Rice R&D (Technology & Innovation) News 13 March,2015

Int’l Centre for Chemical & Biological Sciences, China institute sign MoU on rice research

 

Reported by: `Customs Today Report March 13, 2015

KARACHI: An MoU on rice research was signed between International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences and China National Rice Research Institute (CNRRI) of Hangzhou, China.
The objective of the agreement is to conduct research for developing new high yielding and disease resistant varieties of rice and such other areas as the two parties may agree upon.
The MoU was signed in an official ceremony held at Dr Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), University of Karachi.

Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, on behalf of ICCBS and Deputy Director General CNRRI Dr Peisong Hu on behalf of his institute signed the agreement.Speaking on the occasion, Prof Dr Atta-ur-Rahman said that this was the positive sign that Pakistani and Chinese scientists were jointly carrying out research on rice.Dr Iqbal Choudhary informed that the Chinese institution will train the scholars from ICCBS in the field of rice breeding and production of high quality hybrid rice seed.

As per the agreement, both the institutions have agreed to enhance relations between the two institutions and to develop academic exchange in the area of research,” he said.Dr Peisong Hu said that CNRRI focused on basic and applied researches with priority on solving significant scientific and technical problems in rice production.

http://customstoday.com.pk/intl-centre-for-chemical-biological-sciences-china-institute-sign-mou-on-rice-research/

Agreement on rice research

March 13, 2015

Karachi - An MoU on rice research was signed between International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences and China National Rice Research Institute (CNRRI) of Hangzhou, China.The objective of the agreement is to conduct research for developing new high yielding and disease resistant varieties of rice and such other areas as the two parties may agree upon.
The MoU was signed in an official ceremony held at Dr Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), University of Karachi.Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, on behalf of ICCBS and Deputy Director General CNRRI Dr Peisong Hu on behalf of his institute signed the agreement.Speaking on the occasion, Prof Dr Atta-ur-Rahman said that this was the positive sign that Pakistani and Chinese scientists were jointly carrying out research on rice.Dr Iqbal Choudhary informed that the Chinese institution will train the scholars from ICCBS in the field of rice breeding and production of high quality hybrid rice seed.As per the agreement, both the institutions have agreed to enhance relations between the two institutions and to develop academic exchange in the area of research,” he said.
Dr Peisong Hu said that CNRRI focused on basic and applied researches with priority on solving significant scientific and technical problems in rice production.

http://nation.com.pk/business/13-Mar-2015/agreement-on-rice-research

Golden Rice Campaign Launched

By Rubelle Tan · Mar 13th, 2015 · Golden rice, a genetically modified rice variety by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), will be distributed in India to compensate for the lack of vitamin A in children.  This genetically engineered rise was the product of splicing of bacteria and maize genes into rice for it to contain pro-vitamin A (beta-carotene).

 Golden Rice grain in screenhouse of Golden Rice plants.

The Allow Golden Rice Campaign Now, headed by Greenpeace co-founder, Patrick Moore, was launched in the Philippines and Bangladesh last March 6 and will continue in New Delhi and Mumbai, India on March 19.Vitamin A deficiency has been observed in children in third-world countries, as well as in adults. The campaign aims to do a “quick-fix” solution to vitamin A deficiency that can lead to blindness.This campaign is not without objections, however.  Stop Golden Rice Alliance, composed of 20 non-government organizations around the world, has been vocal in its objections on the promotion of Golden Rice.“With inexpensive Vitamin A available in abundance from various natural resources, produced by small-scale and backyard producers, it is a mistake to turn blindly to golden rice, a crop that the International Rice Research Institute itself admits it has not yet determined if it can actually improve the Vitamin A intake,” said the Alliance.As a response to these objections, Moore stated: “Golden rice is the obvious cure, but because it was created with genetic science, Greenpeace and the anti-GMO movement fervently oppose it.  No country has approved it for cultivation.”

