Industry status for rice sector
can lift export by 30pc
Salman Abduhu
LAHORE - The Rice Exporters Association of
Pakistan (REAP) has asked the government to declare the rice sector as an
industry and provide it all incentives in line with other five zero rated
export sectors. The step to declare rice sector an industry would benefit with
30 percent higher exports (additional $500 million) by saving post-harvest
losses (20 percent) and increasing exports to high-valued destinations by 30
percent.
REAP chairman Samee Ullah Naeem said that
government's support and investment in holding foreign exhibitions should be
made a policy to brand Pakistani basmati rice the world over.
“The second largest export-oriented sector of
rice, with its more than $2 billion annual export, is still striving for its
recognition as an industry. The fragmentation in supply chain partners,
including farmers, millers and exporters poses a bigger challenge. The issue at
farm levels poses threat for export destinations while the local millers that
handle 70 percent of paddy, are ignorant of good milling and storage practices
which deteriorates the grain quality, resulting in lower export,” he said.
REAP chairman observed that the competing
countries, including Thailand, India, USA, Brazil, had recognised their rice
sector as an industry that benefitted with the formulation of policies to
increase yields at farm levels and improvement the quality for exports.
He said that the current fragmentation of
sector is a barrier to development. He said that declaration of rice sector as
an industry would help in the formation of consolidated policy that will help
in the integration of all supply chain stakeholders into one chain.
Industry is the production of goods and
services within an economy, which is divided into three categories, including
prime (extractive), secondary (manufacturing) and tertiary (services). In
developed economies, the agriculture falls into primary (extractive) form of
industry where agriculture inputs and mechanics are engaged for achieving high
yielding agricultural outputs.
“The rice sector has all parameters to fall
into “food industry” wherein the purpose is to raise crop yields through
mechanised farming and to improve sanitary and phytosanitary standards for its
marketing into developed high revenue economies,” he added.
He said that the process of finished rice
starts from paddy procurement. The paddy is procured and dried and then kept
under silos for effective storages. The paddy is then cleaned, husked,
polished, graded and then packed for exports. The value-addition of rice ranges
from 100% to 140%. The paddy of basmati is procured at $450/ metric ton while
it is exported at around $1000 PMT. The long grain paddy is procured at $200
PMT and is exported at $400 PMT. Some of the rice like parboiling and steaming
are exported at around $1200 PMT.
He said that Pakistan's share in overall
basmati export has gradually decreased compared to India, mainly due to the
bigger crop size in the neighboring country, and government support to farmers
to keep growing the variety while focusing on crop yield with subsidized
inputs.
Samee Ullah said that India is more organised,
while in Pakistan individual millers try but remain inconsistent either due to
lower international prices, product quality and lack of support from the
government to establish brand image.
He believed that a diverse product range,
including the export of rice, would help Pakistan tap international markets and
increase its foreign exchange earnings. He said that Pakistani rice has been
exported to more than 100 countries of the world, expressing the hope that this
trend will continue with the same zeal in future.
Rice exports soar to $1.5bn
May 02, 2018
ISLAMABAD: Rice exports from the
country during the first nine months of 2017-18 increased by 27.67 per cent as
compared to the corresponding period of last year.
From July-March 2017-18, about
3,132,997 tonnes of rice worth $1.494 billion were exported versus 2,681,253
tonnes valuing $1.17bn in the same period last year.
According the latest data released
by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, basmati rice exports from the country
also grew by 19.13pc as 332,179 tonnes of basmati rice costing $348.558 million
exported during the last nine months as against exports of 302,339 tonnes at
$290.897m in the corresponding period of FY17.
During the period under review,
about 2,800,818 tonnes of rice others then basmati were exported and earned
$1.148bn as compared the exports of 2,378,914 tonnes valuing $897.804m of same
period last year, showing an increase of 30.49pc.
Meanwhile, the country earned
$315.497m by exporting about 130,148 tonnes of fish and fish preparations,
which was recorded at 105,039 tons at $275.807m in same period of 2016-17, the
data show.
During these nine months, food
group exports from the country grew by 28.06pc as different food commodities
worth $3.431bn were exported versus $2.679bn in the corresponding period of
last year.
On a monthly basis, food group
exports also registered a growth of 70.73pc during the month of March as
compared to exports in the same month of 2016-17. In March food commodities
worth $589.122m were exported as against $345.051m in the corresponding period
of last year.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1405099
Climate-smart production boosts West African
rice self-sufficiency
By Samantha Hautea |
The System for Rice Intensification
(SRI) has significant potential to close the rice production gap in West Africa
and put the region on the path to rice self-sufficiency, according to a new
book published by researchers from Cornell University and the National Center
of Specialization on Rice (NCoS-Rice), based in Mali, for the West and Central
African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF).
The book, “50,000 Farmers in 13 Countries: Results From Scaling up the
System of Rice Intensification in West Africa,” documents the
results of the 2014-16 project, Improving and Scaling up SRI in West Africa,
when SRI was introduced and evaluated in farmers’ fields in Benin, Burkina
Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria,
Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
The authors report that more than
50,000 farmers started using SRI and more than 750,000 people benefited
indirectly from the project, of whom 31.6 percent were women. By adopting the
SRI method of planting rice, farmers’ yields increased overall by 56 percent
for irrigated rice and 86 percent for lowland rainfed rice. The project trained
33,514 people (of whom 1,032 were technicians), and the number of institutions
working with SRI increased from 49 to 215 during the project period.
“It has been a remarkable journey
and adventure, characterized by commitment, hard work and genuine teamwork – the
largest SRI project ever undertaken in the world, spanning 13 countries across
West Africa,” said Erika Styger, associate director for Climate-Resilient
Farming Systems, in International Programs in the College of Agriculture and
Life Sciences, who is principal investigator on the project.
SRI is a climate-smart and
agro-ecological method of increasing rice production that focuses on the
management of plants, soil, water and nutrients. Practitioners are encouraged
to adapt practices to local agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions.
“Although SRI was introduced to
West Africa in the early 2000s, the results remained mostly at the local level.
This is the first time that the impact of the SRI system has been demonstrated
at such a large scale,” said Styger. “It has been a privilege for us at Cornell
to be actively involved. The results speak for themselves: SRI has the
potential to significantly contribute to the goal of rice-self-sufficiency in
West Africa.”
Participatory-driven research and
implementation
For most of the 430 million people
living in West and Central Africa, rice is one of the primary staples.
Achieving sufficient production has been a challenge, particularly when some
intensification methods are associated with the high cost of inputs like
fertilizer. Sustainability and negative environmental impacts are concerns for
many countries in the region, which have varied geography and natural
resources. West Africa only produced 54 percent of rice consumed in 2017 and
spent $4.16 billion in foreign exchange on rice imports. Achieving rice
self-sufficiency by 2025 is a goal set forth by the Regional Rice Offensive of
the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The inception of the project began
with Styger’s work in Mali with SRI before joining Cornell in 2010. Based on
increased interest in SRI in other West African countries, she met with
Gaoussou Traoré, coordinator of NCoS-Rice in Mali, as well as with
representatives from the World Bank and CORAF to discuss opportunities for a regional
initiative to support scaling-up SRI across West Africa.
Styger and Traoré teamed up to
engage farmer, extension and research representatives from 13 West African
countries to develop the project. Each of the national teams developed their
own country plans, selected project zones, set national targets and created
coalitions of institutions to help with project implementation.
Traoré coordinated the project and
Styger was technical lead for the regional coordination unit. The Cornell team
also included Devon Jenkins, technical and communication specialist, and Thomas
Archibald, monitoring and evaluation specialist. The regional coordination team
provided training, technical assistance, monitoring and evaluation support,
a communication
platform, supported institutional set-up, and organized regional
workshops to plan activities and share results.
“If 100 percent of rice farmers in
West Africa had used SRI in 2017, based on project participants results, rice
self-sufficiency would already have been achieved with a 5 percent surplus,”
Traoré said.
The project was funded by the World
Bank under its West Africa Agriculture Productivity Program and managed by
CORAF under the umbrella of the ECOWAS.
“50,000 Farmers in 13 Countries: Results From Scaling up the
System of Rice Intensification in West Africa” is available free
online.
UC assigns technician to full-time study of weedy rice
Share
Issue Date: May 2, 2018
Funding in the amount of $1 million
generated from the University of California Cooperative Extension Presidential
Chair for California Grown Rice will be used to hire a full-time technician to
monitor a research study at UC Davis on weedy rice.
Please log in to see this story.
Full online content is available to Farm Bureau agricultural or collegiate members
Full online content is available to Farm Bureau agricultural or collegiate members
Your diet could affect when you hit the menopause, according to
a major new study — and eating oily fish and legumes could delay it by years
May. 1, 2018, 6:01 AM
- Oily fish and legumes were associated with
reaching menopause later, while white pasta and rice were linked to early
menopause.
- The scientists believe their findings are
important as early and late menopause are linked with increased risks of
diseases like osteoporosis and certain cancers.
What we put in our bodies often directly affects our health. For example, time and time again, research has shown how the best diet for your health is one rich in vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats.
But this
doesn't halt research looking into whether some foods are particularly good —
or particularly bad — for us.
A new
study, published in the Journal of
Epidemiology and Community Health, has found that certain food
groups could affect the age at which the menopause starts.
Researchers
from the University of Leeds used data about the health and reproductive
history of more than 14,150 women living in the UK. They were asked to complete
a questionnaire about their diet, then the researchers followed up with them
four years later.
Out of
the whole group, about 900 women between the ages of 40 and 65 had experienced
the start of their menopause by the time of the follow up.
When
analysing their diets, the researchers found women who had a diet rich in oily
fish and fresh legumes like chickpeas and lentils were more likely to have a
delayed start to the menopause by an average of nearly three years.
A higher
intake of vitamin B6 and zinc were also linked with later menopause, and eating
meat was associated with menopause arriving almost a year later than a
vegetarian diet.
In
particular, childless women who ate more grapes and poultry reached menopause
significantly later as well.
Women
who ate a lot of refined (white) pasta and rice were more likely to start the
menopause one and a half years earlier, on average.
According
to the study's discussion, fresh legumes and oily fish are good sources of
antioxidants, which could partly explain the association, as egg maturation and
release are harmed by chemicals containing oxygen.
Also,
eating lots of refined carbs can increase the risk of insulin resistance, which
can interfere with sex hormone activity and boost oestrogen levels. This can
increase the number of menstrual cycles and deplete egg supply faster, the
researchers said.
"This
study is the first to investigate the links between individual nutrients and a
wide variety of food groups and age at natural menopause in a large cohort of
British women," said Yashvee Dunneram, a postdoctoral researcher at the
School of Food Science and Nutrition, and lead author of the study. "But
further studies are needed to improve understanding on how this may impact
health and wellbeing."
The
study was observational, and questionnaires can contain errors, especially when
self-reported. However, the researchers still believe the findings are
important for future research and healthcare, especially as women who go
through early menopause have an increased risk of osteoporosis and heart
disease. Those who go through it late are at increased risk of breast, womb,
and ovarian cancers.
"Our
findings confirm that diet may be associated with the age at natural menopause.
This may be relevant at a public health level since age at natural menopause
may have implications on future health outcomes," they wrote.
Radiocarbon based study suggests wheat introduced to eastern China
around 2600 BCE
May 1, 2018 by
Bob Yirka, Phys.org report
Credit: CC0 Public Domain
A team of researchers from several
institutions in Germany and China has found evidence of domesticated wheat in
China around 2600 BCE (Before Common Era). In their paper published in the
journal Nature Plants, the team describes their work and its possible
implications. Guanghui Dong with Lanzhou University in China offers a New &
Views piece on the study.
Rice is widely grown and consumed
in China, but less well known is that the country is also the largest producer
of wheat. Today, scientists would like to know the path that wheat took to get
to China. Prior research has shown that wheat was first domesticated in the
Fertile Crescent around 8500 BCE. It then spread west into Europe and east into
Asia. Some theories suggest the most logical path for the latter was straight
east into and across Asia. Others have proposed that it took a more northerly
route, while others yet have suggested a more southerly route. In this new
effort, the researchers suggest that it was carried east to places along the
Yangtze and then migrated west. They do acknowledge, however, that wheat could
have been introduced into Asia, and more specifically into China, many
times—their findings simply show the likely earliest introduction. They suggest
wheat was carried by travelers to eastern parts of China, where it was
subsequently planted and harvested.
To come to these conclusions, the
team performed radiocarbon dating on ancient wheat grains and charred wheat remains
dug up in Bronze-Age and Neolithic excavation sites (Zhaojiazhuang and Dinggong
sites in Shandong Province), which have yielded artifacts dated back to 8500—to
1500 BCE. According to tests, the wheat samples dated from around 2600 BCE,
which predates grains found and tested in other parts of China. The researchers
do not know why wheat would have been carried to eastern parts of China, but
suggest that it might have represented an exotic crop. There is also the
possibility that it was simply exchanged by travelers as part of cultural
trade. They do not believe their findings are the last word on the debate
surrounding the introduction of wheat into China, however, even if their
findings hold up. The next logical question would be which routes it took as it
migrated west.
Abstract
Wheat is regarded as one of the most important West Asian domesticates that were introduced into Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age China. Despite a growing body of archaeological data, the timing and routes of its dispersal remain controversial. New radiocarbon (14C) dating evidence from six archaeological sites in the Shandong and Liaoning Peninsulas and Bayesian modelling of available 14C data from China suggest that wheat appeared in the lower Yellow River around 2600 Before Common Era (BCE), followed by Gansu and Xinjiang around 1900 BCE and finally occurred in the middle Yellow River and Tibet regions by 1600 BCE. These results neither support long-standing hypotheses of a progressive spread of wheat agriculture from Xinjiang or Gansu to eastern China nor suggest a nearly synchronous appearance in this vast zone, but corroborate transmission to lower Yellow River elites as an exotic good through cultural interactions with the Eurasian steppe along north–south routes.
Wheat is regarded as one of the most important West Asian domesticates that were introduced into Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age China. Despite a growing body of archaeological data, the timing and routes of its dispersal remain controversial. New radiocarbon (14C) dating evidence from six archaeological sites in the Shandong and Liaoning Peninsulas and Bayesian modelling of available 14C data from China suggest that wheat appeared in the lower Yellow River around 2600 Before Common Era (BCE), followed by Gansu and Xinjiang around 1900 BCE and finally occurred in the middle Yellow River and Tibet regions by 1600 BCE. These results neither support long-standing hypotheses of a progressive spread of wheat agriculture from Xinjiang or Gansu to eastern China nor suggest a nearly synchronous appearance in this vast zone, but corroborate transmission to lower Yellow River elites as an exotic good through cultural interactions with the Eurasian steppe along north–south routes.
Japanese scientists can make alcohol from wood
With an alcoholic strength
similar to the popular rice-wine sake, the wood-based booze could hit shelves
within three years.
14:20, UK,Tuesday 01 May 2018
Image:The alcohol content of the drink is similar to Japan's
favoured rice-wine sake
Drinkers could soon be enjoying a new type of alcoholic beverage
after Japanese scientists said they have invented a way to produce booze from
wood.
Researchers from Japan's Forestry
and Forest Products Research Institute have been testing the method of
producing drinkable alcohol - known as ethanol - since June 2009.
Now they say the drinks they are
making from tree bark are similar to drinks aged in wooden barrels, and could
be served to customers by 2021.
To make the drinks, the scientists
had to pulverise the tree bark into a paste, then hydrolysed it with a
commercial cellulase enzyme to obtain sugar from it.
This sugar was fermented using
yeast, and, by avoiding a manufacturing process which involves the heat, the
scientists say they have been able to let the alcohol retain the flavour of the
trees it is made from.
Both brewed and distilled versions
of drinks made from cedar, birch and cherry have been made, with 4kg (8.8lb) of
cedar wood giving them 3.8 litres (eight pints) of booze with an alcohol
content of 15% - similar to the rice-wine sake.
Image:The alcohol could be made from any of Japan's famous
trees
One of the team, Kengo Magara, told
the AFP news organisation that the distilled alcohol appeared to be the better
drink to the researchers.
He said that while the scientists
had already produced biofuel by fermenting wood, that fuel contained toxins and
was flavourless, making it unsuitable for human consumption.
"But our method can make it
drinkable, and with a wood flavour, because it does not require high heat or
sulphuric acid to decompose the wood," Mr Magara said.
Japan's Forestry and Forest
Products Research Institute has a large remit to study the country's woods and
forests, but Mr Magara acknowledged to AFP that inventing a new form of booze
was a little unusual.
"We thought it would be
interesting to think that alcohol could be made from something around here like
trees," he said.
"It's a dream-inspired
project," he said, adding that the institute is hoping to partner with the
private sector to get the liquor into the market.
"Japan has plenty of trees
across the nation and we hope people can enjoy wood alcohols that are
specialised from each region," he said.
So A Rice Grower And A Wheat Grower Walk Into
A Coffee Shop
At this critical moment, do you: a) Contort and squeeze your
body around the misplaced chairs, just in case someone had a good reason for
putting them there? Or b) Move the chairs, so you can quickly sit down and
start drinking your beverage before it gets cold?
Some academics believe that, at least in China, your choice may
depend on whether your ancestors farmed rice or wheat.
“It sounds a bit crazy, I know,” says Thomas Talhelm, an
assistant professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth
School of Business, who put forth the idea in a study published last week in
Science. “This definitely isn’t what I’d call a typical way of doing a
psychology study.”
Indeed, it seems safe to say that never before has a study
sought to test the influence of traditional agriculture in China on people’s
modern-day coffee-shop behavior.
It builds on a theory Talhelm came up with in 2014 (and which
NPR covered at the time).
Back then, he proposed that in southern China, centuries of rice
paddy cultivation — which requires communities of farmers to work together and
rely on each other — led to a modern-day culture that values cooperation and
collaboration. And he suggested that in northern China, wheat farming — a much
simpler undertaking that individual farmers could manage on their own —
encouraged a culture that emphasizes individualism and self-reliance.
In his latest study, Talhelm takes his “rice theory” a step
further, asking whether relatively well off Chinese city dwellers are still
being influenced by their agricultural heritage, even though they have never
set foot on a farm.
To test it out, Talhelm and his colleagues camped out at
Starbucks and other chain coffee shops in major Chinese cities — some in the
wheat-growing north (including Beijing and Shenyang) and some in the
rice-growing south (like Shanghai and Guangzhou). These cafes have become a
part of everyday life in Chinese cities — some estimates indicate that a new
Starbucks branch opens there every 15 hours. So the researchers figured its
customers would represent a good cross section of the urban Chinese population.
Among the 8,964 cafegoers observed, those in the northern areas
were about 10 percent more likely to sit alone — a sign, the researchers say,
of their individualism.
Then came the real test. Without telling the manager or
employees, the researchers moved the chairs at five coffee shops around the
country to block aisles and pathways. And then they sat in a corner and watched
the reactions of more than 650 customers.
In the northern wheat region, 16 percent of customers moved
chairs out of their way, living up, Talhelm says, to a cultural legacy that
encourages people to take charge and forge their own path. At the cafes in the
southern, rice region, only about 6 percent of people moved the chairs. The
rest squeezed through the gaps, choosing to not cause too much of a stir, to
adjust themselves to their environment rather than bending it to their will.
Talhelm points out that in Hong Kong — which is by many measures
the wealthiest, most modern Chinese city and was exposed to more
individualistic Western values during British colonial rule — only about 5
percent of the customers moved chairs out of their way. Ninety-five percent
stayed true to the rice-growing way and squeezed around the furniture. And in
another southern city, Shanghai — where Starbucks opened its largest, most
lavish branch in December — the rate of people who moved chairs was even lower
than in Hong Kong.
