Sustainable Practices for Enhancing Rice Productivity

Rice is a staple for more than half of the world’s population, yet yields often fall well below their agro‐ecological potential due to constraints in water, nutrient and resource management. Sustainable intensification aims to close this yield gap without further land conversion, drawing on integrated nutrient management, precision water control, soil health enhancement and climate‐smart approaches. Advances in agroecological practices—such as alternate wetting and drying, conservation tillage and crop rotation—are complemented by digital tools that inform site‐specific decisions on fertiliser rates, irrigation timing and pest management. These methods not only boost productivity but also conserve water, reduce greenhouse‐gas emissions and improve long‐term soil fertility. At the policy level, enabling frameworks for input access, extension services and market incentives are critical to scaling successful practices and ensuring food security under shifting climatic and socio‐economic conditions.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have employed process‐based crop simulation models combined with local weather, soil and management datasets to assess how yield intensification on existing rice cropland in Africa can reduce reliance on imports and limit land‐use change. Findings indicate that closing exploitable yield gaps by half or more, alongside modest cropland expansion, could stabilise regional self‐sufficiency by 2050. In parallel, an integrated assessment framework has evaluated the relative impacts of socio‐economic development, gradual climate change and extreme anomalies on rice availability and stability. Results reveal that socio‐economic trends predominantly drive long‐term availability, whereas local climatic shocks affect rainfed systems most strongly. These insights emphasise the dual need for agricultural development and resilient trade policies to secure future rice supplies.

Sustainable Practices for Enhancing Rice Productivity publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in sustainable practices for enhancing rice productivity across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Yield gap: The difference between the maximum attainable yield under optimal management and the actual yield achieved by farmers.

Process‐based crop simulation model: A mathematical framework that integrates soil, weather and management variables to simulate crop growth and forecast yield outcomes.

Agronomic nutrient use efficiency: The increase in crop yield per unit of applied nutrient, reflecting the effectiveness of fertiliser use.

Value chain upgrading: The enhancement of production, processing and distribution stages through technological innovation, institutional coordination and investment.

References

1. Intensifying rice production to reduce imports and land conversion in Africa. Nature Communications (2024).
2. Rice availability and stability in Africa under future socio-economic development and climatic change. Nature Food (2023).
3. Inorganic fertilizer use and its association with rice yield gaps in sub-Saharan Africa. Global Food Security (2023).
4. Challenges and opportunities for improving N use efficiency for rice production in sub-Saharan Africa. Plant Production Science (2019).
5. The state of rice value chain upgrading in West Africa. Global Food Security (2020).