M a r t i n G u m m e r t , S e n i o r S c i e n t i s tL e a d e r M e c h a n i z a t i o n a n d P o s t h a r v e s t C l u s t e r

I n t e r n a t i o n a l R i c e R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u t e , P h i l i p p i n e s

Value chain upgrading from harvesting to markets for sustainable rice production

A G R I F U T U R E C o n f e r e n c e a n d E x h i b i t i o n , D e c e m b e r 2 , 2 0 1 9 , B a n g k o k , T h a i l a n d

• The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the world’s premier research organization dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger through rice science.

• Our work spans the whole rice-based agri-food system, from developing improved rice varieties to making farming and value chains more productive, efficient, and sustainable.

About IRRI

IRRI’s global presence

● 1046 staff, 42 nationalities

● 600 research and development partners worldwide

● Offices in 17 countries

● IRRI-AfricaRice enhanced partnership

IRRI’s global presence

● 1046 staff, 42 nationalities

● 600 research and development partners worldwide

● Offices in 17 countries

● IRRI-AfricaRice enhanced partnership

IRRI aims to:• improve livelihoods• abolish poverty, hunger and malnutrition• protect the health of rice farmers and consumers, and the

environmental sustainability of rice farming• promote the empowerment of women • support opportunities for youthFor further info: www.irri.org

Grown by144 million families

25% of world farmers

Annual value$206 billion

13% of world crop value

Land Use10% of total crop land

Irrigation use35% of world total

Fertilizer Use 15% of world total

RICE

Feeds4 billion people

56% of world population

• Still high postharvest losses (15-30%), low rice quality, contamination (mycotoxins)

• Increasing global rice consumption

• Importance of non-farm incomes

• Climate change

• Urbanization

• Increasing age of farming population

• Limited access of women farmers

• Changing roles – public & private

• Harnessing disruptive technologies

Pressing Challenges to Rice Post-production

The past: Component Technology Focus

Some Reasons for failure• Wrong impact pathways• Not scale appropriate• Wrong target groups• Sometimes poor design• Lack of value chain integration

Markets

Farmers Millers

MillingStorageDrying

Input Suppliers

Distributor

Retail Dealers

Service / Repair

ComponentSuppliers

Fabricator

Traders

Inputs Production

Farmers Farmers

Distributor

Retail Dealers

ComponentSuppliers

Fabricator

Eg agrochemicals Eg machines

1. Service providers

X XX

2. Processing

3. Integrated advisory services

Rice value chains – 3 new developments

Consumption

Retail

Wholesale,distribution,export

Processing

Trading

Production

Seed supply

Paddy traders

Traditional retailers

Polishing mills

Wholesalers Traders / Exporters

Exporters with rice mills

Vertically integrated processor / exporter / input suppliers

Domestic consumers

Rice mills

Supermarkets

Paddy Milled rice

Example of a vertically integrated rice value chain (light green) in Vietnam Adapted from Matty Demont, 2013

Seeds Brown Rice

Dehusking mills

Individual farmers, farmer groups, cooperatives

Informal seed sources Formal seed systems

Foreign consumers

Seed supply

Trend:From fragmented value chains with many actors..

..shift towards vertically integrated value chains

Global enabling environment

National enabling environment

Extended value chain

International rice markets

Core value chain

Distribution

Processing

Aggregation

Production

Agri-foodindustry

National rice markets

Services

Inputs

Finance

Markets for rice by-products

Rice by-products

2.1

Mark

et

and v

alu

e c

hain

rese

arc

h

2.2

Valu

e c

hain

se

rvic

es

2.3

Post

harv

est

2.4

Ric

e b

y-pro

duct

s

FP

1.

Acc

ele

ratin

g i

mpact

and e

quity

FP

4,

FP

5:

Ric

e

varietie

s

FP

3:

Farm

ing

syste

ms

CGIAR- RICE Flagship Project (FP) 2 Upgrading Rice Value Chains

Value chain approach for addressing the problems

Global enabling environment

National enabling environment

Extended value chain

International rice markets

Core value chain

Distribution

Processing

Aggregation

Production

Agri-foodindustry

National rice markets

Services

Inputs

Finance

Markets for rice by-products

Rice by-products

2.1

Mark

et

and v

alu

e c

hain

rese

arc

h

2.2

Valu

e c

hain

se

rvic

es

2.3

Post

harv

est

2.4

Ric

e b

y-pro

duct

s

FP

1.

