ABSTRACT
Will Asia be able to produce enough rice to feed itself in the coming decades? Although Asia is no longer seen as a major food crisis region of the world as it was during the 1960s (its food production has more than kept up with population, while in Africa per capita food production has declined for at least fifteen years), 75 percent of the developing world’s population is in Asia, and any significant shortfall in food production would put a strain on the export capacity of other regions of the world. Because rice is such a dominant component of the Asian diet, rice supplies in Asia will determine future food availability in the region as a whole.
