This article is brought to you by the Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR) Impact Program. Learn more about the GLF’s partnership with FOLUR here.
Rice is not only a staple food for more than half of the world’s population, but it also provides livelihoods for 144 million rice farmers around the globe.
As the world’s population grows, demand for rice is set to increase 25 percent over the next 20 years – making rice even more crucial to global food security.
However, rice is vulnerable to the climate crisis , which is projected to reduce rice yields by 40 percent by 2100.
At the same time, rice cultivation also drives the climate crisis, accounting for half of all cropland emissions and 40 percent of global freshwater consumption, as well as driving deforestation across the Global South.
To address this complex challenge, we will need to transition to a greener global agrifood system – but how?
The rice value chain includes several key stages, starting with essential inputs like fertilizers, seeds and machinery. These resources are crucial for efficient cultivation, which involves planting, growing and harvesting high-quality rice.
Once harvested, rice is aggregated, processed, packaged and stored before being distributed to retailers by wholesalers such as supermarkets and retailers.
Finally, rice is consumed in homes and restaurants.
The rice value chain is closely linked with sectors like water, environment, infrastructure, energy and transport, and it’s important to work across sectors to green this vital commodity.
The journey of rice from field to table begins with a range of critical inputs.
Fertilizers and pesticides, including insecticides and herbicides, play a pivotal role in maintaining crop health and boosting yields.
However, their excessive use can negatively affect the environment, water bodies and farmers’ health. Farmers must adopt practices that can not only save input costs but also mitigate risks.
Another crucial input is seeds, which determine the genetic potential of the crop.
Land, water and machinery are also essential as they enable the cultivation and management of rice paddies. Water use is particularly crucial in rice farming due to its high water demands. Mechanization, from plowing to harvesting, helps increase efficiency and reduce labor intensity.
The use of renewable energy can also help minimize emissions from rice farming.
This stage is where the actual rice growing process unfolds. It starts with land preparation, where farmers manage and prepare the fields. This includes plowing, leveling and sometimes flooding the fields to create the ideal environment for rice cultivation.
Seedlings can be propagated either through direct seeding or by transplanting young rice plants into the prepared fields. Once the seedlings are in place, the growing phase begins, which includes irrigating and managing water levels, controlling pests and applying necessary fertilizers.
The final step in this stage is the harvesting of mature rice plants. Each of these steps is crucial: the use of climate-smart technologies and management practices ensures resilient and healthy crops, maximizes yields and improves grain quality while minimizing emissions.
After harvesting, the rice undergoes a series of logistics and processing. Paddy traders typically buy harvested rice from different smallholder farmers and aggregate rice harvest and bring it to processors or millers.
Milling includes husking, where the outer husk is removed to reveal brown rice, and polishing to produce white rice by removing the bran layer. Millers then classify, package, and store rice for wholesalers to buy. Storage facilities are designed to maintain rice quality and prevent losses.
Polished and packaged rice is distributed by wholesalers through various channels to reach markets. This involves coordinating transportation, which can include trucks, ships or trains, depending on the destination.
Logistics are essential for ensuring that rice reaches markets in optimal condition, preserving its quality and ensuring a steady supply to meet consumer demand.
Each step in rice processing adds value and enhances its usability. Once processed, rice-based products are packaged for distribution, ensuring it is protected and preserved until it reaches consumers.
In the retail stage, rice is distributed through supermarkets, grocery stores and wholesalers. These retail channels are responsible for making rice available to consumers in convenient forms and quantities.
Retailers must manage inventory effectively, ensure product freshness and provide a variety of rice types to cater to different consumer preferences. Retail also involves packaging decisions that affect shelf life and consumer appeal.
By effectively managing these aspects, retailers help ensure that consumers have access to high-quality rice products.
The final stage of the rice value chain is consumption. At this point, rice and rice-based products are prepared and served in homes and restaurants. Rice is a staple food in many cultures and is enjoyed in a variety of dishes.
In this stage, it’s important to ensure that rice is properly stored and cooked to minimize wastage. Any uneaten rice should be disposed of responsibly, preferably through composting, to return nutrients into the soil.
Policymakers also have a role to play in educating consumers on portion sizes and healthier diets to further incentivize the rice value chain to produce more sustainable rice.
As global demand for rice continues to grow, the need for sustainable rice value chains is ever increasing, as is the need to finance this transition. This will require coordination at the landscape level and collaborations between the public and private sectors. That’s where sustainable finance comes in.
Forests and agriculture are one of our most important solutions to the climate crisis – but they receive less than 3 percent of climate financing. Governments, corporations, institutional investors, banks and other financial institutions all have an important part to play, whether it’s through providing financing, creating incentives or de-risking innovations in the agrifood sector.
The time is now to climate-proof our agrifood systems. Are we ready to do what it takes?
To learn more about sustainable finance, join us on 25 October at the 7th GLF Investment Case Symposium. Read more about how to achieve net zero emissions in agrifood systems in the World Bank publication Recipe For A Livable Planet.
The FOLUR Impact Program collaborates globally to transform food systems through sustainable value chains for eight commodities across 27 countries. Specifically, the program has rice projects in China, India, Indonesia, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam. These projects implement sustainable rice production at a landscape level, involving all actors along the value chain. In practice, this involves connecting with farmers, producer organizations, women – who often contribute substantially to rice production – and governments to achieve a multi-stakeholder approach.
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