Global scheme to boost rice yields while reducing damage to environment launched

Science Daily: One of the world's largest global scientific partnerships for sustainable agricultural development has launched a bold new research initiative that aims to dramatically improve the ability of rice farmers to feed growing populations in some of the world's poorest nations. The efforts of the Global Rice Science Partnership, or GRiSP, are expected to lift 150 million people out of poverty by 2035 and prevent the emission of greenhouse gases by an amount equivalent to more than 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide.

An initiative of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and led by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and its partners, GRiSP was launched in Hanoi November 10 at the 3rd International Rice Congress. The new global initiative will lead scientists to embark on the most comprehensive attempt ever to deploy rice's genetic diversity. Cutting-edge research aimed at discovering new rice genes and deciphering their functions will feed into accelerated efforts to break the yield barrier in rice and to breed new generations of "climate-ready" rice with flooding tolerance and other traits that are essential for adapting production in the face of climate change. The initiative is expected to boost supplies enough to reduce anticipated increases in rice prices by an average of at least 6.5% by 2020, and at least 13% by 2035.

"Given that rice is a staple food for more than half the global population and in most of the developing world, there is no question that availability of rice is equated with food security," said Dr. Robert Zeigler, Director General of IRRI, a member of the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers….

Reflections of the clouds at sunset over the rice terraced mountains of the Hani people in Yuanyang County, Yunnan, China, in wintertime, when the paddies are left filled with water until planting in Spring. A beautiful shot by Takeaway, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license