Vietnam and IRRI jointly craft strategy to
boost country’s rice industry
on 26 November 2014.
Together with the top leadership of the International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and other public and private sector partners,
MARD seeks the rapid and sustained growth of the agriculture sector, especially
the rice subsector in which Vietnam is already a global leader. The rice
industryserves as the foundation of Vietnam's inclusive development success
story.This week’s collaborative effort advances, in the country's rice sector,
the June 2013 Vietnam government decision QD-889, or
Approving the Project on Agricultural Restructuring Toward Raising Added Values
and Sustainable Development. In response to this decision and to MARD
priorities, IRRI has offered support to Vietnam-led rice sectorimprovement
efforts in key areas.
During a technical workshop on Wednesday, 26 November,
MARD officials and partners discussed IRRI’s proposed technical assistance
package. Co-chaired by MARD Vice Minister Le Quoc Doanh and IRRI Deputy
Director General V. Bruce J. Tolentino, topics included
high-quality rice varieties and commercial production of specialty rice for
domestic and export markets; branding of Vietnamese rice; reduced pre- and
postharvest losses; climate change adaptation and low carbon emission measures
in rice production; support for small farmers; and policy advice to further
enhance the country's formidable rice sector.
On Thursday, 27 November, MARD Minister Cao Duc Phat and
IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler will sign a host country
agreement that will facilitate more robust international exchange among
Vietnamese and IRRI scientists and experts who will refine and implement
Vietnam's rice sector strategy. This also makes IRRI the first international
agricultural research center to be officially recognized as an international
organization by the Government of Vietnam.
This week’s developments raise to a higher level the
decades-long partnership between Vietnam and IRRI, which started in 1963 when
the first Vietnamese scientist studied at the rice institute. A 2011 report
from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research found
that between 1985 and 2009, IRRI varieties and breeding lines contributed, on
average, 50% of the annual yield increases in southern Vietnam and the use of
new varieties increased Vietnamese rice farmers’ income by US$127 per hectare
(in 2009 values) per year during the study period.
Since 1963, IRRI has enabled more than 100 Vietnamese scholars
to gain advanced degrees in rice science. In addition, more than 700 Vietnamese
rice specialists, of whom more than one-third are women, have received training
in rice technologies at IRRI.
Bühler signs optical rice sorters
supply deal with Riceland International in Thailand
Monday, 24 November 2014 09:16
Bühler has signed an agreement with Riceland International in
Thailand for the supply of SORTEX S UltraVision Optical Sorters in the
Southeast Asian country
Vichai Sriprasert, president CEO of Riceland International with Ye
Aung, senior rice technologist at Bühler Thailand. (Image source: Bühler)
The deal also demonstrated Bühler’s significant investment
in its customer partnerships, technical innovations and localised service and
support, which is fuelling the demands for processing and optical sorting
solutions from rice processors around the world, according to the group.Mark
Ledson, MD of Bühler Thailand, said, “The agreement with Riceland International
demonstrates our commitment to help our customers develop state of the art
processing solutions.“It is also an acknowledgement of our global capability to
supply complete process engineered solutions to leading rice processors, driven
by our leadership in rice research and technical excellence. We look forward to
continuing our strong working relationship with Riceland International.”
Iranian rice importers
due tomorrow
our
correspondent
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
From Print Edition
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
From Print Edition
LAHORE: A 19-member
Iranian Rice Importers Association delegation is coming to Lahore from November
26 to 28 to visit different rice factories, farms and laboratories in
perspective of Pak-Iran mutual rice trade business, a statement said on Monday.
The delegation intends to evaluate the opportunities for
increasing the import of quality rice from Pakistan, it said. The delegates
would focus on assessing health certifications in Pakistani rice factories.They
will also get engaged with the banking authorities in Pakistan in sorting out
various banking issues, including payment mechanism.Iran has emerged as the
largest importer of rice in the world, as it imports around 11 percent of the
world rice worth $2.5 billion, the statement said. According to the
International Trade Centre, the demand for rice in Iran has doubled during
2012-13 and in the last five years, import of rice grew more than 35 percent.
