www.irri.

org/irrc

Volume 9, Number 2, 26th issue July-Dec 2014

Swiss Agency for Development

and Cooperation

Irrigated Rice Research Consortium

Rice Research for Intensified Production and Prosperity in Lowland Ecosystems

Supporting Women in Rice Farming:

Where can we contribute?
By Pieter Rutsaert

partners, conducted qualitative studies

in Myanmar (Bogale and Maubin)
and Indonesia (Yogyakarta and South
Sumatra), to identify the potential
opportunities and areas of concern in the
five domains of the WEAI: production,
resources, income, leadership, and time
allocation.

Household level gender equity

Photo by Chris Cabrado

Where control over income and resources

is seen as a main barrier for development
in South Asia and Africa, this was not the
case in our project sites. The focus group
Continued on page 2
In Myanmar, women are mainly involved during transplanting and harvesting of rice. Female laborers
are also hired during these periods.

mpowering women and

establishing equality between
men and women are prerequisites
to achieve social, economic, and
environmental progress, as shown by
research. Therefore, gender equity is
taking a central role in agricultural
development. Melinda Gates, co-founder
of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
(BMGF), stated in a recent Science
article that BMGF will strengthen the
necessary investments to empower women
and reduce the inequality between sexes
because they believe the payoff will greatly
outweigh the increase in expenditures.
Despite its importance, addressing and
measuring gender equity in a meaningful
and practical manner remains a key

challenge for practitioners, donors, and

researchers. To improve livelihoods in the
long term, it is essential to understand
the current situation of rural women and
identify key areas in which empowerment
needs to be strengthened. For example,
control over income and resources is a
major concern in Africa and South Asia,
but what about Southeast Asia? How do
local production practices influence the
role of women in rice farming? What are
the specific opportunities in different
countries for the CORIGAP project?
By using the framework of the Womens
Empowerment in Agriculture Index
(WEAI), we try to gain more insight
on these different questions. In 2014,
CORIGAP , with help from its country

Whats inside
Targeting yield gaps in the heart of
Java....3
CORIGAP in rice value chain
workshop....5
News Tidbits....6
The unlikely challenge....6
Helping farmers, all in....8
CORIGAP takes part in high-level
ASEAN event...9
Participatory learning workshops on
environmental sustainablity....10
First version of solar bubble dryer
launched in the Philippines....11

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Supporting women in rice farming

discussions showed that the income of

the husband and wife is pooled as family
income and is mainly managed by the
wife. One woman said, In the field, the
rice is from my husband, but after harvest,
its mine.
Women make most of the decisions
on household purchases, while major
decisions about resources are made
together. When it comes to farm activities,
most women are content with the labor
division as well as their level of decisionmaking in rice-farming activities. These
findings indicate a strong equity on the
household level.

Lack of extension support for

womens groups
Equity on a community level is a different
story. In Yogyakarta and South Sumatra,
many women are part of female farmer
or credit organizations, but these groups
lack support from extension services
and have no voice in main community
decisions, such as variety selection. Those
decisions are made by the male farmer
groups. Most extension officers are men
and they do not visit the female farmer
organizations, while the women are

much more active and receptive to new

information, said a female extension
officer.

One difficult aspect to deal with is the

seasonal workload of rice farming. While
in many places there are not enough
hands during the labor peaks, such as
crop establishment and harvesting,
periods in between are characterized
by a lack of economic activities. Laborsaving practices such as the use of
combine harvesters, direct seeding with
a drum seeder or the use of a mechanical
transplanter, do not endanger the income
of the wife (as income is pooled) and
can lighten the work burden in peak
periods. However, these activities do
not solve the lack of other incomegenerating opportunities. Therefore, more
investments are necessary and, in many
cases, this is beyond the remit of the
CORIGAP project.

In Myanmar, women also have very low

access to information and there are very
few initiatives among the women to
organize themselves into active groups.
In Bogale, however, which was hit very
severely by cyclone Nargis in 2008,
NGOs such as WHH (Welthungerhilfe)
and GRET (Professionals for Fair
Development) are putting a lot of effort in
providing extension and support to local
women.
Harvesting and planting are generally
very busy periods, but most of the women
are happy with those periods because
of the additional income (as laborer or
from the harvest). Although the work in
the field is hard and can be a burden, it
is generally preferred over the periods
without work. The women also showed
pride in their contributions. One woman
in Myanmar shared, After a long day of
transplanting, we eat together and take
a good nights rest. The next day, we are
again ready for work.

