Rice accounts for *0% of the calories eaten in Asia, or one-fifth of the calories eaten worldwide by humans. It is the agricultural commodity with the third-highest worldwide production (rice, **1.5 million tonnes in ***4), after sugarcane. Alluvial loamy and clayey soil is ideal for growing rice. The rice crop needs about *4°C or above with minor variations during sowing, growing and harvesting seasons. It grows well in the areas where rainfall is above **0cm. Deltas, river valleys, coastal plains and terraced fields in mountainous regions are ideal for its cultivation.
Asian rice (Oryza sativa) is most widely known and most widely grown, with two major subspecies and over *0,**0 varieties.[5] Also notable are varieties of African rice (Oryza glaberrima) and wild rice (genus Zizania). Rice may vary in genetics, grain length, color, thickness, stickiness, aroma, growing method, and other characteristics.