· News headlines...
Global rice shortage expected: Ghori
·
UNISAME REGRETS BIG BUSINESS WITH
IRAN SUFFERING DUE TO NON CLARITY
·
Global rice shortage caused by El
Nino threatens price crisis
·
Experts say a bad monsoon season
could see grain costs spiral by the end of the year
·
Gabriel Samuels
·
S.Korea buys 37,000 T rice for
Oct-Nov
·
Sedges hit Arkansas rice: is it
yellow nutsedge or rice flatsedge?
·
Drought and Global Competition
Continue to Challenge U.S. Rice Industry
·
Food security fears rise as Asia’s
top rice producers suffer from drought
·
Commerce to seek B20bn for 'corrupt'
G2G rice deals
·
Global rice shortage threatens price
crisis
·
Thai farmers told to depend on rains
for rice farming this year
·
Rice output losses higher than
expected as El Nino bites
·
Despite heavy rain, Arkansas farmers
blasting through planting
·
Bidding set for 1.2m tonnes of rice
amid low supply during dry season
·
Global Rice Events
·
Adequate foodgrain stocks in central
pool: Paswan
·
As the climate shifts, tradition
threatens Sri Lanka's rice harvest
·
Rice Prices
·
Philippines lifts rice output losses
as drought bites
·
TNAU researching on ways to fortifiy
rice with zinc, iron
·
El Niño-caused rice shortage could
happen this year, lead to higher prices
·
A WORLDWIDE SHORTAGE OF RICE CAUSED
BY 'EL NINO' COULD RESULT IN SKY-HIGH PRICES
·
05/04/2016 Farm Bureau Market Report
·
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Planted
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Boosts Rice, Wheat Production
·
K to 12 teachers train on
climate-smart rice agriculture
·
PhilRice Midsayap wins as 2015 Best
Station
·
ECOWAS programme targets increase in
rice production
·
Lawsuit Could Put an End to Treated
Seeds
·
APEDA AgriExchange Newsletter -
Volume 1465
·
Sean Doherty credits teamwork for
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·
Wheat softens on ample stocks
·
Thailand takes world's top rice
exporter crown in Q1 Say goodbye to hunger with this easy tomato pulao recipe
Global rice shortage expected:
Ghori
May 04, 2016
For the
first time in last six years, global rice production is expected to sharply
decline this year. According to Jawed Ali Ghori, former Chairman Rice Exporters
Association of Pakistan (Reap), the main reason is the drought and heat wave
that has been linked with the El Nino weather pattern. "The top four rice
producing countries, accounting for 60 percent of global production including
India, Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan, are all expected to see a 30 percent
drop in their inventories," he added.
Thailand is now in its second year of drought and its production is expected to fall by 20 percent, he informed. While, China, the world's largest rice importer is once again expected to import around 5 million tons of rice as its own consumption will outpace production for a third year in a row, Ghori added.
"The United States Department of Agriculture in its monthly agriculture update has slashed its estimate for world ending stocks to 18 percent for the 2015-16 rice season. This means that there are now 65 days of supply or rice in reserve as compared to 80 days last year," he said.
With expectation of shortfall in production, world prices have already started to reflect this supply strain and are already up 13 percent since September, he said and added that the market is not panic levels seen in 2008, when a similar El Nino pattern caused India to ban exports causing global prices to increase by more than 300 percent. In addition, scenes of riots were witnessed in Haiti while supermarkets in Philippines got cleaned out of rice in two days.
"New rice crops are expected to be harvested during November to December. However any adverse weather change, especially the threat of drought can affect the size of the final crop," he said. Exporters are closely monitoring rice sowing for price direction as farmers are switching from rice to other less water intensive crops due to lack of water availability," Ghori said.
http://www.brecorder.com/agriculture-a-allied/183:pakistan/42752:global-rice-shortage-expected-ghori/?date=2016-05-04
UNISAME REGRETS BIG BUSINESS WITH IRAN SUFFERING DUE TO NON
CLARITY
The SME rice
exporters are contacting the Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) and
complaining that commercial banks are not clearing online Form E for exports to
Iran and are not yet ready for transactions with Iran as no procedure has been
outlined. President UNISAME Zulfikar
Thaver said the exporters are facing hardships and are unable to finalize
orders from Iran despite no sanctions exist against Iran. It is pertinent to
note that no sanctions can ever be imposed on food and medicine items as per
United Nations charter but since Iran was boycotted by SWIFT, trade with Iran
became impossible and goods were shipped to Dubai and from there to Iran. Now
that the sanctions have been removed businessmen have become active for
exports and imports to and from Iran but are unable to go forward due to lack
of clarity about procedure.
Thaver said for export of rice, the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) needs to take up the matter and not sit hand on hand. However he said that " on our part we will invite the attention of the policy makers on the subject for trade with Iran as the exporters and importers are both waiting to begin business with Iran "
One leading commercial bank said that they have not received any clear instructions from State Bank of Pakistan and are therefore not ready yet.
Another bank also said that the goods are being shipped to Iran but payment is being made by banks in other countries because payment mechanism has not yet been defined and the banks in Pakistan need to appoint their correspondents in Iran but they need the support and framework from State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)
One other leading bank informed that although SBP has issued a circular that Iran has been removed from the list of countries against whom there are sanctions but the names of 13 Iranian banks are in the black list. Secondly it is very important for SBP to outline the procedure and determine the payment mechanism for import and export with Iran.
Thaver said the commercial banks also need to take the initiative and nominate correspondents in Iran form the list of banks open for business transaction and seek approval from the SBP to expedite matters rather than sitting hand on hand.
UNISAME has requested SBP Exchange Control Department to examine the matter and inform all commercial banks the procedure and mechanism for export and import to and from Iran.
Time is the essence and we need to move fast to meet global competition and commence business with Iran promptly.
As far as rice is concerned we really need to move fast as the new crop is expected in the last quarter and before that we need to sell our existing stock.
Thaver said for export of rice, the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) needs to take up the matter and not sit hand on hand. However he said that " on our part we will invite the attention of the policy makers on the subject for trade with Iran as the exporters and importers are both waiting to begin business with Iran "
One leading commercial bank said that they have not received any clear instructions from State Bank of Pakistan and are therefore not ready yet.
Another bank also said that the goods are being shipped to Iran but payment is being made by banks in other countries because payment mechanism has not yet been defined and the banks in Pakistan need to appoint their correspondents in Iran but they need the support and framework from State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)
One other leading bank informed that although SBP has issued a circular that Iran has been removed from the list of countries against whom there are sanctions but the names of 13 Iranian banks are in the black list. Secondly it is very important for SBP to outline the procedure and determine the payment mechanism for import and export with Iran.
Thaver said the commercial banks also need to take the initiative and nominate correspondents in Iran form the list of banks open for business transaction and seek approval from the SBP to expedite matters rather than sitting hand on hand.
UNISAME has requested SBP Exchange Control Department to examine the matter and inform all commercial banks the procedure and mechanism for export and import to and from Iran.
Time is the essence and we need to move fast to meet global competition and commence business with Iran promptly.
As far as rice is concerned we really need to move fast as the new crop is expected in the last quarter and before that we need to sell our existing stock.
Global rice shortage caused by El
Nino threatens price crisis
Experts say a bad monsoon season could see grain costs spiral by
the end of the year
The
world is expected to suffer a major rice shortage after global
production was hit by extreme weather patterns - potentially fuelling
an international price crisis.
Hot
weather and droughts brought on by the El Nino system continue to affect
production in India, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam, where 60% of the world’s
rice is grown.
Grain
stocks in those countries are forecast to plummet to 19 million tons by the end
of the year, down from a peak of 43 million tons in 2013.
Dr
Samarendu Mohanty from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) toldThe
Independent: “There is no doubt that the supply situation is very
tight, and this will inevitably cause a spiral in demand.
“The
extent of this crisis all depends on what happens during the upcoming monsoon
season. If it goes badly in India and Indonesia and the crops don’t get the
rain, there could be real trouble ahead.”
The
monsoon season in India lasts from July to September and supplies up to
four-fifths of the country’s annual rain.
He
continued: “At the moment it looks like the situation won’t be as serious as in
2008 but the countries affected must act more rationally this time rather than
panicking, and they must learn from the mistakes of the past.”
El Nino
is a major fluctuation in the Earth's climate system and see changes in the
sea-surface temperature of the tropical Pacific Ocean every few years.
During
the 2008 crisis in Asia, lower rice output caused by El Nino prompted India to
impose a blanket ban on exports and prices hit a record $1,000
per ton worldwide.
The
benchmark price for a ton of rice last month was $389.50, the strongest since
July last year, and rates continue to increase.
Thailand’s
last major crop haul was around half the peak production from 2013 and output
is expected to fall to just 15.8 million tons this year.
Meanwhile,
593,000 acres of paddy fields have been destroyed by recent drought and
salination in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region.
The
situation has not been helped by the one million wells built in the
country since the 1960s, which have worsened the saline problem and
contaminated the Vietnamese product.
The
Phillippines is weighing up whether to import an extra 500,000 tons of rice
this year in an effort to boost state reserve stocks in case of a future crisis
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/global-rice-crisis-el-nino-prices-increase-a7012526.html
S.Korea buys 37,000 T rice for
Oct-Nov
Wed May 4, 2016 5:47am GMT
SEOUL, May 4
(Reuters) - South Korea bought 37,000 tonnes of
non-glutinous rice for arrival between October and November via
tenders, which closed on May 3, the state-run Agro-Fisheries &
Food Trade Corp said on its website (www.at.or.kr).
Initially, the agency sought to buy a total of 58,111 tonnes
of rice via seven tenders, but passed on two, as they received
only one qualified bids each, a source from the agency said.
The bids for the remaining tender will open after sample
tests are complete, he said.
Details of the purchases are as follows:
TONNES(M/T) GRAIN TYPE SUPPLIER ORIGIN PRICE/T
12,000 Brown Short Posco Daewoo Corp China $867
10,000 Brown Short Sinsong Food Corp China $867.97
10,000 Brown Medium Sinsong Food Corp U.S. $568.39
5,000 Brown Medium Sinsong Food Corp U.S. $568.98
(Reporting by Rebecca Jang; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL3N1811O2
Sedges hit Arkansas rice: is it
yellow nutsedge or rice flatsedge?
May 3, 2016 | Delta Farm
Press
If
yellow nutsedge is suspected, dig carefully and look for the small, round
tubers or nuts. Keep in mind they are sometimes difficult to find.
Photo: Ford Baldwin
My
university counterparts are telling me the same thing.A lot of the calls are
about situations where there has been no previous history of severe sedge
problems. In some
cases the sedges are emerging before the rice.
Given
the increase in sedges over the past few years, this
problem must be dealt with very seriously.