Acc

ele

ratin

g i

mpact

and e

quity

FP

4,

FP

5:

Ric

e

varietie

s

FP

3:

Farm

ing

syste

ms

CGIAR- RICE Flagship Project (FP) 2 Upgrading Rice Value Chains

Cambodia: CIM Expert• Faculty of

Agricultural Engineering

• Ag. Machinery Mechanics

Vietnam: IFC, Loc Troi

FP2, all countries: Postharvest projects• Harvesting• Drying• Storage• Milling

FP3: Mechanization• Laser leveling• Land preparation• Crop

establishment• Crop care

Value chain approach for addressing the problems

Process upgrading

Product upgrading

Functional upgrading

Channel upgrading

Inter‐sectoralupgrading

Value chain upgrading

Replacing sun drying with a mechanical dryer

Developing a value added rice product (e.g. Heirloom rice)

Improving logistics (e.g. EasyHarvest)

Linking farmers to premium markets (Myanmar)

Adding value to rice production(e.g. utilization of rice straw)

Reducing lossesCutting costAdding valueReducing environmental footprint

Process Upgrading: The GrainSafe™ Dryer

• Combine drying with storage

• Low specific energy requirement

• No negative effect on germination

• 6% higher head rice recovery

• Verification started in 6 countries: Myanmar, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, India, Philippines, Senegal. 2020 - Thailand, Vietnam

Different types of dryers

Hermetic storage for seeds and grains

“Mechanizing” operationsGrainSafe™ Dryer, why are we so exited?

• Totally eliminates losses from drying to storage

• Potential business models for drying

– Farmer / processor owns storage bin

– Contract service provider owns blowers

Technology Investment cost $/t Operating cost Storage equipment

cost

Flat bed dryer

(4t)

1,500‐4,000 Fuel, electricity, labor excluded

Solar Bubble

Dryer (1t)

First version: 1,600

Improved: 1,200

Just labor excluded

GrainSafe Dry

(1t)

600Just labor included

GrainSafe™ Dryer, why are we so exited?

• Totally eliminates losses from drying to storage

• Potential business models for drying

– Farmer / processor owns storage bin

– Contract service provider owns blowers

Technology Investment cost $/t Operating cost Storage equipment

cost

Flat bed dryer

(4t)

1,500‐4,000 Fuel, electricity, labor excluded

Solar Bubble

Dryer (1t)

First version: 1,600

Improved: 1,200

Just labor excluded

GrainSafe Dry

(1t)

600Just labor included

GIZ Funded IRRI project: 13.6254.0‐0.004.00

Product upgrading: Heirloom Rice Project, PhilippinesDepartment of Agriculture, IRRI, Kellogg’s

Keep farmers from the mountainous areas engaged in rice farming

Maintain traditional varieties, production practices

Heirloom rice, branding

Product upgrading

• Characterize traditional varieties• Analyze nutritious value• Develop brand “Heirloom Rice”

Intersectoral upgrading: Sustainable Rice Straw Management

Promoted and out-scaled mechanized collection help to reduce 10–20% of rice straw burning in the Mekong River Delta of Vietnam

Developed, disseminated and out-scaled technologies, best practices and business models for sustainable rice straw management in Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, etc.BMZ funded project: Scalable straw management options for improved farmer livelihoods, sustainability, and low environmental footprint in rice-based production systems, 2016-2019

• Short turnaround times – lack of technologies for straw management

• Field burning increased• In intensive systems 60-80% of

straw burned

New technologies create new problems

Short turnaround times – lack of technologies for straw managementField burning increasedIn intensive systems 60-80% of straw burned

New Book on Sustainable Rice Straw Management

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978‐3‐030‐32373‐8

IRRI BEAF Project: Scalable straw management options for improved farmer livelihoods, sustainability, and low environmental footprint in rice-based production systems, 2016-2019

Online since yesterday

With contributions fromCORIGAP, funded by SDC

Funct iona l Upgrad ing: D ig i t i z ing the agr icu l tura l va lue cha in

Providers of combine harvesters

Over mature, but labor shortage, waiting for combine harvesters delay loss

But still immature loss

Optimized scheduling

and operation?

Opportunity

Farmer fields

Machinery services:locations, numbers, types, capacities, Specifications, etc.

Crops and infrastructures: fields and crops, fixed Geo spatial, dynamic Geo spatial, etc.

