Self sufficiency, rice security:
not either-or
The
presentation of the national rice-policy choice as one between food security
and self-sufficiency is characterized by falsity. The issue is not as simple as
that. It is not as facile a matter as this country’s having to choose between leaving
it to other countries to make Filipinos rice-secure and its striving to produce
its entire rice requirement.
A
country whose production of a commodity falls short of the national requirement
will buy it from other countries. That is a given. Of course, in the case of
the Philippines’ rice-supply record, given is spelled with a G: during the two
decades the Philippines has been either the No. 1 or the No. 2 rice importer in
the world. The way things look, the Philippines’ being a major rice importer is
likely to remain a fact of international life for some time to come.
Those on
the food-security side of the debate (1) are asking why this country should
strive for rice self-sufficiency when other countries can fill its rice
requirement and (2) are proposing that the government resources devoted to rice
production be diverted to other, public uses. Why continue to prop up Filipino
rice growers, they are asking, when Thai, Vietnamese and other East Asian rice
farmers can produce the staple at lower cost. It is the anti-self-sufficiency
group’s firm belief that the Filipino consumers’ welfare will not be imperiled
if the government were to withdraw its support from the rice industry.
Sound
economic policymaking does dictate that, when an industry is generally
inefficient and uncompetitive, whatever support it receives from the government
must be gradually phased out and diverted to more beneficial uses. But here lie
the flaws in the anti-self-sufficiency group’s position.
Not all
of the Philippine rice industry is inefficient. Many parts of the 3 million
hectares of land planted to rice and corn are high-yield areas. Chief among
these are the Cagayan Valley, Nueva Ecija, Central Mindoro, Iloilo, the Bicol
River basin and Central and Southern Mindanao. These were the areas that the
late Secretary (later Minister of Agriculture) Arturo Tanco identified with the
foreign aid agencies as the nation’s highest yielding areas for purposes of the
Masagana 99 rice program. Adequately supported with irrigation and other production
inputs – especially credit and agricultural extension services – these growing
areas can again produce rice sufficient to feed the Filipino people.
But
that’s just the point. The Philippine rice industry – and the companion corn
industry – have not been receiving the production support conducive to the
attainment of the highest possible yields. Before jettisoning the Philippine
rice industry and placing the nation’s food security in the hands of Vietnamese
and Thai farmers, the anti-self-sufficiency folk should go out to the
countryside and talk to the rice farmers.
This
discussion begs the question: Are rice self-sufficiency and food security
mutually exclusive? Must it be an either-or situation? What is so terrible
about being able to achieve rice self-sufficiency?
I fail
to see how rice self-sufficiency and food security can be incompatible with one
another. Given the kind of support that the governments of countries like
Thailand and Vietnam – translation: full support – I see no reason why the
Philippine rice industry cannot perform as well as its counterparts in those
countries and thereby make the Filipino people food-secure. Masagana 99 showed
that it can. Fully supported, today’s Filipino rice farmers can reprise that
program.
Finally,
two thoughts about the imports that domestic production deficits render
necessary. News about impending rice imports have the predictable effect of
bringing down the prices that Filipino rice farmers are paid for their outputs.
And imports undertaken by the National Food Authority – currently the only
means of importing rice – have become classic generators of corruption.
E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com
http://thestandard.com.ph/opinion/columns/business-class-by-rudy-romero/235690/self-sufficiency-rice-security-not-either-or.html
Why a Hong Kong plant
scientist with a biofuel research breakthrough has to leave for greener
pastures
Lydia Lam Pui-ying will further
her study at Kyoto University in Japan
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 04 May, 2017, 6:00am
UPDATED
: Thursday, 04 May, 2017, 6:00am
Hong Kong and Japanese scientists have discovered a new
way to make biofuel from rice straw, which may offer a cheaper alternative to
chemical methods currently employed.
However, due to a lack of
research opportunities in the city, a leading scientist in the study will have
to seek support elsewhere.
Lydia Lam Pui-ying, a research
assistant at the University of Hong Kong, spent three years studying tricin, a
special component in the cells of cereal plants, paving the way for publication
of the final study in scientific journal Plant Physiology.