Hence, there exists a huge opportunity for the exporters of
Pakistani rice.Presently, almost 90 percent of rice is from India although
import from Pakistan would be more economical, it said.Pakistan is the fourth
largest exporter of rice in the world with exports of more than $2 billion.This
high-level delegation is an opportunity to maximise the huge potential of trade
between Pakistan and Iran.Rice exporters are hopeful the visit will help them
penetrate in the Iranian market.The Iranian delegation is being facilitated by
the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan.
Source
with thanks: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-3-286202-Iranian-rice-importers-due-tomorrow#sthash.rpa2WTJy.dpuf
3 types of rice ready for climate
change
New types of rice
can survive drought, floods and salt water intrusion – all impacts of climate
change
Pia Ranada
Published 8:02 AM, Nov 25,
2014
Updated 8:19 AM, Nov 25,
2014
LOS BAÑOS, Philippines – Can you
imagine a world without rice?
Add this to the
fact that by 2050, the world will have to feed an estimated 2 billion more people.
With more mouths to feed, limited land to grow rice and climate change, the
world is looking bleak for rice-lovers.That's why scientists all over the world
are coming up with new types of rice that can withstand the worst of climate change and still end up in people's
plates.Here are new kinds of rice developed by the International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, Laguna using advanced breeding technology
Source
with thanks:http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/environment/75979-climate-change-ready-rice
Why rice is dangerous to feed your children
(Photo: JAY
DIRECTO, AFP/Getty Images)
Consumer
Reports' analysis found that hot rice cereal and rice pasta can have much more
arsenic than its lab saw in previous tests. So Consumer Reports now recommends
that children rarely eat these foods, which means not more than twice a month.
And Consumer Reports recommends children under five limit rice drinks, rice
cakes and ready-to-eat rice cereals. Levels of arsenic vary. Consumer Reports
based its recommendations on the higher levels in each food group to offer
consumers the best protection.
As for
rice itself, Consumer Reports' lab tests in 2012 found high levels of inorganic
arsenic in white rice and even higher levels in brown rice. Consumer Reports
has tested other types of rice and other grains and has found several
alternatives with much lower levels of inorganic arsenic. Some good choices —
sushi rice from the U.S. and white basmati rice from California, India and
Pakistan. On average they had half the amount of arsenic as most other types of
rice. And brown basmati rice from California, India and Pakistan has about one
third less inorganic arsenic than other brown rice. Other good options —
bulgur, barley and faro, as well as gluten-free grains like amaranth,
buckwheat, millet and quinoa.
In
response to Consumer Reports' investigation, the USA Rice Federation issued
this statement: "Research conducted by the Food and Drug Administration
and U.S. rice industry shows arsenic levels found in U.S.-grown rice are below
safe maximum levels established this year by the World Health Organization.
Studies show that including white or brown rice in the diet provides measurable
health benefits that outweigh the potential risks associated with exposure to
trace levels of arsenic. The U.S. rice industry is committed to growing a safe
and healthy product; we continuously test our crop, and research ways of
reducing the already low levels of arsenic found in rice even further.
The Food & Drug
Administration issued this statement: The FDA's ongoing assessment of arsenic
in rice remains a priority for the agency. Last year, the FDA released what we
believe to be the largest set of test results to date on the presence of
arsenic in rice and rice products, and we are planning to release a draft
assessment of the potential health risks associated with the consumption of arsenic
in these same foods.
Until that review
is completed, the agency continues to recommend that consumers, including
pregnant women, eat a well-balanced diet containing a variety of grains.
Parents should feed infants and toddlers a variety of grains as well, and
consider options other than rice cereal for a child's first solid
food.Published studies and ongoing FDA research indicate that cooking rice in
excess volumes of water – five to six times that of the rice – and draining the
water can reduce the arsenic content, though it may also reduce the nutritional
value of the rice.
A ‘galloping’ seafood delight
By DON AND CARLENE CULLIMORE
Tuesday, November 25, 2014 at 1:00 pm
The July 29 column by Tribune
Food Editor Marcia Vanderlip stirred memories of a rich seafood dish created by
chef Graham Kerr, the octogenarian “Galloping Gourmet” who has been a food
writer-kitchen celebrity for more than half a century. I became acquainted with
Kerr through his TV cooking show that was airing in the 1970s. The series began
in the ’60s in Canada and later was syndicated in the United States.
