Friday, April 13, 2018

13th April,2018 daily global regional local rice e-newsletter

Currently, a 16-member delegation of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) is visiting Iran to enhance rice export opportunities. Iran’s rice market of over $2 billion is mostly supplied by India since the imposition of US sanctions in 2010.Prior to the sanctions, at its peak Pak Iran trade was at $1.2 billion in FY10, mostly comprising of oil imports from Iran. 80 percent of Pakistan’s $204 million exports to Iran comprised of rice. In FY17, exports had dwindled to $30 million of which rice exports were about $5 million.
To say that REAP is trying to recapture its lost market is somewhat inaccurate since Pakistan had only a small share of the pie in the first place. However, there is a huge untapped market next door that could give exports a much needed boost.

The hurdle remains the same as it has been since sanctions, which is the unavailability of banking channels. The current hope held out by the REAP team is to try and convince GTC, an Iranian government owned company specialising in the import and distribution of essential foodstuff, to announce tenders for basmati and other types of rice so that exporters here could book export orders to Iran.

Government tenders may be one way to circumvent the lack of banking channels. Currently trade between the two countries is limited to cash and barter. The Banking and Payment Arrangement (BPA) signed by the central banks of Iran and Pakistan last year lies at the wayside as local banks did not take up the option.

This week the US has welcomed a push by some EU states to impose new sanctions on Iran and warned firms away from doing business with the country. Given Trump’s hardline stance, it is unlikely that banks would want to take on such high risks for dubious returns. It remains to be seen that whether REAP can convince Iran for government tenders to increase access to its rice market

https://www.brecorder.com/2018/04/12/411247/rice-exports-to-iran-idle-hope-or-possibility/

Global Basmati Rice Market 2018 Industry Trends, Sales, Supply, Demand, Analysis & Forecast To 2023

PUNE, INDIA, April 12, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Global Basmati Rice Industry

In the Global Basmati Rice Industry Market Analysis & Forecast 2018-2023, the revenue is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2023, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2018 and 2023. The production is estimated at XX million in 2017 and is forecasted to reach XX million by the end of 2023, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2018 and 2023.
It covers Regional Segment Analysis, Type, Appliction, Major Manufactures, Industry Chain Analysis, Competitive Insights and Macroeconomic Analysis.

Request a Sample Report @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3106087-global-basmati-rice-industry-market-analysis-forecast-2018-2023

The Major players reported in the market include:
McCormick & Co. Inc.
LT Foods Ltd.
The Hain Celestial Group Inc.
Estraco Kft.
East End Foods
The Rice 'n Spice Int. Ltd.
KRBL Ltd.
Amira Nature Foods Ltd.
Mars Inc.
Global Basmati Rice Market: Regional Segment Analysis
North America
Europe
China
Japan
Southeast Asia
India

Global Basmati Rice Market: Product Segment Analysis
Raw
Parboiled
Steamed

Global Basmati Rice Market: Application Segment Analysis
Direct Edible
Deep Processing
Application 3

Reasons for Buying this Report
This report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics
It provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growth
It provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to grow
It helps in understanding the key product segments and their future
It provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitors
It helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segments

Global Basmati Rice Industry Market Analysis & Forecast 2018-2023

Chapter 1 Basmati Rice Market Overview
    1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Basmati Rice
    1.2 Basmati Rice Market Segmentation by Type in 2016
      1.2.1 Global Production Market Share of Basmati Rice by Type in 2016
      1.2.1 Raw
      1.2.2 Parboiled
      1.2.3 Steamed
    1.3 Basmati Rice Market Segmentation by Application in 2016
      1.3.1 Basmati Rice Consumption Market Share by Application in 2016
      1.3.2 Direct Edible
      1.3.3 Deep Processing
      1.3.4 Application 3
    1.4 Basmati Rice Market Segmentation by Regions
      1.4.1 North America
      1.4.2 China
      1.4.3 Europe
      1.4.4 Southeast Asia
      1.4.5 Japan
      1.4.6 India
    1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Basmati Rice (2013-2023)
      1.5.1 Global Product Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2023)
      1.5.2 Global Product Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2023)
Chapter 2 Global Economic Impact on Basmati Rice Industry
    2.1 Global Macroeconomic Environment Analysis
      2.1.1 Global Macroeconomic Analysis
      2.1.2 Global Macroeconomic Environment Development Trend
    2.2 Global Macroeconomic Environment Analysis by Regions

………

Chapter 8 Global Basmati Rice Manufacturers Analysis
    8.1 McCormick & Co. Inc.
      8.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors
      8.1.2 Product Type, Application and Specification
      8.1.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)
      8.1.4 Business Overview
    8.2 LT Foods Ltd.
      8.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors
      8.2.2 Product Type, Application and Specification
      8.2.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)
      8.2.4 Business Overview
    8.3 The Hain Celestial Group Inc.
      8.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors
      8.3.2 Product Type, Application and Specification
      8.3.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)
      8.3.4 Business Overview
    8.4 Estraco Kft.
      8.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors
      8.4.2 Product Type, Application and Specification
      8.4.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)
      8.4.4 Business Overview
    8.5 East End Foods
      8.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors
      8.5.2 Product Type, Application and Specification
      8.5.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)
      8.5.4 Business Overview
    8.6 The Rice 'n Spice Int. Ltd.
      8.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors
      8.6.2 Product Type, Application and Specification
      8.6.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)
      8.6.4 Business Overview
    8.7 KRBL Ltd.
      8.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors
      8.7.2 Product Type, Application and Specification
      8.7.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)
      8.7.4 Business Overview
    8.8 Amira Nature Foods Ltd.
      8.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors
      8.8.2 Product Type, Application and Specification
      8.8.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)
      8.8.4 Business Overview
    8.9 Mars Inc.
      8.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors
      8.9.2 Product Type, Application and Specification
      8.9.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)
      8.9.4 Business Overview

Continued….

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https://agriculture.einnews.com/pr_news/441629889/global-basmati-rice-market-2018-industry-trends-sales-supply-demand-analysis-forecast-to-2023?n=2&code=VuZLay2YinrVF2-0

Madhya Pradesh’s Basmati claim

The Narendra Modi government may find itself in a tricky situation over the issue of extending geographical indication (GI) certification for basmati paddy grown in Madhya Pradesh (MP).

Written by Harish Damodaran | New Delhi | Updated: April 13, 2018 3:48:59 am

Currently, around 80,000 farmers are growing basmati on nearly 75,000 hectares in 13 districts. (Express Photo)

The Narendra Modi government may find itself in a tricky situation over the issue of extending geographical indication (GI) certification for basmati paddy grown in Madhya Pradesh (MP).

The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) are both vociferously opposed to MP’s inclusion as a basmati-growing state.

