MAKAKALIKASAN (Nature Party Philippines) notes the main point of the study that shows "...(r)ecent varieties of rice, bred for environmental stresses like heat, showed better yields than both traditional rice varieties and modern varieties of rice that were not specifically bred to withstand warmer temperatures. But the study found that warming adversely affected crop yields even for those varieties best suited to the heat. Overall, the advantage of varieties bred to withstand increased heat was too small to be statistically significant."
This puts to doubt pronouncement of many big seed companies that their climate-resilient varieties are necessarily better that traditional varieties. We therefor cannot discount yet the value of traditional varieties in favor of this new technology touted as our solution to adopt agricultural production to the changing climate. More studies must be done quickly. Given the urgency of the impacts of climate change to our food security, MAKAKALIKASAN reiterates its position on ORGANIC AGRICULTURE within the framework of sustainable agriculture that among others promote traditional varieties that have proven capacity to adopt to rising climates. Notwithstanding, we also support more R&D (research and development) to provide key answers to this dilemma fast. Read here the GREEN AGENDA of the MAKAKALIKASAN on SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE and RESEARCH and DEVELOPMENT: http://naturepartyph.weebly.com/sustainable-agriculture.html http:// naturepartyph.weebly.com/education-research--development-rd--artistic-expressions-for-sustainability.html JOIN to ACT through our FB Action Group: www.facebook.com/groups/ph.sustainable.agriculture To JOIN the MAKAKALIKASAN: www.naturepartyph.weebly.com/join.html To become a Founding Member, please JOIN our ASSEMBLIES: www.facebook.com/groups/makakalikasan.assembly Original article A study of the relationship between temperature and yields of various rice varieties, based on 50 years of weather and rice-yield data from farms in the Philippines, suggests that warming temperatures negatively affect rice yields. Recent varieties of rice, bred for environmental stresses like heat, showed better yields than both traditional rice varieties and modern varieties of rice that were not specifically bred to withstand warmer temperatures. But the study found that warming adversely affected crop yields even for those varieties best suited to the heat. Overall, the advantage of varieties bred to withstand increased heat was too small to be statistically significant. One of the top 10 countries globally in rice production, the Philippines is also a top 10 rice importer, as domestic supply cannot meet demand. Read more
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