The Impact of Rice on Human Civilization and Population
Expansion Author: Chang, Te-Tzu Source: Interdisciplinary
Science Reviews, Volume 12, Number 1, March 1987 , pp. 63-69(7)
Publisher: Maney Publishing Abstract:The rice plant was
basically a tropical semiaquatic grass. Before the advent of
agriculture, it served as a food supplement to people who
depended on hunting, fishing, and gathering of other food plants
for subsistence living. Even today in many areas of the humid
tropics where the environment is harsh, rice farming provides a
subsistence level of livelihood. However, in areas outside its
home habitat where water control, soil fertilization, tillage
and weeding, and plant selection were well managed or practiced,
rice yields steadily rose and food surpluses from farms served
as the main source in supporting rapid increases in human
population. Expansion in rice acreage, rises in rice yield, and
multiple cropping have fueled flourishing civilizations of
several Asian countries. This paper summarizes