22nd
July, 2019
Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter
Un-Edited
Version
Nuclear Technology means bountiful
crops in Bangladesh
July
21, 2019
Bangladesh has not only embraced
nuclear power but also other peaceful nuclear technologies especially in the
field of agriculture. Nuclear Technologies are responsible for 50 lakh tons of
crops produced in the country – in terms of a percentage it is 8 per cent of
the total crop production in Bangladesh.Till now Bangladesh scientists have
developed 107 varieties of crops to boost agriculture production in the
country. The efforts of Bangladesh scientists are driven by the fact that the
population of the country was 163.05 million and this makes it the 8th most
populous country in the world. Bangladesh is expected to reach a population of
170 million by 2020 and 186 million by 2030. Nuclear technologies are coming to
aid to feed the increasing population.
Bangladesh Institute for Nuclear
Agriculture (BINA) is the organization which is playing the principal role in
developing the adaptive crop varieties. The organization has developed many
breeds of rice, wheat, pulse, oil-seed, spice, various fruits and other crops
since its birth.
“BINA is working on to meet the
country’s food demand. BINA has played vital role in it by developing
high-yielding and adaptive rice breeds that can survive in a given hostile
environment,” Dr. Mirza Mofazzal Islam, the Chief Scientific Officer and Head
of Plant Breeding Department of BINA told Nuclear Asia. Such adaptive breeds of
rice are constantly being introduced considering the country has many hostile
climate conditions persisting in different parts of the country. BINA is now
working on another challenge that is to develop such breeds which will require
less land, less water yet can provide high-yield.
The crop varieties introduced by
BINA are helping the country in boosting its crop production but it also plays
a vital role in poverty reduction and increase the living standards of farmers
across the country. The farmers’ have been losing out huge parts of their crops
due to the adverse effect of the climate change as some parts of the country
are experiencing excessive salinity in the coastal areas that has turned around
10,00,000 acres of land barren. A report from International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) says that excessive salinity of the coastal areas of Bangladesh
will force an alarming 2.70 million people of the coastal areas to migrate
elsewhere by 2050.
However, BINA has developed rice
breeds that can tolerate such hostile conditions of the coastal barren lands
and those breeds can yield as much as 60,00,000 tons of more rice if properly
utilized. BINA-8 and BINA-10 are the rice breeds developed by BINA are saline
water tolerant and the cultivation has of such breeds in the coastal areas has
been successful in the recent years.
Before the introduction of BINA’s
salinity tolerant rice breeds, there were only a few breeds available that were
salinity tolerant such as BRRI-47, 61, 67 which are developed by Bangladesh
Rice Research Institute (BRRI). BINA’s salinity tolerant breeds are getting
popular nowadays and are now cultivated in Faridpur, Gopalganj, Satkhira,
Khulna, Bagerhat and other coastal areas.
Bangladesh experiences
devastating and long-lasting floods every year which resulted in a huge loss of
crop production. BINA-11 and 12 are the rice breeds developed by BINA that can
tolerate the flood conditions. The breeds can survive submerged in the water of
Haors in rainy seasons for up to 25 days; after that time the plants have a
capacity to grow again, which have also made the type of breeds flood tolerant.
Again, BINA-8, 10 rice breeds are saline water tolerant. These type of rice
breeds are proven to be the sole survivors in the extreme conditions of
Bangladesh.
The scientists of BINA have been
constantly working on to develop such crop varieties that can not only fight
with the hostile conditions resulted from climate change, but can also give
high-yield.
–
SOURCE – NUCLEAR ASIA
The
world’s most critical nutrients will be limited by rising CO2 levels
07-20-2019
Earth.com
staff writer
Follow
An
international team of researchers has found that rising CO2 levels could substantially reduce
the availability of nutrients such as protein, iron, and zinc. The impacts of
climate change are expected to reduce the global supply of these critically
important nutrients by as much as 20 percent over the next three decades.
Study
co-author Timothy Sulser is the senior scientist at the International
Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
“We’ve
made a lot of progress reducing undernutrition around the world recently but
global population growth over the next 30 years will require increasing the
production of foods that provide sufficient nutrients,” explained Sulser.
“These findings suggest that climate change could slow progress on improvements
in global nutrition by simply making key nutrients less available than they
would be without it.”
In
an unprecedented study, the experts combined data from the IMPACT global
agriculture sector model, the Global Expanded Nutrient Supply (GENuS) model,
and two data sets which projected the effects of CO2 on nutrient content in
crops. The goal was to estimate the per capita availability of protein, iron,
and zinc through the year 2050.
The
research showed that wheat, rice, maize, barley, potatoes, soybeans, and
vegetables will all suffer average nutrient losses of about three percent over
the next 30 years as a result of elevated CO2 concentrations. These effects,
however, will not be evenly distributed. Many countries that already suffer
from nutrient deficiency will be among those that are hit the hardest in the
future as well.
The
most severe nutrient reductions are expected in South Asia, the Middle East,
Africa, and the former Soviet Union.
“In
general, people in low- and middle-income countries receive a larger portion of
their nutrients from plant-based sources, which tend to have lower
bioavailability than animal-based sources,” said study lead author Robert
Beach.
These
regions are also expected to experience the largest population growth, which
means they will need the most nutrient availability.
Nutrient
losses in wheat are particularly concerning. “Wheat accounts for a large
proportion of diets in many parts of the world, so any changes in its nutrient
concentrations can have substantial impact on the micronutrients many people
receive,” said Beach.
The
researchers emphasized the need for further research to build upon their
findings, including additional study of climate impacts on animal sources, as
well as technologies that could mitigate reductions in nutrient availability.
“Diets
and human health are incredibly complex and difficult to predict, and by
reducing the availability of critical nutrients, climate change will further
complicate efforts to eliminate undernutrition worldwide,” said Sulser.
Interested
in learning more fascinating facts about plants? Head on over to the PlantSnap blog!
—
Image
Credit: Shutterstock/TTstudio
Fake millers
selling rice to govt
Real ones say a third of the registered are fake
Monday, July 22, 2019
12:00
AM, July 21, 2019 / LAST MODIFIED: 05:34 AM, July 21, 2019
Star
file photo
Talukder Rice Mill is registered
with the local food office and eligible to sell rice to the government.
According to papers, it is located in Jummapara village of Lalmonirhat sadar
upazila. But when this correspondent went to visit the mill recently, all he
found at the location is an abandoned concrete surface, two tin-roof houses,
and a poultry farm. In fact, there is no rice mill in the entire village.
When asked, the mill owner, Pasan
Talukder, said he closed down the mill and sold its land four years ago. But
what is puzzling is he has supplied 20 tonnes of rice to the government as a
listed miller, under the ongoing food procurement programme.
This is one of the dozens of rice
mills which are non-existent but took the benefit of the procurement programme,
depriving many genuine millers.
There are 480 registered rice mills
in Lalmonirhat, from which the district food office was supposed to buy 10,731
tonnes of rice this boro season. Of the amount, 7,200 tonnes were already
procured, till July 4. Allotment varies according to the capacity of the mills.
The aggrieved millers said that
about one third of the listed mills are fake, and the claim is corroborated by
some of the fake millers themselves and this correspondent’s visits to several
locations.
“I’m farming papaya on the land
cited as the location of my rice mill,” said Belal Hossain of Gendutari village
of the sadar upazila, a listed miller.
He sold 22 tonnes of rice to the
government.
So did Uzzal Hossain, who owns four
mills in the same village which exist in paper only. He sold 27 tonnes. When
asked, Uzzal proudly said, “It doesn’t matter how I got enlisted.”
