As the global population grows, the demand for food increases while arable land shrinks.
As the global population grows, the demand for food increases while arable land shrinks. A new University of Illinois study investigates how rice production in India can meet future needs by adapting to changing climate conditions and water availability.
“Rice is the primary crop in India, China, and other countries in Southeast Asia. Rice consumption is also growing in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world,” says Prasanta Kalita, professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at U of I and lead author on the study.
“If you look at where they traditionally grow rice, it is countries that have plenty of water, or at least they used to. They have tropical weather with heavy rainfall they depend on for rice production. Overall, about 4,000 liters of water go into production and processing per kilogram of rice,” he states.
Climate change is likely to affect future water availability, and rice farmers must implement new management practices to sustain production and increase yield, Kalita says.
Read more at University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
Image: Farm workers plant rice transplants at the Borlaug Institute for South Asia's research farm in Bihar, India. (Credit: University of Illinois)
