Director General of IRRI

Director General of IRRI

Dr. Robert S. Zeigler.

IRRI office in Philippines

Dr. Robert "Bob" Zeigler is an internationally respected plant pathologist with more than 30 years of experience in agricultural research in the developing world. He is the director general of IRRI.

Current activities

As director general, Bob is the chief executive officer (CEO) of IRRI, who directly manages and administers its affairs in accordance with the policies and decisions of the board of trustees. As CEO and in close consultation with the IRRI Board of Trustees he sets the Institute’s strategic direction. He is also a passionate spokesperson on a wide range of issues that affect rice growers and consumers worldwide.

His professional life spanned Africa, Latin America, US, and Asia.  He has had a productive research career on diseases of rice that focused on host-plant resistance, pathogen and vector population genetics, and their interactions to develop durable resistance and sustainable disease management practices.

As Bob's career moved increasingly towards research management his interests expanded to include broader crop management issues, the social forces shaping the agricultural environment, and finally the economic and political arena that frames food security and poverty issues. He has published over 100 scientific works in these areas and often serves as an expert resource on rice security in the regional and global media.

Bob is also the founding chairman of the board of the IRRI Fund Singapore, an incorporated nonprofit charitable organization established to raise the profile of international rice research and generate funding for it. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of International Agricultural Research Centers that manages a wide range of employee benefits for internationally recruited staff for the 15 CGIAR centers and several affiliated centers. He also serves on the Golden Rice Humanitarian Board.

Dr. Robert "Bob" Zeigler

Director General Bob Zeigler visited Yunnan, China.

Background

Bob previously worked at IRRI from 1992 to 1998 as a plant pathologist. During this period, he led the Rainfed Lowland Rice Research Program and then later the Irrigated Rice Research Program. After completing undergraduate work in 1972, he joined the Peace Corps and spent 2 years as a science teacher in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. He later joined the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Colombia as a visiting research associate to work on cassava diseases.

Starting in 1982, he spent 3 years in Burundi to work as a technical adviser for that African nation's maize program at the Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi. He then returned to CIAT, eventually becoming head of the Rice Program.

He became professor and head of the Department of Plant Pathology and director of the Plant Biotechnology Center at Kansas State University in the United States in 1999. Before returning to IRRI, he was the founding director of the Generation Challenge Program (GCP) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) based in Mexico. The GCP supports research at many institutions around the world directed towards understanding and applying genetic diversity to crop improvement.

He has completed corporate governance programs from Harvard Business School and Kellogg School of Management. Dr. Zeigler is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Phytopathological Society and is a member of the honor societies Sigma Xi (The Scientific Research Society) and Gamma Sigma Delta (agriculture).

He is the chairman of the board of directors of the Association of International Agricultural Research Centers (AIARC). The AIARC, incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia, manages salary payments, retirement and medical benefits and insurance for the more than 1,200 internationally recruited staff of the 15 CGIAR centers, and their retirees.

He has authored and co-authored well over 100 refereed international journal articles, reports, and scientific papers and has delivered numerous invited lectures worldwide. He is married and has three grown children.

Education

-Doctor of Philosophy (1982), Cornell University and CIAT. Major field: Plant Pathology. Minor field: Plant Breeding.

-Master of Science (1978), Oregon State University. Major field: Forest Ecology. Minor field: Soils/Statistics.

-Bachelor of Science (High Honors) (1972), University of Illinois. Major field: Biological Sciences. Minor field: Chemistry and Mathematics.

Work history

-Secondary School Science Teacher, College Musim, Mokala, Zaire. (Peace Corps) (1972-1974).

-Technician, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle (1974-1975).

-Oregon State University. Graduate Research/Teaching Assistant, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology (1975-1977).

-Cornell University. Graduate Research Assistant/Teaching Assistant, Department of Plant Pathology (1978-1980).

-Visiting Research Associate, CIAT Cassava Program (1980-1981).

-Technical adviser, Burundi Maize Program, Institut des Sciences Agronomique du Burundi. Employed by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada (1982-1985).

-Senior Staff Plant Pathologist, CIAT Rice Program (1985-1992).

-Leader, Rice Program, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), Cali, Colombia (1986-1992).

