PARC Recommends 07 New Rice
Verities For Commercial Cultivation In Pakistan
The Variety Evaluation Committee of Pakistan Agriculture Research
Council (PARC) here on Tuesday approved 07 new rice verities for commercial
cultivation across the crop sowing areas of the country
ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint /
Pakistan Point News - 3rd Sep, 2019 ) :The Variety Evaluation Committee
of Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) here on
Tuesday approved 07 new rice verities for commercial cultivation across the
crop sowing areas of the country.
The Committee which met with Chairman PARC in the Chair, discussed
the characteristics of different verities of rice seeds for commercial
cultivation and their impact on per-acre yield.
The National Coordinator on Rice of
PARC presented working paper for all thirty three proposals of rice hybrids
varieties for recommendation to the Federal Seed Certification and Registration
Department. The Committee recommended 7 rice hybrid varieties for commercial
cultivation in the country. Representatives of seed companies appreciated the
role of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council for setting
the new bench marks for testing of rice hybrids varieties in Pakistan for the benefits of farmers as well as
rice sector in Pakistan.
Addressing the meeting, Chairman PARC Muhammad Ayub Chaudhry
appreciated the role of private and public sector for taking interest in
research and development of rice in the country.
He briefed about upcoming projects
on rice under Prime Minister's National Agriculture Emergency Program and said that he was
happy to see foreigners participating in the Committee's meeting.
Meanwhile, Dr Abdul Ghafoor,
Member, Plant Sciences Division, PARC emphasized the role of quality seed for
the productivity and profitability of farmers and appreciated the role of seed
companies and public sector institutes for making efforts to improve the
potential of rice hybrids/varieties in Pakistan.
The meeting was attended by by
technical members from National Agriculture Research System including the Director
General, Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department, food Security Commissioner from Ministry of National Food Security and
Research.
The representatives of seed
companies including Chairman Seed Association of Pakistan also attended the meeting.
Rice exporters for forward exchange rates booking
Rice exporters have asked the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for
forward exchange rates booking against import of plant machinery and grain
storages and allied equipment for export sector. In a meeting with Governor
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Dr Reza Baqir at Federation House on Friday,
Rafique Suleman Convener FPCCI Standing Committee on Rice Exports and former
Chairman Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) highlighted the issues
being faced by the rice exporters.
He said that SBP has continued to provide incentivised financing schemes for exporters in lieu of BMR and setting up new infrastructures for plant machines and grain storage solutions which definitely helps the export sector immensely, but due highly volatile exchange rates, the planned expansions bring in uncertainty thus the volatility deterring the incentives provided by SBP.
Therefore, he requested governor SBP that exporters particularly rice sector should be allowed forward exchange rates booking against import of plant machinery and grain storages and allied equipment, in order to have sound expansion planning. Suleman mentioned that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has announced to issue the bonds to rice exporters against their Sales Tax Receivables and accordingly accepted by exporters, however, these are not yet tradable instruments. He requested that since these bonds will be issued in lieu of Payables by the State to exporters, SBP may instruct National Bank of Pakistan to commence purchasing these bonds at face value. This will help the exporters to manage their liquidity.
Convener FPCCI Sanding Committee on Rice also informed that commercial banks are refusing to certify Form-E when product value is higher than the listed Minimum Export Price (MEP). During off season especially for premium varieties such as IRRI-9, PK-386, Basmati, 1121 and similar, the price of rice increases due to premium derived from high cooking results.
"We have received multiple complaints by REAP members that where price per unit is higher than the listed MEP, commercial banks are refusing to certify the Form-E," he added. There is need to be clarified here that the enforcement of Minimum Export Price was implemented on the suggestion of REAP to TDAP to address the menace of under invoicing, but there should be no bar on higher values, on the contrary government should encourage premium value exports by fetching higher value of per unit price, he urged.
Suleman said that exporters are making efforts to enhance rice exports up to $5 billion dollar in next few years, however there is need to address the issues being faced by the rice trade. During the meeting, governor SBP assured to facilitate the rice exporters to earn more foreign exchange for the country.
He said that SBP has continued to provide incentivised financing schemes for exporters in lieu of BMR and setting up new infrastructures for plant machines and grain storage solutions which definitely helps the export sector immensely, but due highly volatile exchange rates, the planned expansions bring in uncertainty thus the volatility deterring the incentives provided by SBP.
Therefore, he requested governor SBP that exporters particularly rice sector should be allowed forward exchange rates booking against import of plant machinery and grain storages and allied equipment, in order to have sound expansion planning. Suleman mentioned that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has announced to issue the bonds to rice exporters against their Sales Tax Receivables and accordingly accepted by exporters, however, these are not yet tradable instruments. He requested that since these bonds will be issued in lieu of Payables by the State to exporters, SBP may instruct National Bank of Pakistan to commence purchasing these bonds at face value. This will help the exporters to manage their liquidity.
Convener FPCCI Sanding Committee on Rice also informed that commercial banks are refusing to certify Form-E when product value is higher than the listed Minimum Export Price (MEP). During off season especially for premium varieties such as IRRI-9, PK-386, Basmati, 1121 and similar, the price of rice increases due to premium derived from high cooking results.
"We have received multiple complaints by REAP members that where price per unit is higher than the listed MEP, commercial banks are refusing to certify the Form-E," he added. There is need to be clarified here that the enforcement of Minimum Export Price was implemented on the suggestion of REAP to TDAP to address the menace of under invoicing, but there should be no bar on higher values, on the contrary government should encourage premium value exports by fetching higher value of per unit price, he urged.
Suleman said that exporters are making efforts to enhance rice exports up to $5 billion dollar in next few years, however there is need to address the issues being faced by the rice trade. During the meeting, governor SBP assured to facilitate the rice exporters to earn more foreign exchange for the country.
British Kashmiris Boycott Indian
Rice In England
British Kashmiris have boycotted the Indian rice in England in
reaction to the Indian government's recent step regarding occupied Kashmir
ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint /
Pakistan Point News - 3rd Sep, 2019) :British Kashmiris have boycotted
the Indian rice in England in reaction to the Indian government's recent step regarding occupied Kashmir.
According to Jammu Kashmir TV, 1.2 million British Kahsmiris have boycotted the Indian product to send a message to India against withdrawal of the special status of
occupied Kashmir.
The Indian rice has been put on offer at shops at
lower rates due to decrease in demand in England.
On the other hand, the Kashmir
valley remains cut off from the rest of the world since August 05 due to the continued blockade and
suspension of internet, mobile and landline phones and closure of tv channels.
Rice: Produce floods
Katsina markets as farmers begin harvest
Tunde Ososanya - Markets in Katsina are being flooded with
rice as farmers begin massive harvest of the produce - Price of rice in Katsina
markets has reduced due to the massive harvest by farmers in the state -
According to a farmer, Alhaji Umar Osman, the low market price of rice compared
to last year’s is nothing to worry about - Oman says the price will not affect
the revenue of the farmers As farmers in Katsina begin massive harvest of rice,
the produce is currently flooding markets around the state, a development that
has made the price of rice to reduce. A large-scale farmer identified as Alhaji
Umar Osman said that the low market price of rice compared to last year’s is
nothing to worry about. According to him, the price will not affect the revenue
of the farmers, Daily Trust reports. Legit.ng notes that Osman said: “The
volume of rice produced this year in this state will be higher than that of
last year. From Danmusa down to Sabuwa LGA everywhere are rice farms and God so
kind blessed us with adequate rainfall this year. 7 popular types of poultry
farming in Nigeria “Because of its massive production, what you just saw in the
markets is the beginning of rice harvest in the state.” Speaking about the
price, Muhammadu Ashiru, a paddy rice dealer at Dandume market, said: “Last
year by now, a bag of paddy rice was sold for N8,000 to N10,000 depending on
variety. "But now the price starts from N5,000 to N8,000. ‘Farar Jar
Naira’ variety was sold at N8,000; ‘Jeap’ variety was sold at N6,000, while the
rest were sold at not less than N5,000. The prices notwithstanding do not badly
affect the farmers as they are recording bumper harvest.” Meanwhile, Legit.ng
previously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, August 28,
explained the reason for the partial closure of Nigeria’s border with Benin
Republic. The president said the closure was based on the fact that there were
massive smuggling activities, especially of rice, happening at the border. Did
you know how important fish farming is for Nigeria? Buhari made this known
during his side meeting with the president of Benin, Patrice Talon, at the
Seventh Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD7) in
Japan. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on
Nigeria’s #1 news app The president expressed great grief over the fact that
rice smuggling threatens his administration's agricultural policies which have
tried to ensure self-sufficiency. He said: “Now that our people in the rural
areas are going back to their farms, and the country has saved huge sums of
money which would otherwise have been expended on importing rice using our
scarce foreign reserves, we cannot allow smuggling of the product at such
alarming proportions to continue.” Read more:
Why China, The World's Largest Rice Producer, Quietly Bought U.S. Rice
Last Year
September 2, 20196:36 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
China is the world's biggest rice producer. So why did it agree
to buy two shipping containers of rice from the U.S.? Planet Money reporters
explain the other trade battle between the two countries.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The world is fixated on the U.S.-China trade war. But there's
another tariff fight with China happening behind the scenes with a lot of money
at stake, a battle over rice. Planet Money reporters Cardiff Garcia and Sally
Herships explain why China agreed to buy two shipping containers of rice from
the United States.
SALLY HERSHIPS, BYLINE: Very quietly last winter, China agreed
to buy some rice from the U.S. - two shipping containers-full.
JIM GUINN: So that's the first sale of rice to China in recent
history.