The 29-year-old researcher said
she committed herself to plant science in secondary school but, after obtaining
a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate at HKU, she found it difficult to develop a
career in her home city.
“To be honest, there is no way
forward as a plant scientist in Hong Kong, which is very unfortunate,” Lam
said.
“Many [science] students here
have published papers in prominent journals, but most of them were not able to
stay in the research field.”
In September, Lam will start her
postdoctoral fellowship at Kyoto University, where she will continue her work
on plant cell research and the production of biofuel.
In the study published last
month, Lam and her colleagues from HKU and Kyoto found that energy production
from rice straw could be increased by 37 per cent after inhibiting the
production of tricin in the plant.
The process, involving genetic
engineering, makes it easier to break down cellulose – an organic compound in
plant cells – into glucose, which is then used to produce ethanol.
Plant biochemist Clive Lo
Sze-chung, another core member of the study, said the technology may replace
the costly chemical method being used today.
“The most important thing
is that we managed to increase glucose yield without hurting rice production,”
Lo said. “We hope some companies will come to cooperate with us, so we can
apply this technology on a larger scale.”
The same strategy may also be
used on other crops such as maize and sorghum, he added.
“Every plant cell has cellulose,”
Lo said. “If we can extract it in an efficient way, it will become a major
source of clean energy.”
Biofuel production was a hot
topic for scientific research globally, but in Hong Kong plant scientists were
struggling to get funding and jobs due to a lack of research programmes and
biotech companies, the researchers said.
“Hong Kong is relatively weak in
science, especially plant science,” Lam said.
“It is understandable because we
don’t have an agricultural industry, but I hope the city can make progress in
the future.”
Lo, who also teaches Lam at the
university, said he encourages young scientists to gain international
experience, but the government should also create opportunities for those who
want to stay.
“Compared with medical research,
we don’t have much resources in plant science,” he said.
“If the government can increase
its support, we will be able to get more local students to work in this field.”
A spokesman for the Innovation
and Technology Bureau said that the government had put in place various
programmes to support research and development in Hong Kong.
New initiatives included the
development of a technology park, which would attract leading institutions and
bring science talents to the city, he added.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2092675/why-hong-kong-plant-scientist-biofuel-research
Delta Research Center - Problem Solving for More Than One
Hundred Years
STONEVILLE, MS --
The Delta Research and Extension Center (DREC), located here in the heart of
the Mississippi Delta, is a component of Mississippi State University's
Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine focusing the majority
of its attention on research and extension activities in rice, cotton, corn,
soybeans, and catfish production.
The physical facilities and scope of research programs have increased since the station's inception in 1904. DREC now covers about 4,700 acres total, including approximately 200 acres of federally-owned land. Row crops are grown on about 1,800 acres, and soil types vary from very fine sandy loams to heavy clays making the research at DREC applicable to producers in a variety of soil environments.
Research and extension faculty work cooperatively to solve crop and aquaculture production problems and relay new solutions to producers. DREC strives to increase yields of commercial agriculture producers while also preserving the country's natural resources and environment.
"Our mission
here at DREC is to provide producers with the most current information needed
to make informed decisions on their farms to maximize profitability and
sustainability," said Dr. Jeffery Gore, entomology research professor at Mississippi
State University. "By transferring new research information and
technology through extension education activities and methods we are able to
focus on both the short and long term concerns of producers."For
example, Read Kelly, a Masters student under Dr. Gore, has concentrated his
studies on the impacts of insect pests in rice. "Dr. Gore and I are
doing research on the impacts of insects such as the rice stink bug, rice water
weevil, and fall armyworm on rice yields as well as the optimal methods of
management for these pests," said Kelly. "The majority of my
studies analyze the impact of water conservation and management practices on
rice water weevil populations and control." Another area of DREC's research focuses on
pollinators. "We are also doing a lot of research to evaluate the
occurrence of managed pollinators in rice fields throughout the mid-south to
determine the potential impact of pesticide use," Kelly added.
"It is important that researchers and farmers continue to work together to
discover the best methods of treating the decline in pollinator populations and
promote solutions that will benefit the insects as well as the farmers."
