Tuesday, December 29, 2015

28th December 2015 Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine-Latest Rice News Updates

Today Rice News Headlines...
Ø  Rice to be included in stockholding, safeguard
Ø  Antibiotic Thermogel To Prevent Infections In Facial Implants
Ø  We Are Not Into Smuggling Of Rice – Maifata
Ø  Cambodia. Slight Decline in Rice Production in 2015
Ø  Rice farmers looking at dry spell
Ø  Indonesia to See Longer Famine as Grand Harvest Delayed
Ø  Vietnam's rice crops yield higher despite El Nino
Ø  After bumper paddy crop, Punjab seeks more funds from RBI
Ø  Liberia: Rice Yield Pleases Nimba Farmers
Ø  Rabi rice production in current fiscal is expected to be higher by 3.5%
Ø  Nigeria: Senate to Probe Alleged N117 Billion Rice Import Scam
Ø  Rice miller urges campaign to cut food waste
Ø  Indonesia still needs to import food in 2016
Ø  PRESIDENT KOROMA OF SIERRA LEONE SACKS SENIOR MINISTERS
Ø  Organic agriculture key to Bicol’s sterling achievements in rice production
Ø  Moving rice mountain by 2017 seen as struggle
Ø  Commodity Report-December 29
Ø  Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open-Dec 28
Ø  Arkansas Farm Bureau Daily Commodity Report

News Detail...

Rice basmati slides on sluggish demand

Press Trust of India  |  New Delhi December 26, 2015 Last Updated at 13:32 IST
Rice basmati slides on muted demandRice basmati falls on sluggish demandRising demand lift basmati rice pricesRice basmati edges up on scattered demandWheat, rice basmati strengthen as demand picks up.Rice basmati prices fell up to Rs 200 per quintal at the wholesale grains market today owing to slack demand from retailers. However, other grains continued to trade in a narrow range in limited deals and settled around previous levels. Marketmen said muted demand against adequate stocks positions mainly kept pressure on rice basmati prices. In the national capital,rice basmati common and Pusa-1121 variety drifted by Rs 200 and Rs 100 to Rs 5,600-5,700 and Rs 4,300-5,000 per quintal respectively.
Following are today's quotations (in Rs per quintal):
Wheat MP (desi) Rs 2,000-2,600, Wheat dara (for mills) Rs 1,675-1,705, Chakki atta (delivery) Rs 1,705-1,720, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) Rs 230, Shakti Bhog (10 kg) Rs 230, Roller flour mill Rs 880-885 (50 kg), Maida Rs 935-940 (50 kg) and Sooji Rs 1,040-1,045 (50 kg).
Basmati rice (Lal Quila) Rs 10,700, Shri Lal Mahal Rs 11,300, Super Basmati Rice Rs 9,700, Basmati common new Rs 5,600-5,700, Rice Pusa (1121) Rs 4,300-5,000, Permal raw Rs 1,950-2,000, Permal wand Rs 2,200-2,275, Sela Rs 2,750-2,850 and Rice IR-8 Rs 1,700-1,720, Bajra Rs 1,380-1,385, Jowar yellow Rs 1,550-1,650, white Rs 3,050-3,150, Maize Rs 1,630-1,650, Barley Rs 1,450-1,460.http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/rice-basmati-slides-on-sluggish-demand-115122600205_1.html
Wheat has been sown/transplanted in 259.37 lakh hectares, pulses in 125.95 lakh hectares, coarse cereals in 52.94 lakh hectares. Area sown under oilseeds is 69.64 lakh hectares and Rice is 12.17 lakh hectares.
28 Dec 2015
Commodity Online

India's Rabi sowing area has crossed 520 lakh hectares, according to Government data. "As per preliminary reports received from the States, the total area sown under Rabi crops as on 23rd  December, 2015 stands at 520.07 lakh hectares," an official notification stated.

Wheat has been sown/transplanted in 259.37 lakh hectares, pulses in 125.95 lakh hectares, coarse cereals in 52.94 lakh hectares. Area sown under oilseeds is 69.64 lakh hectares and Rice is 12.17 lakh hectares.
Industry body ASSOCHAM has recently warned that export crisis has tightened its grip over India's agri sector also. In November,2015 coffee exports were down by 10.82 per cent, spices by 15.75%, cotton yarn , fabs made ups by 18%, as per ASSOCHAM data
http://www.commodityonline.com/news/india-rabi-crops-sowing-crosses-520-lakh-hectares-68974-3-68975.html
This new climate-friendly rice has been named one of 2015's top scientific developments
Virtually no greenhouse gas emissions and a higher yield.
DAVID NIELD
28 DEC 2015
Just as climate change threatens to affect the way we live in the future, our choices can also contribute to global warming, including what we decide to eat on a daily basis. So scientists are developing a new environmentally friendly rice variety that's now been recognised as one of the most important breakthroughs of the year.The genetically modified SUSIBA2 rice gives off virtually no greenhouse gas emissions while growing, and has been developed by a team of scientists spread across three continents.

Key to the new growing process is the elimination of methane production: it's one of the biggest contributors to the greenhouse gas effect, and 7 to 17 percent of total methane emissions are estimated to come from the rice paddies of the world. If that percentage can be significantly reduced, the impact could be huge - methane is around 20 times more effective at trapping heat in Earth's atmosphere than carbon dioxide.Scientists from the US Department of Energy and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences identified a barley gene that controls how the plant produces carbon, and then figured out how to splice that gene into rice.

This process altered the way the rice uses carbon pulled in from the atmosphere, sending more of it into the grain and stems and less into the roots.As a result, the amount of starch and the yield of the rice increased, and less carbon is made available to the roots - carbon that's ultimately converted to methane and is now used by bacteria instead."This is a win-win finding," said Christer Jansson from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, part of the US Department of Energy. "The process results in reduced methane emissions, which helps to mitigate climate change, and also results in more biomass - more food.

This dual effect is very positive."The research, which was published earlier this year in Nature, has been awarded the Grand Award in Popular Science's Best Of What's New 2015 contest.Our love of rice isn't going to go away anytime soon, with more than half the world's population incorporating it as part of their regular diet. After promising field tests that were run in China, the researchers now want to see how their genetically modified rice responds to cultivation. For now, there's no estimate on when it might become commercially available.

ScienceAler

Rice to be included in stockholding, safeguard 
schemes

Khoirul Amin, The Jakarta Post | Business | Mon, December 28 2015, 5:19 PM
Business News
The government is set to propose that the nation’s staple food be included in public stockholding and be protected by a special safeguard mechanism. The proposal is set to be discussed at the next World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting, a senior official from the Trade Ministry has said. Trade Ministry director general for international trade cooperation Bachrul Chairi said recently that Indonesia would propose rice for a public stockholding scheme and for a special safeguard mechanism (SSM) for agricultural products.

 “For the public stockholding, we’ll include rice. For SSM, we’ll propose 12 agricultural products and plantation commodities, including rice,” he said. Agricultural and plantation products like crude palm oil (CPO), beans and chili were among the other commodities that the government planned to propose for the SSM, he went on to say. Public stockholding refers to the policy of developing nations buying agricultural products from their farmers and then stockpiling them to ensure national food security. 

The scheme is currently allowed under the WTO system, but it is limited to only 10 percent of total crops.
 The SSM, meanwhile, is meant to provide an easier mechanism for developing countries to implement safeguard measures in the form of import duties for certain agricultural products. The SSM may be carried out if there are unusual import volumes or prices of certain commodities move outside of a normal bracket. Both public stockholding and SSM were originally proposed by developing nations in former WTO negotiations.During a WTO ministerial meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, that lasted from Dec. 15 to Dec. 19, all member nations agreed to acknowledge both public stockholding and the SSM as part of what is called the Nairobi Package. However, details of the two mechanisms will be further negotiated in a special session at the WTO’s upcoming committee on agriculture.

Bachrul said that another significant achievement reached at the Nairobi meeting was the agreement on export competition, in which developed nations would immediately remove export subsidies on agriculture and developing nations would do the same by 2018, with developed nations aiming for reductions on tariffs on their products entering into developing nations.
 Export subsidies on agricultural products, both direct and indirect, have been commonly used for developed nations like the United States to help its farmers.