CARDIFF GARCIA, BYLINE: Jim Guinn is with the USA Rice
Federation, a trade association. And I think we should all just pause here for
a minute because we are talking about China buying rice from America. China is
the world's largest producer of rice - 200 million tons a year it produces.
HERSHIPS: The plan for China to buy rice from America, it has
been cooking for a really long time.
GARCIA: Nice.
HERSHIPS: (Laughter). And while administrations were changing,
trade policies were shifting, rice importers and exporters on both sides of the
ocean were left waiting. So this story really gets its start back in 2001. That
is the year China joins the World Trade Organization. The job of the WTO is to
oversee trade between different countries. If you join, you get to benefit from
all these special trade deals with the other member countries. And for the already
established members, when a country as big as China joins, it can mean all
these potential new customers. So as part of the deal it cut when it joined the
WTO, China agreed to make it easier and cheaper specifically for 5.3 million
tons of foreign rice to come into the country.
JOE GLAUBER: In the rice world, that's a lot of rice.
GARCIA: Joe Glauber is a senior research fellow at the
International Food Policy Research Institute and a former chief economist at
the U.S. Department of Agriculture. So this deal happens, and rice farmers are
getting psyched. Exporters are getting really excited. But there was a problem.
China reneged on its side of the deal. China was not making it easier or
cheaper to import foreign rice like it had promised. And if you were a U.S.
farmer hoping to sell some of your rice crop to China, things just were not
moving.
GLAUBER: China just wasn't importing rice.
GARCIA: At least, not from the United States. China was
importing a tiny bit of rice from other countries. So what do you do if you are
the United States? Well, you do the same thing that a lot of parties with a
grievance do. You litigate at the WTO.
GLAUBER: The U.S., actually, during the last couple of months of
the Obama administration took China to the WTO to the settlement body and said,
hey, China's not playing by the rules. They're not importing rice.
HERSHIPS: The World Trade Organization has its own kind of
court, the Dispute Settlement Body. It lets countries which are upset with
other countries about tariffs and import licenses try to work things out.
GARCIA: The case took three years to work out, which, as these
things go, is actually pretty quick. But it did eventually get settled. The WTO
said that China had to allow the sale, and China agreed to let it go through.
HERSHIPS: And even though the Chinese government may have been a
reluctant purchaser of American rice, there are many consumers in China who
might want the option to buy rice from America.
GARCIA: So the Chinese finally agreed to start importing more
foreign rice, and it placed an order for American rice.
HERSHIPS: And that is the speed of international trade, Cardiff.
Some of these deals can take a really long time to cook up.
GARCIA: Cardiff Garcia.
HERSHIPS: Sally Herships.
The ANC Brief: Prison time
ABS-CBN News
Nicanor Faeldon said he isn’t
leaving the Bureau of Corrections, and the Palace said, he still enjoys the
trust and confidence of the president. Here are the big stories making the
headlines on ANC today:
Not going anywhere
Officials of the Bureau of Corrections led by Nicanor Faeldon were grilled at the Senate over the controversial good conduct time allowance for convicts. Faeldon admitted there was no release order for Antonio Sanchez because he recalled it. He also confirmed 3 of the convicts in the case of the Chiong sisters have been released. Faeldon said he is not stepping down. But the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission is set to conduct a probe into the release of inmates convicted of heinous crimes. The Senate’s Blue Ribbon Committee will continue its hearing on the controversy. The House is also scheduled to conduct its probe on the issue.
Officials of the Bureau of Corrections led by Nicanor Faeldon were grilled at the Senate over the controversial good conduct time allowance for convicts. Faeldon admitted there was no release order for Antonio Sanchez because he recalled it. He also confirmed 3 of the convicts in the case of the Chiong sisters have been released. Faeldon said he is not stepping down. But the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission is set to conduct a probe into the release of inmates convicted of heinous crimes. The Senate’s Blue Ribbon Committee will continue its hearing on the controversy. The House is also scheduled to conduct its probe on the issue.
Rice is life
The Senate will hold a hearing on the Rice Tariffication Law, which has been blamed for the flooding of rice imports and the current difficulties of farmers. Hopefully lawmakers will see a solution and prevent the extinction of the Filipino rice farmer.
The Senate will hold a hearing on the Rice Tariffication Law, which has been blamed for the flooding of rice imports and the current difficulties of farmers. Hopefully lawmakers will see a solution and prevent the extinction of the Filipino rice farmer.
No cash transfers, just loans for
rice farmers
Ralf Rivas
Published 2:40 PM, September 03, 2019
Updated 2:40 PM, September 03, 2019
ASSISTANCE. The Department of Agriculture provides zero-interest
loans for farmers. File photo by Albert Victoria/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines – As palay
farmgate prices reportedly drop to as low as P7 per kilo in some areas, small
farmers hurt by the rice tariffication law will
not be receiving conditional cash transfers from the government.
However, they may avail of
zero-interest loans, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The DA launched on Monday, September
2, its Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance Program for Rice Farmers (SURE
Aid) in Nueva Ecija.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar
led the distribution of some 1,000 cash cards containing P15,000. The amount is
readily available for them to withdraw and is payable in 8 years with no
interest.
The DA allocated P1.5 billion
under the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) and is administered by the
Land Bank of the Philippines.
Senator Cynthia Villar said in a briefing on the matter on
Tuesday, September 3, that the payment period for the loan essentially operates
like a doleout, since it has no interest and rejects inflation factors.
Dar said in a DZMM interview that
the DA does not have the money to shell out conditional cash transfers to
farmers tending to small rice fields.
Other Stories
Where's P4 billion for farmers? Villar grills DBM, DA
Think tank Action for Economic
Reforms (AER) said that while the loan program will not be enough to cover some
60,000 farmers who own less than one hectare, it is a good start.
"We hope that unconditional
cash transfer can be provided for those which will not be covered by the ACPC
loan. Let us not forget in the narrative the remaining 500,000 small farm
owners who are also suffering from the worsening situation in our market,"
AER president Jessica Reyes Cantos said.
As stated in the law, P10 billion
of the total collection from tariffs will be allocated for seeds,
mechanization, and the extension component of the program. P1 billion will be
for the credit facility for farmers.
Laurence Go, a researcher of AER,
believes that the Department of Social Welfare and Development is the only
agency that can implement the proposed unconditional cash transfer.
Meanwhile, Socioeconomic Planning
Undersecretary Mercedita Sombilla said that the unconditional cash transfer
provision was not put in the rice tariffication law, since the essence of the
measure is to liberalize trade and let market forces play out.
"We have been giving loans
for decades and it's not effective. With the law, we are doing a different
approach to help the agriculture sector," Sombilla said.
Farmers are having a hard time competing
with cheap rice imports because producing rice in the Philippines costs around
P12 per kilo. The production cost of countries like Vietnam and Thailand is less
than half of that. – Rappler.com
Gov’t may
raise rice import tariffs to protect farmers – Marcos
By: Neil Arwin Mercado - Reporter / @NAMercadoINQ
INQUIRER.net / 08:01 PM September 02, 2019
MANILA, Philippines — “If South Korea and
Japan have imposed import tariffs of 500% to 800% to protect their local
farmers, why can’t we?”
Sen. Imee Marcos asked this question Monday
as she offered possible solutions to the possibility of a drop in the buying
price of palay due to cheap imports.
Marcos said that the government could
provide financial support for local farmers by activating Section 7 of the Rice
Tariffication Law, which gives the President the ability to increase tariffs on
rice imports from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
and even non-Asian countries.
Marcos called for the government to bring
back the 17-peso support price of palay, citing that farm gate price of palay
has plunged to P7 per kilo, lower than the average production cost of P12.
According to her, farmers have lost as much
as 41.6% of their investment in the month of August.
Other possible solutions
Marcos debunked the idea that the situation
of farmers had become “hopeless” and that “little can be done” to address the
problems.
Other possible solutions that Marcos listed
include the use of the Department of Agriculture’s Quick Response Fund to buy
palay from farmers in addressing the government’s “currently inadequate” rice
buffer stock, which will last for only 30 days.
Marcos said Recipients of the Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4P’s) can also receive rice subsidies instead of
cash, with these rice supplies bought from local farmers.
Stricter phytosanitary requirements could
also be imposed to slow down the entry of rice imports, as well as distribute
rice import supplies in various markets nationwide.
The government could also consider adding
rice in a “special products list” to allow for a more flexible trade set-up,
especially when livelihood security is at risk, the senator added.
“We can save our rice farmers if we could
just be thorough in our tasks, work hard, and get things done ASAP,” Marcos
said.
The National Food Authority (NFA) was earlier
asked to hasten the sale of more than four million bags of imported rice
stocked in its warehouses with the proceeds to be used to purchase palay from
local farmers.
For supporting liberalization of rice imports, DOF applauded by mayors
By
-
September 3, 2019
In
File Photo: The National Food Authority stores its buffer rice stock consisting
of imports and paddy it purchased from farmers in its warehouses.
THE League of Cities of the
Philippines (LCP) lauded the Department of Finance (DOF) for pushing the
enactment of the law liberalizing rice imports, saying the law provided a “huge
benefit” for their respective constituents.
In a manifesto, the umbrella
organization of city mayors across the country said that since Republic Act
11203—or the rice liberalization law—took effect last March, the average retail
cost of rice has dropped by at least P7 per kilo or 20 percent less than last
year’s peak rates.
“We in the [LCP] have seen the
huge benefit of this law to our respective constituencies who now enjoy more
affordable prices of rice,” the group said in the manifesto signed by the
organization’s national chairman, Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella.