-Leader, Rainfed Lowland Rice Research Program and Plant Pathologist, IRRI (1992-1996).

-Leader, Irrigated Rice Research Program and Plant Pathologist, IRRI (1992-1998).

-Professor and Head, Department of Plant Pathology and Director, Plant Biotechnology Center, Kansas State University (1999-2004).

-Director, Generation Challenge Program (2004-March 2005).

-Director General, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) (2005-current).

Awards and associations

-Sigma Chi (1982).

-Outstanding Research Publication Award from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (1994).

-Outstanding Research Publication Award from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (1996).

-Gamma Sigma Delta (Honor Society of Agriculture-elected 2000).

-International Service Award, the American Phytopathological Society (2001).

-Who’s Who in Agricultural Higher Education (2003).

-“For the Cause of Agricultural Development in Vietnam”, medal of recognition (2007).

-Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from Sardar Vallavh Bhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Modupuram, Uttar Pradesh, India (2007).

-Time Magazine Global Innovator Award (2007).

-Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

-Leader Alumni Award from the Oregon State University College of Agriculture (2008).

-Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society (2009).

-E.C. Stackman Award from the University of Minnesota (2009).

-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Partnership Award for Innovative Program Models (2010).

-Medal “for the cause of science and technology development in Vietnam” (2010).

-Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (GBPUA&T) in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand (2011).

-International  Plant Protection Award of Distinction  from the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences (IAPPS) (2011).

-Leadership in Science Public Service Award from the American Society of Plant Biologists (2013).

IRRI Director General and Vietnam President.

IRRI Director General and PM Nguyen Tan Dung (Vietnam).

Selected recent publications

1-Zeigler, R. S. Bringing hope, improving lives. In: Science, technology and trade for peace and prosperity [electronic resource]: proceedings of the 26th International Rice Research Conference, 9-12 October 2006, New Delhi, India, ed. by P. K Aggarwal, et al., p. 15-22. New Delhi: National Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Los Baños, Laguna : IRRI, 2007.

2-Zeigler, R. S. Title Rice and the millennium development goals: the International Rice Research Institute's strategic plan 2007-2015. Source Paddy Water Environ. 5(2): 67-71. June 2007.

3-Zeigler RS, Why rice is still important in Asia and what IRRI is doing about it. In: Does rice have a future in Asia? p. 3-11, ill. [S.l.: S.n.], 2007.

4-Nutrient-pest interactions under irrigated lowland rice production systems with farmer's fertilizer practice and site-specific nutrient management in South & Southeast Asia, Cruz PCS, Dobermann A, Du F, Simbahan GC, Hill JE, Zeigler RS, Dela Pena FA, Samiayyan K, Suparyon, Tuat NV, Zhong Z. Philippine Journal of Crop Science, Volume: 32 Issue: 1 Pages: 13-28 Published: APR 2007.

5-Zeigler, R. S., Sustainability of rice production systems: water, soil, and ecosystem services. In: Rice, water, and forests, ed. by S. J. Banta, p. 83-115, ill. Ref. Los Banos, Laguna: Asia Rice Foundation, 2008.

6-Zeigler, R. S. , The relevance of rice. Rice 1(1): 3-10, ill. Ref. Sept. 2008.

7-Plant Diseases and the World’s Dependence on Rice, R. S. Zeigler and S. Savary in The Role of Plant Pathology in Food Safety and Food Security, Plant Pathology in the 21st Century, 2010, Volume 3, Part 1, 3-9.

Find more publications:

Google Scholar (Scholarly articles by “RS Zeigler”)

ISI Web of Knowledge (Peer-reviewed journals attributed to “Zeigler RS”)

IRRI’s rice bibliography (Rice related publications for “Zeigler, RS”).

See also:

Bob Zeigler

Bob's blog

Latest from Bob's blog

Plant phracking pops peak phosphorus?

Written on Wednesday, 05 December 2012 13:04

Whose line is it, anyway?

