Turkey hosts 2nd meeting on rice research for Central and West Asia

The second annual meeting of the technical management committee of the Regional Rice Research and Training Center for Central and West Asia (RRRTC-CWA) was held  at the Trakya Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) in Edirne, Turkey.

Eight members from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, IR Iran, and IRRI attended the 2-day review and planning meeting, during which status reports were presented on the rice R&D program and industry in Turkey (Halil Surek); progress of the RRRTC-CWA and plans for 2014 (Abbas Shahdi); and GRiSP and possibilities for Central and West Asia (Julian A. Lapitan). A proposal, titled Establishing a Multilocation Evaluation and Research Network for Genetic Enhancement in Central and West Asia, was also presented.

The TMC members saw the importance of linking with and putting their national rice R&D programs under the umbrella of GRiSP and agreed to build capacity in each member country so that trained R&D workers are in place for a broader and more fruitful collaboration.

A second batch of rice production and breeding courses will be held again in 2014, with possible funding from the Islamic Development Bank and GRiSP. A feasibility study to assess rice R&D priorities of the region is also set for 2014, through negotiated funding by the Economic Cooperation Organization.

The group will hold its third meeting in September 2014 at Kazakhstan, with Saule Baibossynova, member representative from Kazakhstan, as incoming president.

The meeting, held on 18-19 September 2013, culminated with field visits to a rice farm and Yasar Machinery, a private rice miller in Turkey that also manufactures rice-milling machines. The company will donate to IRRI a small-scale milling machine tha can be set up in a laboratory for quick determination of milling and head rice recovery. The procedure for donation is being set up through IRRI’s Partnerships Office.

Members of the TMC and some senior scientists of the Trakya Agricultural Research Institute at Edirne, Turkey: (from left): Dilovar Sherali (Tajikistan); Hossain Rahim Soroush (Iran); Ed Redoña (IRRI); Adnan Tulek (Turkey); Hameed Rdhaiwi (Iraq); Saule Baibossynova (Kazakhstan); Necmi Besser (Turkey); Abbas Shahdi (coordinator, Iran); Halil Surek (Turkey); Julian Lapitan (IRRI); and Dzhamin Akimaliev (Kyrgyzstan)

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