Wednesday, November 13, 2019

13th November,2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter


Palay prices keep falling
Updated November 13, 2019, 8:55 AM
By Madelaine B. Miraflor
With the start of main crop season harvest and imports continuously rising, the value of locally produced unhusked rice in the Philippines has kept falling, with the average farm-gate price of palay still at its lowest level in eight years for three straight weeks now.
As this happens, Senator Francis Pangilinan is calling for higher rice import tariff, a plan that has already been shut down by the country’s economic managers and the Department of Agriculture (DA).
During the third week of October, the average farm-gate price of palay declined to ₱15.49 per kilogram (/kg). This was a decline of 26.1 percent from its level of ₱20.96/kg in the same week of the previous year and is still below the lowest palay price of ₱15.91/kg that was recorded in 2011.
Week-on-week, it continues to fall by 0.3 percent relative to the price level of ₱15.53/kg.
During the period, some farmers in Negros Occidental, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, and Bulacan didn’t make any money and were forced to sold their produce at ₱12/kg and below.
Farmers in Maguindanao, Zamboanga Sibugay, Negros Oriental, Cavite, on the other hand, settled at prices below ₱13/kg, just a peso above their average production cost of ₱12/kg.
Palay was bought for a higher price range of ₱17/kg to ₱20/kg in areas like Aklan, Surigao del Sur, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Misamis Oriental, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Guimaras, Sorsogon, Rizal, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Aurora, Ilocos Norte, among others.
Senator Francis Pangilinan said that with the continuous decline in palay prices, the country is at the risk of losing its own farmers, who are no longer making money and are constantly hungry.
“Let’s not wait for the time when we no longer have farmers… Let us protect our farmers now to protect our food security. This food insecurity is aggravated by the impact of rice imports on our farmers,” Pangalinan said.
“Urgent action is demanded. Provide cash assistance to help our farmers through these lean times. Raise the tariff for rice imports,” he added.
He also said the country should all be deeply worried by the report that the Philippines has surpassed China as the world’s biggest importer of rice.
This was after US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reiterated its earlier forecast that the Philippines may end up becoming the world’s largest rice importer this year, beating China, the world’s most populous country with a population of around 1.4 billion.
Smuggling, hoarding in DOF crosshair amid rice imports
By: Ben O. de Vera - Reporter / @bendeveraINQ
Inquirer Business / 03:15 PM November 13, 2019
The government is shoring up tariff collections from a surge in rice imports while looking into possible hoarding and smuggling amid falling retail prices, according to Finance Secretary Carols G. Dominguez III.
In a speech at the 14th World Rice Conference, Dominguez said that revenues from import tariffs on rice already amounted to P11.4 billion as of end-October.
Republic Act No. 11203, which removed volume restrictions on rice import and imposed tariffs, would collect 35 percent tax from rice imported from Asean countries, 40 percent from those not exceeding 350,000 tons from countries outside Asean and 180 percent if more than 350,000 tons from a non-Asean country.
Since collections so far in 2019 exceeded P10 billion, or the amount to be set aside for a program to make local farmers competitive, Dominguez said the government had “ample means to do even more to make our agricultural production more efficient.”
The impact of rice importation was felt most by local farmers as prices of palay, or unhusked rice, fell to some of their lowest levels in years.
Dominguez said the government was extending help to these farmers.
Palay prices, Dominguez said citing Philippine Statistics Authority data, had declined to P15.71 per kilogram in the third week of September to the second week of October. “This translates to an average loss for farmers of about P1.52 per kilo,” he said.
“In some provinces, farm gate prices fell by as much as P5.63 while in others unhusked rice prices actually rose by P3.75 per kilo,” Dominguez said.
He said the government was deploying “evidence-based and tightly-targeted” assistance to local farmers.
National government agencies are coordinating with Congress on giving cash aid to rice farmers and also rice to farming families hurt by the importation of rice.
The Department of Agriculture, Dominguez said, is implementing the Survival and Recovery, or Sure, aid program that offers to rice farmers P15,000 in interest-free loans payable in eight years.
“Complementary programs” are also being put in place. One of these, the finance chief said, was for local government units to purchase palay from farmers at “above production costs.”
Local governments could obtain loans for this purpose, said Dominguez.
He said there’s close monitoring of “possible distortions in the market, particularly the widening gap between farm gate prices for paddy and rice retail prices in specific provinces.”
Strike teams had been formed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs to crack down on smuggling and hoarding.
A BIR strike team had already raided unregistered warehouses in Bulacan province and found more than 250,000 sacks of rice imported from Vietnam and Myanmar.
“The companies involved have not produced legitimate import documents,” Dominguez said.
“Over the next months, we see anti-smuggling and anti-hoarding activities to intensify,” he said.
President Rodrigo Duterte, Dominguez added, had “issued clear instructions to unmask and prosecute those involved in economic sabotage and bring them to justice.”/TSB
The banality of greed
November 13, 2019

Description: https://257k0xaggn7aem4n1sxfoso1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MARLEN-V.-RONQUILLO-e1573569300504.jpgMARLEN V. RONQUILLO
ABOUT three months ago, outgoing Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol appealed to meat processors/importers. “Please, please,” he said, “forget your bacons and hotdogs (the exact phrasing). Stop your planned pork importations. The global pork market, as you can see, is roiled by the ASF (African swine fever) epidemic. The local hog industry, the eighth largest in the world, would definitely suffer should you push through with your foolhardy importations.”
There would be figurative blood on your hands if you push through with your importation, Piñol said. The appeal was duly reported and can be easily downloaded from newspaper archives.
Piñol knew he could control the legal side of importation, but would be helpless against outright smuggling, technical smuggling and the many “palusot” at the Customs zone. Other than the corruption at the Customs zone, ours is a country of more than 7,000 islands and very porous borders.
Was there a bit of soul-searching from the end of the meat importers and processors? And did that appeal about a real and existential threat to the P250-billion local hog industry lead to the freezing, even temporarily, of pork importations from the affected countries, then about 10 countries when Mr. Piñol made that appeal?

No. In fact, meat importers and processors went on their merry way, importing where supplies were priced at rock bottom, and this meant the countries with tainted pork, China specifically.
The profits from the “bacons and hotdogs,” as graphically described by Mr. Piñol in his appeal, trumped all or any concern for the local hog industry.
Today, the chicanery of the meat importers and processors, who had placed primacy of their hotdogs and bacon over the health — and possible survival — of the local hog industry is unravelling, along with the validation of what The Manila Times’ op-ed page has been saying all along — tainted meat from China brought in by the processors/importers via means fair or foul brought ASF into the country.
Today, the eighth biggest hog industry in the world is on its knees, the brutal wages from the ASF wiping out hog stocks and literally crippling the market for healthy hogs, plus triggering a long-drawn price drop.
(As I write this piece, some unaffected farms, certified healthy and ASF-free, in Pampanga’s hog belt have been selling fatteners at P65 per kilogram (kg) and culls (sows disposed of after five birthing cycles) at an unbelievable price of P20 per kg — if there are takers, with shipping permits from the Bureau of Animal Industry. Farm gate for fatteners used to be P130 to P135 per kg. For culls, it was P65 to P70 per kg.)
The ASF-caused crisis dragged down every economic sector whose peg was the hog industry: yellow corn farmers, soya and other additive suppliers such as salt, rice bran, D1 and D2. Big farms have laid off workers temporarily. At the wet markets, the pork sections are the loneliest corners. A term has been coined to describe the collapse — “Hogmageddon.”
Was there any expression of remorse, or a simple recitation of a mea culpa after the unravelling? For the processors of hotdogs, bacon and tocino, it was all about, and still is, business and serving the market. Never mind the fact that the tainted importations have been causing immense grief in hog-raising areas in Central Luzon and Calabarzon (the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), which supply around 70 percent of the pork needs of Luzon.
Impossible greed, couched in the jargon of the market, therefore vesting the greed with an air of banality and ordinariness.
What about the rice importers?
The country’s actual import requirement is a little shy of 2 million metric tons (MT) and that volume includes a 90-day buffer stock. The government estimate of 2.4 million metric tons is over the top, with an excess of around 500,000 MT.
Now, there is a confirmation of what was written about earlier in the op-ed page of The Times — that the United States Department of Agriculture, which accurately tracks rice movements into the country via shipping data that is also used by the United Nations agencies, estimates a total importation of 3 million MT by the end of December.
As a newspaper report said, that 3-million volume makes us the biggest rice importer in the world this year, topping China’s 2.5 million metric ton importation.
The rice dumped from overseas will have an extra, or more than 1 million metric tons over the national requirement.
The excess importation is not the only story of tragedy. And the utter indifference to the plight of the three million small rice farmers.
As the Federation of Free Farmers has documented, the rice imports have been undervalued to depress the rice tariffs. The rice tariffs, under the rice import liberalization law, should go to a fund pool that is supposed to ameliorate the plight of the affected small rice farmers. In a nutshell, this is the triple whammy on the small rice farmers:
– A law is passed to liberalize rice imports, a death sentence on 3 million small rice farmers with zero government support
– Rice importers who cannot moderate their greed import rice at an excess of 1 million or more metric tons
– Rice imports are undervalued to depress the tariff that, in theory, would serve as an amelioration fund for the small rice farmers.
Was there any expression of remorse? Or a simple statement of mea culpa? From the government and the importers/cheats who are now dealing the small rice farmers a second mortal blow?
None, of course. Our business is our business. Period.

