The Growing Need for More Sustainable Rice Production
Rice is one of the largest grain crops, feeding nearly half the world’s population and accounting for over 20% of global calorie intake.
Despite its widespread cultivation, with the biggest producers being China, India and Indonesia, production has peaked in recent years and this staple crop is facing more challenges than ever. With a rapidly growing global population, the race is on to increase yields and productivity. Being labelled as the crop with the highest emissions, requiring copious amounts of land and water to produce, second only to beef and dairy in agricultural production. It’s critical for us to improve the sustainability of rice cultivation in the wake of global climate change and environmental impact.
The quest for increased yields by traditional breeding has been an ongoing concern for most crops. For rice, this is a particularly pressing concern given its environmental impact. In light of the challenges faced by the rice industry, we specialise in using a new breeding technique known as gene-editing to develop rice varieties with increased yields so that more rice can be produced from a given amount of land, effectively reducing carbon emissions. We also use gene-editing to develop rice varieties with enhanced disease and pest resistance so that growers are protected against yield losses amid the increased disease pressures that arise from climate change.
Image of Tropic’s elite rice growing in the greenhouse