The rice crisis: What needs to be done?
In early 2008, skyrocketing rice prices put the grain on the front pages of major newspapers across the world. Rice Today explains the reasons behind the rapid increase in rice prices and what must be done to achieve reliable, plentiful supplies of affordable rice.
Lost in transmission Have recent dramatic increases in world rice prices been bad for consumers and good for producers? Well, yes … and no. The real answer seems to be: It depends. Rice Today analyzes the situation. By David Dawe, senior economist at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
Navigating a sea of rice Amid the cutthroat world of rice trading, one Thai company has chosen a different path By Bob Hill
A perfect match Water-saving technologies find their way to the province of Bohol in the Philippines and prove to be a perfect match for the region’s climate and irrigation systems Story by Meg Mondonedo, photos by Jose Raymond Panaligan
Giving farming a chance A youth field school in the Philippines trains young students in rice farming and agriculture in the hope of perpetuating the nation’s dying breed of farmers Story by Meg Mondonedo, photos by Jose Raymond Panaligan
Troubling trade It would be easy to think that the escalating price of rice is a boon for exporters—but, in a Thailand exclusive, Rice Today reports on the chaos that has Thai traders reeling Story and photos by Bob Hill
After the storm
In the aftermath of Cyclone Sidr, the rice farmers of southern Bangladesh are struggling to get back on their feet. Immediate relief is needed, but science can provide technologies that help minimize the damage caused by the next disaster.
Story and photos by Adam Barclay
The big squeeze
As well as improving farmers’ incomes and productivity, water-saving technologies can also help to ease social tensions—but not without local experts who champion the cause
Story by Adam Barclay, photos by Raymond Jose Panaligan
Hungry for Knowledge
Every year in Bangladesh, millions of rural families suffer the privations of monga, the period after the previous season’s food has run out and before the next season’s harvest. Now, several technologies are helping to close the window of hardship.
By Trina Leah Mendoza and David Johnson
Rice Today fulfills its promise to publish more spectacular photography taken from above Ifugao Province in the northern Philippines. What is the significance culturally and scientifically?
Story by Gene Hettel, color photography
by Ariel Javellana
View some of the photos on the opening page of the IRRI Photo
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images in the bank.
Out with the wet, in with the dry
How a farmer achieved a better life by using dry-season rice technology.
By Nivedita Deka, Kabindra Borkakati, and Zahirul Islam
When the rain stops
In August 2007, Rice Today visited drought-stricken areas in the northern Philippines to discover that it takes more than a dry spell to dampen farmers’ spirits.
Story by Meg Mondoñedo, photography by Ariel Javellana
Into the unknown
Every summer, the World Food Prize Foundation sends high school students from the United States to international agricultural research institutes to work with leading scientists and learn about agricultural development.
By Anna Johnson
Looking up in the uplands
In the mountains of Vietnam and Laos, life on the farm is tough. But more productive rice crops can give farmers the security they need to improve their income and help the environment.
Story by Adam Barclay, photos by Ariel Javellana
High and dry
As Chinese farmers face a worsening irrigation crisis, they need a way to grow rice with less water. Aerobic rice may be the answer.
Story and photos by Adam Barclay
A hybrid history
Hybrid rice has helped China feed one-fifth of humanity and avoid mass hunger. Rice Today investigates the international collaboration behind this history-altering technology.
By Adam Barclay
Coping with climate change
Climate change threatens to affect rice production across the globe. What is known about the likely impact, and what can be done about it?
Preparing for the rat race
A rare species of flowering bamboo puts rodents in a feeding and breeding frenzy that threatens famine in the Indian state of Mizoram
By Jason Overdorf, freelance journalist based in New Delhi.
Rice and the river
A new research and development initiative is set to build on past successes and lay new foundations for prosperity in the countries that depend on the Mekong River for their rice. By Gene Hettel and Meg Mondeñedo
More crop per drop
Rice cultivation in the 21st century will need to feed more people while reducing poverty and protecting the environment. Success depends on how the rice industry uses one of its most precious resources: water. By Sarah Carriger and Domitille Vallée
The rice king Thai rice farmers are fortunate to have a head of state who does more than offer symbolic support—His Majesty the King of Thailand is a monarch who genuinely makes a difference. By Bob Hill
Once were rice fields The week after Typhoon Durian slammed into the Philippines’ Bicol Region, Rice Today ventured into the stricken area to find that the rice-farming communities had been hit hard. By Meg Mondeñedo, photography by Ariel Javellana
Bringing hope, improving lives Rice feeds roughly half the planet’s population and approximately three-quarters of a billion of the world’s poorest people depend on the staple to survive. A carefully focused agenda for continued research on this vital crop is as important as ever. By Jay Maclean and Gene Hettel
Conserving the future As India’s rice-wheat belt grapples with declining soil health and water tables, a vanguard of young, innovative farmers and researchers is leading a new approach that could hold the key to reversing the region’s waning productivity. Story and photos by Adam Barclay
Breeding history Forty years ago, a remarkable rice-breeding project culminated in the release of a rice variety under an unremarkable name—IR8.
This is the story of the research that would ultimately change the face of agriculture across Asia. by Tom Hargrove and W. Ronnie Coffman
I remember Honda rice How the fi rst Green Revolution rice variety—IR8—influenced life and death in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War. by Tom Hargrove
Tricks of the trade In Asia, the question of whether of not to liberalize rice trade is a vexing one. If liberalization is to occur at all, it needs to happen gradually and with an understanding of how people—especially the poor—will be affected. by Gene Hettel
A rice future for Asia Thai and Filipino high school students come together to help ensure the rice industry's future in Asia, sparking new friendships—and friendly rivalries—along the way.
The direct approach A return to the ways of their forefathers has seen Indian and Bangladeshi rice farmers reduce their need for water and address the growing problem of labor shortages. by Adam Barclay
Genuinely Lao The story of the project that revolutionized rice production in Lao PDR. by Adam Barclay and Samjhana Shrestha
Back to the future Smallholders who integrate rice farming with livestock are the mainstay of traditional agriculture in the Greater Mekong Subregion--and a model for sustainable development. by Peter Fredenberg and Bob Hill