Support 15,000 rice farmers in PNG towards self-sufficiency

 Clifford Faiparik
The National’s senior reporter CLIFFORD FAIPARIK visited Merauke City on Oct 18 and 19 just across the PNG-Indonesia border and found that Papua New Guinea (PNG) has much to learn from the Indonesians on rice production and reducing imports.
Panicle-harvesting of rice, using the limbung palm infloresence spath as the basket for loading rice panicles. This is a typical group work carried out by rural rice growers in Maprik, East Sepik.
RICE is the unofficial staple food for PNG. Although Papua New Guineans consider rice their staple, it is not produced or cultivated commercially on a large scale nationwide.
Instead, PNG imports up to K700 million annually from Thailand, Vietnam and Australia.
And Prime Minister James Marape has set the Government’s plan and target to stop rice imports by 2030.
He said a business incubation park, costing about K2 million, would be built next year for Papuan New Guineans engaged in Micro Business Small to Medium Enterprise (MBSME’s) to venture agriculture activities, like rice farming, to grow local PNG’s businesses.
After all, PNG has large swampy and flood plain areas to grow rice on large commercial scales.
“PNG can be a supplier of rice to countries like the Philippines where rice is a staple food eaten three times a day. Currently, PNG is importing rice from Australia.
“PNG can reverse the trend and supply rice to Australia. PNG has the potential in rice cultivation. But we have to be committed and work hard,” he added.
A visit to the Merauke Regency (District), just across the PNG-Indonesia border, would be convincing enough for one to truly believe PNG can realise the aim of becoming self-sufficient in rice production.
However, Papua New Guinean rice farmers must learn how to cut costs in rice production or cultivation.
One way to reduce production cost is to focus rice cultivation in swampy and wet terrrains like in the PNG border provinces of Western and Sepik.
Such production is also possible by engaging and encouraging small rice farmers with the Government acquiring land, providing small affordable loans and technical advice.
Such initiatives by the Merauke Local Government some 20 years ago have resulted in a surplus production of cheap organic rice today.
Merauke has more than 200,000 tonnes of rice stored in mills and there is no market.
About 250,000 tonnes of rice is produced annually in Merauke but local consumption is only 25,000 tonnes.
The rice in Merauke is organic because cultivation is by traditional rice farming methods that do not use chemicals or pesticides.
Surtano … has 200 tonnes of rice to sell
Rice farmer Surtano says he has 200 tonnes of rice stored in a rice mill and “we are looking for buyers”.
“Merauke supplies rice to Papua and West Papua provinces in Indonesia. With the surplus, we are looking at supplying to PNG,” he added.
Surtano said: “I was able to secure this 10ha to cultivate rice with the Government’s assistance. They provided funds to me through a loan scheme and I built my first rice mill for 170 million Rupiahs (about K20,000) 10 years ago.
“I use manual labour to work on my rice fields and also mill it. I have now paid off my first loan and got another loan to buy machinery, like four cars, a truck and a tractor and also paid off that loan within six years.
“I have 13 employees, including a tractor operator. My rice farming is more high technology now. I also buy rice from other farmers and mill them,” he added.
Surtano said each family usually had about five hectares to plant rice paddy, with a hectare producing about three tonnes of rice.
“Famers harvest their rice, sell to the mill at about 500 rupiah (about K1) per kilo. We have two options after milling the rice.
“We sell it to the Government warehouse for 8,000 rupiah (K2) per kilogramme to private warehouses for 10,000 Rupiah (K2.50) per kilogramme.
“The Government buys the rice from the mills and store in warehouses. And the Government also gives rice to public servants,” he added.
Surtano said Government agriculture extension officers conducted regular inspections for quantity and quality.
He added that in one village in Merauke, it had 500 rice farmers because the terrains were ideal for rice cultivation.
Heai Steven Hoko
Hoko … rice farming in PNG started in the 90s
Drying and storing rice grain in Maprik, East Sepik.
PNG’s Agriculture and Livestock (DAL) irrigation agronomist Heai Steven Hoko said: “We have been working and cultivating rice similarly to Merauke.
“But the Government is not supporting us. Currently, the big players in the rice industry are importing rice from Thailand, Vietnam and Australia.
“The rice are repacked into local brand names and reselling to us. But we can be self-sufficient and grow our own rice like what is happening in Merauke.
“We can break the monopoly by encouraging small rice farmers to produce rice. The current major rice importers are very adamant about remaining dominant in the local rice market.
“They don’t allow new investors to come in and develop large-scale commercial rice production in the country.”
Hoko said that small rice farmers started in the 1990s under the Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) programme.
“At that time, we were known as special project on security and that DAL was switching its focus according to what is happening in the world.
“Food security is ever changing and evolving globally, changing views regularly. We then changed from a food management branch to food security branch.
“We had technical cooperation assistance and one was rice covering food security in a broader scope. And one of the assistance we got was from the so Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA),” he added.
Hoko said: “We kicked off the project in 2003 on food security by empowering farmers in rice cultivation. The project ended in 2015. Our aim was to increase rice production in the country and to do away with the concept of large commercial rice.
“So we empowered farmers to grow and eat themselves. This, we learnt from the Vietnamese and Japanese who are today leading rice producers.”
Although rice was introduced by early missionaries, it was already cultivated during the colonial days when the Australian colonial government was planting paddy in Bereina, Central Province and Bainik in East Sepik.
“We also started planting paddy in Madang, Morobe, Central, Manus, Milne Bay and East Sepik as encouraged by DAL. Our module is small rice farming systems because we don’t have large mechanised rice farming.
“But we want to focus on subsistence rice farmers. If our people want to grow rice, we use the system that our Government is working on. So our investment is training our agriculture extension officers, giving small tools to the rice farmers rather than pushing for large scale farming. So that’s how we went out to help in provinces that had started rice cultivation,” he added.
Hoko said Maprik in Sepik was one place where farmers were found enthusiastically planting rice.
“They planted paddy in their gardens just like ordinary yams and bananas. So DAL started assisting them. And from working with the farmers, we realised that rice farming was viable although rice is not a traditional food. But then the farmers needed skills and we realised that the district officers also lacked rice farming techniques.
“They needed skills like harvesting, drying, milling and storing unlike our traditional food like growing kaukau, taro, banana that had to be consumed fast before they go bad.
“For rice, we can harvest and store it and you need machines to process rice. So, technical training is required for our enthusiastic rice farmers. This is why we are organising trainings for farmers at the Japanese-funded Organisation for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (OISCA) centre in Warango, East New Britain where farmers are trained to develop their skills and rice farming culture of sending their harvest to millers,” he added. When the project ended in 2015, we found that the number of paddy farmers had ballooned and production had increased.
“And in Maprik alone, farmers planted rice in normal gardens of about 2,000 sq m. If they go higher, they will need labour to weed the land.
“Such farmers can harvest about 400kg of rice. And a family of six children can produce about 40 bags of 10kg rice from a garden in a year,” he said.
Hoko said the famers don’t eat all the rice at once, so they dry and store it because they also eat other produce like bananas.
“Only when they want to eat rice, they take the grain to the Government mills and pay 50 toea per kg to mill their grain. The rice can last them four months,” he added.
Hoko said the project started with 2,000 famers in East Sepik (Maprik and Angoram) and ended with 8,000 farmers in 2015.
“At one stage, there were 20,000 famers in East Sepik alone. But, overall, we had 15,000 farmers on record in the provinces that we started cultivating paddy (Madang, Morobe, Central, Manus, Milne Bay and East Sepik).
“But rice farming was very successful in East Sepik, especially in Maprik. Unfortunately, after the project ended, we left and did not follow up due to absence of funds.
“The then Government committed to financing the 2017 General Election and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leaders’ summit in 2018.
“Today, we still don’t have the money to go out to check on the farmers,” he added.
Hoko said the only way for PNG to go into mass rice production was to empower rice growing in villages.
“Training and funding are needed because we have to cultivate rice farming culture into us. After that we can go into large-scale commercial fully-mechanised irrigated hi-tech rice farming.
“Form the project, we found that it is possible for us to grow rice and be self-sufficient. But the strategy, some senior government officers are thinking, is bringing someone from outside. Bringing in an investor to start producing rice and we meet our goal in rice production domestically. The disadvantage is the investor comes to make big money, reap profits. So, what is there left for our people?
“Our Prime Minister James Marape said that by 2025 we must eat our own rice. So, the Government needs to give us seed money and we invest in Sepik and other plains like Central, Western, Gulf Madang, Oro and Milne Bay.
“We can do it if we have money, knowledge, technical skills at our fingertips. All we need is to work with our people. I have made a submission for the Government to support small rice farmers.
“We also have to empower our agriculture extension district officers through the District Development Authority (DDA).
“The Government put provides the capital, we empower famers by securing rice and water. We cut down on rice imports,” Hoko said.
He estimated an annual rice production of 20,000 tonnes under the project that “we already have a developed mechanism”.
Hoko said: “We have 15,000 paddy farmers nationwide. If each farmer can produce and mill 185kg of rice, it means a saving of about K740 annually on spending K36 on a 10kg rice bag.
“Altogether these famers can save about K11 million annually from cutting down rice imports how massive production will be with full Government support and funding.”

