10% duty imposed on rice import to ensure fair price for
Bangladeshi farmers
Staff Correspondent,
Published: 2015-05-10
19:30:18.0 BdST Updated: 2015-05-10
20:40:48.0 BdST
The government has imposed 10 percent duty on import of rice to
ensure that farmers in Bangladesh get fair price for the rice they cultivate.
The duty is effective from
Sunday, according to Finance Minister AMA Muhith.He told a pre-budget
discussion of the chiefs of the parliamentary standingcommittees on Sunday that
the decision aimed at ensuring fair price of rice during the current Boro
season.On Saturday evening, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said in a BBC
programme that the government had taken the decision to restrict rice
import.She said Bangladesh was self-sufficient in rice cultivation, obviating
the need to import.The government had not imported rice in the past three years
but importers seized the opportunity in the absence of any duty on food
imports.Farmers had been protesting against the imports, saying they were
unable to recover cultivation costs because of imports from India at cheaper
rates.
It has been alleged that
Bangladeshi farmers are not getting remunerative prices because of imports from
India and boost in indigenous cultivation.The agriculture minister said India
dumped rice preserved in warehouses for over two years.“Many dishonest
businessmen in Bangladesh took the chance to import rice,” she
alleged.According to Bangladesh Bank’s analysis of import data, Letters of
Credit (LC) worth $ 476.4 million were opened in the first nine months
(July-March) of the 2014-15 fiscal year.The amount was 66 percent higher than
that of the same period last year.Importers had opened LC worth $ 430 million
in that period.
http://bdnews24.com/economy/2015/05/10/10-duty-imposed-on-rice-import-to-ensure-fair-price-for-bangladeshi-farmers
India may be Thailand’s next rival in rice exports
India may be Thailand’s next
rival in rice exports
BANGKOK, 11 May 2015, (NNT) -The Thai Chamber of Commerce
Council Chairman, Chukiat Opaswong, has projected that the Kingdom will be able
to export only 8.5 million tons of rice this year, a sharp drop from last
year’s 11 million tons. He said India may become Thailand’s next rival in rice
exports, as the nation starts taking an increased share of the African market.
He said several nations have already implemented price
slashing schemes to boost rice exports, especially India, leading to fierce
competition. Indian rice, in particular, is 40 dollars per ton cheaper than
that of Thailand’s.
Thailand exported 2.6 million tons of rice during the first
four months of this year, he said, adding India’s figure was 2.5 million tons
in the same period.He said the stronger baht may be
contributing to the high rice price. Thailand’s rice is being priced at 385
dollars per ton, he indicated, pointing out Vietnam’s product is being sold at
355-360 dollars a ton, and India is at 360 dollars per ton.
http://news.thaivisa.com/thailand/india-may-be-thailands-next-rival-in-rice-exports/60756/
Technology Developed by U of M
Researcher Aims to Improve Rice Crops Worldwide
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Updated: 05/11/2015 5:57 PM
Created: 05/11/2015 5:44 PM KSTP.com
By: Jennie Lissarrague
Created: 05/11/2015 5:44 PM KSTP.com
By: Jennie Lissarrague
Technology developed by a
University of Minnesota researcher is at the heart of a project to improve rice
crops around the world. According to the
university, scientists are hoping to double the production of cereal crops
before 2050, which is when the global population could reach 9.5 billion. They
say rice is a staple crop that feeds half of the world’s population.To improve
the crop, a new project is focusing on genome editing, which is a process where
scientists target, cut, remove and replace DNA in a living cell.U of M
researcher Dan Voytas co-created a technology called the TALENs, which is a
molecular tool used in genome editing. The tool lets scientists break and edit
chromosomes at specific locations.
“We have the ability to
open the genome like a book, go to a certain chapter and a specific word and
change the word or correct its spelling,” co-creator Adam Bogdanove from
Cornell University said in a statement.In that example, words are the DNA
sequences that make up genes. This is different from genetic engineering;
university researchers say genome editing makes precise changes whereas genetic
engineering is more random. Researchers want to prove that they can use
genome editing to affect traits like height, yield, disease resistance and tolerance
to acidic soils. To do this, they would use the tool to identify specific
genetic variations that affect these traits.Bogdanove said the tool means they
can make the needed changes in just a few steps rather than doing years of
breeding.The project is funded by a four-year, $5.5 million National Science
Foundation grant. The team is also planning to create educational curriculum
for students and offer genome editing training workshops for plant biologists.
http://kstp.com/article/stories/s3792966.shtml
Rice shipments to
Africa to bounce back this year
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Workers load rice for
export at the HCM City Food Company. Viet Nam's rice export turnover to
markets in Africa, West Asia and South Asia grew significantly in the first
three months to top US$71.3 million. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue
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HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam's rice export to Africa is likely to
rebound significantly this year, based on the rapid growth seen in the first
quarter, according to the Department of Africa, West Asia and South Asia
Markets under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.Statistics compiled by the
General Department of Customs show that the country's rice export turnover to
markets in Africa, West Asia and South Asia experienced considerable growth in
the first three months to top US$71.3 million, 531 per cent higher than that of
the same period last year.Africa accounted for 94.1 per cent of this figure,
with shipments to key markets in the continent – Ghana, Ivory Coast and South
Africa – witnessing significant growth after a steep plunge in 2014.Before last
year's plunge, Vietnamese rice had seen strong growth in Africa since 2011, the
Cong Thuong (Industry and Trade) newspaper reported yesterday.
In 2013, the country exported two million tonnes of rice to the
continent, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of total volume of rice shipped abroad.