“I mean, the study is not surprising for someone growing up in
southern China,” says Jimmy Chan, a professor of economics at the Chinese
University of Hong Kong, who wasn’t involved in the project. “I grew up in Hong
Kong, and I lived for 12 years in Shanghai,” he says. “If you asked me, I
supposed I would go around the chairs.”
But Chan also notes that the disparities the study found aren’t
all that significant. Even if 16 percent of northerners versus 6 percent of
southerners moved chairs, the vast majority of customers in the study — from
both north and south — chose to sidle around the furniture.
Still, the findings are consistent with stereotypes in China
that paint southerners as reserved or demure and northerners as assertive or
macho, Chan says. “I guess the question is, can we really attribute it all to
rice and wheat?”
Talhelm isn’t the first person to fixate on how rice farming has
impacted Chinese culture: Journalist Malcolm Gladwell proposed in his 2008
book, Outliers, that students in south China derived a tough work ethic from
their paddy-farming ancestors.
But other social scientists have found that factors including
climate, population density and historic levels of wealth have shaped Chinese
culture more than any anything else.
Fengyang Wang, a psychologist at Nanjing Normal University,
credits the southern Chinese tendency to value balance and harmony within their
community to, among other things, a historic adherence to yin and yang
philosophy, which teaches that all things exist as complementary and
contradictory opposites.
In a critique of Talhelm’s rice and wheat theory, published in
last month’s issue of the journal of the Chinese Psychological Society, Wang
questions the assumption that northerners are in fact more individualistic —
pointing out that historically, people throughout China have valued family and
community.
“There’s definitely been a lot of debate around this,” says Alex
English, a research fellow at Shanghai International Studies University who is
studying how migration within China affects people’s behavior and way of
thinking — and how it may affect the rice/wheat cultural paradigm. Although he
is a frequent collaborator of Talhelm’s, English wasn’t involved in this latest
study.
“To really figure out how well this rice theory holds up, what
we need is replication,” he says. To that end, Talhelm is now looking for
similar cultural patterns in India’s rice- and wheat-growing regions.
Even so, social scientists may never be able distill a
centuries-old culture down to just one or two ingredients, English notes. “For
Americans who tend to lump all Chinese people together, this is a good reminder
that there’s a lot of diversity among the 1.3 billion people here.”
And then of course, there are people like English — an American
who grew up in an individualistic culture and moved to communalistic south
China 12 years ago. What’s his coffee-shop style?
“When I’m visiting the north, I’ll definitely just move anything
out of my way,” he says. “But in the south, I guess I’d move around. It’s like,
you don’t want to rock the boat, you know?”
Maanvi Singh is a freelance
writer. Contact her @maanvisings
http://www.infosurhoy.com/cocoon/saii/xhtml/en_GB/newssummary/so-a-rice-grower-and-a-wheat-grower-walk-into-a-coffee-shop/
Cultivating paddy in the middle of a shrimp
tank!
BHIMAVARAM, MAY 02,
2018 00:59 IST
Productive approach: Agriculture scientists at a paddy field at
Kovvada-Annavaram near Bhimavaram in West Godavari district. | Photo
Credit: CH_VIJAYA BHASKAR
It will ensure triple income from
shrimp, paddy and horticulture crops, says former farm scientist
For all the expected big returns, shrimp farming is sometimes
dicey and a gamble. A wave of viral white spot syndrome and all the shrimp,
despite adequate care, is gone and the distressed farmer is virtually left with
nothing.
From rags to riches and back to penury, the small and marginal
farmers who have been taking to shrimp farming in a big way in areas known
previously for being part of a “rice bowl” of Andhra Pradesh are caught in a
vicious cycle.
Worried over the aggressive way shrimp farming is being promoted
and the way paddy farmers were switching, Dandu Jagannadha Raju, a former
agriculture scientist, has come up with a novel integrated concept of raising
paddy crop in the middle of the shrimp growing tank and horticulture crops on
the bund of the tank. “My experiment is successful, as it will ensure triple
income from shrimp, paddy and horticulture crops. A small shrimp farmer has
some alternative to fall back upon — paddy, horti or even floriculture.”
True to what Dr. Raju, formerly of ANGR Agricultural University,
claimed, there was steady stream of shrimp farmers, paddy farmers, agriculture
and aqua culture scientists to the three-acre tank at Ananda Farm in Kovvada
Annavaram village, near Bhimavaram in West Godavari, district during the last
few days. What surprised most of them was the way paddy was grown in the middle
of shrimp farm full of saline water.
Integrated farm
“People were apprehensive about the experiment, but once they
saw the fully grown local varieties of paddy (MTU 1121, MTU 1156 and MTU
7029-swarna) now being harvested, their doubts have disappeared. Similarly we
have raised various varieties of vegetables and flowers on the tank bund,” he
said.
“Now that this integrated farm concept has shown good results,
we will popularise and try to scale it up”, said U.K. Viswanatha Raju, chairman
of the Ananda Group, an aquaculture firm.
It was in one of the group’s shrimp tanks that this experiment
was hosted. Of the three-acre tank, paddy was grown on 1.1 acres and the
expectation is of pretty good yield while the remaining space of trenches were
used for the prawns. An interesting feature was that paddy was grown
organically without any chemicals. “It looks like a symbiotic relationship.
Paddy crop is using up the ammonia and nitrates and releasing oxygen that was
important for the shrimp,” Dr. Jagannadha Raju said.
P. Muniratnam, a senior official of Agriculture department, said
a deeper three-season study was required to measure the success. The department
was doing a similar experiment with paddy and fresh water fish.
University of
California to tackle problem of weedy rice
The problem of
Weedy rice is faced by farmers around the world.
Devdiscourse News Desk 1 May 2018, 10:15 PM Views
: 84
- A strategy
to combat weedy rice is going to be funded by University Of California.
(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The University of California (UC)
to develop a weedy rice strategy by funding million dollars to Whitney
Brim-DeForest, a UC scientist, and a full-time rice researcher.
The problem of Weedy rice is
faced by farmers around the world. Weedy rice and cultivated rice are very
similar to each other the only difference being that the grain falls off
from the weedy plants before harvest, unlike cultivated rice.
Brim-DeForest said she will use
the funds to hire a full-time technician to monitor a research study at UC
Davis on weedy rice.
Her team also includes advisors
like Luis Espino and Michelle Lindfelder-Miles, and UCCE specialists Bruce
Linquist and Kassim Al-Khatib. They will conduct a five-year demonstration of
the project to tackle this problem for the farmers.
The scientists plan to
demonstrate two potential weedy rice management strategies: rotate the
rice crop with sorghum and create a “stale seedbed,” in which the field is
irrigated and plants allowed to germinate, and then killed with an herbicide
before the desired rice is planted.
“We want to demonstrate this in
the field,” Brim-DeForest said. “In theory, it works. We want to show growers
how long it will take to get weedy rice out of their fields.”
“The establishment of this
endowed chair strengthens the long-standing public-private research partnership
UC Cooperative Extension has had with the California rice industry,” said UC
Agriculture and Natural Resources associate vice president Tu Tran, when the
endowment was announced in 2016. “Continued research advancements will help the
rice industry maintain its reputation for supplying a premium product for
domestic and world markets.”
Rice production and
imports 2018
CROSSROADS
(Toward Philippine Economic and Social Progress) - Gerardo P. Sicat (The Philippine Star) -
May 2, 2018 - 12:00am
The National Food Authority (NFA) has been in the news lately.
Pictures of near empty government rice warehouses appearing in newspapers
brought home the reason for the spike in the price of rice. This has caused a
flurry of presidential actions.
Liberalizing rice imports. President Duterte transferred the agency’s policy-making body to
the agriculture department from the Office of the President to effect a change
in management policy.
More important, the President also ordered that imports of rice
be allowed to more traders, changing the current system of licensed traders
that the NFA has fostered and cultivated.
If presidential words prevail, a more open trading in imported
rice will cause the price of rice to fall and stabilize in the country. Under
current rules with the WTO (World Trade Organization), the country is allowed
to keep quantitative restrictions on rice up to around 805,000 metric tons of
rice, but subject to tariff of 35 percent ad valorem, no longer at 40 percent
ad valorem from the previous regime of quantitative restrictions.
The President signed Executive Order 23 in April 2017 to
continue the quantitative restrictions, intending that they would be also
agreed to by the WTO.
The President’s statement on imports has in mind the current
system of import restrictions under WTO. For the moment, this is up to 2020,
which is the extent of the current expectations of the government in relation
to its request to retain the current import system. (Beyond that time, the
country would be required to allow the imports without quotas, although they
could be tariffied.)
Free trade in rice will be a boon to consumers, who are mainly
the country’s wage earners, for that would mean cheaper rice. The country would
have access to supplies from the world’s efficient suppliers of rice for some
of its needs. This would make it possible to stabilize food prices because the
country has access to low priced rice.
Singapore and Hong Kong, both of which never had any rice
agriculture due to absence of land, have never experienced serious food price
crises. They buy their need in food from the world, including all the rice
needs of their residents.
A policy regime of liberalized imports in rice would expose
domestic rice producers to more competition. Because the country has pockets of
good lands suitable for rice agriculture, these production centers could still
provide a veritable supply of output. The domestic rice industry would be be
induced to become more efficient producers through the stress of competitive
pressures.
Most economists agree that the liberalization of rice imports
has long been overdue. Such a move will make the price of rice at retail to
fall. Imports will raise the supply that enter the retail market.
The price of rice in the world market – heavily participated in
by the large producers of Southeast Asia, our normal source of imports – is
much lower than the domestic retail price at home.
Self-sufficiency in rice no longer holds. Self-sufficiency is not a feasible economic objective anymore
given our land resources. Our lands less suited for rice agriculture could be
used for other high-value commercial crops and for fancy commercial varieties
of rice. Our very large population of 100 million people will continue to grow
in numbers for decades to come.
As long as the government extends support to domestic
production, the domestic needs for rice would still be supplied mainly by
domestic suppliers. Encouragement of domestic production would come from
government support of investments in irrigation, transport, drying facilities,
and sustained support of farm extension services and research, as well as the
availability of credit to the rice sector.
However, it is a foolish wish to hope that all these would be
able to supply all the country’s needs for rice. Pushing production to the
limit could only lead to rising costs, making locally grown rice even more
expensive. The reason for this is limited land and the associated limits of
productivity. (Need I stress the law of diminishing returns?). Low-cost
producers in Southeast Asia will have much larger capacity to expand production
without rising costs.
A more rational food security policy. In the face of these realities, we need a rational policy toward
rice imports. Even then, the domestic production of rice remains as an
important national objective. Our domestic agriculture would also need new
avenues for growth in other commercial crops to which our remaining land
and terrain is more suited.
The importation of rice needs to be integrated as an element of
a domestic agricultural policy, assuring food security for the nation. We are
in a propitious position to rely on ASEAN neighbors who are better endowed in
rice production even as we focus our agricultural potentials on other export
crops.
As a strategy, this will further help in our economic
integration within the ASEAN. In this sense, the rice-exporting ASEAN countries
of Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia could become part of our extended
hinterland.
Even as this would happen, the main supply of rice would still
come from our traditional rice producing regions. The government could and
should continue to encourage domestic rice production.
Local farmers still have some edge in competition: though higher
in farm cost, their output is nearer to our ultimate consumer market.
The government must recognize there is an upper limit to our
efforts for domestic production of the crop. National policy requires that the
supply of rice for domestic consumption is sustained by domestic production and
a realistic assessment of import needs.
Moreover, a low price of rice that is also stable nourishes the
economic competitiveness in the effort to grow and industrialize.
Food security compels a proper balancing of domestic production
and import needs. Import needs must be planned for every crop year as an
assessment exercise for fulfilling the country’s food security requirements.
Even as such recognition of imports is part of the planning, the
support of policies to rice agriculture cannot be taken for granted.
Infrastructure and institutions related to rice agriculture need to be
strengthened.
Government support of infrastructure development for agriculture
is critical for rice production, as well as for other crops. The expansion and
maintenance of irrigation networks and of flood control projects are part of
this support.
The strengthening of economic institutions includes improvements
in rural credit, support of farm cooperatives, the continuation of farm
technical assistance, and support of research and development.
My email is: gpsicat@gmail.com. Visit
this site for more information, feedback and commentary: http://econ.upd.edu.ph/gpsicat/
Climate-smart
production boosts West African rice self-sufficiency
By Samantha Hautea |
The System for Rice Intensification
(SRI) has significant potential to close the rice production gap in West Africa
and put the region on the path to rice self-sufficiency, according to a new
book published by researchers from Cornell University and the National Center
of Specialization on Rice (NCoS-Rice), based in Mali, for the West and Central
African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF).
The book, “50,000 Farmers in 13 Countries: Results From Scaling up the
System of Rice Intensification in West Africa,” documents the
results of the 2014-16 project, Improving and Scaling up SRI in West Africa,
when SRI was introduced and evaluated in farmers’ fields in Benin, Burkina
Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria,
Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
The authors report that more than
50,000 farmers started using SRI and more than 750,000 people benefited
indirectly from the project, of whom 31.6 percent were women. By adopting the
SRI method of planting rice, farmers’ yields increased overall by 56 percent
for irrigated rice and 86 percent for lowland rainfed rice. The project trained
33,514 people (of whom 1,032 were technicians), and the number of institutions
working with SRI increased from 49 to 215 during the project period.
“It has been a remarkable journey
and adventure, characterized by commitment, hard work and genuine teamwork –
the largest SRI project ever undertaken in the world, spanning 13 countries
across West Africa,” said Erika Styger, associate director for
Climate-Resilient Farming Systems, in International Programs in the College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences, who is principal investigator on the project.
SRI is a climate-smart and
agro-ecological method of increasing rice production that focuses on the
management of plants, soil, water and nutrients. Practitioners are encouraged
to adapt practices to local agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions.
“Although SRI was introduced to
West Africa in the early 2000s, the results remained mostly at the local level.
This is the first time that the impact of the SRI system has been demonstrated
at such a large scale,” said Styger. “It has been a privilege for us at Cornell
to be actively involved. The results speak for themselves: SRI has the
potential to significantly contribute to the goal of rice-self-sufficiency in
West Africa.”
Participatory-driven research and
implementation
For most of the 430 million people
living in West and Central Africa, rice is one of the primary staples. Achieving
sufficient production has been a challenge, particularly when some
intensification methods are associated with the high cost of inputs like
fertilizer. Sustainability and negative environmental impacts are concerns for
many countries in the region, which have varied geography and natural
resources. West Africa only produced 54 percent of rice consumed in 2017 and
spent $4.16 billion in foreign exchange on rice imports. Achieving rice
self-sufficiency by 2025 is a goal set forth by the Regional Rice Offensive of
the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The inception of the project began
with Styger’s work in Mali with SRI before joining Cornell in 2010. Based on
increased interest in SRI in other West African countries, she met with Gaoussou
Traoré, coordinator of NCoS-Rice in Mali, as well as with representatives from
the World Bank and CORAF to discuss opportunities for a regional initiative to
support scaling-up SRI across West Africa.
Styger and Traoré teamed up to
engage farmer, extension and research representatives from 13 West African
countries to develop the project. Each of the national teams developed their
own country plans, selected project zones, set national targets and created
coalitions of institutions to help with project implementation.
Traoré coordinated the project and
Styger was technical lead for the regional coordination unit. The Cornell team
also included Devon Jenkins, technical and communication specialist, and Thomas
Archibald, monitoring and evaluation specialist. The regional coordination team
provided training, technical assistance, monitoring and evaluation support,
a communication
platform, supported institutional set-up, and organized regional
workshops to plan activities and share results.
“If 100 percent of rice farmers in
West Africa had used SRI in 2017, based on project participants results, rice
self-sufficiency would already have been achieved with a 5 percent surplus,”
Traoré said.
The project was funded by the World
Bank under its West Africa Agriculture Productivity Program and managed by
CORAF under the umbrella of the ECOWAS.
“50,000 Farmers in 13 Countries: Results From Scaling up the
System of Rice Intensification in West Africa” is available free
online.
Samantha Hautea is a communications
specialist with International Programs.
STORY CONTACTS
George Lowery
Developing Parametric Insurance for Weather
Related Risks for Indonesia
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Indonesia is one of the main agriculture producers globally and
largely relies on domestic staples for its growing population. Droughts related
to the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) frequently reduce rice production
which triggers, in the most severe cases emergency imports of rice. Projections
of climate change models for Indonesia point towards increasing temperatures
and more extreme distributions of precipitation with more frequent dry and wet
periods. Climate change impacts are expected to lead to more volatility in rice
production. High government subsidies for input supplies and fertilizer as well
as trade tariffs under the current agriculture policy have led to
inefficiencies in the rice production system besides stagnating yields.
The Government of Indonesia (GoI) has been focusing on modernizing
rice production through improved irrigation infrastructure and early warning
systems to better cope with developing droughts and support schemes for rice
farmers. In case of severe droughts (e.g., 1983, 1997, 2015), the GoI approved
additional budget to alleviate impacts of drought for rice farmers through
ad-hoc disaster payments and rice imports through its procurement agency BULOG
to assure food security. However, a reallocation of budget takes considerable
time and administrative efforts and can cause severe financial constraints to
farmers if funds are received late. Governments in other countries have been
benefiting from ex-ante insurance risk transfer products and capital market
instruments in case of extreme climate events to obtain immediate indemnity,
stabilise ad-hoc disaster budgets and lengthy avoid budget reallocation
processes. While governments use risk transfer solutions mostly for
infrastructure, parametric insurance covers have become increasingly available
for agriculture assets including crops, livestock and forestry.
This study investigates the development of a parametric
insurance product as an ex ante risk management instrument that relies on
regional drought indices and provides province-level payouts to the GoI in case
of severe droughts. As a case study, the province of Central Java has been
chosen given its importance in rice production and a recent request of the
Central Java Government to transfer drought risk. This study uses over 50 years
of historical gridded precipitation and temperature data to develop Standard
Precipitation Indices (SPI) and Standard Precipitation Evapotranspiration
Indices (SPEI) to quantify drought extents at a resolution of 50 x 50 km. A
correlation analysis is undertaken between drought intensity (SPI and SPEI)
over different time intervals (12 months, 6 months and 4 months) and annual as
well as seasonal rice production including one wet rice season and two dry rice
seasons. This study reveals that a 4 months SPI (January-April) and wet season rice
production show the highest correspondence, based on which a parametric
insurance product has been designed for payouts of droughts at province level
(SPI of -5 up to SPI of -20). To validate assumptions of the possible maximum
drought intensity, which is necessary to define the payout function of the
parametric insurance product, SPI values are used from the last 56 years
(1961-2015) of rainfall observations and projections from climate change models
for the next 25 years (2016-2040). Following common market practise, the
structure of the parametric insurance product is priced following the
Historical Burn Rate method is used. As a first of its kind, the developed
drought indices are validated with outputs of a climate change model for
Central Java province.
This study has been developed in the context of a wider
initiative of the World Bank and IFC on disaster risk financing for the GoI and
complements a recently approved IFC Indonesia Agriculture Insurance Project
(601736) to develop insurance products at the micro level for farmers and at
the meso-level for agribusinesses and lending institutions. Preliminary results
of this study have been shown and discussed with the Ministry of Agriculture of
Central Java, the National Weather Service of Indonesia (BMKG), the Office of
the Insurance Regulator, the Ministry of Finance and leading Indonesian
insurers in the form of workshops undertaken in Indonesia (Semarang and
Jakarta) in July 2017. The feedback on the concept of the presented parametric
insurance solution has been very positive. Further, representatives of the
Government of the Central Java province revealed that they have been trying to
transfer drought risk for rice production to the insurance market, but no
solution could be offered. Additionally, the concept of the parametric
insurance product has been discussed with two leading reinsurance companies and
a large reinsurance brokerand found strong interest to support this project
with reinsurance capacity.
