The Food Chain

Rice is the main staple for over half the world’s population. The crop has problems though – it is vulnerable to climate change, whether that’s drought or flooding. It’s also a crop that contributes to climate change, as it uses more water than other grain crops and is frequently grown in flooded conditions. Rice production is also a big source of methane emissions. In this programme Ruth Alexander hears about the possible solutions to these problems. Dr Yvonne Pinto, Director General of the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines talks about their work developing new varieties of rice, and new more sustainable farming techniques. One rice company trialling these techniques is Tilda in the UK. General Manager Jean-Philippe Laborde explains what difference it’s made to water and fertiliser use as well as methane emissions. Given the problems with rice, should we just eat less of it? Jakob Klein, anthropologist at SOAS University of London explains the Chinese government’s attempts to conv