BBC-Indochinese rice expansion stil

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Subject: BBC-Indochinese rice expansion still has room to grow

Monday, March 1, 1999 Published at 11:48 GMT
World: Asia-Pacific

Indochinese rice expansion still has room to grow

Latest research shows that there is potential for a significant expansion of
rice production in south-east Asia.
A representative from the International Rice Research Institute in the
Philippines Mercedita Sombilla told a conference in Hanoi that future growth
in rice production would depend on increasing yields, which differ widely
between countries, rather than increasing the amount of land under
cultivation.
She said that while there was potential for limited expansion of cultivation
in Cambodia, Burma and Laos, competition for land between agriculture and
industry was expected to grow while population pressures would divert land
into residential use. Ms Sombilla was addressing a two-day conference on the
effects of globalisation on the economies of Indochina, organised by the
Washington-based International Food Policy Rersearch Institute.
>From the newsroom of the BBC World Service