Surpassing China, the world's fifth-largest economy becomes the world's largest rice producer.

Source: nguoiquansat.vn When India surpassed China to become the world's largest rice producer this year, domestic political circles and agricultural advocacy groups praised the farmers and the government's agricultural policies. Over the past decade, India has nearly doubled its rice exports, with a turnover exceeding 20 million tons in the most recent fiscal year. However, in key agricultural areas, many rice farmers are not optimistic. Interviews with farmers, officials, and agricultural scientists, combined with groundwater data analysis, revealed a common concern: The water-intensive nature of rice cultivation is depleting India's already low groundwater reserves, forcing many farmers to borrow money to dig deeper wells. In the rice-growing states of Haryana and Punjab, the groundwater level a decade ago was accessible at a depth of about 9 meters, according to 50 farmers and 8 water-agriculture officials. But in the past five years, the depletion process has accelerated; ...