IRRI News

Recently, the Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi (ISABU) released eleven new and improved rice varieties that are resilient to climate change, disease-tolerant, high yielding with great nutritional value, and with good grain quality.

These rice varieties were released in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute-Burundi under World Bank’s variety development program through the Great Lakes Regional Integrated Agriculture Development Project (Projet Régional de Développement Agricole Intégré dans les Grands Lacs or PRDAIGL).

On July 26, 2022, the members of the governing agency for seed chain in Burundi such as the CTNHV (Commission Technique Nationale d’Homologation Variétale “National Technical Committee for Variety release”) met in Bujumbura to analyze the results of the Distinctive Homogeneity Stability and Agronomic and Technological Value trials presented by the Burundian authority for responsible for seed control and certification, Office National de Control et de Certification des Semences (ONCCS).

The eleven released varieties include two (2) high-zinc rice varieties, two (2) aromatic supa type varieties, three (3) high-yielding long rain varieties, three (3) drought-tolerant varieties, and one (1) variety tolerant to rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV), an endemic virus affecting many African rice-cultivating areas.

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