About rice
Rice is the staple food of more than half the world’s population and a mainstay for rural populations and their food security the world over. Developing countries account for close to 95 percent of overall production, with India and China producing nearly half of the global output. Although rice is grown in 112 countries, around 95 percent of it is grown and consumed in Asia. Worldwide rice production has risen steadily from approximately 200 million tonnes of rice in 1960, to over 476 millions tonnes in 2011.
In terms of mean grain yield, rice crops produce more food energy and protein supply per hectare than maize and wheat, so rice can support more people per unit of land than the other staples. Its popularity as a staple food is growing in many parts of the world, especially in Africa, which has seen the sharpest rise in rice consumption over the past few decades. Maize, sorghum, millet and tubers and roots used to dominate this part of the world, but rice is slowly but surely gaining ground.