Friday, September 27, 2019

27th September,2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter


Odisha Sets Bumper Target For Paddy Procurement
By OB Bureau
September 26, 2019
Description: C:\Users\Mujahid\Downloads\Odisha Sets Bumper Target For Paddy Procurement - ODISHA BYTES_files\paddy-procurement-2.jpg Reading Time: 3 minutes
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Cabinet on Thursday approved the food and procurement policy of the state government to procure 60 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of Kharif and Rabi paddy within the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2019-20.
The main features of the policy are:
Target
—A tentative target of 41 LMT in terms of rice has been fixed. In terms of paddy, this comes to around 60 LMT.
—For Kharif, the tentative target for procurement of paddy would be 50 LMT and for Rabi 10 LMT. There is no restriction for procurement of any higher quantum if more paddy comes to mandis (procurement centres) from registered farmers. The Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare (FS & CW) Minister has been authorized to revise this target if needed.
— In  2018-19, the procurement of Kharif and Rabi was 65.49 LMT while in terms of rice, it was 44.42 LMT.
Procurement period
— While Kharif paddy will be procured from November 2019 to March 2020, the Rabi paddy will be procured from May to June 2020. The districts will schedule their procurement periods within these broad timelines. Last year, the time limit for Kharif procurement was till April-end.
Farmer registration
—Paddy will be procured from registered farmers in the online portal of FS & CW department. The farmers will have to provide the plot details for their registration. The plot details will be verified by integration with Bhulekh database maintained by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department.
—Aadhaar card shall be the only ID proof for a farmer to sell paddy.
—The procuring societies PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Society)/LAMPCS (Large Area Multi-Purpose Cooperative Societies (LAMPS)/WSHGs (Women Self-Help Groups/Pani Panchayat) shall endeavour to bring more and more small and marginal farmers and actual tillers including sharecroppers into the procurement fold so that they receive the benefit of the minimum support price (MSP).
Emphasis on actual tillers including sharecroppers, small and marginal farmers
There would be no imposition on farmers to keep aside a certain portion of their produce for personal consumption needs. This will facilitate entry of more small and marginal farmers and actual tillers of soil including sharecroppers into the procurement fold.
Minimum Support Price (MSP)
Paddy will be procured as per MSP declared by the Centre. The MSP of common variety will be Rs 1815 per quintal and the Grade-A variety Rs 1835 per quintal.
Quality of paddy
—Paddy to be procured must conform to FAQ (Fair Average Quality) specifications declared by the Centre. Besides, rice to be delivered by custom millers must conform to the FAQ norm.
—Purchase of FAQ paddy at prices below MSP shall be punishable under the Essential Commodities Act- 1955.
—Wide publicity will be made for the farmers to bring FAQ paddy to the procurement centres.
Role of OSCSC and other agencies
The Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC) will procure paddy in all districts. Besides, other state agencies, if necessary, will be deployed in rice-surplus districts only.
Role of PACS/LAMPCS/WSHGs/Pani Panchayats
—The Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC) and other agencies shall procure through PACS/LAMPCS/WSHGs/Pani Panchayats.
—More WSHGs shall be engaged in paddy procurement operations.
Payment of farmers’ dues
—Payment of farmers’ dues on account of paddy sold shall be transferred directly to their bank accounts through online mode.
—All such payments shall be made within 24 to 48 hours of the sale of paddy.
Participation of millers
100% delivery of CMR (custom milled rice) of the previous year by the custom millers is a precondition for participation in procurement operations in 2019-20 KMS. Rice millers, who owe any dues to the state agencies, shall not be allowed to participate in the procurement process.
Evacuation of surplus rice
Odisha requires 24 LMT of rice for its public distribution system (PDS). Surplus rice will be delivered to the central pool through the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
P-PAS
Paddy procurement process in 310 procuring blocks will be conducted through Paddy Procurement Automation System (P-PAS). There is no procurement in four blocks in view of lack of marketable surplus. The P-PAS-based computerised procurement process will reduce human intervention and will make the whole process simple, hassle-free and transparent.
—Procurement operations shall be conducted on a real-time online basis in procuring societies (PACS/LAMPCS/WSHGs/Pani Panchayats) where stable net connectivity is available.
Distress sale
The District administration/state agencies shall take all necessary steps to prevent distress sale of paddy.

Basmati exports growth to slow down in FY20: ICRA

On the supply side, basmati paddy prices continued to firm up for three years in a row.

By Sutanuka Ghosal, ET Bureau|
Sep 26, 2019, 02.42 PM IST
During the current fiscal, Basmati rice exports realisations stood at Rs. 75,589/MT for 4M FY2020, only 2 per cent higher than the previous fiscal.
Indian basmati exports are facing headwinds in the current fiscal, after two years of strong growth, said an ICRA note released on Thursday. The ICRA note says that with uncertainty over level of exports to Iran as well as likely moderation in average export realisations, basmati rice exports are expected to be muted in FY2020. This is after basmati rice exports in FY2019 were at an all-time high at Rs. 32,806 crore, primarily led by aggressive buying by Iran, that enabled healthy growth in volumes besides favourable pricing.

Elaborating further, Mr. Deepak Jotwani, Assistant Vice President, ICRA, says, “There is increased uncertainty over level of imports by Iran going forward in light of ongoing trade sanctions; and tighter pesticide residue norms continuing to weigh on exports to European Union (EU). Also, some changes in import policies proposed by Saudi Arabia are likely to come into effect by the end of the year. While EU is a comparatively smaller market, Iran and Saudi Arabia are leading destinations, accounting for 50-55 per cent of Basmati rice exports from India.”

During the current fiscal, Basmati rice exports realisations stood at Rs. 75,589/MT for 4M FY2020, only 2 per cent higher than the previous fiscal. This is considerably lower than the increase in export realisations by around 23 per cent in FY2018 and 12 per cent in FY2019. Also, on a comparative basis, Basmati rice exports in 4M FY2020 stood at Rs. 10,847 crore, 6 per cent lower than Rs. 11,575 crore in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal, largely attributable to lower import volumes by Iran, the leading importer of Basmati rice from India. Adds Mr. Jotwani, “This can be partly explained by aggressive pre-emptive buying by Iran in the first half of FY2019, due to anticipated impact on its global trade with re-imposition of US trade sanctions later in that year.”

According to ICRA, a more long-term concern is that the reserves (receivables against crude oil exports to India done earlier) being utilised by Iran for paying for its Basmati rice imports, are declining with crude oil imports by India from Iran discontinued since June 2019. This enhances the uncertainty on future trade with Iran, considering the ongoing trade sanctions. While some comfort can be drawn from the fact that basmati rice forms a part of the staple diet of Iran and Saudi Arabia; however, any considerable decline in level of imports by these countries can have a depressing impact on basmati rice prices and exert pressure on the industry participants.

On the supply side, basmati paddy prices continued to firm up for three years in a row. However, given the better earnings garnered by farmers in the last season, Basmati paddy production is estimated to be higher in the current fiscal. This coupled with delay in resumption/lower level of imports by Iran, if any, is likely to keep paddy prices under check in the current year’s procurement season. This will have a bearing on Basmati rice prices in the next calendar year as well as overall Basmati rice exports in FY2021.



Up, up goes price of rice


Description: Up, up goes price of rice
 Consumers have expressed concern as the price of rice has continued to increase, a development, which has left vendors and consumers bitter, JANE CHIJIOKE writes
Early this year, former Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Audu Ogbeh said the country had attained 90 per cent of rice production.
He said the country had moved from being a major importer of rice to being self-reliant in its production. He said it did not only have the capacity to feed itself, but had also become a major player in agricultural export to other countries.
Like Ogbeh, the Rice Farmers Association (RIFAN) said the country had attained a yearly production of eight million metric tonnes of rice, with a target of 18 million metric tonnes by 2023.
The contrast
These indices seemed to be farfetched from what was obtained in some markets visited. Rice vendors lamented the shortage. Since the border closure, they claimed that manufacturers and distributors had distributed short supply and the goods were rationed to get an even distribution in various markets across the country.
They said sometimes they were  out of goods because the manufacturers did not have rice to sell.  The shortfall they noted has been the major cause for the constant increase in price as manufacturers cannot meet up with the demand.
Barely three weeks after the closure of the border, the price of Nigerian rice skyrocketed from N12,000 – N13,300 to N15,000. At the moment, it is being sold for between N17, 000 and N19,000, depending on the brand. Brands, such as Famous, Lake Rice, Bigbull, Al-hamzad, Humza, and Olams Labana fall in this category.  A  derica of rice sells for N350 to N400. It is believed that, in few days, the price would go beyond N20,000.
Following the disappearance of foreign rice from the market, some rice vendors refill empty foreign rice bags with the local rice, branding it as ‘foreign’.  Such rice is sold for N21,000 and N23,000.
At various markets visited, traders and consumers lamented the increase. They said it had become difficult to eat rice, adding that the food item was going out of their reach. They appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to reopen the borders as the country was yet to attain self-sufficiency in food production.
For a consumer, Mrs. Gift Maduka, the increasing price of rice is a nightmare to cope with in her family of six.
Traders lamented that rice had become a scarce commodity.
A trader at Iddo Rice Market, Mr. Yemi Jelil said: “I requested for 25 bags of one brand of rice, they refused to sell to me. I only got 10 bags at N17,800 per bag. There is no rice. What they have is not sufficient. They ration the ones they have. It is not just about the popular brands, the scarcity affects all brands. When you request for a particular quantity, you get something lesser or, at worst, they tell you they don’t have.
“On our part the sellers, we make do with the little we have pending when we are able to get some to sell. So the scarcity inflates the price and this is greatly affecting us. Our customers are complaining. They buy at a particular price, by the time they come again, the price would have increased. There is no regulation on the price. Going by the way the price is rising, it will surely exceed N20, 000 in few days,” he said.
Another wholesale trader at the market, Mrs. Suliat said she had not been able to buy rice since last week.
“I have booked for supply since last week, but no response yet.  At the moment, I don’t have rice to sell. I am a wholesaler that supplies to other traders in the market. So, imagine me unable to get rice, so how much more for  traders who buy in little quantity from me to resell in the market?” When it eventually becomes available, the price will skyrocket.”
A trader at Orile Market, Iyana Ipaja, Lagos, who refused to mention his name, said the government ‘s initiative to force Nigerians to consume homegrown rice was not  realistic given that there is shortage of supply and production  nationwide.
Though a good initiative, he said the escalation of price was a testament to the short fall of basic requirements needed in the rice value chain.
“How many rice farmers or millers do we have? How much of rice is produced on a daily basis.  In   what ways is government making agriculture attractive for the young one to venture into?  Are there seed or soft loans for them? Do we have enough mills in the country? Is the government subsiding rice paddy or regulating  price? he asked.
He lamented that  a state with large  population, such as Lagos, depended on rice produced in the North. Also, the infrastructural deficit makes it difficult  to ferry  goods cheaply to their destinations.
He advised the government not to depend on data from rice farmers, millers and distributors but also monitor the markets to get feedbacks from sellers and even consumers.
This will help them to get robust information to use to boost rice production, he added.
There is no scarcity of rice
The Iyaloja of Daleko Rice Market, Mrs Jumlar Solaja, said there was no shortage of rice. She said new rice paddy would soon be out. She remarked that the market always received trailers of rice.
Asked why the price is constantly on the increase she said: “The issue is that many people are not on the farm. We need more hands in the farm because there is market for it. When we have enough hands producing rice, there would be enough rice paddies and the price will crash. This is our reality.”
On his part, the National Vice President of Rice Farmers Association (RIFAN), Mr Segun Atho, explained that there was no scarcity of rice as farmers were growing rice almost four times yearly.
He noted that there was surplus rice paddy. Asked why the price is high, he said: “I will not speak on that. What I am sure of is that there is rice in the country. Let us be patient with ourselves.”

Odisha targets 60 lakh MT paddy procurement in KMS 2019-20

PTI Bhubaneswar
Updated: 26-09-2019 20:39 IST Created: 26-09-2019 20:39 IST
Odisha government on Thursday fixed a target to procure 60 lakh metric ton of paddy during the kharif marketing season (KMS), 2019-20. This was decided at the Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
The cabinet approved the Food and Procurement Policy for kharif season, 2019-20 where it was decided that the farmers will get payments within 24 to 48 hours of the sale of paddy to the government. "A tentative target of 41 lak MT in terms of rice has been fixed. In terms of paddy this comes to around 60 LMT, 50 LMT during Kharif and 10 LMT in rabi season. There is no bar for procurement of any higher quantum if more paddy comes to mandies from registered farmers," Chief Secretary A K Tripathy told reporters after the meeting.
Tripathy said Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister has been authorised to revise target if the need so arises. In KMS 2018-19, paddy to the tune of 65.49 LMT was procured. This is equivalent to 44.42 LMT, the official said adding that paddy is procured for farmers by payment of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and is milled through Customers Millers.
The rice is supplied for state's public distribution system (PDS) and the surplus rice is delivered to the central pool through the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The state requires 24 LMT of rice for its PDS. Meanwhile, above 12 lakh farmers have already registered their names with Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation to participate in the paddy procurement, Tripathy said.
Kharif crop will be procured during the period between this November, 2019 and March, 2020 and Rabi crops to be procured between May to June, 2020. Tripathy said paddy will be procured at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) rate declared by the central government.
While the MSP for common variety is set at Rs 1815 per quintal, it is Rs 1835 per qiuintal for Grade - A variety. Odisha SCSC along with other agencies PACS, LAMPCS, WSHGs and Pani Panchayats will procure paddy in all the districts of the state.
Meanwhile, district administrations have been ordered to take all necessary steps to prevent distress sale of paddy. The Cabinet also approved a proposal for construction of an Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT) at Baramunda in Bhubaneswar.
bus terminal will be developed at Khandagiri for shifting of the the existing Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) depot from Baramunda. The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has been entrusted with the development of the project on EPC mode on the basis of a transparent bidding process. Bridge and Roof Company India Ltd, a central undertaking, will execute the project at a cost of Rs 160,66,54,000.
The Cabinet also approved eight other proposals, Tripathy said..
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Myanmar rice exports should focus on raising productivity, quality
SIDDHARTHA BASU AND SUDHANSHU SHARMA 27 SEP 2019
Description: Photo - EPA
Photo - EPA
Myanmar’s rice industry can be reignited by reforms. However, key challenges need to be addressed for the country to re-establish itself in the international market.
Myanmar once held the distinction of being the world’s largest exporter of rice, accounting for one-third of the global rice trade in 1934-35. However, post-independence nationalisation of the industry resulted in a vicious cycle where low-quality inputs led to low-quality outputs, which soon became uncompetitive in the international market.
Reforms to the sector and the wider economy over the past decade have led to a revival of Myanmar’s rice export industry. With a target set by the Myanmar Rice Federation to achieve four million tonnes in exports by 2020-21, it is vital to build on this momentum by addressing the critical challenges that remain for the industry.
Of the many challenges facing the rice sector in Myanmar, issues of productivity and quality are key.
Productivity along the supply chain
Low productivity at the farm level contributes to low yields in Myanmar’s rice industry. Many determinants of farm-level productivity relate to inputs, including seed, fertiliser and irrigation.
Since 1977, the Myanmar government has promoted high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of rice seed. However, the performance of HYVs in the country is frequently undermined by factors such as relying on harvested paddy for seed – which leads to seed degeneration over time – improper fertiliser use, insufficient irrigation and lack of drainage facilities.
For instance, the use of fertiliser is prevalent among Myanmar rice farmers but generally in low amounts, with the quality, cost and availability of fertilisers as frequent constraints. The situation is compounded by a lack of sound knowledge on the part of many farmers, with potential negative implications for local ecosystems.
For exports, productivity further downstream plays an equally important role. For example, in Myanmar’s case, low productivity at the mill level can be a severe constraint for firms that may otherwise be in a position to export.
Significant challenges that affect the productivity of Myanmar rice mills include outdated equipment and a lack of reliable electricity, with the latter also weakening the incentive for millers to upgrade their equipment. Generous state subsidies have contributed to the unreliable supply of electricity, by discouraging the construction of new power sources and maintenance of existing plants and transmission lines. The recent hike of electricity tariffs is a welcome development from this perspective.
The rice landscape in Myanmar is currently being transformed by mechanisation. While mechanisation can improve productivity, it can also be counterproductive without complementary upgrades along the value chain. This is evident, for example, in the fertiliser shortages that are now resulting from a decreased use of cattle in the Myanmar agriculture. Similarly, technology that reduces harvest time can inadvertently reduce the value of a harvest as well, as paddy that is left in a damp condition for a few days becomes unfit for consumption.
Myanmar’s rice export industry faces a quality paradox. Even though the country is a major cultivator of certain premium varieties, rice exports are predominantly of low-quality. More than 90 percent of rice exported in 2010-12 included at least 25pc broken rice. Worryingly, the world demand for low-quality rice is declining rapidly.
Insufficient income from exports of low-quality rice for farmers and other intermediaries coupled with falling market demand abroad makes it unsustainable to export low-quality rice for much longer. Thus, if Myanmar is to remain a viable rice exporter, the question of quality needs to be urgently addressed.
Looking ahead
Due to its power to formulate policies, provide public goods and set the agenda, the Myanmar government is uniquely positioned to facilitate investments in the rice sector.  Effective implementation of the Ministry of Commerce’s Rice Sector Strategy 2015-19 is critical if export targets are to be met.
Interventions would need to target the challenges faced by different actors simultaneously, with a broad understanding of how different actors and stages of the value chain interact with each other. In many cases, multiple stages of the value chain may be subject to common constraints, such as lack of access to credit.
The private sector can also provide specific and innovative solutions along the rice value chain, complementing the role of the government. Private investment, especially from overseas, could provide the domestic rice industry with much-needed capital, modern equipment, technical know-how and better management practices, while helping producers achieve economies of scale and link up with foreign distributors and buyers.
Siddhartha Basu and Sudhanshu Sharma are Country Economists for IGC Myanmar. The original edition of this piece was published on the IGC website. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors.

