Building Awareness through Education and Research: Rice and Climate Change

Reiner Wassmann International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Los Baos, Philippines
Mission:
Reduce poverty and hunger;

Improve the health of rice farmers and consumers;

Ensure environmental sustainability; Capacity Building through research partnerships

Established in 1960

Key Questions for Building Awareness on Rice and Climate Change

1. Engagement of stakeholders (farmers)? 2. New tools for improving climate change response? 3. How to support national and regional (ASEAN) policies? 4. What can be offered to private sector?

Key Question #1:

How can we engage our stakeholders (farmers) in our research on climateinformed agriculture to ensure adoption of results?

Example: Participatory Approaches for identifying farmers preferences

Stakeholder Engagement
Approach 1: Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships (MSP) Application: Water saving techniques Involving all levels from Individual farmers Irrigators association / Irrigation service cooperative Local government units Nat. Irrigation Admin. (NIA) PhilRice Approach 2: Participatory Action Research (PAR) Application: Selection of rice variety Participatory definition of farmers preferences (men and women) On-site demonstration trials Extension through farmer field school, seminars and workshops, training of trainers

New Sub1 lines after 17 days submergence

IR64-Sub1 Samba-Sub1 Samba IR42 IR64 IR64-Sub1 Samba-Sub1 IR49830 (Sub1) IR64 IR42 IR49830 (Sub1) Samba IR42 IR64-Sub1 IR49830 (Sub1) Samba IR49830 (Sub1) IR64 IR64-Sub1 IR42 IR49830 (Sub1)

Samba

Samba-Sub1 IR64

Improved variety Submarino has been released in the Philippines

Participatory Varietal Selection

Provides a venue for breeders and agronomists to learn which varieties perform well on-farm and are preferred by farmers Incorporates social, economic, and gender analyses in rice breeding Involves both men and women in the selection of new rice lines due to gender-differentiated roles and preferences

Key Question #2:

What kind of new tools we can offer to improve responses to climate change?

Example: Mobile Phone Apps

Mobile Phone Application for Rice Crop Management

Obtain site-specific information from farmer/ operator

Mobile Phone App (and CD-ROM)

Rice Crop Manager Nutrients Field Preparation Crop Establishm. . New Modules Carbon footprint calculator Climate-adjusted yield targets

Provide management recommendation

In cooperation with PhilRice

Climate-Informed Rice Crop and Low Emission Manager

=> CIRCLE Manager

Controlled Irrigation Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Key Questions #3:

How can we support national and regional (ASEAN) policies by scientific information?

Example: Yield forecasts based on Remote Sensing

From National to Local Scale

Crop Status in Leyte West on 30 Sept. 2012 Plant Stages: Harvest Grain filling Flowering Tillering

Water cover
Bare soil

In cooperation with PhilRice; maps provided by A. Nelson, IRRI

Policy Information and Response Platform on Climate Change and Rice in ASEAN and its Member Countries (PIRCCA)
Policymakers of ASEAN and its member countries will be able to make informed decisions on: agricultural policies -- including input subsidies, price supports, technology dissemination campaigns; domestic consumption / food security policies including food price subsidies and social safety nets, national procurement/stocks, market interventions; enhancing livelihood resilience to climate variability, shocks, and progressive Climate Change; and related policies such as mitigation programs

Key Question #4
How can we translate scientific information into practical applications of the private sector?

Example: New insurance products for quantifying crop losses

REMOTE SENSING-BASED INFORMATION AND INSURANCE FOR CROPS IN EMERGING ECONOMIES

Assessing Flood Damage

Crop Status in Leyte West on 30 September 2012

Flood damage? => 45% of total rice area suffered yield losses (flooded at a sensitive plant stage)
Plant Stages: Harvest Grain filling

Flood affected 60% of total rice area

Flowering
Tillering Water cover Bare soil

IRRIs Media Relations

Provide information for media and liaise with media to set up interviews and visits Media releases: writing and distribution (incl. Rice Today) Maintain media contacts (eg. media events) Promote coverage of rice research in social networks