Fair trading of rice urged as imports flood market

Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star) - November 13, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is calling on the rice industry stakeholders to uphold free and fair trade amid the continued negative perception on rice importation under the Rice Tariffication Law.
“It is true that under RTL, we encourage free trade primarily to lower the price of rice in the market. But let me also emphasize that we operate on the premise of fair trade, regardless of the volume that we are looking into,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.
This as the country’s rice imports are expected to reach record-high this year as Manila opened its floodgates to cheap rice from other countries.
The Philippines is even expected to surpass the imports of China, the world’s largest population.
Reports from the Bureau of Customs showed that rice import volume reached 1.87 million metric tons from March to October this year.
Meanwhile, the DA-Bureau of Plant Industry accounted for  two million MT in the application for sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance for imported rice.
“We need to keep rice production profitable and rice prices affordable to a growing consumer market. It is imperative to make our rice production systems more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable,” Dar said.
During his recent visit to Brunei, Dar asked his counterparts from rice exporting countries Vietnam and Thailand, in particular, to hold the release of export permits to rice traders without the Philippines-issued SPSIC.
“With agreement from my counterparts in rice-exporting countries, we hope to arrest the influx of undocumented imported rice coming in the country. This is our move as we prepare our local rice industry to produce more with less cost,” Dar said.
Dar cited the implementation of the component programs under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) aimed at improving the competitiveness and income of rice farmers amid the liberalization of rice trade.
The four programs on seeds, mechanization, credit, and extension services are expected to increase farmers’ yield up to six MT per hectare and reduce their production cost to P8 per kilogram of palay.
“RCEF is a major strategy to lessen our rice imports in the coming years. I am assuring our farmers that we are on schedule when it comes to the rollout of its component programs,” Dar said.
The Philippine Rice Research Institute has been distributing certified seeds throughout the country until next month for the dry season planting of around one million hectares.
The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, on the other hand, has validated 620 farmer cooperatives and associations as recipients of farm machines.
The Development Bank of the Philippines has released P500 million in loan to a cooperative in Isabela while the Lank Bank of the Philippines has loaned out P5 million to individual farmers and groups.
Extension services through training programs and scholarships are also ongoing in collaboration with the DA-Agricultural Training Institute, PhilRice, PhilMech, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.



Golden rice could save children. Until now, governments have barred it
Description: Plant scientists Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer, the inventors of golden rice, at the time of the first field trials in 2004 at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. (Golden Rice Humanitarian Board) Plant scientists Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer, the inventors of golden rice, at the time of the first field trials in 2004 at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. (Golden Rice Humanitarian Board)
By Ed Regis 
November 12, 2019 at 3:46 a.m. GMT+5
Ed Regis is a science writer and the author, most recently, of “Golden Rice: The Imperiled Birth of a GMO Superfood.”
By the end of this week, Bangladesh’s agriculture minister is expected to announce the approval of “golden rice" for sale and use, making the country the world’s first to embrace a food that could save hundreds of thousands of children in developing nations from blindness and death. Golden rice has faced a years-long battle to overcome misguided hostility from critics of genetically modified foods and from overcautious bureaucrats. Its introduction in Bangladesh could be a monumental breakthrough for its acceptance worldwide.
For more than two decades, researchers have worked to develop a rice that contained higher levels of beta carotene, which the human body converts into vitamin A. The goal was to reduce the incidence of vitamin A deficiency — a health problem that is virtually unknown in rich Western countries but is a leading cause of childhood blindness and death in the developing world where rice is a staple, particularly in Africa and Southeast Asia. According to the World Health Organization, “An estimated 250,000 to 500,000 vitamin A-deficient children become blind every year, half of them dying within 12 months of losing their sight.” Also according to WHO, millions of pregnant women worldwide are at risk of night blindness and other health problems from vitamin A deficiency, which can harm fetal development, too.
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Golden rice’s efficacy as a source of vitamin A has been shown in experiments going back to 2009 with human volunteers. But despite its promise, the rice has been attacked by critics of genetically modified foods ever since it was announced in the pages of the journal Science in 2000. Indian anti-GMO crusader Vandana Shiva called golden rice “a hoax.” As I found in researching a book on golden rice and the struggles to get it to those who need it, Greenpeace has variously derided the potentially lifesaving food as “Fools Gold,” “All glitter, no gold,” “More hype than substance,” “Propaganda for the genetic engineering industry” and a “Golden Illusion.”
Defenders of golden rice, including the more than 100 Nobel laureates who in 2016 signed a letter urging Greenpeace to stop bashing GMOs, and in particular golden rice, tend to blame activist opposition for preventing the approval and release of this superfood. But that is only one cause. The greatest impediment to the release and use of golden rice has been the regulatory apparatus of the health departments and agriculture ministries in the countries where the research was being done as well as in the nations where the biofortified rice was most needed.
In short, the very government agencies that were supposed to protect human lives and health have instead been inadvertently responsible for years of mass blindness and death.
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The main source of the problem is the 2003 so-called Cartagena Protocol, a United Nations-sponsored resolution on “biosafety” governing the handling, transport and use of GMOs. A key component of the protocol was its embrace of a precautionary principle stating that “lack of scientific certainty due to insufficient relevant scientific information and knowledge regarding the extent of the potential adverse effects” of a GMO on the environment or human health “shall not prevent” governments from taking action against the importation of the GMO in question.
That sounds like a simple “better safe than sorry” proposition, but in practice it became a bureaucratic doctrine of “guilty until proven innocent.” The worst of it was that the statement allowed the imposition of restrictions on a given GMO in the absence of any actual proof that it would cause harm, or even sufficient reason to believe that it would.
Governments responded by being not only cautious, but also zealously overcautious, when it came to GMOs. What this meant in real-world GMO science is illustrated by the set of rules created by the European Parliament in 2003, based on a directive regarding “the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms.”
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The landmark legislation was legally binding on all member states of the European Union, and it governed virtually all aspects of GMO research, development and field testing. It provided, for example, that anyone wishing to conduct a field trial of a given GMO had to compile a technical dossier that furnished a virtually complete set of data about the plant at the molecular level, how it had been modified, with what genetic sequences and their origin — all of it in minute detail.
Ingo Potrykus, the co-inventor of golden rice, with Peter Beyer, has estimated that adherence to government regulations on GMOs resulting from the Cartagena Protocol and the precautionary principle caused a delay of up to 10 years in the development of the final product. During that decade, countless children in developing countries continued to go blind and die, and the health of pregnant women was also harmed. It was a potent illustration of the way erring on the side of caution can sometimes have fatal consequences.
If Bangladesh does indeed approve golden rice for release, and if the rice is consumed by vitamin A-deficient children and ends up saving their sight and lives, then many regulatory authorities — and GMO critics — will have a lot of explaining to do.

USA Rice Hosts Event to "Reintroduce" U.S. Rice to Singapore Market  

SINGAPORE -- USA Rice, in partnership with Sphere Exhibits (the event arm of the national newspaper agency, Singapore Press Holdings), recently hosted the first in a series of gourmet events targeting different consumer segments here.  The kick-off event, featuring U.S.-grown rice, is part of the Gourmet Tribe series designed especially for millennial gourmands who enjoy new food experiences.

Chef Shota Kaneko of YOSHI created a special dinner menu that highlighted U.S. rice.  Thirty diners, who all said the rice was excellent, each received samples of the U.S. rice, vegetable oil, and a recipe card.  Additionally, 300-gram packs of U.S. rice were provided for Facebook followers who "liked" an event-goer's page.

"USA Rice is utilizing Agricultural Trade Promotion (ATP) program funding to reintroduce all types of U.S. rice to this market," said Jim Guinn, USA Rice director of Asia promotion programs.  "Promotions in Singapore were stopped after 2011, due to reduced funding from USDA.  The ATP funds are available through 2022 so we plan to continue efforts to boost trade here."

Future promotions will include radio advertising with giveaways donated by rice importers, Facebook ads, ads in Singapore's two major newspapers, and continued trade servicing during the remainder of calendar year 2019.
 
