Print

Mail

wiki links

NTU agrees with IRRI to cooperate on rice research

National Taiwan University (NTU) on Thursday became the nation’s first academic institution to sign a research cooperation agreement with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), a partnership in rice-related research to boost global rice production.

The agreement, signed by NTU president Lee Si-chen (李嗣涔) and Robert Zeigler, a representative of the IRRI, comes at a time when global rice stocks are at their lowest levels in a quarter of a century.

Many countries are facing severe food shortages because rice production has fallen as a result of global climate change and the extensive use of land for biofuel production, Lee said.

The problem is particularly serious, he said, because rice is the staple for more than half the world’s population.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization warned in a report last year that with global rice stocks falling to a 25-year low because of global warming, world rice prices are expected to increase over the next few years.

The IRRI has also said that global rice supply could only keep up with demand if world rice production grows by 1.2 percent annually until 2015.

Lee said that NTU is keen to contribute its knowledge and expertise in developing new rice varieties and improving rice cultivation skills to help boost world rice yields and address food shortages.

Chen Bao-ji (陳保基), the dean of NTU’s College of Bioresources and Agriculture, indicated that IRRI began to conduct exchanges with NTU on rice research a little over a year ago when an exhibition of a new rice species was staged on the university campus.

Chen said IRRI selected NTU as a partner because Taiwan is situated in a sub-tropical region that is suitable for rice cultivation and the grain is the main staple of the country.

Under the accord, NTU will serve as an intermediary platform between IRRI and Academia Sinica, the Agricultural Research Institute under the Council of Agriculture, as well as other academic institutions specializing in rice research, Chen said.

IRRI, a UN-affiliated organization dedicated to rice research, has cooperated with many institutions worldwide.

NTU became the first university in Taiwan to sign a collaborative pact with the international organization, said Chen, who expressed the hope that through cooperation, Taiwan’s achievements in rice research would gain global recognition.


This story has been viewed 1277 times.