Overview

China stands as the largest rice-producing country in the world and accounts for approximately 26% of the global rice production. According to FAO, it produced 208 million metric tons of paddy rice in 2023, with an average yield of 7.1 metric tons per hectare.

As China’s most important crop, rice is central to ensuring food security for the country’s growing 1.4 billion population. Yet, the effects of climate change, such as spring droughts, autumn flooding, and rising temperatures, continue to threaten its cultivation. Additionally, the diminishing arable land for rice farming, with about 29 million hectares, and soil degradation caused by heavy pesticide use pose further risks to its long-term productivity. At the same time, China’s diverse genetic resources remain largely untapped, offering valuable opportunities for developing improved rice varieties.

With over four decades of collaboration, IRRI served as a hub for building expertise in rice science for its scientists and students. This partnership has led to the widescale adoption of improved hybrid varieties, resulting in increased yields and reduced disease incidence, particularly rice blast disease. It has also generated new technologies that reduce pesticide use while enhancing productivity, bringing economic, social, and ecological benefits across the country.

Together, IRRI and China are working to develop adaptive solutions to climate change by breeding high-yielding and stress-resistant varieties and advancing rice farming technologies. IRRI also supports initiatives to strengthen cooperation, knowledge-sharing, and technological exchange among countries and institutions to drive sustainable rice production.