Filipinos lead international science awardees

A Filipino-led international research institute and several Filipino researchers were among recipients of a global awards for outstanding scientific achievements given yesterday at the on-going annual general meeting of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

CGIAR chairman Ian Johnson presented the awards – considered the world’s most prestigious honor for agricultural scientists given annually by the global international network for excellence in science.

The Filipino researchers, employed at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) based in Los Baños, Laguna were cited as outstanding support team for their work in biodiversity for sustainable pest management which allows farmers to boost their income while controlling a major rice disease with fewer application of toxic chemicals.

Another top award, known as King Baudouin Award, was shared by scientists of the India-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) for developing new chickpea (garbanzos) varieties with higher tolerance to drought and heat, better resistance to pests and diseases that provides stable and economically profitable yields.

ICRISAT is led by its Director General Dr. William Dar, one-time agriculture acting secretary while ICARDA is headed by Dr. Adel El-Beltagy.

The IRRI support team members helped conduct a successful research project in China which minimize the destruction of a notorious disease, rice blast, thereby reducing use of pesticide, increasing farmer incomes and protecting their health and the environment.

The science award for an outstanding scientific support team were given to Imelda Revilla, Nancy Castilla, Isabelita Oña, Alicia Bordeos, Marietta Baraoidan, Veritas Salazar, Maximino Banasihan, Florencio Blaneson, Flavio Maghirang and Crisanta Culala.

The other award categories and the winners are the following:

Science award for promising young scientists: molecular geneticist Marilyn Louise Warburton for developing an inexpensive, fast and replicable methodology for accurately analyzing genetic diversity in maize and wheat seeds that uses molecular characterization techniques. She works at the Applied Biotechnology Center of the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (known by its Spanish acronym, CIMMYT).

Science award for outstanding scientist: Tushaar Shah for exceptional work in improving water policies, especially in the sustainable management and use of groundwater resources. Shah is a principal scientist with the Sri-Lanka-based International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Science award for outstanding partnership: the Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi) program – a CGIAR systemwide initiative exemplifying a partnership spanning all 16 Future Harvest Centers, 400 national research institutes, universities, advanced research institutes and NGOs Ruth Meinzen-Dick, PhD, CAPRi coordinator of the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) received the award on behalf of the partnership.

Science award for an outstanding scientific article: Jeffrey Sayer of World Wildlife Fund and Bruce Campbell of the Indonesia based Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) for their article "Research to Integrate Productivity Enhancement, Environmental Protection and Human Development" published in Conservation Ecology.

Science award for outstanding journalism: Fred Pearce, freelance journalist, for his article "Desert Harvest" published in New Scientist (27 October 2001) and the "The King of Cowpea" in Geographical Magazine.

Science award for outstanding communications: Christopher Barr of Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). Barr’s research has focused on Indonesian forest policy and the role of financial institutions in funding large-scale investments in forest-based industries. His writings have appeared in The Asian Wall Street Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, International Financing Review, International Financing Review-Asia, BBC’s Business Hour and in mainstream Indonesian media.

The awardees were chosen by a panel of judges chaired by top Filipino scientist Dr. Emil Javier, CGIAR science council chairman.

The CGIAR is a publicly-funded strategic alliance of investors, 16 international research institutes known as Future Harvest Centers, and many hundreds of civil society organizations, that mobilizes science to benefit poor people.