The APEDA, which had originally filed the application to register “basmati” as a GI, has included only 77 districts in the Indo-Gangetic Plain along the foothills of the Himalayas — covering the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Delhi, West Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir — where this premium rice can be legally cultivation.

MP, which is scheduled to go to the polls later this year, has opposed APEDA’s application, while demanding that 13 of its districts — Morena, Bhind, Sheopur, Gwalior, Datia, Shivpuri, Guna, Vidisha, Raisen, Sehore, Hoshangabad, Narsinghpur and Jabalpur — also be given the GI tag. That would allow farmers there to continue cultivating this paddy and selling it as basmati.

Currently, there are around 80,000 farmers growing basmati on nearly 75,000 hectares in these 13 districts. MP’s estimated annual milled basmati rice production is about 3 lakh tonnes (lt), of which roughly 70% is exported and the balance sold within the country.

The above numbers are a fraction of the all-India basmati area of over 16 lakh hectares (lh): 7 lh in Haryana, six lh in Punjab, 2.6 lh in UP, 0.6 lh in J&K, 0.15 lh in Uttaranchal and 0.07 lh in HP. India’s total basmati rice output is roughly 60 lt, 40 lt of which is exported and valued at Rs 25,000 crore. The rest 20 lt is sold domestically and worth another Rs 10,000 crore. Half of this 20 lt comprises branded basmati rice and the remaining sold in loose form. The top brands include India Gate, Daawat, Fortune, Kohinoor, Patanjali and Lal Qilla.

“Politically speaking, it is difficult to ignore MP’s claim, more so with Assembly elections likely in November. Also, while 80,000 farmers may not be large compared to the two million growers in the main basmati states, they aren’t small either,” an industry source pointed out.

Besides, there is the commercial side. Many exporters — such as LT Foods, SSA International and Narmada Cereal Pvt. Ltd. — have established modern rice mills near Bhopal, sourcing the raw material at a relatively cheaper rate.

“In the 2017-18 season, Pusa Basmati-1 paddy prices in Punjab and Haryana mandis started at Rs 3,000 per quintal in late-October and rose to Rs 3,350 towards January. The average cost was roughly Rs 3,100. But in MP, prices ranged from Rs 2,600 to Rs 3,000, while averaging Rs 2,800 per quintal. The Rs 300/quintal difference translates into a cost advantage of Rs 4.5-5 per kg of rice (milled rice accounts for 64-65% of paddy grains),” noted a leading Delhi-based exporter.

Scientists at the ICAR’s Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) are clear that the grain quality of basmati grown in MP — including the improved high-yielding and less photoperiod-sensitive “Pusa” varieties — cannot match that of the crop farmed in the Indo-Gangetic plains. Basmati rice’s most distinctive trait is its aroma, which derives from a compound called 2-Acetyl-1-Pyrroline. The accumulation of this highly volatile compound in the grain is largely a function of environmental conditions.

“The aroma retention is best when the plant’s flowering and grain-filling stages coincide with a cool climate, with temperatures below 30 degree Celsius during daytime and just over 20 degrees at night. You get these conditions from end-September through October only in the traditional basmati belt,” explained an IARI scientist, involved in the breeding of the blockbuster Pusa-1121 and Pusa-1509 basmati varieties.

Higher temperatures during the roughly one-month period from flowering to maturity can, moreover, impact the grain’s texture and milling quality. “When temperatures are high at the time of grain-filling, the packing of the starch granules in the rice tends to be loose. You, then, get grains with more chalkiness (opaque areas caused by incomplete filling) and leading to higher percentage of broken rice during milling,” added the scientist.

Scientific opinion may not, of course, matter as much in a case where politics and other interests also count. “This is a premium paddy that last season fetched Rs 2,800 per quintal, when the minimum support price for common non-basmati varieties was Rs 1,550. How can you deny farmers, especially in a less agriculturally-prosperous state, the opportunity to grow basmati?,” said the earlier-quoted industry source.

Therein lies the dilemma. The idea behind GI is to certify premium character to a product attributable to its geographical origin. APEDA’s GI application for basmati rested on its supposed uniqueness as a rice grown in a specific region of the Indo-Gangetic plain, “situated below the foothills of the Himalayas”. MP, according to it, did not fall within this specified geography, being situated far away from the Himalayan foothills

The GI Registry under the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, in an order dated March 15, rejected MP’s claim for inclusion as a basmati-growing state. The Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in the state has filed a petition in the Madras High Court challenging the order.

“Today, we have a Rs 35,000-crore industry built primarily on the premium value of this rice. The danger is of it getting diluted, with more and more states staking claim for the GI tag,” warned the source.

India's non-basmati exports rise 34% on Africa's import demand

Indian variety becomes popular after Thai currency appreciates

Dilip Kumar Jha | Mumbai Last Updated at April 12, 2018 23:54 IST

non-basmati rice export jumped 34 per cent over a year before in the period between April 2017 (start of the earlier financial year) and January 2018.The prime reason given is that Africa’s import demand shifted to here from Thailand, on cost competitiveness. Basmati export, however, remained stable.

Data from the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) showed non-basmati export at 7.01 million tonnes worth nearly $2.89 billion for these 10 months, compared to 5.25 mt valued at $1.97 billion in the same period a year before.

Apart from geographical advantage, currency movement is a major determinant for rice export, in comparing Thailand and India. Till a few months earlier, however, Thailand was the preferred choice for African rice importers. However, a rising Thai currency (the baht) pushed them to look for alternative suppliers.

“India has got a little extra share in world rice markets due to lower stock and shipment from Thailand. Non-basmati export from India would continue to surge for the next couple of months,” said A K Gupta, director, Apeda.

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations has estimated 33.7 mt of rice output in Thailand for calendar year 2017, a three per cent increase from 32.6 mt a year before. Production in Thailand jumped 19 per cent in 2016 from 27.4 mt in 2015.

The baht rose 9.6 per cent, from 34.35 to 31.34 against a dollar, between April 2017 and January 2018. Against that, the rupee rose two per cent, to 63.59 a dollar from 64.85 in the period.

In fact, the Thai government has forecast an 18 per cent decline in the country’s rice export to 9.5 mt in calendar 2018, from 11.6 mt the previous year.

“India and Thailand compete with each other in non-basmati export to African countries. Historically, orders shift to the former in case rice import in African countries become uncompetitive from the latter. African countries share 80 per cent of India’s non-basmati export. The appreciating baht has clearly given advantages to India over Thailand for non-basmati export,” said V K Chaturvedi, managing director at Usher Agro, a rice exporter.

In contrast, India’s basmati rice export stayed at 3.27 mt in those 10 months, on lower sales to the European Union, which consumes nearly 300,000 tonnes annually.

