Area with rice basically fit to be productive (6)
I believe the answer is:
arable
'productive' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'area with rice basically fit' is the wordplay.
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'basically' suggests taking the first letters (the first letter could be its root or base).
'fit' becomes 'able' (similar in meaning).
The initial letter of 'rice' is 'r'.
'a'+'r'+'able'='ARABLE'
'to be' is the link.
(Other definitions for arable that I've seen before include "Fit for crop growing" , "(Of land) capable of producing crops" , "Of land, capable of growing crops" , "Suitable for ploughing" , "Of land, fit for growing crops" .)