The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the world’s premier research organization dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger through rice science; improving the health and welfare of rice farmers and consumers; and protecting the rice-growing environment for future generations. IRRI is an independent, nonprofit, research and educational institute, founded in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller foundations with support from the Philippine government. The institute, headquartered in Los Baños, Philippines, has offices in 17 rice-growing countries in Asia and Africa, and more than 1,000 staff.
Working with in-country partners, IRRI develops advanced rice varieties that yield more grain and better withstand pests and disease as well as flooding, drought, and other harmful effects of climate change. More than half of the rice area in Asia is planted to IRRI-bred varieties or their progenies. The institute develops new and improved methods and technologies that enable farmers to manage their farms profitably and sustainably, and recommends rice varieties and agricultural practices suitable to particular farm conditions as well as consumer preferences. IRRI assists national agricultural research and extension systems in formulating and implementing country rice sector strategies.
Alumni of IRRI's educational initiatives include some of the world's leading rice scientists as well as high-level NARES and agriculture ministry officials. From 1962 to 2014, about 130,000 students, researchers, farmers, and extension professionals, among others, received some form of training from IRRI and its partners. Within this total number, close to 2,000 scholars conducted research at the institute while pursuing their MS and PhD degrees. As free educational resources, IRRI’s scientific publications, available online since 2007, have received a total of about 3 million views, with more than 30.4 million page views.
IRRI is a member of the CGIAR consortium, committed to a food-secure future.
Working with in-country partners, IRRI develops advanced rice varieties that yield more grain and better withstand pests and disease as well as flooding, drought, and other harmful effects of climate change. More than half of the rice area in Asia is planted to IRRI-bred varieties or their progenies. The institute develops new and improved methods and technologies that enable farmers to manage their farms profitably and sustainably, and recommends rice varieties and agricultural practices suitable to particular farm conditions as well as consumer preferences. IRRI assists national agricultural research and extension systems in formulating and implementing country rice sector strategies.
Alumni of IRRI's educational initiatives include some of the world's leading rice scientists as well as high-level NARES and agriculture ministry officials. From 1962 to 2014, about 130,000 students, researchers, farmers, and extension professionals, among others, received some form of training from IRRI and its partners. Within this total number, close to 2,000 scholars conducted research at the institute while pursuing their MS and PhD degrees. As free educational resources, IRRI’s scientific publications, available online since 2007, have received a total of about 3 million views, with more than 30.4 million page views.
IRRI is a member of the CGIAR consortium, committed to a food-secure future.
Location: Philippines, Laguna, Los Baños
Employees: 1001-5000
Phone: +63 285805600
Founded date: 1960
Mentions in press and media 12
| Date | Title | Description |
| 23.01.2025 | Drones in the Fields: A New Era for Philippine Agriculture | In the lush landscapes of the Philippines, a revolution is brewing. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and XAG, a leader in smart agriculture technology, are joining forces to transform rice farming. This partnership aims to h... |
| 21.01.2025 | IRRI and smart agriculture technology leader XAG collaborate to promote digital agriculture and precision farming in the Philippines | LOS BAÑOS, Philippines, Jan. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and smart agriculture technology leader XAG are set to accelerate agricultural automation and innovation in the Philippines through digit... |
| 20.01.2025 | IRRI and smart agriculture technology leader XAG collaborate to promote digital agriculture and precision farming in the Philippines | LOS BAÑOS, Philippines, Jan. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and smart agriculture technology leader XAG are set to accelerate agricultural automation and innovation in the Philippines through digit... |
| 05.01.2024 | Op Ed: Bernhard van Lengerich, CEO of Seeding The Future Foundation, on Transforming Food Systems for the Climate Fight | Prof. Dr. Bernhard van Lengerich is the founder and CEO of Seeding The Future, a private foundation focusing on equitable and sustainable food systems enabling a safe and nutritious food supply within planetary boundaries, and the former Ch... |
| 05.09.2023 | This Temasek-backed agritech firm sows sustainability into rice farming | Premium Content It takes our newsroom weeks - if not months - to investigate and produce stories for our premium content. You can’t find them anywhere else. Deepti Sri · 5 Sep 2023 · 6 min readThis Temasek-backed agritech firm sows sustaina... |
| 02.02.2023 | Singapore-headquartered agri-genomics firm Singrow launches world's first climate-resilient strawberry variety | The cutting-edge genomics technology behind this strawberry variety presents an opportunity to transform the US$ 12 trillion agriculture[1] industry SINGAPORE, Feb. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Singrow, a Singapore-based agri-genomics firm that ... |
| 15.11.2022 | COP27: US Secretary of Ag Vilsack calls out carbon science, agtech VC investment as lacking | Agriculture, one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, also has the potential to store carbon in its soils — through carbon sequestration — and is increasingly being seen as a solution to climate change, or at least a way to minimize... |
| 11.02.2021 | OPINION: Bill & Melinda Gates can create the world’s biggest agrifoodtech testbed – but they need to win over farmers first | Last month, US land investment magazine The Land Report published research indicating that Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda own the largest stock of farmland in the US. About 242,000 acres of it in fact, and part of a broad... |
| 11.02.2021 | Gates can create world’s biggest agrifoodtech testbed, but needs to win over farmers first | Last month, US land investment magazine The Land Report published research indicating that Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda own the largest stock of private farmland in the US. About 242,000 acres of it in fact, and part of... |
| 14.01.2021 | BRIEF: Bill & Melinda Gates revealed as largest private farmland owners in US | Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife have amassed the largest portfolio of private farmland in the US, according to The Land Report. The Gates’ own an estimated 242,000 acres of farmland as part of a broader 269,000-acre land portfolio... |
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