Study calls for rice stock, investment buildup

ASIAN COUNTRIES need to raise the level of their rice stocks to help stabilize prices and improve food security in a region where 65% of the world’s hungry live, a report said.

With populations across Asia growing, tens of millions of extra dollars need to be invested to boost rice production, said the report prepared by the US-based Asia Society and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

“Not only is rice risky to grow, it is risky to sell and trade,” said the report, released in the United States on Monday. “One way to lower risks is to increase the level of rice reserves, especially in the large Asian countries that have a deep interest in more stable prices.”

It noted that while building larger reserves would be expensive, the goal was to use the stockpiles to cushion against price shocks.

To this end, governments could create a future market for rice in the regional hub of Singapore. “Under normal circumstances, a robust and deep rice futures market should add substantial stability and transparency to formation of rice prices,” the report said.

IRRI estimated that annual investment of $120 million in Asia between 2010 and 2030 could increase productivity by 8.5% over the next 25 years.

This could lower the poverty rate in Asia by 15%, the institute said. — AFP