Preserving rice genes in IRRI

The International Rice Institute (IRRI) was built in the 1960s in the Los Banos region, Philippines.

At IRRI, there is a rice bank that holds thousands of different rice genes around the world, including the Hai Hau rice of Hai Hau.

In early March 2013, the reporter had a chance to visit Seed Bank and saw the size and magnificence of this bank. According to scientists' recommendations, this is considered the bank that holds the most rice genes in the world today. These rice genes are collected by scientists around the world, most of them in Asia, then Africa, the Americas and Europe. The number of genes is also quite diverse with ancient rice genes dating back hundreds of years.

An IRRI expert introduced the rice genes in Seed Bank.

The bank is divided into two zones, one of which has been kept for 50 years, one for 100 years. The reason for dividing it into two zones according to the scientists' explanation is because, if all investment for the 100-year gene storage area will be very expensive, because in addition to maintaining -17 degrees Celsius for this bank And it costs a lot more.

The 50-year rice genes in the area were stored at a lower temperature of -8 degrees Celsius. For a 50-year gene storage zone, new scientists had to remove it every five years, while the area If you keep the gene for 100 years, then it will take 1 year to test. Funding to invest and maintain these gene banks is not small, it takes millions of dollars each year.

At one time, IRRI had to cut down on the number of genes kept due to lack of funds. But since the beginning of 2013, because the US Government and the Philippines have increased funding costs back to the Institute, IRRI has had additional funding to continue maintaining the world's largest scale rice bank today.