Targeted extension support

With the CORIGAP project, we aim to
strengthen empowerment of women by
targeting both men and women in our
extension activities such as training
courses, workshops, and field days.
In many of our country counterpart
organizations, women have lead roles in
research, extension, and management
positions. We will be able to monitor
and evaluate our progress and adapt
where necessary by collecting genderdisaggregated data.

CORIGAP aims to empower both men and women. Project activities are targeted to help address
their issues in rice farming. Trainings and workshops are also conducted to enrich their decision
making skills in rice related issues in different levels.

Photo by Grant Singleton

In 2015, we will expand our qualitative

approach to Thailand, provide solar
bubble dryers to Yogyakarta to improve
drying practices, and step up our focus
on Myanmar to investigate opportunities
for rural women inside and outside
of rice farming. This way, we hope to
significantly contribute to closing rice
yield gaps, empower both men and
women in rice farming, and enhance
regional and global food security.

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Targeting yield gaps in the heart of Java

growing population and a

declining area of land planted
with rice are just some of the
challenges Indonesia faces in its goal to
achieve self-sufficiency in rice production.
However, the biggest challenge is for rice
farmers to improve rice productivity
and close yield gaps. With the aim to
optimize productivity while reducing
the environmental footprint of rice
production, CORIGAP began research
activities in Yogyakarta, Java, in 2014,
in collaboration with Dr. Sudamarji
(director, BPTP Yogyakarta), Arlyna
Budi (plant pathologist), and other staff at
BPTP Yogyakarta.
In April 2014, Drs. Grant Singleton
and Alex Stuart conducted focus group
discussions in Prambanang, Piyungan,
and Berbah sub-districts, within Sleman
district, to understand the current
knowledge, practices, and needs of rice
farmers. This was followed in June by a
baseline survey of 180 farmers, led by
Rowell Dikitanan. Rice farmers in the
area grow 2-3 rice crops per year in an
average farm size of 0.16 ha.

Photo by Arlyna Budi

Because of the small farm size and low

income, most farmers transplant, harvest,
and thresh manually, while many farmers
keep much of their harvest for home

Yield gaps in Indonesia can reach up to 45%

between the mean yield and the best farmers
yield. The CORIGAP project is now undertaking
solutions to help close the yield gap in
Indonesia.

consumption. In the wet season, the mean

rice yield is 5.3 t/ha. Importantly, there is
a 45% yield gap between the mean yield
and the yield achieved by the top 10%
of farmers (9.6 t/ha). This best farmers
yield is a useful measure to identify the
attainable yield that farmers can achieve
in the prevailing conditions. With such
a large yield gap, the big questions are,
What are the causes of this gap? What
do top-yielding farmers do differently
from the other farmers? To answer
these questions, CORIGAP scientists are
analyzing data to investigate differences
in field characteristics, agronomic and
postharvest practices, and socio-economic
issues among the highest-yielding, the
mean-yielding, and the lowest-yielding
farmers.
Farmers identified their main constraints
to be low prices at harvest time, neck
blast and bacterial leaf blight diseases in
the wet season, insufficient water in the
dry season, rodents, tractor and labor
shortage, and postharvest losses. To
address these issues, adaptive research
that involves strong farmer participation
commenced in two villages to
demonstrate best management practices
and introduce new technologies.
In the 2014 dry season, field
demonstration trials of alternate wetting
and drying (AWD) were conducted
to improve water-use efficiency. In
December, at the start of the wet season,
field demonstrations of AWD and the use
of drum seeders for crop establishment
were established in concert with
Integrated Crop Management (ICM)a
package of best management practices
promoted nationally to rice farmers, but
with location-specific recommendations.

A farmer using the drum seeder for the first time.

CORIGAP project promotes using drum seeder as
a direct seeding method.

discussions on gender equity. He reported

that the main source of labor during crop
establishment came from women from
farmer households within the village.
Thus, the introduction of the drum seeder
has the potential to reduce dependency
on labor at critical times and reduce
drudgery for women with minimal impact
on landless laborers.
In addition to these activities, Budi
Raharjo from BPTP South Sumatra
travelled to Yogyakarta in September to
provide training to farmers on the uses
of hermetic storage, particularly the IRRI
Super Bags, in improving grain and seed
storage. Demonstration trials of IRRI
Super Bags are ongoing.
In 2015, field days will be conducted to
demonstrate CORIGAP field trials to
local farmers and agricultural extension
officers, and 60 farmers are recording
their farm activities and inputs into
farmer diaries to help us understand
further their yield constraints. Our
activities will align with a new Indonesian
government initiative at the national
level, GP-PTT, that is aimed to fast-track
adoption of ICM and additional new
technologies provided by CORIGAP.