Written on Wednesday, 31 October 2012 08:19

Source: Dr. Robert Zeigler from IRRI Website

http://irri.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=8578&lang=en

IRRI: The International Rice Research Institute

IRRI: The International Rice Research Institute

The IRRI office in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an international NGO (non-governmental organization). Its headquarters are in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines, and it has offices in sixteen countries. The main goal of IRRI is to find sustainable ways to improve the well-being of poor rice farmers and consumers, as well as the environment. The institute is one of 15 agricultural research centers around the world that form the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).It is Asia's largest non-profit agricultural research center. IRRI is a member of the CGIAR Consortium.

IRRI was established in 1960 with the support of the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation   and   the Government of the Philippines.

IRRI's headquarters in the Philippines is located on a 252 hectare experimental farm with modern laboratories and glasshouses and a training center. It also houses the International Rice Genebank and Riceworld museum.

IRRI is well known for its contribution to the "Green Revolution" movement in Asia during the late 1960s and 70s, which involved the breeding of "semidwarf" varieties of rice that were less likely to lodge (fall over). The varieties developed at IRRI, known as IR varieties, are well accepted in many Asian countries.

The mission of IRRI was aimed to reduce poverty and hunger, improve the health of rice farmers and consumers, and ensure environmental sustainability through collaborative research, partnerships, and the strengthening of national agricultural research and extension systems.

The goals of IRRI are:

-Reduce poverty through improved and diversified rice-based systems.

-Ensure that rice production is sustainable and stable, has minimal negative environmental impact, and can cope with climate change.

-Improve the nutrition and health of poor rice consumers and rice farmers.

-Provide equitable access to information and knowledge on rice and help develop the next generation of rice scientists.

-Provide rice scientists and producers with the genetic information and material they need to develop improved technologies and enhance rice production.

IRRI's goals contribute to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and ensure environmental sustainability. They are also aligned with the objectives of the Global Rice Science Partnership that help deliver internationally coordinated research effectively and efficiently with IRRI’s partners.

IRRI develops new rice varieties and rice crop management techniques that help rice farmers improve the yield and quality of their rice in an environmentally sustainable way. IRRI work with its public and private sector partners in national agricultural research and extension systems in major rice-growing countries to do research, training, and knowledge transfer. IRRI’s social and economic research also informs governments to help them formulate policy to improve the equitable supply of rice.

IRRI's current scope of research covers:

-Conserving, understanding, sharing, and using rice genetic diversity.

-Breeding and delivering new varieties of rice.

-Developing and sharing improved crop and environment management practices.

-Adding value to the economic and nutritional value of rice.

-Broadening its impact by supporting strategic policy and market development.

-Facilitating large-scale adoption of rice technologies.

The Green Revolution in Asia, which began in the 1960s with the introduction of modern, high-yielding rice varieties led to a rapid rise in both rice yields and overall production.

It is supported by donors and partners around the globe and known as the home of the Green Revolution in Asia. IRRI helps to feed almost half the world’s population. Its mission is to reduce poverty and hunger, improve the health of rice farmers and consumers, and ensure that rice production is environmentally sustainable.

IRRI, the largest and oldest international agricultural research institute in Asia, marks its 50th anniversary in 2010. In half a century of service for a cause, IRRI’s high-yielding rice varieties have helped significantly increase world rice production, especially in Asia, saving millions from famine while protecting the environment and training thousands of researchers.

In 2005, it was estimated that 60% of the world's rice area was planted to IRRI-bred rice varieties or their progenies.

A report published by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research in 2011 assessed the impact of IRRI's breeding work in three countries in South East Asia between 1985 and 2009. It found IRRI's breeding work delivered an annual benefit of US$1.46 billion per year and boosted rice yields up to 13%.

In 2010, the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP) was launched, which IRRI leads in Asia, the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) leads in Africa, and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) leads in Latin America. It aims to "dramatically improve the ability of rice farmers to feed growing populations in some of the world’s poorest nations".

Rice is a staple food in most of Asia. The world’s biggest continent has a per capita rice consumption of 85 kilograms and also accounts for about 90 percent of the over 600 million tons of paddy rice produced worldwide. Other parts of Africa and south Americas are also heavy rice consumers and major rice producers.

Rice remains a most important and staple food for most people in the world and the crop with the longest history of cultivation. More than 3 billion of our poorest people depend on it for their daily food requirement, but for Asia, rice means even more. Rice is cultivated in 113 countries. Rice is a great source of national pride. Most important of all, rice is the one thing that ties Asia together. However, climate change, which is now causing erratic weather patterns, also threatens rice production, and is a matter of serious concern.

