Rice originally comes from Asia, with its first domestication occurring about 9,000 years ago in the Yangtze River basin in China. This domestication event gave rise to the Asian rice species Oryza sativa , from which both the indica and japonica varieties descended
. Rice cultivation then spread throughout East Asia, including Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia, and eventually to other parts of the world through migration, trade, and colonization
. Additionally, a separate species known as African rice (Oryza glaberrima) was independently domesticated around 3,000 years ago in Africa and was later introduced to the Americas
. Today, more than 90% of the world's rice is grown in Asia, primarily in China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, making Asia the dominant region for rice production and consumption
. Rice is a semi-aquatic plant that requires consistent irrigation and is often grown in flooded fields, especially in Asia
. In summary, rice comes from ancient domestication in China and Africa, with the vast majority of global rice production centered in Asian countries.