The work at DREC has had positive implications for producers across the mid-south and the country at large and research conducted here is a tangible example of the benefits that land-grant institutions such as Mississippi State University provide to not only producers, but consumers around the world by discovering innovative methods of producing safe, sustainable, and affordable sources of food and fiber.
The physical facilities and scope of research programs have increased since the station's inception in 1904. DREC now covers about 4,700 acres total, including approximately 200 acres of federally-owned land. Row crops are grown on about 1,800 acres, and soil types vary from very fine sandy loams to heavy clays making the research at DREC applicable to producers in a variety of soil environments.
Research and extension faculty work cooperatively to solve crop and aquaculture production problems and relay new solutions to producers. DREC strives to increase yields of commercial agriculture producers while also preserving the country's natural resources and environment.
The work at DREC has had positive implications for producers across the mid-south and the country at large and research conducted here is a tangible example of the benefits that land-grant institutions such as Mississippi State University provide to not only producers, but consumers around the world by discovering innovative methods of producing safe, sustainable, and affordable sources of food and fiber.
The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises
(UNISAME) greeted Shahid Rashid the chairman of Intellectual Property
Organization (IPO) on' World IPO Day' and complimented him on his dedicated
work on the geographical indications (GI) issue and invited his attention to
the other issues faced by the sector due to lack of prompt action on the part
of the policy makers. The basmati rice issue calls for the immediate attention
of the IPO..
President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver appreciated the efforts of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) for celebrating World IPO Day on 2nd May 2017 but was disheartened when the issues were not openly discussed at the forum and no question and answers session was held. Much time was spent on speeches and distribution of shields to the guest by the host and by the guests to the host. This practice of distributing shields must end. The shields must be given only for outstanding contribution to the cause of the business community. The participants were expecting an update on the GI approved draft which is on the threshold of becoming a law.
Thaver said the speech of the chief guest the governor of. Sindh Muhammad Zubair was really encouraging and inspiring. The governor assured his full support and expressed his availability for the business community. He recognized the importance of IP rights as a tool for promotion of entrepreneurship and foreign direct investment.
Thaver said there is no IPO tribunal operating in Sindh although there are two operating in Punjab.The aggrieved have to go to the high court which takes many years to conclude due to heavy burden of cases.
Secondly he said the basmati rice case is in the high court under appeal as although the learned registrar gave an exhaustive 92 page order on the subject of basmati trade mark ownership, the stakeholders were compelled to move the high court and the matter is now in the high court. The basmati issue demands an urgent decision as the HC will take time to decide. In the meantime it is urged that all the cases need to be transferred to the tribunal, which could decide faster.
Thirdly he said the IPO needs to work closely with the trade associations and the different chambers of commerce and industry to enlighten them on the subject of IP rights, trademarks, copyrights, designs and patents. The associations must also make efforts for the protection of the rights of their members and educate them on the subject.
President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver appreciated the efforts of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) for celebrating World IPO Day on 2nd May 2017 but was disheartened when the issues were not openly discussed at the forum and no question and answers session was held. Much time was spent on speeches and distribution of shields to the guest by the host and by the guests to the host. This practice of distributing shields must end. The shields must be given only for outstanding contribution to the cause of the business community. The participants were expecting an update on the GI approved draft which is on the threshold of becoming a law.
Thaver said the speech of the chief guest the governor of. Sindh Muhammad Zubair was really encouraging and inspiring. The governor assured his full support and expressed his availability for the business community. He recognized the importance of IP rights as a tool for promotion of entrepreneurship and foreign direct investment.
Thaver said there is no IPO tribunal operating in Sindh although there are two operating in Punjab.The aggrieved have to go to the high court which takes many years to conclude due to heavy burden of cases.
Secondly he said the basmati rice case is in the high court under appeal as although the learned registrar gave an exhaustive 92 page order on the subject of basmati trade mark ownership, the stakeholders were compelled to move the high court and the matter is now in the high court. The basmati issue demands an urgent decision as the HC will take time to decide. In the meantime it is urged that all the cases need to be transferred to the tribunal, which could decide faster.
