www.irri.

org/irrc

April 2006, Vol. 1, No. 2 Volume 6, Number 3, 19th issue September-December 2011

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

Irrigated Rice Research Consortium

Rice Research for Intensied Production and Prosperity in Lowland Ecosystems

Increasing number of flatbed dryers benefits Myanma farmers

ack in 2005, Myanma farmers had very few options to dry their rice; most of them relied only on the sun. Things have certainly changed. Flatbed dryers (FBD) are now starting to arouse the interest of different sectors. The FBD, the simplest and most affordable type of mechanical dryer, dries wet grains by forcing heated air through the grain bulk. This heat is produced in a furnace that burns rice husk and gives off less ash and soot, making it carbon-neutral and more environmentally safe. This all started when Dr. Myo Aung Kyaw, a partner of the IRRCs Postproduction Work Group, joined training activities at IRRI and in Vietnam. He went back to his country fired up with interest to lead the development of dryers in Myanmar (Learn more about Dr. Kyaw in the RIPPLE JulSep 2007 issue). His associates from the Myanma Rice and Paddy Traders Association and from the Pioneer Post Harvest Development Group (PPHDG) did awareness campaigns on postharvest losses.
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Rica Joy Flor

Increasing number of atbed dryers...

kilogram on average, depending on quality. For badly dried grains the consequence of dryers being unavailable and the weather not being favorable for sun dryingthe price could dip to about half the normal price or around $0.21 per kilogram. Dryers by the number The availability of dryers means Raising awareness As of 2011, there are around more options for farmers during the This private sector initiative 335 atbed dryers throughout harvest season. Whether they dry not only focused on the business the country. Of these, 135 were their paddy under the sun or use the of making dryers. They also made constructed under private sector FBD, farmers would have to spend provisions for both hardware (the partnership and were veried to be either on labor for sun drying or on dryer) and software (technology) operational. The dryers are mostly drying fees. Farmers do not get a development. They empowered operated by private owners such higher price by selling paddy dried dryer owners and operators by by an FBD, but those who have used training them on drying technology, as millers. Some are managed by farmer groups. The awareness the FBD observed that they get more economics, ecient operation, and campaigns have brought about milled rice when they dry with an maintenance. signicant interest in atbed dryers. FBD. For every ton of FBD-dried In 5 years, they have trained They sprouted all over the place paddy, farmers can get 100 kg more 10,000 people on postharvest carrying the original designs. milled rice. If weather is favorable, management and the use of dryers The PPHDG conrms that 13,700 there is no dierence in the benets in Ayeyarwaddy, West Bago, East farmers are using the dryers that it obtained from using a diesel-fueled Bago, Yangon, Sagaing, Mandalay, constructed. Moreover, an estimated FBD or from sun drying. However, Magway, Sagaing, and Shan states. 35,000 farmers in total may be with an electric-powered FBD, there The groups promotional beneting from more than 300 FBDs is an 8% increase in income. activities targeted policymakers, According to Dr. Kyaw based on with whom they discussed potential installed all over the country. feedback from FBD users, in cases benets to farmers. Government Benets from atbed dryers when the weather is not favorable sta were also invited to special Farmers usually sell sun-dried which often happens during the meetings to update them on current paddy that costs US$0.350.42 per summer rice harvest farmers will activities and new technologies. benet more from having more FBDs available. If millers do not have enough capacity to dry all the grains that they buy from the farmers, the price of rice would go down. Without other options, farmers could get only small net returns ($47/ha) or none at all if they cannot sell their grains because of damage. In comparison, farmers with access to a diesel-fueled FBD can get higher returns ($608/ha). Similarly, they can get net returns of $650/ha if they use an electricpowered FBD. Thousands of Myanma farmers now have options to avoid crop losses with the introduction of atbed dryers. This successful partnership with the private sector indeed brings more benets reduced losses and better quality. The potential for Myanmar to The training team, led by Dr. Myo Aung Kyaw, discusses the features of the atbed increase its exports may now be dryer with sta of Myanma government agencies. realized in the near future.
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The PPHDG provided millers with updated information on postharvest and drying. More importantly, the Another private sector partner, Mr. Tin Oo, who was trained through group facilitated activities to bring IRRC support, helps with fabricating farmers together to enable them to the dryers. Together, they were able observe and discuss postharvest concerns. to install the rst unit in 2006.

