Asia's Rice Paddies Threatened

Living Planet | 01.01.2009 | 04:30

Asia's Rice Paddies Threatened by Industrial Development

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Terraced rice paddies have existed in China and the Philippines for millennia

From Bali to Vietnam, traditional rice paddies are being replaced by golf courses, hotels and industrial parks.

As Asian economies surge, younger people in particular are choosing less labour-intensive work than rice farming. These factors have been cutting into the rice production. Global stocks of rice are their lowest in two decades and as result rice prices have almost tripled.

Alarmed by its inability to feed a fast growing population, the Philippine government ordered a halt to the conversion of farmland for other uses. Indonesia used to be a rice exporter now it's importing rice.

(Report: Rebecca Henschke)