Is rice improvement still making a difference? Assessing the economic, poverty and food security impacts of rice varieties released from 1989 to 2009 in Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines

This is one of the three proposals funded through a competitive call for proposals to evaluate the links between agricultural research and poverty in 2011. More background on the SPIA project (Social impacts: poverty and hunger) can be found here. The productivity impact of the initial diffusion of modern varieties (MVs) of rice across Asia during the 1960s through the 1980s, as part of the 'Green Revolution', is one of the most documented successes of international development assistance in agriculture. However, much less is known about whether continued efforts to further improve rice varieties are making similar contributions to on farm productivity. This study assesses the degree to which post 1989 MVs of rice have led to increased agricultural productivity, economic surplus, welfare for the poor, food security and environmental benefits in Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines

Understanding Filipino rice farmer preference heterogeneity for varietal trait improvements: A latent class analysis

Using an experimental methodology based on investment games, we examine whether smallholder rice farmers from Nueva Ecija, Philippines have heterogeneous preferences for improvements in 10 rice varietal traits. We use a latent class cluster approach to identify different segments of rice producing households and their distinct preferences for trait improvements. These clusters were characterised post hoc using household, farm, and marketing characteristics. On average, farmers invested the most in rice varietal trait improvements that offered opportunities to reduce losses caused by lodging, insects and diseases. We found four classes of farmers with distinct preferences for improvements in variety traits. The clusters were significantly different in terms of household and farm characteristics. These findings can guide breeding research in the development of varieties that have the traits farmers identified for improvement, and that will address the unique needs of distinct farmer segments.Rio Maligalig, Matty Demont, Wendy J. Umberger and Alexandra Peralt