From January through September 2019, Singapore imported 2,485 MT of rice from the U.S
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Diet changes can reduce your exposure to environmental pollutants

·       Madison County Cooperative Extension Service

·       Nov 12, 2019
 Most of us heard the recent news reports about how 95% of baby foods contain toxic metals. Many adult foods also contain these same hazardous chemicals as a result of environmental pollution. You can reduce the amount of the environmental pollutants that you consume by selecting healthier options.
Heavy metals and organic compounds are found in the air, water, soil, sediments and food. Certain foods tend to collect these hazardous chemicals easier than others. For example, fish can be contaminated with mercury or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Fruits and rice can contain arsenic. Fat in meat and dairy can harbor pesticides. These foods are part of a well-balanced diet, but you can choose types that tend to contain less harmful materials.
Fish is a high-quality protein that contains many essential nutrients including omega-3 fatty acids which are associated with a reduced risk for cardiovascular diseases. However, fish can contain mercury in different concentrations depending on the type of fish. Mercury is found in small amounts naturally, but it is also released in the air through industrial processes. Once airborne, it falls back to the ground and can accumulate in streams.
Not all fish have the same amount mercury. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends limiting your fish consumption to two meals per week and choosing types that have lower mercury levels such as canned light tuna, catfish, pollock, salmon and shrimp. Fish may also contain PCBs in their fat. You can reduce your exposure by removing the fatty parts when cleaning and cooking fish.
Arsenic can form naturally but it is also found near mining sites, in some pesticides and through smoking. Research has linked arsenic to an increase risk of skin, lung and bladder cancers. Rice, fruit and fruit juices can contain arsenic. Some types of rice and other grains tend to have lower levels of arsenic. These include brown basmati rice and white rice grown in California, Pakistan and India, sushi rice from the U.S. and other whole grains such as quinoa, buckwheat and millet have some of the lower levels of arsenic. Cooking the rice in extra water will remove about half of the arsenic in the food. Thoroughly washing the skins of all produce will help remove arsenic.
Pesticides collect in the fatty parts of meat and dairy products. Choose low-fat meat and dairy products. Trimming existing fat from meat will help.
(Sources: Dawn Brewer, assistant professor and Courtney Luecking, assistant extension professor)
Educational programs of the Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expressions, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, or physical or mental disability.

Madagascar Paddy Farmers Rise Up Against 'new City'

 

Antananarivo, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Nov, 2019 ) :Anger is boiling over in the hills surrounding Antananarivo over plans to relocate part of Madagascar's choked capital to emerald-green farmland.
Hundreds of farmers in Ambohitrimanjaka village are facing off with the authorities over a presidential scheme that threatens to engulf a thousand hectares (2,500 acres) of rice fields.
"We will not swap our land for money and we will not accept being moved," said Jean Desire Rakotoariamanana, 57, who took part in protests last month.
"These rice paddies provided for our ancestors." The unrest has been sparked by a scheme to unclog Antananarivo, a polluted city of three million people wedged in the hills of the central highlands.
If the Tana-Masoandra ("Tana Sun") project comes to fruition, the area will house all of the government's ministries, the Senate, a university, a conference centre, hotels and homes for 100,000 people.
Its backers claim that relocation -- to what is the city's distant outskirts -- will cost the equivalent of $600 million (542 million Euros) and create 200,000 jobs -- a major economic boost in the impoverished Indina Ocean island nation.Construction is scheduled to be completed by 2024.

Scientists develop biodegradable plastic from cassava starch

Cassava roots: Bioplastic from cassava starch is as tough as traditional plastics made of petroleum, researchers say. Copyright: IITA. (This photo has been cropped).

Speed read

·       Researchers develop bioplastic using cassava starch and ozone gas
·       Bioplastics are less harmful to the environment and could help tackle pollution
·       By 2030 the world will have to deal with an estimated 550 million tonnes of plastics

By: Rodrigo de Oliveira Andrade

[SÃO PAULO] A team of scientists in Brazil has developed a biodegradable plastic that could be used for food packaging or carrier bags, by applying ozone gas to cassava starch.

The ozone (O3) gas changes the molecular properties of the starch from the root vegetable to produce a bioplastic 30 per cent tougher than those made of the starch of potato, rice or maize, the researchers say.

The world currently produces around 300 million tonnes of plastic waste every year — equivalent to the weight of the entire human population — according to UN Environment.

“Our tests indicate that this new technique is able to generate a biodegradable plastic as strong as traditional ones made of petroleum,”

Carla Ivonne La Fuente Arias, University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture

Carla Ivonne La Fuente Arias, a chemistry engineer at the University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, told SciDev.Net: “Our tests indicate that this new technique is able to generate a biodegradable plastic as strong as traditional ones made of petroleum.”

The ozone gas has also enabled them to improve the transparency of the cassava-based plastic, according to Arias, lead author of the study published in the 
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules.

Arias said she and her team had requested the patent for their invention and were in talks with a number of companies about developing the technology, but production costs remain unclear.

“At the moment it will undoubtedly be higher than the cost of producing traditional plastics,” she said.. “However, it should drop when produced on a large scale.”

Bioplastics are considered less harmful to the environment because they may be decomposed by the action of living organisms, carbon dioxide (CO2), biomass or water.

Arias is confident that the new material has potential to help tackle the rampant consumption of plastics and pollution generated by their improper disposal.

Alexander Turra, a biologist at the University of São Paulo’s Oceanographic Institute believes, however, that the issue of plastic waste is more complex and related to socioeconomic problems.

“The pollution caused by plastics is related to the way the global economy is structured and also the societies’ consumption logic, which is, in turn, related to the way garbage is discarded,” he said.

“It is essential to think about this in order to change consumer behaviours, even if it involves biodegradable waste,” he points out, although he recognises “this new technological solution is important, and it may act as a palliative measure for the environment.”

An estimated 8.9 billion tonnes of virgin plastic (non-recycled) and secondary plastic (produced from recycled products) have been manufactured since the middle of the last century, when plastics began to be produced on an industrial scale.

About two-thirds of this total — 6.3 billion tonnes — has been discarded as waste, while 2.6 billion tonnes is still in use, according to a study published in 2017 in 
Science Advances.
The manufacture of virgin plastic so far in the 21st century is equivalent to the volume produced in the previous 50 years. In 2016, production reached 396 million tonnes, says a report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) published in March this year.

WWF’s projections indicate that if the increase in production is not contained, the world will have to deal with about 550 million tonnes of the material by 2030.

“It is essential to prevent all sorts of waste, biodegradable or not, from reaching the environment,” added Turra.

To do so, he said, governments should invest in reducing social inequality, tackling access to basic sanitation and efficient waste collection systems, and improving environmental education.

The study published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules is supported by FAPESP, a donor of SciDev.Net.

Too much sugar doesn't put the brakes on turbocharged crops
Date:
November 11, 2019
Source:
ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis
Summary:
Plants make sugars to form leaves to grow and produce grains and fruits through the process of photosynthesis, but sugar accumulation can also slow down photosynthesis. Researching how sugars in plants control photosynthesis is therefore an important part of finding new ways of improving crop production. Recent research into highly productive turbocharged crops such as maize and sorghum, show the secret to their productivity could lie in their sugar-sensing responses which regulate photosynthesis inside their leaves.
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FULL STORY

Plants make sugars to form leaves to grow and produce grains and fruits through the process of photosynthesis, but sugar accumulation can also slow down photosynthesis. Researching how sugars in plants control photosynthesis is therefore an important part of finding new ways of improving crop production.
Recent research into highly productive turbocharged crops such as maize and sorghum, show the secret to their productivity could lie in their sugar sensing responses which regulate photosynthesis inside their leaves.
"By comparing rice and millet we found that crops that use the C4 photosynthesis path, such as maize, sorghum and millet, regulate photosynthesis using different sugar signal mechanisms than C3 crops, such as wheat and rice. This may be part of the reason why they are more productive," said lead researcher Dr Clemence Henry from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis (CoETP).
"Plants can detect how much sugar is being produced and used through a complex set of sugar sensing mechanisms. These mechanisms can shut photosynthesis down if sugar accumulation is too high. However, to our surprise, we found out that unlike previously shown in some C3 plants, C4 plants are not so sensitive to high levels of sugars, which shows us that the feedback mechanism is not as simple as we previously thought" Dr Henry says.
"We are trying to understand how photosynthesis is regulated in C4 plants, which are some of the most important cereals in global food production. The regulation mechanisms have been well studied in C3 plants, but until now, we didn't know what happens in C4 crops and how this is related to their ability to produce more sugars," says Dr Oula Ghannoum, CoETP Chief investigator at Western Sydney University.
"One of the most exciting outcomes of this research is that if we understand how sugar signalling works in C4 crops, in the future when we transfer turbocharged photosynthesis mechanisms to crops like wheat and rice we will ensure we improve their yield," says Dr Ghannoum.
Improving photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight, water and CO2 into organic matter, is recognised as one of the best ways to increase crop production.
"The tricky part is to translate the results found at the molecular level to the crop level. For improved photosynthesis to give more yield we need to "take the brakes off" the crop. This is an essential piece of the puzzle to achieve improved yield through increased photosynthesis," says CoETP Director Professor Robert Furbank, one of the authors of this study.
During the study, published recently in the Journal of Experimental Botany, the scientists used light intensity as a means to increase sugar production and identify the genes responsible for photosynthesis regulation. This is one of the few studies that are focusing on the source of sugar production where photosynthesis happens, rather than in the sinks where sugars are used by the plant. This is one of the few studies that are focusing on the source (leaves) where sugar production and photosynthesis take place, rather than in the sinks (grains, fruits) where sugars are used.
"We still have a lot of unanswered questions about how these sugar sensors work. Our next steps are to manipulate these sensors, which will help us to gather essential information we need to transfer them to C3 crops in the future," Dr Ghannoum says.
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Story Source:
Materials provided by ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational PhotosynthesisNote: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:
1.     Clémence Henry, Alexander Watson-Lazowski, Maria Oszvald, Cara Griffiths, Matthew J Paul, Robert T Furbank, Oula Ghannoum. Sugar sensing responses to low and high light in leaves of the C4 model grass Setaria viridisJournal of Experimental Botany, 2019; DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erz495

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ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis. "Too much sugar doesn't put the brakes on turbocharged crops." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 November 2019. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191111100935.htm>.

