Image: vm2002/Istock.com via ETX Daily Up
Will we still be able to eat rice whenever we want in 30 years? That’s the question asked by a team of American researchers from the University of Illinois, who conducted a field study in India, one of the world’s largest rice-growing areas. They found that investing in soil conservation technology and limiting waste at harvest time are the main ways to reduce the risk of rice shortages over the next 30 years.
The research focused on rice plantations at the farm of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia in Bihar, northeast India. The objective was to estimate rice yield and water demand by 2050, and to assess how rice farmers can adapt to the effects of climate change.
“As the weather changes, it affects temperature, rainfall, and carbon dioxide concentration. These are essential ingredients for crop growth, especially for rice,” explains Prasanta Kalita, professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Illinois and lead author of the study.
“Overall, about 4,000 liters of water go into production and processing per kilogram of rice,” he adds.
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
Kalita’s team assessed the amount of water needed to grow rice, yield rates and climatic conditions. The researchers then ran computer simulation models to identify strategies that can be implemented now to sustain rice production.
Reducing water requirements and waste
