The Eighteenth Session of the International Rice Commission was convened at the Green Room of FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy, from 5 to 9 September 1994 and was attended by 63 Delegates from 39 of the Member Countries of the Commission and 5 observers from 5 FAO Member Countries. There were also 32 participants from 5 international organisations.

The Commission elected Mr. Michel Jacquot of France as the Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Mohammad Mamunur Rashid from Bangladesh as first Vice-Chairman, and Mr. Yacouba Sere from Burkina Faso as the second Vice-Chairman of the Commission. The welcome address was delivered by the Assistant Director-General of the Agriculture Department, on behalf of the Director-General of FAO. The Chairman of the IRC Steering Committee, Officer-in-charge of the Plant Production and Protection Division, FAO gave the keynote address.

1. In the coming decade, the improvement of access to rice should remain an important issue for action on the agenda of both national and international fora to reduce hunger.

2. Emphasis and support should be given to:

Back to Top 

3. FAO should promote dissemination of available hybrid rice technology to interested countries where appropriate.

4. FAO should facilitate exchange of germplasm among the rice-growing countries for varietal improvement including hybrid technologies.

5. The national and international research institutions should develop high-yielding heterotic hybrids with pest resistance and good grain quality for the tropics.

6. National governments should promote development and/or improve seed production systems and seed technology units to:

7. FAO, in collaboration with regional/international institutions/agencies concerned, should establish an "International Task Force on Hybrid Rice" to strengthen global collaboration, for development and utilisation of hybrid rice technology for increasing rice yields.

8. Member Countries should ensure that conventional breeding programmes are well supported prior to major investments in biotechnologies, which are tools for strengthening programmes. Initially, developing countries should generally master basic, less sophisticated biotechnological skills before embarking on molecular procedures.

9. In the process of training of scientific personnel on biotechnology, emphasis should be given to the mastering of techniques that are relevant to the countries' objectives and needs.

10. Global collaboration on the development and sharing of biotechnological methodologies and materials should be promoted.

11. Governments should promote and facilitate efficient, yet judicious, use of agricultural inputs, optimising economic return to the farm family while preserving the environmental resource base.

12. Rice production should not be viewed in isolation but as part of a holistic farming system in which the farmer's income and welfare, as well as the diversity of social and biophysical environments, should be integrated in the design of technologies.

13. An integrated land development plan should be used when exploiting fragile deepwater and mangrove. This should include adequate land use planning and surveys on socio-economic and environmental considerations in short and longer terms. Several opportunities for development of wetland ecosystems such as agriculture, aquaculture agro-forestry, wildlife management, game ranching and ecotourism should be included in these land use systems.

14. African countries should mobilise national policies, where appropriate, to promote the use of productive and sustainable inland valley swamps, with emphasis on water management, to increase rice and other food production.

15. New approaches, including national policy reorientation and political will to stabilise and reduce vulnerable upland rice area, should be established to make them more economic, productive and sustainable in exploitation.

16. Governments should elaborate and implement policies related to taxation, price regulation, credit availability, marketing, etc., to promote sustainable rice production.

17. The focus of research resource allocation ought to shift from a fixation on yield improvements to a more integrated approach to the resource management.

18. National and regional programmes should be developed, promoting a better diagnosis of the productivity of mineral fertilizer use in rice cropping systems by farmers. All sources of plant nutrients should be considered, within a balance sheet approach, for all types of rice cropping systems. The mechanisms of plant nutrient uptake and plant nutrient losses under farmers' conditions and the relevant innovations should be evaluated within integrated programmes.

19. The Governments should promote strategies for improving plant nutrient management through the monitoring of fertiliser formulation and utilisation, adequate pricing policies, and support to research and extension.

20. Where heavy pesticide use is prevalent, or being promoted, governments should carefully explore application of IMP, based on the proven principles stated above. The IPM Programme should also include rodent control in the agenda.

21. FAO continues its technical support to national programmes in the design and implementation of the farmer-participating IPM programme; institutions such as IRRI, WARDA, CIAT, etc. continue to pursue relevant research on IPM.

22. More information on appropriate value-added ? technologies, at farm or village level, is needed to enhance incomes and options especially for rural women.