“In this regard, the efforts of Dominguez,
the [DOF], and the rest of the country’s economic team should not go
unnoticed,” said the LCP, which has 145 city mayors as members.
The rice liberalization law was
approved, signed and implemented at the time when the country’s inflation rate
accelerated due to the confluence of higher prices in food and oil prices, as
well as the interjection of second round effects.
In 2018, when prices were
continuously rising above the government’s 2 percent to 4 percent target range,
President Duterte ordered the implementation of nonmonetary measures to ease
food supply bottlenecks.
Following the implementation of
the rice tariffication law, as well as the decline of prices in other segments,
the country’s inflation rate has also fallen significantly last June—from a
high of 6.7 percent in September and October 2018 to 2.4 percent in July 2019.
Dominguez has described the rice
liberalization law on the shift from quantitative restrictions to tariffs on
rice imports as a “proud” accomplishment of the Duterte presidency and the DOF,
given that it took more than 30 years under various administrations to get the
Congress to approve this game-changing reform.
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Drought resistant gene discovery could protect
crops against climate change
Drought resistant gene discovery
could protect crops against climate change
Scientists have located a gene in
barley responsible for drought resistance.
02nd
September, 2019 at 11:29
The discovery of a gene in barley responsible for drought
resistance will help future-proof crops against some of the effects of climate change, scientists believe.
Researchers spent nearly five years isolating the specific gene
– HvMYB1- from the more than 39,000 genes in barley.
Tests proved plants in which the gene is more prominently
expressed are better able to survive drought.
The scientists believes this finding will have important
implications for the cereals industry as it faces increasing challenges from
climate change-related drought.
Peter Morris from Heriot Watt University led the research team.
“By increasing the expression of this particular gene in test
plants and simulating drought conditions, we’ve been able to prove that plants
in which HvMYB1 is more prominently expressed are able to survive prolonged
periods of drought,” he said.
“This is a significant finding that will allow more drought
resistance crops to be bred in the future.
“Drought is already impacting yields with the European cereals
harvest hit particularly hard in 2018. A prolonged, dry and hot summer
significantly impacted yields and quality.
“As climate change gathers pace and we experience more extreme
seasons, it is essential we can maintain continuity of supply.
“This is significant for key industries like Scotch whisky, one
of the UK’s leading export items.”
Peter Morris and Ross Alexander examine barley plants
in the lab (Heriot Watt University/PA)
Mr Morris added: “This also has important implications for the
wider cereals industry including the production of wheat, maize and rice.”
The research was funded by the Scotch Whisky Association and
Interface, which matches businesses with academic experts.
The findings were published in the Journal
of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry.
LSU AgCenter
partners with GB Sciences to produce medical marijuana
·
·
Sep
2, 2019 Updated Sep 2, 2019
Marijuana sits in an LSU AgCenter warehouse.
As anyone who has ever been put on hold by the LSU Office of
Admissions can tell you, LSU is an award-winning school that participates in
ground-breaking research. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that LSU AgCenter
is partnering with GB Sciences Louisiana in a historic program researching and
producing medical marijuana.
GB Sciences Louisiana President John B. Davis said the
partnership between the AgCenter and GB Sciences is the first of its kind.
“This doesn’t exist anywhere else in the United States or in the
world," Davis said. "This is a first."
The production facility in Baton Rouge began full-scale
production of therapeutic cannabis in March 2019 and released their first
products in early Aug. 2019. The facility was built by GB Sciences and includes
a 6,000 square foot laboratory space the AgCenter will use for research on the
cannabis plant, similar to the research it has conducted on rice and wheat crops.
GB Sciences produces 3 different formulations of therapeutic
cannabis. The different formulations contain different concentrations of
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), and also have different
delivery methods.
The bill that granted LSU AgCenter one of two licenses in
Louisiana to grow and research medical marijuana also outlined what medical
conditions are eligible for treatment via medical marijuana, as well as the
process doctors and pharmacies must go through to become licensed. 
The list of eligible medical conditions is wide-ranging and
includes disorders such as HIV and AIDS, cancer, seizure disorders and
epilepsy, glaucoma, Parkinson’s disease, and PTSD.
Davis said therapeutic cannabis is not an appropriate treatment
for everyone. He recommends patients with a medical condition eligible for
medical marijuana treatment talk to their doctors.
Like any pharmaceutical, there is no blanket dosage that works
for every patient. Different patients with different conditions and symptoms will
need different concentrations and dosages.
“In all cases, the suggested recommendation is to start low and
stay low until you find your most therapeutic level of medication,” Davis
said.
Davis and AgCenter Vice President Ashley Mullens said the program
has not received any backlash so far.
Mullens said many people have a personal connection to someone
who has or perhaps could in the future benefit from medical marijuana.
“We all have loved ones that will benefit from this product,”
Mullens said.
Davis believes the program hasn't received any backlash because
it isn't providing recreational marijuana, but instead a medication for people
in need.
“When we think of medicine, we think of those family members or
friends within our circle who have a debilitating medical condition,” Davis
said. “And all that we really want is to provide them with improved quality of
life.”
Currently, the GB Sciences lab employees 15 people, but Davis
predicts the program could grow to employ up to 60 people. The project has drawn
interest from Louisiana scientists but had been working in regions with more
robust medical marijuana industries, such as Colorado, the West Coast and
Washington D.C.
As for the future of the project, the AgCenter is currently in
talks with Pennington Biomedical Research Center and LSU Health Science Center
about the possibility of conducting clinical trials.
Currently, no active University students are allowed inside the
facility, but Mullens hopes grad students will be able to conduct research
there in the future.
Gene found for drought-resistant
crops
Laura Paterson
UK scientists say a gene found in barley will help to
future-proof crops against climate change.Image: EPA
The discovery of a gene in barley responsible for drought
resistance will help future-proof crops against some of the effects of climate
change, scientists believe.
Researchers spent nearly five years isolating the specific gene
- HvMYB1 - from the more than 39,000 genes in barley.
Tests proved plants in which the gene is more prominently
expressed are better able to survive drought.
The scientists believes this finding will have important
implications for the cereals industry as it faces increasing challenges from
climate change-related drought.
Peter Morris from Scotloand's Heriot Watt University led the
research team.
"By increasing the expression of this particular gene in
test plants and simulating drought conditions, we've been able to prove that
plants in which HvMYB1 is more prominently expressed are able to survive
prolonged periods of drought," he said.
"This is a significant finding that will allow more drought
resistance crops to be bred in the future.
"Drought is already impacting yields with the European
cereals harvest hit particularly hard in 2018. A prolonged, dry and hot summer
significantly impacted yields and quality.
"As climate change gathers pace and we experience more
extreme seasons, it is essential we can maintain continuity of supply.
"This is significant for key industries like Scotch whisky,
one of the UK's leading export items."
Mr Morris added: "This also has important implications for
the wider cereals industry including the production of wheat, maize and rice."
The research was funded by the Scotch Whisky Association and
Interface, which matches businesses with academic experts.
The findings were published in the Journal of Plant Physiology
and Biochemistry
Beyond Carolina Gold: Researchers
work to revive ancient Southern crops
Rick Boyles, a research scientist at Clemson’s Pee Dee Research
and Education Center, talks about how a combination of traditional and advanced
plant genetic approaches are being used to determine which grain lines are best
adapted to South Carolina and the entire Southeast.
FLORENCE – Clemson researchers
are working with the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation to revive heirloom grains in
South Carolina and renewal of the university’s Small Grains Breeding and
Genetics Program is one asset researchers believe will assist in this effort.
Rick Boyles, a research scientist
at the Clemson University Pee Dee Research and Education Center (Pee Dee REC)
and a foundation board member spoke about reviving the breeding program when he
gave a research update to almost 100 people attending the foundation’s spring
meeting held recently at the Pee Dee REC and Carolina Plantation Rice in
Darlington. Boyles is in the process of evaluating thousands of grain lines to
determine which ones are best adapted to South Carolina, as well as to the
entire Southeast.
“We’re evaluating important
traits such as disease resistance and grain quality,” Boyles said. “To become
more efficient, we are using a combination of traditional and advanced plant
genetics approaches to understand the genetic basis of important traits and
help to broaden the gene pool that exists in regional breeding populations.”
The Small Grains Breeding and
Genetics program has been inactive since 2008. Boyles said revival of the
program is desperately needed to help increase the availability of improved
plant varieties that have beneficial attributes to increase farmer productivity
and profitability in South Carolina.
“This program is continuing to build where it
needs to be so that, as Clemson researchers, we can identify, develop, and
release small grains cultivars that are tailored for South Carolina growers and
end-users, as well as additional stakeholders across the southeastern United
States,” Boyles said.
Boyles annually evaluates local
cultivars, also known as landraces, and crop wild relatives to find natural
genetic variation that can be exploited for crop improvement. Landraces
represent the oldest cultivated varieties that have been handed down in
communities to the present age. In comparison, heirlooms are varieties that
were carefully selected by growers over generations and distributed across
regions as a result of their uniqueness and value.
Boyles earned a doctoral degree
in genetics from Clemson and began working at the Pee Dee REC in 2017. He is
working with Clemson researchers, Stephen Kresovich and Brian Ward, as well as
David Shields, foundation chairman and Carolina distinguished professor for the
University of South Carolina, to research and repatriate the landrace grains
that once thrived in South Carolina.
