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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

The rice, Ashoka 200F, [phys.org] was developed for resource-poor farmers, using a new method of plant breeding. Instead of conventional plant breeding, when thousands of plants are crossed in the hope of finding beneficial traits, fewer plants are crossed, but carefully selected for desired characteristics, such as drought tolerance and a good yield. The pioneering plant breeding method, called Client Oriented Breeding also differs from conventional commercial development of new crop strains, as it involves the growers in the selection of plant traits which will be important to them, such as good taste, short cooking time and good straw for fodder.
New Ashoka rice variety brings food security to millions

"The figures are quite staggering," explains Prof Witcombe. "We estimate that around a million smallholders are growing formally released Ashoka, bringing in a benefit of £12 million a year to their households. Added to that, many farmers are saving and sharing their own seeds.

"Our evidence shows that over 80% of farmers surveyed said that the rice they were growing was lasting around a month longer than previously- saving them a month's purchase of rice. Ashoka's early and large crop provides food for the 'hungry season- as well as being able to supply fodder for animals. Farmers with surplus grain for sale were also able to sell 45% more grain, and gain a higher price as it's a higher quality grain."

Often we're captivated by physicists and chemists, the flashier disciplines, but if you want to use science to make the world a better place for the most people possible, perhaps figuring out how to feed them is the way to go. Norman Borlaug [wikipedia.org], for example, was credited from saving a billion people from starvation.

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