Gelia T. Castillo
This paper is an attempt to remind us that the maxim “RICE IS LIFE” does not show itself only in irrigated rice paddies but also in topographically, ecologically, and climatically challenged ricegrowing places, where rice probably should not be but it is. This paper describes briefly the “harvests” from the investments of CURE (or the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments) in these less valued rice lands.
CURE has ten member countries, namely: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. It fosters cooperation in research and development between the NARES (or the National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). CURE provides a framework within which researchers, extension workers, policymakers, and farmers can tackle key problems in their respective ecosystems. The Project Goal is to achieve better “food security for poor farmers in the marginal and diverse rainfed environments in monsoon South and Southeast Asia, through more sustainable and resilient ricebased production systems.”