The earth is experiencing a faster change in climate in the twenty-first century than it has in the
past. The global average temperature has increased over recent years and if the temperature
prediction models are anything to go by, the earth’s future is going to be hotter. The increasing
temperature is accompanied by increased events of flooding, drought and both decreased and
increased rainfall and evaporation rate in different parts of the world. A secondary effect of these
extreme weather events is changes in water and soil salinity. Salinity patterns under future climate
change scenarios (CCSs) have indicated that as the CCSs become more severe, the soil area under
higher salinity category will increase. Rice, a primary source of food for more than half the world’s
population, is a salt-sensitive crop. So far rice productivity has kept pace with the increasing world
population, thanks to the ‘Green Revolution’ and existing farming practices. The world population
is still increasing, whereas the gains in agricultural output provided by the ‘Green Revolution’ have
reached a plateau. Recent statistics reveal that rice production and productivity need to be
increased by 40% and from the current 4.5 tonnes/ha to 7.5 tonnes/ha, respectively, by 2030 to
satisfy the growing demand without affecting the resource base adversely. A considerable portion
of the world’s cultivated land is affected by salinity, which limits its productivity potential. Cleaning
up of salt from these lands is uneconomical and impractical on a large scale, whereas improvement
of rice germplasm for salinity tolerance is a feasible and promising alternative for maintaining
stable global food production.