Graham acquired the intriguing
moniker “Galloping Gourmet” early in his career when he undertook a 35-day tour
of the finest restaurants around the world while promoting a new cookbook.
Known for his sense of humor, Graham devised a clever way to start his TV shows
— entering the kitchen while leaping over a piece of furniture before coming to
a grinning halt in front of the cameras. His live audiences surely watched his
aerial acrobatics anxiously lest he trip and make a crash landing.
The
name of Graham’s seafood dish I learned to cook escapes me. I had written down
the recipe while watching the TV show but lost it some years later when moving.
However, the ingredients and general instructions for creating the dish are
still with me, although I had not prepared it for many years until last week.
It’s
a dish I prepared for my wife when we were first dating and I was living in a
rustic Oregon beach house in the small community of Manzanita. Reminiscent of a
classic French seafood dish containing ample quantities of clarified butter and
cream and fortified with wine, it is not for those who are counting calories or
cholesterol.
It became an immediate
hit with our Oregon friends when we entertained. I prepared it numerous times
before leaving the Northwest to move to Florida in 1989, but it disappeared
from our table fare as new foods in a new place replaced it in our culinary
adventures.
The combination of
butter, cream and other flavorful fats was typical of Kerr’s early cooking
shows and recipes, but he moved on to more healthy kitchen fare in later years
after his wife — and producer of his many TV shows — Treena suffered some
serious health issues that prompted a change of diet to one featuring less
saturated fats and more healthful food choices.
SEAFOOD
IN A BUTTER-CREAM-WINE SAUCE
1
cup basmati rice, steamed
12
scallops
12
medium-size shrimp, shelled
16
ounces cod, cut into squares approximately 1 inch thick by 2 inches
1-1/4
sticks butter, clarified
2
medium cloves garlic, mashed and skins off
1
cup cream
1/3
cup dry white wine
1
teaspoon dry dill (more if fresh)
Pinch
of salt (to taste)
1/2
teaspoon white pepper
2
to 3 tablespoons arrowroot thickener
Precook
rice and keep warm atop stove while preparing seafood. Clarify butter in sauce
pan, skimming sediment off the top, then pour into larger pan or skillet on
low-medium heat. Place mashed garlic in pan and let simmer until golden-brown,
then remove cloves and discard. Add wine to butter and increase heat to
medium-high for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and add cream, dill, salt
and pepper.
Wait
until mixture is at medium heat and add cod and set a kitchen timer for 10
minutes. After 4 minutes, add scallops; after 5 minutes, add shrimp. At this
time, mix arrowroot in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water until smooth and pour into pan
and stir until mixture thickens. Do not overcook fish; it will become rubbery
if you continue cooking beyond 10 minutes.When done, pour seafood mixture over
rice. Serve with simple green salad and crusty French bread.
Servings:
4-5.
Classically
trained, Carlene Cullimore’s professional cooking career spanned 30 years. Don
Cullimore is a freelance writer and editor. Reach them at ccullimore@sbcglobal.net.
Source
with thanks 2014 Columbia Daily Tribune
Haryana government lowers employees'
retirement age by 2 years
By PTI | 25
Nov, 2014, 11.18PM IST
Manohar Lal Khattar-led government
in Haryana decided to roll back the Congress regime's decision to
enhance the retirement age of state employees by two years.
ET
SPECIAL:
The
decision to roll back the retirement age will be implemented immediately, Chief
Minister Manohar Lal Khattar told reporters after the Cabinet
meeting this evening. "All
employees who had completed 58 or 60 years in their respective categories and
are still serving would be retired on November 30, 2014.The upper age limit for
fresh recruitment would remain (unchanged at) 42 years. This decision had been
taken to ensure maximum employment opportunity to the youth," he said. he Cabinet also decided to increase
VAT on diesel from the present 9.24 per cent to 12.07 per cent, with the Chief
Minister saying the exchequer would earn an additional Rs 750 crore annually
following the move. However,
opposition Congress termed the decision to increase the VAT on diesel as
"anti-farmer".