As climate change hits crops, debate heats up over use of plant gene data

News - International | 2019-11-12
Description: https://www.namibian.com.na/public/uploads/images/5dca73321cbe5/1egyptfarmer-1111wk-4.jpg
As climate change hits crops, debate heats up over use of plant gene data
ROME — Rich and poor countries are at loggerheads over how to share benefits from genetic plant data that could help breed crops better able to withstand climate change, as negotiations to revise a global treaty were set to resume in Rome yesterday.
The little-known agreement is seen as crucial for agricultural research and development on a planet suffering rising hunger, malnutrition and the impacts of climate change.

“We need all the 'genetics' around the world to be able to breed crops that will adapt to global warming,” said Sylvain Aubry, a plant biologist who advises the Swiss government.

Rising temperatures, water shortages and creeping deserts could reduce both the quantity and quality of food production, including staple crops such as wheat and rice, scientists have warned. The debate over “digital sequence information” (DSI) has erupted as the cost of sequencing genomes falls, boosting the availability of genetic plant data, Aubry said.

“A lot of modern crop breeding relies on these data today,” he added.

At the same time, the capability of machines to process vast amounts of that data to identify special crop traits such as disease resistance or heat tolerance has grown.

Pierre du Plessis, an African technical adviser on treaty issues, said companies and breeders can use DSI to identify the genetic sequence of a desired plant trait and send it by email to a gene foundry that prints and mails back a strand of DNA.

“Then you use gene-editing technology to incorporate that strand into a plant. So you have created a new variety without accessing the trait in biological form,” he said.

That process could enable businesses to circumvent the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture which stipulates that the benefits derived from using material from species it covers – including money and new technology – must be shared.

Developing states, which are home to many plant species such as maize and legumes used in breeding, hope to add digital sequence information to the treaty's scope. This would force companies and breeders that develop new commercial crops from that data to pay a percentage of their sales or profits into a fund now managed by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

The fund's resources are used to conserve and develop plant genetic resources – the basis of the foods humans eat – so that farmers, particularly in the developing world, can cope better with a warming climate.

Most wealthy nations, which are generally more active in seed production, argue digital information on plant genetics should be available to use without an obligation to share benefits.

“There's almost no one still doing the old-fashioned, 'let's try it and see' breeding. It's all based on the understanding of genome and a lot of CRISPR gene editing creeping in,” said Du Plessis.

CRISPR is a technology that allows genome editing in plant and animal cells. Scientists say it could lead to cures for diseases driven by genetic mutations or abnormalities, and help create crops resilient to climate extremes. But developing nations and civil society groups such as the Malaysia-based Third World Network say companies that develop new crop varieties using this information could lock access to their critical traits using intellectual property rights.

The treaty row emerged in late October when representatives of governments, the seed industry, research organisations and civil society attended a meeting at FAO headquarters in Rome.

Negotiations have been going on for more than six years to update the treaty, which came into force in 2004 and governs access to 64 crops and forage plants judged as key to feeding the world.

Last month, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and Germany rejected a proposal from the co-chairs of the talks to include “information, including genetic sequence data” in the treaty's provisions on benefit-sharing.

Africa, India, Latin America and the Caribbean pushed back but the meeting ended without a compromise, which negotiators now hope to secure before the treaty's governing body meets on 11 November. The International Seed Federation, a body representing the US$42-billion seed industry, says plant breeding still requires the use of physical material and it is too early to set the rules on genetic data.

“Developing policy based on speculation and on things that are bordering on scientific fiction doesn't seem wise,” said Thomas Nickson, who attended the Rome talks for the federation.

“It is critical to have the information publicly available, especially for small companies in developing countries,” he added.

But Edward Hammond, an adviser to Third World Network, said small farmers needed support, and open access to plant data should not mean a “no-strings-attached free-for-all”.

“Resilience to climate change is being grown in the fields,” he said. “Interesting and new varieties are appearing in the fields as they adapt. This is not coming from companies using new seeds.”

Kent Nnadozie, secretary of the treaty, said if it were agreed, the genetic data should be freely available; it would be mostly developed countries that had the capacity, resources and technology to put it to use. “The fear is that (this) perpetuates and reinforces an unfair system or... amplifies it,” he said. Concerns over increasing privatisation and monopolisation of food crops – which experts say threaten agricultural biodiversity – played a role in the treaty's origins.

Its aim was to build a multilateral approach to access and exchange plant resources, with “fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their use” as a means to address historical imbalances between farmers and seed companies.

While breeders and seed firms rarely pay for the knowledge and genetic resources they source from farmers and indigenous peoples, farmers usually have to buy the seeds of the improved crop varieties businesses produce and sell.

– Thomson Reuters Foundation
Description: NRRI, Cuttack Organises 'Rice Walk: Walk with Rice, Know Your Rice' Pragramme
NRRI, Cuttack Organises ‘Rice Walk: Walk With Rice, Know Your Rice’ Pragramme
By KalingaTV Bureau Last updated Nov 12, 2019
Cuttack:  ICAR-National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), Cuttack is organizing a “Rice Walk: Walk with Rice, Know Your Rice” programme on Wednesday.
NRRI officials said that the programme is being organized to expose the students, teachers, farmers, scientists, policymakers and general public about the development of rice varieties and other technologies.
“The Rice Walk will provide an opportunity for all, particularly the students, to visit the institute research farm of about 200 acres area, to see the crops of newly developed high yielding rice varieties in full grown stage, and to understand all the related agro-technologies in rice production, protection, physiology, micro-environment, mechanization, bio-fortification, and climate resilience in addition to visiting the rice museum, rice gene bank and rice labs,” said an official.
The institute has invited students from over 40 schools and junior colleges in and around the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. “We are expecting participation of over 2000 students, teachers, farmers, scientists, and general public. The students and other visitors will be guided by a group of scientists during the walk,” added the official.

As Lagos empowers youth through agriculture
13th November 2019 in Letters
 Some of the challenges that have persisted across Nigeria’s agricultural landscape,over the decades, include the lack of connection between the set of peasant, smallholder farmers and the policy makers as well as lack of  requisite knowledge on the application of modern technology to farming. Also, there is little or no access to loans to upgrade their performance.

Yet, more than 80 per cent of the total farming population are rural smallholder farmers. But for how long would they be neglected if indeed, they are the pillars of the agricultural sector and have the potential to influence its sustainabledevelopment?
Another significant issue of course, is how to encourage job-seeking youth, especially graduates to  get interested and actively engaged in agriculture.
This becomes even more difficult in urban settings where the drive and desire is for white-collar jobs. That is precisely where the Lagos state government comes in with its laudable initiatives to lure and empower the youth into modern and productive agricultural practices.

To bridge this inexcusable gap, BATN Foundation in partnership with the Lagos State Government recently organized an annual Farm Fair.The aim is to create market linkage for smallholder farmers.
The Fair comes as a business platform to expose farmers to opportunities in urban areas without any financial burden or risks.
So good the initiative has become that the Lagos State government  has an on- going  partnership  with Bank of Agriculture, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered Bank and NYSCon annual basis to assist the farmers.
The objectives of the fair include the promotion of small enterprises for business growth. It is to provide market access and linkage, create platform to network and explore business opportunities.  It is also to enable them to provide fresh and healthy farm produce to the public and to promote Agri-business among urban youths
During the event held recently the activities includedfamers market, exhibition,Master Class,Pop- up restaurants, parade and it was rounded up with an award ceremony. This is a commendable way to bring in the youth back into farming.
It would be recalled that during  the unveiling of a 32 tonnes-per-hour rice mill in the state the Commissioner of Agriculture who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, DrOlayiwolaOnasanya, explained that the mill will conveniently employ 250, 000 people, directly as rice millers. And indirectly as rice growers, marketers and transporters.Such actions would benefit not onlyfarmers in Lagos state but across the South-West geo-political zone.
Similarly, the state is buoyed to employ 400 women and youths according to the State Project Coordinator of the World Ban-assisted Project, APPEALS, Mrs. OlurantiOviebo. Through it, small and medium scale farmers will be actively employed in poultry farming, aquaculture and rice milling to improve on agriculture’s value chain.
Ayo Oyoze Baje

Lagos
The aim is to use modern technology towards increased food production.
It would be recalled that back in November 2013 the Lagos State Agricultural Development Project held an Implementation Support Supervision/ Staple Crop Processing Zone (SCPZ) Mission in the state. The participants included  small and medium scale rice, poultry and aquaculture farmers, processors and marketers. Others were financial institutions, community leaders and non-governmental organizations, state policy makers, representatives of the World Bank, and members of the House Committee on Agriculture.

