Italian rice at IRRI

An article about Italian rice sent me scurrying once again to the International Rice Information System. That suggests, as you can see from the diagram at left if you click on it, that the rice variety Carnaroli is in fact the result of a cross between Vialone and Lencino. Vialone Nano is also mentioned in the article, along with Arborio. You — and no doubt Italian rice farmers — will be pleased to hear that all three varieties are safely conserved in the IRRI genebank.

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Where Burundi’s new rice comes from

Farmers in Burundi will soon sow the seeds of hard work and international cooperation with the release of two new rice varieties set to boost rice production and meet the rapidly growing demand for rice in Burundi.

Want to know how hard was the work? And how international? All you have to do is type “IR77713” into IRRI’s International Rice Information System. After some fiddling, you’ll get the following pedigree, which you’ll definitely need to click on to read properly. Remember that wherever you see IRGC or the TT Chang Genetic Resources Center mentioned that means the material came from the IRRI genebank.

And that, dear reader, is why a multilateral system for access and benefit sharing is such a good idea.

One of the farmers who helped pick the new varieties, Ms. Scolastique Simbandumwe, shared, “I am happy that the varieties I selected are now released. I would like to get seeds now, to be among those who will multiply seeds, so that my income can increase.”

Not to mention genebanks.

“We congratulate IRRI for this achievement,” concluded Director General of Agriculture Sebastien Ndikumagenge, Burundi Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. “By releasing these two varieties, IRRI contributes a lot to our efforts to find food for Burundians. We encourage IRRI to go forward.”

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