DA, IRRI to hold intl rice congress in Oct

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is co-organizing with the International Rice Research Institute the International Rice Congress (IRC), the largest gathering of the stakeholders of rice-based food systems worldwide in the Philippines from October 16 to 19, an IRRI news release said.

“Rice is one of the priority areas of the Philippine government to achieve food self-sufficiency and improve the lives of Filipino farmers. At IRC 2023, we can learn about recent advancements in genetic, digital, and nature-based solutions, offering valuable insights to address the various challenges faced by the rice industry in the Philippines,” said Agriculture Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian.

The IRC that started in 2002 has served as a platform for scientists, experts, and decision makers from the government, private and public sector to develop evidence-based solutions to the challenges of the global rice sector.

Rice, being the staple food for more than half of the global population, remains a critical commodity for farmers, consumers, and government decision makers.

“While IRRI is excited to showcase cutting-edge technology, and breakthrough studies and innovations from different parts of the world during IRC 2023, we would like to emphasize the urgency to focus the discussions on how to provide holistic science-based solutions to the combined impacts of climate extremes, looming rice crisis, conflict and economic shocks to the rice value chain,” said IRRI Director General Jean Balié.

“We look forward to meeting longtime partners and collaborators as well as new players in the agri-food, climate change, and nutrition sector and learn from each other,” Balié said.

This year’s IRC will have the theme, “Accelerating Transformation of Ricebased Food Systems: From Gene to Globe,” to highlight solutions and innovations that could help address critical issues on agriculture and climate change, food and nutrition security, environmental sustainability, and human and economic development.

The conference will provide a unique opportunity to convene globally leading experts in agricultural industry, research and development, academia and civil society to network with individuals and organizations, and harness each other’s potential and find areas of collaboration.

This year, the sixth edition of IRC will be held in the Philippines, at the Philippine International Convention Center, which has recently been declared as a Natural Cultural Treasure for its richness in Filipino history, heritage and culture.

Previous IRC were held in Beijing (2002), New Delhi (2006), Hanoi (2010), Bangkok (2014), and Singapore (2018). This will be the first time that the conference will be held in the Philippines, the headquarters of IRRI.

During the last IRC, around 1,500 delegates from 64 countries participated, including high-level representatives from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme, International Fund for Agricultural Development, governments of India, Uganda and Singapore, Bayer Crop Science, Oxfam, and Corteva Agriscience. The event also featured over 300 poster presentations and at least 400 research presentations of different studies across the globe.

IRRI is a member of CGIAR, the world’s largest agricultural research partnership dedicated to a food-secure future.