India's top
agricultural scientist said the crop can be grown with less water as
well as with deep water
New Delhi: Rice, which rose to a record on Wednesday, will increase in
importance as a source of food because the crop can be grown in
different conditions and may withstand the effects of global climate
change, India’s top agricultural scientist said.
“Rice is going to become more important when temperatures go up and
there are more frequent droughts or more frequent floods,” said M.S.
Swaminathan, the architect of India’s green revolution. “You can grow
it with less water as well as in deep water.”
Countries worldwide are seeking to boost rice yields to raise output,
increase food security and bring down prices.
A United Nations’ panel warned last year that rising temperatures would
cause sea levels to climb and droughts and floods to occur more
frequently. The changes may put hundreds of millions of people at risk
as water in some parts of the world becomes scarcer and crops less
reliable.
“Rice is a crop of both the present and the future,” said Swaminathan,
82, on Tuesday. The scientist, a former chief of the International Rice
Research Institute in the Philippines, is a member of the Rajya Sabha.
“It is a crop which will give us some protection under conditions of
climate change.”
Rice futures for May delivery on the Chicago Board of Trade, which have
more than doubled in the past year, gained by as much as 2.3% to $22.67
(Rs907) per 100 pounds (45kg) in after-hours electronic trading and
stood at $22.655 at 4.19pm Singapore time.
Wheat and corn have also touched records this year, fanning inflation
and sparking warnings from UN and International Monetary Fund that the
jump may trigger starvation and unrest.
The surge in rice prices has been driven by rising demand and
importers’ concern there may be a shortage in the international market.
Rice exporters including China, Egypt, Vietnam and India, representing
more than a third of global exports, have cut overseas sales this year
to safeguard local supplies.
Swaminathan played a key role in the 1960s to bring varieties of wheat
from Mexico, and rice from Taiwan and the International Rice Research
Institute to marry with local strains and helped raise yields of the
country’s two main staples and may have staved off famine, a process
widely known as the green revolution.
The world will need an additional 50 million tonnes of rice a year in
the years to 2015, about 9% more than current production, according to
a forecast on the website of the International Rice Research Institute.
Of this, Asia will account for 58% and sub-Saharan Africa for 21%.
India’s commerce minister Kamal Nath on Tuesday asked state governments
to prevent hoarding of essential commodities after rising food prices
pushed inflation to more than a three-year high in Asia’s third biggest
economy. “The state governments must ensure that there is no food
hoarding, there is no profiteering,” Nath said.
http://www.livemint.com/2008/04/17012412/Rice-may-withstand-climate-cha.html
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