Functional Upgrading: Optimizing Logistics

EasyHarvest (h t tps : / /www. i r r i . o rg /easyharves t)App for rice straw logistics and baler scheduling

Input data:

1)Field (i) GPS

2)Locations (GPS) of end‐users (e.g. mushroom, feed)

3)Distance from field (i) to user (j)

4)Road types for baler and straw transportation

5)Straw availability (for off‐field option)

6)Timing of harvesting and time available for collection

7)Demand of the user (j)

8)Cost of baler and straw transportation

Outputs/ results:

1)Optimized performance and

cost of logistics/ supply chain

2)Provided optimized info:

Balers: Capacity, No.,

Location?

Warehouses: Capacity, No.,

Location?

Transportation: Vehicles?

Capacity? How much straw

from where (field/

warehouse to where

(users)?

Optimized component cost

(Excel based + VB tool)

Additional

surveys

GIS

RCM/ PRISM

Logistics model Crop

management

Straw availability

Mechanized Collection

Transportation

Warehousing

Markets (location and

demand)

Databases

EasyHarvest Farmers interface and decision options

Options to book the combines

• Harvesting day corresponding to combine availability

• Capacity of combines

• Shortest distances

• Lowest cost

Visible in interface:

• Available combines with info (type, capacity, cost, distance, etc.)

• Real region map with visibility of available combines and their info

• Booking and booked schedule (with combine service providers)

Options to confirm the bookings

• Harvesting day corresponding to combine availability

• Shortest distances

• Highest effectiveness (less moving, large field, better infrastructure, etc.

Visible in interface

• Farmer fields with info (location, area, harvesting day, etc.)

• Other combine harvesters (agreed collaboration)

• Real region map with the fields and collaborative-combines

• Booking and Booked schedule (with farmers/field)

EasyHarvest Service provider’s interface and decision options

RCM (Field and farmer characterization)

Optimized Scheduling and operations: combine harvester, laser leveling machines, straw balers, etc.

Smart fertilizer and pesticide application (image processing –based)

Smart Postharvest management (drying and storage, modeling and remote sensing based)

Decision support for best practices along the value chain

EasyHarvest, what next?

Channel upgrading: Consumer analysis and influencing

Toolkit of gastronomic systems research to capture diversity of food choice and identify entry points for novel products and nutritional interventions

– Novel framework

– Novel app

– Novel behavioral experiment

– Novel method for measuring women’s empowermentin intra-household decision making on food choice

– Novel insights into food choice

Source: Matty Demont, IRRI 2019

Combined upgrading: Heirloom Rice ProjectDepartment of Agriculture, IRRI, Kellogg’s

Keep farmers from the mountainous areas engaged in rice farming

Linkages to new markets– Export to the US

– Serve premium markets in the Philippines

Proposal: Producing mushrooms from rice straw?

Maintain traditional varieties, production practices

Heirloom rice, branding

Improved processing (milling, storage)

Improved drying (Solar Bubble Dryer)

Product upgradingFunctional upgrading Channel upgrading

Process upgrading

Inter‐sectoral upgrading

Quality increase, Loss reduction

Val

ue

add

ed

Awareness creation for postharvest losses and quality

Improved postharvest technology

Management of technology by farmers group

Business models, out‐scaling

Varieties and understanding markets

Private sector and market linkages through Learning Alliances (LA) in Myanmar

Farmers

Export markets ?

A Learning Alliance Learning Cycle

LA

Support services ?(e.g. financing)

LALA

LA

Local millers

LA

Pioneer A. Inc. (Equipment)

LA

Visit to Shwebofarmers

LA

MRPTA wholesale Market

PIPA Participatory Impact Pathway Analysis Workshop

DOA staff

LA established

Low quality, high loss

LA, other village

LA

LA

Sources: 1.) ACIAR funded Diversification and intensification of rice‐based systems in lower Myanmar (MyRice) project;2.) SDC funded Closing the yield gaps in Asia (CORIGAP);3.) LIFT funded Improving livelihoods of rice‐based rural households in the lower region of the Ayeyarwady delta project

Result of pilot:Farmers sell high quality milled rice to wholesale market in Yangon and add US$160 / ha value to their rice crop

Process upgrading

Channel upgrading

Product upgrading

Channel upgrading

Towards ‘ r ice in food systems’

• Pauline Chivenge (p.chivenge@irri.org): RCM

• Matty Demont (m.demont@irri.org): value chain upgrading, food systems

• Carolyn Florey (c.florey@irri.org): digital agriculture, RCM

• Martin Gummert (m.gummert@irri.org): mechanization, post harvest, EasyHarvest

• Nguyen Van Hung (hung.nguyen@irri.org): EasyHarvest

Acknowledgements

Thanks for your at tent ion