Rice

Abstract
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the staple food of over half the world’s people. Worldwide, it is grown on 150 million hectares, more than 10% of total arable land. Total world production exceeds 500 million tonnes of rough rice (paddy). Ninety five per cent of the world’s rice is grown by less developed countries, mostly in Asia (IRRI, 1995).