26th August,2017 daily global,regional and local rice e-newsletter by riceplus magazine

Swiss Ambassador interacts with rice growers

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Staff Reporter

Sheikhupura

The capacity building training workshop was organized by Rice Partners Pvt. Ltd (RPL) in collaboration with MARS food, Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation. Ambassador of Switzerland to Pakistan Marc P. George participated in the training session and interacted with the Rice Partners Pvt Ltd contracted farmers. Talking to the participants he said, he has been in Pakistan for the last four years and it’s always a great honor for him when he communicates to the farmers.
Swiss Ambassador was briefed about the Rice Partners contracting and control farming program to improve the farmer’s livelihood by the Chief operating Officer Muhammad Ali Tariq. The chief operating officer has said, they are promoting sustainable rice production and water productivity in rice value chainwith support of SDC, Helvetas Intercooperation and MARS food. He further added RPL started this contract farming program in 2011 with 31 farmers and now in 2017 RPL has more than 600 farmers in their contract, whom they procure rice/paddy every year, and send quality rice to the global market. Moreover, RPL has trained more than 10,000 farmers in sustainable agriculture, water productivity crop in rice value chain and crop management. RPL contract farming program help the farmers a lot in terms of low cost on crop production, water efficiency in the rice cultivation and livelihoods of the farmers have been improved.
The Swiss Ambassador appreciated the unique model of contract farming system in rice value chain by RPL, The Swiss ambassador also addressed to the rice farmers and said, his country also had the same water shortage issue but they have resolved it with good management. He added that no country can alleviate poverty & hunger without agriculture and similarly no country in the globe can tackle this challenge alone, we must work all together. He further added, he is happy that Swiss government is supporting the farmers of Pakistan to preserve the natural resources and produce quality product for entire world. He also discussed the historical relation of Pakistan and Switzerland and role of SDC for empowering the communities of Pakistan.
Then Swiss Ambassador visited the rice processing plant and took briefing about details of plant, machinery & working system. Mr. Saadet Munir Haider VP Technical gave comprehensive briefing to the guests. He highlighted the traceability mechanism of rice maintained by RPL right from farmer’s field to each shipment; it was greatly admired by Swiss Ambassador.
Project Manager WAPRO Mr. Zafar Iqbal gave a comprehensive presentation to Mr. Marc. P. George about contract farming system, outline of WAPRO project & its vitality in implementation of global best practices for improving resource use efficiency. He explained multiple interventions initiated under the WAPRO project like land Laser leveling, direct seeding of rice, use of AWD tubes to save irrigation water and post -harvest management practices to reduce harvest losses. During his presentation he said that, RPL is brining the farmers in technology world, they collect the information of all contractual farmers through mobile app. Farmers have adopted latest technologies to grow rice, with low cost of production, their yield has been improved and they are earning more to spend on their children education and healthhttp://pakobserver.net/swiss-ambassador-interacts-rice-growers/

How Satellite Data Is Helping Drought-Stricken Indian Farmers Collect Insurance Payouts

Data from the Sentinel-1A satellite is providing insurance companies and the Indian government objective proof of land damage in the Tamil Nadu region’s worst drought in 140 years. So far, data from Sentinel-1A has been used to assess the validity of around 200,000 insurance claims, and over 10,000 farmers have received payouts.

By Eillie Anzilotti

Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India, is living through its worst drought in 140 years. Even during the monsoon season last year, rainfall was scant, smattering just a handful of areas and leaving the land cracked and dry. In the state of 68 million people, there are around one million rice farmers for whom the drought has proved disastrous; yields have suffered, and more than 254 farmers have committed suicide since last October.
Without another source of income, the farmers turn to insurance payouts to last through the year. The Agriculture Insurance Company of India was founded in 2002 to offer yield-based and weather-based insurance for over 500 districts in India. If a farmer’s crops fail for a season, or if their land is too dry to plant, the insurance company will reimburse the farmer for damages. But without objective data to back up their claims, farmers can struggle to receive compensation commensurate with the damage to their lands.

The Sentinel-1A satellite carries a radar sensor that can capture roughness and moisture of crops on the ground. [Image: ESA/ATG Medialab]A new satellite program launched in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) is providing that much-needed objectivity, and speeding up the process by which farmers are approved for payouts. Initially launched in 2014, the Sentinel-1A satellite has been delivering data for use in crop insurance in India since summer 2016, when the drought began to take hold.

“Due to radar wavelength, data can be acquired day and night and also in cloud conditions.” [Image: ESA/RIICE/TNAU]

The Sentinel-1A satellite carries a radar sensor that can capture roughness and moisture of crops on the ground. “Due to radar wavelength, data can be acquired day and night and also in cloud conditions,” says Michael Anthony, project director for the RIICE consortium, an international public-private partnership advancing the use of sensor-based satellites for crop insurance programs in emerging economies, which is overseeing the Sentinel-1A program in India. “This is crucial because the growth of rice plants normally happens during rainy season,” he tells Fast Company. Satellites equipped with optical cameras struggle to collect adequate data because clouds and poor lighting obscure image quality.

The Sentinel data speeds up the process, and does away with the need for farmers to back up their claims of crop failure or land damage–the satellite imagery tells the story for them.  [Image: ESA/RIICE/TNAU]

Sentinel doesn’t deliver data directly to the Agriculture Insurance Company of India; rather, it feeds the radar images to several intermediaries, including the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, which processes the data, and the Tamil Nadu Department of Agriculture. Working with the University and the Department of Agriculture, the insurers can identify the areas in which rice sowing failed or farmers were unable to plant altogether, Anthony says; in those cases, farmers are eligible to receive up to 25% of the total sum insured for their plot. So far, data from Sentinel-1A has been used to assess the validity of around 200,000 insurance claims, and over 10,000 farmers have received payouts. The Sentinel data speeds up the process, and does away with the need for farmers to back up their claims of crop failure or land damage–the satellite imagery tells the story for them.
While Sentinel-1A data will continue to help farmers in Tamil Nadu access insurance payouts, RIICE is also operating in other countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines, where the International Rice Research Institute is developing a way to use the data to estimate rice yield over the course of a season; it’s also proven useful to assess damage from floods. Especially as climate change makes events like floods and droughts both more unpredictable and more extreme, access to objective data to ensure farmers receive adequate and speedy compensation will be critical.

https://www.fastcompany.com/40456381/how-satellite-data-is-helping-drought-stricken-indian-farmers-collect-insurance-payouts

Swiss Ambassador interacts with rice growers

Staff Reporter

Sheikhupura

The capacity building training workshop was organized by Rice Partners Pvt. Ltd (RPL) in collaboration with MARS food, Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation. Ambassador of Switzerland to Pakistan Marc P. George participated in the training session and interacted with the Rice Partners Pvt Ltd contracted farmers. Talking to the participants he said, he has been in Pakistan for the last four years and it’s always a great honor for him when he communicates to the farmers.
Swiss Ambassador was briefed about the Rice Partners contracting and control farming program to improve the farmer’s livelihood by the Chief operating Officer Muhammad Ali Tariq. The chief operating officer has said, they are promoting sustainable rice production and water productivity in rice value chainwith support of SDC, Helvetas Intercooperation and MARS food. He further added RPL started this contract farming program in 2011 with 31 farmers and now in 2017 RPL has more than 600 farmers in their contract, whom they procure rice/paddy every year, and send quality rice to the global market. Moreover, RPL has trained more than 10,000 farmers in sustainable agriculture, water productivity crop in rice value chain and crop management. RPL contract farming program help the farmers a lot in terms of low cost on crop production, water efficiency in the rice cultivation and livelihoods of the farmers have been improved.
The Swiss Ambassador appreciated the unique model of contract farming system in rice value chain by RPL, The Swiss ambassador also addressed to the rice farmers and said, his country also had the same water shortage issue but they have resolved it with good management. He added that no country can alleviate poverty & hunger without agriculture and similarly no country in the globe can tackle this challenge alone, we must work all together. He further added, he is happy that Swiss government is supporting the farmers of Pakistan to preserve the natural resources and produce quality product for entire world. He also discussed the historical relation of Pakistan and Switzerland and role of SDC for empowering the communities of Pakistan.
Then Swiss Ambassador visited the rice processing plant and took briefing about details of plant, machinery & working system. Mr. Saadet Munir Haider VP Technical gave comprehensive briefing to the guests. He highlighted the traceability mechanism of rice maintained by RPL right from farmer’s field to each shipment; it was greatly admired by Swiss Ambassador.
Project Manager WAPRO Mr. Zafar Iqbal gave a comprehensive presentation to Mr. Marc. P. George about contract farming system, outline of WAPRO project & its vitality in implementation of global best practices for improving resource use efficiency. He explained multiple interventions initiated under the WAPRO project like land Laser leveling, direct seeding of rice, use of AWD tubes to save irrigation water and post -harvest management practices to reduce harvest losses. During his presentation he said that, RPL is brining the farmers in technology world, they collect the information of all contractual farmers through mobile app. Farmers have adopted latest technologies to grow rice, with low cost of production, their yield has been improved and they are earning more to spend on their children education and health

Indonesia agrees to increase fruit import quota for Pakistan

Mubarak Zeb KhanUpdated August 25, 2017

ISLAMABAD: Indonesia has agreed to expand the quota and period for import of fruits from Pakistan under the preferential trade agreement, an official told Dawn on Thursday.

Pakistan’s exports to Indonesia have dropped by almost $100 million ever since the implementation of preferential trade agreement (PTA), whereas, Indonesia’s exports have almost doubled during the post preferential treaty.Both sides have held three rounds to review the implementation of the PTA. At the conclusion of the third round held recently, Indonesia has agreed to allow imports of Pakistani kinno (mandarin oranges) from December until April.

Previously, they were allowed only from January to April.

Indonesia will also increase Pakistan’s quota in imports of fresh fruits, allowing imports of mangoes from May until October, which makes Pakistan the only country to be given such permission.

An official source said Pakistan has already comprehensively conveyed its concerns regarding unfavourable implementation of the PTA in the last two review meetings.

“Indonesia acknowledged the concerns raised by Pakistan and agreed to reduce the tariff to zero on two tariff lines of textiles, knitted and woven fabric, which the Pakistani side had demanded in the first review meeting,” the official said.

According to the official, the Indonesian government agreed to advise the relevant Ministry, and agency to import more broken rice from Pakistan. Indonesia also agreed to co-ordinate with the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, to start the site pre-inspections and certification of halal procedures regarding imports of meat and meat products from Pakistan.