The
predominant two sedges infesting rice in Arkansas are yellow
nutsedge and rice flatsedge. These
two weeds can be
difficult to identify in the
seedling stage and the management practices for the two are very different.The University of Arkansas has a fact sheet that is helpful, but identification in the
seedling stage can be more anecdotal than scientific.
What has complicated things for me somewhat this year is I am
identifying a lot of the plants as yellow nutsedge, but they are coming from
fields with a previous history of rice flatsedge.
Identification
is much easier when you have the two to compare, but often this is not
possible.
Yellow
nutsedge plants tend to be more solitary and the leaves are wider than those of
rice flatsedge. Yellow
nutsedge tends to start developing white fleshy rhizomes early; whereas the
roots on rice flatsedge are very fibrous.
If
yellow nutsedge is suspected, dig
carefully and look for the small, round tubers or nuts. Keep
in mind they are sometimes difficult to find.
DELTA FARM PRESS DAILY
With
yellow nutsedge, the ALS inhibiting herbicides — Permit, Permit Plus and
Halomax — are required.
Some consultants are going after these early populations very
quickly and I do not disagree. If you are 100 percent confident the plants are
all yellow nutsedge, timing of the Permit/Halomax-type of applications is not
extremely critical.
Management
of rice flatsedge is totally different. As far as I am concerned you can treat every
infestation of rice flatsedge like it was ALS-resistant. One reason it has been
such a huge issue the past couple of years is folks treated with Permit or
Halomax assuming control and didn’t recognize a failure until flatsedge blew
through postflood.
The herbicides
that have good activity on rice flatsedge are propanil, thiobencarb (Bolero)
and bentazon (Basagran and Broadloom). Also, timing
is important and the earlier the better. On very small rice flatsedge I like RiceBeaux
because it contains propanil and thiobencarb.
As the
sedge gets larger, adding bentazon to the RiceBeaux or propanil is the most
effective treatment. With a lot of the calls this year I have been hedging the
bet so to speak.
Not
being 100 percent confident a proper identification has been made, I have been
recommending RiceBeaux plus Permit, Permit Plus or Halomax. The RiceBeaux will
be good if it is small rice flatsedge, and I like thiobencarb in the program
anyway. If it is yellow nutsedge, the Permit treatment will be effective and if
it is a mixture of the two weeds, the treatment will still cover it.
Ford
Baldwin served as a weed scientist with the University of Arkansas Cooperative
Extension Service from 1974 to 2001. Since 2002, he has been a partner in
Practical Weed Consultants with his wife, Tomilea. Contact him at ford@weedconsultants.com
http://deltafarmpress.com/rice/sedges-hit-arkansas-rice-it-yellow-nutsedge-or-rice-flatsedge
Drought and Global Competition
Continue to Challenge U.S. Rice Industry
Rabobank
Report Examines Strategies for Success in U.S. Growing Regions
FRESNO, CA--(Marketwired - May 03, 2016) -
U.S. rice growers will continue to face lower
prices in the 2016/17 growing season as stocks of more types of rice are
elevated domestically, total planted acreage will be close to record levels and
quality continues to improve from other global producers. The report,
"Reaching Boiling Point - U.S. Rice Producers are Feeling the Heat of
Global Competition," focuses attention on these factors and how they
impact the different rice types in the growing regions of California and the
Midwest.
In
California, the challenge is to deal with the pressure of the severe drought
that has been ongoing since 2011, while also managing supply to longstanding,
profitable markets.
"We
know that right now expansion into new markets isn't really on the top of
everyone's mind," said James Williamson, analyst at Rabobank and author of
the report. "However, it is going to be critical for the long-term growth
and profitability of premium California medium-grain rice to look to expansion
markets even in times of tight supply."
The
report goes on to examine the situations surrounding medium- and long-grain
rice in the southern states:
The
report concludes by noting that for export-driven countries such as the United
States, changes in production in a competing country or region can help or hurt
local industries. The best way, according to the report, to stay in front of
this is for producers and processors to do all they can to differentiate
themselves by segregating by quality.
The full
report is available exclusively to clients of Rabobank and to media upon
request.
About
Rabobank, N.A.
Rabobank,
N.A. is a California community bank and a leading provider of agricultural
financing and full-service banking products to California consumers, businesses
and the agriculture industry. With more than 100 retail branches, we serve
the needs of communities from Redding to the Imperial Valley through a regional
structure that promotes local decision-making and active community involvement
by our employees.
Rabobank,
N.A. is a division of the Rabobank Group, the premier lender to the global food
and agricultural industry and a financial services leader providing commercial,
retail and agricultural finance solutions in 48 countries around the
world. From its century-old roots in the Netherlands, Rabobank has grown
into one of the world's largest and safest banks. Rabobank, N.A. is a Member
FDIC and Equal Housing Lender. www.rabobankamerica.com
About
Rabo AgriFinance
As a
leading financial services provider for agricultural producers and
agribusinesses in the United States, Rabo AgriFinance adds value using industry
expertise, client-focused solutions, and by creating long-term business
relationships. Rabo AgriFinance offers a comprehensive portfolio of services
that give producers the right products to prepare for, and take advantage of,
market opportunities. Rabo AgriFinance representatives offer a wide array of
financial services and knowledge to help customers realize their ambitions.
This comprehensive suite of services includes loans, insurance, middle market
agribusiness, input finance and sophisticated risk management products. Rabo
AgriFinance is a division of Rabobank, the premier bank to the global
agriculture industry and one of the world's largest and safest banks.
About
Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory (FAR)
The
Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory (FAR) group is a global
team of more than 80 analysts who monitor and evaluate global market events
that affect agriculture worldwide. This international team works to collect key
insights into commodity markets; conduct in-depth analysis of the factors that
drive sector success (or failure); and examine the megatrends that ultimately
influence clients' business strategy. These analysts are internationally
respected experts in sectors from protein to produce, inputs to oilseeds, and
their knowledge is shared with Rabobank customers.
CONTACTS:
FAR Report Requests/Media Inquiries
Jessup Wiley
Rabobank, N.A.
D: 559-447-7946
Jessup.Wiley@rabobank.com
Sarah Kolell
Rabo AgriFinance
D: 816-516-7984
Sarah.Kolell@RaboAg.com
FAR Report Requests/Media Inquiries
Jessup Wiley
Rabobank, N.A.
D: 559-447-7946
Jessup.Wiley@rabobank.com
Sarah Kolell
Rabo AgriFinance
D: 816-516-7984
Sarah.Kolell@RaboAg.com
Food security fears rise as Asia’s top rice producers suffer
from drought
By Reuters | 3 May, 2016, 03.30AM
IST
World rice production is expected to
decline for the first time this year since 2010, as failing rains linked to an
El Nino weather pattern cut crop yields in Asia’s rice bowl.Nearly a decade
after a spike in global food prices sent shockwaves around the
world, Asia's top rice producers are suffering from a
blistering drought that threatens to cut output and
boost prices of a staple for half the world's population. World
rice production is expected to decline for the first time this year since 2010,
as failing rains linked to an El Nino weather pattern cut crop yields in Asia's
rice bowl.
A heat wave is sweeping top rice exporter India, while the No 2 supplier Thailand is facing a second year of drought. Swathes of farmland in Vietnam are also parched as irrigation fed by the Mekong river runs dry.
The three account for more than 60% of the global rice trade of about 43 million tonnes. "As of now we haven't seen a large price reaction to hot and dry weather because we have had such significant surplus stocks in India and Thailand. But that can't last forever," said James Fell, an economist at the International Grains Council (IGC).
Rice inventories in the three top exporters are set to fall by about a third at the end of 2016 to 19 million tonnes, the biggest year-on-year drop since 2003.
A heat wave is sweeping top rice exporter India, while the No 2 supplier Thailand is facing a second year of drought. Swathes of farmland in Vietnam are also parched as irrigation fed by the Mekong river runs dry.
The three account for more than 60% of the global rice trade of about 43 million tonnes. "As of now we haven't seen a large price reaction to hot and dry weather because we have had such significant surplus stocks in India and Thailand. But that can't last forever," said James Fell, an economist at the International Grains Council (IGC).
Rice inventories in the three top exporters are set to fall by about a third at the end of 2016 to 19 million tonnes, the biggest year-on-year drop since 2003.
Commerce to seek B20bn for 'corrupt' G2G rice deals
- 3 May 2016 at 19:49
Former
commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom is likely to receive a state demand for
compensation for allegedly corrupt government-to-government rice deals during
his time in office. (Photo by Pattanapong Hirunard)
Finance
officials have told the Commerce Ministry to demand 20 billion baht in
compensation for allegedly corrupt government-to-government rice deals
allegedly made by six former top ministry officials.Chutima Bunyapraphasara,
permanent secretary for commerce, said on Tuesday that the Finance Ministry
sent the directive via letter on Monday. It instructed her ministry to obtain
an administrative order to seek compensation from former commerce minister
Boonsong Teriyapirom and five ex-officials over four bogus G2G deals covering
6.2 million tonnes of government rice.
Comptroller-General
Manas Jamveha already has concluded that Mr Boonsong, former deputy Poom
Sarapol, ex-secretary Weerawut Wajanaphukka, former Department of Foreign Trade
director-general Manas Soiploy, ex-DFT rice-trade director Tikhumporn
Natvaratat, and former DFT secretary Akharaphong Chuaikliang were responsible
for 20 billion baht in damages."The letter sent with thousands of pages
(of documentation) was received last night and I have not read the
details," she said. "As far as I know, the compensation demanded from
each person varies," Miss Chutima said.The Foreign Trade Department would
handle the matter and letters would be sent to the six, Mrs Chutima said,
admitting they had the right to petition a court.Mr Boonsong, the commerce
minister in the Yingluck Shinawatra government, along with 20 other individuals
and companies already are on trial in the Supreme Court over the G2G rice deals
with two Chinese trading companies: Guangdong Stationery and Sporting Goods
Import and Export, and Hainan Grain and Oil Industrial Trading Co.The suit was
filed after the National Anti-Corruption Commission found neither foreign
company was authorised by Beijing to make the deals.
Global rice shortage threatens
price crisis
Date : Wednesday, 04 May 2016 14:02
Published in International News
The world is expected to suffer a
major rice shortage after global production was hit by extreme weather patterns
- potentially fuelling an international price crisis. Hot weather and droughts
brought on by the El Nino system continue to affect production in India,
Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam, where 60% of the world’s rice is grown.Grain
stocks in those countries are forecast to plummet to 19 million tons by the end
of the year, down from a peak of 43 million tons in 2013.