Government to procure 60L MT paddy this year

Friday, 27 September 2019 | PNS | BHUBANESWAR
    
A tentative quantum of 41 lakh metric tonnes of rice (60 lakh MT in terms of paddy) will be procured from farmers of the State during the Kharif Marketing Season (KMC) 2019-20 as per the Food and Procurement Policy approved by the State Cabinet met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the Lok Seva Bhavan here on Thursday.
While 50 lakh MT of Kharif paddy would be procured between November 2019 and March 2020 and 10 LMG of Rabi paddy will be bought from farmers from May to June 2020. for Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2019-2020.
The Government, however, said that there is no bar for procurement of any higher quantum of paddy if more crops come to mandis.
Farmers were earlier registered through the online portal of FS and CW Department. Aadhaar will be the only ID proof for a farmer to sell paddy crops to the Government. Procuring societies will endeavor to bring more and more small and marginal farmers into the procurement fold.
The crops will be procured at the minimum support price (MSP) declared by the Centre. The MSP for common variety is set at Rs 1,815 per quintal and for Grade- A variety is Rs 1,835 per quintal.
The procured paddy must conform to FAQ specifications. Purchase of paddy below MSP will be a punishable offence under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
The Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation will procure paddy through PACS, LAMPCS, WSHGs and Pani Panchayats in all the districts of the State. More WSHGs will be engaged this year.
Payments to the farmers will be made between 24 and 48 hours of the sale of crops at the Mandis. The payment will be made directly to their bank accounts.
As Odisha requires 24 LMT of rice for its PDS, the surplus amount will be delivered to central pool through the Food Corporation of India. Hundred per cent delivery of custom milled rice (CMR) of previous KMS by custom millers is a precondition for participation in procurement operations in KMC 2019-20.
Rice millers that owe any dues to State agencies shall not be allowed to participate in the procurement process. District administrations and State agencies would take necessary stops to prevent distress sale of paddy.    


Grains in rain

New study opens the door to flood-resistant crops

Scientist collecting tissue samples from rice roots submerged underwater.
Of the major food crops, only rice is currently able to survive flooding. Thanks to new NSF-funded research, that could soon change — good news for a world in which rains are increasing in both frequency and intensity.The research, published in Science, studied how other crops compare to rice when submerged in water. The study found that a wild-growing tomato, a tomato used for farming, and a plant similar to alfalfa all share at least 68 families of genes that are activated in response to flooding.
Rice was domesticated from wild species that grew in tropical regions, where it adapted to endure monsoons and waterlogging. Although some of the genes involved in that adaptation exist in the other plants, they do not switch on when the roots are being flooded.
“We hope to take advantage of what we learned about rice in order to help activate genes in other plants that could help them survive waterlogging,” said study lead Julia Bailey-Serres, a University of California, Riverside geneticist.
The biologists looked at the genes in root tip cells to understand whether and how the genes were activated when covered with water and deprived of oxygen.
It’s the first time a flooding response has been studied in a comprehensive way across different species, the researchers said.
“These exciting outcomes show that long-term commitment to basic research has incredible potential for real-world impact,” says Anne Sylvester, a program officer in NSF’s Division of Integrative Organismal Systems. “To enable the discovery of how roots respond to flooding, these scientists developed tools and resources that are now available to all plant researchers and that have the potential to improve crop resilience.”
/Public Release. View in full here.

Protect coastal, island communities now as seas rise, scientists urge

26 September 2019
LAURIE GOERING
Melting of the world's glaciers and warming of its oceans are fuelling rising seas, fiercer storms, worsening water shortages and other risks that could force millions from their homes or leave them hungrier and poorer, scientists warned on Wednesday.
Some of the threat could be averted both by rapidly slashing climate-heating emissions and speeding up efforts to adapt to the coming changes, using everything from sea-walls to early warning systems for extreme weather, they said.
Description: Hurricane Irma
In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Jacksonville, US, in 2017. PICTURE: Wade Austin Ellis/Unsplash
But "we may be losing this race" to put protective measures in place in time, warned Hoesung Lee, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN-backed panel of climate scientists.
Coastal communities, particularly in the tropics and on low-lying islands, as well as people dependent on glacier melt for their water are most at risk, scientists said in a new report outlining how climate change could affect oceans and ice.
The report, crafted by more than 100 scientists from 36 countries, said 680 million people live in low-lying coastal zones worldwide, a figure expected to rise to one billion by 2050.
As sea level rises - driven increasingly by accelerating melting of the world's ice sheets as well as by ocean warming - those people will face more frequent flooding and harsher storms that drive powerful seawater surges inland, the scientists said.
Some areas that once flooded only every 100 years or so - particularly on low-lying islands that are home to 65 million people - could face annual flooding by 2050, they warned, unless strong protective measures are put in place.
"This could create very vexing questions about the habitability of some areas of the world," said Debra Roberts, a South African scientist and a co-author of the report.
Zita Sebesvari, who studies environmental vulnerability at the United Nations University, said many communities in Asia's Mekong and Ganges-Brahmaputra river deltas are already seeing their land become salt-laden and infertile.
"People try to adapt, to introduce shrimp farming, but it's a riskier undertaking than rice farming - and once land is converted to saline water, it's hard to reuse as a rice field," said Sebesvari, who looked at sea-level rise for the report.
Cities could be protected in part with sea-walls, she said. But costs and practicality mean more rural areas would likely have to rely on other solutions, such as restoration of mangrove forests, which shelter fish and slow storm surges.
However, measures such as protecting and planting mangroves are only likely to be effective if efforts to cut emissions are hugely accelerated, said Maarten van Aalst, a climate scientist and director of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre.
"At some point there will be no easy solutions," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "There will be no nice options out there anymore if the climate changes too much."
Most work to improve safety for at-risk communities still comes only after a big disaster, he said, while much construction - including post-crisis rebuilding efforts - does not adequately take growing climate threats into account.
Investing in cutting those risks makes economic sense - but elected officials who do not anticipate a disaster during their term in office often find it more politically expedient to spend on other things, he said.
New York - which hosted the UN secretary-general's climate summit on Monday - is one city moving to cut its risk, in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
It is building a $US10 billion system of berms, removable barriers and new, higher land at the fringes of lower Manhattan in an attempt to protect itself from flooding and storms.
Germany, similarly, is constructing a series of dikes along the North Sea coast, designed in a way that they can be elevated in the future if sea-level rise exceeds current expectations, said Sebesvari of the UN University.
But "many other cities in the world cannot afford that," noted van Aalst.
The cost barrier is even more serious for island states with relatively small economies and resources but long coastlines, said Helene Jacot des Combes, an IPCC report author who lives in the Marshall Islands.
"You can build sea-walls and dikes, but that means very high levels of investment - we're taking about millions of dollars," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"Managed retreat" - which means moving people away from risky coastal areas, a response already happening in some countries - was one option, she said, but only "if you have safe land to retreat to", a problem for small islands.
Valerie Masson-Delmotte, a French scientist and IPCC report author, said the number of people who could be forced from their homes by rising seas and other risks was unclear and depended on "the adaptation solutions that are available - or not".
Increasingly rapid glacier melt - particularly of smaller tropical glaciers from Peru to Indonesia - also is likely to lead to worsening water shortages that will affect farming, hydropower and even drinking water supplies, scientists said.
"Changes in water availability will not just affect people in these high mountain regions but also communities much further downstream," said Panmao Zhai, a Chinese author of the report.
Stepped-up efforts to share and manage scarce freshwater, particularly from rivers that flow across borders, will be key to keeping growing risks in check, he added.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan warned at the UN climate summit this week that his country gets 80 per cent of the river water it depends on from glacier melt.
"If temperatures keep rising the way they are, we face catastrophe" as water supplies decline, he said.

Open Day: 9k visitors throng CCMB

HYDERABAD , SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 23:35 IST
UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 23:35 IST
CSIR-CCMB had more than 9,000 visitors, mostly school children, on its ‘Open Day’ celebrating the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)’s Foundation Day on Thursday. Every year, the life sciences research institute opens its gates for everyone to showcase and discuss its research.
Exhibits explaining the fundamental science behind processes occurring in different kinds of living cells – microbial, plants and animals were put up with scientists initiating discussions on genes in individuals to genomes of populations, and the state of the art techniques to study these.
They showed how proteins, the tiny machines inside our cells, can be visualised and studied. Many of the socially relevant technologies developed by CCMB scientists like DNA fingerprinting and improved rice varieties, were discussed. There was also a booth to encourage entrepreneurship in life sciences among young students also those talking about antibiotic resistance and climate change.
“We celebrate our Foundation Day as a festival of science where our students and staff interact with visitors to convey them the message of science and scientific temper”, said Rakesh K. Mishra, Director, CCMB.

Agricultural innovations help Cambodian

lp from American researchers, they’re growing nutritious crops that boost their income.

By Brenda Dawson, UC Davis
SEPTEMBER 26, 2019  
They say a farmer’s work starts before dawn, but in Cambodia’s Battambang province farmers work together late into the night to prepare their vegetable harvest for the overnight bus ride to the capital city’s markets.
A metal barn that was empty hours ago is now filled with colorful crates, buckets and bags of fresh produce—leafy greens, nubby roots and heads of cabbage—and neighbors bustling to fill boxes. This is a vegetable packinghouse, where members of the Tasey Samaki Agricultural Cooperative collectively market their horticultural crops to wholesale distributors and specialty retail stores.
Spotlight on Cambodia
These small-scale farmers have been working with researchers from the University of California, Davis, and Cambodia’s Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) to test new methods, like the packinghouse, for growing and selling produce locally. Their work is part of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture, a global network focused on fruit and vegetable research that is led by UC Davis and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The impact of these innovations in Cambodia has been huge. 
Karen LeGrand
“The impact of these innovations in Cambodia has been huge,” said Karen LeGrand, a UC Davis researcher whose work focuses on food safety and security. “Since we started working here 10 years ago, we’ve seen such a change in the food system.”
These innovations are helping farmers benefit from growing and selling horticultural crops, amid rising recognition that fruits and vegetables are not only critical to meet human nutrition needs, but can help farmers in developing countries lift themselves out of poverty.
Description: https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=http://www.washingtonpost.com/brand-studio/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/img_1a_parallax_nethouse.jpg&w=988Many Cambodian farmers have started to grow their vegetables inside nethouses where the plants can be physically protected from pests and damaging torrential rain. Horticulture Innovation Lab researchers first proposed nets for pest management in Cambodia based on experience in Kenya where the nets were low to the ground, but farmers here wanted to be able to walk inside. Photo credit: Max Fannin for UC Davis

A creative solution for growing high-quality vegetables

More than 75% of Cambodians live in rural areas, and agriculture accounts for about a quarter of gross domestic product. Even so, the country currently imports more vegetables than it harvests.
“After the Khmer Rouge, the main farming focused only on rice,” said Borarin Buntong, director of RUA’s Division of Research and Extension. “But now people are not just thinking about rice anymore. They’re thinking about vegetables, they’re thinking about fruit. Many families now can have this kind of produce in their daily life. This is a big change for Cambodia.”
Converting rice fields into vegetable fields has allowed farmers to diversify their operations with high-value crops. Studies have shown that profits from vegetables can be 3-14 times higher per hectare than from growing rice.
Description: https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=http://www.washingtonpost.com/brand-studio/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/img_1b_inline_UCDresearcher.jpg&w=640UC Davis researcher Karen LeGrand, center, discusses new features of a nethouse on a farm near Battambang with graduate students from Cambodia's Royal University of Agriculture. Photo credit: Max Fannin for UC Davis
To strengthen vegetable supply chains, the international researchers introduced farmers to using nets to protect their crops from pests. The idea came from Horticulture Innovation Lab researchers and French CIRAD scientists working in Kenya, where farmers use mosquito nets to cover vegetable plants. In Cambodia, the concept transformed into “nethouses” so farmers could walk inside to care for their crops. The nethouses reduce the need for costly pesticides and protect crops from torrential rain, allowing farmers to grow vegetables year-round, even in the rainy season.
One local family who has benefited from using a nethouse is Cheang Sophat and wife Hem Champa. The added profits made it possible to send their second child, a daughter, to college, and they are confident they can provide this opportunity for their 14-year-old as well.
Description: https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=http://www.washingtonpost.com/brand-studio/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/img_2a_parallax.jpg&w=988A worker at Natural Agriculture Village in Phnom Penh brings in vegetables to begin repackaging for distribution to grocery stores. The company's 'safe vegetable' displays in stores often include images of nethouses to explain the growing practices that yields premium, pesticide-free vegetables. Photo credit: Brenda Dawson/UC Davis