Dr. Pieter Rutsaert, CORIGAP socioeconomist, also conducted focus group

July-Dec 2014

Photo by Arlyna Budi

By Alex Stuart

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Myanmar Learning Alliance: A year of

lessons and progress
By Reianne Quilloy and Rica Joy Flor

Photo by Rowell Dikitanan

wo village-level Learning Alliances

(LA), facilitated by IRRI in Myanmar,
discussed progress at its current learning
cycle, and revisited previous cycles to
track how the Alliance has learned and
changed.

Varieties, quality improvement,

and markets: Maubin Learning
Alliance
The Maubin LA started in December 2013
initially to learn about improving quality
and new varieties linked with the projects
participatory varietal selection (PVS).
One year after, at its 4th LA meeting held
in Maubin township, the Alliance saw
changes in the topics being shared and the
activities implemented.
In previous learning cycles, the Alliance
explored which varieties and quality
would be acceptable in markets that
provide premium price for quality (see
RIPPLE Vol. 9, Number 1, January-June
2014 issue). They also explored possible
seed sources. As a result, some farmers
bought seeds at the Hmawbi Seed Farm.
They chose one variety from the PVS (Sin
Htwe Latt), and another variety that has
a good selling price in Yangon wholesale
markets. The varieties were grown
over the monsoon season, where rice
postharvest operations could be delayed
because farmers need to establish pulses
for summer crop.
For this meeting, participants assessed
Sin Htwe Latt based on management,
yield, and marketability. The farmers who
planted it also noted its short-duration
trait, hence, allowing them to plant pulses
on time. Farmers also had ample time for
rice postharvest operations. Linking this
with improved rice quality and higher

Learning alliance members tested the IRRI lightweight thresher to speed up postharvest
operation and deter postharvest losses.

price, some farmers were interested to

see whether good quality sold at the right
time would indeed provide better profits.
To support this interest, a 1-ton capacity
mobile mechanical dryer was set-up in
Nga Gyi Gayat village. At the time of the
meeting, one farmer had tried the dryer.
He will also try to store and sell when the
price is higher.
Another option to improve quality
was the use of a portable lightweight
thresher. This can allow farmers to
thresh immediately in the field after
harvest rather than piling the cut crop
in the field for weeks before threshing.
Postharvest specialists Christopher
Cabardo, Yan Lin Aung, and Myo Aung
Kyaw demonstrated how this can help
reduce postharvest losses. LA members
also provided feedback on how to improve
the equipment.

The air pressure from the ventilators holds up the polyethylene plastic sheet over the rice grains.

Dryers, quality rice, and markets:

Bogale Learning Alliance
In December 2013, Learning Alliance
members in Bogale wanted to learn more
about paddy drying. To support this, a
dryer was established in Kyee Chaung
village for farmers in eight neighboring
villages, including Kyee Chaung. In its
5th LA meeting in Bogale Township, LA
members revisited the area to see the
progress made in the past year and from
the current learning cycle.
Members previously shared that the
market visit raised awareness on rice
paddy quality sold in export and
wholesale markets, and the different
trading links that operate in their area.
They also learned about the market
performance of Bogale-produced rice in
terms of purity and eating quality. They
also realized how paddy quality affects
milled rice quality. Taking off from
these, some farmers tried mechanical
drying using the IRRI flatbed dryer,then

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storing hermetically at the Professionnels
du developpement solidaire (GRET)
communal storage for 3 months. After
which, they sell in bulk, at US$17/ton,
in Bogale and Moulamyinegyun, and
realized the benefits of selling good
quality paddy in bulk. GRET is a NGO
partner.
In the next harvest season, some farmer
members want to use a lightweight
thresher, dry mechanically, store in the
communal storage, and sell to a Yangon
wholesale trader. They also discussed
other payment schemes to support the use
of dryers by farmers who may not have
cash available for drying fees at harvest
time. They would also like to raise more

awareness about drying and encourage

more farmers to sell in bulk.

Expanding the learning agenda

The Learning Alliance concept applied
at the village level is a powerful tool to
connect different value chain actors and
empower farmers by linking them to
alternative markets. It (village-level LAs)
can serve as a model for other villages in
Myanmar, says Martin Gummert, IRRI
scientist of the Postharvest Unit and lead
facilitator of the Learning Alliance.
The topics identified by members for the
next learning cycle include: a message

design workshop on best practices in

postharvest, documented comparisons
on costs and effectiveness of the practices
from drying to selling, better integration
with activities of NGO partners (e.g.,
credit schemes), other drying options (e.g.,
solar bubble dryer), and technologies that
will help the minority of farmers who do
not fit the ecological conditions common
in their village.
LA members conduct small group
learning trials based on their topic of
interest. The lessons are shared with
others, with the idea of expanding the
reach of the projects by exploring relevant
topics through participatory activities that
involve different stakeholders.