Dr Samarendu Mohanty from the
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) told The Independent: “There is no
doubt that the supply situation is very tight, and this will inevitably cause a
spiral in demand.“The extent of this crisis all depends on what happens during
the upcoming monsoon season. If it goes badly in India and Indonesia and the
crops don’t get the rain, there could be real trouble ahead.”
The monsoon season in India lasts
from July to September and supplies up to four-fifths of the country’s annual
rain.He continued: “At the moment it looks like the situation won’t be as
serious as in 2008 but the countries affected must act more rationally this
time rather than panicking, and they must learn from the mistakes of the past.”El
Nino is a major fluctuation in the Earth's climate system and see changes in
the sea-surface temperature of the tropical Pacific Ocean every few years.During
the 2008 crisis in Asia, lower rice output caused by El Nino prompted India to
impose a blanket ban on exports and prices hit a record $1,000 per ton
worldwide.The benchmark price for a ton of rice last month was $389.50, the
strongest since July last year, and rates continue to increase.Thailand’s last
major crop haul was around half the peak production from 2013 and output is
expected to fall to just 15.8 million tons this year.
Meanwhile, 593,000 acres of paddy
fields have been destroyed by recent drought and salination in Vietnam’s Mekong
Delta region.
The situation has not been helped by
the one million wells built in the country since the 1960s, which have worsened
the saline problem and contaminated the Vietnamese product.
The Phillippines is weighing up
whether to import an extra 500,000 tons of rice this year in an effort to boost
state reserve stocks in case of a future crisis.
http://www.graphic.com.gh/international/international-news/63291-global-rice-shortage-threatens-price-crisis.html#sthash.zIaQvcxl.dpuf
Thai farmers told to depend on
rains for rice farming this year
Farmers told to depend on rains for rice
farming this year
BANGKOK: — Farmers in the Chao Phraya river
basin were told to rely on rains as the source of water for the cultivation of
their main crops because there is no water for farming from the four main dams.
http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/162008
Rice output losses higher than
expected as El Nino bites
Reuters
MANILA -
The Philippines said on Wednesday that drought had caused the country's rice
output to drop by about 300,000 tons, or a third higher than its estimate last
month, and there was a risk heavy rains later in the year could inflict more
crop damage.The Philippines is one of the world's biggest importers of rice and
there is a growing risk it will miss its target of producing 18 million tons
after one of the three strongest El Nino weather patterns in the last 20 years."I'm
sure there will be adjustment (in the target) because of this damage,"
Agriculture Undersecretary Emerson Palad told reporters. "But we haven't
discussed it yet."The damage report released by the Department of
Agriculture also showed 204,245 tonnes of corn had been lost since February
last year when an El Nino weather pattern emerged.Government data showed rice
paddy losses totaled 299,558 tons as of May 3, more than half the total losses
of 540,469 tons during the last 2009-2010 El Nino.
This year alone, paddy losses were about
231,000 tons, Palad said, as he announced the agriculture department was
planning to spend more on measures such as cloud-seeding in a bid to increase
rainfall.
Palad put total agricultural losses both due to an El
Nino and pest infestation since February last year at P8.7 billion ($185
million).The government had yet to discuss contingency measures for a possible
La Nina, a weather pattern that sometimes follows an El Nino, that could bring
strong rains and further damage crops later this year, Palad said.Government
data showed the Philippines had the lowest rice stocks since October in March
despite importing 750,000 tons and its grains procurement agency has standby
authority to ship an additional 500,000 tons to boost reserves if needed.Domestic
rice production in the first quarter to be announced next week could be about 8
percent lower than initially projected because of insufficient water and
intense heat, based on the government's latest estimate.
http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/04/16/rice-output-losses-higher-than-expected-as-el-nino-bites
Despite heavy rain, Arkansas farmers
blasting through planting
Last
week’s rain dropped between 1 and 8 inches across Arkansas and set at least one
daily rainfall record: 5.04 inches at North Little Rock. Extension agents and
agronomists reported full drainage ditches, water standing on fields and some
levee washouts in rice fields.
By
Mary Hightower
UofA Division of Ag
UofA Division of Ag
Posted May. 3, 2016 at 12:43 PM
ARKANSAS —
Despite
weekly waves of heavy rains, Arkansas farmers pushed across their fields,
planting soybeans, rice, cotton and corn ahead of the five-year average pace,
according to Monday’s report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service.Last
week’s rain dropped between 1 and 8 inches across Arkansas and set at least one
daily rainfall record: 5.04 inches at North Little Rock. Extension agents and
agronomists reported full drainage ditches, water standing on fields and some
levee washouts in rice fields.
Rice on pace
Rice
was 87 percent planted, ahead of last week’s 75 percent and well ahead of the
59 percent five-year average.
“Rice
progress looks right on,” said Jarrod Hardke, extension rice agronomist for the
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “I had it figured about
90 percent planted versus the 87 percent reported.”He said the remaining
10-plus percent is largely scattered around the southern half of the state with
a few outliers in the north.“Rice planting completion is notoriously
trickle-down where it takes a month to plant the final 10 percent of acreage,
so we could easily still not be completed until late May or June depending on
the weather,” Hardke said. “As always if it stays wet for too long some of that
rice magically starts turning into soybeans.”
Rain
may not be the only factor in the rice-to-soybean sleight-of-hand.
Scott
Stiles, extension economist for the Division of Agriculture, said soybean
prices continued upward, with the November 2016 contract closing at its highest
level of the year -- $10.17 3/4 – a $1.50-a-bushel gain since March 2.
“Considering
the challenges in the southeast counties getting rice and corn planted this
year, I think we'll see final soybean acreage in the state higher than the 3.05
million indicated in the March 31 Prospective Plantings report,” he said. “And,
simply the size of the soybean price rally may have shifted some acres from the
competing crops regardless of planting delays. The $10 price is still
attractive in the minds of growers and was a surprise to see a recovery to that
level this year.”November soybean futures settled 10 cents higher Monday on
talk that crop losses in Argentina may shift some additional soybean and soy
meal demand to the U.S. “Some expect to see U.S. soybean crush and export
demand increased in next week's May USDA supply and demand report,” Stiles
said.
Hoping for a drier spring
The
soybean crop was 32 percent planted. That compared with 17 percent at the same
time last year and the 24 percent five-year average.“For the soybean crop,
probably will not get much planted until the end of this week,” said Jeremy
Ross, extension soybean agronomist for the University of Arkansas System
Division of Agriculture. “Some fields may take longer to dry out.
Bidding set for 1.2m tonnes of
rice amid low supply during dry season
PETCHANET PRATRUANGKRAI
THE NATION
May 4, 2016 1:00 am
THE COMMERCE Ministry will open bidding for 1.2 million tonnes of
rice on May 19 to ensure enough to dine on during the drought.Duangporn
Rodphaya, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said yesterday that
the domestic supply of rice is low during the dry season, so the Rice
Management Policy Committee has approved the third sale of broken rice this
year.Among the 1.2 million tonnes to be auctioned off are 870,000 tonnes of
broken white rice.
The rest is broken rice of other kinds.To systemise the plantation
of riceberry, the ministry has initiated a project called "Riceberry
Valley" so that the government can control production quality and help
farmers reduce costs after grouping.Chutima Bunyapraphasara, permanent
secretary of the ministry, said this project should help ensure the good
quality of riceberry crops and increase the output of this grain, which is
known for its high nutrition value."Nowadays, there are about 5,000 rai
for riceberry growing. After the project is launched this year, plantation
areas for riceberry are expected to double to 10,000 rai next year," she
said.
The project to promote integrated riceberry farming should help cut
the cost of production for farmers and increase the supply of this rice grain
following higher demand in many markets.Riceberry is raised in the Northeast
and some provinces in the North and in the Central region.About 17 groups of
riceberry farmers have been integrated in 13 provinces to date.
Following the integration of riceberry farming, the government
should be able to control the quality of rice growing and ensure that the rice
is organic.Besides rice, the ministry will also encourage the farming of other
crops as organic products under the Organic Village project.
This project will be developed under the new organic product
promotion strategy from 2017-2021 .In a bid to promote Thailand as Asean's
organic production centre, the ministry will host the sixth Organic and Natural
Expo - the biggest showcase of organic farms and products at the Queen Sirikit
National Convention Centre.
Global Rice Events
May
24, 2016: Vermilion Parish Rice Tour – Klondike area
Contact the LSU AgCenter Vermilion Parish office at 337-898-4335.
Contact the LSU AgCenter Vermilion Parish office at 337-898-4335.
May
25, 2016: Southwest Louisiana Rice Tour – Fenton area
Contact Jeremy Hebert at the LSU AgCenter Acadia Parish office.
Contact Jeremy Hebert at the LSU AgCenter Acadia Parish office.
May
31-June 2, 2016: Rice Market and Technology Convention
Royal Sonesta Houston Galleria, Houston, Texas. For more information, visit ricemtconvention.com.
Royal Sonesta Houston Galleria, Houston, Texas. For more information, visit ricemtconvention.com.
June
15, 2016: Acadia Parish Rice and Soybean Field Day
Rice Research Station South Farm – Contact Jeremy Hebert at the LSU Agenter Acadia Parish office
Rice Research Station South Farm – Contact Jeremy Hebert at the LSU Agenter Acadia Parish office
June
15, 2016: Deadline to submit 2016 Rice Awards nominations
For more information and to download a nomination form, click here
For more information and to download a nomination form, click here
June
28-July 1, 2016: Rice Millers Association Convention
The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colo. For more information, visit USA Rice.
The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colo. For more information, visit USA Rice.
June
28, 2016: 42nd Annual Eagle Lake Rice Field Day
Begins at 4 p.m. Wintermann Rice Research Station on Farm-to-Market Road 102 just north of Eagle Lake, Texas
Begins at 4 p.m. Wintermann Rice Research Station on Farm-to-Market Road 102 just north of Eagle Lake, Texas
June
29, 2016: LSU AgCenter Annual Rice Field Day
LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station, Crowley, La. Check back later for more information.
LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station, Crowley, La. Check back later for more information.
July
14, 2016: 69th Annual Beaumont Rice Field Day
Begins at 8 a.m. Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center, 1509 Aggie Dr., Beaumont, Texas
Begins at 8 a.m. Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center, 1509 Aggie Dr., Beaumont, Texas
July
19, 2016: Mississippi State University Field Day
Delta Research and Extension Center, Stoneville, Miss. More information to follow.
Delta Research and Extension Center, Stoneville, Miss. More information to follow.
Aug.
9, 2016: Ribbon cutting ceremony for new Foundation Seed Processing Plant
University of Arkansas Rice Research and Extension Center, Stuttgart, Ark. Check back later for more information.
University of Arkansas Rice Research and Extension Center, Stuttgart, Ark. Check back later for more information.
Aug.