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An Giang Outreacha model for the Mekong

he thriving rice sector of An Giang, Vietnam, the hub from which the One Must Do, Five Reductions campaign started, shows that farmers, exporters, and the environment can get benets from using best practices for the production of irrigated rice. day workshop in Long Xuyen, An Giang, was sponsored by the IRRC to share key results and progress that had been made. Forty-ve participants learned about the positive impacts of the program on smallholder farmers. Farmers involved in the program presented their impressions of An Giang booming the program and talked about Together with neighboring the associated challenges. provinces Tien Giang and Dong The meeting was opened by Mr. Thap, An Giang is the premier riceLe Van Nung, vice chairman of the growing region of Vietnam, growing Peoples Committee of An Giang rice on more than 500,000 hectares. Province. In attendance were Grant These three provinces provide a third Singleton, IRRC coordinator, and of the rice produced in the Mekong Flor Palis, IRRI anthropologist. River Delta and are important for the Also present during the success of Vietnams rice export trade. workshop was Dr. Nguyen Huu An Giangs rice productivity has Huan, deputy director general of increased continuously in recent the Plant Protection Department years, reaching 3.6 million tons in of Vietnam. He reported on eld 2010half a million tons more than experiments conducted in two in 2006. This advancement is partially provinces, indicating that the One attributed to new technology options Must Do, Five Reductions campaign such as ecologically based rodent led to signicant reductions in management, the Three Reductions, methane production. He suggested Three Gains program, and greater that the program now be changed use of high-quality seed. However, to One Must Do and Six Reductions. many farmers still use too much seed, fertilizer, and pesticide, and Progress on One Must Do, experience high postharvest losses. Five Reductions Campaign With strong support from The program was promoted the IRRC, Vietnams Ministry through eld days, meetings, and of Agriculture and Rural training activities. Two thousand Development, and An Giangs posters, 36,000 leaets, and 21,800 Plant Protection Department, the training manuals were distributed Mot Phai, Nam Giam (One Must in farmers clubs, extension coee Do, Five Reductions) program was shops, and during eld days. Local introduced to An Giang farmers newspapers, radio, and TV stations in 11 districts during the summeralso featured the program. autumn 2009 cropping season. As of the 2011 summerThe One Must Do, Five Reductions autumn cropping season, 189 campaign is a high-prole program training activities have been that has been under way for ve held for 4,308 farmers working cropping seasons in the Mekong on almost 6,000 hectares. Delta in Vietnam. The one must Forty local technicians were do is to use certied rice seeds; also trained by the An Giang Plant the ve reductions pertain to Protection Sub-department in 2010 eorts to reduce the amount on key aspects of rice production. of seeds, pesticides, fertilizer, This made them more condent in water, and postharvest losses. implementing the program well. Sharing through a high-prole workshop On 31 August 2011, a halfStarting to see benets As farmers changed some of their practices, they reaped benets from

Grant Singleton Nguyen Van Toan Trina Leah Mendoza Rica Joy Flor
IRRI photo

More Vietnamese farmers now benet from the technologies promoted by the One Must Do, Five Reductions campaign.

their actions. In the 2009-10 winterspring cropping season, a year after One Must Do, Five Reductions was introduced, signicant dierences were noted between those who used the technologies and those who did not. The 146 farmers interviewed revealed the following: farmerusers reduced their seed rate by around 40 kilograms per hectare, and lessened nitrogen use by 15 kilograms per hectare. They pumped irrigation water seven times instead of eight. Forty days after sowing, more adopters (70.5%) did not spray insecticide compared with nonusers (37.3%). Farmers who adopted the package of technologies increased their income to as much as US$250 per hectare from the 2010-11 winterspring rice crop and $214 per hectare from the 2011 summer-autumn crop. The benets realized in An Giang show much promise. With strong policy support and a sound program in place, the Mekong Delta can expand its rice production in a sustainable way.

