Question

After exchange, collective rice production increased by how much?

Answer 1

Collective rice production is a process of rice production where a significant number of farmers contribute to the production together and work co-operatively to increase the production of rice. This collective farming technique helps the farmers to produce a higher amount of output due to increased availability of land, specialization of labors, the adaptation of better cultivation techniques, irrigation facilities, and minimized cost due to economies of scale. The rice-producing countries include a significant portion of Asian countries including, China, India, Bangladesh, Iran, etc., countries like Egypt, Nigeria, etc. in Africa and Brazil, Mexico and a few states in the US in American continents.

Change in the exchange rate affects the production of rice to some extent due to its value as an export product. So when the exchange rate of a rice-producing country depreciates against other currencies, the export value of rice in the international market appreciates i.e., the farmer can earn more by selling rice to other countries with high currency values rather than selling in the domestic market. And when the exchange rate of one currency appreciates against the other, the price of the product falls in the international market due to the higher international price of the product. Thus export does not fetch a good profit when the exchange rate of the rice-producing country appreciates.

In order to cut the cost of rice production, several farmers sign up for collective rice production to cope with the change in the exchange rate, when the exchange rate is unfavorable, that is when the currency appreciates, it is beneficial for the farmers to use the collective production technique to minimize cost and for better product quality to earn extra profit. As the rice-producing countries mostly include low-income Asian countries with a high population, it is tough for the farmers to maintain the quality and cut cost when the land is in pieces, thus several agreements have been entered into by the farmers to implement collective production. And due to a high population and hereditary allocation of land, an individual farmer is left with only a very small portion of land as his share and rice production becomes tough. To overcome such disadvantages, such farmers participate in collective rise production.

The land dedicated to rice-production is decreasing significantly worldwide and especially in Asian countries due to the higher population and an increase in land use for other purposes. This is contributing to the lower production rate of rice which is decreasing significantly in recent time. The rice production was 498.95 million tons approximately during the previous financial year as estimated by the United States Department of Agriculture. But the production is decreasing every month due to a significant fall in production in India and the US which calls for collective-production.

The low availability of land is decreasing the production, and to keep up with the demand scenario, collective rice-production is being implemented since the 90s in different rice-producing nations across the globe. The appreciation of the US dollar with respect to other Asian and African countries who are the major producers of rice increased the use of collective rice-production techniques internationally. This helped such countries to increase their export revenue and the collective rice production technique is gaining more popularity. Major researches have been undertaken by agricultural institutes to promote the growth of production. The demand for rice is rising substantially over the past years due to the higher population and to cope with the situation higher production of rice is required with low land availability, further contributing to collective production. The collective rice-production is increasing substantially from country to country with differing estimates and in connection with the prevailing exchange rate. Thus the exact percentage of increase in collective production internationally with relation to the exchange rate is not available, though the relative estimates of some countries are available with a change in the exchange rate and increase in collective rice-production. But we can understand that a significant percentage of farmers are applying this technique globally to increase rice production.

Answer: Collective rice-production increased significantly and by a higher percentage with every passing year due to decreased availability of land and high population growth. It is expected to grow further in the upcoming years and research is being carried out to improve the cultivation techniques. Though the exact percentage of increase in collective rice production is not available, the relevance of such a measure is increasing internationally which started even before the 90s.

Note - The exact increase in international production percentage is not available in relation to collective rice production.