10, 2016: Annual Arkansas Rice Expo
Grand Prairie Center, Stuttgart, Ark. Check back later for more information.
Grand Prairie Center, Stuttgart, Ark. Check back later for more information.
Aug.
18, 2016: Missouri Rice Research and Merchandising Council’s Field Day
Check back later for more information.
Check back later for more information.
Aug.
31, 2016 —
Annual Rice Field Day
California Rice Experiment Station, Biggs, Calif. Check back later for more information.
California Rice Experiment Station, Biggs, Calif. Check back later for more information.
Sept.
16, 2016: 26th Annual Rice Tasting Luncheon
11 a.m.-1 p.m., Delta State University Walter Sillers Coliseum, Cleveland, Miss. Tickets are available for $5 each by calling Bolivar County Extension at 662-843-8371. Tickets also will be available at the door.
11 a.m.-1 p.m., Delta State University Walter Sillers Coliseum, Cleveland, Miss. Tickets are available for $5 each by calling Bolivar County Extension at 662-843-8371. Tickets also will be available at the door.
Dec.
7-9, 2016: 2016 USA Rice Outlook Conference
Sheraton Memphis Downtown, Memphis, Tenn. Event details
Sheraton Memphis Downtown, Memphis, Tenn. Event details
March
3-4, 2017: 65th Annual Mid-South Farm and Gin Show
Memphis Cook Convention Center, Memphis, Tenn. Event details
Memphis Cook Convention Center, Memphis, Tenn. Event details
If
you have an event that you want listed, please send the information to Rice
Farming editor Vicky Boyd at vlboyd@onegrower.com.
http://www.ricefarming.com/calendar/
RICE MARKET AND
TECHNOLOGY CONVENTION, Houston, May 31-June 2, 2016
http://ricemtconvention.com/
USA Rice conducts educational forums and business
meetings.
2016 RMA Convention
June 28-July 1, 2016
The Broadmoor
Colorado Springs, CO
2016 July Business Meetings
July 9-12, 2016
Four Seasons Hotel
Irving, TX (Dallas Metro Area)
2016 USA Rice December Board Meetings
December 6-7, 2016
Sheraton Memphis Downtown
Memphis, TN
2016 USA Rice Outlook Conference
December 7-9, 2016
Sheraton Memphis Downtown
Memphis, TN
2016 RMA Convention
June 28-July 1, 2016
The Broadmoor
Colorado Springs, CO
2016 July Business Meetings
July 9-12, 2016
Four Seasons Hotel
Irving, TX (Dallas Metro Area)
2016 USA Rice December Board Meetings
December 6-7, 2016
Sheraton Memphis Downtown
Memphis, TN
2016 USA Rice Outlook Conference
December 7-9, 2016
Sheraton Memphis Downtown
Memphis, TN
https://usarice.com/about/meetings
Adequate foodgrain stocks in
central pool: Paswan
IANS | New Delhi
May 3, 2016 Last Updated at 21:32 IST
Foodgrain stocks available in the central pool are double of the
required buffer norms, parliament was told on Tuesday."The stock of
foodgrains in the central pool as on April 16 this year was 496.12 lakh tons
comprising of 282.35 lakh tons of rice and 213.77 lakh tons of wheat as against
the net buffer norms of 210.40 lakh tons," Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan told the Lok Sabha in a written reply. Buffer
norms indicate that the central pool must hold 210.40 lakh tons of foodgrain
comprising 135.80 lakh tons of rice and 74.60 lakh tons of wheat to tackle an
emergency situation.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/adequate-foodgrain-stocks-in-central-pool-paswan-116050301414_1.html
As the climate shifts, tradition
threatens Sri Lanka's rice harvest
RAJANGANAYA,
Sri Lanka (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - In mid-April, at the same time of year
as their families have done for generations, Sri Lanka's paddy farmers started
cultivating their rice fields.But this year, that may be too late.President
Maithripala Sirisena has warned Sri Lanka' farmers that they may run out of
water before their crops are ready to harvest. Devotion to tradition – in
particular, planting spring crops after a traditional New Year's holiday in
mid-April – could now prove devastating, he said.But many farmers are so far
not convinced that old schedules need to change to match new climate patterns –
a problem many countries around the world face as they try to adjust to
changing weather patterns.Ranjith Sumanadasa, 50, a paddy farmer from
Rajanganaya region in Sri Lanka's north-central province, has been cultivating
his rice for close to four decades based on traditional timetables.
"I
learned from my father that after the March harvest we will celebrate Avurudhu,
and then prepare the fields around a week or two later, then the water
comes," he said. "There is no other way I know of." In early
April, at a public rally in his native Polonnaruwa District, Sirisena explained
how he had tried to convince Sri Lanka's rice farmers to start cultivating a
few weeks earlier than normal, to take advantage of recent rains that had
filled some of the country's reservoirs almost to capacity. Sticking to the traditional
timetable, he said, would mean losing much of that needed water to evaporation."I
instructed the Water Management Committee to release water for paddy farmers as
soon as possible," Sirisena said on April 2. "But the paddy farmers
remain unmoved. They want to start the cultivation after the (traditional) New
Year."
Rains
during the last weeks of March filled some reservoirs in the north and central
parts of the country. As authorities released water from hydropower reservoirs
to generate electricity, they also sent some to the smaller irrigation
reservoirs to water rice fields, in the hopes the farmers would take advantage
and use it right away.
But
farmers instead waited over two weeks before using it, Sirisena said. With the
island experiencing temperatures between 2 degrees Celsius and 4 degrees
Celsius above average, according to the Meteorological Department, some of that
water was lost."Because of the hot temperatures we are losing hundreds of
cubic meters of water daily due to evaporation," the president told the
gathering in Polonnaruwa District. "You have to reconsider getting into
the fields before the end of the month," he pleaded.
HARVESTS
EVAPORATING?
When
Sirisena spoke to the country's paddy farmers in early April, the main
irrigation tanks in the north central and central provinces were at around 80
percent capacity. But by the third week of April – when farmers wanted to start
watering their crops – the levels had dropped by 20 percent, officials said.Water
management officials estimate that close to 300 million liters of water were
evaporating daily across Sri Lanka. That could mean trouble for the paddy
farms, which cover over 10 percent of the country's land area. "You will
have to bear responsibility if there is a water shortage mid-season," the
president told farmers.
To make
matters worse, Sir Lanka has experienced below-average rains across most of the
island through April, according to the Met Department. May is also predicted to
be unseasonably dry.
In 2014,
a similar spell of dry weather hit Sri Lanka's rice farmers, resulting in a
harvest of 3.3 million tons, 17 percent less than the year before. Although Sri
Lanka's farmers are aware of the shift in the country's climate patterns — and
the potentially dire consequences — many refuse to change the way they farm.
Sri
Lanka's paddy farmers have long followed a cultivation schedule based on two
monsoon seasons: Maha, between November and March, and Yala, between April and
October. Based on that timetable, paddy farmers begin to prepare their fields
for cultivation only after Avurudhu, the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year that
falls between April 13 and April 14. According to Namal Karunaratne, national
organizer of the All Ceylon Peasants' Federation, the country’s monsoons used
to bring around 4.5 million metric tons of rain each year.
But the
seasonal rains have become unreliable, with one study by the Indian Institute
of Tropical Meteorology suggesting rainfall over the Indian subcontinent has
decreased between 20 and 30 percent over the last century."Our farmers are
yet to get used to these changes. They are still used to the government
providing water on time," Karunaratne said. "They are not used to
water management."
(Reporting
by Amantha Perera; editing by Jumana Farouky and Laurie Goering :; Please
credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters,
that covers humanitarian news, climate change, women's rights, trafficking and
property rights. Visit news.trust.org/climate)
BUSINESS STANDARD
Rice Prices
as on : 04-05-2016 08:10:26 PM
Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in
domestic market.
Arrivals
|
Price
|
|||||
Current
|
%
change |
Season
cumulative |
Modal
|
Prev.
