Alongside cassava, rice is the staple food of the republic, with 238,000 tonnes produced in 2013. The foodstuff accounts for 22% of agricultural GDP, far higher than all livestock. However, the harvest still falls short of 1988 levels which were 299,000 tonnes even though the population has doubled. Yields are also low with most rice at 3 tonnes per hectare, less than half the average in the United States.
