January 2011: The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has released its January to March edition of Rice Today, which features articles documenting the relationship between climate change impacts and rice production.

In “Rice for Future Generations,” IRRI describes the Third International Rice Conference, held from 8-12 November in Hanoi, Viet Nam, which discussed climate change and plant disease, and the potential role of agriculture in combating climate change. In “Asia Pushes for Sustainable Food Security,” the authors outline the IRRI task force report on “Never an Empty Bowl: Sustaining Food Security in Asia,” which recommends building resilience to climate change impacts through raising and sustaining the productivity of rice farmers. The publication also includes an article on the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP), which presents a single blueprint for global rice research to contribute to local, national and regional development challenges, including climate change. “Volatile Markets, Cautious Traders” notes that climate change, extreme weather events and new financial risk elements dominated discussions on the global rice market at the Rice Traders’ second World Rice Conference. This and other articles in the issue note that climate change is likely to continue to place pressure on the supply/demand imbalance. IRRI is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [Rice Today]