Modifying rice crop management to ease water constraints with increased productivity, environmental benefits, and climate-resilience

Abstract

Water scarcity increasingly constrains agricultural production, particularly for rice, one of our most important food crops. Conventional paddy production is the world’s largest single consumer of water. Making certain changes in current cultivation practices, as discussed here, can raise rice crop yields while reducing water and other inputs. Diminished greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, less runoff water pollution, and more climate-resilience are additional benefits. Spreading such changes in crop and water management within the rice sector can be a cost-effective response to agricultural water shortages, offering improvement in food security, adaptability to climate change, and environmental sustainability.