Together with the work done on wheat at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico, the new agricultural technology has given rise to a "green revolution" and promises of agricultural self-sufficiency throughout South and Southeast Asia. Recognition of this historic development came in 1970 with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Dr. Norman Borlaug, director of the wheat program at the center in Mexico.

For the next several years IRRI will further develop its rice technology, particularly on rainfed and upland soils—areas that so far have been untouched by the "green revolution." It will also focus more sharply on the problems of the small rice farmer, water management, and improvement of the protein content of the rice grain.

In India, the Foundation has assisted agricultural development primarily through the Intensive Agricultural Districts Program, which aims to improve agricultural efficiency through concentration of effort in selected districts and the use of a package of technological practices and development services. Together with the introduction of the new high-yielding wheat, rice, and other crops, the program has been instrumental in increasing India's food production.

Although the new rice varieties have done well under irrigation, they have not produced high and dependable yields on soils fed only by rain. About 80 per cent of India's rice lands are rain-fed. To attack this problem, India four years ago initiated the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Program (AICRIP), with assistance from IRRI and Indian agricultural universities and research institutions. AICRIP has identified new genetic plant strains that hold promise for increased production if they can be bred to resist disease and insects and can be adapted to local conditions through farm trials. On-farm trials are particularly crucial since the village farmer will not adopt new seeds and practices unless he can be shown they will be profitable. This year the Foundation granted funds for a program of adaptive research and on-farm trials in selected districts representative of India's major rice-growing conditions.

In Ceylon, the Foundation continued