Japan looks to boost investments on African continent
Issued
on 31-08-2019 Modified 31-08-2019 to 10:22
Professor Oussouby Sacko,
President of Kyoto Seika University, JapanKyoto Seika University
As the Tokyo International
Conference on African Development (TICAD) wrapped up in Yokohama on Friday,
Japan demonstrated a willingness to pick up the pace of investments on the
continent, especially in agriculture.
Officials from nearly all
Africa's 55 countries attended the conference which ended Friday. During the
three-day event themed “sharing passion for the future”, Japan showed it was
willing to invest in trade and agriculture, and especially in developping rice
culture.
In a joint closing statement,
participants said they “believe that quality infrastructure that guarantees
affordability with respect to life-cycle costs, is fundamental for sustainable
economic transformation" in Africa.
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s Prime
Minister told the gathering that those who invest in Africa must beware of
burdening countries with "excessive" debt, an apparent swipe at China
whose Belt and Road policy some critics consider is
saddling poor nations with crippling debt.
Abe announced on Wednesday that
his country would help double Africa’s rice output by 2030, raising it to 50
million tons a year.
Ryuichi Kato, president of the
Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), explains that this will be
done by increasing productivity.
“We would like to increase the
productivity of rice production by developing the irrigation system, and
developing rice varieties, some that are suitable for the African soil,” he
told RFI on Friday.
“The participation of the private
sector is also very important and we would like to encourage it,” he said.
Concluding
#TICAD7: Working toward realizing the
Yokohama Declaration
JICA looks forward to continuing to maintain dialogue and providing support for inclusive and dynamic development in #Africa.https://www.facebook.com/jicapreng/posts/1524195487722189 …
JICA looks forward to continuing to maintain dialogue and providing support for inclusive and dynamic development in #Africa.https://www.facebook.com/jicapreng/posts/1524195487722189 …
The notable expansion of rice
culture is very appealing for African countries, especially South Africa, says
RFI’s correspondant Jean-Jacques Cornish.
“Shinzo Abe is convinced young
African people can transform agriculture. This is music to the ears of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is facing a faltering
economy and a massive problem of youth unemployment.”
This renewed investment in rice
culture marks a changing trend in Japan’s attitude towards African countries,
which was mostly restricted to financial aid, technology and education
programs.
Japan lagging behind China
Japan is revising its tactic in
Africa, especially because of China’s recent investments on the continent for
its new "Silk Road" project.
At the last TICAD in 2016, Japan
pledged around 30 billion dollars in development funding for Africa while China
allocates 60 billion a year.
The Japanese government is
usually loath to take risks in foreign investment, as opposed to Beijing whose
Africa development policy of massive investment has helped it wrest diplomatic partners
from rival Taiwan.
Now it seems, in order to keep up
with the competition, Japan is shifting the way it interacts with Africa, both
in its cultural and economic relationship, explains Professor Oussouby Sacko,
the president of the private Seika University in Kyoto, known for its manga
cartoon research centre.
“I think Japanese start to
realise they are a little bit slow in their relationship with Africa, the
African market and even African people”, he said to RFI English on Friday.
According to the Mali-born
professor, Japan is trying to catch up.
“During the time they were
thinking what to do and how to deal with Africa, other countries were moving
practically”.
For Ryuichi Kato, this delay is
due to Japan’s distinctive way of interacting with other countries.
“We like to do the cooperation on
equal footing, obtain consent from African authorities and discuss with them
the elaboration of the projects. It takes time but it’s important not to force
something. This approach is a bit particular, different from other countries”,
he says.
Japan has been hosting TICAD
since 1993, and African countries attend the event around every five years.
Beyond Carolina Gold: Researchers work to revive ancient
Southern crops
·
Rick Boyles, a research scientist at Clemson’s Pee Dee Research
and Education Center, talks about how a combination of traditional and advanced
plant genetic approaches are being used to determine which grain lines are best
adapted to South Carolina and the entire Southeast.
FLORENCE – Clemson researchers
are working with the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation to revive heirloom grains in
South Carolina and renewal of the university’s Small Grains Breeding and
Genetics Program is one asset researchers believe will assist in this effort.
Rick Boyles, a research scientist
at the Clemson University Pee Dee Research and Education Center (Pee Dee REC)
and a foundation board member spoke about reviving the breeding program when he
gave a research update to almost 100 people attending the foundation’s spring
meeting held recently at the Pee Dee REC and Carolina Plantation Rice in
Darlington. Boyles is in the process of evaluating thousands of grain lines to
determine which ones are best adapted to South Carolina, as well as to the
entire Southeast.
“We’re evaluating important
traits such as disease resistance and grain quality,” Boyles said. “To become
more efficient, we are using a combination of traditional and advanced plant
genetics approaches to understand the genetic basis of important traits and
help to broaden the gene pool that exists in regional breeding populations.”
The war on weeds:
Researchers arm farmers with new tools for old battle
The Small Grains Breeding and
Genetics program has been inactive since 2008. Boyles said revival of the
program is desperately needed to help increase the availability of improved
plant varieties that have beneficial attributes to increase farmer productivity
and profitability in South Carolina.
Seedless
watermelons: Researcher explains how these wonders dominate S.C. crop
“This program is continuing to
build where it needs to be so that, as Clemson researchers, we can identify,
develop, and release small grains cultivars that are tailored for South
Carolina growers and end-users, as well as additional stakeholders across the
southeastern United States,” Boyles said.
Boyles annually evaluates local
cultivars, also known as landraces, and crop wild relatives to find natural
genetic variation that can be exploited for crop improvement. Landraces
represent the oldest cultivated varieties that have been handed down in
communities to the present age. In comparison, heirlooms are varieties that
were carefully selected by growers over generations and distributed across
regions as a result of their uniqueness and value.
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Boyles earned a doctoral degree
in genetics from Clemson and began working at the Pee Dee REC in 2017. He is
working with Clemson researchers, Stephen Kresovich and Brian Ward, as well as
David Shields, foundation chairman and Carolina distinguished professor for the
University of South Carolina, to research and repatriate the landrace grains
that once thrived in South Carolina.
Carolina Gold Rice is one of
these grains and was introduced to South Carolina in 1685 when a merchant ship
damaged by a raging storm hobbled in to the Charleston Harbor. In the ship’s
cargo bay was Carolina Gold Rice from Madagascar, Africa. The rice found its
way to South Carolina fields and became a major cash crop before a series of
mishaps caused it to totally disappear from the state. But, with help from the
foundation and some Clemson researchers, Carolina Gold is once again becoming a
popular rice for cultivation, owing to its resiliency and versatility.
Growing and
promoting S.C. culture
The agenda included a visit to
the Carolina Rice Plantation near Darlington where plantation owner Campbell
Coxe talked about how rice is grown, milled and sold from the plantation. He
has been farming rice for 20 years.
“I was growing cotton and was not
doing really well,” Coxe said. “I decided to diversify and grow something that
I could sell directly to consumers. This was a rice-growing area in the 1700s
and 1800s, so I started growing rice.”
