News
Headlines
ü
Basmati Rice Grown In
Kuwait
ü
Kisan Telecom : Board flays
govt policy on rice
ü
Magura farmers not happy
over bumper Aus production
ü
Dow AgroSciences and
ICS-CAAS Partner to Accelerate Rice Research and Product Development in China
ü
Monsoon deficit touches 12%
as rains dry up
ü
Government downplays
effects of El Niño
ü
Low rainfall critical for
kharif crops
ü
Iran asked to lift rice,
kinno import ban
ü
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices
Open- Aug 27
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Venezuela’s Food Shortages:
Hunger is a major concern
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Rice Field Day: Growers get
up close with industry-funded research
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Nigeria: Why Korea Takes
Rice Production As National Security Strategy
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Haiti drought cuts
harvests, lifts prices, food crisis looms: WFP
ü
Fisher Delta Research
Center to hold 54th annual Field Day Sept. 2
ü
COLUMN-Currency moves to
tag-team El Nino in Asia rice markets: Russell
ü
APEDA India News
ü
News shared by USA Rice
Daily
ü
Egypt bans rice exports as
of September 1
ü
Aroma India Bistro,
Restaurant Review: Pappadam and people-watching
News Detail...
Basmati
Rice Grown In Kuwait
MENAFN - Arab Times - 27/08/2015
Arab Times
Kisan Telecom : Board
flays govt policy on rice
08/27/2015 | 07:04am US/Eastern
President Kisan Board Gujranwala Division Aman Ullah Chattha has
strongly condemned failed rice policy of the government and advised to ensure
export of last two years rice stock without further delay. Addressing
cultivators of Kolo Tarar, Kassoki, Vanike Tarar and Jalalpur Bhattian he said
that due to anti-Kisan policies of the government the growers of Gujranwala
Division would stage sit-in demonstration in Gujranwala on August 30. He said
that the non-basmati paddy, which has started pouring into the grain markets,
is being purchased at rupees 500 per 40 kg as against rupees 1300 last year,
which is deplorable.
He demanded immediate announcement of support price of different
varieties and PASCO should be directed to ensure procurement of paddy at
minimum support price of non-basmati at rupees 1200 and basmati paddy at rupees
2500 to provide relief to the growers.
Meanwhile, Ex-MNA and leader of PTI Ch. Mehdi Hassan Bhatti has
said that growers are backbone of country's economy but the present government
has increased the prices of POL, fertilizers, pesticides and electricity but
have not arranged procurement of rice at reasonable price. He said that
September 5Kisan convention at Hafizabad Stadium would be chaired by PTI Chief
Imran Khan and it would pave the way to mitigate the sufferings of the growers.
DCO shocked over education system: DCO Hafizabad Muhammad Usman has
expressed his disappointment over standard of education in the Govt. Girls and
Boys High School Nauthen and Madhrianwala and warned the teachers to perform
their duties honestly and with commitment to brighten the career of the
students.
While making surprise visit to the schools along with EDO
(Education) Iftikhar Nawaz Virk and District Monitoring Officer Adnan Irshad
Cheema, he enquired from the students regarding the education being imparted in
the schools. Thereupon, he took strong exception and advised the teachers to
work sincerely for getting better results in the annual examinations. He also
issued show cause notice to four teachers including the Headmaster of Nauthen
High School for their absence from duties without any intimation.
Boy killed in road mishap: A boy was killed on the spot while three
others were seriously injured when a recklessly driven truck after hitting a
bike intruded into shop near Nokhar Mandi of Gujranwala Road on Wednesday.
According to rescue source, Muhammad Javaid alongwith his 6-year-old son Sono
Javaid and Qamar and another was going towards his house on Gujranwala Road
when a speeding truck coming from opposite direction hit their bike killing
Sono Javaid on-the-spot while three other seriously injured.
The injured were shifted to the DHQ Hospital Hafizabad. After
hitting the bike, the truck intruded into a shop which was badly damaged. The
police have registered the case and started investigation.
WAPDA/APCA employees hold protest: The employees of WAPDA Hafizabad
division observed complete strike to protest against the proposed privatization
of WAPDA. The strike was observed on the call of WAPDA Hydro-Electric Labour
Union. Addressing the employees Malik Shafqat Mehmood Chairman and Abdul Razzaq
Mughal General Secretary have declared that the employees of WAPDA would not
tolerate privatization of WAPDA as it would prove economic murder of the
employees. They demanded that the proposal to privatize WAPDA should be
withdrawn otherwise the employees would be constrained to continue to stage
protest demonstrations.
Meanwhile, APCA activists protested against non-issue of the
notification regarding the acceptance of their demands. Ch. Nasrullah Hanjra
President and Muhammad Amjad Fareedi General Secretary APCA Hafizabad chapter
have said that the government had accepted their demands few months back but
has not yet issued notification in this regard. They demanded immediate
issuance of the notification to relieve the clerks of mental agony and
hardships.
They threatened that if notification was not issued immediately the
clerks would not perform election duties and would be constrained to stage
sit-in demonstration at Jati Umra.
© Pakistan Press International, source Asianet-Pakistan
Magura
farmers not happy over bumper Aus production
MAGURA, Aug 26: A bumper production of Aus paddy has been achieved
in the district this year. But the production of Aus has failed to bring smile
on the faces of the farmers.Agriculture Extension Department (DAE) Magura
informed, a total of 8050 hectares of land was brought under Aus cultivation in
the district this year. A bumper production has been achieved in the district
which reached 30500 tonnes of rice.During a visit to Beroil, Isakhada, Jagla and
Kachundi bazar under Magura sadar upazila Aus paddy was seen to be sold at Tk
360 to 380 per maund as against Tk 480 to 500 per maund last year.When
contacted, Abu Taleb, a farmer of village Nanduali under Magura sadar upazila
said, I cultivated Aus paddy in 4 bighas of land. I got Tk 18 thousand by
selling my paddy. But my production cost was about Tk 20,000. I have decided
not to cultivate Aus in the coming season.
litan1968@gmail.com
Dow
AgroSciences and ICS-CAAS Partner to Accelerate Rice Research and Product
Development in China
August 27, 2015 08:07 AM Eastern Daylight Time
BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dow
AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:
DOW), has entered into a collaboration agreement with the Institute of Crop
Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS). Under the
agreement, Dow AgroSciences grants ICS-CAAS a royalty-free, non-transferable
research and commercialization license for its proprietary EXZACT™ Precision
Genome Editing Technology to be used in rice in China. Dow AgroSciences and
ICS-CAAS scientists will collaboratively develop an industry-leading rice
genome editing technology platform.
“Our collaboration with ICS-CAAS, a world-renowned agricultural
science research organization, is one with great promise”
The EXZACT Precision Genome Editing Platform will enable
ICS-CAAS scientists to capitalize on their significant investment and technical
expertise in rice genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and cell biology as
well as accelerate integration of the scientific knowledge generated in rice to
rapidly develop valuable products for China. Dow AgroSciences has developed the
EXZACT Precision Technology platform under an exclusive license and
collaboration agreement in plants with Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. Dow
AgroSciences and ICS-CAAS scientists will work together to make sure that the
expertise and strengths of both parties are best combined to accelerate rice
research and product development in China. This is part of Dow AgroSciences’
commitment to providing innovative and sustainable solutions to bolster food
security and food safety in China.
ICS-CAAS indicates this collaboration is a milestone, which will
accelerate the development of rice genome editing technology platform in China.
It will have significant impact in developing new agronomic traits in rice.“Our
collaboration with ICS-CAAS, a world-renowned agricultural science research
organization, is one with great promise,” said Tim Hassinger, President and CEO
of Dow AgroSciences. “We have a long-term commitment in China as a strategic
partner for agricultural sustainability and best practices. The EXZACT
Precision Technology collaboration with CAAS is a strong example of this
commitment, which will significantly enable Chinese scientists to improve rice
research and product development, thus benefiting China’s long term food
security.”
About Dow AgroSciences
Dow AgroSciences discovers, develops, and brings to market crop
protection and plant biotechnology solutions for the growing world. Based in
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, Dow AgroSciences is a wholly owned subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company and had annual global sales of $7.3 billion in 2014.
