| 14th November,2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter | https://app.box.com/s/2yjanwe3d9nwfhi0jd5es1ly9x9xz6pq |
State sets aside Sh200 million to buy rice for grain reserve
For the first
time in history, the Strategic Food Reserve will buy rice from farmers
In Summary
• Kenya produces 152,000 metric
tonnes annually against a consumption of 650,000 metric tonnes.
• 75 per cent of rice consumed in the country is imported at a
value of over Sh22.5 billion per year.
RICE BOOM: Farmers pack their produce at the Ahero Rice
Irrigation Scheme in Nyando, Kisumu county. China will support rice projects in
Kenya.
MAURICE ALAL
MAURICE ALAL
The government has set aside
Sh200 million to buy rice for the Strategic Food Reserve.
This is the first time the state
will be buying rice for the grain reserve which has only been buying maize from
farmers in the past years.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary
Mwangi Kiunjuri said the government will purchase reasonable quantities just
like it does with maize.
While visiting the expansive Mwea
Irrigation Scheme, Kiunjuri said officials from the SFR board will be visiting
rice producers in all the schemes in the coming days to discuss the prices.
Food Reserve board
chairman Noah Wekesa yesterday confirmed that the government has set aside
Sh200 million to buy rice from farmers to help stabilise prices in the market.
“The money has been set aside to
buy rice during this season to help stabilise the prices of rice in the market.
This is also because besides maize, rice is also an important food in the SFR,”
Wekesa told the Star on the phone.
SFR also purchases and stores
other food products like beans, corned beef and powdered milk besides maize and
rice for emergencies.
Rice farmers have been grappling
with low prices due to an influx of cheap imported rice mainly from Pakistan.
A kilo of rice is currently
retailing at between Sh140 and Sh150.
Donald Munene, a rice farmer from
Mwea, said the imported rice has interfered with the market prices. He said
farmers have not been able to reap the benefits.
“We have been farming rice for
decades and it is high time the government bought the produce just like it does
with maize farmers. We urge the government to set good prices for us,” Munene
said.
John Kimani, a rice breeder from
the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation, said growth rate in
rice consumption is high at 13 per cent compared to maize which is at one per
cent and wheat at four per cent.
“Production of rice in Kenya is
approximately 152,000 metric tonnes, while consumption is above 650,000 metric
tonnes per year, leading to over 75 per cent importation valued at Sh22.5
billion per year,” he said.
The CS assured farmers that the
ministry will work with county governments from all rice producing counties to
improve road netorks in schemes that have been destroyed by the ongoing rains.
Kiunjuri said even if agriculture
is devolved, the national government will chip in to help farmers reduce
post-harvest losses in the paddies.
Farmers in Mwea Irrigation Scheme
have been affected by the ongoing rains and this has interfered with the harvesting
of the grain, which accounts for 80 per cent of all the rice produced in the
country.
Indonesians Quitting 'rice Addiction' Over Diabetes Fears
Indonesian Mirnawati once ate rice with every meal, but its link
to diabetes convinced her to join a growing movement to quit a staple food in
the third biggest rice-consuming nation on Earth
Jakarta, (APP - UrduPoint /
Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2019 ) :Indonesian Mirnawati once ate rice with
every meal, but its link to diabetes convinced her to join a growing movement
to quit a staple food in the third biggest rice-consuming nation on Earth.
As World Diabetes Day is held Thursday, the Southeast Asian nation is struggling to tackle a disease that affects as
many as 20 million of its 260 million people, and has emerged as one of its deadliest killers
behind stroke and heart disease.
But kicking the rice habit isn't
easy, with Indonesia's favourite dish nasi goreng (mixed fried rice) sold everywhere,
and the grain woven into the culinary fabric of a nation whose late dictator transformed it into a must-have meal.
"In my first week without rice
I felt like I was being possessed by ghosts," said Mirnawati, a
34-year-old former construction company employee who goes by one name.
"But now I'll never go back to it," she added, about
four months into her new diet.
Complications from diabetes, which affects some 425 million globally, can lead to heart attacks, stroke, blindness and even limb amputation.
Rice is packed with fibre and key
vitamins. But an unbalanced diet that relies too heavily on refined white rice
has been linked to an increasing global prevalence of diabetes and insulin
resistance as it raises blood sugar levels, according to experts.
That is what led Mirnawati -- along with her mother and cousin --
to drop rice in favour of more vegetables, meat and nuts.
It is a step that an increasing number of Indonesians are taking
in an informal 'no rice' movement, although there are no official numbers.
The push, partly driven by social media, has been backed by local governments including cultural
capital Yogyakarta which last year rolled out a campaign to convince residents
to go without rice at least one day a week.
From stubble-burning to smog
Smog has arrived once again – as it
comes down this time of the year. Children have not gone to school. Air flights
and normal road traffic will probably be disturbed.
We had discussed in this space
earlier the role of petroleum, automotive vehicles and road traffic in causing
air pollution and smog in Punjab and elsewhere. In the following, we will deal
with the role and impact of stubble burning and will explore ways and means of
handling and mitigating the issue as well.
