The AIT project proposal on ‘Community Preparedness for climate
change and increased water use efficiency for rice cultivation using
principles of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in
central Thailand’ has been selected for the Asia-Pacific
Forum for Environment and Development (APFED) Showcase 2008 Programme.
The project intends to build capacity of rice farmers, researchers and
extension personnel and other stakeholders to raise the rice production
while reducing its requirement for water but also
mitigating adverse climate change that results from greenhouse gas
emission.
This proposal logically builds upon the three successive proposals
(two completed, Asia Rice Foundation USA award 2005 and Challenge
Programme for Food and Water 2006) and one ongoing (CSO-CGIAR pilot
project 2007) and a Ph.D. thesis research with the involvement of
Professor V. M. Salokhe, Professor S. Rakshit, Dr.
Prabhat Kumar and Dr. Abha Mishra along with farmers in
Thailand and Cambodia. Also involved were FAO colleagues, Cornell
University colleagues, International Water Management Institute and
partners from government and non-government organizations.
Our AIT alumnus Drs. Prabhat Kumar and Abha Mishra,
Senior Research Specialist and Research Specialist based in the
Agricultural Systems Engineering field of study in SERD, are the key
proponents of the project and will be in-charge of its
coordination.
These projects support AIT’s effort in the area of climate change
research and outreach excellence especially in the area of rice
research, development and food security. More importantly it adds to
the overall efforts of AIT to project itself as regional center of
excellence on climate change related subject matters. Moreover, it
reflects that AIT directly works with the communities to prepare them
against the potential negative externalities of the climate change. The
communication from APFED notes that 353 project proposals were received
this year and that the APFED Showcase Panel had a very difficult task
in selecting the best proposals. The details are yet to be formally
announced on its website.