2004 SPECIAL EDITION Vol. 53 INTERNATIONAL RICE COMMISSION NEWSLETTER Proceedings of the FAO Rice Conference Rice is Life INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF RICE 2004
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2004
	Table of Contents

ISSN 0538-9550

Technical Editor:
Nguu Van Nguyen, AGPC, FAO, Rome.
Editing, layout, desktop publishing and graphics: Ruth Duffy, Rome.

The International Rice Commission (IRC), which works within the framework of FAO, was established on 4 January 1949 with the object of promoting national and international action in respect of production, conservation, distribution and consumption of rice. Matters relating to trade are outside the purview of the Commission.

Membership of the Commission is open to all FAO Member Nations and Associate Members who accept the constitution of the IRC. The present membership of the Commission is 61 and represents all the rice-growing regions of the world.

The Commission keeps under review the scientific, technical and economic problems relating to rice, encourages and coordinates research, organizes (where necessary) cooperative projects and reports to the member countries and the Director-General of FAO on appropriate action to be taken in furthering its objectives.

Contents

Preface

PART I
OVERVIEW

L.O. Fresco
Welcoming remarks

M. Solh
Closing remarks

C. Calpe
Rice situation update

PART II
TECHNICAL ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF SUSTAINABLE RICE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

G.S. Khush
Harnessing science and technology for sustainable rice-based production systems

L. Yuan
Hybrid rice technology for food security in the world

R. Coffman, S.R. McCouch and R.W. Herdt
Potentials and limitations of biotechnology in rice

P. Pingali
Agricultural diversification in Asia: opportunities and constraints

D. Renault and T. Facon
Beyond drops for crops: a system approach for assessing the values of water in rice-based systems

N. Ahmadi
Upland rice for highlands: new varieties and sustainable cropping systems for food security Promising prospects for the global challenges of rice production?

P. Koohafkan and J. Furtado
Traditional rice-fish systems as Globally Important Ingenious Agricultural Heritage Systems

PART III
CHALLENGES AND TECHNOLOGICAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE RICE PRODUCTION - REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES

R.P. Cantrell and G.P. Hettel
Rice-based production systems for food security and poverty alleviation in Asia and the Pacific

T. Defoer, M.C.S. Wopereis, M.P. Jones, F. Lançon, O. Erenstein and R.G. Guei
Rice-based production systems for food security and poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa

L.R. Sanint
Rice-based production systems for food security and poverty alleviation in Latin America and the Caribbean

A.T. Badawi
Rice-based production systems for food security and poverty alleviation in the Near East and North Africa

A. Ferrero and N.V. Nguyen
The sustainable development of rice-based production systems in Europe

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