Learn more at www.dowagro.com. Follow Dow AgroSciences on Facebook,Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.
About the Institute of Crop Sciences – Chinese Academy of
Agricultural Sciences
Institute of Crop Science (ICS) is a non-profit state-owned
organization. It conducts researches on crop germplasm resource, crop molecular
biology, crop genetics and breeding, crop cultivation and physiology. ICS is
one of the leading organizations for Crop Sciences in China, serving as an
innovation and international cooperation center. Learn more athttp://ics.caas.cn/sites/caas/
Contacts
Dow AgroSciences LLC
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Kenda Resler Friend, 317-337-4743
kresler@dow.com
or
Shanghai, China
Kelly Chen
kchen5@dow.com
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Kenda Resler Friend, 317-337-4743
kresler@dow.com
or
Shanghai, China
Kelly Chen
kchen5@dow.com
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150827005451/en/Dow-AgroSciences-ICS-CAAS-Partner-Accelerate-Rice-Research#.VeA09_lViko
Monsoon deficit touches 12% as rains dry up
VINSON KURIAN
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, AUGUST
26:
The overall rain deficit for the country touched 12 per cent on
Wednesday to match the quantum forecast for the entire monsoon this year by
India Met Department.With exactly 35 days to go before the monsoon signs off
from entire landmass, there are no signs of a major reversal of the trend,
given that it starts withdrawing from Northwest India from September 1.
Rain dries up
Contra winds
Opposing dry north-westerly winds
dictating prevailing weak monsoon conditions would not allow the ‘low’ to
settle and decide a track of its own to push rain deep into north or north-west
India.
Instead, it will be guided
towards the South Odisha-North Coastal Andhra Pradesh coast from where it will
be driven straight into the foothills of Eastern Himalayas (hills of Bihar and
east Uttar Pradesh).On rebound, it will come under the influence of the
north-westerlies for a second time and be pushed back towards into the Bay to
the north of its place origin.The south-easterly to southerly winds associated
with the system will mop up a lot of moisture from the Bay and blow it into the
hills to trigger localised heavy rain over the region, floods or even
landslides.
Passing showers
Meanwhile, the US Climate
Prediction Centre said that most parts of north-west India and some parts of
Central India will continue to run dry until September 7.The withdrawal of the
monsoon from Rajasthan and adjoining north-west India would likely have begun
in right earnest during this phase.Parts of West Madhya Pradesh and adjoining
Gujarat are expected to get some passing showers as will southern parts of the
West Coast.According to the US centre’s prediction, below-normal rainfall is
the outlook for the northern stretch of the West Coast, including
Konkan-Mumbai. Northern parts of Kerala and Coastal and South Tamil Nadu may
also benefit to some extent.
(This article was published on August 26, 2015)
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/monsoon-deficit-touches-12-as-rains-dry-up/article7583134.ece
Government downplays effects of El Niño
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Thu, August
27 2015, 5:49 PM
Yielding to drought: Tarlan,
a farmer who hails from Indramayu, West Java, harvests rice in the the
3-hectare field he rents from the Air Force at Halim Perdanakusuma, East
Jakarta, on Wednesday. Severe drought has forced Tarlan to harvest his crop
prematurely.(JP/P.J. Leo)
The government is optimistic that
rice production will remain in surplus as projected this year despite growing
worries that the prolonged dry season caused by the El Niño weather phenomena
will cause rice harvest failures in many parts of the country.Agriculture
Minister Amran Sulaiman said in Jakarta on Wednesday that there would be a
surplus in the production as expected despite the prolonged dry season that had
seriously damaged crops in many parts of the country.He argued that the impact
of the El Niño would be minimal because it would only affect rice production
between September and October.
In such a production scenario, he
said that Indonesia would not need to import rice to meet domestic demand.Amran
said that based on his ministry’s surveys, the drought only affected between
25,000 and 30,000 hectares of rice fields. According to him, widely published
estimates that the drought had damaged over 14 million hectares of rice fields
were exaggerated. Fears over a possible rice supply
shortage were raised following the scarcity of meat and chicken in the past
several weeks, which have led to widespread strikes carried out by meat and
chicken traders demanding that the government intervene to alleviate the
problem.Analysts believe that the shortages in supply occurred due to
inaccurate data used by the government.
National Development Planning
Minister Sofyan Djalil acknowledged on Tuesday that the government still used
different sets of data in formulating its rice farming policy. “Without
accuracy in the data, it will affect the policy,” he said as quoted by Kompas.Amran shrugged off the
differences in data between the ministries. “It’s normal to have different sets
of data because the data collection might be done at different times. Even one
day’s difference will yield different sets of data,” he said.He said that his
office still relied on production data issued by the Central Statistics Agency
(BPS), which estimated that unhusked rice production would rise by about 6.64
percent to 75.5 million tons this year, or equivalent to 43.9 million tons of
milled rice. With such a production assumption, the country’s rice production
would reach a milled rice surplus of 10.5 million tons.
State Logistics Agency (Bulog)
agreed on Wednesday to buy 1.4 million tons of rice from farmers as part of its
program to increase its rice stocks, which at present stood at roughly 1.6
million tons.“With this addition, our rice stocks will be secure,” Bulog
director Djarot Kusumayakti said.Meanwhile, the Meteorology, Climatology and
Geophysics Agency (BMKG) declared in their official statement that they
predicted that the drought would continue until December.The rain would likely
begin in November or December, the statement said.Djarot also stated that the
extreme weather phenomenon of El Niño would only affect areas south of the
equator and that “the northern part would not be hit by drought”.
Climate experts have warned of
the severity of El Niño this year, which is expected to match the intensity of
1997, which induced a prolonged drought and widespread wild fires. Although El
Niño has yet to reach its peak, many regions in the country have already
reported a prolonged dry season, with some regions in West Java, Central Java,
South Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara and other places suffering from 60
continuous days without rain.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/27/government-downplays-effects-el-ni-o.html#sthash.yoVbAECQ.dpuf
Low rainfall critical for
kharif crops
KOLHAPUR: The 40% rainfall in the district till
the last week of the third month of monsoon has started taking a toll on the
kharif agricultural activities. According to a report from the district
agriculture department, crops like paddy, groundnuts and soybean are going to
be affected. Sowing in the district has already gone down to 88.75% - from 2.76
lakh hectares to 2.45 lakh hectares.
Major tehsils like Panhala, Bhudargad, Shahuwadi, Ajara and Chandgad are known for paddy production. The total area under paddy cultivation in the district is 1,03,156 hectares as against the average 1,11,610 hectares. The decline is mainly because of late arrival of monsoon, followed by low intensity of the showers. Except in June third week, the district has not received satisfactory spells and some farmers have refrained from paddy cultivation.
Major tehsils like Panhala, Bhudargad, Shahuwadi, Ajara and Chandgad are known for paddy production. The total area under paddy cultivation in the district is 1,03,156 hectares as against the average 1,11,610 hectares. The decline is mainly because of late arrival of monsoon, followed by low intensity of the showers. Except in June third week, the district has not received satisfactory spells and some farmers have refrained from paddy cultivation.
Showers are important for the growth of paddy.
Those who have cultivated paddy are now waiting for good showers. They might
have to shift to well water or river water for irrigation, increasing the cost
of production. Groundnut is the second-largest kharif crop in
the district. The average area under cultivation is 57,825 hectares but it has
gone down to 48,212 hectares mainly due to lower sowing in Hatkanangale, Kagal,
Radhanagari and Karvir tehsils. Though, the other tehsils like Chandgad,
Gadhinglaj and Shirol have reported more than average sowing, the overall
figures are less than the average cultivation.
In case of soyabean also, the area under cultivation
has gone down - from 56,460 hectares to 42,899 hectares. Ragi is another kharif crop in the district having 22,900
hectares average cultivable land. The low rainfall has reduced the area to
20,575 hectares. Shahuwadi, Radhanagari and Gaganbavda tehsils have reported
significant drop in ragi cultivation this year, though all these tehsils are
known for higher rainfall.
