ASEAN mulls collaboration on rice supply
Over 90 percent of the world's rice is produced and consumed in the Asia-Pacific region where more than three billion people live. A population projection made for 2025 by FAO shows an average increase of 51 percent based on the year 1995; therefore, the amount of rice produced at 524 million tons annually to serve current consumers has to be increased to 700 million tons by 2025. The task of increasing the rice supply is facing difficulties due to climate change and the lack of new generation farmers. While the number of consumers in each mega city is growing, the number of producers is diminishing dramatically. Dr. Sujin Realizing the problems, Thailand's Rice Department, in cooperation with Naresuan University (NU), is trying to replace human labor by utilizing agricultural machinery to produce enough supply for national consumption and for export. NU has conducted several research studies to increase yield and reduce the cost of rice production whereas the Ri...