International Rice Research Institute - Revision history

John Ashmore at 14:32, 4 September 2009

2009-09-04T14:32:17Z

Claire Robinson at 21:08, 1 May 2009

2009-05-01T21:08:15Z

Claire Robinson at 21:07, 1 May 2009

2009-05-01T21:07:43Z

Claire Robinson: /* Monocultures */

2009-03-14T20:04:30Z

Monocultures

Claire Robinson: /* Monocultures */

2009-03-14T20:04:13Z

Monocultures

Claire Robinson: /* Monocultures */

2009-03-14T20:03:47Z

Monocultures

Claire Robinson: /* Golden Rice */

2009-03-10T21:47:49Z

Golden Rice

Claire Robinson at 15:58, 7 February 2009

2009-02-07T15:58:46Z

Claire Robinson at 18:31, 18 November 2008

2008-11-18T18:31:02Z

Claire Robinson at 18:30, 18 November 2008

2008-11-18T18:30:40Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:32, 4 September 2009
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	The '''International Rice Research Institute''' (IRRI) was established in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations in cooperation with the government of the Philippines. Its research activities began in 1962 and in the mid-1960s the IRRI's launch of a high-yielding dwarf rice variety (IR8) was a significant contribution to the Green Revolution in Asia, where nearly 91 per cent of world's rice is produced and where it is the principal food of three of the world's four most populous nations: China, India and Indonesia.		The '''International Rice Research Institute''' (IRRI) was established in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations in cooperation with the government of the Philippines. Its research activities began in 1962 and in the mid-1960s the IRRI's launch of a high-yielding dwarf rice variety (IR8) was a significant contribution to the Green Revolution in Asia, where nearly 91 per cent of world's rice is produced and where it is the principal food of three of the world's four most populous nations: China, India and Indonesia.

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:08, 1 May 2009
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−	The [ International Rice Research Institute] (IRRI) was established in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller ~~foundations~~ in cooperation with the government of the Philippines. Its research activities began in 1962 and in the mid-1960s the IRRI's launch of a high-yielding dwarf rice variety (IR8) was a significant contribution to the Green Revolution in Asia, where nearly 91 per cent of world's rice is produced and where it is the principal food of three of the world's four most populous nations: China, India and Indonesia.	+	The '''International Rice Research Institute''' (IRRI) was established in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations in cooperation with the government of the Philippines. Its research activities began in 1962 and in the mid-1960s the IRRI's launch of a high-yielding dwarf rice variety (IR8) was a significant contribution to the Green Revolution in Asia, where nearly 91 per cent of world's rice is produced and where it is the principal food of three of the world's four most populous nations: China, India and Indonesia.

	IRRI is the world's leading international rice research and training centre. It describes itself as an 'autonomous, nonprofit institution' that is 'focused on improving the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes'. The Institute's research headquarters are part of the main campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baos, about 60 kilometers south of the Philippine capital, Manila. IRRI also has offices in 11 other countries.		IRRI is the world's leading international rice research and training centre. It describes itself as an 'autonomous, nonprofit institution' that is 'focused on improving the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes'. The Institute's research headquarters are part of the main campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baos, about 60 kilometers south of the Philippine capital, Manila. IRRI also has offices in 11 other countries.