CORIGAP in rice value chain workshop

By Rowell Dikitanan and Reianne Quilloy

Together with Mr. Dehner De Leon,

a database coordination specialist of
the Social Science Division at IRRI, a
Surveybe training session was conducted
to train 34 social scientists in data
collection. Participants experienced
hands-on practice in building a
questionnaire and collecting data from
the field using the CAPI software.
Surveybe allows enumerators to enter
survey data during the interview, which
reduces the time and cost spent in data
encoding. It has real-time validating
features, making the data relatively more
accurate.

Photo by Christopher Cabardo

owell Dikitanan, agricultural

economist of the CORIGAP
Projects Agricultural Economist,
conducted a training on using a
computer-assisted personal interviewing
(CAPI) softwareSurveybe during
the Food value chain analysis: tools
and applications for economists/social
scientists in the national systems at
Hyderabad, India, from 812 December 8
to 12, 2014.

CORIGAP project has started Surveybe in Thailand and other countries. Using this tool in value chain
research could optimize data gathering and validation in real time.

The next step is to explore CAPI software

as a tool in experimental value chain
research wherein the respondents
themselves will key in their response
through an interactive interface.

CORIGRAP also supported the

attendance of Ms. Kunjanut Parpol from
the Bureau of Rice Product Development,
Thailand.

July-Dec 2014

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News Tidbits
Good luck Trina!

Announcement
The second Annual Review and
Planning Meeting of CORIGAP will be
held in Guangzhou, China, on 1214
May 2014.

he CORIGAP rojects bids

goodbye and good luck to longtime senior communication
specialist Trina Leah Mendoza. Trina has
been with IRRI, under the Irrigated Rice
Research Consortium, since February 2006
to September 2014. She has now embarked on
another challengethat of being an assistant
professor at her alma mater, the College of
Development Communication-University
of the Philippines Los Baos. Joining the
academe and pursuing a teaching career has
been a dream of Trina.

New video: How to conduct SWOT

Analysis with a Strategic Orientation
Round

A new video is out! It shows a

participatory method of conducting
a stakeholders workshop using
a technique that uses an analysis
of the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats
(SWOT) combined with a strategic
orientation round (SOR). The
workshop topic is on developing
strategies to make the rice sector in
ones country more sustainable.
Watch the new video at Youtube
(IRRC-CORIGAP playlist).

The unlikely challenge

By Rona Nia Mae Rojas-Azucena

hough he comes from a nonrice eating country, Pieter

Rutsaert surely has had a lot
of experiences, both academically and
professionally, in matters related to rice
and its consumption.
He smiles at the irony of it, and admits he
finds it all very challenging.

Talking to him about the various research

work he has done in the past, youd be
hard-pressed to label him into just one
category. For his undergraduate degree
in bioscience engineering, he opted to
specialize in agricultural economics at the
University of Leuven, Belgium. He found
that studying consumer behavior and
its link to the economic side of making

His masters thesis earned him a lot of

praise, which soon led to a PhD in Ghent
University. This time, his focus shifted to
social media behavior in food risk and
benefit communication, particularly on
how communicators ought to behave or
actin the midst of all the available social
media outlets and technologiesin times
of food crises.

Photo by Julie Van Vlasselaer

Pieter, a native of Belgium, is a relative

newcomer in IRRI, having joined the
CORIGAP project in the latter part of
2013.

profits captured his interest. Pieter

pursued this by doing his masters thesis
on consumers willingness to pay for
quality rice in Senegal, Africa.

Perfect timing
When a job opportunity that could allow
him to apply everything he has worked for
came by, he immediately grabbed it.
The timing was perfect. The job came just
as I was finishing my PhD. So, when the
chance to come to the Philippines opened

Pieter poses with his 5-month old daughter,

Rene, on one of their trips. Traveling around
the Philippines and in Asia with his wife,
Julie, and daughter is one of Pieters favorite
things.