Sugarcane being a cash crop, the total area under
cultivation has increased to 1,47,469 hectares, while the average area is
1,17,125 hectares. Raju Shetti, farmers' leader and MP said,
"Kolhapur shares border with Karnataka, where significant number of sugar
factories are operating. Sugarcane cultivators are free to sell their crop to
any factory, even outside the state; hence they are in anticipation of good
returns from sugarcane. This is the reason behind farmers going after sugarcane
crop." At Rs 2,000 per tonne purchase price and 100
tonnes per hectare output, the cultivator would earn Rs 2 lakh from one acre,
he said. "Compared to foodgrains or oil seeds,
returns from sugarcane are higher. But the crop takes at least nine months to
mature. So, marginal and small farmers or those who are located in the mountain
areas prefer kharif and rabi crops that get matured in four months.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolhapur/Low-rainfall-critical-for-kharif-crops/articleshow/48690367.cms
Iran asked to lift
rice, kinno import ban
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday formally requested Iran to withdraw
its ban on imports of rice and kinno.The ban has led to a drastic cut in
Pakistan’s exports to Iran, which fell to mere $43 million in 2014 from $182m
in 2010, an official told Dawn.Rice exports constitute 63 per cent of the
country’s total exports to Iran.The issue, among others, was raised during the
two-day meeting of Pak-Iran Joint Working Group (JWG) on Trade.Pakistan’s
delegation was headed by Additional Secretary Commerce Robina Ather, while
Iranian side was led by Mojtaba Mousavian, Director General (Asia-Pacific)
Iranian Trade Promotion Organisation.
A representative of Pakistan Ministry of National Food Security
and Research informed the meeting that Iran’s quarantine department inspectors
visited hot water treatment plants for mangoes and approved 16 facilities,
while approval for another three was in the process.Pakistani side also
informed that they have provided a draft of ‘Agreement on Cooperation in the
Field of Veterinary and Animal Health’ to the ministry concerned in Iran.Both sides
agreed to constitute a joint working group for implementation of electronic
data interchange. Pakistan also showed its interest to hold a single-country
textile exhibition in Tehran in Feb/March 2016.
Both the countries reiterated the need for granting visa to
businessmen and truck drivers on a priority basis, and agreed to implement the
bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in letter and spirit including
strengthening of transparency and prior notification mechanisms.Discussing
freight train operations, Pakistan proposed that till freight traffic picks up,
Iranian authorities may also introduce concessional fares between
Zahedan-Quetta.Regarding tax and charges imposed on Pakistani vehicles, the
Iranian side informed that those taxes did not constitute “para tariffs” and
were consistent with the PTA as per Article 2 on services charges.
The meeting discussed the draft of ‘Five Years Strategic Plan’
to enhance bilateral trade.Both sides agreed to consider incorporating linkage
of Iran with China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, strengthening border markets,
upgrading road and railway networks, building warehouses and opening/upgrading
border crossing points into the five-year plan.It was agreed that both sides
will exchange soft data about their tariff and trade regimes as per the format
provided by Pakistani side, within two weeks of this JWG meeting.
Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2015
http://www.dawn.com/news/1203051
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- Aug 27
Nagpur, Aug 27 Gram prices moved down in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing
Committee (APMC) here on poor buying support from local millers amid high moisture content
arrival. Fresh fall in Madhya Pradesh gram prices because of poor quality and revival monsoon in
Vidarbha also pulled down prices, according to sources.
* * * *
FOODGRAINS & PULSES
GRAM
* Gram varieties ruled steady in open market here but demand was poor in thin trading
activity.
TUAR
* Tuar fataka varieties recovered in open market on increased festival season demand
from local traders amid weak supply from millers.
* Batri dal and Lakhodi dal firmed up in open market here on increased buying support
from local traders. Continuous rise in tuar dal prices also boosted these
commodities.
* In Akola, Tuar - 9,800-910,100, Tuar dal - 13,800-14,200, Udid at 9,400-9,700,
Udid Mogar (clean) - 11,300-11,700, Moong - 7,600-7,800, Moong Mogar
(clean) 9,200-9,800, Gram - 4,500-4,800, Gram Super best bold - 6,000-6,0200
for 100 kg.
* Wheat, rice and other commodities remained steady in open market in thin trading
activity, according to sources.
Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg
FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close
Gram Auction 4,000-4,850 4,000-4,960
Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600
Tuar Auction n.a. 8,000-9,800
Moong Auction n.a. 6,000-6,400
Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500
Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800
Gram Super Best Bold 6,500-6,800 6,500-6,800
Gram Super Best n.a.
Gram Medium Best 5,900-6,100 5,900-6,100
Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a.
Gram Mill Quality 5,800-5,900 5,800-5,900
Desi gram Raw 4,900-5,000 4,900-5,000
Gram Filter new 6,200-6,400 6,200-6,400
Gram Kabuli 6,400-7,500 6,400-7,500
Gram Pink 6,800-7,000 6,800-7,000
Tuar Fataka Best 14,350-14,750 14,300-14,700
Tuar Fataka Medium 13,550-13,950 13,500-13,900
Tuar Dal Best Phod 12,800-13,200 12,800-13,200
Tuar Dal Medium phod 12,000-12,600 12,000-12,600
Tuar Gavarani New 10,350-10,450 10,350-10,450
Tuar Karnataka 10,450-10,750 10,450-10,750
Tuar Black 12,600-12,900 12,600-12,900
Masoor dal best 8,600-8,800 8,600-8,800
Masoor dal medium 8,150-8,450 8,150-8,400
Masoor n.a. n.a.
Moong Mogar bold 9,600-9,900 9,600-9,900
Moong Mogar Medium best 8,200-8,800 8,200-8,800
Moong dal Chilka 8,600-8,800 8,600-8,800
Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.
Moong Chamki best 8,400-9,200 8,400-9,200
Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG) 11,700-12,000 11,700-12,000
Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 10,600-11,000 10,600-11,000
Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 9,400-9,800 9,400-9,800
Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 5,150-5,550 5,100-5,500
Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 3,850-4,050 3,800-4,000
Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 3,150-3,350 3,150-3,350
Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,100-3,300 3,100-3,300
Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 3,200-3,600 3,200-3,600
Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,400-1,500 1,400-1,500
Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,700 1,600-1,700
Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 1,350-1,550 1,350-1,550
Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,250-2,400 2,250-2,400
Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,950-2,100 1,950-2,100
Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a.
MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 3,400-3,700 3,400-3,700
MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,750-2,900 2,750-2,900
Rice BPT New(100 INR/KG) 2,800-3,000 2,800-3,000
Rice BPT (100 INR/KG) 3,050-3,300 3,050-3,300
Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 1,700-1,900 1,700-1,900
Rice Swarna new (100 INR/KG) 2,400-2,500 2,400-2,500
Rice Swarna old (100 INR/KG) 2,700-2,800 2,700-2,800
Rice HMT new(100 INR/KG) 3,400-3,800 3,400-3,800
Rice HMT (100 INR/KG) 3,900-4,300 3,900-4,300
Rice HMT Shriram New(100 INR/KG) 4,300-4,500 4,300-4,500
Rice HMT Shriram old (100 INR/KG) 4,600-5,100 4,600-5,100
Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 8,000-10,000 8,000-10,000
Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 7,000-7,500 7,000-7,500
Rice Chinnor new (100 INR/KG) 4,500-4,900 4,500-4,900
Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG) 5,400-5,700 5,400-5,700
Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,350 2,100-2,350
Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 2,400-2,500 2,400-2,500
WEATHER (NAGPUR)
Maximum temp. 33.9 degree Celsius (93.0 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp.
25.2 degree Celsius (73.4 degree Fahrenheit)
Humidity: Highest - n.a., lowest - n.a.
Rainfall : 0.8 mm
FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky. Rains or thunder-showers likely. Maximum and minimum temperature
would be around and 29 and 25 degree Celsius respectively.
Note: n.a.--not available
(For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, butincluded in market prices.)
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/08/27/nagpur-foodgrain-idINL4N1123FM20150827
Venezuela’s Food Shortages: Hunger is a major
concern
By MAOLIS CASTRO And LA SIBUCARA, Venezuela—Hours after
they looted and set fire to a National Guard command post in this sun-baked
corner of Venezuela earlier this month, a mob infuriated by worsening food
shortages rammed trucks into the smoldering edifice, reducing it mostly to
rubble.The incident was just one of numerous violent clashes that have flared
in pockets around the country in recent weeks as Venezuelans wait for hours in
long supermarket lines for basics like milk and rice. Shortages have made
hunger a palpable concern for many Wayuu Indians who live here at the northern
tip of Venezuela’s 1,300-mile border with Colombia.