Based on the continued interest from Indonesian stakeholders, a
cost-benefit analysis of the parametric insurance product compared to other
ex-ante and ex-post risk financing approaches will be undertaken. Further, the
availability of longer seasonal rice production data will improve the validation
of the developed indices.
https://reliefweb.int/report/indonesia/developing-parametric-insurance-weather-related-risks-indonesia
Climate-smart production boosts West African
rice self-sufficiency
By Samantha Hautea |
The System for Rice Intensification
(SRI) has significant potential to close the rice production gap in West Africa
and put the region on the path to rice self-sufficiency, according to a new
book published by researchers from Cornell University and the National Center
of Specialization on Rice (NCoS-Rice), based in Mali, for the West and Central
African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF).
The book, “50,000 Farmers in 13 Countries: Results From Scaling up the
System of Rice Intensification in West Africa,” documents the
results of the 2014-16 project, Improving and Scaling up SRI in West Africa,
when SRI was introduced and evaluated in farmers’ fields in Benin, Burkina
Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria,
Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
The authors report that more than
50,000 farmers started using SRI and more than 750,000 people benefited
indirectly from the project, of whom 31.6 percent were women. By adopting the
SRI method of planting rice, farmers’ yields increased overall by 56 percent
for irrigated rice and 86 percent for lowland rainfed rice. The project trained
33,514 people (of whom 1,032 were technicians), and the number of institutions
working with SRI increased from 49 to 215 during the project period.
“It has been a remarkable journey
and adventure, characterized by commitment, hard work and genuine teamwork –
the largest SRI project ever undertaken in the world, spanning 13 countries
across West Africa,” said Erika Styger, associate director for
Climate-Resilient Farming Systems, in International Programs in the College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences, who is principal investigator on the project.
SRI is a climate-smart and
agro-ecological method of increasing rice production that focuses on the
management of plants, soil, water and nutrients. Practitioners are encouraged
to adapt practices to local agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions.
“Although SRI was introduced to
West Africa in the early 2000s, the results remained mostly at the local level.
This is the first time that the impact of the SRI system has been demonstrated
at such a large scale,” said Styger. “It has been a privilege for us at Cornell
to be actively involved. The results speak for themselves: SRI has the
potential to significantly contribute to the goal of rice-self-sufficiency in
West Africa.”
Participatory-driven research and
implementation
For most of the 430 million people
living in West and Central Africa, rice is one of the primary staples.
Achieving sufficient production has been a challenge, particularly when some
intensification methods are associated with the high cost of inputs like
fertilizer. Sustainability and negative environmental impacts are concerns for
many countries in the region, which have varied geography and natural
resources. West Africa only produced 54 percent of rice consumed in 2017 and
spent $4.16 billion in foreign exchange on rice imports. Achieving rice
self-sufficiency by 2025 is a goal set forth by the Regional Rice Offensive of
the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The inception of the project began
with Styger’s work in Mali with SRI before joining Cornell in 2010. Based on
increased interest in SRI in other West African countries, she met with
Gaoussou Traoré, coordinator of NCoS-Rice in Mali, as well as with
representatives from the World Bank and CORAF to discuss opportunities for a
regional initiative to support scaling-up SRI across West Africa.
Styger and Traoré teamed up to
engage farmer, extension and research representatives from 13 West African
countries to develop the project. Each of the national teams developed their
own country plans, selected project zones, set national targets and created
coalitions of institutions to help with project implementation.
Traoré coordinated the project and
Styger was technical lead for the regional coordination unit. The Cornell team
also included Devon Jenkins, technical and communication specialist, and Thomas
Archibald, monitoring and evaluation specialist. The regional coordination team
provided training, technical assistance, monitoring and evaluation support,
a communication
platform, supported institutional set-up, and organized regional
workshops to plan activities and share results.
“If 100 percent of rice farmers in
West Africa had used SRI in 2017, based on project participants results, rice
self-sufficiency would already have been achieved with a 5 percent surplus,”
Traoré said.
The project was funded by the World
Bank under its West Africa Agriculture Productivity Program and managed by
CORAF under the umbrella of the ECOWAS.
“50,000 Farmers in 13 Countries: Results From Scaling up the
System of Rice Intensification in West Africa” is available free
online.
Samantha Hautea is a communications
specialist with International Programs.
Rice Imports
to Cool Philippine Inflation, Economic Planner Says
By Claire Jiao and Clarissa Batino
May 2, 2018, 2:00 AM GMT+5
·
Removing import caps
to cut price of rice by 16%, boost supply
·
President Duterte
backed removal of rice import quota
Philippine inflation will ease from a five-year high once
lawmakers approve a measure that will allow more rice imports, giving
authorities scope to delay an interest rate increase, according to a senior
economic planner.
Inflation that climbed to 4.3 percent in March will cool by at
least 1 percentage point once a law limiting overseas purchases of the nation’s
staple grain is amended by Congress by the end of the first half of the year,
Economic Planning Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said in an April 27
interview in her office in Metro Manila.
Rosemarie Edillon
Photographer: Leody P. Barcelon/NEDA
Some economists are of the view
the central bank should refrain from raising interest rates to see if lawmakers
can pass the law on rice by June, Edillon said, citing discussions at the April
24 meeting of the Development Budget Coordination Committee. President Rodrigo
Duterte last week backed the removal of import limits on the grain to
boost stockpiles that were depleted.
“A 25-basis-point hike could stall growth,” said the 53-year-old
economist who gave up a job in Australia to join the government in 2012.
Edillon, who’s not involved with the monetary policy making, stressed that while
the central bank supports growth, it is independent and may have other factors
to consider. The economy likely expanded close to 7 percent in the first
quarter, she said.
Cost of rice, the second-biggest
component in the Philippine consumer basket, is at a three-year high as supply
dwindled, adding to price pressures from a tax reform that boosted costs of
fuel and sugary drinks. Central bank Governor Nestor Espenilla, who’s kept the
benchmark rate steady, prompting some to observe that he was behind the curve
on inflation, said on April 24 that the economy can withstand any tightening, signaling he’s ready
to raise if necessary.
Edillon believes that inflation related to the tax reform has
peaked in March and any pressures are likely to come from oil, rice and other
items. Data due May 4 will show consumer prices probably accelerated to 4.5
percent in April from a year earlier, according to the median estimate of 12
economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Price of Protectionism
Import quotas make rice prices in
the Philippines much higher than world prices
Sources: World Bank, Philippine Statistics Authority
Philippines currently limits rice imports to a volume identified
by the National Food Authority, which prioritizes buying from local farmers.
The arrangement, which the World Trade Organization had been pushing to end,
not only limits rice supply but also boosted domestic prices to twice the world
prices.
Enabling a market-driven importation slapped with at least 35
percent in tariff will boost the supply of the grain and cut retail prices by
as much as 7 pesos per kilogram from 44 pesos a kilogram, Edillon said.
To retain the rice restrictions, introduced in 1996, the
Philippines had allowed the entry of more meats and other items to pacify
trading partners, Edillon said. If the government fails to pass rice reform by
June, Edillon said trading partners such as Australia, Canada and the U.S. could
push for even more concessions in other agricultural products.
The state-run food agency subsidizes rice farmers by buying
their output at high prices and selling them low to poor consumers.
“Assuming that you have 2.1 million families depending on rice
farming, we are 22 million households in all in the Philippines that have to
pay the high prices,” Edillon said. “It’s too lopsided.”
Commerce, Rice
Importers Confirm Reducing Price by US$3, But…
May 2, 2018
Commerce and Industry Minister
Wilson K. Tarpeh yesterday informed members of the House of Representatives
that the Rice Importers Association has dropped the price of a 25kg rice as
negotiated by President George M. Weah.
During Tuesday’s session, Mr.
Tarpeh said though the Rice Importers delayed by three weeks after they met
with the President in February, the price reduction took effect by US$2 on the
25kg rice, and US$4 by 50kg.
Tarpeh further told the lawmakers
that at a later date, because of the downturn on the price of rice on the world
market, the Rice Importers again reduced the price of the commodity by US$1,
totaling US$3 on the overall reduced price.
He told the House of
Representatives that even though the overall total cost of the price of rice
has been dropped, it does not affect the market price of the cup of rice,
“because of the high exchange rate between US dollars and Liberian dollars.”
“The Ministry of Commerce and
Industry has ensured that the discussion which was done between the President
and the Rice Importers was followed, and the price of rice was reduced by
US$3,” Mr. Tarpeh said.
Also, the spokesperson of the
Rice Importers Association, George Nehme told the lawmakers that since their
meetings with their president and the Commerce Ministry, they reduced the prices
as agreed.
“These are our receipts or
invoices of the sale of rice to our customers, and we sold it [at] US$14 and
later US$13,” Mr. Nehme, who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SWAT
said.
Members of the Rice Importers
Association who attended the hearing in the House Chamber included, John
Bestman of Harmony Trading Inc. and Anwar Ezzeddine of United Commodities Inc
(UCI). Others were Mohammad B. Son and Oman A. Barry of Fouta Corporation;
and Madam Pauline Ponyene and Vezeliba B. Banna of K & K.
However, plenary through votes
mandated the Committee on Commerce and Industry to work along with the ministry
and the Rice Importers to work out a modality that the reduction of the total
cost should affect the unit price on the market.
Despite such claims in the
reduction of the price of rice, local petty traders and consumers alike however
contend that the price of rice still remains high at the current market price
of US$15 per 25kg bag of rice. Betty Siaway, a market woman at the Rally Time market
in central Monrovia says Government should open the market so that the Liberia
Marketing Association can bring in their own rice which they can sell and make
some profit to help themselves.
She said aside from rice, the
prices of other commodities on the market continue to go up every day, noting
that there is hardly anything that a person can now buy for five (5) Liberian
dollars unlike before. “When you talk, the business people say the exchange
rate is high and it is still going up,” she lamented.
COMMODITY COOKERY: TOP RICE RECIPES FROM ACADIA PARISH
Tue, 05/01/2018 - 3:07pm Saja Hoffpauir
Recently, 4-H’ers from 11
parishes came to Crowley to compete in the annual Regional Commodity Cookery
Contest. The entries from Acadia ...
PLEASE LOG IN FOR PREMIUM CONTENT
Our website requires visitors to log
in to view the best local news from Acadia Parish, LA. Not yet
a subscriber?Subscribe today!
PUNCHLINE No more rice import quota – DU30; check rising prices,
inflation – solons
May 2, 2018, 12:05 AM
Fred M. Lobo
By FRED M. LOBO
To ensure adequate supply of rice
for the country year-round, President Duterte has removed the quota for rice
importation.
Mo more import quota restriction,
no more rice suppy-price manipulation.
***
The President said “anybody who
has money” could now import rice, allowing private traders to buy more rice
from other countries.
Here comes an import free-for-all
to ensure that the country has enough supply of the staple.
***
“Yong quota-quota, that’s the
source of corruption.Anybody now, businessmen…can import rice,” he said.
No more corruption from securing
import quotas and permits.
***
Duterte said rice shortage and
spprialling rice prices can be avoided by having enough supply of the staple
year-round.
No more room for unscrupulous
traders and supply-price manipulators.
***
“To the traders and the
businesses, I have done away with the quota. All of you can import rice. No
more paper work and if there is somebody from NFA (National Food Authority),
BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue), Customs who would be asking money from
you, slap him,” he said.
Yes, time to slap and kick the
corrupt causing us hunger and anger.
***
The NFA, required to maintain a
rice reserve good for at least 15 days during harvest season and at least 30
days during the lean months, earlier admitted that its rice stock has been
depleted to less than a day or about 0.35 days, though insisting the country
was not facing a rice shortage.
Low buffer stock apparently
triggered rice supply manipulation and price spiral.
***
Duterte said he has allowed the
importation of 500,000 metric tons of rice through the National Food Authority
(NFA) headed by Administrator Jason Aquino.
Go import as the stomach of the
people is at stake, he said.
***
The NFA said is set to hold another
rice bidding next week after Thailand and Vietnam offered bids that were way
above the NFA reference price of $483.63 per metric ton (MT) for the 15 percent
brokens and $474.18 per MT for the 25 percent brokens.
“The bidding we have scheduled is
a ‘failure’ for non-compliance of price. We will have a re-bidding next week
because the government really wants those stocks the soonest time possible,”
said Judy Carol Dansal, NFA deputy administrator and chairperson of government
procurement.
***
He said that during the initial
bidding, Thailand offered to sell 120,000 MT of rice at 25 percent brokens at
$530 per MT while Vietnam offered to supply 50,000 MT of rice with 15 percent
brokens at $540 per MT and 100,000 MT with 25 percent brokens at $532 per MT.
A failed bidding …
***
The NFA added that a second round
of bidding also failed as the ASEAN neighbors refused to lower bid offers to
align with NFA’s reference price.
“We will still discuss and
consider the reference price as against the offers made by the two governments.
We have already considered the factors like foreign exchange, commodity price
and price of shipping among others, when we set our reference price,” Dansal
said.
***
Meanwhile, lawmakers from both
the House of Representatives and the Senate said they will look into the
problem of rising prices and inflation, now the target of consumers’ complaint.
Not to rising prices and
worsening inflation, concerned lawmakers said.
Rice farmers cry out over competition from
cheap imports
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandan rice farmers and dealers have cried out to
government to rethink a policy encouraging more rice imports, which they say is
pushing them from the marketplace.
In a two-page appeal published in The
Daily Monitor, the Rice Association of Uganda-AU, says it is
alarmed at the “ongoing dilution of the East African Common External Tariff
policies and the shift towards increasing importation of rice”.
The statement is signed by RAU Chair, Dr. John Daniel, the
Coordinator for Northern Chapter, Bongomin Andrew Okot and the Chapter
Coordinator for Eastern Uganda, Ahmed Naleba.
RAU says the once clear vision and mission of the government to
increase domestic rice production in order to reach self-sufficiency is being
eroded and creating upheavals in the rice sector.
According to RAU, this has resulted in a shift from the basic
principle of import substitution to a pro-imports stance. RAU says at a time
when domestic production contributes nearly 80 percent of the total amount of
rice consumed each year, the sector faces challenges such as uncontrolled
importation of rice with concessions and duty waivers, inconsistent and erratic
tax and other policy changes, hence a reduced market for domestic rice.
The association is particularly concerned with a recent meeting
with President, Yoweri Museveni in which a few millers asked for a reduced
import duty on unmilled brown rice from 345 dollars per tonne to 150 dollars
per tonnes, or less. This would apply to import of 150,000 metric tonnes
of rice, up from the current 15,000 tons, over a three-year period. The rice
would mostly come from Pakistan.
The demand is in addition to several concessions and a 100
percent duty waiver the importers have already been enjoying for the last three
years. Uganda consumes 215,000 tonnes of rice annually. Of this Uganda imports
15,000 tonnes from Pakistan, and 35,000 tonnes from Tanzania.
The Tanzanian rice enters Uganda duty free under the Common
External Tariff-CET arrangement of the East African Community. Despite the
CET, Tanzanian rice is still more expensive than Pakistani rice, which benefits
from lots of government subsidies. Pakistani rice is also cheaper than Ugandan
rice.
The implication of the importers’ demands is that the
importation of cheaper 150,000 tonnes would simply out compete the more costly
Ugandan and Tanzanian rice. Since total annual consumption of rice is
215,000 tonnes, of which Ugandan farmers alone produce 165,000 tonnes of the
most expensive rice on the market, the hardest hit with importation of 150,000
tonnes of rice would be Ugandan farmers.
According to RAU, it makes no sense to favor a few millers over
Ugandan farmers, arguing that the entire rice milling process, including
packing, employs half a worker for every tonnes compared to 100 workers for
every tonnes of rice produced. RAU also disputes claims that rice millers
in Uganda lack rice to mill, especially off-season, hence the need to import
rice for milling. The farmers argue that since rice is a seasonal crop the onus
of stocking rice for milling is on the millers.
On claims by millers that importation of brown rice offers large
value addition, RAU argues that processing of brown rice is only five percent
of the value chain, with 80 percent being the actual growing and 15 percent
being other post-harvest processes. They further argue that the price
difference between milled white rice and husked or brown rice is only eight to
10 dollars per ton, which is negligible and does not warrant such generous
incentives.
In its appeal, RAU wonders whether by allowing importation of
150,000 tonnes of rice the government wants to kill off Ugandan rice farmers
and their East African counterparts. RAU notes that in the last three
years, due to 100 percent duty waiver on rice imports, there has been flooding
of the domestic market by cheap imported rice, mainly from Pakistan, leading to
depression of the price of domestic and East African rice.
According to RAU, the importation of duty-free rice will only
lead to further dependence on imports hence diverting the country from the path
to self-sufficiency in rice production. RAU says by encouraging rice
imports, the government is putting her farmers, who don’t benefit from
any subsidies, up against Asian rice growers who pocket, on average, 60 billion
dollars in subsidies.
If the government goes ahead with the plan, RAU says it will be
a wet blanket on the over 400 million dollars invested in the domestic rice
sector. The rice farmers conclude that due to the challenges faced by the
domestic rice sector and the economic unviability of brown rice import and
milling, no brown rice should be permitted for import.
The farmers add that if at all brown rice is considered for
import, the tonnage permitted for import must reflect the gap between
production and consumption, as well as the annual imports of rice from EAC
countries like Tanzania. They also want the reduction in import duty, if
at all, must be commensurate with the actual monetary value addition that
polishing of brown rice would offer.
The farmers also propose that any interventions proposed should
only be applicable for a very limited period and not coincide with domestic
harvest seasons. They further demand that if brown rice is considered for
import, strict mechanisms for monitoring are necessary to avoid false
declaration of milled rice as husked rice, and to avoid smuggling and tax
evasion.
The farmers also propose that if ever the government decides
that there is an emergency need for food, then maize and beans should be the
logical alternatives. They also propose that if rice is to be considered
in emergency situations, then it should be fully milled white rice importable
by anybody up to 15,000 tonnes and for a limited period of two months subject
to EAC common external tariff of 50 percent.
Mi Pakistan is turning up the
heat with another sale
Last Updated On 30 April,2018 08:24 pm
A new batch of hot and favorite eco products is ready
to hit the market
(Web Desk) - Summer season in
Pakistan is a harbinger of power and water outages, and not to mention bad
moods and short tempers.
While most brands choose to start
their sales after the season is over, Mi Pakistan is turning up the heat this
summer with its Garma Garam Sale just as the season is kicking in. What makes
Mi stand out from among other smartphone and accessories company in Pakistan,
and the world over, are its customer-centric sales. This brand is dedicated to
the comfort and to winning the favorability of the fans and always puts them before
profits.
Which other brands you know have
put their new products on a sale on the launch day?
Only Mi does that.
According to the company, a new
batch of hot and favorite eco products is ready to hit the market and there
could be no better way to introduce them to the fans but through a price slash.
Mi Pakistan is offering
price cuts of up to 25% on new launches such as robot assembling kits,
backpacks, power banks, eco towels, Notebook Pro, Rice Cooker, and a lot more.
Two phones will also get their price slashed in bundle offers.
