Contact
Hubert Omont
Coordinator, Tropical Supply Chains
Montpellier, France
E-mail
Rice
Although rice production is increasing, there is no guarantee that it will be able to meet the demand generated by population growth. It is hampered by the difficulty of extending the irrigable area, and by stagnating yields.
The issues
Rice currently accounts for roughly half the calorie intake of more than three billion people in Southeast Asia, and a third for a large number of people in Africa and Latin America.
With its growing population, will the Earth one day see a shortage of rice, which is the staple food for half the human race?
Producing more to meet growing demand for food. Preserving the Earth's natural resources and establishing sustainable rice growing. Responding to increasingly demanding consumers. These are some of the main challenges to be addressed within the field of agriculture! Researchers worldwide are working towards this.
CIRAD's objectives
Along with its partners, CIRAD has embarked upon several lines of research. For rice, creating more productive varieties suited to ecologically less favourable regions, diversifying cropping systems, proposing techniques that secure production and preserve the environment, supporting farmers to ensure better management of natural resources, producing at lower cost, and making farmers' work less arduous.