“Basmati is a high value product. We are expecting a five per cent increase in its export for FY18,” said Gupta. The export in 2016-17 was 3.98 mt (valued at $3.22 bn), a marginal decline from 4.05 mt (worth $3.48 bn) the previous financial year.

Rajan Sundareshan, executive director, All India Rice Exporters’ Association, says he expects India’s basmati export to see another 0.6-0.65 mt in February and March, the final two months of financial year 2017-18.

The government is asking for more exploration of basmati markets in Latin American countries.

It has offered incentives to exporters willing to participate in trade fairs in the latter

http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/india-s-non-basmati-exports-rise-34-on-africa-s-import-demand-118041201481_1.html

Indonesia to buy 50,000 tonnes rice from Pakistan

ReutersUpdated April 12, 2018

HAMBURG: Indonesia’s state food procurement agency Bulog is seeking offers from sellers in Pakistan to buy about 50,000 tonnes of rice, European traders said on Wednesday.Offers should be submitted on Friday, April 13.The agency is seeking rice of both 5 per cent broken grade and 15 percent broken grade, traders said.

Bulog said on March 20 it planned to import a total 500,000 tonnes of rice up to the end of June to improve local supplies and cool domestic prices.

“It looks like the requirement may be well over 500,000 tonnes,” one European trader said. Bulog bought about 500,000 tonnes of rice to be sourced from Vietnam and Thailand, traders said on March 29.Bulog also bought about 50,000 tonnes of rice from Pakistan on March 21 for shipment up to May 31.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2018

https://www.dawn.com/news/1401080

Rice exports up by 29pc in nine months

April 12, 2018

Masroor Afzal Pasha

Karachi

Pakistani rice exports have registered a sizeable growth of overall 29 percent in terms of value and 16 percent in quantity during first nine months of current fiscal year 2017-18.
This was stated by the Senior Vice Chairman, Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP), Rafique Suleman while talking to newsmen here.
He further shared the figures of rice exports during the period of July to March 2018, rice exports during fiscal year 2017-18 (July to March 2018) a 29 percent of significant growth has been registered as compared to same period of last fiscal year 2016-17.
This year, he said we exported a total of 2.95 million metric tons of rice amounting to $1.412 billion, whereas last fiscal year in the same period we had exported 2.53 million metric tons of rice at $1.09 billion, which registered an overall of growth of 29 percent in terms values and 16 percent in terms of quantity.
He informed that the rice sector has refloated and come out of the crisis after a lapse of three years. With the coordination of REAP, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and Customs, value of rice export trade is showing improvement which is a positive sign for the country’s economy. The REAP members are putting their untiring efforts and aggressive marketing to increase the rice exports and to earn valuable foreign exchange for our beloved country Pakistan.
He said that the REAP’s trade delegations visited various countries for an aggressive marketing of Pakistani rice.
In this regard, a delegation is currently on a visit to Iran, which is a very lucrative and potential market for Basmati Rice, he said, adding, few years back Pakistan was exporting huge quantity of rice to Iran, however, since last year, we can only export up to 100,000 metric tons of rice.
Kenya is the largest buyer of Pakistani Non-Basmati Rice and during nine months of current fiscal year (July to Mar 2018), he said, we have exported 342,000 Metric Tons of rice amounting to $ 122 million. China is the second largest destination for Pakistani Non-Basmati Rice. At the end of March 2018, we have exported 270,000 metric tons of rice valuing $99 million, he revealed.
Currently, the demand of rice in the international market has been increased and during the current fiscal year, we had a very good crop in terms of quality and quantity, Suleman said, adding, prices of Pakistani rice are comparatively cheaper than our competitors, Thailand, Vietnam etc., which is also in our favour.
Pakistani rice exporters working hard for the growth of economy and making huge investment for installing world’s latest rice machinery and most modern technology for rice value addition, he added.
Recently, Indonesian state own body, BULOG has floated a tender for the procurement of rice and (8) Pakistani rice exporters were successful to supply 50,000 metric tons and resultantly, we will be able to export $22.625 million value of rice from the country, he added.
He further informed that Indian rice is being banned by European Union due to the excess limit of pesticide residue and the Pakistani rice exporters are taking advantage of this vacuum. He hoped that the export of Pakistani Brown Rice will be increased phenomenally

https://pakobserver.net/rice-exports-up-by-29pc-in-nine-months/

USA Rice Mission to China Seen as Next Step to Market Access

By Jesica Kincaid

ARLINGTON, VA -- While news on U.S.-China trade relations has been tense of late, USA Rice continues to press for market access. A leadership delegation with representatives from Arkansas, Louisiana, and California leaves for China this weekend to meet with U.S. embassy and Chinese government officials and members of China's rice trade to continue to make the case for U.S. rice.

"This is a very unsettled time for trade relations between our two countries, but U.S.-grown rice can be part of the solution for both countries," said USA Rice Chairman and delegation head Brian King. "China would be a new market for our rice, and sales would contribute to the overall U.S. export balance. China committed to opening its rice market nearly 20 years ago, and although consumer interest is quite high, we are still waiting for the green light. The process of dealing with the Chinese government has been difficult."

For more than a decade government and industry officials worked on a phytosanitary agreement to clear the way for U.S. to China trade. That agreement was signed last summer, but U.S. exporters then had to fill out a detailed questionnaire from the Chinese government if they intended to export rice to China.

"The questionnaire was unprecedented as it relates to phytosanitary protocols because none of it dealt with plant health or safety," said Chris Crutchfield, chairman of the USA Rice Millers' Association Phytosanitary Task Force and member of next week's delegation. "Rather, it was an exercise in food and worker safety, as well as a request for proprietary and confidential information - some of which could not be legally answered under U.S. privacy laws. Our efforts to provide a response centered around a systematic approach explaining the Federal and state laws governing food production of our members."

Crutchfield said about 30 facilities came together and worked with U.S. government regulatory agencies to compile answers to the questionnaire that he believes will satisfy Chinese officials and does not violate any U.S. laws.

"USA Rice has sent our responses to the U.S. Department of Agriculture who will send them on to AQSIQ, the Chinese agency overseeing plant health and food safety," he said. "This whole process and our responses clearly reflect the commitment to food safety and quality of the rice industry in the United States."

"During our meetings next week, we will be discussing the next step in the process - scheduling a Chinese inspection visit of U.S. facilities," said King. "We need to do everything we can to complete this approval process and start shipping U.S. rice to China."

Ukraine increased rice imports by 71% in the 2017/18 season

12.04.2018

| UkrAgroConsult

Despite stable production, growth in inventories and a drop in consumption, rice imports to Ukraine are higher this marketing year than in the previous seasons. Their pace was the fastest in August-January 2017/18, reports UkrAgroConsult.In total, 53.7 KMT of rice was brought to Ukraine during the first eight months of MY 2017/18 (July-February). This is up 71% year-on-year (31.43 KMT in July-February 2016/17) and 19% more than at the same time in MY 2015/16 (45.0 KMT).