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Government and NGOs lead LCC dissemination in Bangladesh

Rica Joy Flor

Rica Flor

ore than 500,000 leaf color charts (LCC) were distributed to farmers in Bangladesh through a national program by the government and nongovernment organizations (NGOs). Years of working with national partners in Bangladesh triggered policy support in 2008 for wide-scale dissemination of LCCs. The technology had been developed in Bangladesh since 2000 through the support of several projects, including the IRRC, to help farmers increase income though more efficient use of urea fertilizer. Local champions at work In the early years, adaptive research led by the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) with technical support from IRRC scientists (including then IRRC postdoctoral fellow M. Murshedul Alam) produced recommendations for the use of a simple four-panel LCC to help farmers assess the nitrogen needs of their rice crop. Different projects in the country supported initial dissemination to farmers. While ground work was being laid, the researchers knew this was only the beginning. The task of keeping media partners informed, inviting officials to meetings and programs, making informal linkages with NGOs, and translating evidence from research for policymakers was no easy feat. Much of this was accomplished through the advocacy of Dr. Hamid Miah, former director general of BRRI and IRRI liaison scientist. Even after the IRRCsupported activities ended, Dr. Miah helped facilitate the creation of a program to disseminate LCCs in his meetings with the secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture. He also kept NGO partners updated. Stirring interest and action The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in 2006 proposed a program to disseminate LCCs nationwide. IRRI and BRRI scientists trained a total of 460 agricultural

A young farmer from Myemensingh District describes to fellow farmers and IRRI staff how he got the leaf color chart (LCC) and how he uses it during an assessment meeting of LCC dissemination in Bangladesh.

extension staff and provided inputs to improve the extension materials produced by DAE. Also, the IRRC Productivity and Sustainability Work Group facilitated the importation of the LCCs from the Philippines. All initiatives, action, and funding for the nationwide dissemination, which ran from 2008 to early 2011, came from national partners. Major NGOs in Bangladesh also took up the technology in their programs. BRAC, through its Seed Enterprise Project, and the Palli KarmaSahayak Foundation (PKSF), through its microfinance project, bought 40,000 LCCs for dissemination to farmers. Altogether, a total of 619,000 LCCs were bought by government, NGO partners, and other projects in Bangladesh. Reaching thousands of farmers Bangladesh is home to about 18 million farmers, many of whom are on different rungs of the poverty ladder. Reaching as many farmers as possible with a limited number of LCCs was another challenge. Training activities on how to use the technology benefited about 225,000 farmers. In the distribution scheme, the

DAE used its network of offices to cover upazilas (subdistricts) where some 50,00060,000 farmers are grouped in blocks and where extension officers provide services. In some areas, distribution was done through farmer groups, irrigation providers, or key farmers who would then introduce the technology to other farmers. BRAC disseminated LCCs through its network of seed dealers and subdealers who were in close contact with farmers. PKSF linked with 25 local NGOs in 14 districts to bring LCCs to farmers. Partners involved in dissemination efforts in Bangladesh said they have distributed to farmers a total of 612,000 LCCs out of the 619,000 LCCs bought. Farmers using LCC In July 2011, the IRRC Coordination Unit assessed how the LCC reached farmers. Farmers from villages in seven districts gave feedback on their experience with the dissemination and use of LCCs. In each area, 231% of the farmers used the LCCs. In some locations, farmers said the LCCs given were used only by those who
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Phase 4 of Irrigated Rice Research Consortium assessed by external reviewers

Rona Nia Rojas

Rona Nia Mae Rojas

The external reviewers presented a preliminary report to the IRRC sta on their last day in IRRI. Discussions on the report followed right after.