Pakistan has requested Indonesia allow inclusion of 20 items in the PTA unilaterally to which it agreed to give positive consideration. Both sides also agreed to form a Joint Negotiation Committee to discuss further deepening and expansion of the preferential treaty.

Indonesia would send a trade delegation to Pakistan during Expo Pakistan, which is scheduled to be held from November 9 to 12, 2017 in Karachi. These measures are likely to increase Pakistan’s exports to Indonesia, which will help in reducing the negative trade balance between the two courtiers, the official claimed.

Pakistan’s commercial attaché to Indonesia, Muhammad Usman, told Dawn that these positive outcomes are a result of effective lobbying done by the Embassy of Pakistan in Jakarta. He said the embassy conveyed the dis-satisfaction of Pakistan at all levels of the Indonesian government.

Mr Usman said the announcements by the Indonesian government can be a good start to bring much needed balance in bilateral trade. It is important that Kinnow and Mango exporters take advantage of the huge Indonesian market, which has now been opened for them.

Additionally, knitted and woven fabric exporters can also take advantage of zero duty offered to Pakistan. If all the concessions given to Pakistan are availed, Pakistan’s exports to Indonesia are likely to increase by $ 100m in ongoing financial year, the commercial attaché claimed.

In the last PTA review, Pakistan’s delegation was led by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce Taimur Tajammal, while Indonesian delegation was headed by Iman Pambagyo, Director General, International Trade Negotiation, Ministry of Trade, Indonesia. The meeting was held on August 10-11 in Jakarta.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2017

https://www.dawn.com/news/1353778/indonesia-agrees-to-increase-fruit-import-quota

Swiss Ambassador interacts with rice growers

  

Staff Reporter

Sheikhupura

The capacity building training workshop was organized by Rice Partners Pvt. Ltd (RPL) in collaboration with MARS food, Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation. Ambassador of Switzerland to Pakistan Marc P. George participated in the training session and interacted with the Rice Partners Pvt Ltd contracted farmers. Talking to the participants he said, he has been in Pakistan for the last four years and it’s always a great honor for him when he communicates to the farmers.
Swiss Ambassador was briefed about the Rice Partners contracting and control farming program to improve the farmer’s livelihood by the Chief operating Officer Muhammad Ali Tariq.

The chief operating officer has said, they are promoting sustainable rice production and water productivity in rice value chainwith support of SDC, Helvetas Intercooperation and MARS food. He further added RPL started this contract farming program in 2011 with 31 farmers and now in 2017 RPL has more than 600 farmers in their contract, whom they procure rice/paddy every year, and send quality rice to the global market. Moreover, RPL has trained more than 10,000 farmers in sustainable agriculture, water productivity crop in rice value chain and crop management. RPL contract farming program help the farmers a lot in terms of low cost on crop production, water efficiency in the rice cultivation and livelihoods of the farmers have been improved.

The Swiss Ambassador appreciated the unique model of contract farming system in rice value chain by RPL, The Swiss ambassador also addressed to the rice farmers and said, his country also had the same water shortage issue but they have resolved it with good management. He added that no country can alleviate poverty & hunger without agriculture and similarly no country in the globe can tackle this challenge alone, we must work all together. He further added, he is happy that Swiss government is supporting the farmers of Pakistan to preserve the natural resources and produce quality product for entire world.

 He also discussed the historical relation of Pakistan and Switzerland and role of SDC for empowering the communities of Pakistan.
Then Swiss Ambassador visited the rice processing plant and took briefing about details of plant, machinery & working system. Mr. Saadet Munir Haider VP Technical gave comprehensive briefing to the guests. He highlighted the traceability mechanism of rice maintained by RPL right from farmer’s field to each shipment; it was greatly admired by Swiss Ambassador.
Project Manager WAPRO Mr. Zafar Iqbal gave a comprehensive presentation to Mr. Marc. P. George about contract farming system, outline of WAPRO project & its vitality in implementation of global best practices for improving resource use efficiency. He explained multiple interventions initiated under the WAPRO project like land Laser leveling, direct seeding of rice, use of AWD tubes to save irrigation water and post -harvest management practices to reduce harvest losses. During his presentation he said that, RPL is brining the farmers in technology world, they collect the information of all contractual farmers through mobile app. Farmers have adopted latest technologies to grow rice, with low cost of production, their yield has been improved and they are earning more to spend on their children education and health.

http://pakobserver.net/swiss-ambassador-interacts-rice-growers/

Gulf Coast agriculture braces for approaching Harvey, with Texas cotton, rice at risk

·         Agriculture is a major part of the western Gulf Coast economy, and cotton and rice producers have been rushing to harvest their crops ahead of Harvey.The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday that harvest activity has now been suspended due to the approaching storm.

·         Ag shipments have been interrupted along the Texas coast, which represents almost one-quarter of the nation's wheat exports.

Jeff Daniels | @jeffdanielsca

Published 16 Hours Ago  | Updated 11 Hours AgoCNBC.com

Eddie Seal | Bloomberg | Getty Images

A tractor carries a cotton module ready for transport to the gin at a farm in Texas.The path of the Hurricane Harvey is putting Texas agriculture at risk.The Lone Star State leads the nation in cattle and cotton production, and rice also is a major ag crop. All are vulnerable with the approaching storm.At the same time, Harvey is expected to delay agricultural export activity as it will interrupt ocean vessels and barge traffic along the Texas Gulf Coast.Most farmers in the western Gulf Coast region were working hard this week to prepare for the storm and harvesting as much cotton and rice as they could.

A majority of the rice is already harvested but Harvey could be potentially devastating to those farmers with crops still in the fields. Activity has now been suspended due to the approaching storm, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture."Hopefully producers have been able to get most of the remaining rice acreage out of harm's way in advance of the storm," said USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey.The Texas rice harvest was about 70 percent complete through Aug. 20, according to the last USDA estimate.

Michael Klein, a spokesman for the USA Rice Federation, told CNBC that rice producers have "actually have been pretty lucky because they got in a little early" to harvest the crop and he estimates as much as 85 percent of the acreage in the state is now harvested. He said what's mostly in the field now is organic rice, which tends to grow slower.

That said, Klein indicated that there's a risk heavy winds from the storm could cause damage to some of the harvested rice now in bins. Also, he said levees could break and cause additional problems.

"With most of the crop harvested, what the rice guys are primarily concerned with at this point is personal safety, houses, stuff like that — and flooding," he said.Still, Klein said rice is in better shape going into the storm versus cotton."The cotton crop in this area of Texas is the biggest and most beautiful that anyone can remember in years, and probably two-thirds of it is still in the fields. It's going to be disastrous for them."

Also, Klein said he spoke to several farmers in the storm path and heard stories about rice and cotton producers helping each other out in recent days trying to get crops harvested.

As for cotton, Rippey said the USDA estimates only 9 percent of the Texas cotton crop is harvested.

"Most of the harvested acreage is what would be in the path of the storm," Rippey told CNBC. "The fact that they've hit 9 percent is favorable because they've gotten that cotton out of the field in advance of the hurricane."Another big concern from an agricultural standpoint is the potential impact to livestock.Meanwhile, agricultural shipments have been interrupted along the Texas coast, which represents almost one-quarter of the nation's wheat exports and a sizable portion of corn and soybean exports.

The Port of Corpus Christi closed as it prepared for the approaching hurricane. In addition to ag exports, the port is a major exporter of U.S. oil.Also, the Port of Houston tweeted that its general cargo facilities would close at noon Friday. The port said it plans to "monitor conditions for Monday through the weekend."The last big hurricane to hit Texas was Ike in September 2008. It was a Category 2 storm that struck Galveston Island, so it was a little bit further up the coast than Harvey.

"Ike was a huge sprawling hurricane," said Rippey. "It did have widespread impacts."Ike was the costliest hurricane ever to hit Texas, causing $34.8 billion in damage and ranking No. 6 nationally in weather and climate disasters, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Ike also was blamed for 112 deaths.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/25/gulf-coast-agriculture-braces-for-approaching-harvey.html

Louisiana Rice: Hurricane Threatens Balance of State’s Harvest

By Bruce Schultz, LSU AgCenterAugust 24, 2017

The 2017 rice harvest is wrapping up in south Louisiana with overall results considered fair because of unfavorable weather, but an approaching tropical storm could complicate getting the remaining crop out of the fields. teve Linscombe, director of the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station, said 2017 will not rank among the top yielding years. “We’re going to have an OK crop, but certainly not near a record yield,” he said.Results vary widely. “It’s as much variation as I’ve seen in quite a while,” Linscombe said. “This has been one of the more difficult years for me to make an estimate on our statewide yield.”

At the start of harvest, yields ranged from good to very poor. “It’s been that way throughout the season with a gradual reduction,” he said

But Linscombe said he’s not surprised that this year’s crop has been subpar. Half of the days in June and July had measurable rain, and the cloud cover interfered with the sun’s radiant energy needed for photosynthesis.

Linscombe referred to an old observation that the best rice crops are made in years when pumping large amounts of water is required to maintain a flood to compensate for low rainfall.

Added to the cloudy weather was wind from Tropical Storm Cindy, which hit Louisiana in June just as many rice plants were flowering for pollination, he said. The winds damaged the panicles, resulting in numerous blank seed heads, resulting in lowered yields.Milling quality has been good, probably because day and night temperatures were moderate, with many days not exceeding 90 degrees. Excessively hot nights usually result in grains with more chalk, Linscombe said.

On a positive note, the ratoon, or second, crop is off to a good start. Harvest began earlier than usual because of earlier-planted rice, and that should help the second-crop fields.James Meaux, AgCenter extension agent in Calcasieu Parish, said about 80 percent of the rice there has been harvested. Some farmers in the Vinton area have not been able to harvest, and Hurricane Harvey could cause even more delay.“They’re probably really getting nervous now. Hopefully it’s not going to be as bad as they say,” Meaux said.

Some fields have been ready for more than a week, but they keep getting rainfall. “We just haven’t had a lot of consecutive dry days,” he said.

One farmer hasn’t been able to apply fertilizer on a field for a second crop because runways are too wet for airplanes.Meaux said yields have been in the high 30-barrel range to the mid-40s.

Results from the first fields harvested in northeast Louisiana are more encouraging. AgCenter extension rice specialist Dustin Harrell said the harvest recently began in north Louisiana.

“Excellent yields so far,” Harrell said. “The crop has just been tremendous up there.”

Some fields are producing in excess of 200 bushels (56 barrels), and one farmer had 215 bushels (60 barrels) per acre.