The largest rice suppliers to Ukraine are Pakistan and India, which account for a combined over 60% of imports. Kazakhstan (18%) is on the top three list for a second season in a row, having taken over the third place from Vietnam, another major player in the Ukrainian rice market. Traditionally, Thailand and Russia are actively present in the Ukrainian market.

As a reminder, Ukraine harvested 63.9 KMT of rice in 2017 against 64.7 KMT in 2016. As of March 1, rice inventories in the country were up 36% year-on-year at over 1.2 KMT.

http://www.blackseagrain.net/novosti/ukraine-increased-rice-imports-by-71-in-the-2017-18-season

Spider Web Rice Fields

The unique design was created by the traditional way communal rice paddies were divided up among the indigenous people.

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Spider Web Rice Fields

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The best examples of spider web fields can be seen in Cancar village, just west of Ruteng. Bemos and cars can be chartered from Ruteng. The drivers will know the best viewpoints for the fields

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/spider-web-rice-fields

Early pioneers overcame obstacles to grow rice in Arkansas

Richard Morris, right, talks with Coleman Middleton, left, with EnviroSolutions, Clarksdale, Miss., at the Arkansas Soil and Water Education Conference. With Morris is his son, Matthew, and Matthew’s wife, Erica.

John Morris and William Fuller decided to try to grow rice in Arkansas early in the 20th century.

Forrest Laws | Apr 12, 2018

Richard Morris says it’s difficult to imagine the Grand Prairie of Arkansas without rice fields. But it’s even more difficult to imagine it without irrigation wells, says Morris, a fourth-generation rice farmer from Carlisle, Ark.

Morris can imagine the region without either more clearly because he’s read about it in journals left by his great-grandfather, John Morris, and his great-grandmother, Emma Morris, who were among the first farmers to grow rice in Arkansas.

John Morris and his brother-in-law, William Fuller, farmed together — across the road from each other — near Carlisle at the beginning of the 20^th century. The pair of young farmers decided to try to grow rice in Arkansas after learning about rice production on their duck-hunting trips to Louisiana in the late 1890s.

“They saw rice growing in Louisiana; they noticed the way the land was similar to theirs; the soil structure was similar to theirs,” said Morris, a speaker at the Arkansas Soil and Water Education Conference at Arkansas State University Jan. 31. “So they decided they would try to raise rice in Arkansas.”

John Morris and William Fuller, and later Emma Morris encountered obstacles that might have stopped many growers, according to Richard Morris, who farms 1,350 acres of rice, corn and soybeans with his son, Matthew, on the same land farmed by his ancestors more than a century ago.

Irrigation wells

The first obstacle involved irrigation wells, which were relatively unknown in Arkansas in those days.

“Mr. Fuller made his first attempt in 1896,” said Morris. “He didn’t have a well, and he had to figure out how to have a well big enough for irrigation. He put down two 4-inch wells, side-by-side, as close as he could get them.

“He devised a pump that had what he called a ‘double-cranked drum,’ according to his own journal, so he was able to pump both of those wells at the same time with one engine,” said Morris. “And, by the way, that engine was a steam engine.”

Morris said he’s often thought about what it must have been like to operate that engine on a hot summer day in Arkansas, putting firewood beneath a boiler. “That’s why he didn’t have but 10 acres of rice,” Morris said to laughter in the Arkansas State University First National Bank Center.

Unfortunately, Fuller’s well didn’t hold up. “He pulled his pump in two,” said Morris, “and his crop died for lack of moisture. His first attempt was a failure, and Mr. Fuller decided to move to Louisiana to study rice production a little bit closer.”

John Morris made his first attempt to grow rice in 1901. He had been studying how to irrigate rice and had a hole dug for a 10-inch well on his farm. He invented a screen for a well that he thought would be an improvement, one of many that were needed to make such wells more efficient in those days. Morris received a patent for his well screen in 1901.

“John Morris ordered his seed from Louisiana and planted his rice,” said Richard Morris. “But he ran into an obstacle with his rice irrigation because his pumping equipment did not arrive in time. He had a hole in the ground; he had a crop planted; but he had no way to get water out of the ground.

Murphy’s law

“You know how Murphy’s law applies. There was a severe drought that summer, and by the time his pumping equipment arrived, his crop had withered away, and it was too late for irrigation. His first attempt in 1901 was a failure.”

In 1902, John Morris decided to try again. He had his well and his pumping equipment and he had plans for about 15 acres of rice. But his seed didn’t arrive in time.

“It was on a train from Louisiana,” Morris said. “It finally arrived in time for him to plant in early July. And he decided not to risk the whole 15 acres and planted about half of those to rice. There was a cool ripening season, but he was able to harvest 60 bushels an acre.”

In 1903, John Morris planned to grow rice again. He traveled to Louisiana to try to market his well screen and to try to learn more about rice production.

“Unfortunately, he suffered a heart attack in March of 1903 and died at the age of 47,” said Morris. “But his wife, my great-grandmother Emma Morris, shared the same vision he had and that was to see rice growing on her farm in the Grand Prairie of Arkansas.”

Mrs. Morris became the first woman rice farmer in Arkansas. “She was grief-stricken over the loss of her husband and trying to raise six children, the oldest being 18. She planted about 15 acres of rice, most of it the variety Honduras.”

She also had an obstacle to overcome — grass control in rice. “Being new to rice, she didn’t maintain a proper flood on all of her rice,” said Morris. “But she was able to harvest about 10 acres where the rice wasn’t choked out by the grass. She had adequate water depth on those, and it kept the grass down. Those 10 acres made a whopping 90 bushels to the acre.”

Second attempt with a twist

Fuller came back to Arkansas in 1904 to make his second attempt at growing rice, but it came with a twist. (Emma Morris planted 50 acres of rice in 1904.) “The citizens of Hazen and Carlisle came together and offered Mr. Fuller $1,000 if he could grow a field containing at least 70 acres of rice and harvest at least 35 bushels an acre,” Morris said.

“If he could meet the challenge and prove that rice could be grown commercially on their land, he would have $1,000. And he did it. He grew 70 acres of rice and harvested 75 bushels an acre. And he didn’t use a steam engine. He had an oil burning pump. We have the base of the engine pulled off to the side for historical purposes.”

Richard Morris said that when he began farming with his father on that same land in 1971, most of the Grand Prairie had ample irrigation water for rice. But that began to change during the decade of the 1970s, culminating with the severe drought that occurred in the Mid-South in 1980.

Wells that had been supplying water for rice on the farm for decades stopped producing. Richard Morris put down a well that produced 1,000 gallons of water per minute in the mid-1970s, but two years later it wasn’t producing enough water.

