IRRI: Rice policy support and impact assessment

Sushil Pandey, senior scientist and economist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI; http://irri.org ), and others in the Institute's Social Sciences Division, explain the program on Rice Policy Support and Impact aAsessment
for Rice Research.

The program is part of IRRI's strategic plan, Bringing Hope, Improving Lives ( http://irri.org/bringinghope/improvinglives.pdf ).

The impact of rice research on poverty reduction and environmental sustainability depends on appropriate policies and technologies that address farmers' livelihood needs. Strategic assessments for agricultural and economic growth in rice-producing regions, the dynamics of rural livelihoods, the nature and determinants of poverty, and commodity and market trends in increasingly globalized markets are critically important for determining investment priorities for rural development.

Planning and prioritizing rice research also require a deeper understanding of people's access to and use of natural resources and other forms of capital—physical, financial, human, and social—and their interactions with government agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and other institutions that influence people's livelihood strategies. It is critically important to understand the changes in farmer practices that are currently taking place as well as the drivers of such changes, including farmers' knowledge, perceptions, and criteria for technology choices, and how components of livelihood systems and rice technologies interact. Such an understanding provides the scientific basis for technology design, targeting, and delivery.

The program is geared toward providing sound advice to policymakers, research managers, and donors regarding the design of agricultural interventions through policy analyses, livelihood studies, and impact assessments focused on the rice systems of Asia. Through close partnership with national
agricultural research and extension systems, the program also contributes to building capacity for broader socioeconomic and policy analyses of the agricultural sector.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Rice
• IRRI