“If golden rice was a cure for a disease like malaria, cancer, or Ebola it would have been approved years ago,” he added. Vitamin A deficiency is a significant health problem of over 75 countries worldwide.  Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) can cause severe visual impairment, blindness, and increased risk for diseases like diarrhoeal disease and measles in children.Countries where golden rice was initially launched had mixed reviews.  In the Philippines, a Facebook campaign was launched by NGOs and scientists to stop Moore’s advocacy for Golden Rice.“Our opposition to Golden Rice and other genetically modified (GM) crops are founded on solid argumenta and actual experiences of Filipino farmers on GM crops.  Filipino farmers who have been planting GM crops suffered negative income, health problems and poisoned environment,” stated MASIPAG, a Filipino farmer-led network of people’s organizations, NGOs and scientists.India, on the other hand, has Modi government that is pro-technology.   “The aim is to dispel fears about GM crops, so that the country can join the US, China and Canada.  GM crops are very important for India’s agricultural growth,” says a senior agricultural ministry official.

Here are some facts on VAD:

14 million pre-schoolchildren have some eye damage due to VAD

350,000 (or more pre-school children become partially or totally blind every year from VAD

About 60 percent of these children die within a few month of going blind

Half of all childhood corneal blindness in developing countries is caused by VAD, and half of that is from added measles infection

Photo: IRRI photos

http://www.healthaim.com/golden-rice-campaign-launched/16552

ICCBS, China NRRI sign MoU

March 13, 2015

RECORDER REPORTmemorandum of understanding (MoU) on rice research was signed between International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, and China National Rice Research Institute (CNRRI) of Hangzhou, China, here on Thursday. A statement said that the objective of the agreement is to conduct research for developing new high yielding and disease resistant varieties of rice and such other areas as the two parties may agree upon. 

The MoU was signed in an official ceremony held at Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), University of Karachi. Chinese officials, including Deputy Director General CNRRI Dr Peisong Hu, Dr Liyong Cao, Dr Xinhua Wei, Ms Aijuan Ge, Patron-in-Chief ICCBS-KU, Professor Dr Atta-ur-Rahman, Director ICCBS-KU, Professor Dr Muhammad Iqbal Chaudhary, and other faculty members attended the ceremony. Professor Dr Muhammad Iqbal Chaudhary, on behalf of ICCBS-KU and Deputy Director General CNRRI Dr Peisong Hu on behalf of his institute signed the agreement. Professor Dr Atta-ur-Rahman said the agreement would further promote collaborative research between the scientists of two countries.

He said it was a positive sign that Pakistani and Chinese scientists were jointly carrying out research on rice. ICCBS was one of Pakistan's most eminent centres of excellence, and one of the finest academic research establishments of chemical and biological sciences in the developing world, he observed. Dr Iqbal Chaudhary said the international centre was engaged in R&D of various fields of chemical, biological, biomedical and genomic research. "The Chinese institution will train the scholars from ICCBS in the field of rice breeding and production of high quality hybrid rice seed.

According to MoU, both the institutions will work together in the field of agricultural biotechnology". As per the agreement, both the institutions had agreed to enhance relations between the two institutions and to develop academic exchange in the area of research, he said. Dr Peisong Hu said CNRRI focused on basic and applied researches with priority on solving significant scientific and technical problems in rice production. "It also plays an important role in co-ordination with priority rice research programmes throughout the country, conducting national and international training, and scientific and technical exchange, and, compiling and publishing academic journals and books on rice," he maintained. 

http://www.brecorder.com/agriculture-a-allied/183/1160851/

Ask Well: Arsenic in Rice Crackers?

By DEBORAH BLUM

 MARCH 13, 2015 5:30 AM March 13, 2015 5:30 am 

CreditAndrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Recently, I’ve been reading about the presence of unacceptable levels of arsenic in both brown and white rice. Are rice vinegar and rice crackers also affected?

Asked by P.E.G. • 46 votes

Foods that contain rice, including rice crackers and vinegar, routinely contain some level of arsenic, scientists say, as do products like rice cakes, rice wine and cereals, and snack bars and baking mixes that contain rice flour or bran. But it’s unclear how serious a health risk they pose.The Food and Drug Administration has a list of rice-containing foods that focuses on inorganic arsenic, considered the most dangerous form of the poison. One reason rice gets so much attention is that the plant is very good at pulling inorganic arsenicfrom soil and water and storing it in the edible grain.But levels of contamination vary according to the type of rice and where it is grown.