s it nears the end of its fourth phase, external reviewers arrived at IRRI headquarters to conduct an assessment of the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC) on 2-7 September. The review aimed to evaluate the progress and future direction of the Consortium; identify areas to strengthen, modify, and refocus to enhance the IRRCs mechanism and activities; assess the relevance and quality of research and extension done to meet farmers needs and identify the gaps; and review the eectiveness of IRRI-NARES

collaboration, and partnerships of the IRRC with civil society groups and the private sector. The review team is headed by Urs Scheidegger from Switzerland with members Karin Zbinden Gysin (Switzerland), Frits Penning de Vries (Netherlands), and Jonathan Banks (Australia). IRRC coordinator Grant Singleton led the preparations for the external review. Dr. Singleton and the IRRC work group leaders Rubenito Lampayan (Water-saving), Roland Buresh (Productivity and Sustainability), Martin Gummert (Postproduction),

David Johnson (Labor Productivity and Community Ecology), Adam Sparks (Crop Health), and Reiner Wassman (Climate Change) presented the outcomes and impacts of the country programs. IRRC scientists Flor Palis and Rica Flor discussed the social science activities and outcomes, while Donna Casimero focused on the adaptive research project done in Indonesia. The communication highlights and strategies of the Consortium were presented by Trina Mendoza and Rona Rojas. The NARES partners in the Philippines had an opportunity to meet with and present their programs to the review panel. Jojo Lapitan, IRRI National Program Relations manager, discussed the role of the IRRC in the Philippine Food Staple Self-Suciency Program. The review team gave a preliminary report to the IRRC sta on 6 September. The nal report will be submitted to the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and to IRRI management in October. An initial assessment in Vietnam and Cambodia has been done by the review team. They then proceeded to Bohol Province in the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.

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received them. At other sites, groups of farmers shared the LCCs, and farmers who did not undergo training were taught how to use the chart by other farmers or extension sta. Farmers reported good experience with LCC use. Many became interested, especially with the recent surge in urea prices. The removal of the government subsidy on urea resulted in an increase of US$0.200.33 per kilogram within months. With the LCC, eciency of urea fertilizer use has increased, enabling farmers to harvest more rice with fewer fertilizer

purchases. They also had higher yields. Although they could not exactly determine the prot increase from the use of LCCs as fertilizer prices uctuate so much, they said the savings could be around $25 per hectare. A study done by PKSF found a total cost savings of $21 per hectare. No verication on other factors, which may have aected yield, was done at this time. Farmers were interested in the LCC but still many do not have access. Those who use LCCs have concerns on how to make adjustments when the varieties they use have either very dark green or very light green leaves. Some also had questions on other nutrients.

Another constraint is the need to take LCC readings ve to ten times during a season. Although farmers do not pay for this labor, the use of this tool does require extra eort. Through the hard work and commitment of local champions from the government and NGOs, Bangladeshi farmers are benetting from eective natural resource management technologies from IRRI and the IRRC.

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Workshop on paddy storage for the Mekong Delta