Thirdly he said the IPO needs to work closely with the trade associations and the different chambers of commerce and industry to enlighten them on the subject of IP rights, trademarks, copyrights, designs and patents. The associations must also make efforts for the protection of the rights of their members and educate them on the subject.
How To Cook
Rice like a Rice Farmer!
Click the next link to Watch the
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shPg8X5k4YY&feature=youtu.be
Wheat demand to
touch 140 mt by 2050: ICAR
CHANDIGARH, MAY 2:
The demand for wheat in the country will reach
140 million tonnes (MT) by 2050, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
has said.I S Solanki, ADG, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
said here that he country has so far recorded unprecedented growth in wheat
production.
Solanki was delivering the keynote address at
the memorial in Hisar on the birth anniversary of Rao Bahadur Dr Ramdhan Singh,
a noted plant breeder.The crop yield, which in 1912-13 was only 790 kg per
hectare has increased to 3,197 kg per hectare in 2016-17.
“But in future, intensive efforts will need to
be made as national productivity of wheat has to be increased to 46 quintal/ha
to produce 140 million tonnes of wheat from the available land,” he said.
Highlighting the challenges facing wheat
production, he called upon agricultural scientists to develop new wheat
varieties which apart from being heat tolerant and resistant to diseases and
pests, are water efficient.He also emphasised the need to bridge the existing
yield gap between the different zones of the country.
Solanki said there is a need to develop wheat
varieties with at least seven tonnes per hectare of yield for the north-western
plain zone of the country.
Paying tributes to Ramdhan Singh, he said that
the scientists and students should draw inspiration from the legendary
scientist and work hard to contribute in providing food and nutritional
security to the country.K P Singh, Vice Chancellor, CCSHAU, in his presidential
remarks said that with the burgeoning population, the number of vegetarians is
also increasing.
Underlining the achievements of Ramdhan Singh
as a plant breeder, he said that today India is a leading exporter of basmati
rice.
This has been developed from the basmati 370
variety developed by Ramdhan Singh. He said Ramdhan Singh had developed 25
improved varieties of wheat, rice, barley and pulses in his life which resulted
in unprecedented increase in food production in the Indian sub-continent.
(This article was published on May 2, 2017)
Rice monopoly on hold
May 2, 2017 OBSERVER media
A controversial deal involving the importation
and distribution of bulk rice and sugar has been halted on the intervention of
Prime Minister Gaston Browne.
The Central Marketing Corporation (CMC) was
expected to become the sole importer of both commodities through a partnership
with a private company, BOAD Aggregates Limited, with which the son of the
country’s attorney general is affiliated.
Sparks flared on the weekend when details of
the agreement were disclosed via the media.
Browne acknowledged the concern indicating the
management of the corporation has been advised to not go forward with the deal
until the concerns are addressed.
“I understand that there are some
concerns and we have since placed the deal on hold until we can get further and
better particulars,” he said.
“The intent here is not to preclude
existing suppliers of rice and other products from importing. My understanding
of the intent was to deal specifically with basmati rice and to have the
unfinished product imported to Antigua and to have the polishing take place
here …,” the PM said.
Based on documents obtained by OBSERVER media,
BOAD has proposed to supply CMC with a minimum of 100 tonnes of rice each month
— the equivalent of four 20-foot containers — and 100 tonnes of sugar.
However, CMC indicated in the draft document
that it would not be able to achieve the feat without a full monopoly on the
importation of rice in Antigua.
CMC also presented similar concerns over the
quantity of sugar, which BOAD presented in its draft agreement.
The statutory corporation also warned that
there would be serious negative political implications for the current
administration “especially at this critical stage of its tenure, should a
monopoly be granted”.
Both parties had agreed to have follow-up talks
to address the concerns.
(More in today’s Daily Observer)
http://antiguaobserver.com/rice-monopoly-on-hold/
Vietnam’s
Jan-April rice exports fall to 9-year low – govt
Despite falling shipments and a smaller crop, Vietnamese rice prices remained
stable over the past month and were cheaper than Thai rice.
Vietnam exported an estimated
1.84 million tons of the grain in the first four months of this year, down
nearly 9 percent from a year ago and the lowest volume for the same period in
nine years, the government said.
