Thailand, the largest rice exporter in the world threatened by climate change

In Thailand, where it is consumed three times a day and grown by 3.6 million families, rice is more than a food, it represents life and not a grain shall be lost. The kingdom, one of the first countries to have cultivated rice, is now the world's biggest exporter (7.5 million tonnes in 2005). But this vital culture would be threatened by climate change and its resultant floods and droughts which, according to scientists, could substantially reduce yields and severely affect rural communities in Thailand.

"The producers could become increasingly poor," said Tara Buakamsri of the environmental organization Greenpeace. "The rural exodus could grow, create more social problems in the city and the gross domestic product of Thailand related to rice production could even decrease." The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), held in Bangkok from Monday, predicted that greenhouse gases would alter rainfall, tropical storms intensify and amplify the risk of droughts and floods , including in poor countries which are hardest hit.

Some extreme weather events have already affected Thailand. The producers of rice from the central province of Ayutthaya remember the floods that last year, have destroyed the harvest and killed some 200 people. "The whole province was affected. I had never seen rice fields under water like that before, "says Sangon Reungtham, 55 years. The earth cracked under his feet does, however, no trace of torrents that have flooded the region. The rice producers fear they observe climate change over the past few years but they do not know what to attribute it.

A study by Vichien Kerdsuk, researcher at the University of Khon Kaen, shows that the production of jasmine rice in the north-east region has dropped by 45.5% between 1994 and 2005 because of drought and to a lesser extent , floods. The solutions being proposed are often focused on the adjustment of agricultural production rather than on attempts to halt climate change. The IPCC said in February that the warming was now inevitable. Anan Polvatana, deputy director of research at the Institute of Thai rice, said that researchers are developing rice varieties resistant to heat and new pests and diseases that it could bring.

Mr Anan predicted that the income of rice exports could decline this fall, but that would probably only a limited effect on the economy of the kingdom, because rice is only between 1 and 2% of GDP. But these are millions of people who would suffer if the rice bowl of the world were to be empty, "says Sangon. "If the rice can grow our income disappear and we will have to rely on the wages of our children"

In addition, rice is no less a polluting activity. Thus, it is the practice of flooding rice paddies who is pointing the finger. The fermentation of organic matter is the cause of the emission of gases, such as methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

While Thailand does not have a palm on the pollution and that is what the Minister of Agriculture Adisak Thai Sree "main culprits of the greenhouse effect are the industrialized nations, not nations Agricultural like us. "Nevertheless, the chairman of the IPCC, RK Pachauri was clear at the summit declaring," there are many things feasible in the short term to reduce global warming, including investment in energy efficiency and that the reform of the agricultural sector.