Today Rice News Headlines...
·
Ogun customs warns rice smugglers
·
Agriculture Minister assures of “a comeback in
the Agricultural Sector”
·
Haryana govt suffered Rs 52-cr loss as 19
millers failed to deliver rice
·
Rice farmers in Volta ask for technological
support
·
Bloggers Think Rice 1.5 Million Times for
National Nutrition Month
·
RiceBran Technologies to Host 2015 Full Year
Financial Results Conference Call on March 30th at 4:30 PM EDT
·
A bagful of Tyrolean hospitality
·
FSA Food Standards Agency : Netto recalls its
Rice Market Basmati Rice and Rice Market Parboiled Rice due to possible pest
contamination
·
Pest’ alert leads to supermarket rice recall
Ogun
customs warns rice smugglers
Posted By: Our Reporteron: March 26, 2016In:
The Ogun State Customs Area Command has
declared a zero tolerance for rice smuggling.Speaking during an interactive
session with reporters at the Idiroko Customs Area Command, Comptroller of
Customs in Ogun State, Mr Waindu Multafu said the grace period given to importers
who have already initiated import processes ended yesterday.He said:”In October
2015, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service(NCS),Col. Hameed
Ali(rtd) approved the reversal of an earlier policy which allowed rice imports
through the land borders, once appropriate duty and charges were paid and that
policy has really brought so much revenue to the government.
Tags:smugglers
http://thenationonlineng.net/ogun-customs-warns-rice-smugglers/
Agriculture Minister assures of “a comeback in the Agricultural Sector”
John Baimba Sesay-China
During the 2010 Business Bomba Competition Final, the President
called for a rise in agricultural production, productivity, and competitiveness
in the sector “because it touches the lives of so many Sierra Leoneans.” Since then, government has taken the sector as one of several priority
sectors, in the country’s drive to sustainable development.
The sector accounts for 70 percent of the country’s labor force and contributes over 40% to Gross Domestic Product.
However, the Ebola outbreak in the second half of 2014 adversely affected production and productivity. The country’s Ebola Recovery Strategy, says “the total national
crop production of 2.09 million tons in 2014 was a decrease of about five
percent from production levels in 2013. Production of the main staple crop,
rice, is estimated to have declined by eight percent.”
What is being done to remedy this challenge, given the tremendous
resources Government has put into the
sector? Professor Patrick Monty Jones is Sierra Leone’s Minister of Agriculture,
Forestry and Food Security. Being the only African member of the Board of theChinese Academy
of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), he was recently in Beijing for the 4th
International Advisory Board Meeting of CAAS from the 17th-18th March,2016. He has been a member of the Board since his days at the Forum for Agricultural Research in
Africa.
CAAS meets annually. The 2016 meeting looked at the program of
CAAS and discussed how it could collaborate with International Institutions. In this interview, Professor Jones elaborates on the vision of His Excellency President Ernest Bai
Koroma for the agriculture sector. He also assures of “a comeback in the
agricultural sector”
First, he explains how his meeting in China could benefit Sierra
Leone especially in the country’s drive to sustainable development through the
agriculture sector”
Minister: It would enhance strong collaboration with Africa and with
Sierra Leone in particular because I am the only African in the Board. And they
gave me a list of 17 areas of possible collaboration which includes fellowships
and that is the first thing that I would want to pursue. Fellowships would
benefit Sierra Leonean youths that want to come for their first or higher
degrees. They want to collaborate with us in various aspects of Rice Research,
Rice Development Programs, Rice Production and Adding Value to commodities like
rice, etc. In that regard, I think this will be of considerable benefit
to Sierra Leone. It will be of considerable benefit to them also since when you
collaborate it is going to be a win-win situation. We looked at the possibility
of establishing a Rice Farm in Africa. CAAS is in a position to give
assistance. Sierra Leone is in a position to receive assistance and at the same
time, to render services to CAAS that will eventually make CASS a beneficiary
as well.
Baimba: Following your appointment as Minister, you went on a tour
across Sierra Leone. Why was that?
Minister: There were a lot of issues. The
tour was to carry out sensitization and familiarization. I have gone to the 14
Districts of the country, including the Urban and Rural Areas. The farmers are
making demands from government on issues related to use of machinery, supply of
fertilizers; etc. There are a lot of other issues they brought up to me for
discussions. I took the opportunity of talking to not just the farmers
but also Researchers, Agriculturists, ministry personnel, NGOs, Donors, etc,
explaining the vision of His Excellency the President particularly to the
farmers and to those involve in agricultural production.