IRRI is doing a whole host of research that is helping the world to increase rice production. Global farmers eagerly adopt new technologies and varieties that have resulted in a steady increase in rice yields over the last 50 years since IRRI was established.

Research that IRRI is involved in that is helping farmers increase their rice yields includes: developing new high-yielding rice varieties with built-in resistance to pests, diseases, and other stresses such as heat hit; developing rice crop management strategies that improve nutrient-use efficiency to get the most value out of inputs and reduce wastage; developing climate change mitigation plus adaptation strategies and technologies; training the next generation of rice scientists and building the capacity of rice practitioners to ensure the sustainable development of the rice industry.

Fifty years ago, a turning point in agricultural research that helped launch a revolution in food production occurred - the formation of the IRRI. “Rice science has helped to more than double rice yields in the last fifty years.” The vision of IRRI’s founders to invest in rice research to improve food security is the sort of long-term thinking we need now as we look to find solutions to address the challenges, including climate change, which threaten rice production. Partnership was at the heart of the original agreement to form IRRI and IRRI has forged many important private and public sector partnerships across the world to support efforts to reduce poverty and make sure rice production is sustainable.

Among its achievements, IRRI has identified “Sub 1” gene that can survive more than two weeks under water, and can now be planted by farmers to improve rice yields on flood-prone land throughout the world. New, higher-yielding rice plant along with package of practices could ease threat of hunger for the poor.

More information about IRRI:

International Rice Research Institute
Abbreviation	IRRI
Motto	"Rice Science For A Better World"
Formation	1960
Type	Non-profit research and training center
Purpose/focus	Research
Headquarters	Los Baños, Laguna
Location	Philippines
Region served	Worldwide
Director General	Dr. Robert S. Zeigler
Main organ	Board of Trustees
Parent organization	Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
Budget	US$57 million (2010)
Staff	1,300
Website	www.irri.org

                                                 Edited and posted by Hồ Đình Hải
References

1-IRRI website: Our science

2-http://www.panap.net/irriclosure/

3-http://dna.kps.ku.ac.th/en/index.php/the-news/-irri-and-rice-research-50-years.html

4-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rice_Research_Institute

5-ACIAR report: International Rice Research Institute’s contribution to rice varietal yield improvement in South-East Asia

The world use land

The world use land

The world land

The surface of the earth is approximately 510.072 million sq km. In which the land area is approximately 148.94 million sq km (29.1%) and the water area is approximately 361.132 million sq km (70.9%).

The world area

-Total: 510.072 million sq km (100 %).

-Land: 148.94 million sq km (29.1%).

-Water: 361.132 million sq km (70.9%).

The water area

-Total: 361.132 million sq km (70.9%).

-Pacific Ocean 155.557 million sq km;

-Atlantic Ocean 76.762 million sq km;

-Indian Ocean 68.556 million sq km;

-Southern Ocean 20.327 million sq km;

-Arctic Ocean 14.056 million sq km;…

The land area

-Total: 148.94 million sq km (29.1%).

-Total (not contain water area in land): 148.647 million sq km (100%).

-Asia: 44.579 million sq km (30%).

-Africa: 30.065 million sq km (20.2%).

-North America: 24.474 million sq km (16.5%).

-South America: 17.819 million sq km (12%).

-Antarctica: 13.209 million sq km (8.9%).

-Europe: 9.938 million sq km (6.7%).

-Australia and Oceania: 8.112 million sq km (5.3%).

The world use land

Arable land

In geography and agriculture, arable land (from Latin arō “I plough, I farm”) is land  that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted only once), temporary meadows for mowing or market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow (less than five years). Abandoned land resulting from shifting cultivation is not included in this category.

Data for arable land are not meant to indicate the amount of land that is potentially cultivable. As such, it has to be distinguished from agricultural land, which, according to Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) definition, additionally includes land under permanent crops as well as permanent pastures. In 2008, the world's total arable land amounted to 13,805,153 km², whereas 48,836,976 km² was classified as "agricultural land." 

