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THE INTERNATIONAL RICE
COMMISSION:
A SNAP SHOT
I. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
II. MAJOR AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE
COMMISSION
III. ACHIEVEMENTS
IV. RECENT ACTIVITIES OF THE SECRETARIAT
V. CHALLENGES TO THE COMMISSION
VI. CONSTITUTION AND RULES OF THE PROCEDURE
VII. APPLICATION FORMS
I. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
I.1. Origin
Rice has fed Asian peoples for a longer period of time than any
other food crop. In Asia, the ability to produce a surplus of rice has
contributed to the development of communities, whereas the failure of rice
crop production has led to widespread famine, death and political
instability in many countries throughout the long history of the continent.
In response to stagnation in world rice production, the Fourth Session of
the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations met in 1948 and approved the agreement formulated at Baguio,
Philippines on the establishment of the International Rice Commission. The
International Rice Commission (IRC) became operational on 4 January 1949,
following the endorsement of 12 countries to the Constitution of the
Commission, which satisfied the Article IX conditions:
"This Constitution shall enter into force
as soon as notifications of acceptance have been received from the
governments of at least ten countries members of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations representing in the aggregate not less
than half of the world production of rice in the crop year 1947/48 as shown
by official statistics."
The first Regular Session of the International Rice Commission was
held in Bangkok, Thailand in 1949.
I.2. Purpose
The purpose of the International Rice Commission is to promote national and international action in
matters relating to the production, conservation, distribution and
consumption of rice.
I.3. Membership
Membership in the International Rice Commission is open to
all member countries and associate members of FAO. In order
to become a Member of the Commission, the country must submit
an Instrument of Acceptance to the FAO Director-General.
Since 1949, the IRC has grown steadily, from 12 members to
26 members in 1959; 40 in 1979; 52 in 1989; and 62 at present
(Table 1). Among the Members, The Netherlands and United Kingdom are neither rice producers nor major
rice consumers, while the remaining members consist of large
and small rice producers as well as major rice consumers. China was a member from 11
July 1949
to 21 July 1952, date of withdrawal of China from FAO. In 2007, China has resumed its membership to the
Commission.
The 62 members of the Commission represent five continents:
Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Also they include small and large
rice producing countries of the world. In 2005, the rice production
in the 62 member countries of the Commission contributed about
98.43% to the global rice output. Similarly the harvested rice
area in the 62 members countries of the Commission was about
98.08 % of the global rice harvested area in 2005 (Table).
Table 1. Membership of the International Rice
Commission, as of 2005
| |
Date of Membership |
Rice production in 2005 (ts) |
Rice harvested area in 2005 (ha) |
Population in 2005 (million persons) |
|
1.
Netherlands |
12/11/1948 |
0 |
0 |
16.30 |
| 2.
United Kingdom |
28/02/1949
|
0 |
0 |
59.89 |
| 3.
Australia |
01/07/1953 |
338,885 |
51,216 |
20.15 |
| 4.
Bangladesh |
12/02/1980 |
39,795,618 |
10,524,067 |
141.82 |
| 5.
Benin |
22/11/1984 |
78,329 |
28,904 |
8.44 |
| 6.
Brazil |
21/08/1964 |
13,192,863 |
3,915,855 |
186.40 |
| 7.
Burkina Faso |
19/11/1973 |
93,516 |
52,563 |
13.23 |
| 8.
Cambodia |
16/07/1951 |
5,986,200 |
2,414,500 |
14.07 |
| 9.
