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Rice facts - rice farming process etc.

Rice is one of the most important crops in the world. It gives a higher production of food per acre than almost any other crop and can be grown year after year in the same fields without a decline in yield. About half of the world's people, living mostly in Asia, depend on rice for their main food. Rice is a cereal crop like wheat and corn, but it grows in warmer and wetter places than most other cereals. Most rice is grown in flooded fields called paddy fields. The rice grains that are eaten are the seeds of the rice plant.

Rice facts - rice farming process etc.
The flooded rice fields of Asia are cleared of weeds by plows drawn by water-buffalo.	The task of planting the seedlings' and weeding the fields by hand falls mainly to women.

The world's leading rice-growing countries are China and India which together account for over half of the total world production. Japan, Pakistan and Indonesia are next in process of rice farming. Rice is also grown in America and Australia, and in Europe, where Italy is the leading producer. Farmers may grow rice by planting seeds in the fields directly, either by drilling holes for the seeds or scattering the seeds and plowing them in. But many farmers raise young rice plants in carefully tended nursery beds. When the seedlings are about a month old, the farmers transplant them into the fields.

Some varieties of 'upland' rice survive on rain water alone, but many are grown in paddy fields. As the rice grows, the fields are flooded with water that is allowed gradually to increase in depth. When the plants begin to ripen, the fields are drained. By this time the plants are between two and six feet tall. They are harvested, usually by hand, and threshed to remove the grain. In some countries, particularly the United States, combine harvesters are now being used.

For eating, the outer shells of the grains are usually removed by a milling process. Rice is generally eaten boiled, and the grains soak up water and swell as they cook. Alcoholic drinks can also be made from rice, such as the Japanese rice 'wine' called sake. The outer shells can be used to make livestock feed and starch, and rice grains can be ground into flour.

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