Facts:

• In India and Bangladesh
• Rice is 75% of diet in many regions there

Suitable conditions:

• Temperatures of 21°C and higher
• Monsoon rainfall of over 2000mm allows fields to flood for ‘wet rice’ cultivation
• Regular floods deposit nutrient-rich alluvium
• Dry period after monsoon to harvest rice

Inputs:

• Water → 5000 litres needed to produce 1kg of rice
• Fertiliser from duck, fish, water buffalo manure
• Rice seeds

Processes:

• Building the bunds/embankments that surround the rice fields, stabilising them with grass and trees
• Constructing irrigation canals to supply water
• Plant nursery rice
• Transplant maturing rice from nursery to rice padis
• Ploughing, weeding, harvesting are mostly done by hand, therefore labour intensive
• Terracing hilly areas to grow crops
  
  Intensive, subsistence farming

Last updated: Apr 2025