Brown rice more nutritious
Let me express my appreciation
of and gratitude for the excellent article titled “Redeeming the lost glory of
brown rice” (Across the Nation, 12/3/14).I have noticed that brown rice is more
expensive although it needs less processing. I have also noticed that there are
many rice hybrids and GMO varieties being promoted.As someone who worked to
make rice-growing less polluting to our environment, I am concerned that
hybrids often require a heavy chemical input, much of which runs off into our
streams, rivers, lakes and ocean.
When growing rice with integrated
rice duck methods, we use azolla and/or duckweed to provide extra nitrogen for
the rice via the ducks. Small fish can also be integrated if the water level is
sufficient, and then both the ducks and the fish will eat the azolla and
excrete the nitrogen and other nutrients into the water. Aside from consuming
insects and adding to the nutrients in the water, the fish provide additional
food and product for the farmer. In the past I was told that this will not
provide sufficient nutrients for hybrid varieties and that we should plant old
varieties that do well with the natural fertilizers provided by the ducks
(recycled snails, weeds and insects).Before I began my integrated rice duck
project I visited both the International Rice Research Institute (Irri) and the
Department of Agriculture. Scientists at Irri told me that too much rice is
wasted through improper postproduction methods (such as drying palay on
highways).
A scientist at the DA told me that more rice
is wasted by consumers. The wasted rice, all in all, is more than what is
needed for the countryís self-sufficiency in rice.Also, importing rice from
abroad is detrimental to Filipino farmers as it inevitably lowers the price
they get for their produce. Why not focus on eliminating waste rather than
going to hybrid varieties that are likely to contaminate our water with
chemical runoff?
One last point, the GMO “golden
rice” mentioned in the article lacks some of the nutrients that are present in
the rice bran—the bran is removed when rice is milled into the white rice that
Filipinos prefer. I urge people to cook
and enjoy brown rice, which still
has the bran intact and is more filling and nutritious than the polished white
rice. In fact, before I heard of the GMO golden rice, I was calling unpolished
brown rice golden rice.
I was surprised that all things
brown are considered inferior here in the Philippines. In my homeland of
California, tanning salons, lotions and ointments turn the white into golden
brown, a most desirable color… and with rice a most delicious and
nutritious one!
nutritious one!
—ROWLAND LANE ANDERSON,
permaculturist at Tagpopongan Natural Farm, Veterans For Peace Mission to the Philippines, Davao City andersonlane47@yahoo.com
permaculturist at Tagpopongan Natural Farm, Veterans For Peace Mission to the Philippines, Davao City andersonlane47@yahoo.com
Source with
thanks:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/81305/brown-rice-more-nutritious#ixzz3NKSBevHb
Wheat up on rising demand, tight supply
Saturday, 27 December 2014
New Delhi , December 27:
Wheat prices rose by Rs 20 per
quintal at the wholesale market today on increased demand by flour mills
against tight supplies from producing belts.However, other grains continued to
trade in a tight range in limited deals and settled around previous
levels.Traders said tight supplies from producing regions mainly led to rise in
wheat prices.
In the national capital, wheat dara
(for mills) advanced by Rs 20 to Rs 1,695-1,700 per quintal. Wheat deshi
followed suit and traded higher by a similar margin at Rs 2,270-2,670 per
quintal. Atta chakki delivery enquired higher by RS 20 to Rs 1,700-1,705 per 90
kg.
Following are today's quotations (in
Rs per quintal):
Wheat MP (deshi) 2,270-2,670, Wheat
dara (for mills) 1,695-1,700, Chakki atta (delivery) 1,700-1,705, Atta Rajdhani
(10 kg) 220, Shakti bhog (10 kg) 220, Roller flour mill Rs 890-900 (50 kg),
Maida 960-965 (50 kg) and Sooji 1000-1010 (50 kg).
Basmati rice (Lal Quila) 10,400,
Shri Lal Mahal 10,000, Super Basmati Rice 9,500, Basmati common new
5,400-6,000, Rice Pusa (1121) 4,750-5,800, Permal raw 1,750-1,800, Permal wand
1,875-1,900, Sela 2,450-2,500 and Rice IR-8 1,575-1,625, Bajra 1,170-1,175,
Jowar yellow
1,400-1,425,white 2,400-2,525, Maize 1,360-1,365, Barley 1,650-1,660.
Rice-economics' in a drought
By Brad Hooker
UC Davis News Service
CREATED: 12/26/2014 03:45:09 PM PST
Courtesy Water management practices
for rice have taken on a new urgency as the California...