"This
is the most unfortunate anti-people and anti-farmer decision. This will lead to
inflationary pressure on the market as a whole, besides putting unwarranted
burden on the farming community who are already browbeaten by astronomical low
prices of cotton and basmati rice," Congress national spokesman and former
Haryana minister Randeep Singh Surjewala told over phone.The Congress leader
was also critical of the rollback of some of the decisions of the Congress
regime including the lowering of the retirement age. Among other decisions, Khattar said
the state government had also decided to remove the Chairman and members of
Haryana Staff Selection Commission and to revoke the Act of Haryana Teacher
Service Selection Board. He said a new system would soon be introduced for
teachers recruitment.
Source with thanks: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/haryana-government-lowers-employees-retirement-age-by-2-years/articleshow/45276403.cms
Langley Honored
by Riceland Foods
Langley
honored by Riceland
(Left to Right): Rich Hillman, Vice Chairman
of RFI Board; Roger Pohlner, Chairman of RFI Board; Langley; Danny Kennedy,
President & CEO RFI
Contact:
Deborah Willenborg (703) 236-1444
News
shared by USA Rice Federation's
|
CME Group/Closing Rough
Rice Futures
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
CME Group
(Preliminary): Closing Rough Rice Futures for November 25
|
Harvests trump drought in Yuba-Sutter
David
Bitton/Appeal-Democrat
112414_db_walnuts_049.jpg
David Bitton/Appeal-Democrat
Employees keep busy sorting walnuts for quality at Sacramento Valley Walnut
Growers south of Yuba City on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014.
Posted: Tuesday, November
25, 2014 12:15 am
Harvest season is over, and
both mainstays of Yuba-Sutter agriculture reported a strong year despite a
withering drought.Rice growers reported strong production per acre, although
the overall yield suffered due to water shortages and fallowed fields.And while
official numbers aren't in, several growers said this year's local walnut crop
could be record-breaking. California, statewide, is on track for a record year
with an expected crop of 545,000 tons, 11 percent bigger than last year,
according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National
Agricultural Statistics Service.
And it's no different in
Yuba-Sutter, said Mat Conant, a Sutter County walnut grower."I think
overall production will make this crop the best ever in this area. I'd be
surprised if it wasn't," Conant said. "But I don't think anyone has
their total yet to figure that out."A surge in walnut prices during the
past few years caused a spike in acres planted to walnuts in Yuba-Sutter. There
are almost 30,000 more acres of producing walnut trees than in 2008, and 13,000
more acres are planted but have not reached productive years. That increase in
acreage is a large part of the expected record production year, said Raj Kumar
Sharma, owner of Sunrise Orchards in Yuba County.
"Every year for the
next few years, we're going to see an increase in tonnage because more trees
will come into production," Sharma said. "But there is more demand
than supply, so even if there is a little more crop, it is still salable."The
price is still strong, although global demand from China and Turkey has lagged,
which has depressed the market slightly, Conant said.Conant said prices have
reached $2.12 a pound, but he said it will likely end a little lower.
The drought has impacted
the quality of the walnut crop, causing a smaller nut size and a duller color,
said Sarb Johl, who farms about 1,000 acres in Sutter and Yuba counties.The
edible yield — the weight of the crop that can be eaten — is also expected to
be slightly lower this year, said Dan Silva, a walnut grower and processor with
the California Valley Nut Company.Usually, the walnut industry wants to see
half the weight of the nut be edible, but Silva said this year the number will
be around 42 to 46 percent.Part of the reduction in quality and nut size is due
to a series of warm days in January, which broke the dormancy cycles that help
set the blossoms to develop a strong nut, Silva said.
Rice turns out
Although about 25 percent
of rice fields throughout the state went unplanted due to the drought, local
rice growers reported a strong season for the rice they could plant.Overall
production this year is at 3.6 billion pounds, which is a 24 percent decrease
from last year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
National Agricultural Statistics Service.But local rice growers reported
near-record yields in production per acre due to a strong growing season that
featured few days with temperatures higher than 100 degrees and a dry and cool,
but not cold, August and September, said Charley Mathews Jr., a Yuba County
rice grower
.The price of rice is up,
but still below the high prices of 2008, Mathews said."There is still a
lot of competition in the world for our exports," Mathews said.Growers are
getting between $24 and $25 per 100 pounds of rice, which is well up from a
year ago, when prices were between $16 and $17 per 100 pounds, Mathews said.
