Sheffield scientists research rice yield potential

29 January 2009 - Sheffield scientists research rice yield potential. Researchers from the University of Sheffield are involved in an ambitious project led by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, looking into a new, higher-yielding rice plant that could ease the threat of hunger for the poor. Currently, more than a billion people worldwide live on less than a dollar a day and nearly one billion live in hunger. Over the next 50 years, the population of the world will increase by about 50% and water scarcity will grow. About half of the world´s population consumes rice as a staple cereal, so boosting its productivity is crucial to achieving long-term food security. IRRI is leading the effort to achieve a major increase in global rice production by using modern molecular tools to develop a more efficient and higher-yielding form of rice. Photosynthesis, the process by which plants use solar energy to capture carbon dioxide and convert it into the carbohydrates required for growth, is not the same for all plants.