Nadine Mitschunas has become the first person to grow rice commercially in the UK. She grows nine different types of rice on her farm, a few miles north of Ely in the flatlands of Cambridgeshire. Among them, this novel trial highlights rice varieties from Brazil, Colombia, Italy, and the Philippines. It counts among its most popular cultivars, risotto and basmati. The rice plants are growing well thanks to the hot August summer weather that the UK has been experiencing. Fingers crossed! They will be ripe for harvest in October.
Mitschunas has set up four mini paddy fields on rice farmer Sarah Taylor’s property, where dozens of varieties of rice plants are thrumming with life. This ambitious initiative has proven wrong long-standing beliefs that rice can’t be grown commercially here in the UK. It further unlocks agricultural innovation and potential. Mitschunas expressed her astonishment at the robust growth of the plants, stating, “I’m actually amazed because they are big, happy, bushy plants.”
The trial forms a key element of UEA’s Vernacular Voices project, which is looking at the future of food in the UK. Mitschunas thinks average annual temperatures may be 2 to 4 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial averages. If successful, rice could join the eight major crops currently grown in the UK within ten years. She remarked, “In 10 years’ time, rice could be a completely perfect crop for us.”
Expanding rice production on degraded peat soils provides an opportunity to develop a sustainable agricultural model. These soils are responsible for an estimated 3% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. By growing rice under these conditions, farmers could increase carbon sequestration to offset their emissions and lower total emissions. This non-traditional approach is well suited to Mitschunas’s goal of reimagining agricultural practices to fight climate change.
The partnership between Mitschunas and Taylor is an inspiring example of new agricultural thinking. Taylor expressed her surprise at the results of the trial, stating, “We could never have contemplated this would grow here.” She brought the room’s attention back to the need to change our farming practices so we can remain viable for generations to come. “Our legacy for our children and hopefully their children is really important to us,” she added.
Mitschunas admitted that public perception is the hardest battle to fight. “When I tell people what I’m doing here, they think I’m joking,” she said. Support for this perception is part of a larger reluctance about innovative agricultural practices. Craig, another farmer engaged with the project, mentioned that a paradigm shift in farming is desperately needed. We don’t want to have folks believing that we are the ‘crazy rice farmers’ – this is about reimagining the entire system and configuring it in a way that benefits all.
The longterm goal of the trial is to learn which crops will be successful in the UK as our climate continues to change. Mitschunas, meanwhile, is hopeful that in a decade’s time rice could be a common feature of British diets. “UK-grown rice could be coming to dinner plates in the next decade,” she stated confidently.
As climate change upends the agricultural practices we’ve long relied on, efforts like this one are crucial in paving the way for new paths forward. The success of rice cultivation in Cambridgeshire may serve as a model for other farmers looking to adapt to changing environmental conditions. This novel partnership between Mitschunas and Taylor represents all the creativity and dedication to sustainable practices taking root in today’s agricultural sector.
“Nobody has tried this before, but with climate change, we have crops that, 10 years ago, we wouldn’t have thought would be viable.” – Nadine Mitschunas
“We see that the future isn’t stable. We want to be able to write our own destiny and not have it decided for us.” – Sarah Taylor