|
|
|
News - SEAP Quarterly Newsletter 2009-04
|
Printable Version |
|
|
| In this Issue | TOWARDS DISSEMINATION OF SSNM FOR |
| IPNI Program Updates | MAIZE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA |
Towards dissemination of SSNM for maize in Southeast Asia
And 'Action': New film on maize in the making
Nutrient Expert for Hybrid Maize: A new decision support software
IPNI Southeast Asia Program Director to join Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
2009 IPNI Scholar Award Winners
News From the Region
RICE NEWS
Gene for Thai jasmine rice aroma not unique
MAIZE NEWS
Maize genome offers hope of improved varieties
OIL PALM NEWS
Indonesia to make country world`s biggest palmoil producer
OTHER NEWS
2050: Increased investment in agricultural research necessary
Fertilizer outlook brighter, but price picture cloudy
Subscribe to the SEAP Newsletter
The SEAP Quarterly Newsletter aims to provide information on recent activities of our program and selected news on regional developments.
If you would like be on our mailing list, please send us an email (mailto: seap@ipni.net).
Quick Links to other IPNI websites
Oil Palm Portal
Oil Palm Discussion Forum | IPNI’s regional maize initiative in Southeast Asia has shifted from research to the development of tools for delivery. ‘In 2009, we developed a new decision support software called Nutrient Expert for Hybrid Maize’, says Dr. Christian Witt, Director of IPNI’s Southeast Asia Program. The software will be officially released in early December following a series of stakeholder workshops in support of emerging campaigns for wider scale delivery of Site-Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM) in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Both software and a new film on maize to be released in 2010 are essential components of IPNI’s new framework for the step-wise evaluation and dissemination of SSNM in Southeast Asia (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Conceptual framework for the evaluation and dissemination of site-specific nutrient management for rice and maize.
In brief, the introduction of SSNM in a new region begins with a strategic assessment of needs and opportunities for improvement in crop and nutrient management. Management options are developed using the Nutrient Manager software and evaluated with participating farmers and key stakeholders in the public and/or private sector extension bodies. Once the evaluation is completed, i.e. a new practice has proven to provide sufficient benefits to be of interest to farmers, dissemination begins with guidelines and site-specific recommendations being made available to a larger number of farmers. |
| Public or private sector agents may choose to integrate newly developed tools such as Quick Guides, one-pagers with management options for a given region, in their extension campaigns. When introducing new recommendations to farmers, Quick Guides are complemented by videos on general crop and nutrient management strategies. Several such film projects on rice and maize are on the way offering a broad dissemination platform for TV broadcasting and distribution on DVD or VCD. In a last step, impact assessment is used to collect evidence and feedback for further improvement. It may be necessary to step through this cycle more than once to make necessary corrections in the technology or delivery strategy. |
 | |
| AND ‘ACTION’: NEW FILM ON MAIZE IN THE MAKING | News from the Region
RICE NEWS |
| The IPNI Southeast Asia Program has | Gene for Thai jasmine rice aroma not unique |
| teamed up with Jungle Run Productions, a film production company known for its environmental, wildlife, and educational films on agriculture, to develop country-specific training videos on relevant aspects of crop and nutrient management in maize. The film script was developed by IPNI in collaboration with partners in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The film was largely shot at two locations with irrigated and rainfed maize in Indonesia (October 9-17). This film material will be used to prepare the Indonesian language edition of the film to be released in early 2010. Two additional film shootings are scheduled in the Philippines and Vietnam in early 2010 with these country editions to be released shortly thereafter. It is planned to make use of all film material to prepare a generic film on maize in tropical environments later in 2010.
Farmer following best fertilizer management practices in a field in Java, Indonesia
The maize film will be used to introduce general best management practice in large scale extension campaigns in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam in 2010. This includes TV broadcasting at national and local level. Extension agents will be using the film to introduce newly developed site-specific fertilizer recommendations based on IPNI’s site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) concept in local farming communities.
Film Director Joseph Yaggi of Jungle Run Productions (right) with - from left to right - Mr. Suwono (AIAT East Java), Dr. Sunendar Kartaatmadja (IPNI consultant), and Mrs. Julie Mae Pasuquin (IPNI Agronomist) during the film shoot in Kediri, Indonesia, October 9-17. | The gene primarily responsible for the aroma of Hom Mali rice is not unique to Thailand and is found across Asia, according to the world's leading rice research body.
Following the recent local outcry over the US-developed Jazzmen rice strain, scientists from the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute analyzed 318 varieties of aromatic rice to "clear up confusion" about the origin of the aroma gene found in Thai jasmine rice. All varieties were from the International Rice Genebank, including 16 types of Thai jasmine rice.
"Ninety-five per cent of the aromatic rice analyzed shared the same version of the major gene for fragrance found in Thai jasmine rice," said Melissa Fitzgerald, grain quality researcher at IRRI. "Our research also suggests that the aroma gene did not originate in Thai jasmine rice."
Traditional varieties of aromatic rice from 17 Asian and Southeast Asian countries - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam - have the same gene that contributes to their aromatic qualities, Ms Fitzgerald said.
Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Theera Wongsamut said DNA tests conducted on Jazzman to see if it violated the Hom Mali patent showed it was developed from an "inferior" Chinese strain.
Head of the International Rice Genebank, Ruaraidh Sackville-Hamilton, said any organization can legally obtain aromatic rice for breeding as long as it followed conditions on sharing laid out in an international treaty. However, Dr Sackville-Hamilton also added the much-prized fragrant Hom Mali rice was due to more than just genetics.
"The unique aroma of Thai jasmine rice is a result of a combination of the presence of the version of the major gene for fragrance, other minor genes, and the climatic and soil conditions in Thailand where Thai Jasmine rice is grown," said Dr Sackville-Hamilton.
"Duplicating exactly this combination of genetic characteristics and growing conditions would be difficult, assuring a place for Thailand's distinctive Jasmine rice in the market."
Source: Bangkok Post, 22 November 2009,
http://www.bangkokpost.com |
MAIZE NEWS
Maize genome offers hope of improved varieties |
Scientists have sequenced the genome of maize, providing data for plant breeders around the world aiming to improve maize varieties in the face of hunger and climate change. The genome sequence of a variety of maize called B73 was deciphered by more than 150 scientists under lead researcher Patrick Schnable, based at Iowa State University in the United States. They identified more than 32,000 genes.
Sequencing maize was a challenge because of its huge size — almost as large as the human genome — and complex organization, in which the genes are often found in 'islands' within swathes of DNA that is not directly encoded into protein.
The researchers said the sequence will "facilitate efforts to meet the world's growing needs for food, feed and energy ... in an era of global climate change". It also paves the way for the sequencing of crops such as wheat and barley. |
| NUTRIENT EXPERT FOR HYBRID MAIZE: A NEW DECISION SUPPORT SOFTWARE | The sequence has already been put to use. Science published three papers alongside the sequence, one of which compares specific sections of the genome of 27 globally representative maize varieties to show common patterns of genetic variation. |
| Many countries in Asia have started replacing existing blanket fertilizer recommendations for vast areas with rice, maize, or wheat with more site-specific guidelines adapted to local needs. A key challenge faced by the local extension agencies remains the complex nature of factors influencing nutrient requirements. The Nutrient Expert for Hybrid Maize is a new, computer-based decision support tool developed to assist local experts to quickly formulate fertilizer guidelines for tropical hybrid maize based on the principles of site-specific nutrient management (SSNM). This software allows scientists and extension experts to jointly develop novel nutrient management strategies for evaluation. | The research, led by Michael Gore of the Institute for Genomic Diversity at US-based Cornell University, is expected to be useful in teasing out the genetic basis for important traits, such as yield, quality and stress tolerance. This will allow scientists to develop improved crops with better yields and higher nutritional content.
Click here for the link to full Schnable article on Science.
Source: SciDev, 20 November 2009,
http://www.scidev.net
|
| OIL PALM NEWS |
| Indonesia to make country world`s biggest palm oil producer |
| Agriculture Minister Suswono said the government would continue to strive to make Indonesia the world`s biggest palm oil producer. The country`s palm oil exports in 2007 reached US$8.87 billion and they rose up 39.5% or US$12.38 billion in 2008. |
The Nutrient Expert for Hybrid Maize only requires information that can be easily provided by a farmer or local expert. After answering a set of simple questions, the user will get guidelines on fertilizer management (and more) that are tailored to his location (i.e. maize environment) and locally-available fertilizer sources. The software also presents a simple profit analysis comparing costs and benefits between the farmer’s current practice and the recommended alternative improved practice. In addition, Nutrient Expert for Hybrid Maize was designed in a way that it can be used as a learning tool—providing quick helps, instant summary tables and graphs, plus allowing a great amount of flexibility in navigating through the modules in the software.
More information on the software can be found at the SEAP website
>seap.ipni.net< | The minister made the remarks at the handing over of participants of a retooling program to oil palm plantation companies. The agriculture ministry had cooperated with the ministries of education, manpower and the association of palm oil producers to develop human resources to support the development of palm oil agribusiness. The government was aware that palm oil companies needed human resources who were ready to work for industrial development. On the other hand, many university graduates could not as yet meet the competency needed by the companies.
In view of that, the agriculture ministry since 2008 conducted a retooling program for university graduates to meet the need of palm oil companies. After participating in the program for a month, the university graduates were immediately absorbed by palm oil companies. "The result is satisfactory and in 2009 the agriculture ministry would continue the program for university graduates who are not yet employed," he said.
Source: Antara News, 14 November 2009,
http://www.antara.co.id |
| IPNI SOUTHEAST ASIA PROGRAM DIRECTOR TO JOIN BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION | OTHER NEWS |
2050: Increased investment in agricultural research essential
Producing more food will largely depend on increasing crop yields, not farming more land |
| Effective 01 February 2010, Dr. Christian Witt, IPNI Southeast Asia Program Director, will be joining the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as Senior Program Officer for 'Soil Health'. Dr. Witt will be part of a team focusing on agricultural development targeting Africa and South Asia.