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-The [http://www.irri.org/ International Rice Research Institute] (IRRI) was established in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller foundations in cooperation with the government of the Philippines. Its research activities began in 1962 and in the mid-1960s the IRRI's launch of a high-yielding dwarf rice variety (IR8) was a significant contribution to the Green Revolution in Asia, where nearly 91 per cent of world's rice is produced and where it is the principal food of three of the world's four most populous nations: China, India and Indonesia.
+The [ International Rice Research Institute] (IRRI) was established in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller foundations in cooperation with the government of the Philippines. Its research activities began in 1962 and in the mid-1960s the IRRI's launch of a high-yielding dwarf rice variety (IR8) was a significant contribution to the Green Revolution in Asia, where nearly 91 per cent of world's rice is produced and where it is the principal food of three of the world's four most populous nations: China, India and Indonesia.
 IRRI is the world's leading international rice research and training centre. It describes itself as an 'autonomous, nonprofit institution' that is 'focused on improving the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes'. The Institute&#39;s research headquarters are part of the main campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baos, about 60 kilometers south of the Philippine capital, Manila. IRRI also has offices in 11 other countries.
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 A similar irony applies to Golden Rice and similar GM products. IRRI is one of the centres of research for the CGIAR's US$90 million Challenge Program on Biofortification (also known as HarvestPlus) which aims to 'improve' grain to be richer in such micronutrients as iron, zinc, vitamin A, selenium, and iodine, etc. But, as Hindmarsh amongst others notes, the micronutrient deficiencies are attributable to the introduction of the Green Revolution varieties of rice, wheat, and maize, which lacked those micronutirents and other compounds and essential to health. In addition, the increasing production of staples displaced the raising of local fruits, vegetables, and legumes that were the chief sources of micronutirents. The result was increasing malnutrition. Dr Hindmarsh concludes, 'The deep and tragic irony is that biotech proponents are now introducing the flawed technology fix of Golden Rice to address this earlier round of flawed technology'. And, once again, this flawed techno-fix is being presented as a miracle solution.
 ==Notes==
 <references/>
 [[Category:Food Industry lobby groups]][[Category:GM]][[Category:Corporate Science (GM)]][[Category:Biotechnology]][[Category:GM Lobby Groups]][[Category:Third World Lobbyists (GM)]]

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 Dr Hindmarsh points out that such widescale adoption of monocultures has had severe effects on crop genetic diversity with many local cultivars and landraces becoming extinct - some without any seed collection or documentation. Genetic uniformity also increases the vulnerability of monoculture crops to disease, pest invasions, and biological stress. Such crops are also vulnerable  to weed proliferation due to intensive fertiliser use.
-In other words, adoption of IRRI's HYVs has created excellent opportunities for costly intensive agriculture inputs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, IRRI&#39;s annual reports from 1963-1982 show grants from a whole array of US and European chemical corporations including [[Monsanto]], [[Shell]] Chemical, [[Union Carbide]] Asia, [[Bayer]] Philippines, [[Eli Lilly]], [[OccidentalChemical]], [[Ciba Geigy]] (later part of Novartis Seeds which is now part of [[Syngenta]]), [[Chevron Chemical]], [[Upjohn]], [[Hoechst]], and [[Cyanamid]] Far East. ([http://www.panap.net/docs/analysis/gerice.pdf Laying the Molecular Foundations of GM Rice Across Asia])
+In other words, adoption of IRRI's HYVs has created excellent opportunities for costly intensive agriculture inputs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, IRRI&#39;s annual reports from 1963-1982 show grants from a whole array of US and European chemical corporations including [[Monsanto]], [[Shell]] Chemical, [[Union Carbide]] Asia, [[Bayer]] Philippines, [[Eli Lilly]], [[Occidental Chemical]], [[Ciba Geigy]] (later part of Novartis Seeds which is now part of [[Syngenta]]), [[Chevron Chemical]], [[Upjohn]], [[Hoechst]], and [[Cyanamid]] Far East. ([http://www.panap.net/docs/analysis/gerice.pdf Laying the Molecular Foundations of GM Rice Across Asia])
 But while the IRRI's impact on Asian agriculture has proved lucrative for the agrochemical industry, dependency on expensive intensive inputs has meant increasing numbers of small farmers going into debt and leaving the land. Unemployment, hunger, and malnutrition can be the consequence, quite apart from pesticide poisonings and other health hazards arising from the chemicals farmers and landless labourers have been made dependent on. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that some 25 million workers suffer from pesticide poisoning annually.