Modal |
Prev.Yr
%change |
|
Rice
|
||||||
Gondal(UP)
|
450.00
|
-8.16
|
12472.10
|
1980
|
1990
|
-1.74
|
Bazpur(Utr)
|
300.25
|
36.48
|
39235.06
|
2497
|
2545
|
34.97
|
Sitapur(UP)
|
285.00
|
38.35
|
7354.00
|
2190
|
2205
|
4.78
|
Azamgarh(UP)
|
213.00
|
106.8
|
4750.50
|
2130
|
2120
|
7.58
|
Bindki(UP)
|
120.00
|
150
|
2622.00
|
2275
|
2275
|
9.38
|
Bareilly(UP)
|
116.00
|
-4.13
|
7167.60
|
2325
|
2325
|
13.41
|
Allahabad(UP)
|
110.00
|
-21.43
|
6370.00
|
2145
|
2100
|
-0.69
|
Dhing(ASM)
|
86.00
|
8.86
|
3024.20
|
1800
|
1800
|
-10.00
|
Aligarh(UP)
|
85.00
|
-5.56
|
3040.00
|
2225
|
2220
|
15.58
|
Pilibhit(UP)
|
80.00
|
2.56
|
18652.00
|
2190
|
2195
|
NC
|
Saharanpur(UP)
|
75.00
|
8.7
|
4755.00
|
2180
|
2170
|
2.83
|
Thodupuzha(Ker)
|
70.00
|
NC
|
2660.00
|
2650
|
2650
|
8.16
|
Junagarh(Ori)
|
64.19
|
3.78
|
1375.03
|
2100
|
2100
|
-4.55
|
Kalahandi(Dharamagarh)(Ori)
|
62.19
|
24.75
|
975.48
|
2100
|
2100
|
-4.55
|
Jangipur(WB)
|
61.00
|
-
|
132.00
|
2110
|
-
|
-11.72
|
Etawah(UP)
|
50.00
|
-33.33
|
19080.00
|
2250
|
2250
|
0.90
|
Samsi(WB)
|
50.00
|
-50
|
15910.00
|
3000
|
3000
|
-
|
Shahjahanpur(UP)
|
46.00
|
240.74
|
40549.60
|
2260
|
2250
|
6.60
|
Barasat(WB)
|
45.00
|
-25
|
2610.00
|
2200
|
2200
|
-8.33
|
Gazipur(UP)
|
43.00
|
16.22
|
1654.00
|
1990
|
1990
|
-1.00
|
Mainpuri(UP)
|
43.00
|
-35.82
|
1315.50
|
2050
|
2040
|
5.67
|
Lanka(ASM)
|
40.00
|
-11.11
|
2290.00
|
1750
|
1750
|
-1.41
|
Karimganj(ASM)
|
40.00
|
NC
|
1600.00
|
2150
|
2250
|
-2.27
|
Gauripur(ASM)
|
36.00
|
16.13
|
2509.00
|
4500
|
4500
|
NC
|
Jaunpur(UP)
|
36.00
|
2.86
|
1291.00
|
1970
|
1980
|
-0.51
|
Purulia(WB)
|
30.00
|
25
|
1897.00
|
2240
|
2240
|
-5.88
|
Madhoganj(UP)
|
21.50
|
-20.37
|
196.50
|
2150
|
2215
|
-
|
Cachar(ASM)
|
20.00
|
-50
|
1670.00
|
2700
|
2700
|
NC
|
Kolaghat(WB)
|
17.00
|
NC
|
562.00
|
2300
|
2300
|
4.55
|
Tamluk (Medinipur E)(WB)
|
17.00
|
NC
|
578.00
|
2300
|
2300
|
9.52
|
Giridih(Jha)
|
15.38
|
NC
|
216.48
|
3500
|
3500
|
NC
|
Sirsa(UP)
|
14.00
|
-3.45
|
475.00
|
2070
|
2075
|
-0.96
|
Udala(Ori)
|
13.00
|
-23.53
|
831.00
|
2800
|
2800
|
12.00
|
Lakhimpur(UP)
|
13.00
|
-7.14
|
464.50
|
2180
|
2170
|
3.81
|
North Lakhimpur(ASM)
|
12.70
|
42.7
|
1375.30
|
1900
|
1900
|
-
|
Raibareilly(UP)
|
12.50
|
108.33
|
278.50
|
2075
|
2060
|
4.27
|
Firozabad(UP)
|
11.00
|
-8.33
|
611.00
|
2120
|
2120
|
5.47
|
Pukhrayan(UP)
|
11.00
|
-15.38
|
249.50
|
2130
|
2125
|
-1.39
|
Tinsukia(ASM)
|
10.00
|
-50
|
145.00
|
2200
|
2200
|
-12.00
|
Barikpur(Ori)
|
10.00
|
NC
|
140.00
|
2500
|
2400
|
4.17
|
Kannauj(UP)
|
9.50
|
-5
|
363.50
|
2150
|
2170
|
-2.27
|
Raiganj(WB)
|
9.50
|
5.56
|
799.00
|
2650
|
2650
|
3.92
|
Deogarh(Ori)
|
9.00
|
NC
|
417.00
|
2500
|
2500
|
NC
|
Dibiapur(UP)
|
9.00
|
718.18
|
116.50
|
2150
|
2140
|
-0.92
|
Katwa(WB)
|
8.60
|
7.5
|
170.70
|
2200
|
2200
|
NC
|
Jeypore(Ori)
|
8.40
|
-46.15
|
77.90
|
6150
|
3250
|
89.23
|
Kasganj(UP)
|
8.00
|
-20
|
571.00
|
2040
|
2050
|
-0.24
|
Chengannur(Ker)
|
7.00
|
7.69
|
511.00
|
2500
|
2400
|
4.17
|
Nilagiri(Ori)
|
7.00
|
-22.22
|
438.00
|
2300
|
2300
|
NC
|
Khairagarh(UP)
|
7.00
|
NC
|
361.00
|
2900
|
2130
|
44.28
|
Dibrugarh(ASM)
|
6.70
|
-52.14
|
1122.40
|
2450
|
2450
|
-
|
Karanjia(Ori)
|
6.00
|
NC
|
254.80
|
2600
|
2600
|
4.00
|
Nimapara(Ori)
|
6.00
|
33.33
|
189.50
|
2200
|
2200
|
15.79
|
Bolangir(Ori)
|
5.00
|
-28.57
|
242.20
|
2300
|
2200
|
-4.17
|
Fatehpur(UP)
|
5.00
|
-37.5
|
272.50
|
2230
|
2210
|
2.53
|
Mirzapur(UP)
|
5.00
|
-16.67
|
1267.10
|
1975
|
1970
|
-0.25
|
Dankaur(UP)
|
5.00
|
-
|
5.00
|
2050
|
-
|
-
|
Tusura(Ori)
|
4.00
|
-38.46
|
263.00
|
2300
|
2200
|
-4.17
|
Khatauli(UP)
|
4.00
|
100
|
28.00
|
2185
|
2160
|
4.05
|
Imphal(Man)
|
3.80
|
8.57
|
183.00
|
2900
|
2900
|
NC
|
Rura(UP)
|
3.50
|
9.38
|
103.70
|
2120
|
2120
|
-1.85
|
Kalyani(WB)
|
3.50
|
NC
|
86.50
|
3400
|
3400
|
NC
|
Karimpur(WB)
|
3.00
|
NC
|
58.00
|
3150
|
3150
|
NC
|
Balarampur(WB)
|
2.60
|
-7.14
|
63.40
|
2250
|
2250
|
-3.85
|
Gulavati(UP)
|
2.00
|
-50
|
55.00
|
2070
|
2050
|
1.22
|
Lamlong Bazaar(Man)
|
1.30
|
-7.14
|
61.20
|
2900
|
2900
|
NC
|
Thoubal(Man)
|
1.20
|
20
|
76.10
|
2900
|
2900
|
3.57
|
Sardhana(UP)
|
1.00
|
25
|
76.70
|
2200
|
2200
|
5.26
|
Shillong(Meh)
|
0.80
|
-20
|
50.40
|
3500
|
3500
|
NC
|
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/article8556006.ece
Philippines lifts rice output losses as drought bites
- 4 May 2016
at 16:14
- WRITER: REUTERS
A farmer carries a bunch of newly harvested
rice stalks at a rice field overlooking Mayon volcano in Daraga Albay in
central Philippines on April 3, 2016. (Reuters photo)
MANILA -
The Philippines said on Wednesday that drought had caused the country's rice
output to drop by about 300,000 tonnes, or a third higher than its estimate
last month, and there was a risk heavy rains later in the year could inflict
more crop damage.The Philippines is one of the world's biggest importers of
rice and there is a growing risk it will miss its target of producing 18
million tonnes after one of the three strongest El Nino weather patterns in the
last 20 years."I'm sure there will be adjustment (in the target) because
of this damage," Agriculture Undersecretary Emerson Palad told reporters.
"But we haven't discussed it yet."
Domestic
rice production in the first quarter to be announced next week could be about
8% lower than initially projected because of insufficient water and intense
heat, based on the government's latest estimate.
Bangkok
Post
TNAU researching on ways to
fortifiy rice with zinc, iron
TNN
| May 5, 2016, 06.13 AM IST
Coimbatore: At a time when micro nutrition deficiency is slowly
becoming rampant in both rural and urban areas, scientists at Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University (TNAU) are looking for ways to make rice richer in zinc
and iron. They have begun researching ways to bio-fortify the two minerals in
rice, considered the staple food across South India. At least two varieties are
likely to be readied for testing across the country this year.
TNAU's paddy breeding station has begun breeding a few new varieties of rice, which are expected to contain four to five times the normal content of iron and double the content of zinc. "Besides, starch, protein and vitamins, polished rice contains around 2 to 4 ppm (parts per million) of iron and 8 ppm of zinc," says professor and project director of Centre for Molecular Breeding, S Robin.
"We are targeting raising mineral content of polished rice to 10 to 12 ppm of iron and 24 ppm of zinc," he says. If they are successful, polished rice will contain more minerals than even what is found in brown rice currently-8 to 10 ppm of iron and 12 ppm of zinc.
Iron and zinc deficiencies in our diet can often cause a host of health complications like anemia, low immunity, hair fall, nail breakage and even mental lethargy. Though meat, especially sea food, is a rich source of zinc and iron, with a sizeable population in the region being vegetarian, mineral deficiencies are rampant say both endocrinologists and dermatologists.
"Iron deficiencies are more common than zinc, and is more common in women than men," says hematologist at Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, Dr Ramaprabhahari Satheshkumar. "It causes tiredness, dizziness and even palpitations,"
TNAU's paddy breeding station has begun breeding a few new varieties of rice, which are expected to contain four to five times the normal content of iron and double the content of zinc. "Besides, starch, protein and vitamins, polished rice contains around 2 to 4 ppm (parts per million) of iron and 8 ppm of zinc," says professor and project director of Centre for Molecular Breeding, S Robin.
"We are targeting raising mineral content of polished rice to 10 to 12 ppm of iron and 24 ppm of zinc," he says. If they are successful, polished rice will contain more minerals than even what is found in brown rice currently-8 to 10 ppm of iron and 12 ppm of zinc.
Iron and zinc deficiencies in our diet can often cause a host of health complications like anemia, low immunity, hair fall, nail breakage and even mental lethargy. Though meat, especially sea food, is a rich source of zinc and iron, with a sizeable population in the region being vegetarian, mineral deficiencies are rampant say both endocrinologists and dermatologists.
"Iron deficiencies are more common than zinc, and is more common in women than men," says hematologist at Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, Dr Ramaprabhahari Satheshkumar. "It causes tiredness, dizziness and even palpitations,"
"This is why we came up with the idea of fortifying rice,
which is a staple food," said Robin. "And we decided to ensure that
even milled rice will have these minerals, because most of the population
consumes only milled rice, even though milling (polishing) removes most of its
nutrients," he added.
The bio-fortification research, sponsored by the central
government's department of biotechnology and Indian Council for Agriculture
Research (ICAR) is being done in three steps.
First is to screen and identify traditional varieties rich in zinc
and iron, study the genes responsible for the mineral content and then breeding
them to create a new variety. "We studied and screened almost 200 varieties
of rice last year," said Robin. "A majority of them from Tamil Nadu
and a few from Orissa and Raipur," he said.
Scientists have identified a few genes, bred a few new varieties
and have planted them within their premises. They hope to get at least two new
varieties and send them for testing across the country. The other institutes
part of the research are M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Indian Institute
of Rice Research, Hyderabad and Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya at Raipur.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/TNAU-researching-on-ways-to-fortifiy-rice-with-zinc-iron/articleshow/52116870.cms
El Niño-caused
rice shortage could happen this year, lead to higher prices
Updated 9:13 pm, Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Photo: Jill K. Robinson, Special To
The Chronicle
ETHOPIA
- 14-month-old baby boy Kedir Beresp eats emergency nutritional feed
for severe acute malnutrition at the Halo Health Post in Ogolcho in Ethiopia's
drought affected Oromia region in January. Ethiopia is struggling with its
worst drought for 30 years, with millions in dire need of life-saving aid, UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned. At least 10.2 million people need food
aid in Ethiopia, a figure the UN has warned could double within months, casting
a fifth of the population into hunger.
IMAGE 1 OF 22
Immediately
outside Hoi An, rice paddies abound in various stages of growth and harvest.
