Southeast Asia | International Rice Research Institute

Ending hunger and malnutrition in Southeast Asia is essential and rice plays a critical role. Rice is the single most important staple in the region as it provides 50% of calorie intake for its population. The region’s rice areas comprise 48 million ha or almost 30% of the world rice harvest. It produced 220 million tons of rice in 2018. Vietnam and Thailand are among the top three rice exporting countries in the world. Southeast Asia is home to 61 million undernourished people, around 9% of its population, and over 33 million are severely food insecure. The prevalence of stunting in children under five years of age stands at 25% while the percentage of overweight children increased from 3.2% in 2000 to 7.7% in 2018. Achieving SDG2 - ending hunger and malnutrition - by 2030 requires the region to work collaboratively to address complex and interrelated challenges such as climate change, urbanization, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, poverty, food safety and nutrition, and social ineq

Ending hunger and malnutrition in Southeast Asia is essential and rice plays a critical role. Rice is the single most important staple in the region as it provides 50% of calorie intake for its population. The region’s rice areas comprise 48 million ha or almost 30% of the world rice harvest. It produced 220 million tons of rice in 2018. Vietnam and Thailand are among the top three rice exporting countries in the world. Southeast Asia is home to 61 million undernourished people, around 9% of its population, and over 33 million are severely food insecure. The prevalence of stunting in children