Dr. Witt's work on site-specific nutrient management for rice and maize in Southeast Asia led to the development of several decision support tools, including IRRI's Nutrient Decision Support System (NuDSS) software for irrigated rice, the standardized leaf color chart for nitrogen management, and the Nutrient Expert for Hybrid Maize.
We wish Dr. Witt best of luck in his new post!
 Dr.Christian Witt visiting a rice field in Bali, Indonesia.
| Boosting agricultural production to the levels needed to feed an expanded world population will require sharply increased public investment in research and development and widespread adoption of new technologies, farming techniques and crop varieties, according to a new FAO discussion paper entitled "The Technology Challenge".
FAO's latest projections indicate that global agricultural production must grow by 70% by 2050 in order to feed an additional 2.3 billion people. The projections indicate that most gains in production will be achieved by increasing yield growth and cropping intensity on existing farmlands rather than by increasing the amount of land brought under agricultural production.
Globally, 90% of required production increases are projected to come from augmenting yields and cropping intensity, and only 10% by expanding arable land. For developing countries, FAO estimates that ratio at 80/20. But in land-scarce countries, almost all growth would need to be achieved by improving yields.
This necessitates "pushing the agricultural technology frontier outwards" on a number of fronts. According to the paper, areas where enhanced farming techniques and new technologies could be tapped to boost production include:
- Improving the efficiency in farmers' use of agricultural inputs
- Developing improved crop varieties
- Heavily investing in agricultural research and development, and
- Closing existing “yield gaps”
Source: FAO, 25 September 2009, http://www.fao.org |
| 2009 IPNI SCHOLAR AWARD WINNERS | Fertilizer outlook brighter, but price picture cloudy |
The 2009 winners of the Scholar Award sponsored by IPNI have been selected. In total, 14 graduate students from regions with an IPNI program were selected to receive the Award. For Southeast Asia, the award was granted to Mr. Jose Alvaro Cristancho Rodriguez, a Ph.D. student of Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition at Universiti Putra Malaysia for his dissertation entitled "Soil Acidity Effects on Oil Palm Nutrition: Aluminum Effect and Amelioration of Aluminum Toxicity in Highly Acidic Soils and Its Effect on Growth, Nutrient Uptake, and Physiology of Hybrids and Clonal Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis, Jacq.) Seedlings.
Mr. Jose Alvaro Cristancho Rodriguez, Recepient of 2009 IPNI Scholar Award
The awards of US$2,000 are available to graduate students in sciences relevant to plant nutrition and management of crop nutrients. Recipients are selected by regional committees of IPNI scientific staff following rigorous evaluation criteria on important aspects of each applicant's academic achievements.
More information on the IPNI Scholar Award is available from the IPNI website:
>www.ipni.net/awards<. | Forecasting prices into 2010 is no easy task for the fertilizer industry; however, industry experts agree that fertilizer costs are unlikely to skyrocket despite rebounding demand around the world. Prospects for increased production of nutrients over the next five to 10 years are good, offering hopes of stability to farmers, if not competitive costs down the road. Here’s a rundown of the fundamentals in the industry moving forward that was presented at the annual Fertilizer Outlook & Technology Conference.
Potash: Production is set to explode as new projects come on line, and the world has massive reserves. While that supply lies outside the United States, more companies are trying to enter the lucrative market, which could change the stranglehold currently enjoyed by the handful of cartels that control production. Canada alone has what amounts to a 1,000-year supply at current levels of consumption. A group of projects are also moving forward that will increase Canadian production 35% by 2013, while world capacity grows by 20 million metric tons. In addition to expansions underway from the three existing kingpins of Canadian potash, a group of new players is entering the segment there. Other major projects are also on the drawing boards in areas outside some of the traditional regions that produce the mineral.
Phosphorus: Big projects are also reaching fruition for production of phosphates, including developments in China, Saudi Arabia and Morocco.
Nitrogen: Lower prices and expanding corn acreage in 2010 should mean increased demand for nitrogen, which some projections show to have the tightest fundamentals of any nutrient next year. After that, more production should come on line around the world.
Sulfur: This key ingredient for many fertilizers is also seeing a big increase in supplies. Once mined, sulfur is now produced as a byproduct of energy refining as it’s removed to make cleaner burning fuels. Supplies also should grow in the U.S. as oil sands are delivered by pipeline to the U.S. for processing to lessen reliance on petroleum from the Middle East.
Source: Farm Futures, 02 November 2009,
http://farmfutures.com |
| |
| Disclaimer: News from the Region is a selection of regional agriculture-related articles extracted from internet sources. IPNI does not verify, endorse, or take responsibility for the accuracy, currency, completeness or quality of the content in these sites. Due to the nature of this service, IPNI cannot always verify every single news item. Be sure to check with the official websites of the companies, universities, research centers, and government agencies before using any information in the SEAP newsletters or webpages, as IPNI cannot vouch for news items submitted by the public. Links to external websites are included for the sole purpose of providing easy access to the source. The inclusion of external hyperlinks does not constitute IPNI’s endorsement of the views expressed by these websites. IPNI shall not be responsible for any damages caused directly or indirectly by the use of any information or content from within linked websites. |
|
|
