Annual rice forum set in Los Baños

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines  — This year’s Annual Rice Forum (ARF) will be held here on Nov. 23.

Venue of the science forum is the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEMEO SEARCH) on the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) campus.

The activity is jointly organized and sponsored by SEMEO SEARCA, UPLB, Asia Rice Foundation (ARF), Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice), DA-United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization-Strengthening Philippine Institutional Capacity for Adaptation to Climate Change (DA-UNFAO-SPICACC), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), DA-Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), and Party-list Al-yansa ng mga Grupong Haligi ng Agham at Teknolohiya Para sa Mamamayan (AGHAM).

Keynote speaker is Agriculture Undersecretary Segfredo Serrano, SEARCA Director Gil C. Saguiguit Jr. will deliver the opening remarks while BSWM director Silvino Tejada will give the closing remarks.

With “Adaptation to Climate Variability in Rice Production” as its them, the forum has the following objectives:

• To present recent and current know-ledge on effects and impacts of climate variability (CV) and climate change (CC) in the Philippines, including the projected plausible climate scenarios that impinge on rice production.

• To discuss recent advances in science and technology that can be used to design and develop knowledge-based climate adaptation strategies to reduce adverse impacts in rice crop production.

• The initiate and stimulate partnership in research and development activities for further fine-tuning and applications of the knowledge-based climate adaptation strategies to enhance climate resilience of rice production communities.

Expected output is an update on climate variability and change in the Philippines and strategies for managing CV and climate risks for rice production systems in the country.

Three science papers will be presented by Dr. Reiner Wassman and Helen Grace Centeno, both of IRRI; Dr. Felino Lansigan of UPLB; and Victoria Lopez of SIBOL and Dr. Charito Medina of MASIPAG.