China is a large producer and consumer of rice. But, as a result of climate change, the amount of land available for rice growing in the country is shrinking. The concern has motivated scientists led by Yuan Longping, known as "the father of hybrid rice"，to look for new ways of growing the grain.
Now they're celebrating successful efforts to grow rice—in sand and seawater. Rice is traditionally grown in soil and fresh water. Starting from January, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, the scientists have grown dozens of varieties of rice in the deserts of Dubai. They experimented with seawater because it is easier to obtain in the desert than fresh water.
China is not the only country facing the issue of overly salty soil. Around the world, there are around 2. 35 billion acres of highly saline (含盐的)land. And the number is increasing because of rising sea levels and climate change.
"Probably only a small part of the world's saline land could be brought into production with seawater rice, but that would still have a very important effect on food security," Even R. Pay, a senior analyst, said.
Yuan told Xinhua that one of the varieties of rice grown in Dubai produced over three tons, per acre, which Yuan said was beyond expectations.
Rice is the basic food in many parts of the world. About 90% of rice consumption is from Asia, but demand in Africa and Latin America is on the rise.
A climate change researcher said the successful experiment could potentially benefit many countries. "This is a fantastic development, which is likely to have a good effect on agricultural resource and water-poor countries, particularly in North Africa region."
Even though the cost of growing salt-tolerant rice is still high, it will also have strategic value once it's commercialized.
