Los Baños, Philippines – “Scuba rice” that can survive more than two weeks under water can now be planted by farmers to improve rice yields on flood-prone land in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where the variety Swarna-Sub1 has been officially approved, and the word is other states will follow suit soon.

Rice Today also explores the other end of the rice-growing spectrum, drought. A new partnership among donors, research agencies, and communities seeks to develop drought-tolerant rice for rice growers in Africa, now dubbed the new frontier of rice production.

Following up on his last article that revealed the causes of the 2008 rice price crisis and proposed ways to prevent future rice price hikes, IRRI’s Dr. Samarendu Mohanty delves deeper into the rice market to look at rice trading, food security politics, and nontraditional rice-growing areas to identify ways to increase rice supply and food security.

In India, a remarkable farmer, Sardar Jagjit Singh Hara, shares his achievements after receiving an “exceptional farmer” award from IRRI 25 years ago. Moreover, other leading Indian farmers relate how they benefited from the Rice-Wheat Consortium’s practical advice on improving management practices to reduce rice production costs.

In neighboring Bangladesh, rice farmers also experience the benefits of applying practical research solutions such as adopting shorter duration rice varieties, direct seeding, and weed control to help overcome monga, the hunger months.