There is an expected rice shortage for 2016 due to El Nino, which could cause rice
prices to increase.Add on yet another global effect of El Niño: A global rice
shortage could become a reality this year, due to the weather system. Along
with the shortage could come tighter rice supplies and higher prices, should a
few key factors happen in the next few months.El Niño-related extremes such as
hot weather and drought are impacting rice-producing areas, including India,
Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam, and grain stock is expected to fall, according
to an article from the Independent in England.
There
are a still a few factors in play if a widespread shortage is to be avoided.
One upcoming indicator of the shortage is how the monsoon season performs in
Asia."The extent of this crisis all depends on what happens during the
upcoming monsoon season," Dr. Samarendu Mohanty from the International
Rice Research Institute told the Independent. "If it goes badly in India
and Indonesia, and the crops don't get the rain, there could be real trouble
ahead."Mohanty said the situation is not quite at the level as when the
rice supply dwindled in 2008,
although BBC Newsreported last
month that rice shortages in the Philippines caused violence in the southern
Philippines, where people have been protesting the rice shortages.
Thailand
and Vietnam, the second and third largest rice producers respectively, are both
experiencing droughts which are affecting rice crops, according to Reuters.Prices have not yet been affected due to a
surplus, but could soon, according to James Feel, an economist at the
International Grains Council, who spoke with Reuters."As of now, we
haven't seen a large price reaction to hot and dry weather, because we have had
such significant surplus stocks in India and Thailand," Fell said.
"But that can't last forever."Click through the gallery above to see
other effects of El Niño, including coral bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef
in Australia.
http://www.sfgate.com/world/article/El-Nino-caused-rice-shortage-could-lead-to-higher-7394207.php
A
WORLDWIDE SHORTAGE OF RICE CAUSED BY 'EL NINO' COULD RESULT IN SKY-HIGH PRICES
Yikes!
Harsh weather conditions caused by El Nino, a complex series of climatic
changes affecting the equatorial Pacific region, have put a pause on the
production of rice in India, potentially leading to higher prices of the
food. “There is no doubt that the supply situation is very tight, and
this will inevitably cause a spiral in demand,” Samarendu
Mohanty, a doctor
who works for the Rice Research Institute, told The Independent. “The extent of this
crisis depends on what happens during upcoming monsoon season. If it goes badly
in India and Indonesia and the crops don’t get the rain, there could be real
trouble ahead.”The monsoon season, which refers to a period of prevailing
winds in the regions of South and Southeast Asia, takes place from July to
September and accounts for four-fifths of India’s annual rain. In 2008, these
weather conditions prompted India to impose a ban on all exports, increasing
prices to $1,000 per ton worldwide. Just last month, the average cost of a ton
of rice was $389.59, but this doesn’t mean Asia is out of the crosshairs.
“At the
moment it looks like the situation won’t be as serious as in 2008, but the
countries affected must act more rationally this time rather than panicking,
and they must learn from the mistakes of the past,” Mohanty added.India,
Thailand and the United States rank as the top three rice suppliers, producing
60% of the global rice trade, which amounts to 43 million tons. Still, El Nino,
soon to be replaced by La Nina, which causes temperatures to turn cold,
is predicted to affect Brazil.Only time will tell if Latinos will feel the
trickling effects of a global rice shortage
http://www.latina.com/lifestyle/news/worldwide-shortage-rice-el-nino-high-prices
05/04/2016
Farm Bureau Market Report
Rice
High
|
Low
|
|
Long Grain Cash Bids
|
- - -
|
- - -
|
Long Grain New Crop
|
- - -
|
- - -
|
Futures:
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Rice Comment
Rice futures
continued higher. July completed a 38% retracement today, with the next upside
objective at the 50% level of $11.93. The market will be watching crop progress
closely. If farmers plant what they reported to USDA in the survey, the large
crop will limit the upside potential. Currently, USDA says 72% of the crop in
the ground and 55% emerged. In Arkansas, the totals are 87% planted and 66%
emerged, so Arkansas farmers made lots of progress in a week’s time. However, world production is in question
as dry conditions persist in Asia due to El Nino, and that is providing support
and possibly pricing opportunities for the time being
Seeds for
Contract Rice Farming Planted
Khmer
Times/May Kunmakara
Wednesday, 04
May 2016
The Cambodia
Rice Federation (CRF) yesterday called on local rice millers, exporters,
farmers, development partners and the Ministry of Agriculture to work together
to promote contract farming to ensure the sustainable development of the rice
industry of the country.Sok Puthy Vuth, chairman of CRF, told Khmer Times that the
federation had a meeting with concerned parties yesterday to seek
recommendations and ideas and to map out the challenges for millers and farmers
who have already been doing contract farming and to set a clear role for the
CRF to promote the scheme.
“This
morning, we meet all of them to see the problems and successes and to set a
clear policy to implement the scheme,” said Mr. Puthy Vuth. “As we are
from the federation, we had not set a clear policy on the issue because in the
past, we didn’t have our network or staff close to the farming community,
although we had had many discussions with them and now we want to hear from
them about exactly what role should we play,” he said. Chan Sokheang, the
CEO of Signatures of Asia, a local rice miller and exporter, told Khmer Times
that his company had been implementing a policy with a few areas in two
provinces – Banteay Meanchey and Siem Reap – for one year, but many challenges
still have to be dealt with.
“We just
started to work on the scheme and we are trying to build trust between each
other,” said Mr. Sokheang.“When you look at the scheme it is good, but when we
started implementing we faced many challenges – like building trust between
each other, the fluctuation in the market prices and the quality of the paddy
rice. Now we are at the stage of learning from each other and I think we need
time for that,” he added.Song Saran is a successful rice miller who implemented
the scheme in 2013. He is the managing director of Amru Rice (Cambodia) and told
Khmer Times that his company had implemented a sustainable contract rice
farming project in 2013 with few agriculture cooperatives involved and with 200
farmer families in Preah Vihear province.
He said the project had helped alleviate poverty among the farmers, and there are about 28 agriculture cooperatives involved with 4,000 farmers who will be considered in Amru’s contract farming. It will make up approximately 20 percent of the total volume of Amru’s rice.“Contract farming is the key linkage among rice producers, rice millers and exporters. It is a vital part of improving the quality of rice as well as traceability. It has a huge impact on the living standards of the rice producers with guaranteed markets and prices,” said Mr. Saran.
“We will continue to expand year-by-year until reaching 50 percent of our total export volume by 2020,” he said. He added that Amru Rice has determined that farmers in Preah Vihear, Svay Rieng, Mondulkiri, Kratie, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Pursat, Banteay Meachey and Battambang are interested in getting involved in contract farming. The contract farming volume will increase to 10,000 tons in 2016, 15,000 tons in 2017 and 40,000 ton by 2020, he said.“The farmers are guaranteed a price, improved quality of paddy, reduced costs through financing and receive a premier price,” he said.Ieng Sophalet, a spokesman at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said contract farming is one way to boost farmers’ incomes.
“Many
farmers only have a landlord, and some of them don’t have the capital to buy
things like fertilizer and seeds, but with contact farming they receive a
budget to buy seeds and fertilizer,” he said.“Importantly, when their products
are harvested, the farmers already have a market for their products,” Mr.
Sophalet added. “Contract farming is a win-win policy for farmers and traders.”
Mr.
Sophalet said the agriculture ministry is encouraging all farmers to get into
contract farming.
However,
Mr. Puthy Vuth of the federation said not many millers are working on the
scheme due to a lack of trust with farmers and millers over contracts.“We don’t
have many rice millers who have been working on this scheme,” he said.
“At the
same time, we also heard there are a lot of challenges implementing the policy
and they have a lot of work to do with farmers, so they need to have a clear
process in order to build trust between farmers and themselves.“That’s why we
at the federation want to set a clear policy to deal with the issues before we
jump in.“Now we are trying to collaborate with all concerned parties over the
issues because it is a very good scheme. Now we want to make sure who will lead
the scheme, whether it be the federation, development partners or the Ministry
of Agriculture,” Mr. Puthy Vuth added.
Mr.
Saran recommended other millers who wished to work on the scheme that they need
to have a good model and market for this project.“There is a high risk of
failure in case of an inaccessible market,” he said.“We have done organic rice
since 2013 and the lessons learned and the model encouraged us to go for a
conventional contract farming trial in 2016,” he said.“We expect to have
results for conventional contract farming by the end of 2016, and we will look
at the challenges to address before continuing in 2017 on a larger scale.”
Additional reporting by Chea Vannak.
Nigeria: Emefiele's Devt Focus
Boosts Rice, Wheat Production
Recently, the Governor of the Central Bank Mr.
Godwin Emefiele, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu
Ogbeh were in Kebbi State to inspect wheat and rice farms under the Anchor
Borrowers Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Led by the Governor of
Kebbi, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu, Mr. Emefiele and the team carried an on-site
assessment tour of some the large farms operated by the over 70,000 farmers
being encouraged under the program.Kebbi state is one of the largest rice
producing states in the country. This year alone it is projected to produce
about 1 million metric tonnes of rice making it a critical part of the Central
Bank's plan to stimulate local productive capacity so as to reduce food
imports, reduce foreign exchange pressure on the naira, create jobs and grow
the local economy.
Speaking to journalists after the inspection
tour, the CBN governor said "we have gone round the farms; we got to a
place called Suru local government where over 12, 000 farmers were registered
under the Anchor Borrowers Programme and over 40,000 kilometers of rice farms
have been cultivated. We also stopped somewhere close to Suru where wheat is
being harvested. Now we are seeing the reality in Kebbi, that wheat can be
cultivated and grown in Nigeria".According to him, 78,000 farmers have so
far benefitted from the Anchor Borrowers Programme and the CBN gave them a
minimum of N210,000 to cultivate a hectare of land. "Thirteen states would
be involved in the rice programme particularly during the rainy season. We
would begin from the South-east states of Anambra, Ebonyi, Cross -River, Benue
and Plateau. We would also engage northern states of Zamfara, Kaduna and
Katsina", he said.
The assessment tour is significant. It serves
as practical proof that the CBN Governor beyond the rhetoric and policy
prescriptions on stopping imports of goods that could be produced locally,
building local productive capacity and creating jobs is indeed ready to step
out of the comfort of his office into the heat of the real field to get the job
done. The visit also shows his commitment and that of the federal government
towards ensuring that the key objectives of the Anchor Borrowers Program are
attained.
That he is matching words to action and
monitoring closely to see the translation of policy into farms on the ground in
places far from Abuja is commendable. The country is in an emergency situation
and the actions of its key policy drivers must be seen to reflect the urgency
for quick action. Thus, all hands must be on deck and all sleeves rolled up to
ensure that we move with speed towards the solution, which we all are now
agreed on.Now, the Anchor Borrower's Program which was flagged-off by President
Muhammadu Buhari in November last year at Zauro, near Birnin Kebbi for dry season
rice farming is one of the several CBN intervention programs that are designed
to boost local productive capacity. It seeks to create economic linkages
between farmers and processors, not only to ensure increased agricultural
output of rice and wheat, but to also close the gap between production and
consumption.
