Paper short abstract:

We study how the focus of research on rice has evolved across time and space using publication data. We contrast time and country focus with their achievements and use of inputs. We discuss the misalignment between research portfolios and apparent priorities for the main rice producers.

Paper long abstract:

We focus on rice, a crop which feeds a huge number of people around the world, particularly in low and middle income countries, and, as a symbol of the green revolution, is also a controversial technology. Our aim is to map how research efforts change through time and space, and how this is related to specific priorities, events, and cultures. We address questions such as: what are the main research topics in rice research? How have they evolved over time? How has this evolution different by country? How are countries portfolios of rice research aligned with the main priorities in terms of nutrition, rice consumption, trade, and the use of inputs? Looking at the political economy of rice research, we investigate the main determinants that have influenced the direction of rice research in the countries with the highest concentration of production of rice and publications on rice.

The analysis is based on a large corpus of publications on rice from the CABI repository of publications. Based on similarity, we cluster publications into different topic. We show how the research portfolio has changed through time and across the main countries publishing on rice technologies. The analysis provides a good picture of the political economy of rice research, which we contrast with data and narratives of research priorities.