Rice research, technological progress, and impacts on the poor: the Bangladesh case (summary report)

"This case study builds on an ongoing large-scale quantitative research project undertaken by BIDS/IRRI since 1987 originally in 64 unions from 57 districts of the country. It adds a qualitative research component to examine the impact of modern rice varieties (MVs) on livelihoods in a structured sample of eight of these villages across a range of favorable and unfavorable contexts..... The quantitative research shows that for households with access to land there have been direct adoption impacts in the form of increased yields and higher profits. However, since rice now only represents around 20 percent of most households' overall income, nonagricultural income is found to have gained dramatically in importance for rural households. While the profitability has declined over time, rice contributes to improved food security and provides a “springboard” for both rich and poor farm households moving into nonfarm income generation and employment... The qualitative research component generally confirmed these general findings, highlighting other factors such as the improved status associated with fixed-rent tenancy and “contract” labor arrangements. The qualitative research also shows negative adoption impacts such as shrinking common property resources (wild fish, vegetables, etc., and declining soil fertility, both of which may increase the long-term vulnerability of the poor. It also throws light on the processes of technology dissemination.... It was found that the linking of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies was useful in (a) generating complementary data of different kinds on similar issues and (b) generating new data missed within a purely quantitative approach. The sustainable livelihoods framework was a useful, flexible tool for structuring the qualitative data collection and analysis. However, the research study as a whole was limited by the fact that the qualitative component was “bolted onto” a quantitative study already underway. Therefore the framework, and the various data collection methodologies, were not systematically integrated across both components of the study. In conclusion, future agricultural research on rice may need to further address the question of MV adoption potential on risk-prone lands, the relevance of existing technology dissemination systems, the relationship between MV adoption and crop diversification, and the challenges of more sustainable crop management techniques." Authors' AbstractRice Bangladesh,

IMPACTS OF INTERNATIONAL MAIZE BREEDING RESEARCH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, 1966-98

This report, which updates and extends the findings of an earlier CIMMYT study published in 1994, documents the impacts of international maize breeding research in the developing world. Covering the period 1966-98, the report reviews public and private investment in maize breeding research, describes the products of public and private maize breeding programs, estimates farm level adoption of modern varieties (MVs), and estimates the gross value of additional grain production attributable to international breeding efforts. Although private companies have greatly increased their investment in maize breeding research in recent years, public maize breeding programs still play an important role, especially in breeding for subsistence-oriented farmers. Seed sales data show that the maize seed industry in many developing countries has effectively been privatized and that hybrid seed sales now dominate sales of all other seed types. The area planted to MVs continues to expand at an impressive rate. Maize MVs are currently grown on at least 58.8 million ha in developing countries, including at least 21.2 million ha planted to MVs that contain CIMMYT germplasm. The gross value of additional grain production attributable to the adoption of maize MVs in developing countries is estimated to range from US$3.7 million to US$ 11.1 billion per year. Analysis of varietal pedigrees shows that breeders in both the public and private sectors have made extensive use of CIMMYT germplasm. Over 54% of publicly bred MVs released in the developing world since 1966 have contained CIMMYT germplasm. The pedigrees of many privately bred cultivars are confidential, but CIMMYT germplasm was present in 58% of MVs developed by private breeding programs being sold in the late 1990s for which pedigree information is available. The gross benefits attributable to CIMMYT's maize breeding program are estimated to range from US$167 million to US$ 1.5 billion per year.Productivity Analysis,

Proceedings of the NSSDC Conference on Mass Storage Systems and Technologies for Space and Earth Science Applications

The proceedings of the National Space Science Data Center Conference on Mass Storage Systems and Technologies for Space and Earth Science Applications held July 23 through 25, 1991 at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center are presented. The program includes a keynote address, invited technical papers, and selected technical presentations to provide a broad forum for the discussion of a number of important issues in the field of mass storage systems. Topics include magnetic disk and tape technologies, optical disk and tape, software storage and file management systems, and experiences with the use of a large, distributed storage system. The technical presentations describe integrated mass storage systems that are expected to be available commercially. Also included is a series of presentations from Federal Government organizations and research institutions covering their mass storage requirements for the 1990's

Near-infrared modeling and enhanced visualization, as a novel approach for 3D decay mapping of stone sculptures

Representation of the surface pathology of heritage objects imposes a problematic task. It usually involves the implementation of on-site visual inspections, and diagnostic procedures on-site, and after sampling, through minimally destructive laboratory tests, to produce area-specific results or two-dimensional mapping visualizations. Mapping of stone weathering is usually performed manually with time-consuming two-dimensional approaches, thus losing the importance of topology and, in general, its threedimensional metric quality. The recent introduction of modified cameras to heritage science has enabled enhanced observation at higher resolutions, concomitantly having the capacity to produce datasets that can be used for direct image-based three-dimensional reconstruction. With this article, we present a novel work combining near-infrared imaging using a modified sensor, and contemporary dense multiple-image reconstruction software, to produce spectral models of historical stone sculptures. This combined approach enables the simultaneous capturing of the shape of the historical stone surfaces and the different responses of deteriorated materials in the near-infrared spectrum. Thus, we investigate the capacity of the suggested method to assist threedimensional diagnosis and mapping of stone weathering. We explore the usability of produced spectral textures via classification and three-dimensional segmentation techniques to obtain and assess different types of visualization. We additionally evaluate the produced models for their metric and radiometric properties, by comparing them with models produced with visible spectrum imagery, acquired with similar capturing parameters