Tuesday, September 1, 2015 - Syngenta and IRRI held a training workshop in developing strategies for rice crop health management and reducing production constraints. The activity was part of the Crop Health Management Project under Phase II of the Syngenta-IRRI Scientific Know-how and Exchange Program (SKEP).
Researchers from Syngenta and IRRI who attended the workshop on SKEP Crop Health and Training on Statistical Data Analysisdiscussed research progress and plans and conducted exercises in pest injury identification and assessment, farmer interviews, and field visits. It also included a course designed to provide the 21 participants with a working knowledge on the management, presentation, and statistical analysis of experimental data using Statistical Tool for Agricultural Research (STAR), a freeware developed by IRRI.
Since the inception of Phase II, Syngenta and IRRI meet twice a year to review the results and discuss issues and action plans on the implementation of research activities in the different sites. Syngenta researchers conduct surveys of farmers’ fields and on-farm trials in irrigated lowland rice fields of Tamil Nadu and Odisha, India; West Java, Indonesia; Suphanburi, Thailand; Red River Delta, Vietnam. IRRI researchers conduct the surveys in Laguna, Philippines. The meetings also provide opportunities for capacity building as participants are provided the knowledge and skills needed to effectively achieve project goals.
The training workshop, hosted by Syngenta–India, was held on 17 to 21 August in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India.