8th February 2015 Daily Local Regional Global Rice E_Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Flavours of the Lesser Known

By SANGEETA CAVALE RADHAKRISHNA

Published: 07th February 2015 10:00 PM

Last Updated: 07th February 2015 12:45 PM

Ali Baba, a small cosy eating place in Frazer Town, Bengaluru, is where you get some Persian and Arabian food at reasonable prices. But what its USP is that its young and handsome owner, Shaad Hassan Damudi, is a Bhatkali Muslim and serves up some authentic Bhatkali food. Bhatkal is a small town in Southern Karwar district of Karnataka and has a rich and relatively unknown cultural and culinary history. The Muslims there are called Navayaths or new people. The Navayaths speak a dialect called Navayathi which is a fusion of Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Marathi, Hindustani with Konkani as its base.

Traders from the Persian Gulf—namely Yemen, Iran and Iraq—who traded mainly in horses, textiles, timber, gemstones and spices, eventually settled on the Konkan coast and contributed to the cuisine that is a ménage of Indian, Persian and Arabic cultures.Shaad Hassan DamudiThe most famous dish has got to be the delightful Bhatkali Biryani, half-cooked in steam. Damudi uses Sella basmati rice which is an aged rice and is exported to the Middle East and hence not available in India.

 “We use a lot of browned onions and tomatoes, and a red chilli paste which add colour. Our food is moderately spicy and whole garam masala is added to biryani which is layered with rice and then the onion, tomato, ginger garlic and garam masala mixture,” says Damudi.Popular TV foodies—Rocky and Mayur of Highway on my Plate fame—recently visited Ali Baba and gorged on the Bhatkali food and featured it on one of their shows.The kadang fry is a must-try for vegetarians, its sweet potatoes with the ubiquitous red chilli paste, an interesting blend of sweet and spicy flavours.

The boneless chicken tikka cooked on a barbeque does remind me of tandoori chicken but the red chilli paste gives it that distinctly Bhatkali flavour. The people here use vinegar made from sugarcane which is used in salads as well as in finely cut onions as an accompaniment. The predominant flavour of the Chicken Khurma at Ali Baba is sweet.True to its Indo-Persian origins, this dish is creamy and smooth, thickened and enriched with cashew nut paste. However, the addition of one quintessentially coastal south Indian ingredient—coconut milk—not only sweetens it, but also stamps it as a Navayathi.Gawa Shaiyo was a pleasant surprise. It is wheat vermicelli with mutton in it.

The mutton is amazingly tender, delicately spiced, and enhanced by the nutty flavour of fried wheat vermicelli. For those who thought vermicelli was used only in vegetarian dishes and to make kheer, this should come as a delicious revelation.The piece de resistance is the vermicelli chicken biryani which is simply mouth-watering, surprisingly light and does not need any accompanying gravy or burhani or raita. “This biryani is best when made with chicken and not mutton,” says Damudi. The prawn fry is pretty crunchy being deep fried with a bit of cornflour added, along with the red chilli paste.

Surprisingly, hardly any coconut is used in Bhatkali cuisine.Tausha sherbat is made with grated cucumbers to which a wee bit of sugar is added. The cucumber releases its own water and this delightfully and refreshing simple drink is ideal on a hot summer’s day. All you need is a spoon to dig into it.The desserts are pretty exotic. One made from, hold your breath, dill leaves with condensed milk and eggs reminds one of good old caramel custard. It is steamed and very tasty, except for its light green colour!

The ambience is exotic with doors and other accessories from old homes in Bhatkal innovatively used as table tops and decorative pieces. Pricing is reasonable and portions pretty generous.

Indian Express News

Teach kids to cook virtuous whole-grain rice

Feb 6, 2015

I have often declared that I hope to send my kids into the real world knowing how to cook nourishing food that can be prepared with few kitchen tools, nominal time and a minimal budget. One obvious place to begin is rice. I know it sounds boringly basic, but you would be surprised by how many teenagers and young adults do not know how to cook rice — and how many more believe it ...

Farmers across country welcome lower gas prices

Posted: Sunday, February 8, 2015 4:00 am

By Brian Fanney Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Falling energy prices mean tractors are cheaper to run, water is less expensive to pump and crops are more economical to ship. Farmers are benefiting from the same forces that have driven down gasoline prices, though falling gasoline prices take the cost of ethanol — and the money farmers receive to grow corn — down with them.“It’s certainly a benefit for one side,” said Matt King, director of market information and economics for Arkansas Farm Bureau.

“But it hinders the other side.”In 2014, the average Arkansas farmer spent about $61,000 on diesel fuel and other energy sources to farm 1,000 acres of land. That’s about 16 percent of the average farmer’s total operating cost.Those numbers could fall substantially this year.Diesel — which powers irrigation wells, trucks and tractors — has been slower to decline in price than gasoline. But since December, retail prices have dropped from $3.61 a gallon to $2.93 a gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.Farmers use mostly off-road diesel, which they don’t pay state and federal taxes on.