“Here it was 1979, and we were critically short of water,” said Morris. “I knew that if I was going to raise rice, I was going to have to do something much different from what I was doing. I was thinking about reservoirs because I’d seen some built around Stuttgart.”

In 1981, Morris built his first reservoir with engineering help from what was then called the Soil Conservation Service. There were no cost-sharing funds for such construction in those days. “It was a lick,” he said. “But it paid for itself and was able to keep us in business.”

Since then, Morris has built another reservoir. He also uses the Pipe Planner software program developed by Delta Plastics; he’s adopted multiple inlet rice irrigation; and he’s also using alternate wetting and drying, a technique in which farmers don’t maintain a full flood on their rice fields.

Rainfall records

Morris said 32 years of rainfall records show he receives an average of 45.73 inches of rain on his farm annually. Only 28 percent on average of that occurs during the growing season.

“So it just seems logical that we need to build structures that not only capture this rain water but store it. That became my long-term goal — to get away from irrigation wells and groundwater and be all surface water, which we are now.

“It’s been a long haul,” he said. “Over the years we’ve dug two reservoirs, we’ve built miles of tail-water ditches, we’ve done precision leveling — everything you think of in the way of engineering with the USDA-NRCS. Fortunately, the last few years the farm bill has had some assistance to do these projects through cost-sharing.”

http://www.deltafarmpress.com/rice/early-pioneers-overcame-obstacles-grow-rice-arkansas

Local, imported rice dealers battle for market share

Published April 13, 2018

File Photo: Rice Anna Okon

The Federal Government’s economic diversification efforts and agricultural promotion programme are largely directed at increasing rice production in the country.

The reason is not farfetched; rice is about the most consumed staple in Nigeria. Almost every household of the 198 million Nigerians consumes rice, with some taking it as a three-square meal.

This consumption pattern is said to constitute a huge drain on the country’s foreign reserves because Nigeria only produces half of the annual rice demand of five million metric tonnes.

At the height of it, rice import alone had hit three million metric tonnes, the figure only recently reducing to two million MT, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture.

As of the end of 2016, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, confirmed that Nigeria’s annual import bill on four top commodities consumed in the country including rice and wheat had hit N1tn.

The battle for the soul of local rice started in 2015 with the CBN setting aside some money from the N220bn Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development fund to drive its Anchor Borrowers Programme aimed at providing funding and farm inputs to farmers across the major rice production belts in the country.

Farmers were allowed to access the fund at nine per cent single-digit interest rate.

The programme at inception accommodated over 219,837 farmers in 17 states and made possible the cultivation of 246,837 hectares of rice farmland.

Under the programme, more than 120,000 rice and wheat farmers were linked with reputable millers.

President Muhammadu Buhari also made provision for dry season rice farming, which required adequate irrigation to accommodate the crop during the dry season under the programme.

Needless to say the programme recorded huge success in the rice sector. By January, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, announced that local paddy rice production had increased to 12 million metric tonnes.

The country, according to the agriculture ministry, has achieved self-sufficiency in paddy rice production.

The USDA indicated that the current area of rice cultivation and harvest had increased from 2.5 million hectares in 2017 to 2.6 million hectares.

This paddy rice success story is overshadowed however by low milling capacity.

Spurred on by the government’s backward integration campaign, private investment in rice milling has increased and private rice milling capacity is currently put at 1.2 million MT.

Milled production, according to the USDA, is projected at 2.8 million tonnes, increasing by four per cent compared to 2.7 million tonnes in 2017.

The milling capacity is still a far cry from meeting local demand, which is 4.8 million MT and the quality of the milled rice is said to leave much to be desired.

“The local rice I ate is full of stones,” a housewife, Mrs. Funmi Salako lamented.

Although the local rice is cheaper than imported rice by at least N5,000, consumers are forced to choose the more expensive option.

In a similar vein, a state commissioner recently apologised over the hard nature of the state’s rice as it took more time to cook than the normal parboiled rice.

“The rice takes longer to cook than the foreign parboiled rice, but you cannot deny the fact that it is more nutritious,” he said

Although Ogbeh said there were about 21 rice mills in Nigeria, 80 per cent of them are reportedly running at 25 per cent capacity.

A combination of insufficient supply and poor quality has driven consumers to increase their appetite for foreign parboiled rice which is mostly smuggled after the government imposed a blanket ban on its importation through the land borders.

As a result, local demand for rice has overwhelmed the supply, leading to a spike in smuggling.

The USDA reported that smuggling of rice across the land borders had increased by 50 per cent in the last six months.

The Chief Executive Officer, JMSF, Richard Akindele, said there were 1,114 entry points into Nigeria aiding smuggling of rice and other commodities.

The quality challenge with local rice is seen mostly in products from small-holder farmers who try to meet the demand without the luxury of integrated mills.

They are reportedly more in number than the integrated rice millers. “The dominant small-holder farmers are mostly planting traditional low-yielding and the adulterated rice seeds,’ the USDA said in its report.

It added, “Nigeria’s rice sector is still driven by small/cottage mills operating outdated mills and applying mostly traditional methods. Millers prefer to sell to government and humanitarian buyers due to consistent purchases at favourable prices.”

According to the report, sources have confirmed that Nigeria’s paddy price is currently selling at 250,000 per tonne while the market price for milled rice is given as 260,000 per tonne.

Integrated mills complained that the difference was insufficient to cover milling and marketing costs, the agency noted.

“To attain self-sufficiency in rice, stakeholders note that it will take several years of effective policy implementation, funding in seed development and paddy production, and infrastructure investment. According to rural farmers, many investors in integrated rice farming/processing also serve as major rice importers in the region,” the report added.

A stakeholder and President, Ogun Chamber of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture, Mrs. Adeshina Adebutu, advised rice producers to learn the technical know-how and secrets that made foreign rice better and preferable among consumers

http://punchng.com/local-imported-rice-dealers-battle-for-market-share/

How smuggling stalls rice self-sufficiency target

Posted By: CHIKODI OKEREOCHA On: April 13, 2018

Despite being banned, rice smuggling keeps rising. Over two million metric tons of parboiled rice from Thailand and India were smuggled into the country last year, making it impossible for the government to meet its self-sufficiency target in the commodity’s production. Although a new target has been set for 2020, there are fears that it may also not be met, unless the government musters the political will to halt smuggling. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

The Federal Government appears caught between the rock and the hard place in achieving its target for self-sufficiency in rice production.

Despite inching closer to achieving the feat, rice smugglers through the numerous borders have continued to throw spanner in the works.

For instance, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the Federal Government’s rice revolution had paid off, as 60 per cent of rice consumed in the country is now produced locally.

