IRRI to present 10-point rice action plan

Countries participating in the Senior Officials Meeting-Asean Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry will include the 10 Asean member states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – plus China, Japan and South Korea (Asean+3).
The 10-point action plan outlines policy recommendations that can be considered by the attending countries to ensure that rice remains available and affordable across the region, especially in the face of increasing challenges from climate change.
The action plan dovetails with the Asean Integrated Food Security Framework and includes the |Asean Plus 3 Germplasm Development and Breeding Initiative.
This initiative in effect creates a regional platform for technology |collaboration that could improve |the genetic resources of |rice varieties available to the Asean+3 countries.
At the same time, it enables work to accelerate the development and deployment of climate-smart |rice varieties adapted to region-|specific conditions of drought, |flooding and salinity brought on by climate change.
In 2013, India, Nepal and Bangladesh entered a similar agreement to share released rice varieties with one another.
“The agreement meant that a new rice variety released in India could just as easily be released in Bangladesh or Nepal if they wanted a similar variety and vice versa,” explained Matthew Morell, IRRI director-general.
“Now is the time for Asean to make this commitment,” he said. “The rice industry feeds over 600 million people in the region each day. A joint investment in rice breeding can achieve food security for the entire region as well as create inclusive economic growth in the rice industry.”
Deliberations of the SOM-AMAF will take place from Monday to Friday next week.