Grant: Stress-Tolerant Rice for Farm Households in Africa and South Asia

Drought-tolerant rice varieties, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines.

About IRRI:
The International Rice Research Institue (IRRI) is a nonprofit agricultural research and training center founded in 1960. Its mission: to reduce poverty and hunger and improve the health of rice farmers.

Grant Amount: $19.9 million

Grant Term: November 2007—October 2010

Grant Location: In Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, The Gambia, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda. In Asia: Bangladesh, India, and Nepal.

Partners: Africa Rice Center (WARDA)

This grant includes a plan for third-party evaluation.

Grantee: International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

The global market for rice is growing fast. To keep up with worldwide demand, the production of rice will have to increase by about 70 percent in the next two decades. The potential for significant increases in rice yields is greatest on non-irrigated land, where yields are particularly low. The farmers who cultivate this land are some of the poorest in the world, and helping them grow their crop more efficiently will enable them to generate more income, in addition to meeting the rising demand for rice.

We are working with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to develop new varieties of rice that can withstand drought, flood, cold, and toxic minerals such as salt and iron. We will also work together to ensure that these new, higher-yielding varieties are delivered to small farmers in Africa and South Asia, along with training. Ultimately, the goal is to increase rice yields for 400,000 farmers, generating more than $1.5 billion in additional annual income in 10 years.