Rice research to production students gain practical experience

University students participate in the 3-week Rice Research to Production short course (http://irri-news.blogspot.com/2015/08/irri-training-center-conducts-course-on.html) of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI; http://irri.org) visit a farmers' village near Banaue, Ifugao, Philippines on 22 August 2015. This video shows them getting some hands-on experience separating panicles in the rice bundles. The course aims to help the participants understand the basics of rice production through practical activities and field visits. In addition, it also aims to introduce them to rice research through hands-on activities related to breeding, molecular genetics, and genomics. Furthermore, the course aims to gather young rice scientists and to develop international research collaborations in the future. There are 26 participants from 11 countries, namely Cambodia, Columbia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Sierra Leone, and the United States. The course is coordinated by Noel P. Magor, head of the Training Center, Hei Leung, principal scientist at the Crop and Environmental Sciences Division, and Jan Leach, professor at Colorado State University. Jason Beebout and Eugenio Castro, Jr. are course co-coordinators. Rice: Research to Production is an annual course that has been offered for the past 9 years. For more information about this course and for other training opportunities, please visit http://www.training.irri.org.