The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) was established in 1960 by the Rockefeller (New York, NY, USA) and Ford Foundations (New York, NY, USA) in response to food scarcity problems in the developing world. Today, it is the world's leading international research and training center for rice. Based in the Philippines, with operations in 11 other countries, it is one of 16 Future Harvest Centers funded by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an association of public and private donor agencies. The Institute's goal is to find sustainable ways to improve the well-being of present and future generations of poor rice farmers and consumers and protecting the environment at the same time. Most of IRRI's research is done in cooperation with national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES), farming communities and other organizations of the world's rice-producing nations. Improving the rice plant by genetic means and using natural resources in rice-based cropping systems sustainably are two mainstays on IRRI's research agenda.
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