The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has launched a rice consortium that will develop less labor or water-intensive rice technologies which are crucial now that rice price is at a 10-year high.
In the group are the Philippines, Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
The world’s rice inventory has been at a 30-year low, and this tightness has pushed rice price up to $ 343 per metric ton (MT). This was even the lowest price offer during the National Food Authority’s latest bidding last month and is at least 10 percent higher than the $ 309 per MT price the previous bidding.
IRRI indicated that rice production has an existing competition with other industries when it comes to water supply. Water becomes a crucial factor in raising production specially as 75 percent of the world’s consumption of rice comes from irrigated lands.
"Research efforts to help rice farmers boost their production efficiency and rein in their costs are being helped by new scientific knowledge in several key areas, including new technologies to optimize the use of fertilizers and reduce water use," IRRI said.
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