# Intensifying rice production to reduce imports and land conversion in Africa

*PRI Rank #20 · Topics and Trends in Most Cited Rice Cultivation and Yield Improvement Papers, Class of 2026*

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/rice-cultivation-and-yield-improvement/2026/rank-20*

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Rank | #20 |
| 18m citations | 27 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Year | 2024 |
| DOI | 10.1038/s41467-024-44950-8 |
| Corresponding authors | Shaobing Peng, Patricio Grassini |
| Institution | Huazhong Agricultural University, China |

**Ranking page:** [Topics and Trends in Most Cited Rice Cultivation and Yield Improvement Papers, Class of 2026](https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/rice-cultivation-and-yield-improvement/2026)

**Paper link:** [10.1038/s41467-024-44950-8](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44950-8)

## Topics

rice production intensification · Africa rice imports · cropland expansion · Process-based modeling · yield gap closure · Yield gap · rice yield stagnation · Land use change · rice self-sufficiency · 2050 rice demand scenarios · historical cropland expansion trend · weather-soil-management datasets · domestic rice consumption · rice-agricultural area · yield intensification scenarios

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Rice Cultivation and Yield Improvement Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/rice-cultivation-and-yield-improvement/2026. Accessed 2026-07-24.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```