Cameroon |
08/11/1984 |
52,905 |
40,615 |
16.32 |
| 10. Chad |
22/09/1994 |
148,702 |
109,824 |
9.75 |
| 11. China PR |
11/07/1949-21/07/1952 and resumed since 31/07/2007 |
181,999,175 |
29,116,000 |
1,323.34 |
| 12. Colombia |
06/09/1968 |
2,502,276 |
469,953 |
45.60 |
| 13. Congo, Dem Republic of |
08/03/1996 |
315,480 |
417,854 |
57.55 |
| 14. Cuba |
10/01/1949 |
367,600 |
127,197 |
11.27 |
| 15. Dominican Republic |
29/03/1950 |
591,971 |
110,392 |
8.89 |
| 16. Ecuador |
06/09/1948 |
1,471,084 |
377,300 |
13.23 |
| 17. Egypt |
29/11/1948 |
6,125,300 |
613,300 |
74.03 |
| 18. France |
10/08/1948 |
102,306 |
17,850 |
60.49 |
| 19. Gambia |
04/02/1974 |
17,934 |
17,873 |
15.12 |
| 20. Ghana |
08/03/1968 |
287,000 |
120,000 |
22.11 |
| 21. Greece |
16/05/1991 |
158,991 |
22,281 |
11.12 |
| 22. Guatemala |
23/10/1964 |
36,847 |
14,498 |
12.60 |
| 23. Guinea |
22/11/1984 |
1,272,415 |
723,973 |
9.40 |
| 24. Guyana |
24/01/1967 |
273,328 |
152,778 |
0.75 |
| 25. Haiti |
10/08/1972 |
96,000 |
48,000 |
8.53 |
| 26. Hungary |
21/03/1995 |
9,441 |
2,665 |
10.10 |
| 27. India |
12/10/1948 |
137,620,000 |
43,660,000 |
1,103.37 |
| 28. Indonesia |
15/03/1950 |
53,984,592 |
11,800,901 |
222.78 |
| 29. Iran, Islamic Rep of |
30/09/1954 |
2,736,843 |
628,105 |
69.51 |
| 30. Italy |
06/10/1948 |
1,412,957 |
224,015 |
58.09 |
| 31. Japan |
28/04/1952 |
11,342,000 |
1,706,000 |
128.08 |
| 32. Kenya |
04/11/1974 |
62,677 |
15,940 |
34.25 |
| 33. Korea, Republic of |
21/11/1953 |
6,435,000 |
979,717 |
47.81 |
| 34. Laos |
21/07/1954 |
2,568,000 |
736,020 |
5.92 |
| 35. Liberia |
19/07/1966 |
96,000 |
120,000 |
3.28 |
| 36. Madagascar |
27/10/1966 |
3,400,000 |
1,250,000 |
18.61 |
| 37. Malaysia |
15/09/1958 |
2,240,000 |
676,200 |
25.35 |
| 38. Mali |
04/06/1963 |
945,823 |
414,023 |
13.52 |
| 39. Mauritania |
29/04/1985 |
72,000 |
18,500 |
3.07 |
| 40. Mexico |
17/12/1948 |
291,149 |
57,479 |
107.03 |
| 41. Mozambique |
21/07/1995 |
174,000 |
180,000 |
19.79 |
| 42. Myanmar |
29/11/1948 |
25,364,000 |
7,008,000 |
50.52 |
| 43. Nepal |
11/07/1967 |
4,289,827 |
1,541,729 |
27.13 |
| 44. Nicaragua |
10/12/1968 |
316,713 |
95,667 |
5.49 |
| 45. Nigeria |
13/11/1961 |
3,567,000 |
2,494,000 |
131.53 |
| 46. Pakistan |
05/10/1948 |
8,320,800 |
2,621,400 |
157.93 |
| 47. Panama |
27/05/1975 |
235,155 |
109,500 |
3.23 |
| 48. Paraguay |
20/04/1950 |
102,000 |
33,500 |
6.16 |
| 49. Peru |
23/08/1991 |
2,468,357 |
357,883 |
27.97 |
| 50. Philippines |
04/01/1949 |
14,603,005 |
4,070,421 |
83.05 |
| 51. Portugal |
09/12/1954 |
121,495 |
21,938 |
10.49 |
| 52. Rwanda |
04/09/2002 |
62,194 |
13,922 |
9.04 |
| 53. Senegal |
08/07/1985 |
279,080 |
97,779 |
11.66 |
| 54. Sierra Leone |
22/09/1964 |
738,000 |
730,000 |
5.52 |
| 55. Sri Lanka |
27/09/1948 |
3,246,000 |
915,260 |
20.74 |
| 56. Suriname |
10/06/1985 |
166,559 |
43,881 |
0.45 |
| 57. Thailand |
01/11/1948 |
30,291,870 |
10,224,966 |
64.23 |
| 58. Turkey |
02/08/1991 |
600,000 |
85,000 |
73.19 |
| 59. US of America |
28/02/1949 |
10,125,000 |
1,361,380 |
298.21 |
| 60. Uruguay |
04/04/1968 |
1,214,500 |
184,000 |
3.46 |
| 61. Venezuela, Boliv Rep of |
27/11/1961 |
1,006,667 |
216,501 |
26.75 |
| 62. Viet Nam |
13/06/1951 |
35,790,800 |
7,329,200 |
84.24 |
| Total |
62 at the present time |
621,604,229 |
151,512,285 |
5,131.95 |
| World |
120 rice producing countries in 2005 |
631,508,532 |
154,475,477 |
6,475.63 |
I.4. Functions of the Commissions
Article IV of the Constitution, which was amended by the Fifteen
Session (1982), stated that the Commission shall, except in matters
relating to international trade, perform the following functions:
• Review the scientific, technical, and economic problems
involved in the production, conservation, distribution, and consumption of
rice;
• Encourage and coordinate research on the above-mentioned