 King said prices are now around $2 a gallon for that form of fuel.Rabobank, a global financial services company with a focus on agriculture, said Wednesday that lower oil prices could have a large enough impact to make a noticeable difference in supermarket prices.“The size of the drop in oil prices combined with the already significantly lower prices of agri-commodities will place substantial downward pressure on global food prices, possibly reaching multi-year lows,” said Clara van der Elst, a Rabobank analyst, in a news release.Cheaper fuel could have a large impact on rice growers. The average Arkansas rice farmer spent $127,000 — $93,000 to run irrigation pumps and another $34,000 on diesel fuel to apply chemicals and fertilizer — for every 1,000 acres of land.In fact, rice farmers spend more than 21 percent of their operating costs on energy — far more than other farmers — because of the amount of water that needs to be pumped from the ground to grow the crop.

K. Bradley Watkins, research assistant professor of agricultural economics for the University of Arkansas Rice Research and Extension Center, said many rice farmers have adapted to high prices by moving from diesel to electric pumps.“There’s been a sizeable movement,” he said. “When fuel costs really skyrocketed, especially for diesel, that’s when the transition really started.”Though lower fuel prices will help farmers control the cost of growing their crops, other factors could mean farmers won’t see an increase in profit margins.King said fertilizer costs have yet to fall, though it is made from natural gas, which has declined in price. And the dollar is gaining strength while the economies of Canada and Mexico — the United States’ largest trading partners — are hurting from low oil prices.

“Our dollar has been fairly weak over the last few years, but we’re starting to see it strengthen,” King said. “As the dollar gets more expensive, other countries buy less of our product.”

Ranjit rice productivity increases by 66 per cent

Submitted by Chandan Kumar Duarah on Mon, 09/02/2015 - 10:32

                          Ranjit, a high yielding rice variety developed by Assam Agricultural University (AAU) have shown 66 per cent increase in productivity. Technology Showcasing Programme on Seed Production of crops was undertaken recently in five villages of Assam in and around Khetri and Kamrup districts. Hemchandra Saikia, a subject matter specialist in Agricultural Economics revealed that Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Kamrup intervened by providing quality seed of Ranjit along with recommended doses of fertilizers and required technical helps in the form of advices and training to villagers of Deulguri, Chitalpur, Khaloibari, Nuwagaon and Bhadarkuchi and the result was an increase of 65.86 per cent in productivity.

The gross return increases by 148.79 per cent over the previous level of productivity and gross return (before the intervention of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra's programme). The concept of the programme of Technology Showcasing Programme on Seed Production of crops was propounded by Dr. K. M. Bujarbaruah, the Vice Chancellor of AAU and under his leadership and guidence the programme was materialised and yielded very encouraging result in other districts of Assam also.It may be mentioned that the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) of Assam Agricultural University at Titabor has developed a submergence resistent gene in rice variety of Ranjit recently which brings good harvest to flood-hit farmers offering great relief to them.

RARS is a research institute of Assam Agriculture University in Jorhat and has been devoting for better scientific cultivation and production for years.Flood-hit farmers have successfully harvested from the submergence-resistant Suvarna Sub-1(SS-1) variety paddy in 2013. In 2009 for the first time farmers of the state had harvested the water-resistant variety SS-1 in the flood prone areas. The successful experimentation with SS-1 encouraged the Agriculture Department to promote the production of the variety on a wider scale since that year. Scientists, working with drought and water submergence resistant properties, feel those should be instilled in other popular rice varities in India like Sambha masuri, IR-64 etc.

The Indian Agricultural Research (ICAR) along with Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is planning to come out with upgraded version of SS-1. The IRRI had released the seed 'Suvarna Sub-1' developed by India in six countries that include Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia and Myanmar.

http://www.assamtimes.org/node/12968#sthash.azUBsCyv.dpuf

H1 rice import on meteoric rise

Yasir Wardad

Rice import surged 440 per cent in the first half (H1) of the current financial year, traders said, in a peculiar paradox while the government has opted for and already begun export of the staple.Millers lament that the rice import on such a large scale is posing a serious threat to local rice mills.

 

Food Ministry officials said the volume of imports in the July-January period of the current financial year (FY'15) surpassed the overall import made in the FY '14.Bangladesh Bank's latest data shows private traders imported rice worth $248.5 million (settled LCs) in July-December period of the current fiscal. The figure was only $46.1 million in the corresponding period of the FY '14.

The overall import of rice amounted to $377.22 million in the FY '14.The central-bank data shows that private importers brought in rice worth $60 million just in December.An official at the Directorate-General of Food (DGoF) said importers brought 0.72 million tonnes of rice in the July-January period of the FY '15. The overall import in the FY '14 was 0.371 million tonnes.Local millers have almost trembled down as nearly 60 per cent of mills were forced to stop their operation in the peak 'rice-milling season' following the import coupled with the ongoing political turmoil that severely hampered transportation, said leading mill owners.

 

Secretary of Bangladesh Auto Major and Husking Mills Owners' Association (BAMHMOA), the biggest platform of the country's rice millers, KM Layek Ali said that the sector was in a big trouble due to the import and the ongoing blockade.

He pointed out that the government fixed Aman-rice price at Tk 33 per kilogram while the importers brought rice at prices below Tk 27-28 per kg from India."The millers are facing an uneven competition which may have a disastrous impact on market stability in future," he said.He made a disconcerting disclosure that 60 per cent out of 20,000 mills across the country stopped their operation. It will, in his assumption, have a serious impact on the market as prices of the staple may shoot up significantly.Shahidur Rahman Patwary Mohan, an executive member of BAMHMOA, said: "Apart from imports, the ongoing political turbulence also has battered our business.