Visiting across the sadar upazila,
this reporter looked out for Abdullah Enterprise and Mohana Enterprise at
Mogholhat village, Azizul Mill at Kulaghat, Talha Enterprise at Durakuti,
Nayeem Enterprise at Burirbazar, Janata Husking Mill at Bhataibari, Hridi Rice
Mill at Nayarhat, and Bhai Husking Mill and Moni Husking Mill at Mahendranagar.
But he could find none of them.
This reporter also visited at least
45 rice mills in four other upazilas -- Aditmari, Kaliganj, Hatibandha and
Patgram -- and found 17 fake rice mills and 10 non-operational ones, which
closed down two to three years ago.
Nazir Ali, 56, a resident of
Gotamari village in Hatibandha upazila, said there is no mill in the village
but some chatals or concrete surfaces are there for drying paddy.
Still, Almaha Rice Mill is
enlisted. When contacted, its owner Syed Ali suggested that this correspondent
communicate with the food officer concerned for details about the mill.
Talking to The Daily Star,
authentic millers blamed “a nexus between unscrupulous food officials and fake
rice mill owners” for the evil practice.
They protested the irregularities
by confining Lalmonirhat Sadar Upazila Food Controller (UFC) Ayub Ali to the
district food office for three hours on May 19. The millers alleged that the
UFC enlisted non-existent rice mills in exchange for bribes.
One of the millers said Ayub Ali
took Tk 40,000-60,000 from each fake miller. He refused to be quoted fearing
that his allotment might get cancelled.
Belal Hossain, who is listed but
has no mill, also acknowledged it, saying “irregularities and corruption are
common in the food office.”
Following allegations, the district
food controller office has formed a five-member committee to verify their
physical status, infrastructure and necessary documents of 17 rice mills in the
sadar upazila. An office order was issued regarding this on May 15.
Contacted, UFC Ayub Ali flatly
denied the allegations. He said he enlisted mills following the clearance
certificates of the Department of Environment (DoE). But he remained silent
when asked if he had visited the mills, which are said to be fake.
According to rules, mill owners
have to apply for enlistment, and the UFC concerned is supposed to visit the
locations to verify that the mills have proper infrastructure, a functioning
milling machine, and papers including environment certificates.
Hatibandha Upazila Food Controller
(additional charge) Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal, who was made head of the
five-member committee to check on the 17 rice mills, said, “I will visit all
mills to verify their existence soon.”
District Controller of Food in
Lalmonirhat (additional charge) Kazi Saifuddin said an investigation was going
on against non-existent mills, and action would be taken as per rules. “Food
officials found guilty of enlisting fake mills will face departmental action.”
Tackling emerging threat to rice
in Pakistan
By Javed Iqbal
Published: July 22, 2019
PHOTO: REUTERS
LAHORE: Exports of Pakistan are mainly based on
agriculture and rice (Oryza sativa) is our main export, contributing about 0.7%
to the country’s GDP.
Being the third largest exporter of Basmati
and Irri varieties (Ministry of Commerce 2016), Pakistan exports more than 50%
of its produce.
Fine varieties are exported to the US,
Australia, the UK and other sensitive countries while Irri varieties are exported
to China and some other countries. In recent years, the export share of
Pakistan has declined, going down from $2.2 billion in 2014 to $2.1 billion in
2018.
Among a number of factors contributing to
the decline is the notorious stored grain pest ‘Khapra beetle’. Khapra has been
known to be a pest of stored wheat, however, now it has been observed feeding
rice. The pest is also found in consignments of rice exported to other
countries and can cause losses of up to 30%.
This has opened a new area for researchers
to monitor the activity of this pest in stored rice. The larvae of this pest
were detected twice in rice shipments to the US and later in 2014 it was once
again detected at the US entry point. As a result, 43,000 pounds of rice was
shipped back.
In 2013, Mexico rejected a rice consignment
from Pakistan weighing 3,000 tons due to infestation of this pest and imposed a
ban on Pakistani rice, which exists to date.
Continued rejection by trading partners from
2011 to 2014 led to an estimated loss of $1 billion. Now, recently in 2019, the
same pest has been detected in rice exported to Russia despite the fact that it
was treated with Methyl Bromide (CH3 Br). Due to this, the Russian authority
imposed a temporary ban not only on rice but on all food grain commodities
shipped from Pakistan.
The eradication of this pest is difficult
due to the resistance developed against synthetic insecticides. It has been
ranked among top 100 most-invasive species worldwide.
Origin of Khapra beetle
Trogoderma granarium may have originated
from the Indian subcontinent and is still present in some areas of Asia, the
Middle East, Africa and a few countries in Europe. It is one of the very few
stored product pests with limited distribution. T granarium has very limited
ability to spread without human aid because it is unable to fly, so
international movement of host commodities appears to be the only means of
spreading the pest.
It is very important to distinguish between
records that relate to interception of the pest in imported commodities (ie its
finding in the commodity during the border phytosanitary control without
further spread) and those of established infestation.
Geographical range
The pest can be found in areas outside its
known geographical range as long as good climatic conditions prevail. T
granarium is established within an area broadly limited north by the 35°
parallel, south by the Equator, west by West Africa and east by Myanmar.
It is reported in some countries of Africa,
however, others are still free of the pest and require protection as well to
limit the spread of the pest.
Risk
The pest could be associated with maize or
wheat grain (as pathway) moving in international trade or food aid and once
imported, it could establish owing to the following:
Ability to survive lengthy periods of cold,
drought or starvation of up to 13 months as resting larvae, ability to reduce
pesticide uptake and translocation due to its low metabolic rate, therefore
very difficult to kill, short life span for adults making them less vulnerable
target of fumigation, and low respiration rate of facultative diapausing larval
stage also leading to tolerance of fumigation.
Identification
Adults are oblong-oval beetles,
approximately 1.6 to 3mm long and 0.9 to 1.7mm wide. Males are brown to black
with indistinct reddish brown markings on their elytra.
Females are slightly larger than males and
are lighter in colour. The head is small and deflexed with short 11-segmented
antennae. The antennae have a club of three to five segments, which fit into a
groove in the side of the pronotum. The adults are covered with hairs.
Adult Khapra beetles have wings, but
apparently do not fly and feed very little. Mated females live from four to
seven days, unmated females from 20 to 30 days, and males from seven to 12
days.
Established infestations are difficult to
control because of the beetle’s ability to live without food for long periods
of time and to survive on foods of low moisture content.
These beetles tend to crawl into tiny cracks
and crevices and remain there for long periods, making them relatively tolerant
to many surface insecticides and fumigants. Therefore, it is important to
prevent Khapra beetle’s introduction in uninfected areas.
Detection and management
Detection methods include examination of
cracks and crevices and inspecting behind panelling on walls and under timbers,
tanks, shelves, etc. Larvae are most likely to be seen just before dusk, since
they tend to be more active at that time.
Some fumigants give control at high dosages,
even though this beetle is more resistant to fumigants than most stored product
pests. High concentrations of fumigants must be maintained over the fumigation
period to allow penetration into all cracks and crevices.
In an eradication programme, both fumigants
and surface sprays are used in combination with preventive measures, eg good
sanitation practices and exclusion.
Keeping in view the above constraints, there
is a dire need to develop Khapra beetle-free rice supply chain in Pakistan by
adopting system approaches and natural factors.
Published in The Express
Tribune, July 22nd, 2019.
Price of
imported rice drops in June
on
July 21, 2019
By
The average price of one kilogramme (kg) of rice (imported high
quality sold loose) decreased month-on-month in June, Sunday Telegraph market
survey team have learned.
It was revealed that the price of rice decreased year-on-year by
-0.40 per cent and decreased month-on-month by -0.70 per cent to N3590.90 in
May from N361.38 in April.
