Rice is a staple food for 3.5 billion people. In Southeast Asia, rice constitutes 50% of the population's calorie intake. Rice is among the five most widely grown cereal crops, and its demand does not stop rising due to a steady growth in the global population and changing food habits. Unfortunately, expanding cultivated areas under rice-based systems is not foreseeable as “the” solution to meet the demand. Unfortunately, expanding cultivated areas under rice-based systems is not foreseeable as "the" solution to meet the demand. Rice already consumes 40% of the world's irrigation water, putting intense pressure on a scarce primary resource and landscapes. Moreover, flooded paddy fields generate massive greenhouse gases, and, in many cases, they are cultivated using excessive amounts of fertilisers and pesticides.
The growing demand for rice, along with its sizeable environmental footprint, makes a change in the rice sector vital to transitioning to sustainable food systems. Indonesia and Vietnam, being among the largest rice producers in the world, play a crucial role in ensuring food availability for their populations and beyond. The sector must provide decent profits and working conditions for all actors along the value chain, especially smallholder farmers while reducing the environmental impact of rice production.
We aim to strengthen and improve national production capacity through more efficient, productive and sustainable practices to:
In Southeast Asia, we cooperated with farmer organisations, private actors, governments, research institutes and other key stakeholders in Indonesia and Vietnam to promote sustainable rice practices. Currently, we are working with more than … rice farmers from … farmer cooperatives across West and East Java provinces in Indonesia, and Dong Thap and Kien Giang provinces in Vietnam. Globally, our global rice programme operates in 9 countries: Indonesia, Vietnam, DR Congo, Tanzania, Uganda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal.
To fulfil our ambitions, we work with smallholderfarmers, buyers, and collaborate closely with research institutes, other NGOs, public institutes and financial institutions. We hold dialogues and support the action of local andnational governments, and actively contributes to regional and international multistakeholder platforms.
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