ABSTRACT
Because rice is critical for food security in so many of the poorest countries, investments in the rice sector should be designed to alleviate poverty and meet the food demands of still growing—and increasingly urbanized—populations. In all rice environments vital ecosystem services—such as biodiversity, groundwater recharge, and flow regulation—in addition to food production should be explicitly recognized and protected. Rice may be relatively benign to the environment compared with other crops: more methane emission but less nitrous oxide, little to no nitrate leaching, and little herbicide use. The food security of many poor consumers depends on the productive capacity of irrigated areas. Increasing water scarcity is expected to further shift rice production to more water-abundant delta areas and to lead to crop diversification and more aerobic soil conditions in rice fields in water-short areas. Investments in these areas should support the adoption of water-saving technologies and the improvement of irrigation supply systems, while sustaining the resource base of the rice fields. There is no single solution for all circumstances, and investments need to be selective and specifically targeted to the different rice environments.