The mission was to review and align with the federal and state government agricultural policies, especially the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) to aid the smooth project implementation. That was then-some six years ago. But this is now.
The piece of good news is that continuity in government has stabilized the activities of the Lagos State Commercial Agriculture Development Project (CADP) in helping to achieve the World Bank’s twin goals of ending poverty and boosting prosperity by creating new agric entrepreneurs.  Its aim is to strengthen agricultural production systems and facilitate access to markets. that is, for participating small and medium scale commercial farmers.
It also supports the commercialization of agriculture production, processing, marketing output amongst agric-based SMEs and agro-processors.
Ayo Oyoze Baje
Lagos
Interestingly, Lagos state government has also benefitted from its partnership with the Centre for Values in Leadership(CVL)  initiated a youth entrepreneurship, agro-processing and vocational skills acquisition programme. It offers sustainable livelihood support and employment opportunities for youths in Nigeria over a 12 months period under the CVL Young Entrepreneurship Training Programme (YETP) – a national youth intervention programme. To be part of this youth empowerment scheme, the applicant must be a resident of the selected community and must be within the age brackets (18-to-40 inclusive). An applicant with a minimum of School Certificate or ability to read and write may be considered.

The main goal of this project is to combat violent extremism and youth unemployment through youth entrepreneurship, agriculture, and Information, Communication and Technological engagement with the youths in Nigeria.Its Specific Objectivespromise that within 12 months it enhances theentrepreneurship skills of young people through entrepreneurship training, mentoring, and business internship.
Within a year YETP empowers  young entrepreneurs with start-up capitals to enable them establish, run and manage sustainable enterprises.It also increases access to financial support for young people, through linkages to investors, credit banks, and other micro-finance houses for start-up capital and business growth/expansion purpose. Eventually,within the same one-year period it reduces youth restiveness and unemployment by creating job opportunities for young people.

This is in tandem with the position of the #Wealthishere, youth empowerment scheme. According to the online platform: “with poor access to infrastructure, inputs and markets, the smallholder farmers are one of the most vulnerable groups in the value chain system.”  Considering the low scale and archaic methods of farming they apply it is difficult for these farmers to have access to credit facilities to upscale their production.
It is therefore a commendable move on the part of Lagos state government to identify areas of youth development, especially agriculture; train, empower and assess the performance of beneficiaries to keep the unemployed ones of the violent street. Other states should take a cue, not only to enhance job and wealth creation but food security.

Rice Prices

as on : 13-11-2019 03:05:47 PM

Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.
Arrivals
Price
Current
%
change
Season
cumulative
Modal
Prev.
Modal
Prev.Yr
%change
Rice
Gadarpur(Utr)
4319.00
365.91
79893.00
2312
2397
-
Pilibhit(UP)
4000.00
NC
53212.50
2545
2600
11.14
Bangalore(Kar)
2050.00
-28.17
97238.00
4650
4650
8.14
Puranpur(UP)
200.00
1233.33
3810.00
2560
2550
9.40
Bindki(UP)
200.00
-28.57
7078.00
2350
2350
4.91
Barhaj(UP)
200.00
11.11
8443.00
2390
2400
5.99
Muzzafarnagar(UP)
180.00
16.13
3180.00
2695
2690
2.47
Hardoi(UP)
180.00
-10
5900.00
2480
2450
NC
Gondal(UP)
145.00
-3.33
6778.50
2460
2460
-0.40
Dhing(ASM)
130.00
-8.45
2748.00
2750
2770
4.96
Mainpuri(UP)
124.00
5.08
3010.00
2500
2500
-10.07
Roorkee(Utr)
118.00
180.95
1829.00
2500
2300
-
Kanpur(Grain)(UP)
115.00
-11.54
4920.00
2110
2100
-5.17
Agra(UP)
90.00
5.88
3877.00
2570
2570
3.21
Naugarh(UP)
77.50
3.33
3221.50
2490
2475
10.42
Thodupuzha(Ker)
70.00
NC
2590.00
2900
2900
-7.94
Aligarh(UP)
70.00
-6.67
3575.00
2550
2550
2.00
Mathura(UP)
70.00
16.67
1295.50
2570
2550
-1.15
Saharanpur(UP)
67.00
8.06
1418.50
2620
2770
NC
Jorhat(ASM)
65.00
44.44
2070.50
3400
3400
6.25
Azamgarh(UP)
61.50
43.02
2972.50
2480
2475
9.73
Bazpur(Utr)
60.10
-64.75
4100.50
2200
2200
-10.20
Kalipur(WB)
58.00
31.82
2182.00
2400
2400
-
Gauripur(ASM)
54.00
20
2101.50
4500
4500
NC
Kayamganj(UP)
50.00
25
1389.00
2690
2700
13.98
Honnali(Kar)
49.00
25.64
781.00
1850
1856
6.94
Allahabad(UP)
45.00
12.5
1465.50
2600
2650
13.04
Karimpur(WB)
45.00
NC
1100.00
3260
3270
-8.17
Cachar(ASM)
40.00
NC
3180.00
2400
2400
NC
Karimganj(ASM)
40.00
-20
400.00
3500
3500
NC
Lakhimpur(UP)
40.00
5.26
1925.00
2360
2370
5.83
Beldanga(WB)
40.00
NC
1785.00
2700
2700
3.85
Lalitpur(UP)
38.00
-5
1292.00
2345
2335
-9.81
Vasai(Mah)
37.00
-2.63
1327.00
3425
3430
5.38
Pandua(WB)
36.00
-18.18
1924.00
3050
3100
1.67
Basti(UP)
35.00
NC
1352.50
2470
2475
9.78
Madhoganj(UP)
35.00
-53.33
2232.50
2350
2250
4.91
Jhargram(WB)
35.00
NC
834.00
2900
2900
-3.33
Bankura Sadar(WB)
32.00
6.67
527.00
2500
2500
-3.85
Muradabad(UP)
30.00
NC
602.40
2560
2560
6.67
Sahiyapur(UP)
30.00
NC
1201.50
2470
2470
9.78
Kopaganj(UP)
29.00
-25.64
1207.00
2470
2475
9.05
Bareilly(UP)
27.50
-50.89
1701.50
2540
2550
10.43
Howly(ASM)
26.00
-27.78
583.00
2500
2500
6.38
Chhibramau(Kannuj)(UP)
26.00
8.33
405.50
2700
2740
17.39
Safdarganj(UP)
25.00
19.05
569.00
2430
2510
6.58
Sitapur(UP)
23.00
4.55
791.00
2410
2415
5.56
Devariya(UP)
21.50
-4.44
1069.00
2480
2480
9.73
Nalbari(ASM)
21.00
44.83
559.90
2500
2500
NC
Firozabad(UP)
21.00
250
68.20
2570
2560
-
Shamli(UP)
20.00
150
109.00
2680
2790
-4.29
Wansi(UP)
20.00
-9.09
842.00
2110
2110
NC
Falakata(WB)
20.00
NC
840.00
2600
2600
-7.14
Alipurduar(WB)
20.00
NC
580.00
2600
2600
-7.14
Chorichora(UP)
19.00
-17.39
326.00
2510
2475
12.30
Sirsaganj(UP)
17.00
54.55
401.00
2620
2600
-5.07
Akbarpur(UP)
17.00
17.24
859.60
2430
2430
8.48
Fatehpur(UP)
16.50
-11.76
925.90
2370
2370
9.72
Jhijhank(UP)
16.00
-
32.00
2440
-
-
Champadanga(WB)
15.00
NC
493.00
3150
3150
NC
Indus(Bankura Sadar)(WB)
15.00
7.14
1751.00
2800
2800
NC
Chintamani(Kar)
13.00
NC
324.00
2700
2700
20.00
Panchpedwa(UP)
13.00
-48
409.90
1990
1990
-9.95
Karvi(UP)
12.50
13.64
483.50
2370
2375
6.28
Bhivandi(Mah)
12.00
-42.86
891.00
2300
2400
-0.86
Mahoba(UP)
10.80
-34.55
209.90
2280
2250
-
Sheoraphuly(WB)
10.60
3.92
186.00
3200
3200
-5.88
Nawabganj(UP)
10.00
-16.67
399.25
2470
2460
14.35
Vilthararoad(UP)
10.00
NC
801.00
2150
2150
7.50
Kannauj(UP)
10.00
11.11
395.50
2750
2750
19.57
Badayoun(UP)
9.00
NC
636.50
2650
2660
17.78
Nadia(WB)
9.00
50
442.00
3800
3800
-5.00
Tamkuhi Road(UP)
8.00
-11.11
571.40
2250
2250
4.65
Khurja(UP)
7.00
-17.65
427.30
2575
2665
-0.96
Puwaha(UP)
7.00
-41.67
361.20
2500
2500
-0.79
Atarra(UP)
6.00
20
294.00
2350
2380
6.82
Etah(UP)
6.00
-25
262.50
2570
2560
1.18
Jhansi(UP)
6.00
-52
130.10
2265
2275
-0.22
Sehjanwa(UP)
6.00
NC
264.00
2480
2460
14.81
Mugrabaadshahpur(UP)
6.00
20
272.50
2260
2270
-
Bishnupur(Bankura)(WB)
6.00
-20
479.00
2600
2600
-1.89
Unnao(UP)
5.80
-3.33
127.50
2675
2700
12.87
Dibrugarh(ASM)
5.70
29.55
383.00
3100
3100
6.16
Fatehabad(UP)
5.50
-63.33
393.90
2320
2350
3.11
Anandnagar(UP)
5.00
177.78
217.60
2445
2460
11.14
Kasganj(UP)
5.00
25
220.00
2610
2600
3.16
Kosikalan(UP)
5.00
28.21
204.10
2550
2535
2.00
Jahangirabad(UP)
4.00
NC
162.50
2575
2575
0.98
Achalda(UP)
4.00
566.67
31.30
2500
2500
31.58
Muskara(UP)
3.90
50
35.20
2240
2360
-0.88
Badda(UP)
3.60
-14.29
133.10
2500
2500
-
Kalyani(WB)
3.50
-12.5
163.00
3450
3450
1.47
Ranaghat(WB)
3.20
-3.03
75.20
3700
3700
1.37
Mangaon(Mah)
3.00
-40
76.00
2800
3200
-20.00
Sonamura(Tri)
3.00
20
20.00
2700
2700
-
Gadaura(UP)
3.00
-57.14
581.50
2300
2300
9.52
Khatra(WB)
2.70
-10
576.80
2650
2650
1.92
Fatehpur Sikri(UP)
1.80
5.88
46.40
2560
2595
-4.30
Charra(UP)
1.50
-25
49.80
2550
2550
2.00
Nandyal(AP)
1.00
NC
42.00
4250
3900
-
Jambusar(Kaavi)(Guj)
1.00
NC
97.00
3200
3000
18.52
Aroor(Ker)
1.00
NC
19.00
11000
10000
20.88
Penugonda(Mah)
1.00
NC
30.00
4090
4090
0.25
Alibagh(Mah)
1.00
NC
110.00
4200
4200
-16.00
Murud(Mah)
1.00
NC
111.00
4200
4200
5.00
Achnera(UP)
0.70
NC
33.70
2550
2550
-0.39
Published on November 13, 2019
TOPICS
Vietnamese rice yet to be exported under national brand
By Trung ChanhDescription: https://english.thesaigontimes.vn/Uploads/Articles/72732/c369d_unnamed.jpg