When Coxe started growing rice,
he was shipping it 800 miles to be milled. After gasoline reached $4 a gallon
he decided he needed to do something, so he built a mill on the family farm.
Rice he grows, mills and packages is sold from a small farm store nearby. He
grows aromatic rice including: Carolina Plantation Brown Rice, Carolina
Plantation Charleston Gold Rice, Carolina Plantation Gold Rice and Carolina
Plantation White Rice.
Chefs all over South Carolina are
ambassadors for Carolina Gold Rice and South Carolina’s roots, including a
group of 4-H’ers from Charleston County who are taking their recipe, which
includes Carolina Gold Rice, to the Great American Seafood Cookoff in New
Orleans on August 4. The recipe is a modified version of Limpin’ Susan served
over a thick fish filet.
“The reason we chose this dish is
because it comes from the Gullah culture,” said Ian Adams, one of the 4-H’ers
going to the cookoff. “Gullah ties in to South Carolina’s roots and we wanted
to do our best to respect that connection and provide some insight to the
judges who may not be aware of that part of South Carolina’s history. We chose
Carolina Gold Rice because it too is a part of our state history. This rice has
a flavor that cannot be replicated with any other rice and it adds to the
flavor profile very nicely.”
Legend has it Limpin’ Susan was
the wife of Hoppin’ John, a peas and rice dish Gullah cooks have made for
generations in the South Carolina Sea Islands and Lowcountry, as well as the
Caribbean. While there are several versions of this recipe, depending on whose
kitchen it is being prepared, all have one ingredient in common – rice. In
fact, rice is a main ingredient in most Gullah dishes.
Joining Adams in New Orleans are
team members Joey Camarota and Lydia Potter.
Taking
agriculture to new levels
Diversified crop research and
development is conducted at Clemson’s Advanced Plant Technology Program. Led by
Kresovich, who holds the Robert and Lois Coker Endowed Chair of Genetics, the
program is home to an assembly of world-class scientists dedicated to taking
agriculture to new levels by developing innovative crop breeding and management
systems.
The foundation’s annual meeting
usually is held in Charleston, but in an effort to reach more farmers and show
diversity among South Carolina heritage crops, this year’s meeting was held in
Florence. In addition to farmers from several states, a delegation of rice
farmers from the West African country of Guinea-Bissau attended the event. Rice
and cashews are Guinea-Bissau’s largest crops. The Guinea-Bissau farmers speak
Portuguese and were lucky to have Clemson graduate student Giovanni Caputo
translate for them. Caputo is from Brazil and is working on his master’s degree
in weed science. Brian Ward, a research scientist at Clemson’s Coastal Research
and Education Center, asked Caputo to translate after finding out the farmers
were attending the event and just spoke Portuguese.
“This was the first time I’ve
ever translated for someone, so I was a little nervous,” Caputo said. “I wanted
to be sure I got everything correct, so if I didn’t understand something, I
asked someone who knew the topic and what was being said to be sure I was
giving the correct translation.”
Other speakers at the meeting
include Glenn Roberts, founder of Anson Mills on Folly Beach in Charleston, who
said weather conditions have kept him and his workers out of the fields.
“The weather has been very
challenging,” Roberts said. “The climate is changing and is presenting problems
we haven’t had in the past. We need to breed crops for climate change and we
need to move as quickly as we can.”
Also, during the meeting, Shields
discussed the history of the American palate and how changes in taste
acceptance have influenced plant breeding.
“Growing out a cuisine with the
guidance of the historical record gives the most convenient grounds for
experimentation with making ingredients as fine as they can be – given the
time, place, economy and environmental conditions,” said Shields, who is author
of Southern Provisions: The Creation & Revival of a Cuisine.
In addition, Hayden Smith,
adjunct professor at the College of Charleston, proposed forming a Rice
Institute at the College of Charleston with input from Clemson researchers and
others to help promote the growth of rice in South Carolina. Smith said this
would be a valuable asset for teaching agricultural and environmental demands
associated with growing rice.
LSU AgCenter partners with GB Sciences
to produce medical marijuana
Sep 2, 2019 Updated 4 hrs ago
Marijuana
sits in an LSU AgCenter warehouse.
Courtesy of LSU AgCenter
As
anyone who has ever been put on hold by the LSU Office of Admissions can tell
you, LSU is an award-winning school that participates in ground-breaking
research. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that LSU AgCenter is partnering
with GB Sciences Louisiana in a historic program researching and producing
medical marijuana.
GB
Sciences Louisiana President John B. Davis said the partnership between the
AgCenter and GB Sciences is the first of its kind.
“This
doesn’t exist anywhere else in the United States or in the world," Davis
said. "This is a first."
The
production facility in Baton Rouge began full-scale production of therapeutic
cannabis in March 2019 and released their first products in early Aug. 2019.
The facility was built by GB Sciences and includes a 6,000 square foot
laboratory space the AgCenter will use for research on the cannabis plant,
similar to the research it has conducted on rice and wheat crops.
GB
Sciences produces 3 different formulations of therapeutic cannabis. The
different formulations contain different concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), and also have different delivery methods.
The
bill that granted LSU AgCenter one of two licenses in Louisiana to grow and
research medical marijuana also outlined what medical conditions are eligible
for treatment via medical marijuana, as well as the process doctors and
pharmacies must go through to become licensed.
The
list of eligible medical conditions is wide-ranging and includes disorders such
as HIV and AIDS, cancer, seizure disorders and epilepsy, glaucoma, Parkinson’s
disease, and PTSD.
Davis
said therapeutic cannabis is not an appropriate treatment for everyone. He
recommends patients with a medical condition eligible for medical marijuana
treatment talk to their doctors.
Like
any pharmaceutical, there is no blanket dosage that works for every patient.
Different patients with different conditions and symptoms will need different
concentrations and dosages.
“In
all cases, the suggested recommendation is to start low and stay low until you
find your most therapeutic level of medication,” Davis said.
Davis
and AgCenter Vice President Ashley Mullens said the program has not received
any backlash so far.
Mullens
said many people have a personal connection to someone who has or perhaps could
in the future benefit from medical marijuana.
“We
all have loved ones that will benefit from this product,” Mullens said.
Davis
believes the program hasn't received any backlash because it isn't providing
recreational marijuana, but instead a medication for people in need.
“When
we think of medicine, we think of those family members or friends within our
circle who have a debilitating medical condition,” Davis said. “And all that we
really want is to provide them with improved quality of life.”
Currently,
the GB Sciences lab employees 15 people, but Davis predicts the program could
grow to employ up to 60 people. The project has drawn interest from Louisiana
scientists but had been working in regions with more robust medical marijuana
industries, such as Colorado, the West Coast and Washington D.C.
As
for the future of the project, the AgCenter is currently in talks with
Pennington Biomedical Research Center and LSU Health Science Center about the
possibility of conducting clinical trials.
Currently,
no active University students are allowed inside the facility, but Mullens
hopes grad students will be able to conduct research there in the future.
Of Market
Forces and Forced Markets
September 2, 2019 3:37 am
OUTSIDE THE BOX
BY ALEX OTTI
“Indeed, a major source of
objection to a free economy is precisely that it… gives people what they want
instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most
arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.”
