Eating
white rice regularly may raise type 2 diabetes risk
Eating white rice on a regular
basis may increase the risk for type 2 diabetes, according to new Harvard
School of Public Health (HSPH) research.HSPH researchers from the Department of
Nutrition—led by Emily Hu, research assistant, and Qi
Sun, research associate—reviewed four earlier studies involving more
than 352,000 people from China, Japan, the United States, and Australia who
were tracked between four and 22 years. The researchers found that people who
ate the most rice—three to four servings a day—were 1.5 times more likely to
have diabetes than people who ate the least amount of rice. In addition, for
every additional large bowl of white rice a person ate each day, the risk rose
10 percent. The link was stronger for people in Asian countries, who eat an
average of three to four servings of white rice per day. People in Western
countries eat, on average, one to two servings a week.
The study was published in
the British
Medical Journal March 15, 2012.
White rice has a high glycemic
index, meaning that it can cause spikes in blood sugar. Previous research has
linked high glycemic index foods with increased type 2 diabetes risk.
“People should try to make a
switch from eating refined carbs like white rice and white bread to eating more
whole grains,” Sun told Time magazine.
Additional HSPH authors, also
from the Department of Nutrition, included An
Pan, research associate, and Vasanti Malik, research fellow.
Falling rice Grains of white rice
falling through outstretched fingers into shallow glass bowl.
Reuters/ Allison
Achauer
CAIRO - Egypt's state grain
buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), said on Thursday it had bought 47,500
tonnes of milled white rice in an international purchasing tender for shipment
Feb 1 - March 1.
GASC had been seeking short grain milled
white rice of any origin, with 10-12 percent broken parts, and asked traders to
submit 2 kg samples of their grains for a cooking test.
Traders said GASC received a total of 11 offers, of
which all the Chinese samples and one Vietnamese rice sample were accepted,
traders said while all Indian samples and one Vietnamese sample failed
the test.
GASC gave no further purchase
details.
A trade source gave the following
breakdown of the purchase:
* Mufaddal: 38,000 tonnes of
Chinese rice plus 25 pct equating to 47,500 tonnes of rice at $405 CIF and
letters of credit opened at site. In-land costs for transfer from port to
warehouse are 490 Egyptian pounds per tonne.
Exploit Basmati rice export potential: ADB study
ISLAMABAD: The celebrated export of
Pakistan’s basmati rice as well as its production has slipped, according to a
study of Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The study, ‘Investment in Research
and Development for Basmati Rice in Pakistan’ points out that the contribution
of basmati rice as a major export commodity is below its potential.
Pakistan is fourth largest rice
exporter in terms of quantity, and rice is the country’s second largest export
earner, after cotton.
In the last decade, Pakistan’s
overall rice export growth has remained unchanged and, in the case of basmati,
has dropped significantly.
Newer long grain, non-aromatic
varieties have been cutting into basmati’s share of the premium rice market.
Low value, non-basmati varieties can still thrive by catering to low-priced,
lower-quality markets but premium varieties require greater research and
development investment to maintain their edge.
The study notes that being a niche
variety with a relatively small gene pool, basmati requires more research than
other varieties in order to increase its yields, protect it from disease,
enhance its ability to compete with other varieties, and increase its
resilience to climate and other environmental changes.
Under-investment in basmati
research and development (R&D) has led to underperformance of the
subsector.
Merely increasing budgetary
allocations of public sector R&D will not achieve the intended purpose.
A wholesale reform of the R&D
institutional structure is almost impossible given incumbent interests and the
absence of political motivation.
While investment in basmati R&D
requires attention to the entire value-chain, the single most important aspect
is to develop seed varieties that can thrive in changing ecological and
marketing environments.
The study says that the cess
collected from rice exporters in the last two decades has not been chanelled as
the Export Development Fund Act stipulates. The Act specifies that the cess
funds can be used for R&D, technical institutes, market and product
development, and other areas related to export enhancement.
Rice exporters pay a surcharge of
0.25 per cent, which is deducted by the bank from foreign receipts and
submitted to the State Bank of Pakistan.
Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2018
Bago City farmers get P4.2-M in equipment, livelihood
By
Erwin Nicavera December
14, 2018, 7:01 pm
FARM
EQUIPMENT. Bago
City Mayor Nicholas Yulo (center) and Vice Mayor Ramon Torres (2nd from
left) lead officials during the turn-over of the P4.2 million worth of farm
machinery and livelihood projects at the City Agriculture Office in Barangay
Balingasag on Thursday (December 13, 2018). (Photo courtesy of the City
of Bago)
BACOLOD CITY -- The City of Bago in Negros
Occidental distributed PHP4.2-million worth of farm equipment and livelihood to
14 associations on Thursday.
The turn-over ceremony was led by
Mayor Nicholas Yulo and City Agriculturist Carlito Indencia at the City
Agriculture Office in Barangay Balingasag.
Yulo said the city government
recognizes the need to assist the farmers to attain rice industry development.
“The distribution of farm machinery has contributed to the improvement (of rice
yield),” the mayor said.
As of November, this year, Bago
City’s average rice yield was pegged at 4.4 metric tons per hectare, higher
than the 4.1 metric tons per hectare in 2017.
“By boosting our production, we can
also contribute to increasing the province’s rice sufficiency level and ensuring
food security,” Yulo added.
Dubbed the rice granary of Negros
Occidental, Bago City’s contribution to the province’s total rice production is
about 19 percent.
Farm machinery units, including a
hand tractor, two thresher, one multi-tilling machine, three rice planting
machines, and five pumps with engines, were distributed to 10 farmers
association-recipients.
These included the Punta Playa
Multi-Purpose Association, Mailum Organic Village Association, Barangay Napoles
Women Association for Rural Improvement, Fermina Small Water Impounding System
Association, Bago Integrated Farmers Association, Small Farmers Association of
Abuanan, Dulao and Antipuluan, Newton-Camingawan-Para Farmers Association,
Barangay Malingin Farmers Association, Association of Rice Farmers of Tabunan,
and Sagasa Women’s Group.
They also received livelihood
projects like "balut" (fertilized duck eggs) making, food processing,
salted egg making, and mushroom production.
Four fisherfolk associations,
including Taloc Baybay Fisherfolk Association, Calubay Anahaw Small Fishermen
Association, Can-itum Integrated Fisherfolk Association, and Barangay
Calumangan Integrated Fisherfolk Association, were provided alternative
livelihood projects such as fish vending, rag making as well as cooking
equipment and facilities.
Indencia said the machinery and
livelihood projects are funded by the city government through its Agriculture
Development Program.
“The program covers the city’s
measure to develop its rice and fishery sectors,” he said, adding that it also
aims to provide farmers and fisherfolk alternative sources of income through
the livelihood development component.
Could gene-edited asexual rice produce better crops?
14 December 2018
A gene editing technique has been
used to produce asexual rice, which could carry traits such as high yields and
drought resistance. The Innovative Genomics Institute in the US explains how it
works and why the researchers behind this innovation believe it will improve
commercial rice crops.(Image: Diagram explaining how newly engineered rice can
reproduce asexually, Credit: Innovative Genomics Institute.)