The soldiers had been deployed to stem rampant food smuggling
and price speculation, which President Nicolás Maduro blames for triple-digit
inflation and scarcity. But after they seize contraband goods, the troops
themselves often become targets of increasingly desperate people.“What’s
certain is that we are going very hungry here and the children are suffering a
lot,” said María Palma, a 55-year-old grandmother who on a recent blistering
hot day had been standing in line at the grocery store since 3 a.m. before
walking away empty-handed at midday.In a national survey, the pollster
Consultores 21 found 30% of Venezuelans eating two or fewer meals a day during
the second quarter of this year, up from 20% in the first quarter.
Around 70% of people in the study also said they had stopped
buying some basic food item because it had become unavailable or too
expensive.Food-supply problems in Venezuela underscore the increasingly
precarious situation for Mr. Maduro’s socialist government, which according to
the latest poll by Datanálisis is preferred by less than 20% of voters ahead of
Dec. 6 parliamentary elections. The critical situation threatens to plunge
South America’s largest oil exporter into a wave of civil unrest reminiscent of
last year’s nationwide demonstrations seeking Mr. Maduro’s ouster.“It’s a
national crisis,” said Marco Ponce, head of the Venezuela Observatory of Social
Conflict, noting that unlike the political protests of last year, residents are
now taking to the streets demanding social rights.
The nonprofit group recorded 500 protests over food shortages
during the first half of 2015, 56 looting incidents and dozens of attempted
lootings at grocery stores, pharmacies and warehouses. Even delivery trucks are
frequently targeted. “If people aren’t outside protesting, they’re outside
standing in line for goods,” Mr. Ponce said.The unrest is a response to
dramatically worsening living conditions for Venezuelans as the economy reels
from oil’s slump following more than a decade of populist spending that left
the government broke.
In past years, when oil prices were high, Venezuela’s leftist
government flooded markets with subsidized goods ranging from cooking oil to
diapers. It gave citizens in border towns like La Sibucara not only access to
cheap supplies, but also a source of income as many people trafficked
products—including nearly free gasoline—to neighboring Colombia, drawing
handsome profits.With the government now struggling to pay for imports, there
is less inventory to go around. In recent days, Mr. Maduro upped the ante by
ordering troops along the border to seize contraband, deporting hundreds of
Colombians whom the government blames for smuggling and shortages.
Armed soldiers monitor supermarkets as part of an effort the
president calls “Operation People’s Liberation.” More than 6,000 alleged
smugglers have been arrested this year, according to the attorney general’s office.
Images of soldiers posing with handcuffed suspects and stacks of decommissioned
goods are splashed on state media.“We’re going to get to the root of the
problem,” Mr. Maduro said in a national address last week after a shootout with
smugglers in the frontier state of Táchira left three National Guard troops
injured and pushed Venezuela to shut key border crossings.The smugglers
targeted by the government crackdown are called bachaqueros, named after a leaf-cutter ant
that can carry many times its weight. The word, first used here in the
northwestern state of Zulia, has become part of daily national parlance as a
label for Venezuelans who buy price-controlled goods and resell them for profit
on the black market.
While the government blames the shortages on bachaqueros, economists say they are the
consequence of price controls and a broken economic model that has left average
Venezuelans with diminishing employment options.“The people that used to give
us work—the private companies, the rich—have all gone,” said Ms. Palma in La
Sibucara, adding that she also occasionally traffics goods to get by. “It’s not
the greatest business but we don’t have work and we have to find a way to
eat.”Earlier this month, Venezuela’s military raided homes and warehouse around
the town, seizing tons of allegedly hoarded goods that were destined to leave
Venezuela or be resold on the black market for well above the state-set
price.Lisandro Uriana, who had a black eye and a bandaged leg, said he and two
friends were badly beaten up when a neighbor’s house was raided.
“They didn’t say or ask
us anything,” recalled the 46-year-old Wayuu father of four, who lives in a
tin-roofed house of two rooms. “They just beat us and we couldn’t defend
ourselves because they were armed and were many. I don’t even smuggle…and now I
can’t even get up to work.”The day of the raids, neighbors said residents
pleaded with troops at the National Guard command post to distribute seized
food to non-smugglers but were turned away. An angry mob soon formed, sending
soldiers fleeing before they attacked the office and even stripped it of scrap
metal.“These are just some isolated cases,” Manuel Graterol, a National Guard
general overseeing operations in La Sibucara on a recent day, said, blaming the
unrest and the bachaquerophenomenon on opponents of Mr.
Maduro’s government. “Many of them are being
shameless,” said Gen. Graterol. “They’re committing treason against our
country, taking food and crossing the border.”
But such food fights have broken out in numerous small
municipalities around the state of Zulia. In the nearby town of Sinamaica, the
ground floor of the mayor’s office was set on fire in early August following a
wave of unrest that included gangs looting delivery trucks. The unrest, locals
said, began after police detained a truck loaded with rice.Street vendor Robert
Guzmán, wearing a red pro-government T-shirt, said the sacking was justified.
“We are very peaceful people,” Mr. Guzmán said of his Wayuu community, “but
what happened was an act of desperation. I think this is going to get
worse.”Resident Yusleidy Márquez said she too fears the worst. The basket of
subsidized food the government gives her mother every 15 days only feeds her
family for two days. Lately, she only eats a cornmeal patty for lunch because
she can’t afford more.“I think we’re going to die of hunger,” she said.
LA
SIBUCARA, Venezuela—Hours after they looted and set fire to a National Guard
command post in this sun-baked corner of Venezuela earlier this month, a mob
infuriated by worsening food shortages rammed trucks into the smoldering
edifice, reducing it mostly to rubble.The incident was just one of numerous
violent clashes that have flared in pockets around the country in recent weeks
as Venezuelans wait for hours in long supermarket lines for basics like milk
and rice. Shortages have made hunger a palpable concern for many Wayuu Indians
who live here at the northern tip of Venezuela’s 1,300-mile border with
Colombia.The soldiers had been deployed to stem rampant food smuggling and
price speculation, which President Nicolás Maduro blames for triple-digit
inflation and scarcity. But after they seize contraband goods, the troops
themselves often become targets of increasingly desperate people.
“What’s
certain is that we are going very hungry here and the children are suffering a
lot,” said María Palma, a 55-year-old grandmother who on a recent blistering
hot day had been standing in line at the grocery store since 3 a.m. before
walking away empty-handed at midday.In a national survey, the pollster
Consultores 21 found 30% of Venezuelans eating two or fewer meals a day during
the second quarter of this year, up from 20% in the first quarter. Around 70%
of people in the study also said they had stopped buying some basic food item
because it had become unavailable or too expensive.
Food-supply problems in Venezuela underscore the increasingly
precarious situation for Mr. Maduro’s socialist government, which according to
the latest poll by Datanálisis is preferred by less than 20% of voters ahead of
Dec. 6 parliamentary elections. The critical situation threatens to plunge
South America’s largest oil exporter into a wave of civil unrest reminiscent of
last year’s nationwide demonstrations seeking Mr. Maduro’s ouster.“It’s a national
crisis,” said Marco Ponce, head of the Venezuela Observatory of Social
Conflict, noting that unlike the political protests of last year, residents are
now taking to the streets demanding social rights.The nonprofit group recorded
500 protests over food shortages during the first half of 2015, 56 looting
incidents and dozens of attempted lootings at grocery stores, pharmacies and
warehouses. Even delivery trucks are frequently targeted. “If people aren’t
outside protesting, they’re outside standing in line for goods,” Mr. Ponce
said.