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The unlikely challenge

up, we (my wife and I) didnt hesitate,

says Pieter.
His diverse academic background proved
to be useful with the different aspects of
research he is currently handling. I had
the right background for it, he adds.
With CORIGAP, he is looking into the
factors that influence farmers adoption
of the natural resource management
technologies from a social standpoint.
Another aspect of his work innvolves
gender studies, particularly on
understanding the local situations of male
and female farmers. He cites his work in
Indonesia project areas as an example.

The third aspect of his work with the

project involves the market and value
chain. He is looking whether there is a
market for products that are produced
under certified Good Agricultural
Practices, or produced with a lower
environmental footprint. How do we
sell it? Should we say that it is good for
the environment? For farmers? Or for
consumers health? And how much more
are consumers willing to pay for these
products? All questions of which, Pieter
is hoping to answer as he steps up research
work in Vietnam in 2015.

Achieving the unexpected

Pieter finds excitement in learning
about new things, being relatively new
to working on gender and technology
adoption.
Right now, gender is becoming my

allows him to do meaningful research

work in a short time frame. When I go
to CORIGAP sites, I have immediate
access to the people I need. It would not
be possible without the partners and
network we have. I get to talk to the right
people with the right connections in every
country.

He points out his experience in Africa,

where men worked in the fields and the
women were in charge of postharvest
And, speaking of strong partnerships,
activities. Because
women had no access
to the rice fields, most
of the income went
to the men. Instead
of focusing on giving
women access to
the rice fields, Pieter
looked at how they
can earn more from
postharvest activities.
So he worked with
them towards
product labeling
and producing highquality rice with no
Planting rice is no joke. With his fellow Padiwackers, Pieter toils the
rice field for one whole cropping season during the IRRI Rice Survivor
impurities.

Photo by Majilene Markit

Female farmers are organized but they

do not get as much extension support,
unlike the male farmer groups. The female
farmers mainly do postharvest work.
So if you were to conduct postharvest
extension, then the focus should be on
women. Basically, we get to know the
situation and then see what could be done
to improve it, explains Pieter.

main interest. You want to safeguard the

relations between men and women in a
region. Nevertheless, it is still possible
to improve their agricultural practices
without changing their role division too
much.

challenge.

From aiming to
produce high-quality rice, an unintended, Pieter is all praises in how his wife has
but beautiful, result came out of the
handled the changes since moving to the
Dr. Zhong (center) holds an imprompto meeting with farmers in
study.
We first didnt set out to empower
Philippines. Two weeks after they moved
Yangdong Country, Guangdong China.
women. We just wanted to improve the
to the country, they found out they were
quality of rice. But then, we saw that local
having a baby.
women were the key to upgrade quality.
As a result of that research, they are now
Im proud of my wife for being able to
paying more attention to quality rather
build up her life in a new country. Its not
than quantity, and to packaging and
easy adapting to a completely different
market evaluation.
environment. The shock is greater for the
spouse, but she was able to adapt, even
Strong partnerships
with a new baby, Pieter beams.
Pieter is grateful for the amount of
freedom he has to build his own research.
Though he still has to work within some
bounds, he appreciates the space he is
given to learn and expand.
Also, he is amazed at the extensive
network and strong partnerships the
project has established since IRRC. It

With all the new challenges he is taking

on, Pieter is keen on finishing what he
started and getting his work published.
Along the way, he is happy and content
knowing that he is helping small farmers
improve their livelihood and increase
their income. It feels nice, it makes you
feel good about what you do.

July-Dec 2014

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Helping Farmers, All In

By Reianne Quilloy and Jean Claire Dy

My Phungs involvement with IRRC and

CORIGAP goes back to her early days
at the Plant Protection Sub Department
(PPSD) in An Giang province of Vietnam
where she was subject matter specialist
on integrated pest management and
other related training courses. In line
with her plant protection background,
she chose to do research on the ecological
management of rodents for her doctorate
in plant protection and field ecology at the
University of Queensland in Australia.
After earning her Ph.D. degree in 2012,
she went back to Vietnam, worked for the
PPSD, and later moved to the Department
of Agriculture and Rural Development
(DARD) where she is now deputy director.
The most exciting part of my work is
being able to apply knowledge from my
Ph.D. in the work, My Phung shared.
I also like assisting junior staff in their
work.
As one of CORIGAPs key collaborators,
she took interest in the implementation
of the One Must Do, Five Reductions
(1M5R) program, a package of practices
technology that helps farmers improve
their rice cultivation practices through