Tapping into a growing market

The absence of pest bites in the nethouse means higher-quality vegetables. And produce marketers—whose customers want “safe vegetables” that aren’t contaminated with harmful chemicals, toxins or pathogenic microbes—are willing to pay higher prices for premium, pesticide-free vegetables.
Bun Sieng is one such marketer. Her company, Natural Agriculture Village, decorates their grocery displays with photos of nethouses and works closely with farmers to meet demand.
Customers in supermarkets are willing to pay more when they trust the quality.
Bun Sieng
“Customers in supermarkets are willing to pay more when they trust the quality,” she said. “I focus on buying from smallholder farmers.”
It’s these market connections that have helped make nethouses a popular innovation among Cambodian farmers. From the first experimental models about six years ago, nethouses have spread through multiple provinces and even spurred a start-up company to build them for farmers.
“If you look at the demand [for safe vegetables] … the supply does not yet meet those demands,” said Lang Seng Horng, founder of a wholesale company called Remic. “But we see the trend of safe vegetables, the supply increases from year to year.”
For many Cambodians connected to this project—whether farmers, scientists, or marketers—the work is personal and driven by an urge to improve the country’s food system for their compatriots.
Description: https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=http://www.washingtonpost.com/brand-studio/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/img_2b_inline_bicycle.jpg&w=640A girl rides her bike along a smooth new village road and past a nethouse under construction, both investments made possible by her family's profits from vegetables sold through the packinghouse cooperative. Photo credit: Max Fannin for UC Davis
“I enjoy working with smallholder farmers because when we see their commitment, when we see they are hard-working, it impresses me,” Bun Sieng said. “I’m not only the market, but I’m also the consumer. I also need safe vegetables. We commit to improving the farmers’ livelihood and to bringing safe vegetables to the market.”
Description: https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=http://www.washingtonpost.com/brand-studio/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/img_3a_parallax_loading.jpg&w=988Lach Song, center left, guides a box of freshly packed vegetables onto a cart to wait for a late-night bus pickup that will deliver the farmers' vegetables from this packinghouse near Battambang to markets in Phnom Penh. Photo credit: Max Fannin for UC Davis

Gaining opportunities after harvest

Increasing fruit and vegetable availability is not just about growing more, but also how crops are cared for after harvest—a need the packinghouse concept helps address. At night, the fresh vegetables are washed, air dried, sorted, trimmed and packaged for their ride to the city.
“With this project, the postharvest loss reduction is notable,” said Buntong, whose academic specialty is postharvest technology, such as packaging and cold storage.
Description: https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=http://www.washingtonpost.com/brand-studio/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/img_3b_inline_bittermelon.jpg&w=640Farmers Nob Non, right, and Cheang Sophat, left, move unsold bittermelon into the packinghouse cold room to keep the vegetables fresh for future sale. Non is president of the cooperative that owns the packinghouse and also the first farmer to be certified for 'good agricultural practices', a certification used commonly in export products and that is made possible by improved technologies at the packinghouse. Photo credit: Max Fannin for UC Davis
The cold storage room—central to the packinghouse design—is built with a CoolBot, a device that tricks an air conditioner into achieving colder temperatures and costs less to buy and maintain than commercial refrigeration. Buntong first heard about the CoolBot from Horticulture Innovation Lab colleagues, who have used this tool in other developing countries.
“Cooling is the most important element of keeping fruits and vegetables fresh, so we must find ways to establish a cold chain in emerging economies,” said Elizabeth Mitcham, director of the Horticulture Innovation Lab and postharvest specialist with the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. “I’ve heard too many people write off fruits and vegetables as just too perishable. But the interest in CoolBots and cold storage in Cambodia is one example that shows this is solvable.”
I've heard too many people write off fruits and vegetables as just too perishable. 
Elizabeth Mitcham
Improved technologies and practices at the packinghouse also mean farmers who use the facility can become certified in “good agricultural practices” or GAP, an international food safety standard commonly used in export markets. Not coincidentally, the country’s first GAP-certified farmer is one of the leaders of this packinghouse.
“Now many of the farmers … can invest in new innovations for their farming,” said Buntong. “Because they have a nethouse for safe vegetable production, the market trusts in [them].”
Horticultural crops are often a way for farmers to earn quick money via short crop cycles on small plots of land, but the strong market connections for Cambodian farmers mean consistent income too.
Take farmer Chho Bunteoun for example. He’s earned more income from the packinghouse cooperative and used initial profits to improve the village road by his house, making it less muddy and smoother for transporting crops. He’s building a nethouse now and is so confident in its success that he’s making plans for a second one.
“If there is a chance for you to come back here again, this road may be even nicer and my house may look nicer,” he said in Khmer. “I will start growing [more] vegetables and constructing [another] new nethouse, step by step.”
Description: https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=http://www.washingtonpost.com/brand-studio/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/img_4a_parallax_family.jpg&w=988Cheang Sophat, left, and wife Hem Champa, far right, were able to send their second child to college after earning more money from vegetables grown in a nethouse. The couple is confident they will be able to send their third child, 14-year-old Phat Daroth, second from right, to college as well. Photo credit: Max Fannin for UC Davis

With local science to feed the future, innovations spread

The partnership between UC Davis and RUA has also advanced science at both institutions. More than 300 students have worked on the project over the years, and the high-profile research has helped the Cambodian university gain recognition among funding agencies and donors.
The collaborative methods used by UC Davis researchers have been key to the international research project’s success.
“They do not give us the solution directly, but we work to solve the problem together. Like on-the-job training, it’s a very good approach for me,” Buntong said. “Because of this approach, the Royal University of Agriculture is prepared to continue supporting the kind of technical innovation that we have been working toward for the last 10 years.”
Because of this approach, the Royal University of Agriculture is prepared to continue supporting the kind of technical innovation that we have been working toward for the last 10 years. 
Borarin Buntong, Director of the Division Research and Extension for RUA
Source: LEI Wageningen University and Research Centre
To learn more about how UC Davis researchers are helping solve global nutrition and poverty,
visit horticulture.ucdavis.edu
visit food.ucdavis.edu
Story by Brenda Dawson/UC Davis. Video by Max Fannin for UC Davis. Produced by John Mounier/UC Davis.
This content is paid for by UC Davis and published by WP BrandStudio. The Washington Post newsroom was not involved in the creation of this content. Learn more about WP BrandStudio.
Credits: By Brenda Dawson, UC Davis.

Tatas pad up for genetic research play

Vishwanath Kulkarni  Bengaluru | Updated on September 26, 2019  Published on September 26, 2019
Description: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/portfolio/stock-fundamental-analysis-india/6njneq/article26168108.ece/alternates/WIDE_435/PO04microscope

Group’s philanthropic venture to focus on health and agriculture

As uncertainty continues over the adoption of genetically modified (GM) crops in the country, the Tatas plan to establish a presence in the area of genetic research with a focus on human health and agriculture.
The Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS), funded by a grant from the Tata Trust, has started operations in Bengaluru, where it is building research laboratories. Conceived as a philanthropic project, a chapter of TIGS has been set up at the University of California San Diego (UCSD).
“We have started building the laboratory and are in the initial stages. Anything that comes out of this will be philanthropic in nature. It is for the people of India and, more importantly, the research will be done by the Indians,” said Shaibal Kumar Dasgupta, Group Leader, TIGS.
TIGS has already set up a team of 35 scientists and is recruiting more. “We have also started capacity-building programmes, recruited some 12 scientists and sent them to the University of California to do post doctoral research and develop their expertise. They will be trained in the area of human ethics. They will come back to India to develop new technologies here,” Dasgupta said.
Description: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/3zxr97/article29522602.ece/alternates/FREE_615/BL27pg1Agrifocusresearchcol
TIGS has identified four areas of focus (see chart). “The idea is to have an advanced genetic solution for all these, but not through a transgenic approach,” he said. “We are trying to understand the vector profile and will be carrying out a lot of studies including DNA sequencing before we find a true approach. We are collaborating with the Central University of Tamil Nadu for mosquito vector surveillance.”
In the area of antibiotic resistance, TIGS is collaborating with Amrita University. In stem cell research, where TIGS is hoping to come out with genetic interventions for diseases such as thalassemia and sickle cell anaemia, it is collaborating with Jawaharalal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.
In agriculture, rice has been identified as the main focus area for research at TIGS. “Rice being the principal food crop of India, needs a lot of intervention to improve its quality in terms of pest resistance, stress tolerance and all those areas. We will be using technologies such as gene editing and CRISPR Cas9 to develop newer traits of rice that will be resistant to drought and rice blast (a fungal disease),” Dasgupta said, adding that the institute may look at other crops for research going forward.
The Tatas investment in genetic research in agriculture assumes significance amid both domestic and multinationals scaling down investments in recent years due to the stalemate over the commercialisation of GM crops. “The fact that Tata Trust is supporting genetic research is good news, especially in agriculture research where the industry morale is down,” an ag-biotech player said.
Published on September 26, 2019

The 2019 Think Rice Road Trip Kicks Off with a Nod to an American Icon  


ARLINGTON, VA -- More than two centuries ago, an adventurer named John Chapman began planting apple trees in our young nation.  Legend has it that this pioneer, known as "Johnny Appleseed," wanted to introduce Americans to the apples he so loved and the cider you could make from them.
 
In a nod to this legend, USA Rice is using Johnny Appleseed Day, September 26, to kick off the second Think Rice Road Trip.
 
Like Johnny before them, the USA Rice team wants Americans to appreciate a delicious and nutritious U.S.-grown commodity and eat more U.S.-grown rice.  So, they are hitting the road in a 2019 Ford F-150 festooned with rice images and messages, and to make it easier for consumers to eat more rice, giving away Aroma rice cookers and U.S.-grown rice being generously donated by members of the USA Rice Millers Association!
 
"Rice is a staple for most of the world's population and even though it is very popular in the United States, we think Americans can, and should, eat more U.S.-grown rice," said Cameron Jacobs, manager of domestic promotion for USA Rice.  "This road trip is going to remind people that rice goes with virtually every type of cuisine and to kick start their creativity, we're giving away 3,000 Aroma rice cookers and one- and two-pound bags of U.S.-grown rice!  It's not the only way to cook rice, but it does make it pretty easy!"
 
The first leg of the trip starts in Delaware with the team setting up at the Westside Farmers Market in Wilmington from 3pm-6pm.  On Friday, September 27, the truck will start the day making a donation at Wilmington's Ministry of Caring food pantry before heading to the Glasgow Farmers Market in Newark from 4pm-6pm.  On Saturday, September 28, you will find the Think Rice truck at the Milford Farmers Market from 9am-10am, and then at the Southern Delaware Wine and Music Festival in Millsboro from noon until 4pm.  Everyone who comes in contact with the truck team will leave with rice facts, cooking tips, recipes, a brand new Aroma rice cooker, U.S.-grown rice, and more!
Subsequent legs will take the Think Rice truck through Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC, before ending up back in rice country in Little Rock, Arkansas, for the 2019 USA Rice Outlook Conference in December.

As was the case last year, the team is also selling raffle tickets for a chance to win the truck once the tour is over.  Tickets can be purchased 
here.

New "Think Rice" truck visits Delaware this week
By KELLI STEELE  SEP 25, 2019
Description: Delaware is known for chicken, but there’s a group coming to the First State this week that wants Delawareans to get more familiar with rice.

Delaware is known for chicken, but there’s a group coming to the First State this week that wants Delawareans to get more familiar with rice.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
When you think of rice, Delaware probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind. But USA Rice, the U.S. rice industry’s national trade association hopes to change that this week.
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Rice is a staple for most of the world’s population, and very popular in the U.S.
But USA Rice vice president of domestic promotion Michael Klein says there’s a big misconception about the rice Americans eat, “A lot of people don’t realize that rice is grown in the U.S. and it is actually. The vast majority of the rice that we eat here in the United States is actually grown here. Most people assume that it’s imported from Asia and it’s not.”
So Klein says his group is dispatching its “Think Rice” truck to educate people, and it kicks off its Second Ride with Rice Road Trip Thursday in Delaware, “So in an attempt to kind of make people aware of the fact that rice is grown here in the U.S. and you can buy local, and most times you are - actually whether you realize it or not - we got this truck and we decorated it with some nice food images.”
Klein says the “Think Rice” truck’s trip last year started in the heart of rice country - Crowley, Louisiana, “And the reality is - rice is really one of the most popular foods. And it’s really a staple in almost every culture, whether it’s Asian food, or Afro-Caribbean food, or African or Latino - ya know - rice is just found in every culture. And so, as a staple for the world’s population, two-thirds of all the calories eaten in the world come from rice - why not start in Delaware this time?” 
The “Think Rice” truck is at the Wilmington’s Westside Farmers Market Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. The first 60 people to visit get a new rice cooker and rice recipes. 
The truck stops at the Glasgow Farmers Market Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. and the Milford Farmers Market Saturday from 9 to 10 a.m.  It visits the Southern Delaware Wine and Music Festival in Millsboro Saturday from noon to 4.

The California Rice Podcast
Rice is a staple food for the world. Billions of people eat it several times a day. It’s part of the culture of many countries. However, many people are unaware of the valuable role California plays in rice production. Join host Jim Morris to learn the largely-untold stories that make California rice prominent around the world, from producing virtually all of America’s sushi rice to providing habitat for millions of birds. Ingrained, the California Rice Podcast, will provide in-depth coverage of the people and subjects that make this industry so uniquely valuable.

Rice cooker giveaways to take place Sept. 28


September 25, 2019
USA Rice, the national trade association for the U.S. rice industry, has kicked of its second Ride With Rice road trip.
The USA Rice team wants Americans to appreciate a delicious and nutritious U.S.-grown commodity and eat more U.S.-grown rice. So they are hitting the road in a new pickup truck festooned with rice images and messages, and to make things easier for consumers, giving away Aroma rice cookers and U.S.-grown rice.
The Think Rice truck will be at the Milford Farmers Market from 9 to 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 28, and then at the Southern Delaware Wine and Music Festival from noon until 4 p.m.
"Rice is a staple for most of the world's population, and even though it is very popular in the United States, we think Americans can and should eat more U.S.-grown rice," said Michael Klein, vice president of domestic promotion for USA Rice. "This road trip is going to remind people that rice goes with virtually every type of cuisine, and to kick-start their creativity, we're giving away 3,000 Aroma rice cookers, and one- and two-pound bags of U.S.-grown rice! It's not the only way to cook rice, but it does make it pretty easy.”
The team will be using #ThinkRice on social media and playing interactive trivia games to give followers a chance to win an Aroma rice cooker.

