Rise in temperature means reduction in rice yield. Global warming leads to dry weather which results in decrease in area of plantation and thus rice production. These are two important findings of a study commissioned by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in collaboration with International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
The study titled “Impact on Climate Change on the Philippine Rice Sector: Supply/Demand Projections and Policy” has listed good agricultural practices (GAP) to ensure a good rice yield while coping with climate change and other vagaries of nature. The study lists population explosion, decline of farm land, rise in cost of seeds, fertilizers etc, poor irrigation practices as factors that take a toll on rice production.
By GAP, the study means adjusting the crop calendar based on crop yield probabilities, cultivating climate change and stress-tolerant crop varieties while adopting crop diversification can help better the rice produce.
Among the other of its guidelines are 1) to define the climate scenarios for specific provinces, (2) to study the local rice trade scenario to understand the food production trends under a changing climate, and (3) to apply climate change adaptation measures.