Africa became Viet Nam's second largest rice importer that year, after
China.However, shipments to Africa in 2014 declined in value to $425.7 million
on the back of decreased demand in the market and harsh competition from
Thailand, India and Pakistan.The department has submitted to the MoIT a plan to
facilitate Vietnamese rice exports to African markets. Trade analysts say that
if the plan is approved, another upsurge in shipments to the region is
possible.The plan will support local rice exporters in carrying out promotions
and opening bonded warehouses in Africa's larger markets like Angola, Ivory
Coast and Cameroon.This is expected to increase direct exports to these market
and avoid the risks of doing it through a third party.Africa is now the largest
rice consumer in the world with an annual demand of over 9 million tonnes of
rice, almost 6.5 million tonnes of which is imported.In order to fully tap this
potential, the ministry has advised that Vietnamese exporters try and meet
increasing demand in the market for high-quality rice products, besides
traditional rice. — VNS
http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/270156/rice-shipments-to-africa-to-bounce-back-this-year.html
Rice imports
fall on govts duty move
Farmers
yet to reap benefit
Yasir
Wardad
Rice imports
fall on govts duty move
Rice
imports in the private sector fell in the last one month amid the government's
move to withdraw the zero duty facility on it.The government move alongside the
price fall in the local market led the local importers to adopt a cautious
stance.But the decline was yet to leave any positive impact on local prices as
paddy was still trading at prices 20-25 per cent below the production cost in
the peak harvest season, according to market insiders.Private importers brought
in 1.276 million (12.76 lakh) tonnes of rice through the legal channel until
April 07 last in the fiscal year (FY) 2014-15. It accounted for 4,600 tonnes
per day on an average, an official at the Directorate General of Food (DGoF)
said.
"But
in the last one month (April 08 to May 07), imports declined to just 1,100
tonnes per day as importers brought in 34,000 tonnes during the period,"
he added.He said the downward trend of paddy and rice prices in the domestic
market and the government's move to slap duty on rice were behind the decline
in imports.Finance Minister AMA Muhith at a function on Sunday said the
government decided to impose 10 per cent duty on import of rice, in place of
the zero tariff earlier offered.Earlier, the zero tariff on rice import,
coupled with the lower prices in Indian markets, encouraged the private
importers to go for import on a wide scale in the current fiscal.Md Sarwar Alam
Kajol, an importer, told the FE that businesses almost stopped opening new
letters of credit (L/Cs) following the fall in local rice prices.
He
said many traders had been maintaining a cautious stance since the first week
of April on speculations that the government might impose duty on rice
imports.He also said the prices of rice starting increasing in India over a
projection that overall rice output might decline there.Rice trader at
Nilphamari Sadar Md Hazrat Ali (Sajib) told the FE that mill gate prices of the
local Swarna variety were Tk 21.5-22.0 per kg while the newly milled
Brridhan-28 was being sold at Tk 24.0-24.5 per kg.He also said the prices of
Swarna were Tk 25.0-26.0 a month back.Md Anisuzzaman Fakir, a farmer-trader at
Pakerhat in Dinajpur said the Brridhan-28 variety of paddy was being sold at Tk
550-580 per maund and Miniket variety Tk 650-680 per maund on Saturday.
"But
the farmers who are yet to harvest crops might get benefit from the move,"
he said.He said the government should enact a time-befitting rice import and
export policy to protect the interests of the country's people.He said: "Government should consider rice always
a strategic crop which could help it in framing a farmers-friendly import
policy."According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Boro has
been cultivated on 4.84 million hectares of land this year and 48 per cent of
the crop was harvested until Sunday evening.Secretary of Bangladesh Auto Major
Husking Mills Owners Association KM Layek Ali said 60 per cent of the millers
had been idle for the unnecessary import and political turbulence over the last
few months.
He
said: "But many millers have
started buying paddy after getting assurance from the government about
restricting the rice import."He urged the government to impose 25 to 50
per cent duty on Indian rice based on varieties. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of
Statistics (BBS) and the Directorate General of Food (DGoF), the country
produced 34.465 million tonnes of rice in the last financial year against the
demand for 31.0 million tonnes. The BBS latest data also shows the Aman and Aus
production was 13.2 million and 2.328 million tonnes respectively in the
current financial year.
tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/05/12/92363
India APEDA
NEWS
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Threat
to indigenous basmati from hybrid variety
Pakistan
tried to resist it, both commercially and legally. However, now it seems to be
losing on both ends, and resigning to market forces. The approval of seven
hybrid varieties, which came on the heels of the 35pc acreage already under
imported hybrids, only show how fast window is closing on basmati and other
local rice varieties.In the last decade or so, the Indians have rewritten the
definition of basmati, and got it successfully accepted by a larger chunk of
basmati consumers. Drawing on non-basmati parentage, it developed (Pusa-1121) a
basmati variety that it has successfully been selling around the world.
Since
the variety is high yielding, Indian farmers adopted it quickly and gave
exporters a huge base for increasing exports. With the cost of production down,
the exporters quickly embraced it and made huge profits, and, finally, being
closer — in grain and taste — to traditional Pakistani basmati, it was also
accepted by the consumers, especially ethnic, around the globe.
The
government may be reminded that the absence of institutions to ensure quality
of imported hybrids would continue haunting it if it does not create the
required paraphernalia
On the
other hand, Pakistan’s current decades-old basmati seed started losing hugely
on production but also became susceptible to different kinds of diseases. These
developments added hugely to the cost of production, and took the rice out of
fiscal reach of consumers and exporters.As exporters experienced high domestic
prices, they lost edge to the Indian competitors. The slide in export, which
began a few years ago, is still on: from 1.2 million tonnes, they have come
down to 700,000 tonnes.Pakistan not only lacks research but is also importing
germ-plasm for everything called rice.
Even the
currently approved varieties have Filipino parentage.With its research
institution without funds and policy direction coming neither from the
federation nor from the provinces, high-yielding hybrid varieties sounds to be
only reasonable natural choice, and Pakistan is now officially entering the
arena.It does not, in any way, mean that basmati would flew out of vogue; it
would continue having presence in substantial domestic and relatively small
international market niche. However, its pre-eminence as only premium variety
would increasingly be lost.The government may also be reminded that the absence
of institutions to ensure quality of hybrids would continue haunting it if it
does not create the required paraphernalia.
Once the
import process of hybrid starts, it would be a herculean task to ensure the
quality of the seed, or whether the import belongs to the same variety, which
was approved in the first place.The world has moved to super hybrids and new
seeds are coming thick and fast. How Pakistan plans to cope with that kind of
situation, the approving institutions need to come up with required
response.Hybrids are also notorious for behaving differently in varying temperatures.
With climate change bringing in huge fluctuations in temperatures, how does
Pakistan plan to deal with the phenomenon?
Even
important would be the mechanism to compensate for individual farmers’ loss
because of crop failure in patches. Though approval is granted only to those
varieties that suit in majority of ecological zones within the country, it
still leaves huge grey areas that could cause failures at individual farmers’
levels.Apart from approving new varieties, the policy makers also need to sit
together and decide what they plan to do with the overall crop.How much space
should basmati have? How much hybrids could be allowed? Which hybrid has
international appeal and which does not? What would be the monitoring mechanism
to ensure Pakistan does not continue losing export market; after all, it is $2
billion export earnings.