The unrest is a response to dramatically worsening living
conditions for Venezuelans as the economy reels from oil’s slump following more
than a decade of populist spending that left the government broke.In past
years, when oil prices were high, Venezuela’s leftist government flooded
markets with subsidized goods ranging from cooking oil to diapers. It gave
citizens in border towns like La Sibucara not only access to cheap supplies,
but also a source of income as many people trafficked products—including nearly
free gasoline—to neighboring Colombia, drawing handsome profits.With the
government now struggling to pay for imports, there is less inventory to go
around. In recent days, Mr. Maduro upped the ante by ordering troops along the
border to seize contraband, deporting hundreds of Colombians whom the
government blames for smuggling and shortages.Armed soldiers monitor
supermarkets as part of an effort the president calls “Operation People’s
Liberation.
” More than 6,000 alleged smugglers have been arrested this
year, according to the attorney general’s office. Images of soldiers posing
with handcuffed suspects and stacks of decommissioned goods are splashed on
state media.“We’re going to get to the root of the problem,” Mr. Maduro said in
a national address last week after a shootout with smugglers in the frontier
state of Táchira left three National Guard troops injured and pushed Venezuela
to shut key border crossings.The smugglers targeted by the government crackdown
are called bachaqueros, named after a leaf-cutter ant
that can carry many times its weight. The word, first used here in the
northwestern state of Zulia, has become part of daily national parlance as a
label for Venezuelans who buy price-controlled goods and resell them for profit
on the black market.While the government blames the shortages on bachaqueros, economists say they are the
consequence of price controls and a broken economic model that has left average
Venezuelans with diminishing employment options.
“The people that used to give us work—the private companies, the
rich—have all gone,” said Ms. Palma in La Sibucara, adding that she also
occasionally traffics goods to get by. “It’s not the greatest business but we
don’t have work and we have to find a way to eat.”Earlier this month,
Venezuela’s military raided homes and warehouse around the town, seizing tons
of allegedly hoarded goods that were destined to leave Venezuela or be resold
on the black market for well above the state-set price.Lisandro Uriana, who had
a black eye and a bandaged leg, said he and two friends were badly beaten up
when a neighbor’s house was raided. “They didn’t say or ask us anything,”
recalled the 46-year-old Wayuu father of four, who lives in a tin-roofed house
of two rooms. “They just beat us and we couldn’t defend ourselves because they
were armed and were many.
I don’t even smuggle…and now I can’t even get up to work.”The
day of the raids, neighbors said residents pleaded with troops at the National
Guard command post to distribute seized food to non-smugglers but were turned
away. An angry mob soon formed, sending soldiers fleeing before they attacked
the office and even stripped it of scrap metal.“These are just some isolated
cases,” Manuel Graterol, a National Guard general overseeing operations in La
Sibucara on a recent day, said, blaming the unrest and the bachaquerophenomenon on opponents of Mr.
Maduro’s government. “Many of them are being shameless,” said Gen. Graterol.
“They’re committing treason against our country, taking food and crossing the
border.”
But such food fights have broken out in numerous small
municipalities around the state of Zulia. In the nearby town of Sinamaica, the
ground floor of the mayor’s office was set on fire in early August following a
wave of unrest that included gangs looting delivery trucks. The unrest, locals
said, began after police detained a truck loaded with rice.Street vendor Robert
Guzmán, wearing a red pro-government T-shirt, said the sacking was justified.
“We are very peaceful people,” Mr. Guzmán said of his Wayuu community, “but
what happened was an act of desperation. I think this is going to get
worse.”Resident Yusleidy Márquez said she too fears the worst. The basket of
subsidized food the government gives her mother every 15 days only feeds her
family for two days. Lately, she only eats a cornmeal patty for lunch because
she can’t afford more.“I think we’re going to die of hunger,” she said.
Rice Field Day: Growers get up close with industry-funded
research
Rice farmers, researchers, breeders and more come together to learn
about the newest developments in rice for the annual Rice Field Day on
Wednesday at the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs
By Heather Hacking, Chico Enterprise-Record
POSTED: 08/26/15, 8:04 PM PDT | UPDATED: 1 DAY AGO 0 COMMENTS
Ben Ferreira looks at a variety of rice during the annual Rice
Field Day on Wednesday at the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs. Emily Bertolino
— Mercury Register
Biggs >>
This summer has been rough for rice farmers with nearly 30 percent of the
statewide rice acreage left to bare, open ground.Yet, cutbacks on water did not
keep hundreds of rice farmers from attending the traditional summer
get-together — Rice Field Day.Once a year, growers converge on the research
farm, where scientists hand-plant more than 40 acres, keeping carefully
cross-bred plants separate from other plants.
The goal is to
develop improved plants that will provide better yield, disease resistance,
cooking quality and other factors.Farmers pay a small amount per bag of
harvested rice, and that money funds the experiment station and
researchers.During the drought, less rice was grown, which meant a decreased
flow of money to the research station.Experiment Station director Kent McKenzie
said his operation was fortunate that some funding from a tariff settlement has
been used to offset the lost financial support.
For the past
several years, the California Rice Research Board has received funding from a
tariff agreement with Colombia, Seth Fiack, chairman of the Rice Research
Board, explained. Rice buyers bid for the right to buy California rice. The
treaty allows for a phase-in of duty-free access to U.S. rice over time. Yet,
for now a few million dollars are divided among rice-growing states each year.
The funding
came just in time, and has been used to ensure the Biggs experiment station is
fully-funded.McKenzie said the research center also could have had problems
this year due to lack of water. Like many landowners who receive surface water,
the Biggs experiment station had cutbacks of 50 percent.The stations has a
well, but that did not provide enough water to keep all of the research plants
alive.McKenzie said some nearby landowners through Richvale Irrigation District
provided the needed water, and all of the research plants were maintained.
GROWING
TENACITY
The Rice
Experiment Station recently passed the 100-year mark. Tim Johnson, president of
the California Rice Commission said he is always impressed by the tenacity of
the rice industry.After four years of drought, acreage in the state is down 30
percent, with 175,000 few acres planted.A key goal of the breeding program is
to develop even better types of rice.Calrose is the mainstay medium-grain rice
grown in the Sacramento Valley. Most growers opt for one of just a handful of
seed types, depending on their specific growing conditions.Early this year, the
board of directors approved a new Calrose named M-209, which matures early, is
semi-dwarf and has high yield.One drawback is that the variety can be damaged
in cold temperatures and more of the kernels may not mature in cooler weather.
SHARING
KNOWLEDGE
A big part of
Rice Field Day is for growers to learn more about their industry, especially if
that information will help them grow more or better rice. One highlight of Rice
Field Day is the ride through the 3,000 experimental rice plots. Farmers pile
into the back of oversized pickup trucks.
Julie Tillman
was at the event to share information about the University of California’s new
Rice Online website, http://rice.ucanr.edu.One feature is a map that shows
early and very early rice field test results in different parts of the valley.
This can be important because one type of rice plant may perform slightly
better or worse in slightly different climates.For example, the M-206 did best
in Colusa County over the past four years. In Butte County, early M-209 has
done very well the past three years.
PRAISE FOR
FARMERS
The annual
event is also a time to honor those who stand out in the industry.
The group
managed to surprise Tim Kelleher.Organizers asked Kelleher to present the Rice
Industry Award to Dr. C. Lorenzo Pope, who worked as a private rice researcher
in Glenn County for 39 years.After Pope’s award was given, Kelleher was
announced as a another recipient.Kelleher is an attorney, who was instrumental
in helping farmer-friendly provisions in the latest version of the Farm Bill,
McKenzie said.
Contact reporter Heather Hacking at 896-7758.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Heather Hacking
Reporter Heather Hacking focuses on water and agriculture, as well
as many other community topics. Her column, which is mostly about gardening,
appears on Fridays. She has been writing for the Enterprise-Record since 1992.
Reach the author at hhacking@chicoer.com or follow Heather on Twitter:
@HeatherHacking.
Nigeria: Why Korea Takes Rice Production As National Security
Strategy
26 AUGUST 2015
By Ibrahim Kabiru Sule
Seoul — Rice is the most famous, widespread food staple in the
Republic of Korea, and its local production was enough to feed the 50 million
population of the country for the past 50 years.Korean farmers, who
traditionally receive government's incentives in the provision of electricity,
irrigation water, grow rice in all seasons, but they usually plant it in April
of every year and harvest it in late September or early October.However, the
production of the food commodity, despite its large consumption, goes beyond
serving the mere penchant of rice consumption, but is taken by government to
form part of its national security strategy against possible future starvation.