These products have a lot of
utility for the customers and have been the talk of the town for a long time
now. Products such as the robot assembly kit, rice cooker, and eco towels are
innovative as well as handy and are sure to be an immediate hit in the local
market. Robot assembly kit specifically is the first of its kind in Pakistan
and with Mi’s product quality and customer service, it is sure to be loved all
across the country.
The sale will start at dot 12am
on May 1 and as always, the stocks are expected to run out quickly. Stay tuned
as we keep getting more news!
Hindu Temples Of Lal Kurti Bazaar, Rawalpindi
Pakistan
On Apr 30, 2018 0
Disclaimer: Whatever I have written is meant to be humorous and
interesting—not meant to offend anyone. Enjoy!
The most well preserved of the
three Hindu temples in the old Lal-Kurti Bazar is now a private property of a
well-connected Muslim migrant family and is closed to the public. It is just a
few yards from the Lal Kurti main square.
Local people tell me that both
Hindus and Sikh used to worship in the place during British times. This temple
is in the courtyard of an old Hindu mansion. The place had a watering-well and
the sacred Banyan tree. I couldn’t see the inside of the temple as it was
locked, but it looked well preserved. This temple was the safest site of
religious festivals, under the direct protection of British raj. Bhagat Kabeer
was the chief patron of this temple, who has long vanished without a trace.
Behind this mansion is a
dilapidated government missionary school that looks haunted.
The second Hindu temple is across
the road inside the narrow lanes of Lal Kurti. For safety, as expected, the
Hindu residents tried to live inside closed communities in these narrow lanes.
There being well-off is reflected in the elaborate mansions they lived in with
balconies, expensive entrances, and brilliant facade.
I absolutely love the geometric
tiles in old Hindu mansions. These are nowhere to be found anymore.
The third temple is more of a
worship area for the scheduled caste Hindus that stayed behind after 1947. They
don’t have any deities in the Valmik temple—that was odd, they just have
posters. No spire either.
Chief Patron of this community
was Mr. Khera Mal, who decided to stay back after partition and encouraged his
community to do so too. He probably thought his lowest caste community would do
better here. The man passed away but his family still resides in their huge
home in Lal Kurti.
Disciples of all religions would
frequent this temple chanting ‘bala shah noori tenu deve khand de choori’ [bala
shah noori (the nick of Guru Valmik) will give you choori made of sugar]
Annual Holi festival is held in
Krishna temple. Kalyan Das, Rawal Temples and Sujjan Singh Temple are worth visiting too.
Lal Kurti was a town on the edge
of Cantonment where white British were allowed to consort with the local crowd.
This town was, therefore, a melting pot of ‘skilled’ workers and lady workers
(wink wink), of all religions, that were allowed to serve the British units
stationed there.
Lal Kurti’s original name was
British Infantry Bazar and it served 1500-2000 British infantry troops
stationed close by. Their overcoat was red, so it was called ‘Laal’.
As Katherine Bushnell and
Elizabeth Andrew tell us, “(attractive) Indian girls were placed for the
exclusive use of the Lal-Kurti (English Soldiers)…patronized by their own
officers”
That wasn’t the only purpose of
Lal Kurti. All the Indian staff that was required to work with the white
colonials lived in the area in order to avoid the hassle of going through check
posts. Moreover, ‘black Indians’ were not allowed inside cantonment before and
after sunset. Even Mall road had a separate lane for Indians.
Lal Kurti also had the
entertainers here, the artisans, the tailors, etc.
A huge massacre did take place in
Lal Kurti as well, post-partition. The dead were buried in large landfills.
Behind Lal Kurti, congested bazar
is a well planned residential area. British leased out the land to rich and
influential people who required their protection.
We wound up this tour by getting
nihari, halwa poori from ‘billu paye’. There was nothing billu about the owner,
he was not-so-white, but his nihaari was Zabardast!
Stay tuned for more!
Global Packaged Basmati Rice Market -
Increasing Mergers and Acquisitions to Boost Growth | Technavio
Technavio has published a new market research report on the
global packaged basmati rice market from 2018-2022. (Graphic: Business Wire)
·
·
April 30, 2018 10:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Technavio’s
latest market research report on the global packaged basmati
rice market provides an analysis of the most
important trends expected to impact the market outlook from 2018-2022. Technavio defines
an emerging trend as a factor that has the potential to significantly impact
the market and contribute to its growth or decline.
According to @Technavio #marketresearch analysts, the global
packaged #basmatirice market will grow at a CAGR of over 11% during the
forecast period.
According to Technavio market
research analysts, the global packaged basmati rice market will grow at a CAGR
of over 11% during the forecast period. The growing demand for
rice as a staple food is a major factor driving the market’s growth.
Rice is the fastest-growing food
staple in Africa and Latin America. The global consumption of rice remains
strong, driven by both population and economic growth, especially in many Asian
and African countries. Even in developed countries and regions such as the US
and the European Union (EU), per capita consumption of rice continues to grow,
partly due to immigration from Asian countries.
This report is available at a USD
1,000 discount for a limited time only: View market snapshot before
purchasing
Save more with Technavio. Buy 2 reports
and get the third for FREE: View all Technavio’s
current offers
In this report, Technavio
highlights the increasing mergers and acquisitions as one of the key emerging
trends in the global packaged basmati rice market:
Increasing mergers and acquisitions
Strategic alliances and
partnerships characterize the global packaged basmati rice market. The growing
demand for basmati rice is attracting more players, while the market is
witnessing increasing M&A activities. Major companies are acquiring smaller
companies that specialize in the production of basmati rice to get a foothold
in the growing industry. For instance, in April 2017, McCormick & Company
acquired 15% shares in Kohinoor Speciality Foods India, a leading Indian
company that sells basmati rice under Kohinoor brands. McCormick owns 85% stake
in Kohinoor Speciality foods, which makes Kohinoor a 100% subsidiary.
According to a senior analyst at Technavio for food research,
“With strategic alliances, manufacturers can broaden their product portfolios
by offering new products and can achieve better operational capabilities.
Strategic alliances enable large companies to gain a foot grip on a growing
market as is the case of the basmati rice market.”
Looking for more information on
this market? Request a free sample
report
Technavio’s sample reports are
free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report such as the market
size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.
Global packaged basmati rice market segmentation
This market research report
segments the global packaged basmati
rice market by product (dry, parboiled, and others) and key
regions (the Americas, APAC, and EMEA).
The dry product segment accounted
for close to 76% of the market share in 2017, followed by the parboiled and
others segment. However, the market share of this segment is expected to
decrease by over 2% by 2022, while that of the other two segments is expected
to increase by over 1%.
APAC accounted for the largest
market share of over 55%, followed by EMEA and the Americas. APAC is expected
to witness a 1% increase in its market share over the forecast period while the
market share of EMEA is expected to witness a decline of over 2%.
Technavio supports Health for All
campaign on this World Health Day with 20% savings on all reports in the Health and Wellness category
for the entire month.
About Technavio
Technavio is
a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and
analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to
help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies
to optimize their market positions.
With over 500 specialized
analysts, Technavio’s report library consists of more than 10,000 reports and
counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client
base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500
companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio’s comprehensive
coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify
opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive
positions within changing market scenarios.
If you are interested in more
information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.
Rice farmers’ income down 10% due to TRAIN
law
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:02 AM May 01, 2018
The government’s rice research agency
blamed the 10-percent drop in the income of rice farmers, especially those
dependent on motorized pumps for irrigation, on higher fuel prices due to the
administration’s tax package.
Since the implementation of the Tax Reform
for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, the Philippine Rice Research
Institute (PhilRice) said that fuel cost, which accounts for 30 percent of a
farmer’s total production cost, had risen by P2,014 per hectare (ha) due to
higher petroleum prices.
“TRAIN increases the production cost of
pump-dependent farmers by 50 centavos for every kilogram (kg) of palay
produced, which diminishes their income by 10 percent,” the agency said.
“[This] situation shows that TRAIN could
either make our pump-dependent farmers even less competitive due to increased
production cost or deprive them of a higher income,” it added.
For this year, rates for diesel and gasoline
have risen by P2.50 and P7 a liter, respectively. The increase is expected to
escalate further to P4.50 and P9 in 2019, and P6 and P10 in 2020, following the
tax reform’s subsequent implementation.
Before the implementation of the TRAIN law,
data from PhilRice showed rice farmers’ fuel cost was at an average of P13,862
per ha. Now, it has reached P15,876.
In turn, average prices of gasoline and
diesel in major rice-producing provinces in the country like Cagayan,
Pangasinan, Isabela, Nueva Ecija and Iloilo have shot up from P44 and P34 a
liter in December 2017 to P48 and P39 in February this year, data from the
Department of Energy showed.
Farmers depend highly on fuel to operate
their motorized pumps to irrigate lands before they can proceed to planting.
To offset the losses incurred by rice
farmers from higher fuel prices, PhilRice said they must produce an additional
yield of 105 kg per ha, but this feat comes with additional cost.
http://business.inquirer.net/250087/rice-farmers-income-10-due-train-law
Increase In Pest
Infection Pose Risk To Rice Industry
May 1, 2018
THE increased in small pest
infection pose a great risk to the rice industry in Papua New Guinea, says a
senior industry officer.
Trukai Industries Limited
national rice development manager Humphrey Saese said there were more than 100
species of insect that attacked rice and some were found in PNG.
Mr Saese said among these were
the Brown Planter Hopper which had a recorded history in other parts of the
world of causing extensive damage to crops, impacting on food security and
causing significant loss of income to rice growers in countries where rice was
an important crop.
“Insects multiply quickly and
spread extensively across the rice field in favourable conditions such as
temperature, moisture and a well fertilised crop like rice.
“They feed, breed and multiply
under the crop cover where even the farmers or growers cannot notice it
easily,” he said.
Mr Saese said farmers or growers
can only notice the infection on the rice crop when pockets of areas start to
turn brown and weakened crop starts to collapse.
He said these insects posed a
significant threat to rice industry in PNG to fully realise its potential of
producing domestically grown rice for commercial markets.
“As far as ideal growing
environments, the best quality rice is grown in temperate climates such as in
Australia and the United States where they enjoy freedom from multiple pest
pressures and longer day lengths,” he added.
Mr Saese said Trukai Industries
had been worked tirelessly on solutions to address increase pest infection
based on previous and ongoing research around sourcing pest tolerant rice
genetics and testing them for suitability to the PNG production systems.
“It is in this way that
continuation of our rice research is a critical factor in establishing a
sustainable local industry.
“For all the hard work that goes
in, none of us would want insects to take all the goodies and leave behind an
empty plate,” he said.
Hidalgo:
Progressive programs for the citizens of Mindanao
I AM very impressed with this new program for the indigenous
peoples of Mindanao. It is crafted through the leadership of Cherry Ann
Codilla. She revealed that the Indigenous Peoples' Desk for six tribes at
Southern Philippine Medical Center is operational now. A liaison officer per
tribe will assist the patient's needs. The six tribes include the Ata Tribe,
Bagobo-Klata, Matigsalug, Ovu Manuvu, Tagabawa, and Kagan Tribe. Other tribes
can be helped by seeking assistance from them. The liaison persons can ask help
from various government agencies like the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office
(PCSO), Lingap para sa Mahirap, Department of Social Welfare (DSWD), office of
the Official Assistant to the President (OSAP). There is an adviser for every
desk who will assist the beneficiaries to get what they need. The
socio-economic status of applicant can be obtained from their Barangay.
Hospitalized patients in Private Hospitals can also seek help here. Satellite offices will be available for help in Calinan District and Toril. Those chosen for help are given free accommodations in boarding homes, water, and food.
The other commendable assistance by a private company is given by an Aboitiz firm. This will implement P10 million worth of community projects in 2018. The beneficiaries will sign Memorandums for terms of Agreements. Aboitiz subsidiary Therma South Inc. and Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. will implement 10 cooperative projects on social responsibility. One project is the fly ash brick project. This will recycle the thermal plant ash by - product mixed with the community waste matters to be processed into eco -bricks walls and pavers.
The Company will also refurbish Binugao Health Center, support the Bantay Dagat community teams, provide Medical needs of a science laboratory to Inawayan National High School, and the purposive college scholarship program.
DOST introduced a new wastewater filtration technology. All waste water from slaughter houses are collected and passed through halophytic system filters. The water is not for drinking but will serve well for watering plants and cleaning machines and vehicles.
Contributions to modern farming techniques are done in the planting of garlic and onions in the Cordillera regions. In the banana plantations, new techniques are introduced to grow healthy bananas free from pests. They introduced new versatile machinery in planting rice and corn. No manual labor is involved. The automatic machines have diggers and soil preparation, holes are dug followed with the dropping of rice or corn seedlings all loaded in the machine. Last is the watering gadget which uniformly water the plants.
NEDA bats for new renewable energy source. The traditional source, coal, Is contributing to the unhealthy global warming phenomenon. Solar energy is first in consideration. We are in a tropical country and we have sunshine all year round. My foreigner friend said, I love your country for its forever summer. Solar energy is free, it is pollutant free. Initial installation of your apparatuses' expenses is worth it. Our house in Davao has solar energy available all the time. The energy can be stored in batteries for use at night time. Solar panels were placed on our roof and the apparatus in a corner near our kitchen. All are automatically recording the needed information. Try this.
Other sources of energy are available. The biogas generator, the bagasse, the natural clean oil can be done in your home.
The Biosystems Engineering summit was held in Mindanao. There were some 1,500 participants, scientists, engineers, and students in the summit. They were given insights in innovations, developments and trends of agricultural and biosystems concerning agricultural machineries, post harvest and Agro processing, renewable energy, agricultural structures for irrigation, and soil and water conservation and management.
I have exhausted all present endeavors of our citizens on the possibilities of progress. Remember we have so many more waiting to be discovered by citizens if they are resourceful.
For comments text mobile no. 09202112534.
Hospitalized patients in Private Hospitals can also seek help here. Satellite offices will be available for help in Calinan District and Toril. Those chosen for help are given free accommodations in boarding homes, water, and food.
The other commendable assistance by a private company is given by an Aboitiz firm. This will implement P10 million worth of community projects in 2018. The beneficiaries will sign Memorandums for terms of Agreements. Aboitiz subsidiary Therma South Inc. and Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. will implement 10 cooperative projects on social responsibility. One project is the fly ash brick project. This will recycle the thermal plant ash by - product mixed with the community waste matters to be processed into eco -bricks walls and pavers.
The Company will also refurbish Binugao Health Center, support the Bantay Dagat community teams, provide Medical needs of a science laboratory to Inawayan National High School, and the purposive college scholarship program.
DOST introduced a new wastewater filtration technology. All waste water from slaughter houses are collected and passed through halophytic system filters. The water is not for drinking but will serve well for watering plants and cleaning machines and vehicles.
Contributions to modern farming techniques are done in the planting of garlic and onions in the Cordillera regions. In the banana plantations, new techniques are introduced to grow healthy bananas free from pests. They introduced new versatile machinery in planting rice and corn. No manual labor is involved. The automatic machines have diggers and soil preparation, holes are dug followed with the dropping of rice or corn seedlings all loaded in the machine. Last is the watering gadget which uniformly water the plants.
NEDA bats for new renewable energy source. The traditional source, coal, Is contributing to the unhealthy global warming phenomenon. Solar energy is first in consideration. We are in a tropical country and we have sunshine all year round. My foreigner friend said, I love your country for its forever summer. Solar energy is free, it is pollutant free. Initial installation of your apparatuses' expenses is worth it. Our house in Davao has solar energy available all the time. The energy can be stored in batteries for use at night time. Solar panels were placed on our roof and the apparatus in a corner near our kitchen. All are automatically recording the needed information. Try this.
Other sources of energy are available. The biogas generator, the bagasse, the natural clean oil can be done in your home.
The Biosystems Engineering summit was held in Mindanao. There were some 1,500 participants, scientists, engineers, and students in the summit. They were given insights in innovations, developments and trends of agricultural and biosystems concerning agricultural machineries, post harvest and Agro processing, renewable energy, agricultural structures for irrigation, and soil and water conservation and management.
I have exhausted all present endeavors of our citizens on the possibilities of progress. Remember we have so many more waiting to be discovered by citizens if they are resourceful.
For comments text mobile no. 09202112534.
Smarter agri
techniques need to address ground-level problems: Researchers
DSR requires
farmers to directly sow rice into rows in the field, using a machine
Ankur Paliwal
| Karnal (Haryana) Last Updated at May 1, 2018 00:47 IST
118
DSR is one of the methods promoted by the CGIAR Research Programme
on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security. They test and develop
techniques to promote climate-smart agriculture
Three years earlier as explained in the first part of this series,
Vinod Kumar, a farmer then 29 years old, decided to change the way he grew
wheat and rice. He was encouraged by scientists who were experimenting on
climate-smart techniques that help farmers grow more food, increase their
income and also adapt to climate change. This
was in a portion of farmers’ fields, including Kumar’s, at Anjanthali village,
about 20 km away from here.
Kumar had already adopted a few of these technologies. Such as
Happy Seeder, a contraption that deals with the crop residue that becomes a
headache for farmers every winter; they invariably burn it, creating immense
air pollution. It helped him increase wheat production and avoid burning of
rice residue. However, there is a big cost problem, as explained in the earlier
part of this series. And, the climate-smart Direct Seeding of Rice or DSR
method, that Kumar tried, did not work for him.
So, he switched back to the traditional way that consumes 30 per
cent more water. With millions doing likewise, Haryana’s groundwater table is
receding by about a metre every year.
“The issue is more complicated than saying DSR doesn’t work,” said
Sheetal Sharma, scientist at the South Asia office of the International Rice
Research Institute. “The real problem lies somewhere else.”
DSR is one of the methods promoted by The CGIAR Research Program
on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security or CCAFS, which is a global
network of scientists studying agriculture and climate change. They
test and develop techniques to promote climate-smart agriculture. Climate change could
decrease overall crop yields by 30 per cent in South Asia by the mid-21st
century.
In India, CCAFS started working in Haryana and Bihar, for these
represent two different geographies of the Indo-Gangetic Plains, this country’s
food bowl.
The issue
Traditionally, farmers first sprout rice seeds in a nursery for
about 30 days and then flood the field with water standing up to five or six
cm. In which they or hired labour then transplant sprouts.
DSR requires farmers to directly sow rice into rows in the field,
using a machine. Studies show this technique leads to better seed germination,
root development and uptake of nutrient. It also saves on the cost in hiring
labour and tilling, and uses up to 30 per cent less water than the traditional
method. DSR is one of the techniques the Haryana government will promote in the
250 villages where it plans to launch climate-smart agriculture in the next
three years.
However, when Kumar and some other farmers in Haryana tried DSR,
they had to deal with lots of weeds of various kinds. These grow because the
field gets air, sunlight and moisture. The available herbicides are ineffective
and expensive, Kumar and other farmers told this writer. They claim to have
spent 1.5 times more on herbicide and fertiliser if they sow rice the DSR way.
They also say the rice doesn’t germinate properly, affecting the yield,
sometimes up to 30-50 per cent. “Yes, you save water but at the cost of farm
income,” said Kumar. “So, most farmers are not going to care about water.”
“DSR is a 100 per cent flop in Haryana,” adds Pradeep Meel, deputy
director at the state’s agriculture department in Karnal. Scientists launched
it before it was perfect, he explains. Meel says rice was sown using DSR on
50-60,000 acres in the state over last five years but most farmers have
switched back to the traditional way.
Sharma and other scientists say DSR requires more care in terms of
proper irrigation and herbicide application at the right time but “farmers in
Haryana won’t pay attention because water is almost free for them,” said
Sharma. “The traditional alternative is just easy.” Given the way traditional
rice harvesting is robbing Haryana and Punjab of ground water, farmers will
have no option but to sow rice the DSR way, says Mangi Lal Jat of the
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Delhi. “DSR gives
comparable yield if you do it right,” said Jat. Scientists agree that although
more research is needed for better weed management, the Haryana government will
have to price water if it wants farmers to grow rice in an environment-friendly
way.