 Developing nations like Indonesia, meanwhile, have mostly only provided domestic subsidies —not export subsidies for local farmers in the form of fertilizers and fuel subsidies. Thomas Darmawan, chairman of the fishery division at the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said that the elimination of export subsidies would create fairer competition between the export commodities of developed and developing nations. 

“Domestically, the elimination of export subsidies will push Indonesia to cut its high-cost economy and keep the price of its fishery products competitive,” he said.
 Bachrul argued that the Nairobi Package had become a winning model for both developed and developing nations. While developed nations were still adamant in their stance not to continue the Doha Development Agenda talks at the WTO meeting in Nairobi, the agreement on agricultural matters — separated from the Doha talks constituted a significant form of progress at the WTO. 

— JP/Khoirul Amin
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/28/rice-be-included-stockholding-safeguard

Antibiotic Thermogel To Prevent Infections In Facial Implants


Viewed through a scanning electron microscope, this is the outer surface of a porous PMMA space maintainer, cut to fit the dimensions of a jawbone defect, that can be infused with time-released antibiotics that protect patients from infection while they heal. Image courtesy of The Mikos Research Group/Rice University.A temporary implant infused with time-released antibiotic thermogel may be the key to preventing infection in patients healing from craniofacial injuries or tumor removals, according to scientists at Rice University. Their preclinical research demonstrated that the gel degrades overtime, releasing antibiotics for up to 28 days.

Severe facial injuries caused by trauma or pathological defect are typically treated with several stages of reconstructive surgery.  First, the patient is implanted with a temporary spacer, which holds the bone open and allows soft surrounding tissue to heal. Later, the implant is removed and surgeons reconstruct the bones.Antonio Mikos, bioengineer at Rice University, and his lab have been developing specialized plastic “space maintainers” using a material called polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) — common in facial reconstructive surgeries — to create a porous implant that can be injected with infection-fighting drugs. “Infection is an important problem that needs to be considered with medical devices because bacteria can prevent the body from being able to heal,” said Mikos in a press release.

“If the infection gets too severe, it can even cause tissues that were previously healthy to die.”Paschalia Mountziaris, who led the researchers, noted that facial injuries were particularly susceptible to bacterial infections because of their proximity to the nasal passages, sinuses, and mouth.  Mountziaris cited several studies that showed high rates of infection with facial gunshot wounds.To reduce the rate of infections with their PMMA spacer, researchers developed a thermogel made from block polymers, which injected as a liquid but hardened to a gel when it came into contact with body heat. As the gel gradually degrades, antibiotics are released at the site of the implant to combat any potential infections that may develop in the soft tissue.“Block copolymers can offer a lot of benefits since they are designed to take advantage of the strengths of individual polymers,” said Mikos.

 “The block copolymer we used for our study was designed to be able to take on water, become a gel at body temperature and slowly degrade over the course of implantation.”The unique chemical properties of block copolymers — said the researchers — make them an ideal drug delivery platform, and scientists at Clemson University are developing time-released chemotherapy using similar principles.In a study published in Biomedical Science, researchers tested their implant with the antibiotic colistin, which was clinically discontinued in the seventies due to its risk of renal and neurological side effects, but reintroduced recently as a last-line of defense against antimicrobial-resistant bacteria.

The researchers’ in vitro studies showed that the copolymer continued to release the drug for up to 28 days.Though the thermogel was tested with colistin, Mikos said the copolymer could be infused with other types of antibiotics, as well.In 2013, the Department of Defense issued a $75 million grant to Rice University and the University of Texas Health and Science Center (UTHealth) to investigate novel therapeutics for regenerative medicine that could be useful to both soldiers and civilians.

We Are Not Into Smuggling Of Rice – Maifata

·          
Chairman of the Umza International Farms LTD, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Maifata on Sunday, December 27 2015 denied the involvement of his company in smuggling of rice through land borders.

While reacting to a report titled: Inside the massive fraud in Nigeria’s N117bn rice import quota scheme, he said instead, his company has contributed immensely in enhancing the country’s local rice production through its Kano plant.Maifata who is also the National President of Rice Processors Association of Nigeria(RIPAN) said that the report was sponsored by some foreign and local merchants who are all out to thwart the success being recorded in the country’s rice value chain.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, Maifata said “ It is most disheartening that Premium Times, an online Newspaper claimed to have conducted an investigation into the alleged massive fraud in the rice import quota and even went ahead to publish their falsehood without even respecting the basic tenets of journalism of hearing from the other side who were maligned by their malicious falsehood before publication.

 “ The truth and the fact of this matter is that Umza International Milling Plant has a current milling capacity of 72,000MT per annum and the company is currently in the process of further increasing the milling capacity to about 120,000 metric tons per annum.“ In this vein, we challenge Premium Times, its paymasters and sponsors to a working tour of Umza International Rice Milling Plant in Kano at our expense in the company of independent experts from any part of this world to determine the true capacity of our mill,” he said.He added that Umza Farms has been partnering with USAID in the last three years to train and sponsor over 10,000 rice farmers.

He also shed some light on their partnership with Rice Farmers Association in Kebbi State where Umza Farms has proven its investments in rice value chain where they are currently working with farmers especially from Suru Local Government Area in the cultivation of paddy.While making reference to the report that Umza has been importing foreign rice from Thailand as laughable, he said the record of his company on the importation of rice is very straight and well documented with both the Nigerian Customs service and other relevant organizations.
He added that Umza Farms has only imported rice in occasions where the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development were concerned about the capacity of the local millers to meet the local rice consumption/demand and had encouraged the local rice millers to import rice in order to bridge the gap between what is locally produced and what is consumed.

He continued, “Outside these occasions where Umza Farms is duly licensed to import rice for national interest, Umza Farms has not and never imported rice as part of its core business plan. Umza Farms is strictly a local rice milling plant and would never dabble into rice importation as its ordinary business.“ It’s so unimaginable to think that Umza Farms could be waging a war against its own business going by the falsehood perpetrated by Premium Times when it maliciously and literally stated in the said online publication that Umza Farms is involved in rice smuggling,” Maifata said.
https://www.naij.com/679076-not-rice-smugglers-maifata-fires-back.html

Cambodia. Slight Decline in Rice Production in 2015


28.12.2015
Rice production declined slightly in 2015 due to drought in some areas, according to estimates from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, but officials say this will not affect domestic supply or exports.Cambodia produced 9.2 million tons of rice this year compared with 9.3 million tons of rice in 2014, according to preliminary data. Hean Vanhan, deputy general director of general department of agriculture, said rice production declined slightly because of drought in some areas.

However, there remains about 3 million tons of rice in stock, he added.“It does not affect food security or exports,” Mr. Vanhan said. “In the first six months the ministry of water resource predicts that it will be raining less next year, so the ministry has alerted farmers to keep water to grow their crops, and not to waste water.”Hun Lak, vice president of Cambodia Rice Federation, said that a lack of water had taken its toll on this year’s crop.“The Mekong River water level did not reach some irrigation systems, so the production declined a little bit if compared with 2014. Overall the impact is from climate change, and it affected not only Cambodia, but also Vietnam and Thailand,” Mr. Lak said.

 “However, it does not affect exports because we produced a surplus of rice.”Var Saroeun, a farmer who is a member of the Mongkol Agriculture Development Community in Battambang province, said that yields this year would be less than last year due to drought. “Rice yields are low this year, but we are continuing to grow rice for the dry season,” Mr. Saroeun said.  “Yields are not only low but the price is lower than last year,” he said. Last year farmers received about $300 per ton and this year they are getting $250 per ton.  There will be little relief in sight for rice farmers next year, as El Nino is expected to again reduce rainfall over the first six months of the year.
“Cambodia was caught in between El Nino and La Nina for three months in 2015, but was not much effected by the drought. El Nino happened once in 2010, but did not result in as much harm as we expect in 2016,” ministry spokesman Chan Yutha told Khmer Times last week.He said working groups were now starting to reserve water in 14 provinces along the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers into pools, to maintain a supply for farming across about 420,000 hectares in case of emergency.
http://www.blackseagrain.net/novosti/cambodia-slight-decline-in-rice-production-in-2015

Rice farmers looking at dry spell

Fri, 25 December 2015
Farmers and exporters have expressed concerns over an Agriculture Ministry notice issued on Wednesday asking farmers to have only one harvest this upcoming dry season because of water shortages across the country, given that this could affect the paddy output next year.The ministry notice cited a prolonged El Niño period going into next year and suggested that farmers refrain from planting a second rice crop, even if they had access to sufficient water. Instead, the ministry said farmers could plant other less water-intensive crops.“Farmers should not plant rice for a second time this dry season, because it will consume more water,” said Eang Sophallet, spokesman of Ministry of Agriculture.

