“Rice is life” in Asia and particularly Southeast Asia, where it has long been a staple crop that countries have relied on to feed booming populations. The region is a key rice producer, with 169 million tons ,which is about 26% of global rice production, being produced in 2008. Rice constitutes around 60% of daily calorie intake in Asia and millions of small-holder farmers and their families depend on rice for both income and food security. Small-holder farmers are the most at risk if any harvest fails, due to drought, flooding or market-induced shocks.
In this issue, we focus the spotlight on small-holder farmers living in poverty and innovative interventions at the grassroots level that improve their livelihoods. This issue of the Asian Trends Monitoring (ATM) Bulletin is based on primary interview material gathered during a fieldwork visit to Thailand in April 2011.