When
herbicides swept from farms into rivers, George Tibbitts adopted better
water-management strategies.With field burning phased out, the Colusa County
farmer, like many rice growers, flooded his fields to dissolve the straw
remaining after harvest. When water was scarce, he fallowed. But now that a
possible fourth year of drought threatens his crucial water allocations,
Tibbitts is at a loss.His deep ties to UC Davis have led him to harvest some of
the highest yields in the state.
They will also help Tibbitts take on what will
likely be his most challenging year.Tibbitts gained an early curiosity about
agriculture from weekends with his grandparents at the Lodi Ranch, the farm
started in 1930 by a legend in California rice, George Lodi. At UCD, he studied
plant science and as a graduate student he worked in agronomy with Jim Hill, a
Cooperative Extension specialist and today an associate dean.Together they
researched water management practices, including the impacts of water depth and
how to balance the quality of water released from rice fields — crucial work to
an industry that would eventually reduce herbicide contaminants by nearly 100
percent."We were doing research on other people's farms and I saw how
important it was that growers cooperate with researchers," says Tibbitts.
With
modern practices and decades of scientific innovation, particularly at the
UC-supported Rice Experiment Station, Tibbitts now sees twice the yield his
grandfather once harvested.
"It's
the same amount of water, same amount of land," he says, "just new
varieties and better equipment, better science and technology behind it — all
constantly evolving trying to shift that curve."When the Tibbitts family
bought the farm, Hill was introducing a new era to rice growing. The
Cooperative Extension specialist was helping farmers with new ways of fighting
weeds and diseases, from flooding fields in winter to suffocate the weeds, to
rotating herbicides before aquatic weeds can adapt.
More
than 20 years later, the practices are a mainstay in the region and, long
before the current drought, they have led farmers to think more carefully about
conserving water."A lot of people think rice is a heavy water user,"
says Jim Hill. "But it's not much more than other crops and actually less
so than some."Hill points out that much of the water that floods the
fields is used over and over as it cascades through the rice-growing areas —
one farmer's tailwater is the next person's irrigation water.
Little
water seeps into the high-clay soils where rice is grown. The flooded fields,
meanwhile, simulate the wetlands that once dominated the Central and Sacramento
valleys. The habitat supports millions of waterfowl and shorebirds
annually."The way we farm is sustainable," says Tibbitts, "but
it requires being mindful of putting back into the soil what we take out when
we harvest a crop.
"He
is reminded of this often by Bruce Linquist, the UCD CE specialist who replaced
Jim Hill and has studied fertility on Tibbitts' fields for several years.Today
breaking down rice straw through flooding is becoming a luxury. With climatologists
predicting a fourth year of drought, every drop of Tibbitts' allocation grows
more sacred."Our greatest fear right now is that we have another winter
like we had last winter," he says.
"I hope we don't have to find out the hard way what happens
when things get as bad as they can get."One weapon Tibbitts may wield
years from now could be crafted from the genes of rice. UC Davis scientists
have already worked for several years to develop rice varieties tolerant of
flooding. By flipping that genetic switch, they could potentially equip rice to
handle more drought stress."But in this particular area you could probably
do more with water management than you can with breeding," stresses David
Mackill, a rice geneticist and adjunct professor in the Department of Plant
Sciences. "In the longer term we should be thinking about breeding crops
for better sustainability traits.
"Mackill and Bruce Linquist have seen potential in using
alternate wetting and drying, which could have other benefits, like fewer
traces of arsenic in the grains and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. But this
could come at the cost of reduced yields. Yet advanced technologies like this
won't be ready for the current drought.Another drought year for Tibbitts means
he may leave more fields fallow, hire fewer farmhands and switch to other
crops. Rice growers with the heavy clay soil further north, meanwhile, won't
have that option.With all the changes, one goal hasn't been lost:
sustainability, as in maintaining a farm Tibbitts hopes the next generation of
his family will one day inherit."In my lifetime," he says, "I
hope I'm still farming when we reach our 100-year anniversary."
Source with
thanks:http://www.dailydemocrat.com/breakingnews/ci_27211780/rice-economics-drought
NACC to question two more in rice case
The Nation December 26, 2014 1:00 am
Watchdog responds to prosecutors' demand for more proof of govt
deals
The National Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday agreed to
question two more witnesses to shore up its case against former prime minister
Yingluck Shinawatra for dereliction of duty in overseeing the government's
rice-pledging scheme. Surasak Srirattrakul, a senior public prosecutor, said
the fourth conference of the NACC and the Office of the Attorney-General at the
NACC's headquarters to find a common ground on the case came to the conclusion
that more substantiation, particularly of the previous government's claim of
the existence of a government-to-government rice deal, was needed.
