Why an international research center for rice?

Almost half the world depends on rice as a major source of food. Although most rice producers and consumers live in Asia, rice is also an essential staple and a source of income for millions of others in Africa and South America. Many of these people are among the world’s poorest, making rice production one of the planet’s most important economic activities.

Rice farms also cover 11% of the world’s arable area, so the development of sustainable technologies can have a large positive impact on the global environment.

Increased rice production has resulted in a spectacular drop in the real price of rice over the past 40 years, providing the poor with vital additional income.