“They should keep water for daily usage and start farming crops that do not need much water.”Given the drought conditions in certain parts of the country, Sophallet said the ministry will cooperate with farmers on conserving water and help them with planting other crops.“It will impact slightly the livelihood of farmers and the rice industry. Based on the estimates the impact will be only 1 per cent on exports,” Sophallet said.Som Song, director of Chamroeurn Phal Raingkesey agriculture community in Battambang, said farmers were aware of the low water levels and drought-like conditions, but were worried if they could not plant a second rice crop.“The water channel and ponds in the commune are drying, and it will dry up by February,” he said, “I hope that the government will dig the deep well for us, but I am still worried.

”According to Song, 90 per cent of the people, which was around 2,000 families, in his commune were dependent on rice farming and restrictions on planting a second crop could affect their incomes. He added that planting a new type of crop was easier said than done.“We do not have the experience to grow other crops and it is not in our interests to do it because it will be difficult to payback our loans,” he said, “Most young farmers will have to leave and work outside the province again.”Song Saran, CEO of rice exporter Amru Rice, said the reduction in production will affect the output of white rice, which is expected to be harvested in the next two weeks.He added that this could also impact the price of white rice in the market – a product which is already facing intense competition from Myanmar rice exports.

“The drought will impact exports because we will have the shortage of white rice, which is in high demand in the market and the price will increase,” Saran said.He added that farmers normally have more paddy than can be bought by rice millers, which they stored and then sold to neighbouring countries.This additional income, he said, will become more difficult to earn if farmers are unable to grow and store enough rice.Srey Chanthy, an independent economist specialising in agriculture, said that with almost 80 per cent of the workforce dependent on rice farming, there was a greater need for better irrigational facilities, which could lessen the effects of the El Niño.“Farmers have no choice but to do rice farming, because they do not know the technicalities of other crops and the land conditions may not be conducive as well,” he said, adding that in such a situation farming communities will see more people moving to the cities to work in garment factories.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/rice-farmers-looking-dry-spell
Indonesia to See Longer Famine as Grand Harvest Delayed
 Tempo/Aditia Noviansyah
SATURDAY, 26 DECEMBER, 2015 | 18:44 WIBTEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The State Logistics Agency (Bulog) said that the grand harvest, which was previously scheduled in March 2016, could be delayed due to a long dry season that hit the country in mid-2015.“[The grand harvest] could be delayed for two months. It means that the grand harvest will fall in April or May [2016],” Bulog’s procurement director Wahyu told Tempo on Saturday, December 26, 2015.Wahyu revealed that the prediction was resulted in a meeting between Bulog and West Java farmers on Monday, December 21, 2015. According to Wahyu, about 250 farmers expressed their concerns that they might not be able to conduct harvest on time, since the rainy season had been long due.

Wahyu calculated that if West Java started to plant rice in December, the first harvest would occur in March 2016.“Based on information that I received, only few areas had started to plant rice, while others might start next month,” he added.Former Bulog president director Sutarto Alimoeso said that a delayed grand harvest would mean a longer famine period.“Normally, the famine occurred in January-February. Now, it could be until March,” Sutarto, who now serves as Rice Sellers Association chairman, said.Sutarto suggested the government to anticipate the condition and ensure the minimum rice stock would be sufficient until the grand harvest.“If [the rice stock] is not enough, Bulog’s rice import license must be extended in order to control the market,” he said.
http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2015/12/26/056730836/Indonesia-to-See-Longer-Famine-as-Grand-Harvest-Delayed
Vietnam's rice crops yield higher despite El Nino
Impacts of the El Nino phenomenon do not shrivel Vietnam’s this year rice production which is estimated at about 45.2 million tonnes, 230,000 tonnes higher than the yearly target.

The El Nino pattern in 2015 and 2016 will be as serious as the record pattern, 1997 to 1998, but it will be longer and cover a wider area.It was heard at a conference to review performance of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in 2015 in Hanoi on December 24.Around 50,000 hectares of land for rice cultivation in the central region were hit by severe droughts this year, of which 10,000 hectares had to be shifted to more drought-resistant crops, Ma Quang Trung, head of the ministry’s Cultivation Department, said.Meanwhile, more than 9,000 rice hectares in southern provinces have been seriously affected by saltwater intrusion, he added.
Yet average output rose by 0.1 percent to 57.7 quintals per hectare, making up for the damaged areas.The increase was attributed to timely weather forecasts and accurate analysis of the situation from the ministry.In addition, maize output surged by 378,000 tonnes to 50.54 million tonnes this year.The ministry also reported the country has earned 82.5 million VND (3,661 USD) per hectare of cultivable land, up 3.8 million VND from 2014.It plans to turn more rice-growing areas to maize farming areas in response to climate change.According to the National Hydro-Meteorological Service, the El Nino pattern in 2015 and 2016 will be as serious as the record pattern, 1997 to 1998, but it will be longer and cover a wider area.The rainy season began later and will end earlier than in previous years. Rainfall is also predicted to be much lower than average.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/society/149261/vietnam-s-rice-crops-yield-higher-despite-el-nino.html
After bumper paddy crop, Punjab seeks more funds from RBI
IANS  |  Chandigarh December 26, 2015 Last Updated at 18:00 IST
Bank stocks make significant gains; Yes Bank jumps 8 pcBank stocks up on govt steps to address NPAsBank stocks witness selling, down up to 3%Standard Chartered cuts base rate by 0.25 pcGovt infuses Rs 13,955 cr capital into 8 PSU banks.The Punjab government has sought enhancement of credit limit from the Reserve Bank of India so that payment could be made to farmers in view of the bumper paddy production in the agrarian state this year which led to higher procurement by government agencies.
State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Adaish Partap Singh Kairon on Saturday said the RBI had sanctioned a limit of Rs.18,972 crore for paddy procurement this year. This was later enhanced to Rs.20,608 crore.The minister, who had a meeting with a delegation of arhtiyas (commission agents) here on Saturday, said the Punjab government has urged the RBI to enhance the limit to Rs.25,225 crore so that pending payments to arhtiyas and farmers could be released.Against the 119 lakh tonnes of paddy procured last year, government agencies procured over 140 lakh tonnes of paddy this season (October 1 to December 15).
Kairon assured the arhtiya federation that payments would be made latest by January 8.Following the minister's assurance, Vijay Kalra, president of the Federation of Arhtiya Association, agreed to call off the protest rally planned on December 28 at Jagraon, 40 km from Ludhiana.With just 1.54 percent of the country's geographical area, Punjab contributes over 50 percent of food grains to the national kitty.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/after-bumper-paddy-crop-punjab-seeks-more-funds

Liberia: Rice Yield Pleases Nimba Farmers

By Ishmael F. Menkor
As this year's farming season comes to a close, farmers in Nimba County have expressed satisfaction with the high production levels of rice in the county.This year's rice production has been described by many farmers as one of the best in several years, with harvesting still continuing since the end of August.Reports reaching the Daily Observer from the southern part of Nimba said harvesting is still continuing owing to the high yields, leaving most of the villagers very busy during this festive season.
"For several years, the rice farming season has been very satisfactory and we have been able to harvest more rice. And still harvesting is going on as we speak," said farmer Harris Leweh.