Published
in Dawn, Economic & Business, May 11th , 2015
Dawn
News
Indian agriculture at cross roads: M.S. Swaminathan
Chennai,
May 11 - Indian agriculture is at the cross roads, Dr. M. S. Swaminathan,
father of India's first Green Revolution, has warned.Lamenting on the state of
Indian farmers, especially farmers with small land-holdings, Dr. Swaminathan
said, "The market economy certainly is not friendly to small farmers. WTO
regulations are also hindrance. Even in the United States which is the heartland
of the free market economy, farmers are insulated from market shocks through
heavy subsidies under the Green Box Provisions of WTO.
"The
recent unseasonal rains and hailstorm left extensive crop damages across the
country in an estimated area of 189.81 lakh hecatres, according to Union
Agriculture Ministry.Dr. Swaminathan said the National Commission on Farmers
headed by him had recommended way back in 2006 detailed and precise
recommendations to save farmers from such calamities, but no action has been taken
on it."Nearly 60 percent of our cultivated area is rain-fed and therefore
highly monsoon dependent. We have to develop and popularize what is currently
known as climate smart agriculture. This will involve maximizing the benefits
of good monsoon and minimizing the adverse impact of an unfavourable monsoon. I
coined the concept of a drought code, flood code and good weather code to
indicate what needs to be done under different monsoon conditions," Dr.
Swaminathan was quoted by the Indian Science Journal, as saying in a recent
interaction.
"The
farmer is at the mercy of the monsoon and the market. Climate change is
introducing extreme weather events like what we have witnessed during recent
months," he added.Dr. Swaminathan, whose pioneering efforts in the field
of agriculture is recognized across countries; said farming has becoming
non-remunerative with input costs going up and output return becoming
unfavourable."The cost, risk and return structure of farming is becoming
unfavourable to farm families. As a result, the younger generation do not want
to take farming as a profession. Even elders will like to quit if there is an
opportunity to do so," he said."The fact that youth do not wish to
take to agriculture is indicative of the economic unattractiveness of this
profession," he added.
In
a veiled criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's slogan of "Make in
India", Dr. Swaminathan said it was nothing but a repeat of the Swadeshi
movement of Mahatma Gandhi."Agriculture is the largest private sector enterprise
in our country. Farm products are all made in India. We should, therefore, give
content and meaning to Lal Bahadur Sastri's slogan "Jai Kisan". The
input - output pricing and export-import policies should all be made farmer
centric," said the octogenarian.He termed India as a nation characterized
by Grain Mountains and hungry millions."The major problem is inadequate
purchasing power. As a result, under-nourishment and malnutrition are wide
spread. Though the National Food Security Act conferred the Right to Food to
nearly 70 percent of the population, this Act is yet to be implemented in most
parts of India," he said.
"Therefore,
the problem is not one of availability of food in the market, but is one of
economic access to food. This problem can be overcome only by improving the net
income of farmers through high productivity, better post- harvest technology
and value addition to the primary products," said Dr. Swaminathan.He
further stated, "At the same time, areas relating to the biological
absorption of food like drinking water, sanitation and primary healthcare need
attention."The NCF had recommended that emphasis should be placed on the
cultivation of high value and low water requiring crops, such as pulses and
oilseeds in water scarce areas.In paddy and sugarcane, water-saving methods of
cultivation like those inherent in the System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
methodology should be popularised. Seawater farming should be promoted in
coastal areas through the crops that thrive in salt water. Investment in
research to promote water-efficient crops is essential.
"More
crops per drop of water" should not remain just a slogan.Today China is
the largest producer of rice and India the second largest, though it is number
one in terms of acreage.He said, we can produce more rice, but the problem will
be pricing and market.India has become the largest exporter of rice,
particularly dwarf basmati rice. Rice is the custodian of our food security
system in an era of climate change, since it grows under a variety of latitudes
and altitudes."We can grow rice from below sea level in Kuttanad in Kerala
to the high altitude of the Himalayas. No other country has this advantage.
Thus, rice is our most important food security crop," he said.Kuttanad in
Kerala is recognized as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Site.
The
NCF report suggested that to achieve secure and adequate livelihood for all
farmers, they must be assured of access to and some control over the basic
resource base for livelihood. These are both natural and societal.Agriculture
and allied sectors account for 17.2 percent of the country's GDP and 14 percent
of overall exports. Almost half of the population of the country is dependent
on agriculture as the prime source of income and it is also a principal source
of raw material for a large number of industries." India, therefore, has
to keep the momentum of growth of agriculture to achieve targeted growth of its
economy and meeting the increasing and diverse demand of food," claimed
Federal Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, in a recent address at G20.
(ANI)
Source with thanks: Top News
Small
farmers struggle for survival in Punjab
How increased mechanization, volatile
prices and stressed farm incomes are leading to a consolidation of agricultural
land in Punjab
Maghar Singh sold his tractor, harvester and other equipment after
deciding not to farm any more. Photo: Sayantan Bera/Mint
Patiala/Sangrur/New
Delhi: A
farmer selling his farm equipment is a telltale sign of distress. But Maghar
Singh doesn’t regret doing it. Six years ago, he sold his tractor, harvester
and other equipment, and rented out his 8 acres (3.2 hectares) of land in
Patiala in south-eastern Punjab where he used to grow a variety of crops. The
income from rent is modest—Rs.4 lakh a
year—but he believes he is better off than his neighbour who is still toiling
on his 6 acres of farm.This is a trend that is fast catching up among farmers
in Punjab, a state that is considered the granary of India. The situation is a
far cry from the heyday of the Green Revolution in the late 1960s. After years
of intensive farming, agriculture now is looking at zero to negative growth
rates. It is state where the potential of irrigation and multi-cropping has
been fully realized.Now, prices of key crops such as rice, wheat and cotton and
volatile prices of cash crops like potato, barley and basmati rice are lower
than before—for a variety of domestic and international reasons—affecting farm
incomes.