Milton Friedman(1912-2006).
“Famine emerges from a lack of
interlocal trade; when one locality’s food crop fails, since there is virtually
no trade with other localities, the bulk of the people starve. It is precisely
the permeation of the free market throughout the world that has virtually ended
this scourge of famine by permitting trade between areas.” Murray Rothbard
(1926-1995)
Economics is a (social) science
that deals with the allocation of scarce resources. Nevertheless, people have
called it all sorts of names. Some say it is not a science at all because it
has to do with human behaviour. Some more complimentary ones have conceded that
though it may be deemed some sort of science it is most appropriate to address
it as a ‘dismal’ science. Wherever you come out in the debate, the truth is
that it is settled that economics is a social science. This is more because of
its capacity to predict human behaviour. Another settled fact is that Demand
and Supply respond differently to price, while Price itself responds to Demand
and Supply. This is one fundamental truism in the discipline of Economics. If
you want prices to go up, the easiest way to achieve it is by bringing supply
down. The converse is also correct if you want prices to go down. Those who are
familiar with behaviour agree that human beings are inherently rational and
therefore selfish, they respond in a way that serves primarily their
self-interest. It is for this reason that modern day administrators of the
economy know what factors to manipulate to achieve a desired outcome. Done any
other way, it will invariably bring distortion to the economy.
As Nigeria was celebrating the
Sallah holidays last week, news came from the Special Assistant to the
President on Media and Publicity that the President had directed the Central
Bank of Nigeria not to allocate any cent to food importation any more. Going by
statistics, the Central Bank has done very well in reigning in frivolous importation
of items that could be produced in Nigeria. The jury, though, is still out as
to the effect of the ban of the 41 items from enjoying foreign exchange in the
official foreign exchange market and the recent addition of Milk to that list.
It is assumed that the ban is effective and will as such result in the
development of local substitutes. If, on the other hand, the ban is not as
effective, (a Nigerian common experience), it would mean that the order would
merely raise the price of such commodities in the market. This is because the
ban leaves importers with the option of funding at the black market at rates
much higher than the official window. At the end of the day, this cost will
have to be transferred to the final consumer, with its inflationary effects and
probably the impact on the poverty index. The simple truth here is that
it is the ultimate consumer that pays the price of all commodities.
At a Bankers’ Dinner held in
Lagos late last year, the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was reported
to have said that the nation’s monthly food import bill fell from $665.4m in
January 2015 to $160.4m as at October 2018. The reductions in food import were
recorded mainly on rice, fish, milk, sugar and wheat. This represents a
cumulative fall of 75.9% and implied savings of over $21b on food imports alone
over that period. “Most evident were the 97.3% cumulative reduction in monthly
rice import bills, 99.6% in fish, 81.3% in milk, 63.7% in sugar, and
60.5% in wheat” the governor had concluded. Without prejudice to the other
points made above, these are significant numbers which indicate that the policy
had been effective over the period under review.
Mr. Emefiele also pointed out
that to achieve the success so far recorded, the CBN introduced the Anchor
Borrowers Programme, which had ensured that Nigeria moved from being a net
importer of rice to becoming a major producer, supplying key markets in
neighbouring countries. The Anchor Borrowers Programme had been supported by
other CBN interventions like the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System
for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and the National Collateral Registry. The
Governor revealed that as of October 2018, a total number of 862,069 farmers
cultivating about 835,239 hectares, across 16 different commodities, had so far
benefited from the Anchor Borrowers programme, which had in the process,
generated 2,502,675 jobs across the country.
There is no doubt that these are
good stories coming out of the Central Bank of Nigeria. It is not unlikely that
these may be one of the major reasons the President considered an outright ban
on allocation of official foreign exchange for importation of food items in the
country. While agreeing that in the long run, this would help the country
conserve scarce foreign exchange, build our external reserves and ensure
sustainable self-sufficiency in food production, there are inherent dangers in
that directive which the President may not have taken into consideration. The
first of these is statutory and should be of concern to all who appreciate the
concept of rule of law and separation of powers. All over the world, the
monetary authorities of all democratic nations are, by law meant to be
independent and autonomous of both executive and legislative direct influence.
This is to ensure that monetary policy decisions are not used to achieve short
term political advantages that would have long term adverse impact on the
overall economy. In order to enforce this, the Central Bank has its Monetary
Policy Committee and Board of Governors. Statutorily, the President has his
nominees sitting in both bodies and can influence the decisions of those bodies
through these nominees. Theoretically, the President has no power to make the
pronouncement he made, except if it was an opinion which he is free to hold.
Even as an opinion, he could be seen as interfering with the autonomy of the
monetary authority. We are all familiar with the implications of the executive
crossing the Central Bank independence line. Those in doubt should read about
the Late Idi Amin’s Uganda. The same uproar greeted Trump a few days ago when
he voiced his frustration at the exchange rate of the dollar in the wake of the
lowering of the value of the Chinese Yuan.
Having dwelt extensively on the
statutory aspects of the pronouncement, let us now turn to the economics of it.
Like we had earlier stated, the undue penchant of Nigerian consumers for
imported items has a direct adverse effect on the value of the Naira, the stock
of our foreign reserves, the creation of jobs, imported inflation and general
phenomenon of self-sufficiency, or lack thereof, in food production in the
country. Conventional wisdom suggests that for a country like Nigeria, still
struggling with economic growth and development, we shouldn’t import what we
can produce. Economists, however, recommend that we should maximize the
production of goods over which we have comparative advantage, while we exchange
with countries who have comparative advantage over other goods which we cannot
efficiently produce. Two major economic theories, Specialisation and
International Trade, have their foundation from this thinking. The big issue
therefore, is this; how do we ensure that we do not buy from foreign countries,
things we can produce in Nigeria? There are two ways: by a directive like the
one the President has just given or by using market forces to influence
consumer behaviour. Economists would tell you that legislations and directives
hardly work in the real world. You will also agree that were it so, with the
plethora of policies and legislations, a host of government agencies meant to
enforce such policies, the Nigerian consumer would have become the model in the
whole world. However, human beings, like we highlighted earlier, are
bound to act in their own self-interest. To the extent that there is demand for
those goods, people will continue to demand them and the importers will
invariably continue to bring them in. The import therefore, is that bans will
only drive people away to informal markets; a very dangerous phenomenon. Just
like the saying goes, when you drive people away from the arena where opinions
are expressed, they only go to converge in the cellar where revolutions are
born. Because economists operate at the arena, they will rather deal with those
opinions.
The solution therefore is
to find sustainable and holistic ways to make it unviable for businessmen to
import the items. How then do we do that? Simple; it is by making importation
of food unprofitable. For instance, if the same food item, in terms of quantity
and quality is available in the country at a lower price than imported ones, no
rational consumer will buy them. Once there is no demand for the goods, no one
will import them. Therefore, market forces would rather support a programme
that makes the locally produced goods more competitive than one that directs
that imports are prohibited. In reality, confronted with a directive that
prohibits imports, market forces would not be bereft of responses. The first
question market forces would ask is, is there a demand for the banned items?
