August 25, 2006
Source: FAO
“The development of C4
rice or similar varieties is very much welcome and we
strongly recommend that member governments and the donor
community provide full support to current research based
on improving the photosynthetic efficiency of the rice
plant,” International Rice Commission Secretary Nguu
Nguyen said today.
Mr. Nguyen was commenting on recent reports on a major
international scientific effort to enhance the rice
plant’s efficiency, or what is known to experts as
converting rice from a C3 plant to a C4 plant, where the
“C” refers to the carbon captured by photosynthesis for
growth.
The more solar energy a rice plant can efficiently
capture, the more it will yield, explained Mr. Nguyen.
“We need to meet the challenge of feeding a growing
world population which is projected to reach 8.3 billion
in 2030, with an accompanying rice demand of 771 million
tonnes,” he said.
An enormous challenge
In order to meet this expected demand for rice by 2030,
global rice production – 618 million tonnes in 2005 –
will need to increase by about 153 million tonnes. “This
is an enormous challenge as land and water resources
available for rice production keep diminishing as a
result of urbanization and industrialization,” Mr.
Nguyen said.
Sustainable rice production requires a substantial
increase in rice yields per hectare.
“The C4 rice would have the potential to out-yield the
best performing existing rice varieties and hybrids by
15 to 20 percent. However, it will take several more
years before the C4 rice varieties may become available.
And, then we will have to make sure that they are safe
for human and animal consumption as well as for the
environment,” Mr. Nguyen stressed.
Biosafety concern
The successful mapping of the rice genome in 2002
created new opportunities for the application of genetic
resources for breeding a new generation of rice
varieties with higher yield potentials, greater
resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, and superior
grain quality and water use efficiency.
The advances in rice biotechnology, however, have also
generated new concerns related to biosafety,
conservation of rice genetic diversity, intellectual
property rights and access. In this respect, the
International Rice Commission believes that national
capacity building is urgently required to ensure that
new innovations benefit local people and do not incur
long-term costs to the environment.