The difference in the north is the result of weather’s influence on the two areas of the state. North Louisiana had rain, but not when rice plants were flowering, and with drier conditions, sheath blight disease in north Louisiana rice has not been bad, Harrell aid.

Early yields in southwest Louisiana varied considerably. “We had some really good yields and very poor yields,” he said.

With the boost from the north Louisiana harvest, the overall crop from Louisiana’s 395,000 acres will be about average, Harrell said.

Keith Collins, AgCenter extension agent in Richland Parish, said growing conditions have been good in northeast Louisiana.

“Overall, we’ve had a good year for it,” Collins said. Adequate rainfall has reduced pumping costs.

Todd Fontenot, AgCenter extension agent in Evangeline Parish, estimated that 75-80 percent of the crop there has been harvested.

“We’re still fighting the rains,” Fontenot said. “The rice being harvested now should have been harvested a week ago.”Disease has affected this year’s crop. “There’s a lot of disease pressure, a lot of sheath blight, and that has hurt some yields,” he said.The parish average is probably in the mid-40-barrel range for both conventional and Clearfield varieties. Hybrids have varied considerably, with some yields exceeding 60 barrels per acre, he said.More farmers are starting or increasing crawfish operations, and that has reduced the number of fields that will be in second-crop rice.

Andrew Granger, AgCenter extension agent in Vermilion Parish, estimated harvest completion at 80-85 percent there.Yields were fair-to-good early in the harvest at 40-50 barrels an acre, but that has decreased. “Lately, it’s been the upper 30s or lower 40s,” Granger said.Farmers had to deal with heavy disease pressure. “It’s as bad as I’ve seen,” he said.Sheath blight was the worst culprit, he said. Some fields had Cercospora early in the season, but they were treated. “Some of that yielded as well as anything,” Granger said.Jeremy Hebert, AgCenter extension agent in Acadia Parish, said a large portion of the crop there is harvested.

“We are probably looking at 80-85 percent finished,” Hebert said. “Overall, the rice crop is good, not excellent and not poor, but a pretty good rice crop.”

A slight price increase probably encouraged more farmers to grow a second crop. “People were excited to see a little jump” in price, he said.Many farmers were not able to work the stubble for a second crop because fields were too muddy.Farmers didn’t have to use much insecticide, but disease resulted in a larger amount of fungicide use. “There was a lot of sheath blight and some blast,” Hebert said.Frances Guidry, AgCenter extension agent in Jefferson Davis Parish, said sheath blight has been a problem because of excessive rain.Yields there are not outstanding. “Everything has been average to low,” she said

http://agfax.com/2017/08/24/louisiana-rice-hurricane-threatens-balance-of-states-harvest/

Punjab cabinet raises paddy procurement

PTI

August 24, 2017 | UPDATED 21:25 IST

Chandigarh, Aug 24 (PTI) The Punjab Cabinet today raised the procurement of paddy for rice shellers in the border areas, while constituting a 3-member committee to ensure minimum payment to labourers in the mandis.Chairing a meeting of the Council of Ministers, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh also directed officials to take adequate steps to prevent any disruption of paddy procurement by the banned truck unions.

Giving details, an official spokesperson said the cabinet decided to form the committee, which will include the Labour Secretary, after the issue was raised by ministers Rana Gurjit and Navjot Singh Sidhu.The two ministers said middle men were exploiting labourers by paying less than their prescribed minimum wages.

Expressing concern over the matter, the cabinet decided that the proposed committee will examine and take measures to ensure that no such exploitation takes place in the mandis.

On the issue of the millers located in the border areas, the cabinet decided that against the 20 per cent incentive provided to them last year over and above their 100 per cent milling capacity, the millers will be allowed 40 per cent additional share this season.Besides giving an impetus to the rice mills in border areas, this will ensure minimum shifting of surplus paddy, said the spokesperson.

The cabinet also approved the Custom Milling Policy for kharif marketing season (KMS) 2017-18 for getting the procured paddy milled through approximately 3,600 rice mills situated across the state.The scheme for Custom Milling of Kharif 2017-18 paddy would be followed by all the procuring agencies - PUNGRAIN, MARKFED, PUNSUP, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, Punjab Agro Foodgrains Corporation, Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the Rice Millers/their legal heirs.

According to the spokesperson, the state was expected to procure 165.74 Lakh MTs of paddy and the target was to complete the Custom Milling of Paddy, thereby delivering the full quota of rice to Food Corporation of India by March 31, 2018.As per the customs milling policy, which becomes applicable with the start of the marketing season on October 1, paddy arriving in the mandis shall be procured by the government agencies as per the specification laid down by the Government of India. The policy provides for penalisation of millers who refuses to accept the allotted custom milling work or to lift/accept the allotted paddy from the agency, with his being blacklisted for three years, he said. PTI VSD BA

 http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/punjab-cabinet-raises-paddy-procurement/1/1033391.html.

Texas Farmers Race To Mitigate the Impact of Hurricane Harvey

AUGUST 25, 2017 10:03 AM

Hurricane Harvey regained strength in the coast of Mexico and is expected to make landfall late Friday.

© National Weather Service

By Anna-Lisa Laca
MILK
Online and Business Editor

UPDATE 8/25/17 10:00 a.m.: Early Friday morning, Hurricane Harvey was upgraded to a Category 2 Hurricane with winds up to 110 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Experts expect up to 35 inches of rain to fall on South Texas leaving the area “uninhabitable for weeks or months” the Service says.

UPDATE 8/24/17 5:15 p.m.: According to the Associated Press, two coastal Texas counties (San Patricio and Brazoria) have ordered mandatory evacuations as hurricane Harvey approaches the shore.

South Texas farmers aren’t strangers to tropical storm systems, but when one comes knocking while your two biggest crops are still in the field, the preparation kicks up a few notches. On Thursday morning, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a State of Disaster for 30 counties in southeast Texas. Hurricane Harvey regained strength in the coast of Mexico and is expected to make landfall late Friday. For the next 24 hours farmers will do all they can to minimize the damage.

In Matagorda County which is partially under mandatory evacuation orders, one of the counties included in the disaster area, Bob Reed of the Matagorda County Farm Bureau says up to 50% of the cotton crop is still in the field.

“The last reports from the gins is that somewhere from 35%-55% is still in the field,” he said on Thursday. “Farmers are still working. We’ve had a few scattered showers yesterday and some this morning, but for the most part we still have weather conditions that are conducive to harvest.”

Tracy Tomascik @ttomascik

Bailing SouthTX cotton ahead of #HurricaneHarvey and cutting it close! This is why crop insurance is important. Tomorrow it's all gone.

10:16 PM - Aug 24, 2017

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Unfortunately, Reed says there’s not enough time to get all of the cotton out of the field and a full blown hurricane would be devastating. Even the impacts of a tropical storm would do significant damage to what was a record breaking cotton crop.

Learn more tomorrow morning on AgDay TV.“Just a rain from a tropical system of any kind will damage the cotton that’s in the field,” he says. “High wind will pull cotton out of the bolls. If it stays in the bolls and on the stalk, then after the fields dry after the rain it can still be harvested but at discounted quality.”

South of Houston about 200 miles, cotton harvest is done, but combines are harvesting rice as fast as possible. Stinton, Texas, farmer Charles Ring, says prior to being forced to evacuate on Thursday at 4 p.m., producers in his area are rushing to get the bales out of fields and over to the gin for protection from potential wind, rain and flooding. Ring says area farmers from Stinton to Houston are harvesting rice as fast as possible.

Livestock producers aren’t out of the woods either. The plains of the South Texas are pretty flat, so ranchers and dairymen there are moving cattle to higher ground, Reed says.

“Starting yesterday or the day before ranchers started moving cattle from lower pastures into the higher elevation pasture as a precaution,” he says. “Big rain events have caused cattle to be stranded and some to drown in the past.”

While there aren’t many dairy farms in the area of impact, GH Cain director of member relations for Dairy Farmers of America says the grazing dairies in the area will prepare for the storm by moving cattle to safer pastures, in addition to ensuring their generators are ready to run their milk barns during a loss of power.

“When a hurricane is in the forecast and it’s likely to happen you take precautions you wouldn’t normally take,” Reed says.

According to USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippy, the Atlantic Ocean has been very active this summer.

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“So we have had a very active start or only been three years that have had similar active starts with this many named storms by the middle part of August,” he says. “Each of those three ended up being extremely active years all the way through.”

Unfortunately, this is likely not the last storm of the season to impact Texas farmers. They will prepare the best they can and then they will sit, pray and wait it out.Clinton Griffiths and Wes Mills contributed to this story.

New regulation on rice price ceilings to be applied starting Sept. 1

Stefani Ribka

The Jakarta Post

Jakarta | Thu, August 24, 2017 | 09:54 pm

Sacks of rice are stored at a warehouse at Pasar Minggu Market in South Jakarta, on May 16. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)

The Trade Ministry announced on Thursday that the government will start enforcing a new regulation on rice price ceilings on Sept. 1.Unlike an-already-revoked regulation that only classified rice into one type as ‘medium,’ the new regulation classifies rice into three types: ‘medium,’ ‘premium’ and ‘specialty’. The price ceilings apply to the first two categories only.

The price ceiling for medium rice or bulk rice usually white in color and found in traditional markets with 14 percent maximum water rate and 25 percent broken rice rate is Rp 9,450 (70 US Cents) per kg in all provinces of Java, Lampung and South Sumatra in Sumatra, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and Sulawesi; Rp 9,950 per kg in the rest of Sumatra’s provinces, East Nusa Tenggara and Kalimantan; and Rp 10,250 in Maluku and Papua.

The price ceiling for premium rice or those usually semi-transparent in color found in bulk or packaged with 14 percent maximum water rate and 15 percent broken rice rate is Rp 12,800 per kg in all provinces in Java, Lampung, South Sumatra, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and Sulawesi; Rp 13,300 per kg in the rest of Sumatra, East Nusa Tenggara and Kalimantan; and Rp 13,600 in Maluku and Papua.

Specialty rice includes organic, Thai, basmati, Japonica and others.

“The regulation for this will be out today and will be applied as of Sept. 1,” Minister Enggartiasto “Enggar” Lukita told a press conference after meeting with businesspeople and governmental institutions.

Previously, Enggar revoked the old regulation after it was protested by rice traders and distributors. (bbn)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/08/24/new-regulation-on-rice-price-ceilings-to-be-applied-starting-sept-1.html

Hurricane Harvey Taking Aim at Rice Fields 

By Michael Klein

WHARTON COUNTY, TX -- All eyes are nervously on Hurricane Harvey that is growing in intensity in the Gulf of Mexico and could make landfall in Texas later tonight or tomorrow morning, but the timing of the storm may spare much of the rice crop in the area - too late to catch conventional, and too early to catch the ratoon crop.