Yet,
Punjab is witnessing a trend unlike anywhere else in the country. Across the
country, small holders say farming is no longer a viable occupation, but land
holdings are becoming increasingly fragmented due to growing family sizes,
showing that farms continue to be occupied in spite of their shrinking
sizes.However, Punjab has been witnessing a trend in the opposite
direction—more and more land is becoming consolidated.Increasingly, marginal,
small and medium land holders, owning less than 4 hectares of land, are either
selling out or (mostly) renting their farms to large farmers who can afford the
cost of capital-intensive agriculture, including costly machines, and are
better placed to handle price and weather shocks.Across India, in the two
decades between 1990-91 and 2010-11, the number of marginal and small land
holdings (less than 2 hectares of land) grew from 83.5 million to 117.6
million. In Punjab, however, the number of marginal and small holdings fell,
from half a million to 0.36 million during the same period.
At
the same time, the number of semi-medium (2-4 hectares), medium (4-10 hectares)
and large (over 10 hectares) land holdings increased from 0.62 million to 0.69
million during the same period.Even these numbers underestimate the extent of
land consolidation underway in Punjab, because even though most small and
medium farmers are leasing out their land to big farmers, such tenancies are
informal and go unrecorded.This is what academics call “reverse
tenancy”—closely linked to the trend of increased mechanization, which enables
large farmers to reap the benefits of economies of scale.Leasing their small
farms out is a strategy of survival.“Farming is a sure way to death for a small
farmer in Punjab. He cannot handle the increasing costs, fluctuating prices and
weather or the debts due to buying machinery. I am glad my son works in a rice
mill with an assured salary,” says Maghar Singh, 58.But in Punjab, where owning
farmland is also a status symbol, farmers are reluctant to sell it all off.
“Land
is a matter of pride. Without it, I could not have got my son married. A person
without land is nobody in the village,” says Singh.As a result, an informal
rent market is fast building up in the state where the land ceiling per person
is 6.8 hectares. The decline in small land holdings in Punjab shows that they
are non-viable under modern capital-intensive farming, says a 2014 paper Depeasantization in Punjab:
Status of Farmers Who Left Farming published
in Current Science journal bySukhpal
Singh and Shruti Bhogal.
“Farmers
with even up to 4 hectares in Punjab find it increasingly difficult to maintain
their living from farming activity alone and given an opportunity will also
leave farming,” the study notes.“Small farmers in Punjab are in crisis as
farming is unviable for them due to rising input costs, stagnant productivity,
falling profitability and increasing cost of living,” says Sukhpal Singh, who
teaches at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and studies farm
distress.One such sign of distress is the growing incidence of suicide by small
and marginal farmers in Punjab.Singh’s field research (published in Economic and Political Weekly in June 2014) shows that of the 3,507
farmers in Punjab who committed suicide between 2000 and 2011, nearly 80% were
marginal and small farmers.The average level of debt among those marginal and
small farmers (with less than 2 hectares of land) who committed suicide was
nearly eight times their annual income, the study found, compared to 2.7 times
for medium and large farmers.
Leasing
out their farms is a matter of survival for small farmers. “It’s a survival
strategy forced upon them by market forces. Till 2000, they were still able to
earn some profits but now it’s wiser to rent out and do something else,” says S.S.
Gill, South Asia professor at the Centre for Research in Rural and
Industrial Development, Chandigarh.Small farmers find it difficult even to hire
sowing and harvesting equipment, while big farmers can buy the machinery due to
their ability to access credit, says Gill.
“The
entire system is biased towards large farmers who sometimes also happen to be
commission agents and dealers in farm inputs. Large tracts of land, of between
500 and 1,000 acres, are now leased out to potato seed cultivators in northern
Punjab while small farmers and their familiesare being pushed into petty
occupations,” says Gill.Baljeet Kaur from Balad Kalan village in Sangrur
district is one such person. After her husband killed himself in 2013 by
consuming pesticide, Kaur learned weaving to support the family and pay her
children’s school fees.
The
2 acres of farmland the family owns has been rented out.She says that while her
brothers-in-law exited farming long ago—one of them is a truck driver and the
other a daily-wage earner in Uttar Pradesh—her husband stuck to farming, ending
up with a debt of Rs.6 lakh.“The Punjab experience shows that we
cannot address the issue of low farm incomes with small parcels of land. In
India, average land holdings are a little over 1 hectare and they are not viable,”
says Ramesh
Chand, director of the National Institute of Agricultural Economics and
Policy Research, Delhi, and a member of the newly constituted national task
force on agriculture under NITI Aayog. “We need to liberalize the land lease
market and allow for large holdings.”
Too
many tractors
An
acute labour shortage caused by a variety of reasons such as rising rural wages
in other states and the need for a shorter turnaround time initially fuelled
investment in mechanization. Multi-cropping means farmers have to harvest the
crop, pack the foodgrains off to the wholesale market, and clear the fields for
the next crop. In addition, owning a tractor in the farming state has become
something of a symbol of prosperity, even though it is put to use no more than
50 days a year.“Tractorization has led to indebtedness, and it’s time the
government stops incentivizing such purchases,” says Ajay
Vir Jakhar, a farmer and chairman of Bharat Krishak Samaj, a farmers’ body.
“Instead of owning farm machinery, we need to promote leasing services.
”Punjab
is home to nearly 550,000 tractors, double the number it needs. There is one
tractor for every 8.7 hectare of cultivated land, compared with the national
average of one per 62 hectares. Average use of tractors is just 450 hours in a
year, less than half of the 1,000 hours required for it to be economically
viable. Underutilization of farm machinery is leading to higher costs of
production and lower net income to farmers, making it economically unviable,
says a 2015 note prepared by the state ENVIS (Environmental Information System)
centre in Chandigarh.Between 2002 and 2012, the number of harvester combines in
Punjab nearly quadrupled to 10,363, according to the state planning department.
A harvester costs upwards of Rs.17 lakh, and Punjab has so many of them today
that the gigantic machines travel all the way to Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh
and Bihar in search of work.
Deepening debt
Sinking
money into buying machines, from which returns are only possible in large farm
holdings, has increased the debt of farmers. The vagaries of Maghar Singh’s
neighbour Singara Singh from Fatehpur in Patiala district is a case in
point.Singara Singh and his two brothers farm on 30 acres of land and took an
additional 6 acres on rent. They grow rice during the monsoon season followed
by potato, barley and wheat as the winter (rabi) crop. This
year’s unseasonal rains damaged one-quarter of his wheat crop. A bigger blow
was falling potato prices, which tumbled to less than Rs.2 a kg at the farm gate compared with Rs.8 a kg last year. Barley prices, too, are down
fromRs.1,450 a quintal (100kg) two
years ago to Rs.1,150 this year.