Alternatives
Another climate-smart way to solve the problem is to replace rice
with crops that consume less water. One is maize — it requires only a tenth of
the water needed in traditional rice cultivation. However, this too could fail
if not supported by right policies. Kumar and other farmers can plant maize if
the government assures that it will buy maize from them at a price comparable
to rice. Currently, the minimum support price for a quintal of rice is Rs
1,550; for maize, it is Rs 1,425.
“Maize also has a moisture issue,” said Hanuman Sahay Jat,
scientist with the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute here. He explains
that at the time of harvest, maize still has about 25 percent moisture. If
stored directly, this is prone to fungal attack. Farmers in Haryana are in the
habit of taking the harvested crop directly to the market to sell, where there
are no dryers, “which the government will have to install”, he observes.
CCAFS scientists have developed more technologies. Such as a
software called Nutrient Expert that tells farmers how much of a particular
nutrient the soil in his field requires. Farmers in Haryana and Punjab
generally use too much of nitrogen and almost negligible amounts of potassium.
However, unless technologies such as Nutrient Expert are available at the
community level, even progressive farmers like Kumar will not adopt it.
“Scientists, governments and farmers will have to work together.
Else, climate-smart agriculture won’t succeed,” said Arun Khatri-Chhetri,
scientist with the Delhi chapter of CCAFS. “It requires effort and a shift in
thinking.”
First Published: Tue, May 01 2018. 00:47 IST
Senate votes to
nullify Minnesota wild rice water standard
Steve Karnowski, Associated Press
Updated 5:02 pm, Monday, April
30, 2018
Photo: Dave Orrick, AP
FILE
- In this Sept. 18, 2015, file photo, a handful of rice is seen after being
harvested near Zerkel, Minn. The Minnesota Senate voted Monday, April 30, 2018,
to nullify a water quality standard that's meant to protect wild rice, a food
central to the culture and diet of the region's Ojibwe Indians. Senators voted
to add $500,000 for restoration work to the bill, which passed the House last
week, so the legislation will have to go back to the House before it goes to
Gov. Mark Dayton. (Dave Orrick/Pioneer Press via AP, File)
The Minnesota Senate voted 38-28 Monday to nullify a water quality
standard that's meant to protect wild rice, a food central to the culture and
diet of the region's Ojibwe Indians.
But senators also voted to add $500,000 for restoration work to
the bill, which passed the House 78-45 last week, so the legislation will have
to go back to the House before it goes to Gov. Mark Dayton. The governor has
not publicly said whether he'll sign or veto the measure. His spokesman, Sam
Fettig, said Dayton was still reviewing the bill.
A 1973 state law that went unenforced until recently, when the
debate over mining in northeastern Minnesota heated up, limits sulfate
discharges into waters where wild rice grows to 10 milligrams per liter.
Sponsors of the legislation said the standard is based on outdated science from
the 1940s and that it would cost mining companies and municipal wastewater
treatment plants hundreds of millions of dollars to comply.
Tribal and environmental groups support preserving the standard,
saying recent scientific research backs up the need to protect wild rice from
excessive sulfate levels that can stunt its growth.
Sen. David Tomassoni, a Chisholm Democrat, said wild rice is
thriving, with a bumper crop last year, even though the standard isn't being
enforced.
"I'm not willing to risk one job because of an outdated
standard, and nobody can tell me it will make a difference in the growth of
wild rice," he said during the debate.
Late last week, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency shelved an
effort mandated by the 2011 Legislature to update the standard. The agency
proposed replacing it with a complex mathematical formula tailored to the
chemistry of specific lakes and streams, an approach opposed by both sides. The
agency gave up after the state's chief administrative law judge, Tammy Pust,
rejected the plan for a second time. Pust ruled in January that the proposal
violates federal and state law and puts an unfair burden on Native Americans
who harvest wild rice for food. Earlier this month, she said the MPCA's
revisions fell short of curing the plan's defects.
The bill's lead sponsor, Sen. Justin Eichorn, a Grand Rapids
Republican, said the legislation would put a stop to all that and give all
sides a chance to go back to the drawing board.
Two scientists who helped lead the research behind the MPCA's
proposal urged lawmakers not to repeal the existing standard, saying their
worked confirmed that it remains scientifically valid. Amy Myrbo of the
University of Minnesota and Daniel Engstrom, director emeritus of the St. Croix
Watershed Research Station, said in letters to lawmakers that the peer-reviewed
studies unambiguously showed the need for either the current standard or the
MPCA's proposal. They noted that the research also found that allowing higher
sulfate levels could lead to more mercury in the fish Minnesotans catch and
eat.
"Don't say the science is bad because you don't like the
impact of what the science might be," Sen. John Marty, a Roseville
Democrat, told his fellow senators.
MPCA Commissioner John Linc Stine told lawmakers in a letter that
under the federal Clean Water Act, the state can't change the standard without
replacing it with something that is equally or more protective. Doing so could
lead to costly litigation, he warned. Stine also said his agency has a record
of issuing variances to ease the burdens on communities when water treatment
costs are prohibitive.
Paula Maccabee, an attorney for WaterLegacy, said her group and
Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness collected cards signed by over 700
citizens last weekend asking Dayton to veto the bill, and they planned to
present them to the governor's office on Monday.
"It takes a lot of courage to stand up to the special
interests, and that's what we need from our government," Maccabee said.
Global Packaged Basmati Rice Market -
Increasing Mergers and Acquisitions to Boost Growth | Technavio
Technavio has published a new market research report on the
global packaged basmati rice market from 2018-2022. (Graphic: Business Wire)
·
April 30, 2018 10:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Technavio’s
latest market research report on the global packaged basmati
rice market provides an analysis of the most
important trends expected to impact the market outlook from 2018-2022. Technavio defines
an emerging trend as a factor that has the potential to significantly impact
the market and contribute to its growth or decline.
According to @Technavio #marketresearch analysts, the global
packaged #basmatirice market will grow at a CAGR of over 11% during the
forecast period.
According to Technavio market
research analysts, the global packaged basmati rice market will grow at a CAGR
of over 11% during the forecast period. The growing demand for
rice as a staple food is a major factor driving the market’s growth.
Rice is the fastest-growing food
staple in Africa and Latin America. The global consumption of rice remains
strong, driven by both population and economic growth, especially in many Asian
and African countries. Even in developed countries and regions such as the US
and the European Union (EU), per capita consumption of rice continues to grow,
partly due to immigration from Asian countries.
This report is available at a USD
1,000 discount for a limited time only: View market snapshot before
purchasing
Save more with Technavio. Buy 2 reports
and get the third for FREE: View all Technavio’s
current offers
In this report, Technavio
highlights the increasing mergers and acquisitions as one of the key emerging
trends in the global packaged basmati rice market:
Increasing mergers and acquisitions
Strategic alliances and
partnerships characterize the global packaged basmati rice market. The growing
demand for basmati rice is attracting more players, while the market is
witnessing increasing M&A activities. Major companies are acquiring smaller
companies that specialize in the production of basmati rice to get a foothold
in the growing industry. For instance, in April 2017, McCormick & Company
acquired 15% shares in Kohinoor Speciality Foods India, a leading Indian
company that sells basmati rice under Kohinoor brands. McCormick owns 85% stake
in Kohinoor Speciality foods, which makes Kohinoor a 100% subsidiary.
According to a senior analyst at Technavio for food research,
“With strategic alliances, manufacturers can broaden their product portfolios
by offering new products and can achieve better operational capabilities.
Strategic alliances enable large companies to gain a foot grip on a growing
market as is the case of the basmati rice market.”
Looking for more information on
this market? Request a free sample
report
Technavio’s sample reports are
free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report such as the market
size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.
Global packaged basmati rice market segmentation
This market research report
segments the global packaged basmati
rice market by product (dry, parboiled, and others) and key
regions (the Americas, APAC, and EMEA).
The dry product segment accounted
for close to 76% of the market share in 2017, followed by the parboiled and
others segment. However, the market share of this segment is expected to
decrease by over 2% by 2022, while that of the other two segments is expected
to increase by over 1%.
APAC accounted for the largest market
share of over 55%, followed by EMEA and the Americas. APAC is expected to
witness a 1% increase in its market share over the forecast period while the
market share of EMEA is expected to witness a decline of over 2%.
Technavio supports Health for All
campaign on this World Health Day with 20% savings on all reports in the Health and Wellness category
for the entire month.
About Technavio
Technavio is
a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and
analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to
help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies
to optimize their market positions.
With over 500 specialized
analysts, Technavio’s report library consists of more than 10,000 reports and
counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client
base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500
companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio’s comprehensive
coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify
opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive
positions within changing market scenarios.
If you are interested in more
information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.
Contacts
Technavio Research
Jesse Maida
Media & Marketing Executive
US: +1 844 364 1100
UK: +44 203 893 3200
www.technavio.com
Jesse Maida
Media & Marketing Executive
US: +1 844 364 1100
UK: +44 203 893 3200
www.technavio.com
Focus on the Farmer Series Continues
ARLINGTON, VA -- USA Rice is producing a monthly Facebook feature to bring attention to the
folks who help put U.S.-grown rice on America's plates - and to let them tell
the real story of food production in their own words. This month our
"Focus on the Farmer" shines the spotlight on Kim Gallagher who grew
up on a farm in California's western Sacramento Valley but took a circuitous
route to becoming a farmer.
The week-long series starts today -- look, like, and share the posts every day this week!
The week-long series starts today -- look, like, and share the posts every day this week!
House panel OKs funding for rice
tariffication bill
By: Vince F. Nonato - Reporter / @VinceNonatoINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 06:49 PM April 30,
2018
File photo by JUNJIE MENDOZA / CEBU DAILY
NEWS
The House of Representatives appropriations
committee has approved the funding provision of a bill that would empower the President
to adjust existing rates of import duties and regulate rice exports.The
yet-unnumbered substitute bill was a result of the consolidation of House Bills
Nos. 4018, 4904, 5023, 5326, 5433, 5443, and 6190.
The measure seeks to replace the current system
of imposing quantitative import restrictions on rice with tariffs.
Quantitivate import restrictions refer to
restrictions meant to limit the amount of imported commodities, including
discretionary import licensing the imposition of import quotas, in order to
protect the domestic rice industry against an influx of imported rice. Tariffs,
on the other hand, refer to the taxes levied on the import.
Appropriations committee chair Rep. Karlo
Alexei Nograles argued that lifting the restrictions and replacing them with
tariffs would “give rice farmers additional protection while at the same time
provide the country with more tax revenue.”
Instead of restricting imports, Nograles
claimed the imposition of tariffs would fund programs for the benefit of rice
farmers and the agricultural sector instead.
In lieu of restrictions, the President
would be empowered to tweak existing import duty rates and impose temporary
regulations or restrictions on the volume of rice imports.
The existing Agricultural Tariffication Act
of 1996 allows the National Food Authority to monopolize rice importation and
the government to control the volume of the grain shipped into the country to
make up for shortfalls in domestic production in the heavily populated country.
President Duterte’s economic managers have
pitched the rice tariffication bill as a way to address the country’s rice
issues.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/986523/house-panel-oks-funding-for-rice-tariffication-bill
Palay production seen rising 2%
to 19.7 MMT this year
April 30, 2018
Unmilled rice production this
year would rise by 2 percent to a record high of 19.7 million metric tons (MMT)
on the back of higher yield, better farm-gate prices and accessible credit,
according to the United Nations’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
“As to prospects for the
following season, 2018 production in the Philippines is provisionally put at
19.7 million tons [12.9 million tons, milled basis], implying a 2 percent-
annual expansion,” FAO said.
The Philippines produced a
record-high of 19.3 MMT of palay in 2017, which is 9.3 percent higher than the
17.3 MMT recorded output in 2016, according to the Philippine Statistics
Authority.
However, the 2-percent increase
in the country’s palay output this year “is likely to depend on weather
condition,” according to FAO’s latest quarterly rice monitoring report.
“In this connection, official
weather forecasts indicate that rainfall is likely to be within normal to
above-normal bounds through August over much of the country, which could
benefit early planted main-crop paddies,” it said.
The FAO also noted that policy
uncertainties “linger regarding the possible impacts of the removal of
quantitative restrictions on rice imports.” The UN-attached agency said that,
nonetheless, Filipino rice farmers would still opt to plant rice due to
“ongoing input assistance schemes” by the Department of Agriculture [DA] and
higher farm-gate prices for palay.
“However, barring major policy
shifts, ongoing input assistance schemes and a 9-percent annual increase in
average paddy prices are likely to encourage farmers to continue favoring rice
over other crops,” FAO said.
FAO cited the DA’s interventions
to hike the utilization of hybrid rice seeds, which gives higher yield, “along
with increasing farmer’s access to credit and irrigation coverage” as factors
that would push local production to nearly reach 20 MMT this year.
“Interventions to this end have
included waiving charges on irrigation for paddy producers and the
implementation of special schemes, such as the Production Loan Easy Access
[PLEA] program, that grant credit to producers to cover for the costs of hybrid
seeds and other basic inputs,” FAO added.
FAO’s 19.7-MMT unmilled rice
forecast for the Philippines this year translates to a milled rice output of
about nearly 13 MMT, which is 3.17 percent higher than the 12.6 MMT milled rice
produced last year.
However, the FAO’s palay
production projection is 200,000 MT lower than the agriculture department’s
forecast of 19.9 MMT output.
“This year, rice production is
expected to grow by about 600,000 metric tons [MT], stimulated mainly by good
palay-buying prices, favorable climate and the increase in the adoption of good
quality and hybrid seeds by farmers,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol
said.
The 9.3-percent increase in palay
output last year allowed the country to reach a 96-percent self-sufficiency in
rice, according to the DA.
“Last year the country posted its
highest rice harvest in history at 19.28 million metric tons, which reduced the
country’s dependence on imported rice from over 2 million metric tons in 2010
to only about 600,000 to 800,000 metric tons this year,” Piñol said.
Despite the projected record-high
palay harvest this year, the FAO maintained its forecast that the Philippines’s
rice import this year would expand by 40 percent to 1.4 MMT. The increase
reflects Manila’s efforts to beef up the buffer stocks of the National Food
Authority, according to FAO.
Dietary changes can reduce greenhouse emissions by up to 25%
| Monday
30 April 2018
Dietary shift from rice to coarse cereals,
pulses, and leafy vegetables can not only overcome nutritional deficiencies,
but also reduce India’s agricultural greenhouse gas emissions
In India, 85
per cent of the population is deficient in iron, 89 per cent in Vitamin A, and
over two-thirds in zinc. A new study shows that these micronutrients
deficiencies can be eliminated in a way that is not only pocket-friendly but
also good for the environment.
Wheat and
coarse cereals instead of rice, pulses instead of meat, and dark leafy
vegetables and coconut can not only eliminate the deficiencies without hurting
the budget but also help mitigate climate change, says the study published in Global Environment Change.
Changing
diets across the world are said to have an impact on both health and the
environment, including climate change. The researchers from Austria, India and
the US say that although food consumptions trends have not been linked to
greenhouse gases (GHG) trends in India, the question between dietary changes
and climate change is still relevant.
For
instance, although vegetarian sources of protein have less micro-nutrient than
animal sources, they account for lower greenhouse gas emissions intensities,
with the exception of rice, said the study.
The
co-benefits to the environment of eliminating the deficiency and
undernourishment are a new finding in India. The study calls for extending
climate mitigation efforts in agriculture to demand side measures as well as
support ongoing efforts to encourage cereal diversity.
These
improved diets, mainly rice to wheat, maize, bajra, and ragi; and from beef and
eggs to chicken and legumes, lead up to a 24 per cent reduction in food-related
GHG emissions. This can be increased if households can purchase all their rice
and wheat at PDS prices, said the study.
Read Down To
Earth's coverage on millets and
sustainable agriculture
However, for
those below the poverty line, such a shift may mean an increase in their food
budgets of about five per cent.
Emissions
can be reduced further (149 million tonne CO2e) if meat is substituted with
vegetable protein. But for those for whom beef is cheaper, this will be
difficult.
The
researchers admitted the study had many limitations, including whether this
dietary shift would be acceptable and the increase in cost for lower income
groups. Those who do not eat better nutrition-wise even though they could
afford it may have different taste or other preferences, they added.
Regarding
policy changes which can encourage these dietary shifts, the researchers said
that Public Distribution System (PDS) worsens nutrient deficiencies by
encouraging rice and wheat consumption over coarse cereals. Moreover, it
enables only a portion of households’ rice and wheat consumption to be covered
by the PDS, giving poorer households less flexibility to diversify their diets.
The
researchers suggested that the reach and scope of PDS can be extended by
increasing the affordability and availability of coarse cereals and dark green
vegetables, among other foods.
Take the quiz on belly fat: Myths and truths
I have written in the past about some of the health-related issues on belly (or viscera fat). Visceral fat is a type of body fat that's stored within the abdominal cavity. It's located near several vital organs, including the liver, stomach, and intestines. Belly fat can also be subcutaneous fat, stored just under the skin.
So, with so much hype in the media on how to address this
problem, it would be helpful to know the truth and the myths about belly fat.
See how much you know, take the quiz.
True or False quiz
1. Stored belly fat is more dangerous than fat stored in other
areas of your body.
2. Foods high in fat like butter, cheese, and fatty meats are
most responsible for belly fat.
3. Drinking alcohol to excess is most likely to be stored as
belly fat, compared to other foods and beverages.
4. Research shows that certain foods can help fight belly fat.
5. Belly fat is the hardest fat to lose, compared to other
areas of your body.
6. Belly fat is strictly a matter of calorie balance — eat
less, move more, lose belly fat.
7. You can trim that belly fat by targeting with sit-ups and
crunches or by using one of those belly-fat-busters.
Weight gain around the middle can have negative health affects.
Recommendations include adopting a whole-foods diet — cutting out processed,
refined, stripped-of-fiber carbs and advocating healthy fats and lean
proteins. (Photo: Martinina, Getty
Images/iStockphoto)
Answers
1. True: In the past 30 years, researchers have learned a lot about
the body’s fat stores. Scientists used to see fat as just excess weight, just
an inactive energy reserve, but we now know that fat cells, especially
abdominal fat, operates like an endocrine organ and secretes hormones that can
negatively impact health! People who carry a lot of belly fat (“apples”) have a
higher risk for serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, and
type 2 diabetes, compared to people who carry excess weight around their hips
and thighs (“pears”).
2. False: All of the “belly fat diet” books essentially say the same
thing about banishing belly fat. All advise a whole-foods diet — cutting out
processed, refined, stripped-of-fiber carbs and advocating healthy fats and
lean proteins. Excessive refined carbs are linked to inflammation — and
inflammation inhibits fat burning. Enjoy healthy fats from nuts, seeds, fatty
fish, and avocado — they’re all linked to better health.
3. True: Alcohol is the very first fuel processed by the body and
postpones the metabolism of protein, fat, and carbohydrate, therefore, excess
alcohol promotes belly fat. Alcohol is high in calories compared to protein and
carbs — 7 calories per gram compared to 4 — and when you mix that alcohol with
a sugar-sweetened beverage or juice, it’s double-trouble — too much
sugar. Studies also show by affecting hormones that regulate a sense of
satiety alcohol promotes hunger. Too much alcohol also lowers testosterone and
increases estrogen, not healthy for men or women.