Similarly, Sunday Telegraph learnt that the average price of one
kg of yam tuber increased year-on-year by -2.07 per cent and month-on month by
-30.71 per cent to N300.88 in June from N206.48 in May.
Also, it was learnt that the average price of one dozen of Agric
eggs medium decreased year-on-year by -12.80 per cent and remained stable
month-on-month at N459.80 in June.
In addition, it was learnt that the average price of piece of
Agric eggs medium size (price of one) increased year-on-year by 1.73 per cent
and decrease month-on-month by -0.74 per cent to N42.91 in June from N42.23 in
May.
Sunday Telegraph further learnt that the average price of one kg
of tomato decreased year-on-year by -10.03 per cent and increased
month-on-month by 50.11 per cent to N400.29 in April from N250.50 in May.
Read
more at Speciality Medical Dialogues: Blood sugar rise after eating Pasta
significantly lower compared to white rice in type 1 diabetes https://speciality.medicaldialogues.in/blood-sugar-rise-after-eating-pasta-significantly-lower-compared-to-white-rice-in-type-1-diabetes/
How
can CRISPR technology improve plant breeding?
A new comprehensive review paper published last week on 15 July in Nature plants explores how scientists can use CRISPR to enhance
traditional plant breeding techniques with the goal of ensuring global food
security (1). Gene-editing technologies like CRISPR will be particularly
important “in the context of global climate change as well as in the face of current
agricultural, environmental and ecological challenges”, the authors write.
Zhang and colleagues highlight the
currently untapped potential of CRISPR technology for plant science, suggesting
that CRISPR has could significantly accelerate plant breeding and germplasm
development (the genetic material, seeds, and tissues used to cultivate crops)
in the future. But this goes beyond traditional gene editing.
The new comprehensive review
emphasises the potential benefits — beyond basic gene editing — that CRISPR can
offer in plant breeding. The technology has been used in many different ways in
animals and humans that could also be applied to important food crops such as
rice, wheat, and corn or maize. According to the authors, similar studies in
crops are lagging. Yet CRISPR is a highly versatile system, says Dr Yiping Qui,
senior author and a plant biologist at the University of Maryland.
What is CRISPR?
CRISPR uses a pair of so-called
“molecular scissors” that essentially “snip” DNA in certain places to remove
unwanted segments or edit existing sequences. But not only that. “You can
regulate activation or suppression of certain genes by using CRISPR not as a
cutting tool, but instead as a binding tool to attract activators or repressors
to induce traits”, Qi explains.
The CRISPR technology has already
been applied in crop breeding. In fact, the first gene-edited crop — canola —
went on sale in the US last year. But the paper also discusses possibilities
that go beyond basic gene-editing approaches. Importantly, CRISPR can be
combined with other plant breeding technologies to achieve results not
previously thought possible.
For instance, “gene shuffling”
recruits proteins to visualise certain DNA sequences and groups desirable
traits together within a single genome. This could boost traditional
crossbreeding efforts, and make it much easier to produce crops with more than
one desirable traits. In another example, scientists recently showed that pollen can be used to transfer
the components of CRISPR-Cas9 into corn, a process previously hindered by the thick cell walls of this
important staple crop (2). And yet another recent paper in BMC Biology showed that temperature can be used to improve the
efficiency of CRISPR-Cas12a genome editing in rice and maize.
Furthermore, the same CRISPR
technology used in humans to enhance screening for genes and traits associated
with human health could be potentially used in plants to screen for traits that
contribute to resilience and higher crop yields, as well as disease and pest
resistance.
Can CRISPR help sustainable feed the estimated 10 billion people
by 2050?
CRISPR has the potential to make
more robust crops that can produce higher
yields and withstand the more frequent extreme weather events brought on by
climate change. However, public distrust of the big corporations that
created genetically modified organisms
(GMOs) and the potential
consequences of gene editing remain. And could hinder the use of promising new
CRISPR technologies in plant breeding.
Moreover, there is still a long way
to go before CRISPR technology can be fully exploited. To this end, hundreds of
research laboratories are hard at work developing novel CRISPR-based solutions
to one of the world’s most pressing issues — global food security.
(1) Zhang, Y. et al. The emerging
and uncultivated potential of CRISPR technology in plant science. Nature Plants
(2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41477-019-0461-5
(2) Kelliher, T. et al. One-step
genome editing of elite crop germplasm during haploid induction. Nature
Biotechnology (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41587-019-0038-x
(3) Malzahn, A.A. et al.
Application of CRISPR-Cas12a temperature sensitivity for improved genome
editing in rice, maize, and Arabidopsis. DOI: 10.1186/s12915-019-0629-5
Navy seizes 927 bags of rice, arrests
five smugglers
The suspected smugglers
Ada Wodu, Calabar
The Nigerian Navy in Calabar has made two separate seizures of
927 bags of contraband rice from suspected smugglers, who were bringing in the
goods from Cameroon.
Five suspects were arrested in connection with one of the
seizures on July 17, 2019, while the suspects, who were conveying the rice
seized in the first boat abandoned it and escaped into the creeks when they
sighted a navy patrol boat on July 13, 2019.
The arrested suspects were identified as Nseh Bassey, Edet Ise,
Kufrey Sam, Stanley Clarence and Idongesit Effiong.
They claimed that the 502 bags of rice they were conveying
belonged to one Ambrose December from the Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa
Ibom State.
From the first boat, 425 bags of rice were retrieved.
Handing over the suspects as well as the seized rice and boats
valued at N25.5m at the jetty in Calabar, the Executive Officer of the Nigerian
Navy Ship Victory, Navy Captain Ajomabi Oride, said, “As you are all aware, we
have been making several arrests and this is just another arrest.
“We have about 927 bags of rice; we have five suspects and two
boats with outboard engines. We seized them in two separate arrests. One was on
July 13 and the second one on July 17. The items seized are worth about N25.5m.
“You can recall that the last arrest that was made before now was
on June 11, which is over a month ago, and it seemed it had subsided because
the owners of the boats were arrested at that time. So, it was assumed that the
business had gone down.
“People accused the navy of making the price of rice in Calabar
to increase because of the arrests. But one month now, we are seeing it
resurfacing, which means there are new people going into the business.
“We want to assure the new people going into the business that
it is not a business they should go into, because it is actually draining the
Nigerian economy in terms of the fact that when you bring foreign rice, the
local one will not sell. Nonetheless, the Nigerian Navy Ship Victory remains
resolute at curtailing these economic cankerworms.”
The Assistant Comptroller of Customs in charge of the Eastern
Marine Command, Johnson Gabriel, while receiving the seized contraband and the
suspects, said, “Once more, I am here to receive these seized rice, boats and
suspects on behalf of the Nigeria Customs Service. Last week, there was a
seizure in our sister station in Oron.
“The battlefront has shifted to the Atlantic, Oron and Ibaka
open waters. We have a lot of creeks there. So, the smugglers make use of these
creeks because they know the terrain more than we do.”
Govt must go beyond rice SRP to address farmers’ woes–group
By
July 22, 2019
A FARMERS’ group called on the
government to go slow in setting a suggested retail price (SRP) for rice, as
unscrupulous traders could take advantage of it by offering planters lower quotations
for their crop.
Federation of Free Farmers Inc.
(FFF) National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said some traders are earning
“extraordinary” profits at the expense of consumers due to the lack of
regulation over imported rice.
“However, traders can again use
the cap on rice prices as an excuse to buy at even lower prices,” Montemayor
said in a statement.
“At this point in time when rice
prices have normalized, the government must focus on addressing the problems of
small farmers, especially since the main harvest season is about to begin,” he
added.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F.
Piñol said rice farmers and other stakeholders could lose over P114 billion due
to the opening up of the domestic market following the enactment of the rice
trade liberalization law.
