27 September 2010: The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has released a report, with the Asia Society, by a high-level Task Force on Food Security and Sustainability in Asia titled “Never an Empty Bowl: Sustaining Food Security in Asia.”

The report presents steps that governments, businesses, NGOs and regional and international organizations can take, highlighting the potential for public-private partnerships. On climate, it recommends raising and sustaining the productivity of rice farmers in ways that conserve water, land and energy-intensive inputs while building resilience to the expected impacts of climate change. It also underscores the need to develop an international consensus on the production of biofuels from food crops that takes into account its impacts on food security, climate change, energy security, and environmental sustainability. The report notes the need to encourage breeding programmes to develop rice varieties that are more resilient to expected climate change. IRRI is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [IRRI Press Release] [The Report “Never an Empty Bowl”]