Once the answer is yes, then a few other questions would follow. Is the market
in such a state that it will pay the price for bringing in the goods “by fire
and by force”? The next question would be, where is the best and most
cost-effective place from which to bring the goods? How can the goods be
brought in without the prying eyes of the government that had restricted the
importation? Since government has banned the item, how can it be brought in at
the cheapest cost possible in order for profitable sales to be made? In the
process of answering these questions, there is a huge question that may not
necessarily be asked and it is the most important question. That question about
the quality and safety of the food, since it has been taken out of the sight of
the regulatory authorities, standards and safety measures may no longer be
enforced. Bear in mind that the country is not self sufficient in food
production and may never be. Truth be told, we are yet to see a country that is
self-sufficient in food production.
It is our considered opinion that
it would be very difficult for the CBN, even if it wanted to do so, to
successfully implement this latest Presidential directive. The CBN should
indeed worry about the implications of the directives on the economy. I am not
sure that it has reliable statistics to show that we have attained
self-sufficiency in food production. In fact statistics available point to the
fact that more Nigerians are falling below poverty line and Nigeria has
actually become the poverty capital of the world. One thing you can literally
take to the bank is that should the CBN decide to implement the directive, it
will not stop the importation of food into the country. The directive is that our
subsidised foreign exchange should not be allocated to importers of food. The
importers would naturally source their funds from the black market at higher
prices. This price will naturally be passed on to consumers which means higher
cost of food with its attendant implication on inflation. Again, the level of
banditry and kidnapping in the country also points to declining farming
activities in the rural areas and this year may witness very poor harvest. It
is also a known fact that a lot of banned items find their way into the
Nigerian markets at more exorbitant prices. Sadly, the government is wittingly
or unwittingly enriching the ports of neighbouring countries anytime we place a
ban on the importation of essential items. Despite our celebration of all the
feats we have achieved with rice production, our markets are still flooded with
imported rice. That shows that there is still a market for it. It is important
to state that in the process, we also deny the country of the tariffs on those
smuggled goods, were the goods imported directly into, and through, our
facilities.
Our position is that we should
avoid the temptation of trying to manage the economy by fiat. That approach has
not worked in Nigeria, nor has it worked in any economy I know. I make bold to
say that it will also not work in this instance, unless we want to hide our
heads in the sand like the proverbial ostrich. Every well-functioning economy
has in-built mechanisms to correct itself. All we need are effective and
knowledgeable managers who know what to do to achieve desired outcomes at both
monetary and fiscal levels. Let us leave command economics for the military
era, where, by the way, it was also a colossal failure!
Villar seeks audit of funds for farmers
Senator
Cynthia Villar has demanded for an “accounting” of the funds intended to help
farmers cope with the lifting of the quantitative restriction on rice imports.
She
specifically cited the P500 million spent for the inbred seeds reportedly
distributed to rice-producing provinces even as Region 3 was left out.
“For
the inbred seeds alone, we spent P500 million, but how come Region 3 was
excluded when it has some of the biggest rice-producing provinces,” Villar
said.
Villar,
chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture and Food, also directed the
Department of Budget and Management to return the P4 billion intended for the
P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.
While
the DBM released P5 billion in December last year for the RCEF, only P1 billion
went to the program providing farmers access to cheap credit through Landbank
of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines this year.
During
Villar’s committee hearing on RCEF, the budget department promised to release
the remaining P4 billion to complete the P10-billion fund.
Under
the rice tariffication law, farmers will be given P10 billion a year for the
next six years under the RCEF, which will be obtained from the collected
tariffs to boost their productive capacities.
“Although
they might say they spent it because RCEF is yet to be passed then, they should
have waited and not spent it on other matters. I want the Department of
Agriculture to account for the remaining P4 billion and also to make sure that
P4 billion will be immediately returned to RCEF,” the senator said.
Villar’s
committee was also informed that very little of the initial release of funds
for the RCEF went to farmers, with 80 percent captured by the DA National Rice
Program.
Villar
warned against the slow disbursement of the RCEF, saying it will not improve
the competitiveness of the domestic agriculture sector if it is not fully
implemented.
“In
this age of liberalization, our farmers will continue to fear competition
because they were not given the chance to improve their ways,” she said.
“Now
that Philippine authorities can no longer limit the entry of imported rice, we
impose tariffs and collect the amount to spend for programs that will help
improve our farmers’ productivity and profitability under the RCEF,” Villar
added
The ANC Brief: A lot of explaining to do
ABS-CBN News
Many questions linger over the
release of convicts under a new system. Here are the stories making the
headlines on ANC today:
Artful dodger
He has a lot of explaining to do. Pressure is building up on Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Nicanor Faeldon to explain the release of convicts under the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) law. But Faeldon seems intent in dodging questions. The Senate sent a subpoena to Faeldon and ordered him to appear in today’s hearing on the controversy over the releases. Sen. Ping Lacson said he has a copy of the release order of former Calauan, Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez. Earlier, Justice Sec. Menardo Guevarra said no release order was issued in the case of Sanchez and that Faeldon denies signing any. Lacson also said the convicts in the Chiong sisters slay case have also been released. ANC will be airing the Senate hearings live.
He has a lot of explaining to do. Pressure is building up on Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Nicanor Faeldon to explain the release of convicts under the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) law. But Faeldon seems intent in dodging questions. The Senate sent a subpoena to Faeldon and ordered him to appear in today’s hearing on the controversy over the releases. Sen. Ping Lacson said he has a copy of the release order of former Calauan, Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez. Earlier, Justice Sec. Menardo Guevarra said no release order was issued in the case of Sanchez and that Faeldon denies signing any. Lacson also said the convicts in the Chiong sisters slay case have also been released. ANC will be airing the Senate hearings live.
High-stakes meeting
It was a high-stakes visit. President Duterte arrived from his latest trip to China. But what did he accomplish? Before he left, he said he would finally raise the arbitral victory of the country against China’s claims in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). But as expected, China said they were rejecting the victory but assured Duterte there would be no provocative acts in the area. Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to fast track a code of conduct (COC) for the WPS. Before he left, Duterte lamented the delays in the drafting of the COC. Already, the Palace is spinning the trip as a “success.” But was it really a success?
It was a high-stakes visit. President Duterte arrived from his latest trip to China. But what did he accomplish? Before he left, he said he would finally raise the arbitral victory of the country against China’s claims in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). But as expected, China said they were rejecting the victory but assured Duterte there would be no provocative acts in the area. Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to fast track a code of conduct (COC) for the WPS. Before he left, Duterte lamented the delays in the drafting of the COC. Already, the Palace is spinning the trip as a “success.” But was it really a success?
Farmers taking a hit
The flooding of rice imports as a result of the Rice Tariffication Law is hurting rice farmers. The law might have addressed issues of rice supply and inflation with lower prices. But rice farming is taking a huge hit. What happened to the safeguards and cash assistance for farmers? Are they getting the cash assistance and if not, why not? And are these safeguards and cash assistance enough to offset what farmers are losing?