Brown rice, for example, tends to show higher levels than white rice, which is stripped during processing of layers of the grain where arsenic tends to collect. California rice frequently contains less arsenic than that grown in southern states, which tends to have higher levels of arsenic in the soil. Consumer Reports found that basmati rice from India, Pakistan and California had markedly lower levels of arsenic than other varieties.The F.D.A. found that arsenic levels ranged from 7.2 micrograms (a millionth of a gram) to 2.5 micrograms per serving. Rice crackers averaged about five micrograms.

Rice vinegar was even lower, around one microgram or less.“It may be that you get some dilution with the vinegar” or wine, said Brian Jackson, director of the Trace Metal Analysis Core Facility at Dartmouth College.While these are all tiny amounts, inorganic arsenic has been linked to disease in extremely low doses. Much of this evidence comes from studies of arsenic in water.  The United States Environmental Protection Agency sets a 10-parts-per-billion safety standard for drinking water.Because of the complexities, it’s harder to assess the risk from foods. “The question for everyone is ‘Do I worry?’ ” Dr. Jackson admits.His recommendation: “If you are a person who is eating rice every day, and also snacking on rice products, then that five micrograms from rice crackers becomes significant,” he said. “If once a month, not so much. The idea is to eat a varied diet — and be aware of how much rice you are eating.”

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/13/ask-well-arsenic-in-rice-crackers/?_r=0

Peak food? Can food tech supercharge crop yields and address global food security?

Rebecca Randall | March 13, 2015 | Genetic Literacy Project

Globally, humanity has reached “peak food,” according to a recent study by Ecology and Society. Peak rice was back in 1988, causing some worry about the long-term food security of this global staple crop. Peak chicken was in 2006. Peak milk and wheat were in 2004.“People often talk of substitution. If we run out of one substance we just substitute another. But if multiple resources are running out, we’ve got a problem. Mankind needs to accept that renewable raw materials are reaching their yield limits worldwide,” said Jianguo “Jack” Liu, of Michigan State University.

Is it really as apocalyptic as it seems?

No, according to Hank Campbell, the founder of science communication site Science 2.0. While projecting increases in population, the model Liu and his colleagues used leaves food technology as static. Campbell wrote that the key to avoiding such a catastrophe is in embracing food science innovations:

Since the 1970s American farmers, who embrace science more than any in the world, have grown more food on less land in a way 1970s projections believed was only science-fiction.  If Europe and the developing world embraced science the way American agriculture does, not only could we grow the same food we have right now, we could let farmland equivalent to the entire region of Amazonia go back to nature and not lose a single carrot.As an example of food technology’s ability to address leveled yields, in December researchers were able to engineer rice genes to carry out a basicsupercharged photosynthesis process and increase productivity.

Many supporters of genetic engineering note that for some crops the technology increases yields, often with less input and while using less acreage. Anti-GMO activists vociferously dispute that.There are two issues in play here: Do GM crops increase yield? And if they do, is this yield increase even necessary considering how much food goes to waste.In a 2009 polemic, Doug-Durian Sherman, then with the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote “Failure to Yield” in which he argued that yield improvements over the previous 25 years were the result of conventional breeding or farming practices, not GMOs.

Specifically herbicide-resistant corn and soy have not had improved yields, while insect-resistant corn has slightly improved.A USDA report last year supports that position in part. It indicates that yields in the US increased only slightly over the first 15 years of the commercialization of GMO crops. The advantage for farmers, it said is in saving on insecticide due to using insect-resistant crops. However, surveys in the developing world, home to more than half of the farms using GM crops, yields have increased as much as 40 percent, in part because of improved efficiencies.

But does the world need more crops and food? The popular view propagated on anti-GMO websites and even in the left media which is dogmatically critical for the technology is “no.” The far left Nation framed the issue in polarized terms in its essay, “Can GMOs Help Feed a Hot and Hungry World?”