Tuesday,  Nov 12, 2019,18:50 (GMT+7)

Purple rice is displayed at the third Rice Festival in Long An Province. Vietnamese rice has yet to be exported under the national brand - PHOTO: TRUNG CHANH
CAN THO – Nearly a year after the logo for Vietnamese rice was introduced, no local rice shipments have been exported under the national brand.
At a press briefing today, November 12, to introduce the fourth Rice Festival in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long, Nguyen Anh Dung from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Farm Produce Processing and Market Development Department told the Saigon Times that before introducing the logo in December last year, the ministry had held a contest to choose the logo.
The ministry later registered the logo with the Madrid System, a system for the registration of worldwide trademarks.
However, the process is complicated. The ministry and the Vietnam Food Association are still preparing the paperwork, so the logo has yet to be used.
The fourth Rice Festival was scheduled to take place from December 1
3 to 19 in Vinh Long Province. The event is expected to feature 800 booths. By November 10, exhibitors had registered for 443 booths.At the festival, the organizer will also host specialized seminars on the legal framework and policies for developing cooperatives; conditions needed to develop the agriculture sector, focusing on rice; policies that support rice growers; and rural development.The event will also include rice and rice-based dish cooking contests.








House greenlights tapping of P6-B rice subsidy to buy palay

By: Daphne Galvez - Reporter / @DYGalvezINQ
INQUIRER.net / 04:23 PM November 12, 2019
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on third and final reading a joint resolution allowing the use of the remaining P6.97-billion rice subsidy fund to buy palay (unhusked rice) from local farmers.
Voting 206-0-0, the House approved House Joint Resolution No. 22, which authorizes the government to tap the subsidy fund under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) for the purchase of palay.
The joint resolution seeks to transfer to the National Food Authority (NFA) the unused P6.97-billion rice subsidy fund, which is under the 2019 budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The NFA will then buy palay from local farmers at P19 per kilo.
The resolution also aims to replace the P600 per month rice subsidy to 4Ps beneficiaries with actual rice.
Farmgate prices reportedly plummeted to as low as P7 per kilo in some areas, with some blaming Republic Act No. 11023 or the Rice Tariffication Law, which replaced quantitative restrictions on imported rice with tariffs or taxes.
The law was signed in February this year.
Last Nov. 4, the Senate approved on third reading its version of the resolution.
Both houses of Congress will convene a bicameral conference committee to reconcile disagreeing provisions on the resolution. After this, the measure will be transmitted to the President for his signature.

S. Korean trade minister says rice excluded from RCEP concessions

Posted on : Nov.12,2019 16:56 KST Modified on : Nov.12,2019 16:56 KST
Announcement comes amid talks on Seoul’s forfeiting developing country status in WTO
Description: http://flexible.img.hani.co.kr/flexible/normal/640/361/imgdb/original/2019/1112/491573545166.jpg
Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee
South Korea’s top trade official said on Nov. 11 that rice was excluded from the concessions in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).Recently, a sense of crisis has been spreading through the Korean farming sector because of major progress in RCEP negotiations and Seoul’s decision to abandon developing country status at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Against that backdrop, Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee added that Seoul is “taking part in market liberalization negotiations while doing everything it can to account for the sensitivity of the agricultural sector.”
“We’re nearing the finishing line in negotiations about market liberalization between the various member states. In the ministerial meeting, we agreed to wrap up negotiations on individual items by the end of the year, but the timing of the final signing has been pushed back to next year,” Yoo said during a press conference at the Government Complex Sejong on Monday afternoon.
“Since we’re currently linked to each country through separate free trade agreements, companies have to abide by rules that vary with each separate place of origin. Once place-of-origin regulations are integrated through multilateral negotiations, however, exports and trade for will become much easier for SMEs,” the official said.
In regard to whether the US will slap tariffs on automobiles under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act by the deadline of Nov. 13, Yoo showed reluctance to assume that South Korea would be exempted from the tariffs. “We’ve repeatedly indicated to the Americans that we shouldn’t be included in the tariffs because we’ve been faithfully carrying out the promises we made in our negotiations about revising the KORUS FTA [South Korea-US Free Trade Agreement]. When I visited the US last month, both the US Trade Representative and [Larry] Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, expressed positive viewpoints about bilateral trade and investment after the KORUS FTA revision,” she said.
Yoo declined to speak in detail about the government’s position and negotiating strategies about the second round of bilateral deliberations with Japan, scheduled for Nov. 19, about a complaint that South Korea has lodged with the WTO over Japan’s export controls. “All that I can tell you is that we’ll do our best in the bilateral deliberations on Nov. 19. Since the next step depends on the outcome of the bilateral deliberations, I’ll be able to tell you about the timeframe for a solution after seeing how the negotiations turn out,” she said.
But Yoo emphasized that the only way the bilateral deliberations wouldn’t lead to the establishment of a panel of experts would be if Japan fully reverses its export controls. If bilateral deliberations break down after a complaint is lodged with the WTO, a panel of experts is convened to initiate the actual trial phase of the complaint. The government is under considerable pressure to avoid that step, which often delays the final outcome. Expert review typically takes one or two years, though in recent years that review has sometimes lasted more than three years.
Yoo also spoke about the trade prospects for next year. “Protectionism and unilateralism are likely to expand and intensify. Whereas protectionist measures have previously been limited to anti-dumping measures and other import controls, they will likely expand in atypical directions, such as cutting off various privileges in imports, exports, and other areas. We’ll be striving to take preemptive and swift measures, through market expansion and diversification and institutional innovation, for example, in order to overcome those challenges,” she said.
By Kim Eun-hyoung, staff reporter
Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

S.Korea's rice output hits 39-year low in 2019

Source: Xinhua| 2019-11-12 16:07:46|Editor: xuxin
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's rice output hit a 39-year low this year, keeping a downward trend for four straight years, statistical office data showed Tuesday.
Rice production was 3,744,000 tons in 2019, down 3.2 percent from last year's output of 3,868,000 tons, according to Statistics Korea.
It was the lowest since 1980, continuing to decline for the fourth consecutive year amid the bad weather conditions and the reduced cultivation areas.
The cultivation area for rice fell 1.1 percent over the year to 729,814 hectares this year.
Typhoon Lingling hit the local farms in September when rice begins to ripen, negatively influencing the rice output, the agency noted.
Meanwhile, per-capita annual rice consumption reached a record low of 61 kilograms last year.
Rice, a main staple food for South Koreans, has been on a steady decline for decades due to the change in eating habits.