The Korean peninsula is surrounded by water and since after the
1945 division of the peninsula into North and South, the precarious
relationship between the two neighbours made the latter to adopt the production
of rice with even greater seriousness.And to encourage domestic production for
self-efficiency, Korea developed its own rice seed and a severe sanction was
promulgated for either import or export of the commodity, ever since, with
about 400 percent tariff on rice importation, according to Professor Hank Young
Sung of the Seoul University.
He said: "Rice is critically sensitive in Korea. That is why
we have as high as 400 percent of tariff on rice. The reason is that Korea is
like an Ireland."North Korea, our enemy, has made South Korea like an
Ireland with no more links to any country."Therefore, in case of any war,
rice is being preserved to guard against starvation. Rice markets in Korea do
not have to compete with other markets like Thailand due to, as I said, the 400
percent tariff."South Korea is 70 percent mountains, only about 19,240
km2, representing 19.4 percent of the total land is arable, suitable for
farming, but the country was able to achieve self-sufficiency in rice
production in 1977.
Foreigners have been banned from owning farmlands to protect
small-scale farmers. Due to land shortage, the average ownership of farmlands
in Korea is 1.5 hectres, but large-scale agricultural industries are only
allowed to own not more than 10 hectres.In the early 1980s, the country adopted
an "Agricultural Policy in Rapid Economic Growth", which aimed at
increasing food production and modernising the production process.Three areas
were the main focus: creation and consolidation of farmlands, dissemination of
agricultural technologies and high rice price policy.
Consequently, the formation of major rice production areas became
evident and widespread in all parts of the country.This was attested to by
the16-member Nigeria delegation, in Seoul, during a countryside 6-hour journey
from the capital city to Ulsan industrial city, last week.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201508271063.html
Haiti drought cuts harvests, lifts prices,
food crisis looms: WFP
BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A severe drought in Haiti
has led to acute water shortages, shriveled harvests and raised food prices,
weakening the fragile food supply and worsening hunger among the poor, the U.N.
World Food Programme (WFP) said.The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti
already struggles to feed its population of 10.4 million, and 600,000 Haitians
already rely on international food aid to survive, the WFP says."Thirty
percent of the population is moving into food insecurity. That means families
are having reduced ability to purchase food and have had to reduce their
calorie intake. Families are now having fewer and smaller meals," said
Wendy Bigham, WFP's deputy country director in Haiti.
The drought, linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon, has
gripped other parts of the Caribbean and Central America as well as Haiti, and
is expected to last until early next year. "This is the third year in a
row with below average rainfall. The drought is especially severe this year and
all departments across Haiti are affected," Bigham told the Thomson
Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview in the Haitian capital
Port-au-Prince.By February next year, it is likely that "at least one in
five households in Haiti will face significant food consumption gaps with high
or above usual acute malnutrition," according toan August report by the
Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), a service run by the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID).Half of Haiti's population live on
less than $1 a day and many Haitians spend the bulk of their income on food.
Even a slight increase in food prices can make hundreds of thousands of
Haitians too poor to buy enough food.
The depreciation of the Haitian gourde has contributed to the
rise in the price of staple foods such as rice, maize and beans.Prices have
shot up "by as much as 60 percent" since April, Bigham said.Poor
harvests caused by low rainfall have also meant fewer jobs in the agricultural
sector, which provides around 50 percent of all jobs in Haiti, putting more
pressure on families."If El Nino continues and we don't have a good next
harvest at around the end of this year, then the situation will quickly
deteriorate and we will see many families falling into a (food) crisis
situation. The outlook isn't good," said Bigham.In June, the government
asked the international aid community to help in drought-hit areas, including
cash-for-work schemes to inject money into the local economy, sending in water
tanks and drilling new water wells."It's quite serious when the government
needs to call the international community to come in," said Bigham.
The drought has also affected school meals, which make up the
country's largest food safety net, provided mainly by the WFP which feeds
around 500,000 children a year.In May and June, WFP school meals could not be
provided in around 20 percent of schools in Haiti's southeast and northeast
provinces because of a lack of clean water to cook meals in.(Reporting By
Anastasia Moloney, editing by Tim Pearce. Please credit the Thomson Reuters
Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian
news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit www.trust.org)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/26/us-haiti-drought-idUSKCN0QV24R20150826
Fisher Delta Research Center to hold 54th annual Field Day Sept.
2
Annual event to provide information on Delta crops, soils, weeds
Aug 27, 2015Delta
Farm Press
“We have a fabulous team
and a great group of researchers,” said Trent Haggard, director of the Center.
“During this field day, you will get to see the highlights of their research,
which covers the newest and hottest topics in agriculture.”
Andrea Jones will discuss cotton variety trials during this year's
Fisher Delta Research Center field day.
PPO inhibitor resistance, Enlist Duo, Roundup Ready Xtend,
Engenia, Provisia, Rinskor Active, Priaxor, chalkiness, Acuron, pollinators,
neonicotinoids, soil moisture sensors, surge valves, flow meters, rice
fertility….
Those are just a few examples of the new terminologies farmers
are having to deal with these days. Fortunately, land-grant universities such
as the University of Missouri are offering farmers the opportunity to learn
more about them and what they can mean for their operations in the years ahead.The
54th annual Fisher Delta Research Center Field Day, one of a number of such
facilities operated by the University of Missouri, will attempt to help farmers
wade through the changes the changes that are rapidly occurring in agriculture
with discussions on several agricultural topics.
Rice, cotton, corn and soybeans will also be discussed during
the Sept. 2 field day at the Fisher Center, which is located near Portageville
in the Missouri Bootheel. Tours run from 8:30 a.m. to 1:10 p.m.“We have a
fabulous team and a great group of researchers,” said Trent Haggard, director
of the Center. “During this field day, you will get to see the highlights of
their research, which covers the newest and hottest topics in agriculture.”While
the Delta Research Center does share some similarities to other regions of
Missouri, the land more closely resembles western Tennessee, eastern Arkansas
and western Mississippi.
The theme for the 2015 Field Day – “Delta Agriculture on the
Move” – pertains to the entire Delta.“Our research always relates to the entire
Delta region,” Haggard said. “The Delta and Missouri boot heel have extremely
prolific soils. It’s a hyper-productive area.”Corn, beans, rice, cotton, wheat
and milo can all be found in the Delta. FDRC’s Field Day will take a look at
most of them.Gene Stevens, plant sciences professor, will present on impacting
yield through variable rate seed, fertilizer and irrigation regimes. Stevens
will also have a second presentation on using a smartphone app to manage your
irrigation needs.Both presentations will be during the corn and pollinator
tour. Moneen Jones and Bob Walters will also present on new initiatives to
benefit the overall health of bee colonies, as well as the many crops that bees
pollinate.
Matt Rhine, research associate, and David Dunn, soil and tissue
lab associate, will both speak on the impact of rice.“The rice tour will
highlight the University of Missouri rice variety trials, research on
chalkiness in rice and proper potash management,” Haggard said.Grover Shannon,
professor of plant sciences, and Andrew Scaboo, senior research scientist, will
showcase upcoming soybean releases to enhance Delta producers’ productivity and
profitability.“At this year’s field day, we are sharing our work on variable
rate irrigation, stewardship of fertilizer in several crops and assisting the
local bee population,” Haggard said. “That work is just a small sample of ways
our research continue to enhance our natural resources.”The FDRC field day will
also include three presentations on cotton and weed science. From variety
trials to new weed technologies, numerous topics will be covered.
“The cotton and weed tour will highlight the newest varieties
for cotton, along with the new weed technology available to maximize cotton
revenue and minimize weed drag,” Haggard said.
For more information on the Delta Center or the field day, call
573-379-5431 or emailHaggardT@missouri.edu.
You can also visit their website at http://delta.cafnr.org/.
http://deltafarmpress.com/cotton/fisher-delta-research-center-hold-54th-annual-field-day-sept-2
COLUMN-Currency moves to tag-team El Nino in
Asia rice markets: Russell
Clyde Russell is a Reuters columnist. The views expressed are
his own.