The high cost of GMO field-testing may explain why the only genetically modified crops that have made it to market are, in the words of environmental scientist Jonathan Foley, “very disappointing” and “come with some big problems.”“GMO efforts may have started off with good intentions to improve food security,” Foley wrote in a column in the science magazine Ensia in February, “but they ended up in crops that were better at improving profits.”

Strong opponents of genetic modification claim that independent of the issue of safety, the world just doesn’t need more crops—just better distribution. For example, GM Education, a website supported by Citizens Concerned about GM which claims, disingenuously, that it is not opposed to genetic engineering, writes that it’s too simplistic to promote increases in food production as a way to feed the world. It claims that the media that media inappropriately promotes GMO technology rather than focusing on  the “real” problem: not supply but distribution:

The biggest problem with global malnutrition is politics. Distribution and supply, skewed wealth and corrupt governments are doing more harm to the starving masses than conventional food production ever will. There is plenty of food, enough produced globally even now, for nine billion people. We just need to tackle the more complicated political issues.

This is a familiar meme in the anti-GMO press, which claims that genetic modification is a danger-riddled technology that is just not necessary. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet to rework the global food distribution system. The challenges of waste and what some consider “unfair” apportionment of food can be addressed, but only slowly and over decades. Meanwhile, the global population is soaring, and people are becoming more affluent in the developing world, sharply increasing the demand for food.

Demanding reforms in food distribution doesn’t feed the hungry; increasing food production in hard-pressed countries would.Even Gurian-Sherman, who now works with the anti-GMO Center for Food Safety, agrees that current yields will not meet growing demand; we need to increase yield—one way or another. “If we are going to make headway in combating hunger due to overpopulation and climate change, we will need to increase crop yields.” He just disagrees on how.

“Traditional breeding outperforms genetic engineering hands down,” he’s said.Therefore, raising yields remains a part of the work of the global development research, yet studying the best policy environment in which to release new technology has also become a priority. In the case of poor farmers, while researchers at the International Rice Research Institute work on genetically engineering a supercharged photosynthesis in rice could help raise yields, colleagues at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) consider what supportive policy is needed.

Policy is so important, in fact, that the 2014 IFPRI report on global hunger doesn’t mention agricultural yield increases in its recommendation and instead focuses on policy priorities for governments. However, it does point out the importance of government support and incentives for scientists to develop nutritious seeds.

The point, however, is that this is a shift in thinking. Nathaneal Johnson, a food writer at Grist, asked Shenggen Fan, the director of the IRPRI, if there had been a change: “Yes,” he said. “It’s a sea change.”The IFPRI is a part of the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers, known as CGIAR. The consortium is an independent international organization that got its start during the Green Revolution, which pushed agricultural innovations like hybridized seeds, pesticides and fertilizer as solutions to hunger.Fan said that CGIAR used to be focused on yields, but in 2010, it made somereforms.

However, this isn’t necessarily a split from the past, and its website explains, “Our belief in science as a way to find humanitarian solutions has never wavered though and is as strong as ever.”Fan still credits the role of science in the Green Revolution with preventing famine, but his message is clear: Policy plays a key role in guiding and ensuring innovations have impact.The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)—also one of the CGIAR centers—has been leading the work on supercharged photosynthesis, one innovation that is a potential tool in the larger toolbox of poverty solutions.The researchers altered the genes in rice to show that C4 photosynthesis could work in rice.“It’s the first time we’ve seen evidence of the C4 cycle in rice, so it’s very exciting,”said Thomas Brutnell, a researcher at the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis.

C4 photosynthesis helps plants grow more efficiently by capturing carbon dioxide and fixing it in cells in the leaves. It is what makes corn and sugarcane so productive. Researchers said that it could boost rice and wheat yields by roughly 50 percent. With it, rice farmers could achieve environmental efficiencies using far less water and fertilizer. While scientists have made a breakthrough, the altered rice still must undergo further breeding to fully use C4 photosynthesis. Scientists are still identifying all of the genes needed to produce this process and say that genome editing will likely hold the key.