23. A higher priority should be given to the support and funding of agricultural engineering research, development and extension, especially in relation to the following five areas: (i) direct seeding technologies and engineered equipment; (ii) small-scale stripper harvesters; (iii) improved small-scale post-harvest systems; (iv) improved small-scale environmental friendly pesticide application technologies; and (v) issue of rodent control to reduce crop losses.

24. Where "red rice" is a serious problem, a programme of integrated weed management, including crop rotation, should be considered.

25. International organisations (especially FAO, IRRI, and ICLARM), donor agencies and Member Governments should support the development of appropriate technologies for integrated rice-fish culture in irrigated and deepwater rice fields.

26. The Member Governments should actively support the development of integrated rice-fish culture, with a view to creating employment opportunities, generating additional family income, and supplying affordable animal protein for the rural population. To achieve this, the Member Governments should assist the farmers by transferring technologies through effective extension services and by providing easy access to credit facilities and basic inputs.

27. Consumer preferences should be monitored and results made available to orient production of selected varieties to meet specific requirements.

28. "Thriving with Rice" concept should be introduced vigorously in developing rice-growing countries to generate additional income and employment opportunities in rural farming communities.

29. The milling industry in rice-growing countries should be modernised.

30. Efforts should be made not only to increase the production of rice, but its availability in optimum quantity to people of low-income groups. This will contribute to improve nutrition in these groups.

31. Crop diversification, at farm level, in favour of production of vegetables and fruits, primarily for home consumption, should be encouraged as these will contribute to the variety and balance of diets.

32. Governments and other relevant agencies should promote nutrition education, including consumption of parboiled rice, better cooking practices, and supplementation with vegetables, legumes, etc.

33. There is an urgent need to understand the nature of causes associated with yield declines in intensively irrigated systems; this should be a major focus of IARCs such as IRRI, CIAT, WARDA, etc. FAO should work with the relevant NARs to obtain adequate information on the geographic extent and intensity of the yield decline phenomenon under farmers' conditions.

34. The National Rice Research Programme should give adequate attention to plant traits preferred by farmers under different ecologies. Farmers' participation, at the early stage of research, should be considered.

35. As demands for rice and wide adoption of modern varieties in Africa have increased, the regional and national Rice Research Programmes should focus more on rice germplasm conservation, evaluation and utilisation, and developing varieties with broad genetic base and multiple resistance and tolerance to stress in different agro-ecologies.

36. There is an urgent need to find ways and means to improve research funding in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region.

Back to Top 

37. There is an urgent need to further sensitise the national efforts for intensive research and development activities through a sustained international cooperative mechanism to achieve regional self-reliance for food grains in Asia and the Pacific.

38. The Commission endorsed the recommendation of FAO Expert Consultation on "The Sustainability of Rice-Wheat Production System in Different Agro-ecological Settings in Asia", held in Bangkok, Thailand, on 6-9 July 1993: FAO should take action to establish a Regional Working Group on Rice-Wheat Production Systems in Asia.

39. Close collaboration with international institutions and among national rice research programmes in LAC should be continued.

40. A greater participation of national governments and their respective private sectors (in LAC), in both marketing and research, should be encouraged to protect national food security.

41. There is a need to identify international backing to buttress the Mediterranean Rice Research Network.

Back to Top 

42. There should be periodical working group meetings to assess and monitor the progress of technology development and dissemination on key target areas such as hybrid rice, inland valley swamp development, sustainable rice-wheat production systems, mechanisation, etc.

43. Exchange of information on technology innovations among the national, international organisations and countries, within and among regions, should be promoted. Also, information needed for rice development and research should be made available to national and international institutions.

44. In order to exploit the available technology and boost rice production, emphasis should be given on effective extension services.

45. There should be an integrated approach to bridge the yield gap between the experiment stations and farmers' yields. The integrated approach should include dynamic extension services, availability of inputs (improved seeds, water supply, fertilisers, etc.), credit facilities, research, national policies, etc.

46. The market analysis of rice should take into consideration consumers' preferences.

47. Adequate focus surfacing the various issues, related to rice production in East-Africa, should be emphasised.

Back to Top