By Clyde Russell
Aug 28 (Reuters) - Market wisdom is that Asian rice prices are
set to rally as El Nino cuts output and bulging stockpiles are steadily eroded.There's
nothing wrong with this view, but as is often the case there are some
offsetting factors that make a strong rally far from a sure thing, as can be
seen by recent price movements in the grain, the staple for some two-thirds of
the world's population.Benchmark Thai 5-percent broken white rice RI-THBKN5-P1
staged a 10 percent rally from a 7 1/2-year low of $367.50 a tonne on June 24
to a recent peak of $405 on July 17.
However, since then, it has dropped back to a fresh low of
$362.50 a tonne on Aug. 27, making the rally very short-lived.
Part of this is the general malaise that has roiled most
commodity markets, but part is also that buyers have been demanding lower
prices because of the depreciation of the Thai baht.The baht has lost 10
percent of its value against the U.S. dollar since its 2015 closing high of
32.33 in April to Thursday's close of 35.64.The fall in the baht has caused the
baht price of rice to whipsaw about, but overall it is down about 6 percent so
far this year, or less than half the 13.3 drop in dollar terms.
It's much the same situation for Thailand's regional competitor
in rice exports, Vietnam, which has seen its currency, the dong, slip 6.7
percent against the dollar from the year high in early February to the close of
22,534 on Thursday.
Vietnamese 5-percent broken white rice RI-VNBKN-P1 has
surrendered 12.9 percent so far this year to $337.50 a tonne, but is down only
8.2 percent in local currency terms.With the outlook for ongoing dollar gains,
especially against emerging market currencies, the chances are that buyers will
apply additional pressure on sellers to keep prices low in dollar terms.
EL NINO LOOMS
But what of El Nino, the weather phenomenon that brings dry, hot
weather to Southeast Asia and Australia, but wetter conditions to North America.Weather
forecasters have been upping their predictions for a strong El Nino, which
would last into next year and most likely cut output of rice, as well as that
of Australian wheat, soybeans in India and corn in China.Any rice production
shortfall will have to be made up from stockpiles, but how much more rice is
likely to be needed and will it be enough to significantly dent Thailand's rice
mountain, built up by the ousted government as part of its generous support
measures for farmers?
Indonesia, traditionally a rice importer but trying hard to
become self-sufficient, still expects to increase its harvest by 7 percent in
2015 despite El Nino.However, El Nino may delay rice crops and lead to imports
of as much as 1.6 million tonnes this year, according to analysts, a step that
would help curb rising domestic rice prices, already the second-highest in
Southeast Asia.The Philippines, another heavy importer, also plans to boost
domestic rice production in 2016, but will import more in 2015 to meet a shortfall
in this year's output.The government has already bought 750,000 tonnes this
year and may import another 250,000 before the end of the year. Private traders
may add as much as 805,200 tonnes by Nov. 30, subject to a 35 percent tariff.
China's early season rice output dropped 0.9 percent to 33.69
million tonnes in 2015 from a year earlier, according to official figures,
raising the possibility of higher imports by the world's second-biggest
economy.While it seems likely that Asia's top importers will increase
purchases, there is still the question of large stockpiles that need to be
worked through.Thailand's 13-million tonne rice mountain may actually contain
only about 9 million tonnes of edible rice because of spoiling from long
storage periods, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).The
FAO also says that inventories have been dropping steadily in the world's five
biggest exporters, after strong shipments in 2014, and the stock-to-use ratio,
the level of inventories relative to domestic consumption and exports, will
drop to 19 percent in 2015/16, the lowest since 2007/08.
This indicates a tightening of supply, but still suggests there
is plenty of rice available even as El Nino makes its presence felt.While rice
prices should rise, the chances are that the process won't be even and will be
influenced by currency movements, with those exporters experiencing stronger
depreciation against the dollar likely to seek to maximise their advantage.
(Editing byMichael Perry)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/28/column-russell-rice-asia-idUSL4N1131M620150828
APEDA
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USA Rice Daily
USA Rice Continues
Rice Industry Visits, Participates in Annual Field Day
Lundberg Family Farms CEO Grant Lundberg (l) and Dow Brantley
BIGGS, CA - Yesterday, USA Rice Chairman Dow Brantley continued his
California rice industry visit at the California Rice Experiment Station's
annual field day held here. Brantley and USA Rice President and CEO Betsy Ward
provided educational resources for attendees on behalf of USA Rice and visited
the wide range of rice test plots throughout the station. Following the field
day, Brantley met with Grant Lundberg, CEO of Lundberg Family Foods in
Richvale, California to discuss relevant industry issues and to tour the
processing facilities and company headquarters.
The California visit wrapped up with a trip to the rice farming
operations of USA Rice Council Chair Sean Doherty in Dunnigan, and USA Rice
Farmers Conservation Committee Chair Leo LaGrande in Williams.
"I'm pleased we were able to participate in a California field
day again and that our chairman was able to take time away from his operations
in Arkansas to visit with California leaders," said Ward. "It's that
grower-to-grower contact across a wide geography that strengthens our industry
and is, I believe, one of the primary functions of USA Rice."Brantley
thought the time away from his farm was well spent. "I was able to meet
with members from every sector of the industry out here - farmers, millers,
merchants, and spend time with the chairman of the USA Rice Council. It was
eye-opening to see the California operations - to see what they are doing
differently than us in the south and hear first hand about the sometimes unique
challenges they are facing here. I was happy to share insights into what we are
doing and dealing with in the south, and Betsy and I will take back what we
learned here. It's a win-win for us all."
Contact: Peter Bachmann
(703) 236-1475
National Rice Month
Spotlight: PF Chang's Participates in RiceGiving
Second in a series of three articles this week highlighting
upcoming
USA Rice National Rice Month promotions
RiceGiving
Visit P.F. Chang's and receive this RiceGiving card at your table
ARLINGTON, VA - Consumers across the country have another reason to
be excited about National Rice Month - they can have their rice and give it
too. New this year, USA Rice is partnering with P.F. Chang's, a major user of
U.S.-grown rice, to raise awareness about rice grown in the USA and to help
those in need.
All month long, P.F. Chang's and USA Rice will partner to present
RiceGiving -a new program that will donate a serving of U.S.-grown rice to a
local food pantry for every rice entrée ordered by P.F. Chang's guests. Created
by USA Rice and leveraging the national food bank network of Feeding America,
the RiceGiving program is expected to donate as much as 100,000 pounds of U.S.
rice - that's one million servings!
PF Changs
Stay tuned to see the RiceGiving video on USA Rice's Facebook &
Twitter!
P.F. Chang's will promote the RiceGiving program to their patrons
both in their 210 restaurants, and online to their nearly one million social
media followers and newsletter subscribers. They will also use a dedicated
webpage to explain RiceGiving, featuring a two minute video provided by USA
Rice.
"We are honored to invite our guests to join in this important
cause by dining to donate," said Michael Osanloo, Chief Executive Officer
of P.F. Chang's. "Thanks to our loyal customers, we will be able to help
put food on the table for many American families."
Betsy Ward, USA Rice
President and CEO, is also enthusiastic about the program: "We cannot
imagine a better restaurant partner for National Rice Month than P.F. Chang's.
Already committed to great food and the highest quality rice, P.F. Chang's is
also demonstrating its commitment to America's family rice farmers. We look
forward to working together to support these farmers and those in need through
our RiceGiving program."
Contact: Katie Maher (703)
236-1453
Weekly Rice Sales,
Exports Reported
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WASHINGTON, DC -- Net sales of 33,500 MT for 2015/2016 were
reported for Venezuela (29,500 MT, including 30,000 MT switched from unknown
destinations and decreases of 500 MT), Mexico (11,000 MT), South Korea (5,400
MT), and Haiti (4,100 MT), according to today's Export Sales Highlights. Decreases were reported for unknown destinations
(28,000 MT) and Taiwan (1,100 MT). Exports of 89,900 MT were reported
to Venezuela (29,500 MT), Colombia (14,300 MT), Honduras (11,300 MT), Mexico
(9,600 MT), and Haiti (7,100 MT).
Exports for Own Account: New exports for own account
totaling 100 MT were reported to Canada. Exports for own account
totaling 100 MT to Canada were applied to new or outstanding sales. The
current export for own account balance is 400 MT, all Canada.