Photo by Reianne Quilloy

he enters the busy room just in

time for the start of the workshop.
Walking in a hurried but elegant
pace, she finds her seat, settles, then
listens intently to the workshop facilitator
so she could give a fair translation for the
farmers present. She even went the extra
mile and recorded farmers responses.
As co-facilitator, she tries to draw out
farmers issues on sustainability. In
between breaks, she meets with IRRI
scientists to refine the protocol for the
Field Calculator trial. In less than a day,
she has worn a few varied hats, and its but
a normal day for Nguyen Thi My Phung,
or My Phungfull and productive, and
she enjoys every moment of it.
My Phung facilitates the groupwork during the Participatory Impact Pathway Analysis Workshop.

reduced environmental pollution, reduced

production cost, improved rice yield and
quality, and better profit. The packages
one must do is the use of certified
seeds; the five reductions pertain to
the amount of seed, nitrogen applied,
chemical pesticide use, water use, and
postharvest losses.
My Phung believed in 1M5R so much
that she became an advocate for it in
the rice-growing areas, even helping
produce information materials about the
package. In 2014, she led the revision of
the 1M5R manual in Vietnamese. She is
also involved in the development of field
calculators in Vietnam.
Currently, she helps the CORIGAP
research team conduct field experiments,
surveys, and focus group discussions that
help optimize the use of field calculators
as a decision-making tool.
I hope to use the field calculator in my

experiments, especially in An Giang

Province, My Phung said. Its a good
assessment tool to help find out more on
the environment.
On her aspirations as deputy director of
An Giang Provincial DARD, My Phung
said she wants farmers in An Giang and in
the Mekong Delta to apply the programs
such as 1M5R. I want farmers to see the
benefits of the program and how it can
help alleviate their lives as well as help
reduce environmental pollution.
As the price of rice is highly unstable, she
added that farmers need to understand
that there is a way by which they can have
stable profit without adding harm to the
environment.
I am very passionate about doing field
demonstrations for farmers. It is quite
a challenge, My Phung shared, adding
that she believes her job is a step-bystep process to show farmers how new

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Helping farmers, all in

technologies and programs could help

them. I also like working in the field
because I can experiment and try new
things and find out the result. Thats what
makes it fulfilling.

Photo by Nyo Me Htwe

When not juggling tasks at work, My

Phung enjoys window shopping. Thats
my hobby, she said with a giggle. Its a
lady thing. I like clothes, shoes, cosmetics,
and earrings. She also spends her free
time with her family watching action
moviestheir favorite way of bonding
with each other. One of my favorite films
is The Fast and the Furious. Its fun! she
enthused.

My Phung is the epitome of an effective

multitasker, someone who can wear
several hats at any
given time, what with
her many involvements,
and yet still come
through with grace
under pressure and,
most of all, results.

During her free time, My Phung enjoys window

shopping and a stroll around town.

CORIGAP takes part in high-level

ASEAN event

professionals, (2) development of countryspecific rice information platforms, and

(3) development of an online rice crop
forecasting system for ASEAN.

he CORIGAP Project was

featured in an exhibit during
a series of high-level meetings
with the ministers and senior officials of
the ASEAN Ministries of Agriculture and
Forestry (AMAF) on 20-26 September in
Naypyitaw, Myanmar.
IRRI was one of a select group of
international agencies invited to address
the meetings and set up an exhibit that
featured the Institutes work and impact
in each ASEAN country.
IRRI calls on ASEAN to build a new
generation of rice scientists and extension
professionals. According to V. Bruce J.
Tolentino, deputy director general for
communication and partnerships, these
efforts will help ensure secure and stable
rice supplies across ASEAN and the world.
The proposal calling for more support
for science education and extension was
presented at the said event.
Through science education, the aim is
to: (1) produce at least 80 ASEAN PhDs,

Why do we need a new generation

of rice scientists and extension
professionals? Our farmers are getting
old, Dr. Tolentino said. In agricultural
universities, only a few young people are
taking agriculture courses.

IRRI was one of a select few international

organizations invited to set up an exhibit
during the high-profile event. CORIGAP and
IRRC activities and impacts were prominently
featured. The booth was manned by IRRI
communication specialist Rona Nia Azucena
(left), IRRI-Myanmar country representative
Madonna Casimero (center), and IRRI Riceworld
curator Paul Hilario (right).

(2) 45 resident scientists, (3) 50 ASEAN

participants in a Rice Breeding Academy,
and (4) launch the ASEAN food security
forum for senior-level policy- and
decision-makers.
Development of extension professionals
would be through (1) advanced extension
courses for at least 3,000 extension

We need modern blood to get into rice

science for a sustainable future. We need
to promote focus on agricultural science
education to meet the current and future
challenges that threaten our long-term
food security goals, he added.
ASEAN cooperation in the agriculture
sector dated back as early as 1968, with
cooperation in food production and
supply. The partnership between IRRI
and the ASEAN member-states has been
very productive over the past decades and
the region has benefited greatly from the
research conducted by IRRI.
The 2014 AMAF meetings were hosted by
the government of Myanmar.

