Essay About Rice Production

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Rice Cultivation Rice is the most important staple food grain for more than two billion people living in the rural and urban areas of humid and subhumid Asia. It accounts for 30 to 50% of agricultural production and 50-90% of the calories consumed by these people (Hossain and Fischer, 1995). Rice provides household and national food security and generates employment and incomes for the low-income groups in these areas. As a result, Asian governments regard rice as a strategic commodity, and self-sufficeincy in rice production has become a political objective for many Asian countries. Over the last three decades, rice production in Asia has increased at 2.5% per year and has kept pace with population growth since the 1960s. The most important outcome of these efforts is securing an adequate supply of food grain, which helped prevent hunger. However, in recent years, population growth has outpaced rice production (Hossain, 1999). The annual population growth in rice-producing and rice consuming countries in Asia has risen from 1.5% to more than 2.0% per year, whereas the corresponding increase in rice growth rate was less than 1.5%. This lag in production disproportionately affects the low income countries where

al., 2012). The area involves eight major granaries, as shown in figure 2.1 which have been reserved and designated purposely for wetland paddy cultivation by the government in the National Agricultural Policy. Most of the government support programs and interventions in paddy sector are concentrated in these areas, which also makes it important area for research and development activities. In order to supervise and monitor this intervention programs, a dedicated government authority is mandate to help the paddy farmers to improve their productivity, output, earning and technology