"This year Texas farmers planted 170,000 acres of rice and I venture we've gotten 85 percent - maybe even 90 percent - out already," said El Campo rice farmer LG Raun.  "You have quite a bit of organic still in the field, but conventional rice is, for the most part, already in the bins and the second crop isn't headed yet."

Timothy Gertson of Lissie, had finished harvesting his rice last week and spent the last several days helping other farmers harvest their rice.

"Nobody's equipment has been idle - if it wasn't moving, it was broken," he said.  "Some folks made the decision to harvest with a little more moisture than they would like, but better to get the crop in the bin than risk losing it all if the storm is a direct hit."

Slightly closer to the coast is Daniel Berglund who says he and his crews were cutting until 4:30 in the morning yesterday to finish up his conventional rice.

"I still have some rice and some beans in the field that weren't ready to be harvested, but not a lot I can do about that," he said.  "Rain earlier in the year put us about 10 days behind and I would have liked another day here now to work, but now that the rain has started, I'm securing the house, property, and equipment."

All three farmers agreed that while storm surge and excessive rain could be a problem, the real tragedy looming is on the local cotton crop.

Hurricane Harvey rainfall estimates    

"Everyone I talk to says the cotton crop here this year is the biggest and most beautiful they can remember," Gertson said.  "And they have not been able to get that much out even though they have been working around the clock for a week."

"At this point we need to wait and see what happens," Berglund said.  "There's been a range on how much water they think we'll get, but we can handle quite a bit - we've gotten 25 inches in 48 hours before and come out fine.  They're saying some areas could get 30.  We'll need to get it off as quickly as we can and hope this doesn't turn into a weeklong thing."

In neighboring southwest Louisiana the situation is similar with more than 90 percent of rice harvested, but concerns center on storm surge and water staying on fields for an extended period of time.

           

            Supreme Rice's Bill Dore (left) testifies before Senator John Kennedy (R-LA)

U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business Holds Field Hearing in Louisiana

By Carrie Castille

YOUNGSVILLE, LA -- Yesterday, U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, hosted a field hearing here entitled "Growing Opportunities for Business and Small Farmers in Acadiana" that focused on the challenges facing Louisiana's small business owners and farmers.

Panelists included representatives from Louisiana's rice, sugar, and shrimp industries.  Federal agencies that have oversight in these areas also participated in the hearing, including Joseph Laroski of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of the Secretary for International Trade, who emphasized the partnership with USA Rice to help enforce free trade agreements.

Bill Dore, vice-president of sales for Supreme Rice Mill and member of the USA Rice Millers' Association, provided an overview of Louisiana's rice milling industry and proudly stated that "Supreme Rice is sold on every continent except Antarctica."  His testimony focused on U.S. food aid, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance.

Dore also talked about the challenges the rice milling industry is facing due to tax and regulation policy.  He said these policies "threaten our tax base and threaten the harmony of our social fabric."  Kennedy responded that he wants to "fix the tax code and that it has not been changed since 1997."

When asked to identify positive changes the federal government could make to enhance the business climate, Dore replied there must be a level playing field in international trade and said, "If we are going to really move to free trade in this world, rice will really benefit.  WTO has everything in place to get things done but has been unable to accomplish the most basic reforms in the face of gross violations."

Kennedy was curious to hear how burdensome government regulations affect local agriculture producers.  He described the Environmental Protection Agency's Waters of the U.S. Rule, also known as WOTUS, as an example of an overly burdensome regulation and said that the rule "is a perfect example of the government gone crazy." 

Jackie Loewer, a rice farmer from Acadia Parish attended the hearing and said he was "glad Senator Kennedy recognized the role that Louisiana's rice growers and rice millers play in small business development" and hopes that the recommendations gathered from the hearing "will ultimately be implemented in Washington, DC."

China’s purchases of U.S. rice may involve packaged products initially

Food safety issues may influence initial makeup of U.S. rice sales to China, expert says.

Forrest Laws | Aug 24, 2017

U.S. rice producers and other industry leaders have been speculating for years about how much U.S. rice China would buy if its market was ever opened to them.Now that that has happened, the industry is hoping to ship at least 50,000 tons at the beginning and build on those numbers as U.S. exporters build relationships with Chinese importers.

Bob Cummings, chief operating officer at USA Rice, talked about the mechanics of those sales in a presentation at the Horizon Ag Field Day in Jonesboro, Ark

http://www.deltafarmpress.com/rice/china-s-purchases-us-rice-may-involve-packaged-products-initiallyErratic power supply irks millers

Sum Manet / Khmer Times Share:    

Khan Kunthy, CEO of BRICO says power outages can be as frequent as ten a day. KT/Chor Sokunthea

Rice millers in Battambang province are seeing red due to an erratic power supply affecting their production and causing them to lose money.Khan Kunthy, CEO of BRICO, which is based in Ta Poung commune in Battambang’s Thmor Kol district, told Khmer Times that the province’s electricity supply had been unstable for the past month.“We have power outages at least 10 times a day and this affects our production,” said Mr Kunthy.

“We need electricity to operate and when it is unstable we cannot dry paddy rice on time to be milled,” he added.“With the power going off this often, our production has fallen by 50 percent and this is eating into our revenue.”Mr Kunthy said the erratic power supply made it impossible to buy new stocks from farmers due to the old stocks still remaining undried.“So this has a ripple effect on farmers and it is something beyond our control,” he said.

Mr Kunthy informed local authorities over this issue.Hun Lak, the CRF vice-president, said the Cambodia Rice Federation would review the request before asking the appropriate ministry for action to be taken.“We will check the location and ascertain for ourselves the power supply situation before taking action,” he said.Mr Lak previously said that high electricity rates were eating significantly into the production costs of rice millers.

“We are trying to find ways to lower the cost of electricity. We want the electricity rate to be reduced to less than 400.60 riel (10 cents) per kilowatt hour for the agricultural sector,” he said.

Residents in rural areas pay higher electricity rates than those living in town, who pay 20 cents per kilowatt hour.Chan Sophal, Battambang’s provincial governor, could not be contacted for comments

http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5079872/erratic-power-supply-irks-millers/http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5079872/erratic-power-supply-irks-millers/

LAKE Rice: Ambode charges workers on fairness

ON AUGUST 26, 20172:17 AMIN NEWSCOMMENTS By Olasunkanmi Akoni As residents of Lagos besieged the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs, of the State to purchase Lake Rice, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has charged workers in all the designated retail centres to ensure fairness in the sale of the commodity. Ambode gave the charge through Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Oluwatoyin Suarau during a  visit to the Agricultural Development Authority Complex Oko-oba, Agege, one of the designated sale centres. Ambode He noted that monitoring mechanism had been put in place to ensure fair sales of the product in all centres on the basis of first-come, first-serve.

 Suarau said that the need to ensure access to the product was what prompted the state government to decentralize the sale to designated centres in all the councils. “I have gone round some of the sale outlets and I can authoritatively tell you that the process of purchase of the product is fair, simple, orderly and stress free.

Any resident irrespective of religion, tribe or social status can come in and get the product without any hassle”, Suarau said. While warning against possible complaints from residents on poor services, the commissioner charged workers at designated sale centres on customer satisfaction, stressing that quality service to customer should not be compromised. While noting that the prices of the product has not changed, he said that the 50kilogramme bag of Lake Rice is sold for N12,000 while the 25kg and 10kg is being sold at N6,000, and N2,500 respectively.

“The State government has made all necessary arrangement to ensure that the product is available during the festive period and beyond”, Suarau said. EID-EL-KABIR: 70 trailer load of Lake rice arrive lagos August 23, 2017 Lagos reviews LAKE Rice sales, assures of availability December 28, 2016 Lagos resumes LAKE rice sales ahead of Eid-el-fitri June 19, 2017 READ ALSO: Asari Dokubo mocks Buhari over rat incident PDP lauds Wike for receiving Buhari on arrival from UK Ngige’s body movement raises stir What Catholic Priest told Kanu about IPOB, Nigeria in closed-door meeting We set up Biafra Secret Service to protect our people - Nnamdi Kanu Isiaka dumps Kashamu, endorses Caretaker Committee in Ogun Video: Buhari's speech poor in grammar, quality - Osuntokun They said Buhari was poisoned through AC - Tanko NWAFOR POLYCARP View all posts by Nwafor Polycarp → PREVIOUS POST Akeredolu’s wife plans to make Ondo tennis hub in Nigeria NEXT POST Mayweather Vs Mcgregor Blood, sweat, tears to flow Disclaimer Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

 LAKE Rice: Ambode charges workers on fairness ON AUGUST 26, 20172:17 AMIN NEWSCOMMENTS By Olasunkanmi Akoni As residents of Lagos besieged the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs, of the State to purchase Lake Rice, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has charged workers in all the designated retail centres to ensure fairness in the sale of the commodity. Ambode gave the charge through Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Oluwatoyin Suarau during a  visit to the Agricultural Development Authority Complex Oko-oba, Agege, one of the designated sale centres. Ambode He noted that monitoring mechanism had been put in place to ensure fair sales of the product in all centres on the basis of first-come, first-serve. Suarau said that the need to ensure access to the product was what prompted the state government to decentralize the sale to designated centres in all the councils.

 “I have gone round some of the sale outlets and I can authoritatively tell you that the process of purchase of the product is fair, simple, orderly and stress free. Any resident irrespective of religion, tribe or social status can come in and get the product without any hassle”, Suarau said. While warning against possible complaints from residents on poor services, the commissioner charged workers at designated sale centres on customer satisfaction, stressing that quality service to customer should not be compromised.

