January 08, 2013 at 03:13PM Madagascar: climate change is apparently boosting rice yields

Unlike in other world regions, the upland rice grown in Madagascar should benefit from the effects of global warming. This is the surprising result obtained by a team of researchers from CIRAD and FOFIFA who simulated a century of rice production depending on the extent of climate change in the highlands of Madagascar. In this cold region, upland rice is grown at the lower limit of its temperature tolerance. In this case, increased temperatures would speed up flowering and grain maturity, in such a way that the demand for water and nutrients from the plant would tally better with their availability in the soil, ensuring a marked increase in yields. This is the opposite of what is expected in southern Asia, where rice is grown at the upper limit of its temperature tolerance, and where yields are likely to fall overall.

via CIRAD - Actualités / News http://www.cirad.fr/news/all-news-items/articles/2012/science/global-warming-increased-rice-yields-in-madagascar