Enhancing Knowledge Exchange and Decision‐Making Among Rice Stakeholders Through the Development and Promotion of Location‐Specific Rice Knowledge Products and Delivery Systems

Implementing Agency

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

Collaborating Agencies

Duration

Location

Objectives

The goal of the project is to help improve farmers’ productivity by improving their access to and application of rice and other related knowledge, through the use of alternative models of technology transfer combined with relevant ICT.

1. Further test and develop approaches in solving with the range of problems faced by farmers and identify how best to make these options more widely known at the village and municipal levels through the use of ICT
2. More specifically, the project will further study the effectiveness of computer‐based information and knowledge dissemination to rural farmers and extension workers at the whole municipal level.

Expected Outputs:

1. Location specific technologies and materials available to solve local problems of rice farmers
2. Extension workers and farmer intermediaries trained on ICT and other extension approaches to identify farmers’ problems and make recommendations available
3. Improved technology delivery model verified and ready for scaling up to other nearby municipalities and provinces
4. Local village cyber centers established and connected to different portals (OPAPA, EAgricultura, FITS, e‐centers, etc), and more importantly to the Pinoy Rice Knowledge Bank (PRKB)
5. Enhanced rice production and profitability in the pilot sites

Improving and sustaining local capacity in rice research and development through unified rice and rice‐based general educational and technical assistance

Implementing Agency

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

Collaborating Agencies

Duration

 

Location

Objectives

The project aims to provide opportunities and support in training the new generation of Filipino rice scientists and extension workers, thereby improving the capacity of participating Philippine academic and local government institutions in rice science and development. More specifically, the project aims to provide support to research and extension staff of the Department of Agriculture and faculties of Philippine academic and local government institutions to collaborate with IRRI through training and research; to provide resources for visits of IRRI scientists and rice experts to participating academic and local government institutions; and to produce quality seeds of high-yielding and newly released varieties for their rapid dissemination to many locations in the Philippines.

Expected Outputs:

Major components:

Capacity Building

The project will be implemented as a support mechanism to supplement existing capacity-building initiatives of the government for rice R&D workers and academic community with very few resources or little chance of participating in the IRRI-sponsored scientific and trainingevents and programs

Technical Assistance

The project will also enable IRRI scientists and experts to promptly visit local government units during the occurrences of major rice problems that require experts’ advice. The project will dispatch the concerned expert to visit the site in coordination with local provincial and regional partners, including the local government officials of the affected area

Seed Production

Seed production of currently released high-yielding varieties bred by IRRI and PhilRice, including those varieties for unfavorable areas (submergence, drought, saline), will be carried out and seed will be packed and stored for distribution to requesting visiting farmers. These seeds will be multiplied by the farmers who requested them and will be regularly monitored by the project.

Improved Nutrient Management Options for Unfavorable Rainfed Lowlands in the Philippines

Implementing Agency

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

Collaborating Agencies

Duration

Location

Pangasinan

Objectives

To gain better knowledge on optimal CNRM in unfavorable rainfed lowland rice and to provide farmers in such environments with better recommendation, the project proposes a series of activities to: 1) better understand farmer’s actual CNRM practice, 2) develop and test improved nutrient management practices for existing and the most promising new germplasm, and 3) distil the results into information materials for extension staff and farmers.

1. To document farmers’ crop management practices for a better understanding of the constraints in current production technologies of rainfed rice;
2. To test different technological options in the target environment, mainly concentrating on improved germplasm, nutrient management, and cropping system options (e.g., rice-maize);
3. To develop improved CNRM technologies and prepare information materials, with the ultimate goal of enabling rice farmers to improve their livelihoods.

Expected Outputs:

Characterization of farmers’ actual practices: Based on existing studies and surveys at keysites, farmers’ actual practices are documented. This step is essential in assessing farmers’ constraints and their understanding of CNRM, which will help tailor information and training material to their needs.Improved nutrient management options: advanced and detailed nutrient management advice regarding favorable lowland environments is available, but these recommendations generally are not applicable to the variable conditions that exist in unfavorable environments. In rainfed systems, drought or flooding can disrupt the ideal timing of fertilizer application, the optimal fertilizer rate depends on available water resources, the optimal NPK relations can change with increasing water limitation, the optimal fertilizer sources (organic and inorganic) are affected by soil characteristics and topography, and micronutrient limitations are more common.Varietal evaluation in target environments: to enable the application of improved CNRM practices to the cultivation of the most recently released and the most promising germplasm available for the rainfed lowlands, we will conduct a small varietal testing program at selected key sites. Information and learning materials: results from activities 1 to 3 are condensed into information and learning materials geared toward various target groups using various communication channels (journals, hand‐outs, or computer‐based medium).

Evaluation of Nile Tilapia Strains for Aquaculture in the Philippines

Implementing Agency

The WorldFish Center

Collaborating Agencies

Duration
November 2011 – October 2012

Location

Tilapia Science Center, CLSU

Objectives

The major objective of the study is to identify the best performing strains among the existing super strains of Nile tilapia (GIFT developed by the WorlFish Center from the nucleus in Malaysia, GET Excel of BFAR, FaST developed by CLSU and GIFT_ff developed by GIFT Foundation) for aquaculture in the Philippines. Specifically, the project has the following objectives:

1. Develop an experimental protocol for the performance evaluation of available Nile tilapia strains in the Philippines;
2. Conduct the experiment to identify superior tilapia strains for aquaculture in the country;
3. Further improve genetic performance of the identified strains by implementing breeding schemes that are consistent with available resources (e.g. cohort groups combined with rotational mating, within family selection, maintenance of full pedigrees and selection based on estimated breeding values using all available information);
4. Disseminate the superior strains to farmers and producers throughout the country; and
5. Enhance local personnel; (hatchery) capacity in tilapia breeding and production

Accomplishment

Conducted start-up meeting and prepared/modified the hatchery, nursery and grow-out facilities to be used.Collected of experimental populations (Tilapia super strains). Fingerlings (GIFT strain) from Malaysia was transported and reared in ponds at BFAR-NFFTC.Initial experimental and breeding protocols were designed.