ABSTRACT
Rice is one of the three major food crops of the world, others being wheat and maize. It forms the staple diet of more than half of the world’s population. The global production of rice, in terms of paddy, is estimated to be 745 million in tonnes in 2014, grown over 163 million hectares (FAO, 2014). As explained in Chapter 1, although it is grown under diverse agro-climatic conditions around the globe, it is the major crop of countries in the south, southeast and northeast Asia, which account for more than 90% of the world’s produce. It plays a crucial nutritional and cultural role in societies throughout the countries of this region. It is also of immense importance to food security of these countries. The top two rice-producing countries, China and India, together contribute to more than half of the world’s produce.
