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Al Schmidley: Rice security is food security for much of the world
Thursday, 2015/10/08 | 07:53:34
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IRRI, Mary Brolley | Oct 6, 2015 A lifelong interest in Asia has propelled a business model and value chain specialist for the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) into a meaningful career as a consultant on food security. He now helps farmers in the developing world devise ways to safeguard their crops after harvest.
Figure: Schmidley inspects grain on the ground after harvest. Crop losses occur at every point in the process, from harvesting, transport, processing and storage — all the way to market. (IRRI)
His high school counselor suggested that he go straight into science or engineering. But Alfred Schmidley, a 1985 graduate of Bradley University in Illinois, was in no rush to make such a decision and would soon consider other ideas. “When I went to college, the world around me suddenly got a whole lot bigger—with some apprehension, mind you, as I began trying to fill in all the gaps,” he recalled with a laugh. “I found it all very complicated!”
Finding an international niche
Another favorite Bradley faculty member was Robert Fuller, Caterpillar Professor of philosophy and religious studies, and perhaps a major reason why Schmidley lives and works in Asia today. “He was inspiring because he brought new perspectives—of people and culture—into the classroom. “Religions of the East was one of my favorite courses,” Schmidley recalled. “This influenced me to backpack my way across Asia after graduation—before taking up Asian languages and related studies in graduate school.”
While at Bradley and busy with international studies, he found the time to plunge into dormitory life, eventually becoming a resident assistant. Apart from the financial assistance, it was a great way for him to meet people, both students and others associated with the university community. He supervised freshmen in all-male dorms.
“Freshmen floors assigned to resident assistants were seen as more challenging,” he added with a smile. “In hindsight, this provided me with a lot of formative experience in people management. I learned to deal with all sorts of people in many different situations.”
Narrowing the focus: working with Asia’s rice farmers
Rice? Yes, that’s right. Rice is the main staple food for most countries in Asia (and increasingly in Africa). Any threat to this cereal crop can jeopardize global food security and put millions of people at risk of malnourishment or even starvation. An increasing world population means that rice production must increase by 114 million tons by 2035, but farmers must achieve this on a decreasing amount of available agricultural land and under significant threats from climate change. A “second” Green Revolution has been called for, and, in fact, in the views of some, has already been under way for several years.
“Green Revolution” is the name given to a series of innovations in agricultural research and technology development that started in the 1960s. This effort increased agricultural production worldwide, especially in the developing countries of Asia. IRRI, established in 1960, championed the scientific advances in rice research that would ultimately reduce poverty and hunger, especially prevalent at that time in much of Asia.
Dr. Schmidley’s specialty at IRRI is working downstream to develop sustainable business models for the adoption and delivery of new technologies to farmers. This includes postharvest, when preventable losses of 25% or more result from not getting rice and other crops out of the field and processed in a timely manner. If these losses are not prevented, many poor farm households will be robbed of both precious food and income.
See more: http://ricetoday.irri.org/al-schmidley-rice-security-is-food-security-for-much-of-the-world/ |
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