July-Dec 2014

Ripple

Participatory learning workshops on

environmental sustainability conducted in
Vietnam and Thailand
By Reianne Quilloy

Photo by Reianne Quilloy

footprint, using ecological indicators,

from rice farming. By bringing varied
stakeholders together, the project aims
to facilitate coordinated collection of
landscape level data such that these can
be used meaningfully to inform policy.
This was emphasized by Mr. Chanpithya
Shimphalee, the Director General of the
Thailand Rice Department, who remarked
that we need to gather ecological
indicators to help us identify rice farming
practices that are environmentally safe
and profitable.

Thai Rice Department partners participated in the PIPA workshop. They tracked the actors in their
network relevant to ecological indicators data collection.

losing Rice Yield Gaps in Asia

with Reduced Environmental
Footprint (CORIGAP) project
which is funded by the Swiss Agency for
Development and Cooperation (SDC),
aims to improve food security and gender
equity, and alleviate poverty through
optimal and sustainable irrigated rice
production systems, with minimized
environmental footprint. For its first
phase, from 2013 to 2016, the project is
supporting a participatory and iterative
learning process through a learning
alliance (LA). The LA involves a network
of researchers, extension agents,
policy-makers, and relevant rice valuechain partners to develop and adapt
innovations.
To begin the LA activities in CORIGAP
project sites, a Participatory Impact
Pathway Analysis (PIPA) workshop was

10

conducted in Thailand and Vietnam, two

of the six major rice granaries in Asia
where the project is being implemented.
The PIPA is a tool to guide representative
stakeholders through a participatory
design of impact pathways. This helps
identify suitable entry points for
technologies as well as target identified
needs at different levels. CORIGAP
project staff Martin Gummert, Sarah
Beebout, Reianne Quilloy, and Rica Flor,
facilitated the PIPA workshops.

Measuring Ecological Indicators

in Thailand
A PIPA workshop was conducted in
Thailand last September 8- 9, 2014. About
30 participants from 12 different Thai
organizations attended the event. The
workshop is aligned with CORIGAPs
objective to measure environmental

Group exercises were developed to gain

a deeper understanding of how various
stakeholders are linked (or not), in data
collection on ecological indicators, what
data they collect, and where the project
could provide support.
The group identified topics of interest
related to measuring ecological indicators
for discussion in 2015. It was important
to start thinking about sustainability and
ecological indicators, although currently
there is limited interest for it within
Thailand, according to Dr. Sombat
Thiratrakoolchai from the Thai Chamber
of Commerce, some companies will
do everything to meet the demands of
foreign markets. We could wait for foreign
markets to force us (to comply with
related policies), or we could plan ahead.

Environmental sustainability in
Vietnam
In Can Tho Vietnam, a PIPA workshop
was conducted last September 30 and
October 1, 2014. About 40 participants
from different sectors including research,
contract or export companies, input

Ripple
Participatory learning workshops on environmental sustainability

companies, policy, extension and farmers

gathered to discuss issues around
sustainability and develop impact
pathways to promote environmentally
sustainable practices in rice production.
Dr. Pham Van Du, Deputy Director of
the Crop Production Department of
the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development (MARD), shared that as
Vietnam increases its rice production
to meet the global market demand,
they encounter challenges relating to
environmentally sustainable practices.
Recognizing these challenges to
sustainably produce high quality rice,

establishing strong relationship among

stakeholders is important. This (PIPA)
workshop, a bottom up approach, could
be an effective method to help us take the
steps to reach our target for Vietnam, he
added.
Groups in four sectors, research, policy
and extension, private sector and farmers
did several exercises to examine issues
and opportunities, identify shared
vision towards sustainability and map
the present rice value chain actors in
Vietnam. The participants brought these
together and developed change pathways
noting strategies where the CORIGAP

project could help.

The PIPA approach has been used in
Postharvest projects led by Martin
Gummert from 2009. Five years since
then, the 12 PIPA workshops launched
national, regional, and village-level LAs
in Cambodia, Philippines, and Myanmar
(see related story onMyanmar Learning
Alliance: first year of lessons learned and
progress).