Baimba: You mentioned the President’s vision for the sector.
What is it?
Minister: The vision of His Excellency the
President is to increase production and productivity. Our productivity is very
low even compared to other countries in Africa. Even when we were at the same
point with Mali, some years back, Mali’s stable food-rice is getting something
like 4 tons per hectare and we are still talking about
1.2 tons per hectare in lowland system and 1.2 tons per hectare in upland
system. So we need to do what we should do, to promote agricultural
development. In fact, we are going to take commodity by commodity to see how we
can work through the value chain to increase production and productivity.
Through the value chain means, we have to go from Research, to Extension, to
Adaption, to Value Addition to Market. The commodities we are going to target
are rice, our stable food, then cassava and sweet potato and cash crops,
including cocoa, coffee, oil palm, ginger and cashew, and poultry, cattle and
forestry as well. We’ll look into all of these commodities and first of all,
try to ensure self sufficiency in each of them and find ways of adding value to
them for international and domestic markets.
Baimba: Great plans, but what about granting loans and supply of
fertilizers to farmers where possible?
Minister: Part of the message we have been
passing to the farmers is like encouraging them, giving them hope that there is
a brighter future for them and for agricultural development. Generally, we tend
to be misguided sometimes. I will say when we’re talking about machinery,
people think of big combined harvesters, big tractors, etc. But I feel that
with the sizes of farms in Sierra Leone (two hectares, maximum five hectares),
only occasionally do you have the big time farmers that go above 50 hectares, a
thousand hectares, etc. Until you have 20, 000-50, 000 hectares, you don’t need
combined harvesters or big tractors. Rather, you need power tillers, small
threshers, etc. These are the kinds of machinery that we’ll bring to the
farmers this time, as well as making available to them fertilizers and
seedlings.
And talking about loans, that is
why we created the Apex Bank. In fact, we have a project that I just signed off
on from which will be making something like 12 million dollars available to the
Apex Bank so that the Apex Bank will pass on that money to what we call the
Financial Services Agencies and then the Community Banks. These Community Banks
would now pass on these loans to farmers.
Baimba: But how effective are these Community Banks?
Minister: Some of the Community Banks were
not giving loans to the farmers. They prefer giving these loans to traders and
others because our farmers have defaulted in paying back in the past. So one of
my messages going round was to talk to them to pay back their loans; talk to
them not to be afraid to take loans. All those big American or Japanese Farmers
you see started by taking loans. But you must have that discipline to be able
to pay back your loan for the fund to be revolving and getting back to other
people. The first thing is to make sure that we make available those machinery
that the farmers want and we are concentrating on that.
Baimba: How strategically positioned is your ministry in the post
Ebola recovery plan?
Minister: His Excellency the President,
apart from the Agenda for Prosperity, has come up with the Presidential Post
Ebola Recovery Plan. Agriculture is heavily involved in that plan. We are
looking at two very important results- improving agricultural production and
productivity and enhancing commercial agriculture. We had three additional
results. If we pursue those things, we’ll begin to see a comeback in the
agricultural sector. Why import rice when you have the facility to grow
enough rice in the country? Why import onion which can grow and in one season
you can meet the demand of the country and have a surplus? Why import vegetable
oil when you can grow crops that will enable you to produce your own oil? Even
from oil palm, we can get vegetable oil as well. Stop the importation, as much
as possible reduce it to the minimum because there’ll always be some level of
importation. But you don’t have to spend US $156 million annually to import
rice. And only about 12% of our cultivable area in the country is under
cultivation today.
Baimba: Research is crucial in ensuring a comeback in the sector.
What is the link between your ministry and the Sierra Leone Agricultural
Research Institute (SLARI)?
Minister: SLARI is a quasi governmental
institution and it is under the umbrella of the ministry. We’re working closely
with them. We’ve discussed their strategy and how they should adopt what we
call the value chain approach, mentioned earlier. At every stage of the value
chain, SLARI has got a role to play; to identify what are the key commodities,
what are the pathways for adoption, what are the pathways to the market and how
do we increase yield of those commodities, etc. SLARI should not work in
isolation of other entities like Extension, Engineering and all of those groups.
They should work together in a much more collaborative, integrated fashion and
in much more innovative ways and approaches that will ensure maximum impact on
the ground. SLARI is going to play its role and all these trips I made to every
corner of the country, SLARI has been there with me.
Baimba: If you should have a 24 months target in your new job,
what should the public expect?