Carolina Gold Rice is one of
these grains and was introduced to South Carolina in 1685 when a merchant ship
damaged by a raging storm hobbled in to the Charleston Harbor. In the ship’s
cargo bay was Carolina Gold Rice from Madagascar, Africa. The rice found its
way to South Carolina fields and became a major cash crop before a series of
mishaps caused it to totally disappear from the state. But, with help from the
foundation and some Clemson researchers, Carolina Gold is once again becoming a
popular rice for cultivation, owing to its resiliency and versatility.
Growing and
promoting S.C. culture
The agenda included a visit to
the Carolina Rice Plantation near Darlington where plantation owner Campbell
Coxe talked about how rice is grown, milled and sold from the plantation. He
has been farming rice for 20 years.
“I was growing cotton and was not
doing really well,” Coxe said. “I decided to diversify and grow something that
I could sell directly to consumers. This was a rice-growing area in the 1700s
and 1800s, so I started growing rice.”
When Coxe started growing rice,
he was shipping it 800 miles to be milled. After gasoline reached $4 a gallon
he decided he needed to do something, so he built a mill on the family farm.
Rice he grows, mills and packages is sold from a small farm store nearby. He grows
aromatic rice including: Carolina Plantation Brown Rice, Carolina Plantation
Charleston Gold Rice, Carolina Plantation Gold Rice and Carolina Plantation
White Rice.
Chefs all over South Carolina are
ambassadors for Carolina Gold Rice and South Carolina’s roots, including a
group of 4-H’ers from Charleston County who are taking their recipe, which
includes Carolina Gold Rice, to the Great American Seafood Cookoff in New
Orleans on August 4. The recipe is a modified version of Limpin’ Susan served
over a thick fish filet.
“The reason we chose this dish is
because it comes from the Gullah culture,” said Ian Adams, one of the 4-H’ers
going to the cookoff. “Gullah ties in to South Carolina’s roots and we wanted
to do our best to respect that connection and provide some insight to the
judges who may not be aware of that part of South Carolina’s history. We chose
Carolina Gold Rice because it too is a part of our state history. This rice has
a flavor that cannot be replicated with any other rice and it adds to the
flavor profile very nicely.”
Legend has it Limpin’ Susan was
the wife of Hoppin’ John, a peas and rice dish Gullah cooks have made for
generations in the South Carolina Sea Islands and Lowcountry, as well as the
Caribbean. While there are several versions of this recipe, depending on whose
kitchen it is being prepared, all have one ingredient in common – rice. In
fact, rice is a main ingredient in most Gullah dishes.
Joining Adams in New Orleans are
team members Joey Camarota and Lydia Potter.
Taking agriculture
to new levels
Diversified crop research and
development is conducted at Clemson’s Advanced Plant Technology Program. Led by
Kresovich, who holds the Robert and Lois Coker Endowed Chair of Genetics, the
program is home to an assembly of world-class scientists dedicated to taking
agriculture to new levels by developing innovative crop breeding and management
systems.
The foundation’s annual meeting
usually is held in Charleston, but in an effort to reach more farmers and show
diversity among South Carolina heritage crops, this year’s meeting was held in
Florence. In addition to farmers from several states, a delegation of rice
farmers from the West African country of Guinea-Bissau attended the event. Rice
and cashews are Guinea-Bissau’s largest crops. The Guinea-Bissau farmers speak
Portuguese and were lucky to have Clemson graduate student Giovanni Caputo
translate for them. Caputo is from Brazil and is working on his master’s degree
in weed science. Brian Ward, a research scientist at Clemson’s Coastal Research
and Education Center, asked Caputo to translate after finding out the farmers
were attending the event and just spoke Portuguese.
“This was the first time I’ve
ever translated for someone, so I was a little nervous,” Caputo said. “I wanted
to be sure I got everything correct, so if I didn’t understand something, I
asked someone who knew the topic and what was being said to be sure I was
giving the correct translation.”
Other speakers at the meeting
include Glenn Roberts, founder of Anson Mills on Folly Beach in Charleston, who
said weather conditions have kept him and his workers out of the fields.
“The weather has been very
challenging,” Roberts said. “The climate is changing and is presenting problems
we haven’t had in the past. We need to breed crops for climate change and we
need to move as quickly as we can.”
Also, during the meeting, Shields
discussed the history of the American palate and how changes in taste
acceptance have influenced plant breeding.
“Growing out a cuisine with the
guidance of the historical record gives the most convenient grounds for
experimentation with making ingredients as fine as they can be – given the
time, place, economy and environmental conditions,” said Shields, who is author
of Southern Provisions: The Creation & Revival of a Cuisine.
In addition, Hayden Smith,
adjunct professor at the College of Charleston, proposed forming a Rice
Institute at the College of Charleston with input from Clemson researchers and
others to help promote the growth of rice in South Carolina. Smith said this
would be a valuable asset for teaching agricultural and environmental demands
associated with growing rice.
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Seaweed extract to help boost rice production, pest resistance
September 2, 2019
RED seaweed extract carrageenan, which is widely used in the
food industry as an additive, has now been successfully processed for
agricultural use as a foliar fertilizer that is expected to boost rice
production and pest resistance.
In fact, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), in a launching over the weekend, is now promoting the use of Carrageenan Plant Growth Promoter (PGP) for farming applications after it was proven to be compatible with different cropping systems.
The DOST had in fact made the technology available to the private sector.
Aside from the recent launching in Central Luzon, the product is currently being launched nationwide by various technology adopters, distributing it through various dealers, cooperatives and other possible arrangements.
The Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) had even certified the carrageenan PGP for commercialization in rice, with plans to widen its
coverage to include other crops in the near future. For an optimal amount of nine liters per hectare, farmers could use the PGP along with conventional fertilizers.
Carrageenan PGP
Carrageenan is extracted from seaweeds and is mostly used as a food additive for its gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties. Technology developed by the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PNRI), led by Dr. Lucille V. Abad, had been able to unlock the other beneficial applications of carrageenan through irradiation technology.
Scientists from DOST-PNRI developed the PGP from carrageenan, a natural polymer extracted from red seaweed. Using the fabricated liquid handling system at PNRI's Electron Beam Irradiation Facility, the carrageenan solution is processed using electron beams into a foliar fertilizer sprayed at certain stages in the plant's life.
The PGP was funded by the DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development and tested in cooperation with the University of the Philippines-Los Baños National Crop Protection Center.
Through radiation processing, carrageenan was modified into an effective plant promoter. The growth promoter had been proven to contain essential micro and macro nutrients that help in the growth of crops like palay, pechay peanut and mungbeans.
Dr. Abad said the technology had been a product of almost 10 years of testing in seven regions that included several verification trials. Pilot tests for the positive effects of the carrageenan were initially carried out in Pulilan town in Bulacan. This later expanded to 5,000 hectares in seven regions for verification trials.
The formula was set for field trials by the Department of Agriculture (DA) from 2015 to 2019 to cover several provinces in Luzon, Panay Island, Zamboanga and Davao, for a total of around 35,000 hectares of farmland.
Farmers can maximize the potential yield of their crops when using PGP in conjunction with more efficient farming methods and proper timing.
Other food crops such as mungbean, peanut, leafy vegetables, corn, sugarcane, and banana are also being subjected to PGP field tests, where results showed an increase in yield by around 35 percent for mungbean and around 40 percent for peanut.
According to Dr. Abad, the formula has been proven to increase rice yields by as much as 30 percent versus the yield from average farmer practices.
She said the growth promoter fits well in the smarter rice production model, which promotes the use of mechanical rice transplanting, hybrid seeds and the use of plant growth promoter.
Carrageenan was also proven to make crops more resistant to blight and infestation caused by tungro virus, and strengthening the crops' extensive root systems, which can better withstand the effects of lodging during typhoons.
The PGP also had the effect of driving away harmful pests without harming insects and arthropods which are naturally beneficial to crops. Not only does the PGP increase the number of cavans, but it also made each cavan heavier and fully-laden with rice. With the PGP, farmers could earn up to an additional P16,000, an increase in income by over 19 percent.
Impact on the fight vs climate change, seaweed production
More than just improving the yield and agronomic traits of plants, scientists are also pushing the limits of the carrageenan PGP's beneficial effects, particularly whether it can help crops survive in adverse conditions, which become increasingly likely due to climate change as well as natural disasters.
The use of carrageenan as a component for agricultural fertilizer has a positive impact on the country's already thriving seaweed industry. The country is in fact the largest producer of industrial carrageenan where cultivated seaweed produces about 80 percent of the world supply. As of 2011 alone, global sales of carrageenan were estimated at $640 million.
The environmental benefits of seaweed production is also significant as it leaves only minimal environmental impact and even lessens the growing competition for access to land and freshwater. Seaweed, as it grows, breaks down environmental pollutants. Seaweed farms also provide a safe haven and nursery grounds for young fish and crustaceans which proves that fact that growing seaweed is environmentally friendly. And with the newest application of the use of seaweed extract for agriculture use, seaweed production may yet experience another boost with positive effects on mainstream agriculture and the environment.
In fact, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), in a launching over the weekend, is now promoting the use of Carrageenan Plant Growth Promoter (PGP) for farming applications after it was proven to be compatible with different cropping systems.
The DOST had in fact made the technology available to the private sector.
Aside from the recent launching in Central Luzon, the product is currently being launched nationwide by various technology adopters, distributing it through various dealers, cooperatives and other possible arrangements.
The Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) had even certified the carrageenan PGP for commercialization in rice, with plans to widen its
coverage to include other crops in the near future. For an optimal amount of nine liters per hectare, farmers could use the PGP along with conventional fertilizers.