The flooding of rice imports as a result of the Rice Tariffication Law is hurting rice farmers. The law might have addressed issues of rice supply and inflation with lower prices. But rice farming is taking a huge hit. What happened to the safeguards and cash assistance for farmers? Are they getting the cash assistance and if not, why not? And are these safeguards and cash assistance enough to offset what farmers are losing?
Obsession with basketball
Gilas Pilipinas lost to Italy in a lopsided game during the FIBA World Cup. The team will have to face a better and bigger Serbian team. The loss to Italy puts focus on the country’s basketball program. Can we ever be a contender again in world basketball just like the Philippine teams of the 50s? Or is it time to focus on another sport besides basketball?
Gilas Pilipinas lost to Italy in a lopsided game during the FIBA World Cup. The team will have to face a better and bigger Serbian team. The loss to Italy puts focus on the country’s basketball program. Can we ever be a contender again in world basketball just like the Philippine teams of the 50s? Or is it time to focus on another sport besides basketball?
Rise up
Gio Visitacion lost his business partner and co-barista at Cebu’s The Good Cup Coffee Company last April when John Michael Hermoso was shot dead in the very coffee shop their friendship built. Four months after the gruesome murder, Gio shares to ANCX how he and his staff are picking up the pieces.
Gio Visitacion lost his business partner and co-barista at Cebu’s The Good Cup Coffee Company last April when John Michael Hermoso was shot dead in the very coffee shop their friendship built. Four months after the gruesome murder, Gio shares to ANCX how he and his staff are picking up the pieces.
PH mayors laud gov’t for lower rice prices,
inflation downtrend
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:16 AM September 02, 2019
The umbrella organization of city mayors
across the country has commended Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, the Department
of Finance and the rest of President Duterte’s economic team for pushing the
enactment of the law liberalizing rice imports, which has led to lower prices
of the staple food and a corresponding significant decline in the country’s
inflation rate.
In a manifesto, the League of Cities of the
Philippines (LCP) said since Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Liberalization Law
took effect in March, the average retail cost of rice had dropped by at least
P7 per kilo or 20-percent less than last year’s peak rates.
The mayors cited, in particular,
Dominguez’s efforts “for pushing the approval and enactment of RA 11203.”
“We in the League of Cities of the
Philippines have seen the huge benefit of this law to our respective
constituencies who now enjoy more affordable prices of rice,” the LCP said in
the manifesto signed by the organization’s national chair, Cebu City Mayor
Edgardo Labella.
The LCP also pointed out that as a result
of the law’s implementation, the country’s inflation rate had also fallen
significantly in June, “from a high of 6.7 percent in September and October
2018.” The June 2019 headline inflation rate fell to 2.7 percent. It further
decelerated to 2.4 percent in July.
“In this regard, the efforts of Secretary
Dominguez, the Department of Finance, and the rest of the country’s economic
team should not go unnoticed,” said the LCP, which has 145 city mayors as
members.
Besides opening rice importation to private
traders, the rice liberalization law also benefits palay growers as revenues
from rice import tariffs are earmarked for the annual P10-billion Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).
Under RA
11203, RCEF would help finance the modernization of the agriculture sector and
directly provide farmers with access to credit and training, and funds for
mechanization, high-quality seeds, and fertilizers, among other forms of
assistance to sharpen their global competitiveness and increase their incomes.
—DAXIM
L. LUCAS
Read more: https://business.inquirer.net/278089/ph-mayors-laud-govt-for-lower-rice-prices-inflation-downtrend#ixzz5yMOOz6Ro
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Group asks
govt to probe rice traders
September 2, 2019
The Federation of Free Farmers
Inc. (FFF) called on the government to look into the marketing and selling
practices of traders who are now making a killing out of the relaxation of
rules for importing the staple.
A study by the FFF, a copy of
which was obtained by the BusinessMirror, showed the supposed huge discrepancy
between the landed and retail prices of imported rice. The results of the
study, FFF said, indicate that certain players are raking in huge profits from cheap
imports.
“The data shows a huge gap of P18
per kilogram between declared import prices of rice and prevailing retail
prices in July 2019,” read the paper, which was submitted to Agriculture
Secretary William D. Dar last week.
Using publicly available government
data, the FFF computed the difference between the landed cost of imported rice
and its retail price. The group found that the average retail price of
regular-milled rice in July was at P38.72 per kilogram, P18.11 more than its
import price of P20.61 per kg.
The FFF study also showed that
there was a P18.93 difference between the average retail price of well-milled
rice at P43.10 per kg and its import value of P24.17 per kg.
“The big gap between import and
retail prices suggests that importers, wholesalers and retailer can still enjoy
reasonable profits even if retail prices are brought down,” the group said.
The local rice market is no
longer regulated by the government after Republic Act 11203 took effect on
March 5. Currently, traders are only required to secure sanitary and
phytosanitary import clearance and pay the corresponding tariffs if they want
to buy rice from abroad.
Detailed analysis
Due to these findings, the FFF
urged the government to undertake a detailed study of the cost components of
imported rice plus the additional costs and trading margins to determine the
“reasonable” retail price.
With this, FFF argued, the
government would be able to pinpoint those who are taking advantage of the
relaxed rules and earning huge profits.
“It would therefore be helpful if
costs and trading margins throughout the rice value chain can be computed so as
to determine a reasonable retail price level for imported rice based on a
declared FOB [freight-on-board] value,” it said.
“This will make it easy to
pinpoint segments of the value chain where unreasonable profits are being made,
and may guide the government in making the necessary interventions,” it added.
The government could also analyze
the relationship between the prevailing farm-gate prices of unhusked rice and
retail prices of milled rice to determine if unscrupulous traders are
“short-shelling” farmers, FFF said.
FFF added that the study may
determine if the plunge in palay prices is “mainly attributable” to the entry
of cheap imported rice.
“The big gap between import and
retail prices suggests that importers, wholesalers and retailer can still enjoy
reasonable profits even if retail prices are brought down,” the group said.
“However, the government should
carefully study how this can be done without further exacerbating the problems
of palay producers,” it added.
FFF said the implementation of a
suggested retail price (SRP) on rice could help pull down prices.
“If, for example, SRPs are
imposed, this may be used as a pretext by traders to lower their buying prices
even further,” the group said.
“This implies that, as efforts
are made to bring down retail prices, these should be complemented by measures
that will force importers to declare the true cost and value of the imports,
and thereby provide room for local traders to proportionately adjust their
buying prices upwards,” it added
Corruption, Porous Borders Ducking Nigeria’s Rice Sufficiency Drive
WORLD NEWS /02 SEP 2019
Rice is a big deal in Nigeria.
Almost everyone eats it. With an annual consumption
rate at
6.4 million tonnes as of 2017 and an increase of 4.7% in the last decade, the
country accounts for about 20% of Africa’s total consumption. But meeting the
growing demand through local production has proven to be a huge problem for the
country. In recent decades, Nigeria has increasingly relied on importation to
meet this demand.
The general election in 2015
ushered in a new federal government led by Muhammadu Buhari. After assuming
office he announced his intention to invest in agriculture, making Nigeria
self-sufficient in rice production and reduce unemployment and place a 70%
import tariff on rice.