Rain needed
With harvest season ending,
farmers are now turning an eye to the winter weather forecasts, hoping for a
robust rainy season that breaks the three-year drought."Everyone's a
little nervous about what the water year will look like," said Charley
Mathews Jr., a Yuba County rice grower. "We're well behind of where we
were 12 months ago in terms of water storage."Raj Kumar Sharma, owner of
Sunrise Orchards in Yuba County, said he was encouraged by the start of the wet
season."We had a really good storm last week, and they are predicting more
rain, and we are just in November," Sharma said. "I am excited about
it. I think we will be OK."
CONTACT reporter Andrew Creasey at 749-4780
and on Twitter @AD_Creasey.
Source
with thanks :http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/harvests-trump-drought-in-yuba-sutter/article_119dfb9c-7472-11e4-ab91-4f4b5a455e01.html
Burdekin growers gather to consider rice growing future
By Carmen Brown
Updated Mon 24 Nov 2014, 4:52pm
Plans to establish a large-scale rice industry in Queensland's
Burdekin region are gaining momentum, with Australia's largest processor
holding its first grower meeting in the region yesterday.
Almost 100
farmers attended the Sunrice information session in Brandon, to learn more
about the practicalities and economics of production.
We
haven't come up here lightly, we've spent a lot of money already
Source
with thanks : http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-25/burdekin-rice-industry-push-gains-momentum/5915482
Rice yield increase of 30 percent enabled
Scientists at the University of Arkansas System Division of
Agriculture have found that they can harness photosynthesis – the process that
plants use to convert light energy to chemical energy – to increase rice yields
by up to 30 percent.
Posted Nov. 24, 2014 @ 12:05 pm
A research group led
by Andy Pereira of the Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences Department
faculty examined a protein that acts as a “switch” to activate genes that can
enhance the photosynthesis activity of rice plants. The researchers discovered
that the protein, known as higher yield rice (HYR), could enable the plants to
survive stress, thrive and increase productivity.The results of the research
are published in Nature Communications, an online multidisciplinary journal of
the natural sciences athttp://bit.ly/109ZzHl. The project received support from
the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture
and the National Science Foundation.
“The regulator HYR
does regulate photosynthesis, a complex process,” said Pereira, who holds the
Anheuser-Busch and Arkansas Wholesalers Professorship in Plant Molecular
Genetics. “I saw in the greenhouse that the plants using the HYR regulator were
much greener than any others. It was because of more chlorophyll. It had higher
photosynthesis. All the rest followed.
”What followed was
a process that capitalized on nature’s use of photosynthesis, in which plants
take in carbon dioxide and expel oxygen. If rice and other plants are under too
much stress, photosynthesis will shut down. “That might be a good survival
mechanism, and many plants want just to survive,” Pereira said. “But we don’t
want crops to just survive. We want them to keep producing.
”A plant’s natural
reaction under stress is to shut down photosynthesis to keep it from producing
reactive oxygen, which is damaging to the plant. This is where the HYR
regulator protein comes in by keeping the whole photosynthesis machinery active
and maintaining productivity, Pereira explained. Before Pereira’s research
on the project began a few years ago at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute
at Virginia Tech – where he remains an adjunct faculty member – there was
consensus among scientists that increasing photosynthesis capacity would
probably increase productivity and yield.
No one had proven it until Pereira’s group
demonstrated grain yield increases as high as 29.7 percent by using the HYR
regulator.The research showed that a plant needs to have the higher capacity to
increase its production. “Increased light will produce more photosynthesis, but
if a plant doesn’t have the capacity to use it, there won’t be more production.
HYR increases
photosynthesis, which increases sugars, which increases biomass and finally
leads to more grain yield among normal rice cultivars,” Pereira
said. Higher photosynthesis leads to greater stress tolerance in HYR rice
plants. The increased tolerance enables higher rice grain production under
drought and heat stress with maintenance of good grain quality. “Most
importantly, the suite of genes regulated by HYR is the blueprint for
development of similar rice varieties using non-GMO methods,” Pereira
added.