improving the quality of milled rice. Dr. Nguyen Le Hung, Nong Lam University (NLU) vice rector and coordinator of the Vietnamese component for the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-IRRI Postharvest Project, delivered the opening remarks. Dr. Phan Van Tan, deputy director of the Southern Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Postharvest Technology (SIAEP), reported on the outcomes of an assessment of silo storage facilities throughout the Mekong Delta by a team led by Dr. Phan Hieu Hien of NLU. Most of the existing silo storage facilities are not being used because they are outdated, not matched to humid conditions, or lack components like ventilation systems that were not installed to save costs. Also, silo operators and Postharvest experts Martin Gummert and Phan Hieu Hien are managers have interviewed by a news reporter from a local TV station. little knowledge of cereal storage technology, says Dr. Tan. He added storage plants conducted by an international expert team in July 2011 that state-owned milling plants do not purchase paddy but buy brown revealed that, when husking and polishing of rice are done separately, rice supplied by small rice millers. Smallholder farmers of the Mekong milling recoveries can be very low Delta produce many different and head rice recoveries are only varieties, and therefore it is difficult 4045% due to problems with raw to get sufficient crop to feed the material quality, particularly with paddy harvested in the rainy season, processing plants and fill large-scale storage bins with the same variety. improper drying, and storage. Users of silos in Vietnam say A total of 54 postharvest that the tropical climate causes stakeholders and 9 media personnel moisture condensation and yellowing gathered for a workshop on paddy in storage bins, says Martin storage for the Mekong Delta to Gummert, IRRC Postproduction identify the problems in commercial Work Group leader. From our field rice storage in the Mekong Delta visits and interviews with silo users, and discuss potential solutions we can conclude that in most cases, and strategies for reducing losses the climate is most likely not the in storage and processing and ietnam is one of the major rice-producing countries and the second largest rice exporter, with milled rice exports reaching 6.8 million tons in 2010. However, due to insufficient storage facilities and a lack of dryers, physical postharvest losses average 13.7%. One main cause for the low quality of Vietnamese export rice is a postharvest system that cannot keep up with the rapid increase in national production and the requirements of quality export markets. A visit to processing and

Martin Gummert Chris Cabardo Phan Van Tan

reason. Most of the silos in Vietnam are loaded with paddy or brown rice with too high moisture content (MC). One manufacturer of silos recommends 13% MC, IRRI 14% as maximum storage MC, while all plants covered by the assessment store at 15% or higher. This leads to condensation and yellowing caused by grains heating up from respiration. One reason for this is that the postharvest chain in Vietnam does not follow best practice postharvest management, which involves combine harvesting, drying paddy within 24 hours at 14% MC, storage as paddy in bulk, and milling at 14%. In the Mekong Delta, wet paddy is often husked in one enterprise close to the production at MC up to 20%, then transported as wet brown rice to the re-processing plant where it is polished and dried to 15% for storage as milled rice. Sometimes, the milled rice is dried with direct-fired dryers, which can potentially lead to rejection in high-quality markets. There are many delays in the chain, which lead to deterioration and development of cracks. With such a system, one just cannot produce good quality, and significant investment is needed to go back to best practice management. Proper drying is one precondition for safe storage and superior quality milled rice. Dr. Phan Hieu Hien explained that Vietnam already has drying technologies such as the locally produced flatbed dryer, or more recently, the reversible airflow dryer, which are urgently needed devices to help solve these problems. There are already 6,000 flatbed dryer units in the Mekong River Delta but more are needed. Large processing plants also need more advanced technology such as continuous flow dryers with high capacity. Researchers in Vietnam have already studied in-store drying and proven its feasibility
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Chris Cabardo

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to ensure grain quality in nal drying inside the storage bin. Prof. Werner Mhlbauer, former head of the Institute of Agricultural Engineering in the Tropics and Subtropics of Hohenheim University, Germany, presented state-of-the-art warehouse storage and silo technology and shared his experiences with grain storage in temperate and tropical countries. Prof. Mhlbauer recommended introducing round steel silos in which the paddy is completely protected from rodents, birds, and insects. Based on his experiences, there is no technical reason why silos should not work for paddy

if they are built, maintained, and used properly. He also strongly advised using an accurate quick-test moisture meter for paddy to make sure that only paddy with moisture content of less than 15% is stored. Mr. Wang Qaun Bryan from Muyang, a Chinese silo manufacturer, stressed that existing paddy storage silo plants in Vietnam and Malaysia installed by his company do not have any of the problems described above if the recommendations to store at 13% MC are followed. Most participants cited the high cost of credit as one reason for the lack of investment, and called for an enabling government policy for processors who want to
Magculia NF, Savary S, Lore JS, Kumar J, Singh S, Karthikeyan A. 2011. A network of eld trials to test the susceptibility of rice mega-varieties to sheath blight. Poster presented at the APS annual meeting, 6-10 August 2011, Hawaii, USA. Phytopathology 101:S112. Faronilo JE, Lampayan RM, Tuong TP, Hosen Y, Bouman BAM, Lafarge T, Cabangon RJ. 2011. Demystifying old rice seedlings: crop growth, grain yield and water productivity in irrigated lowland rice. Paper presented at the Crop & Environmental Sciences Division Seminar, IRRI, Laguna, Philippines, 20 September 2011.

