IRRI Manuals

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/162505

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Sustainable Farming Program (SFP) Validate and Implement your Innovation (Module 4)
(Manual, 2025-01-17) Schumann, Charlotte; Ortiz, Berta; Ortiz, Rodomiro; Kumari, Resham; Jaiswal, Gaurav; Weinsheimer, Aline; Garcia, Rochelle; Maningas, Anilyn
Module 4 focuses on ensuring that innovations are grounded in real user needs through systematic validation and thoughtful implementation. It introduces participants to the process of testing prototypes and validating assumptions about users’ behaviors, preferences, and expectations before full-scale rollout. The validation phase emphasizes learning by engaging real users to assess what works, what does not, and what needs refinement. This iterative process helps strengthen the design, reduce risk, and improve the relevance and usability of the innovation. Validation is followed by implementation, where attention shifts to how users actually interact with the product or service in real-world settings. Participants learn how to monitor key performance indicators, gather user feedback, and continuously improve their innovation after launch. Implementation is not viewed as a final step but as a dynamic process that may require revisiting earlier stages—such as exploration or redesign—if challenges arise. Together, validation and implementation ensure that innovations are not only well-designed but also practical, user-centered, and impactful. By the end of the module, participants are expected to be able to formulate clear testing hypotheses, understand and apply key validation methods, and confidently select appropriate approaches based on their innovation context. They will also develop skills in interpreting validation results, translating insights into actionable improvements, and applying benchmarking methods to assess performance and impact. Ultimately, this module equips learners with the tools and confidence to move forward with validated solutions that are ready for successful adoption. The module is delivered through four lessons: Lesson 1 focuses on validating hypotheses; Lesson 2 guides participants in selecting appropriate validation methods; Lesson 3 emphasizes generating actionable validation results; and Lesson 4 covers the practical steps involved in implementing and continuously improving an innovation.
Sustainable Farming Program (SFP) Using your Insights: Create (Module 3)
(Manual, 2025-01-17) Schumann, Charlotte; Ortiz, Berta; Ortiz, Rodomiro; Kumari, Resham; Jaiswal, Gaurav; Weinsheimer, Aline; Garcia, Rochelle; Maningas, Anilyn
It focuses on transforming insights gathered from the field into concrete design decisions. The module introduces the concept of ideation and explores practical techniques for generating, selecting, and refining ideas to address a design challenge. It then emphasizes the importance of prototyping, explaining what prototypes are, why they matter, and the different types that can be developed. Through two core lessons—Ideation and Prototyping—participants will learn to distinguish between these stages, confidently choose appropriate methods, generate a wide range of ideas, narrow them down to the most promising ones, and translate selected ideas into effective prototypes.
Sustainable Farming Program (SFP) Assessing the Problem Space: Explore (Module 2)
(Manual, 2025-01-17) Schumann, Charlotte; Ortiz, Berta; Ortiz, Rodomiro; Kumari, Resham; Jaiswal, Gaurav; Weinsheimer, Aline; Garcia, Rochelle; Maningas, Anilyn
Explore, introduces learners to user-centered approaches for understanding the problem space of an existing or planned innovation before designing solutions. It emphasizes the importance of exploring users’ behaviors, opinions, preferences, and contexts to uncover needs, pain points, and frustrations related to current solutions. The module presents three key exploratory research methods, with a detailed focus on user interviews as a primary tool for gathering insights, and personas and “How Might We” statements as methods for synthesizing findings into clear design challenges. Through its four lessons—from introducing the Explore phase and gathering insights to synthesizing data and defining design challenges—participants build the skills and confidence to select appropriate research methods, conduct meaningful interviews, and systematically analyze qualitative data to inform human-centered innovation.
Sustainable Farming Program (SFP) Introduction to Human Centered Design (Module 0)
(Manual, 2025-01-17) Schumann, Charlotte; Ortiz, Berta; Kumari, Resham; Jaiswal, Gaurav; Weinsheimer, Aline; Garcia, Rochelle; Maningas, Anilyn
The Introduction to Human-Centered Design (HCD) module guides participants in integrating HCD into projects through a practical, end-to-end process that includes research planning, creativity, prototyping, and testing. It emphasizes selecting appropriate data collection methods to address specific project questions, while strengthening the impact, inclusiveness, and relevance of innovations by focusing on real users’ needs—especially those of marginalized groups. Delivered through four modules—Scope, Explore, Prototype, and Test—the course provides step-by-step guidance supported by concept maps, case studies, summaries, and quizzes to reinforce learning and application.
Sustainable Farming Program (SFP) Approaches and Methods to Gender-Responsive Agricultural Services Targeting Youth (Module 11)
(Manual, 2025-09-17) Iradukunda, Francis; Jaiswal, Gaurav; Kumari, Resham; Singh, Uday
Module 11 describes the approaches and methods to gender responsive agricultural services targeting the youth. It equips participants with practical frameworks and tools to design inclusive, youth-responsive agricultural services. The module examines the diverse roles of youth in agri-food systems, identifies their key constraints and opportunities, and introduces youth typologies to better tailor interventions. Through a progression of lessons, participants learn effective approaches and skills for engaging different youth groups, as well as service delivery methods that intentionally reach, benefit, and empower both young women and men smallholder farmers. By the end of the module, learners are able to assess youth contexts, design targeted diagnostics, and select appropriate gender-responsive strategies for agronomic solution design, piloting, and scaling in EiA Use Case settings.
Sustainable Farming Program (SFP) Planning for Human Centered Design (Module 1)
(Manual, 2025-01-20) Schumann, Charlotte; Ortiz, Berta; Kumari, Resham; Jaiswal, Gaurav; Weinsheimer, Aline; Garcia, Rochelle; Maningas, Anilyn