"He said in peak seasons like Boro and Aman farming, millers husk nearly 60,000 tonnes of paddy per day (for three months) which has been reduced to just 15,000 tonnes.The milling crash occurred as orders from Dhaka, Chittagong and elsewhere in the country are being cancelled in fear of vandalism on highways. He said truck owners were not willing to run their vehicles and the owners who were taking risks were charging double fares.

According to him, in addition to about 22 million farmers, nearly 7.0 million people are directly involved with rice milling while another 4.0 million indirectly depend on it.The industry leader said: "The mill owners and the workers are passing a tough time due to the imports and blockades."Most of the mills depend on bank loans and count interest of 17-19 per cent which is adjusted on a three-month basis.

And "hundreds of millers will turn loan defaulters, if this present trend continues".Economist Dr Md Enamul Hoque said the government should have checks and balances on local production, supply and price trend before initiating a perfect rice import policy. "It is necessary to safeguard the local rice mills which are the compulsory segment for ensuring food security in the country."According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, overall rice production in the last financial year (FY'14) was at an all-time high of 34.35 million tonnes against the local demand for 31.0 million tonnes.

 

tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/02/09/80249

Apapa Customs generates N301bn despite drop in rice import

BY OUR REPORTER ON FEBRUARY 9, 2015BUSINESSWEEK

BY UCHE USIM

The Apapa Area 1 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) re­corded an impressive revenue gen­eration in 2014 after raking in a total of N301,272,187,970.The command, dubbed the flagship of the NCS, was able to beat its 2013 record of N230,505,251,443 despite the fact that it had literally lost its major revenue generating ar­tery being duties collected from imported rice.At a stakeholders meeting held recently in Apapa Lagos, the command was extolled for having performed well by rapidly strengthen­ing its revenue generation from other com­modities other than rice.

It was also urged to sustain the tempo in the prompt issuance of the Pre-Arrival Assess­ment Report (PAAR) after surmounting the initial hiccups it faced when the service was introduced.It would be recalled that when the Federal Govern­ment announced a 110 per cent hike in rice duties and charges early last year, the Apapa command appeared to be the worst hit as revenue from rice hitherto accounted for over 90 per cent of the funds it generated, dimin­ished.According to the Customs Area Controller (CAC) of Apapa Area 1 Command, Charles Edike, officers and men had to work hard to en­hance revenue generated and collected from other items to make up for the shortfall.

“In 2013, our revenue from rice was N4,075,478,164 representing 1.77 per cent, while other commodities stood at N226,429,777,279 representing 98.2 per cent of the revenue bringing the total to N230,505,251,443. But in 2014, revenue from rice was N36,183,325,725 represent­ing 12.06 per cent, while rev­enue from other commodi­ties was N265,088,862,245 representing 87.9 per cent. The total revenue was N301,272,187,970,” he ex­plained.Aside the improved rev­enue, Edike said the com­mand also transferred a total of 55,002 containers to less busy terminals across the country to avoid congestion in the Lagos ports and to fa­cilitate trade via swift cargo clearing processes.Bond containers trans­ferred stood at 12,963, while stemmed containers were 42,039.Among the items trans­ferred during the year under consideration, according to him, include 1,516,134,417 metric tonnes of crude palm, 478 vehicles, 15,072 coils and 11,095 bundles of various items transferred to 23 terminals/commands across the country.Some of the beneficiary commands were Kano, Ka­duna, Oyo, Ogun, Calabar, Onne, Lilypond, KLT, Tin Can. EMPCO, LFTZ, Stallion and Fano.In the area of discipline, the Apapa CAC said about four Assistant Comptrollers of Customs were sent out of the command for indulging in unprofessional conducts.“Last year in Apapa, about four Assistant Comp­trollers were sent out of the command because they de­layed. In terms of trade fa­cilitation; in Apapa, we have a target to meet every month but we didn’t use that as an excuse to delay and to keep people’s cargoes. We made efforts to move containers to less busy terminals.“At the same time, we must also generate revenue for government. We cannot because of trade facilita­tion let government revenue drop,” he stated.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=103832

Investors eye Myanmar's rich potential for rice growing

PETCHANET PRATRUANGKRAI

THE NATION February 9, 2015 1:00 am

MYANMAR may go back to being one of the world's major rice exporters in five to 10 years, as many Thai and foreign investors are looking to expand in rice mills and farms in the country.Thai traders and experts all believe that Myanmar has great potential to become a major rice producer in the near future because it has plenty of land with good quality soil for raising rice, abundant water and a strategic location for distributing rice.

ichai Sriprasert, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said last week that some rice millers and exporters have started exploring Myanmar to establish mills and parboiled rice processing plants after realising the country's potential to produce large quantities of the commodity for export. "Thai investors are studying Myanmar's investment laws and regulations. Once all issues are clarified, they can start investing in a few years," he said. Most investors are considering setting up large-scale rice mills to make their investment worthwhile.