invest in postharvest equipment. As an example of how the government can help, Mr. Doan Ngoc Pha, vice director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) in An Giang Province, explained how his province helps support increasing the quality of paddy by introducing good agricultural practice (GAP), which can provide market-driven incentives to produce better quality. Recommendations for strategies were developed to improve postharvest processing and storage to minimize losses. These would ensure food security and increased quality for local consumption and exports.

PUBLICATIONS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

International journals
Savary S, Nelson A, Sparks AH, Willocquet L, Duveiller E, Mahuku G, Forbes G, Garrett KA, Padgham J, Pande S, Sharma M, Yuen J, Djurle A. 2011. International agricultural research tackling the eects of global and climate changes on plant diseases in the developing world. Plant Disease (48):1-40.

Learning Alliance Meeting, Agusan del Norte, Philippines, 13 October 2011 Video Production Workshop for Learning Alliance Partners, Agusan del Norte, Philippines, 14 October 2011 Postharvest Seminar and Laser Leveling Demonstration, Battambang, Cambodia, 12 November 2011 ADB Annual Project Review Workshop, Preah Sihanouk Province, Cambodia, 14-15 November 2011

Conference Proceedings

Savary S,Duveiller E, Aubertot J. 2011. Why do we care about crop losses? Proceedings of the APS annual meeting, 6-10 August 2011, Hawaii, USA. Phytopathology 101:S223. Willocquet L, Nelson A, Sparks A, Laborte A, Savary S. 2011. Crop losses in highly populated areas: a global perspective. Proceedings of the APS annual meeting, 6-10 August 2011, Hawaii, USA. Phytopathology 101:S223. Quicho ED, Lampayan RM, Sibayan EB, Flor RJB, Palis FG. 2011. Adoption of alternate wetting and drying technology: the Philippine experience. Paper presented at the 7th Asian Society of Agricultural Economics Conference, Hanoi, Vietnam, 12-16 October 2011.

Rice Storage Assessment in Cambodia: A Seminar, Preah Sihanouk Province, Cambodia, 16 Cabangon R. 2011. How green is green: chlo- November 2011 rophyll meter-based nitrogen management of rice under alternate wetting and drying irriga- National Grains Postproduction Summit, Quetion. Paper presented at the Crop & Environ- zon City, Philippines, 24-25 November 2011 mental Sciences Division Seminar, IRRI, Laguna, 2nd National Learning Alliance Meeting, Butuan Philippines, 27 September 2011. City, Agusan del Norte, Philippines, 6-7 December 2011

Events

Water-Saving Coordination Unit and Work Groups Meeting with the Rice Research Institute of IRRC Steering Committee Meeting, IRRI, Los Ba- Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, os, Laguna, Philippines, 5-6 October 2011 Vietnam, 12-16 October 2011 Crop Health Participate in the Lao PDR-IRRI consultation Visit of on-farm trials in Nakhon Nayok, Prachin- meeting/workshop, Vientiane, Lao PDR, 26 Ocburi, and Suphanburi, Thailand, and Hanoi, Viet- tober 2011 nam, 17-22 October 2011 Participate in the Climate Change Adaptation Review workshop and training on the statistical and Mitigation in Rice Environments meeting, analysis of data from on-farm trials and surveys Vientiane, Lao PDR, 27-28 October 2011 in Can Tho, Vietnam, 21-25 November 2011 International workshop on Alternate wetting Postproduction and drying for resource conservation, environRice: Post-production to Market Training mental safety and increased rice production, Course, IRRI, Laguna, Philippines, 17-28 October Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 2011 2011 Training on the Reversible Dryer Technology and Hermetic Storage Systems for Farmers and Extension Workers, Agusan del Norte, Philippines, 11-12 October 2011

Presentations

Srinivasachary S, Beligan G, Willocquet L, Savary S. 2011. Assessing the genetic basis of resistance to rice sheath blight. Poster presented at the APS annual meeting, 6-10 August 2011, Hawaii, USA. Phytopathology 101:S170.