Rice exports $265M in first eight months

Thou Vireak | Publication date 25 September 2019 | 22:18 ICT
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Description: Content image - Phnom Penh Post
Cambodian rice exports to international markets were worth more than $265 million in the first eight months of the year, said Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) secretary-general Lun Yeng. Hean Rangsey
Cambodian rice exports to international markets were worth more than $265 million in the first eight months of the year, said Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) secretary-general Lun Yeng.
Yeng told The Post on Wednesday that the Kingdom exported more than 340,000 tonnes of rice during the period. Rice exports last year, he said, reached more than 620,000 tonnes or more than $473 million.
CRF data shows Cambodia exported 342,080 tonnes of rice in the first eight months of this year – up 0.13 per cent year-on-year. However, exports to European markets were down 32.09 per cent, or 120,085 tonnes.
Figures show that during the period, the Kingdom exported 132,947 tonnes of rice to China, up 54.38 per cent year-on-year; 43,317 tonnes to Asean, up 12.68 per cent year-on-year, and 45,731 tonnes the US, Canada, Australia and African countries, up 13.63 per cent year-on-year.
Cambodian rice exports to the European market have continued to decline since the implementation of European safeguard measures earlier this year, which imposed nearly $187 per tonne in tariffs on the Kingdom, said Yeng, giving a figure lower than the €175 ($192) levy set by the EU for this year.
“Although the volume of rice exported to the EU had declined, revenue increased because our fragrant rice is more expensive than white rice,” he said.
He said in efforts to boost rice exports to Europe, the CRF plans to meet directly with European farmers in the next month to find a solution.
“First, the CRF will try to coordinate with European farmers. We recognise that our white rice has an impact on them, but our fragrant rice does not affect them because they do not produce fragrant rice.
“We will try to persuade Europe [the EU] not to continue taxing our rice after the end of the [three-year] term,” he said.
In the first half of this year, Cambodia exported 247,769 tonnes of rice worth over $188.29 million, up 24.45 per cent year-on-year, a Ministry of Commerce report shows. Destination markets include the US, Europe, Canada, China and Asean countries.


Cambodia starts project to improve rice output

Description: img
Date:


 (MENAFN)

A 5 year project going by the name RiceTechCambodia was started in Cambodia on
Wednesday as to develop the organic rise production in the country.

Veng Sakhon, agriculture minister in Cambodia, went to the launching ceremony of the projects that is going to be put into action by Sanorice, Rice, Oxfam, Development and Partnership in Action, Larive International and the Provincial Department of Agriculture of Mondulkiri, funded by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.

The minister was quoted saying that "The project aims to improve the livelihood of small-scale farmers by helping them to have organic rice certified, increase their productivity, enhance their yield and ensure premium price to the market in Europe".

He also added that the project will be implemented in Mondulkiri province to reach 2,400 small-scale rice farmers.

Bumpy transition aside, rice trade liberalization a good reform–ADB



Description: https://39byfk2z09ab1y1bzj1l5r82-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/top02-061319-696x438.jpgSacks of imported rice are delivered to a rice seller at San Andres district in Manila in this file photo.
AMID the decline in the average farm-gate price of unhusked rice, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reiterated its support for the rice trade liberalization law, saying it remains “a good reform.”
In a press briefing on Wednesday, ADB Country Director for the Philippines Kelly Bird said agricultural reforms, such as Republic Act 11203 or the rice trace liberalization
law, would “naturally” encounter bumpy roads.
Bird noted that the law is not only concerned with rice imports, but is also focused on expanding mechanization, which can lead to higher agricultural productivity.
“These reforms are fairly new. And when these kinds of agricultural reforms are implemented, there’s going to be a complex transition stage where it’s going to be a little bumpy in the first few years,” Bird said.
Bird recalled that when his native country, New Zealand, decided to implement agricultural reforms in the 1980s, his country went through a complex transition period.
However, once the situation stabilized, Bird said the reforms led to higher growth and agricultural productivity. This is an important lesson that the Philippines must keep in mind, given its low farm productivity.
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Assistant Secretary Mercedita A. Sombilla told the BusinessMirror that the recent decline in the average farm-gate price of palay was due to “transitional adjustments” caused by the implementation of RA 11203.
Sombilla also said this may have also been brought about by the delay in the government’s release of the P10 billion for the Rice CompetitivenessEnhancement Fund (RCEF) fund this year.
The RCEF, derived from tariffs collected from rice imports, is supposed to bankroll reforms in the rice sector.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the average farm-gate price of unhusked rice fell to an average of P8 per kilogram to P10 per kilogram in August. Palay is usually more expensive during the lean months of July to September, when harvest declines significantly.
National Statistician and Civil Registrar Dennis S. Mapa told reporters in the third and fourth week of August, the PSA’s price monitoring revealed low prices for wet palay, particularly in Luzon.
In other provinces, such as those in Visayas, Mapa said farm-gate prices of wet palay were at P14 to P18 per kg in August.



Sacramento-area crops could come out on top in US-Japan trade deal

Description: Walnuts are one of the big winners from the U.S.-Japan trade deal announced Wednesday.
Walnuts are one of the big winners from the U.S.-Japan trade deal announced Wednesday.

By Emily Hamann  – Staff Writer, Sacramento Business Journal
Description: https://media.bizj.us/view/img/11305636/2ahamann2c-emily-6-may-19*90xx4016-5355-0-0.jpgSep 25, 2019, 9:57pm PDT Updated Sep 26, 2019, 10:29am EDT
The United States and Japan reached a trade deal Wednesday that could lead to more exports of Sacramento-area crops.President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced two new trade agreements, regarding agricultural commodities and digital trade, which are designed to lay the groundwork for a more comprehensive trade deal later on.
The agricultural deal calls for eliminating and reducing tariffs, and will impact some of the Sacramento area’s largest cash crops.
“California agriculture is a big winner from this,” said Daniel A. Sumner, director of the University of California Davis Agricultural Issues Center.
The agreement announced Wednesday will immediately eliminate Japanese tariffs on American almonds and walnuts, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. It will gradually draw down Japanese tariffs on U.S. wine, tomato paste and beef.
In exchange, the U.S. will eliminate or reduce tariffs on $40 million worth of Japanese agricultural products, including soy sauce, some perennial plants and cut flowers.
This agreement could offer some relief to industries like wine and walnuts, which have been caught in the U.S. trade war with China and are facing high tariffs and lagging sales there.
Walnuts especially have been hit hard by recent trade tensions, and face high tariffs in China, India and Turkey, traditionally some of its largest markets. That contributed to a precipitous drop in prices last year.
Pamela Graviet, senior marketing director of the California Walnut Board, said the industry estimates it has lost $700 million because of trade disputes. Wednesday's news provides a small ray of hope.
“We are very pleased to see the news,” Graviet said.
After the agreement is ratified, the 10% tariff on U.S. walnuts will be removed immediately.
“This trade agreement is one step in the right direction,” Graviet said. But the Japanese market alone won’t make up for the industry’s global losses.
“We have a lot of loss to make up and it’s going to take time,” she said.
Sumner said the agreement will help California walnuts compete with places like Chile, which doesn’t face any tariff barriers in Japan.
“We can’t beat Chile in the walnut business with one hand tied behind our back,” Sumner said.
Japan is the biggest foreign buyer of California beef and hay, and is in the top five biggest destinations for California almonds, dairy, wine, walnuts, processed tomatoes, olives and olive oil, all of which are major crops in the Sacramento area. Japan is the biggest purchaser of Yolo County agricultural products, according to the county’s 2018 crop and livestock report.
Japan is also the No. 1 importer of California rice — which was not included in the agreement reached Wednesday.
“Rice is always one of the more difficult commodities with trade with Japan,” said Tim Johnson, CEO of the California Rice Commission. Johnson emphasized that more agreements are scheduled to come later on, and the industry hopes rice will be included in those talks. Currently, California exports around 350 tons of rice to Japan a year, and anything above that threshold is hit with a 600% tariff, Johnson said.
Sumner said the deal this week could also be good for the rice industry, even though it’s not directly named in the deal. The current rice trade agreement was put in place in the early 1990s, when Japan was much more protectionist than it is today. Sumner said there could be headway, as long as discussions about agriculture and trade stay on the agenda.
“Anything that allows us to do what we do best, rice or almonds or whatever, is just good for the California economy,” Sumner said.
Indian rice prices slip on weak African demand; strong baht hurts Thai exports
SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 / 7:12 PM

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian rice export prices slipped this week as demand from Africa remained sluggish, while shipments from Thailand remained sluggish to a strong baht.
Children play with a ball after rice is spread for drying at a rice mill on the outskirts of Kolkata, January 31, 2019. Picture taken January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File Photo
Prices of 5% broken parboiled variety in top exporter India were quoted at around $371-$375 per tonne this week, down from $373-$379 a week ago.
Demand from African countries has been muted for the last few weeks, even as export prices have corrected, said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
India’s rice exports plunged 26.5% in April-July from a year ago to 3.14 million tonnes, a government body said earlier this month.
In Thailand, a strong baht, Asia’s best performing currency in 2019, has kept away potential buyers who find cheaper markets elsewhere, such as in Vietnam. Thai exporters have struggled to sell the staple since the beginning of the year.
The country’s benchmark 5-percent broken rice prices were quoted at $400-$420 a tonne on Thursday, compared to $400-$418 last week.
“The price is only fluctuating due to the exchange rate at the moment as both demand and supply remain unchanged,” a Bangkok-based trader said.
Concerns over supply also persist due to floods in northeastern Thailand that have damaged agricultural land, including some rice-growing areas. This has not had an immediate impact on prices though, traders said.
“Buyers seem to be heading to Vietnam as Thai prices are a lot higher,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.
“We think that prices have bottomed and that domestic supplies have gone low as the summer-autumn harvest has ended.”
In Vietnam, rates for 5% broken rice rose to $335 a tonne on Thursday from $325 a week earlier, which was its lowest since November 2007.
Preliminary data showed at least 37,100 tonnes of rice is scheduled to be loaded at Ho Chi Minh City ports during Oct. 1-9, with most of the shipments bound for West Africa and Malaysia, according to traders.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh is considering providing a subsidy to farmers, who suffered a double blow of low rice prices and high harvesting costs, in an effort to reduce production costs and boost domestic output, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque told Reuters on Thursday.
“To make it profitable, we must use more machinery because the labour price is very high. We’ll provide (a) subsidy to help farmers buy modern machinery so that they minimize labour costs for production,” he said.
Dhaka has been unable to clinch overseas deals since a long-standing export ban was lifted in May as its rice is more expensive than India’s or Thailand’s, despite a recent fall in local prices.
Govt to allow rice exports if local prices sink
HTOO THANT 26 SEP 2019
Description: Zarni Phyo/The Myanmar Times
Zarni Phyo/The Myanmar Times
The government is set to announce next month the basic price of rice in the coming rainy season and is expected to allow exports of raw rice if the prices in the local market drop too low in order to stabilise the country’s staple food, a senior commerce official said.
Deputy Minister of Commerce U Aung Htoo, said limited exports of the rice will be allowed if the basic price sinks.  
“We agreed to export a designated quantity (of grains) during the designated period,” he said on Tuesday.
The government set K500,000 (US$327) as the base price for every 100 baskets of rice for 2018. Each basket is roughly equivalent to 20.86 kilogrammes. 
There is now an ongoing discussion among members of the Assembly of the Union, the Myanmar Rice Federation and farmers’ representatives on the basic price of rice, U Aung Htoo said.
The deputy minister said that if the price of rice shoudl drop below the new base price which is set to be announced on October 15, exports of rice will be allowed to stabilise the price.
Over the past few years, Myanmar has not allowed the export of rice to ensure steady supply in the domestic market but there were occasions when exports to other countries were permitted as a means to raise the price of the grain to prevent farmers from suffering losses. – Translated

Blow to struggling Kenya Power as Keter rules out increase in cost of electricity

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 10:27 Description: Energy Secretary Charles Keter has rejected Kenya PowerEnergy Secretary Charles Keter has rejected Kenya Power’s bid to increase electricity tariffs. FILE PHOTO | NMG 
Energy Secretary Charles Keter has rejected Kenya Power’s bid to increase electricity tariffs, a move than now offers relief to consumers but deals a blow to the utility company that was betting on new prices to reverse profit drops.
Mr Keter Wednesday said the injection of cheaper electricity from sources like geothermal and wind will lower the cost of wholesale power, which is the basis for Kenya Power’s demand for the tariff increment. Kenya Power has been seeking new tariffs after a temporary reduction of power charges for 5.7 million consumers expired in July.
The firm has hinged the recovery of its earnings on the new tariffs after issuing a profit warning for the second year in a row.
“We will not increase any tariff, what we are going to do is to work on methods of mitigating that, but as you are aware we have new, cheaper power plants like Turkana wind,” Mr Keter said.
“A company can issue profit warning depending on its financial position. As a government we are okay with it (profit warning),” he said.
The law provides that electricity tariffs be reviewed every three years but the timetable has been erratic because the regulator has often delayed or amended the rates, partly due to the government seeking to ease inflationary pressure on households and industries.
The energy watchdog last year cut retail electricity prices following an order from President Uhuru Kenyatta after widespread complaints from some domestic customers and small businesses about a costly three-year tariff introduced last July.
The tariff almost doubled the monthly bill for higher-income households, triggering complaints that forced EPRA to cut the tariff from November 2018 to July 2019 to Sh10 per kilowatt hour from Sh15.80 for customers who use below 100 kilowatt units per month. The tariff did not apply last month.
Electricity prices for low-income earners who consume 50 units increased to Sh1,063 in August last year after the July 2018 tariff increase from Sh695 a month earlier, but dropped to Sh757 after President Kenyatta ordered for a reversal.
Kenya Power is now seeking for restoration of the higher tariffs. The firm has consistently sought higher tariffs, arguing that it needs them to cover the capital-intensive nature of building and maintaining a nationwide electricity distribution infrastructure as well as the costs of buying bulk power form firms like KenGen. It blames the rising costs for the significant drop in profits for the second year running.
The utility last week issued a profit warning, saying that earnings for the year ending June 2019 will be more than 25 percent lower than the Sh1.92 billion after-tax profit posted in the financial year ended June 2018. This means Kenya Power expects to post a net profit of Sh1.44 billion at most for the full year to June 2019.