Source with thanks :http://www.newportindependent.com/article/20141124/NEWS/141129799/10082/NEWS
Louisiana
Rice: Last of Verification Fields Harvested, Yields Good
This was not the latest rice harvest — last year in Jeff
Davis the second crop was harvested on November 30 — but it was definitely the
coldest. When the sun dipped below the horizon we really got chilled down. The
next day was much better.In spite of the more difficult growing season than
last year, the yields were only slightly lower than 2013 yields. Actually, the
total green weight is slightly higher than last year. If you wonder about the
average yield of second crop it is computed by multiplying the second crop by
the field acreage then dividing by the total acreage of all fields because we
treat all fields together as a single farm.
The average of both crops is computed by adding the yield
of first and second crop for each field, then multiplying that number by the
field acreage, then dividing that figure by the total acreage in the
program.Basically it is determining total production for all fields then
dividing by total acreage for all fields. Got that? Here is what it looks like
mathematically (for dry cwt/A): [(23 X 78.65) + (20.7 X 74.83) + (42.6 X
137.74) + (41.0 X 103.74) + (32.2 X 83.29)] divided by 159.5 = 100.79. If you
try the numbers as reported there will be a slight difference because I used
Excel which did not round off. That is the way I would figure a yield if this
was my farm and it is the way we determine the state average. We multiply each
parish yield by each parish acreage then divide by the entire state acreage.
This will be my last edition of Field Notes. It started when we were just entering the world of
digital photography. I took a picture of something we had seen in the field
that day and I sent it out to the rice agents in the state from a hotel room
that night with the admonition to be aware of it. Wish I could remember what it
was, but that is too many years ago. Dr. Linscombe immediately answered the
e-mail with a comment to the effect that I should do this in the form of a
newsletter. At first I regretted copying him on the message, but realized he
was right and I should put together a newsletter.
The rest, as they
say, is history. I began to look forward to doing it each week and hope you
have learned something from them.One of the reasons for the success of the rice
program has been excellent rice agents. I have no doubt we have the best rice
agents in the country and for that I am truly grateful. Someone once asked the
famous baseball manage Casey Stengel what made a good manager. He answered,
“Good players.” I have been fortunate to work with good players. Another reason
is the extremely competent network of company field representatives and
consultants.
Their phone calls
often were the basis for investigating a problem or writing about some topic I would
otherwise have neglected.The rice industry has undergone many changes since I
started this job. In the early 1990’s there were over 3,000 rice farmers in the
state and now we are down to 1,000 or less. Those who have remained are better
farmers and have to be to survive in this economic climate. The past few years
have been among the most rewarding because of you.Years ago one of my mentors
exposed me to this statement written by Etienne de Grellet, a Quaker
missionary. It has been a guiding light to me so I thought I would share it
with you:
“I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do
or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not
defer no neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”
Tags: johnny
saichuk, louisiana, Louisiana
rice, LSU
AgCenter News, rice verification fields, rice
yields
Source with thanks: http://agfax.com/2014/11/24/louisiana-rice-last-verification-fields-harvested-yields-good/#sthash.R4XabWKX.dpuf
Rice raised on
classical music harvested
2014/11/25
21:20:27
Taipei,
Nov. 25 (CNA) Rice that has been grown to the strains of classical music by
such maestros as Beethoven and Mozart over the past four months in eastern
Taiwan was harvested Tuesday.The "rice listening to the music"
program, initiated by Poca A Poca Music Education Foundation, started in July,
with a giant "rice music box" set up by the side of the famous Mr.
Brown boulevard in Taitung's Chihshang Township.
Every
day, music by Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky was played to "nourish the
rice" in the township, which is famous for its namesake rice.The
foundation then invited the children of Wan'an Elementary School to join
farmers in harvesting the crop.One farmer said he originally thought the rice,
like himself, could only appreciate songs by famous Taiwanese singers such as
Chris Hung and Jody Chiang, but after more than 100 days of listening to the
maestros, he said proudly that "I now also know Beethoven.
"The
rice, harvested from a 3.2-hectare paddy, has been packed into 7,000 bags that
will be auctioned off, with the proceeds going toward the promotion of
classical music in remote areas.According to the foundation, playing classical
music to rice is like letting unborn children listen to Mozart or playing music
to dairy cows.Athough the effects on the rice are unknown, the project has
created an environment of musical culture."We don't need to dress up in
suits and ties and go to the National Concert Hall to appreciate classical
music. We can also put sound systems beside rice fields and enjoy the music
while watching the dancing ears of rice," said You Chao-ming, chairman of
the foundation.