The figure is greater than the
P10 billion that rice farmers will receive via the Rice Competitiveness
Enhancement Fund (RCEF) as mandated by Republic Act (RA) 11203.
Last week, Piñol met with
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) officials to discuss the implementation
of SRP on imported rice to ensure that the staple will remain affordable for
consumers.
“We will come up with the SRP
[suggested retail price for rice], because beyond that is profiteering,” he
added.
According to Piñol, the Department
of Agriculture is now drafting a joint memorandum of agreement with the DTI to
strictly implement the provisions of the Price Act related to the SRP. The MOA
will be signed this month.
“Traders are eager to import
because they believe that no entity will regulate prices. The margin of profit
is too huge for importers, but this was not the intent of the law. The intent
is to make affordable rice available to consumers,” he said in a mix of English
and Filipino.
“As for the SRP for imported
commercial rice, the government will set it based on the landed cost. The DTI,
the Department of Finance and the National Economic and Development Authority
will come up with a computation,” he added.
‘Doubtful’
data
The FFF also questioned the
claims of some government officials that the new law had resulted in a
significant decline in rice prices. While retail prices declined from last
year’s levels, the group said the figures were higher than the average
quotations recorded in 2016 and 2017.
In pushing passage of the law,
the country’s economic managers then claimed that local consumers were paying
double what their Southeast Asian counterparts were paying for rice. They also
said rice prices could go down by up to P10 per kilogram once imports are
allowed to freely enter the country.
Citing Philippine Statistics
Authority (PSA) data, FFF said the average price of well-milled rice declined
to P42.92/kg in June, or by about P6/kg from the peak price of P49.36/kg in
September 2018. Also, the average retail price of regular-milled rice dropped
by P7.54/kg during the same month.
“What is interesting to note,
however, is that the present retail prices of rice are actually higher than in
2016 and 2017, when the quantitative restrictions on rice imports were still in
effect and RA 11203 had not yet been passed,” Montemayor said.
He noted that the spike in prices
last year was abnormal, and was caused by the refusal of economic managers to
allow the National Food Authority (NFA) to replenish its dwindling stocks.
“It was only when President
Duterte intervened and allowed the NFA and the private sector to import that
prices started to go down. Therefore, it is unrealistic to compare current
prices against prices during the rice crisis in 2018. It is also deceptive to
attribute the current decline in prices to the rice tariffication law,” he
said.
FFF also said farm-gate prices of
palay have gone down much faster than the decline in the retail prices of the
staple.
Citing PSA data, FFF said palay
prices fell by 23 percent to P17.85/kg in June, from P23.15/kg in September
2018. Compared to rice prices, retail quotations declined by 13 percent and 16
percent for well-milled rice and regular-milled rice, respectively, in the same
period.
The group added that palay
farm-gate prices were generally lower in 2019, compared to prices in 2016 and
2017 when the import restrictions were still in place.
“What is most painful to farmers
is that their sacrifices are apparently going to waste because consumers are
not getting the full benefits from the decline in palay prices and the entry of
supposedly cheaper imports,” Montemayor said.
“The PSA data in fact appears to
show that both consumers and farmers were better off when the quantitative
restrictions were still in place, if we exclude the abnormal price movements in
2018,” he added.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/07/22/govt-must-go-beyond-rice-srp-to-address-farmers-woes-group/
Market, farm
sector still adjusting to liberalized rice trading regime
Philippine Daily Inquirer /
05:14 AM July 22, 2019
The liberalization of rice importation is
envisioned to ensure stable supply and prices of the staple in the local market
while improving the productivity and competitiveness of the Philippine farm
sector.
Since the enactment into law of the rice
import liberalization measure in February, it has so far succeeded in
addressing the supply angle with prices going down, indeed, but at rates that
seemed to be already hurting local farmers.
Republic Act No. 11203, or the Rice
Liberalization Act, removed restraints on the importation, exportation and
trading of rice. Restraints on imports were replaced by tariffs.
The Bureau of Customs has reported a
422-percent increase in the volume of rice shipments that entered the country
following the passage of the rice import liberalization act.
In the first four months of the year,
imports rose to 966,690 metric tons from 185,100 MT. At this rate, the US
Department of Agriculture has projected that the Philippines could be the
second largest importer in the world this year, as imports were expected to
reach a record 3 million MT—just 500,000 MT short of China’s rice importation
requirement.
The foreseen abundance of the staple in the
local market has led to the fall of rice prices to an average of P38.50 a
kilogram as of the fourth week of June, down 5.23 percent from year-ago levels
and 15 percent lower from rates in September last year. The policy has enabled
consumers to buy more at reduced prices, which is especially crucial for poor
families whose biggest expenditure was for food.
On the whole, the availability of cheap
rice imports was able to soothe the country’s inflation rate, which reached 6.7
percent in September last year—the highest in nine years. During that time,
rice prices hit a high of P100 a kilo in the Zambasulta (Zamboanga, Basilan,
Sulu and Tawi-Tawi) region, and in the capital, P50 a kilo.
Read more: https://business.inquirer.net/275162/market-farm-sector-still-adjusting-to-liberalized-rice-trading-regime#ixzz5uP2Gy81W
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
Rice valuing US$2.96 bln exported, grew by 1.6% in FY2018-19
By Uploader
July 21, 2019
ISLAMABAD, Jul 21 (APP):Rice
exports from the county during preceding financial year witnessed about1.6%
growth as compared the exports of the corresponding period of last year.
During the period from July-June,
2018-19 bout 4,104,983 metric tons of rice worth US$2.096 billion exported as
compared the exports of 4,096,446 metric tons valuing US$ 2.035 billion of same
period of last year, according the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of
Statistics .
Rice Valuing US$2.96 Bln Exported,
Grew By 1.6% In FY2018-19
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan
Point News - APP - 21st Jul, 2019 ) :Rice exports from the county during preceding financial year witnessed about1.6%
growth as compared the exports of the corresponding period of last year.
During the period from July-June, 2018-19 bout 4,104,983 metric tons of rice worth
US$2.096 billion exported as compared the exports of 4,096,446 metric tons valuing US$ 2.035 billion of same period of last year, according the data released by
the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics .
During financial year ended
on June 30, 2019, about 668,763metric tons of Basmati rice worth of US$
639.250 million exported as against the exports of 560,995 meteic tons valuing US$581.847 million of same period of last year.
However, the exports of rice other then basmati reduced by 1.61% and about 3.346
milliom metric tons rice valuing US$1.430 billion exported as compared the exports of 3.535 million metric tons worth of US$1.453 billion of same period of last year.
On month on moth basis, rice exports in month of June, 2019 was recorded at 284,670 metric tons as compared the exports of 253, 731 metric tons of corresponding month of last year.
Minister Bhagat cancels Delivery
Order of Rice Miller
|
Date :22-Jul-2019
|
Staff Reporter:
Raipur
Food and Civil
Supplies Minister Amarjeet Bhagat reached a paddy procurement centre around 10
pm on Saturday for surprise inspection and expressed anger over delay in
lifting paddy by rice millers
Minister for
Food and Civil Supplies Amarjeet Bhagat, during his visit to Balod district on
Saturday, paid a surprise visit to a paddy procurement centre at Funda in
Gundardehi Assembly constituency around 10 pm. The Minister expressed
discontentment over delay in lifting paddy from the procurement centre for
milling and directed the officials concerned to cancel the Delivery Order of
the Rice Miller. The Minister made it clear, during his inspection of paddy
procurement centre, that delay in lifting the paddy from the procurement centre
would not be tolerated.
