Rice is a staple in Uzbekistan, where the average person eats about 10 kilograms a year, and the country imports rice to meet demand. The Khorezm region in the northwest has traditionally produced around 40 percent of the national harvest. Since 2000, less water has flowed into the lower and middle reaches of the Amu Darya, which is shrinking under climate change and heavy irrigation. Farmers such as Bakhodir Elmurodov have moved roughly 1,000 kilometres to the Syr Darya region, where groundwater sits closer to the surface. Rice needs about 15,000 to 20,000 cubic metres of water per hectare there, compared with about 25,000 in Khorezm. Farmers are also adopting recycled water and salt-reducing techniques, though it is unclear whether the region has enough land and water for everyone.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.