This is Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English AgricultureReport.
The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2004 theInternational Year of Rice. The Association of Southeast AsianNations discussed the importance of the declaration in January.Indonesia’s Minister of Agriculture said the UN declaration givesmany nations the chance to consider food security. He saidtechnology has an important part to play in improving riceproduction.
Rice provides twenty percent of the world’s dietary energy – morethan wheat or corn. It is a central food in the diet of a majorityof the world’s population.
The director-general of the U-N Food and AgricultureOrganization, Jacques Diouf, has called rice a symbol of culturalidentity and unity. But he warned that production must increase.
The FAO says better farming methods could produce a bigger cropof most kinds of rice.
During the 1990’s, world rice production increased. But MisterDiouf warns that production will not meet the needs of growingpopulations by two-thousand-thirty.
The economics of rice is also important. The FAO says developinggovernments often place price controls on rice. These governmentshave to balance two pressures. Prices need to stay low so people canbuy this important food. But growers need prices to rise to increasetheir income.
Price pressures hurt small farmers in developing countries themost. These farmers do not get aid that governments provide farmersin industrial countries.
Exporting can ease these pressures. But only five to sevenpercent of the world rice crop is traded internationally. This ismuch lower than wheat and corn. More than eighty percent of all riceis grown on small farms and used locally. Small producers hold largeshares of the world export market because of this. Thailand is thebiggest exporter of rice with twenty-six percent of the market. But,China and India are by far the biggest producers of rice.
Special kinds of rice may offer a way to create new exportmarkets. Rice with qualities like good smell, unusual color or highprotein levels represent specialty products. They could providegrowers with higher profit crops.
The UN has chosen the words, Rice is Life to represent theidea behind The International Year of Rice.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by MarioRitter. This is Bob Doughty.