The Minister
immediately talked to the Markfed managing director over phone and asked him to
visit the paddy procurement centre of Balod district. The Minister also asked
the Markfed managing director to cancel the delivery order of those rice millers
who have made delay in lifting their quota of paddy and give the order to other
rice millers, so that the work is completed on time.
The Minister was
accompanied by Surguja Development Authority vice President Gulab Kamro and
Gundardehi constituency MLA Kunwar Singh Nishad. It is to be mentioned,
Minister Bhagat is the In-charge of Balod district.
July
21, 2019 / LAST MODIFIED: 04:28 AM, July 21, 2019
Floods wreak
havoc on croplands
60,000 hectares damaged in north
Sitting
on raft made of banana trees, a farmer of Uttar Nawabash in Kurigram shows his
vegetable plants destroyed by the floods on his two bighas of land yesterday.
Photo: Abdul Wahed.
The ongoing flood has submerged
60,000 hectares of paddy and vegetable fields, mainly in the northern
districts, affecting both farmers and consumers, as crop loss has sent the
vegetable prices soaring for reduced supply in the market.
The Department of Agricultural
Extension (DAE) estimated that floods affected farmlands in 26 districts until
Friday, including 39,000 hectares of aush fields, 11,000 hectares of aman
seedbeds, and 10,000 hectares of vegetable farms.
The flooded aush fields constitute
3.39 percent of the total acreage of aush this year.
A senior official of Bangladesh
Rice Research Institute (BRRI) said 20 percent of the submerged aush crop might
get damaged fully. This would mean the loss of 20,000 tonnes of paddy if the
average aush output of last year is considered.
“The plants that are in the
tillering stage is unlikely to be damaged, but those in the flowering stage
will be lost,” the official said.
Matiur Rahman, a farmer of
Ghogadaha union in Kurigram, which is one of the worst-hit districts, said,
“All of my aush paddy has been ruined by water.”
Having only three bighas of
farmland, he has to rent land and farm it to make a living.
Matiur planted paddy on five bighas
during this aush season with the hope to augment his income after suffering for
the low prices of boro, harvested in May-June.
The flood has started receding from
his locality but Matiur said nothing would be left. “I was planning to harvest
aush in three weeks’ time.”
His peril does not end here. “All
the aman seedlings and standing vegetables were damaged,” he said. “The same
befell other farmers in my locality. Many of them lost their stored paddy,
too.”
Cultivation of aman, the second
biggest rice crop after boro, faces setback with 11,000 hectares of its
seedbeds having been inundated, said Md Abdul Muyeed, director of field
services wing of DAE.
Floods came as a successive shock
after growers were trying to recover from low boro prices this year, caused by
a good harvest and higher public and private stocks.
“Nothing we had in the field will
remain after the flood,” said Matiur, who grew vegetables on four decimals of
land to meet his family needs.
“This is the worst-ever flood after
1988. There is water everywhere. We are suffering badly.” Matiur has taken
shelter on an embankment near his residence.
According to DAE, the flood
submerged summer vegetables on 10,000 hectares of land until Friday, and none
of them may survive after the flood.
A trip to village two unions of
Kurigram sadar revealed that all the farmland was flooded, with no crops
standing above the water level. Only the remains of dead vegetable plants were
visible.
DAE official Muyeed said all aman
seedlings might get destroyed, but there is time to prepare seedbeds newly for
aman plantation. “Farmers may have the seeds.”
The official said a portion of aush
paddy could be saved if water recedes within one or two days. “We will be able
to calculate the total financial loss after the flood.”
DAE estimates that farmers have
planted aush on 11.49 lakh hectares, while it aimed to bring 58.79 lakh
hectares under aman cultivation this season.
Aman is harvested in winter.
Farmers have planted summer
vegetables on 3.32 lakh hectares this year.
Chhakmal Hossain, a farmer in Pachgachhi
Union of Kurigram upazila, who grew painted gourd on two bighas, said all his
crop is gone.
The same happened to his neighbour
Moazzen Hossain. “I was hoping to make a good a good profit from the harvest,”
he said.
CONSUMERS
PAYING HIGHER
With farmers and people of affected
areas suffering, residents in urban areas, particularly Dhaka, are seeing a
sharp rise in the prices of greens.
Green chilli sold at Tk 80 a week
ago per kilogram, but the price soared to as high as Tk 200 in the capital,
said Imon Mia, a vegetable retailer at Sankar in Dhanmondi area.
Prices of other vegetables
including brinjal, okra, wax gourd, and bitter gourd rose by Tk 10-15 per
kilogram, he said. “This is because of flood.”
Delwar Hossain Kusum, joint
secretary of wholesalers association Karwan Bazar Aratdar Samity, echoed Imon.
According to the Department of
Agricultural Marketing, the average prices of green chili soared by 54 percent
to Tk 140 per kg in Dhaka on Thursday from a week ago.
Prices of eggplant, pointed gourd,
okra and snake gourd also shot up by 13 to 32 percent during the same period,
it says.
DAE Director Muyeed said flood
situation has improved in some areas such as Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari, but
new areas are getting affected.
To support farmers, DAE has taken
an initiative to prepare aman seedbeds on government-owned land for plantation
after the flood, he said.
“We are also planning to make 2,500
floating seedbeds in flood-hit areas,” he said, adding that seeds of a variety
of pulses would be provided to growers.
Punjab: Rice sowing in 95% targeted area
done, area under paddy records a fall
Data sourced
from Punjab Agriculture Department’s statistics wing showed that out of 29 lakh
hectare (LH), rice (both paddy and Basmati) transplantation has been done on
27.46 lh, while 18, 492 hectare area has been brought under Direct Seeding Rice
(DSR) which led to total sowing on 27.64 LH till July 14.
Written by Anju Agnihotri Chaba |Jalandhar
|Published: July 21, 2019 3:15:07 am
·
·
·
·
TOP NEWS
Last year, on the same date Punjab had completed sowing on 28.65
lakh hectares. (Representational Image)
Punjab has completed rice sowing on 95 per cent of the targeted
area for 2019, with sowing still on to cover the rest. The sowing trend shows
that there could be a rise in basmati (fine aromatic) area and a fall in the
paddy (parmal rice) after a gap of three years which is good for state too
where the water table is depleting fast due to huge area under paddy.
Data sourced from Punjab Agriculture Department’s statistics wing
showed that out of 29 lakh hectare (LH), rice (both paddy and Basmati)
transplantation has been done on 27.46 lh, while 18, 492 hectare area has been
brought under Direct Seeding Rice (DSR) which led to total sowing on 27.64 LH
till July 14.
Last year, on the same date Punjab had completed sowing on 28.65
lakh hectares.
“We are expecting that this year it would be nearly two LH area
less under paddy crop, and it is expected to come under basmati, maize and
cotton which are best alternative crops for paddy,” said Director, Punjab
Agriculture Department, Dr Sutantra Kumar Airy, adding that if the results come
as per our expectations then there would be huge saving of ground water.
“Producing one kg of rice consumes 4500 litres of water. On one
hectare, around 72 to 75 quintals (7200 to 7500 kg) rice is grown. So even a
decrease of two LH means saving huge amount of water,” he said.
Punjab would see this fall in paddy area after a gap of three
years. In 2018, 2017 and 2016, rice was cultivated on total 30.42 LH, 30.65 LH
and over 30 lakh hectares, respectively, out of which paddy was grown on 25.05
LH in 2018, 25.19 LH in 2017 nd 25.06 LH in 2016.
“Our target is to bring at least 7 lakh hectare under basmati this
year and if it happens then automatically the area under paddy would get
reduced which is a good development for Punjab state where over production of
paddy has hit the ground water badly,” said Basmati Exporter and director of
the exporters association, Ashok Sethi.
