LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA (June 18, 2025) — Dr. Pallavi Singh, Associate Professor at the School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, UK, and her team have developed a successful method for grafting rice—marking a breakthrough for monocot plants, which have long been considered impossible to graft. Their findings show that grafting in rice is possible by joining the young
Los Banos, Laguna (25 June 2025) – International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Davao Unmanned Aerial Solutions (DUAS) strengthened their longstanding partnership by signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) at IRRI Headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna. This agreement aims to expand the strategic use of drone technology in institutional security, operational preparedness, and capacity building. The partnership also opened
Quelimane, Mozambique (11 June 2025) — Mozambique is taking steps toward a more market-responsive approach to rice breeding, focusing on varieties that meet the needs of farmers, consumers, and the wider rice value chain. At a recent national workshop, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), in partnership with the Mozambique Institute of Agricultural Research (IIAM), convened the Mozambique Rice
LOS BAÑOS, Philippines (26 June 2026) — KOICA, UPLB, and IRRI came together to showcase how global partnerships and emerging omics technologies are transforming agri-food systems across Asia and beyond at the 4th KOICA-UPLB-IRRI International Conference. The event convened scientists, scholars, and development partners to explore how genomics and bioinformatics address pressing challenges in food security, environmental sustainability, and
by Dr. Proloy Deb and Dr. Swatantra Dubey The Central Plain region of Uttar Pradesh is widely known for its fertile soil and is now at the forefront of a pressing environmental concern: rapid groundwater depletion. Approximately 46 billion cubic meters (BCM) of groundwater resources were withdrawn alone in 2023, attributed to agricultural practices (Singh, 2025). This volume is
Telangana, India (18 June 2025) – To help combat zinc deficiency and improve nutrition through staple foods, a new high-zinc rice variety, Spoorthi (GNV 1906), is being distributed to farmers in India following its official release for commercial cultivation. IRRI, ICAR–Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR), and University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, conducted a training/seed distribution program in Raichur, Karnataka,
Seed supply planning in Bangladesh has faced several challenges over the years, including reliance on manual processes, fragmented data, and a tendency for reactive decision-making. These factors can often lead to mismatches between the availability of seeds and the actual demand from farmers, resulting in shortages of quality seeds or the distribution of varieties that may not be ideal for
Sharif Ahmed, Manik Debnath, and Humnath Bhandari Did you know that over 40 million people in coastal Bangladesh, particularly those residing in the lower Ganges Delta, face difficult farming conditions? Many of their lands suffer from soil salinity, which makes crop cultivation challenging. Farmers primarily grow rice during the rainy season and often leave their fields vacant during the