Rice and sovereignty

The launch of a high-yielding dwarf rice variety by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) on 28 November 1966 marked the beginning of Asia's struggle for freedom from hunger. Perhaps drawn by the promise of the 'miracle rice' — the IR8 rice variety — the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) dedicated 1966 as the International Rice Year. Thirty-eight years later as the United Nations dedicates the year 2004 to the world's most important staple food once again, celebrating it as the International Year of Rice, the starchy grain has undergone complete metamorphosis.

In 1966, the miracle rice seeds that ushered in the green revolution belonged to the species Oryza sativa (the biological name for rice). Since the time the indica variety of wild rice was known to be growing in the northern and southern slopes of the Himalaya – some 15,000 years ago – rice has been regarded as probably God's greatest gift to humankind. Staple food for more than half the world's population, rice has come to be a part of the Asian culture itself. Nearly 91 percent of the world's rice is produced in Asia (nine of the top ten rice-producing countries are from Asia) and 92 percent of the produce is eaten in Asia. Rice is the principal food of three of the world's four most populous nations: the People´s Republic of China, India and Indonesia. Rice is what sustains more than 2.5 billion people in these three countries alone. For centuries, rice has been the sociology, tradition and lifeline for the majority world.