problems and promoting its practical application;
• Undertake, where necessary and appropriate, co-operative
projects directed to solve of the above-mentioned problems;
• Provide recommendations to the Members of the Commission,
through the FAO Director-General, regarding necessary or desirable national
and international actions as may appear to the Commission for the solution
of the above-mentioned problems;
• Provide recommendations to the FAO Director-General on the
provision of technical assistance to Members of the Commission;
• Assemble and disseminate, through the FAO publications and
other mediums, information relating to the problems and activities
pertinent to the functions of the Commission; and
• Transmit at appropriate intervals to the FAO
Director-General a report embodying views, recommendations and decisions of
the Commission, and produce other reports on matters relating to the
production, conservation, distribution and consumption of rice, at the
specific request of the FAO Director-General or the Conference of the
Organization.
TOP
I.5. The Steering Committee
The FAO Director-General determines the members of the Steering
Committee of the Commission. At present, the Steering Committee of the
Commission is composed of representatives of the following FAO Divisions
and Services:
• Crop and Grassland Service; Plant Production and Protection Division;
Agriculture Department
• Plant Protection Service; Plant Production and Protection Division;
Agriculture Department
• Seed and Plant Genetic Resources Service; Plant Production and
Protection Division; Agriculture Department
• Land and Plant Nutrition Management Service; Land and Water
Development Division; Agriculture Department
• Water Resources, Development and Management Service; Land and Water
Development Division; Agriculture Department
• Agricultural and Food Engineering Technology Service; Agricultural
Support Systems Division; Agriculture Department
• Joint FAO/IAEA Division; Agriculture Department
• Basic Foodstuffs Service; Commodity and Trade Division; Economic and
Social Department
• Nutrition Planning, Assessment and Evaluation Service; Food and
Nutrition Division; Economic and Social Department
• Gender and
Development Service; Gender and Population Division; Sustainable
Development Department
• Research and
Technology Development Service; Research, Training and Extension Division;
Sustainable Development Department
• Extension,
Education and Communication Service; Research, Training and Extension
Division; Sustainable Development Department
• Inland Water
Resources and Aquaculture Service; Fishery Resources Division; Fisheries
Department
The Crop and Grassland Service hosts the Secretariat of the
Commission. The Steering Committee co-ordinates activities related to rice
undertaken by these technical Divisions and Services, as they provide
technical assistance to Member countries of the Commission.
I.6. The Sessions of the Commission
The Sessions of the Commission are organised to provide Member
Countries with review progress made in rice research, development, arising
issues, and challenges in matters relating to the production, conservation,
distribution and consumption of rice in order to reorient their respective
national programmes. During the Sessions, the Constitution and the work
programme of the Commission are also reviewed and recommendations for
amendments and adjustments are provided to make the work of the Commission
relevant to changes in world rice production, conservation, distribution
and consumption.
A total of nineteen Sessions were organised since the
establishment of the Commission (Table 2). The Twentieth Session was
organised in 2002 in Thailand. The FAO Director-General will decide on the
location of the 21st Session in 2005.
