HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT, FUNCTIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

1. Origin

Rice has fed a great number of people for a longer period of time than any other food crop. In Asia, the ability to produce a surplus of rice has assisted in the development of communities, whereas the failure of a rice crop has led to widespread famine, death and political instability in many countries throughout the long history of the continent.

Faced with or facing the stagnation of world rice production, the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), at its Fourth Session, having regard tohaving taken into account the deliberations of the Rice Study Group metheld at at Trivandrum, India; the Third Session of the Conference of the Organization and the International Rice Meeting held at Baguio, Philippines,; established the International Rice Commission in 1948, in accordance with a Constitution, which has 9 Articles, 18 Rules and Regulations.

Article IX of the original Constitution stated that:

"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."

Notifications of acceptance had been received from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Thailand, and United Arab Republic in 1948, which were followed by those from Cuba, Philippines, United Kingdom, and United States of America in 1949. The Constitution of the Commission, therefore, came into force on 4 January 1949. Its first Regular Session was held in Bangkok, Thailand in 1949.

2. Purpose

3. Membership

Open to all Member Nations and Associate Members that accept the IRC Constitution in a-accordance with provisions of Article VIII. The Instrument of Acceptance should only be sent to the Director-General of FAO.

The interests of FAO Member Countries, in the activities of the Commission have been increasing since its establishment, as indicated by the notifications of acceptance of the Commission's Constitution from the governments of FAO Member Countries.

The membership of the Commission has grown from 15 in 1949 to 60 at present. The current 60 Member Countries of the Commission come from all continents and they include large to small rice-producing countries world-wide (Table 1). The Commission has made significant contributions to the Green Revolution in many rice-producing countries, which has enabled world rice production to provide food security for more than half of the world's population during the last 50 years.

Table 1: Current memberships of the International Rice Commission

* Estimates based on FAOSTAT as of March 2000 ** Adopted from FAO Food Balance Sheet as of January 1999

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, have the functions of:

• Keeping under review the scientific, technical, and economic problems involved in the production, conservation, distribution, and consumption of rice;
• Encouraging and coordinating research on the above-mentioned problems and promoting its practical application;
• Undertaking, where necessary and appropriate, co-operative projects directed to the solution of the above-mentioned problems;
• Recommending to Members of the Commission, through the FAO Director-General, such national and international action as may appear to the Commission to be necessary or desirable for the solution of the above-mentioned problems;
• Recommending to the FAO Director-General the provision of technical assistance to Members of the Commission in measures directed to that end;
• Assembling, collating, and disseminating, through the publications of the FAO and otherwise, information relating to the problems and activities pertinent to the functions of the Commission; and
• Transmitting at appropriate intervals to the FAO Director-General a report embodying views, recommendations and decisions, and making such other reports to the FAO Director-General on matters relating to the production, conservation, distribution and consumption of rice, as the Commission itself may consider expedient or the FAO Director-General or the Conference of the Organization may request.

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 Engineering Branch, Agricultural Support Systems Division, Agriculture Department

Agro-Industries and Post-Harvest Service, Agricultural Support Systems Division, Agriculture Department

Joint FAO/IAEA Division, Agriculture Department

Basic Food Stuffs Service, Commodity and Trade Division, Economic and Social Department

Nutrition Planning, Assessment and Evaluation Service, Food and Nutrition Division, Economic and Social Department

Women in Development Service, Women and Population Division, Sustainable Development Department

Research and Technology Development Service, Research, Training and Extension Division, Sustainable Development Department

Extension, Education and Communication Service, 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 countries members of the Commission.

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 for reorienting 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 will be organised in 2002 in either Thailand or Uruguay. The FAO Director-General will decide on the location of the 20th Session in 2001.

Table 2: Years and venues of the Commission's Sessions convened from 1949 to 2002