Exploring geography of rice production and consumption

Year level: Upper primary / lower secondary Aim To make comparisons between countries about rice production and consumption using statistics and maps. Use http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/agr_gra_ric_pro to find the five major rice producing countries. Show this information on a map of the world. Make a generalisation about the climate and environmental features of these countries. Use http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/agr_gra_ric_con_cap to find the five countries which consume the most rice per head. Show this information on a map of the world. Describe the economic situations of these countries. Use http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/agr_gra_ric_exp to find the five major rice exporting countries. Show this information on a map of the world. Investigate how significant the export income is in relation to overall income in these countries. Investigate how rice is grown and eaten in a rice producing country. You might use http://www.riceweb.org/geography.htm to begin with. Contrast this country with how rice is gown in Australia http://www.rga.org.au/rice/howgrown.asp Create a table comparing the similarities and differences under the headings such as: Mechanisation Employment Farm size Rice variety Environment Production opportunities Production constraints Cultural factors What are some of the reasons behind these differences? What are the implications of these differences for - society; environment; economy? What can these farmers learn from each other? Assessment task Write a report about the contribution of rice to the economy, environment, health and culture of your selected country.