A STUDY ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF LOSS OF RICE

Abstract

The current study drives at identifying the environmental and economic impacts of rice loss. The analytical method is used to extract the research hypotheses and hypotheses will be tested through the analytical study on rice grains and the rice straw and their losses in the period 2000 to 2015. The development of area, productivity, and production of rice grain in Egypt are analyzed in the same period. Results of study indicate at testing hypotheses through the statistical analysis that the reddens (acre) area of rice in Egypt has decreased to register 0.42% average annually. Productivity of rice grains in Egypt has decreased to represent 0.25% tons/per year with shortage rate 0.617% of year average. It is evident that rice production is decreasing annually with 63.000 tons/per year and shortness rate 1.08% of year average. The loss of rice grains has developed in Egypt to reach 9065 thousand tons annually i.e. 7.35% of the year average; taking into consideration that the price per one ton of rice grains in 2015 has been 3100 pounds. Regarding the productivity of rice straw, it is decreasing registering 0.0028 tons/per year and shortness rate 0.128% of year average. The rice straw production in Egypt is decreasing, registering 33.9 tons/per year and shortness rate 1.05% of year average; taking into consideration that the utilized amount of rice straw in Egypt represents 45% of the produced amount of the straw. Results conclude that there exists a significant statistical relationship between the cultivated area of rice and the amount of loss on the Republic of Egypt’s level. The study recommends that Ministry of Agriculture should focus on establishing more research in agricultural loss, setting also a standard accurate approaches for estimating this loss and providing the necessary accurate data concerning the involved information of the loss estimation. There should be also coordination between Ministry of Agriculture and the State Agency for Environment Affairs to combat rice straw burning, moving and storing it instead to encourage investment in field of recycling rice straw.