Prospects for World Agriculture the Twenty-First Century

I. INTRODUCTION The rice-wheat system of South Asia is an extremely important cropping system. It covers nearly 14 million hectares and accounts for one fourth of the rice and one third of the wheat produced in the region. Despite the importance of this system to the regional agricultural economy, its productivity has been limited by soil and water and crop management problems associated with the turnaround phases between the rice and wheat crops. Thus, identification of improved crop management practices that enhance the productivity of the rice-wheat farming system in environmentally sustainable ways is of paramount importance to the region and the world.