As a response to methane emission from rice production being flagged as part of the global climate debate, Thailand’s agricultural ministry, as reported in the Bangkok Post, has prioritised its research efforts towards developing climate-friendly rice strains.
Prasert Gosalvitra, Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives’ Rice Department said:
We are developing a number of
A study by the Inter-American Development Bank (ADB) in Vietnam and Cambodia recognized that farmers in the two countries could require two or three times as much rice grain as they consume to meet their food needs because of spoilage from poor storage techniques.
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Losses to crops can also come from excess water rather than drought or damage from pests.
In areas prone to flooding, the development of ‘waterproof rice’ could make a dramatic difference.
Scientist at IRRI have identified a gene which allows rice plants to withstand be submerged for two weeks without damage. The gene has already been transferred
Around 90% of the agricultural water in use in Asia is used for rice production.
It takes about 5,000 litres to produce 1 kg of rice. Practices such as seeding pre-germinated rice have saved about 15-20% water compared with the traditional transplanting method.
FICOM, the Farmers Information Communication project in Uganda is helping farmers access information on market prices and activity.
Important tips on growing crops are relayed from the Uganda National Farmers Federation headquarters to district level offices, and then to 24 ‘village phone centres’, in which each farmers’ group owns a mobile phone.
The farmers also send and