To
drive this home, new intervention programmes were birthed. Chief among them is
the Anchor
Borrowers Programme. This initiative was hailed as the most comprehensive
government-driven agro-initiative in Nigeria’s history. Speaking at its launch on November
2015, Buhari reiterated his commitment to diversifying the economy. “The
programme has been designed as a one-stop-solution for agricultural value chain
by creating economic linkages between farmers and processors to not only ensure
a clear agricultural output but to also reduce dependence on imported food.”
The
other programmes include the International
Fund for Agricultural Development, to make funding worth $15 million
available for farmers, the World Bank’s Fadama programme, as well as the UN Development
Programme partnership worth $8.06
million.
Before
the introduction of the Anchor Borrowers Programme, $2.41 billion was spent to import rice between
January 2012 and May 2015. According to a BBC report quoting Audu Innocent Ogbeh,
Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture, the country spent $5
million a day on
rice importation to bring in 2.3 million tonnes of the grain in 2016.
Corruption Fraught Intervention
The
launch of the Anchor Borrowers Programme came with lots of fanfare and
hype. Designed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), it targeted smallholder
farmers with a special focus on rice farmers. The programme was designed to
make loans available to them at an interest rate of 9% and has, as of May this
year, disbursed about $527.6
million to farmers across the country. However, fast forward to about four
years after the launch, allegations of corruption and discrimination have
bedeviled it while reliance on rice imports is still high.
In
the northern part of the country, where there are many of the beneficiaries, it
was alleged that politicians high jacked
the programme to compensate their followers and practically shut out local
farmers. Some farmers saw the loan as their own share of the national cake. A
sort of personal reward for voting for President Muhammadu Buhari and hence
their refusal
to service the loan.
While
in the south, there were allegations that the programme was
designed primarily with northerners in mind. Some beneficiaries could not get
the funds even after meeting the set criteria. But CBN debunked
the allegation.
The bank attributed the poor implementation to the inability of farmers to meet
several conditions.
Adaku Ezeibe, a lecturer at the
University of Nigeria, attributed the failure of the programme to lack of
awareness of the availability of locally grown rice and the nutritional edge it
has over foreign grown rice. “Most Nigerians do not know that our rice is more
nutritious than imported rice. They also don’t know that the more we buy
foreign rice, the more we kill our economy. We can’t keep patronizing foreign
farmers to the detriment of our economy.”
But
local production cannot match demand. Hence the gap is being plugged by
imports. This gap is driving the high patronage
foreign grown rice is enjoying. However, she advised that campaigns should be
embarked upon by the central government to “create awareness for Nigerians to
patronize our rice and the farmers would be encouraged to improve and produce
more. This would go a long way to bridge the gap you talked about and help our
economy.”
Dashed Hope
When Evelyn Agon learned of the
Fadama programme from her fellow farmers “during a chat” at a local market, she
had high hopes. Chief of which were hopes of expanding her small rice farm
located in southeast Nigeria. But like the hazy dust of the dry farming season
flutters with the wind, her hopes fizzled when she discovered the programme was
not as great as her friend had told her at the market.
Evelyn
is one of the beneficiaries of the Fadama III programme – the third phase of
the programme launched in 1993 by the World Bank and run in partnership with
Nigeria’s Ministry of Agriculture to make about $200 million available for farmers along the agro
value chain.
“My friend told me at the market
that the government was coming to our village to assist those of us that are
serious with our farms, especially rice farm. I was happy. I believed it would
make me expand my farm and take care of my children. I needed fertilizer,
seedlings, chemicals, and guidance. We were told we would get them when we went
to Enugu (capital of Enugu state) to see the officials.”
Evelyn
explained that she, alongside other women from her community, spent the little
money they had on transportation to the capital, more than 30 kilometres from
their village for training, but they ended up being told about the old
practices they knew without any other assistance. Her experience resonates with
the thoughts of other beneficiaries who complained of the slow takeoff.
However,
the programme team leader, Adetunji Oredipe, described it as a huge success. “The
project had contributed to the agricultural transformation and development in
Nigeria in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), food security, youth and
women employment and rural development and World Bank is happy for this.”
Smugglers on a rampage
The
government had hoped that the programmes were working optimally, hence
the claim by President Buhari that the
country has cut rice importation by 90%. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, during
the build-up to the 2019 general elections, made a similar claim. In the same
vein, Audu Innocent Ogbeh, stated that Nigeria’s success at meeting her rice
demands led to the collapse
of 7 giant rice mills in Thailand, Nigeria’s major exporter of rice.
Statistics from the CBN, show real
progress in import reduction and reinforces the claim of government officials.
The Central Bank of Nigeria revealed that the country had imported only 5,587
metric tonnes between January and July 2018. This, however, is a sharp contrast
to the figure released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture which
stood at about
3 million tonnes during 2018.
On
the flip-side, import of parboiled rice, which is mostly consumed in Benin,
Nigeria’s neighbour, increased by about 100%, according to a report by the Global Alliance for
Improved Nutrition.
Hence,
government intervention only succeeded in stifling legal importation but
encouraged smuggling. In the first quarter of 2019 alone, the Rice
Processors Association of Nigeria decried that over 1 million
metric tonnes – 20 million bags of 50kg of rice and about 29% of the USDA’s 3.4
million metric tonnes 2019 estimate for the country – was
smuggled in. This is largely blamed on porous borders.
Meanwhile,
the agency charged with the task of manning the borders, Nigeria Customs
Service, seems inadequate. Hameed Ali, the head of the Customs Service, in
turn, blamed it on the interconnectivity
of Nigeria’s borders with adjoining nations and asked Nigerians to prevail on the smugglers to stop
their “deadly activities.”
Then
in a total clampdown a few days ago, many Nigerians woke up to the news of the
closure of the country’s porous border with Benin which has served as a hub for
smuggled goods, especially rice. Explaining why his government made the move, Buhari
hinted that the decision was aimed
to curb activities of smugglers.
“Now that our people in the rural
areas are going back to their farms, and the country has saved huge sums of
money which would otherwise have been expended on importing rice using our
scarce foreign reserves, we cannot allow smuggling of the product at such
alarming proportions to continue,” Buhari said in an address to the Tokyo
International Conference on African Development in Yokohama, Japan.
Beyond the challenge of porous
borders, Ikenna Ukwuaba, a public policy analyst and lecturer of Agricultural
Economics at the University of Nigeria, thinks price is a major factor.
“Nigeria has not been able to grow rice in the way and manner that would reduce
the influx of foreign grown rice.”
“Foreign rice is cheaper than
locally grown rice. Price is a major factor in the demand and supply of any
commodity, and thus, Nigeria cannot effectively compete with other rice
producers in the world. Most of the equipment used in rice processing is
imported, and thus add to the cost of production, consequently putting Nigerian
farmers in a disadvantaged position.”
Checks
by this writer at Bodija and Dugbe markets located at the heart of Ibadan, in
southwestern Nigeria, confirmed
earlier reports that locally grown rice is more expensive than imported rice.
One of the dealers revealed that she makes more profit selling imported rice
than locally grown rice.
