I am thrilled that Dr Russell Reinke from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in South Korea has agreed to write a guest blog.
I first met Russell in 2005 when he was the principal rice breeder for NSW DPI at Yanco outside Leeton. In fact, all but one of the rice varieties currently grown commercially in Australia have come from the Rice Improvement Program at Yanco. The team's focus was on breeding for productivity, grain quality in response to market needs (export in particular) and developing varieties with higher water use efficiency.
I was interested then, when Russell moved to IRRI to hear how Korea’s research priorities may differ from Australia’s and what it was like being the sole Aussie in the team.
Russell has a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from The University of Queensland, a Master of Agricultural Science from The University of Melbourne, and a PhD in Plant Sciences from the Australian National University.
Enjoy Russell's story...
Dr Russell Reinke
After almost 30 years working in regional NSW I find myself embedded in the Korean equivalent of an Australian government agriculture department.
A pathway to clear communication is one of the key challenges I am facing in my current role, and that’s because I find myself the only native English speaker in my new work place (hence the title of my blog entry). And for someone who loves the English language, the nuances of meaning and description which can be teased fromclever and imaginative use of words, it’s been (and continues to be) a huge challenge. I can communicate well with my immediate colleagues in English, and with many in my workplace – although it helps to have someone bi-lingual close by, to ensure that the real message gets through in both directions. I have embarked on learning the language, and it’s stretching my limited brain in ways I didn’t think possible. It’s going to take some time to reach any level of competence, but I look forward to that day with great anticipation.
And given that I can’t easily ask for an explanation of all that I see around me I place significant stock in the actions and activity that I see around me. There is the old adage that “actions speak louder than words” and it can be quite revealing to compare the written aims and objectives of an organization with its actions on the ground, to see what it really does on a daily basis.
As an aside, I think communication is one of my key drivers. As I write those words I am reminded of all the times I have failed to live up to that phrase, and I suspect that’s true of most of us at some stage. Nonetheless, clear unambiguous communication is a precious commodity at all levels, on the domestic front, certainly at work, and it’s especially refreshing when it happens at a high level (think of a government department or politician speaking plain, meaningful language). I am hard-pressed to think of an example, but plain language insurance policy documents are a breath of fresh air, bringing clarity to otherwise impenetrable “fine print”.
A few things have stood out more than most during my transition. The first is the impressive level of resources directed at agricultural research, and in my case specifically rice research. For this country of around 50 million there are three distinct rice breeding programs each with associated physiology and grain quality research programs, and from my initial appraisal these are well-resourced with labour, infrastructure and I surmise, funding. I have noticed similar support for agriculture in my travels throughout China as well, and in Japan. These are countries that can afford to invest in agricultural research, and they do. There are many countries less affluent who would direct more to such research if they had the means. Of course the default position is to argue for more support for your own specific discipline, so I’ll stop short of doing that. I’ll avoid polemic and instead assert that there is an appropriate level of resources to be directed at securing food supplies – raising productivity, staying ahead of evolving diseases and climate stresses, meeting market needs - and my travels thus far have shown wide disparity between countries.
South Korea is a study in rapid development. It seems astounding that this highly developed country was war-torn and devastated just 60 years ago. I have travelled a little in my time here and there are building cranes constantly in motion, forests of high-rise apartments emerging at a steady rate, expanding expressways and traffic which often reaches saturation point. And now in mid-summer it seems every level space not occupied by buildings has a crop of some type growing on it. Vacant building sites are sprouting vegetable gardens, and while out walking close to my apartment I noted with interest a small rice crop (less than a quarter of a hectare) surrounded first by vegetable gardens and then by high-rise apartments and houses. Clearly there is great interest in the general population in producing food and retaining a link to production no matter how small the scale and despite the fact that supermarkets are well-stocked with every imaginable item. I think there is a collective memory of what it’s like to be short of food, even though the younger generations of South Koreans have only known good conditions and a rising standard of living. A common greeting is to enquire if you have eaten recently.
During the early seventies South Korea set out to attain complete self-sufficiency in rice production, and by the end of the decade they had done it, moving from around 80% to more than 100% self-sufficiency in 1977. They invested widely and wisely to achieve this aim, directing efforts at varieties, associated research and extension, and changed policy strategies.
Having secured their food supply, the ongoing development and rising living standards has resulted in a predictable change in dietary habits to more processed foods and a decline in per capita rice consumption. These days self-sufficiency in rice production is achieved with relative ease with around 6m tonnes of production.
You would think that this would result in a re-deployment of resources away from rice and onto other crops – a kind “problem solved, let’s move on” approach. But that’s not what I am seeing around me. I see an ongoing commitment to maintaining research capacity, to stay ahead of the curve and keep the improvements coming, even if the emphasis has shifted from somewhat from raising productivity to sustaining it in the face of disease and climate threats, and exploring grain quality diversification.
Many have argued that the long period of abundance has made the developed world complacent about food supply and diminished the resources directed at agricultural research. Once a crisis arises there is a considerable lag phase before we can deal with it, and it’s even longer if we have to restore research capacity first.
Pardon the pun, but it really is food for thought…