Under the programme, the CBN has set aside
N40bn out of the N220bn Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund to
be given to farmers at single digit interest rate of nine per cent per annum.As
part of the scheme's offering, smallholder farmers are entitled to loans
ranging from N150,000 to N250,000 to assist them in procuring necessary
agricultural inputs like seedlings, fertilizers, pesticides, among others, to
help boost agricultural outputs and productivity.So far the CBN has given out
N4.9billion in loans under the scheme. A total of 78,581 farmers have been
mobilized in Kebbi with a total of 570,000 direct jobs created in the process.
Relatedly, about 70,871 rural farmers now own and operate bank accounts and
captured under the Bank Verification Number (BVN) biometric project and timely
supply of inputs to 73,001 farmers.
It would be recalled that from January 2012 to
May 2015 the country spent over 2.41bn dollars on importation of rice. This
negative trend resulted in huge stock of paddy rice cultivated by local farmers
and the low operating capacities of many integrated rice mills in the country.
Relatedly, from the fourth quarter of 2014 to the third quarter of last year
alone, Nigeria spent $1.14bn (N227.78bn), while rice imports drained $591.47m
(N117.85bn).
With the progress that is being made with the
implementation of the Anchor Borrowers' Program, the likelihood of Nigeria
achieving self-sufficiency in the local production of rice and wheat seems more
probable. It is also proving critics of Emefiele's foreign exchange policies
wrong and showing more than ever that a lot can be achieved in Agriculture if
local farmers are given the necessary government support and incentives. It
also shows that Nigeria has the capacity to produce most of the goods that it
imports using its hard earned foreign exchange.
Besides the Anchor Borrowers program which
focuses on boosting rice and wheat production, the CBN has also implemented a
series of direct financial interventions which are meant to stimulate growth of
critical sectors of the economy. One of these is the N300bn Real Sector Support
Facility (RSSF). One of the beneficiaries of this facility is Psaltery
International Limited. The company which specializes in producing starch for
breweries who before now relied on imported starch secured an N850 million loan
which it has used to expand its operations, increase its output and increase
its workforce.
Other CBN strategic interventions in critical
sectors of the economy include the N220bn Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises
Development Fund; N75bn Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for
Agricultural Lending - from where the Anchor Program is funded and the N213bn
Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilization Fund whose aim to help stabilize the
electricity industry. The CBN has also set up a N50bn Nigeria Export Import
Bank Fund and the N500bn Export Refinancing and Restructuring Facility with
focus to boost the country's exports. Not too long ago, the CBN disbursed N350
billion to the Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM). The fund is meant to boost
the country's exports by proving low interest financial to local companies. All
these are helping to bridge the financial handicap which has held down
manufacturing growth for decades. It is estimated that the Central Bank has so
far committed over 1.3trillion naira towards providing credit to the real
sector of the economy.
These historic initiatives that are being
spiritedly pursued by the Central Bank Governor, with the active political
support of the President, if continued and sustained within the next couple of
years would help to greatly re-calibrate the nation's economy, diversify its
resource base and give it the necessary internal resilience to withstand
external shocks especially as a result of the volatility in oil prices which we
are currently experiencing.
While the prices of oil in the international
market have steadily inched up in recent times to record highs of $48 and there
is a strong likelihood of it hitting the $50 mark, they can only help to bring
temporary or short term stability to the current economic crunch. On the long
term, it is only a domestic focused policy - like the one being implemented by
Emefiele - that focuses on growing local industry, boosting local production
would help to strengthen our economy and ignite sustainable growth.
- Adegboyega is a policy analyst
Nigeria
K to 12 teachers train on climate-smart rice
agriculture
Recognizing
the urgency to tackle impacts of climate change on rice production, the
Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) conducted the Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and rice
production training, April 22-26.Forty-seven high school teachers from
across the country were trained to teach crop production in the next academic
year. The key aim of the training was to integrate lessons on climate-smart
rice agriculture in the curriculum of the participating schools. The training
was under PhilRice’s Infomediary Campaign, a youth engagement in agriculture
initiative.“This is the third year that we are focusing on climate-smart
agriculture and rice production,” said Jaime A. Manalo IV, campaign team lead.
Climate-smart
rice production technologies such as controlled irrigation, use of the leaf
color chart (LCC), and the minus-one element technique (MOET), and use of
drought and submergence-tolerant rice varieties were tackled by PhilRice
experts. Controlled irrigation is a water management technology to avoid
wasteful use of water. It guides a farmer in irrigating his/her crops. MOET and
LCC are efficient guides in nutrient management. The LCC is a simple tool to
determine nitrogen requirement of the soil. PhilRice studies show savings of up
to P3,000 or roughly 2 bags of urea due to LCC. On the other hand, MOET is a
simplified kit to diagnose micronutrient deficiencies of the soil. “We learned
about pest management, Palayamanan
Plus, and other ways to improve our farming. This training is very useful in
Kto12,” said Fe De Guzman of the Vicente B. Ylagan National High School in
Oriental Mindoro.
Among
the key highlights of the training was the lecture on Palayamanan Plus or rice-based farming systems. It is PhilRice’s
key strategy to increase income of the rice-farming household.
Palayamanan Plus
integrates several activities such as growing vegetables and raising livestock
and other farm animals. It tackles the importance of integration,
intensification, and diversification concepts in rice farming. Elizabeth Pajarillo of San Jose
Agro-industrial High school, one of the best implementers of the Infomediary
Campaign in 2014, presented how she is integrating the campaign in her school.
Pajarillo
presented their rice garden managed by their students and talked about the
agricultural extension activity, which they conducted in their surrounding
community on CSA and rice production.The training was a series of lectures and
hands-on activities. The teachers were also exposed to the rice machines
developed by PhilRice. Irwin Husmalaga
from the Climate Change Commission (CCC) discussed the science of climate
change to the trainees. His lecture aimed to demystify climate change to avoid
misinformation on the issue. The
participants also toured around the Science City of Muñoz and visited the
Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), and the Philippine Center for Postharvest
Development and Mechanization (PHilMec).
“Two
more batches of training on the same subject are slated on May 16-20 and June
20-24. The teacher-trainees will be an addition to the Infomediary Campaign
participating schools. By end of June,
there will be more than 200 Infomediary Campaign participating schools
nationwide,” Manalo said. The project is
in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Consultative
Group on International Agricultural Research on Climate Change, Agriculture,
and Food Security (CCAFS).
PhilRice Midsayap wins as 2015 Best Station
PhilRice’s
branch in Midsayap, North Cotabato was awarded as the 2015 Best Station, an
annual internal competition among the seven branch stations of the Institute
across the country.
The
94-ha station was cited for a very informative farmers’ field day and forum in
September 2015 which gathered over 700 farmers from southwestern Mindanao. It
was also lauded for good governance. Dr. Sailila E. Abdula, acting branch
director, believes that this recognition can be attributed to capacity-building
efforts for the 112 staff who serve as the backbone of rice R&D initiatives
of the station.
Abdula
said that the strategic development plan on ecological R&D programs for
southwestern Mindanao is already in the pipeline. Strengthening partnerships
and infrastructure development will be their key focus areas. “As a research
institution, we want to develop and give direction to
a
biotechnology center for Mindanao,” Abdula said referring to a molecular
laboratory that is expected to be completed this year.Also in 2015, the station
was recognized by the local government unit for its community development
efforts through rice R&D. Recently, Midsayap was awarded as one of the top
rice-producing municipalities in the Philippines by the Department of
Agriculture (DA).
Meanwhile,
PhilRice Agusan and Batac won the 2nd and 3rd places, respectively. They were
also recognized for continued innovation and technology promotion.“The Best
Station Award shows our culture of continuous improvement that reflects
innovation, invention, and discovery,” said Dr. Eduardo Jimmy P. Quilang,
deputy executive director for research and project leader of the contest.Quilang
added that this is also a way to demonstrate what the Institute promotes on
integration, intensification, and diversification in rice and rice-based
farming systems to help increase farmers’ income. One of the major criteria of
the contest is the performance of the branches in its R&D initiatives
(60%). It mainly evaluated a station’s adoption and promotion of the
Intensified Rice-Based AgriBioSystems (IRBAS) Program that aims to increase
farm productivity and address food security.
The
R&D criterion also looked into a station’s level of mechanization, varietal
demo, client satisfaction, innovation, and execution of a clean, green,
practical, and smart rice farming systems.
Organization
and management (40%) was the second major criterion which evaluated a station’s
adherence to the Institute’s Integrated Management Systems (IMS) standards in
its internal systems and processes. Leadership, income generation, linkages,
and networks were also looked into.Personalities and experts from various
fields served as the judges of the competition. The group was composed of Dr.
Rex Navarro (development communication, R&D management), Dr. Genaro San
Valentin (crop management), Engr. Donald Mateo (agricultural machinery), and
Ms. Thelma Padolina (plant breeding).
ECOWAS programme targets increase in rice production
APA May
4, 2016 7:07 pm
ECOWAS-initiated
Rice Seed Up Scaling Programme is targeting farmers in seven Nigerian states to
produce 60,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice between 2016 and 2017.
Mr. Sunday Okelola, the Coordinator of the programme, said in Abuja on Wednesday that the project was in support of the Rice Offensive Initiative that was inaugurated in 2014.
Mr. Sunday Okelola, the Coordinator of the programme, said in Abuja on Wednesday that the project was in support of the Rice Offensive Initiative that was inaugurated in 2014.
“The
main objective is to scale up the use of improved rice seeds. Rice has been
observed to be very important for food security sustainability in the
sub-region vis-a-vis increasing the farmers’ income, creating wealth and making
life better for the farming populace,” he said.“So, we want to see how to
improve on the livelihood of people. One way to do it is by promoting rice
production, and you cannot promote production without quality seeds,” he said.According
to him, this project is looking at utilising 1,200 metric tonnes of seeds to
produce about 60,000 metric tonnes of paddy within the two years and it can be
split into what can do in 2016 and what will do in 2017.
Okelola
said that the two-year programme would be implemented in Kano, Niger, Kebbi,
Zamfara, Benue, Ekiti and Ebonyi states between March 2016 and December 2017.
