Flood-tolerant rice developed to fight climate change
Thursday, 26 November 2009
Bangladesh said Wednesday it had developed three varieties of flood-resistant rice, set for commercial launch early next year, to help its millions of poor farmers fight the effects of climate change, reports AFP.
The state-run Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) said the three strains can survive under water for more than 15 days, meaning they can withstand many of the floods that hit the impoverished country every year.
"It's great news for the country's farmers whose rice crops are regularly lost," BRRI chief Firoz Shah Shikder told AFP.
Every year during the June-September monsoon season more than 20 per cent of the delta country is underwater as rivers burst their banks.
Shikder said the three varieties -- BR-11 Sub 1, Swarna Sub-1 and IR-64 -- were developed by the Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and they have survived up to 17 days underwater.
The state-run Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) said the three strains can survive under water for more than 15 days, meaning they can withstand many of the floods that hit the impoverished country every year.
"It's great news for the country's farmers whose rice crops are regularly lost," BRRI chief Firoz Shah Shikder told AFP.
Every year during the June-September monsoon season more than 20 per cent of the delta country is underwater as rivers burst their banks.
Shikder said the three varieties -- BR-11 Sub 1, Swarna Sub-1 and IR-64 -- were developed by the Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and they have survived up to 17 days underwater.