The price of rice has reduced considerably in many towns and villages from L$ 80 per kilogram to L$ 60.Farmers have explained that the high production in rice was due to the change in the weather with the cultivation period falling in line with the rainy season.There is a high yield in lowland rice farming across the county and presently, harvesting has begun in many of the lowland rice farms.According to some of the farmers, the high yield also is the result of early cultivation which began in May and ended in July
http://allafrica.com/stories/201512240552.html

Rabi rice production in current fiscal is expected to be higher by 3.5%

Sutanuka Ghosal, ET Bureau Dec 24, 2015, 03.38PM IST
KOLKATA: Rabi rice production in current fiscal is expected to be higher by 3.5% at 12.35 million tons as against 11.93 million tons produced during last year, according to a report prepared by Edelweiss Integrated Commodity Management.The report says that overall rice production in current fiscal is expected to be lower by 2.7% as the production of non-basmati rice was lower during this kharif season. It adds that despite lower production of non-basmati rice, prices continued to trade lower due to burdensome carry forward stocks abd subdued paddy buying by millers and stockists.
"However, prices would trade firm moving ahead owing to depleting stocks with government and in the free market. Rice stocks in central pool as on September 1, 2015 is pegged at 16.31 mn tons against 21.65 tons of same period last year," the report says.The Edelweiss reports says that drier weather and below normal rainfall during June-September season could reduce the acreage marginally in West Bengal, the largest producer of rice, in the upcoming rabi season. Acreage is expected at 12.36 lakh hectares as against 12.75 lakh hectares of last season. In Andhra the acreage will be higher by 6.1% and Odisha the acreage for Rabi paddy could increase marginally by 1.7%.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-12-24/news/69282414_1_rice-production-rice-stocks-non-basmati-rice

Nigeria: Senate to Probe Alleged N117 Billion Rice Import Scam


By Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Abuja
ALTHOUGH the dust raised by move to recover some N30 billion lost to the rice import waiver granted by the last administration is yet to settle, the attention of the country's Senate is being attracted by another allegation of high level fraud in the business.The Senate, it was learnt might set up an ad-hoc committee when it resumes early next month to investigate the rice smuggling allegation believed to have made the country lose huge sums of money amounting to N117 billion.A motion to that effect, according to sources in the National Assembly, is already being processed to be moved on the first week of resumption from the new year break.Some highly entrenched interests known in the rice industry are alleged to have sabotaged a rice policy initiated by President Goodluck Jonathan to boost local rice production just to sustain their business interests.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201512280071.html

Rice miller urges campaign to cut food waste

 
SANTIAGO CITY - Rice miller Herculano "Joji" Co has urged the government, and the private sector, to address the issue of food waste nationwide, "starting with cutting post-harvest losses to curbing the vice of leaving 30 percent of the food unconsumed on the table."Co, longtime president of the Philippine Confederation of Grains Associations (Philcongrains), said that, by reducing post-harvest losses in rice farms, which is conservatively estimated at 10 percent annually, the country need not import rice from Vietnam and Thailand.He pointed out that the cereal is a perishable commodity and it can lose its good eating quality in six months.
Co explained that it takes about two months for imports from Thailand and Vietnam to be collected, shipped and then delivered to the National Food Authority (NFA), so this means that the grains agency only has four months with which to turn over the stock to consumers.Beyond six months, rice deteriorates, particularly grain that has been bombarded with herbicides, pesticides and nematicides, and which could even be heavy with arsenic.Aside from losing 10 percent during post-harvest, government estimates the rice wastage to be anywhere from 10 percent to 20 percent, Co noted. "This might look better compared to the 33.3 percent in food waste at the dinner tables, but is still significant, considering the fact that more than 23% of the Philippine population is dirt-poor.

"While the poor used to eat rice with their hands, they now have to use spoons since the rice they consume is actually porridge," Co stressed.One option to reduce rice wastage at the dinner table is to cut back on rice consumption and increase the share of vegetables, fish and meat that can be produced in rice farms nationwide, he argued.This option was proposed by former Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) executive director Dr. Eufemio T. Rasco during a lecture at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) in November.Co said the Rasco system involves the use of rice paddies as fish ponds, where ducks could also be raised, along with the cultivation of mongo, sweet potato, cabbage, pechay and lentils to provide a more rounded selection of nutrients to the diet."What we now see is the heavy consumption of rice by a huge segment of the population, with people adding soy sauce of patis and salt as substitute to the viand.
This, of course, is unhealthy," Co rued.While the poor are making do with unhealthy meals, Co said, those who can afford to spend also tend to throw more kitchen waste into the garbage bin.The turnover in wasted food alone, Co stressed, accounts for 7% of annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions based on an estimate made by the World Resources Institute (WRI).Wasted food, studies by the University of the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB) revealed, accounts for the loss of 25 percent of calories and 25 percent of the water used in food production.Co said that Filipino food chains, restaurants and food processors, along with supermarkets, wet markets and other institutions, would do well "to promote a diet that is ethical, healthy and ecologically-sustainable."Mitigating post-harvest losses is one way of improving conservation of food resources. File photograph by Bernard Testa,
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/121971/rice-miller-urges-campaign-to-cut-food-waste

Indonesia still needs to import food in 2016

Senin, 28 Desember 2015 12:36 WIB |
Pewarta: Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Although it claims to have had a surplus of rice in 2015, Indonesia still imported rice throughout the year and will continue to import food items such as rice, beef and raw sugar in 2016.According to Trade Minister Thomas Lembong, the government will still face difficulties in avoiding the need to import food in 2016 because it needs to maintain supplies to prevent food price hikes throughout the country.He said he was not yet satisfied, because of the upward trend of food prices. So, he will not be able to prevent food from being imported to strengthen stocks and meet domestic needs, while waiting for larger agricultural harvests in the coming several years.
Based on monitoring in the field, the medium-quality price of rice has now reached Rp10,675 per kilogram (kg), which increased from Rp8,939 per kg in September, while the normal price is approximately Rp8,300 per kg. Minister Thomas said Indonesia could continue importing food, as it has a high surplus in its balance of trade, reaching about seven to nine billion US dollars in 2015.
"Indonesia's trade balance had a high surplus in 2015, which provides room for food imports. We should maintain an equilibrium so that the balance would not be too sharp and food prices would not rise too high," Thomas said, on the sidelines of preparations for National Christmas celebrations in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara on Sunday (Dec. 27).Thomas noted that with the trade surplus of seven to nine billion US dollars in 2015, there is still a chance to import food, in a bid to prevent food price increases at home.Therefore, the government has decided to import rice in 2016, while waiting for food production at home to become adequate to meet local needs.

"The President and Vice President have stated several times that becoming self-sufficient in food supplies is a mid-term target. We need time to overcome the problem from its fundamental root, such as through developing dams, irrigation and logistics," noted Thomas.
He added that those food items that will still need to be imported in 2016 are rice, beef, in the form of feedlot cattle, and raw sugar. For feedlot cattle, Indonesia is expected to import some 700 to 800 heads, while it is hoped to import over three million tons of raw sugar.

"It is not yet a final figure. I am also convinced that there will be imports of rice again, apart from 1.5 million tons that had been agreed upon last September," the minister said.The government is still making calculations about the volume of rice to be imported in 2016, he added.Rice imports will be made because rice planting seasons in the country were shifted after the El Nino weather phenomenon hit the country this year. The government has since decided to import 1.5 million tons of rice. But up until now, the volume that has been imported had not yet reached one million tons. So, the remaining rice is expected to arrive during the first quarter of 2016.

Thomas said that although there is still rice to be imported in the first quarter, the government will continue to need to import even more rice, apart from that agreed this year, to reinforce stocks in 2016.Some time ago, the minister said, the government decided to import 1.5 million tons of rice from Thailand and Vietnam. The government was even seeking new supplier countries, such as Pakistan.The decision to import rice led certain parties to cast doubts on the accuracy of the country's rice production data. Through its Director General for Food Crops Plantation, Hasil Sembiring, the Ministry of Agriculture claimed that the countrys rice production included a surplus in 2015.
He said Indonesia had a rice production surplus in the October 2014 - October 2015 period because it did not import rice for public consumption during the period."Rice production had a surplus. This is the best achievement over the past five years," Hasil Sembiring said in Jakarta last November 27.In October 2014, state logistics board Bulogs rice stock was 1.7 million tons, which included imports of 800 thousand tons. But in October 2015, without optimal absorption during the peak of the grand harvest in the January - May 2015 period, Bulogs rice stock remained at 1.7 million tons, he said.
He added that the surplus was reached, even though there was an increase in the population by 3.7 million, who consumed 460 thousand tons of rice. "Although Indonesia was hit by strong El Nino, rice increased to 1.26 million tons from that in 2014," he said.In 1998, with strong El Nino (1.9 percent intensity), Indonesia was forced to import 7.1 million tons of rice. At that time, the size of Indonesia's population was only 202 million.But in 2015, the population reached 252 million, with an El Nino intensity of 2.4 percent. In such a condition, Indonesia should have imported 9.0 million tons of rice, but instead had a stock of 1.3 million tons, the director general said.
Responding to those parties who cast doubts about the ministrys data, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said his ministry, along with other agencies, will improve agricultural data to assure accurate figures are available about the nation's rice output."If the data is correct, but the production method is wrong, this will be useless," he noted, after inaugurating the Horticulture Carnival Festival 2015 at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture in Bogor, West Java, on November 29.The minister urged Indonesian farmers to give priority to improving rice production and provide correct data to the government. Hasil Sembiring said earlier that his office had not yet received data about national rice production.
He added that it is the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) that issues data about rice production. The ministry has, so far, only gathered data from the agriculture chain and then reported this information to the BPS, which has personnel available through the sub-district level.According to data from the BPS, Indonesia was expected to harvest 75 million tons of dry unhusked rice, equal to 43.940 million tons of rice in 2015.However, the agency later revised downward rice production data to 74.99 million tons due to the El Nino-induced drought.
Despite being revised, data from the Agricultural Ministry shows that Indonesias rice consumption this year will reach 33.36 million tons. Thus, the country will see a surplus of rice production.Yet, Indonesia will continue to import rice, causing some parties to cast doubt about the accuracy of rice production data provided by the BPS.(*)

