Los Baños, Philippines -- Marrying well is what some ethnic Karen farmers in the northern Thai village of Tee Cha do in an unexpected way. According to a winner of the International Rice Research Notes Best Article Award, families with marriage ties outside of the village grow rice crops that are better because they are more genetically diverse. Kinship, it seems, is an important pathway for seed exchange.

The upcoming issue of Rice Today, the magazine of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), visits all seven award-winning scientific articles in the IRRN competition marking International Year of Rice 2004. Other rice-year reports come from three continents, starting with Latin American rice festas full of beans. See www.irri.org/publications/today/pdfs/3-4/34-39.pdf. (Th pdfs may download slowly, so please be patient.)

The October-December issue showcases a research-and-extension project that has seen thousands of Bangladeshi rice farmers kick the pesticide habit after proving to themselves that doing so saves money and safeguards their health and the environment. See www.irri.org/publications/today/pdfs/3-4/12-17.pdf.

With a changing of the guard in IRRI’s country offices in China and India, the magazine explores how the institute coordinates rice research with its two largest national partners. See www.irri.org/publications/today/pdfs/3-4/18-21.pdf.

As the International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice turns 30, Rice Today examines how it benefits rice growers, especially in the poorest countries, and adapts to an evolving environment regarding intellectual property rights, plant variety protection and plant quarantine. See www.irri.org/publications/today/pdfs/3-4/22-25.pdf.

Rice scientists have long focused on helping Asian farmers reap bountiful and reliable harvests of affordable rice. Rice Today tells how they are now taking up the additional challenge of improving the staple grain’s nutrition and palatability. See www.irri.org/publications/today/pdfs/3-4/26-29.pdf.

The magazine’s News, Rice in the News and People sections cover such developments as the start of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources, an offer from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for official ties with IRRI, and widespread press coverage of IRRI-led research on the effect of global warming on rice yield. See www.irri.org/publications/today/pdfs/3-4/6-11-40.pdf.

The popular Rice Facts column -- read by 80% of readers surveyed -- explains why boosting labor productivity on rice farms raises living standards, even for landless workers. Grain of Truth considers the roles of genebanks, their supporters and their critics in light of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources. Donors Corner looks at how the Rockefeller Foundation targets human suffering and need. And the latest installments in a new series of science shorts explain site-specific nutrient management and IRRI’s Gene Array and Molecular Marker Application lab. As always, these regular features have direct links from the Rice Today home page at www.irri.org/publications/today.

Magazines will be in the mail to subscribers at the beginning of October. To subscribe, contact Al Benavente ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) in circulation and copy your request to publisher Duncan Macintosh ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

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The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the world’s leading rice research and training center. Based in the Philippines and with offices in 10 other Asian countries, it is an autonomous, nonprofit institution focused on improving the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes, while preserving natural resources. IRRI is one of 15 centers funded through the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an association of public and private donor agencies. Please visit the Web sites of the CGIAR (www.cgiar.org) or Future Harvest Foundation (www.futureharvest.org), a nonprofit organization that builds awareness and supports food and environmental research.

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For information, contact Duncan Macintosh, IRRI, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines; tel +63-2-580-5600; fax: +63-2-580-5699; email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Web sites: IRRI Home (www.irri.org), IRRI Library (http://ricelib.irri.cgiar.org), Rice Knowledge Bank (www.knowledgebank.irri.org), Rice facts (www.riceweb.com), Riceworld Museum and Learning Center (www.riceworld.org)