4. True: Think of foods that need some “work” to eat — eating them
burns more calories. Then think of the foods you eat that are very quickly
eaten and absorbed. My favorite example is nuts. If they are unshelled, you
have to “work” to get them out of their shells. Then, since they’re very
fibrous, you need to chew them pretty well. Then, your digestive system works
to extract the nutrients. Another example is whole grains vs. refined.
Digesting whole grains burns more calories than eating refined carbs. Fruits
and vegetables contain a substantial amount of fiber — but juice is just fructose
in water (unless you’re drinking the fiber too). Protein is a thermogenic food
(you burn calories digesting protein) compared to refined carbohydrates.
5. False: Fat loss is egalitarian: where you gain it the most is where you’ll lose it first. If you’re prone to gaining your weight in your belly, change your diet (cut the refined carbs, make it higher in fiber, be selective about added fat), and increase your activity. Resistance training is especially effective for losing fat and trimming down, and resistance bands are a convenient and economical way to get strong and lean. As reported in Livestrong.com, “Although cardio provides the fastest way to burn calories, strengthening your muscles is essential for weight loss because lean muscle mass boosts your metabolism and burns more fat. Resistance training also helps you lose fat alone, rather than muscle.”
6. False: Mayo Clinic’s Michael Jensen, MD, notes that after menopause
women are more likely to gain belly fat because of hormonal shifts and a
slowing metabolism. However, strength training helps build lean muscle mass,
combating a slowing metabolism. And don’t forget to get enough sleep to keep
your hormones healthy too.
7. False: Spot exercises won’t specifically reduce fat around your belly, but some exercises will strengthen your core muscles. The belly fat that sits on top of those muscles will melt away with a better diet, and aerobic activity, such as fast walking, running, swimming, dancing, biking, and tennis.
How did you do?
The takeaway is that belly fat is not just a cosmetic issue.
There are two types of stored fat — subcutaneous fat is the visible, outer
layer that’s pinchable. The more dangerous visceral fat lies hidden around your
internal organs, and this stored fat releases harmful hormones and inflammatory
compounds that can increase your risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes,
osteoporosis, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, colorectal cancer, metabolic
syndrome, high blood pressure, and other health problems.
To get rid of belly fat — or butt fat — you must change the status quo. These five steps can help you without resorting to un-tried and un-true remedies, tinctures and potions.
1.Think whole. In everything you eat. Instead of juice, choose whole pieces of fruit and vegetables. Eat whole grains instead of refined. Request more salad instead of white rice. At home consider cooking quinoa instead of brown rice — it is much higher in protein, minerals, and fiber than rice — even brown rice. Studies show that cutting calories while replacing refined grains with whole grains resulted in an increased loss of belly fat.
2. Choose better fats. Trans fats are out — everyone knows this by now — but it’s
easy to forget. Read the label and avoid any products that say, “hydrogenated”
or “partially hydrogenated” fat. If you’re dining out, ask if they use
“shortening” — another name for trans fat. If they use it, avoid it.
Polyunsaturated fats, especially omega-3s, found in walnuts, sunflower seeds,
and fatty fish like salmon have anti-inflammatory effects in the body. Other
healthy oils include organic sunflower, sesame, avocado, and monounsaturated
olive oil and canola oil — for high-heat cooking, peanut and grapeseed. Buy
organic, cold-pressed oils.
3. Move more: Activity can’t undo an unhealthy diet, but consistent activity is the key to a slim, healthy body — and belly. Many experts advise interval training to burn fat.
4. Excess calories will be stored as fat. If you don’t tend to store your excess calories in your belly,
excess fat will increase the size of your butt. To see approximately how much
food and activity you need daily to gain, maintain or lose weight, sign up for
a free online nutrition and fitness tracker program, such as MyFitnessPal.com
or SparkPeople.com.
5. Don’t fall for scams. Pills, potions, and powders are not clinically proven to be safe and effective at promoting belly-fat loss. From the U.S. Federal Trade Commission: Dietary supplements may seem like harmless health boosters. But while some have proven benefits, many don’t. Unlike drugs, dietary supplements aren’t evaluated or reviewed by the FDA for safety and effectiveness, and even “natural” supplements can be risky depending on the medicines you take or the medical conditions you have. In recent years, hundreds of supplements also have been found to be tainted with drugs and other chemicals. Always talk to your doctor before you take a new supplement, and avoid any supplement claiming it’s a “cure.”
For additional information, consult a family health guide from the Harvard Medical School titled, “Abdominal fat and what to do about it.” It can be accessed at:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/abdominal-fat-and-what-to-do-about-it
Thanks to Susan Burke March, MEd, RDN, LDN, CDE, a fellow professional colleague for much of the content presented in this blog. She is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian & Certified Diabetes Educator who presently resides in Ecuador where she writes for a local publication on health and nutrition.
Mark A. Mahoney, Ph.D. has been a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist for over 30 years and completed graduate studies in Nutrition & Public Health at Columbia University. He can be reached at marqos69@hotmail.com.
The secret to a long, heathy life? No
smoking, Mediterranean diet and exercise, says study
AFP Relaxnews / 09:22 PM April 30, 2018
INQUIRER.net stock photo
An ongoing Swedish study has revealed some
of the key steps that we can all take to age healthier and stay independent for
longer, even after the age of 90.
Researchers at Uppsala University have
shared some of the findings from their ongoing Uppsala Longitudinal Study of
Adult Men (ULSAM), a study that began in 1970 and looks at 2,322 men who were
born in the early 1920s.
The latest follow-up found that 276 of the
369 men originally taking part were still living alone and leading an
independent life, even though the average age of the participants is now 87.
The researchers say the study reveals
important factors for staying healthy as we age, with quitting smoking being
one of the most significant.
Participants who have never smoked have
double the chance of remaining independent later in life than smokers, the team
said, and it is never too late to quit to improve health. However, they also
found that despite the health benefits, many participants are reluctant to give
up the habit.
“Even at the age of 70, many make the
mistake of believing that a changed lifestyle is no longer important,” said
Kristin Franzon, specialist doctor and Ph.D. student at the Department of
Public Health and Caring Sciences. “Several cling to smoking as ‘the only fun
left’ in their lives. But on this issue our study is only one of many that
clearly show how vital it is to give up smoking, and above all that it’s never
too late to drop the habit.”
The study also highlighted the importance
of a healthy diet, with the team finding a link between enjoying an independent
life for longer and following a Mediterranean diet. Many study participants
reported following a diet rich in fish, fruit, vegetables, nuts and cereals,
and low in meat and dairy products.
“True, our interpretation of the term
‘Mediterranean diet’, including items like potatoes, was relatively generous.
So our Nordic diet is probably a perfectly good alternative. Yet our study
shows that prospects of an independent old age are almost three times better
for men with healthy eating habits,” commented Franzon.
Staying physically active also plays a role
in helping us live longer. The researchers added that rather than intense
exercise, which they say could actually have a negative effect, maintaining a
normal waist size and taking brisk walks as we age are key for retaining bodily
functions and a higher quality of life.
“We also see
that mild obesity after 70 is in fact healthy, as long as it doesn’t consist
simply of abdominal fat — an observation that tends to please many men in upper
middle age,” added Franzon. “Overall, our findings may not be revolutionary,
but they are important pieces of the jigsaw puzzle for active ageing, which
should be of interest to individuals, politicians and health professionals
alike.” JB
Navy impound 642 bags of rice from smugglers in A-Ibom
ON APRIL 30, 20182:24 PMIN NEWS1 COMMENT By Harris-Okon Emmanuel
UYO—
No fewer than eight suspected smugglers are now cooling their heels
in the cell of the Nigerian Police at Oron in Akwa Ibom State even as 642 bags
of rice have been impounded. The suspects were nabbed by the Nigerian Navy
Forward Operations Base (FoB), Ibaka at the weekend and handed over to the
Nigerian Custom Service which subsequently transferred them to the Police for
prosecution. Commander, FoB, Captain
Yusuf Idris, who performed the handing over of the suspects, said the Navy
would not relent in its fight against criminality on the waterways. He said:
‘’In line with the existing cooperation between the Navy and the Custom, we are
here to hand over another group of suspects who smuggled items into the country
through Cameroun for prosecution. ‘’There is an improvement. In the last two
months it was becoming a weekly affair because whenever we went out,we made
arrest. But the Eastern Naval Command has told them to keep clear. And we have
seen reduction in the level of criminality on the waterways. Under the
leadership of the Chief of Naval Staff, it is a zero tolerant for all maritime
offences’’. The Assistant Comptroller of Custom, Oron Out Station, Auwal G. Ali, commended the Navy for the collaboration
which he stated was yielding fruits with the continuous arrest of suspected
smugglers in the area. Ali, who represented the Comptroller Eastern Command,
Aliya Masay said: ‘’we wish to thank the Navy for a well done job. This is the
third times we are here and the Navy is giving us what we expect. The Navy is
assisting the Custom in fighting smuggling. However, the needful is to
prosecute them for the offence. Once again, we are grateful for these
efforts’’. One of the suspects, Bruno Owobiakuno (45) said the Navy started
shooting as soon as they were sighted close to the tank farm and they had to
surrender to them. ‘’We have reached home and they arrested us at the tank
farm. We have to obey them. We don’t have any argument to make with them. We just
started the business just to make ends meet and be able to train our children
in schools’’, he said. Item recovered from the suspects included 642 bags of
rice, two cotonou boats, four Yamaha outboard engines, water pumping machine
and petrol.
Rice prices finally declining
Rice prices have finally started
dropping off in the face of ample supply brought about by huge imports and
arrivals of the fresh staple from the Boro harvests, said farmers and traders.
In the last two weeks, the prices of
fine rice declined 1.54 percent to Tk 60-68 a kilogramme and that of coarse
rice 3.65 percent to Tk 38-44 per kilogramme, according to data from the
Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.
Newly harvested paddy prices also
marked a decline owing to increasing supply and speculation of good harvest if
weather remains favourable over the next three-four weeks.
“The crop is looking very good. We
will be able to harvest all within a week if the weather remains like this,”
said Jyotimohon Das, a farmer in the north-eastern district at Sunamganj.
But the acute shortage of farm
labourers to harvest the paddy could derail the plan, he said.
Last year, farmers could not bag
the full crop for floods up north, particularly in the haor region.
The dry season crop Boro was harvested
from 44.75 lakh hectares after crop on 2.96 lakh hectares was damaged by flash
floods in the northern and north east districts.
Overall, production fell 4.87
percent year-on-year to 1.80 crore tonnes in fiscal 2016-17, according to the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
Growers planted paddy during this
Boro season on 49.50 lakh hectares against the target of 47.25 lakh hectares,
according to the Department of Agricultural Extension.
Das could not harvest paddy last
year as flood wiped away his Boro paddy crop. But this year, he is hopeful of
recovering a portion of the losses.
Rajib Talukder, who hails from
Netrokona, another north-eastern district, also faced the same problem.
“A huge amount of land is yet to be
harvested for shortage of farm labourers,” he said, adding that the prices of
fresh harvested paddy have dropped recently. Talukder sold fresh harvest of
paddy at Tk 650 each maund (40 kilogramme) in the middle of this month. For the
same amount, traders are offering Tk 600, he said.
“Traders are shifting blame to
millers for the falling prices,” he added.
The prices of paddy are declining
because of the low demand in the market, which saw a glut of the staple thanks
to a surge in imports, said Nirod Boron Saha, president of Naogaon Dhan O Chal
Arathdar Babshayee Samity, an association of rice wholesalers and commission
agents.
Between July 1 last year and April
24 this year, 36.59 lakh tonnes of rice was imported, in contrast to 1.33 lakh
tonnes during the course of fiscal 2016-17, according to data from the food
ministry. “Import is much higher than demand. And as there is adequate stock in
the market, demand remains lukewarm.”
Saha said harvesting would be
complete by May 15-20. “It appears that farmers will bag a bumper crop if the
weather remains favourable for the rest of the days.” But, a good yield may not
ensure fair prices to small and marginal farmers unless the government takes
step to curb imports ahead of completion of harvests, he added.
The government has slashed the rice
import duty to 2 percent in August last year from 10 percent to contain the
soaring prices of the staple.
Owing to the huge import from
India, many mills are yet to clear their stocks. “So, they are slow in buying,”
said KM Layek Ali, general secretary of the Bangladesh Auto Major and Husking
Mills Association.
The prices of rice may drop further
in the next two weeks owing to the increased arrivals of fresh harvest of dry
season paddy, said Abdul Matin, a rice trader at Mohammadpur Krishi Market.
From high cost
to lack of policies, fitting the links for smarter farming
There's some
good news from the ground and the labs on sustainable farmer techniques but,
the first of a two part series looks at the missing links
Ankur Paliwal
| Karnal (Haryana) Last Updated at April 30, 2018 06:44 IST
122
A few weeks after Vinod Kumar passed his matric examination, his
farmer-father started sending him to the Central Soil Salinity Research
Institute in this district, to check on new seed varieties of wheat or rice
they could grow. Kumar continued to visit the institute all through his
graduation years because he wanted to farm better. During one such visit in
2012, Kumar, then 26, learnt a team of scientists was looking for farms to set
up an experiment. They wished to compare conventional farming with
climate-smart agriculture techniques, that would help farmers grow more,
increase their income and adapt to climate change.
Kumar volunteered his 40-acre farm, about 20 km away at Anjanthali
village. “They will use the best techniques and their money to grow better
crops, which will be mine,” Kumar remembers thinking. Over the next three
years, researchers ran experiments in a portion of Kumar’s and other farmers’
fields in the district. When Kumar applied some of those techniques on the rest
of his farm, he profited about Rs 6,000 more per acre, by reducing input cost and
growing more wheat. He also stopped the burning of crop residue, which
contributes to smog in the National Capital Region.
What and why
The study was led by Mangi Lal Jat, principal scientist at the
Delhi branch of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center or CIMMYT,
and funded by The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and
Food Security or CCAFS — this is a global network of scientists studying
agriculture and climate change. The network started promoting climate-smart
agriculture in India in 2012.
“This is urgent,” says Arun Khatri-Chhetri, scientist with the
South Asia chapter of CCAFS. India’s official Economic Survey of early this
year said climate change would lower farmers’ income by 12 per cent annually on
an average in the coming years. And, in unirrigated areas, farmers could lose
up to 18 per cent of their annual income if they and policies did not adapt to
climate change. The Survey urged climate-smart agriculture. CCAFS set up its
first climate-smart projects in Haryana and Bihar. The evidence generated over
the years led the Haryana government to announce last year that it would
promote such agriculture in 250 villages over the next three years. The Bihar
government will do so in 100 villages. Both have separately got Rs 250 million
from the central government for this. Meanwhile, the governments of Madhya
Pradesh and Maharashtra have also announced they will do climate-smart farming in
about 1,000 villages each.
Even so…
However, Kumar’s and other farmers’ experiences show that even the
best techniques could fail if not supported by right policies. Results of the
study done on Kumar’s farm showed the clubbing smart farming techniques
raised the average yield of rice and wheat by six per cent, profitability by 19
per cent and saved water by 22 per cent, in comparison with conventional farming. However,
even relatively wealthy farmers like him cannot adopt all the technologies,
either because these are expensive or cumbersome or lack policy support.
A technology that fascinated Kumar was Happy Seeder. It deals with
the rice crop residue which becomes a headache for farmers every winter in
Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. They burn about 23 million tonnes of
residue every year, for lack of cheap alternatives.
Kumar borrowed Happy Seeder from scientists and put it behind his
tractor after harvesting rice. Happy Seeder cuts the standing residue and
spreads it with the loose residue on his field, while sowing wheat seeds in a
row and adding fertiliser at the same time. “Residue cover maintains moisture
and lowers soil temperature by two-three degrees, which protects the crop from
extreme heat,” said Hanuman Sahay Jat, scientist at the Central Soil Salinity
Research Institute.
Residue cover also saves water by 10-15 per cent, reduces weeds
and adds organic carbon in the soil. Happy Seeder alone saved Kumar about Rs
2,500 per acre which he earlier spent on tilling, hiring labour to add
fertiliser and to sow wheat seeds. He grew two quintals more wheat per acre,
fetching him Rs 3,500 extra. Studies predict climate change will reduce wheat
yield in India by six to 23 per cent by 2050.
Kumar, however, couldn’t use Happy Seeder in the latest season.
For, the scientists had taken the one he had borrowed from them to other
villages for a demonstration. He couldn’t buy one — it costs Rs 160,000. To
avoid the fines the government imposes for burning of rice residue, he flooded
and then ploughed the field to mix residue in the soil (his neighbours chose to
burn), and sowed the wheat seeds the conventional way. He expects the yield to
be lower by about two quintals an acre.
Responses
The frustration led him to create a farmers’ society, with 24
others in Anjanthali. They pooled money to buy equipment, including Happy
Seeder, with a 40 per cent government subsidy. The society will rent out Happy
Seeder to other farmers for Rs 1,200 an acre.
However, the equipment is not enough for the village. One Happy
Seeder covers up to 150 acres in a season. Anjanthali has about 1,800 acres of
farm area. “Farmers won’t adopt any technology unless it is affordable,” notes
Kumar. That only the government can do, says Mangi Lal Jat of CIMMYT. “Our job
is to demonstrate the potential of a technique by generating scientific
evidence.”
This July, the central government is launching a crop residue
management scheme. In which, it will give 80 per cent subsidy on eight items of
equipment, including Happy Seeder, if purchased by societies like Kumar’s, and
50 per cent subsidy if done by individual farmers.
Not happening
While Kumar’s society might take the subsidy to buy more Happy
Seeders, he and other farmers in Haryana and Punjab are shunning a
climate-smart technique to grow rice. They are going back to the conventional
cultivation method that uses 30 per cent more water, endangering the already
receding water table in the state. Why are they doing that?Business
Standard will explain in Part-2 of this series.
NFA to reopen tender for 250,000 MT rice import
April
28, 2018 NFA
QUEZON CITY, April 28 -- The
National Food Authority (NFA) has set for May 4, 2018 the reopening
of offers from the governments of Vietnam and Thailand, the two countries with
a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on government-to-government rice importation
with the Philippines, for the supply of 250,000 metric tons of food security
buffer stocks.
This was decided by NFA
administrator Jason Aquino, in consultation with the agency’s special bids and
awards committee (SBAC), after the participating countries offered very high
prices, way above the reference price set by NFA, during the opening of offers
for the G-to-G rice importation on April 27.
“We would have wanted to do this
earlier, but representatives of the two supplier countries asked for time to
prepare the necessary documentation and consultation with their respective authorities. April
30 (Monday) and May 1 (Tuesday) are holidays in Vietnam, hence
they asked for at least two days (May 2 and 3) to handle their documentation
and coordination requirements,” Aquino said.
The NFA’s reference price,
announced just before the opening of price offers of the two countries, was set
at $483.63/MT for the 50,000 MT of 15 percent broken rice and $474.18/MT for
the 200,000 MT of 25 percent broken grains.
During the opening of price
offers, both Vietnam and Thailand overshot the NFA reference price at a
difference of $56.37/MT for the 15 percent broken rice offered by Vietnam,
without any offer from Thailand; and $55.82/MT and $57.82/MT for the 25 percent
broken rice by Thailand and Vietnam, respectively.
The two countries were given
another chance to reoffer a new price after the NFA reference price had been
revealed. However, the second round of offers were still way above the
reference price, at $520/MT for the 25 percent broken rice from Thailand,
without a bid for the 15 percent broken rice; and at $530/MT and $521/MT for
the 15 percent broken rice and 25 percent broken rice from Vietnam.
