MANILA, Philippines—The International Rice Research Institute has proposed to governments and international agencies a nine-point program of short- and long-term interventions to increase rice yields and make the staple more affordable to the poorest of the world’s poor.
“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 in a paper entitled “The rice crisis: what needs to be done.”
Irri’s nine-point program includes:
Bring about an agronomic revolution in Asian rice production to reduce existing yield gaps through the use of better crop management practices, particularly in irrigated environments.
Accelerate the delivery of new post-harvest technologies to reduce losses. Post-harvest includes storing, drying and processing of rice.
Accelerate the introduction and adoption of higher yielding rice varieties.
Strengthen and upgrade rice breeding and research pipelines to develop new varieties.
Accelerate research on the world’s thousands of rice varieties so scientists can tap the vast reservoir of untapped knowledge they contain. Of the more than 10,000 types of rice being managed and used at Irri, scientists have only studied about 10 percent.
Develop a new generation of rice scientists and researchers.
Increase public investment in agricultural infrastructure such as roads, irrigation and market systems.
Reform policy to improve efficiency of marketing systems for both inputs and outputs. Policies should be developed and revised to remove barriers to the efficient transmission of price signals.
Strengthen food safety nets for the poor. These will ensure that the needs of the poor and disadvantaged who are highly vulnerable to food shortages are adequately met.
According to Irri, a second Green Revolution is needed to avoid famine and mass starvation. Of the 1.1-billion people living on less than a dollar day, around two thirds live in rice growing countries in Asia.
Poor people spend as much as 30-40 percent of their income on rice alone, and thus the sharp increase in rice prices is a major cause for concern.
“Increased research investment together with policy reforms that make rice markets more efficient will help bring rice prices down to a level affordable to the poor, and ultimately reduce poverty,” Irri explained.
Started in the 1960s, the Green Revolution in Asia led to a rapid rise in both rice yields and overall production with the introduction of modern, high-yielding rice varieties, Irri said. Indirectly, this has contributed to lowering the prices of rice and reducing poverty.