“The prices of the two are not the
same. The foreign ones are cheaper and we make more profit by selling them than
the local rice. Also, people buy the foreign more,” she said.
If
you're interested in writing for International Policy Digest - please send us
an email via submissions@intpolicydigest.org
Senator Marcos lists measures to alleviate plight of rice
farmers amid plunging farm gate prices
Updated September 2, 2019, 4:39 PM
By Mario Casayuran
Senator Imee R. Marcos has sought to
suppress the panic of local rice farmers over cheap imports that threaten to
reduce further the buying price of palay when harvest time begins late this
month.
“Let’s not exaggerate that the
situation of our rice farmers is hopeless and that little can be done,” Marcos
said.
Senator Imee R. Marcos
(Senator Imee R. Marcos official Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN)
(Senator Imee R. Marcos official Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN)
Marcos, a former Ilocos Norte
governor, noted that local farmers have lost as much as 41.6 percent of
their investment in August, with the farm gate price of palay plunging to as
low as P7 per kilo, compared to their average production cost of P12.
She asserted that a number of
near-term solutions were available to the government to at least bring back the
P17 support price of palay, like activating provisions in the six-month-old rice
tariffication law, tapping into existing support programs, and considering
solutions adopted by other Asian countries.
The lady legislator said that the
government could provide more funding support for rice farmers by activating
Section 7 of the Rice Tariffication Law, which allows the President to raise
the current 35 percent tariff on rice imports from Thailand and Vietnam.
The higher 180 percent tariff on
rice imports from non-members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(Asean) countries could also stand a further increase so that the government
could earn more revenue intended for rice farmer support, she explained.
“If South Korea and Japan have
imposed import tariffs of 500 percent to 800 percent to protect their local
farmers, why can’t we?” Marcos asked.
Marcos also cited how Singapore
prevents rice traders from manipulating prices by cornering 25 percent of
private rice imports when smuggling is detected, buying them at cost with a
five percent margin.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) also
has a calamity measure known as the Quick Response Fund (QRF) that could be
tapped to buy palay from local farmers and triple the government’s “currently
inadequate” rice buffer stock good only for 30 days, she said.
Recipients of the Pantawid Pamilyang
Pilipino Program (4P’s) can also receive rice subsidies instead of cash, with
rice bought from local farmers using the P28 billion that the social welfare
program provides.
Stricter phytosanitary requirements
could also be imposed on rice imports to slow down their entry and market
distribution, Marcos added.
The Philippines could also include
rice in a “special products list” according to World Trade Organization (WTO)
rules, which allows more flexible trade arrangements when livelihood
security is at risk, Marcos also said.
In a Senate agriculture committee
public hearing last week, Marcos already pressured the National Food Authority
(NFA) to immediately sell more than four million bags of imported rice stocked
in its warehouses and use expected proceeds of more than P6 billion to buy
palay from local farmers.
“We can save our rice farmers if we
could just be thorough in our tasks, work hard, and get things done ASAP,”
Marcos said.
Rice millers to build storage facilities
with ADB loan
Chea Vannak /
September 2, 2019:
Selected rice millers in
Battambang, Kampong Thom, and Prey Veng have been granted access to $10 million
loaned by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to build warehouses and silos.
The rice millers on Friday signed
an agreement with the Rural Development Bank (RDB) and the Climate Resilient
Rice Commercialisation Sector Development Programme (Rice-SDP) of the Ministry
of Economy and Finance.
Under the agreement, the millers
will build storage facilities using an ADB loan. The agreement is important in
achieving the government goal of reaching 1 million tonnes a year in rice
exports.
Warehouses and silos have been
built in Battambang, Kampong Thom, Prey Veng, and Takeo provinces as part of
RDB’s emergency fund, a government-led scheme to aid the sector.
RDB’s emergency fund consists of
$30 million. The loans must be repaid over ten years with a 5 percent interest
rate.
The initiative aims to boost
millers’ storage capacity during harvest season and bolster paddy prices for
farmers.
Scientists
find drought-resistance gene that could help barley survive climate change
Discovery has 'significant' ramifications
for the crop, a key ingredient in beer and whisky production, say researchers
More extreme and frequent droughts
have been recognised across the globe ( Ian Waldie/Getty
)
Scientists
have discovered a gene in barley that could help to make the crop more drought
resistant as climate
change threatens to create difficult growing conditions for farmers.A five-year study of the crop, a key ingredient in beer and whisky production, saw scientists isolate the specific gene responsible for drought resistance – HvMYB1.
The gene is one of 39,000 present in the plant, and when more prominently expressed can create crops that are better able to survive dry, hot conditions, according to testing led by Peter Morris of Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh.
The finding is expected to have important ramifications for cereal crops amid increasing challenges caused by climate change-related droughts.
In 2018, when a cold winter brought on by the “beast from the east“ weather phenomenon was followed by a long dry summer, barley harvest fell by 7.9 per cent compared to the average of the previous year.
At the time, NFU combinable crops board chairman Tom Bradshaw said the extreme weather events of the year had caused crop yields to become increasingly unpredictable.
And with more extreme and frequent droughts recognised across the globe, and a growing scientific consensus willing to point the blame for the exacerbated dry spells at climate change, scientists believe the new development could help see the crop grown well into the future.
Peter Morris from Heriot Watt University, who led the research team, said: “By increasing the expression of this particular gene in test plants and simulating drought conditions, we’ve been able to prove that plants in which HvMYB1 is more prominently expressed are able to survive prolonged periods of drought.
“This is a significant finding that will allow more drought resistance crops to be bred in the future.
“Drought is already impacting yields with the European cereals harvest hit particularly hard in 2018. A prolonged, dry and hot summer significantly impacted yields and quality.
“As climate change gathers pace and we experience more extreme seasons, it is essential we can maintain continuity of supply.”
The research was funded in part by the Scotch Whisky Association.
Mr Morris said that the finding was significant for key industries such as scotch whisky production, but also had important implications for the wider cereals industry including the production of wheat, maize and rice.
The interaction between scientists and cereal in the past has created answers to significant global problems – most notably by Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug, who created a semi-dwarf wheat which led to higher yields of the crop and reduced famine in countries including Mexico, India and Pakistan, becoming the most prevalent version of the crop on the planet today.
People with
insomnia can help Fig
By paradox
01.09.2019
Experts analyzed data of annual
medical examinations in 1848 men and women.
Japanese scientists have
discovered that eating rice can help regain the quality of sleep people who
suffer from its disorders.
This writes the Chronicle.info
with reference to medikforum.ru.
According to the study, the
report of which was published in the journal PLoS ONE, people, personal
experience faced with insomnia, it is useful to eat with rice dishes.
Researchers explain the hypnotic effect of rice on its ability to stimulate the
body’s production of tryptophan — the amino acid that causes drowsiness. The
brain converts tryptophan into serotonin and then into melatonin, causing
sleep.
Scientists were primarily
interested in indicators that serve as parameters of quality of sleep, in
particular, the amount of time required to fall asleep, sleep duration,
complete night of rest, use of drugs, feeling for the next day. In the result,
it was found: people who consumed more rice, measures on a scale of best sleep
– they sleep very well.