Minister: We are vigorously trying to see
how we can be self-sufficient in rice. I’m looking at that same period, towards
end of 2018 when we’ll say yes, we’ve been able to attain food self sufficiency
and be able to flood our markets with domestic rice. We’re looking at coming up
with a big project by September-November this year. The investor just left
Sierra Leone. He wants to come and cultivate 100,000 hectares of rice, engage
17-20,000 farm families. But that’ll eventually affect about 85-100,000 farming
communities in Sierra Leone. That’ll make tremendous improvement. He wants to
use irrigated scheme, and he is looking at Tormabom area and we’re trying to convince
him to also look between Lunsar and Makeni, there is a span of bolilands, so that we can see how we
increase production and productivity.
Photo: Professor Monty Jones and the Chinese Vice Minister of
Agriculture.
http://www.salonemonitor.net/agriculture-minister-assures-of-a-comeback-in-the-agricultural-sector/
Haryana
govt suffered Rs 52-cr loss as 19 millers failed to deliver rice
The report states that in case of HAIC,
physical verification reports were not available whereas in case of HSWC,
physical verification reports were deficient.
Written by Sanjeev Verma |
Chandigarh | Published:March 26, 2016 3:13 am
The CAG observed that the procuring agencies, Haryana Agro
Industries Corporation (HAIC) and Haryana State Warehousing Corporation(HSWC),
though presented the post dated cheques kept as guarantee for the paddy of 11
millers who defaulted in delivery of rice but these cheques bounced and FIRs
were lodged against millers for misappropriation of paddy.At the same time, the
auditor noticed that HAIC had lost over Rs 7.8 crore due to “unscientific and
improper preservation of wheat”. The audit stated that the Food Corporation of
India had not taken over 5,974.85 Metric Tonnes of wheat for crop years 2010-12
due to damage caused by unscientific storage and were unfit for human
consumption and even as cattle feed.
The report states that in case of HAIC, physical verification
reports were not available whereas in case of HSWC, physical verification
reports were deficient. It has also been pointed out that M/s Bodh Parkash
Rohit Kumar Rice Mill at Ambala was given paddy despite not being allotted by
district milling committee. Also, HAIC did not initiate shift paddy from the
premises of the defaulting millers namely M/s Jai Maa Sharda Mills at
Naraingarh and M/s Mittal Rice and General Mill at Ambala, mentions the audit
report.
The audit report has brought to fore that the M/s Dayachand Rice
Mill in Jind, which comes under HAIC and was a defaulter miller of earlier
Kharif marketing season, was allotted paddy despite there being clear
instructions not to make any paddy allotment to the Mill.Among the total 19
defaulting rice mills, located in Ambala, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Jind, Fatehabad
and Yamunanagar districts, Rs 6 crore is to be recovered from M/s Shree Krishna
Agro Food of Chormatspur in Ambala. A total of over Rs 5 crore is to be
recovered from Mohinder Rice Mills at Ambala and around the same from M/s
Jayanti Rice Mill at Kurukshetra.
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/haryana-govt-suffered-rs-52-cr-loss-as-19-millers-failed-to-deliver-rice/#sthash.9WvpKsDV.dpuf
Rice farmers in Volta ask for technological support
Category: General News MARCH
26, 2016 11 0
The farmers said with technological support, they could produce and
save the country of the about 500 million dollars spent on rice importation
annually.Dr. Joseph Ofori, a Research Fellow of the Soil and Irrigation
Research Centre at the University of Ghana, said with efficient technological
support, good nutrients and water management, the Region could achieve
sustainable rice production.Walter Nunez-Rodriguez, the Chief of Party of the
Agriculture Policy Support Project (APSP), also told the GNA that with
improvement in technology Ghana could increase production, reduce import and
enhance food security.In all the 25 districts of the Region, except one, rice
is cultivated in low lying areas and valleys.Out of 281 valleys covering 40.093
hectares, only 26 are being developed, with potentials largely untapped.The
workshop was, thus, to strengthen the capacity of members of the Volta Rice
Producers Network in appreciating the Agricultural policy process in Ghana.
Source: GNA
https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2016/03/26/rice-farmers-in-volta-ask-for-technological-support/
Bloggers Think Rice 1.5 Million Times for
National Nutrition Month
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Breakfast risotto
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CYBERSPACE
- In honor of March National Nutrition Month, USA Rice hosted a two-week
campaign with the Healthy Aperture Blogger Network to spread the U.S. rice
message and share delicious rice recipes with people across the country.
