Part 4. Borlaug and Chandler on the origins of the International Rice Research Institute

See Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17ySNZo3AMs

See Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW8hpPi0rqI

See Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEjQbo-2nZQ

Part 5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhqQwfc0-No

Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtuB2cTEfTU

In this multi-part discussion filmed in 1994, Dr. Norman Borlaug, 1970 Nobel Peace Prize Winner who passed away on Saturday, 12 September 2009, and Dr. Robert Chandler (1907-1999), founding director emeritus of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI; http://irri.org ), talk about the origins of the International Rice Research Institute. They describe how the impetus for the Institute began in Mexico, where many scholars and agricultural activists realized what could be accomplished through international agricultural projects.

They explain the importance of rice as a crop, particularly in Asia and South America. Borlaug and Chandler detail the participation of the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, and how the Foundations gave unrestricted funds in a largely unbureaucratic way, and how its funding aided the Rice Research Institute's goals. Dr. Borlaug and Dr. Chandler discuss how in its early days, the Institute's personnel traveled widely throughout Asia, amassing samples of rice and collecting information on its production. They describe how they began selecting rice varieties, and how they bred more and more productive strains. The Institute eventually revolutionized rice production by distributing these super-varieties to other nations. Chandler and Borlaug describe in detail how this was accomplished, and explain how 700 million people are fed today who would starve without the rice varieties developed by the Institute's work. They also discuss at length the obstacles faced by international agricultural programs in the early 1990s.

Permission granted from the Idea Channel, the copyright holder, to upload this video clip. For information on obtaining the full 45-minute program on VHS tape or audio CD, go to http://www.ideachannel.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=S1126&x=0&...

For more on Norman Borlaug, see http://www.cimmyt.org/english/wps/media/farewellBorlaug.htm and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayx6H6dzPRs

For more on Robert Chandler, see http://books.google.com/books/irri?id=m-3W2P_aOKoC&pg=PA27&dq=21st+ce... and his own book, An Adventure in Applied Science, http://books.google.com/books/irri?id=3d-6iv9xQT0C&printsec=frontcover&am...

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• International
• Rice
• Research
• Institute
• IRRI
• Norman
• Borlaug
• Robert
• Chandler
• Philippines