Carrageenan PGP
Carrageenan is extracted from seaweeds and is mostly used as a food additive for its gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties. Technology developed by the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PNRI), led by Dr. Lucille V. Abad, had been able to unlock the other beneficial applications of carrageenan through irradiation technology.
Scientists from DOST-PNRI developed the PGP from carrageenan, a natural polymer extracted from red seaweed. Using the fabricated liquid handling system at PNRI's Electron Beam Irradiation Facility, the carrageenan solution is processed using electron beams into a foliar fertilizer sprayed at certain stages in the plant's life.
The PGP was funded by the DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development and tested in cooperation with the University of the Philippines-Los Baños National Crop Protection Center.
Through radiation processing, carrageenan was modified into an effective plant promoter. The growth promoter had been proven to contain essential micro and macro nutrients that help in the growth of crops like palay, pechay peanut and mungbeans.
Dr. Abad said the technology had been a product of almost 10 years of testing in seven regions that included several verification trials. Pilot tests for the positive effects of the carrageenan were initially carried out in Pulilan town in Bulacan. This later expanded to 5,000 hectares in seven regions for verification trials.
The formula was set for field trials by the Department of Agriculture (DA) from 2015 to 2019 to cover several provinces in Luzon, Panay Island, Zamboanga and Davao, for a total of around 35,000 hectares of farmland.
Farmers can maximize the potential yield of their crops when using PGP in conjunction with more efficient farming methods and proper timing.
Other food crops such as mungbean, peanut, leafy vegetables, corn, sugarcane, and banana are also being subjected to PGP field tests, where results showed an increase in yield by around 35 percent for mungbean and around 40 percent for peanut.
According to Dr. Abad, the formula has been proven to increase rice yields by as much as 30 percent versus the yield from average farmer practices.
She said the growth promoter fits well in the smarter rice production model, which promotes the use of mechanical rice transplanting, hybrid seeds and the use of plant growth promoter.
Carrageenan was also proven to make crops more resistant to blight and infestation caused by tungro virus, and strengthening the crops' extensive root systems, which can better withstand the effects of lodging during typhoons.
The PGP also had the effect of driving away harmful pests without harming insects and arthropods which are naturally beneficial to crops. Not only does the PGP increase the number of cavans, but it also made each cavan heavier and fully-laden with rice. With the PGP, farmers could earn up to an additional P16,000, an increase in income by over 19 percent.
Impact on the fight vs climate change, seaweed production
More than just improving the yield and agronomic traits of plants, scientists are also pushing the limits of the carrageenan PGP's beneficial effects, particularly whether it can help crops survive in adverse conditions, which become increasingly likely due to climate change as well as natural disasters.
The use of carrageenan as a component for agricultural fertilizer has a positive impact on the country's already thriving seaweed industry. The country is in fact the largest producer of industrial carrageenan where cultivated seaweed produces about 80 percent of the world supply. As of 2011 alone, global sales of carrageenan were estimated at $640 million.
The environmental benefits of seaweed production is also significant as it leaves only minimal environmental impact and even lessens the growing competition for access to land and freshwater. Seaweed, as it grows, breaks down environmental pollutants. Seaweed farms also provide a safe haven and nursery grounds for young fish and crustaceans which proves that fact that growing seaweed is environmentally friendly. And with the newest application of the use of seaweed extract for agriculture use, seaweed production may yet experience another boost with positive effects on mainstream agriculture and the environment.
NFA administrator Judy
Dansal said NFA’s procurement operations is a year-round activity and that the
grains agency is ready to receive palay deliveries from farmers across the
country.
NFA continues buying more palay
Louise
Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star) - September 1, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The National
Food Authority (NFA) maintained that it has never stopped buying palay
(unhusked rice) from local farmers.
NFA administrator Judy Dansal said
NFA’s procurement operations is a year-round activity and that the grains
agency is ready to receive palay deliveries from farmers across the country.
“This early, NFA is already
preparing for aggressive palay buying starting October, although we continue to
entertain farmers selling their stocks from sporadic harvests in between the
summer and main cropping seasons,” she said.
NFA’s current stock is about eight
million bags of rice, including the four million bags of imported rice,
400,000 bags of local rice and 6.3 million bags of palay for milling.
Dansal said the volume stock is
good for 13 days of national daily consumption requirement which means that NFA
is compliant with the provisions of the rice tariffication law.
The rice tariffication law passed
early this year requires NFA to maintain a 15 to 30 day buffer stock of rice
based on the daily consumption requirement of 651,860 bags.
“With these data, it is impossible
for NFA to stop buying palay as we haven’t even reached yet the maximum volume
of buffer stock required of us to maintain on a regular basis,” she said.
For January to August, NFA had
bought 5.9 million bags of palay, exceeding its target of 5.3 million. The
total volume is also 41 percent of the agency’s 14.46 million bags target for
the whole year.
Based on the country’s palay harvest
calendar, 30 percent of total annual production comes from the summer harvest
between March and May while 70 percent comes from the main harvest from October
to December.
“Even during the lean months
period, NFA is still able to buy palay because more farmers are selling to the
agency to take advantage of its higher buying price and incentives,” Dansal
said.
NFA currently buys palay at P17 per
kilogram support price plus P3 per kilo buffer stocking incentive.
This brings NFA’s maximum buying
price for clean and dry palay to P20.70 per kilo for farmer cooperatives and
P20.40 per kilo for individual farmers.
Border closure: Price of rice soars to
N18,500 a 50kg bag
September 1, 2019
By
rice of the staple food rice has soared higher again in the
Nigerian markets, as the current restrictions on the Nigerian -Seme and
Idiroko borders that started last week continues.
The ongoing security exercise which is said to be a move by the
Federal Government to tackle terrorism, banditry, smuggling and illegalities in
Nigeria by securing land borders has to a very large extent reduced the
cross-border smuggling of rice and other items from Cotonu, Benin to Nigeria.
The exercise code-named, ‘Ex-Swift Response, jointly conducted by
the Customs, Immigration, Police and military, National Drug Law Agency, NSCDC,
is coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
A rice dealer in Oke-Oba area of Lagos Johnson Eric said since the
border closure order started this week (last Tuesday), the price of rice has
continued to increase by the day.
“Before this time, we were selling a bag of 50 kilogrammes of
parboiled rice between N14, 000 and N15, 000 today, the story has changed.
“A bag of rice both the Nigerian and the foreign parboiled are now
between N18, 500 and N19, 500 depending on your source of supply,” he said.
Another dealer John Okemba said the commodity is now scarce owing
to the fact the commodity is no longer coming from Cotonu, that with this
development, it has starred the country in the face that all the noise about
rice sufficiency are all false
“If we have enough and affordable rice in this country, we would
not be relying on import or smuggled rice. As the case may be, all that the
impoverished Nigerian masses are interested in having food on their table.
“The landing cost of rice today is between N18, 000 and N18, 500
per 50kg bag depending on your location. Unlike in the past, there is no
disparity in the price of local and foreign rice anymore; the prices are the
same today.
He said the country’s rice production is low contrary to the claim
made by the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audi Ogbe
that Nigeria’s import has fallen by 95 per cent.
A bus driver on the Idiroko Lagos route Wasiu said the situation
has affected their business drastically; he was blunt to say that it would be
difficult to stop rice smuggling into Nigeria.
“So long as rice continues to be cheaper in West African
neighouring countries with Nigeria, smuggling of rice would never stop,’ he
said
Gov’t may
raise rice import tariffs to protect farmers – Marcos
By: Neil Arwin Mercado - Reporter / @NAMercadoINQ
INQUIRER.net / 08:01 PM September 02, 2019
MANILA, Philippines — “If South Korea and
Japan have imposed import tariffs of 500% to 800% to protect their local
farmers, why can’t we?”
Sen. Imee Marcos asked this question Monday
as she offered possible solutions to the possibility of a drop in the buying
price of palay due to cheap imports.
Marcos said that the government could
provide financial support for local farmers by activating Section 7 of the Rice
Tariffication Law, which gives the President the ability to increase tariffs on
rice imports from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
and even non-Asian countries.
Marcos called for the government to bring
back the 17-peso support price of palay, citing that farm gate price of palay
has plunged to P7 per kilo, lower than the average production cost of P12.
According to her, farmers have lost as much
as 41.6% of their investment in the month of August.
Other possible solutions
Marcos debunked the idea that the situation
of farmers had become “hopeless” and that “little can be done” to address the
problems.
Other possible solutions that Marcos listed
include the use of the Department of Agriculture’s Quick Response Fund to buy
palay from farmers in addressing the government’s “currently inadequate” rice
buffer stock, which will last for only 30 days.
Marcos said Recipients of the Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4P’s) can also receive rice subsidies instead of
cash, with these rice supplies bought from local farmers.
Stricter phytosanitary requirements could
also be imposed to slow down the entry of rice imports, as well as distribute
rice import supplies in various markets nationwide.
The government could also consider adding
rice in a “special products list” to allow for a more flexible trade set-up,
especially when livelihood security is at risk, the senator added.
“We can save our rice farmers if we could
just be thorough in our tasks, work hard, and get things done ASAP,” Marcos
said.
The National Food Authority (NFA) was
earlier asked to hasten the sale of more than four million bags of imported
rice stocked in its warehouses with the proceeds to be used to purchase palay
from local farmers.
Loans for 100,000 rice farmers
suffering from low palay prices readied
Published September 2, 2019, 10:00 PM
By Madelaine B. Miraflor
The Department of Agriculture
(DA) has resolved to address, albeit slowly, the fast declining price of palay
– forging a P1.5-billion deal with state-run Land Bank of the Philippines
(LandBank) that targets to provide loans to 100,000 of 2.4 million rice farmers
in the country.
