 Rice (Oryza sativa) is the most
important food grain in Latin America and the Caribbean, supplying consumers with more
calories than staples such as wheat, maize, cassava, and potatoes. Because rice is
convenient to store and prepare, it has found sizable markets during recent decades in
urban areas, where nearly three-quarters of all Latin Americans currently reside. Rice has
many other dietary virtues as well, being rich in vitamins and minerals, low in fat and
salt, and free of cholesterol.Rice is a versatile crop, with varieties adapted to a
wide range of climates, soils, and moisture conditions. In Latin America about 55 percent
of the crop is concentrated in wetlands, and roughly two-thirds of that area is irrigated.
The other 45 percent, referred to as "upland" rice, is grown under rainfed
conditions.
Within the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), CIAT has a regional responsibility
for rice research in Latin America and the Caribbean. In fulfilling this role, the Center
works closely with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, which has a
global mandate for the crop within the CGIAR. The CG’s West Africa Rice Development
Association (WARDA) in Côte
d’Ivoire is also a valued collaborator in rice research, serving as a source of
germplasm and of feedback on materials received from tropical America.
CIAT’s rice breeding strategy is focused on the development and improvement of
populations, or gene pools, through recurrent selection for higher grain yields, suitable
grain quality, disease and insect resistance, and tolerance to physical stresses. Our aim
is to offer national rice programs diverse sources of potential parents for crossing, as
opposed to finished lines for release as varieties. Breeding populations of both lowland
and upland rice are widely distributed in Latin America for evaluation and selection.
In serving lowland rice environments, CIAT researchers work closely with the Fund for
Latin American Irrigated Rice (FLAR).
This is a regional consortium of private and public organizations in 13 rice producing
countries. It guides and helps finance international rice research and links this work
with national efforts to make rice production more competitive. Under the International
Network for the Genetic Evaluation of Rice/Latin America and Caribbean Region (INGER-LAC),
FLAR member countries can obtain rice lines from CIAT and IRRI. INGER nurseries (sets of
germplasm lines) for yield, blast resistance, tolerance to acid soils, and other traits
are kept in cold storage at CIAT’s and FLAR’s joint facilities at CIAT
headquarters in Colombia.
In population improvement for upland environments, CIAT collaborates with France’s
Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD), which has two rice breeders based
at our headquarters. These researchers are placing particular emphasis on tolerance to
soil acidity, resistance to pests and diseases, good grain quality, and early maturity.
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