This story was originally published at 20:04 IST on 30 October 2025

NEW DELHI – India must shift focus from ensuring food security to achieving nutritional security and environmental sustainability in rice cultivation, agricultural economist Ashok Gulati said at the Bharat International Rice Conference on Thursday. “We have to go from filling stomachs and food security to nutritional security,” he said. 

India has remarkably transformed itself from a grain-deficient nation in the 1960s to the world’s largest exporter, but the country still lags in productivity and sustainability. “In a way, a country that faced the pangs of food security is today contributing to global food security,” he said.

Though India has surpassed China in rice production, productivity remains low. India produces around 150 million tonnes of rice from 50 million hectares, while China grows 145 million tonnes from 29 million hectares. “So productivity is still roughly hovering around 3 tonnes per hectare, while China’s productivity is 5 tonnes per hectare on average,” Gulati said. Better technologies exist and India can grow to 7 tonnes-8 tonnes per hectare productivity, he added. 

India has already achieved abundance in rice; the next frontier is productivity. India exports nearly 20 million-24 million tonnes of rice, accounting for about 39% of the global rice trade. “So (India is) the largest exporter, gives almost free food to 800 million people, and on top of that, the government of India’s Food Corp. of India’s silos and stocks have three to four times more than what is needed,” he said. 

Amid surplus stocks, the government has earmarked 5.2 million tonnes of rice for ethanol production in 2025-26 (Nov-Oct). But this is a “debatable issue” whether food should be diverted to ensure fuel security, Gulati said. “Maybe we should have a long-term tie-up with the fuel-producing countries so that we are assured of the fuel we need, and they are assured of the rice on a sustainable basis,” he added.  

On sustainability, Gulati said rice is hugely dependent on water and fertiliser use, effectively making India an exporter of water resources. “One kilogram of rice consumes about 3,000 litres-5,000 litres of water, depending upon where it is being grown. That means when India is exporting 20 million tonnes of rice, India is also exporting 40 billion cubic meters of water”, Gulati said. 

In addition, rice cultivation emits 5 tonnes of greenhouse gas per hectare. “We need to produce low-carbon rice, and it should be sold as low-carbon rice. That means you have to practice direct-seeded rice and precision farming. We need to tackle water issues; we need to tackle air issues”, he said. 

Gulati also called for deeper India-Africa rice collaborations in rice production and trade. “By the turn of the century, one-third of humanity will be living on the African continent. Their soils are not as blessed, and irrigation is lagging. They are going to have difficulty producing enough rice. That’s where the demand is going to come more and more”, he said.  

Reported by Afra Abubacker and Pallavi Singhal

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

Published Date: October 31, 2025