The common favorite food of people from all across the world is a simple staple food – rice. The infants, young, old, poor, and rich, everyone loves to eat rice. It is the most consumed food all over the world and especially in Asia and Africa. Rice is a seed grown from the grass Oryza glaberrima (African rice) and Oryza sativa (Asian rice). Let us share with you the history of this most loved cereal grain.

It is believed that rice was first cultivated in China. A few evidences of rice farming were found near the Yangtze River village of Hemudu in Zheijiang province in China, a seven thousand-year old archaeological site. From China, the farming went to India and Siri Lanka. Rice cultivation then spread throughout Europe to Africa. Due to its versatility, this cereal grain was grown in the flooded wet plains of Southeast Asia to the desert areas of Saudi Arabia, making it the most eaten staple food.

The two-grass species Oryzaglaberrima (African rice) and Oryza sativa (Asian rice), emerged as the most popular cultivated rice making Asia and Africa the main growers of rice.

Did you know?

Of the three common staple food rice, wheat and maize, rice is by far the most important crop feeding more than half of the world’s population. The total rice demand increases each year with Asia leading the rice consumption followed by Africa and Latin America. Rice is the favourite staple in developing countries as it comes in many varieties and prices and is affordable even by the people who are poor and not financially strong. As per one of the studies, we need 100 million more tons of rice production annually with the addition of every one billion people to the world’s population count so that the supply of rice and its prices stay within the limit of affordable levels for its billions of consumers.