PRESIDENT KOROMA OF SIERRA LEONE SACKS SENIOR MINISTERS

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Abdul Rashid Thomas Sierra Leone Telegraph: 28 December 2015
‘Out with the old and in with the new, as the New Year rolls.’ President Koroma has this afternoon sacked some of his most senior, closest and trusted ministers in a surprise and unexpected shakeup of his cabinet. In a typical move reminiscent of former president Siaka Stevens, Koroma made his changes just days after sacking another of his trusted and loyal ministers – the housing minister Musa Tarawallie, a former senior opposition SLPP executive who cross-carpeted to the ruling APC.Today’s announcement sees the sacking of Attorney General Frank Kargbo, after making several major legal gaffs, which not only brought the government into disrepute, but caused embarrassment for the president.Frank Kargbo has been replaced by the head of the Anti-Corruption Commission – Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, who many in Sierra Leone say has not done enough to curb corruption in high places and to change the image of the country from being one of the most corrupt in the continent.

In with the new also, is the former adviser to president Koroma and minister of plenipotentiary – Professor Monty Jones who is popularly known as ‘Dr. Rice’ for his outstanding international research into the production of high yield and resilient rice seeds.Sierra Leone Telegraph had learnt that Professor Jones’s (Photo) decision to join the Koroma government a few years ago, leaving his research job as head of the West African Rice Research Agency did not go down very well. He was heavily criticised for joining what was described by critics as a corrupt regime.
But after languishing in the corridors of State House and making very little impact on the governance of the country, president Koroma has today promoted Professor Jones to head the ministry of agriculture, to help the government achieve its national food security objective.
Gone with the old also, is a minister many in Sierra Leone would describe as a total failure. He is Dr. Sam Sesay, the minister of agriculture who has been replaced by ‘Dr. Rice’.
Analysts would say that president Koroma has been playing politics, and therefore too slow in making this important change at the ministry of agriculture, which could have seen Sierra Leone become self-sufficient in food.
The Sierra Leone Telegraph has been reliably informed about allegations of serious corruption at the ministry of agriculture with Dr. Sesay at the helm, as millions of dollars meant for developing the country’s farming sector remain unaccounted for.It is unlikely Dr. Sesay (Photo) will be investigated by the Anti-Corruption Commission, as Sesay now becomes an adviser to president Koroma. ‘Case closed’ as they in Freetown.Appointments to the position of presidential adviser in Sierra Leone must not be envied. It is a non-constitutional office that sits outside the cabinet, and hence does not carry the authority and power of cabinet minister. Some previous appointees to the office of presidential adviser have disappeared into political oblivion, such as the controversial former minister of transport – Kemoh Sesay, who was sacked by president Koroma after embroiling the Koroma government in an international cocaine case in 2008.Another senior ruling party grandee who was sacked by president Koroma and then appointed as presidential adviser, is the former information minister IB Kargbo.

And after several years of redundancy in that office, Kargbo decided to enter parliament and was elected as an MP two weeks ago to represent Bombali.But the big question the Sierra Leone Telegraph is asking tonight is, who will replace Joseph Kamara at the Anti-Corruption Commission?
Joseph Kamara (Photo) may have been ineffective as head of the anti-graft agency for obvious reasons. He is a cousin of the president and himself a senior ruling party grandee, who has struggled over the years as head of the Anti-Corruption Commission to reconcile his loyalties – to State and president.After being seen as failing to prosecute and or indict several senior government officials for corruption, yet hugely effective in chasing small fries, there was high expectation for him to bring those responsible for stealing $14 million Ebola funds to justice.
Did he stumble, or was he sat upon by the powers from above to allow ruling party members of parliament to have their own way?
We may never know, but one thing is certain. Joseph Kamara is the new Attorney General and minister of justice of Sierra Leone. As a former international court Judge, he is far more savvy and experienced than the outgoing Frank Kargbo, and is not expected to make the sort of gaffs for which Kargbo had become notorious.Frank Kargbo (Photo) had the chance to demonstrate his legal prowess but blew it. When faced with the need to efficiently implement the Shears Moses Commission of Enquiry Report into the 2009 political violence in Sierra Leone, Frank Kargbo failed to give proper advice to the president.
The Report had “recommend that steps be taken for those responsible for the acts of violence in Freetown and Gendema to be relieved of their responsibilities and barred from holding any public office for a period of at least 5 (five) years. The Mayor of Freetown, Herbert George Williams, and the Resident Minister South Musa Tarawallie are being specifically mentioned.”In his white paper produced three years after the Report was published as Attorney General, Frank Kargbo wrote that the government “however regrets its inability to legally effect that recommendation, as the banning of citizens from holding public office (other than by law) recommended by the Commission is not provided for in the laws of Sierra Leone………In the case of the Mayor of Freetown, Herbert George Williams, he was duly elected by popular vote for a term of four years. This mandate cannot therefore be overturned by the government through administrative action.”
And on the issue of relieving the former resident minister south – Musa Tarawallie, who by then had been promoted as internal affairs minister, Frank Kargbo wrote that the “government assures the public that appropriate action will be taken in due course in that regard.”
Musa Tarawallie (Photo) not only stayed in office as a government minister, but was later moved from internal affairs responsible for the police force to become the minister of lands. He was sacked last week by president Koroma and is being investigated for corruption.Former Mayor of Freetown Herbert George Williams, named and shamed in the Report, could also have been in office today, had he not thrown himself under the bus, after he was found guilty of corruption by the courts.But perhaps the biggest gaff committed by Attorney General Frank Kargbo, was his failure to give proper advice to the president in accordance with the constitution, when the president decided unilaterally to sack vice president Sam Sumana.
Although president Koroma won the case with the help of the Supreme Court judges who decided to take a political perspective of the argument, rather than relying on the legal interpretation of the constitution, Sierra Leone remains divided over the manner in which the president sacked the country’s vice president, because of poor advice from the Attorney General.
Another gaff that has come to define Frank Kargbo as an ineffective Attorney General, was his unconscionable decision to grant the ministry of finance and the ministry of transport the judicial clearance to unlawfully spend $12 million to purchase 50 public buses on credit, from a Chinese company without first informing parliament and without going out to competitive tender.

This Busgate corruption scandal, has also cast an indelible stain on the government’s so called zero tolerance for corruption and its commitment to the enforcement of the rule of law.With the Supreme Court comprising of some of the most experienced of Judges in the country – Acting Chief Justice Valesius Thomas, Nicolas Browne-Marke, Eku Roberts, Vivian Solomon and Patrick Hamilton, all from the minority Creole tribe in Sierra Leone, there was expectation today that president Koroma was going to appoint a substantive Chief Justice from among their number.
But there was disappointment today, as president Koroma failed to reward the Judges that got him out of jail (metaphorically) to continue at State House as president, after he had violated the country’s constitution by unilaterally sacking the vice president.President Koroma has instead appointed an outsider – High Court Judge Justice Hamid Abdulai Charm as Chief Justice, relieving the outgoing Acting Chief Justice Valesius Thomas who officially retired in October 2015.
Many questions will be asked about the failure of president Koroma to appoint Justice Nicholas Browne Marke, who has on several occasions deputised in the absence of the Acting Chief Justice. Is president Koroma repeating the same mistakes made by Siaka Stevens and Joseph Momoh?

