From its origins in Asia, cultivation of Oryza sativa L. in Portugal has had to adapt to local agroecological conditions. Since the late eighteenth century, there has been significant human intervention in rice production, particularly through public policies aimed at increasing production to achieve national food self-sufficiency. Using national and regional statistics on rice production, this article analyses how public policies on rice cultivation over the last 160 years have impacted and interacted with territorial agroecological conditions and the genetic characteristics of the rice varieties being cultivated. We concluded that public policies led to increased production by favouring the geographical reorganisation of rice production based on the rice varieties used and changing territorial agroecological conditions.