Why Rice Is Poised to Survive Better in a Warming World

In a warming world that’s already affecting farming yields, one crop may be better positioned than others.

New research looking at future production of six staple crops including wheat, soybeans and sorghum found that rice alone should have the smallest decline in global yields. The results present a sobering picture of how climate change may affect the global food system while also suggesting that there are actions farmers can take to offset some of the losses.

“Rice is more adaptable, so it’s more protected,” says Andy Hultgren, the lead author of the new Nature
study and an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “It’s a ...