Quoting the Rice Millers, Importers and Distributors Association of Nigeria (RIMIDAN), the Minister said over two million metric tons of parboiled rice were smuggled into Nigeria last year. According to him, the smuggled rice came in through the borders with Benin, Niger and Cameroon.

He said, for instance, in Benin Republic, the demand for white rice, which is consumed in Benin, against parboiled rice in Nigeria, is 400, 000 mt. Yet, the country, with a population of about 11 million, imports between one million and 1.2 million mt of rice annually.

“Who are they importing for? Nigerians of course. In fact, as Nigeria’s rice import falls, Benin’s rice import increases. Most of the parboiled rice imported by Benin eventually lands in Nigeria through smuggling,’’ Mohammed said. He said smuggling was the biggest challenge facing rice production in Nigeria.

It is easy to see why this is so. For one, the difference in the price of the local and foreign rice as a result of influx of smuggled rice has been a major discouraging factor for rice farmers. This makes people prefer the foreign rice because of the price difference.

He gave an insight on this disincentive when he said smuggled rice costs between N11, 000 and N13, 000 per 50kg bag, while Nigerian processed rice sells for between N14,500 and N15, 000 per 50kg bag.

He said the price of local rice was higher because Cameroon and Benin Republic lowered their tariffs on rice to between zero and five per cent to encourage importation and subsequent smuggling into Nigeria.

Mohammed added that Thailand and India give high subsidies to rice farmers and rice processors, adding, however, that local rice producers had made some representations to the government on how rice could compete favourably, in terms of pricing, with the heavily-subsidised imported rice.

Perhaps, more importantly, the upsurge in rice smuggling is hurting the Federal Government’s revenue generation efforts. The smugglers, who are seen as the greatest saboteurs, have been ravaging the economy and denying the government huge sums of legitimate revenue.

For instance, a recent World Bank report on smuggling in Nigeria stated that an astonishing $5 billion (about N1.45 trillion) worth of different goods, including rice, are smuggled into Nigeria yearly through Benin Republic alone.

The report further noted that over 25 per cent of the total annual revenue collected by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) was lost to smugglers each year. Going by the Customs’ projected revenue for last year, which is approximately N600 billion, it means that the Service may have lost N200 billion in revenue last year alone.

Smuggled rice also poses serious health challenges to consumers. The minister, at a briefing, raised the alarm over the unhealthy status of smuggled imported rice being dumped in the country. He urged Nigerians to reject the rice. He said the government could not guarantee the healthy status of the rice, having spent months on the high seas and warehouses.

The minister appealed to Nigerians to complement the government’s efforts by consuming only locally-grown and processed rice, which, according to him, “is fresher, tastier and healthier.”

“We don’t know where or how imported rice is made or how old it is. It is reported that most of the rice dumped on us are old and probably rejected.

“The citizens of those countries do not eat this rice. The citizens of Benin also do not eat it. But they send it to us. Unhealthy foods are dangerous to health. So let’s eat what we can vouch for,’’ he said, a fortnight ago while reeling out figures, which indicated that local rice production was growing exponentially.

Mohammed said for instance, within two years (September 2015-September 2017), rice importation from Thailand fell from 644,131 MT to 20, 000 MT, representing over 90 per cent drop.

While putting Nigeria’s current rice consumption at about six million MT of milled rice, he said the country produced 2.5million MT of milled rice in 2015. By 2017, it rose to 4million MT, leaving a gap of 2million MT. “Our target is to fill that gap by 2020,’’ he said.

The minister added that from only 13 integrated rice mills in the country in 2015, the number rose to 21 by 2017. Quoting the Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RIPAN), he said from five million rice farmers in 2015, the number has also gone up to 11 million.

The administration’s rice revolution has also not done badly from investment perspective. Alhaji Mohammed put RIPAN’s total investment in the economy at over N300 billion, while upcoming investments would amount to N250 billion.

He projected that the new investments will add 5, 000 jobs and additional 1,775,000 MT of integrated rice milling capacity, while saving $300 million foreign exchange from import substitution through local processing.

The minister noted that the new investments were made when Nigeria was in recession, indicating investors’ confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian economy.

“The investments have not stopped as 15 more mills are about to take off, including the Dangote Rice Mills to be established in six states with a total capacity of about one million MT,’’ he said.

The minister said with the significant increased production in rice paddy, Nigeria’s rice import bill, which hitherto stood at $1.65 billion yearly, dipped by over 90 per cent.

He attributed the exponential growth in local rice production, which moved Nigeria closer to ending rice importation, to the sustained implementation of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme launched on November 17, 2015.

Buhari had in line with his administration’s economic diversification agenda through the agric sector, launched the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) to support farmers through input distribution and loans to boost rice production across the country.

The programme, which is being managed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was also aimed at stabilising input supply to agro processors and addressing the country’s negative balance of payments on food items.

Presidential fertiliser initiative to the rescue

Apart from benefiting from the ABP, the ongoing rice revolution, The Nation learnt, also drew strength from the setting up of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) in December 2016 by Buhari.

Set up to deliver commercially significant quantities of affordable and high quality fertiliser at the right time to over 500,000 farmers across the country, the initiative has helped push up fertiliser production capacity to 2.22 million MT.

To date, the programme, according to the Managing Director, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr. Uche Orji, has contributed to the resuscitation of 14 moribund blending plants, which represent 55 per cent of total installed capacity in the country.

Also, more than six million bags of 50kg NPK 20:10:10 fertiliser have been produced locally and distributed to farmers. Orji stated that after one year of running the programme, the import of finished fertiliser had reduced drastically.

“For the 2017 wet season, it was estimated that about N60 billion from the 2017 budgetary provisions for fertiliser was saved, while another saving of $150 million was conserved from foreign exchange window,” he said.

Orji added that the success of the PFI was evidence that Nigeria can sustainably produce fertilisers locally at a reasonable price without subsidy.

Encouraged by the 2.22 million metric tons made-in-Nigeria fertiliser production capacity, the Federal Government has announced plans to revive 12 moribund fertiliser blending plants to bring to 23 the total number of plants that will partake in this year’s PFI.

Doubts over self-suffiency target

Although, some of these significant milestones must have galvanised government to declare that the country will achieve self-sufficiency in rice production by year 2020, the excitement and optimism generated by the declaration were however, tinged with fear.

The thinking, and rightly so, is that without first articulating workable strategies to rein in rice smugglers, government’s latest rice self-sufficiency target may go the way of previous targets that were never realised.

Recall that Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, had earlier assured that Nigeria will be self-sufficient in rice production by the end of last year.

Ogbeh had given the assurance at the First International Cocoa Summit, organised by the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment in collaboration with Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Abuja, last year.

Although Chief Ogbeh said then that rice production had improved tremendously across the country as a result of the CBN’s ABP, government failed to meet the target, due largely to rice smuggling.

