THE winner of this year’s Asian-wide Senadhira Rice Research Award is a Filipino woman and a rice breeder at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice.)
Thelma F. Padolina, a chemist-turned-breeder, who had been breeding rice varieties for more than 30 years, received the award on October 30, the penultimate day of the Fourth International Rice Congress in Bangkok. Padolina said she was “overwhelmed with joy” upon learning of the award.
“This award is important for me because my efforts as a breeder are recognized.”
The International Rice Research Institue (Irri) established this award in memory of Dharmawansa Senadhira, a Sri Lankan researcher who led Irri’s flood-prone research program from 1996 to 1998.
It is given to qualified scientists who have made outstanding contributions to rice research, especially for those involved in rice breeding and genetics, increasing tolerance for abiotic stress—the negative impact of nonliving factors on the living organisms in a specific environment—and improving micronutrient density.
Before bagging the prestigious Senadhira award, Padolina had received seven research-related awards for her work , particularly for breeding more than 20 rice varieties.
Padolina had been into breeding even before PhilRice was established and had codeveloped varieties for irrigated lowland, cool elevated and other varieties for adverse conditions.
She had major contributions in the development of BPI Ri10, BPI Ri12, PSB Rc6 and PSB Rc8 under the Maligaya Rice Research and Training Center and Bureau of Plant Industry from 1978 to 1985.
While working in PhilRice, she had the opportunity to be involved in international research projects.
She has networked with Irri scientists on various activities, other international institutes, and foreign countries like Brunei Darussalam and China.
“I am grateful for the support of PhilRice. I was trained to breed by international experts through the collaboration of PhilRice with them,” she said. Padolina added that being a female breeder is a challenge because there are people who tend to prefer men over women, but she was able to surmount these challenges with the love and passion she has for her work.
She challenged other researchers to always have passion for their work, have the heart to learn continuously, and work with other experts and learn from them.
Padolina encouraged breeders to pass their knowledge to others.
“Skills are earned through experience. Through time, you gradually learn and have an eye to decide which is better,” she concluded.
Marvyn N. Benaning