It appears that the future of rice is looking better after today’s news:

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Rome-based Global Crop Diversity Trust announced the historic new agreement at a special dedication ceremony at IRRI’s Genetic Resources Center, which houses more than 100,000 samples of rice, the biggest and most important such collection in the world.

The funding agreement is expected to help conserve and manage forever the extraordinary diversity of arguably the world’s most important crop. Today, about three billion people depend on rice for their survival, with the thousands of varieties carefully stored at IRRI providing the last line of defense between them and possible famine, especially in times of war, natural disasters, and attacks from pests and diseases.

The agreement offers for the first time in the history of modern agricultural research stable and long-term support to an unrivaled collection of genetic diversity that is estimated to include at least 80,000 distinct rice varieties. The collection is considered the Institute’s “crown jewels” and is kept in a special earthquake-proof and fireproof facility that must be maintained at temperatures as low as –19 degrees Celsius.

via science daily