The NACC acceded to the state attorneys' request to summon the two
witnesses - an accuser over the government-to-government rice sale and a
researcher from the Thailand Development Research Institute - and to observe
the questioning.The NACC would also seek more evidence against Yingluck.The
NACC and the Office still had minor differences over the completeness of the
NACC's investigative report submitted to the public prosecutors, particularly
involving the government-to-government issue, Surasak added.
Sansern Poljieak, secretary-general of the NACC, said he expects
the state attorneys to proceed with Yingluck's prosecution at the Supreme
Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Offices after interviewing
the witnesses.The prosecutors have been suggesting that the NACC needs to flesh
out its case by interrogating more witnesses, but the anti-graft agency has
insisted it had already built a strong case against Yingluck. The NACC also had
threatened to take the case to court itself if the Office refused to pursue
it.Sansern, who heads the NACC team in the working group with the Office, said
the two witnesses had provided conflicting information and further grilling was
needed to "sort things out".
He did not think the statements from the witnesses were directly
related to the case against Yingluck, saying the NACC already had initiated a
separate investigation for the government-to-government rice sale.
"Further questioning of the witnesses should complete the investigative
report," he said.There were some good signs in the meeting. "We
agreed on all issues and I don't think we will be in conflict again," he
said.The questioning of the two witnesses would take only a short time.
"It will be completed in January and the other evidence should be ready by
the end of February," he said.
Source with
thanks: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/NACC-to-question-two-more-in-rice-case-30250689.html
Illegal’ Shipments
to China Dominate Burma’s $340m in Rice Exports
26.12.2014
Rice shipments across the
Sino-Burmese border, considered illegal in China, accounted for more than
two-thirds of total rice exports over the last nine months, the Ministry of Commerce
announced this week.Though total rice exports reached nearly 915,000 tons from
April 1 through the second week of December, overseas exports totaled only
198,698 tons (US$70.1 million), while border exports to China and Thailand
reached 716,272 tons ($272.6 million).Chit Khine, chairman of the Myanmar Rice
Federation (MRF), said Burma’s rice exports across the Sino-Burmese border
constituted the highest bilateral trade total, despite a Chinese ban on Burmese
rice imports.
“Rice exports, from our side, are
legal, but on the China side these exports are illegal, that’s why we’re
discussing with the Chinese government to legalize rice exports. One of our
business missions will go to China in the second week of next month,” he
said.Early this year, China officially banned rice imports from Burma,
demanding that a trade agreement be signed guaranteeing that most rice is
milled and meets certain quality standards. China had long been—and continues
to be—one of Burma’s biggest customers for rice, much of which is harvested in
the Irrawaddy Delta and shipped over land borders in Shan and Kachin
states.According to government figures, rice exports to China through the
Burmese border town of Muse to Ruili in China accounted for the vast majority
of overland exports, at 700,000 tons, while overseas rice shipments to China
reached 11,000 tons.
“That is why the business
delegation from the MRF and the government will talk with the Chinese
government next month to buy our rice legally over the borders,” Chit Khine
said, adding that he expected the legalization of rice exports to China would
further accelerate export growth.A bilateral agreement on rice standards would
allow the MRF to legally export about one million tons of milled rice to China,
starting in January.Dr. Soe Tun, chairman of the Myanmar Farmers Association,
said that China would continue to hold its position as the No. 1 buyer of
Burma’s rice next year.
He added that a China Certification
and Inspection Group would open an office in Rangoon soon, pending its
obtaining a company license from the government, and will serve to monitor the
quality of Burmese rice before exporting to China.“We expect that the rice
export volume will reach 1.5 million tons in this 2014-15 budget year. We
expect 2 million tons for next budget year,” he said.Burma’s rice exports
totaled 1 million tons in the 2013-14 fiscal year.Rice prices are also on the
rise, with the grain selling for $400 per ton, up from $350 per ton last month,
after a heavy monsoon season lowered yields in Burma.
In October, the MRF reached an
agreement with Indian rice traders to supply two states in northeastern India
with 240,000 tons of rice per year at $400 per ton, although Burmese traders
will incur all costs for transporting the goods to the Indian border.Paddy
yields in Burma are among the lowest in Southeast Asia, at 2.5 metric tons per
hectare. Most rice mills used outdated machinery that produces rice with a high
portion of broken grains, making it unsuitable for high-value foreign export markets
such as the European Union and Japan.