While noting that the prices of the product has not changed, he said that the 50kilogramme bag of Lake Rice is sold for N12,000 while the 25kg and 10kg is being sold at N6,000, and N2,500 respectively. “The State government has made all necessary arrangement to ensure that the product is available during the festive period and beyond”, Suarau said. EID-EL-KABIR: 70 trailer load of Lake rice arrive lagos August 23, 2017 Lagos reviews LAKE Rice sales, assures of availability December 28, 2016 Lagos resumes LAKE rice sales ahead of Eid-el-fitri June 19, 2017 Asari Dokubo mocks Buhari over rat incident PDP lauds Wike for receiving Buhari on arrival from UK Ngige’s body movement raises stir What Catholic Priest told Kanu about IPOB, Nigeria in closed-door meeting We set up Biafra Secret Service to protect our people - Nnamdi Kanu Isiaka dumps Kashamu, endorses Caretaker Committee in Ogun Video: Buhari's speech poor in grammar, quality - Osuntokun They said Buhari was poisoned through AC - Tanko NWAFOR POLYCARP View all posts by Nwafor Polycarp → PREVIOUS POST Akeredolu’s wife plans to make Ondo tennis hub in Nigeria NEXT POST Mayweather Vs Mcgregor Blood, sweat, tears to flow Disclaimer Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/08/lake-rice-ambode-charges-workers-fairness/

Punjab approves settlement scheme for defaulter rice millers

Those defaulters choosing to pay back the principal as a lump sum amount would be entitled to go back to milling from the next season, an official spokesperson explained.

PUNJAB Updated: Aug 24, 2017 21:59 IST

Press Trust of India, Chandigarh

The move is expected to benefit the state exchequer to the tune of Rs 2000-2400 crore, an official spokesperson disclosed after a meeting of the cabinet, chaired by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh.(HT File)

The Punjab government on Thursday approved a settlement scheme for defaulter rice millers as it looks to recover “significant portion” of Rs 3,500 crore dues on account of undelivered foodgrain.

Under the one-time settlement scheme approved by the state cabinet, defaulter millers would be given the option of paying the outstanding principal amount in one go within 45 days, without having to pay any interest, or to pay in three instalments with 10 per cent interest, an official spokesperson said.

The move is expected to benefit the state exchequer to the tune of Rs 2000-2400 crore, an official spokesperson disclosed after a meeting of the cabinet, chaired by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

It was decided by the cabinet that where interest is paid, it should not be higher than the principal amount in any case.

Those defaulters choosing to pay back the principal as a lump sum amount would be entitled to go back to milling from the next season, the spokesperson explained.

The decision to announce the scheme was taken after detailed deliberations with all stakeholders, including the agencies and the millers, the spokesperson added.

In the case of undelivered rice, the defaulters would have to deposit the cost of the same on the existing Custom Milled Rice rates.

There were several rice mills in the state which failed to deliver their due quota of rice and had outstanding amounts against them, which continued to mount every year on account of compounding interest, he said.

These millers had been declared defaulters by the agencies concerned, along with legal/arbitration proceedings being initiated against them as per policy guidelines, he added.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/punjab-approves-settlement-scheme-for-defaulter-rice-millers/story-Q6S9aM4rh5mEi2VEVTEnZO.html

Smuggling: Rice Millers want Customs to set up intelligence department

By Dawud Nazifi | Publish Date: Aug 24 2017 4:41PM

 The Rice Millers Association of Nigeria (RIMAN) has called on the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to establish an intelligence department within the agency in order to effectively gather information aimed at tackling smuggling in the country.

The Association’s Chairman Peter Dama, who made the call during the inaugural meeting of RIMAN in Kano expressed concern over how some Customs officials handle tip-offs on smuggling activities.

“We commend the Customs for working very hard to fight smuggling in the country. However, my only concern is how some Customs officials when given tip-offs or other information on smugglers would ask you to take them to the location where the illegal activities are taking place.

 “This is dangerous because if the smugglers identify the person that leaks their secret, they could harm that person. I think to avoid this danger, the Customs can set up an intelligence unit that can help them indentify locations where smuggling activities are taking place,” he added.

Dama also lamented that smugglers are harming public health by importing 10 to 15 years old rice that was treated with dangerous chemicals that may cause terminal illnesses including liver cancer and kidney ailments.

Earlier in his address, Muhammad Shehu Adamu, a director at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, explained that Nigeria has recorded the rice production capacity of 15 million metric tons annually, saving the country about N300 billion which used to be spent on rice importation.

Adamu said in Kano alone, about 1.2 million metric tons of rice was grown successfully in 2016, adding that Nigeria has no reason to continue importing ‘poisonous’ rice from abroad.

The director, who also revealed the country’s plan to begin rice exports to West African countries in the next two years, also said “about 34 states in Nigeria are producing rice, with many now producing three times in a year”.

Also in his remarks, the Deputy Comptroller of Customs on Enforcement, Kano/Jigawa Area Command, Agbo A. Hyacinth disclosed that officers had seized more than 800,000 bags of smuggled rice in less than a year.

Hyacinth also said that importation of rice has become difficult in the last two years because of the inability of rice importers to source foreign exchange.

“You can’t source forex to import rice now and this is why you can hardly see a ship conveying rice in our ports. This is a very big achievement. If you want to import machinery, we can help you do it by easing the process,” he said

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/business/smuggling-rice-millers-want-customs-to-set-up-intelligence-department/211438.html

As radiation stigma fades, Malaysia raises Fukushima rice imports

Friday August 25, 2017
08:49 AM GMT+8

ICYMI

Malaysia reportedly started importing rice from Fukushima back in May, and has imported 29 tonnes so far. — AFP picKUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 ― Malaysia will increase its imports of rice from the Fukushima Prefecture in Japan as stigma over radiation following the nuclear disaster there in 2011 fades, according to reports.Japan’s Kyodo News Agency said that Fukushima aims to have exported 100 tonnes of rice and 15 tonnes of peaches to Malaysia by March next year.

“In the aftermath of the earthquake and the nuclear plant incident, the agriculture sector suffered very much. We have to deal with negative rumour. But things are slowly recovering,” Fukushima governor Masao Uchibori reportedly said.Malaysia reportedly started importing rice from Fukushima back in May, and has imported 29 tonnes so far.“Fukushima produces the best quality rice in Japan. We are proud to sell this rice,” said Ajwad Abu Hassan, the managing director of Malaysia rice importer Edaran Komachi Sdn Bhd.

He said that Malaysia is aiming to import 100 tonnes of rice every year, or maybe even increase the amount to 12 tonnes a month

Read more at http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/as-radiation-stigma-fades-malaysia-raises-fukushima-rice-imports#YgZyTcHyO6JjkqtG.99

 http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/as-radiation-stigma-fades-malaysia-raises-fukushima-rice-imports#B8UUOv19CagsZhj4.97

Scientists in China use nanoparticles to kill bacteria

25 August 2017 | News

Researchers used magnetic nanoclusters to immobilize bacteriophages and pull them into biofilms where they killed the harmful bacteria.

Courtesy- wikimedia

Magnetic nanoparticle clusters have the power to punch through biofilms to reach bacteria that can foul water treatment systems, according to scientists at Rice University and the University of Science and Technology of China.

Biofilms can be beneficial in some wastewater treatment or industrial fermentation reactors owing to their enhanced reaction rates and resistance to exogenous stresses. In the present study, researchers used magnetic nanoclusters to immobilize bacteriophages and pull them into biofilms where they killed the harmful bacteria.

The phages were combined with nanoclusters of carbon, sulfur and iron oxide that were further modified with amino groups. The amino coating prompted the phages to bond with the clusters head-first, which left their infectious tails exposed and able to infect bacteria.The lab is working on phage “cocktails” that would combine multiple types of phages and antibiotics with the particles to inhibit resistance.

https://www.biospectrumasia.com/news/35/9374/scientists-in-china-use-nanoparticles-to-kill-bacteria-.html

Punjab to shut down state-owned thermal power plants

With an annual power generating capacity of 13,900 MW units, Punjab is a power-surplus state and supplies would not be hit because of the closure

By: Express News Service | Chandigarh | Updated: August 25, 2017 6:24 am

It has also been asked to make recommendations regarding the fate of the employees at these plants. (Representational)

PUNJAB IS all set to shut state-owned thermal power plants that have exceeded the 25-year-life span. This was decided at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. It constituted a subcommittee to work out the modalities for the closure in view of the Central Electricity Agency’s (CEA) guidelines to retire non-viable thermal power plants (TPPs), said a government release.

The Cabinet sub-committee, to be headed by Health Minister Brahm Mohindra, will have Power Minister Rana Gurjit Singh, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi as members. The panel has been given a fortnight to submit its report on the move to permanently shut down state-owned TPPs in Bathinda and Ropar. It has also been asked to make recommendations regarding the fate of the employees at these plants.

The government statement said the 460 MW Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant in Bathinda and Units 1 & 2 of the 1260 MW Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant in Ropar had become non-viable due to the use of obsolete technology coupled with high cost of power generation.

It also said that the Bathinda and Ropar units had been operating to a mere 10-15 per cent of their total capacity. The statement said the closure of the plants would not lead to any shortfall in power generation. With an annual power generating capacity of 13,900 MW units, Punjab is a power-surplus state and supplies would not be hit because of the closure, which in any case is slated for winter, when the demand for power is low. With a peak demand of just about 11,000 MW units, the state had a 2,000 MW surplus power generation this year.In another decision, the Cabinet approved the cultural policy of the state thereby making Punjab the second state after Manipur to have a cultural policy. The policy, drafted on the basis of inputs, suggestions and recommendations received from stakeholders, would focus on inculcating cultural values among the people, said a government statement.

In another significant decision, the Cabinet approved of a one-time settlement policy for defaulter rice millers of the state, paving the way for the recovery of a significant portion of the Rs 3,500 crore outstanding against them. The move is expected to benefit the state exchequer to the tune of Rs 2,000-2,400 crore.

The Cabinet also approved the appointment of Indian woman cricketer and Arjuna Award winner Harmanpreet Kaur as DSP, while giving the go-ahead for government jobs to the two children of martyr Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, who was killed while fighting an infiltration bid at the Line of Control in May.

http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/punjab-to-shut-down-state-owned-thermal-power-plants-4812466/

5,000 tonnes of Jaya rice arrive from Andhra Pradesh

By Express News Service  |   Published: 26th August 2017 02:43 AM  |  

Last Updated: 26th August 2017 08:03 AM  |   A+A A-   |  

Minister P Thilothamon, Supplyco MD Muhammed Haneesh and P Raju receiving a bag of rice that arrived from Andhra Pradesh, from a worker in Kochi on Friday | Melton Antony

KOCHI: The price of any commodity having subsidy component will not be hiked during the entire tenure of this government, Civil Supplies Minister P Thilothaman said on Friday. He was speaking after receiving the first load of 5,000 tonnes of Jaya rice from Andhra Pradesh, along with A P M Mohammed Haneesh, managing director of Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (SupplyCo) here.

The government’s commitment to ensure quality rice reaches consumers during this festival season has succeeded with the arrival of Jaya rice from Andhra Pradesh, the minister said.The rice from Andhra Pradesh reached Kerala following an agreement between the ministers and officials from both the states. The full quantity of rice from Andhra Pradesh will reach the state in two days, he said.

