Challenges to ensuring food security through rice.

Rice is the major staple food of the world's population. In 2003, more than 3 billion people depended on rice for food energy and protein. Global rice production has more than doubled since 1965. The production increase was largely the result of rising yields and of the expansion in rice-harvested area. From 1965 to 2005, the world's average rice yield increased by 97%, while the global rice area harvested increased by 23%. Global paddy production reached about 618 million tonnes in 2005, a level sufficient to meet total rice needs and permit a reconstitution of world rice reserves for the first time after five years of draw-downs. The world population is still growing steadily and the world's rice demand is projected to increase by 25% to 771 million tonnes of milled rice in 2030. The development and adoption of high-yielding varieties and hybrid rice varieties were key instruments behind the substantial yield increase witnessed in the last 40 years in all regions, except in sub-Saharan Africa, where yields have remained more or less unchanged. The development of irrigation and the intensive application of agro-chemical inputs, especially chemical fertilizers, were other major factors contributing to the rapid yield increase of the last 40 years. However, the rate of increases in productivity has steadily declined since 1990, while agricultural water resources have been diminishing in Asia, North Africa and Europe. Results of the pilot tests since 2000 have demonstrated the potential contribution of integrated crop management systems for rice production (Rice-ICM systems) for ensuring food security in the medium term. Yield increases of up to 4 tonnes/ha were obtained from existing varieties with the adoption of Rice-ICM systems in Asia and South America. Also, experience drawn from the limited area planted to hybrid rice outside China and from the newly developed NERICA (New Rice for Africa) rice for sub-Saharan Africa shows the potential benefits that the dissemination of these rice varieties might bring in enhancing food security in the medium term. In the longer term, the development and transfer of Rice-ICM systems that not only increase yield but also increase the utilization efficiency of applied purchased inputs will be essential for ensuring food security and environment sustainability. It is expected that the mapping of the rice genome in 2002 will lead to a successful development of new generations of rice varieties that will further contribute to raising the productivity of rice production systems in the longer term.