Table 2: Years and venues of the Commission's Sessions convened
from 1949 to 2002:
|
Regular
Session
|
Location
|
Year
|
|
First
|
Bangkok, Thailand
|
1949
|
|
Second
|
Yangoon, Myanmar
|
1950
|
|
Third
|
Bandung, Indonesia
|
1952
|
|
Fourth
|
Tokyo, Japan
|
1954
|
|
Fifth
|
Calcuta, India
|
1956
|
|
Sixth
|
Tokyo, Japan
|
1958
|
|
Seventh
|
Saigon, Vietnam
|
1960
|
|
Eighth
|
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
|
1962
|
|
Ninth
|
Manila, Philippines
|
1964
|
|
Tenth
|
New Delhi, India
|
1966
|
|
Eleventh
|
Tokyo, Japan
|
1968
|
|
Twelfth
|
Bangkok, Thailand
|
1972
|
|
Special
|
Rome, Italy
|
1973
|
|
Fourteenth
|
Rome, Italy
|
1977
|
|
Fifteenth
|
Freetown, Sierra Leone
|
1982
|
|
Sixteenth
|
Manila, Philippines
|
1985
|
|
Seventeenth
|
Goiana, Brazil
|
1990
|
|
Eighteenth
|
Rome, Italy
|
1994
|
|
Nineteenth
|
Cairo, Egypt
|
1998
|
|
Twentieth
|
Bangkok, Thailand
|
2002
|
TOP
II. MAJOR AMENDMENTS TO THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMISSION
The Constitution adopted in 1949 was amended at the Third (1952),
Fourth (1954), Seventh (1960), the Special (1973) and Fifteenth (1982)
Sessions. Major amendments include:
• Official languages: English and French are the initial official
languages of the Commission. The Special Session held in 1973 included
Spanish as the third official language.
• The seat of the Commission was transferred from the
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific to FAO Headquarters in 1974.
• A Regular Session of the Commission should convene at
least once every four years instead of once every two years.
• In between Regular Sessions, the Secretariat should
organize ad-hoc meetings, technical conferences or expert consultation on
rice problems of particular importance or urgency for a given region or
sub-region in accordance with regional priority.
• Commission Rules and Procedures may be amended by the
majority, which is represented by more than one-half of the membership,
instead of two-thirds.
TOP
III. ACHIEVEMENTS
III.1. Major achievements obtained before 1990
The notable growth in rice production over the past 40 years is
attributable, at least in part, to the work of the Commission in the
application of technology, the implementation of cooperative programmes and
the dissemination of information. The following are a few examples of the
achievements obtained during the early years of the Commission: the
initiation of a japonica x indica hybridisation programme (1950);
cataloguing of genetic stocks (1951); international blast nursery (1961);
holding seminars on water and fertiliser management, industrial processing
and mechanisation; training courses in breeding and technology.
The results of these cooperative projects included the development
of the Mahsuri variety, an intermediate type of rice with high quality and
high yield, in the 1950s. This variety is still cultivated in many
countries in Asia as well as in some African countries.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the Commission, in collaboration and
partnership with its Member Countries, NARS, IARCs, donors and FAO
implemented a large number of rice development projects and programmes
supporting the Green Revolution in many countries. This was achieved in
various thematic areas, including land-water development and use,
fertiliser supply and integrated plant nutrition, integrated pest
management, processing, and marketing.
III.2. Major achievements since 1990
Member Countries and international public organizations have still
been very supportive to and have actively participated in the work of the
Commission. The United Nations Assembly General, at its 57th Session
adopted the following resolution:
• Recalling the Resolution 2/2001 of the Conference of the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
• Noting that rice is the staple food of more than half of
the world's population.
• Affirming the need to heighten awareness of the role of
rice in alleviating poverty and malnutrition.
• Reaffirming the need to focus world attention on the role
that rice can play in providing food security and eradicating poverty in
the attainment of the internationally agreed development goals, including
those contained in the Millennium Declaration.
• Decided to declare, on 16 December 2002, the year 2004 the
International Year of Rice.
The UN General Assembly (UNGA)'s decision to declare an
"International Year" after a single commodity, Rice - is
exceptional in the history of the United Nations.
The UN General Assembly invited FAO to facilitate the
implementation of IYR in collaboration with the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), the Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research (CGIAR) centres, Member Countries and other major stakeholders
both within the United Nations systems, non-governmental organizations,
private sector and farmers.
Another major IRC achievement was the establishment of four
inter-regional networks on rice-based systems in collaboration with
international and national agricultural research institutions and national
agricultural research systems (NARS). They are:
• In 1990 the Inter-Regional Collaborative Research Network
on Rice in the Mediterranean Climate Areas (MEDRICE) was organised by the NARS in
this region to support research and development of japonica rice.