The promotion kicked-off March 14 with a blog post on Healthy Aperture's
website introducing the "Think Rice" theme and the ten top-level
bloggers participating.
In
just two weeks, this blogger initiative generated more than 1.5 million
impressions through the combined blog and social media posts. And to top
things off, Maher points out that now USA Rice owns these healthy, on-trend
recipes and images."It's so great to see all the different ways people
think rice," said Maher. "For example, we now have two takes on
risotto - one blogger created a healthy breakfast risotto with berries and
another created a vegan risotto with spring vegetables. Expanding our
recipe library to include rice in different meal parts like breakfast, and to
offer vegan recipe ideas is exactly what we need to do to keep rice fresh and
exciting."
Healthy Aperture is a nutrition food blog and
photography sharing site founded, and hosted, by registered dietitians.
The Healthy Aperture platform enabled USA Rice to engage with influential food
and nutrition bloggers, get them cooking with U.S. rice, and educate them on
important U.S.-grown rice messages that they in turn share with their readers
RiceBran Technologies to Host 2015 Full Year Financial Results
Conference Call on March 30th at 4:30 PM EDT
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona, March 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
RiceBran Technologies (NASDAQ: RIBT and RIBTW) (the "Company" or "RBT"), a
global leader in the production and marketing of value added products derived
from rice bran, today announced that W. John Short, Chief Executive Officer &
President of RBT, will host a conference call on Wednesday, March 30th at 4:30 p.m. EDT to discuss the Company's financial results for the year ended December 31, 2015.Also joining the call from
management will be Dale Belt - Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Robert Smith - Senior Vice President of Operations & Business Development
and Mark McKnight - Senior Vice President of Sales.
The call information is as
follows:
- Date: March 30,
2016
- Time: 4:30
p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time
- Direct Dial-in number for US/Canada: (201)
493-6780
- Toll Free Dial-in
number for US/Canada: (877) 407-3982
- Dial-In number for international callers: (201)
493-6780
- Participants will ask for the RiceBran
Technologies 2015 Full Year Financial Results Call
This call is being webcast by
ViaVid and can be accessed at http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=118825.
The call will also be available
for replay by accessing http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=118825 .
About RiceBran Technologies
RiceBran Technologies is a human
food ingredient and functional food company focused on the procurement,
bio-refining and marketing of numerous products derived from rice bran.
RiceBran Technologies has proprietary and patented intellectual property that
allows us to convert rice bran, one of the world's most underutilized food
sources, into a number of highly nutritious human food ingredient and animal
nutrition products. Our target markets are human food ingredients and animal
nutrition manufacturers and retailers, as well as natural food, functional food
and nutraceutical supplement manufacturers and retailers, both domestically and
internationally. More information can be found in our filings with the SEC and
by visiting our website athttp://www.ricebrantech.com.
Investor Contact:
Ascendant Partners, LLC
Fred Sommer
+1(732)410-9810
fred@ascendantpartnersllc.com
Ascendant Partners, LLC
Fred Sommer
+1(732)410-9810
fred@ascendantpartnersllc.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ricebran-technologies-to-host-2015-full-year-financial-results-conference-call-on-march-30th-at-430-pm-edt-573360591.html
A bagful
of Tyrolean hospitality
From soaking
in the beauty and history of Innsbruck to sinking her teeth into some
delectable Sacher Torte and cooking sambar for an Austrian family, RATHINA
SANKARI sums up the perfect holiday
The ICE (InterCity Express) whizzed through the countryside as
we left behind the tall buildings of Munich. The landscape changed
dramatically, and the bucolic surroundings seemed like they were straight out
of a Bollywood movie. Splashes of red and yellow announced the onset of autumn,
and the much-looked-forward-to cattle festival called Viehscheid. The
annual descent of decorated livestock from their summer alpine pastures is
celebrated across the high-altitude region of Germany and Austria. Across
my seat, a septuagenarian gave me some company as he conversed between his
catnaps. A resident of Berlin, he was on his way to a village close to
Innsbruck to retrieve his broken-down campervan.