Source with
thanks: http://www.blackseagrain.net/novosti/2018illegal2019-shipments-to-china-dominate-burma2019s-340m-in-rice-exports
Jokowi aims for food self-sufficiency in three years
Ina Parlina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National |
Sat, December 27 2014, 2:44 PM
Joko “Jokowi” Widodo reiterated on Friday his
target for achieving rice self-sufficiency for the country in the next three
years and said that his government would give more incentives to farmers to
meet the objective.Jokowi said that the assistance would be in the form of
agricultural tools, including some that he distributed to farmers in Subang,
West Java on Friday.Jokowi visited several areas in Subang on Friday, including
the Rice Research Center in Sukamandi, Subang, where he handed over 1,099 hand
tractors for farmers groups from 19 regencies in West Java.In total, 7,800
units were given to farmers in 14 provinces.
The
government will also provide another 65,931 hand tractors next year for farmers
across the country.The Agriculture Ministry will also give free seeds for 5
million hectares of farm lands across the country, or around 40 percent of the
total farm lands nationwide, as well as free fertilizer.The ministry also plans
to revitalize irrigation infrastructure next year, a program it claims could irrigate
1 million hectares of land across the country.Jokowi has recently instructed
his ministers to focus on food and agriculture, as well as the infrastructure
developments, in drafting and implementing the revision of the 2015 state
budget (RAPBN-P).
The President has also unveiled the
government’s ambitious medium-term economic agenda, which includes boosting the
production of food, particularly rice, to achieve food sovereignty within three
years during last week’s National Development Planning Conference
(Musrenbangnas) during which governors, regents and mayors from across the
country were present “Tractors, fertilizers, seeds [...] I give you all of
those. But, I will make sure that you keep your words. Within the next three
years, [we] must be self-sufficient; this is non-negotiable,” Jokowi told an
assembly of farmers and local government leaders.In his five years of
presidency, Jokowi also expects to build 49 new dams in several areas in the
country.Currently, 52 percent of the country’s irrigation system are in
disrepair.Farmers also have to deal with problems like the chaotic distribution
of fertilizer and seeds as well as the lack of modern agricultural tools, all
of which had hampered the way for the world’s fourth most populous nation to achieve
food self-sufficiency.
Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman expects
that the government’s assistance could serve as an incentive for local heads to
meet the self-sufficiency target.“Because of the assistance, governors have
shown their support for the government’s self-sufficiency plan. Already, 10
governors pledged to produce an additional 11 million tons of rice in total,”
Amran said. “If we are able to meet such target, we will reach rice
self-sufficiency very soon.”West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan, a Prosperous
Justice Party (PKS) politician, pledged during the event that his province
would be able to produce an additional 2 million tons of rice next year. East Java, meanwhile, was predicted to
produce an extra 2 million tons of rice, while South Sulawesi and Central Java
would add 1 million tons and 1.5 million tons respectively.
Amran said the country was expected to produce
73 million tons of rice next year, or an increase of 3 million tons from this
year’s production.The minister has earlier said that the focus on
self-sufficiency in the short-term would be on four key food commodities —
rice, corn, soybeans and sugar — all of which are currently being imported.For
the food sovereignty program, the Agriculture Ministry would propose that the
government earmark an extra Rp 15 trillion in the 2015 revised state budget,
while the Public Works Ministry, which oversees dams and water reservoirs,
would propose a Rp 12 trillion allocation to support food sovereignty programs.
Source with
thanks: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/12/27/jokowi-aims-food-self-sufficiency-three-years.html#sthash.YjOFVBat.dpuf
DA
includes climate smart crops in its program
By Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 28, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of
Agriculture (DA) is now incorporating climate smart technologies in its
programs to enable the local agriculture sector to adapt to extreme weather
changes.“In response to the directive of his Excellency, President Benigno S.
Aquino, and in line with the Climate Change Act, DA has put in place adaptation
strategies to cushion the impact of extreme weather conditions,” Agriculture
Secretary Proceso Alcala told stakeholders during the recently-held Gawad Saka
Awards.The DA, he said, is in the process of setting up 153 automatic weather
stations in key agricultural areas to give timely weather advisories to food
producers.“These stations will serve as source of information so they will know
when and how to plant at a particular season,” said Alcala.The DA, he said, is
also developing planting materials for climate-resistant food crops.The DA is
now testing the adaptability of green super rice, a variety jointly developed
by Laguna-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Philippine
Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).