The module on planning human centered design equips participants with the foundational skills to plan and operationalize a Human-Centered Design project by clearly defining the problem, context, and scope. It covers building an effective project team, designing and planning user research, and selecting appropriate data to meet project objectives. Through four focused lessons—from team formation and problem scoping to user research design and planning—the module provides a practical roadmap for executing a structured and impactful HCD project
Pictorial Guide for the Identification of Rice Diseases and Pests
(Training Material, 2025) Almazan, Ma. Liberty; Carvajal, Raphael Gabriel; Castilla, Nancy; Catausan, Sheryl; Manalo, Nolan; Ortega, Kendrix
The first version of pictorial guide for the identification of rice diseases and pests was developed as a handy reference for farmers and extension workers. It covers 20 rice diseases, 19 insect pests, and the root-knot nematode. The booklet features high-quality photographs along with descriptions of distinguishing characteristics and symptoms of major diseases and insect pests. These are organized first by type of pest (disease or insect) and then by the affected plant part. Written in simple English, the guide is designed to be user-friendly and easy to understand. The guide is currently being translated to Hiligaynon, a language spoken in Western Visayas region and parts of Mindanao.
Farmer Guide for Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) Cultivation
(Manual, 2025) Ahmed, Sharif
This booklet provides a complete, step-by-step guide for Bangladeshi farmers on the principles and field practices of Direct Seeded Rice (DSR). It explains what DSR is, why farmers should adopt it, and how it compares to traditional transplanting. The document covers land preparation, weed management, herbicide schedules (PTOS and other protocols), seed selection, fertilizer management, irrigation practices, and crop establishment methods. It also outlines expected yield benefits, cost reductions, and environmental advantages. The booklet is designed to help scale conservation agriculture and low-input rice farming practices across Bangladesh.
Emboldening equitable climate adaptation: A handbook for field research leaders
(Book, 2025) Petesch, Patti; Fisher, Eleanor; Hellin, Jon; Echavez, Chona
The ultimate aim of the Handbook is to strengthen understanding of, support to, and accountability for adaptation processes that generate equity in smallholder communities. Toward this end, the Handbook’s locally led approach seeks to nurture an enabling environment for broad-based individual and collective action on climate adaptation. Deep local knowledge and effective agency—of diverse women and men—are vital for forging more equitable community norms and institutional arrangements. The Handbook also emphasizes the importance of greater capacities among external partners to support these localized processes by prioritizing social equity within their own institutions and programs. While each strategy touches on the political, as well as technical, aspects of managing this action learning journey, it is the final strategy that engages most directly with upward and downward accountability for equitable outcomes. In particular, it addresses the pattern of community-based programs—regardless of their champions, aims or designs—persistently sidestepping accountability measures. Although the Handbook’s methodology can support accountability initiatives, continuous monitoring and renegotiation of “enabling” conditions are also needed. Generally speaking, a small group of elite powerholders can more easily adapt to climate change, including in ways that maintain their status and privileges. By contrast, the effective democracy-building needed to nurture equitable adaptation typically involves slower, more complex processes of building alliances and advancing shared goals.5 The fifth strategy explores the ever-changing risks and opportunities implied by this, stressing the importance of time and space for subordinate groups to negotiate and advance their interests and needs effectively.
Co-designing climate adaptation strategies with women farmers: A manual for facilitators
(Manual, 2025-07) Kori, Pooja; Puskur, Ranjitha; Mukhopadhyay, Prama; Chadha, Deepali
Climate change poses significant challenges to livestock farmers and women farmers are often among the most vulnerable, especially in low and middle-income countries. With rising global temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns, livestock such as poultry and goats and the farmers who are dependent on them face increased adverse impacts on animal health, productivity, and overall farm livelihoods. This manual is designed to be a comprehensive resource for Trainers, specifically aimed at building the capacity of trainers who will, in turn, co-design relevant and context-specific solutions with women farmers on how to adapt to climate change, especially managing the impacts of heat stress and floods on their livestock and their livelihoods. The manual is structured to provide practical and feasible strategies that are context-specific and gender-responsive. It emphasizes participatory learning and co-creation of solutions, recognizing that these women livestock farmers possess valuable indigenous knowledge and practical insights that are vital for effective adaptation strategies.
Manual on Biotic Stress Resistance Evaluation (First Edition)
(Book, 2025) Telebanco-Yanoria, Mary Jeanie; Atienza-Grande, Genelou; Jonson, Gilda; Almazan, Maria Liberty; Bernal, Carmencita; Pangesti, Nurmi; Pacia, Jocelyn; Castilla, Nancy; Carvajal, Raphael; Ortega, Kendrix; Natulan, Rafael Luis; Valenzuela, Ma Michelle; Vera Cruz, Casiana; Schepler-Luu, Van
Overview Biotic stresses due to pests and diseases are dynamic, and their occurrence is influenced by several factors, such as host genotype, cropping practices, and extreme weather events brought about by climate change. Major diseases caused by pathogens, and nematodes and insect pests, such as brown planthoppers, green leafhoppers, and stemborers, reduce rice yields in different ecosystems, if these are not properly assessed and managed. The use of host plant resistance is generally considered as the most economical, practical, and environment-friendly strategy for pest management. It enables farmers to reduce yield losses and improve productivity and profitability without reliance on pesticides, which becomes increasingly important in the face of climate change. However, robust screening protocols are often lacking or not standardized. Hence, capacity development on the protocols used at IRRI for the evaluation of resistance to biotic stresses will facilitate the identification and selection of resistant genotypes. A standard protocol will facilitate collaboration among different institutes. Acquiring skills in evaluating rice genotypes to biotic stresses is crucial for developing pest management strategies.

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