Mr Tim Farrell attended the international conference on, The Impact of Agricultural Research for Development in Southeast Asia, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, October 24-26, 2000. Mr Farrell then participated in an ACIAR workshop on, Productivity of Lowland Rice in Southeast Asia -Overcoming Environmental Constraints, in Vientiane, Laos, from October 30th to November 1st. During this visit, Mr Farrell made contact with a number of rice scientists working in similar areas of research.
Mr Farrell participated in all sessions of the conference and workshop. The majority of papers presented at the conference and workshop were based on rice research, and some were very relevant to the research conducted by Mr. Farrell.
Mr Farrell presented an oral paper at the ACIAR workshop. The title of the paper was "Low temperature constraints to rice production in Australia and Laos: a shared problem". His paper was well received and generated interesting discussion. Mr Farrell also contributed to the discussion throughout the conference and workshop, particularly to the workshop summary on "Low temperature lessons for Laos". Mr Farrell reviewed four papers that will be included in the workshop proceedings.
One of the highlights of the trip was the discussion with fellow rice scientists from around the world in three distinct research areas including cold tolerance, drought tolerance and soil fertility management.
Screening for cold tolerance has produced varieties in countries with cool climates such as Korea and Japan and linkages were made with these scientists. It is planned that continued interaction between cold tolerance groups and Yanco will be possible over the next few years. This interaction has already begun, with the use of Australian varieties in cold research work in Furukawa, Japan, and the introduction of elite Japanese lines into Australia's rice breeding programs. This ACIAR project has meant that Northern Laos will begin to focus on shortening the duration of varieties and improving their level of cold tolerance. The shared experience between Australia, Japan, IRRI and Korea provides an important base for this improvement. Mr Farrell has already sent 20 varieties to Lao scientists, which have performed well in Australia's cold tolerance program. Lao varieties are soon to be sent to Mr Farrell for inclusion in field trials in the 2001/02 season. Introducing new genetic resources is crucial, and such cooperation is vital to all countries' future progress.
1.4. Acknowledgments
This trip would not have been possible without financial support from the CRC for Sustainable Rice Production and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).The Overseas Projects section of NSW Agriculture was also of great assistance with the preparation of this trip. The support of those who willingly took on additional duties to allow me to spend some time away from Yanco is also gratefully acknowledged.
