Where does rice grow?
Rice grows mainly in warm, wet regions, especially in Asia, where about 90 percent of the world's rice is produced. It is usually grown in flooded fields called paddies.
Rice needs plenty of water and warm temperatures. The biggest producers are China and India, followed by Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. Rice is also grown in Africa, South America, the southern United States, Italy and Spain. In Asia, rice paddies often cover river valleys, deltas and terraced hillsides.
Farmers usually grow seedlings in nursery beds, then transplant them into flooded fields. The water helps control weeds and pests and keeps the soil warm. When the grain ripens, the fields are drained and the rice is harvested, dried and milled. Some varieties, called upland rice, grow without flooding.
Rice and the environment
Flooded rice fields release methane, a greenhouse gas, because bacteria in waterlogged soil produce it. Farmers are testing methods like alternate wetting and drying, which saves water and reduces methane. Rice farming also supports wildlife such as birds, fish and frogs in the paddies.
Did You Know?
The Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines were carved into mountainsides about 2,000 years ago and are still farmed today.