Can Less Favorable Areas Obtain Food Security?
Rice is life. So, when the global rice crisis hit. in 2008, it threatened many lives. The year became well remembered for the soaring prices, the long lines in the market, the panic, the blame game, and the social unrest in different countries. A sense of alarm grew when rice, known to he the most “affordable” food for the poor, suddenly became “unaffordable”. It reminded the world of rice’s crucial role in human existence. It also revived interest in agriculture. Researchers often focus on farming on irrigated, favorable, and accessible farms. But we may fail to realize that many farmers contend with unfavorable areas just so their families can have enough rice to eat and survive. These so-called unfavorable areas are rainfed parcels; uplands; drought-prone, flooded, and submerged farms; farms with saline soils; etc. For a long time, rice science did not favor investing in unfavorable areas as they were too diverse, complicated, and difficult. Compared with irrigated farms, these topo