April shipments were estimated at
550,000 tons from the world’s third largest rice exporter, up 21 percent from a
year ago and similar to March when volume hit its highest monthly level in a
year, the General Statistics Office said in its monthly report released at the
weekend.
January-April’s shipment volume
was the lowest since 2008, based on government data.
Low export volume in the first
two months of 2017 pulled down the four-month average. Vietnam exported 337,000
tons in January and 402,700 tons in February, below the monthly average of 409,000
tons last year, based on government statistics.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture
report late last month said preferential import taxes in Eastern European
countries and Russia and an extended supply agreement with the Philippines may
help boost Vietnam’s rice exports this year by around 9 percent to 6 million
tons.
Smaller harvest
The Mekong Delta food basket has
finished harvesting its key winter-spring rice crop, with paddy output easing 2
percent from last year to 9.8 million tons, the statistics office said.
|
Rice being dried in the Mekong Delta. Photo
by VnExpress/Cuu Long
|
The agriculture ministry blamed
higher rainfall for the lower output.
The winter-spring crop is the
delta’s largest among the three crops it grows each year, and most of the grain
is exported.
Despite a slightly smaller crop,
Vietnam’s rice export prices stood stable at the end of last month and were
cheaper than Thai grain. The Vietnamese benchmark 5-percent broken grade stood
at $350 a ton, free-on-board (FOB) Saigon Port, little changed from $347-$350
at the end of March.
Thai rice of similar grade stood
at $360-$375 a ton, FOB Bangkok, at the end of April, Reuters cited Thai traders as saying, while the Thai Rice Exporters
Association priced the 5-percent broken grade at $387 a ton on April 26, FOB
basis, up 3.5 percent from a month ago.
https://www.vietnambreakingnews.com/2017/05/vietnams-jan-april-rice-exports-fall-to-9-year-low-govt/
Plans to introduce contract
farming to 300,000 acres of farmland introduced
Submitted by Eleven on Wed, 05/03/2017 - 15:17
Writer: Nilar
Plans are underway to introduce contract farming into 300,000
acres of farmlands, in order to grow monsoon and paddy for the 2017-2018 fiscal
year, said an official from the Myanmar Rice Industry.
Myanmar expected to export 2 million tonnes of rice to foreign
markets during 2017-2018 fiscal year. So to meet this expectation, contract
farming and integrated farming methods must be developed on a basis of joint
venture, Ye Min Aung, the general secretary of MRI, said.
The MRI is required to negotiate
with the farmers from different regions to introduce contract farming. It is
expected that the monsoon and summer paddy will be grown on 300,000 acres of
farmland on a basis of contract farming during 2017-2018 fiscal years. The
monsoon paddy will be about 150,000 acres and the rest will be summer paddy, Ye
Min Aung said.He added that the MRI would develop contract farming
system through systematic techniques to help support the agriculture sector.
Myanmar managed to export more than 1 million tonnes of rice to
foreign countries over the last five years. The MRI expected that it would earn
US$700 million, with export volume reaching 2 million tonnes of rice.
Rice exports reached 1.4 million tonnes during 2015-2016 fiscal
year and 1.7 million tonnes in the 2016-2017 fiscal year. Myanmar is expected
to earn US$1 billion from rice exports by 2022.
http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/local/9176
Soggy fields slow start of rice
planting
Share5
By Ching Lee
Yuba County rice farmer Keith Davis
examines a chunk of wet soil from a field in Marysville he was trying to
prepare for planting last week. Soggy weather in April kept many Sacramento
Valley farmers from working their ground, resulting in a late start to the
planting season.
Photo/Ching Lee
Photo/Ching Lee
Time is running out for California rice farmers whose fields
remain too wet for planting.All last month, the Sacramento Valley should have
been buzzing with tractors working the ground in preparation for seeding.
Instead, soggy weather kept many farmers twiddling their thumbs or biting their
nails as they waited for their fields to dry out."It's really getting
nerve-racking at this point," Yuba County farmer Keith Davis said.Most of
the ground he farms on the east side of the valley was "still too wet to
do anything with," he said, so he's focusing on a small area where the
soil is lighter and he can begin turning it. But his fields with red clay dirt
in the lower foothills were "extremely wet" and needed more drying
time.