The new tender on May
4 will still use the same Terms of Reference (TOR) already published in
the NFA website. However, the reference price will be computed anew based on
the prevailing world market price a day before the opening of price offers and
in consideration of the prevailing peso-dollar exchange rate during the same
period.
Arrival periods will also be
adjusted to give the supplier countries ample time to comply with delivery
schedules. For the new tender, the arrival of 100,000 MT 25 percent broken rice
will be set not later than May 31; another 100,000 MT 25 percent broken
rice will have to arrive not later than June 15; and the 50,000MT 15
percent broken rice must arrive in the country not later than June
30.
“We are optimistic that we will
already succeed in the second round of offers for the 250,000MT NFA rice
imports,” Aquino said.
NFA records show that this is not
the first time world market prices for rice rose beyond $500/MT. In 2011, the
price was $532/MT for 15 percent broken rice and $512/MT for 25 percent broken
rice. In 2012 and 2013, world market prices for 15 percent broken rice were
$567/MT and $510/MT, respectively, and for 25 percent broken rice, prices were
at P560/MT and $502/MT, respectively. (NFA)
Duterte: Government can take losses of selling
lower-priced rice
Alexis Romero (philstar.com) - April 29,
2018 - 7:11pm
Duterte said imported rice should
be sold to the public at low prices because these are bought with tax money
MANILA, Philippines — The
government should not mind losses from selling subsidized imported rice,
President Rodrigo Duterte said Sunday, as he defended the removal of caps on
rice imports despite concerns that may hurt local farmers.
Duterte said imported rice should
be sold to the public at low prices because these are bought with tax money.
"It would be good if we sell
them to Filipinos. It would be cheap. We would incur losses. It's okay. After
all, it's taxpayers' money. Those who paid taxes are also
the ones who will eat," the president told reporters in Davao City.
the ones who will eat," the president told reporters in Davao City.
"I will unleash the power of
plenty. That's the only way... I am angry because it has bogged every
administration (down) ever since," he added.
Duterte claimed that the quota
system is a "source of corruption" but did not elaborate.
"It's anybody who has the
money can import. My job is to fill our warehouse and inventory. I was angry
because our inventory, it's half-full or half-empty, whichever
you would want to term it...Gusto ko, sabi ko, punuin mo ‘yan hanggang sumagad (I want all spaces filled with rice)...My inventory, I want everything full house," the
president said.
you would want to term it...Gusto ko, sabi ko, punuin mo ‘yan hanggang sumagad (I want all spaces filled with rice)...My inventory, I want everything full house," the
president said.
Duterte scrapped the
"quota" for rice imports and has allowed private traders to buy more
rice from other countries in the wake of reports that the supply in the
National Food Authority inventory has been depleted. The president has also
ordered the NFA to ensure that its warehouses would be full of rice bags to
prevent a shortage.
The NFA Council revealed this
month that the government's rice inventory had been depleted to less than a
day's worth, or about 200,000 bags, prompting Duterte to allow the NFA to
import 500,000 metric tons of rice.
The grains agency is required to
maintain a rice reserve good for at least 15 days during harvest season and at
least 30 days during the lean months of July to September. The rice reserve
would be used if the country faces an emergency situation or a disaster.
"Sell everything, I have no
problem with that. So we lose. And so? It's the people’s money also. They pay
the taxes. We return them, That's what they want. Cheap rice. We lose.
Naturally. I don't mind," Duterte said.
Some groups have expressed
concerns over the removal of import caps, saying farmers might find it hard to
compete with cheaper rice from abroad.Duterte assured the farmers that there
would be no importation during harvest season.
"I told (NFA administrator
Jason) Aquino, do not buy during harvest season. If possible, buy everything.
During harvest season, no importation. But that is a
government-imposed regulation.
government-imposed regulation.
Duterte lifts
rice import quota, says it breeds corruption
By CNN Philippines Staff
Updated 15:34 PM PHT Sun, April
29, 2018
554
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines,
April 29) — President Rodrigo Duterte said on
Sunday he will lift quota restrictions on rice importation, saying these breed
corruption.
"Lahat ng traders. Lahat ng
gustong mag-import. Ikaw, sige, import [All of the traders. All who want to
import. You, you can import]. 'Yung quota-quota, [The quota], that's the source
of corruption. Anybody now, businessman, whether it's a Filipino-Chinese or
Filipino-Visayan whatever. They can import rice," Duterte said during his
arrival speech in Davao City, following his trip to Singapore for the opening
of the 32nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.
The President's announcement came
amid reports of rice shortage in National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses. The
NFA buys rice from local farmers, and caters to 10 percent of the total rice
consumption of the country.
During his speech, Duterte
expressed his dismay over the "half-full, half-empty" quantity of
rice found in the NFA inventory. As a solution, Duterte said he instructed NFA
administrator Jason Aquino to import as much rice as needed.
"Punuin mo para makita ng
tao magdaan siya diyan sa NFA....'Yang bigas nandoon sa….Sabihin mo kung siya
mag-oversupply na ano, 'di pagbili natin ng mura, wala namang problema,"
the President said.
[Translation:Fill it up so the
people can see when they pass by the NFA. The rice there, even if they reach an
oversupply, we can sell them at a cheap price. No problem there.]
Under the law, the government has
the legal authority to import rice, allowing it to have a monopoly on rice
importation. While it has allowed some degree of importation by the private
sector, it has imposed limits or quotas each year.
Some experts have blamed this
quota system as the reason for high rice prices, especially when there is low
domestic supply.
The Department of Finance has
said, if import quotas will be eliminated, the private sector will be able to
increase importations and help stabilize prices.
To remove the quota or
quantitative restrictions on rice importation, Republic Act No. 8178 or the
Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996, which imposed rice import quotas,
should be amended.
Help from
Vietnam
Meanwhile, the government
currently has agreements with Vietnam and Thailand on government-to-government
rice importation (G-to-G). G-to-G refers to a bidding process among countries
with existing Rice Trade Agreements with the Philippines.
During the NFA's discussions for
the preparation of buffer stocks to arrive in the country, Aquino said in a
statement on March 28 that G-to-G was the fastest procedure to obtain the rice
supply.
However, he said some are against
it.
"There are sectors saying
that the G-to-G scheme is prone to corruption. This is unfair to those
countries with Rice Trade Agreement with the Philippines because it is
tantamount to accusing them with participation or connivance in an illegal
act," Aquino said. "G-to-G is transparent since it is an 'open
tender' involving governments. There is competition in G-to-G. There is no such
thing as negotiated contract as claimed by some individuals."
The NFA received offers on Friday
from Thailand and Vietnam for the 250,000 metric tons (MT) of food security
buffer stocks, but the offers were too high.
On the same day, Presidential
Spokesperson Harry Roque said Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc
assured Duterte during their bilateral talks in Singapore that it will help
boost the country's rice supply.
The NFA said it will reopen
offers from the two countries on May 4.
A 'band-aid
solution'
Rice watchdog Bantay Bigas,
meanwhile, rejected the President's pronouncement to lift the quota, saying it
will destabilize the country's capacity to produce its own rice.
"Instead of thinking
band-aid, the government should adequately provide support to agricultural
production, starting from free irrigation services, inputs, machineries and
post-harvest services," the group's spokesperson Cathy Estavillo said in a
statement.
Estavillo added removing
quantitative restrictions for rice importation strips farmers of their source
of livelihood, which will eventually lead to their "bankruptcy,
indebtedness and eventual displacement from their lands."
Bantay Bigas accused Duterte of
surrendering to the influence of foreign countries by undermining the country's
pursuit for self-sufficiency.
Thailand, Vietnam won’t sell rice at cheaper prices
NFA schedules new bidding
April 29, 2018, 10:01 PM
By Madelaine B. Miraflor
After Thailand and Vietnam — the
only countries with existing rice trade agreement with the Philippines —
refused to sell their rice to the country at a cheaper price, the National Food
Authority (NFA) is now all set to conduct another government-to-government
(G2G) bidding with the two governments.
Banking on the “close ties” with
the two countries, the NFA is hoping that Vietnam and Thailand will adjust
their bid offers at a more favorable price.
Otherwise, the Philippines may
have to adjust its reference price a little higher, a source from NFA said.
To recall, NFA declared a failure
of bidding on Friday after it rejected twice the bid offers from Vietnam and
Thailand since they were significantly higher than the NFA’s set reference
price of $483.63 per metric ton for 15 percent brokens and $474.18 per metric
ton 25 percent brokens.
Thus, the state-run grains agency
decided to conduct another bidding on May 4 (Friday), hoping that by that time,
the two countries will be able to present a much favourable bid offers.
“The bidding will have the same
TOR [Terms of Reference] but our reference price will have to be recomputed
too,” the NFA official, who refused to be named, said.
According to him, NFA will really
have to adjust its reference price because if Vietnam and Thailand will find it
too low again, they might just turn to bigger markets like China.
“The demand for rice in China is
also way too big. What if they’ll just decide to sell it there?” he further
said.
Under the procurement law, a
bidding can only fail three times and then a re-negotiation between all parties
will take place.
But NFA Deputy Administrator Judy
Carol Dansal is optimistic that the second bidding will finally be successful.
The failure of bidding came at a
crucial time when the Philippines is scrambling to purchase cheaper imported
rice.
Now, NFA has turned to local
traders’ commitment to continue supplying retail outlets with cheaper rice.
NFA reopens tender for 250,000 MT rice
Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine
Star) - April 30, 2018 - 12:00am
Following
consultation with the Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC), the NFA has set
on May 4 the reopening of offers from Thailand and Vietnam for the supply
contract of imported rice.
MANILA, Philippines — After a
failed bidding last week, state-run National Food Authority (NFA) is reopening
the tender for 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice as the grain agency is still in
need of an immediate replenishment of buffer stocks.
Following consultation with the
Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC), the NFA has set on May 4 the
reopening of offers from Thailand and Vietnam for the supply contract of
imported rice.
“We would have wanted to do this
earlier, but representatives of the two supplier countries asked for time to
prepare the necessary documentation and consultation with their respective
authorities,” NFA administrator Jason Aquino said.
“Today (Monday) and tomorrow
(Tuesday) are holidays in Vietnam, hence they asked for at least two days to
handle their documentation and coordination requirements,” he said.
The new tender set on Friday will
still use the same terms of reference already published by the NFA.
However, the reference price will
be computed anew based on the prevailing world market price a day before the
opening of price offers and in consideration of the prevailing peso-dollar
exchange rate during the same period.
“We are optimistic that we will
already succeed in the second round of bidding for the 250,000 MT NFA rice
imports,” Aquino said.
Meanwhile, the NFA has also
adjusted the arrival periods for the delivery schedules of the imported rice to
give suppliers ample time to comply.
For the new tender, the arrival
of 100,000 MT 25 percent broken rice will be set not later than May 31; another
100,000 MT 25 percent broken rice will have to arrive not later than June
15; and the 50,000 MT 15 percent broken rice must arrive in the country not
later than June 30.
The bidding last week failed due
to the higher prices offered by both exporters, which are way above reference
price set by the NFA.
The NFA’s reference price was set
at $483.63 per MT for the 50,000 MT of 15 percent broken grains and
$474.18 per MT for the 200,000 MT of 25 percent broken grains.
The two rounds of offers both
yielded the same result of a much higher offers by Thailand and Vietnam,
resulting in a failure of bidding.
Records showed that this is not
the first time that the world market prices for rice rose beyond $500 per MT
level.
In 2011 to 2013, world market
prices ranged from $510 to $567 per MT for the 15 percent broken and from $502
to $560 per MT for the 25 percent broken.
While NFA has been beefing up its
local procurement, NFA’s buffer stock remains good for less than one day or
below 100,000 bags of rice.
NFA’s inventory remains below its
mandated 15-day buffer stock since late last year.
Vietnam Jan-April coffee exports seen rising 17.7 pct y/y, rice
to rise 22.3 pct y/y
HANOI, April 29 (Reuters) - Vietnam’s coffee exports for the
January-April period rose an estimated 17.7 percent from the same period a year
ago, while rice exports grew an estimated 22.3 percent during the same period,
government data showed on Sunday.
COFFEE
Coffee exports from Vietnam will rise an estimated 17.7 percent
in January to April from a year ago to 689,000 tonnes, equal to 11.48 million
60-kg bags, the General Statistics Office said in a report on Sunday.
Coffee export revenue for Vietnam, the world’s second- biggest
producer of the robusta bean, edged up 0.2 percent annually to $1.3 billion in
the four-month period, the report said.April coffee exports were estimated at
160,000 tonnes, worth $304 million.
RICE
Rice exports in January-April from Vietnam were forecast to rise
22.3 percent from a year ago to 2.17 million tonnes. Revenue from rice exports
in the period were forecast to rise 38.3 percent year-on-year to $1.09 billion.
April rice exports from Vietnam, the world’s third-largest
shipper of the grain, were recorded at 680,000 tonnes, worth $347 million.
ENERGY
Vietnam’s January-to-April crude oil exports dropped 41.4
percent year-on-year to an estimated 1.24 million tonnes.
Crude oil export revenue in the first four months of 2018 fell
24.9 percent to $668 million.
Oil product imports in the four-month period increased 11
percent from the same time last year to an estimated 4.38 million tonnes, while
the value of the product imports rose 31.6 percent to $2.8 billion.
Vietnam’s January-to-April liquefied petroleum gas imports
increased 12.7 percent from a year earlier to 469,000 tonnes. (Reporting by Mai
Nguyen Editing by Paul Tait)
No relation between GERD, reducing rice
agriculture areas: Egypt
Wednesday May 2, 2018
Limited resources. Farmers transplant
rice seedlings in a paddy field in Qalyub in Egypt’s El-Kalubia governorate -
REUTERS
Sun, Apr. 29,
CAIRO - 29
April 2018: Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Ati stressed
Saturday that there is no relation between the crisis over the construction of
the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the government’s decision to
reduce the area allocated to rice agriculture in Egypt.
During his visit to Dakahlia to lay the foundation stone and inaugurate several projects exceeding LE 200 million, Abdel Ati referred that Egypt had started to reduce rice agriculture areas before the dam was built to rationalize water irrigation due to the limited amount of water and the continuously growing population.
“Rice crops waste huge amounts of water, which could be used in cultivating other crops; hence, rice cultivation has been codified to limit their areas to rationalize water usage,” he added.
Abdel Ati remarked that the amount of cultivated rice that has been determined by the government will suffice domestic consumption in Egypt, stressing that the ministry will not allow for any violation in this regard.
This comes after the Associated Press referred on April 23 that Egypt's parliament passed a law banning the cultivation of some crops that require a large amount of water, amid fears that building the GERD would cut the country's share of the Nile.
Parliament approved on Sunday the government-drafted law to amend some provisions in Agriculture Law No. 53 of 1966.
During the plenary session attended by the ministers of water resources and irrigation and agriculture, a plan to fairly distribute available water amongst agricultural crops was reviewed.
Article 1 in the Agriculture Law refers that the minister of agriculture shall determine the areas to cultivate certain crops, and shall ban other crops in certain areas. Hence, the draft law to amend Article 1 of the Agriculture Law stipulates that the minister of agriculture in coordination with the minister of irrigation shall issue a ministerial decree to ban the cultivation of some crops in certain areas that have low amounts of water, in order to rationalize water usage.
In the same context, the government agreed to amend Article 101 of the law, which stipulates those who violate the ministerial decrees issued to implement Articles 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Agriculture Law shall be punished with a fine no less than LE 20,000, and no more than LE 50,000.
According to the amended Article 101, those who violate Articles 1, 2, 3, and 4 shall be punished by imprisonment for a period that does not exceed six months and a fine no less than LE 3,000 and no more than LE 20,000.
Water efficiency is considered one of Egypt's national security issues; the Nile River is the country’s most important water source.
The ancient Egyptian culture was built on the sides of the river; the Nile provides Egypt with 95 percent of its water. In 1902, 1906, 1929 and 1959, Cairo signed agreements with the Nile Basin countries which guarantee 55 billion cubic meters of Nile water per year for Egypt.
Egypt suffers from a water deficit of 30 billion cubic meters; it annually needs at least 90 billion cubic meters of water to cover the needs of 90 million citizens. However, it currently has only 60 billion cubic meters, of which 55.5 billion cubic meters comes from the Nile and just under five billion cubic meters comes from non-renewable subterranean water in the desert.
A further decrease in Egypt's water resources is expected amid the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which could have a negative impact on Egypt’s Nile water share.
Despite the latest negotiations between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to resolve the technical issues of the dam, Egypt is keen to look for new sources of water and to rationalize its usage to overcome any water scarcity problems in the future.
Agriculture in Egypt depends heavily on the Nile River, and it consumes 84 percent of Egypt’s water resources; therefore, the state is working on keeping its water security as much as it can through taking procedures that may help ration water.
During his visit to Dakahlia to lay the foundation stone and inaugurate several projects exceeding LE 200 million, Abdel Ati referred that Egypt had started to reduce rice agriculture areas before the dam was built to rationalize water irrigation due to the limited amount of water and the continuously growing population.
“Rice crops waste huge amounts of water, which could be used in cultivating other crops; hence, rice cultivation has been codified to limit their areas to rationalize water usage,” he added.
Abdel Ati remarked that the amount of cultivated rice that has been determined by the government will suffice domestic consumption in Egypt, stressing that the ministry will not allow for any violation in this regard.
This comes after the Associated Press referred on April 23 that Egypt's parliament passed a law banning the cultivation of some crops that require a large amount of water, amid fears that building the GERD would cut the country's share of the Nile.
Parliament approved on Sunday the government-drafted law to amend some provisions in Agriculture Law No. 53 of 1966.
During the plenary session attended by the ministers of water resources and irrigation and agriculture, a plan to fairly distribute available water amongst agricultural crops was reviewed.
Article 1 in the Agriculture Law refers that the minister of agriculture shall determine the areas to cultivate certain crops, and shall ban other crops in certain areas. Hence, the draft law to amend Article 1 of the Agriculture Law stipulates that the minister of agriculture in coordination with the minister of irrigation shall issue a ministerial decree to ban the cultivation of some crops in certain areas that have low amounts of water, in order to rationalize water usage.
In the same context, the government agreed to amend Article 101 of the law, which stipulates those who violate the ministerial decrees issued to implement Articles 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Agriculture Law shall be punished with a fine no less than LE 20,000, and no more than LE 50,000.
According to the amended Article 101, those who violate Articles 1, 2, 3, and 4 shall be punished by imprisonment for a period that does not exceed six months and a fine no less than LE 3,000 and no more than LE 20,000.
Water efficiency is considered one of Egypt's national security issues; the Nile River is the country’s most important water source.
The ancient Egyptian culture was built on the sides of the river; the Nile provides Egypt with 95 percent of its water. In 1902, 1906, 1929 and 1959, Cairo signed agreements with the Nile Basin countries which guarantee 55 billion cubic meters of Nile water per year for Egypt.
Egypt suffers from a water deficit of 30 billion cubic meters; it annually needs at least 90 billion cubic meters of water to cover the needs of 90 million citizens. However, it currently has only 60 billion cubic meters, of which 55.5 billion cubic meters comes from the Nile and just under five billion cubic meters comes from non-renewable subterranean water in the desert.
A further decrease in Egypt's water resources is expected amid the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which could have a negative impact on Egypt’s Nile water share.
Despite the latest negotiations between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to resolve the technical issues of the dam, Egypt is keen to look for new sources of water and to rationalize its usage to overcome any water scarcity problems in the future.
Agriculture in Egypt depends heavily on the Nile River, and it consumes 84 percent of Egypt’s water resources; therefore, the state is working on keeping its water security as much as it can through taking procedures that may help ration water.