It was in the year 2014 and 2015 when Punjab had seen highest ever
acreage under basmati with 8.61 LH and 7.63 LH, respectively.
JULY 22, 2019 / 1:25 PM /
UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
Nagpur
Foodgrain Prices Open- JULY 22, 2019
·
·
* * * * * *
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices – APMC/Open Market-July 22, 2019 Nagpur,
July 22 (Reuters) – Gram and tuar prices showed weak tendency in Nagpur
Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) on poor buying support from
local millers amid high moisture content arrival. Fresh fall on NCDEX in gram
and easy condition in Madhya Pradesh pulses prices also affected sentiment.
About 400 bags of gram and 150 bags of tuar reported for auction, according to
sources.
GRAM
* Gram varieties firmed up again in open market here on renewed
demand from local
traders. Reports about weak monsoon in the regions also
activated stockists.
TUAR
* Tuar varieties reported higher in open market here on
increased demand from local
traders.
* Moong varieties recovered in open market here on good demand
from
local traders amid thin supply from producing belts.
* In Akola, Tuar New – 5,600-6,000, Tuar dal (clean) –
8,300-8,500, Udid Mogar (clean)
– 6,800-7,500, Moong Mogar (clean) 7,500-8,500, Gram –
4,400-4,500, Gram Super best
– 6,200-6,400 * Wheat, rice and other foodgrain items moved in a
narrow range in
scattered deals and settled at last levels in thin trading
activity.
Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for
100 kg
FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close
Gram Auction 3,900-4,200 3,900-4,240
Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600
Tuar Auction 4,850-5,625 4,850-5,800
Moong Auction n.a. 3,950-4,200
Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500
Masoor Auction n.a. 2,200-2,500
Wheat Lokwan Auction 1,930-2,070 1,930-2,030
Wheat Sharbati Auction n.a. 2,900-3,000
Gram Super Best Bold 6,300-6,500 6,200-6,500
Gram Super Best n.a. n.a.
Gram Medium Best 5,900-6,100 5,800-6,000
Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a
Gram Mill Quality 4,500-4,600 4,400-4,500
Desi gram Raw 4,400-4,500 4,350-4,450
Gram Kabuli 8,300-10,000 8,300-10,000
Tuar Fataka Best-New 8,600-8,800 8,500-8,600
Tuar Fataka Medium-New 8,200-8,400 8,200-8,300
Tuar Dal Best Phod-New 7,900-8,200 7,600-7,900
Tuar Dal Medium phod-New 7,200-7,700 7,000-7,500
Tuar Gavarani New 5,900-6,100 5,800-6,000
Tuar Karnataka 6,200-6,400 6,150-6,350
Masoor dal best 5,500-5,600 5,400-5,500
Masoor dal medium 5,200-5,400 5,100-5,300
Masoor n.a. n.a.
Moong Mogar bold (New) 8,200-9,000 8,000-9,000
Moong Mogar Medium 6,000-7,000 5,800-6,700
Moong dal Chilka New 6,800-7,800 6,800-7,700
Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.
Moong Chamki best 8,200-8,700 8,200-8,700
Udid Mogar best (100 INR/KG) (New) 7,000-7,800 7,000-7,800
Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,500-6,500 5,500-6,500
Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 4,000-4,400 4,000-4,400
Mot (100 INR/KG) 5,200-6,500 5,200-6,500
Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 4,800-4,900 4,800-4,900
Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 5,550-5,650 5,550-5,650
Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 6,800-7,000 6,800-7,000
Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,200 2,100-2,200
Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG) 2,000-2,100 2,000-2,100
Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,600 2,500-2,600
Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,400-2,600 2,400-2,600
Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,300 2,200-2,300
Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a.
MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 3,200-3,800 3,200-3,800
MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,700-3,000 2,700-3,000
Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,300 2,200-2,300
Rice BPT best (100 INR/KG) 3,000-3,600 3,000-3,500
Rice BPT medium (100 INR/KG) 2,500-3,000 2,500-3,000
Rice Luchai (100 INR/KG) 2,900-3,000 2,900-3,000
Rice Swarna best (100 INR/KG) 2,600-2,750 2,600-2,750
Rice Swarna medium (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,500 2,200-2,500
Rice HMT best (100 INR/KG) 3,800-4,400 3,800-4,400
Rice HMT medium (100 INR/KG) 3,400-3,600 3,400-3,600
Rice Shriram best(100 INR/KG) 5,500-5,800 5,500-5,800
Rice Shriram med (100 INR/KG) 4,500-4,800 4,500-4,800
Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 8,500-13,500 8,500-13,500
Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,000-7,000 5,000-7,000
Rice Chinnor best 100 INR/KG) 6,500-7,200 6,500-7,200
Rice Chinnor medium (100 INR/KG) 6,200-6,400 6,200-6,400
Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 2,350-2,550 2,350-2,550
Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 2,050-2,250 2,050-2,250 WEATHER (NAGPUR)
Maximum temp. 33.3 degree Celsius, minimum temp. 25.2 degree Celsius Rainfall :
1.5 mm FORECAST: Generally cloudy sky with light rains. Maximum and minimum
temperature likely to be around 35 degree Celsius and 25 degree Celsius
respectively. Note: n.a.—not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded
from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices)
Thai farmers asked to delay rice
planting as drought bites
BANGKOK (Reuters)
– The Thai government has asked farmers to delay planting rice because of
drought and the pumping of water from reservoirs for irrigation threatens
household supplies, an agriculture ministry official said on Monday.
Farmers
in the world’s second-biggest rice exporter usually plant their main crop in
May, the beginning of the rainy season, for harvest between August and October.
But this year, the rain has been sparse and drought has been declared in more
than a dozen provinces in northern and northeastern rice regions. The
government is considering measures such as cloud seeding to try to bring rain
but in the meantime, farmers have been asked to hold off. “We would like to ask
farmers not to grow new crops of rice because there may not be enough water,”
Irrigation Department official Sanya Sangpumpong told Reuters. The pumping of
water to keep crops alive had led to a serious depletion of reservoirs, he
said. “Human consumption must be prioritised first,” he said. The biggest
impact would be on jasmine rice, which is planted in August for harvest by the
end of the year. It is grown largely in the northeast. Rainfall in the main
rice-growing regions was the lowest in 10 years, at 12% below average, the
Meteorological Department said. Rain in August and November was expected to be
5% to 10% below average. A rice farmer in the northeastern province of Khon
Kaen said it was the worst dry spell he had seen in years and he had been
pumping water from a reservoir to keep his first crop alive. “If it does not
rain then I won’t plant a new crop,” Pradit Sirithammajak, 48, told Reuters.
“It’s not worth the cost.” At the same time, the level of water in the Mekong
River, which passes northern and northeastern Thailand, had fallen below a
historic low seen in 1992, according to the inter-governmental Mekong River
Commission. This was partly due to the low rain but also because China was
holding back more of the river’s water in a hydroelectric dam on its upper
reaches.
Author
Name: https://www.euronews.com/2019/07/22/thai-farmers-asked-to-delay-rice-planting-as-drought-bites
Date: 22-Jul-2019
Rice at center of PH agriculture’s problems
0
SHARES
THE Rice Tariffication Law, Republic Act 11203, has effectively
kept rice prices down for consumers by assuring ample supplies in the market.
For years, the government, through the National Food Authority
(NFA), limited rice importations by requiring importers to get permits to
import, so as to protect Filipino rice farmers from being overwhelmed by the
cheap rice imports. When prices started zooming up in 2018, the government
sought to stop the unprecedented inflation by various means. As rice is the
principal item in Filipino families’ marketing expenses, the government rightly
decided to bring down rice prices and the rest of market goods would follow.
