A New Generation,

a New Revolution

Los Baños, Philippines – An exciting new program just launched in Asia is encouraging some of the world's best and brightest young scientists to consider careers helping developing nations, instead of taking jobs focused on the developed world.

It was started in response to growing concerns that young scientists doing very advanced research in the West are increasingly unaware of how their work could have a major impact on the problems faced by many poorer nations. Recent scientific breakthroughs – such as the sequencing of the rice genome in 2004 – have triggered exciting new progress in how to help poor farmers overcome such age-old problems as drought, flooding, and high levels of salinity.

Many of these breakthroughs were achieved in advanced research institutes in developed nations by teams that included young researchers who are far removed from the problems poor farmers may face in the field. The three-week "Rice: Research to Production" course launched last month at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines is one of the first attempts to deal with this growing problem.

"Many young scientists working in developed nations are increasingly isolated from the very people in poorer nations who could really benefit from their work," Susan McCouch, one of the leaders of the new course and a professor in the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Cornell University, said. "We want to change this, and encourage good young scientists wherever they are to think of themselves as a new generation of revolutionaries – taking the latest scientific knowledge and using it to improve the lives of the world's poor."

In the 1960s, young scientists from all over the world traveled to Asia to help launch the Green Revolution via the development of new agricultural technologies – such as improved rice varieties – for Asian rice production. Since then, fewer and fewer young people have chosen careers in agricultural research in the developing world, sparking fears of slowing progress and stagnation. 

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the United States, the United Kingdom's Gatsby Foundation, and IRRI, the new course attracted 26 participants from 12 nations, with half coming from the U.S. and European Union and half coming from rice-growing countries in Asia and Africa. The new program also seeks to reverse the one-way traffic of recent decades that saw thousands of young scientists from the developing world studying and then taking jobs in the developed world.

"Until the NSF, Gatsby, and IRRI decided to sponsor this program for the next three years, there was no major support at all for young scientists from advanced laboratories in the West who wanted to work or do their research in poor, developing nations," Dr. McCouch said. "The opportunities were all in the other direction. Our intention is to help reverse the brain drain and reinvigorate interdisciplinary teamwork in the developing world."

Dr. McCouch said it was vital that a new generation of young scientists become committed to helping the world. During the course, participants learned first the basics of rice such as how it's sown, cultivated, and harvested. Then, they were shown the latest in rice research, and given hands-on experience in such areas as rice breeding and fertilizer management.

"Considering the ongoing revolutions in fields such as molecular biology and bioinformatics, this is an incredibly exciting time to work in agricultural research because we are finally gaining the knowledge we need to solve some of the developing world's most intractable and difficult problems," IRRI's director general, Robert S. Zeigler, said. "What we have to do now is make sure the young scientists of the world are aware of the unprecedented – almost historic – opportunity they have to really make a difference in the lives of the poor."

At the end of the course, all those taking part were asked to provide a detailed evaluation, with many of the comments providing useful feedback to the organizers. "The course made me better appreciate the importance of applied agriculture," said one of the participants, Megan O'Rourke, who was sponsored by the NSF.

A 27-year-old mother of three doing her PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University in the U.S., Ms. O'Rourke said it was the first time she had worked in a developing nation and been able to see the economic conditions first-hand. "It has reminded me that I began studying agriculture because of its essential place in supporting lives and societies."

Zoe Rutterford, a 23-year-old first-year PhD student at Cambridge University, sponsored by the UK's National Institute for Agricultural Botany and the Gatsby Foundation, is studying how different aspects of gene structure and function contribute to the success of barley varieties. "I feel that this course has restored my interest in pursuing a career in development and agricultural research," she said.

"It has been inspiring to join a group of scientific contemporaries and senior professionals, who – despite originating from a hugely diverse range of backgrounds – have so much in common," she added.

IRRI has already confirmed plans to run the same course next year.

Photo Captions

Photo 1: Ms. Megan O'Rourke from Cornell University learns to harvest rice by hand. http://www.irri.org/media/press/images/IRRI_megan.jpg

Photo 2: Ms. Zoe Rutterford from Cambridge University learns to prepare a rice field the traditional way.  http://www.irri.org/media/press/images/IRRI_zoe.jpg

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The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the world's leading rice research and training center. Based in the Philippines and with offices in 10 other Asian countries, it is an autonomous, nonprofit institution focused on improving the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes, while preserving natural resources. IRRI is one of 15 centers funded through the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an association of public and private donor agencies. Please visit the CGIAR website (www.cgiar.org) for more information.

For information, please contact:

Duncan Macintosh, IRRI, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines; tel +63-2-580-5600; fax: +63-2-580-5699; email d.macintosh@cgiar.org .

Web sites:

IRRI Home (www.irri.org),

IRRI Library (http://ricelib.irri.org),

Rice Knowledge Bank (www.knowledgebank.irri.org).