Spring rains have caused planting delays in the past, Davis noted,
but they were usually followed by drying periods long enough for farmers to get
in the field. This year, fields were so saturated that growers didn't have that
opportunity, he added.Typically, his fields would have been planted by May 15,
but Davis said that date is "almost unreachable now." The final
planting date for California rice is June 1, after which farmers with crop
insurance could seek compensation for prevented planting. Trying to plant after
June 1 is considered risky because it pushes harvest into the rainy fall
season, which could hurt yield and quality if the crop gets soaked.
Mike DeWit, who farms rice in Yolo and Sutter counties, said he's
tried planting as late as June and "got burned," so he won't take
that gamble again. Without crop insurance, he said he'd be "real stressed
out and a mess right now," as the indemnity helps pay the rent when he
can't grow a crop. In a down market year such as this, he said "it's not a
bad option to have."
He already knows he won't be able to plant 50 percent of his
acreage—land in the Yolo Bypass that's still underwater. On his drier ground,
he started some field work last week; normally, he would have started on April
1. If weather cooperates, he said he hopes to get his first field planted by
the week of May 22.
"We're going to be under the gun and may bunch the planting
up more than we'd like to," he said.
The bunching could result in other delays. Irrigation districts
with small canals and outlets are not able to deliver water to fields all at
once, Davis said, noting that it could take 20 to 30 days to put water in
fields before they could be seeded. Farmers may also be standing in line for
agricultural planes that seed their fields. On the back end, DeWit said delayed
planting could result in a logjam at rice dryers in the fall if farmers try to
harvest at the same time.
California farmers are expected to plant 539,000 acres of rice
this year, down from 541,000 in 2016, according to a prospective plantings
report released in March by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The department
reported that zero acres had been planted in the state as of the week ending
April 30.
With the adobe clay soil he farms in Butte County, grower Matt
Tennis said he'll be lucky to get 50 percent of his crop planted this year.
He's already made the decision to switch to growing a short-season variety
because of the narrow planting window he has left. As of last week, his ground
was still too wet to do any work and he said he likely wouldn't start until the
end of this week.
Field preparation takes time and patience, he said, as several
passes are needed to work up the soil, level the ground and produce a good seed
bed.
"We don't have an unlimited number of tractors sitting in a
barn ready to go out and get it all done," he said. "By the time we
can get in the ground, we would've lost one month."
With the late start, Tennis said he wants to plant as much as he
can, but conditions must be right so he could do a good job."If you cut
corners and slam your crop in, you're going to have greater weed pressure and
undesirable yield," he said. "This is not the kind of year where I'd
want to cut corners in planting my rice crop."
Not all areas of the valley were as sopping wet. In Colusa County,
farmer Mark Sutton has made some progress, having started working his fields
early last week. He said he expects to be finished planting by the second week
of June, as long as he doesn't have any more rain. Unlike growers farming along
the river bypass and dealing with floodwaters, Sutton said his biggest problem
has been with spring rains, but he noted most of his fields are now dry enough."We're
a week behind, but it's not the end of the world," he said. "Farmers
who plant earlier varieties are in a lot worse spot than we are, because their
planting window is right now."
Because a late-planted crop is usually also smaller, Sutton said
he hopes prices will improve to counter what may be lower yields this fall.
If the weather warms up and stays dry from here on out, Glenn
County grower Larry Maben said he thinks he can have everything planted by June
1. His fields are drying slowly and he's about two weeks behind schedule.
"It will definitely affect the yield, but it's not
necessarily going to be a tragedy," he said. "I've gotten good yields
planted late in the season."
With the current weak market, Maben said farmers are "pretty
close to break-even" at this point. Those who watch their production costs
"should be able to perhaps turn a profit," he said, but much will
depend on whether they have reduced yields.
Because it's so late, Maben said he expects some farmers will skip
a step or two to try to save fuel and time.Rather than waiting for one field to
dry out, Davis, who also grows wild rice in Yuba County, is allowing wild-rice
volunteers to establish in that field as an experiment. He said he's never done
this before and is not sure it will produce a viable crop, but with his
planting window closing, he said if the experiment works, he will be better off
than planting nothing on that ground.