Ration card holders will get the rice at a subsidised rate of Rs 25/kg while its price without subsidy will be Rs 37.50/kg. SupplyCo has opened 1,470 Onam fairs across the state to provide all the commodities at low rates, compared to the open markets. Mini fairs have also been opened in districts, panchayats and taluks across the state to sell goods at reasonable prices to customers, he said. The government was also able to bring in revolutionary changes in the public distribution system by procuring items directly from the Food Corporation of India. This has helped eliminate irregularities, he said.Thilothaman said the government is all set to begin the electronic point of sale with biometric  registration at all ration shops to avoid irregularities

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2017/aug/26/5000-tonnes-of-jaya-rice-arrive-from-andhra-pradesh-1648361.html

Rice Field Day is Wednesday in Biggs

08/24/17, 1:55 PM PDT | UPDATED:

The annual Rice Field Day is on Wednesday, Aug. 30, at the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs.

Registration and poster viewing will begin at 7:30 a.m., followed by the general meeting. The California Rice Industry Award will be presented at the end of the business meeting.

From 9:30 a.m. to noon, field tours will be conducted of the research nurseries focusing on breeding, disease resistance and weed control, as well as a rice equipment display. The tours will be followed by a noon luncheon.

There is no charge for this event, which is hosted by the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation, the University of California and the United States Department of Agriculture.

The Rice Experiment Station is located 2.5 miles west of Highway 99 on Highway 162, toward Butte City. Further information is available by call the Rice Experiment Station, 868-5481, or online at www.crrf.org.

How awful was rice pledging, really?

Experts and involved parties give their perspectives on the divisive scheme, with opinions ranging from scathing to almost conciliatory.

• 25 Aug 2017 at 07:50
• NEWSPAPER SECTION: BUSINESS | WRITER: PHUSADEE ARUNMAS & WICHIT CHANTANUSORNSIRI

Farmers are hastening to plant rice amid fears of scarce rainfall in Sakon Nakhon. PRATUAN KAJORNWUTTINUN

The verdict from the Supreme Court is out today on whether former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is guilty for her handling of the contentious rice-pledging scheme, one that officials say cost taxpayers more than 500 billion baht.Some casual observers and her supporters argue that her actions to alleviate farmers' plight was neither wrong nor a crime.

To put the matter in perspective without any political inclination, the Bangkok Post asked stakeholders and independent experts to address relevant issues.
Sharing their views are MR Pridiyathorn Devakula, a former deputy prime minister; Nipon Poapongsakorn, a distinguished fellow at the Thailand Development Research Institute; Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala, a former finance minister in the Yingluck government; Thai Rice Exporters Association honorary president Chookiat Ophaswongse; and Wichien Phuanglamjiak, president of the rice farmer group in tambon Khok Chang, Bang Sai district, Ayutthaya.

Is the rice-pledging scheme really a disaster?
MR Pridiyathorn: I once calculated financial damages incurred from the rice-pledging scheme for the first two years of the programmes -- the 2011-12 and the 2012-13 harvest years -- based on the pledging price, the actual operating costs and the rice volume sales disclosed by the Commerce Minister reaching 455 billion baht.
Based on my calculations, the Yingluck government spent 772 billion baht for pledging 27 million tonnes of milled rice, of which 633 billion was paid to rice farmers and the remaining 89 billion for operating costs in the two-year span.The government then bought rice at an average cost of 28,600 baht per tonne but sold it at an average price of 11,700 baht per tonne based on the 12 million tonnes of rice produced in the 2011-12 harvest season sold by the Commerce Ministry, creating a loss of 201.6 million baht.

"The mammoth scale of the scheme made it difficult to supervise and control."

MR Pridiyathorn Devakula
Former deputy prime minister

However, the entire loss from pledging 27 million tonnes of milled rice is larger than 455 billion, as the selling price for the remaining 15 million tonnes was lower than 11,700 per tonnes, as delays in the selling process deteriorated the quality of the stored rice.
Mr Nipon: The rice purchase prices offered were about 50% higher than the market price -- every single grain and grade rendered an immense impact on the Thai rice market. The rice mills were hard hit, as only half of the millers or 700-800 of the total 1,400 were qualified to participate in the programme. The scheme also completely eviscerated rice brokers, as the majority of rice output was held by the government, while exporters could not afford rice, the price of which was relatively high under the programme.
The worst part of the scheme was that rice farmers were encouraged to grow short-lived rice varieties, with some growing rice three times a year in anticipation of pledging as much as possible with the programme. This resulted in higher production costs, as farmers needed to use more fertiliser, insecticide and rice varieties, while the farmland rental fee was doubled accordingly, from 500 baht per rai per year to 1,000 baht per crop year, and water usage was prodigious. With production costs considered, some farmers were barely profitable. The programme is considered a classic case of immense distortion.
Mr Chookiat: In principle, the rice-pledging scheme was supposed to reduce rice supply during the harvest season when the rice output swamps the market, suppressing paddy prices and lowering farm income.
In a bid to help shore up the rice prices and support farmers, the government generally proposes to buy a certain amount of the new harvest under the pledging programme and store the pledged amount in state stocks for the short term, until the harvest ends. The pledging price is normally based on global market prices at the time, with an expectation that farmers will later redeem their pledged rice in the market, when rice prices have bounced back. Each year, the pledging programme may be run either for the main crop or the second crop or both. The programme has been implemented by several governments in the past but has never offered pledging prices that were much heftier than market prices.
Mr Wichien: The rice-pledging scheme is not a disaster, as farmers nationwide all benefited from the scheme, sometimes selling paddy at as high as 12,000-13,000 baht per tonne.

"Rice pledging is not and will never be a financially sustainable way of helping farmers."

Nipon Poapongsakorn
Distinguished fellow,
Thailand Development Research Institute

What went wrong with Ms Yingluck's generous rice-pledging scheme?

Mr Nipon: As one of the attorney-general's witnesses, I cannot comment.
Please note that the charges against Mr Boonsong and Ms Yingluck were not that their rice pledging "policy" was wrong. The charge against Mr Boonsong alleges fake government-to-government (G2G) deals, while Ms Yingluck is accused of breach of statutory duty and nonfeasance.
Mr Thirachai: The price was set at high level in the hopes of pushing world market prices upwards. As it turned out, world competition was stiffer than we thought, and prices were not as high as we hoped for and not sustainable. With the benefit of hindsight, the scheme should have been assessed after the initial results, and when the intended results were not realised, it should have been stopped, amended or narrowed down to a smaller scale, especially after the warnings from various independent agencies.
Mr Chookiat: Yingluck's administration modified the traditional pledging programme to purchase rice directly from farmers, offering prices about 50% higher than the market price, with no limits on the amount pledged -- buying every single grain. Direct purchase was applied to both the main and second crops. This led to the rice fiasco, as farmers opted to sell to the state instead of the rice market. The new rice supply did not enter the normal market to be sold off, resulting in overall market disruption as rice traders could not afford rice to supply and deliver to foreign buyers. Pledged rice, meanwhile, was left in state warehouses instead of immediately being released into the market, and the grains deteriorated as time went on.
Mr Wichien: What went wrong with this programme was that rice was spoiled in state stocks and rice went missing from state warehouses. The blame should be placed on rice surveyors or the warehouses hired by the state to store the rice stock, not on former prime minister Yingluck.

"Farmers are forever in debt, with poor earnings and facing constant risk of losing their ancestral land."

Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala
Former finance minister under
Yingluck Shinawatra

Have there been any negative effects since the scheme was enacted, such as damage to Thai rice trading and market forces?

Mr Nipon: The intervention in the rice market resulted in a huge fiscal loss of 607.2 billion baht as of Sept 30, 2016, according to a subcommittee overseeing the accounts of the scheme.
The loss increased public debt, which will be borne by taxpayers. In the medium term, financing the debt will crowd out public investment, thus affecting economic growth.
(a) The government intervention in the purchase of paddy and the sale of rice is highly susceptible to corruption because the rice sale was not conducted transparently, particularly the fake G2G charges against the politicians.
(b) During the implementation of the rice-pledging scheme, those who were participants of the scheme actively engaged in rent-seeking activities:
(i) Farmers excessively expanded rice production at higher production cost (and less profit). For instance, they used more irrigated water in 2012-13, which substantially reduced the stock of available water in the reservoirs in the following years (Thailand was affected by El Nino in 2015-16). Together with El Nino, the previous exorbitant use of water worsened the droughts in 2015-16.
(ii) Some millers aggressively expanded their milling capacity. Total milling capacity stands at 125 million tonnes of paddy, compared with annual production of only 27-30 million tonnes. Some traders also constructed new warehouses to rent to the government. Some millers have begun to experience financial difficulties as a result.
(c) Export losses of 2.81 million tonnes (or 43.4 billion baht) during the five cropping seasons (October 2011-May 2014) that the scheme ran for, compared with the preceding period of no intervention (October 2008-May 2011). Thailand also lost its reputation as a trusted and reliable rice exporter in the global market. It lost the Hong Kong market for hom mali and the high-value rice market in Iran.
(d) The scheme replaced the market mechanism with crony capitalism as the government undersold rice to a few politically connected traders. Most rice wholesalers, rice package suppliers and exporters were forced to purchase rice at higher prices from the complicitous traders.

"The scheme seriously distorted the market mechanism and contravened free-trade principles."

Chookiat Ophaswongse Honorary president,
Thai Rice Exporters Association

Mr Thirachai: The mammoth scale of the scheme made it difficult to supervise and control. Corruption at operational levels was difficult to contain. Farmers were induced to overproduce low-quality rice because of its shorter production time. And it was difficult to block smuggled rice from neighbouring countries.
It should be noted that the board of directors of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) and I, as the BAAC chairman, made many recommendations to help prevent corruption and fraud, such as the use of stock cards, surprise stock counts by external auditors and so on. The BAAC published these proposals in a green booklet that was submitted to both Ms Yingluck and Kittirat Na-Ranong, who took office as finance minister in late 2011.
Mr Chookiat: The scheme seriously distorted the market mechanism and contravened free-trade principles, under which players at all points of the supply chain levels are allowed to participate. The government intervened into the rice trading cycle, functioning as a giant rice trader that purchased rice at a relatively high price with no restrictions on the purchase amount. These actions critically altered the rice market, triggering tighter supply, as rice traders were not able to buy rice on their own terms. Traders who bought rice during that period were forced to pay higher prices, weakening Thai competitiveness in the global market, as indicated by a sharp fall in Thai rice exports during 2012-13.
Mr Wichien: The negative impact stemmed from unfair accusations from the military and the political opponents. From the farmers' perspectives, Ms Yingluck's scheme was highly successful.

