Bangladesh
Bangladesh is famous for its rich heritage of colorful festivities and distinctive culinary traditions. At the center of all these celebrations is the serving of boiled rice, the country’s staple food. Rice is presented with an interesting combination of vegetables, curry, fish, and/or meat.
Cambodia
The introduction of reforms in the early 1990s gave priority to the development of the agricultural sector. Rice is currently the country’s largest subsector and its cultivation dominates about 90% of the country’s total agricultural area.
India
India has the largest proportion of area plant ed to rice in Asia and is one of the top ten rice-producing and rice-exporting countries in the world. It also has the largest rainfed rice area in Asia. More than half of Asia’s drought-prone rice areas can be found in India. Its eastern part, where rice cultivation is most intense, accounts for only 48% of the country’s  total rice production. Drought, low soil fertility, flooding, and water stagnation affect about 80% of eastern India’s rainfed rice area
.
Indonesia
The third-largest rice producer in the world today, Indonesia became rice sufficient in 1984. Between 1970 and 2006, Indonesia's average rice yield rose by 90% from 2.35 to 4.62 t/ha. Most of Indonesia's rice-producing area is on the island of Java.
Lao PDR
Laos is a landlocked country that shares borders with Myanmar, Cambodia, China, Thailand, and Vietnam. Mostly mountainous, only 4.0% of Laos’ land is arable and only a small portion is cultivated. Its agricultural sector employs 75% of its labor force and accounts for 27.8% of the country’s GDP.
|
Myanmar
Myanmar is a resource-rich country bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos, and Thailand. It is the second-largest country in Southeast Asia, with a third of its perimeter comprising an uninterrupted coastline that spans 1,930 kilometers along the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.
Nepal is a country where more than 70% of its population depends on rice for livelihood. Yet, ironically, only half of its less-than-20% arable lands are planted with the crop. Only 70% of Nepal’s farming communities achieve food security for more than half of the year and only 30% would have enough rice on their table when environmental conditions turn unfavorable.
Philippines
A country of 7,107 islands spread along the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines is considered a climate hotspot owing to its geographic location and archipelagic formation. Mountainous with narrow to extensive coastal lowlands, an average of 20 to 25 typhoons hit the country every year, bringing destructive floods and landslides. Its low-lying coastal areas are also predicted to be affected by the rising sea-water level.
Thailand
Thailand is among the world’s biggest rice producers and exporters. Around 13% of its GDP comprises agriculture, and the sector alone employs 40.7% of the country’s labor force. Aside from being the most important export crop, rice is both a staple in the diet and an important part of the culture of the Thai people.
Vietnam
Vietnam has emerged in recent years as one of the world’s top producers and exporters of rice. From 15.7 million tons in 1985, the country’s rice production more than doubled to about 35.9 million tons in 2004. Rice production alone accounts for 45% of the country’s agricultural produce. A staple in every Vietnamese’s diet, rice comprises about 67% of daily calorie intake.
|
|