(By
Tyson Lu and Lilian Wu)
ENDITEM/J
Source
with thanks :http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201411250027.aspx
Report Warns Burma on Rice Price Volatility
By KYAW
HSU MON / THE IRRAWADDY| Tuesday, November 25, 2014 |
”The
price of the commodity has particularly far-reaching implications in majority
agrarian Burma, according to Abdoulaye Seck, the World Bank’s country manager
in Burma.“Agriculture is at the heart of poverty reduction in Myanmar. Changes
in rice prices affect nearly 50 percent of the population whose livelihood
depends on rice production,” he said.According to the World Bank report, rice
prices have risen by 40 percent between 2009-13, risking Burma’s overall food
security and export competitiveness.
“A
majority of rural population lives close to the poverty line and spends more
than 60 percent of their incomes on food. Even temporary increase in rice
prices reduces real income and households’ spending on health, education or
more nutritious food. Rice price volatility, indeed, should concern everyone in
Myanmar,” Seck said.
The
rice market in Burma had until recently been in a downward spiral. A Chinese
ban on rice imports from Burma and a rise in rice exports by neighboring
Thailand were cited as leading to the price fall. Rice exports bottomed out at
US$280 per 100 baskets (about 1.5 tons) in the middle of October, before
rebounding this month as heavy rains led traders to speculate that this year
might see a reduced harvest.
Rice
rose to $380 per 100 baskets last week.“Paddy price is going up about 10
percent these days because of heavy rain—traders think prices will increase
again,” said Chit Khine, chairman of the Myanmar Rice Federation.The World
Bank’s report said price volatility in Burma was mostly due to the fact that
rice production is heavily concentrated in just two months of the year,
November and December.The report added that “fragmented seed market, poor
roads, weak phone coverage, unreliable market information, low export
diversification, and high costs for rice mills to maintain rice stocks amplify
these price fluctuations even further.
”The
World Bank recommended that rice production be better spread across a given
year, and promoted efforts to lower the cost of doing business for farmers and
traders, including by improving road and telecommunications links.“Any strategy
for stabilizing rice price volatility has to address its structural causes,”
said Ulrich Zachau, the World Bank’s country director for Myanmar.The global
lender also advised against short-term measures to stabilize the rice market.
“Stable
prices per se do not generate long-term agricultural growth if it is achieved
through shortsighted policies,” said Sergiy Zorya, a Word Bank senior
agricultural economist and lead author of the report. “Short-term measures such
as export restrictions, minimum farm prices or government-owned stocks might
reduce some volatility but rarely produce positive outcomes for food security
and poverty reduction in the long term.”Burma was once the world’s leading rice
exporter, but the industry all but collapsed under the former military regime.
According
to the Myanmar Rice Exporters Association, Burma’s rice exports in 2013-14
stood at about 1.2 million tons, down from 1.47 million tons the year before.
President Thein Sein has set a target to export 4 million tons of rice by
2020.A boy sits nearby while his parents plant rice seedlings in a paddy field
on the outskirts of Rangoon in 2012. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)
Source with Thanks:Irrawaddy
Japan 2014
Cereal Production Forecast to Remain High
25 November 2014
JAPAN - Harvesting of
the 2014 paddy crop is currently underway and will continue until the end of
November.FAO’s latest forecast points to a paddy harvest slightly below last
year’s bumper output, at 10.6 million tonnes, as a result of a small decrease
in plantings due to low prices at sowing time.The 2014 winter wheat harvest,
concluded in July, is estimated by FAO at 840,000 tonnes, slightly higher than
the level of 2013 but over 100,000 tonnes higher than the average for 2009-2013.Aggregate
cereal production for 2014 is forecast at 11.6 million tonnes, close to last
year’s level and above the average recorded for the period 2009-2013.
Source with thanks : http://www.thecropsite.com/news/17069/japan-2014-cereal-production-forecast-to-remain-high#sthash.MINLb4GV.dpuf
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