KEY POINTS
Rice prices finally declining
2:00
AM, May 01, 2018 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:29 AM, May 01, 2018
Rice prices have finally started
dropping off in the face of ample supply brought about by huge imports and
arrivals of the fresh staple from the Boro harvests, said farmers and traders.
In the last two weeks, the prices
of fine rice declined 1.54 percent to Tk 60-68 a kilogramme and that of coarse
rice 3.65 percent to Tk 38-44 per kilogramme, according to data from the
Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.
Newly harvested paddy prices also
marked a decline owing to increasing supply and speculation of good harvest if
weather remains favourable over the next three-four weeks.
“The crop is looking very good. We
will be able to harvest all within a week if the weather remains like this,”
said Jyotimohon Das, a farmer in the north-eastern district at Sunamganj.
But the acute shortage of farm
labourers to harvest the paddy could derail the plan, he said.
Last year, farmers could not bag
the full crop for floods up north, particularly in the haor region.
The dry season crop Boro was
harvested from 44.75 lakh hectares after crop on 2.96 lakh hectares was damaged
by flash floods in the northern and north east districts.
Overall, production fell 4.87
percent year-on-year to 1.80 crore tonnes in fiscal 2016-17, according to the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
Growers planted paddy during this
Boro season on 49.50 lakh hectares against the target of 47.25 lakh hectares,
according to the Department of Agricultural Extension.
Das could not harvest paddy last
year as flood wiped away his Boro paddy crop. But this year, he is hopeful of
recovering a portion of the losses.
Rajib Talukder, who hails from
Netrokona, another north-eastern district, also faced the same problem.
“A huge amount of land is yet to be
harvested for shortage of farm labourers,” he said, adding that the prices of
fresh harvested paddy have dropped recently. Talukder sold fresh harvest of
paddy at Tk 650 each maund (40 kilogramme) in the middle of this month. For the
same amount, traders are offering Tk 600, he said.
“Traders are shifting blame to
millers for the falling prices,” he added.
The prices of paddy are declining
because of the low demand in the market, which saw a glut of the staple thanks
to a surge in imports, said Nirod Boron Saha, president of Naogaon Dhan O Chal
Arathdar Babshayee Samity, an association of rice wholesalers and commission
agents.
Between July 1 last year and April
24 this year, 36.59 lakh tonnes of rice was imported, in contrast to 1.33 lakh
tonnes during the course of fiscal 2016-17, according to data from the food
ministry. “Import is much higher than demand. And as there is adequate stock in
the market, demand remains lukewarm.”
Saha said harvesting would be
complete by May 15-20. “It appears that farmers will bag a bumper crop if the
weather remains favourable for the rest of the days.” But, a good yield may not
ensure fair prices to small and marginal farmers unless the government takes
step to curb imports ahead of completion of harvests, he added.
The government has slashed the rice
import duty to 2 percent in August last year from 10 percent to contain the
soaring prices of the staple.
Owing to the huge import from
India, many mills are yet to clear their stocks. “So, they are slow in buying,”
said KM Layek Ali, general secretary of the Bangladesh Auto Major and Husking
Mills Association.
The prices of rice may drop further
in the next two weeks owing to the increased arrivals of fresh harvest of dry
season paddy, said Abdul Matin, a rice trader at Mohammadpur Krishi Market.
Rice Farmers Protest Cheap Imports
Ugandan rice farmers and dealers have cried out to
government to rethink her shifting policy towards encouraging more rice
imports, which is pushing them from the marketplace.
In a two-page appeal published in
the press, the Rice Association of Uganda-AU, says it is alarmed at the
“ongoing dilution of the East African Common External Tariff policies and the
shift towards increasing importation of rice”.
The statement is signed by RAU
Chair, Dr. John Daniel, the Coordinator for Northern Chapter, Bongomin Andrew
Okot and the Chapter Coordinator for Eastern Uganda, Ahmed Naleba.
RAU says the once clear vision
and mission of the government to increase domestic rice production in order to
reach self-sufficiency is being eroded and creating upheavals in the rice
sector.
According to RAU, this has
resulted in a shift from the basic principle of import substitution to a
pro-imports stance. RAU says at a time when domestic production contributes
nearly 80 percent of the total amount of rice consumed each year, the sector
faces challenges such as uncontrolled importation of rice with concessions and
duty waivers, inconsistent and erratic tax and other policy changes, hence a
reduced market for domestic rice.
The association is particularly
concerned with a recent meeting with President, Yoweri Museveni in which a few
millers asked for a reduced import duty on unmilled brown rice from 345 dollars
per tonne to 150 dollars per tonnes, or less. This would apply to import
of 150,000 metric tonnes of rice, up from the current 15,000 tons, over a
three-year period. The rice would mostly come from Pakistan.
The demand is in addition to
several concessions and a 100 percent duty waiver the importers have already
been enjoying for the last three years. Uganda consumes 215,000 tonnes of rice
annually. Of this Uganda imports 15,000 tonnes from Pakistan, and 35,000 tonnes
from Tanzania.
The Tanzanian rice enters Uganda
duty free under the Common External Tariff-CET arrangement of the East African
Community. Despite the CET, Tanzanian rice is still more expensive than
Pakistani rice, which benefits from lots of government subsidies. Pakistani
rice is also cheaper than Ugandan rice.
The implication of the importers’
demands is that the importation of cheaper 150,000 tonnes would simply out
compete the more costly Ugandan and Tanzanian rice. Since total annual
consumption of rice is 215,000 tonnes, of which Ugandan farmers alone produce
165,000 tonnes of the most expensive rice on the market, the hardest hit with
importation of 150,000 tonnes of rice would be Ugandan farmers.
According to RAU, it makes no
sense to favor a few millers over Ugandan farmers, arguing that the entire rice
milling process, including packing, employs half a worker for every tonnes
compared to 100 workers for every tonnes of rice produced. RAU also
disputes claims that rice millers in Uganda lack rice to mill, especially
off-season, hence the need to import rice for milling. The farmers argue that
since rice is a seasonal crop the onus of stocking rice for milling is on the
millers.
On claims by millers that
importation of brown rice offers large value addition, RAU argues that
processing of brown rice is only five percent of the value chain, with 80
percent being the actual growing and 15 percent being other post-harvest
processes. They further argue that the price difference between milled
white rice and husked or brown rice is only eight to 10 dollars per ton, which
is negligible and does not warrant such generous incentives.
In its appeal, RAU wonders
whether by allowing importation of 150,000 tonnes of rice the government wants
to kill off Ugandan rice farmers and their East African counterparts. RAU
notes that in the last three years, due to 100 percent duty waiver on rice
imports, there has been flooding of the domestic market by cheap imported rice,
mainly from Pakistan, leading to depression of the price of domestic and East
African rice.
According to RAU, the importation
of duty-free rice will only lead to further dependence on imports hence
diverting the country from the path to self-sufficiency in rice
production. RAU says by encouraging rice imports, the government is
putting her farmers, who don’t benefit from any subsidies, up against
Asian rice growers who pocket, on average, 60 billion dollars in subsidies.
If the government goes ahead with
the plan, RAU says it will be a wet blanket on the over 400 million dollars
invested in the domestic rice sector. The rice farmers conclude that due
to the challenges faced by the domestic rice sector and the economic
unviability of brown rice import and milling, no brown rice should be permitted
for import.
The farmers add that if at all
brown rice is considered for import, the tonnage permitted for import must
reflect the gap between production and consumption, as well as the annual
imports of rice from EAC countries like Tanzania. They also want the
reduction in import duty, if at all, must be commensurate with the actual
monetary value addition that polishing of brown rice would offer.
The farmers also propose that any
interventions proposed should only be applicable for a very limited period and not
coincide with domestic harvest seasons. They further demand that if brown
rice is considered for import, strict mechanisms for monitoring are necessary
to avoid false declaration of milled rice as husked rice, and to avoid
smuggling and tax evasion.
The farmers also propose that if
ever the government decides that there is an emergency need for food, then
maize and beans should be the logical alternatives. They also propose that
if rice is to be considered in emergency situations, then it should be fully
milled white rice importable by anybody up to 15,000 tonnes and for a limited
period of two months subject to EAC common external tariff of 50 percent.
IRRI:
Unlocking rice gene diversity for food security
April 30, 2018 - by
Holly Demaree-Saddler
Share This:
Search for similar articles by keyword: [Rice]
Photo courtesy of IRRI.
The groundbreaking research
on genomic variation in 3,010
diverse accessions of Asian cultivated rice maps the largest
set of genomic variants for a crop species.
“This information leads to faster
and more accurate development of varieties suited to various agricultural
environments, especially for unfavorable rice-growing areas where the poorest
and most vulnerable farmers reside,” said Jacqueline Hughes, PhD, deputy
director general for research at the International Rice Research Institute.
“Plant breeders can make more intelligent choices in selecting traits for
improved varieties that farmers can cultivate, which leads to food and
nutrition security. This is how advancements in rice science can impact the
lives of millions of farmers and consumers.”
A collaboration among IRRI, the
Institute of Crop Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS),
BGI-Shenzhen, and 13 other partner institutions, the research will enable
scientists to discover new gene variants and characterize known genes for
important traits, such as the natural ability of a particular variety to resist
diseases and withstand floods, drought, and salty water. Additionally,
molecular breeders could use the genetic markers to select rice plants that are
more likely to carry a desired trait before they are planted in the field.
“What could previously take up to
40 years from trait discovery to varietal development can now only take just a
few years,” said Ruaraidh Sackville Hamilton, PhD, IRRI principal scientist and
head of the International Rice Genebank at IRRI.
“In addition, we are also able to
make the breeding process more efficient and precise, being more responsive in
delivering varieties with traits that can adapt to the increasingly complex
production environment, reduce environmental impact, produce higher yield with
less resources, and the changing needs and demands of consumers,” Hamilton
added.
The IRRI noted, this recent
research revealed that, among the 3,000 rice genomes, there are significant
variations in gene content and immense sequence variation. Researchers
identified more than 10,000 new rice genes and over 29 million simple
variations throughout the genome. Additionally, within the two major rice
variety groups, the analysis revealed the existence of previously unreported
populations that are unique to specific geographic origins. Other evidence
revealed that Asian rice was domesticated multiple times thousands of years
ago.
Kenneth McNally, PhD, IRRI senior
scientist, said this is the largest set of genomic variants discovered for a
crop species that is freely and publicly available for plant breeders and scientists
across the world. It already serves as material for training a new generation
of plant biologists.
Zhikang Li, PhD, a collaborating
scientist from CAAS, said the research results have ushered in a “new era of
genome- and information-based breeding.” He added that it has been a vital and
extensive resource for CAAS scientists as they work on large-scale trait
discovery and allelic mining, identifying parents for breeding programs, and
establishing a comprehensive genome-based trait database for future rice
improvement.
Dr. Hei Leung, PhD, IRRI principal
scientist and geneticist, added that there is still considerable work to be
done to discover and understand other rice genomic variations in the collection
of the International Rice Genebank at IRRI and other collections around the
world.
“Next, we will explore the largely
untapped diversity in wild rice species,” Leung said. “This will greatly aid in
defining genotype-phenotype relationships as well as improving our
understanding of plant biology. To achieve this goal, we must continue the
spirit of providing access to new information to the global community.”
Rice: Horizon Ag Sets Louisiana Field Day For
June 26, Kaplan
Posted on April 30, 2018
The 2018 Horizon Ag Louisiana Field Day – featuring the Provisia
Rice System, Provisia rice variety PVL01 and the region’s latest top-performing
Clearfield rice varieties – will be held June 26 at Richard Farms near Kaplan,
Louisiana.
Horizon Ag partnered with BASF to bring the Provisia Rice System
to market in 2018, and PVL01 has attracted a lot of interest from farmers in
Louisiana this season.
“Much like when BASF, the LSU AgCenter and Horizon Ag worked
together to launch the Clearfield Production System for rice, we see this
as another important tool, enabling rice producers to more effectively manage
costly weed problems while planting high-yielding, superior quality Horizon Ag
varieties,” said Dr. Tim Walker, Horizon Ag general manager.
The field day also will give farmers an opportunity to see and
hear updates on Horizon Ag Clearfield varieties popular in the region, like
CL111 and CL151. The latest high-performing Clearfield and promising
experimental rice seed lines.
Registration begins at 4:30 p.m., and the field day tour starts
at 5 p.m. The event will include guest speakers, and dinner will follow.
For more information about the 2018 Horizon Ag Louisiana Field
Day or to RSVP for the event, please call Horizon Ag at 866-237-6167.
The site is located at 5632 Louisiana Highway 700 near Kaplan.
Rice Prices
as on :
01-05-2018 11:54:28 AM
Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.
|
Arrivals
|
Price
|
|||||
|
Current
|
%
change |
Season
cumulative |
Modal
|
Prev.
Modal |
Prev.Yr
%change |
|
|
Rice
|
||||||
|
Mirzapur(UP)
|
6.00
|
-14.29
|
401.00
|
2190
|
2180
|
-
|
Published
on May 01, 2018
Rice is harvested in Butte County, Calif. A $1 million endowed
chair will fund a full-time University of California Cooperative Extension technician
to study weedy rice.
UC endowed chair to fund full-time
rice researcher
A
$1 million endowed chair for rice research has been awarded to Whitney
Brim-DeForest, a University of California Cooperative Extension rice advisor in
the eastern Sacramento Valley.
The $1 million UC Cooperative
Extension Presidential Chair for California Grown Rice has been awarded to
Whitney Brim-DeForest, UCCE rice advisor for Sutter, Yuba, Placer, Sacramento
and Butte counties.
Brim-DeForest said she will use
the funds generated from the endowed chair to hire a full-time technician to
monitor a research study at UC Davis on weedy rice. Weedy rice is the same
species as cultivated rice and it produces rice, however the grain falls off
the plant before harvest.
She is part of a team of UC
scientists that includes UCCE advisors Luis Espino and Michelle
Lindfelder-Miles, and UCCE specialists Bruce Linquist and Kassim Al-Khatib who
are conducting the five-year demonstration project to help farmers manage the
problem.
“We don't know where weedy rice
came from,” Brim-DeForest said. “It's a weed in every major rice growing area
around the world. We were among the last areas to see it.”
Weedy rice strategies
In the UC Davis experiment, the
scientists plan to demonstrate twopotential weedy rice management strategies:
rotate the rice crop with sorghum and create a “stale seed bed,” in which the
field is irrigated and plants allowed to germinate, and then killed with an
herbicide before the desired rice is planted.
“We want to demonstrate this in
the field,” Brim-DeForest said. “In theory, it works. We want to show growers
how long it will take to get weedy rice out of their fields.”
Half the funds for the endowed
chair was provided by UC President Janet Napolitano; the other half was donated
by the California Rice Research Board.
“The establishment of this
endowed chair strengthens the long-standing public-private research partnership
UC Cooperative Extension has had with the California rice industry,” said UC
Agriculture and Natural Resources associate vice president Tu Tran, when the
endowment was announced in 2016. “Continued research advancements will help the
rice industry maintain its reputation for supplying a premium product for
domestic and world markets.”
The chair appointment will be for
a five-year term, and then reviewed and renewed or offered to another
specialist or advisor working on California rice.
Brim-DeForest joined UCCE in 2016
after serving as a graduate student researcher in the Department of Plant
Sciences at UC Davis, working at the California Rice Experiment Station in
Biggs. She managed the UC Davis Weed Science field and greenhouse trials, and
worked with industry and academic scientists to design field and greenhouse
trials for weed management in rice.
Source: University of California Cooperative Extension
Rice Prices
as on :
02-05-2018 12:25:41 PM
Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.
|
Arrivals
|
Price
|
|||||
|
Current
|
%
change |
Season
cumulative |
Modal
|
Prev.
Modal |
Prev.Yr
%change |
|
|
Rice
|
||||||
|
Bahraich(UP)
|
235.40
|
21.22
|
3971.60
|
2225
|
2220
|
-0.22
|
|
Gorakhpur(UP)
|
120.00
|
NC
|
2302.50
|
2165
|
2155
|
3.10
|
|
Ghaziabad(UP)
|
80.00
|
60
|
2135.00
|
2650
|
2650
|
10.42
|
|
Indus(Bankura Sadar)(WB)
|
65.00
|
-7.14
|
1335.00
|
2750
|
2800
|
7.84
|
|
Maur(UP)
|
52.00
|
-14.75
|
1052.00
|
2150
|
2155
|
-
|
|
Kopaganj(UP)
|
52.00
|
-14.75
|
1302.00
|
2150
|
2155
|
-0.46
|
|
Bindki(UP)
|
50.00
|
-50
|
23408.00
|
2280
|
2290
|
-
|
|
Puranpur(UP)
|
46.00
|
21.05
|
1527.20
|
2400
|
2370
|
-
|
|
Jaunpur(UP)
|
40.00
|
NC
|
1005.30
|
2180
|
2190
|
3.81
|
|
Akbarpur(UP)
|
40.00
|
-12.09
|
2817.00
|
2200
|
2175
|
0.46
|
|
Bharthna(UP)
|
40.00
|
-66.67
|
5974.00
|
2380
|
2380
|
-
|
|
Atarra(UP)
|
30.00
|
114.29
|
185.00
|
2100
|
2100
|
5.00
|
|
Naugarh(UP)
|
25.30
|
-8.33
|
220.60
|
2075
|
2075
|
NC
|
|
Jangipura(UP)
|
20.00
|
-33.33
|
598.00
|
2220
|
2200
|
-
|
|
Nadia(WB)
|
20.00
|
-9.09
|
192.00
|
3850
|
3900
|
4.05
|
|
Tamkuhi Road(UP)
|
16.00
|
NC
|
561.00
|
2125
|
2150
|
-
|
|
Kayamganj(UP)
|
12.00
|
-14.29
|
340.00
|
2290
|
2300
|
0.44
|
|
Saharanpur(UP)
|
12.00
|
-14.29
|
663.50
|
2650
|
2665
|
12.05
|
|
Paliakala(UP)
|
11.00
|
-8.33
|
876.10
|
2290
|
2260
|
-
|
|
Deogarh(Ori)
|
9.00
|
NC
|
258.00
|
2500
|
2500
|
NC
|
|
Khurja(UP)
|
7.00
|
-17.65
|
510.00
|
2600
|
2600
|
-
|
|
Fatehpur(UP)
|
6.50
|
116.67
|
1097.50
|
2280
|
2275
|
3.64
|
|
Muradabad(UP)
|
6.00
|
-85
|
194.00
|
2460
|
2475
|
-
|
|
Mirzapur(UP)
|
5.00
|
-16.67
|
406.00
|
2200
|
2190
|
-
|
|
Chitwadagaon(UP)
|
4.00
|
-20
|
154.20
|
2050
|
2100
|
-3.76
|
|
Unnao(UP)
|
3.50
|
-30
|
145.40
|
2200
|
2175
|
7.32
|
|
Gadaura(UP)
|
2.00
|
-
|
34.00
|
1900
|
-
|
-6.17
|
|
Jahangirabad(UP)
|
2.00
|
-20
|
72.00
|
2580
|
2590
|
9.79
|
|
Fatehpur Sikri(UP)
|
1.00
|
25
|
18.40
|
2540
|
2580
|
0.40
|
|
Tundla(UP)
|
1.00
|
-16.67
|
89.50
|
2560
|
2550
|
-
|
|
Khairagarh(UP)
|
0.80
|
14.29
|
66.50
|
2540
|
2540
|
0.79
|
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/rice-prices/article23746391.ece
No comments:
Post a Comment