| Abstract | Rice is the world's leading food crop and the major source of livelihood for the
majority of rural people in Asia. Ninety percent of the world's rice is grown and consumed
in Asia. During the last three decades, the progress achieved in the rice sector has been
impressive. Asia's rice share of the world rice imports dropped, as national self-sufficiency
ratios increased. In the course of this success, and as far as the future development of the
rice production sector is concerned, this paper aims to discuss the following issues: (a) how
exactly the rice sector in Asia had been developed during the last three decades; (b) what
are the distinct policy measures adopted by the governments of Asian countries to promote
the agricultural sector, in general, and the rice economy in particular; ( c) what are the
impacts of these policies on the rice sector; and ( d) what are further policy options for
sustaining the growth of rice production in Asia.
After reviewing the trend of rice production in Asia, the paper provides in-depth
discussion on policy developments and their impacts on the rice sector as well as agricultural
development of eight selected Asian countries, namely, China, Indonesia, Republic of Korea,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The importance of rice and the
not very different production conditions and problems in these countries have led to the
policy objectives and the adoption of policy instruments in the rice sector which are in many
ways similar. The most common types of government interventions in the rice sector are the
procurement of rice output, establishment of quotas on export and direct taxation of such
exports, and rice price controls including price floor, and price ceiling. Governments have
also subsidized the cost of food for urban consumer and the cost of farm credit and
important agricultural inputs. Other aspects of a macro-economic policy that China and
Vietnam adopted, relate to a shift from a collectivized agricultural production system to a
market oriented economy. These reforms have significantly contributed to the development
of the rice sectors in these countries. Governments of many countries in Asia have also
adopted an intensification policy that aims at adopting modern varieties, increasing fertilizer
use and expansion of irrigation areas.
Finally, the paper draws policy options for input and output pncmg, credit and
technology to sustain the further growth of rice production. Pricing policies should aim at
stabilizing producer and consumer prices. Any pricing policy must be based on cost of
production, parity relative to the domestic prices of other commodities and the world market
price of rice. The following technology policy options are traced: shifting the sole focus from
raising the level of the use of fertilizer to improving the efficiency of the nutrient balance;
cost-benefit improvement of the existing irrigation systems, in addition to the selective
expansion through new irrigated areas; shifting from the dissemination of chemical pesticides
to the utilization of integrated pest management techniques; upgrading extension services;
and decentralization research regionally to the farm level. These may be the most effective
approaches to promoting appropriate technologies that ensure profitability to farmers,
maintain a reasonable price to consumers, and minimize farm drudgery. |