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A major international initiative is being launched to try to boost the
income of the world's millions of poor rice farmers and at the same time
provide consumers with more nutritious, better tasting food.
New scientific knowledge is allowing rice researchers to develop better
quality rice varieties that could fetch a higher price from consumers,
especially increasingly affluent rice consumers in Asia.

The main aim of the new International Network for Quality Rice is to help
rice breeders around the world develop varieties with improved quality
traits such as better taste, aroma, and cooking characteristics as well as
higher levels of nutrition. Once provided to farmers, the new varieties are
expected to command a higher price among consumers, especially those in
Asia, who, as they become increasingly affluent, are seeking - and paying
for - better quality food.

"Much of this research would not have been possible ten years ago because we
simply did not have the knowledge or the understanding of quality that we do
now," Robert S. Zeigler, the director general of the Philippines-based
International Rice Research Institute, said. "It really is a very exciting
time to be involved in such research, especially because we can take the new
scientific knowledge generated by activities such as the recent sequencing
of the rice genome, and use it to improve the lives of the poor by providing
either better quality food or increased income."

The quality rice network - which was formed electronically in 2006 - met for
the first time last month during a three-day workshop entitled "Clearing Old
Hurdles with New Science: Improving Rice Grain Quality" at IRRI. The event
attracted 71 cereal chemists and other experts from more than 20 nations.

"It's very clear from the great response we got to the workshop that rice
quality is becoming a very hot topic in rice research almost everywhere,"
the convener and head of IRRI's Grain Quality, Nutrition, and Postharvest
Center, Melissa Fitzgerald, said. "Many of the issues we discussed may not
have even been considered a few years ago, but, with the recent advances in
molecular biology and exciting new areas such as metabolomics (the
whole-genome assessment of metabolites), we can do things now that we could
only dream about before."

During the workshop, the latest research was presented in several new areas,
including

Breeding for better quality and genetically mapping specific quality traits
in rice such as taste and aroma.
The cooking and eating qualities of rice and how to measure sensory
qualities more accurately.
The role of important substances such as starch and amylose in cooking rice
and how they are measured.
"IRRI is very fortunate to have a strong foundation of previous rice quality
research to build on," Dr. Fitzgerald said. "We needed that to ensure we
made the right decisions as we move into a whole new era of rice quality
research."

For many years, rice breeders have focused on developing varieties that
would boost production and provide some insect and weed resistance to help
farmers reduce their use of pesticides; quality was not a high priority.
However, major new advances in rice research and Asia's continuing economic
development have created important new opportunities.

"These are the two key changes driving the whole process and making this
research area so exciting," Dr. Zeigler said. "If we can link these two
things together - our new and improved knowledge and understanding of rice
quality with affluent-consumer desires for better rice - then it's possible
we can also help poor farmers improve their lives.

"This would be an outstanding example of using the latest in science to
improve the lives of the poor, while satisfying the desires of the
affluent," he added.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the world's leading rice
research and training center. Based in the Philippines and with offices in
10 other Asian countries, it is an autonomous, nonprofit institution focused
on improving the well-being of present and future generations of rice
farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes, while preserving
natural resources. IRRI is one of 15 centers funded through the Consultative
Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an association of
public and private donor agencies.

For more information, please contact:

CGIAR website (http://www.cgiar.org/)

IRRI Home (http://www.irri.org/),

IRRI Library (http://ricelib.irri.org/),

[www.medicalnewstoday.com]