He said
the programme was being spearheaded by the Seed Entrepreneurs Association of
Nigeria (SEEDAN) in collaboration with the West and Central Africa Council for
Agricultural Research and Development(WECARD).Okelola identified other
participants in the programme as the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC),
seed companies, rice millers and financial institutions like the Bank of Agriculture.According
to him, the project also covers seed planning, connecting and building the
capacity of actors as well as facilitating access to equipment and proper
storage.
http://en.starafrica.com/news/ecowas-programme-targets-increase-in-rice-production.html
Lawsuit Could Put an End to Treated Seeds
A
disturbing lawsuit, Anderson
et al. v. McCarthy et al, has been brought against the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) in federal court by a number of commercial
beekeepers, growers and environmental activist groups for not regulating seeds
treated with systemic pesticides as pesticides under the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). These groups allege that dust from the
coated seeds has harmed the environment, including honey bees and birds.
EPA
currently regulates the pesticides used as seed treatments. A seed may
not be treated with a pesticide unless EPA has specifically approved the pesticide
for use as a seed treatment on that seed.
However,
seed is regulated by USDA and individual states. Currently seed bag tags
are clearly marked with the active ingredient used in the seed treatment. There
are additional requirements for language on the seed tag for neonic-treated
seed. The treated article exemption for treated seed, which is referenced
in the lawsuit, is a longstanding policy of EPA. An article is exempt from
regulation under FIFRA by virtue of the treated article exemption if the
following three conditions are met:
the
article contains or is treated with a pesticide;
· the pesticide
is intended to protect the article itself; and,
· the pesticide
is registered for this use.
Treated
seeds meet all of these requirements and thus meet the definition of a treated
article.
"If
rice seeds are registered as a pesticide it could put a heavy burden on growers
because each planting will be considered a pesticide application," said
Dr. Steve Linscombe, Director of the LSU Ag Center. "Each farmer
could have to register as a pesticide applicator and meet the educational
requirements. In addition, the regulations could easily become
overwhelming, basically giving control of planting decisions to EPA as each
seed would need to be registered as a pesticide pursuant to FIFRA. When
you potentially incorporate this process into new, incoming regulations
including the revised Worker Protection Standards, the Applicator Certification
Rule, and WOTUS, you may be seeing the end of treated seeds."
While
EPA acknowledged in its January 4, 2016 preliminary pollinator assessment for
imidacloprid that it posed a low-potential risk to bees when used as a seed
treatment, EPA's response to the lawsuit is unknown at this time. USA Rice
staff and members met with EPA earlier this year on this issue and USA Rice
continues to be engaged on the issue and will encourage EPA to mount a vigorous
defense against the lawsuit.
APEDA AgriExchange Newsletter -
Volume 1465
International Benchmark Price
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Sean Doherty credits teamwork for
rice farm’s success
Rice
grower Sean Doherty believes the success of his northern California farm is
based on a “we” attitude, rather than “I” – calling the operation a successful
team effort including his wife Melissa and their dedicated, hard-working
employees.“We have a great crew,” Sean says. “They are really good people, work
hard, and I’m thankful for them. They make the reason for working hard easy.”Sean
V. Doherty Farms, located at Arbuckle, includes Sean and Melissa and their 15
full time and up to 30 seasonal employees.Sean says, “I have been blest to have
wonderful people who agree to work with me and my wife.”
Doherty
is a third generation California farmer, who succeeded his father Michael
Doherty and grandfather James “Vince” Doherty after their passing. Vince
started the farm from scratch.
Sean and
Melissa have three children – Hannah, 14; Gus, 12; and Mary 6. The farm
headquarters is located several hundred yards north of the Colusa-Yolo county
line.
Diversified
operation
The
diversified farming operation includes about 2,000 acres of rice (under full
water allocations), along with almonds, processing tomatoes, alfalfa,
sunflowers, corn for grain, wheat, safflower, and hay crops. Some of crops are
grown for seed.The Doherty business also includes custom planting-harvesting
services for area farmers.Doherty acknowledges not only his enjoyment of
growing rice, but that as a rice connoisseur. Among his favorite dinner dishes
is a bowl of Calrose rice with sausage on top.He chuckles, “I would eat rice
three meals a day – seven days a week - if my wife would let me. I’d be as
happy as a clam.”Doherty says rice is a good crop to grow in California.
“Its
great quality rice and we have a great story to tell,” the rice grower says.
“We have great quality water and soil, and good people and their families grow
the crop. We grow rice efficiently with minimum inputs and take great care of
the environment.
http://westernfarmpress.com/rice/sean-doherty-credits-teamwork-rice-farm-s-success
Rice man Nipon dies, aged 71
- 5 May 2016 at 07:00 1,400
- NEWSPAPER SECTION: NEWS
Bangkok Post e-new
Wheat softens on ample stocks
PTI | May
3, 2016, 03.10 PM IST
New
Delhi, May 3 () In restricted activity, wheat prices shed Rs 5 per quintal at
the wholesale grains market today due to adequate stocks on higher supplies
from producing belts against reduced offtake by flour mills.
However,
other grains remained steady in limited deals.
Traders
said adequate stocks position on higher supplies from producing belts against
reduced offtake by flour mills kept pressure on wheat prices.
Meanwhile,
wheat procurement has increased by 10 per cent to 208.11 lakh tonnes so far in
the ongoing marketing season, helped by rise in production.
In the
national capital, wheat dara (for mills) eased by Rs 5 to Rs 1,615-1,620 per
quintal. Atta chakki delivery followed suit and enquired lower by a similar
margin to Rs 1,620-1,625 per 90 kg.
Following
are today's quotations (in Rs per quintal):
Wheat MP
(desi) Rs 1,850-2,100, Wheat dara (for mills) Rs 1,615-1,620, Chakki atta
(delivery) Rs 1,620-1,625, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) Rs 265, Shakti Bhog (10 kg) Rs
265, Roller flour mill Rs 850-860 (50 kg), Maida Rs 930-950 (50 kg) and Sooji
Rs 980-990 (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 5,700-5,800, Rice Pusa (1121) Rs
4,600-5,500, Permal raw Rs 1,900-1,950, Permal wand Rs 2,075-2,125, Sela Rs
2,400-2,500 and Rice IR-8 Rs 1,775-1,800, Bajra Rs 1,600-1,605, Jowar yellow Rs
1,800-1,900, white Rs 3,400-3,500, Maize Rs 1,370-1,380, Barley Rs 1,580-1,585.
SUN KPS SRK MKJ
Thailand takes world's top rice exporter crown in Q1
Thailand
topped the list of the world’s biggest rice exporters in the first quarter,
shipping 2.85 million tonnes of the grain, a 34% year-on-year increase.The Thai
Rice Exporters Association said Friday that the 44 billion baht in rice exports
marked a 23% increase in value over the same period in 2015.By comparison,
India shipped 2.3 million tonnes of rice from January-March while Vietnam
exported 1.4 million tonnes, Pakistan 1.3 million tonnes and 820,000 tonnes by
the United States.
However,
Vietnamese customs data released on Wednesday showed the world's No.3 rice
exporter shipped 1.55 million tonnes. The country said it expects
second-quarter exports to top 1.6 million tonnes.India's export volume was
estimated to have risen 2% in the quarter, while that of Vietnam rose by 58%
and 4% by the US. Pakistan's export volume dropped 9%.
In the
first quarter, the five biggest buyers of Thai rice were Indonesia (317,100
tonnes, an 877% annual increase), Ivory Coast (272,354 tonnes, up 86%), Benin
(266,246 tonnes, up 426%), China (257,708 tonnes, up 86%) and Cameroon (191,846
tonnes, up 251%).In March alone, the country exported 990,864 tonnes of rice
worth 15.2 billion baht, rising 26% by volume and 17% by value year-on-year. In
the month, exporters delivered white rice to governments in China, Indonesia
and the Philippines and broken rice to African nations.
The
association estimated the rice export at 700,000-750,000 tonnes in April due to
the Songkran holidays.Without government-to-government rice deals, rice sales
in traditional markets did not increase much because the purchasing power of
African countries remains low, the association said.
Bangkok Post
Say goodbye to hunger with this
easy tomato pulao recipe
Tomato pulao makes for a great healthy evening snack for
children.
Written by Ashima Goyal Siraj | Angola | Updated: May 4, 2016 8:10 pm
With
a preparation time of less than 30 minutes, tomato pulao makes for a great
evening snack option for kids. (Source: Ashima Goyal Siraj)
Tomato Pulao
Preparation: 5 mins| Cooking: 15 mins | Serves: 6-8
Preparation: 5 mins| Cooking: 15 mins | Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
2 cups – Basmati rice
2 – Onions, cut in chucks
2 – Tomatoes, cut in chunks
1/2 cup – Tomato ketchup
1 – Green chilli, chopped
1 tbsp – Ginger-garlic paste
1/2 cup – Peas, boiled
4-5 – Fresh curry leaves
1/2 tsp – Cumin seeds
4 tsp – Pav bhaji masala
Salt to taste
2 tbsp – Oil
2 cups – Basmati rice
2 – Onions, cut in chucks
2 – Tomatoes, cut in chunks
1/2 cup – Tomato ketchup
1 – Green chilli, chopped
1 tbsp – Ginger-garlic paste
1/2 cup – Peas, boiled
4-5 – Fresh curry leaves
1/2 tsp – Cumin seeds
4 tsp – Pav bhaji masala
Salt to taste
2 tbsp – Oil
Method
* Wash rice in running water until the water runs clear. In a deep pan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add the washed and drained rice along with a little salt and 1 tsp oil. Cook covered on low flame until the rice is cooked through. Keep aside.
* Wash rice in running water until the water runs clear. In a deep pan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add the washed and drained rice along with a little salt and 1 tsp oil. Cook covered on low flame until the rice is cooked through. Keep aside.
* Heat oil in a broad wok. Add cumin seeds.
When the seeds start to crackle, add the curry leaves, chopped green chillies
and ginger-garlic paste. Saute for a minute.* Add chopped onions and mix well.
Cook for 2-3 mins till the onions start to turn transparent.* Add the chopped
tomatoes, pav bhaji masala and salt. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes.
* Add the tomato ketchup and boiled peas. At
this point, you can add more veggies like green capsicums, cauliflower, boiled
carrots etc. Since I was specifically making for children, I kept it simple.
Cook covered for 2 mins.
* Fluff the rice with a fork and add to the
wok. Mix slowly to coat the rice with all the mixture.
* Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot.
Food
is never just food. I believe it’s story telling, it’s conversation. It brings
people together and it speaks a universal language! I love to play around in my
kitchen. The thrill of being able to create something new and sharing it with
others is what fuels my passion for cooking. The fact that dear husband is a
foodie and an honest critique helps! I blog about my adventures in the kitchen
at www.myweekendkitchen.in.
http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/food-wine/express-recipes-tomato-pulao-recipe-2784211/#sthash.pfXhQKU9.dpuf
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