By the time the train chugged into Innsbruck, the overcast skies
indicated a wet day ahead. I checked into Nala, a quirky boutique hotel in the
Wilten district, before meeting my guide Andrea Werwitz, a slim lady with a
soft demeanour and warm smile. With rain gear in place, we walked towards the
city centre. It had already started to rain, but the downpour hadn’t
deteriorated the spirits of the pedestrians at the Maria-Theresien-Strasse, a bustling
street named after the Empress Maria Theresa. Peppered with impressive
monuments like the Triumphal Arch and St. Anne’s Column along with an array of
shops and restaurants, the street is the lifeline of the Alpine city. Founded
in the 12th Century by the Bavarian Counts of Andech, the city derives its name
from the river Inn flowing across it. Innsbruck, meaning bridge across the Inn,
has an old-world charm as you pass through the Altstadt, meaning Old
Town. After the Andechs died out, the land passed on to the Counts of
Tirol, and by the 14th Century, the county of Tyrol was ruled by the Habsburgs,
who continued for the next 650 years.
We took the Nordkettenbahnen cableway to Seegrube, for a
panoramic view of Innsbruck through the glass gondolas. As we gained height,
the weather changed drastically, and it had started to snow. This year, the
mountains had received the first coat of white quite early, and the pine trees
on the slopes were drenched in silver, giving me a Christmassy feeling.
Nordpark lay sprawled like an enchantress, tempting visitors to explore her
magic through numerous alpine trails, skiing, snowboarding or downhill biking.
I, however, chose to warm myself with a bowl of piping hot soup at the Seegrube
restaurant.
As we returned to the foothills, we crossed the Imperial Palace
that had a huge exhibition to commemorate the 250th death anniversary of
Emperor Francis Stephen of Lorraine. But what caught my eye was the
Imperial Church which houses the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I. The cenotaph was
surrounded by 28 larger-than-life bronze statues of his ancestors, which were
made over a period of 80 years. The national hero Andreas Hofer, who died a
brave death fighting Napoleon’s troops, is buried in the state church.
As Andrea and I bonded over a steaming cuppa and some famous
Sacher Torte at Café Sacher, she told me about her travels and her love for
sambar. While she had attempted making the lentil-based vegetable stew herself,
she admitted that it hadn’t turned out well; I offered to make it for her the
next day, if time permitted.
The following morning, after a good night’s sleep and a hearty
breakfast, Andrea and I headed towards the architectural marvel that is the
Bergisel Olympic Ski Jump Tower. I was lucky to spot a show jumper as he slid
down the glide. After a short stop at Grassmayr Bell Foundry Museum and the
Ambras Castle, a romantic 16th Century castle, I took a bus to the Swarovski
Crystal Worlds. Daniel Swarovski, founder of the Swarovski Group and a patent
holder for a machine to grind crystal stones to perfection, has left a rich
legacy in the world of crystals. To celebrate the centennial anniversary,
Swarovski Crystal Worlds was opened in 1995 at Wattens. The giant exhibition is
awe-inspiring, as international artistes have interpreted and showcased crystal
in different forms in its Chambers of Wonder. Tyrol had surprised me with its
vast history, culture and innovation.
As I made my way back, Andrea invited me home to make sambar.
Armed with sambar masala from the nearby Asian store, Andrea drove me to her
beautiful home with bewitching views of the Austrian Alps. As I stirred a
bubbling pot of sambar, I bonded with her children — a shy boy of seven and a
smart girl of 11. As we sat together and had an early dinner of sambar and
basmati rice, her husband joined us. Andrea’s daughter watched me eat with my
hands and was intrigued.
A hearty meal later, I bid farewell to the wonderful Werwitz
family. Andrea offered to pack me some rice and sambar for my train journey to
Vienna the next day. As I left behind a little bit of India at Andrea’s place,
I carried home a bag full of memories from Tyrol.
http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/a-tryst-with-innsbrucks-hospitality-and-history/article8396642.ece
FSA Food Standards Agency : Netto recalls its Rice
Market Basmati Rice and Rice Market Parboiled Rice due to possible pest
contamination
03/22/2016 | 12:11pm US/Eastern
If there is a problem with a food product that means it should not
be sold, then it might be 'withdrawn' (taken off the shelves) or 'recalled'
(when customers are asked to return the product). The FSA issues Product
Withdrawal Information Notices and Product Recall Information Notices to let
consumers and local authorities know about problems associated with food. In
some cases, a 'Food Alert for Action' is issued. This provides local
authorities with details of specific action to be taken on behalf of consumers.FSA
- Food Standards Agency issued this content on 22 March 2016 and is solely
responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public,
unedited and unaltered, on 22 March 2016 16:10:08 UTC
Original Document:
http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2016/15015/netto-recalls-two-rice-products
Pest’
alert leads to supermarket rice recall
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