At its fifty-seventh session in December 2002, the United Nations General Assembly designated 2004 as the International Year of Rice (IYR), a tribute to a commodity that is a lifeline for millions of farmers and the most important food crop. But not only. Rice cultivation, products, landscapes and traditions attached to it are an integral part of the world’s cultural heritage. In simpler words, "Rice is Life".
To celebrate the International Year of Rice, FAO convened an international rice conference at the organization’s headquarters in Rome on 12-13 February 2004, which was open to the participation of governments, research institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. The conference focused on two general themes: rice in the context of global markets, which examined the commodity from economic and policy perspectives; and rice production systems, which gave special consideration to the technical challenges facing the commodity in the medium and longer terms.
This publication draws together all the presentations pertaining to "Rice in Global Markets" that pertain to the first theme, rice in the context of global markets. Keynotes and papers concerning the second theme have been gathered in a separate 2004 special edition of the International Rice Commission Newsletter.
The main goals of the International Year of Rice and the attached Conference were to raise public awareness to the basic issues and challenges that dwindling natural resources, technical progress, changing policy stances, urbanization and shifting consumption patterns will pose to the world rice economy in the coming years. We trust that the FAO Rice Conference has contributed towards this goal, and that ultimately, the increased awareness will foster new actions in pursuance of the United Nations Millenium goal to reduce by half the number of people suffering from hunger by 2020.
Alexander Sarris
Director
Commodities
and Trade Division
