Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
during 1990
-
1999 to 7% during 2010
-
2013. Typically,
training
involved direct contact of participants with CIAT
'
s breeders during
3
4 months of hands-on and theoretical training, which allowed the
trainees to get involved in planting, evaluation, and selection of
breeding populations. Trainees also had the opportunity to select
breeding populations and lines for further testing under local condi-
tions. Testing, adoption, and dissemination of well-known commercial
cultivars, such as CICA 4, CICA 8, BR IRGA 409, and El Paso 144, were
the outcome of this capacity-building strategy. The case of both BR
IRGA 409 and El Paso 144 is worth highlighting. Both originated from
the same cross made at CIAT in the late 1960s; bulk F
2
seed samples
were taken by Paulo S. Carmona to Brazil and by the late Nicolas
Chebatarof to Uruguay. They further evaluated and selected the seed
samples under diverse environmental conditions. BR IRGA 409 was
released in 1979 and El Paso 144 a few years later. These two cultivars
spread rapidly and occupied
-
50% of the total rice area in Brazil and
Uruguay. El Paso 144 has been the backbone of the rice export market
in Uruguay. In addition, BR IRGA 409 was released as Precoz-ICTA in
Guatemala and grown under favorable upland conditions for many
years.
In-service training at CIAT was also complemented by frequent visits
by CIAT staff to the region and by in-country training. Unfortunately,
funding from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for
this activity declined drastically in the 1990s, which adversely affected
training activities. Since then, FLAR has taken training as one of its
main responsibilities in the region.
>
C. The Way Forward
Key adjustments in breeding strategies, methodologies, and manage-
ment played a signi
cant role in helping CIAT
'
s Rice Program respond
to farmers
'
needs. Results and products presented show progress made
in ful
lling its mission and objectives. Much work and progress are
needed, however, to meet the new challenges faced by rice farmers in
LAC.Newtoolsandmethodsneedtobeusedinamultidisciplinary
and interinstitutional framework. The challenges of producing rice in a
sustainable way for a changing environment are enormous. To tackle
them, CIAT
s Rice Program adopted a multidisciplinary approach and
collaborates actively with strategic partners, both regionally and glob-
ally, via GRiSP, aiming at the development of eco-ef
'
cient solutions
to the new challenges of rice production in Latin America and the
Caribbean.
