World Food DayRice

FACTORS AFFECTING ORIGIN & DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

• Rice originated from Ancient Wild Rice Species• Many species are known but commonly

cultivated ones are from type Oryza• Predominant findings:

O. sativa (Asian rice)O. glaberimma (West Africa)

• Gondwana Supercontinent Theory• Rice species can adapt to various parts of the

world

Shifting cultivation

• During ancient civilization, rice believed to have been grown by direct seeding without standing water

• Evidences of rice cultivation were found in the dry uplands of the South East Asian region

Wet-Rice Cultivation

• Dominant method used in today’s rice production• Believed to have originated in lower Yangtze river

valley- Swampy marshes- River systems- Monsoon rainfall- High temperatures

• Ancient Chinese development of puddling and transplanting domesticated rice species

Archaeological Evidences

• Carbonized rice remains of over 10, 000 years old and rice glumes in burnt clay

• Large number of wild rice varieties found in the region

• 130 ancient sites with 100 situated along the Yangtze river

Archaeological Evidences

• Clay with paddy impressions and husk remnants in Gujarat (expansion of Indus valley since 2300 BC)

• Unearthed pottery shards bearing the imprint of both grains and husks of O. sativa -> earlier in 4000 B.C. at Non Nok Tha in the Korat area of Thailand

Culture/ Religion

• Ancient Indian name for rice is dhanya which means ‘sustainer of the human race’

• King of Nepal- Suddhodana which means ‘Pure Rice’

• Japan, it is linked to the Sun-Goddess who is believed to be the mythological ancestor of the Japanese Imperial family

Culture/ Religion• The first authentic record of irrigation for

paddy cultivation is to be found in the Book of Poetry supposed to have been written in the Chow Dynasty about 781-771 B.C.

• Historian Ssu-ma Ch’ien in 148 B.C.Wrote of conditions in the Yangtze Valley

which refer to the burning off of trees and undergrowth, flooding the land and planting paddy.

IMPACT OF CURRENT TRADE POLICIES

Introduction

• Four types of rice traded globally; indica, japonica, aromatic and glutinous

• Traded according to: fully milled, brown or rough rice

• Main rice consuming: India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Myanmar

• Main rice producing: China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam

• Top exporters: Thailand, Vietnam, China and United States of America (U.S.A.)

Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Policy

• Implemented by World Trade Organisation (WTO)• Safeguard domestic interests in pests and disease

problems involved while importing plants and plant products

• Some of the principals behind the regulations enforced are not clear or wrongly used

• Example: Mexico and Central America banned Asian rice imports through SPS measures such as poor quality of gains, pest infestation and pesticide residue.

Implications

• Difficult for Asian exporters to enter into the regions’ rice market

• South American countries, seem to be taking on a protectionist measure

• Brazil which are using unscientific legal phytosanitary policies as a barrier to safeguard national interests

MERCOSUR Trade Agreement

• MERCOSUR: Common Market of the South• Allows for free trans-boundary movement of

goods between full member state- Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay

• Largest trading bloc in South America, their interest is to counter restrictions to regional trade

Implications

• Regional exchange of rice would have to compete against imported rice

• Rice is a food component largely traded among MERCOSUR countries

• Imposing a high tariff on non-members• Tariff levied by China, Egypt Iran, Japan, Korea,

Saudi Arabia and USA averages to about 11 per cent and a maximum of 18 per cent

South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)

• Economic strategies: self-sufficient and self-reliant

• Self sufficient: Food consumption to be from domestically produced food

• Self reliant: Advocate cheap imports to supplement food supplies

Implications

• As staple food, sale of rice unlikely to suffer drastic fall

• Major exporters Thailand and Vietnam have an agricultural based economy therefore ASEAN needs to safeguard their interest

• 107,867,551 tons of rice are circulated and sold within the region versus 16,624,056 tons of exports

Thank You