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As sweltering summers wreck crops, Japan bets on heat-resistant rice

Facing a. rice shortage after severe weather damaged last year's crop,. Japan is hoping brand-new heatresistant ranges of its staple food. can assist stave off future supply shocks.

Last summer season's heats and dry conditions caused. lower rice yields in crucial growing areas and harmed the quality. of grains, contributing to the most affordable stocks seen in 25. years, according to official data.

Along with greater demand - partially attributed to record. inbound tourism this year - grocery stores across the nation have. struggled to keep rice shelves equipped in recent months and some. have actually imposed quotas on just how much clients can buy.

The local government in Saitama, a prefecture north of Tokyo. that is among the hottest regions in the nation, hopes science. can prevent future scarcities and is pressing ahead with one of. numerous nationwide jobs to establish more resistant rice.

It's going to keep getting hotter, which makes me feel that. without ranges that resist heats, this is going. to end up being a really tough task, stated Yoshitaka Funakawa, a. 73-year-old farmer who is participating in the trial run for. Saitama's heat-resistant rice called emihokoro or 'beaming. smile'.

Japan sweltered in its warmest July on record in 2024.

High heat interrupts the accumulation of starch inside rice. grains, causing them to appear more opaque, mottled with white. flecks and less preferable for human intake, affecting the. crop's market price.

The more this cloudy, white phenomenon there is on rice,. the grade of rice decreases, which causes decreases in farmers'. income, said Naoto Ooka, who oversees rice breeding at. Saitama's Agricultural Technology Research study Centre.

At the centre, researchers take seeds from across Japan,. cultivate and cross-pollinate them in a drive to create more. resistant ranges like emihokoro, which has been planted in 31. fields as a trial this year.

Rice is a source of pride for Japan, renowned for premium. grains that are the base for signature meals like sushi, however it. is likewise a widely taken in food.

Rice is likewise among the few staples the country has. historically been able to be self-sustainable in producing. The. world's fourth-largest economy imports more than 60% of its food. resources.

In 2015's bad yields are amongst the factors that have. increased costs dramatically.

Personal rice stocks in Japan amounted to 1.56 million. tonnes in June 2024, the most affordable end-of-season volume given that 1999. when equivalent information was first gathered, according to the. farming ministry.

Inflation information for July launched recently revealed rice,. leaving out the well-known 'koshihikari' premium brand name, saw the. highest rate of price boost in over twenty years.

At a branch of the Akidai grocery store chain in western. Tokyo, shelves typically equipped with bags of rice were mainly. empty.

The grocery store chain's president Hiromichi Akiba stated. wholesalers have actually been unable to fulfil its orders, and sometimes. they can not provide any rice.

While the existing scarcity may be alleviated when a brand-new crop. becomes available as early as September, tight supply is. expected to remain through next year with hot weather posing. dangers for upcoming harvests, research firm BMI said in a report. this month.

Meanwhile, the federal government is progressively worried that. climate change will threaten its crucial crop longer term. unless action is taken.

A farming ministry report launched in July revealed paddy. rice yields in Japan are projected to decrease about 20% by 2100. compared to the previous century.

The ministry said shifting to high temperature-tolerant. varieties was the most important step to attend to the impact. of climate change on rice crops and possible future shortages.

(source: Reuters)