Philippines

INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Banos, Philippines has hosted eleven high school interns since 1999.

Established in 1960, IRRI is a non-profit agricultural research center that is devoted to reducing poverty and hunger, improving the health of rice farmers and consumers, and ensuring that rice production is environmentally sustainable.

IRRI carries out research and development in rice-related policy; information and communication; genetic diversity; human health; environmentally sustainable practices; and rice breeding and production.

Headquartered outside of Manila, Philippines, IRRI has research centers in fifteen countries.

Interns at IRRI work alongside renowned international researchers and experts - like Dr. Mahabub Hossain, Dr. Rene Lafitte, Dr. John Bennet, and Dr. David Mackill - in the fields and villages of Tranca and Los Banos. 

The students also have the opportunity to travel around Philippines with their host families and colleagues to see the Taal volcano, Magnetic Hill, Dampalit Falls, Paciano Rizal Shrine, Trace Aqua Sports Complex and Museum, Paciano Rizal Park, the White Beach, and the rice terraces of the Banaue mountains. 

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