Once scientists solve the puzzle in rice, they say the process could be extended to other crops including potatoes, tomatoes, apples and soybeans.Other research on rice is also working to improve yields in the face of climate change by genetically improving rice to have drought-tolerant, heat-tolerant traits and others.

Many varieties of drought-tolerant rice are bred conventionally. So far, the IRRI has released 17 varieties in Asia and Africa. But some research uses transgenic breeding, such as a rice variety that uses a pepper gene to confer drought tolerance.In the meantime, José Graziano da Silva, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization is asking policymakers to support a range of approaches. In a speech in September 2014, he said that we need to try it all, referring to both genetically modified seeds and agroecology, which is often held up as the preferred option by anti-GMO activists. “We need to explore these alternatives using an inclusive approach based on science and evidences, not on ideologies,” he said.

He also pointed out, however, “we cannot rely on an input intensive model to increase production and that the solutions of the past have shown their limits.” But that means some biotechnology solutions, like the C4 rice, could be a part of lowering use of fertilizers and water while still providing more income for farmers.But to be successful, of course, it needs backing from policymakers, who support agriculture in a variety of ways from setting workable policies for crop insurance to loan support to a viable regulatory environment for crops bred using genetic tools.Whether we’ve reached “peak food” probably isn’t the point, so what is? It’s how we respond to improve yields and ultimately incomes for farmers using a variety of tools and methods.

http://geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/03/13/peak-food-can-food-tech-supercharge-crop-yields-and-address-global-food-security/

Study on Plant Immune Systems May Lead to Better Tomatoes, Rice and Other Crops

Catherine Griffin

First Posted: Mar 13, 2015 05:49 AM EDT

Understanding plants' immune systems may just lead to better tomatoes and other plants. (Photo : Flickr/Skånska Matupplevelser)

Understanding plants' immune systems may just lead to better tomatoes and other plants. Scientists have taken a look at the bacteria that infects plants to learn a bit more about plant immune systems and how to potentially bolster plant defenses. "Each year, millions of dollars are lost from damage to crops and ornamental plants caused by pathogens, which include a bacteria known as Pseudomonas Syringae," said Antje Heese, one of the researchers, in a news release.

 "This bacteria directly affects tomatoes and causes speck disease that permanently damage the fruit and leaves. In our study, we used Arabidopsis thaliana, a plant that has the same immune response as tomatoes but grows at a faster rate, to study the immune response of plants." Scientists once thought that a plant defended itself against bacteria by activating a specific, several-step process. However, it seems as if plants instead activate their immune systems using three separate mechanisms.

In fact, the scientists found that each mechanism responding to the infection did so independently of the two other mechanisms. In addition, each mechanism had to have the right amount of specific proteins, called immune receptors, in the right place in order to respond appropriate. Having the right combination provided the plant with an effective and efficient immune response.So what does this mean? The findings could allow scientists to create new strategies to help plants fight off disease.

This could lead to more resistant crops that could save the agricultural industry millions."Like any living organism, plants have limited resources and they have to use these resources effectively," said Heese. "If the plant makes too much of the proteins responsible for these mechanisms, they will suffer in other areas, such as creating quality fruit. This same discovery can be applied to many crops, including rice and soybeans, and ornamental plants, including roses, pear and apple trees. The information discovered in this study gives scientists something new to study in plants, with the eventual goal of better crops and ornamental plants."The findings are published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/23305/20150313/study-plant-immune-systems-lead-better-tomatoes-rice-crops.htm

As drought worsens, L.A. water agency offers cash to Sacramento Valley farmers

BY DALE KASLER

DKASLER@SACBEE.COM

03/12/2015 4:48 PM 

 03/12/2015 11:48 PM

Houseboats sit in the drought-affected waters of Lake Oroville, one of California’s most important reservoirs, last October. As the drought worsens, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California plans to spend up to $71 million to buy water from farmers in the Sacramento Valley. RICH PEDRONCELLI THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

 With the drought stretching into its fourth year, a heavyweight water agency from Los Angeles has come calling on Sacramento Valley rice farmers, offering up to $71 million for some of their water.The price being offered is so high, some farmers can make more from selling water than from growing their rice. Many are willing to deal: Nine irrigation districts, mainly serving rice growers along the Feather River basin, have made tentative deals to ship a portion of their water to theMetropolitan Water District of Southern California and several other water agencies later this summer.