Rice bran supplementation modulates growth, microbiota and metabolome in weaning infants: a clinical trial in Nicaragua and Mali

Rice bran supplementation provides nutrients, prebiotics and phytochemicals that enhance gut immunity, reduce enteric pathogens and diarrhea, and warrants attention for improvement of environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) in children. EED is a subclinical condition associated with stunting due to impaired nutrient absorption. This study investigated the effects of rice bran supplementation on weight for age and length for age z-scores (WAZ, LAZ), EED stool biomarkers, as well as microbiota and metabolome signatures in weaning infants from 6 to 12 months old that reside in Nicaragua and Mali. Healthy infants were randomized to a control (no intervention) or a rice bran group that received daily supplementation with increasing doses at each month (1–5 g/day). Stool microbiota were characterized using 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing. Stool metabolomes were analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid-chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry. Statistical comparisons were completed at 6, 8, and 12 months of age. Daily consumption of rice bran was safe and feasible to support changes in LAZ from 6–8 and 8–12 months of age in Nicaragua and Mali infants when compared to control. WAZ was significantly improved only for Mali infants at 8 and 12 months. Mali and Nicaraguan infants showed major differences in the overall gut microbiota and metabolome composition and structure at baseline, and thus each country cohort demonstrated distinct microbial and metabolite profile responses to rice bran supplementation when compared to control. Rice bran is a practical dietary intervention strategy that merits development in rice-growing regions that have a high prevalence of growth stunting due to malnutrition and diarrheal diseases. Rice is grown as a staple food, and the bran is used as animal feed or wasted in many low- and middle-income countries where EED and stunting is prevalent.

Introduction

The prevalence of malnutrition in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) has negative consequences on growth of children during the first five years of life and has lifelong health consequences1,2. There is an increased risk of death among children under 5 years of age due to being underweight and stunted2,3. Risk factors for undernutrition may include, but are not limited to: low birth weight, inadequate breastfeeding, improper complementary feeding, and recurrent infections3,4. Diarrheal diseases are some of the primary causes of undernutrition in children under five years of age1,3,4.
Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is an acquired subclinical condition of the small intestine among LMIC children5,6,7,8,9,10. Chronic exposure to enteric pathogens early in life is one likely contributor to EED11. The altered gastrointestinal functions in EED include intestinal nutrient malabsorption and increased intestinal permeability that leads to protein loss6,7. Infant weaning has been identified as a critical window for intervention12. Previous intervention efforts in young children have targeted micronutrient deficiencies, such as Vitamin A, Zn and Fe13,14,15,16, oral rehydration salts for treating diarrhea17, antimicrobial use18,19, and community hygiene improvements20. Given the worldwide trends and variable timing of growth faltering that has been reported, assessing interventions in diverse populations merits further attention21.
Rice bran is a nutrient dense food with a unique profile and ratio of bioactive phytochemicals such as gamma oryzanol, tocotrienols, ferulic acid, vitamin B, beta-sitosterol and many others. The metabolome of rice bran from 17 countries was analyzed and revealed a varied suite of bioactive molecules that span multiple chemical classes22. Rice bran has shown chronic disease fighting properties in both animal and human studies, and the promising results from feeding neonatal pigs provided translational support for investigation of dietary feasibility in weaning infants. Many rice bran components, such as phenolics, fatty acids and soluble fibers work together to prevent enteric pathogens and diarrheal disease in mice and pigs23,24,25,26, and to favorably promote gut health in adults27,28. The effect of rice bran supplementation on host resistance to enteric infections and enhanced gut mucosal immunity was demonstrated for Salmonella enterica Typhimurium25,26, rotavirus29,30,31, and norovirus23. Rice bran merits attention because it has widespread scalability for consumption globally32, and particularly in LMIC regions where EED is prevalent33.
Stool EED biomarkers, gut microbiota34 and metabolite profiling analysis15,35 are important surrogate markers for analysis as intestinal tissue from infants is not easily accessible to evaluate. Stool myeloperoxidase (MPO)36, calprotectin (CAL)37, and neopterin (NEO)38 are indicators of inflammation; and alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT)36 is an indicator of barrier lumen disruption. Chronic, elevated concentrations of all four biomarkers have been associated with poor linear growth in infants up to 24 months old10,36,37,38, and as the gut microbiota is maturing over the first 3 years of life21,39. Gut microbiota composition and metabolism is influenced by delivery mode, environment, and nutrition40,41. Recent studies have demonstrated that malnutrition and immature microbiota of infants are only partially, and temporarily improved by some nutritional interventions15,42. The primary objective of this study was to investigate safety and tolerability of dietary rice bran supplementation during infant weaning, including effects on growth, EED biomarkers, gut microbiota and metabolome from six to twelve months of age in Nicaragua and Mali. Nicaragua and Mali have agricultural rice production systems, yet they currently do not use the rice bran for human consumption after it is polished from the whole grain. Our study hypothesis was that daily consumption of rice bran for six months is tolerable, safe and feasible for children during weaning and that daily intake will be associated with improved growth and decreased gut permeability alongside favorable modulation of the gut microbiota and metabolome.

Results

Safety and feasibility

Daily rice bran consumption was completed in a randomized controlled trial with infants from 6 to 12 months of age. While the types of weaning foods differ between Mali and Nicaragua, there were no differences detected in the types of weaning foods consumed between rice bran and control group infants within each country site. Rice bran supplementation was palatable and safe for weaning infants based on a high-level of compliance and no adverse events related to rice bran intake at the increasing doses over time. Dietary compliance to rice bran was averaged per month during the 6-month intervention and was 90% in Nicaragua and 99% in Mali. The feasibility and tolerability for infants to consume 1–5 g of rice bran/day over the six-month study period was determined by how mothers fed the rice bran powder directly or as reported by consumption with drinking water, staple grain porridges (i.e. millet, sorghum, and white rice), soups, milk, fruits, juices, eggs, and fish when available. The nutritional profile of rice bran provided in this study is shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Nutrient composition of Rice Bran (as provided by USDA National Nutrient Database).

Study participant characteristics

To study the effect of daily rice bran supplementation, monthly stool samples from 47 Nicaraguan and 48 Malian children were collected (average of 7 samples per child, total of 567 samples). The flow and number of infants from study recruitment to study completion is shown in Fig. 1. Baseline participant characteristics for Nicaragua and Mali are shown in Table 2. We collected information on demographic factors and infants’ household characteristics. In Nicaragua, 54.2% of infants were born via caesarean section in the control group and 30.4% in the rice bran group. All participants from Mali were delivered vaginally. For breastfeeding status, 96% of the control group and 83% in the rice bran group were consuming breast milk at six months old in Nicaragua and all children in the Mali group were consuming breast milk at the beginning and throughout the study. Of the 95 infants enrolled, 52 received antibiotics with 87 total antibiotic courses in the six-month period. Most courses consisted of systemic antibiotics given orally, with some delivered by injection for respiratory, skin, ear or diarrheal infections.
Myanmar exports 1.16 million tons of rice and 55,000 tons of broken rice in Aug

PUBLISHED 26 SEPTEMBER 2019

NILAR
Myanmar exported over 1.16 million tons of rice and over 55,000 tons of broken rice in August, less than the export volume last month, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
It exported US$0.254 million worth of over 890 tons of rice from Muse 105 mile trade zone, Lweje and Chinshwehaw border trade centers from August 24 to 30. Myanmar exported over 6,800 tons of rice through border trade centers during August and it is less than 20,000 tons of rice exported in July.
Myanmar exported about US$9 million worth of over 26,500 tons of rice through maritime trade from August 25 to 31 to China, Philippines, Vietnam, Russia, Malaysia, Madagascar, Cameron, Switzerland, Mozambique and EU countries.
Myanmar had send 88,500 tons of rice to China at present, in line with MoU and 11,500 tons of rice will be exported by December, according to the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF).

Basmati rice industry facing headwinds in the export market; moderation in exports likely in FY20: ICRA

During the current fiscal, Basmati rice exports realisations stood at Rs75,589/MT for 4M FY20, only 2% higher than the previous fiscal.
September 26, 2019 16:02 IST | India Infoline News Service
Indian Basmati exports are facing headwinds in the current fiscal, after two years of strong growth. As per ICRA note, with uncertainty over level of exports to Iran as well as likely moderation in average export realisations, Basmati rice exports are expected to be muted in FY20. This is after Basmati rice exports in FY19 were at an all-time high at Rs32,806cr, primarily led by aggressive buying by Iran, that enabled healthy growth in volumes besides favourable pricing.


Deepak Jotwani, Assistant Vice President, ICRA, says, “There is increased uncertainty over level of imports by Iran going forward in light of ongoing trade sanctions; and tighter pesticide residue norms continuing to weigh on exports to European Union (EU). Also, some changes in import policies proposed by Saudi Arabia are likely to come into effect by the end of the year. While EU is a comparatively smaller market, Iran and Saudi Arabia are leading destinations, accounting for 50-55% of Basmati rice exports from India.”

During the current fiscal, Basmati rice exports realisations stood at Rs75,589/MT for 4M FY20, only 2% higher than the previous fiscal. This is considerably lower than the increase in export realisations by around 23% in FY18 and 12% in FY2019. Also, on a comparative basis, Basmati rice exports in 4M FY20 stood at Rs10,847cr, 6% lower than Rs11,575cr in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal, largely attributable to lower import volumes by Iran, the leading importer of Basmati rice from India.

“This can be partly explained by aggressive pre-emptive buying by Iran in the first half of FY19, due to anticipated impact on its global trade with re-imposition of US trade sanctions later in that year,” Jotwani added.
According to ICRA, a more long-term concern is that the reserves (receivables against crude oil exports to India done earlier) being utilised by Iran for paying for its Basmati rice imports, are declining with crude oil imports by India from Iran discontinued since June 2019. This enhances the uncertainty on future trade with Iran, considering the ongoing trade sanctions. While some comfort can be drawn from the fact that Basmati rice forms a part of the staple diet of Iran and Saudi Arabia; however, any considerable decline in level of imports by these countries can have a depressing impact on Basmati rice prices and exert pressure on the industry participants.


On the supply side, Basmati paddy prices continued to firm up for three years in a row. However, given the better earnings garnered by farmers in the last season, Basmati paddy production is estimated to be higher in the current fiscal. This coupled with delay in resumption/lower level of imports by Iran, if any, is likely to keep paddy prices under check in the current year’s procurement season. This will have a bearing on Basmati rice prices in the next calendar year as well as overall Basmati rice exports in FY21.
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- September 26, 2019
SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 / 1:31 PM
* * * * * *
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices – APMC/Open Market-September 26, 2018 Nagpur, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Gram and tuar prices firmed up again in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) here on increased seasonal demand from local millers amid weak supply from producing belts because of rains in parts of regions. Healthy rise on NCDEX in gram, good recovery in Madhya Pradesh pulses and enquiries from South-based millers also jacked up prices. About 600 bags of gram and 50 bags of tuar reported for auction, according to sources.

GRAM
* Gram varieties ruled steady in open market here matching the demand and supply

position.

TUAR
* Tuar gavarani reported higher in open market on good seasonal demand from local

traders.

* Major rice varieties recovered in open market here on increased festival season

demand from local traders amid weak supply from producing regions.

* In Akola, Tuar New – 5,500-5,700, Tuar dal (clean) – 8,100-8,200, Udid Mogar (clean)

– 7,300-8,100, Moong Mogar (clean) 8,200-8,900, Gram – 4,300-4,400, Gram Super best

– 5,600-6,000 * Wheat and other foodgrain items moved in a narrow range in

scattered deals and settled at last levels in weak trading activity.

Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg

FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close

Gram Auction 3,750-4,325 3,650-4,300

Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600

Tuar Auction 5,100-5,450 5,000-5,450

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 2,000-2,015 1,950-2,040

Wheat Sharbati Auction n.a. 2,900-3,000

Gram Super Best Bold 5,800-6,000 5,800-6,000

Gram Super Best n.a. n.a.

Gram Medium Best 5,400-5,600 5,400-5,600

Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a

Gram Mill Quality 4,350-4,450 4,350-4,450

Desi gram Raw 4,400-4,500 4,400-4,500

Gram Kabuli 8,300-10,000 8,300-10,000

Tuar Fataka Best-New 8,300-8,400 8,300-8,400

Tuar Fataka Medium-New 7,800-8,100 7,800-8,100

Tuar Dal Best Phod-New 7,400-7,600 7,400-7,600

Tuar Dal Medium phod-New 6,800-7,200 6,800-7,200

Tuar Gavarani New 5,850-5,950 5,800-5,900

Tuar Karnataka 6,050-6,150 6,050-6,150

Masoor dal best 5,500-5,700 5,500-5,700

Masoor dal medium 5,200-5,400 5,200-5,400

Masoor n.a. n.a.

Moong Mogar bold (New) 8,500-9,000 8,500-9,000

Moong Mogar Medium 7,000-7,800 7,000-7,800

Moong dal Chilka New 7,200-7,800 7,200-7,800

Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.

Moong Chamki best 8,400-8,900 8,400-8,900

Udid Mogar best (100 INR/KG) (New) 7,500-8,200 7,500-8,200

Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 6,000-7,000 6,000-7,000

Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 4,700-5,300 4,500-5,100

Mot (100 INR/KG) 5,650-6,750 5,600-6,700

Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 4,700-5,000 4,800-5,100

Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 5,800-6,000 5,800-6,000

Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 7,500-8,000 7,500-8,000

Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 2,250-2,350 2,250-2,350

Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,200 2,100-2,200

Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 2,650-2,750 2,650-2,750

Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,550-2,650 2,550-2,650

Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,450 2,300-2,450

Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a.

MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 3,200-4,000 3,200-4,000

MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,600-3,100 2,600-3,100

Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 2,400-2,500 2,200-2,300

Rice BPT best new (100 INR/KG) 3,200-3,600 2,900-3,400

Rice BPT medium new(100 INR/KG) 2,700-3,100 2,500-3,000

Rice Luchai (100 INR/KG) 3,000-3,000 2,900-3,000

Rice Swarna best new (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,700 2,500-2,650

Rice Swarna medium new (100 INR/KG)2,300-2,400 2,200-2,300

Rice HMT best new (100 INR/KG) 3,800-4,000 3,600-4,000

Rice HMT medium new (100 INR/KG) 3,300-3,500 3,200-3,400

Rice Shriram best new(100 INR/KG) 4,600-5,000 4,400-5,000

Rice Shriram med new (100 INR/KG) 4,200-4,500 4,100-4,300

Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 8,500-13,500 8,200-13,500

Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,000-7,200 5,000-7,200

Rice Chinnor best new 100 INR/KG) 5,400-5,700 5,300-5,700

Rice Chinnor medium new(100 INR/KG)5,100-5,200 5,000-5,200

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. 28.9 degree Celsius, minimum temp. 23.3 degree Celsius Rainfall : 48.1 mm FORECAST: Generally cloudy sky with one or two spells of rains or thunder-showers. Maximum and minimum temperature likely to be around 30 degree Celsius and 24 degree Celsius respectively. Note: n.a.—not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices)


Rice Prices

as on : 26-09-2019 10:34:31 AM

Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.
Arrivals
Price
Current
%
change
Season
cumulative
Modal
Prev.
Modal
Prev.Yr
%change
Rice
Jambusar(Kaavi)(Guj)
1.00
NC
62.00
3100
3000
-
Aroor(Ker)
1.00
NC
5.00
10000
10000
9.89
Achalda(UP)
1.00
-16.67
24.90
2600
2650
85.71
Published on September 26, 2019

Rice Prices

as on : 25-09-2019 10:43:00 AM

Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.
Arrivals
Price
Current
%
change
Season
cumulative
Modal
Prev.
Modal
Prev.Yr
%change
Rice
Shahjahanpur(UP)
80.00
-12.57
6511.50
2725
2615
18.48
Naugarh(UP)
38.50
-9.41
2531.00
2460
2450
19.13
Ruperdeeha(UP)
10.00
100
284.00
2250
2250
12.50
Dibrugarh(ASM)
8.50
-5.56
200.00
3000
3000
2.74
Nautnava(UP)
1.50
-25
262.60
2350
2250
5.38
Jambusar(Kaavi)(Guj)
1.00
NC
61.00
3000
3100
-
Published on September 25, 2019
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/rice-prices/article29506539.ece

CLIMATE CHANGE PREDICTED TO HIT WHEAT PRODUCTION—AND THE U.S. IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THE WORST PLACES AFFECTED
BY KASHMIRA GANDER ON 9/25/19 AT 2:00 PM EDT
04:02
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Wheat is a staple source of food for people across the planet, accounting for a fifth of the calories consumed globally. But, as a result of climate change, scientists believe most parts of the world where the crop is grown will be simultaneously hit by water shortages by the end of the century.
And the U.S. could be among the countries worst affected, the authors of the research published in the journal published in the journal Science Advances told Newsweek.
If climate change isn't tackled, by the year 2100, 60 percent of areas that grow wheat will be hit by water scarcity—up from the current level of 15 percent, according to the international team of scientists.
These Are the U.S. States That Will Be Most Affected by Climate Change
READ MORE
They say hitting the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change—including keeping average post-industrial global temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius—could "substantially reduce the negative effects" of problems like droughts.
But even then, instances of growers struggling to water their crops is predicted to double between 2041 and 2070, compared with current conditions.
To predict the threat global warming presents to wheat, the researchers created a model based on drought conditions at the time of year wheat is grown.
Co-authors Miroslav Trnka, of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and Song Feng, of the University of Arkansas, told Newsweek that in their previous research, they had shown climate change may cause soil to become less moist across most mainland U.S. states, including those where wheat is grown.
As a result, the U.S. could be "one of the top most affected wheat producers" in terms of the increase in areas affected by severe droughts, they said in a joint statement.
That could signal problems for farmers—and, in turn, the amount of wheat the country can export. But more detailed analysis is needed to understand the full extent of the potential problems, they stressed.
Partly due to the purchasing power of Americans, U.S. society likely won't suffer in as much as developing nations, the pair said.
Severe drought will strike major exporters, most of whom are in developed countries, "suggesting major challenges on wheat production and a high risk of food price spikes in the future," they said. "This scenario will add further hardship to the importers and the developing countries."
The projections are "unsettling," the pair argued as because have died, thousands made homeless, and countries "ruined" because of price hikes in past decades.
"It is not a future that must happen but maybe more likely under the future climate," they said.
RELATED STORIES
Wheat is the number one rain-fed crop grown in terms of harvest area—equaling maize and rice combined. The Food and Agriculture Organization predicts there will have been a 43 percent increase in demand for cereals—including maize, rice, sorghum, millet and wheat—between 2006 to 2050.
Worryingly, existing research cited by the authors has predicted a 4.0 to 6.5 percent drop in global wheat production per 1 degree Celsius of warming if climate change isn't mitigated. And it's unlikely wheat can be replaced if water becomes scarce, as it's not as thirsty as other crops and can do without for a relatively long period of time.
If multiple regions are affected by drought simultaneously "it might be difficult to meet the demand even if the trade routes stay open and are not restricted by governmental measures," warned Feng and Trnka.
However, they said: "Studies show that if we continuously improve the sustainability and technologies in the coming decades and allow for international trade, we may overcome the negative impacts of climate change."
Description: wheatFile photo of wheat. Researchers have warned wheat production may be impacted by climate change, which could impact food prices.ISTOCK



SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 / 9:38 PM / 2 DAYS AGO

Protect coastal, island communities now as seas rise, scientists urge

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Melting of the world’s glaciers and warming of its oceans are fuelling rising seas, fiercer storms, worsening water shortages and other risks that could force millions from their homes or leave them hungrier and poorer, scientists warned on Wednesday.
Some of the threat could be averted both by rapidly slashing climate-heating emissions and speeding up efforts to adapt to the coming changes, using everything from sea-walls to early warning systems for extreme weather, they said.
But “we may be losing this race” to put protective measures in place in time, warned Hoesung Lee, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a U.N.-backed panel of climate scientists.
Coastal communities, particularly in the tropics and on low-lying islands, as well as people dependent on glacier melt for their water are most at risk, scientists said in a new report outlining how climate change could affect oceans and ice.
The report, crafted by more than 100 scientists from 36 countries, said 680 million people live in low-lying coastal zones worldwide, a figure expected to rise to 1 billion by 2050.
As sea level rises - driven increasingly by accelerating melting of the world’s ice sheets as well as by ocean warming - those people will face more frequent flooding and harsher storms that drive powerful seawater surges inland, the scientists said.
Some areas that once flooded only every 100 years or so - particularly on low-lying islands that are home to 65 million people - could face annual flooding by 2050, they warned, unless strong protective measures are put in place.
“This could create very vexing questions about the habitability of some areas of the world,” said Debra Roberts, a South African scientist and a co-author of the report.

ADAPTATION LIMITS

Zita Sebesvari, who studies environmental vulnerability at the United Nations University, said many communities in Asia’s Mekong and Ganges-Brahmaputra river deltas are already seeing their land become salt-laden and infertile.
“People try to adapt, to introduce shrimp farming, but it’s a riskier undertaking than rice farming - and once land is converted to saline water, it’s hard to reuse as a rice field,” said Sebesvari, who looked at sea-level rise for the report.
Cities could be protected in part with sea-walls, she said. But costs and practicality mean more rural areas would likely have to rely on other solutions, such as restoration of mangrove forests, which shelter fish and slow storm surges.
However, measures such as protecting and planting mangroves are only likely to be effective if efforts to cut emissions are hugely accelerated, said Maarten van Aalst, a climate scientist and director of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center.
“At some point there will be no easy solutions,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “There will be no nice options out there anymore if the climate changes too much.”
Most work to improve safety for at-risk communities still comes only after a big disaster, he said, while much construction - including post-crisis rebuilding efforts - does not adequately take growing climate threats into account.
Investing in cutting those risks makes economic sense - but elected officials who do not anticipate a disaster during their term in office often find it more politically expedient to spend on other things, he said.

COSTS OF PREPARATION

New York - which hosted the U.N. secretary-general’s climate summit on Monday - is one city moving to cut its risk, in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
It is building a $10-billion system of berms, removable barriers and new, higher land at the fringes of lower Manhattan in an attempt to protect itself from flooding and storms.
Germany, similarly, is constructing a series of dikes along the North Sea coast, designed in a way that they can be elevated in the future if sea-level rise exceeds current expectations, said Sebesvari of the U.N. University.
But “many other cities in the world cannot afford that,” noted van Aalst.
The cost barrier is even more serious for island states with relatively small economies and resources but long coastlines, said Helene Jacot des Combes, an IPCC report author who lives in the Marshall Islands.
“You can build sea-walls and dikes, but that means very high levels of investment - we’re taking about millions of dollars,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“Managed retreat” - which means moving people away from risky coastal areas, a response already happening in some countries - was one option, she said, but only “if you have safe land to retreat to”, a problem for small islands.
Valerie Masson-Delmotte, a French scientist and IPCC report author, said the number of people who could be forced from their homes by rising seas and other risks was unclear and depended on “the adaptation solutions that are available - or not”.

DISAPPEARING WATER

Increasingly rapid glacier melt - particularly of smaller tropical glaciers from Peru to Indonesia - also is likely to lead to worsening water shortages that will affect farming, hydropower and even drinking water supplies, scientists said.
“Changes in water availability will not just affect people in these high mountain regions but also communities much further downstream,” said Panmao Zhai, a Chinese author of the report.
Stepped-up efforts to share and manage scarce freshwater, particularly from rivers that flow across borders, will be key to keeping growing risks in check, he added.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan warned at the U.N. climate summit this week that his country gets 80% of the river water it depends on from glacier melt.
“If temperatures keep rising the way they are, we face catastrophe” as water supplies decline, he said.
Reporting by Laurie Goering @lauriegoering; editing by Megan Rowling. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, resilience, women's rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit news.trust.org/climatehttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-science-oceans/protect-coastal-island-communities-now-as-seas-rise-scientists-urge-idUSKBN1WA27I

Korgutt variety rice crop survives in flood-like conditions at Chorao

Paul Fernandes | TNN | Updated: Sep 27, 2019, 7:23 IST



Korgutt is a local variety known for its tolerance to salinity

PANAJI: In a season marked by extremely heavy rainfall, the resilience of the Korgutt rice crop in unprecedented flood conditions in Chorao, has surprised agriculture scientists, as it survived a prolonged inundation of paddy fields.
Farmers who had grown Jyoti, Jaya and Karjat 3 rice varieties lamented the loss of their crop during the ten-odd day submergence period. But farmers in Chorao had something to cheer, as the crop suffered only about 20% to 30% damage under water.

This resilience to submergence has made agricultural scientists take notice of Korgutt variety as a candidate for climate-resilient crops. “After about 15 days, the 70% to 80% of Korgutt crop in a sizeable khazan land area survived better than improved varieties,” Manohara K K, senior scientist in genetics and plant breeding, Indian council of agricultural research (ICAR),Old Goa said.
In the state’s low-lying khazan fields, Goan farmers have preferred the hardy Korgutt, a local variety since decades past for its tolerance to salinity.
“This was one of the worst floods as far as we can remember,” a farmer said.
Manohara’s systematic evaluation of korgutt in Chorao for four years had helped ICAR register it as a unique germplasm for “tolerance to salinity stress at seedling stage” with the national bureau of plant genetic resources (NBPGR), New Delhi.
But scientists had little knowledge about its survival traits in flood conditions. “We now have to confirm through research its tolerance to submergence,” Manohara said.
‘Need crops that can adapt to climate change’
With food security under threat due to climate change, scientists are looking for crops that can withstand multiple stresses. “At the seedling stage, any abiotic stress caused by either temperature, drought or flood, we should have plants and livestock which can acclimatise with the slight deviation in climate,” Eknath Chakurkar, director, ICAR, Old Goa said.

Frequency of extreme weather events is increasing, raising concern over huge crop losses to farmers.
“If we are to bring salinity and submergence tolerance genes together in a popular cultivated variety, the crop will be able to cope with the problems of dual stress in coastal low-lying areas,” Manohara said. 


Basmati exports growth to slow down in FY20: ICRA

On the supply side, basmati paddy prices continued to firm up for three years in a row.

By Sutanuka Ghosal, ET Bureau|
Sep 26, 2019, 02.42 PM IST
During the current fiscal, Basmati rice exports realisations stood at Rs. 75,589/MT for 4M FY2020, only 2 per cent higher than the previous fiscal.
Indian basmati exports are facing headwinds in the current fiscal, after two years of strong growth, said an ICRA note released on Thursday. The ICRA note says that with uncertainty over level of exports to Iran as well as likely moderation in average export realisations, basmati rice exports are expected to be muted in FY2020. This is after basmati rice exports in FY2019 were at an all-time high at Rs. 32,806 crore, primarily led by aggressive buying by Iran, that enabled healthy growth in volumes besides favourable pricing.

Elaborating further, Mr. Deepak Jotwani, Assistant Vice President, ICRA, says, “There is increased uncertainty over level of imports by Iran going forward in light of ongoing trade sanctions; and tighter pesticide residue norms continuing to weigh on exports to European Union (EU). Also, some changes in import policies proposed by Saudi Arabia are likely to come into effect by the end of the year. While EU is a comparatively smaller market, Iran and Saudi Arabia are leading destinations, accounting for 50-55 per cent of Basmati rice exports from India.”

During the current fiscal, Basmati rice exports realisations stood at Rs. 75,589/MT for 4M FY2020, only 2 per cent higher than the previous fiscal. This is considerably lower than the increase in export realisations by around 23 per cent in FY2018 and 12 per cent in FY2019. Also, on a comparative basis, Basmati rice exports in 4M FY2020 stood at Rs. 10,847 crore, 6 per cent lower than Rs. 11,575 crore in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal, largely attributable to lower import volumes by Iran, the leading importer of Basmati rice from India. Adds Mr. Jotwani, “This can be partly explained by aggressive pre-emptive buying by Iran in the first half of FY2019, due to anticipated impact on its global trade with re-imposition of US trade sanctions later in that year.”

According to ICRA, a more long-term concern is that the reserves (receivables against crude oil exports to India done earlier) being utilised by Iran for paying for its Basmati rice imports, are declining with crude oil imports by India from Iran discontinued since June 2019. This enhances the uncertainty on future trade with Iran, considering the ongoing trade sanctions. While some comfort can be drawn from the fact that basmati rice forms a part of the staple diet of Iran and Saudi Arabia; however, any considerable decline in level of imports by these countries can have a depressing impact on basmati rice prices and exert pressure on the industry participants.

On the supply side, basmati paddy prices continued to firm up for three years in a row. However, given the better earnings garnered by farmers in the last season, Basmati paddy production is estimated to be higher in the current fiscal. This coupled with delay in resumption/lower level of imports by Iran, if any, is likely to keep paddy prices under check in the current year’s procurement season. This will have a bearing on Basmati rice prices in the next calendar year as well as overall Basmati rice exports in FY2021.





Korgutt variety rice crop survives in flood-like conditions at Chorao

Paul Fernandes | TNN | Updated: Sep 27, 2019, 7:23 IST

Korgutt is a local variety known for its tolerance to salinity

PANAJI: In a season marked by extremely heavy rainfall, the resilience of the Korgutt rice crop in unprecedented flood conditions in Chorao, has surprised agriculture scientists, as it survived a prolonged inundation of paddy fields.
Farmers who had grown Jyoti, Jaya and Karjat 3 rice varieties lamented the loss of their crop during the ten-odd day submergence period. But farmers in Chorao had something to cheer, as the crop suffered only about 20% to 30% damage under water.

