Rice Around the World — Mapping Global Staple Foods
He Mahere Hāpuku ā-Ao · Locating and connecting rice-growing regions · Years 7–10
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions
- Locate major rice-producing and rice-consuming regions on a world map.
- Understand the relationship between climate, geography, and food production.
- Identify how trade connects rice-producing and rice-importing countries.
- Compare rice-growing practices across cultures including Māori relationships with wetland kai.
Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria
- Map accurately labels at least 8 major rice-producing regions with correct geographic placement.
- Trade routes are shown with direction of flow.
- At least one connection is made between climate conditions and rice suitability.
- Reflection includes a Māori/Pacific perspective on wetland food systems.
He Mahere Ao · World Map Activity
Use the outline below to complete all four map tasks. Use pencil first, then colour when you are happy with your labelling.
World map outline — label the regions and draw trade routes directly on this space.
America
America
Africa
SE Asia
Pacific
Mark and label at least 8 of these rice-producing regions: South and Southeast Asia (Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, India, China), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), South America (Brazil), Japan.
Draw arrows showing the flow of rice exports from major exporters (Thailand, Vietnam, India) to major importers (Middle East, Africa, Europe). Use a different colour for import routes.
Lightly shade the tropical and subtropical zones where most rice grows. Add a key explaining your shading.
Mark Aotearoa New Zealand and draw a dotted line connecting it to its main rice import source. Why can rice not be grown commercially in New Zealand?
He Whakatairite · Traditional vs Industrial Rice Farming
| Dimension | Traditional Farming | Industrial Farming | Your Observation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scale | Small family plots, 0.5–2 ha | Large monocultures, 100+ ha | |
| Water use | Traditional flood irrigation, rain-fed | Mechanised irrigation systems | |
| Varieties | Many local/heritage varieties | Few high-yield varieties | |
| Environmental impact | Supports biodiversity, lower inputs | Higher fertiliser/pesticide use |
Hononga ki te Māori · Māori Wetland Kai Connection
Before rice arrived in Aotearoa, Māori communities harvested kai from wetlands (roto and awa) using sophisticated ecological knowledge.
- Watercress (kākihi)
- Eels (tuna) — significant cultural resource
- Freshwater crayfish (kōura)
- Harakeke (flax) near waterways
- Harvest within seasonal tikanga
- Leave enough for the ecosystem to recover
- Kaitiakitanga — active guardianship
- Share according to community obligations
Reflection: How is the mahinga kai approach to wetland food systems similar to — or different from — sustainable rice farming practices?
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Geographic Understanding: understand how physical environment shapes food production. Economic Understanding: trace global food supply chains and connections between producers and consumers.
Planet Earth: understand how climate and geography interact with living systems. Living World: understand relationships between organisms and their environments.
Tuhia ōu whakaaro · Write Your Thoughts
After completing the map and comparison tasks: what is one thing that surprised you about where rice grows and how it reaches our plates? What does this make you think about food systems?
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
Long before rice farming, Māori communities practised sophisticated wetland kai management — harvesting watercress, eels, kōura, and other resources from awa and roto with an intimate understanding of seasons, ecology, and tikanga. The concept of mahinga kai (the practice of obtaining food) is not just about getting food: it is about the relationship between people and the places that provide for them. When students map global rice systems, they can ask: what is the mahinga kai of this place? Who has the right to harvest here? Who benefits and who is excluded? These questions connect global food geography to local ecological relationships.
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Resources already provided
- unit-10-week3-rice-consumption-calculation.html — data on per-capita rice consumption to analyse alongside this mapping work
- unit-10-week2-kumara-grower-diary.html — connects to Aotearoa's own staple crop and agricultural heritage
- unit-10-week3-trading-game.html — simulation of how trade routes operate under scarcity
- unit-10-cash-crop-research-guide.html — extends inquiry into cash crops and colonial agricultural systems
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will engage with this resource to investigate the intersection of kai (food), culture, and climate — exploring how mātauranga Māori approaches to food production, preservation, and distribution offer powerful responses to contemporary food security and climate challenges in Aotearoa New Zealand and globally.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain how traditional Māori kai practices (maramataka, kūmara cultivation, rāhui) embody ecological knowledge and food security principles.
- ✅ Students can connect kai culture and climate scarcity to contemporary community action and food sovereignty movements.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide graphic organisers that map traditional kai practices to modern food security concepts at the entry level. Offer extension tasks asking students to research a specific iwi's traditional food system and evaluate its contemporary relevance, or to investigate a local food sovereignty initiative.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach domain vocabulary (food sovereignty, food security, kaitiakitanga, rāhui, maramataka) using visual diagrams and real-world examples. Draw connections to students' own cultural food traditions — these are valid entry points into the unit's themes. Allow oral or visual presentation of learning as alternatives to written tasks.
Inclusion: Kai is a universal human experience — all students have a relationship with food, seasonality, and sharing. Neurodiverse learners benefit from concrete, hands-on engagement with these concepts (e.g., examining a kūmara, mapping seasonal foods). Acknowledge diverse economic circumstances sensitively when discussing food security. Choice in how students demonstrate understanding (written, visual, oral) supports inclusive assessment.
Mātauranga Māori lens: The maramataka — the Māori lunar calendar — is one of Aotearoa's most sophisticated environmental data systems, encoding centuries of ecological observation about planting, harvesting, fishing, and weather patterns. Kūmara cultivation in pre-colonial Aotearoa was a feat of agricultural knowledge adapted to a new climate. Rāhui (temporary resource restrictions) is indigenous resource management — conservation before conservation. Kaitiakitanga frames the relationship between people and kai not as extraction but as reciprocal guardianship. These are not historical curiosities — they are living solutions to contemporary problems.
Prior knowledge: Students benefit from foundational understanding of climate change and food systems. No specialist mātauranga Māori knowledge required for entry-level engagement — the unit builds this knowledge progressively.
Curriculum alignment
- Place and Environment — Social Studies: Understand how people's management of resources reflects their values and their view of sustainability — and how mātauranga Māori frameworks provide models for sustainable resource management.
- Ecology — Living World: Understand how human activities and natural factors affect the distribution and abundance of organisms; evaluate the impact of changes on ecosystem health and food systems.