Still,
Singara Singh has been able to withstand these price and weather shocks by
putting his potato crop in cold storage and stocking barley (which is supplied
to breweries) inside a newly built warehouse in his courtyard, hoping for
better prices.But over the years, Singh has made heavy capital investments—two
tractors, a harvester combine, reapers, threshers, seeders, rotavators and a
handful of bore wells to water his crop, in addition to the warehouse. On the
face of it, Singh embodies the very image of a prosperous Punjabi farmer:
there’s a palatial house, with plenty of livestock, breeder dogs and cars. But
he is battling a nerve disease and the accumulated debt of the family is Rs.75 lakh.Farm households in Punjab are among the
most heavily indebted in India, reveals a situation assessment survey released
by the National Sample Survey Organisation in December last year.
The
average debt of Punjab isRs.1,19,500—that’s
more than 2.5 times the national average of Rs.47,000. The average debt of large farmers owning
more than 10 hectares of land isRs.9.3 lakh, over
three times the national average of Rs.2.9 lakh.Jagmohan
Singh, state secretary of Bharti Kisan Union Ekta, a farmers’
organization, says the one thing that has hurt the Punjab farmer the most is
the low hike in minimum support prices. “They are spending more on inputs like
pesticides and fertilizers. The water table is falling. Those who were wise to
put their (revenue) surpluses from the Green Revolution years into other
businesses can still hold on. But it is the end of the day for small and
marginal farmers.”So despite doing well, Gurmeet Singh, who farms on his
15-acre land in Sangrur district and has taken another 10 acres on rent, did
not go for an expensive harvester. This time, he planted a mix of crops—paddy,
potato, corn and wheat—in a bid to deal with any price shocks.
He
sold his potato harvest ahead of others in January, much before the glut set
up, to a nearby PepsiCo India unit, after meeting stringent
specifications. They fetched Rs.17 a kg, eight times the current market price.But
this little success has not changed his view on farming. His younger son works
on the field, but 10 years ago Gurmeet Singh set up an electrical shop for his
elder son. “Both of them cannot depend on the same land. Here, one farmer is
enough to manage 50 acres,” he says.
USA Rice Meets
with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq
WASHINGTON,
DC -- USA Rice Chairman Dow Brantley led a delegation of members
Stuart
Jones, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq
and staff on Friday in a meeting
with Stuart Jones, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, to discuss strategy for returning
Iraq as a steady customer for U.S. rice. "We have a large crop to move and
Iraq is a traditional source of large demand for long grain rice," said
Brantley, a rice farmer from England, Arkansas. "Ambassador Jones has been
tireless in support of U.S. rice, but staff turnover at the Grain Board of Iraq
and the Ministry of Trade, as well as the unstable political situation in the
country have made it nearly impossible for us to be successful there.
"USA
Rice and the U.S. government continue with a full court press since Iraq began
purchasing rice from non-U.S. origins in the Western Hemisphere at prices
sometimes $45 per metric ton more than offered from the United States.
Ambassador Jones stressed that everyone at the embassy in Baghdad have become
rice experts and expressed his appreciation for all the assistance USA Rice has
provided to his team on the ground there."It is clear that Ambassador
Jones has made educating the Iraqi government about the competitiveness of U.S.
rice and the importance of operating a transparent and open tender process a
top priority issue," said Betsy Ward, USA Rice President and CEO, who also
attended the meeting.
Contact: Bob Cummings (703) 236-1473
USA Rice
Welcomes New Government Affairs Manager
ARLINGTON,
VA - USA Rice's Vice President Government Affairs Ben Mosely today
Contact: Deborah Willenborg (703) 236-1444
Crop Progress:
2015 Crop 83 Percent Planted
|
WASHINGTON,
DC -- Eighty-three percent of the nation's 2015 rice acreage is planted,
according to today's U.S. Department of Agriculture's Crop Progress Report.
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CME
Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures
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USA signs
agricultural agreement with Jordan
Agreement
will support agricultural trade and humanitarian efforts
"Jordan
is one of our most effective, capable and steadfast partners not only in the
Middle East, but around the world," Vilsack said. "USDA's food
assistance will be used to relieve some of the economic burden that Jordan is
facing as a result of the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who've been
displaced because of the Syrian civil war."The USDA will provide Jordan
with nearly 100,000 metric tons of wheat, valued at nearly $25 million. The
proceeds from the wheat’s sales will be used to improve agricultural production
and economic growth. The commodities are being made available through the Food
and Progress Program.
"The
Obama administration remains committed to investing in the creation of economic
stability and opportunity in the Middle East," Vilsack said. "As we
have done in the past with Jordan and around the world, U.S. produced
commodities will not only feed people but enhance agricultural productivity and
trade.
The United States and
Jordan have enjoyed successful trade relations since the Jordan Free Trade Agreement was fully implemented in January 2010. The agreement allows
products made in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, the West Bank and Gaza to enter the
United States without taxes.In 2013, the United States exported $256 million in
agricultural goods to Jordan. Rice, poultry and tree nuts were the largest
exported commodities. The USA imported about $10 million of agricultural
products from Jordan in 2013.Join the conversation and tell us your thoughts on
the new agreement between Jordan and the United States.
http://www.farms.com/ag-industry-news/usa-signs-agricultural-agreement-with-jordan-659.aspx
Arkansas Rice Board gives $2 million for
new seed facility
May 7, 2015 | Delta Farm Press
Arkansas Rice Board gives $2 million for new seed facility
Money for the program will come
from tariff rate quota funds generated from the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotions
agreement. The new facility will be operated by the University of Arkanas
System Division of Agriculture.
THE
ARKANSAS RICE Research and Promotion Board presented the University of Arkansas
Division of Agriculture with a $2 million check to help construct a new
Foundation Seed Facility in Stuttgart, Ark. From left: Carl Brothers, chairman
of the Col-Rice Board; Brandy Carroll, administrator of the Arkansas Rice
Research and Promotion Board; Marvin Hare, chairman of the Rice Research and
Promotion Board; Mark Cochran, vice president for agriculture for the
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture; former Sen. and Arkansas
Gov. David Pryor; and Rick Roeder, Assoc. Director of the Agricultural
Experiment Station in Fayetteville. (Photo by Ryan Mcgeeney, University of
Arkansas System Division Of Agriculture)
The new facility is expected to cost
$8.6 million, and construction will begin this summer and be completed in 12
months.“The Rice Research and Promotion Board has always been forward-thinking
in how it applies research to advance Arkansas agriculture, and we sincerely
appreciate their commitment to ensuring Arkansas will remain the epicenter of
rice production and rice research,” said Mark Cochran, vice president for the
UA System’s Division of Agriculture.“The board has been a valuable partner with
us for more than 30 years now, and our united partnership means better results
for our state’s economy and all Arkansans.