The issue is full of controversies.
On both sides of the border in our region, blame is being leveled that the
stubble burning pollution is travelling from the other side. Both may be right
as the area is contiguous and the wind direction keeps changing.
At least in India, farmers are
downplaying the role of stubble burning in causing smog and are shifting the
blame on other sectors. They are also contesting the role of machines in
recycling stubble into the soil – terming it ineffective, expensive and
unaffordable. High courts have been issuing edicts banning stubble burning but
the ban has not been effective. A subsidy of IRS100 per quintal (100 kg) has
also been ordered by the courts to help farmers meet the expenses of machinery
in recycling the stubble.
There is no doubt that stubble
burning is not the sole reason for smog. Traffic emissions, brick kilns,
industrial pollution especially burning of dirty fuels and no pollution
controls, dusty construction activities, all are contributors to the problem.
However, in the autumn when rice is harvested on both sides of the border and
the stubble has to be cleared within fifteen days in order to be able to sow a
new crop – both the volume and the time enhance the intensity of the problem.
So the cheapest and fastest way is to burn the stubble.
Expensive equipment and technology
is around which can be used to clear the stubble without burning it. But only
rich farmers can afford it. However, without a useful use of the stubble,
nobody would have the incentive to invest in it. Indian Punjab alone produces
20 million tons of stubble, most of which is burnt in a month in October. A
recent study in Pakistan estimates stubble burning at some two million tons
appears to be an underestimation for a six million ton annual production of
rice.
Overall, 60-80 million tons of
agricultural waste and residue is generated in Pakistan annually. This can be a
resource rather than a liability. It contains energy as is readily seen by the
burning flames. Instead of wasting it, it can be usefully employed and can be
used in producing electricity, and in the industrial and domestic sectors.
Bio-fuels are a new product that is being increasingly produced from rice straw
and other agricultural waste.
Raw stubble is, however, a
liability and its burning is inconvenient and wasteful. For efficient and
convenient use, it is converted into briquettes or pellets. The biomass is to
be dried, crushed and pressed into pellets with or without the help of binding
additives. Densification reduces volume, reducing transportation costs, and
increases volumetric calorific value. It also slows down burning; raw biomass
burns too fast making it uncontrollable and wasteful. Also storage becomes
easier reducing volume requirements and increasing stackability. While
biomass/stubble may be generated in a short time, it cannot be consumed
instantaneously; it has to be stored for later sustained consumption.
Raw biomass is currently used by
the rural poor in domestic cooking and even heating. In its raw form, it causes
indoor pollution affecting women especially. In pellet form, it is less
polluting and manageable. All rural areas are not equally endowed
agriculturally. Pellets can make biomass transportable and tradable and
converted into a saleable commodity. Currently, it has no value, except in some
special cases such as Bagasse. If it has a value, it won’t be so mercilessly
burnt as stubble is burnt currently.
Only 20 percent of the population
in Pakistan has access to gas where a pipeline network is available. In other
areas, charcoal, LPG and kerosene are used which are much more expensive. Gas
is subsidized (cross subsidy) to small and medium consumers. Gas availability
is going down and it is getting costlier, especially due to the advent of LNG.
Biomass pellets can be affordable.
Biomass pellets have almost the same energy content as Lignite (Thar coal).
Thar Lignite is being produced at a cost of $47 per ton. The government of
Pakistan could encourage small, medium and large-scale utilization of biomass
including stubble – paddy waste. Small pellet producing plants can be installed
on farmlands. Model and demonstrating plants could be installed and easy credit
terms provided.
Third parties like the cement
industry can install medium to large sized plants. Some progressive cement
producers are already lifting municipal solid waste to burn in their kilns.
Brick kilns can be encouraged to use biomass briquettes in place of coal and
other dirty coals. Thus biomass briquettes can be introduced as another fuel in
the fuel market of the country which would improve the quality of life and
contribute to rural economies. A curse can be converting into blessing.
Ethanol production from food crops
(first generation technology) is not new. However, producing ethanol from
Cellulosic materials like rice straw is a relatively new phenomenon. Rice straw
can now be converted into biogas and bio liquid fuels. In Italy, Romania, the
US and Brazil, rice straw is utilized in producing bio-ethanol. Ethanol is
mixed with gasoline in without affecting engine performance or requiring
modification.
Policies are in place in most
advanced countries requiring 5-10 percent ethanol in gasoline. It is a separate
matter that Pakistan produces ethanol but exports it. India is going ahead with
several bio-refineries base on rice straw. It is time to examine the
feasibility of a similar bio-refinery in Pakistan. It would produce much
required petrol, save foreign exchange and would provide incentives to farmers
not to burn rice straw. However, varying and low oil prices have put all such
proposals into question. Bio-char (a fertilizer) can also be produced from rice
straw and other agricultural waste. Gas and bio-CNG is another option and
attractive enough in the context of falling local gas production. Agri-biomass
including raw straw is often mixed with sewage to produce biogas. This partly
solves sewerage issue as well.
