What are IRRI's future challenges?

The world will need an additional 50 million tons of rice annually from 2006 to 2015 (about 9% above current production) to meet expected consumption rates. Of the total projected increase in rice consumption to 2015, Asia will account for 58% and sub-Saharan Africa 21%.

Any production increases will need to be achieved using resources—such as water and land—that are becoming ever scarcer in the face of increasing urbanization and industrialization. Climate change is also expected to hit production hard, causing some important rice-growing areas to get wetter or drier.

In both Asia and Africa, nutritional problems continue to frustrate human development. Poor access to better nutrition—largely caused by poverty—affects groups such as pregnant women, contributing to maternal mortality and impaired mental development in vast numbers of children. Vitamin A deficiency affects one-third of all preschool children in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. In response, we are developing rice varieties that contain increased levels of essential nutrients such as iron and Vitamin A.

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