2004-1-19
This is Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English Agriculture
Report.
The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2004 the
International Year of Rice. The Association of Southeast Asian
Nations discussed the importance of the declaration in January.
Indonesia's Minister of Agriculture said the UN declaration gives
many nations the chance to consider food security. He said
technology has an important part to play in improving rice
production.
Rice provides twenty percent of the world's dietary energy - more
than wheat or corn. It is a central food in the diet of a majority
of the world's population.
The director-general of the U-N Food and Agriculture
Organization, Jacques Diouf, has called rice a symbol of cultural
identity and unity. But he warned that production must increase.
The FAO says better farming methods could produce a bigger crop
of most kinds of rice.
During the 1990's, world rice production increased. But Mister
Diouf warns that production will not meet the needs of growing
populations by two-thousand-thirty.
The economics of rice is also important. The FAO says developing
governments often place price controls on rice. These governments
have to balance two pressures. Prices need to stay low so people can
buy this important food. But growers need prices to rise to increase
their income.
Price pressures hurt small farmers in developing countries the
most. These farmers do not get aid that governments provide farmers
in industrial countries.
Exporting can ease these pressures. But only five to seven
percent of the world rice crop is traded internationally. This is
much lower than wheat and corn. More than eighty percent of all rice
is grown on small farms and used locally. Small producers hold large
shares of the world export market because of this. Thailand is the
biggest exporter of rice with twenty-six percent of the market. But,
China and India are by far the biggest producers of rice.
Special kinds of rice may offer a way to create new export
markets. Rice with qualities like good smell, unusual color or high
protein levels represent specialty products. They could provide
growers with higher profit crops.
The UN has chosen the words, Rice is Life to represent the
idea behind The International Year of Rice.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario
Ritter. This is Bob Doughty.