Again, sometime this year, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said Nigeria will stop rice importation by the end of the year. But as it turned out, the pronouncement was made without recourse to the realities on ground.

RIMIDAN faulted Osinbajo’s statement. Its Secretary, Shaibu Mohammed, said it was impossible for the country to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production by the end of the year because of the influx of smuggled rice through the land border.

According to Shaibu, smuggling of the product was frustrating efforts so far put in place by rice farmers towards rice production in the country. The frustration, he stated, stemmed from the difference in the price of the local and foreign rice, as people prefer to buy the foreign rice, which is cheaper.

Will government summon the political will to halt rice smuggling and address other issues around price instability, quality and harvesting/processing? Answers to these will determine the success or otherwise of the new year 20202 target for rice self-sufficiency.

http://thenationonlineng.net/how-smuggling-stalls-rice-self-sufficiency-target/

Rice growing spread north in Neolithic age: researchers

Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-12 20:07:59|Editor: Liangyu

Aerial photo shows the Dongyang relic site in Weinan City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Chinese paleontologists believe rice cultivation arrived in northern China from the south during the Neolithic age. Researchers with the Chinese Academy of Sciences institute of vertebrate paleontology and paleoanthropology base their view on study of items found in the Dongyang site. Phytolith analysis of residue found at the Dongyang site shows rice was grown there 5,800 years ago. (Xinhua)

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-04/12/c_137106623_2.htm

Economy still dependent on people’s spending

posted April 13, 2018 at 12:20 am by Tony Lopez

The ADB’s Asian Development Outlook 2018 report, released April 11, 2018, projects 6.8 percent gross domestic product growth for 2018, faster than the 6.7 percent rate in 2017. The economy will grow further, by 6.9 percent, in 2019.Strengthening domestic demand will underpin growth in 2018 and 2019. Investment will be supported by large public infrastructure projects such as national and provincial roads, railways, airports, and the Philippines’ first mass transit subway.

Export growth will likely moderate from last year’s rebound. Low unemployment and steady remittances will continue to support private consumption, says the Manila-based ADB.

“Along with domestic demand, the government’s infrastructure investments will fuel the country’s growth in the next few years, supported by a sound economic policy setting. We expect this growth to further lift wage employment numbers, add to household incomes, and benefit more poor families across the archipelago,” said Kelly Bird, ADB’s new country director for the Philippines.

Bird gushed the Philippines was now on its “golden age” as economic growth has been achieved for more than 50 years.

He said, economic expansion would be sustained in 2018 and 2019 as “reforms are in place to support the government’s infrastructure plan,” referring to the massive “Build, Build, Build” program. Here is ADB’s outlook report on PH:

An accommodative fiscal policy is likely to continue this year and next. The 2018 budget raises expenditure by 12.4 percent over last year, with two-thirds allocated to regions outside of Metro Manila.

Allocations for the provinces are 25 percent higher than in 2017 and are earmarked for rural development and job creation toward improving rural incomes. The budget for infrastructure is a quarter higher, equal to 6.1 percent of GDP, up from 5.4 percent in 2017.

The government recently approved free tuition in all state universities and colleges under the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, 2017 and free irrigation for smallholder farmers under the Free Irrigation Service Act, 2018.

The government is mobilizing more revenue to allow for higher investment in infrastructure and social services while keeping the fiscal deficit within 3 percent of GDP in the medium term. It thus targets the ratio of revenue to GDP in the 2018 budget to rise to 16.3 percent from 15.7 percent last year.

Early progress toward achieving the revenue target was made in December 2017 with the approval of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law, the first phase of government’s comprehensive tax reform program.

The law is projected to yield P90 billion in additional revenue in 2018 and P144 billion in 2019. Further augmentation of tax revenue is anticipated as the government pursues succeeding phases of comprehensive tax reform.

Strong household consumption is seen continuing this year and next. Remittances from overseas Filipinos are expected to continue to support household consumption. From the fiscal side, a cut in the personal income tax should boost disposable income and consumption among taxpayers, but an increase in excise taxes on petroleum products and a few other commodities could be a counterweight restraining household consumption.

Several signs point to strengthening private investment. Imports of capital goods rose by 16.9 percent year on year in January 2018, while bank credit to businesses increased by 18.1 percent in the same month.

The government is improving the investment climate by streamlining procedures for doing business in national and local agencies alike, including for business registration and applications for permits.

In December 2017, Fitch Ratings upgraded the Philippine rating for long-term foreign currency credit to BBB from BBB–,which should reinforce market confidence.

A business outlook survey conducted by the central bank in first quarter of 2018 found sentiment upbeat in response to strong domestic demand and the expected increase in public infrastructure spending.

By sector, services will continue to provide much of GDP growth as broad expansion continues. The purchasing managers’ index in January 2018 reached its highest since May 2016 with improving readings for services, trade, and manufacturing.

Manufacturing will continue to expand on robust domestic demand and exports. The manufacturing production index rose by 21.9 percent year on year in January 2018 on strong growth in food and beverages, construction materials, and some export-oriented products.

Construction will benefit largely from public infrastructure projects, but it is notable that building permits for privately constructed commercial and office buildings expanded by 23.2 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2017.

As growth strengthens, inflation is projected to pick up to 4 percent in 2018, using a consumer price index series based on 2006. Inflation in the first two months of this year accelerated to 4.2 percent using that series but slowed to 3.7 percent using a new series rebased on 2012.

Inflation largely reflected a rise in global oil and food prices and peso depreciation. Higher excises on fuel, sugar-sweetened beverages, and cigarettes since January 2018 could contribute to inflation, but mitigation measures are under way.

The government is moving away from restrictions on the volume of rice imports toward tariffs on rice imports to help augment domestic supply and contain domestic rice prices. Inflation is forecast at 3.9 percent in 2019, with upward adjustment to monetary policy rates anticipated in line with tightening monetary policy globally.

Import growth is expected to outpace export growth in light of robust domestic demand.

The expected widening of the merchandise trade deficit this year and next should mean a wider but still modest current account deficit, contained by a further rise in remittances and service exports, notably in business process outsourcing and tourism.

Improving business sentiment points to a continued uptrend in foreign direct investment.

External risks to the outlook would be heightened volatility in international financial markets or a revival of protectionist trade policies around the world.

However, a strong external payments position appears to make the Philippines resilient under any foreseeable external shock.

External debt trended down to the equivalent of 23.3 percent of GDP in 2017. National government debt has moderated to 42.1 percent of GDP and is denominated mostly in local currency.

The Philippine government has embarked on a massive infrastructure program worth $160 billion–$180 billion from 2017 to 2022, called “Build, Build, Build.”

http://thestandard.com.ph/opinion/columns/virtual-reality-by-tony-lopez/263045/economy-still-dependent-on-people-s-spending.html

Wearable Microscopes Get in Focus

Ashutosh Sabharwal et al.
4/13/2018 00:01 AM EDT

Researchers from five universities share details of their collaboration on a novel biological sensor that could enable a new class of wearable devices for health care.

