Can You Tell?

Q. By some estimates, the crop shown here accounts for about one-fifth of global calorie consumption. Do you know what it is?

© Photoongraphy/Shutterstock

It's rice!

It’s difficult to overstate the global significance of rice. First grown in the Yangtze River valley around 10,000 years ago, this tiny, starchy cereal grain is a staple food for more than half the world’s population. But rice production is slowing—and the way we cultivate it isn’t helping.

By some estimates, rice accounts for about one-fifth of global calorie consumption. As the world’s population grows, rice production will need to swell significantly to ensure global food security—as will our need for more sustainably grown rice crops.

WWF partners with farmers in Malaysia, India, and Lao PDR to promote System of Rice Intensification (SRI), an agricultural method that requires less water and land clearing than conventional rice growing.

Learn more about why we need sustainable rice to feed the world.