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 Richness in Rice can bring second Green Revolution

New Delhi October 09, 2006

At the Inauguration function of the Second International Rice Congress, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh underlined the importance of striking a balance between using the potential of biotechnology to meet the requirements of hungry people, while addressing ethical concerns about interfering with nature to see another green revolution soon ushering in.

He also emphasized the need to bring about an improvement in the economics of rice cultivation and resource use.

Dr. Singh said that a concerted effort was required to develop rice varieties for wider adaptation to climatic change and advocated a multilateral trade regime that enabled rice farmers to harness the full potential of their resources and capabilities.

He said “Food security for all and eradication of poverty are feasible goals for social action, provided we have the wisdom to combine science and technology and public policy making in the desired direction.”

Since the early 1960s, global population has increased annually by 1.76%, while rice production has increased annually by 2.35%. This has resulted in an improvement in per capita availability of rice from below 50 kg in the early 1960s, to about 62 kg during 2002-04. There is a need for further application of science and technology to develop the rice economies.

The growth rate of both production and productivity in rice cultivation in India has tapered off in recent years. There is a need to give boost to rice production and productivity. We also need to improve the economics of rice cultivation by finding alternative uses for by-products like rice straw.

There is a need for both a Second Green Revolution in rice and, more importantly, an improvement in the economics of rice cultivation and resource use.

Rice grown under irrigated conditions is facing the threat of water shortage. This is forcing a paradigm shift towards maximizing output per unit of water instead of per unit of land. Can we come out with technologies that convince farmers to use less water in rice production without compromising on returns? This is yet another challenge for our scientists and technologists.

Indeed, increasing output per unit of water is a larger challenge facing Indian agriculture as a whole. Scientific, technological, economic and, importantly, institutional responses are required to meet this challenge.

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