Special Reporter: At the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit 2025, Dr. Yvonne Pinto, Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), chaired a main-stage panel exploring how innovation and collaboration are redefining the future of rice, a crop that feeds 4 billion people and sustains over 100 million smallholder farmers worldwide.

Joining Dr. Pinto were distinguished panelists Simone Barg (BASF, Singapore), Timo Menniken (GIZ, Thailand), Dhruv Sawhney (RIZE, India), Song Saran (AMRU Rice, Cambodia), and Paul Nicholson (Olam Agri, USA), each bringing perspectives from across science, policy, and business on how innovation can drive lasting change in rice systems.

Key themes from the discussion:
Farmer-Centered Innovation: New technologies and cultivation systems, from herbicide-tolerant seeds to integrated crop management, are improving productivity while reducing emissions and water use.
Climate and Resource Efficiency: Practices such as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and direct seeding are delivering measurable carbon and water savings across Asia.
Trust, Finance & Adoption: Panelists emphasized that sustained adoption depends on risk mitigation, fair financing, and long-term partnerships with farmers.
Data & Carbon Markets: Improved traceability and data systems are emerging as enablers for carbon monetization and access to agricultural finance.
Inclusive and Collaborative Systems: Gender-transformative training and multi-stakeholder cooperation are essential to achieve equitable, scalable impact.

The panel concluded that the path to a sustainable rice future will rely on collaboration across the public and private sectors, combining innovation, policy alignment, and farmer empowerment to achieve climate resilience and food security.