On Monday, LandBank and the DA,
through the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), have formally turned over
the aforementioned credit facility, which will serve as an emergency assistance
program to ease the impact of the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 11203 or
the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) to local rice production.
More than 100,000 farmers are
expected to initially benefit from it.
To recall, the country’s more
than two million rice farmers are now suffering from the declining price of
palay amid the surge of imported supply in the local market. In some areas,
palay prices already went down to as low as P8 per kilogram (kg).
Under the LandBank-DA deal, the
government will implement the Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance Program
(SURE Aid) for Rice Farmers, which will provide an immediate one-time loan
assistance of P15,000, payable in eight years, to rice farmers who are tilling
one hectare of land and below, and whose incomes were affected by the drop of
prices of palay this year.
“We are trying to appraise the
very predicament of the rice farmers affected by a complex set of issues,
including the Rice Tariffication Law. But because of the falling prices of
palay, we thought it necessary to look at every opportunity that is available
for us,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said.
“There are many more measures and
this is one of them. We would like to get more ideas – measures that we need to
implement right away,” he added.
LandBank will be the one to
distribute the SURE Aid program by releasing the loans either through direct
lending to farmers or through service conduits, while DA will provide the bank
with the validated list of farmers eligible for the loan assistance as well as
the list of DA-identified service conduits.
A data from Philippine Statistics
Authority showed that the average farmgate price of palay from January to June
2019 stood at P18.87/kg, which was 7.4 percent lower than the previous year’s
average price of P20.38/kg.
As of the second week of August,
in particular, the average farmgate price of palay dropped to P17.62/kg,
falling by 20.9 percent from the P22.28 per kilogram price recorded in the same
period last year.
Meanwhile, Action for Economic
Reforms (AER) President Jessica Reyes-Canto said that while the P1.5-billion
credit facility “will not be enough to cover some 600,000 plus farmers who own
one hectare and below, it is a good start”.
“We hope that Unconditional Cash
Transfer (UCT) can be provided for those which will not be covered by the ACPC
loan. Let us not forget in the narrative the remaining 500,000 small farm
owners who are also suffering from the worsening situation in our market,”
Cantos said.
“In our dialogue with DA, we
found out that a P5,000 per cropping cash transfer is being contemplated to be
given to 1.7 million farmers owning 2 hectares and below. This is a generous
amount especially given that there will be other interventions to make,” she
added.
Filomeno Sta. Ana, co-convener of
AER, said that a cash transfer of P5,000, which sums up to P8.5 billion, is
just “a small price to pay for the reform.”
Implemented last March, the Rice Taffication Law reformed the local rice sector by letting go of the Quantitative Restrictions (QR) and allowing the entry of more imported rice into the country with a corresponding tariff.
Implemented last March, the Rice Taffication Law reformed the local rice sector by letting go of the Quantitative Restrictions (QR) and allowing the entry of more imported rice into the country with a corresponding tariff.
Mwea rice
farmers say heavy downpour a relief for their crop
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 2 2019
Rice paddies at Mwea Irrigation
Scheme in Kirinyaga County. Farmers whose rice had started drying up due to an
acute water shortage that had hit the giant scheme are a relieved lot following
a heavy downpour. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
In Summary
· The
rains come at time when the farmers expressed fears of a possible low
production of rice in the area.
· Levels
in major rivers in Kirinyaga which supply water for irrigation to the scheme
had gone down.
· For
rice to do well, water flowing in rivers should be at least 11.3 cubic metres.
By GEORGE MUNENEMore by this Author
Farmers
in Kirinyaga County whose rice had started drying up due to an acute water
shortage that had hit the giant Mwea Irrigation Scheme are a relieved lot
following a heavy downpour.
The
rains come at time when the farmers expressed fears of a possible low
production of rice in the area.
Jubilant
farmers Monday told the Nation that
the rains that flooded the dry rice fields took them by surprise, giving them
hope of getting good harvests.
HARVEST
"If
the rains continue pounding the area our crop will mature and we will harvest
it," said Mr Simon Njogu.
There
has been inadequate supply of water for irrigation following a prolonged dry
spell and farmers had expressed fears that production would fall drastically
this season.
Rice prices could trigger unrest, senior official says
02
SEP 2019
Setting a new floor price for rice could have repercussions
in the 2020 general elections and trigger unrest, a senior Commerce Ministry
official said.
U Aung Htoo, deputy minister of Commerce, said a higher paddy
price could boost support for government candidates among the country’s
millions of rural voters but could also have an adverse effect on urban
voters.
“A rice floor price is a very sensitive issue,” he said.
“A higher (price) is good but if it is lower there will be political
consequences that may lead to demonstrations.”
U Aung Htoo added, “The price must be beneficial for both
merchants and farmers.” Rice is a staple in Myanmar.
He said that in determining the floor price of rice, the
government must factor in the production costs of farmers.
U Aung Htoo added that the government has consulted with farmers
and the Myanmar Rice Federation, an organisation of rice traders, on the price
range, price controls and need for market intervention.
In 2018, the government set a floor price of K500,000 (US$328.54)
per 100 baskets (one basket is roughly 21 kilograms).
The federation and farmers cooperatives said that at present the
prices have fallen to K450,000 per 100 baskets in some areas of the country.
“We had to sell our rice for only K480,000 the other day,” said
Ko Myo Win, a farmer in Lewe township, Nay Pyi Taw.
The government has allocated K15 billion to stabilise the price
of paddy in 2020, said U Aung Htoo.
A farmer from Ayeyarwady Region, which is one of the “rice
bowls” of the country, lamented that traders were buying a basket of rice
weighing 22 or 23 kilos at the current price, which is as low as K450,000 per
100 baskets.
The farmers are calling on the government to fix not only the
floor price of paddy but also define how much a basket of rice must weigh.
A government committee has organised talks on the problem
between farmers, traders and other stakeholders.
About one third of the country’s cultivated area is planted in
rice, with nearly three-quarters of farm household income derived from rice
farming.
Tags:
Minister says change of base price of rice paddy must not affect
2020 elections
Saturday,
August 31, 2019
· Mizzima
Deputy Commerce Minister Aung Htoo said that they were changing
the base price of rice paddy and it was important that this should not affect
the forthcoming 2020 general elections.
He said these words at the opening address delivered at the Rice
Market and Price Reviewing Advisory Working Committee meeting held at the
commerce ministry office on August 30.
“The fixing of the paddy base price is a very sensitive matter.
We must fix a probable and practical price.
Overpricing is good but underpricing will have implications in
politics as we had had seen protest demonstrations last summer over this
matter. We must take utmost care in fixing the paddy base price as next year is
the year of the general elections,” Aung Htoo said.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation will fix
the paddy base price based on production costs, and a survey conducted by
asking questions of experienced traders and millers, farmers, experts and
academics.
Dy. Minister Aung Htoo added that demand and supply of paddy in
the market should also be taken into consideration in fixing the new paddy base
price.
“The new base paddy price must be win-win situation for both
producers and traders. The new price must be calculated correctly and we must
give assurance to this new base price. For doing this we must submit our new
base price calculated by this committee and production costs to the leading
committee to obtain their guidance,” the deputy minister said.
The last paddy base price for 2018 was 500,000 kyats for 100
baskets of paddy. (1 basket = 46 lbs)
The Federation of Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders issued a press
statement which says rice mills and rice traders from this federation will buy
the paddy at the base price when the regional market price is below this base
price.
Deputy Minister Aung Htoo said that his commerce ministry would
hold a price support fund of 15 billion kyats withdrawn from the State until
the end of the 2029 financial year as the paddy price for this year is above
the production costs.
The fixing and approval of this new paddy base price is being
done to be completed at the end of coming October and it is not yet known how
much it will be.
Examining our food policy
Published September 3, 2019, 12:12 AM
#MINDANAO
By JOHN TRIA
John Tria
Last week, analysts from both
government and the private sector gave us some good news: a further drop in
commodity prices or the inflation rate to below 2% until November.In
particular, Security Bank Corp. chief economist Robert Dan Roces, said that
August inflation may go down to 1.8%. (MB, Aug 31)
The main reasons being seen by
analysts are stable oil prices, a faster drop in retail food prices due to the
acceleration of the distribution of cheaper imported rice stocks entering the
market via the rice tarrification law. Others noted are the lowering of
electricity costs by December with increased generating capacity and the
expansion of the wholesale electricity spot market.
Lowered inflation projections are
a good time to examine of our food policy, because keeping food prices low for
consumers is what keeps inflation low, and will ensure long term growth and
poverty reduction.
Food accounts for more than half
the daily expense of our 20 million or so poor Filipinos, or the 21% below
poverty, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Of this
figure, rice accounts for half of the daily food consumption costs.
For added reference, the PSA
notes that of the 40 million or so workers in the country, more than half of
which (22 million) are in the service sector, 9 million in industry. The trend
shows that the figures for industry and services are increasing as a
proportion, due to the increase in investments. Only 11 million are in
agriculture, more than a third of which are considered poor farmers and
fisherfolk.
When we look at other estimates
per agriculture subsector, about 2 million plant and harvest rice and a million
are coconut farmers.
Now what does this all mean?
The bigger number who live in
cities therefore have to buy this food with cash. Raising minimum wages alone
do not lift people out of poverty. Expenditures, particularly food costs must
go down or remain stable for added income to bear an effect on their quality of
life. Simply put, the lower their food costs, the faster their incomes rise up.
