Salina, Kansas, USA, Nov 17 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Over 70% of the food calories that feed humanity come from annual grain crops, which occupy 60–80% of global croplands. But annual grain dominance may be changing. A study in the journal Nature Sustainability reports that a new high-yielding, long-lived perennial rice with significant environmental, economic, and social sustainability impacts is now being grown in Southeast Asia and parts of Africa.
Researchers in China’s Yunnan Province developed perennial rice in a relatively short two-decade timeframe, achieving comparable yields to annual rice varieties. They were supported with scientific expertise and seed funding from Kansas-based nonprofit The Land Institute and a global network of researchers.