To build a large mill that processes up to 500 tonnes of rice a year, an investment of up to Bt300 million is required, not including the cost of land. The areas that Thai rice traders are eyeing are around Yangon and in rice-growing areas along major rivers in Myanmar, such as the Ayeyarwaddy River and Bago, which flows through the central region, the Thanlwin or Salween River, which connects to Thailand, and the Sittaung River, which lies in the east-central part of the country. Besides the existing rice growing areas, 40 million to 50 million rai of land in the country could be developed and promoted for growing rice.Other foreign investors that are also keen on investing in the farming industry, including rice, come from mainland China, Japan and Korea, and from the Middle East.

Myanmar used to be the world's largest rice supplier before the 1980s. However, after the military government closed the country, local farmers shunned rice, as the returns became less attractive. However, to invest in rice or other farming businesses, Thai companies need to form a joint venture with local operators, as local farming businesses are restricted to only Myanmar citizens.

Chareon Laothammatas, president of the association, said that with the food security policy of many foreign governments, many rice importing countries are looking to expand to developing countries including Myanmar and other countries in Asean.According to the US Department of Agriculture, Myanmar is projected to export 1.3 million-1.5 million tonnes of rice this year, up from about 1.3 million tonnes last year.

In 2014-15, rice production in Myanmar is forecast to increase by 1 per cent to 12.16 million tonnes in anticipation of continued expansion of the growing area. The construction of eight dams, which were targeted to be completed last year, and the renovation of drainage canals in flood zones and deep-water areas in the Ayeyarwaddy region, are likely to increase the planting acreage for dry season rice.Aat Pisanwanich, director of the Centre for International Trade Studies, said Myanmar is one of the high-potential countries that have attracted the interest of many Thai investors and rice is one of the potential businesses.

Rice production in Myanmar is cheaper than in Thailand, while Myanmar has many positive factors including plenty of space, water supply and a location to support rice growing and exporting.The study found the cost of rice production in Myanmar is about Bt7,122 per rai, and could be lower after state dams are built and operating.The centre's study also forecast that Thailand would lose a total of Bt87.5 billion (or Bt8.7 billion per year) in rice exports to 2022 if a serious effort is not made to develop the industry.

The Thai share of the world market is tipped to drop to 2.3 per cent from 2.5 per cent last year. The lost market share will go to neighbouring countries - Vietnam and Myanmar. Thailand's market share in Asia would slump from 1.3 per cent in 2013 to just 0.3 per cent in 10 years because other rice-exporting nations - mainly Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar - will play a more significant role in supplying the continental market.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Investors-eye-Myanmars-rich-potential-for-rice-gro-30253650.html

ICAR- Central Rice Research Institute recruitment: walk-in interview

TAGS:ICARCentral Rice Research InstituteWalk-in interviewapplyCRRI

ICAR-CRRI recruitment 2015

ICAR- Central Rice Research Institute is conducting walk-in interviews for the recruitment against the post of Senior Research Fellow. The candidates will be serving on temporary basis. The interview is scheduled to be held on February 18, 2015 at 10 am. The project to work on is 'All India Network Project on Soil Biodiversity- Biofertilisers.'
Post details 

Total post: 1
Name of the post: Senior Research Fellow
Pay scale: The candidates will be paid Rs 16,000-18,000 per month. 
Eligibility Criteria

Educational Quailification

Must possess M.sc in Agriculture or Botany with specialisation in Plant Pathology/Microbiology from a recognised university or institute. 

Other Qualification

Research search in root endophytes and working knowledge of computers are desirable. 
Age
The age of the candidate should not have exceeded 35 years. Relaxation will be given as per the rules. 
Selection Procedure

The candidates will be selected based on their performance in the interview. 
How to apply

Candidates have to appear for the walk-in interview scheduled on February 18, 2015 at 10 am at CRURRS, Hazaribag 825301, Jharkhand. 
Candidates have to bring four copies of resume with original certificates and attested photocopies of certificates and documents and passport size photograph.
Important Date

Walk-in interview is on February 18, 2015 at 10 am. 

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/story/icar-central-rice-research-institute-is-hiring/1/417585.html

Goals of rice subsidy plan not achieved’

The Star/Asia News NetworkSaturday, Feb 07, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR - The rice subsidy programme, which is aimed at benefiting the lower income group, has failed to achieve its intended objectives, said Malaysia Rice Wholesalers' Association president Ng Chee Len. He said the 15 per cent broken rice, which is sold at a controlled price of RM1.65 (S$0.62) per kg, could hardly be found in the market nowadays."The poor people have not managed to buy the subsidised rice any more," he added.

Ng said that although it was a good plan implemented by the Government in 2008, it had somehow become less effective in fulfilling its aims due to poor administration.He claimed that the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry had granted much of the quota to "the people outside the industry", who would then resell the rice at a higher price, since three years ago.According to Sin Chew Daily, a report was lodged with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday over alleged corruption in the subsidy policy.

