Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa (Asian rice) or Oryza glaberrima (African rice). As a cereal grain, it is the most widely consumed staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in Asia. It is the grain with the third-highest worldwide production.
India is one of the world's largest producers of white rice and brown rice, accounting for 20% of all world rice production. Rice is India's pre-eminent crop, and is the staple food of the people of the eastern and southern parts of the country.