This resilience to submergence has made agricultural scientists take notice of Korgutt variety as a candidate for climate-resilient crops. “After about 15 days, the 70% to 80% of Korgutt crop in a sizeable khazan land area survived better than improved varieties,” Manohara K K, senior scientist in genetics and plant breeding, Indian council of agricultural research (ICAR),Old Goa said.
In the state’s low-lying khazan fields, Goan farmers have preferred the hardy Korgutt, a local variety since decades past for its tolerance to salinity.
“This was one of the worst floods as far as we can remember,” a farmer said.
Manohara’s systematic evaluation of korgutt in Chorao for four years had helped ICAR register it as a unique germplasm for “tolerance to salinity stress at seedling stage” with the national bureau of plant genetic resources (NBPGR), New Delhi.
But scientists had little knowledge about its survival traits in flood conditions. “We now have to confirm through research its tolerance to submergence,” Manohara said.
‘Need crops that can adapt to climate change’
With food security under threat due to climate change, scientists are looking for crops that can withstand multiple stresses. “At the seedling stage, any abiotic stress caused by either temperature, drought or flood, we should have plants and livestock which can acclimatise with the slight deviation in climate,” Eknath Chakurkar, director, ICAR, Old Goa said.

Frequency of extreme weather events is increasing, raising concern over huge crop losses to farmers.
“If we are to bring salinity and submergence tolerance genes together in a popular cultivated variety, the crop will be able to cope with the problems of dual stress in coastal low-lying areas,” Manohara said.

Korgutt variety rice crop survives in flood-like conditions at Chorao

Paul Fernandes | TNN | Updated: Sep 27, 2019, 7:23 IST

Korgutt is a local variety known for its tolerance to salinity

PANAJI: In a season marked by extremely heavy rainfall, the resilience of the Korgutt rice crop in unprecedented flood conditions in Chorao, has surprised agriculture scientists, as it survived a prolonged inundation of paddy fields.
Farmers who had grown Jyoti, Jaya and Karjat 3 rice varieties lamented the loss of their crop during the ten-odd day submergence period. But farmers in Chorao had something to cheer, as the crop suffered only about 20% to 30% damage under water.

This resilience to submergence has made agricultural scientists take notice of Korgutt variety as a candidate for climate-resilient crops. “After about 15 days, the 70% to 80% of Korgutt crop in a sizeable khazan land area survived better than improved varieties,” Manohara K K, senior scientist in genetics and plant breeding, Indian council of agricultural research (ICAR),Old Goa said.
In the state’s low-lying khazan fields, Goan farmers have preferred the hardy Korgutt, a local variety since decades past for its tolerance to salinity.
“This was one of the worst floods as far as we can remember,” a farmer said.
Manohara’s systematic evaluation of korgutt in Chorao for four years had helped ICAR register it as a unique germplasm for “tolerance to salinity stress at seedling stage” with the national bureau of plant genetic resources (NBPGR), New Delhi.
But scientists had little knowledge about its survival traits in flood conditions. “We now have to confirm through research its tolerance to submergence,” Manohara said.
‘Need crops that can adapt to climate change’
With food security under threat due to climate change, scientists are looking for crops that can withstand multiple stresses. “At the seedling stage, any abiotic stress caused by either temperature, drought or flood, we should have plants and livestock which can acclimatise with the slight deviation in climate,” Eknath Chakurkar, director, ICAR, Old Goa said.

Frequency of extreme weather events is increasing, raising concern over huge crop losses to farmers.
“If we are to bring salinity and submergence tolerance genes together in a popular cultivated variety, the crop will be able to cope with the problems of dual stress in coastal low-lying areas,” Manohara said.

Bhutan’s food import reaches Nu 3B

Bhutan’s food import increased by Nu 144 million (M) between January and June this year compared with the same period last year. The country imported food items worth Nu 2.99 billion (B) in the first six months last year, which increased to Nu 3.14B for the same period this year.
Description: http://www.kuenselonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Screen-Shot-2562-09-27-at-12.10.40-PM.jpg
This is according to Renewable Natural Resources (RNR) statistics on import of major commodities from India.
Among the food commodities imported, rice constitutes the major proportion with an increasing trend from 68,235 metric tonne (MT) in 2012 to 87,671 MT in 2016, indicating that domestic supply has not been able to keep pace with the increasing demand for rice over time.
Bhutan imported 42,554 MT of rice in the first half of 2019, an increase of 12 percent compared with the same period last year. The import of rice amounted to Nu 1,063M, showing an increase of Nu 97M in the first half of the year.
Similarly, import of meat and edible oil increased by 14 percent and 4 percent respectively. In total, import amounts to an increase of Nu 130M.
Meanwhile, the performance audit report on food self-sufficiency and security 2019 highlighted notable initiatives and positive developments in achieving self-sufficiency in fruits and eggs. The import of fresh fruits, however, saw 13 percent rise by June last year.
The import of fresh vegetables, dairy products, and dried vegetables decreased by about 41 percent, 78 percent, and 14 percent respectively, saving Nu 32M.
Similarly, the import of dried fruit, salt, spices and sugar volume decreased.
Bhutan is especially vulnerable in terms of food self-sufficiency due to high dependency on cheap imports from neighbouring countries.
Exports amount to only about half of imports and are largely concentrated on a few commodities. India received about 78 percent of Bhutan’s total exports, while about 84 percent of Bhutan’s imports originate from India.
Experts are of the view that while the government needs to control public spending, it has an obligation to provide free access to basic public health services and education for its citizens. This means the government will have to accelerate revenue mobilisation efforts over the next plan period.
The key exports to India are hydropower, base metals, and agricultural products, while imports are relatively high-valued machines and mechanical appliances, consumption goods, and fossil fuels.
However, it was observed that Bhutan’s GDP has grown faster than the rise in electricity exports. Consequently, hydropower’s share to GDP fell from about 9 percent in 2015 to 6.2 percent in 2018. The declining share of electricity exports in both total exports and GDP signals trade diversification, which is also evidenced by rising exports of minerals and base metals to Bangladesh and Nepal.
The inclusive and sustainable growth assessment by Asian Development Bank states that Bhutan will remain economically vulnerable for sometime given the country’s narrow economic base, volatility in exports, and weak agricultural production.
“While existing hydropower projects have generated about 25 percent of the government’s total domestic revenues, tax collection is low by international standards and has been on a declining trend relative to GDP,” the report said.
Big business groups back law liberalizing rice imports
posted September 26, 2019 at 09:45 pm by Othel V. Campos
·        
·        
·        
·        
The Philippine business community  supported the efforts of Agriculture Secretary William Dar to effectively implement the Rice Tariffication Law to protect palay farmers and preserve the gains of the legislation.
The law created the Rice Competitive Enhancement Fund to assist rice farmers and enhance their productivity and competitiveness through seed, mechanization, credit, and extension services. 
“We urge the proper implementation of the RTL to ensure that the temporary adjustment problems experienced by our rice sector will be mitigated. And we are sure that out from the birth pains, a new, vibrant and modern Philippine agriculture sector will emerge,” the groups said.
The Philippines business community is comprised of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Bankers Association of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Foundation for Economic Freedom, Makati Business Club and the Management Association of the Philippines.
The groups said the law was starting to achieve most of the original objectives of the law.  
“Nothing has changed our mind regarding the desirability of pursuing the RTL to the fullest to assist in modernizing the Philippine agricultural sector. To reverse it now will be tantamount to consigning our agriculture to under-development and our farm families to continuing child malnutrition,” the groups said in a statement.
The rice tariffication law has initially resulted in the falling price of palay that increased pressure to reverse or repeal it.   
“This trend was not surprising and was in fact anticipated by our economic managers. As such, they recommended a number of measures that will mitigate the temporary adverse effects of the RTL,” said the business community.
Interventions should be complementary and supplementary to the “National Rice Industry Roadmap” being formulated to guide RCEF assistance and ensure that investment would yield maximum returns, the groups noted.
The groups said RCEF would also encourage marginal rice farmers to diversify to add value to their produce and obtain higher income.   
The law signed on February 14, 2019 ended the more than 30-year policy of quantitative restrictions on rice import in favor of the shift to tariff as the main instrument in protecting palay farmers.   
The measure favors tariff as a trade instrument because it is more transparent compared with government-to-government transactions, allowing anybody to import rice at 35 percent tariff.

Indian rice prices slip on weak African demand; strong baht hurts Thai exports

Description: https://media-mbst-pub-ue1.s3.amazonaws.com/creatr-uploaded-images/2018-12/5be41ec0-ff0b-11e8-adef-442891c98066
By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
Description: Indian rice prices slip on weak African demand; strong baht hurts Thai exports

Children play with a ball after rice is spread for drying at a rice mill on the outskirts of Kolkata
By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian rice export prices slipped this week as demand from Africa remained sluggish, while shipments from Thailand remained sluggish to a strong baht.
Prices of 5% broken parboiled variety in top exporter India were quoted at around $371-$375 per tonne this week, down from $373-$379 a week ago.
Demand from African countries has been muted for the last few weeks, even as export prices have corrected, said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
India's rice exports plunged 26.5% in April-July from a year ago to 3.14 million tonnes, a government body said earlier this month.
In Thailand, a strong baht, Asia's best performing currency in 2019, has kept away potential buyers who find cheaper markets elsewhere, such as in Vietnam. Thai exporters have struggled to sell the staple since the beginning of the year.
The country's benchmark 5-percent broken rice prices were quoted at $400-$420 a tonne on Thursday, compared to $400-$418 last week.
"The price is only fluctuating due to the exchange rate at the moment as both demand and supply remain unchanged," a Bangkok-based trader said.
Concerns over supply also persist due to floods in northeastern Thailand that have damaged agricultural land, including some rice-growing areas. This has not had an immediate impact on prices though, traders said.
"Buyers seem to be heading to Vietnam as Thai prices are a lot higher," a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.
"We think that prices have bottomed and that domestic supplies have gone low as the summer-autumn harvest has ended."
In Vietnam, rates for 5% broken rice rose to $335 a tonne on Thursday from $325 a week earlier, which was its lowest since November 2007.
Preliminary data showed at least 37,100 tonnes of rice is scheduled to be loaded at Ho Chi Minh City ports during Oct. 1-9, with most of the shipments bound for West Africa and Malaysia, according to traders. 
Meanwhile, Bangladesh is considering providing a subsidy to farmers, who suffered a double blow of low rice prices and high harvesting costs, in an effort to reduce production costs and boost domestic output, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque told Reuters on Thursday.
"To make it profitable, we must use more machinery because the labour price is very high. We'll provide (a) subsidy to help farmers buy modern machinery so that they minimize labour costs for production," he said.
Dhaka has been unable to clinch overseas deals since a long-standing export ban was lifted in May as its rice is more expensive than India's or Thailand's, despite a recent fall in local prices.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu in Hanoi, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Ruma Paul in Dhaka and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Editing by Susan Fenton)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/indian-rice-prices-slip-weak-140851427.html


ASIA RICE-INDIAN PRICES SLIP ON WEAK AFRICAN DEMAND; STRONG BAHT HURTS THAI EXPORTS
9/26/2019
* Muted demand for Indian rice despite price correction
* Vietnamese rice rates edge up from 12-year low
* Exporters in Vietnam benefit from higher Thai rates
* Dhaka considering providing subsidy to farmers
By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
BENGALURU, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Indian rice export prices slipped this week as demand from Africa remained sluggish, while shipments from Thailand remained sluggish to a strong baht.
Prices of 5% broken parboiled variety <RI-INBKN5-P1> in top exporter India were quoted at around $371-$375 per tonne this week, down from $373-$379 a week ago.
Demand from African countries has been muted for the last few weeks, even as export prices have corrected, said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
India's rice exports plunged 26.5% in April-July from a year ago to 3.14 million tonnes, a government body said earlier this month.
In Thailand, a strong baht, Asia's best performing currency in 2019, has kept away potential buyers who find cheaper markets elsewhere, such as in Vietnam. Thai exporters have struggled to sell the staple since the beginning of the year.
The country's benchmark 5-percent broken rice <RI-THBKN5-P1> prices were quoted at $400-$420 a tonne on Thursday, compared to $400-$418 last week.
"The price is only fluctuating due to the exchange rate at the moment as both demand and supply remain unchanged," a Bangkok-based trader said.
Concerns over supply also persist due to floods in northeastern Thailand that have damaged agricultural land, including some rice-growing areas. This has not had an immediate impact on prices though, traders said.
"Buyers seem to be heading to Vietnam as Thai prices are a lot higher," a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.
"We think that prices have bottomed and that domestic supplies have gone low as the summer-autumn harvest has ended."
In Vietnam, rates for 5% broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1> rose to $335 a tonne on Thursday from $325 a week earlier, which was its lowest since November 2007.
Preliminary data showed at least 37,100 tonnes of rice is scheduled to be loaded at Ho Chi Minh City ports during Oct. 1-9, with most of the shipments bound for West Africa and Malaysia, according to traders.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh is considering providing a subsidy to farmers, who suffered a double blow of low rice prices and high harvesting costs, in an effort to reduce production costs and boost domestic output, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque told Reuters on Thursday.
"To make it profitable, we must use more machinery because the labour price is very high. We'll provide (a) subsidy to help farmers buy modern machinery so that they minimize labour costs for production," he said.
Dhaka has been unable to clinch overseas deals since a long-standing export ban was lifted in May as its rice is more expensive than India's or Thailand's, despite a recent fall in local prices.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu in Hanoi, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Ruma Paul in Dhaka and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Editing by Susan Fenton)
© Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Click For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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REFILE-ASIA RICE-INDIAN PRICES SLIP ON WEAK AFRICAN DEMAND; STRONG BAHT HURTS THAI EXPORTS

9/26/2019
(Refiles to include dropped word in lede)
* Muted demand for Indian rice despite price correction
* Vietnamese rice rates edge up from 12-year low
* Exporters in Vietnam benefit from higher Thai rates
* Dhaka considering providing subsidy to farmers
By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
BENGALURU, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Indian rice export prices slipped this week as demand from Africa was subdued, while shipments from Thailand remained sluggish due to a strong baht.
Prices of 5% broken parboiled variety <RI-INBKN5-P1> in top exporter India were quoted at around $371-$375 per tonne this week, down from $373-$379 a week ago.
Demand from African countries has been muted for the last few weeks, even as export prices have corrected, said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
India's rice exports plunged 26.5% in April-July from a year ago to 3.14 million tonnes, a government body said earlier this month.
In Thailand, a strong baht, Asia's best performing currency in 2019, has kept away potential buyers who find cheaper markets elsewhere, such as in Vietnam. Thai exporters have struggled to sell the staple since the beginning of the year.
The country's benchmark 5-percent broken rice <RI-THBKN5-P1> prices were quoted at $400-$420 a tonne on Thursday, compared to $400-$418 last week.
"The price is only fluctuating due to the exchange rate at the moment as both demand and supply remain unchanged," a Bangkok-based trader said.
Concerns over supply also persist due to floods in northeastern Thailand that have damaged agricultural land, including some rice-growing areas. This has not had an immediate impact on prices though, traders said.
"Buyers seem to be heading to Vietnam as Thai prices are a lot higher," a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.
"We think that prices have bottomed and that domestic supplies have gone low as the summer-autumn harvest has ended."
In Vietnam, rates for 5% broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1> rose to $335 a tonne on Thursday from $325 a week earlier, which was its lowest since November 2007.
Preliminary data showed at least 37,100 tonnes of rice is scheduled to be loaded at Ho Chi Minh City ports during Oct. 1-9, with most of the shipments bound for West Africa and Malaysia, according to traders.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh is considering providing a subsidy to farmers, who suffered a double blow of low rice prices and high harvesting costs, in an effort to reduce production costs and boost domestic output, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque told Reuters on Thursday.
"To make it profitable, we must use more machinery because the labour price is very high. We'll provide (a) subsidy to help farmers buy modern machinery so that they minimize labour costs for production," he said.
Dhaka has been unable to clinch overseas deals since a long-standing export ban was lifted in May as its rice is more expensive than India's or Thailand's, despite a recent fall in local prices.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu in Hanoi, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Ruma Paul in Dhaka and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Editing by Susan Fenton)
https://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/refile-asia-rice-indian-prices-slip-on-weak-african-demand-strong-baht-hurts-thai