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IRRC holds annual Steering Committee meeting in IRRI

he annual IRRC Steering Committee (SC) meeting was conducted on 5-6 October at IRRI, Los Baos, Laguna, Philippines. The SC members visited field experiments on long-term continuous cropping, insect-host plant resistance, and other facilities such as the Genebank, the postharvest facility, and the Grain Quality and Nutrition Center laboratory rooms. IRRC Work Group leaders and communication specialists presented their activities, outcomes, and plans until December 2012. In September, the IRRC went

through an external review. In the same SC meeting, the final review report and key elements were discussed through a Web conference with Urs Scheidegger, head of the external review panel. Program 2 leader Bas Bouman chaired a closed session of the SC business meeting. U Aye Tun, general manager of the Projects Planning, Management and Evaluation Division, Myanma Agriculture Service, replaced U Maung Maung Yi on the SC. As an SC member, U Maung Maung Yi was committed to helping ease Myanmars rice-growing problems.

Volume 6, Number 3 September-December 2011

This newsletter 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. Materials in this newsletter do not necessarily reect the ofcial views of IRRI, SDC, or collaborating institutions of the IRRC. EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION TEAM

IRRC scholar examines amphibian biodiversity in IRRI

ts when the sun goes down and field workers retire after a hard days work that Natalie Walton starts her day. Its when amphibians, specifically frogs, become more active, venturing around the rice fields in search of food. Natalies fascination with amphibians started in her undergraduate years as a zoology major at the University of Leeds, England. She is now completing Natalie Walton enjoys her nocturnal encounters her masters degree in wildlife with her amphibian friends. management and conservation at the University of Reading in Every morning and evening, England. Her research is centered Natalie dutifully visits the pitfall traps on sustainable agriculturewhich to gather data on the location, species, involves biodiversity conservation and breeding condition, and to make and the choice of the Philippines measurements of the frogs. After the came naturally because of the measurements and after assessing countrys diverse frog species. their reproductive state, the frogs Natalie, an IRRC research are released back into the rice field. scholar, had set up pitfall traps to The data revealed a diverse collect frogs in the lowland and collection of unusual frog species on upland farms in IRRI. These traps the farm land of IRRI. Since frogs are open drums buried deep in are very sensitive to pollution and the ground with a plastic barrier fertilizers, their presence in farmstrategically positioned at one side based systems is a good indication of the drums opening. Though the of the health of the environment. pitfall traps are efficient, she finds Natalie believes that there it more fun to catch frogs by hand is a need to pay attention to the with the help of her field workers.
Artzai Jauregui Solano

Rona Nia Mae Rojas

IRRC Trina Leah Mendoza, Grant Singleton, Rona Nia Mae Rojas, Jennifer Hernandez CPS Tess Rola, Bill Hardy
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS Martin Gummert, Phan Van Tan, Nguyen Van Toan, Chris Cabardo, Reianne Quilloy, Rica Flor, Chris Cabardo Please direct further correspondence, comments, and contributions to Trina Leah Mendoza Senior Communication Specialist International Rice Research Institute DAPO Box 7777 Metro Manila, Philippines Email: t.mendoza@cgiar.org Web: www.irri.org/irrc

conservation of agricultural areas or farm land because these are becoming an alternative habitat for water-dependent animals, especially frogs. Small changes in management practices can make a big difference to biodiversity conservation efforts. Conserving amphibian biodiversity is very important because they can control pests and can be a sign of a less polluted environment, Natalie adds.

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