1.
Introduction
Because rice is critical for food security in so many of the poor est countries, investments in the rice sector should be designed to alleviate poverty and meet the food demands of still growing populations. In many of these countries and especially in the rural regions, the economies are still essentially agricultural, and the average employment in agriculture is high. Income from agriculture then often depends on the availability and quality of resources, andal though rainfed lowlands include favour able environments with conditions similar to irrigated systems, most of the area in this ecosystem
faces various bio-physical constraints for rice production. The main climatic factor in most of the region is the monsoon,
which deposits >80% of the rainfall within just a few months. This limits the options for crops other than rice in the rainy season because of at least temporary flooding in most years and does not allow a rainfed crop in the dry season.