In California, well-connected farmers grow rice in the desert, even as Los Angeles begs for water.

ECONOMIST: Water

Hardest hit were villages further up the valleys, where farmers grow rice, vegetables and corn on terraced plots.

NPR: China Rushes Relief After Sichuan Quake Kills 180

Correspondents say the hill villages, where farmers grow rice, vegetables and corn on terraced plots, were hit the hardest.

BBC: China quake: Rescuers reach remote damaged villages

Correspondents say the hill villages, where farmers grow rice, vegetables and corn on terraced plots, were hit the hardest by the earthquake.

BBC: China quake: Rescue teams blast roads amid aftershocks

In Tanzania rainwater harvesting allows farmers to grow rice or vegetables instead of staples like sorghum and maize.

ECONOMIST: Financing water projects

Alter Eco, which works directly with small-scale farmers who grow quinoa, rice, sugar and chocolate to help them institute Fair Trade.

FORBES: Workforce Diversity -- Walgreens and the Obvious Solution

The current rice crop (farmers grow two a year) is half what it should be.

ECONOMIST: Guyana

Farmers in many flood plains plant crops that grow underwater, such as deep water aman rice or jute.

ECONOMIST: Deforestation and floods

Farmers in Goa last year found they spent 70 percent less on seed with SRI to grow up to twice as much rice.

FORBES: Can We Revolutionize Agriculture Without 'Science'?