On BBC World: IRRI director general discusses price of rice

Robert Zeigler, director general of the International Rice Research Institute -http://irri.org -, discusses the world's rising rice prices and the implications for the world's poor.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Rice
• shortage
• food
• price
• BBC
• World
• Asia
• Today
• IRRI
• poor

[titoRUDZ]

Is it possible to get an answer to that question? Or is this thread merely to advertise IRRI and all its supposed gains? Come on guys, let me hear from you pipol of IRRI.

[irrivideo]

Response, Part 1: Organic agriculture yields, at best, the same and usually less than conventional agriculture and typically has higher production costs, hence, the higher prices for organic foods. So, in times of tight rice supplies and rising prices that impact the poor especially hard, organically grown rice is not a viable option for global food production. Robert Zeigler, Director General, IRRI.

[irrivideo]

Response, Part 2: In terms of energy consumption, it is important to do a complete audit of energy costs. It might require less fossil fuel-derived nitrogen fertilizers, but the energy required to produce and transport organic fertilizers can be quite high. In the same vein, the extra cultivation that organic crops require to control weeds as compared to conventional practices can greatly increase fuel consumption. Robert Zeigler, Director General, IRRI.

[Badwolf182]

this is ALL bull. Ther is no shortage. 'THEY' R cut the supplies to make it look like a shortage in order to increase profit and reduce world population at same time. dont believe the lies. wake up ppl.

[Zolby79]

If you look at the recurrence of famine in certain parts of Japan for example, before nitrogen based fertilizers were introduced (and organic farming was the standard), you will see famines occurring quite regularly. With the introduction of nitrogen based fertilizers, the cycle of famine was stopped effectively.

One of course must look at other variables but people need to be practical about why such fertilizers were introduced in the first place to replace organic farming.

[titoRUDZ]

On the other hand, while Dr.Khush, IRRI Plant Breeder does not recommend organic rice farming, so does IRRI DG Dr. Ziegler, how does this view of IRRI sit vis-a-vis the view of Dr.D. L Sebastian of Philrice, himself a plant breeder and head of Philrice, who has been seen in TV as advocating organic rice farming? Is organic rice farming possibly location specific that makes it a viable option under Philippine conditions? Or are your experiences of general application? Your kind reply again pls.

[titoRUDZ]

I guess I have to agree with you. As a matter of fact, I have much earlier read a web article by Ethirajan Anbarasan on his interview of Dr.G S Khush where GSKhush stated that rice production from organic farming is half of what could be produced from conventional farming, and that organic rice farming can be a recipe for disaster. I just wanted to get a confirmation.

[titoRUDZ]

What is IRRI's position on organic rice farming as a way to bring down dependency on energy related inputs? Is organic rice farming viable?