What can be learnt from such an ambitious populist policy, rendered by a democratically elected government?

Mr Nipon: (a) Rice pledging is not and will never be a financially sustainable way of helping farmers. As a rice-exporting country, the only way to shore up the rice price for farmers is to subsidise farmers' domestic prices at lower than global prices. Simple economics tells us that when the rice price is artificially fixed above market equilibrium, most, if not all, farmers will expand production by increasing their inputs. Their production costs will increase, especially due to diminishing returns to scale. This will catalyse political pressure to increase rice prices again as farmers become restless as a result of their falling income. This will create a vicious cycle that will trigger a public debt crisis similar to what was seen in Greece and other Latin American countries.
(b) The Yingluck government believed that it could influence global rice prices by limiting rice supply, arguing that even though the pledging price was very high, it would not lose money. This is because if the government bought most of the rice from farmers (which it did -- buying 53-54 % of production over five seasons), and hoarded the supply in public warehouses, the constraint on supply would push up global prices. Hypothetically, it would have then sold rice at a higher price, thus making a profit, rather than a loss. In reality, the government stock resulted in lower prices because first, unlike the huge stock held by the Chinese government, which is mainly for domestic consumption, buyers knew that if they bought rice at a higher price today, they would lose money when the Thai government dumps more rice in the market. Such expectations brought down rice prices in the last two years.

"From the farmers’ perspectives, Ms Yingluck’s scheme was highly successful."

Wichien Phuanglamjiak President,
rice farmer group of Khok Chang,
Bang Sai district, Ayutthaya.

The belief that as the largest rice exporter Thailand can influence the global rice price by withholding supply is wrong. Global rice prices are subject to many complex factors, all of which the Thai government cannot control, particularly global weather, intervention policies of both importing and exporting countries, and the behaviour of farmers across the world, among others. In effect, price speculation is not the government's purview. The government must not engage in the buying and selling of rice and compete with the private sector, as intervention is not only highly inefficient but also corruption-prone.
(c) All elected governments have the right to campaign on populist policies. But governments must also be accountable to all voters, not just farmers. After being elected, the government has to propose a budget that includes public borrowing to the parliament. This is the democratic way. It should not use off-budget funds to finance such populist policies, as parliament cannot refuse to pay off the debts incurred.
(d) The government must prepare consolidated financial accounts of all transactions carried out by related agencies. Shamefully, the government passes laws forcing public companies to prepare consolidated accounts, something it does not practise itself. Nobody knows what the exact costs, losses and damages of the scheme will be after the rice is finally sold.
(e) One major problem of the policy is that most information about the rice-pledging scheme, particularly the exact volume of rice in government warehouses, government rice sales and G2G contracts, was withheld. There is a need for an open data policy.
Mr Thirachai: With the benefits of hindsight, future pledging should not be allowed above prevailing market levels. There should be legislation to prevent all future governments from taking ownership of agricultural products, because of the corruption risks at operational levels.
Mr Chookiat: The rice-pledging programme implemented by the Yingluck government did not only require a colossal budget over three years (late 2011-early 2014), but it also brought about a spate of irregularities and corrupt practices seen in the abuse of public power for personal benefit during the pledging procedures and in fake G2G rice purchase contracts. The scheme also tarnished Thailand's image in the rice market, as the quality of the grains that were warehoused for a long time deteriorated, leading foreign buyers to lose confidence in Thai rice and choose to buy from other rice-exporting countries. Even with the absence of the state-sponsored pledging scheme, some foreign buyers baulked at buying Thai rice, citing bad experiences from certain unscrupulous exporters who delivered sub-standard grains during the pledging period.
Mr Wichien: Despite the negative perception of the generous populist policy, the scheme still benefits all farmers.

Has rice trading returned to a normal market environment, and can the rice market survive in the absence of state support like the rice-pledging programme?

Mr Nipon: Thailand has managed to compete head-to-head with India for the position of largest world rice exporter over the last two years since the abolition of the rice-pledging scheme.
It has also slowly regained a reputation as one of the most reliable rice exporters in Hong Kong. That is, Thai exporters are able to sell any type of rice and can ship and deliver rice to any designated destinations on time. But it still has to work harder to win back market share in Iran.
Having said that, one should be warned that there is also bad news. The cost of rice production in Thailand is higher than in competing countries. Thai exporters can survive partly because of efficient logistics and partly because they have to provide trade credit to buyers. This puts the Thai rice exporters in a very risky position.
Mr Thirachai: In the absence of government intervention, the market automatically normalises. However, the plight of poor farmers remains. Farmers are forever in debt, with poor earnings and facing constant risk of losing their ancestral land.
Mr Chookiat: During 2014-16, despite the absence of the rice-pledging programme, the Thai government still maintained massive rice stocks of as many as 18 million tonnes accumulated from the pledging scheme. Colossal state rice stocks in Thailand also put negative pressure on global rice prices. After the incumbent government disposed of almost all state-held rice stocks, the global rice market has rebounded to more normal conditions, leading Thailand's rice trade to align with the market mechanism and boast greater competitiveness, as is clearly evidenced by Thailand's higher rice exports averaging 10 million tonnes per year over the past few years.
Mr Wichien: The rice trading market has returned to normal conditions, but farmers still face high production costs in harvest fees, or transport, among others. Farmers now fetch only 4,000-6,000 baht per tonne for paddy with a moisture level of 15%.

Are state subsidies for Thai rice or any other cash crop appropriate?

Mr Nipon: As long as rice is a political good, there will always be state subsidy. That's the fact of life. The appropriate subsidy policy should be based on the following criteria:
(a) A subsidy that minimally distorts market prices (consistent with the World Trade Organization).
(b) Targets the neediest farmers.
(c) Enhances productivity and reduces production cost. Subsidies that meet criteria (a) and (b) include the fixed-income payment per rai, which is calculated from the previous record of rice yields. The subsidy is paid only to farmers who have at most, say, 15 rai. But there will be political pressure to provide subsidy to all farmers. In that case, every farmer should be entitled to a fixed amount of subsidy per rai for not more than 5-10 rai per household. That will limit the budget deficit and enable the government to pursue prudent fiscal policy.
The second policy is to subsidise research, adoption of new technology and agricultural extensions services (by the private sector and civil society organisations). Such subsidies have to be subject to performance-based evaluations. The outcome will be higher productivity and sustainable income for farmers.
Mr Thirachai: The approach to government assistance at the back end, based on intervention in agricultural products, needs to change. There have been many such schemes in the past by various governments -- pledging, purchases and direct subsidies to farmers, but none had long-lasting benefits.
Instead, government assistance should be at the front and middle end, aiming to lower farmers' costs by really following the King's Sufficiency Economy theory, such as:
(a) Tax and land reforms to force redistribution of land out of the hands of big land owners. The target must go well beyond simply penalising vacant and unused land. A comprehensive tax change must aggregate the land area of each individual's ownership, regardless of whether land is vacant or utilised, whether the land is in the individual's own name or in corporate names, and be calculated from effective shareholdings. The larger the aggregate held area is calculated and attributable to a single person, the higher the tax rates should be.
(b) Government support to acquire community land titles to ensure farmers have joint ownership of land for use.
(c) Government support for each community to invest in specific physical facilities that will strengthen farm life. Each community will have individual needs ranging from irrigation equipment, water storage, sheds to mix and store organic fertilisers, sheds to mix and store animal feeds, packaging for community products, small community rice mills, modern rice silos that can dry and store unmilled rice for longer periods, garbage sorting and management, and so on. Each community will have different priorities for these things.
(d) Government support for each community to learn to be sustainable, by engaging local universities and vocational colleges to teach communities how to sustainably manage these new physical facilities. All communities should have learning centres to monitor weather risks, price risks, disease risks, crop improvement techniques, new equipment and so on.
(e) Government help to teach each community how to self-govern. Communities can then set their own production zoning, police their own waterways, water usage, water discharge and garbage disposals.
(f) Customised assistance to improve and strengthen community lifestyles, increase self-management and eventually lower community costs will take more time, more effort and more coordination from various parties than simple intervention in agricultural products. Multi-year programmes with continuous government budgets. However, the benefits will be sustainable and be directed at the community level rather than through the hands of politicians. More ice cream will reach the grassroots than just remains on a wooden stick as before.
Unfortunately, as such multi-year programmes do not yield quick fixes and inevitably target rich individuals' vast land holdings, which include politicians', these changes may not be palatable to political parties and may remain a dream.
Mr Chookiat: Assistance to farmers remains essential, now that the government is held responsible for taking care of the farmers. But state assistance or any forms of subsidies should be focused rather on helping cut production costs and procuring production-related factors such as plant seeds, fertiliser, agricultural machinery, production know-how and technological development to increase rice productivity and promote non-farm income. The government should no longer apply any policies that distort the market mechanism, because this not only undermines the market mechanism but also affects Thailand's rice farming in the long run.

Mr Wichien: The state price intervention scheme is still necessary, as long as there are traders who buy farmers' produce at low prices. The government is being urged to help make fair purchase prices to farmers by taking into account the farmers' production costs. The paddy prices that enable farmers to stay afloat should not be below 10,000 baht a tonne

Bangkok Post

Boonsong in jail after bail denied

26 Aug 2017 at 04:00

NEWSPAPER SECTION: NEWS | WRITER: AEKARACH SATTABURUTH

Former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom arrives at the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions on Friday to hear the court's ruling. (Photo by Patipat Janthong)

Former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and other defendants who were found guilty in the fake rice deal case were kept in custody at Bangkok Remand Prison on Friday after the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions threw out their bail request.

Following the ruling, which found 17 people, including Boonsong, guilty for their role in the fake government-to-government (G-to-G) rice scheme, defence lawyer Narin Somnuek submitted a request seeking the release of his client pending an appeal against the court's ruling.

He said the court dismissed the application for all the defendants because it was lodged at short notice, noting that the defence team would discuss when to reapply for bail.All those convicted were taken to Bangkok Remand Prison in Chatuchak district yesterday pending the court's decision on their bail request. With their bail rejected, they remained in custody at the facility.

Mr Narin said the defence team would appeal the ruling as allowed by the new constitution but declined to discuss the details. An appeal must be lodged within 30 days of the ruling.The lawyer said he spoke to Boonsong who told him to proceed in line with the law.In its ruling, the Supreme Court found Boonsong, his former deputy Poom Sarapol, and 15 others including former government officials guilty of various charges in the G-to-G rice deals.

