Yield Gaps in Rice Production: Causes, Challenges and Bridging Strategies

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) remains the world's most critical food security crop, sustaining over half of the global population's caloric and protein needs, particularly across developing nations in Asia. Global rice production reached a record 534.9 million tonnes in 2024-25, yet persistent yield gaps between research stations and farmers' fields continue to threaten food security, especially in smallholder-dominated production systems. This review examined the concept, components, and causal factors of yield gaps in rice production at global, national, and sub-national levels, with special emphasis on India and Kerala. Yield gaps were classified into two components: Yield Gap I, arising from differences between research station and demonstration plot yields, and Yield Gap II, representing the more exploitable gap between demonstration plot and actual farm-level yields. The review identified biological, socio-economic, climatic, and institutional factors as the principal determinants of these gaps. India achieved a record rice production of 149.07 million tonnes in 2024-25 with a national yield of 2,899 kg/ha, yet significant regional yield gaps persist, particularly in Eastern India where the gap between attainable and actual yields ranges from 1.7 to 2.4 t/ha. In Kerala, paddy area declined from 8.75 lakh ha in 1970-71 to approximately 1.76 lakh ha in 2024-25, driven by land conversion, labour scarcity, and non-profitability. Integrated Crop Management, quality seed supply, adequate credit, post-harvest loss reduction, precision agriculture, and strengthened research-extension linkages were identified as the foremost strategies for bridging exploitable yield gaps in rice.