With the Rice Tariffication Law, importers no longer need
permits from the NFA. Anyone can now import rice as long as he pays the
required tariffs. Thus cheap rice has come in great quantities from Vietnam and
Thailand whose farmers somehow can produce it at much lower cost than Filipino
farmers.
The Rice Tariffication Law has indeed lowered the market price
of rice, but it has also severely reduced the income of Filipino farmers. Where
they used to earn an average of P20 per kilo of palay, they got paid only
P17.85 in the last week of June. And yet, the farmers said, through the
Federation of Free Farmers, market prices have been steady. They suspect price
manipulation by rice traders, with importers undervaluing their shipments so
as to pay lower taxes.
Secretary of Agriculture Emmanuel Piñol has proposed to remedy
the situation by having the government buy the farmers’ harvests at competitive
prices, even if it means losses for the government.
This would be a short-term solution. A more permanent one would
be for the government to help Filipino farmers lower their production costs.
This could be done by helping them in acquiring seeds of high-yielding rice
varieties and in purchasing fertilizer and other needs, by increased mechanization
of agriculture, by more irrigation facilities, by providing more post-harvest
facilities like storage and milling, and by helping them in marketing.
For generations, many Filipino farmers depended on the help of
their landlords, but that is all past with land reform. Government must step in
and provide that help that is no longer there and, more important, launch a
program to modernize Philippine agriculture in all its aspects, on all its
levels, and in all its phases from land preparation to planting to marketing.
The key to all this is funding. Outgoing Secretary Piñol says
this was not available in sufficient amounts in the last three years, as the
government focused on infrastructure and other urgent needs. In the next three
years of the Duterte administration, it should give Philippine agriculture the
attention that it truly deserves as the center of Philippine life and economy.
Niger to
stop importing rice by 2023
President Mahamadou Issouffou of Niger has
instructed the government to develop a rice production program which will
ensure that from 2023, there will be zero rice imports in the West African
famine-stricken nation.
According to Nigerien nutrition coordinator for
the 3N Initiative – a program put in place to achieve food self-sufficiency –
the national requirement has increased from 257,000 tons in 2010 to more than
426,000 tons in 2019.
“The growth of rice consumption in Niger is
fast. But we observe that the growth of production does not follow that of
consumption, because the acceleration of development has not followed”, Ali
Bety, High Commissioner to the 3N Initiative stressed.
The goal is to ensure that the 150 billion FCFA
of annual import costs are eliminated. The government plans to improve the
production with the development of 50,000 hectares of land by 2023 to produce
500 to 600 thousand tons a year, Bety said.
With a poverty rate of 44.1% and a per capita
income of $420, Niger is one of the world’s poorest nations.
The country struggles in the face of frequent
droughts, insurgency, and wide-spread poverty. Niger is betting on increased
oil exploration and gold mining to help modernize its economy.
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Niger to stop importing rice by
2023
President
Mahamadou Issouffou of Niger has instructed the government to develop a rice
production program which will ensure that from 2023, there will be zero rice
imports in the West African famine-stricken nation. According to Nigerien
nutrition coordinator for the 3N Initiative – a program put in place to achieve
food self-sufficiency – the national requirement has increased from 257,000
tons in 2010 to more than 426,000 tons in 2019. “The growth of rice consumption
in Niger is fast. But we observe that the growth of production does not follow
that of consumption, because the acceleration of development has not followed”,
Ali Bety, High Commissioner to the 3N Initiative stressed. The goal is to
ensure that the 150 billion FCFA of annual import costs are eliminated. The
government plans to improve the production with the development of 50,000
hectares of land by 2023 to produce 500 to 600 thousand tons a year, Bety said.
With a poverty rate of 44.1% and a per capita income of $420, Niger is one of
the world’s poorest nations. The country struggles in the face of frequent
droughts, insurgency, and wide-spread poverty. Niger is betting on increased
oil exploration and gold mining to help modernize its economy.
Haryana farmers give up rice crop to conserve water
According to Haryana’s farm department, every hectare (2.4 acre)
brought under maize cultivation from rice would save 14,000 litres of water
needed for irrigation.
A unique experiment in Haryana could well break a long-standing
chokehold on the state’s seriously depleted water table: rampant paddy. Fifteen
thousand farmers in the state, who have traditionally grown only rice, will not
be growing the water-intensive crop this summer, the first time in 30 years.
They have signed up for a state government drive that rewards them with cash
and freebies for ditching paddy for maize. According to Haryana’s farm
department, every hectare (2.4 acre) brought under maize cultivation from rice
would save 14,000 litres of water needed for irrigation.
"The total area under maize cultivation in districts chosen
for the drive now stands at 50,000 hectares," said Suresh Gehlawat,
additional director in the state agriculture department. The move is expected
to save 700 million litres of water for the entire season. In grain-bowl states
of Punjab and Haryana, a practice of paddy-wheat cycle (paddy during summers,
wheat during winters) has driven aquifers to a historic low. "India
currently holds surplus rice stocks and it was not easy convincing farmers to
give up paddy," said Suresh. The campaign worked because of a string of
freebies and a state-backed guarantee that all the maize harvested by farmers,
who signed up for the programme, would be bought by the state at federally
fixed minimum support prices. The share of Haryana’s districts that have depleted
water reserves to "dangerous" levels has risen from 63 percent in
1995 to 89 percent in 2014, according to Ranjan Aneja, an economist with
Central University of Haryana. The state has seen an alarming fall in its
groundwater levels. According to the Central Water Commission’s data, the
average depth at which groundwater was available in 1975 was 9.19 metre. It
dropped to 18.66 metre in 2016. Despite a frightening water crisis, farmers
prefer paddy, which requires 80 percent more water than, say, maize, because
the power needed to draw water is virtually free for farmers. In the 1960s,
such subsidies, along with better seeds, had spurred India’s green revolution,
whose benefits are now wearing off. Apart from the assurance to buy the
harvest, each farmer who has switched to maize has got Rs 1,200 worth of good
quality maize seeds free on a per acre basis, apart from Rs 2,000 in
“production subsidy”, which is essentially a cash reward for not growing
water-intensive rice crops. "We tried explaining to farmers that while
rice would fetch them Rs 1,750 per 100 kgs, they would get nearly as much for
maize, whose minimum support price is Rs 1,700 per 100 kgs. Plus, the cost of
cultivating maize is lower on an average by Rs 12,000," Gehlawat said.
Rice valuing US$2.96bn exported,
grew by 1.6pc in FY2018-19
ISLAMABAD: Rice exports from the county during preceding financial
year witnessed about 1.6pc growth as compared the exports of the corresponding
period of last year.
During the period from July-June, 2018-19 bout 4,104,983 metric
tons of rice worth US$2.096 billion exported as compared the exports of
4,096,446 metric tons valuing US$ 2.035 billion of same period of last year,
according the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
Meanwhile, during the period under review the exports of Basmati
rice also grew by 9.87pc. During financial year ended on June 30, 2019, about
668,763metric tons of Basmati rice worth of US$ 639.250 million exported as
against the exports of 560,995 meteic tons valuing US$581.847 million of same
period of last year.
However, the exports of rice other than basmati reduced by 1.61pc
and about 3.346 milliom metric tons rice valuing US$1.430 billion exported as
compared the exports of 3.535 million metric tons worth of US$1.453 billion of
same period of last year.
On month on month basis, rice exports in month of June, 2019 was
recorded at 284,670 metric tons as compared the exports of 253, 731 metric tons
of corresponding month of last year.
In June, 2019 country earned US$142.364 million as against
US$145.734 million of same month of last year.
It may be recalled that food group exports from the country
recorded about 3.93pc reduction in FY 2018-19.
