Q.Write about the economic importance of rice.

Rice supplies more than just food -- its bran, straw, and husk all have real economic uses too.

1. Staple food: the grain (dehusked/polished) is the principal source of dietary carbohydrate/calories for more than half the world's population, especially across Asia.
2. Rice bran: the outer bran layer removed during polishing yields rice bran oil, an edible/industrial oil, and the residual bran is a valuable cattle/poultry feed ingredient.
3. Straw: the dried stalks left after harvest are widely used as cattle fodder, roof-thatching material, and as raw material for paper-making, packing material and rope/mat weaving.
4. Husk: the outer hull removed during milling is used as a low-cost fuel (boiler/biomass fuel), as packing/insulation material, and as raw material in furfural manufacture and rice-husk-ash-based products (e.g. silica). …