The Malay Rice Millers' Association vice-president Marzukhi Othman has urged the Government to come out with a comprehensive mechanism to ensure that the subsidised rice goes to the deserving group.Asked on the MACC report lodged earlier, he said he was not aware of it or whether it involved its members. However, he called on the commission to conduct a thorough investigation into the report.The subsidy programme in aid of the lower income group, in which the Government subsidises 60,000 tonnes of rice monthly at a cost of RM750 per tonne, costs some RM500mil a year.

http://business.asiaone.com/personal-finance/%E2%80%98goals-rice-subsidy-plan-not-achieved%E2%80%99#sthash.3Y43ofCI.dpuf

 

Conviron Part of New State-of-Art Rice Research Facility in Philippines

LAGUNA, Philippines, January 27, 2015 – A groundbreaking ceremony at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) compound was conducted to signal the beginning of construction of a $10-million modern research facility to help scientists prepare rice for climate change.A major section of this state-of-art facility will house several controlled environments including the installation of 18 Conviron plant growth chambers and rooms. In addition to these units, the building will also include glasshouses, storage facilities, plant processing and potting laboratories. This equipment will be integral in providing rice scientists and producers with the information to enhance rice production and ensure environmental sustainability.

About Conviron

Conviron is the world’s largest designer and supplier of plant growth chambers and rooms. Leading universities, government agencies and agricultural biotech companies around the globe use the highly engineered products to solve many of today’s challenges in food production and safety. Headquartered with design and manufacturing facilities in Winnipeg, Canada, it employs a global sales and distribution network with offices in the US, Europe, Australia and China.

For more information, contact:

Michael Robbie

Director of Marketing

mrobbie@conviron.com
P 204.786.6451

www.conviron.com

Climate-ready rice lab to rise in Laguna

Poised to become one of the most modern research facilities in the world, it will help scientists prepare rice for climate change

Pia Ranada

Published 6:02 PM, Jan 27, 2015

Updated 6:02 PM, Jan 27, 2015

NEW FACILITY. The Lloyd T Evans Plant Growth Facility will feature the latest technology to help scientists make rice ready for the worst of climate change. Pia Ranada/Rappler

LAGUNA, Philippines – Scientists and government officials led the groundbreaking ceremony for a new research facility that will be devoted to studying the impacts of climate change on agriculture.The ceremony took place on Tuesday, January 27, inside the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) compound where the building will rise.Named the Lloyd T. Evans Plant Growth Facility, it is set to become a "state-of-the-art" building with 8 controlled-environment glasshouses, plant growth chambers, and plant processing and potting laboratories. But the facility's most dominant feature will be a large seed processing and storage facility.The construction of the $10-million facility, named after a world-renowned Australian plant physiologist, was funded by the Australian government. It is expected to be operational by the end of 2015, said IRRI Deputy Director General for Research Matthew Morell.

Although there are similar controlled-environment laboratories in Australia and Europe, this new IRRI facility "will be one of the most modern," said Morell.What sets it apart are the latest in sensor technology, computing power for collecting data and more precise controls for changing environmental parameters. It is also one of the few facilities to be fine-tuned for rice research.Equipped with such technology, the facility will allow scientists to study how rice is affected by changes in the environment. "It's important for us to predict future climates and prepare plants or rice crops so they can flourish in those environments," said Morell.

Predicting nature

The controlled-environment glasshouses and plant growth chambers will enable researchers to manipulate temperature, relative humidity, light intensity, photoperiod systems, water management systems, and precise control of atmospheric gases.This would give them a more accurate picture of how rice plants would be affected by wide-ranging environments, even the extreme environments that may become the norm in a world with a rapidly changing climate.

http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/82103-lloyd-evans-facility-irri-climate-change

Top PH biologist: Tech, data help us understand species better

New York University dean for science Michael Purugganan talks about mapping genes and genomes and shares insights about evolution and how it helps us understand the world

Shaira Panela

Published 10:55 AM, Feb 04, 2015

Updated 10:55 AM, Feb 04, 2015

MANILA, Philippines – The marriage of sophisticated computing technology and the abundance of data in genomics is now allowing us to rethink how species – even our own – have evolved, a top Filipino scientist said.

http://www.conviron.com/new-state-of-art-rice-research-facility-in-philippines

New York University (NYU) dean for science Michael Purugganan. File photo by Shaira Panela

In his brief visit to the Philippines, New York University (NYU) dean for science Michael Purugganan still found time to talk to Filipino students about mapping genes and genomes and share his insights about evolution and how it helps us understand the world."In 20 years, we've gone from getting data from single genes to now looking at whole genomes in trying to understand the same question.

 Now we much have a larger set of data to answer the questions we've had," Purugganan said during his talk at the auditorium of Institute of Biology in the University of the Philippines in Diliman (UP Diliman) on January 30.He added, "Science is not only progressing in technology but in our expectations on what it takes to advance science."Purugganan is one of the world's leading biologists in plant genomics, a discipline in genetics that deals with the sequencing, assembling, and analysis of the complete set of DNA within a single cell of an organism. The complete set of DNA refers to the genome.A major part of Purugganan's research is on rice, a staple food eaten by at least half of the world's population, including Filipinos."I am interested in the diversification of rice species in different land types and how these things evolve," said Purugganan. Among his current research interests is studying the evolutionary forces that act in plant adaptation.Purugganan was asked about the relevance or relation of his studies to efforts to develop climate-resistant rice varieties at the International Rice Research Institute (IRR) in Los Baños, Laguna, and other rice-producing countries.

He replied: "What we're trying to do is to study rice adaptation in different ecological areas. What we want to do is try to understand that. In trying to understand the genes, then we'll understand how to make rice to adapt in different environments."Purugganan also shared his fascination with the Banaue Rice Terraces and on growing upland rice.He briefly mentioned some heirloom rice varieties in Banaue which they included in some of their genome mapping projects such as tinawon and pinidwa.Tinawon is a variety of rice that thrives in a higher elevation, takes a long time to flower, and could only be planted and harvested once a year. Meanwhile, pinidwa could be planted and harvested twice a year.