The court ruled that the rice contracts in question were not G-to-G agreements but involved sales of the pledged rice to private companies that sold them to a foreign country.According to the court, the sales did not meet the criteria for G-to-G deals and the rice was not shipped to China as claimed by the defendants.Boonsong and Phum were found guilty of violating the 1999 act on price offering with state agencies, known as the anti-price collusion law, and other laws in the G-to-G rice contracts.The other key figures found guilty included Manas Soiploy, former chief of the Foreign Trade Department, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison; his deputy Tikhumporn Natvaratat who received 32 years; and Akharapong Theepwatchara, ex-director of the department's Rice Trade Administration Bureau, who was given a prison sentence of 24 years.

Prominent rice trader Apichart Chansakulporn, of Siam Indica Co Ltd, was sentenced to 48 years in prison for assisting state authorities in price collusion.Along with his company, he was ordered to pay 16.9 billion baht in damages to the Finance Ministry.The court also issued a warrant for the arrest of his daughter, Thanyaporn, who was a no-show for the ruling, and seized her surety. She and her company were ordered to pay a fine of 1.294 billion baht.The other defendants also got jail terms and had to pay damages in proportion to the damage caused to the country.

Eight defendants were acquitted and were mostly rice millers accused of aiding Boonsong and associates to commit offences in relation to the release of pledged rice under the G-to-G scheme.The court cited insufficient evidence in dismissing the charges against them.Deputy Attorney-General Chutichai Sakakorn, a chief prosecutor in the case, said after the rice trial ruling yesterday that the prosecution did not oppose the defendants' bail application.However, he said the prosecution was likely to appeal the court's acquittal of the eight defendants as well as the amount of compensation the court demanded, which was lower than what the prosecution had sought.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/1313023/boonsong-in-jail-after-bail-denied

DA-BAR to bare research projects at Agrilink 2017

August 25, 2017, 10:00 PM

By Zac B. Sarian

The Bureau of Agricultural Research  of the Department of Agriculture (DA-BAR) will showcase its research activities and development programs for the country’s various agricultural sectors during the Agrilink trade show on October 5-7 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

Maybe, not many agri-people are aware of it but the agency headed by Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar, is overseeing and funding some of the most important research programs in agriculture, fisheries and natural resources.

According to Eleazar, many of the of the projects align with the need to develop crops that can withstand the logistical and phytosanitary requirements as the country moves towards promoting Philippine agricultural products in the wider global market. With the technology that will help nurture these crops, the Philippines will be in a better position to address the problems of seasonal supply of farm produce and climate change

Eight-Row Rice Direct Seeder – One of the new farm machines that will be showcased by the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative (KAMICO) will be the eight-row direct seeder for rice shown here in photo. With this machine direct rice seeding is very fast and the distances of the plants are uniform in straight rows. This makes for easy farm operations like weeding with machine, fertilizing, harvesting and other farm operations.

Resistant Cavendish Variant – One of the big projects that has been undertaken by DA-BAR is an initiative to produce for eventual commercial planting of a Giant Cavendish Tissue Culture Variant (GCTCV) 219 by small-scale farmers as well as big plantation owners. This is a Cavendish variant from Taiwan that has been proven through field research in banana growing areas in Mindanao that it is resistant to the devastating Fusarium Wilt Tropical Race 4 of Cavendish bananas. This particular race had devastated the banana industry in Taiwan.

Research continues with the collaboration of Bioversity International represented in the Philippines by Dr. Agustin Molina, a Filipino scientist who has a long track record working in the banana industry worldwide.

This discovery of the resistance of GCTCV to the Fusarium Wilt disease in the Philippines has a far-ranging significance to the Philippine banana industry which brings in billions of pesos in export earnings every year.

Research on other promising  GCTCVs is also being undertaken with millions of pesos in funding. The research program covers not only the commercial production of disease-free planting materials. The researchers are also working on the development of biological control strategies. Another component of the research is the assessment and distribution of Fusarium Wilt incidence.

Eleazar revealed that another project being implemented by the UP Los Baños involves field trial evaluation and technology piloting of new papaya F1 hybrids that are tolerant to papaya ringspot virus which is considered as one of the biggest constraints in papaya production in the country.

DA-BAR has also provided support for the development of different postharvest equipment. These include, among others, the cassava belt dryer of the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization  (PhilMech) that was designed to contribute to the increase in cassava production and improve its output recovery.

PhilMech and BAR have also embarked on the development of postproduction systems that will produce dry, clean, and sorted soybeans; including processing systems for different levels of processing operations for soybean and soymilk-based products. DA-BAR has also supported Cavite State University’s creation of a practical microcontroller-based coffee-roasting machine; and Cagayan Valley’s adlay milling machine. Space does not permit us to mention all the various research projects being supported by DA-BAR. That’s why you should attend the trade show on October 5-7, 2017 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

http://newsbits.mb.com.ph/2017/08/25/da-bar-to-bare-research-projects-at-agrilink-2017/

HURRICANE THREATENS BALANCE OF LOUISIANA RICE HARVEST

Fri, 08/25/2017 - 9:33am Shaun Hearen

BY BRUCE SCHULTZ, LSU AGCENTER

A combine harvests rice near Crowley, Louisiana. This year’s crop won’t set any records after a growing season with excess rainfall that has stretched into the harvest, making field conditions difficult to cut rice. Farmers in who have not finished harvesting their crop are anxiously watching Hurricane Harvey. Photo by Bruce Schultz/LSU AgCenter

CROWLEY — The 2017 rice harvest is wrapping up in south Louisiana with overall results considered fair because of unfavorable weather, but an approaching tropical storm could complicate getting the remaining crop out of the fields.Steve Linscombe, director of the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station, said 2017 will not rank among the top yielding years. “We’re going to have an OK crop, but certainly not near a record yield,” he said.
Results vary widely. “It’s as much variation as I’ve seen in quite a while,” Linscombe said. “This has been one of the more difficult years for me to make an estimate on our statewide yield.”

At the start of harvest, yields ranged from good to very poor. “It’s been that way throughout the season with a gradual reduction,” he said.But Linscombe said he’s not surprised that this year’s crop has been subpar. Half of the days in June and July had measurable rain, and the cloud cover interfered with the sun’s radiant energy needed for photosynthesis.

Linscombe referred to an old observation that the best rice crops are made in years when pumping large amounts of water is required to maintain a flood to compensate for low rainfall.
Added to the cloudy weather was wind from Tropical Storm Cindy, which hit Louisiana in June just as many rice plants were flowering for pollination, he said. The winds damaged the panicles, resulting in numerous blank seed heads, resulting in lowered yields.Milling quality has been good, probably because day and night temperatures were moderate, with many days not exceeding 90 degrees. Excessively hot nights usually result in grains with more chalk, Linscombe said.

On a positive note, the ratoon, or second, crop is off to a good start. Harvest began earlier than

usual because of earlier-planted rice, and that should help the second-crop fields.
James Meaux, AgCenter extension agent in Calcasieu Parish, said about 80 percent of the rice there has been harvested. Some farmers in the Vinton area have not been able to harvest, and Hurricane Harvey could cause even more delay.
“They’re probably really getting nervous now. Hopefully it’s not going to be as bad as they say,” Meaux said.

Some fields have been ready for more than a week, but they keep getting rainfall. “We just haven’t had a lot of consecutive dry days,” he said.One farmer hasn’t been able to apply fertilizer on a field for a second crop because runways are too wet for airplanes.
Meaux said yields have been in the high 30-barrel range to the mid-40s.Results from the first fields harvested in northeast Louisiana are more encouraging. AgCenter extension rice specialist Dustin Harrell said the harvest recently began in north Louisiana.
“Excellent yields so far,” Harrell said. “The crop has just been tremendous up there.”
Some fields are producing in excess of 200 bushels (56 barrels), and one farmer had 215 bushels (60 barrels) per acre.

The difference in the north is the result of weather’s influence on the two areas of the state. North Louisiana had rain, but not when rice plants were flowering, and with drier conditions, sheath blight disease in north Louisiana rice has not been bad, Harrell aid.
Early yields in southwest Louisiana varied considerably. “We had some really good yields and very poor yields,” he said.With the boost from the north Louisiana harvest, the overall crop from Louisiana’s 395,000 acres will be about average, Harrell said.
Keith Collins, AgCenter extension agent in Richland Parish, said growing conditions have been good in northeast Louisiana.

“Overall, we’ve had a good year for it,” Collins said. Adequate rainfall has reduced pumping costs.Todd Fontenot, AgCenter extension agent in Evangeline Parish, estimated that 75-80 percent of the crop there has been harvested.“We’re still fighting the rains,” Fontenot said. “The rice being harvested now should have been harvested a week ago.”Disease has affected this year’s crop. “There’s a lot of disease pressure, a lot of sheath blight, and that has hurt some yields,” he said.

The parish average is probably in the mid-40-barrel range for both conventional and Clearfield varieties. Hybrids have varied considerably, with some yields exceeding 60 barrels per acre, he said.More farmers are starting or increasing crawfish operations, and that has reduced the number of fields that will be in second-crop rice.Andrew Granger, AgCenter extension agent in Vermilion Parish, estimated harvest completion at 80-85 percent there.
Yields were fair-to-good early in the harvest at 40-50 barrels an acre, but that has decreased.

“Lately, it’s been the upper 30s or lower 40s,” Granger said.Farmers had to deal with heavy disease pressure. “It’s as bad as I’ve seen,” he said.Sheath blight was the worst culprit, he said. Some fields had Cercospora early in the season, but they were treated. “Some of that yielded as well as anything,” Granger said.Jeremy Hebert, AgCenter extension agent in Acadia Parish, said a large portion of the crop there is harvested.

“We are probably looking at 80-85 percent finished,” Hebert said. “Overall, the rice crop is good, not excellent and not poor, but a pretty good rice crop.”A slight price increase probably encouraged more farmers to grow a second crop. “People were excited to see a little jump” in price, he said.Many farmers were not able to work the stubble for a second crop because fields were too muddy.Farmers didn’t have to use much insecticide, but disease resulted in a larger amount of fungicide use. “There was a lot of sheath blight and some blast,” Hebert said.Frances Guidry, AgCenter extension agent in Jefferson Davis Parish, said sheath blight has been a problem because of excessive rain.Yields there are not outstanding. “Everything has been

average to low,” she said.

https://www.kaplantoday.com/news/hurricane-threatens-balance-louisiana-rice-harvest