Whatever the answer, there are sections of the Creole community in Sierra Leone who today may feel aggrieved and will no doubt accuse president Koroma of tribalism.

What do we know about Justice Abdulai Hamid Charm?
He has been a Judge of the High Court of Sierra Leone since June 2011.From 2010-2011 he was a private practitioner in Freetown. From 2003-2010 he worked for Sierra Leone’s National Revenue Authority, as Principal Collector, Board Secretariat and Legal Affairs (2003-2005); as Deputy Commissioner, Board Secretariat and Board Secretary (2005-2007); and as Director of Policy and Legal Affairs (2007-2010).From 2002-2003 he was Director of Litigation for the Lawyers Centre for Legal Assistance (LAWCLA). From January 2002 to October 2003 he was a lawyer in private practice. From 1992-2001 he worked for the Director of Public Prosecutions Division, Law Officers’ Department, first as State Counsel and after 1999 as Senior State Counsel. Justice Charm received an LLB in 1990 from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, and a B.L. in 1991 from the Sierra Leone Law School.In 2000 he received an LL.M in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa from the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He was appointed a Judge of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone in 2013.State House sources have today 29th December confirmed that finance minister Marah  has not been sacked.

Marah (Photo) joined the Koroma government in 2010 as Chief of Staff at State House, and in 2012 was promoted to minister of finance, replacing Samura Kamara.Before joining the Koroma government, Marah worked at the commonwealth secretariat in London as a public expenditure management adviser.But his stewardship of the finance ministry has not been without controversy. Failing to help the government put forward a strong business case for Sierra Leone to gain access to a major slice of the American Millennium Compact funding after two attempts, there were questions about his ability to promote financial integrity, due diligence and fiduciary responsibility in the ministry.

Sierra Leone failed to gain the compact status because of corruption in high places and poor governance, which the ministry of finance has largely failed to curb.Marah presented his 2016 Budget to parliament last month amid cheer from ruling party members of parliament, and there was no sign of trouble in the camp. But it is understood that key ministries are unhappy with the tighter financial controls that finance minister Marah was proposing to introduce to curb unnecessary departmental spending.
But even before the Ebola crisis, all has not been well with the economy despite the government boasting of a 15% GDP growth, which was largely made possible by a one-off surge in iron ore production and export in 2011.Research conducted by the Sierra Leone Telegraph, shows that prior to this period, the economy had been teetering on the margins of slow decline as household incomes fell, inflation rose, unemployment increased and poverty grew.Marah has not been replaced but an unknown and untested pair of hands – Patrick Saidu Conteh, who little is known about in the world of international finance and governance has joined the ministry of finance as minister of state.Conteh was the Deputy Managing Director of the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank (which is owned by government) from 1996 to 2014.

But in 2013, Conteh (Photo) was embroiled in a corruption scandal along with the Managing Director of Commercial Bank – Crispin Deigh, for defrauding state funds. According to police both were indicted for accepting a Lexus Jeep registration number – AEW 240 and a Mercedes Jeep registration number AEW 242 respectively, from a Mr. Kabba Khalu without record of payment for the vehicles.According to the court charges involving the two and several others, the particulars of offence stated that on dates unknown between 3rd April and 20th May 2013 in Freetown, they failed to report within two days to the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Bank of Sierra Leone a suspicious personal introduction of Kabba Khalu.

Count seven of the same case stated that on dates unknown between 3rd April and 20th May 2013 in Freetown they conspired with other persons unknown to defraud the Commercial Bank the sum of Le 821.19m.But in September 2013, in a rather bizarre twist to this case, the government decided on a nolle prosequi, when the Director of Public Prosecution Suleiman Bah – representing the state, informed the court that the prosecution will be offering no evidence against the accused and as a result, asked the Court to discharge Conteh and Deigh on all charges.

The foreign ministry too has not been spared. Both Dr. Samura Kamara – minister of foreign affairs, and his deputy Mrs. Ebun (Jusu) Strasser-King have today been sacked and replaced by Dr. Mohamed Gibril Sesay and Isata Kabia respectively.Dr. Samura (Photo) had lost his moral right to heading the ministry of foreign affairs when he publicly started job hunting last year, especially for the role of head of the African Development Bank, which he lost due to poor financial track record and lack of experience.Dr. Samura who says he is friend of Tony Blair, will be remembered as the minister who also publicly said on BBC TV, that Sierra Leone would be better off being managed by the British, as the Koroma government cannot cope with the governance responsibilities.This was followed by calls for his sacking, but president Koroma decided to do so in his own time.Today, president Koroma said there are more surprised announcements to be made later. So watch this space.The question remains though: Will Haja Kallah Kamara – the head of the National Revenue Authority (NRA) be called to take control of the Anti-Corruption Commission?

After all, she has proven that she can take tough and unpopular decisions, such as bringing tax defaulters and dodgers to book, to help boost the country’s revenue through tax collection.Sources close to the presidency told the Sierra Leone Telegraph tonight that, those senior ministers that have been relieved of their jobs, have failed to give up their presidential ambitions and are also strongly against president Koroma’s campaign to stay in office for a third term
http://www.thesierraleonetelegraph.com/?p=1113

Organic agriculture key to Bicol’s sterling achievements in rice production

Submitted by Vox Bikol on Tue, 12/29/2015 - 10:51
PILI, Camarines Sur, Dec. 28 (PNA) – Year 2015 saw Bicol maintaining its dramatic feat in sustainable farming first noticed in 2013 when the region was cited as the country’s top organic rice producer.Sustainable agriculture, more popularly known as organic farming, is an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that last over the long term.It provides or secure human with safe and nutritious food, enhances the quality of environment based upon which the agricultural economy relies and makes efficient use of non-renewable resources and on-farm resources that are integrated into natural biological cycles and conditions.
The system also makes farm operations economically viable and enhances the quality of life of farmers and the community or society as a whole and the success achieved by Bicol in this field is part of the Aquino administration’s implementation of Republic Act 10068 or the Organic Agriculture Act (OAA) of 2010.The region’s adoption of organic agriculture based on the OAA -- which aims to enrich soil fertility, reduce pollution and farming’s environmental destruction, prevent natural resources depletion, save on imported fertilizer, and protect the health of farmers and consumers alike -- has been a proven approach for increasing productivity and income.
Indeed, the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Bicol regional office gave this year more attention to the region’s organic farming communities from where the country owes around 74 percent of its organic rice production.According DA Regional Executive Director Abelardo Bragas, Bicol also contributed 44 percent to the country’s overall production of other organic crops owing to their expansion of organic farming with the Php6-million upland farming project that boosts the region’s hefty contribution.Under this project, the region’s organically-produced upland rice was further developed for its market potential as some of these traditional strains have been reported to outperform some modern rice varieties.
The advantage of these traditional varieties is in higher grain production and drought tolerance which has become a critical trait amid the prevailing climate change threats.Upland rice varieties generally have an average yield of only one to two metric tons per hectare, but selected Bicol varieties which the DA projects use in reviving vast upland rice farms in the region exceed such yield average.Based on a report of the International Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), Bicol had 63,699 hectares of upland farms, some of it rendered idle by unfavorable weather conditions and pest in the past.
DA’s development of the region’s upland rice is very timely as these varieties have the potential to withstand higher temperature and less water supply which is needed amid the threatening climate condition.Upland rice production is ideal since it can make up for any shortfalls in flood-prone lowland irrigated areas.This is specifically during wet season cropping when flooding in lowland prevails.Hence, uplands are now rice production frontier in Bicol showing improved yield through enhanced varieties and cultural management practices that suit the soil, climatic and social conditions.
The DA started it all from its establishing in 2012 of a technology demonstration farm in the nearby Bula town from where the agency took off with its project for the revitalization of organic agriculture in the region.Established within the vast agricultural property that the Pecuaria Development Cooperative Inc. (PDCI) is tending in Barangay Lapigna, Bula, the one-hectare demo farm has been planted to organic and aromatic rice varieties called JM2 and Basmati.
The experimental farm located within the 800-hectare Pecuaria Rice Central also grows traditional varieties such as RC 160 and RC 18.RC 160 is a high-yielding variety developed by the Central Luzon State University while the MS 16 (Maligaya Special), which has good eating quality, is from the PhilRice.Since then, until now, the project has made PDCI the leading single producer of organic rice in Bicol and among the five certified organic collaborators chosen by the DA nationwide for the Development of National Organic Rice Seed Production Systems with Informal Sector.The seeds produced from this techno demo farm is being procured by the DA and distributed as starter seeds to farmers engaged in organic rice production.The project is one of the DA’s programs and projects for the promotion of sustainable agriculture.
“This is a model farm that demonstrates the unity of Bicolano farmers evidenced by the success of PDCI towards the region’s commendable rate of rice production,” Bragas said.DA’s revitalization of organic agriculture in Bicol and the entire country is part of the Aquino administration’s National Rice Program being implemented for increased production towards rice-self sufficiency of the country and more income for Filipino farmers to liberate them from the bondage of poverty.Apart from the PDCI organic agriculture demo farm, a four-hectare rice farm established in Barangay Binanuanan Sur here by Carmela Cervantes, a faculty-researcher at the Central Bicol State University of Agriculture, is another feather added to the cap of the region’s organic farming initiative.
The farm certified by the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines is now a popular destination of people who want to learn and adopt organic farm systems serving as a laboratory cum training farm showcasing sustainable agriculture through natural farming technologies.The farm keeps a collection of 20 traditional rice cultivars which is being mass-produced and using modern rice varieties like RC 18 and NSIC 222 which they found to perform well under organic production systems that give them average yield of 100 cavans of palay per hectare.It also produces organic seeds which are made available other organic rice farmers in the province. (PNA) FPV/FGS/DOC/CBD
http://www.voxbikol.com/article/20151229/organic-agriculture-key-bicol%E2%80%99s-sterling

