Even though the country is still one of the world’s largest rice producers and the largest rice exporter, its rice sector faces the following production constraints:
The major production constraints are rainfall variability, drought, submergence, and inherently low soil fertility. These constraints affect the different rice ecosystems to varying degrees and imply that the production systems are very vulnerable to climate change, which will exacerbate extreme climate events. Drought at the early vegetative phase and long-term deep flooding from the late vegetative phase to early ripening phase and weed competition are the most important production constraints in the deepwater ecosystem. Drought and poor soil fertility affect upland systems the most.