Purugganan, his colleagues at his laboratory, and his other collaborators have mapped over a hundred varieties of rice grown in different parts of the world.In 2011, a study he was a part of was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). His team found that rice varieties might have originated from the Yangtze Valley in China, contrary to previous studies indicating two origins: India and China.Meanwhile, one of his most recent works on rice was published in August 2014 in the journalNature Genetics.

It tackles mainly the cultivation (domestication) of African rice (Oryza glaberrima) and how its evolution is parallel to the Asian rice species Oryza sativa.Purugganan also touched on other evolution-related topics such as agriculture, especially plant domestication, and how it could be studied using genomics, as well as his laboratory's researches on date palms and rafflesia. Purugganan obtained his bachelor's degree from the University of the Philippines in 1985, and has moved to the United States since to pursue graduate studies.He is part of the international scientific advisory board of the Philippine Genome Center (PGC), a multi-disciplinary research unit of UP Diliman, which organized the UP Diliman event. – Rappler.com

http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/life-health/82871-biologist-michael-purugganan-talk-genetics

Take Sierra Club's agriculture policy off the menu

 It’s no secret that the Sierra Club has long-since moved from worshipping the conservationist vision of the organization’s founder, John Muir, to bowing before the altar of green druids. Reading the Sierra Club Agriculture and Food Policy Task Force’s recommendations for updating the group’s agriculture policy only reinforces this fact.The new agenda looks more PETA-lite than conservation-minded. According to the Task Force, “minimizing the production and consumption of domestic animals” is necessary to stop global warming. The claim is questionable: An oft-cited U.N. report claiming animal agriculture produced more greenhouse gases than transportation conflicts with U.S. government statistics. (It seems that U.S. farmers are much more efficient than their Third World counterparts. Who would’ve thought?)

The Task Force may have called for winding down of meat and cheese production and consumption, but what of the group’s patron saint? According to an article on Sierra Club’s website entitled “John Muir’s Menu,” Muir did not shy away from eating meat. Quite the contrary: On an expedition to Mt. Whitney, Muir and his companions brought “a block of beef about four inches in diameter,” he enjoyed eating “veritable feast[s] of clam chowder, fired porpoise, bacon and beans, [and] savory meat,” and grew up enjoying “mutton for lunch.”Sierra Club’s Task Force goes on to “call for a ban on the planting of all transgenic crops (whether or not currently approved by the FDA).

” In other words, Sierra Club is advocating for a ban of all genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This despite the fact that these genetically improved foods can allow farmers to drastically decrease their use of pesticides and help stave off the starvation and malnutrition that so often plague the developing world.Take for example the case of Golden Rice. Golden Rice, developed by the nonprofit International Rice Research Institute, is a type of rice being grown in the Philippines and endowed with genes from corn and a bacterium that allow it to produce vitamin A.Well, in the Philippines, like many other areas of the world, a lack of vitamin A causes blindness in up to a half-million children each year.

By genetically improving rice, a product eaten daily by half the world’s population, the welfare of countless people will be increased.If malnourishing millions isn’t bad enough, prohibiting GMOs might actually raise carbon emissions. A recent survey by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) found that in 2011, GMO cultivation reduced greenhouse emissions by the equivalent of 23 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide.It’s clear that Sierra Club’s Agriculture and Food Policy Task Force is little more than one more example of the organization embracing an ever-more radical agenda.

http://www.leaderandtimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19973:take-sierra-clubs-agriculture-policy-off-the-menu&catid=29:opinion&Itemid=58

Traders eye deals at Gulfood 2015

Five-day show attracts 4,800 companies from across the world

By Sarah Algethami, Staff ReporterPublished: 14:44 February 8, 2015Gulf News

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Image Credit: Zarina Fernandes/ Gulf News

Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum inaugurated Gulfood 2015 yesterday. Many exhibitors are looking for distributors — not just from the UAE, but from other countries in the region.Dubai: Professionals from the food and hospitality industries gathered at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) on Sunday as Gulfood 2015 kicked off. The food and hospitality trade show, which runs until Thursday, has attracted 4,800 companies from across the world, including Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and France, among other countries.

The event was opened by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance.Some of the exhibiting companies include IFFCO, Al Ghurair Foods, Al Maya Trading, and Aujan Industries. They displayed a range of products, such as meat, fruits and vegetables, chocolates, ice cream, juice and kitchen equipment.Many exhibitors attended the show to look for distributors — not just from the UAE, but from regional countries.The UAE is a hub for re-exports, which makes it attractive for international companies that want to extend their operations in regional countries, beyond the UAE, said Hemen Shah, partner at Shah Brothers, an Indian tea exporter.