”The Arkansas Rice Research and
Promotion Board consists of nine rice producers nominated by industry
organizations and appointed by the governor.the Rice Research and Promotion
Board and the rice farmers of Arkansas is alive and well, as evidenced by the
construction of this new Foundation Seed Facility,” said Marvin Hare, chairman
of the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board.“This commitment is an
excellent example of the great things we can accomplish when the entire rice
industry works together toward the common goal of sustainable rice production
in Arkansas.”The $2 million for the new facility will come through tariff rate
quota funds generated for domestic rice research from the U.S.-Colombia Trade
Promotion Agreement, which established an annual tariff rate quota for U.S.
rice exported to Colombia.The funds are reserved only for research efforts and
are allocated by the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board. The Arkansas
Soybean Promotion Board and the Arkansas Wheat Promotion Board have both
previously made contributions to the new facility as well.
http://deltafarmpress.com/rice/arkansas-rice-board-gives-2-million-new-seed-facility
Twice as much rice for only pennies more
(Photo: Patti Singer/@PattiSingerRoc)
Savvy grocery shoppers know to
check the unit price to compare prices not by amount of product but by amount
of money.Case in point: Rice at one of Rochester's favorite supermarket
chains.I like to get my money's worth, but I don't like to overbuy. I have
limited space and I don't
want to fill it with stuff that will take me a long time to use.So imagine the
calculations I went through when I saw the pricing on a 5- and a 10-pound bag
of rice.
A 5-pound bag of rice costs $5.49. Twice as much rice costs only
40 cents more. How can this be? (Photo: Patti Singer/@PattiSingerRoc)
This 10-pound bag of rice has 101 quarter-cup servings.
That'll last a while. (Photo:
Patti Singer/@PattiSingerRoc)
But the better question
may: How come the 5-pound bag is only 40 cents less?
Patti Singer
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/all-about-health/2015/05/10/twice-as-much-rice-for-only-pennies-more/27091591/
Rice exports to
Africa well grow
The
Ministry of Industry and Trade reported a great growth in rice export turnover
to Africa this year and said that if this momentum was maintained, rice export
to that market might considerably recover for the whole year.The ministry’s
Africa and Southwest Asia Market Department is building a rice export project
to Africa to help businesses boost exports to this potential market.Besides
medium quality and price rice, the ministry advised exporters to pay attention
to fragrant and high quality varieties because the demand for them is also very
high in Africa.Africa is now the world largest rice consumption market with a
demand of nine million tons a year. Of these, 6.4-6.5 million tons are
imported.
By Bao
Minh - Translated by Hai Mien
Can Indonesia be Self-Sufficient in Rice, Again?
Rice,
the main stapple food for people in the Indonesian archipelago. More rice
fields require more irrigation dams. (Photo: GIV/MB)
Jakarta, GIVnews.com – In Indonesia, rice is not just the most indispensable foodstuff,
it is also a commodity that undeniably determines the fate of any political and
state leaders in the country. Leading a country with a population close to 250
million people, it is no doubt that President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo is fully
aware of this fact.During his presidential election campaigns last year, Jokowi
repetitively aired his ambition of making Indonesia self-sufficient in rice.
Doing it was not that difficult, he stated publicly, arousing a kind of
optimism among voters. Jokowi supported his argument with the widely recognized
fact: Indonesia had achieved rice self-sufficiency in 1969, which last until
1984, under then President Soeharto.
For President Jokowi and many
Indonesian citizens, rice is not merely a key contributor to inflation. Unstable
rice prices can also lead to political chaos as the nation’s history has shown
it.
Last November,
about a month after his inauguration as president, Jokowi made it loud and
clear: No more rice imports in two or three years. He expected rice production
to increase by up to 30 percent each year,
and thus rice self-sufficiency can be achieved by 2017.Determined to air his
vision more loudly and widely, the President had on different occasions shared
his story when encountering with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang during an
ASEAN Summit last year.“I felt quite embarrassed … When I met up with him, you
know what? He asked me, ‘President Jokowi, when will you buy rice from me
again?’ Isn’t it embarrassing?” Like Vietnam, Jokowi also said, Indonesia is actually
an agricultural country with vast areas for farming.With this, the 2017 target
set by Jokowi for rice self-sufficiency is less than three years away. However,
no one is certain whether the ambition is achievable and whether people will
express some sort of anger and mockery towards President Jokowi, if Indonesia
does not achieve self-sufficient in rice by 2017. Perhaps few people,
particularly those with ‘special interest’, will bother.
When dedicating an irrigation project in
South Sulawesi, Jokowi revealed his administration’s plan of building 25 to 30
irrigation dams within the next five years. According to the President,
construction of 11 dams would begin early 2015, including dam constructions in
Aceh, Banten, North Sulawesi, Central Java, and East Nusa Tenggara. The good
news is that Jokowi has walked the talk as some of the 11 projects have
actually commenced.In Aceh, for example, the planned large dam was officially
launched by Jokowi in March.
When
construction is done, the dam will be able to irrigate approximately 9,400
hectares of paddy fields, to supply clean water for households in the area and
to be a site for new power plant. Furthermore last week, Jokowi dedicated
another irrigation dam construction in Buru Island, Maluku.Obviously, the
commencement of the irrigation projects has further appeased the growing
pessimisms towards the President’s ambition of regaining Indonesia’s status as
a rice self-sufficient nation. Indonesia was once rice self-sufficient, for
which then president Soeharto had won international recognition.
Rice imports
Meanwhile, increasing rice prices in
almost all provinces in the past months have caused widespread worries. The
government’s market operations conducted through Bulog (State Logistics Agency)
have not been effective enough.Government officials said that Bulog’s rice
stocks for buffer must be kept at no less than two million tons for satisfying
demand until the end of 2015. The agency had in fact failed to buy enough rice
partly due to its inability to compete with private traders who paid farmers at
higher price.
