LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—The recently concluded Asia Science Week at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) featured the work of 18 promising scientists in the early stages of their careers.
The young rice scientists, 17 post-doctoral fellows and one PhD candidate, presented their research covering a range of topics, including crop improvement, reducing postharvest grain loss, environment and sustainability, genetics and genomics, innovations and novel approaches, and plant breeding.
Rica Joy Flor, a PhD student at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, considered it a tremendous opportunity to have been selected to present her three-year research before experienced scientists.
In her presentation, titled “How learning alliance or adaptive management approach affects innovation,” Flor highlighted the situation in Cambodia.
She observed how the introduction of combine harvesters and dryers in the country, the millers who changed standards and buying practices, the farmers who provided other farmers with informal training and coordination, and groups who shifted into manufacturing allowed knowledge and access to technology to spread.
“This has implications for other projects,” Flor said. “If we can tailor the monitoring so that researchers can be more aware of changes that are happening, then perhaps they can respond in a timely manner to support the processes started by these multistakeholder networks.”
In “Why getting muddy matters: Lessons learned from getting young scientists out of the lab and into the field,” Janelle Jung shared the insights she gained in a three-week, hands-on comprehensive short course on rice cultivation and science with other young scientists, scholars and extension agents.
About a third of the participants had worked with rice only in a laboratory or social-economic context.
This course was their first opportunity to experience rice cultivation—from land preparation to harvesting—and talk to farmers.
The exercise provided them with firsthand understanding of the complexities of rice production. An evaluation of the first five years of the course showed that over 70 percent of respondents said they received intangible benefits, such as networking and a broader understanding of institutional or ethnic cultures and diverse agricultural fields. Jung encouraged young scientists and rice extension agents to get both early career field and interdisciplinary research experience to become more insightful and well-rounded professionals. “Without a crop of vibrant, intelligent, dedicated and caring young scientists, IRRI would not have a future,” said Robert Zeigler, director general of IRRI. “Armed with knowledge gained at IRRI, the unique experience they get here, and valuable professional relationships they foster, our current batch of young scientists, I believe, will continue this legacy of contributing to a better world through rice science.”
IRRI News
Image credits: IRRI