 Almost all of the buyers are located south of the Delta, where the water shortage is generally more critical than in the Sacramento Valley.As many as 115,000 acre-feet of water could be sold, or more than 37 billion gallons, to Metropolitan and its fellow buyers. The result: a reduction in the amount of rice planted as farmers take fields out of production. As it is, California’s rice industry is struggling to recover from a difficult 2014, in which 140,000 acres were idled due to drought and one-fourth of the crop didn’t get planted.on California’s water allocations.

A generation ago, many in Northern California agriculture fought tooth-and-nail against Metropolitan, which they viewed as the big bully from Los Angeles that would use any means necessary to grab their water. Nowadays, farmers are more apt to cut deals with the water giant, which serves 19 million customers, figuring it makes more sense to negotiate than to wage war against an entity with enormous political clout.If farmers don’t sell to Southern California, “we could really be open to a lot of criticism from various parties around the state,” said Bryce Lundberg of Lundberg Family Farms, a Butte County rice grower that plans to participate in the big water transfer. “You could get opened to more than just criticism.

”The deal also shows how severe the drought has become. A year ago, some of the same Sacramento Valley water districts shipped some of their water south at what seemed like an exorbitant price: $500 an acre-foot.This year’s transaction will make 2014 look like a steal. Metropolitan and the others are paying $700 an acre-foot. An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons, roughly a year’s supply for two Southern California households.“

That reflects the desperation and the competition from the people down there,” said Ted Trimble, general manager of the Western Canal WaterDistrict in Richvale, Butte County, one of the participating sellers.Western Canal and eight other Sacramento Valley water districts agreed to the tentative sale to a group of purchasers led by the State Water Contractors, which represents agencies that rely on the State Water Project. Metropolitan will get 61 percent of the water and the Kern County Water Agency will get 31 percent. The rest will be split among seven smaller agencies, mostly south of the Delta.

The volume of water ultimately directed south could shrink. Several of the sellers, including Western Canal, won’t participate if their allocations for this year are cut by the state.To that end, Metropolitan is trying to scare up additional supplies from Northern California.“We’re hoping to grow this pie larger,” said Steve Hirsch, the agency’s manager of water transfers and exchanges, in remarks made earlier this week to Metropolitan’s directors. “We’re still pursuing sellers.

”Southern California’s thirst for Sacramento Valley water doesn’t sit well with some. Barbara Vlamis of AquAlliance, an advocacy group in Chico, said selling water to Southern California harms the Valley’s environment and economy.“When someone fallows 20 percent of their rice ground, it reverberates through the ag community,” she said.Jim Morris, spokesman for the California Rice Commission, said the commission wasn’t familiar with the tentative sale and couldn’t comment on its impact on this year’s crop. “We’re still looking at what the upcoming season will hold,” he said.

For growers, participating in the sale is voluntary, but the economics make it hard to say no. Trimble said farmers in his district figure to make a profit of about $1,000 to $1,500 an acre planting rice. Idling an acre of rice would yield more than 3 acre-feet of water, or more than $2,100.Despite the big payoff, the district won’t idle more than 10,740 acres, or about one-sixth of its total. Trimble said growers have to take the long view; idling all their land would mean the financial ruin of the mills and other businesses that serve the rice industry, crippling farmers when the price of water drops and they want to plant again.

“There’s a big industry here built up around the rice; we’ve got to keep that going,” he said.Growers along the Feather River are in a position of relative strength – water wise. Blessed with senior water rights, they received 100 percent of their State Water Project allocation last year. While this year’s allocation could be cut by as much as half, they’re better off than many growers in other parts of the state. Last month the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced that farmers can expect nothing this year from the federal government’s Central Valley Project, a major water source for many.As water becomes more precious, the notion of selling some torments many farmers.