Although constrained by land mass and topology, the amount of arable land, both regionally and globally, fluctuates due to human and climatic factors such as irrigation, deforestation, desertification, terracing, landfill, and urban sprawl. Researchers study the impact of these changes on food production.

The most productive portion of arable land is that from sediments left by rivers and the sea in geological times. In modern times, rivers do not generally flood as often in areas employing flood control.

Agriculture land

Agricultural land refers to the share of land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under permanent pastures. Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded. Land under permanent crops is land cultivated with crops that occupy the land for long periods and need not be replanted after each harvest, such as cocoa, coffee, and rubber. This category includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, but excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber. Permanent pasture is land used for five or more years for forage, including natural and cultivated crops.

The following table shows the land use in the world:

The features	Year	Quantity	Unit
Total area	2011	136 096 598	km2
Density of population	2011	50.9	persons per km2
Total area per 1000 population	2011	19.6	km2 per 1000 population
Land area	2011	130 121 447	km2
Land area per 1000 population	2011	18.8	km2 per 1000 population
Land area (%)	2011	95.6	% of total area
Water surface	2011	5 975 151	km2
Water surface per 1000 population	2011	0.9	km2 per 1000 population
Water surface (%)	2011	4.4	% of total area
Agricultural land	2007	49 322 388	km2
Agricultural land per 1000 population	2007	7.1	km2 per 1000 population
Agricultural land (%)	2007	36.2	% of total area
Agricultural land (%)	2007	37.9	% of land area
Arable land	2007	14 121 800	km2
Arable land per 1000 population	2007	2.0	km2 per 1000 population
Arable land (%)	2007	10.4	% of total area
Arable land (%)	2007	10.9	% of land area
Arable land (%)	2007	28.6	% of agricultural area
Permanent crops	2007	1 426 704	km2
Permanent crops per 1000 population	2007	0.2	km2 per 1000 population
Permanent crops (%)	2007	1.0	% of total area
Permanent crops (%)	2007	1.1	% of land area
Permanent crops (%)	2007	2.9	% of agricultural area
Permanent meadows and pastures	2007	33 773 884	km2
Permanent meadows and pastures per 1000 population	2007	4.9	km2 per 1000 population
Permanent meadows and pastures (%)	2007	24.8	% of total area
Permanent meadows and pastures (%)	2007	26.0	% of land area
Permanent meadows and pastures (%)	2007	68.5	% of agricultural area
Forest area	2007	39 394 070	km2
Forest area per 1000 population	2007	5.7	km2 per 1000 population
Forest area (%)	2007	28.9	% of total area
Forest area (%)	2007	30.3	% of land area
Other land	2007	41 404 989	km2
Other land per 1000 population	2007	6.0	km2 per 1000 population
Other land (%)	2007	30.4	% of total area
Other land (%)	2007	31.8	% of land area

The fact of the world productive land

The world's productive land is a constantly changing resource. Climatic variations, natural disasters, and human intervention are ceaselessly at work changing the boundaries of productive land - arable land, pasture land, and forest.

Arable land covers 3% of the world's surface. Despite the fact that this land is continually being lost to urbanization, the total area under cultivation is rising because of deforestation. Demand for agricultural land continues to increase in line with population growth, resulting in the clearing of marginal land, such as hillsides. The exploitation of marginal land is partly responsible for the erosion of the fertile soil layer, increased drought, the loss of essential soil nutrients, and salt contamination -all reasons for abandoning the land.

Land used for pasture occupies twice the area of land now under the plow. Although livestock raising produces less protein per hectare than grain, especially in developing countries, it enables farmers to take advantage of marginal land that is less suitable for growing grain.

The loss of productive land can be attributed largely to the destruction of forests. The cultivation of land once forested, however, has not stopped the steady decrease in arable land or pasture land.

Finally, the land that produces our food, provides us with firewood and construction lumber, purifies the atmosphere, maintains precipitation levels, and slows down erosion is continually decreasing. It is estimated that one hectare of productive land is lost every 7.67 seconds.

References

1-http://irri.org/our-science/targeting-and-policy/world-rice-statistics

2-http://www.tranquileye.com/clock/

3-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arable_land

4-http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.AGRI.ZS

5-https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html

6-http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001763.html

7-http://en.worldstat.info/World/Land