Wageningen University has announced a research project into substantially increasing global rice production. The researchers are aiming for an increase of 70 percent by 2025, because projections show that the number of people whose staple food is rice will have doubled to 4.6 billion by 2050.

The Dutch university is collaborating with researchers in the US and the Philippines in the project. They will not focus on agricultural technology as such, but on factors like the grounds on which farmers adopt or reject new growing methods. Another field of interest is the interaction between rice farmers and government bodies.

The project is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The researchers will also focus on the existing System of Rice Intensification (SRI). This is trying to increase rice crops by promoting non-traditional methods of cultivation, using alternative methods of irrigation, soil aeration, fertilisation and planting. The SRI is widely promoted by local authorities and NGOs, but the effect varies, researchers at Wageningen University say. They are hoping to find out which factors are inhibiting the success of the scheme.