Food Security Under Threat for Billions? Severe Flooding Devastating Global Rice Yields

Asianet News English

New research shows that intense flooding has significantly reduced rice harvests worldwide, putting billions at risk of food insecurity. Between 1980 and 2015, annual rice losses averaged 4.3%, but floods have worsened since 2000 due to climate change-driven extreme weather. Prolonged submergence of rice crops, lasting a week or more, is devastating yields in key rice-growing regions across Asia and beyond.&nbsp;

Transcript

00:00Did you know that extreme floods are taking a heavy toll on rice production worldwide,

00:04cutting global rice yields faster than previously expected?

00:08Now, everybody knows that rice is a staple food.

00:11But you must also remember that rice feeds over half of the world's population.

00:16So, when floods threaten rice crops, the consequences can ripple out to millions,

00:20even billions of people.

00:22Now, recent research from Stanford University has revealed something alarming.

00:27Between 1980 and 2015, intense flooding caused an average loss of about 4.3%

00:34in global rice yields each year.

00:36Now, that's roughly 18 million tons of rice lost annually due to severe floods.

00:42And the situation has worsened since 2000,

00:45as extreme flooding events have become more frequent in major rice growing areas.

00:51Now, you might wonder why is flooding so damaging to rice crops?

00:55Well, it's true that rice plants need water, especially shallow standing water early in their growth.

01:00But when rice fields are submerged underwater for too long, like at around one week or more,

01:06the plants can die.

01:08The researchers call these instances rice-killing floods.

01:11Prolonged full submergence causes most rice plants to perish because they cannot survive without oxygen.

01:19Some of the hardest-hit rice-growing regions include parts of India like West Bengal and the Sabarmati Basin,

01:25China's East Coast, North Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Nepal.

01:30For instance, losses on China's East Coast can reach up to 14% during these flood events.

01:36Meanwhile, in some hot and dry basins, floods might actually help rice yields by providing much-needed water

01:44that evaporates quickly without long-term damage. But these are exceptions rather than the rule.

01:50What makes this even more concerning is the link to climate change.

01:54Now, scientists combined information about rice growth stages, annual global rice yields,

01:59a worldwide database of droughts and floods dating back to 1950,

02:03a model of how floods behave across landscapes,

02:05and a simulation of soil moisture levels over time in major rice-growing river basins.

02:11Now, as the planet warms, scientists project that the most intense week of rainfall in key

02:16rice-growing basins could increase by 13% or more compared to past averages.

02:22Now, this means that rice-killing floods are likely to become even more common in coming decades.

02:27So, what can be done to protect this vital crop?

02:31Now, one promising solution lies in flood-resistant rice varieties. For example,

02:36the Swarna sub-1 variety in India can survive complete submergence for up to two to three weeks,

02:43protecting farmers from losses during flood years. Now, this breakthrough in agricultural science

02:50offers hope to many communities reliant on rain-fed agriculture facing unpredictable and extreme weather.

02:58However, the challenge goes beyond floods. Rice crops are also vulnerable to droughts,

03:02heat waves, and the rapid swings from dry to wet conditions. Now, these combined climate stresses can

03:09nearly double yield losses compared to single events alone. Developing comprehensive strategies that

03:16include resilient crop varieties and improved water management will be key to securing global rice

03:23production. The threat posed by extreme floods to rice farming is real and growing, with billions

03:29depending on rice as a dietary staple, understanding, preparing for and adapting to these flood risks

03:37must be a global priority.

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