World’s largest rice gene bank secures funding to fight climate change

(Eco Business, 16 Oct 2018) A key aim is developing varieties that are more resistant to high temperatures, as well as worsening droughts and floods.

The world’s largest collection of rice varieties has secured indefinite funding in what officials say will be crucial for the development of seeds resilient to the effects of climate change.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) will sign an agreement with Bonn-based non-profit the Crop Trust on Tuesday in Singapore to secure $1.4 million per year to fund IRRI’s rice gene bank in Los Baños, the Philippines.

“It is really important to the future of food security,” said Matthew Morell, director general at IRRI.

“Within those rice varieties are genetics that will allow us to preserve the ability to produce rice in the face of climate change,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

About 3 billion people - mostly in Asia - depend on rice as a staple. But as the world’s population increases, farmers are struggling to meet rising demand, while crops suffer from extreme weather conditions linked to climate change.

By 2050, annual global rice consumption is projected by IRRI to rise from 450 million tonnes to 525 million tonnes.

The Philippines-based IRRI was established in 1960 and one of its first activities was to collect rice varieties from around Southeast Asia and South Asia.

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Eco Business, 16 Oct 2018: World’s largest rice gene bank secures funding to fight climate change