Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) director Holger Meinke travelled to India last week and signed an agreement with prestigious research foundation the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation to research the development of the product. Professor Meinke said the project would aim to address global food security.

 “Researchers from the University of Tasmania, supported by the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, will be using a variety of wild rice that is capable of growing in highly saline coastal areas to identify and transfer traits that confer its remarkable salinity-stress tolerance,” Professor Meinke said.

 “These traits will be transferred to traditional rice cultivars using a range of modern plant-breeding techniques to create a salt-tolerant rice variety which will be suitable for growing conditions in India and other saline environments around the world.

The $2 million project is funded by the federal government’s Australia-India strategic research fund.

Professor Meinke said rice was one of the most important staple foods in the world, with 92 per cent of all rice produced in Asia.

Production in this region is increasingly impaired by seawater intrusion or saline water tables rendering vast areas of land unproductive and threatening the livelihood of many rice farmers.

“The development of a salinity-tolerant rice variety will help improve outcomes for Australian farmers who are affected by transient salinity,” Professor Meinke said.

“This is the first step towards developing agricultural systems that are highly salt-tolerant. The capabilities and technologies developed through this project have the potential to ultimately enhance the agricultural productivity for other major crops such as barley and wheat.”

The project will include exchange visits between India and Australia and includes equal financial contributions between the Australian and Indian governments.