National Symposium for Rice Mega-Project
Quantitative and Qualitative Improvement of Rice Production Productivity
The national symposium of the rice mega-project titled Quantitative and Qualitative Improvement of Rice Production Productivity took part on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2023, at the main hall of the rice research institute of Iran, Rasht. In this real-life meeting, some of the rice researchers of universities and research centers from across the country virtually. The invited and attended members were: Associate Professor Dr. Hosseini, director general of rice research institute of Iran; Dr. Mohammadi, head of the agricultural jahad organization of Gilan Province; DR. Fallah, deputy director general of research affairs of the agricultural research, education and extension organization; the head of the faculty of agriculture of Guilan University, head of the agricultural research and rural development center Islamic Azad University, head of research and education center for agriculture and natural resources of Gilan Province, head of the head of research and education center for agriculture and natural resources of Mazandaran province, deputy of the seed and plant improvement of Iran, head of animal biotechnology research institute, deputy of plant production of the agricultural jahad organization of Gilan Province, manager of agriculture department of the agricultural jahad organization of Gilan Province; the coordination director of the extension affairs of the of the agricultural jahad organization of Gilan Province, the deputies and the heads of 5 research departments of rice research institute of Iran, academic members and researchers of rice research institute of Iran (Guilan and Mazandaran) and research and education center for agriculture and natural resources of Gilan Province; the lecturer of the agricultural faculty of Guilan university; representatives research institutes such as Soil and water research, plant protection, agricultural engineering, seed and plant certification and registration, forest and pasture, animal science and agricultural sector research institute, salinity research center and research and education center for agriculture and natural resources of Golestan, Esfahan, N. Khuzestan, Lorestan, Kohkiloyeh and Boyer Ahmed, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Fars, Semnan, and Ardabil Province.
The purpose of this national symposium was to review the sub- projects the rice mega-project and to plan them for the upcoming crop year of 2023-2024.
Over 100 submitted research projects from institutions and research centers and universities across the country were discussed and reviewed in this scientific event in five different scientific committees: breeding, soil and water, agricultural engineering, plant protection, economics, and animal sciences.
The multidisciplinary rice mega project will open a new window to cover all challenges in the rice sector. The current mega-project of the rice research institute of Iran, the improvement of quality, quantity, and efficiency of rice production, has been prepared to enumerate and solved the faced challenges from the farm to the dining table through scientific-practical solutions. The most important challenges of rice production are the introduction of new rice cultivars tailored to the needs of farmers and the tastes of the consumers based on climate conditions, the forthcoming climate changes, and the organized use of genetic resources. It widely needed assorted effective agronomy packages for sustainable rice production at different rice cultivation systems to reduce production costs and enhance the efficiency of rice production inputs, especially irrigation water consumption by using smartening of rice production technologies. The Rice Research Institute of Iran and the other research institutes and centers of the Agricultural Research, Education, and Extension Organization (AREEO), all related research centers, and universities that can respond to these challenges will carry out these projects. In this project, the latest technologies in cultivars’ releasing and new cultivation systems will be used. The result will answer the most important problems and obstacles to improving the quantity, quality, and efficiency of rice production, and also the rice-related projects must be coordinated and integrated to remove barriers in the way of sustainable production and improve the quality of Iranian rice. To fulfill the above-mentioned purposes, all infrastructures, scientific and research capacities of institutions, centers, and universities of the country will use.
The submitted projects from all institutes, universities and provincial research centers were reviewed and prioritized based on the mega-project objectives. The next meeting will focus on the projects of the knowledge-based companies and the private sector in particular and it will announce soon.