Food commodities worth US$4.609 billion exported as against the
exports of US$4.797 billion of same period of last year.
Malnutrition
costs Pakistan US $7.5bn annually: SBP
ISLAMABAD: Lack of food security and malnutrition in the country
has strong economic implications as malnutrition among children of under 5,
costs around US$ 7.5 billion or three percent of GDP every year, a report of
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said.
The high child mortality rates, prevalence of zinc and iodine
deficiencies, stunting, and anemia, lead to deficits in physical and mental development
that weakens labor productivity and loss of future labor force in the country.
According to the report, US $2.24 billion is estimated as the
loss of future labor force resulting from under-5 mortality, US $ 1 billion is
the estimated healthcare expense, which the families incur to address diarrhea
and respiratory infection among children, US $ 3.7 billion is the estimated
cost of low labor productivity emanating from stunting, anemia or iodine
deficiencies in childhood, and US $ 657 million is the estimated cost of
prevalence of chronic weakness and fatigue among 10 million working adults with
anemia experience.
The report said ensuring food security within the country may
entail large fiscal costs as governments incentivized farm sector to ensure food
self-sufficiency, and also resort to social safety net programs (including
direct transfers) to keep purchasing powers of poor population intact.
However, it warned that in case the food self-sufficiency is not
achieved, the country has to bear balance of payments cost to ensure food
availability.
Pakistan is presently self-sufficient in major staples – ranked
at 8th in producing wheat, 10th in rice, 5th in sugarcane, and 4th in milk
production, despite that, only 63.1 percent of the country’s households are
“food secure”, the report quoted.
The survey incorporates the Food Insecurity Experience Scale
developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
The scale bifurcates insecurity along the following dimensions: mild (worrying
about the ability to obtain food); moderate (compromising variety/quantity of
food and often skipping meals); and severe (experiencing hunger on a chronic
basis).
Alarmingly, 36.9 percent of the households in Pakistan labelled
as “food insecure”, 18.3 percent face “severe” food insecurity.
Across the provinces, KP and Gilgit Baltistan are relatively
more food secure than Sindh and Balochistan.
With per capita income of US $1,497, Pakistan is still
struggling with issues such as under-nourishment, micronutrient (iron, calcium,
vitamin-A etc.) deficiencies, and a deficit of safe drinkable water.
Per capita consumption of food products that possess high-nutritional
value like beef, chicken, fish, milk, vegetables and fruits is almost 6-10
times lower than that of developed countries.
Almost half of the children under five years are stunted
(low-weight-for-age) and one in 10 has been suffering from wasting
(low-weight-for-height) in the country. Incorporating these factors, Pakistan
was ranked 106th among 119 countries surveyed for the Global Hunger Index, and
has been characterized as facing a “serious” level of hunger.
Pakistan is among those seven countries that cumulatively
account for two-thirds of the world’s under-nourished population (along with
Bangladesh, China, Congo, Ethiopia, India and Indonesia).
Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2019
Related Articles
Punjab: Rice sowing in 95% targeted area done, area under paddy
records a fall
Data sourced from Punjab Agriculture Department’s statistics wing
showed that out of 29 lakh hectare (LH), rice (both paddy and Basmati)
transplantation has been done on 27.46 lh, while 18, 492 hectare area has been
brought under Direct Seeding Rice (DSR) which led to total sowing on 27.64 LH
till July 14.
Written by Anju Agnihotri Chaba | Jalandhar |
Published: July 21, 2019 3:15:07 am
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Express
Last year, on the same date Punjab had completed sowing on 28.65
lakh hectares. (Representational Image)
Punjab has completed rice sowing on 95 per cent of the targeted
area for 2019, with sowing still on to cover the rest. The sowing trend shows
that there could be a rise in basmati (fine aromatic) area and a fall in the
paddy (parmal rice) after a gap of three years which is good for state too
where the water table is depleting fast due to huge area under paddy.
Data sourced from Punjab Agriculture Department’s statistics wing
showed that out of 29 lakh hectare (LH), rice (both paddy and Basmati)
transplantation has been done on 27.46 lh, while 18, 492 hectare area has been
brought under Direct Seeding Rice (DSR) which led to total sowing on 27.64 LH
till July 14.
Last year, on the same date Punjab had completed sowing on 28.65
lakh hectares.
“We are expecting that this year it would be nearly two LH area
less under paddy crop, and it is expected to come under basmati, maize and
cotton which are best alternative crops for paddy,” said Director, Punjab
Agriculture Department, Dr Sutantra Kumar Airy, adding that if the results come
as per our expectations then there would be huge saving of ground water.
“Producing one kg of rice consumes 4500 litres of water. On one
hectare, around 72 to 75 quintals (7200 to 7500 kg) rice is grown. So even a
decrease of two LH means saving huge amount of water,” he said.
Punjab would see this fall in paddy area after a gap of three
years. In 2018, 2017 and 2016, rice was cultivated on total 30.42 LH, 30.65 LH
and over 30 lakh hectares, respectively, out of which paddy was grown on 25.05
LH in 2018, 25.19 LH in 2017 nd 25.06 LH in 2016.
“Our target is to bring at least 7 lakh hectare under basmati this
year and if it happens then automatically the area under paddy would get
reduced which is a good development for Punjab state where over production of
paddy has hit the ground water badly,” said Basmati Exporter and director of
the exporters association, Ashok Sethi.
It was in the year 2014 and 2015 when Punjab had seen highest ever
acreage under basmati with 8.61 LH and 7.63 LH, respectively.
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Food security
21 July 2019
How food secure is Pakistan? Many of us know the answer
intuitively to be a negative one. This has been confirmed by the State Bank of
Pakistan (SBP). As part of its third quarterly report on the state of the
economy, the central bank has noted that only 63 percent of Pakistan’s
households are food secure. This is despite the fact that Pakistan is
self-sufficient in major stable foods. The fact that one-third of all
households in the country are not food secure in a country which produces
almost all of its food means that the problems lie in the mechanisms for
distribution as well as the low rate of compensating rural labour. What would
come as a surprise to most policymakers is that Gilgit-Baltistan, a region of
mostly subsistence cultivation, is the most food secure in the country at
almost 80 percent. This is followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 70 percent. This
leads one to wonder if there is an adverse relationship between the production
of commercial crops for the market and the level of food security in a region.
It is even more ironic that GB is a region that does not produce Pakistan’s
staple grain of wheat.
The worst position is occupied by Balochistan where almost half of
the households face mild to severe food insecurity. Out of one-third households
that are food insecure, half face severe food insecurity. The situation
explains why Pakistan occupies a position in the seven countries responsible
for two-thirds of the world’s under-nourished population. On the other hand,
Pakistan is the world’s eighth largest wheat producer, the 10th largest rice
producer, the fifth largest sugarcane producer and the fourth largest milk
producer. It is clear that the problem lies in how the market mechanism works
to take away food from those who need it most. While around a quarter of
Pakistan’s population lives below the poverty line, poverty is the worst in
rural areas where it has hit around 31 percent. This should be a joke. How are
the areas that produce food the ones most affected by food insecurity?
The situation is so poor that almost half of the children under
five years of age suffer stunted growth which puts Pakistan in the bottom 15
countries in the Global Hunger Index. The SBP fears that the situation is
likely to get worst due to high population growth, growing water stress and
climate change in the next two decades. The cost of this comes to around $10
billion in lost economic resources every year, which the government can easily
recover by investing in reforming the agricultural sector. The poor situation
in Punjab and Balochistan is also explained by the low level of support
received by the poorest populations in the provinces. While one must remember
that PM Imran Khan used his first speech to highlight the issue of
malnutrition, there is little that has been concretely done to address the
issue of chronic food insecurity in Pakistan.
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