There's rice growing in Palmerston North. It's indoors and being paid for by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. What is unusual about this rice is that it's not flooded with water. Such rice is known as dry-seeded rice, and it uses far less water than paddy field rice, which is how almost all rice is grown worldwide. It also avoids the underwater microbial action in flooded fields that makes rice production a surprisingly high methane emitter, albeit much less so per kilo of food than many animal products. Rice is the staple food of about half the world's population.
It is being grown by BioLumic, which has research centres in Palmerston North and the United States and was this year awarded $3.5 million by the Gates Foundation. It aims to develop seed treatments that enhance rice germination rates, seedling growth, weed competitiveness and drought tolerance, which will help enable small-scale growers in India grow dry-seeded rice.
Denne historien er fra November 25 - December 1, 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November 25 - December 1, 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
