By Vijian Paramasivam
PHNOM PENH, June 11 (Bernama) -- The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is urging rice-producing nations to take bold, collective action to address the growing environmental and sustainability challenges in rice cultivation, a staple crop that remains essential to millions worldwide.
Unveiling its 2025-2030 strategy on Monday, the Philippines-based institute said despite advancements, rice cultivation still accounts for 1.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and consumes 30 per cent of the world’s freshwater resources.
“Rice feeds more than half the world’s population, but its potential as a climate and development solution remains underleveraged. Our future depends on how we grow, consume and govern rice.
“This strategy is our call to partners everywhere—let’s act together, with urgency and ambition, to ensure rice remains a force for good in a changing world,” said IRRI Director General Dr Yvonne Pinto.
The new vision comes at a time when farmers worldwide are facing a host of challenges, including the impacts of climate change, the loss of fertile land to rapid urbanisation, concerns over food safety, and increasing water scarcity.
According to IRRI, rice feeds over four billion people and supports 150 million farmers across 100 countries. The RM1.4 trillion (US$332 billion) rice industry is the world’s third most traded commodity and a growing global market.
IRRI’s strategy seeks to tackle pressing global issues ranging from food price volatility and climate-related pressures to health disparities and social inequalities within rice-growing communities.
Jagdish Kumar Ladha, Adjunct Professor at the Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, told Bernama that IRRI’s strategy comes at a critical stage for rice-producing nations across Asia.
“This strategy has strong potential to transform the rice sector into a more exciting, robust and sustainable industry. It recognises rice not just as a principal crop but as a way for advancing climate adaptation, rural livelihoods, nutrition and ecosystem health,” said Ladha, who once served at IRRI.
Although global rice production and prices have remained relatively stable, experts warn that natural disasters could easily disrupt the international rice supply.
Key regional producers such as the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are particularly vulnerable to calamities like typhoons, floods, earthquakes, and droughts, putting their rice output at significant risk.
“They face the interconnecting challenges of climate change, food price volatility, declining productivity growth and lessening resources. The strategy’s emphasis on wide-ranging science, deep partnerships and a results-leaning, market-driven strategy are timely and essential,” said Jagdish.
IRRI has been at the forefront of resolving threats to food security. In 1966, its scientists developed the groundbreaking high-yielding rice variety known as “miracle rice” or IR8, which was instrumental in preventing a major food crisis in Asia during the 1960s.
-- BERNAMA