“We have growers in the district – they’re never going to sell a drop of water,” said Thad Bettner, general manager of the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District.Glenn-Colusa, which draws from the Sacramento River, isn’t involved in the sale to the Metropolitan group. But it has sold water at times. Last year it made deals with a neighboring agency, the Tehama Colusa Canal Authority, and the San Luis & Delta Mendota Water Authority, which serves a vast swath of the San Joaquin Valley.Water sales also are occurring in Sacramento’s backyard. Conaway Ranch, a 17,000-acre Yolo County farm controlled by Sacramento land baron Angelo K. Tsakopoulos, has made deals with farmers who own vineyards and almond orchards – permanent crops that must be watered every year.

Conaway’s rice and other field crops can be idled.Conaway sold some of its water last year at $325 an acre-foot and is fielding offers this year on pricier terms, said general manager Bob Thomas.“Water is getting much more expensive,” he said. “South of the Delta, the price is going to be much higher.”Metropolitan isn’t thrilled about paying $700 an acre-foot for water. But the Los Angeles agency needs the additional supply, despite having spent billions of dollars on storage and conservation projects over the last few years.

The State Water Project, which provides about one-third of Southern California’s water, expects to deliver only 20 percent of normal allocations this year. The Colorado River, Metropolitan’s other main source, is running at less than 50 percent of normal. This year marks the first time since 2010 that Metropolitan has gone into the market to buy water from the Sacramento Valley.

Hirsch said Metropolitan and its partners had to compete against three other bidders, including the San Joaquin Valley’s massive Westlands Water District, to make the deal for the Sacramento Valley water.“What a difficult year it’s been to negotiate transfers,” the Metropolitan official told the agency’s water planning and stewardship committee earlier this week. “It reflects the competition ... and another year of drought.”

Call The Bee’s Dale Kasler, (916) 321-1066. Follow him on Twitter @dakasler.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article13908632.html#storylink=cpy

Rice farmer upbeat about good harvest

March 13th, 2015 | by New Era Staff Reporter

OSHITEYATEMO – While mahangu and maize farmers are preparing for a failed crop – one subsistence rice farmer is certain about a good harvest. Rauna Kleopas from Oshiteyatemo in Omusati Region grows rice in addition to mahangu.Kleopas ventured into rice growing in 1999 and has over the years sustained her family of 18.Growing only one rice variety at the time, she was able to produce enough surplus to sell to earn a little income to help her fulfill other needs.

Today Kleopas counts among seasoned rice farmers and has successfully transformed herself from growing one rice variety to growing three varieties.“Although the mahangu crops have died, I will still be able to produce enough rice to feed my family this year,” said Kleopas.Kleopas was motivating and encouraging potential rice farmers at a Namibia-Japan rice and mahangu project field day held at Oshiteyatemo on Tuesday.

The event was organized by the University of Namibia’s Ogongo campus in Omusati Region.With her wide experience in planting and transplanting rice, Kleopas has also trained more than 20 farmers on how to plant and transplant rice in their own fields.Kleopas has undergone training from preparing her field to harvesting, at Unam’s Ogongo campus.Although the project has been going very well, Kleopas relates that lack of equipment, timing, land preparation and lack of motivation are among many factors that are a challenge to growing rice successfully.

“Some farmers that we started off with at the project dropped out mainly because of inexperience. We also started with direct planting instead of transplanting and there was also a delay in harvesting,” recalled Kleopas.However she encouraged other potential rice farmers to grow rice to sustain their families in instances where the rain is too much or too little, such as this year when rains have been erratic.She said farmers living close to low-lying areas that have water for sustained periods of time should utilize such places to increase crop production.Potential rice farmers are encouraged to visit the Ogongo campus for basic training and information sharing on how to grow rice successfully.The Namibia-Japan rice and mahangu project was introduced three years ago.

http://www.newera.com.na/2015/03/13/rice-farmer-upbeat-good-harvest/