“The [re-export] process is so mechanised and fast due to the support of the government and the port infrastructure,” he said.Shah said that he is looking for buyers at Gulfood that want to buy his company’s tea in bulk. His company exports between “25 and 30 million kilograms” of tea annually to countries including the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Iran and Lebanon, among others.Echoing Shah’s views, M.A. Basit, export manager at Pakistan-based Basmati rice exporter, Guard, said he is looking for local and regional distributors.Basit, who exports packaged rice, said that the drop in the price of rice has brought challenges for his business.“Rice prices are going down. We are a little bit affected because India is more competitive with its prices. akistani Basmati rice is priced at an average of $1,000 [Dh3,670] per tonne, but in India, it is $100-$150 less,” he said. The company’s top importers are the Gulf countries, Europe and North America, he said.

Adding to portfolio

In a nearby hall, Hussain Abdullah, executive manager at Habtoor International, a Dubai-based catering equipment company, said that he is looking to add new brands and products to his company’s portfolio.Habtoor International, which sells equipment to fast food and casual dining restaurants, saw a 15 per cent growth in sales in 2014 over the previous year, helped by the opening of new restaurants in the UAE. Abdullah said that this was supported by the rising number of tourists in the country.

Aside from the exhibition, Gulfood will host a variety of conferences, starting Monday.The Halal Investment Conference, for one, will discuss business opportunities in the global halal market and the role of halal in Dubai’s vision to be the capital of the Islamic economy.Meanwhile, the World Food Security Summit will highlight food security concerns in the region.Also, the Food Franchising Forum will discuss ways companies can create a successful franchise.Gulfood is expected to attract 80,000 visitors.

Sánchez Overpopulation and poverty

By Benedicto Q Sánchez

Monday, February 9, 2015

WITH the age of the Internet and social media, we can add to the environmental slogan, “Think globally, act locally” we can add “connect” so that what’s local can become global. I received an email addressed to Sun.Star Davao and cc’d to me from a Rowland “Slow” Lane Anderson, a Davao-based American permaculturist and a disabled veteran and senior from Santa Barbara, California.He wrote: “Thank you for the articles (referring to the Pope’s climate-change stand deepens conservatives’ distrust on the Pope’s position on climate change that SSD published). I agree absolutely that it is man-made and a result of a “culture of waste.’”

Mr. Anderson shared his experiences going around the country. “As I traveled the country pitching integrated rice duck farming (IRDF) to priests, educators and government officials, I was impressed with the farmers, who have increased food production every year both in total and by hectare, despite typhoons and disasters according to the International Rice Research Institute.”

He admitted that “My own demonstration of IRDF at the Eco Farm of the Divine Word College of Mindoro was less than successful due to my own ignorance of rice and ducks but many farmers are having success throughout the Philippines and the world.”I can connect with Mr. Anderson’s experience. My learning curve on organic agriculture came not just from theories but based on the successes – and failures – in working with mountain organic farmers.

However, the meat of his email to Sun.Star Davao and to me was to express his agreement with Pope Francis on his upcoming encyclical that will touch on the UN talks in Paris and should “include working for population stability. This should be key in safeguarding creation and ensuring less poverty.”Mr. Anderson went on: “The Philippines recently celebrated exceeding one hundred million population. With a land mass about half the size of the US state of Montana (population one million), it has the fastest growing population in Asia.”

That would be partially correct. According to Honolulu-based East-West Center’s Population, Natural Resources, and Environment report, between 2000 and 2050, populations are expected to “double or nearly double in Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Laos. Growth rates will also be particularly high in India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam.”

Mr. Anderson went on: “The number of jobs available and the number of educated Filipinos have also increased every year but so does the number of poor people. More Filipinos live in poverty today than ever before. With GDP, food production and jobs all increasing every year, why the increase in poverty? The answer of course is over population, the numbers born exceed the increases in jobs, food and revenue.”That is an assertion, unfortunately not backed with facts. I came from a family of six, large by today’s standards. My maternal cousins grew up with nine or twelve siblings. Yet none of us grew up poor. My sister Rorie has six kids who are professionals or are studying in the best Metro Manila schools.

On a macro level, countries with the biggest populations include China (1), India (2), the USA (3), Brazil (5), and Japan (10). These are also countries with the highest economic growth.What countries have the highest population density? The Southeast countries or cities with the densest population as of 2007 are Macau at 18,534 people per square kilometer; second is Singapore, with 7,148; third, Hong Kong at 6,349; South Korea, ranked at 23rd, at 487. The Philippines ranked at 45th.

These countries became prosperous because of sound economic policies on industrialization and trade. And yes, good governance. Population policy played a supporting role.In 2025, more than half of national populations will be urban in Brunei, China, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, North Korea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Turkmenistan. Can increasing urbanization lessen poverty as experienced by countries (China, Japan, Malaysia, and yes, the Philippines) in this list?

