About half of the world population survives on rice. The Green Revolution in Asia that started in 1960s and introduced modern, high-yielding rice varieties resulted into a rapid rise in both rice yields and overall production. However, with increasing population, rice consumers too are increasing. Rice researchers and farmers have succeeded in producing enough rice to meet the world rice consumption demand but till when? The recent decrease in world rice production and increase in rice prices have again made the whole world think about ways to improve production so that the cost of the most common staple food could be controlled for the benefit of whole humankind. Read the World Rice Production 2009-2010 Report to know for yourself how unpredictable the production of rice had been in the last couple of years! This situation can be improved with a little insightful approach about rice production techniques and cooperative attitude of the top rice producing countries of the world.
Steps to Improve Rice Production
They are interrelated- improve rice production to keep the price of rice low by increasing area under rice cultivation or by increasing the yield per unit area, or by combining both of them. Cropping intensity should also be increased. Industrialization, urbanization, or conversion to other crops should not come in the way of improving rice production. International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has called for the implementation of the following nine-point program of short- and long-term interventions to improve world rice production as well as cut the price rise.
- Bringing about an agronomic revolution in Asian rice production to reduce existing yield gaps.
- Accelerating the delivery of new post harvest technologies to reduce losses.
- Accelerating the introduction and adoption of higher yielding rice varieties.
- Strengthening and upgrade the rice breeding and research pipelines.
- Accelerating research on the world’s thousands of rice varieties so scientists can tap the vast reservoir of untapped knowledge they contain.
- Developing a new generation of rice scientists and researchers for the public and private sectors.
- Increasing public investment in agricultural infrastructure.
- Reforming policy to improve the efficiency of marketing systems for both inputs and outputs.
- Strengthening food safety nets for the poor.
To have an elaborated view on the above steps to improve rice production, read this IRRI article What needs to be done?
Steps to Prevent Rice Price Rise
Apart from taking steps to improve rice production, the extent of price rise also depends upon the attitudes of different rice producing countries as well as rice consuming countries. In the larger interest of global food security, rice importing countries should not make large purchases at one time. They should import in smaller volumes according to their present needs. This can only work if the rice exporting countries ensure a steady supply to the market. These countries should not place any export restrictions on the rice producers and should also not keep domestic supply out of international market.
Related Reading: Steps to Improve Production of Rice
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