PHilMech: Farm equipment to be distributed under RCEP will benefit other crops

By
 -
34

The Philippine Center for Postharvest and Mechanization (PhilMech) said the farm machinery that they would distribute to rice farmers under the rice competitiveness enhancment program (RCEP) may also help them cultivate other crops such as corn and cassava.
Citing a study it conducted, PhilMech said a number of the farm equipment to be distributed under RCEP are “crop neutral” or could be used in cultivating other crops, like corn, cassava, and even vegetables.
“Other impacts of the program may include cost reduction in using several mechanization technologies for other crops such as corn, cassava, and others. It should be noted that some facilities included in the program are crop neutral,” PhilMech said in a statement on Thursday.
PhilMech, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, said it would distribute four-wheel farm tractors, hand tractors, tillers, rice seeders, transplanters, irrigation pumps, small solar irrigation systems, threshers, combine harvesters, mechanical dryers, rice mills, among others, to rice farmer-beneficaries under the RCEP.
“The four-wheel farm tractor could be attached with implements specifically designed for crops like corn and cassava, and PHilMech has already designed a Cassava Digger that can be towed by a farm tractor to facilitate the harvesting of cassava roots,” it said.
“PHilMech has also developed the Corn Picker that is attached to a four-wheel farm tractor and mechanically harvests matured corn cobs. The Corn Picker can harvest corn cobs at a rate of 1 hectare per day. Using manual labor, it would take more than one day to harvest corn from 1 hectare of land,” it added.
PhilMech said it also developed a corn planter that could be attached  to a farm tractor and could sow seeds and apply fertilizer simultaneously at a rate of 2.5 hectares in 8 hours. Using manual labor, it would take one whole day to the same task in just one hectare of land, it added.
PhilMech said the farm machinery and equipment would help rice farmers not only to improve their planting efficiency but also cope with the ill effects of climate change.
“Other potential quantifiable benefits are the prevented rice crop damages/losses due to weather risks such as tropical cyclones and prolonged rainy days,” it said.
“Machines such as combine harvester and mechanical dryer are found to be effective instruments in reducing the exposure of rice farmers to adverse weather,” it added.
Under the rice trade liberalization law, the government would spend at least P10 billion annually until 2024 to fund programs under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) that seeks to help Filipino rice farmers adjust with the influx of cheaper rice imports.
Under the RCEF, P5 billion would be allocated for the provision of farm machinery to improve the rice sector’s mechanization level while P3 billion would be spent for inbred rice seeds distribution and related trainings.
The RCEF also has a easy financing credit component with an annual funding of P1 billion and another P1 billion allocation for improvement of farmers’ technical know-how.
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https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/09/27/philmech-farm-equipment-to-be-distributed-under-rcep-will-benefit-other-crops/


SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 / 5:05 PM / UPDATED A DAY AGO
REFILE-Asia Rice-Indian prices slip on weak African demand; strong baht hurts Thai exports
Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
3 MIN READ

(Refiles to include dropped word in lede)

* Muted demand for Indian rice despite price correction

* Vietnamese rice rates edge up from 12-year low

* Exporters in Vietnam benefit from higher Thai rates

* Dhaka considering providing subsidy to farmers

By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri

BENGALURU, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Indian rice export prices slipped this week as demand from Africa was subdued, while shipments from Thailand remained sluggish due to a strong baht.

Prices of 5% broken parboiled variety RI-INBKN5-P1 in top exporter India were quoted at around $371-$375 per tonne this week, down from $373-$379 a week ago.

Demand from African countries has been muted for the last few weeks, even as export prices have corrected, said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

India’s rice exports plunged 26.5% in April-July from a year ago to 3.14 million tonnes, a government body said earlier this month.

In Thailand, a strong baht, Asia’s best performing currency in 2019, has kept away potential buyers who find cheaper markets elsewhere, such as in Vietnam. Thai exporters have struggled to sell the staple since the beginning of the year.

The country’s benchmark 5-percent broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1 prices were quoted at $400-$420 a tonne on Thursday, compared to $400-$418 last week.

“The price is only fluctuating due to the exchange rate at the moment as both demand and supply remain unchanged,” a Bangkok-based trader said.

Concerns over supply also persist due to floods in northeastern Thailand that have damaged agricultural land, including some rice-growing areas. This has not had an immediate impact on prices though, traders said.

“Buyers seem to be heading to Vietnam as Thai prices are a lot higher,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

“We think that prices have bottomed and that domestic supplies have gone low as the summer-autumn harvest has ended.”

In Vietnam, rates for 5% broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 rose to $335 a tonne on Thursday from $325 a week earlier, which was its lowest since November 2007.

Preliminary data showed at least 37,100 tonnes of rice is scheduled to be loaded at Ho Chi Minh City ports during Oct. 1-9, with most of the shipments bound for West Africa and Malaysia, according to traders.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh is considering providing a subsidy to farmers, who suffered a double blow of low rice prices and high harvesting costs, in an effort to reduce production costs and boost domestic output, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque told Reuters on Thursday.

“To make it profitable, we must use more machinery because the labour price is very high. We’ll provide (a) subsidy to help farmers buy modern machinery so that they minimize labour costs for production,” he said.

Dhaka has been unable to clinch overseas deals since a long-standing export ban was lifted in May as its rice is more expensive than India’s or Thailand’s, despite a recent fall in local prices.

Reporting by Khanh Vu in Hanoi, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Ruma Paul in Dhaka and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Editing by Susan Fenton

RPT-ASIA RICE-INDIAN PRICES SLIP ON WEAK AFRICAN DEMAND; STRONG BAHT HURTS THAI EXPORTS

9/26/2019
(Repeats story that ran on Thursday, with no changes)
* Muted demand for Indian rice despite price correction
* Vietnamese rice rates edge up from 12-year low
* Exporters in Vietnam benefit from higher Thai rates
* Dhaka considering providing subsidy to farmers
By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
BENGALURU, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Indian rice export prices slipped this week as demand from Africa was subdued, while shipments from Thailand remained sluggish due to a strong baht.
Prices of 5% broken parboiled variety <RI-INBKN5-P1> in top exporter India were quoted at around $371-$375 per tonne this week, down from $373-$379 a week ago.
Demand from African countries has been muted for the last few weeks, even as export prices have corrected, said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
India's rice exports plunged 26.5% in April-July from a year ago to 3.14 million tonnes, a government body said earlier this month.
In Thailand, a strong baht, Asia's best performing currency in 2019, has kept away potential buyers who find cheaper markets elsewhere, such as in Vietnam. Thai exporters have struggled to sell the staple since the beginning of the year.
The country's benchmark 5-percent broken rice <RI-THBKN5-P1> prices were quoted at $400-$420 a tonne on Thursday, compared to $400-$418 last week.
"The price is only fluctuating due to the exchange rate at the moment as both demand and supply remain unchanged," a Bangkok-based trader said.
Concerns over supply also persist due to floods in northeastern Thailand that have damaged agricultural land, including some rice-growing areas. This has not had an immediate impact on prices though, traders said.
"Buyers seem to be heading to Vietnam as Thai prices are a lot higher," a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.
"We think that prices have bottomed and that domestic supplies have gone low as the summer-autumn harvest has ended."
In Vietnam, rates for 5% broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1> rose to $335 a tonne on Thursday from $325 a week earlier, which was its lowest since November 2007.
Preliminary data showed at least 37,100 tonnes of rice is scheduled to be loaded at Ho Chi Minh City ports during Oct. 1-9, with most of the shipments bound for West Africa and Malaysia, according to traders.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh is considering providing a subsidy to farmers, who suffered a double blow of low rice prices and high harvesting costs, in an effort to reduce production costs and boost domestic output, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque told Reuters on Thursday.
"To make it profitable, we must use more machinery because the labour price is very high. We'll provide (a) subsidy to help farmers buy modern machinery so that they minimize labour costs for production," he said.
Dhaka has been unable to clinch overseas deals since a long-standing export ban was lifted in May as its rice is more expensive than India's or Thailand's, despite a recent fall in local prices.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu in Hanoi, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Ruma Paul in Dhaka and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Editing by Susan Fenton)
https://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/rpt-asia-rice-indian-prices-slip-on-weak-african-demand-strong-baht-hurts-thai


DA gives away farming tools to Iloilo farmers
September 26, 2019 | 8:22 pm
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THE Agriculture department has given away P135.4 million worth of farming equipment to rice and corn farmers in Iloilo, it said in a statement yesterday.
Farmers received 27 hand tractors, 20 rice threshers, 20 pump engines, a corn sheller, two walk-behind transplanters and a ride-on transplanter. Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar led the distribution on Sept. 24, which also included four floating tillers, four mini four-wheel tractors and two mobile dryers.
The National Food Authority of Western Visayas also gave away farming machinery to cooperatives that help procure palay or unmilled rice to ensure the country has enough rice buffer stock.
The equipment included 15 mobile dryers, 11 mini four-wheel tractors, 11 combine harvesters, 11 transplanters and 250 granule applicators.
Mr. Dar encouraged farmers to form cooperatives so they will have “leveraging powers” and help develop the agriculture sector.
The Agriculture department has distributed P675,000 financial assistance to farmers, while the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. has awarded P147 million in insurance coverage, the agency said. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Producing sustainable food is every company’s business

Description: GEF logo
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Collaborative effort: business leaders must work together to re-think global food systems CREDIT: GETTY
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Sunny Verghese, co-founder and group chief executive of Olam International and Chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Businesses of all kinds must be prepared to help re-imagine the world’s food system, which is not fit for purpose
Are you reading this with a cup of coffee, a piece of chocolate or maybe even a protein bar with nuts and puffed rice?  There is a good chance that the coffee beans, cocoa, nuts or rice were bought or grown, and then processed, by my company, Olam.
We may not be a household name, but we supply manufacturers with the ingredients to make the brands you know. 
Before reaching your cup or plate, every coffee or cocoa bean, nut and grain of rice, carries a whole backstory – which, in many cases, needs to change. The Earth’s resource boundaries are already being breached, exacerbated by poor farming practices, and we are due to add another two billion people by 2050. The world’s global commons that sustain us all are in peril.
Description: Sunny Verghese

Bright outlook: Sunny Verghese, co-founder and group chief executive of Olam International
Meanwhile, many farmers on low incomes are at the mercy of supply-and-demand economics. Although two billion cups of coffee are consumed worldwide every day, and the price of a cappuccino can now approach £3, millions of small-scale coffee farmers are not making a living.
Of course, a huge proportion of the responsibility lies with companies such as Olam, and our peers and manufacturing and retail customers, to drive better environmental practices and improve livelihoods across our supply chains. But business leaders beyond our sector must realise that they too can help reimagine global food systems.
Much of the food and ingredients that Olam supplies to multinational brands are grown by an estimated 4.8 million smallholder farmers from whom we buy either directly or via intermediaries. 
Many live in tiny rural villages in countries such as Ivory Coast and Uganda, often with no electricity or running water – and are sometimes even unable to count properly because of lack of schooling.
Low knowledge of good agricultural practices impacts yields and the environment. Despite Olam being based in these regions, we simply do not have the resources to reach every single farmer with sustainability practices and income support programmes. 
Please do think about how your activities may directly or indirectly affect the farmers growing the food we eat
However, we have made headway over the years. Along with partners and certifiers, we now directly support about 446,000 smallholders with economic and environmental training, better seedlings and social infrastructure such as schools and clinics. 
We have invested heavily in putting structures in place under our innovative initiative AtSource, which provides our customers with the social and environmental footprints of the products that they source from us. 
All of us in the chain thus have the information we need to make more informed decisions about the social and environmental changes required. But we, and the rest of the sector, need to go much further and more quickly. To do so, we also need the help of others.
Even chief executives are consumers first. More people need to start asking questions about the food they eat. The more they ask for sustainably produced food, the more companies across the world will be galvanised to deliver it. 
It is also important to remember to savour food – not just for its taste but for the memory of the farmers who have worked so hard to produce it. It is a travesty that a third of the food we produce is lost or wasted when 821 million people go hungry every day. 
Picturing farmers may make it harder to throw their hard work in the bin, along with the invisible balloon of greenhouse gases that is emitted as it rots.
Second, all businesses need to see their role in food security and climate change.
Despite the emergence of underground farms and giant hi-tech, temperature-controlled greenhouses, the vast bulk of the world’s food is grown under the sun and is thus exposed to not just warming temperatures but also the disease, pests, floods and drought that the extra heat can bring. 
Description: Vegetables on a kitchen work top

Travesty: a third of food produced is lost or wasted while 821 million people go hungry CREDIT: GETTY
This is compounded by the fact that keeping global temperatures to a 2C (3.6F) increase above pre-industrial levels is no longer enough: it needs to be 1.5C. Agriculture must get its own house in order – it accounts for 11pc of all man-made emissions – and other sectors must also reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Third, business must do what it does well: see opportunities and identify solutions and innovations. Tech companies, for example, are producing remarkable software to ensure that agriculture uses the precise amount of water, fertiliser and pesticide required. 
Meanwhile, Accenture found last year that 53pc of UK consumers “prefer to buy goods and services from companies that stand for a shared purpose that reflects their personal values and beliefs, and are ditching those that don’t”. Sustainable business is profitable.
Fourth, businesses can accelerate their progress through guidance and support.
I chair the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a CEO-led organisation of more than 200 leading businesses such as Nestlé, Unilever, Santander, Toyota and Microsoft that are working together on the transition to a more sustainable world and helping sustainable companies become more successful. Much of their combined experience is available as free guides on the WBCSD website. 
Finally, companies do not have to do everything alone. Olam has benefited from many collaborations, and these can open up opportunities for public sector funding.
The Sustainable Rice Landscapes Initiative, for example, involves WBCSD companies, rice research and standards experts, multilateral agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization, and development agencies. 
The Global Environment Facility is providing $50m in funding to support programmes that help rice farmers reduce emissions of methane, a gas far more potent than carbon dioxide in climate change. 
There has been much debate about whether business should only focus on creating value for shareholders or whether it also has a responsibility to preserve our planet and ensure progress for the wider society to which it belongs. 
Please do think about how your activities may directly or indirectly affect the farmers growing the food we eat – and help us reimagine our shared future.
For more information, visit thegef.org
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