Q 01/05

Rice is the staple food of roughly what share of the world's population?

A) Over half

B) Over three-quarters

C) About a quarter

D) About a third

Answer · why

A) Over half

It is eaten most heavily in Asia and Africa; the three biggest consuming countries are all in Asia.

Q 02/05

What is the scientific name of Asian rice?

A) Triticum aestivum

B) Oryza sativa

C) Zizania palustris

D) Zea mays

Answer · why

B) Oryza sativa

African rice is a different species, Oryza glaberrima, domesticated separately in West Africa.

Q 03/05

In which country was Asian rice first domesticated, at least 9,000 years ago?

A) India

B) Thailand

C) China

D) Japan

Answer · why

C) China

Neolithic cultures in the Upper and Lower Yangtze tamed it from the wild rice Oryza rufipogon.

Q 04/05

African rice was domesticated independently about how long ago?

A) 300 years

B) 1,000 years

C) 2,000 years

D) 3,000 years

Answer · why

D) 3,000 years

The Spanish later carried the African species to the Americas.

Q 05/05

Which two crops outrank rice in world production by weight?

A) Sugarcane and maize

B) Cassava and soybeans

C) Wheat and potatoes

D) Soybeans and wheat

Answer · why

A) Sugarcane and maize

About 800 million tonnes of rice were grown in 2023, but only some 8% of it was traded across borders.