Despite their early struggles, farmers agree their year may still
turn out fine. Get some 75- to 80-degree temperatures and some north winds
blowing, and fields will dry out quickly, Davis said."We could have an
ideal growing season from today until the middle of September and have perfect
harvesting conditions, and then nobody will even think about the planting
date," DeWit said.
Egypt has contracted to import
20,000 tonnes of Indian rice
Wed May 3, 2017 5:23pm GMT
CAIRO May 3 (Reuters) - Egypt, traditionally a rice exporter, has
contracted to purchase 20,000 tonnes of Indian rice, a cabinet statement said
on Wednesday.The government statement did
not explain why it had contracted to buy the rice. But in December, the
government had said it would import rice after cancelling a tender to buy
locally produced rice when the bidding companies all offered higher prices than
the government had asked for.
Egypt's
2016 rice paddy production is estimated at 5.1 million metric tonnes versus
annual consumption of about 3.95 million tonnes, a United States Department of
Agriculture report in October stated.
In
March, the government reached an agreement with private rice mills to produce
white rice, potentially ending a standoff over the buying price of last year's
crop that has led to millions of tonnes of paddy sitting idle since the
harvest.
The
supply ministry said at the time it had agreed to pay private mills 6.3
Egyptian pounds ($0.3784) per kilogram of white rice, which the government
would then sell at its outlets for 6.5 Egyptian pounds. (Reporting by Ehab
Farouk; writing by Amina Ismail. Editing by Jane Merriman)
http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFL8N1I569T
NO To Fixing Rice Prices In
Costa Rica
Costa Rica needs about 20,062 tons of rice
caught per month and has a consumption of 49.82 kgs per person per year,
according to Conarroz figures.
Q COSTA RICA – The Comisión para la Promoción
de la Competencia (Coprocom) – Commission for the Promotion of Competition) –
is opposed to the fixing of grain prices, the only commodity in the country
whose price is established by decree
Although Corporación Arrocera Nacional
(Conarroz) continues to insist on the negative effect of freeing up the price
of rice, Coprocom is maintaining its stance against the measure, arguing that
it has not served to increase the volume produced or improve the productivity
of the rice sector.Nacion.com reports, “…In a statement of April 20, the
Commission reiterated to the Ministry of Economy Industry and Commerce (MEIC) the
position it has maintained since 1998, as regards the inconvenience of
maintaining the fixing of rice prices … in addition, it pronounced itself
against the setting of minimum prices to the consumer, a measure that has been
applied since 2013 and which, according to Coprocom, harms consumers in
acquiring an essential product in the Costa Rican basket.”
The Coprocom is an agency of the MEIC, but its
role is totally independent.The measure, fixing prices by decree, has been
questioned by some countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO), an intergovernmental organization which
regulates international trade, as it is described as a subsidy or transfer of
resources from the consumer to the producer.Rice is the product most demanded
in Costa Rica. Some 20,062 tons are required per month and has a consumption of
49.82 kilos per person per year, according to Conarroz figures.The government
of Costa Rica, by Executive Decree, set the producer price and the minimum and
maximum consumer price for different presentations (packaging) and qualities of
milled rice, either locally produced or imported.
The decree also sets the price for all the
available rice qualities in the market. For instance, it sets the price for
milled rice packaged in 46 kg bags for a rice
qualities of 80/20 (80 percent whole grain and 20 percent broken grain) and
lower. It also sets the price per kg for those qualities of rice, and does the
same for other rice qualities such as 90/10 all the way to 99/1.
The decree further limits market competition by
indicating: “it is considered contrary to price regulation, any commercial
practice which tries to change the intentions of the legislator in this matter;
some of these practices are: attaching of additional products, raffles,
promotions, offers or similar practices; the above because the regulation has
the goal of strengthening the proper functioning of the rice market, searching
for a balance between the producer, the consumer, and the millers, according to
article 50 of the Political Constitution”http://qcostarica.com/no-to-fixing-rice-prices-in-costa-rica/
Kogi woos World Bank, wants to
become largest rice producer in North Central
Mr Kehinde Oloruntoba, the state Commissioner
for Agriculture
The Kogi
Government has appealed to the World Bank, through its FADAMA III AF
intervention project, to facilitate the state’s plans to become the largest
producer of rice in North Central Nigeria. Mr Kehinde Oloruntoba, the state Commissioner
for Agriculture, made the appeal on Tuesday when he received the Mid-Term
Review Mission Team of the World Bank/FGN on Fadama III Additional Financing
(AF) Project in Lokoja.