Other causes included a drop in domestic
production due to prolonged drought and occurrence of natural disasters such as
flood.The government and Bulog did not disclose the latest condition of the
agency’s rice stocks. According to Bustanul Arifin, a senior lecturer at the
Agriculture School of Universitas Lampung (Unila), Bulog’s rice stock target
for this year was set at 2.7 million tons. However, there are doubts that Bulog
is capable in achieving the target and it is predicted that this year’s buffer
stock will only reach some 20 percent of the 2.7 million tons.While admitting
that rice stocks at Bulog are depleting, government officials said last week
that this situation had prompted them to consider importing more rice.
And the government has to do it soon. One
of the reasons is that the government is obliged to prevent rice prices from
going wild during the upcoming Ramadhan fasting month, which will begin on 18
June, and the Idul Fitri holidays which follows.Over the past days cabinet ministers
have held discussions about the issue of rice. “Discussions about it are
continuing. But, the Ministry of Trade is ready to issue Bulog import permits.
It
is being finalized, but everything is ready,” said Trade Minister Rachmat
Gobel after his meeting with presidential chief of staff Luhut Binsar Panjaitan
and Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjanato at the Bina Graha presidential office last
Thursday (7/5), Kompas.com reported.According to Rachmat Gobel, the President had
instructed theTrade Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry and the Bulog to
calculate the current rice stocks at the stock buffer agency. Based on the
calculation, the minister said, Bulog will import rice before the Ramadhan
fasting month.Indonesia has so far imported rice from a number of countries,
including Thailand, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Myanmar.However, it is not
yet clear how much rice Indonesia will import this year.
Early reports stated that the level may
reach 1.5 million tons. In 2014, Indonesia imported 1.2 million tons, compared
with 472.6 million tons in 2013, 1.8 million tons in 2012, 2.7 million tons in
2010, and 687.5 million tons in 2010.For President Jokowi and many Indonesian
citizens, rice is not merely a key contributor to inflation. Unstable rice
prices can also lead to political chaos as the nation’s history has shown it.
The skyrocketing prices of rice and other essential commodities led to the fall
of two powerful, long-serving presidents, Soeharto and Soekarno.
http://www.globalindonesianvoices.com/20670/can-indonesia-be-self-sufficient-in-rice-again/
Govt to reduce rice import in
2015
By Femi Adekoya on May 11, 2015
IN line with the report by the Food and
Agricultural Organisation (FAO) that Nigeria’s rice import will drop by 3.3 per
cent to 2.9 million tonnes this year, the Federal Government has disclosed that
its import target for the commodity will be 1.3 million metric tonnes(MT).
According to a letter
signed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi A.
Adesina, addressed to the Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of
Finance, Dr.Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a domestic supply gap of 1.3 million MT was
determined for the 2015, down from 1.5 million in 2014.Indeed, one million MT
of this quota has been set aside as allocations to existing rice millers,
importers and new investors with approved Domestic Rice Production Plans
(DRPP), at a preferential levy of 20% and duty of 10%.
In the letter titled
“Approved List of Companies Allocated Rice Import quota for April 2015- March
2016 period”, it was explicitly made clear that certain criteria informed the
trimming down of the number of companies from last year’s figure to what obtains
this year.The letter to the Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy reads in
part: “In line with the Federal Government’s policy (“the Policy”) to ensure
self-sufficiency in rice by 2014, domestic rice production and milling
operations continue to rise, which has resulted in a reduction in rice
requirements of the country”.As was the practice in 2014 and in line with the
Policy, the allocation of import quotas continues to be made along the explicit
criteria set for encouraging domestic production and domestic milling of rice,
to lead to self-sufficiency.
These criteria are based
on the extent of existing domestic milling capacity as well as along four
specific items that assess each company’s ongoing investment outlay into
domestic rice production and milling.“These include the following: Domestic
Rice Production Plan (DRPP): demonstrate evidence of current or planned
investment in domestic rice production over a three -year period, size of
investment, proof of land acquisition and establishment of rice fields and
paddy production, Paddy purchase outlook from Paddy Aggregation Centres (PAC):
Demonstrate a clear plan of purchase of paddy from PACs, should include
location of PACs, volumes of paddy to be purchased among others.Paddy purchase
outlook from out grower farmers and farmer cooperatives: should include
location of farms, volumes of paddy to be purchased, among others.
Ownership of Integrated
Rice Milling Facility (with par boilers and dehuskers): size of planned
installed capacity (score relative to the largest sized facility, evidence of
acquisition of integrated rice milling equipment, e.t.c “In addition to
existing millers and new investors, only the re-applying companies who
submitted bonds in 2014 were allocated quotas in the current 2015-2016 round.Companies
that failed to present the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development with a Bond have not been given quotas for the full year April 2015
to March 2016.Consequently, import quota allocations to 22 approved companies
with a total allocation of 961,000 MT were issued.Already, the Ministry has
sent letters to all the 22 approved companies and copied Dr. Okonjo-Iweala as
well as the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service.The letter
extensively informed the companies of their approved quotas which qualified for
10% duty or 20% levy as the case might be the Comptroller General of Customs
was mandated to facilitate enforcement of the approved allocations.
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/05/govt-to-reduce-rice-import-in-2015/
Rice exports squeezed by price war
PETCHANET
PRATRUANGKRAI
THE
NATION May 11, 2015 1:00 am
THE
GLOBAL rice market is experiencing a price war, Thai exporters say, putting
pressure on the Kingdom because of its large government stockpiles. Traders
expect Thai rice exports this year to total 8 million to 8.5 million tonnes,
down from 10.96 million tonnes in 2014.Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president
of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said competition in the world market
was tough because of a high supply of rice while many importing nations are
struggling with weak economies."Rice trading is entering a price war, with
every country lowering its prices.
The price of Thai rice will also be lowered,
but not as low as such competitors as India and Vietnam, which have weakening
currencies and cheaper rice," Chookiat said.He said that for every Bt1 the
Thai currency weakens against the US dollar, the price of Thai rice drops by
about $10 per tonne. However, the price will not go below $400 a tonne for 5 per
cent white rice, while domestic prices should not drop much as long as
exporters can get more orders from overseas.Currently, Thai rice is trading at
around $430 a tonne, while Vietnam's is traded at $360 a tonne.Chookiat said
the weaker baht should benefit exports of Hom Mali or jasmine rice, making its
price more competitive at less than $900 a tonne, down from $1,100. Vietnamese
fragrant rice trades at only $490 a tonne, and Cambodia's at $800 a tonne.
