Extreme Rainfall is Putting Asia's Rice Fields at Risk, Threatening Global Food Production

A study conducted by scientists at Peking University in China, the impact of climate change and the associated extreme weather events will have a considerable negative impact on world food production.

Climate change endanger world's food supply

(Photo : Luke Dray/Getty Images)

The study estimated that by the year 2100, loss yield might reach up to 8.1%, and reductions brought on by extreme rainfall were found to be comparable to those brought on by extreme heat over the previous two decades, as per Phys.org.

For the purpose of identifying the mechanisms behind the effects of excessive rainfall, researchers developed a thorough set of conditional rainfall experiments.

In order to study the effects on three distinct growth phases-vegetative, reproductive, and ripening-four degrees of rainfall intensity and event frequency have been utilized in the studies.

The scientists were able to distinguish between biophysical and biochemical mechanisms acting on several growth phases under diverse variables of rain intensity, water volume, plant exposure, and nitrogen modification, using many controls.

Extreme rainfall directly harmed plant tissues. In other cases, heavy rains prevented the intake of nutrients by washing away or soaking soil.

There was also ample evidence that heavy rains during the reproductive phase was impeding successful pollination.

As the major consumer of California rice in Asia, China primarily imports rice from Vietnam, Pakistan, India, Burma, and Thailand.

In part to the rapidly changing environment, each of these places will have unique crop yield challenges,

Also Read: Rice Genetically Modified To Be More Salt Tolerant Could Be a Key To Reducing Food Shortages

2023 is the largest fall of rice production

More than 3.5 billion people around the world, especially in Asia-Pacific, which consume 90% of the world's rice, are being affected by rising rice prices as a result of declining output in countries like China, the U.S., and the European Union, as per CNBC.

In 2023, the global rice market is projected to see its greatest deficit in two decades, which will negatively affect major importers because rice is one of the most widely grown grains in the world.

According to a report published on April 4 by Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research, rice prices are predicted to hover around current highs until 2024.

The price of rice will only decrease to $14.50 per cwt in 2024 from an average of $17.30 per cwt through 2023. Cwt is a unit of measurement used for some goods, including rice.

Best rice planting during intensive rains

Submergence can affect rice crops at any stage of growth, either short-term (flash floods) or long-term (stagnant flooding), as per International Rice Reasearch Institute.

The chances of survival are extremely low when completely submerged during the crop's vegetative stage.

The rice plants spend so much energy attempting to escape floods that continue more than a few days that they end up unable to recuperate.

A single gene, the SUB1 gene, has been shown to provide resistance to submersion for up to 14 days in plants.

The SUB1A gene, obtained from an Indian rice variety, allowed researchers to pinpoint the genetic coding that governs submergence tolerance.

When a plant is immersed, the SUB1A gene turns on, causing it to become dormant and conserve energy until the floodwaters subside.

In India, Swarna Sub1, Bangladesh's Samba Mahsuri, and the Philippines' IR64-Sub1, flood-tolerant varieties were made available and are currently being planted.