Food Security Through Hybrid Rice Under Changing Climatic Conditions

The increased global demand for rice production to feed the growing population in the coming decades will pose challenges that would require multi pronged strategies and solutions. Hybrid rice technology will play a significant role as part of the solution to keep pace with the increasing demand for rice production. However, technology adoption has been slow in the tropics where most of the rice is grown and produced due to many constraints. High cost of seed production keeps the price of hybrid rice seeds out of the reach of the resource-poor small holding farmers. Developing and identifying heterotic hybrids with higher yield advantages over the best inbred varieties with broader adaptation and that can be produced reliably with affordable seed price is essential for successful and higher adoption. Hybrid rice must offer a value proposition that is attractive to all the stakeholders including farmers, millers and consumers. IRRI has been at the forefront of developing and promoting the hybrid rice technology in the tropics. Recent advances in hybrid rice research at IRRI to develop hybrids that can be produced reliably has been very successful and are being developed and demonstrated in partnership with the private sector. IRRI's OneRice breeding strategy and program is well-positioned to deliver superior rice hybrid combinations based on heterotic pools. Among the emerging technologies, the improved two-line hybrid rice technology (TGMS) will overcome the shortcomings of traditional three-line hybrids in terms of increased yield heterosis, better grain quality features, broader adaptation, and better hybrid seed producibility.

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E-COPY-IRRI - Food Security - Final 13 10 23.pdf	Download