LYS-5 2013-1 Soru=32

It is clearly stated in the passage that early farmers preferred rice production as it ----.

Originally grown in China, rice has a number of qualities
that made it attractive to early farmers. It yielded more
than other early domesticated grains like wheat and
barley. The low moisture content of its seed allowed for
easy drying and long storage, and the seeds resisted
bruising and were easily transported. Rice cultivation
gradually spread from eastern Asia, very likely facilitated
by the ancient Persians whose empire stretched from
Central Asia into Western Europe. For the ancient
Greeks, it was an expensive import, not a dietary staple.
When first introduced in Britain, rice was valued as a
medicine. Rice reached the Americas by the 1650s,
most likely on trade ships, by African slaves, and it
turned into a major cash crop in the Carolinas within a
century. Soon rice was being grown widely in the
southern United States and South America. Today, rice
is a dietary staple for about half of the world’s
population. Developed into more than 8,000 varieties,
including genetically-engineered varieties, it is traded as
a commodity on local and world markets.