• The Wetland Development and Management Network/Inland
Valley Swamps (WEDEM/IVS) created by NARS in Sub-Saharan Africa in 1990 to
promote the development of wetland, especially inland valley swamps for
rice and food crop production.
• In Latin America, NARS organised a Working Group on Hybrid
Rice (GRUTHA) in 1994, which later joined with other working groups in 1999
to create the Working Group on Advanced Rice Breeding in Latin America and
the Caribbean (GRUMEGA).
• In 1995, FAO, IRRI
and the national agricultural research systems established the
International Task-Force for Hybrid Rice (INTAFOHR).
The Commission has been giving importance to the conservation of
environment and natural resources of rice production for future
generations. In this regard, the Commission promotes the development and
adoption of Integrated Crop Management for closing the yield gaps and
reversing the declining trend in rice productivity. An expert consultation
was organised in September 2000 in Rome, Italy, to review technological
options for closing yield gaps and for reversing productivity decline in
rice production, and to recommend appropriate actions to Member Countries.
Since 1990, Member Countries of the Commission and the international public
institutions, including FAO, have approved and funded a great number of
field projects (Please see Provision of Support to Member Countries).
In 1999, FAO and IRRI
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen the collaborative
action aimed at promoting wider adoption of hybrid rice technology outside
China, and in 2000 FAO and WARDA
signed another MOU to support the Rapid Rice Technology Diffusion in West
Africa (RARIDWA). The Secretariat of the Commission is a member of the
International Organizing Committee of the Africa Rice Initiative
spearheaded by WARDA and
UNDP.
TOP
IV. RECENT ACTIVITIES OF THE
SECRETARIAT
IV.1 Provision of Fora, in addition to its Regular
Session
The Secretariat of the Commission, in collaboration with FAO
technical units, FAO Regional offices, Member Countries, the inter-regional
networks on rice and other partners have carried out the following
activities during the recent years:
• Organization of the Regular Meetings of the
Steering Committee of the Commission, whose memberships include
representatives of the Technical Units from AG, ES, FI and TC Departments.
• 2000: Organization of the Expert Consultation on
“Yield Gap and Productivity Decline in Rice Production” held in
Rome on 5-7 September 2000, with the participation of 12 rice experts from
selected advanced NARS and IRRI,
WARDA and CIAT/FLAR and 14 FAO
technical officers. The Consultation deliberated and analyzed the issues
and problems of rice yield gap and productivity decline and made valuable
recommendations for FAO and its Member Countries’ future work and
programmes.
• 2000: Provision of support to the Workshop on Rice
Agronomy held in Edirne, Turkey in 2000 in the framework of MEDRICE.
• 2001: Organization of the Regional Workshop on
Participatory Evaluation, Adaption and Transfer of Integrated Crop
Management Technologies for Integrated Rice Production System in West
Africa, Saint-Louise, Senegal, 2-4 April 2001, in collaboration with WARDA.
• 2001: Provision of support to the Workshop on Rice
Breeding, held in Krasnodar, Russia in 2001 in the framework of MEDRICE.
• 2002: Organization of the Workshop on Policy Support for
Rapid Adoption of Hybrid Rice on Large-scale Production in Asia” in
Hanoi, Viet Nam from 22 to 23 May 2001, in the framework of INTAFOHR
• 2003: Organization of the Workshop on the activities of
PRODS-PAIA in Indonesia and the Ricecheck programme, 18-19 February 2003,
Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, in collaboration with the Inter-Department
Working Group on PRODS-PAIA
• 2003: Organization of the Informal International Planning
and Coordination Meeting for the International Year of Rice, 6-7 March
2003.
• 2003: Participation in the Third International Temperate
Rice Conference, 10-13 March 2003, Punta del Este, Uruguay
IV.2 Pilot Case Studies and Inter-Department Works
Within FAO the Secretariat of the Commission cooperated with other
technical units in the following activities:
• Study on the, “Impact of Rice Biodiversity and
Biotechnology on Nutritional Status,” in collaboration with ESNA.
• Feasibility study on, “Rice-Fish Farming in West Africa,”
in collaboration with FIRI.
• Member of the Inter-Department Working Group on Global
Climate Change
• Member of |