This summary is based on reports from exporters from the period
August 14-20, 2015.
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Weekly Rice Sales,
Exports Reported
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WASHINGTON, DC -- Net sales of 33,500 MT for 2015/2016 were
reported for Venezuela (29,500 MT, including 30,000 MT switched from unknown
destinations and decreases of 500 MT), Mexico (11,000 MT), South Korea (5,400
MT), and Haiti (4,100 MT), according to today's Export Sales Highlights.
Decreases were reported for unknown destinations (28,000 MT) and Taiwan
(1,100 MT). Exports of 89,900 MT were reported to Venezuela (29,500
MT), Colombia (14,300 MT), Honduras (11,300 MT), Mexico (9,600 MT), and Haiti
(7,100 MT).
Exports for Own Account: New exports for own account
totaling 100 MT were reported to Canada. Exports for own account
totaling 100 MT to Canada were applied to new or outstanding sales. The
current export for own account balance is 400 MT, all Canada.
This summary is based on reports from exporters from the period
August 14-20, 2015.
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Egypt bans rice exports as of September 1
Thu Aug 27, 2015 10:59am GMT
Thursday's statement said any export licenses granted according to
the 2014 allowance could still be used.In October Egypt said it would allow the
export of rice on condition that traders sell the government one tonne of rice
at 2,000 Egyptian pounds ($255.43)for every tonne of rice they export.
Exporters also had to pay a tariff of $280 on every tonne exported.Egypt
produced around 4.3 million tonnes of rice in the 2014 season.Egyptian medium
grain rice mainly competes with U.S., Russian and Italian rice on the
international market.Traders had argued the tariff imposed made exports
non-profitable. [ID:nL5N0VJ0FD]Egypt first imposed a ban on exports in 2008
saying it needed to save the rice for local consumption and wanted to discourage
rice farmers from growing the crop to save water.Rice exporters have complained
that the ban on free exports has led to illicit trading.
($1 = 7.8300 Egyptian pounds)
(Reporting By Ehab Farouk; Writing By Maha El Dahan, editing by
William Hardy)
Aroma India Bistro, Restaurant Review: Pappadam and
people-watching
Uttam Maharjan, seen at Aroma India Bistro in Downtown Santa Cruz,
is the restaurant's head chef. (Kevin Johnson -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Aroma India Bistro
POSTED: 08/25/15, 3:06 PM PDT
Aroma
India Bistro was opened on July 1 by Surya Raj Shrestha, Uttam Maharjan, Tul
Bahadur Gurung and Sanjay Lacoul. The partners, who all have extensive
restaurant-business experience, also own Planet Gemini in Monterey.Co-owner and
executive chef Maharjan has been in the food industry for nearly 16 years. He
ran a successful Indian restaurant in Dubai for seven years, he said, and
worked at Ambrosia India Bistro in Aptos for the past six years.‘We are really
serious and dedicated when it comes to food and service,’ says Shrestha. ‘We
make fresh sauces everyday and use a perfect amount of authentic Indian spices
in all the dishes. And we also make our own samosa.’
Some of
the most popular dishes at the 75-seat restaurant include Butter Chicken, Lamb
Korma, Prawn Curry and Baingan Bharta, Shrestha notes. ‘My own favourite dishes
are Samosa, of course, and Tandoori Chicken, Okra Fry and Aroma India Thali.’He
adds, ‘All of our foods are made fresh in the house and we use nothing frozen
or leftover. No exception.’SANTA CRUZ >> Second to barbecue grilling, the
smell of Indian cooking may be my favorite food aroma: curry, cinnamon,
cardamom, saffron. So I was intrigued with the idea of a restaurant being named
Aroma India Bistro.When Ruth and I stepped over the threshold of Aroma, I
stopped and appreciatively inhaled the rich blend of spices. Never trust a
barbecue place or Indian restaurant that doesn’t pull you in by your nose.The
polite, smiling waiter invited us to choose a table; we decided on a spot by
the front window, which offered excellent seats to watch the ever-changing
entertainment of Pacific Avenue.
Because
there was no wine list, I simply asked for white wine and our waiter brought
two glasses of the house white, Seven Daughters Chardonnay 2013 ($5.95). He
also brought complimentary pappadam and three chutneys: one hot, one sweet and
one mint-based. The pappadam, or lentil wafers, were paper-thin, crisp and
nutty; breaking off pieces, we dipped them in the sauces and compared the
flavors.Our favorite was the hot chutney, red-orange and chunky with crisp
pieces of jalapeño, cauliflower and carrot. The sweet sauce was a little thin
but its flavor was good; the somewhat bland mint chutney needed lime juice or
another acid.
Aroma’s
menu presented a nice assortment of dishes including some breads not often
offered. We decided on Kabuli Naan ($2.95), a tandoor-baked fresh bread stuffed
with fruit and nuts, and two entrees: Tandoori Mix ($19.95) and Butter Chicken
($11.95), a “house recommendation.”
Then we
waited. And waited. The restaurant was not busy, just a few tables, and a long
time passed. We noticed that a couple who had come in behind us were halfway
through their meal.Just when we were thinking of asking about the delay, our
wait was forgotten with the dramatic appearance of the Tandoori Mix. Our waiter
was almost hidden by the cloud of aromatic smoke pouring from the marinated
grilled meats piled high on the sizzling-hot tray.In general, I don’t like
dishes that smoke or steam; I never order fajitas. Call it a quirk. But thank
goodness I didn’t anticipate the tandoori haze, or this excellent dish might
not have made it to our table.
Every
bite seemed better than the one before as Ruth and I sampled and exclaimed over
each of the meats mounded upon a thick bed of slivered grilled onions. We
yummed our way through Seekh Kabab (spiced minced lamb), Chicken Tikki
(super-juicy pieces of chicken breast marinated
in spiced yogurt), Boti Kabab (pieces of lamb), Basa (fish filet) and two dark
meat pieces of red-tinged Tandoori Chicken.Everything
has a distinct flavor and texture,” said Ruth.
All of the meats were delectable, but the two wonderfully
flavorful lamb items were our favorites, followed closely by the Chicken Tikki.
The fish was pleasant, though very mild. Our pieces of Tandoori Chicken could
have been a little moister; but every other type of meat was extremely juicy,
perhaps because of the underlayer of grilled onions (that were also delicious).
Although served in an attractive metal bowl and topped with
strips of fresh ginger, our Butter Chicken wasn’t nearly as striking as the
Tandoori Mix. However, the beautiful red color of the sauce made a gorgeous
pairing with the brilliantly yellow saffron rice. The fiery hue was misleading;
this dish is actually quite mild. We found the pieces of pulled chicken tasty
and tender but I thought the sauce, though rich and satisfying, was a little
salty and over-heavy on tomato.
Our Kabuli Naan was a surprise. The hot, soft bread was aromatic
and appealing — I’d order it again – but inside where we expected to see bits
of nuts and fruit stuffed in the bread, instead we found a paste made with
ground nuts and fruit, the cherry flavor and color predominating. However, the
preparation was novel and the subtly sweet flavor complemented our savory food.
Oddly, the bread was served in a plastic basket (as was the pappadam). In a
restaurant with linen tablecloths and napkins, a less informal container seemed
in order.
Just when dinner seemed to be over, our smiling waiter delivered
cups of complimentary Indian rice pudding, or kheer. Ruth wasn’t crazy about
the thin, milky dessert filled with bits of basmati rice and tinged with
cardamom. But I thought it was a refreshing way to end the rich meal. This
wasn’t American pudding — but then British pudding isn’t, either.
Aroma India Bistro is a bit of a mixed bag. The table settings
are attractive and upscale — but the appetizer and bread were served in plastic
containers. Our service was very polite and friendly — however, we experienced
an extended and unexplained delay in receiving our food.
This new addition to lower Pacific Avenue definitely deserves a
visit. The menu offered some interesting items, the setting was appealing and
the Tandoori Mix was outstanding.
Ann Parker welcomes comments, feedback and suggestions about
reviews for area restaurants. Contact her at atparker@pacbell.net.
Download/View
On-Line the above News in pdf format,just click the following link
santa Cruz sentinel
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