Rice research in next 10 years to focus on global warming, drought

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2006

MANILA (AFP) — Overcoming climate change and drought will be the main focus of efforts to boost rice yields in the next 10 years, the International Rice Research Institute said.

The Philippines-based IRRI is committed to "very forward looking projects that, if successful, will revolutionize agriculture for future generations," director-general Robert Zeigler said in an annual report.

"We look to adopt a major project on climate change that will surely transform the way rice is grown and bred."

He said the institute would lay out the plan in detail later this month.

"Likewise, a project on developing C4 rice will, if successful, create a rice plant that is able to withstand higher temperatures, use nitrogen fertilizer and water more efficiently, and...