He said that the appeal became imperative in
view of the enormous agricultural potential of the state, coupled with the
myriad opportunities that were currently being wasted.
Oloruntoba said that the intervention would
also enable the state to attain its desired target of becoming the largest
producer of rice in the North Central geopolitical zone, while addressing youth
unemployment.
“We have just completed some arrangements with
a private investor who will be establishing a rice mill, capable of milling 50
tonnes of rice per day, at Omi in Yagba West Local Government Area of the
state.”
“The Federal Government has also pledged to set
up another rice mill with the same capacity in Ibaji and so, we must upscale
our rice cultivation to produce paddy rice to feed these mills,” he said.
Oloruntoba appealed to the team to urgently
consider the request, adding that the state government had already mobilised
all the stakeholders to provide all the necessary logistics for the venture.“We
need the intervention because the resources that are available to the state may
not be enough to pursue the project but if we have intervention from the World
Bank and other development partners, we would be able to actualise all our rice
development plans,” he said.
Earlier, Dr Adetunji Oredipe, the Task Team
Leader, Fadama III AF, said that the mid-term review mission team was in the
state to re-assess the intervention programme, with a view to finding pragmatic
solutions to the challenges facing the programme.
Besides, Oredipe said that Kogi had signed a subsidiary
agreement to access a 20-million-U.S.-dollar facility but had thus far drawn
only three million dollars for its intervention projects.
He, however, said that a new window of
opportunity to access the funds had opened with the extension of the programme
by eight months for the benefit of the north-eastern states which were hitherto
ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency.
He solicited the support of the Kogi Government
for the success of the Fadama III AF in the state by waiving the new order
compelling all the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to operate a
Single Treasury Account (TSA).
He added that the practice would impede
progress of the programme.
Oredipe said the four-day mid-term review would
enable the team to address issues regarding the perceptible successes or
glitches of the FADAMA III AF programme in the state and identify specific
areas that required modifications or outright overhaul.
Rice planting starts early with eye to rain
3 May 2017 at 09:48 3,373 viewed1 comments
NEWSPAPER SECTION: NEWS | WRITER: APINYA
WIPATAYOTIN
Water has been discharged into the irrigation
system at Bang Ban district of Ayutthaya province on Tuesday. (Photo by Sunthon
Pongpao)
The rice farming season in the lower Chao
Phraya River basin has started early this year to allow paddy fields there to
retain water during the rainy season once this harvest is out the way,
according to the Department of Royal Irrigation.
Sanchai Ketworrachai, chief of the Department
of Royal Irrigation, said the department is ready to discharge water from the
dams to irrigate rice fields in 12 lower-lying areas along the lower Chao
Phraya River basin, in Ayutthaya, Chai Nat, Ang Thong, Sing Buri, Lop Buri and
Pathum Thani provinces.
The rice planting season started on May 1,
instead of being traditionally held after the Royal Ploughing Ceremony, which
this year falls on May 12.
The department wanted to replicate the success
it had in starting the planting season early in Phitsanulok's Bang Rakam, a
low-lying area where farmers began planting rice last month. The harvest is
expected in July. The plan hopes to avoid any possible damage caused by
potential flooding in the rainy season.
Water has been released into the irrigation
system to support 1.15 million rai in the lower Chao Phraya River basin, he
said. According to the plan, the harvest can be done in August, which can
prevent the yield loss from heavy flood happening during September and October.
After the harvest, the paddy fields can become
water retention zones, called kaem ling or monkey cheeks, during the rainy season. This hopes to avoid
the impact of heavy rain in urban areas, including big cities such as Pathum
Thani and Bangkok, which were severely hit by floods in 2011.
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