First version of solar bubble dryer

launched in the Philippines
By Carlito Balingbing and Reianne Quilloy

The SBD, the latest technology from

GrainPro, is used to dry agricultural

Photo by Nguyen Van Hung

rainPro Philippines, a private

corporation and partner of the
IRRI Postharvest Unit, has launched
the first version of the Solar Bubble
Dryer (SBD). About 40 representatives
from Philippine government agencies
(Philippine Postharvest Center for
Mechanization, Philippine Rice Research
Institute, and Subic Bay Metropolitan
Authority); the nongovernment
organizations (Floridablanca and
Lubao Organic Farmers Association,
Kooperasi Agrobelantik from Malaysia);
private sectors (Malaysias University
of Kabangsaan, Subic Bay Development
Management Center, Hohenheim
University); media (Philippine Daily
Inquirer and Manila Bulletin); and,
the US Food and Agricultural Services
attended the event on 30 September 2014
at the GrainPro Manufacturing Plant in
Subic, Zambales, Philippines.

Ana Salvatiera-Rojas (third from left) developed the Solar Bubble Dryer through a research
partnership between IRRI, GrainPro, and Hohenheim University. It is now currently tested under
local conditions in different countries in South East Asia.

commodities and preserve its quality

despite unexpected rain and overcast
skies. The 1-ton capacity dryer made
of UV-resistant polyethylene forms a

dome-like shape tunnel and is inflated

by small electric blowers that are driven
Continued on page 12

July-Dec 2014

11

First version of solar bubble dryer launched in the Philippines

by photovoltaic panels and a battery.

It underwent rigorous testing
through a research and development
partnership between IRRI, GrainPro,
and Hohenheim University (see the
Bubble that dries, RIPPLE Volume 8
No.2, July-December 2013) and was
tested in different locations in Asia to
adapt it to local conditions.
SBD is a cost-efficient drying
technology that protects
commodities from unpredictable
weather. Farmers can now dry
without delay and maintain quality
of crops. The SBD helps them
maximize production and increase
their income, Tom de Bruin,
GrainPro president, said during the
launch..

Carlito Balingbing, senior associate

scientist of the CORIGAP Project,
talked about the collaboration
between IRRI, GrainPro, and
Hohenheim University in the
development and testing of the first
version of SBD. He stressed that,
the SBD will help farmers in remote
areas with no access to electricity
dry their crops and preserve its value
during storage so that they may sell
at a better market price.
Though the dryer was found to work
in some favorable environments, it
needs further testing in other less
favorable areas. IRRI will continue
working on adaptive trials in other
sites and scale up collaboration with
IRRIs national partners.

Volume 9, Number 2
July-Dec 2014
This newsletter is produced by the
CORIGAP Project under the Irrigated
Rice Research Consortium (IRRC)
with support from the Swiss Agency
for Development and Cooperation
(SDC) and IRRI. The IRRC promotes
international links among scientists,
managers, communicators, and farmers
in lowland irrigated rice environments.
Materials in this newsletter do not
necessarily reflect the official views of
IRRI, SDC, or collaborating institutions
of the IRRC.
EDITORS
Grant Singleton,
Rona Nia Mae Rojas-Azucena,
Jean Claire Dy
COPY EDITORS
Priscilla Grace Caas

Photo by Martin Gummert

LAYOUT
Jean Claire Dy
CIRCULATION
Jennifer Hernandez
Please direct further correspondence,
comments, and contributions to

The solar bubble dryer was tested under different environmental conditions, like in Myanmar, to
optimize its design, its management, and minimize investment cost.

Jean Claire Dy
Communication Specialist
International Rice Research Institute
DAPO Box 7777
Metro Manila, Philippines
Email: j.dy@irri.org
Web: www.irri.org/irrc

Publications
Htwe NM, Singleton GR. 2014. Is quantity or
quality of food influencing the reproduction
of rice field rats in the Philippines? Wildlife
Research 41, 56-63.

Lampayan R, Rejesus R, Bouman BA, Singleton GR. (2015).

Adoption and economics of alternate wetting and drying water
management for irrigated lowland rice. Field Crops Research
170, 95-108.

Rodenburg J, Demont M, Sow A, Dieng

I. 2014. Bird, weed and interaction effects
on yield of irrigated lowland rice. Crop
Protection 66, 46-52

Stuart AM, Prescott CV, Singleton GR. 2015. The population

ecology of the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) in complex
lowland agro-ecosystems in the Philippines. Wildlife Research
(In press)

Belmain SR, Htwe NM, Kamal NQ,

Singleton GR. 2015. Estimating rodent
losses to stored rice as a means to assess
efficacy of rodent management. Wildlife
Research (In press)