Rice is the staple food of about half of the world’s population, the majority of which is located in Asia. Rice supplies as much as 80% of the daily caloric intake of the teeming population of Asia, where two-thirds of the world’s impoverished population lives. It is estimated that 2.3 billion farmers and their households depend on rice as their main source of livelihood (Mohanty 2010). In Southeast Asia alone, about 24 million farmers depend on lowland rice agriculture, whereas, in South Asia, the figures are two to three times higher. Irrigated rice is grown on approximately 50% of the rice area in Asia and generates approximately 75% of the total rice production. Rice also plays a major role in all facets of peoples’ lives in Asia. This is evidenced in their cosmology (i.e., calendar, time perception, etc.), language, community structure, rituals, songs, material culture, and perception of the landscape, among others (Conklin et al 1980).