Thus, access to affordable food
is something the state must continually ensure. Therefore, to allow more
affordable rice to reach their tables is and must be a priority if we want
poverty levels to decrease and growth to remain inclusive and robust.
This is all the more important as
the country heads for upper middle income status. A PNA report notes that
according to the World Bank, upper middle-income economies are those with
a gross national income (GNI) per capita of USD3,996 to USD12,375. Our GNI per
capita reached USD3,830 in 2018. If inflation goes down further, this
growth will be felt by a larger number.
Thus, how to do it will require a
“smart” food policy that prioritizes the food needs of this majority while
enabling our farmers to maintain sufficient levels of income and continue
producing food that we need.
Given that our food production
costs for many commodities are higher than our neighbors Thailand and Vietnam
(Bordey, et al 2013), for example, policy choices include subsidizing their
production of commodities (like rice) or to get our farmers planting, producing
(and possibly, exporting) other commodities apart from rice that fetch higher
value but have lower production costs, like certain vegetables.
Implementing this food policy
will require reservoirs of political will to break decades of policies that
have failed to strengthen our food supply, or remove the obstacles to make them
competitive, particularly logistics.
Of our neighboring countries that
are not rice exporters, Malaysia in particular has managed to keep rice prices
within reach of majority of Malaysians, keeping their poverty levels at about
1%. They import more than 30% of their rice needs, allowing cheaper imported
rice to be sold to their citizens. (https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2019/04/13/where-does-malaysias-paddy-and-rice-industry-stand)
Lets hope that as inflation
levels decrease, more food is available.
References:
Bordey FH, Moya PF, Beltran JC,
Dawe DC, editors. 2016. Competitiveness of Philippine Rice in Asia. Science
City of Muñoz (Philippines): Philippine Rice Research Institute and Manila
(Philippines): International Rice Research Institute. 172 p.
A worker arranges sacks
of NFA rice at a warehouse in Quezon City yesterday.
Palace releases P5 billion for rice farmers amid imports
Jess
Diaz (The Philippine Star) - September 3, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang
has released P5 billion to help millions of rice farmers affected by the law
allowing unrestricted importation of rice.
Agriculture officials told the
House of Representatives committee on agriculture that of the P5 billion, P2
billion has been released to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)
and P2 billion to the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and
Mechanization (Philmec).
During the hearing yesterday, leaders
of farmers’ organizations and the agriculture sector complained that palay
prices have been falling and are now at the P8 to P10 per kilo level, or P2 to
P4 less than their production cost of P12 per kilo.
Undersecretary Ariel Cayanan said
PhilRice would be in charge of developing and procuring certified seeds while
Philmec would produce or buy machineries and equipment.
The seeds and machineries would be
distributed to farmers and their cooperatives between December and early next
year, Cayanan said.
He said the remaining P1 billion of
the fund would be allotted to training and extension services.
Cayanan added that P166 million has
been released to Land Bank and P109 million to the Development Bank of the
Philippines for lending to farmers.
The P5 billion is half of the
P10-billion rice competitiveness enhancement fund (RCEF) the law mandates to be
set aside to help rice farmers.
Yesterday’s hearing by the
committee on agriculture chaired by Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga is its first on
the implementation of the law.
Rep. Florencio Noel of party-list
group An Waray, Enverga’s senior vice chairman, lamented that newly appointed
Agriculture Secretary William Dar did not show up, contrary to the promise he
conveyed to the committee last week.
Cayanan said Dar was attending to
the launching of the lending program under RCEF that would make production
loans of up to P15,000 available to farmers.
Farmers’ leaders complained that
they would not immediately benefit from the P5 billion that is supposedly
allocated for them.
Former congressman Rafael Mariano,
who heads the leftist group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, said the low
prices of palay make the situation worse for them.
“We are losing money because the
buying price is less than our production cost,” he said.
Other leaders of the agriculture
sector confirmed that palay prices have indeed fallen.
Rosendo So of Samahang Sinag ng
Magsasaka said rice importations last year and this year totaling 3.9 million
metric tons (78 million bags) caused rice and palay prices to go down.
So said if rice prices are down,
traders would naturally offer low prices for palay.
He said imports should have been
calibrated to keep a balance in rice and palay prices.
Elias Inciong, who heads the United
Broilers Association, said he attended the hearing to warn farmers and
consumers that rice import liberalization would not benefit them.
“That is our experience with
broilers and poultry products,” he said.
P15 billion for NFA sought
Lawmakers are pushing for an
additional P15-billion budget for the National Food Authority (NFA) to procure
more palay from local farmers amid the drop in farmgate prices as a result of
the deluge of cheap imported rice.
During the House hearing on the
effects of the rice tariffication law, Enverga heeded the calls of farmers to
augment the NFA’s procurement budget.
“I support the move to increase the
NFA budget. I think we do not have the capabilities yet to compete with the
liberalization of rice in the country,” Enverga told reporters.
“They will have difficulty in the
open market to sell their produce. At least with the NFA, they are assured that
majority of their produce will be bought by the government at a high price,” he
added. – With Louise Maureen Simeon
Happy Seeders reduce air pollution, boost farm incomes
Instead of burning farm residue
that leads to massive air pollution in northern India every
autumn, farmers in the country’s breadbasket can boost profits by 20% by
using the mechanised farming technique
A farmer uses a tractor fitted with a Happy Seeder (Photo by
Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam / CIMMYT)
A mechanised technique to get rid
of farm residue without burning it and sow the next crop can boost agricultural
income in India’s breadbasket, new research has found. More widespread us of
this technique will also help reduce the suffocating air pollution that
northern parts of the country suffer every autumn, the study said.
The burning of crop residue in
Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, responsible for severe air pollution in
Delhi and northern India in October and November, is declining, but farmers
need cheap and effective alternatives for it to stop altogether. See: North India chokes as farmers set stubble ablaze
Latest research indicates that
using the Happy Seeder agriculture technology to manage rice residue has the
potential of increasing profits by INR 6000-11,500 (USD 84-160) per hectare for
the average farmer. The Happy Seeder is a tractor-mounted machine that
cuts and lifts rice straw, sows wheat and deposits the straw over the sown area
as mulch.
The paper — Fields on fire: Alternatives to crop residue burning in India —
published in the August 9 issue of the Science journal, evaluated public and
private costs and benefits of 10 alternate farming practices to manage rice
residue, including burning and non-burning options. The Happy Seeder-based
systems emerged as the most profitable and scalable residue management practice
as they are, on average, 10-20% more profitable than burning.
Reducing carbon footprint
This option also has the largest
potential to reduce the environmental footprint of farm activities, as it would
eliminate air pollution and would reduce greenhouse gas emissions per hectare
by more than 78%, relative to all burning options, the researchers said. The
study was undertaken by 29 Indian and international researchers from the Nature
Conservancy, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), the
University of Minnesota, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR), besides others.
The burning of crop stubble is a
matter of serious concern because it is a significant source of atmospheric
particulate matter and greenhouses gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon
monoxide, nitrous oxide and methane, which have short- and long-term impacts on
global climate systems, according to a NASA report on biomass burning.
The government of India’s
2018 operational guidelines for on-site farm residue
management for Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh says that an estimated 23
million tonnes of paddy straw is burnt in these states every year, shooting up
the levels of carbon dioxide by 70%, carbon monoxide by 7% and nitrogen dioxide
by 2.1%. It also says that burning of one tonne of rice straw releases 3 kg of
particulate matter, 60 kg of carbon monoxide, 1,460 kg of carbon dioxide, 199
kg of ash and 2 kg of sulphur dioxide.
A farmer in Punjab’s Sangrur district torching his 4-acre field
covered with rice stubble in 2018 (Photo by Prasanna Mohanty)
The residue burning started in
the 1980s for both wheat and rice stalks with mechanisation of harvesting.
Harvesting machines leave taller stubbles of 1-2 ft compared with less than 6
inches when the crops are manually harvested. In the national capital region,
about half the air pollution in autumn is attributed to farm fires, when air
quality level is 20 times higher than the safe threshold defined by WHO.
Residue burning has enormous impacts on human health, soil health, the economy
and climate change.
Although the current concern of
policymakers and the media over air pollution due to the annual burning in
autumn is focussed on New Delhi and the NCR, a study released in June 2018 said the threat is
spreading to other parts of India as well.
Using NASA images and evidence on
the ground, the study says there’s “an increasing impact of CRB over the
eastern parts of the Indo-Gangetic Basin and also over parts of central and
southern India.” The increasing trends of finer black carbon particles and
greenhouse gases have also accelerated since 2010, it said. See: Air quality worsens in India, Delhi improves
“Despite its drawbacks, a key
reason why burning continues in northwest India is the perception that
profitable alternatives do not exist. Our analysis demonstrates that the Happy
Seeder is a profitable solution that could be scaled up for adoption among the
2.5 million farmers involved in the rice-wheat cropping cycle in northwest
India, thereby completely eliminating the need to burn,” said Priya
Shyamsundar, Lead Economist at Nature Conservancy and one of the authors of the
paper. “It can also lower agriculture’s contribution to India’s GHG emissions,
while adding to the goal of doubling farmers income.”
Emergency response
The Indian government has been
aggressively promoting the use of this technique in the past few years in an
emergency response to the heavy air pollution during the crop burning season
that starts in October and continues for about two months. “Within one year of
our dedicated action using about USD 75 million under the central sector
scheme…, we could reach 0.8 million hectares of adoption of Happy Seeder and
zero tillage technology in the north western states of India,” said
Trilochan Mohapatra, Director General of ICAR. “Considering the findings
of the Science article as well as reports from thousands of participatory
validation trials, our efforts have resulted in an additional direct farmer
benefit of USD 131 million, compared to a burning option.”
