Hybrid rice emerged just 25 years ago and is relatively young compared to hybrid maize. The breakthrough in hybrid rice technology has increased farmers' yields by 15 to 20 percent over the best commercial rice varieties and has significantly raised the yield ceiling of this commodity. For more than two decades, China has successfully deployed the technology on a large scale. In 1998, Chinese farmers grew 15 million ha of hybrid rice - or nearly 50 percent of the country's total rice area.
Since the 1980s, in compliance with the International Rice Commission's recommendations, FAO has been fully committed to promoting large-scale adoption of hybrid rice in the world. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and many national agricultural research centres, recognizing the potential of hybrid rice technology and following China's example, have been actively conducting research and training programmes, and countries such as India, the Philippines and Viet Nam have been disseminating this technology to farmers.
However, farmers' rapid adoption of hybrid rice outside China has been affected by various constraints. Exchange of experience among hybrid rice growing countries - vital for the improvement of hybrid rice production - is still limited. Many policy-makers are not aware of the benefits of this technology in terms of food security, improved production efficiency, land saved for diversification, rural employment opportunities and preservation of the environment.
FAO therefore convened the Workshop on Policy Support for Rapid Adoption of Hybrid Rice on Large-Scale Production in Asia, held in Hanoi from 22 to 23 May 2001, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and IRRI as part of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded Project "Development and Use of Hybrid Rice in Asia". Participants from Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam and from APSA (Asia and Pacific Seed Association), FAO and IRRI attended the Workshop. The majority of the participants were senior policy-makers and rice scientists from the project's member countries, including the Minister of Agriculture of Bangladesh, the Vice-Minister of MARD, the Agricultural Commissioner of the Indian Government, and the Assistant Secretary of the Philippine Department of Agriculture.
The Crop and Grassland Service of FAO hopes that the findings compiled in these Proceedings will shed light on the encouraging results achieved and the experiences of those countries which have adopted hybrid rice technology for food security. Gratitude is expressed to MARD, IRRI and ADB for making this Workshop possible and for their contributions to this publication.
Eric A. Kueneman
Chief, Crop and Grassland Service
Plant Production and Protection Division, FAO
