Ronald P. Cantrel
Director General
The International Rice Research Institute
Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
doi.org/10.57043/transnastphl.1999.5705
Abstract
Rice is considered by many governments as a strategic commodity due to its importance in ensuring national food security and in generating employment and income for the poor in society. Since the mid- 1960s, rice production has increased by 2.5% yearly with nearly 80% of the growth in production to be due to increases in yields brought about by the gradual use of modern cultivars. However, poverty and food insecurity still affects 1.3 billion people, 70% of whom live in Asia. The paper discusses the main factors affecting demand for rice in the region: income, urbanization and population growth. In one nation, demand may fall as incomes rise, but this may be outweighed by population growth elsewhere. The paper further noted that in the mid- 1980s, the growth in rice yield has failed to outpace population growth in a large number of countries. It discusses the factors that contribute to the slowing growth in rice yield: labor and wages, water availability, competing demand for land, incentive to sustain interest of farmer in rice farming, trade liberalization, limitation of technological process.