The federal government’s 2018
subsidy for in-situ rice residue management has partly addressed a
major financial barrier for farmers, which has resulted in an increase in the
use of Happy Seeders. However, the study found that other barriers still exist,
such as lack of knowledge of profitable no-burn solutions and impacts of
burning, uncertainty about new technologies and burning ban implementation, and
constraints in the supply-chain and rental markets.
The paper states that NGOs,
research organisations and universities can support the government in
addressing these barriers through farmer communication campaigns, social
nudging through trusted networks and demonstration and training. The private
sector also has a critical role to play in increasing manufacturing and
machinery rentals.
Why China, The World's Largest Rice Producer,
Quietly Bought U.S. Rice Last Year
September 2, 20196:36 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
China is the world's biggest rice producer. So why did it agree
to buy two shipping containers of rice from the U.S.? Planet Money reporters
explain the other trade battle between the two countries.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The world is fixated on the U.S.-China trade war. But there's
another tariff fight with China happening behind the scenes with a lot of money
at stake, a battle over rice. Planet Money reporters Cardiff Garcia and Sally
Herships explain why China agreed to buy two shipping containers of rice from
the United States.
SALLY HERSHIPS, BYLINE: Very quietly last winter, China agreed
to buy some rice from the U.S. - two shipping containers-full.
JIM GUINN: So that's the first sale of rice to China in recent
history.
CARDIFF GARCIA, BYLINE: Jim Guinn is with the USA Rice
Federation, a trade association. And I think we should all just pause here for
a minute because we are talking about China buying rice from America. China is
the world's largest producer of rice - 200 million tons a year it produces.
HERSHIPS: The plan for China to buy rice from America, it has
been cooking for a really long time.
GARCIA: Nice.
HERSHIPS: (Laughter). And while administrations were changing,
trade policies were shifting, rice importers and exporters on both sides of the
ocean were left waiting. So this story really gets its start back in 2001. That
is the year China joins the World Trade Organization. The job of the WTO is to
oversee trade between different countries. If you join, you get to benefit from
all these special trade deals with the other member countries. And for the
already established members, when a country as big as China joins, it can mean
all these potential new customers. So as part of the deal it cut when it joined
the WTO, China agreed to make it easier and cheaper specifically for 5.3
million tons of foreign rice to come into the country.
JOE GLAUBER: In the rice world, that's a lot of rice.
GARCIA: Joe Glauber is a senior research fellow at the
International Food Policy Research Institute and a former chief economist at the
U.S. Department of Agriculture. So this deal happens, and rice farmers are
getting psyched. Exporters are getting really excited. But there was a problem.
China reneged on its side of the deal. China was not making it easier or
cheaper to import foreign rice like it had promised. And if you were a U.S.
farmer hoping to sell some of your rice crop to China, things just were not
moving.
GLAUBER: China just wasn't importing rice.
GARCIA: At least, not from the United States. China was
importing a tiny bit of rice from other countries. So what do you do if you are
the United States? Well, you do the same thing that a lot of parties with a
grievance do. You litigate at the WTO.
GLAUBER: The U.S., actually, during the last couple of months of
the Obama administration took China to the WTO to the settlement body and said,
hey, China's not playing by the rules. They're not importing rice.
HERSHIPS: The World Trade Organization has its own kind of
court, the Dispute Settlement Body. It lets countries which are upset with
other countries about tariffs and import licenses try to work things out.
GARCIA: The case took three years to work out, which, as these
things go, is actually pretty quick. But it did eventually get settled. The WTO
said that China had to allow the sale, and China agreed to let it go through.
HERSHIPS: And even though the Chinese government may have been a
reluctant purchaser of American rice, there are many consumers in China who
might want the option to buy rice from America.
GARCIA: So the Chinese finally agreed to start importing more
foreign rice, and it placed an order for American rice.
HERSHIPS: And that is the speed of international trade, Cardiff.
Some of these deals can take a really long time to cook up.
GARCIA: Cardiff Garcia.
HERSHIPS: Sally Herships.
GARCIA: NPR News.
Grain millers urge govt to reduce power tariffs
03Sep 2019
Beatrice Philemon
Dar es Salaam
The Guardian
Grain millers urge govt to reduce power tariffs
GRAIN millers want the government to reduce power tariffs
and abolish a number of nuisance charges imposed on their factories which
balloons production costs and render their goods expensive.
Mnisi said among other nuisance charges which they pay include service levy, fire extinguishing equipment fees, storage charges for maize flour, value added tax and hiked transport costs blamed on taxes.
“We want to have better storage facilities charging reasonable fees because currently, most warehouse facilities available in the country lack the required standards for maize and rice storage while charging highly,” he noted.
He said their main goal is produce high quality maize flour and rice that meets international standards so that the products sell anywhere in Southern African Development Community (SADC) market, East African Community and globally.
Mnisi requested Hasunga to convince his Treasury peer, Dr Philip Mpango to abolish 18 VAT charged on imported industrial machinery and equipment which the millers use to add value to maize and paddy rice before supplying markets.
“18 percent VAT charged on imported irrigation equipments including water pumps, spraying machines, weeding machines and milling machines is frustrating us,” he added while noting that packaging materials are also charged VAT.
He also urged the government to employ and deploy more extension officers to assist smallholder farmers improve quality and quantity of their commodities used by millers as raw materials because currently the quality is very poor.
“Please help us to train farmers on how to produce high quality maize, paddy rice to so that the quality of the finished products is also high hence capable of penetrating any market,” he argued.
Responding to the numerous observation made by the private sector, Minister Hasunga promised action on a number of issues raised which directly fall under his jurisdiction while lobbying his peers in matters relating to other ministries.
“I will sit down with my ministry’s experts
and see how we can convince Treasury to waive VAT on imported industrial machinery
and equipments as well as fees charged on flour and rice from factories so that
we can lower the cost of doing business,” he said. He said his ministry will
continue supporting grain millers and traders who work with smallholder farmers
to find reliable markets for commodities which get value added
Rice exporters get 4-month breather from Saudi norms
Saudi Food and Drug
Authority has sought test reports on minimum residue levels.
Sep 02,
2019, 08.39 AM IST
“We have assured the SFDA
that if a consignment has 93 per cent or 85 per cent Basmati rice, we will
label it accordingly,” he said.
New Delhi: Indian rice
exporters can heave a sigh of relief, for now.
They have got a breather till December 31 from stricter rules on shipment of basmati rice to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Food and Drug Authority had earlier sought test reports on minimum residue levels (MRL), along with Certificate of Conformity from Indian exporters. This was to be effective September 1. That has now been deferred.
Saudi’s food authority had also sought DNA testing to prove the authenticity of the basmati rice variety, and asked Indian rice exporters to source rice from good agriculture practices (GAP)-certified farms, approved by it.
“All consignments of Basmati rice shipped from India and arriving in Saudi Arabia by December 31, 2019 shall be exempt from the new requirement proposed by SFDA,” said Vijay Setia, president of the All India Rice Exporters Association.
Setia said that exporters would brand the different blends of basmati rice according to quality, to bring in more transparency.
“We have assured the SFDA that if a consignment has 93 per cent or 85 per cent Basmati rice, we will label it accordingly,” he said.
Saudi Arabia is a major export market for Indian basmati rice and accounts for 20 per cent of the country’s annual exports of 4-4.5 million tonnes.
Indian authorities have proposed that rice mills having BIS certification, ISO 22000 and BRC standards should also be able to export basmati rice, Setia said.
However, hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) is the major criterion that Saudi Arabia will take into account to source rice from Indian establishments, he said The deferment in the stringent rules comes after a government and trade delegation led by AK Gupta, director, Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) held discussions with the Saudi food body on August 29.
Setia said discussions on MRL will take place in the coming months.
Indian rice exports have been hurt by various non-tariff barriers, mainly over MRLs in the past few years. Indian companies have been working with farmers to reduce the use of pesticides.
They have got a breather till December 31 from stricter rules on shipment of basmati rice to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Food and Drug Authority had earlier sought test reports on minimum residue levels (MRL), along with Certificate of Conformity from Indian exporters. This was to be effective September 1. That has now been deferred.
Saudi’s food authority had also sought DNA testing to prove the authenticity of the basmati rice variety, and asked Indian rice exporters to source rice from good agriculture practices (GAP)-certified farms, approved by it.
“All consignments of Basmati rice shipped from India and arriving in Saudi Arabia by December 31, 2019 shall be exempt from the new requirement proposed by SFDA,” said Vijay Setia, president of the All India Rice Exporters Association.
Setia said that exporters would brand the different blends of basmati rice according to quality, to bring in more transparency.
“We have assured the SFDA that if a consignment has 93 per cent or 85 per cent Basmati rice, we will label it accordingly,” he said.
Saudi Arabia is a major export market for Indian basmati rice and accounts for 20 per cent of the country’s annual exports of 4-4.5 million tonnes.
Indian authorities have proposed that rice mills having BIS certification, ISO 22000 and BRC standards should also be able to export basmati rice, Setia said.
However, hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) is the major criterion that Saudi Arabia will take into account to source rice from Indian establishments, he said The deferment in the stringent rules comes after a government and trade delegation led by AK Gupta, director, Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) held discussions with the Saudi food body on August 29.
Setia said discussions on MRL will take place in the coming months.
Indian rice exports have been hurt by various non-tariff barriers, mainly over MRLs in the past few years. Indian companies have been working with farmers to reduce the use of pesticides.
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