RIPPLE January-June 2014 now available

The 25th issue of the RIPPLE newsletter is out now! The January-June 2014 issue presents some highlights of the first year of the Closing Rice Yield Gaps in Asia with Reduced Environmental Footprint (CORIGAP) Project. This includes news on the 1st annual meeting of CORIGAP in Vietnam and workshops on rodent management and damage assessment in Thailand and on improving farmer profitability in Myanmar. Progress on postharvest activities and learning alliances in Myanmar are also showcased. Initial results of a baseline survey and group discussions on market access, gender equity, and women empowerment in Indonesia are highlighted. This issue also features profiles on Dr. Nuning Argo Subekti, CORIGAP key scientist for Indonesia, and Prof. Xuhua Zhong, longtime partner of the IRRC and 2014 IFA Norman Borlaug Award laureate. 

Click here to read the issue: http://www.scribd.com/doc/235501372/RIPPLE-January-to-June-2014

Video on participatory varietal selection of rice in Myanmar now on YouTube

Rice fields in the lower Ayeyarwaddy Delta of Myanmar are prone to salt-intrusion and floods, and farmers usually do not have access to new high-yielding, short-duration varieties that can withstand these stresses.

The International Rice Research Institute, through the Livelihood and Food Security Trust Fund Project of the United Nations Office for Project Services, has introduced high-yielding varieties for favorable areas and stress-tolerant varieties for the salt- and flood-prone areas to farmers through participatory varietal selection (PVS).

The PVS process was captured in a video titled Participatory varietal selection of rice in Myanmar. This video highlights the PVS steps taken by farmers in Labutta Township, Myanmar, and the experiences and new knowledge gained by some farmers who joined the PVS trials. The video also features the top four selected varieties in the three townships involved in the project in the 2012 and 2013 wet seasons, and in the 2012-13 dry season.

Click here to watch the video.