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In
their welcome messages, Thailand ’s Rice Department Director
General, Mr. Surapong Pransilapa and IRRI Program 1 Leader, Dr.
David Mackill both stressed the need to strengthen collaboration
among rice scientists for further improving rice productivity.
Dr. S.P. Tiwari,
Deputy Director General of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research
(ICAR) and a special participant at the meeting congratulated INGER
for facilitating the release in 62 countries of at least 667 varieties,
a contribution valued at US$1.67 billion or an average of US$52
million each year since INGER’s establishment in 1975.
To update the INGER TAC on the breeding resources to expect from
IRRI, Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology (PBGB) Division
Head, Dr. Darshan Brar presented the state of the art on rice breeding
while IRRI Program 5 Leader, Dr. Hei Leung discussed possible applications
of DNA bar-coding and association genetics in INGER.
Drs. Arvind
Kumar, R.K. Singh, K.K. Jena, and Dave Mackill discussed the specific
objectives of IRRI breeding programs and networks.
Global developments were reviewed on rice breeding material exchange
by INGER Coordinator, Dr. Ed Redoña; on data management and
use of the Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA) by T.T. Chang
and Genetic Resources Center Head Dr. Ruaraidh Sackville Hamilton;
and on a Global Partnership Initiative on Plant Breeding Capacity
Building (GIPB) by FAO Senior Officer, Dr. Elcio Guimarães.
INGER’s
contributions in terms of direct varietal releases and in increasing
the diversity of parental materials in NARES breeding programs were
repeatedly underscored in the country reports from Asia to Africa.
Key outputs of the meeting were the realignment of INGER nurseries
and activities according to the needs and priorities of NARES and
CG centers; refinement of INGER’s operational mechanisms;
heightened NARES awareness on the SMTA and its positive implications
for global germplasm exchange; and identification of key areas for
improvement such as the use of IT for expediting seed requests,
submission and analysis of data, and generation and dissemination
of reports.
The need to
infuse a new science dimension to INGER’s activities was also
emphasized. TAC members pledged to nominate more entries to INGER
in order to increase NARES-to-NARES sharing and use of rice breeding
and genetic resources that have been INGER’s hallmark during
the past 32 years.
The plans formulated by the TAC will be presented for approval at
the next meeting of the Council for Partnership on Rice Research
in Asia (CORRA), INGER’s Steering Committee, in Vietnam this
September. Dr. Patricio S. Faylon, PCARRD Executive Director represents
the Philippines in the CORRA.
Hailed as one
of the most successful and enduring partnerships among NARES and
CGIAR centers, INGER has played a vital role in facilitating the
continued spread of modern rice varieties, thus sustaining the gains
of the Green Revolution.
Coordinated
by Dr. Ed Redoña since September 2006, INGER is positioning
itself into becoming the model and leading global network for the
multilateral sharing of breeding and genetic resources and related
information in the modern era. (IRRI)
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