The economic inefficacy of border closure

Temple EzebuikE
In September, Nigeria’s borders were closed. In a meeting with stakeholders, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Hameed Ali, stated that the closure was undertaken to strengthen the nation’s security, protect its economic interests– by preventing smuggling. He further stated that a lot of things had gone wrong with transit of goods; that the border closure was to ensure that things were streamlined for all stakeholders.
The general idea of a border closure is to ensure that the protocol involved in transit of goods and trade facilitation is adhered to, such that there is better trade complement between countries. The closure as ordered by the Federal Government (FG) is thus to prevent importers in Ghana, Benin Republic, and Niger Republic from routing imports from Europe, illegally through local borders to Nigeria, thereby disrupting the local market. The protectionist policy of border closure, although valid only in the Nigerian infant agricultural context, is like placing the cart before the horse. The struggling local rice producers are not disadvantaged because of smuggling. Nigeria’s economic viability will not be advanced by border closure. Nations utilize closure as a last protective measure to momentarily guard a robust infant industry.
The FG’s complaints about smuggling are self-defeating. There would not be any smuggling if the custom officials maintained local trade and immigration laws. In 2017, The Nationwide Survey on Corruption in Nigeria by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that Custom officials solicited the most bribes, ahead of Immigration officials and elected State and Local representatives.  Recently, an undercover investigation brought light to a massive corruption ring in the Nigeria Customs Service. The reports brought to fore the ineptitude and corruption in the Nigeria Customs Service. The border closure merely papers over the smuggling problem; it does not address a root cause: corrupt Custom officials. The FG has extended the closure to January 2020, although they have reported that about three trillion naira smuggled goods have been seized since closure, it pans to reason that, without a thorough re-organization and re-orientation of Nigeria’s Customs and Immigration officials, the border will be reopened in January 2020 back to the same corrupt officials who facilitated goods smuggling. Then another round of complaints about illegal disruption of local market, then repetitive closing and reopening of borders while a root cause is left unattended.
The border closure was fuelled by rice smuggling. Nigeria’s population of 200 million people (with almost 100 million people living on less than a $1 (N360) a day) is fed by a retinue of subsistence rural farmers, who account for 80% of locally produced rice, the remainder 20% being cultivated by commercial farmers. Local rice production stands at about 4.7 million tonnes; local consumption stood at 6.4 million tonnes in 2017. The shortfall was usually balanced by imports (in 2016, 2.6 million tonnes were imported), which, per economic competition drives down prices. Given the CBN’s Foreign Exchange restriction on rice, the border closure combines to substantially limit rice importation, resultantly creating a scarcity-sized hole. Since local supply cannot meet local consumption, the rice prices have soared– consumer-inflation rose to 11.51% in September, up by 0.08% from 11.17% recorded in August. Ninety million Nigerians live below the poverty line, and where about 60% of income is spent on food, rising inflation will leave Nigerians with less disposable income, placing more and more of the people below the poverty line.
Any policy, notwithstanding sincerity of intent, which tends to leave the masses with deflating disposable income, is not well-thought. It is an economic hara-kiri that should be advocated against. Besides the fact that local consumption outstrips local supply, the business environment is not supportive to local producers. The FG cannot will the economy to food sufficiency in a dilapidated system.
Access to farm mechanization remains low due to bad roads. Some rice farmers trek as far as 30 kilometers to the nearest rice mill. After milling, channels to transport their produce to local markets are also abysmally poor. Corruption also trails mechanized farming: to ease access to rice mills and boost local production, in 2017, the government reported procurement of 100 rice milling machines in different states, but the exact locations of the machines have remained a mystery.
Rice farmers are also disincentivized due to lack of access to credit facilities. Before the commencement, in 2018, of the Central Bank’s initiative to increase credit access in agriculture, commercial banks advanced facilities to farmers at 18% to 30% interest rates. The Central Bank’s initiative to finance agriculture at 9% interest rate is commendable, although, it should be noted that it is lower than the 5% rate farmers had called for due to self-provision of power and transportation.
Power as a stated cost is also a major concern to farmers. For a bustling population of 200 million, Nigeria needs 180,000MW of power, but generates less than 5000MW. South Africa, with 58 million people, generates 48,000MW and is working towards increasing generation to 79,000MW.  Eighty percent (80%) of rice cultivation is done by local farmers. Rural Nigeria has electricity penetration of 36%, South Africa has 80%  in comparison. Such limited access to power substantially restricts farmers’ and millers’ efficiency across value chains in rice production.
Border closure will not address the problem of corruption in Nigeria Customs Service, neither will it improve accessibility to credit facility, nor increase local production to attain a semblance of sufficiency. The FG should leave the border and attend to more pressing industrial challenges: address forthwith the corruption in the Customs that facilitated smuggling (and will still facilitate smuggling) after reopening of border; address the power crisis; better roads, rails, to channel produce to local markets; increase accessibility to low-interest loans and machinery, et c.
Protectionist policies are not on the whole, bad. However, there has to be a robust industry to be protected. Where the preliminaries are prominently positioned, there will be an inflow of investments to agriculture, towards increased local production to balance consumption. Where borders are closed in this instance, it will be to protect the local industry from high-tech foreign competition, albeit momentarily, until they become competitive. The FG should not prance over preliminaries– laying the cart before the horse– driving up inflation that will hurt legitimate cross-border businesses, local producers and the populace.Ezebuike, a Lagos-based legal practitioner, with focus on Energy, Finance and Real Estate, writes via templeezebuike@gmail.com.

Rice producers to support border closure with price slash

By Joke Falaju, Abuja
13 November 2019   |   4:46 am
In response to the Federal Government’s plea for farmers not to take advantage of the current border closure, producers of the Ogoja Rice have disclosed plans to slash the price of the grain ahead of the Yuletide season.
Chairman of the Santuscom Agro-Hub Investment Nigeria Limited, producers of Ogoja Rice, Paul Santus, told journalists yesterday, in Abuja, that the company had scaled up production of the brand locally produced in Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State, to meet demand for the grain.
He told Nigerians not to panic ahead of the festive period, as the company is willing to crash the price of its 50kg bag to N14,000, saying all is set to meet rice demand in-country despite the skyrocketing price of the commodity in the market, following the border closure.
Recall that Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had appealed to rice farmers, millers and marketers not to increase the price of the grain, saying it would impact negatively on government’s aim on closing the borders.
However, operators along the value chain cashed in on the situation to the extent that local rice, which sold at N16,000 for 50kg bag rose to N20,000 while foreign rice is sold at N22,000.
The Minister of State Agriculture and Rural Development, Baba Shehuri, had said the closure of Nigerian borders has energised rice farmers, who now smile to the banks with the impressive sales, with attendant job opportunities created.

But Santus expressed concern over the high price, saying: “We want Nigerians to understand the action by the government, and notwithstanding, we want to assure Nigerians that as a company we will do everything possible before the Christmas and New Year celebrations to crash the prevailing and current market price of rice. We will be selling at N14,000 per 50-kilogram bag of rice anytime from now.”
He disclosed that they have produced about 1,000 hectares of rice farm ready for harvest soon to add to the current production of the commodity assuring that they would soon flood the market.

PH becomes world’s biggest rice importer, according to USDA data


12 November 2019
Description: https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/IGr2T5U3RbvUHOxlyUoAbQ--~A/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw/https:/media.zenfs.com/en/coconuts_manila_225/96c3d3a896d597d3f432fdddb6f5d361
The Philippines is the world’s number one importer of rice, surpassing even China, according to a new report released by the United States’ Department of Agriculture.
The USDA-Foreign Agricultural Services (USDA-FAS) report, released on Nov. 8, shows that 3.1 million metric tons of rice were imported by the Philippines this year, compared to China’s 2.5 million metric tons.
The Philippines’ record-setting amount of import is all the more staggering given the fact that the country’s population stands at just 100 million, while China’s is around 1.4 billion.
The USDA study notes that in just a few years, “the Philippines has emerged as one of the top global importers of rice, nearly on a par with China.” It added that the Philippines’s rice imports have quadrupled from 800,000 metric tons in 2016 to an anticipated 3.1 million in 2019, accounting for some 7 percent of total global rice imports.
The annual study was conducted between October 2018 and October 2019.
In March this year, the government implemented the Rice Tarrification Law, or Republic Act 11203. The law removed import restrictions, leading to a greater amount of rice bought from overseas flooding the market. This move, according to experts, prompted local rice prices to plunge to PHP38 (US$0.75) per kilogram as of the end of September, 17 percent lower than last year’s price of PHP46 (US$0.90) per kilogram. However, prices failed to hit the government’s promised low of PHP27 (US$0.5o).
The Philippines is also a major grower of rice, producing some 20 million tons a year, raising questions as to the impact of imports on prices for local growers.
But Agriculture Department spokesman Noel Reyes dismissed the USDA-FAS study, saying that the increase in importation was just a short-term effect of the Rice Tariffication Law. He also maintained that the increase in imports wouldn’t cause prices of locally grown rice to drop quickly — although they eventually will.
“We expect that the prices will go down, rice as well as palay [unhusked rice]. But with rice, we don’t expect [prices] to fall that quickly,” Reyes said. “Every time there’s a harvest, the prices go down.”
In September, farmers complained that they were having a hard time competing with cheap imports, and were forced to sell unhusked rice to traders for as low as PHP7 (US$0.13) per kilo, even though production costs were PHP8 (US$0.15) per kilo.
As of October, the country’s national rice inventory was at 2.28 million metric tons, with some 1.9 million metric tons coming from imports, according to the Bureau of Customs. The share of imports is 43.4 percent higher than the previous year’s record of 1.59 million metric tons, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
https://ph.news.yahoo.com/ph-becomes-world-biggest-rice-034613537.html



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