At the same time, the study
showed that drinking at dinner, pasta and noodles, unlike rice, can be a
precipitating factor of insomnia
Davao Region farmers urged to plant ‘NextGen’ rice
varieties
By
Che Palicte September
1, 2019, 5:07 pm
NEXTGEN
RICE VARIETIES. Jissel
Cardines, DA-11 NextGen focal and science research specialist, presents her
study on the next generation or NextGen rice varieties in front of Davao media
practitioners on August 27, 2019. The NextGen varieties are being pushed by the
Department of Agriculture in Davao Region (Region 11) because of being climate
resilient and resistant to pests and diseases. (PNA photo by Che
Palicte)
DAVAO CITY -- The Department of
Agriculture in Davao Region (Region 11) urged rice farmers in the region to
plant the next generation or ‘NextGen’ varieties.
Jissel Cardines, DA-11 NextGen
focal and science research specialist, told Philippine News Agency (PNA) on
Saturday (Aug. 31) that said varieties are climate-resilient and resistant to
pests and diseases.
He said it is an elite inbred and
hybrid rice lines developed to attain desirable traits such as high-yielding
ability, disease resistant, flood, drought, heat or salinity tolerant.
Cardines bared that elite rice
varieties were meticulously monitored from planting to harvesting with farmers
using their indigenous knowledge and experience.
Sensory evaluations were also
conducted to ensure that said varieties are also palatable and will be
acceptable to the consumers. Rice varieties (such as NSIC Rc 216, Rc160, Rc222)
bred by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and Rc 300 produced
by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) were the top four most
preferred rice varieties of Filipino farmers in irrigated lowland fields
nationwide, both for dry and wet seasons.
Cardines, who led the NextGen
research team, said their 2017-2019 field trials resulted to three emerging
varieties in terms of its superior quality and adaptability to most of the
region’s ecosystem. These are Rc222, Rc216 and Rc160 which are also recommended
by PhilRice.
However, Cardines also clarified
that inbred varieties such as Rc402, Rc436, Rc480, Rc 27 and special purpose
rice Rc218SR are also good varieties based on their studies, which is suitable
in Davao Region’s ecosystem.
“Cost on pesticides can be reduced.
As to the production, given the right source, amount and timing of fertilizer
application, favorable climate, and good irrigation NextGen varieties yield can
reach 9-10 tons per cropping for hybrid and 8-9 tons per cropping for inbred,”
she explained.
If not planting the NextGen
varieties, Cardines said the normal production ranges from 5-7 tons both hybrid
and inbred with the common practice of farmers on rice farm management.
On the other hand, Melani Provido,
DA research chief, said farmers including millers and traders should keep an
open mind on the emergence of the said varieties not only on its yield
performance but also its high acceptability among local rice consumers.
“We urged our partners from the
local government as well as our seed producers to promote these varieties for
our farmers to plant it and rise above the challenges that confront our local
rice industry,” Provido said in one of the recent Field Day on Next Generation
Rice Varieties.
NextGen is a product of recent
advances in plant breeding and subjected to multi-location testing both by
scientist and farmers to identify and select best performing varieties for
particular ecosystems.
It became the grain of hope where
the local farmers can thrive amid the entry of unlimited rice in the country.
Philippines delegates visit
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Aug 31, 2019, 7:12 AM; last updated: Aug 31, 2019, 7:12 AM
(IST)
Ludhiana: A team
of the Direct Seeded Rice Consortium (DSRC) members, led by Varinder Kumar,
IRS, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the Philippines, and
scientists from the IRRI South Asia Regional Centre, Varanasi, visited Punjab
Agricultural University (PAU). The delegates discussed water, soil health,
labour, environment, energy and food security issues in north-western states,
and the sustainability of rice cultivation. They explored all available options
(crop diversification, water use efficient varieties (non-basmati versus
basmati), crop establishment methods and irrigations methods) to sustain the
production. The progress and problems related to direct seeded rice in Punjab
was also discussed. The team visited the DSR experiments in the department of
plant breeding and genetics, department of agronomy and School of Agricultural
Biotechnology.
23 farm women
attend training programme
A four-day
training programme for the farmers and farm women of Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh,
began at the Skill Development Centre of the university under the guidance of
JS Mahal, director of extension education. A total of 23 participants attended
the course, which provided technical know-how of vegetable and fruit
cultivation, beekeeping and mushroom growing. TS Riar, associate director
(Skill Development), said the centre aimed at making farmers, farm women and
the rural youth self-reliant.
Lecture on baking skills
The department
of food science and technology organised a lecture-cum-demonstration on
commercial functional bakery products by professional baker Alpna Gupta from
M/s Maple Foods. Students from BTech food technology and other courses attended
the lecture. Gupta demonstrated the preparation of soft dough cookies using
different functional ingredients such as multigrain flour, oats, millets,
cookies utilising low GI sugar for diabetics. TNS
Minister says change of base price of rice paddy must not affect
2020 elections
31
August 2019
Minister says change of base price of rice paddy must not affect
2020 elections. Photo: Screenshot
Deputy Commerce Minister Aung Htoo
said that they were changing the base price of rice paddy and it was important
that this should not affect the forthcoming 2020 general elections.
He said these words at the opening
address delivered at the Rice Market and Price Reviewing Advisory Working
Committee meeting held at the commerce ministry office on August 30.
“The fixing of the paddy base price
is a very sensitive matter. We must fix a probable and practical price.
Overpricing is good but
underpricing will have implications in politics as we had had seen protest
demonstrations last summer over this matter. We must take utmost care in fixing
the paddy base price as next year is the year of the general elections,” Aung
Htoo said.
The Ministry of Agriculture,
Livestock and Irrigation will fix the paddy base price based on production costs,
and a survey conducted by asking questions of experienced traders and millers,
farmers, experts and academics.
Dy. Minister Aung Htoo added that
demand and supply of paddy in the market should also be taken into
consideration in fixing the new paddy base price.
“The new base paddy price must be
win-win situation for both producers and traders. The new price must be
calculated correctly and we must give assurance to this new base price. For
doing this we must submit our new base price calculated by this committee and
production costs to the leading committee to obtain their guidance,” the deputy
minister said.
The last paddy base price for 2018
was 500,000 kyats for 100 baskets of paddy. (1 basket = 46 lbs)
The Federation of Myanmar Rice and
Paddy Traders issued a press statement which says rice mills and rice traders
from this federation will buy the paddy at the base price when the regional
market price is below this base price.
Deputy Minister Aung Htoo said that
his commerce ministry would hold a price support fund of 15 billion kyats
withdrawn from the State until the end of the 2029 financial year as the paddy
price for this year is above the production costs.
The fixing and approval of this new
paddy base price is being done to be completed at the end of coming October and
it is not yet known how much it will be.
Nigeria’s surging food prices may rise faster on dollar ban
September 01 2019 01:06 AM
A vendor arranges bags of rice at the Wuse market in Abuja.
Nigeria’s plan to spend less on food by restricting access to dollars for
importers could have the opposite effect by threatening food supplies and
pushing up prices.
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