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 Dr Hindmarsh points out that such widescale adoption of monocultures has had severe effects on crop genetic diversity with many local cultivars and landraces becoming extinct - some without any seed collection or documentation. Genetic uniformity also increases the vulnerability of monoculture crops to disease, pest invasions, and biological stress. Such crops are also vulnerable  to weed proliferation due to intensive fertiliser use.
-In other words, adoption of IRRI's HYVs has created excellent opportunities for costly intensive agriculture inputs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, IRRI&#39;s annual reports from 1963-1982 show grants from a whole array of US and European chemical corporations including [[Monsanto]], [[Shell]] Chemical, [[Union Carbide]] Asia, [[Bayer]] Philippines, [[Eli Lilly]], [[OccidentalChemical]], [[Ciba Geigy]] (later part of Novartis Seeds which is now part of [[Syngenta]]), [[Chevron]] Chemical, [[Upjohn]], [[Hoechst]], and [[Cyanamid]] Far East. ([http://www.panap.net/docs/analysis/gerice.pdf Laying the Molecular Foundations of GM Rice Across Asia])
+In other words, adoption of IRRI's HYVs has created excellent opportunities for costly intensive agriculture inputs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, IRRI&#39;s annual reports from 1963-1982 show grants from a whole array of US and European chemical corporations including [[Monsanto]], [[Shell]] Chemical, [[Union Carbide]] Asia, [[Bayer]] Philippines, [[Eli Lilly]], [[OccidentalChemical]], [[Ciba Geigy]] (later part of Novartis Seeds which is now part of [[Syngenta]]), [[Chevron Chemical]], [[Upjohn]], [[Hoechst]], and [[Cyanamid]] Far East. ([http://www.panap.net/docs/analysis/gerice.pdf Laying the Molecular Foundations of GM Rice Across Asia])
 But while the IRRI's impact on Asian agriculture has proved lucrative for the agrochemical industry, dependency on expensive intensive inputs has meant increasing numbers of small farmers going into debt and leaving the land. Unemployment, hunger, and malnutrition can be the consequence, quite apart from pesticide poisonings and other health hazards arising from the chemicals farmers and landless labourers have been made dependent on. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that some 25 million workers suffer from pesticide poisoning annually.

