History of rice cultivation

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The history of rice cultivation is about how people found, bred, and spread a grain that feeds much of the world. The most widely grown rice, Oryza sativa, was first domesticated in the Yangtze River basin in China about 9,000 years ago. Scientists now generally agree that Asian rice came from a single early domestication, producing two main subtypes: japonica and indica.

From its Chinese beginnings, rice spread across Asia and beyond. Wetland rice farming developed in southern China and then moved south and east, helped by trade and new farming techniques. The Austronesian expansion carried rice to Taiwan and into Southeast Asia, including Java and Bali, by about 500 BCE. Rice cultivation later reached Korea and Japan, and people in India also developed early rice farming. Over time, rice arrived in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, aided by movements of people and empires.

Africa also developed its own rice, Oryza glaberrima, grown independently in the Niger River delta about 3,000 years ago. It spread to Senegal and nearby areas but gradually declined after Asian rice was introduced to East Africa and spread westward. Today O. glaberrima is still grown in parts of West Africa and in some countries of the Americas, where crosses between the African and Asian species have occurred.

Wild rice from the genus Zizania grows in North America and is still harvested there, while wild and cultivated rice have long been important in China and other regions too.

In modern times, rice has become a global staple and a cornerstone of food security. There are tens of thousands of rice cultivars—over 40,000 in some estimates—and breeding advances in the Green Revolution helped raise yields in many places. Today, most rice is produced in Asia (about 87%), with China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Korea, and Japan among the top producers. Rice culture is deeply tied to the cuisines and landscapes of many countries, from the Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines to the rice traditions of Indonesia and Thailand.