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Commodity-wise, Market-wise Daily Price on 08-02-2015 Domestic Prices Unit Price : Rs/Qtl Product Market Center Variety Min Price Max Price Rice 1 Bonai (Orissa) Other 2000 2400 2 Panisagar (Tripura) Other 2350 2450 3 Bolpur (West Bengal) Other 2340 2400 Wheat 1 Kadi (Gujarat) Other 1500 1725 2 Katol (Maharashtra) Other 1401 1619 3 Bolpur (West Bengal) Other 1550 1650 Apple 1 Barnala (Punjab) Other 6500 8500 2 Vikasnagar(Uttrakhand) Other 4000 4500 Cucumbar 1 Satara (Maharashtra) Other 2500 3000 2 Angul (Orissa) Other 2400 2800 3 Bharuch (Gujarat) Other 700 1200 Source: agmarknet for more products Egg Rs per 100 No. Price on 07-02-2015 Product Market Center Price 1 Ahmedabad 306 2 Chennai (CC) 305 3 Nagapur    283 Source: e2necc.com International Benchmark Price Price on: 06-02-2015 Product Benchmark Indicators Name Price Walnuts 1 Californian large light pieces, EXW UK (USD/t) 11884 2 Californian light halves 80%/pieces, EXW UK (USD/t) 13530 Raisins 1 Californian Thompson seedless raisins, CIF UK (USD/t) 2558 2 South African Thompson seedless raisins, CIF UK (USD/t) 2320 Guar Gum Powder 1 Indian 100 mesh 3500 cps, FOB Kandla (USD/t) 4680 2 Indian 200 mesh 3500 cps basis, FOB Kandla (USD/t) 2000 Source:agra-net for more products Other International Prices Unit Price : US$ / package Price on 06-02-2015 Product Market Center Origin Variety Low High Onions Dry Package: 40 lb cartons 1 Atlanta Peru Yellow 17 19.50 2 Baltimore Peru Yellow  18 20 3 Chicago Washington Yellow 24.50 25.50 Cauliflower Package: 20 1-lb film bags 1 Atlanta California Baby Peeled 18.50 21 2 Dallas  California Baby Peeled 17 17.50 3 Dallas Arizona Baby Peeled 20 20 Grapes Package: 18 lb containers bagged 1 Atlanta Chile Black Seedless 26 26 2 Baltimore Chile Black Seedless

Mounting threats from climate change

Ahmad Fraz Khan 

The year 2014 was the hottest ever since humans started monitoring weather conditions in the year 1880, according to four international agencies monitoring global temperature trends.These four agencies are: two US (NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), one Japanese (Japan Meteorological Agency) and Australian Bureau of Meteorology.The year has surpassed all previous scorchers — 1998, 2005, and 2010. More worryingly, except for 1998, as per NASA’s claim, all 10 hottest years recorded in human history came in the first 14 years of the current century.

Fortunately, the major rise in temperature was occasional, and soil, by and large, escaped the impact. However, it was fourth hottest year for the land as well. For scientists, another concern was the absence of El Niño (which usually accelerates the already up-trend in global average temperature) in 2014. This year (2015), El Niño is part of meteorological forecast, which may improve the heat record further this year.

The report complicates things for agri-businesses around the globe. The US Security and Exchange Commission has told big food and agri chains to regularly furnish reports of global warming impact on their businesses to their investors on stock exchanges. If the agri-businesses start suffering, as fears are — the extent of impact is though still being debated between companies and investors — the farmers and farming would be first to feel the heat, and it would be especially true for countries like Pakistan.

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These extreme weather events could cause a direct loss of 2-30pc in agricultural yields — depending on the severity of the event in a particular year, say researchers

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The report has not come in a vacuum for Pakistan. Its own official agencies have also been studying the trend (variations in temperature and frequency and severity of weather-related events) and have drawn almost similar conclusion that organisations around the world are warning of.

Two years ago, the Federal Ministry for Environment, in its report — vulnerability to climate change threats — identified a series of such pressures that farming in Pakistan would face due to changing weather patterns. It identified nine areas, where they would impact human life in the country.

Out of the nine areas, where, according to report, threat perception was increasing, six were directly related to agriculture. They included considerable rise in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events (droughts, floods, un-timely and heavy rains); recession of glaciers due to global warming and carbon soot deposits from trans-boundary pollution; increased silt in dams caused by frequent, flash and intense floods; increased temperature resulting in enhanced heat- and water-stressed conditions, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions; intrusion of saline water in the Indus delta, threatening coastal agriculture and mangroves and tension between upper and lower riparian in water stress periods. These were on the top of carbonaceous filth that, it warned, has started mixing into Indus water, pouring in from glaciers, and would have hazardous consequences for life of every kind in the water ways. The activity was noted on all three mountain ranges — the Hindukush, the Karakoram and the Himalaya — that feed Pakistani rivers.

According to researchers, these extreme weather events could cause a direct loss of two to 30pc in agricultural yields — depending on the severity of the event in a particular year — and it would be especially true for cereals (wheat, rice and maize). Given Pakistan’s increasing population at almost unknown rate, the country needs an annual increase of 5-10pc in those cereals for its own food security, leave alone exploring exports potential. This would be a herculean task, given Pakistan’s archaic technological and farming practices. In the last ten years, the frequency of flash floods, extreme rains, severe droughts, shifting of monsoon season, which gives Pakistan 80pc of its irrigation water and matures water-loving crops like rice, is increasing and threatening crops like never before.

All the climatic changes documented by different federal, provincial and academic agencies need to form basis of planning for agriculture for the next few decades. The agriculture pattern and practices, as we know them for the last few millenniums, are bound to undergo changes because of weather factors.The world is trying to adjust to these new realities by measuring the rate of change, and then developing policy and technological responses to those changes. Pakistan cannot be an exception. The scientists insist that rice is already suffering in quality and quantity due to temperature variations, along with other factors.

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, February 9th, 2015

http://www.dawn.com/news/1162333/mounting-threats-from-climate-change