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 There is also the issue of monocultures. As biotechnology analyst, [http://www.panap.net/docs/analysis/gerice.pdf Dr Richard Hindmarsh] of the University of Queensland notes, to date, IRRI has produced more than 300 High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of rice, but prior to the diffusion of these varieties over 100,000 different rice varieties thrived in farmers' fields.
-The IRRI's rice variety IR8 launched the Green Revolution but it was variety IR36 - released in
+The IRRI's rice variety IR8 launched the Green Revolution but it was variety IR36 - released in 1976 - which became the world's most widely planted variety of rice with 11 million hectares planted in Asia during the 1980s. The trend of displacement has continued. By the mid-1980s, just two HYVs occupied 98 per cent of the entire rice growing area of the Philippines.
 Dr Hindmarsh points out that such widescale adoption of monocultures has had severe effects on crop genetic diversity with many local cultivars and landraces becoming extinct - some without any seed collection or documentation. Genetic uniformity also increases the vulnerability of monoculture crops to disease, pest invasions, and biological stress. Such crops are also vulnerable  to weed proliferation due to intensive fertiliser use.
-In other words, adoption of IRRI's HYVs has created excellent opportunities for costly intensive agriculture inputs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, IRRI&#39;s annual reports from 1963-1982 show grants from a whole array of US and European chemical corporations including Monsanto, Shell Chemical, Union Carbide Asia, Bayer Philippines, Eli Lily, OccidentalChemical, Ciba Geigy (later part of Novartis Seeds which is now part of Syngenta), Chevron Chemical, Upjohn, Hoechst, and Cyanamid Far East. ([http://www.panap.net/docs/analysis/gerice.pdf Laying the Molecular Foundations of GM Rice Across Asia])
+In other words, adoption of IRRI's HYVs has created excellent opportunities for costly intensive agriculture inputs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, IRRI&#39;s annual reports from 1963-1982 show grants from a whole array of US and European chemical corporations including [[Monsanto]], [[Shell]] Chemical, [[Union Carbide]] Asia, [[Bayer]] Philippines, [[Eli Lilly]], [[OccidentalChemical]], [[Ciba Geigy]] (later part of Novartis Seeds which is now part of [[Syngenta]]), [[Chevron]] Chemical, [[Upjohn]], [[Hoechst]], and [[Cyanamid]] Far East. ([http://www.panap.net/docs/analysis/gerice.pdf Laying the Molecular Foundations of GM Rice Across Asia])
 But while the IRRI's impact on Asian agriculture has proved lucrative for the agrochemical industry, dependency on expensive intensive inputs has meant increasing numbers of small farmers going into debt and leaving the land. Unemployment, hunger, and malnutrition can be the consequence, quite apart from pesticide poisonings and other health hazards arising from the chemicals farmers and landless labourers have been made dependent on. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that some 25 million workers suffer from pesticide poisoning annually.
@@ Line 26: / Line 25: @@
 Interestingly, in the rush to introduce the crop varieties of the Green Revolution, indigenous varieties which were capable of giving a higher yield were deliberately excluded. In 1983 the most eminent Indian rice scientist, Dr R.H. Richaria, prepared an action plan to increase rice production in India at the request of the Prime Minister's Office but it was never acted upon. The indigenous high-yielding varieties were closely related to varieties farmers were already familiar with and about which they possessed knowledge of 'their environmental and nutritional requirements, their properties and peculiarities... they know them more accurately then we do'. ([http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20001016/agro.htm#2 Neglect of indigenous rice varieties])
-At the time that Richaria's plan was first commissioned and then neglected the IRRI was headed by the plant geneticist and Godfather of the Indian Green Revolution, M.S. Swaminathan. It has been alleged that Swaminathan's rise to prominence went hand in hand with the suppression of the work of Indian scientists like Richaria who were making a case within the agricultural mainstream for less input-intensive farming.
+At the time that Richaria's plan was first commissioned and then neglected the IRRI was headed by the plant geneticist and Godfather of the Indian Green Revolution, [[M.S. Swaminathan]]. It has been alleged that Swaminathan's rise to prominence went hand in hand with the suppression of the work of Indian scientists like Richaria who were making a case within the agricultural mainstream for less input-intensive farming.
 [http://www.gmwatch.org/p1temp.asp?pid=46&page=1 Dr Richharia] - whose guiding principle was, 'Your work is only valuable if it helps the poor farmers' - had warned from an early stage that the Green Revolution's widescale, hasty and indiscriminate introduction of exotic varieties would disturb the agro-ecological balance which had been built up over centuries by the natural process of breeding and selection by farmers, which allowed ecological balance in different environments. ([http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20001016/agro.htm#2 Neglect of indigenous rice varieties]) The Green Revolution's intensive use of inputs such as genetically uniform seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, and water and energy, certainly resulted in major environmental degradation, including salinity, soil erosion, desertification, chemical pollution of land and waterways, die-back, loss of crop diversity, and the turning of renewable resources, such as soil and water, into non-renewable resources.

