Wild rice conservation

Scientists have called for the worldwide conservation of wild rice at a recent conference in Nepal, saying the source of cultivated rice varieties faces threat of extinction.

Scientists from China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, India, Nepal, South Korea and Britain underscored the need to accelerate the process of conserving wild rice varieties in their natural habitats around the world.

They said wild rice is the source of improved varieties of rice, the staple food in at least 50 countries, mostly in Asia.

Some 20 varieties of wild rice have been found in 76 countries but in most places modernization efforts have taken heavy tolls on wild rice habitats.

According to Nepalese agriculture scientists Gyan Lal Shrestha, the Himalayas are the original birthplace of wild rice.