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Breeding New Rice Varieties to Withstand Global Warming
According to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) more than half the world's 6.6 billion people depend on rice for nourishment.
"Parts of the world will become drier and apparently that's already happening, and some parts will become even wetter," said Moroccan crop physiologist Rachid Serraj.
"But most importantly it's going to shift the rainfall distribution. It's going to become more unpredictable, and that is the problem for rice cultivation," he said.
Chinese scientist Peng Shaobing wraps his paddy fields with tarp and blasts them with cold air from air conditioners.
His colleague Indian plant geneticist Kumar Singh grows 2,000 rice varieties inside giant metal cabinets, the seedlings sprouting above styrofoam trays soaked with varying degrees of brine to simulate the seawaters that threaten to engulf rice-growing areas over the next century.
The three IRRI scientists are entrusted with ensuring that the half of mankind who depend on rice will not go hungry as rising temperatures and ocean levels threaten one of the world's most important crops.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects the globe will warm by 0.2 degrees Celsius every 10 years, far higher than the 0.6-degree Celsius rise in the past century, with serious consequences for food production.
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