Business ( Article MRec ),
pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
Alcala said three varieties of the Green Super Rice are being tested
for adaptability in various growing stations of the DA nationwide.The National
Seed Industry Council has yet to approve though the use of the Super Green Rice
for commercial use. The seed council is mandated to register and accredit new
seed varieties of superior quality for commercial use.Represented in the council
are the DA, rice research institutes, state colleges and universities, as well
as players in the seed industry.According to the IRRI, Green Super Rice
combines the superior traits of 250
varieties and hybrids variously adapted to difficult growing conditions
such as drought and low inputs, including no pesticide and less fertilizer.
Source with
thanks:http://www.philstar.com/business/2014/12/28/1406984/da-includes-climate-smart-crops-its-program
Noodle
factory opening new market for rice
Sat, 27 December 2014
A new rice noodle venture is filling restaurant spring rolls in
the West while pushing the value of Cambodian’s broken rice north
By having this new production [of noodles], we can add a value
of about $100 per tonne to our broken rice,” Saran added.Located in Kampong
Speu province, the 3,000 square metre factory cost $700,000 to build and fit
out with equipment imported from Japan. Employing 50 people, production of
Cambodian noodles began this month, and the first shipment is destined for
France in January.Saran said that recent test samples of his noodles sent to
France and the US, via existing relationships he has with rice buyers, proved a
hit among a small group of restaurateurs looking to add Cambodian noodles to
their menu. “Our product is intended to meet the demand for restaurant
appetisers,” he said. “There is an increasing trend of eating spring rolls or
wontons as a starter.”
CEO Song Saran. Heng Chivoan
According to Saran, about 10 per
cent of rice that comes from his mills is broken rice, which fetches about $440
per tonne. Amru will use the broken rice to produce its noodles, which Saran
says will be exported for about $500 to $540 per tonne.Amru will ship its first
container to France next month, with another half-container scheduled for the
US shortly thereafter.Mey Kalyan, senior adviser for the Supreme National
Economy Council, said the new facility was an important example of the enhanced
production that is needed in Cambodia’s rice industry.
Image: A worker at
Cambodia’s first noodle factory. Heng Chivoan
Gov’t should not be
bailing out rice millers
Dear Editor,
It amazes me to see how government is bailing out rice millers
with rice farmers’ paddy payments, this is an ongoing feature since the Jagdeo
administration in 2006. I can remember when Cheddi was alive and being the
Executive President of Guyana, he never bailed out any rice millers. At one
time a rice miller at Vilvoorden on the Essequibo Coast had owed farmers large
sums of money for years and Cheddi sent the late Fazal Ali to meet with the
owner so they could be paid.
I was on that team with the late Fazal Ali, the General
Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers’ Association (RPA). We were able to
negotiate payments for some 200 rice farmers who were owed. However, the miller
was unable to pay the farmers and his mills were sold. In the agreement of sale
the owner agreed that from the sale, the outstanding payment to farmers would
be honoured before the mills were transferred to the new owner.I also remember
under the Jagdeo administration, rice millers received debt write-offs in
billions of dollars for owing the government-owned banks which had caused the
collapse of GNCB, the only farmers’ bank.
Today, we are witnessing another replay of these millers playing
dead so they can continue to receive bailouts while they are extending their
operations.
These millers get away with much. They offer crummy prices on
farmers’ paddy and then have the gall to add interest whenever they buy
fertilizers from them.The debt write-offs began nearly decades ago and the
government and the ministry of agriculture still think that the chief weapon in
quelling this slow-motion panic and loss of confidence is to continue bailing
them out with farmers’ money. Yet it is this very policy –that is perpetuating
the crisis and undermining our economy.
Lest I be misunderstood, let me
say clearly that I am not against rice farmers being paid for their produce but
I do not believe that is the government’s duty to bail out millers.I personally
think the rice farmers need more subsidies on fertilizers, fuel, spare parts,
duty-free concessions on agriculture machinery, mechanical pumps to pump water
in their fields, combines, tractors etc. etc.
rather than bailing out rice millers. Farmers
are toiling night and day under the hot sun to produce paddy which has reach a
record breaking figure of 633,000 tonnes of rice, surpassing last year’s
target. Another thing is to pay the farmers production bonuses for their hard
work so they can produce more.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan
Source with thanks: http://www.stabroeknews.com/2014/opinion/letters/12/27/govt-not-bailing-rice-mil
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29th December (Monday),2014 Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine
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