Rice is a cereal grain and in its domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa —or, much less commonly, Oryza glaberrima. Asian rice was domesticated in China some 13,500 to 8,200 years ago; African rice was domesticated in Africa about 3,000 years ago. Rice has become commonplace in many cultures worldwide; in 2021, 787 million tons were produced, placing it fourth after sugarcane, maize, and wheat. Only some 8% of rice is traded internationally. China, India, and Indonesia are the largest consumers of rice. A substantial amount of the rice produced in developing nations is lost after harvest through factors such as poor transport and storage. Rice yields can be reduced by pests including insects, rodents, and birds, as well as by weeds, and by diseases such as rice blast. Traditional rice polycultures such as rice-duck farming, and modern integrated pest management seek to control damage from pests in a sustainable way.
The only mandated international agricultural research organization is the CGIAR The CGIAR Fund supports 15 international agricultural research centers such as the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Center for International Forestry Research that form the CGIAR Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers and are located in various countries worldwide, The centers carry out research on various agricultural commodities, livestock, fish, water, forestry, policy and management.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an international agricultural research and training organization with its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna, in the Philippines, and offices in seventeen countries. IRRI is known for its work in developing rice varieties that contributed to the Green Revolution in the 1960s which preempted the famine in Asia.
CGIAR is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security. CGIAR research aims to reduce rural poverty, increase food security, improve human health and nutrition, and sustainable management of natural resources.
The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is a non-profit scientific research organization that conducts research on the use and management of forests with a focus on tropical forests in developing countries. CIFOR, which merged with World Agroforestry on Jan. 1, 2019, is the forestry and agroforestry research center of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a network of 15 research centers around the world that focus on agricultural research for sustainable development, working closely with governments and other partners to help develop evidence-based solutions to problems related to sustainable agriculture and natural resource management.
The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), formerly known as the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA), is a pan-African intergovernmental association and a CGIAR Research organization, currently headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. AfricaRice is an agricultural research center that was constituted in 1971 by 11 West African countries. By 2023, the center counted 28 African member states. Since 1986, AfricaRice has been one of the 15 specialized research centers of CGIAR.
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is an international agricultural research center that provides research-based policy solutions to reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition throughout the developing world in environmentally sustainable ways. For nearly 50 years, IFPRI has worked with policymakers, academics, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, development practitioners, and others to carry out research, capacity strengthening, and policy communications on food systems, economic development, and poverty reduction.
Monty Jones was a Sierra Leonean plant breeder and politician who served as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security.
Hybrid rice is a type of Asian rice that has been crossbred from two very different parent varieties. As with other types of hybrids, hybrid rice typically displays heterosis or "hybrid vigor", so when grown under the same conditions as comparable purebred rice varieties, it can produce up to 30% more yield. To produce hybrid seeds in large quantity, a purebred sterile rice variety is fertilized with fertile pollen from a different variety. High-yield crops, including hybrid rice, are one of the most important tools for combatting worldwide food crises.
Rajendra Singh Paroda is an Indian agricultural scientist. He was the former Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Government of India. He was the general president of the Indian Science Congress Association during 2000-2001 and the president of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) from 1998 to 2000. He was elected as the first chairman of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), FAO, Rome from 1998 to 2001. He served as an executive secretary of the Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI) based at FAO Regional Office, Bangkok since 1992. He also served as the chairman, board of trustees, ICRISAT, Hyderabad, member of IRRI Board, Los Banos, Philippines and was a member of Advisory Council of Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Canberra, and the Commonwealth Agriculture Bureau International (CABI), London.
Bioversity International is a global research-for-development organization that delivers scientific evidence, management practices and policy options to use and safeguard agricultural biodiversity to attain global food- and nutrition security, working with partners in low-income countries in different regions where agricultural biodiversity can contribute to improved nutrition, resilience, productivity and climate change adaptation. In 2019, Bioversity International joined with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture to "deliver research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people's lives". Both institutions are members of the CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.
The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) is an Australian Government statutory agency that forms part of the overseas aid program in the Foreign Affairs and Trade Portfolio, reporting to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. ACIAR was established under the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Act 1982, as amended, to identify agricultural problems in developing problems and brokers Australian agricultural scientists to find solutions.
William Dollente Dar is a Filipino horticulturist and civil servant who served as the Secretary of Agriculture under the Duterte administration. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte on August 5, 2019, to replace Emmanuel Piñol. Dar held the same position under President Joseph Estrada in an acting capacity from 1998 to 1999. He is also a former Director General of ICRISAT.
The Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC) focuses on agricultural research and extension in irrigated rice-based ecosystems. In partnership with national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES) and the private sector, the IRRC provides a platform for the dissemination and adoption of natural resource management (NRM) technologies in Asian countries. The IRRC is currently active in 11 countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. It aims to strengthen NARES-driven interdisciplinary research, link research and extension, facilitate rice farmers' uptake of technological innovations, and enable environmentally sound rice production to expand to feed growing populations.
Bela "Bert" Grof was a Hungarian-born Australian agricultural researcher with contributions to grassland and forage research in the tropics.
Robert Flint Chandler Jr. was an American horticulturalist.
Dilbagh Singh Athwal was an Indian-American geneticist, plant breeder and agriculturist, known to have conducted pioneering research in plant breeding. He was a professor and the Head of the Department of Plant Breeding at Punjab Agricultural University and an associate of Norman Borlaug, a renowned biologist and Nobel Laureate, with whom he has collaborated for the introduction of high-yielding dwarf varieties of wheat.
Virender Lal Chopra was an Indian biotechnologist, geneticist, agriculturalist and a director-general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), known to have contributed to the development of wheat production in India. He was the chancellor of Central University of Kerala, a Chancellor of the Central Agricultural University, Imphal and a member of the Planning Commission of India. An elected fellow of several science academies such as Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India, European Academy of Sciences and Arts and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), he was a recipient of a number of honors including Borlaug Award, FAO World Food Day Award and Om Prakash Bhasin Award. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1985, for his contributions to agricultural science.
Ronnie Coffman is an American plant scientist and professor. He is director of numerous research projects dedicated to international agriculture, food security and gender equity in agriculture. He received the World Agriculture Prize in 2013. He was named a 2019 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