Vietnam's
decision to devalue its currency also cuts the price of its rice by about $3 a
tonne.Chookiat believes the price war will continue into the third quarter.
After that, the market will be affected by rice production in India. If India's
output is low, the rice price in the world market could increase.Because of the
relatively high price of Thai rice, the Kingdom this year will not be the
world's largest rice exporter.As of April 28, Thailand had shipped 2.95 million
tonnes of rice since the beginning of the year, up by just 2.46 per cent year
on year. Meanwhile India's exports soared by 32.11 per cent to 2.87 million
tonnes, and Pakistan's increased by 32.09 per cent to 1.73 million tonnes.
Vietnam's rice exports were up by 2.71 per cent to 1.71 million tonnes.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Rice-exports-squeezed-by-price-war-30259742.html#sthash.9FBafd0p.dpuf
Enough rice supply in areas affected by Dodong, Bulusan
eruption
By
Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star) | Updated May 11, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The National Food Authority (NFA) yesterday
said it has prepositioned rice stocks in areas that may be affected by the
eruption of Mount Bulusan in Sorsogon and the arrival of Typhoon Dodong.NFA
assured the public that there is sufficient rice supply in areas threatened by
the typhoon as well as in areas that traditionally have low rice supply such as
Northern and Eastern Samar, both of which are also seen to be affected by the
storm.
Northern Samar has stocks of 38,409 50-kilogram bags of rice,
sufficient for eight days consumption based on daily rice consumption of 4,880
bags.Eastern Samar, on the other hand, has 45,907 bags of rice, good for 19
days based on daily consumption of 2,460 bags.The Bicol region, meanwhile, has
15,138,680 bags of rice stockpiled, sufficient for 19 days.The NFA said most of
the rice farmers in Albay and Sorsogon were able to sell their palay to the NFA
before the arrival of the storm.Provinces under storm signal Nos. 2 and 3
mostly in Region 2 also have sufficient rice buffer stock. The whole of region
has a total rice buffer stock of 765,469 bags.Aurora, a province in Central
Luzon expected to be affected by the typhoon, has an emergency rice stockpile
of 53,545 bags.
The NFA said it has also activated its operation centers in
regions that would be affected by Typhoon Dodong.The NFA is mandated to secure
the availability of staple grains in the event of natural or man-made
calamities. The agency should be able to position staple requirements within 48
hours of the occurrence of an emergency.The agency is also mandated to restore
or maintain within two weeks of occurrence of a disaster the prices of staple
grains at levels prior to the occurrence of a calamity.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/05/11/1453467/enough-rice-supply-areas-affected-dodong-bulusan-eruption#sthash.jh1PfFdz.dpuf
News Shared by
Phil Rice
DepEd
teachers train on climate-smart agriculture
Maligaya, Science City of Muñoz – The Philippine
Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), through its Informediary Campaign, trained
secondary school agriculture teachers on “Climate-smart agriculture and rice
production.” The training, in partnership with the Department of Education’s
Technical-Vocational Unit, used the Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) module
developed by the Infomediary Campaign to incorporate climate change as a
component of major agriculture subjects in technical-vocational schools.The
training focused on climate change-ready rice production practices with emphasis
on crop diversification and establishment of rice gardens showcasing top
varieties in their area.
Teachers were also taught to produce high-quality
seeds to address the issue of inadequate access to high-quality seeds in remote
rice-farming communities.The module was developed in 2014 through a partnership
between PhilRice through its Infomediary Campaign and CGIAR Research Program on
Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security.The training started on April 6
and ended on May 8. Teachers from 100 TecVoc schools nationwide as well as some
non-TecVoc schools were invited to participate.
“We hope that massive informative awareness on
CSA can be made possible through this initiative. We already have thousands of
infomediaries nationwide. We are eager to increase their number,” said Jaime A.
Manalo IV, Infomediary Campaign lead.Since the national implementation of
Infomediary in 2013, the Infomediary team has been providing training and
technical assistance to secondary school agriculture teachers in teaching rice
production.
His team’s study on high school students’
knowledge and understanding on climate change in relation to agriculture
confirms that young people are aware of the threats that it can bring to food
production, particularly on rice. Surveyed students considered extreme dryness
of the land as the most observable change happening in the rice field.“The
training, through the help of secondary school agriculture teachers, will help
enrich the knowledge of students’ knowledge and understanding of the effects of
climate change on rice production,” Manalo said.“We also aim to bring back the
love for science of rice farming among young people and convince them to
consider agriculture when they enter the university,” he added.
Right attitude leads to progress, Korean partner confirms
To inspire the Filipinos on their campaign for
rural transformation, the Korea Project on International Agriculture (KOPIA)
Center based at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) emphasized
the values that have helped Korea become one of the world’s richest countries.
Dr. Jeong Taek Lee, KOPIA director, said in a recent seminar that self-help,
diligence, and cooperation, led to the success of Saemaul Undong, a
rural transformation movement spearheaded by President Park Jeong Hee, which
reduced the poverty from 34 to 6 percent of the population.
Under the movement, participating villages were
given free raw materials to build community structures such as houses and
infrastructures such as roads, bridges, buildings, and irrigation systems.
Following Saemaul Undong, which was said to be the basis of the Korean
economy’s resurgence in the 1970s, KOPIA promotes the strategy to help the
Philippines achieve rice self-sufficiency.
In the Philippines, KOPIA helps Filipino farmers
increase their income by giving more than 600 bags of good seeds to farmer
cooperatives in Nueva Ecija, Iloilo, and Bohol. Among the sites, Nueva Ecija
has the highest yield of 10t/ha.
Lee said that by practicing the values, “there is no doubt that the
Philippines can also transform its rural communities as long as the Filipinos
embrace the same spirit of self-help, diligence, and cooperation.”Meanwhile,
Ronan Zagado, campaign leader of PhilRice’s Rural Transformation Movement said
that rural transformation can also be achieved through proper social
mobilization.“Currently, PhilRice has conducted an intensive campaign to enable positive and relevant change not only in farmers’ but also in researchers’ and extension workers’ perceptions, attitudes, practices, and life chances. Rice-based agriculture is the driver of inclusive and sustainable growth in rural and farming areas,” Zagado said.
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