IRRI's Upland Rice Research : Follow-up Review to the 6th IRRI External Program Management Review

This external assessment of IRRI’s Upland rice research was carried out by Franz Heidhues and Benjavan Rerkasem on request of the Science Council according to Terms of Reference attached as Annex I. The request stemmed from disagreement among CGIAR donors on how much IRRI’s research investments in marginal areas yield in terms of productivity increase, sustainable impacts on livelihood improvement, poverty reduction, food security and environmental sustainability. The report stresses that rice based systems in the uplands wil remain relevant for the foreseeable future and that IRRI has an important role to play in uplands rice research. The report recommends that IRRI's resource allocation to uplands rice research should be maintained at a level that allows it to fulfuill this mandate.