Economics of hybrid rice production in China

This paper, based on interviews conducted in 1982 with farmers in China"s Fujian and Hunan Provinces, describes the economics of hybrid rice and seed production. The paper first evaluates the technical advantage of cultivating hybrid rather than conventional rice; production data gathered from farmers in each province reveal hybrid yields to be 16% higher than conventional yields. Next, the profitability of hybrid rice production alone and the comparative profitability of hybrid and conventional rice production are analyzed; findings show that the relative profitability of hybrid and conventional rice production is largely dependent on paddy price. Data on the economics of male-sterile and hybrid seed production were also collected in Fujian and Hunan. Seed production yields were found to be higher than yields for rice crop production, attributable to an inappropriate 1: 10 seed-to-paddy price scheme in China which allows seed producers to earn substantially higher incomes than hybrid rice growers. A final section discusses obstacles to expanding and increasing hybrid rice production in China. The text includes 22 tables of statistical data. (Author abstract, modified)