ACIAR Study: Rice Breeding Boosts Yields and Farmers' Income
October 7, 2011| |
Rice farmers from Southeast Asia gets an extra US$1.46 B from rice annually because of the new varieties produced through rice breeding conducted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), according to the report of the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). ACIAR evaluated the impact of IRRI's efforts to increase rice varietal yield since 1985 up to 2009 and found out that there has been a production increase of 13 percent. Furthermore, the assessment revealed that the improved varieties increased farmers' returns by US$127 a hectare in southern Vietnam, $76 a hectare in Indonesia, and $52 a hectare in the Philippines.
"This means farmers are now harvesting more rice per hectare, which not only lifts them out of poverty, but it is contributing towards the world-wide challenge of feeding the estimated global population of 9 billion people in 2050," said Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Kevin Rudd. "Ensuring an ample and affordable supply of Asia's staple crop is critical to reducing poverty and increasing regional stability," he added.
The media release is available at http://irri.org/news-events/media-releases/rice-breeding-brings-billions-to-se-asia.
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