Rice | The ASEAN Post

Rice

Indonesians quitting 'rice addiction'

Indonesian Mirnawati once ate rice with every meal, but its link to diabetes convinced her to join a growing movement to quit a staple food in As World Diabetes Day was held last Thursday, the Southeast Asian nation is struggling to tackle a disease that affects as many as 20 million of its 260 million people, and has emerged as one of its deadliest killers behind stroke and heart disease.But kicking the rice habit isn't easy, with Indonesia's favourite dish nasi goreng (mi

17 November 2019

Cambodia’s rice farmers in serious danger

Half a million Cambodian farmers could possibly be looking at empty rice bowls if the European Union (EU) pushes through with the withdrawal of its Everything But Arms (EBA) trade preference.While the garment and footwear sectors stand to lose the most if the EBA trade scheme – which gives 49 of the world’s least developed countries tax-free access to vital EU markets for all exports except for arms and ammunition – is removed, Cambodia’s rice industry could be staring at tough times

26 August 2019

Your plate of rice is hurting the climate

Eco-conscious consumers are giving up meat and driving electric cars to do their part for the environment, but what about that plate of rice?Global rice farming, it turns out, could have the same detrimental effect on global warming in the short term as 1,200 average-sized coal power plants, according to the New York-based Environmental Defense Fund advocacy group.

5 June 2019

Ensuring Brunei has enough rice

The launching of Brunei’s biggest commercial paddy field later this year combined with higher yielding varieties of paddy are expected to help the country meet its rice self-sufficiency target in 2020.The sultanate is embarking on a concerted effort to reach its rice self-sufficiency target of 11 percent by 2020 and wean itself off imports from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam – which make up around 30,000 tonnes annually. Once a thriving industry, Brunei’s rice farmers only produced 1

27 March 2019

Weather beating for rice production

It seems like there is either too much or too little water in the Southeast Asian region. The last three months have seen heavy seasonal rain and flooding across Myanmar, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines, exacerbated by tropical storms Son-Tinh, Ampil, Joe, and, more recently, super typhoon Mangkhut. This has resulted in deadly consequences, including triggering dam failures in Lao PDR’s Champasak and Myanmar’s Swar creek.

24 September 2018

The economics of rice in Southeast Asia

It is irrefutable that rice is the staple food of Southeast Asia. This love affair with the seed of the grass species, oryza sativa is not only rooted in the tangible world but has its own mystical underpinnings to it. Such a relationship is observed through the worshipping of the goddess of rice, fertility, and wealth, Dewi Sri, by communities in what is now modern-day Indonesia, prior to the advent of Islam.

11 April 2018

Nuclear technology helps sustain rice supplies in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia produces 90% of the world's rice supply, which means global rice supply is significantly affected whenever extreme weather conditions disrupt production cycles. Extreme weather conditions, however, are increasingly common as the result of global climate change. Prolonged droughts in Thailand, for instance, during the mid-2016 period resulted in a 16% drop in rice production due to the lack of water supply delaying harvests.

15 January 2018