Current methods for cellular-level analysis require invasivetesting that severely limits the ability to adequately monitor conditions ranging from cardiovascular diseases to cancer. Even worse, the complexity and cost of many invasive measurements puts them out of reach for many patients.

There are a host of non-invasivetechniques (X-ray, MRI, PET, etc.), but only light-based systems that use wavelengths between 400nm (blue) and 1100nm (thermal infrared) are non-ionizing, high-resolution and portable. Unfortunately, while a large amount of light can pass through human tissue at significant depths, nearly all photons are scattered, confounding subsequent analysis.

The current generation of cameras and algorithms cannot solve de-scatter the light because the number of scattering events is simply too vast. The only feasible approach is likely a combination of joint advances across optical, analog and digital domains, combined with complementary algorithmic advances in image processing and machine learning.

The first key design opportunity stems from recent advances in both programmable on-chip illumination and sensing. Engineers can mitigate the effects of scattering by combining programmable on-chip coded illumination with new image sensors that can capture multiple aspects of photons--including polarization, phase, time-of-flight, angle and wavelength.

By controlling illumination in space, angle, spectrum and polarization, one can selectively sample paths through the tissue with lower scattering events. New arrays of single-photon avalanche diodes can capture angle-sensitive information of each photon, providing additional information about received photons--information that that allows us to selectively filter photons accepting only those that underwent few scattering events.

The second major design opportunity will come from our ability to extract relevant information in the presence of thousands of nuisance parameters that are caused by a combination of motion, variation in illumination and camera noise. Instead of a brute force approach to reject nuisance noise, a strong possibility is to learn the noise patterns by virtually repeating the experiment millions of times using only a small amount of measured data. This relies on recent advances in machine learning, particularly deep learning.

As part of the newly awarded NSF Expeditions in Computing initiative, our team of twelve researchers from Rice, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, MIT and Harvard will develop platform technologies for novel computational cameras that will be able to see, safely and privately, below the skin with unprecedented spatial resolution.

Many patients with a wide range of health conditions could benefit from this new non-invasive cellular imaging. For example, chemotherapy patients could benefit from a non-invasive wearable or easy-to-use device that can monitor white blood count at home, which in turn could be used to generate early signs of a problem due to low white blood counts.

Ashutosh Sabharwal and Ashok Veeraraghavan are with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University. Srinivas Narasimhan and Ioannis Gkioulekas are with the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1333183

Global Brown Rice Market 2018 by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2023

April 12, 2018 - by David

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https://thefinancialconsulting.com/global-brown-rice-market-2018-2023/399850/

Investors to stake fresh N250bn in Nigeria rice production

By Bola Macaulay

April 12, 2018

Workers unload bags of rice on January 19, 2011 at the Port of Abidjan where 80% of Ivory Coast's exports transit. EU-registered ships have been barred from dealing with Ivory Coast's main cocoa ports in line with sanctions over the nation's controversial November presidential poll. The European Union last weekend slapped sanctions on outcast incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo and 84 of his associates, as well as 11 economic entities in the world's top cocoa producer. AFP PHOTO/ ISSOUF SANOGO (Photo credit should read ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images)

Following plans to establish additional 14 rice mills in the country, investors have committed additional N250billion into Nigeria’s rice production. This is in addition to the current N300billion invested by processors

The Minister of Agriculture Audi Ogbeh, who disclosed this during a Rice Conference organised by Agro Nigeria in Abuja, said the country would save $300million from import substitution through local processing.He disclosed that there are presently 21 large integrated rice mills with a total processing capacity of 1.22 million metric tonnes yearly spreading across the country, including Kano, Enugu, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Anambra, Edo, Nasarawa, Benue, Kwara, Jigawa, Niger, and Kogi states.

He said: “Today, many integrated local mills have their milled rice in the Nigerian market, and consumer demand and preference for local rice has risen due to better quality and taste compared to imported rice. Home-grown international grade rice can be found across Nigerian markets, and a total of 14 mills will soon come on board.”

Ogbeh noted that members of the Rice Producers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), currently have a direct workforce of 5,000 skilled Nigerians including women as off-takers of rice paddy, and have created jobs for over five million rice farmers out of the existing 11 million rice farmers in Nigeria.

He said the integrated rice mills have also employed about two million unskilled workers, while Nigeria’s rice import bill has dropped appreciably by over 90 per cent.

The minister observed that in the past three years, paddy production had seen exponential growth, reaching 6.9 million MT in 2016, or 4.14 million MT of milled rice, and 8.019 million MT, or 4.81 million MT of milled rice in 2017.

According to him, Nigeria is moving towards self sufficiency in rice production, and is on track to achieving this by the year 2020.
He recalled that in 2009, Nigeria could boast of only one integrated rice mill, and by 2017, the country had over 17 integrated rice processing mills with a milling capacity of 600,000MT a year.

“Presently, we have 21 large scale mills with a capacity of 1.2 million MT, while additional mills are springing up,” Ogbeh told participants at the inaugural Agro Nigeria rice event.

He said: “Estimated crop area of rice in 2017 was 3.9 million hectares, which represent an increase of about 6.9 per cent over the 3.17 million hectares cultivated in 2016. All the states of the federation recorded an increase in rice production, with Kebbi and Lagos having the highest increase. Over the last three years, we’ve recorded increase in production from an average of 2.5 tonnes to five tonnes per hectare.”

The minister said based on per capita consumption, Nigeria’s demand for rice stands at 9.5 million MT of paddy, representing 6.8 million MT of milled rice, adding that the deficit, which used to stand at between three to four million MT had been reduced to 1.99 million MT.

To sustain the momentum of the present growth, Ogbeh said: “Government would continue to provide conducive environment to rice farmers and millers in the area of ensuring adequate agro-chemicals, fertilisers, land development and irrigation facilities, mechanisation, modern extension services, power supply, access to good roads, farmlands and favourable pricing. Essentially, forestalling the illegal activities of smugglers across Nigeria’s borders remain a priority.”

The Governor of Kebbi State, who doubles as Chairman, Presidential Initiative on Rice, Abubakar Bagudu, said operators in the rice value chain “must appreciate the fact that the cost of production in countries we are competing with is cheaper than the production cost for the same commodity in Nigeria. This needs to be addressed in order to ensure sustainability.”

https://naija247news.com/2018/04/12/investors-to-stake-fresh-n250bn-in-nigeria-rice-production/

How smuggling stalls rice self-sufficiency target

Posted By: CHIKODI OKEREOCHA On: April 13, 2018 In: Industry