Management of rice production systems to increase productivity

management of soil nutrients and soil health management, and high
production costs, coupled with low net economic returns.
At the end of December 2002, several countries in Africa were
reportedly threatened by famine and starvation due to severe droughts in
previous cropping seasons (FAO, 2003). According to FAO, the future is
gloomy because world population is predicted to grow from around 6 billion
people today to 8.3 billion in 2030. Population will be growing at an average
of 1.1% a year up to 2030, compared to 1.7% annually for the past 30 years.
Food production will have to increase to provide for this increased
population.
According to FAO (2002), much of future food production growth will
have to come from higher productivity. In developing countries; almost 70%
of the increase in crop production will come from higher yields, around 20%
from an expansion of arable land, and around 10% from multiple cropping
and shorter fallow periods. Climate change could increase the dependency of
some developing countries on food imports. Hardest hit will be small‐scale
farmers in areas affected by drought, flooding, or salt intrusion or sea surges.
Many countries in Africa are likely to become even more vulnerable to food
insecurity unless effective measures for increasing productivity, reducing
production costs, and protecting the natural resource base are taken.
Irrigation is crucial to the world’s food supply. The developing
countries could expand their irrigation area from 202 million ha in 2002, to 242
million ha by 2030. The 40 million ha constitutes a 20 % increase in irrigated
area. This could easily increase food production by 20 to 30%, but this will
require more investment than presently planned or available. Globally, there
is enough water available, but certain regions will face serious water
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