Rice biologists have a problem. Rice is a staple food for more
than half the world's population and a combination of
population growth and land lost to urbanisation means that by
2050, rice yields have to increase by over 50%.1 Unfortunately,
pushing up rice production has become increasingly difficult.
Between 1970 and 1990, rice yield per hectare grew at an
average of 2.3% a year. In the 1990s, that fell to 1.5% and
between 2000 and 2010, the yearly increase was less than
1%.2
The numbers suggest that biologists need new approaches and
one of the boldest being tried is the C4 Rice Project. The
project, involving an international consortium of researchers,
aims to boost yields by half by creating rice that uses highly
efficient C4 photosynthesis.