Moving rice mountain by 2017 seen as struggle

An inspector collects samples of low-quality rice at a warehouse in Nakhon Pathom on Wednesday, which revealed the rice cannot be improved for human or animal consumption. (Photo by Apichart Jinakul)
The government will struggle to offload by a 2017 deadline some 14 million tonnes of rice in state warehouses left over from the previous government’s rice-pledging scheme, traders and exporters say.The military regime inherited 18.7 million tonnes of rice built up under during the subsidy programme and has since held 12 auctions, offloading about 5 million tonnes of rice worth 50.1 billion baht.The junta earlier this year set a target to offload the remaining 13.7 million tonnes by 2017, including 6 million tonnes of spoiled rice that the commerce ministry says is no longer fit for human consumption.
The disposals have been a headache for the government, which is also trying to appease rice farmers accustomed to government subsidies and minimum prices that were sometimes double the market rate.The rice in state warehouses is more than three times the amount imported in 2014 by top consumer China, according to US Department of Agriculture statistics, and rice traders and exporters doubt it can be cleared by 2017."I don't think it's possible, but even if it is, offloading that much rice within a short time will have a negative effect on market prices," said Supachai Vorraapinyaporn, president of Tanasan Rice Group, the country's third-biggest rice exporter.
"It will also encourage bidders to delay bids and wait to purchase rice at even lower prices in the next auctions."One rice trader, who declined to be named because he did not want to be seen as critical of the state, said the government's goal was "unrealistic".At its last auction, the government sold 37,400 tonnes of rice worth 198.2 million baht for industrial uses such as ethanol production.Mr Supachai said the government should change its strategy and sell according to demand. The government says, however, that it is prudent about when it holds auctions."We're trying to be careful with timings to not affect market prices", Duangporn Rodphaya, chief of the foreign trade department at the Commerce Ministry, told reporters on Tuesday.The ministry's permanent secretary, Chutima Bunyapraphasara, said the government will meet its deadline."We're still on track," she said.In January, a military-appointed legislature impeached ousted former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra for negligence over a government rice scheme that distorted markets and built up massive stockpiles
The Bangkok Post

Commodity Report-December 29

Published 
In today’s commodity report we have the National Weekly Rice Summary, the California Shell Eggs: Daily Egg Report and other commodity end of the day market numbers.

 

National Weekly Rice Summary

In California, medium grain milled rice prices steady to weak. Second heads and Brewers prices steady. Rice by-products: Rice Bran prices mostly steady. Ground rice hulls spot trade lightly tested, mostly all hulls already sold.

USDA National Weekly Rice Summary (.pdf) with all prices for all regions.

California Shell Eggs: Daily Egg Report

Prices are 10 cents lower for Jumbo, Extra Large and Large and 12 cents lower for Medium and Small. The undertone is steady. Offerings are light to mostly moderate. Retail demand is fairly good to good as operations refill after the holiday. Food service movement is moderate to fairly good. Supplies are light to moderate. Market activity is slow to moderate. Small benchmark price $1.40.Shell egg marketer’s benchmark price for negotiated egg sales of USDA Grade AA and Grade AA in cartons, cents per dozen. This price does not reflect discounts or other contract terms.
RANGE
JUMBO
241
EXTRA LARGE
209
LARGE
205
MEDIUM
160
Check the December USDA Commodity Report Calendar for today’s commodity reports released by USDA.

Now Monday’s Commodity Market ending market numbers for other commodities:

Corn
March Corn ended at $3.61 losing 3 1/2 cents, May ended at $3.67 3/4 down 3 cents.
Soybeans
January Soybeans ended at 8.65 down 10 1/4 cents, March ended at 8.62 1/4 decreasing 11 3/4 cents.
Wheat
March Wheat ended at $4.66 1/2, decreasing 1 cent, December Wheat ended at $4.73 1/4 dropping 1 1/4 cent.
Rough Rice
January Rough Rice ended at 11.06 gaining 0.24, March ended at 11.325 up 0.25.
Live Cattle
December Live Cattle ended at $130.85 decreasing $0.25 and February ended at $136.15 down $0.875 and April ended at $137.375 losing $0.65.
Feeder Cattle
January Feeder Cattle ended at $162.65 losing $0.825 and March ended at $158.975 decreasing $1.15 and April ended at $159.875 down $0.775.
Lean Hogs
February Lean Hogs ended at $59.125 increasing $0.825, April ended at $66.05 up $0.975
Class III Milk
December Class III Milk ended at $14.47 down $0.01, January ended at $13.69 increasing $0.35 and February ended at $13.85 gaining $0.44.
#2 Cotton
March #2 Cotton ending at 63.97 gaining 0.31, May ended at 64.72 up 0.37.
Sugar #11
March sugar #11 ended at 14.76 down $0.30 and May ended at 14.40 decreasing 0.29.
Orange Juice
January Orange Juice ended at 150.40 gaining $2.10, March ending at 149.95 up $2.95.

Share this:

http://agnetwest.com/2015/12/28/commodity-report-december-29/

Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open-Dec 28

 

 Mon Dec 28, 2015 2:33pm IST
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices - APMC & Open Market-December 28
 
Nagpur, Dec 28 Gram and tuar prices reported strong in Nagpur Agriculture Produce
and Marketing Committee (APMC) here on good buying support from local millers amid weak arrivalfrom producing regions. Healthy rise in Madhya Pradesh pulses and reported demand fromSouth-based millers also boosted prices, according to sources. 
 
               *            *              *              *
 
    FOODGRAINS & PULSES
    GRAM
   * Desi gram raw firmed up in open market here on increased marriage season demand from 
     local traders amid weak supply from producing belts.
 
     TUAR
   * Tuar gavarani new moved down in open market on poor demand from local traders amid 
     high moisture content arrival. Increased overseas supply also pulled down prices.    
   
   * Moong and udid varieties declined in open market on lack of demand from local 
     traders amid good arrival from producing regions.
    
   * In Akola, Tuar - 9,000-9,300, Tuar dal - 15,300-15,700, Udid - 
     13,000-13,400, Udid Mogar (clean) - 16,000-17,600, Moong - 
     8,500-8,700, Moong Mogar (clean) 9,500-9,700, Gram - 4,200-4,400, 
     Gram Super best bold - 6,000-6,200 for 100 kg.
 
   * Wheat, rice and other commodities remained steady in open market 
     in thin trading activity. 
       
 Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg
 
     FOODGRAINS                 Available prices     Previous close   
     Gram Auction                3,800-4,300         3,750-4,200
     Gram Pink Auction            n.a.           2,100-2,600
     Tuar Auction                6,200-8,000         6,200-7,600
     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            6,000-6,500        6,000-6,500
     Gram Super Best            n.a.            n.a.
     Gram Medium Best            5,800-5,900        5,800-5,900
     Gram Dal Medium            n.a.            n.a
     Gram Mill Quality            4,700-4,900        4,700-4,900
     Desi gram Raw                4,700-4,825         4,600-4,700
     Gram Filter new            5,100-5,300        5,100-5,300
     Gram Kabuli                5,900-7,900        5,900-7,900
     Gram Pink                        6,400-7,300        6,400-7,300
     Tuar Fataka Best             15,500-16,000        15,500-16,000
     Tuar Fataka Medium             13,000-14,000        13,000-14,000
     Tuar Dal Best Phod            12,500-13,000        12,500-13,000
     Tuar Dal Medium phod            11,800-12,000        11,800-12,000
     Tuar Gavarani New             8,000-8,500        8,250-8,800
     Tuar Karnataka             10,000-10,500        10,000-10,500
     Tuar Black                 16,100-16,500        16,100-16,500 
     Masoor dal best            7,100-7,500        7,100-7,500
     Masoor dal medium            6,500-7,000        6,500-7,000
     Masoor                    n.a.            n.a.
     Moong Mogar bold            9,500-10,000        9,700-10,300
     Moong Mogar Med            8,900-9,200        9,100-9,400
     Moong dal Chilka            8,500-9,400        8,800-9,600
     Moong Mill quality            n.a.            n.a.
     Moong Chamki best            8,500-8,700        8,600-8,700
     Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG)    16,400-18,000       16,700-18,000     
     Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG)    13,800-16,000        14,000-16,000    
     Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG)        9,700-11,000        10,000-11,200     
     Batri dal (100 INR/KG)        5,500-6,000        5,500-6,000
     Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg)          4,750-4,850         4,750-4,850
     Watana Dal (100 INR/KG)            3,075-3,275        3,075-3,275
     Watana White (100 INR/KG)              3,200-3,400           3,200-3,400
     Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG)    3,300-3,800        3,300-3,800   
     Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG)        1,600-1,700        1,600-1,700
     Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG)    1,900-1,950        1,900-1,950   
     Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG)         1,650-1,850        1,600-1,800
     Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG)    2,100-2,300        2,100-2,300    
     Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG)   1,950-2,150        1,950-2,150
     Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG)    n.a.            n.a.
     MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG)    3,400-4,000        3,400-4,000    
     MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG)    2,700-3,000        2,700-3,000           
     Rice BPT best (100 INR/KG)        3,000-3,300        3,000-3,300    
     Rice BPT medium (100 INR/KG)        2,600-2,800        2,600-2,800    
     Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG)         1,800-2,000        1,800-2,000
     Rice Swarna best (100 INR/KG)      2,200-2,550        2,200-2,550   
     Rice Swarna medium (100 INR/KG)      1,900-2,300        1,900-2,300   
     Rice HMT best (100 INR/KG)        3,600-3,900        3,600-3,900    
     Rice HMT medium (100 INR/KG)        3,200-3,400        3,200-3,400    
     Rice HMT Shriram best(100 INR/KG)    4,400-4,900        4,400-4,900    
     Rice HMT Shriram med.(100 INR/KG)    3,900-4,300        3,900-4,300    
     Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG)    9,800-11,700        9,800-11,700     
     Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG)    7,800-8,000        7,800-8,000    
     Rice Chinnor best(100 INR/KG)    5,400-5,900        5,400-5,900    
     Rice Chinnor medium (100 INR/KG)    4,800-5,500        4,800-5,500    
     Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG)        1,800-2,200        1,800-2,200    
     Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG)         1,700-1,800        1,700-1,800
 
WEATHER (NAGPUR)  
Maximum temp. 29.4 degree Celsius (84.9 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp.
10.4 degree Celsius (50.7 degree Fahrenheit)
Humidity: Highest - n.a., lowest - n.a.
Rainfall : n.a.
FORECAST: Mainly clear sky. Maximum and minimum temperature would be around and 30 and 11 degreeCelsius respectively.
 
Note: n.a.--not available
(For oils, transport costs are ex
http://in.reuters.com/article/nagpur-foodgrain-idINL3N14H25Q20151228
APEDA Rice Commodity News
International Benchmark Price
Price on: 28-12-2015
Product
Benchmark Indicators Name
Price
Rice
1
CZCE Early Rice Futures (USD/t)
403
2
Pakistani 100%, FOB Karachi (USD/t)
318
3
Pakistani 25% Broken (USD/t)
383
Wheat
1
CZCE Wheat Futures (USD/t)
358
2
NYSE Liffe Feed Wheat Futures (USD/t)
168
3
NYSE Liffe Milling Wheat Futures (USD/t)
190
Peanuts
1
South Africa, HPS 70/80 peanuts CFR main European ports (USD/t)
1875
2
South African, HPS 40/50 peanuts CFR main European ports (USD/t)
1000
3
Argentinean 38/42 runners, CFR NW Europe (USD/t)
1200
Source:agra-net
For more info
Market Watch
Commodity-wise, Market-wise Daily Price on 26-12-2015
Domestic Prices
Unit Price : Rs per Qty
Product
Market Center
Variety
Min Price
Max Price
Maize
1
Hirekerur (Karnataka)
Local
1300
1430
2
Khargone (Madhya Pradesh)
Other
1053
1455
3
Dahod (Gujarat)
Yellow 
1525
1575
Paddy(Dhan)
1
Kasargod (Kerala)
Other
1500
1600
2
Junagarh (Orissa)
Other
1410
1450
3
Sindevahi (Maharashtra)
Other
1600
1700
Orange
1
Barnala (Punjab)
Other
1000
2000
2
Harippad (Kerala)
Other
2500
2500
3
Nagpur (Maharashtra)
Other
300
1000
Cabbage
1
Alappuzha (Kerala)
Other
2200
2300
2
Kolhapur(Maharashtra)
Other
800
1500
3
Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
Other
400
800
For more info
Egg
Rs per 100 No
Price on 28-12-2015
Product
Market Center
Price
1
Ahmedabad
444
2
Chittoor
421
3
Nagapur
400
Source: e2necc.com
Other International Prices
Unit Price : US$ per package
Price on 28-12-2015
Product
Market Center
Origin
Variety
Low
High
Onions Dry
Package: 40 lb cartons
1
Atlanta
Peru   
Yellow
24
26
2
Chicago
Washington  
Yellow
25
25
3
Dallas
California
Yellow
20
20
Cucumbers
Package: cartons film wrapped
1
Atlanta
Mexico
Long Seedless
14.50
14.50
2
Chicago
Canada
Long Seedless
19.50
19.50
3
Dallas
California
Long Seedless
14.50
15.50
Grapefruit
Package: 4/5 bushel cartons
1
Atlanta
Florida
Red
21
23.50
2
Chicago
Florida
Red
19.50
23
3
Miami
Florida
Red
25
56
Source:USDA
Arkansas Farm Bureau Daily Commodity Report
Rice
High
Low
Long Grain Cash Bids
Long Grain New Crop


Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Jan '16
1109.0
1085.0
1106.0
+24.0
Mar '16
1136.5
1111.5
1132.5
+25.0
May '16
1155.0
1150.0
1161.5
+25.0
Jul '16
1188.5
+24.5
Sep '16
1186.0
+24.5
Nov '16
1188.0
+24.5
Jan '17
1188.0
+24.5

Rice Comment

Rice prices closed higher today. The market closed back above resistance at $11.00 and is now poised to test resistance near $11.11 as continued concerns about the El Niño impact are providing some support to prices. Longer term the market will need additional export demand if the market is to maintain significant gains.
http://www.arfb.com/ag-markets-statistics/report/
Thank you for your interest in Daily Rice News! Our Researchers & Editorial Team  work hard to share their best News for analysis, please give them credit. Any reproduction of www.Ricepluss.com/www.riceplusmagazine.blogspot.com  content requires written permission from us and clear reference to ww.riceplusmagazine.blogspot.com. Copyright © 2015

No comments:

Post a Comment