News Overview

By Hom Gartaula, Jon Hellin, Chona Echavez, Jeny Raviz, Susan Bacud, Alice Laborte, Magnolia Rosimo, Rodmyr Datoon, and Julian Gonsalves Organizations: International Rice Research Institute (IRRI); Research Institute for Mindanao Culture (RIMCU), Xavier University, Ateneo de Cagayan, Philippines; Institute of Weed Science, University of the Philippines Los Banos, Philippines; International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, Cavite, Philippines; Agricultural Systems Institute, University

By Glenn Concepcion  “Science begins with curiosity — a seed that grows when we start asking why.”– Tiozon, 2025 You can often find Dr. Rhowell Tiozon, Jr., a young molecular biologist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), hard at work studying the intricate biochemistry of plants, and observing how different rice molecules interact with the human body. Recently, he

QTL profiling is now integrated into the EBS Platform’s MDA module. Teams across CGIAR research Centers continue to collaborate to enhance the Enterprise Breeding System (EBS), the breeding data management platform developed and maintained by CGIAR. This joint effort ensures that EBS evolves with user needs and provides crop-agnostic support to breeders across 20 crops worldwide. EBS is actively developing

MOROGORO, Tanzania (8 October 2025) — Elite rice lines are outperforming the current popular varieties across Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA), reaching up to 7.5 tons per hectare in trials, with next-generation lines poised to hit 9 tons. These results were presented during the ESA 2025 Advancement Meeting held by OneIRRI- NARES Network for East and Southern Africa, where the

By Christian Dohrmann This year, Thailand and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have embarked on a journey toward improving its sustainable rice cultivation practices. The Thai Rice: Strengthening Climate-Smart Rice Farming and the Accelerating the Scaling of Low-Emissions Rice in Southeast Asia projects, among other initiatives, are gaining momentum in the country. As part of this journey, IRRI has

Hyderabad, India (25 October 2025)—India is redefining how rice breeding responds to consumer and market demand. To move beyond yield as the sole measure of success, experts are aligning breeding pipelines with grain quality, market fit, and consumer preferences. To advance this shift, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), CGIAR, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) convened a

by Melanie Connor, Alexis Ndayiragije, Joseph Bigirimana The Republic of Burundi lies in the center of East Africa and has emerged as a pivotal player in advancing regional food security through the strategic activities of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Since the establishment of the IRRI Regional Crop Improvement Hub in Bujumbura in 2013, it has become a center

Los Baños, Philippines (24 October 2025) — The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has announced the appointment of Ms. Xi Cao as the new Head of the Clearing House Facility on Scaling of Agricultural Innovations for Development. In this role, she will lead efforts to design, implement, and scale transformative agricultural innovations that improve livelihoods, enhance food security, and foster