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 Within IRRI, however, there appear to be few qualms over the growing corporate alignment of public science. The IRRI's most famous plant breeder, [[Gurdev Khush]], who worked there for 35 years and is still a consultant, is among those who have expressed strong support for 'collaborative arrangements' with private-sector corporations. He argues, 'IRRI has tremendous assets that the private sector does not possess, such as genetic resources, knowledge, and links with the national agricultural research and extension systems of rice-growing countries. The private sector, on the other hand, has resources to invest in cutting-edge science and the generation of technologies. So, the roles of IRRI and the private sector should be synergistic.' On his retirement from full-time employment at IRRI Khush is said to have received invitations to serve on the boards of several private companies. He is currently part of the [http://www.ventriabio.com/aboutus/ournetwork.asp 'scientific network'] for  'product and technology innovation' and development of the [http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=3169 controversial] California-based bio-pharmaceutical firm [[Ventria Bioscience]]. ([http://nutrition.tufts.edu/conferences/agri_biotech/presentations/khush_bio.html Gurdev Khush, Biography])
-Barry's role at IRRI stirred further controversy in 2004 with rumours that Swapan Datta, the rice crop leader of the CGIAR's Challenge Program on Biofortification and the leading plant biotechnologist at IRRI, was being asked to step down to make way for Barry to take entire control of the Golden Rice project.
+Barry's role at IRRI stirred further controversy in 2004 with rumours that Swappan Datta, the rice crop leader of the CGIAR's Challenge Program on Biofortification and the leading plant biotechnologist at IRRI, was being asked to step down to make way for Barry to take entire control of the Golden Rice project.
-Many see the Golden Rice project as symbolic of IRRI's future research direction. IRRI biotechnologist Swapan Datta [http://www.monsantoindia.com/news/showlib0990.html?uid=6415 said] 'that scientists are at a very important crossroad as they work with Golden Rice'. In fact, as Hindmarsh notes, it was simply a staging post on a more than decade long journey:
+Many see the Golden Rice project as symbolic of IRRI's future research direction. IRRI biotechnologist Swappan Datta [http://www.monsantoindia.com/news/showlib0990.html?uid=6415 said] 'that scientists are at a very important crossroad as they work with Golden Rice'. In fact, as Hindmarsh notes, it was simply a staging post on a more than decade long journey:
 - Beginning of production of transgenic rice at IRRI
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 'In the midst of a soil and water crisis, the solution to salinisation is salt-tolerant crops, while desertification is addressed with research ondrought resistant crops. Instead of critically arresting the erosion of the natural resource base by supporting the adoption of &#39;ecologically intelligent&#39; technologies, biotechnology R&D is directed simply towards maintaining and extending the status quo by appearing to &#39;reinvent&#39; the flawed agrochemical agricultural model... the crops of the so-called new green revolution are designed to work within the environmental problems and constraints caused by the mismanagement and over-exploitation of external inputs and natural resources that underpins monoculture cropping and industrial agriculture.'
-A similar irony applies to Golden Rice and similar GM products. IRRI is one of the centres of research for the CGIAR's US$90 million Challenge Program on Biofortification (also known as HarvestPlus) which aims to 'improve' grain to be richer in such micronutrients as iron, zinc, vitamin A, selenium, and iodine, etc.. But, as Hindmarsh amongst others notes, the micronutrient deficiencies are attributable to the introduction of the Green Revolution varieties of rice, wheat, and maize, which lacked those micronutirents and other compounds and essential to health. In addition, the increasing production of staples displaced the raising of local fruits, vegetables, and legumes that were the chief sources of micronutirents. The result was increasing malnutrition. Dr Hindmarsh concludes, 'The deep and tragic irony is that biotech proponents are now introducing the flawed technology fix of Golden Rice to address this earlier round of flawed technology'. And, once again, this flawed techno-fix is being presented as a miracle solution.
+A similar irony applies to Golden Rice and similar GM products. IRRI is one of the centres of research for the CGIAR's US$90 million Challenge Program on Biofortification (also known as HarvestPlus) which aims to 'improve' grain to be richer in such micronutrients as iron, zinc, vitamin A, selenium, and iodine, etc. But, as Hindmarsh amongst others notes, the micronutrient deficiencies are attributable to the introduction of the Green Revolution varieties of rice, wheat, and maize, which lacked those micronutirents and other compounds and essential to health. In addition, the increasing production of staples displaced the raising of local fruits, vegetables, and legumes that were the chief sources of micronutirents. The result was increasing malnutrition. Dr Hindmarsh concludes, 'The deep and tragic irony is that biotech proponents are now introducing the flawed technology fix of Golden Rice to address this earlier round of flawed technology'. And, once again, this flawed techno-fix is being presented as a miracle solution.
 ==Notes==
 <references/>
 [[Category:Food Industry lobby groups]][[Category:GM]][[Category:Corporate Science (GM)]][[Category:Biotechnology]][[Category:GM Lobby Groups]][[Category:Third World Lobbyists (GM)]]

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 ==Notes==
 <references/>
-[[Category:Food Industry lobby groups]][[Category:GM]][[Category:Corporate Science]][[Category:Biotechnology]][[Category:GM Lobby Groups]][[Category:Third World Lobbyists]]
+[[Category:Food Industry lobby groups]][[Category:GM]][[Category:Corporate Science]][[Category:Biotechnology]][[Category:GM Lobby Groups]][[Category:Third World Lobbyists (GM)]]