievements and contributions to IRRI and the science community, and takes with him good memories and a dream for his village in Voimedu, India.

Dr. Bala has served as IRRI Africa coordinator since 2005, and was involved in setting up rice research and development programs in the eastern, central, and southern Africa. He also worked in the training and deliv-ery of IRRI technologies in both Asia and Africa. As the Crop Resources Management Net-work coordinator from 1994 to 2001, he helped IRRI’s partner countries source, evaluate, and adapt promising crop resources and management technologies. Dr. Bala first stepped aboard IRRI in 1991 as chief of the IRRI-Madagascar Project, ad-vising and training staff on soil and resource management and rice-based cropping systems.

Before IRRI, he spent 16 years of research in the African countries of Nigeria, Rwanda, Ghana, Cameroon, and Mada-gascar and has many exciting stories to tell. “It has been very interesting for these 30 years of my life,” Dr. Bala recalls. “I lived in small villages with no water or electricity. We col-lected rainwater to quench our thirst and cook our food. We used kerosene refrigerators with a lamp at the bottom. I lived like that in Rwanda for five years.”

IRRI’s stimulating scientif-ic atmosphere has been a source of great satisfaction for Dr.

Dr. Bala (second from left) trains partners from nongovernment organizations, national agencies, and the private sector on crop need-based nitrogen management in rice, using the chlorophyll meter and leaf color chart that he developed in collaboration with PhilRice. (Photo by IRRI Training Center)

15Ripple August 2006

Country Visits Productivity and Sustainabil-

ity work group

Visit India to follow up on collaborative SSNM activities with ICAR and universities, Oct 2006.

Visit Vietnam to follow up on collaborative SSNM and integrated crop manage-ment activities, and discuss collaboration for 2007,

Nov 2006.

Visit Myanmar to follow up on collaborative SSNM and young seedling technique activities, and discuss collaboration for 2007,

Dec 2006.

Postproduction work group

Visit Vietnam to check on pilot villages in Nam Dinh and Long An provinces.

Water-saving work group

Visit Myanmar to check field sites and discuss collab-orative activities, Sep.

PublicationsInternational Journals

Khamphoukeo K, Brown PR, Douangboupha B, Aplin KP, Singleton GR. 2006. Population dynamics of ro-dent pests in upland farm-ing systems of Lao PDR. Lao Journal of Agriculture and Forestry 12:109-121.

Mussgnug F, Becker M, Son TT, Buresh RJ, Vlek PLG. 2006. Yield gaps and nutrient balances in intensive, rice-based crop-ping systems on degraded soils in the Red River Delta of Vietnam. Field Crops Res. 98:127-140.

Pampolino MF, Manguiat IJ, Ra-manathan S, Gines HC, Tan PS, Chi TTN, Rajendran R, Buresh RJ. 2006. Environ-mental impact and economic benefits of site-specific nu-trient management (SSNM) in irrigated rice systems. Agric. Sys. (doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2006.04.002).

Peng S, Buresh RJ, Huang J, Yang J, Zou Y, Zhong X, Wang G. 2006. Overcoming low N use efficiency in irri-gated rice systems in China. Field Crops Res. 96:37-47.

Book Chapter

Baker SE, Singleton GR, Smith RH. 2007. The nature of the beast: using biologi-cal processes in vertebrate pest management. In:Key Topics in Conserva-tion Biology, (Eds. DW Macdonald and K Service), Chapter 12, pp 173-185, Blackwell Publishing, UK.

Conference proceedings

Buresh RJ, Larazo WM, Laureles EV, Samson MI, Pampolino MF. 2006. Sustainable soil management in lowland rice ecosystems. Proceed-ings of the 9th Annual

Meeting and Symposium of the Philippine Society of Soil Science and Technol-ogy, 1-2 Jun 2006, Central Luzon State University, Nueva Ecija, Philippines.

Pampolino MF, Laureles EV, Gines HC, Buresh RJ. 2006. Long-term dynamics of soil carbon and nitrogen in lowland rice cropping systems. Proceedings of the 9th Annual Meet-ing and Symposium of the Philippine Society of Soil Science and Technol-ogy, 1-2 Jun 2006, Central Luzon State University, Nueva Ecija, Philippines.

Conferences and Congresses

15th Australian Weeds Confer-ence, Adelaide Convention Center, Australia, 24-28 Sep 2006. For more informa-tion, visit www.plevin.com.au/15AWC2006/.

2nd International Rice Congress 2006, New Delhi, In-dia, 9-13 Oct 2006. Congress events:

• 26th International Rice Re-search Conference: Innovations for Efficiency Enhancement, 9-12 Oct.

• 2nd International Rice Com-merce Conference: Product Diversification, Value Addition, and Business Promotion, 10-11 Oct.

For more information, visit www.icar.org.in/irc2006.

9th International Working Conference on Stored Product Protection, The Royal Palm Plaza Hotel Resort, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, 15-18 Oct 2006. For more informa-tion, visit www.abrapos.org.br/9thIWCSPP/en/.

Upcoming events (August 2006-February 2007)

Labor Productivity work group

Field visit by David Johnson and Arelene Malabayabas for baseline study on direct seeding and weed manage-ment studies in Uttaranchal India, 26 Aug-2 Sep.

Dr. Mazid of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute to present on Improving rice-based cropping systems in northwest Bangladesh at the 15th Australian Weeds Conference, 24-28 Sep.

Dr. VP Singh to give a pre-sentation on direct seed-ing at the International Rice Congress, Oct.

Joel Janiya to conduct a weed management training course for research and extension staff, and visit collaborative MAS-IRRC research on rice, Myanmar, 16-22 Oct.

IRRC Steering Committee meet-ing, Cikampek, West Java, Indonesia, 27-28 Nov 2006.

Third International Conference on Crop Harvesting and Processing (ICCHP ‘07). In conjunction with the annual Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference (AETC), Louisville, Kentucky, USA,

11-16 Feb 2007.

Training and Workshops

Training workshop on Ecological management of pests (rodents, insects, weeds) – biological, economic, and social dimensions. International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Laguna, Philip-pines, 19-30 March 2007. For more information, contact Dr. Grant Singleton (g.singleton@cgiar.org).

Vietnam-IRRC Planning Workshop, 24-26 Aug 2006.

Credits: The authors kindly provided pictures for their articles. Copyright for pictures belongs to the authors.

Please direct further correspondence, comments, and contributions to

Dr. Grant SingletonIRRC Coordinator

International Rice Research InstituteDAPO Box 7777

Metro Manila, Philippines

E-mail: g.singleton@cgiar.orgwww.irri.org/irrc/

This newsletter presents the personal views of individual authors and not necessarily those of IRRI, SDC, or collaborating organizations in the IRRC.

Copyright IRRI 2006

Trainees classify weeds during an IRRC training on Integrated weed management in rice production in Myanmar on 27-28 March 2006. Photo was taken by principal trainer and Labor Productivity work group’s Joel Janiya.