Economics is the final constraint
in technology choice. Economics varies regionally with location and resource
endowment. If smog and pollution health effects are internalized in economic
calculations, the aforementioned solutions may possibly become more attractive.
Finally, it is said that it is
easier to build and finance a bio-refinery than to collect rice straw and
biomass from the farmer, as he has his own constraints and economics. Capital
investment in collection by third parties and conversion of rice straw into
useful products as mentioned earlier offers a practical solution. If all of it
is found too difficult to implement, de-zoning, prohibiting rice production
near large cities may have to be introduced. There can be alternative crops.
Health is more important than money.
The writer is a former member of
the Energy Planning Commission and author of ‘Pakistan’s Energy Issues: Success
and Challenges’.
Email: akhtarali1949@gmail.com
Rs 40,000 Fine Imposed On Two Hoarders In Multan
The district administration continued operation against hoarding
here Wednesday and imposed heavy fine on two hoarders
MULTAN, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan
Point News - 13th Nov, 2019 ) : The district administration continued operation
against hoarding here Wednesday and imposed heavy fine on two hoarders.
The official also raided another
godown at the main foodgrain market and imposed Rs 15,000 fine on the godown owner for hoarding rice, said a press release.
Ombion: Food
sovereignty
Perspective
November 13, 2019
THE
recent news reports that Philippines is now the top global importer of rice at
3.1M metric tons (MT) this year from 1.9M MT in 2018 is chilling and like a
death foretold for our agriculture.All the while our people were made to believe by government technocrats and so called experts and scientists of the Department of Agriculture (DA) that we are nearing to become food self-reliant. The past DA Secretary Manny Piñol was even so arrogantly emphatic on this claim.
With the “unli rice” so popular now in big food chains and small restaurants, who would say that our country is having a food and rice crisis?
Yes, our domestic market is now flooded with rice, vegetables, fruits, spices, and other basic crops.
A big percentage of these, however, are imported and the government pays them in dollars, commissions of state officials and private brokers not included.
We also don’t know whether they are healthy and safe or not especially in view of the proliferation of GMO and toxic products produced by multinational corporations.
Importation gives government justifications to increase taxes, let loose food price increases without government price stabilization measure.
Importation is also a big racket business for state officials and their private cohorts. They illegally earn millions in this operations from big traders and importers.
Traditionally, our farmers produce them- practically all that is in our food system, from farms to market, and everything we put on our dining table.
In rural and urban areas, families with small piece of lands usually grow what they eat, buying only non agri based and personal care items.
This practice and lifestyle are no longer true today. People buy everything they need, in malls and convenient stores. Social and tri media have played important role in changing their food habits, hence their mindset and values too.
This is exactly the effect of the underlying philosophy of government’s neoliberal policies of liberalization, deregulation and privatization.
Liberalization of agriculture is the government policy. It does not want this nation to feed itself from its own rich productive lands but depend on imports, on leasing our lands to foreign companies for other non agri use.
In the case of rice, farms hectarage planted to rice drops almost every year by .4-1%, and this year at 4.7M has from almost 5M has in 2018. And with Rice Tariffication Act in full swing, let’s expect more imports in years ahead.
They argue that it is better and cheaper to import food than produce our own at higher production cost, like in rice, sugar, corn, vegetables, and livestock.
That’s their concept of food security, it doesn’t matter where it is produced, so long as it is available anytime.
True, we may have enough at some point in time, but we can’t be assured all the time, because international conditions, laws and agreements and relations are changing. More countries are increasingly protective of their own economies to avoid national food crisis, financial crisis, and many other crisis.
Sooner or later we can’t just imports what we want or anytime we want, because the government will be spending more for every import it makes due to protectionism.
The strong and lasting position we should take is work for our food sovereignty, which means, set our own national policies on agriculture, disband private land monopolies and distribute to real tillers, invest and modernize our agriculture, support our agricultural forces specially small agricultural producers, grow organic food in each province and ban GMO food, and value agriculture as a great national asset, a science and a noble profession.
When our nation grows and feeds on our own food, and people have access to safe healthy and cheaper food anytime they need them, and stops enriching the super malls and multinational food companies, that’s the time we can truly claim we are food secured and sovereign.
Government rice tariff take from traders hits P20.72
billion in October
November
14, 2019
This
file photo shows different varieties of rice being sold at a local market in
Manila.
THE government’s rice tariff
collection as of end-October has reached P20.727 billion, of which P11.44
billion will be allocated for the government’s Rice Competitiveness Enhancement
Fund (RCEF) for next year, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
Finance Secretary Carlos G.
Do-minguez III revealed this in his speech during the 11th World Rice
Conference in Makati City on Wednesday.
In a presentation, Dominguez said
the government collected P9.283 billion in rice tariffs from January 1 to March
4, or prior to the implementation of the rice trade liberalization (RTL) law.
Following the effectivity of the
new law, the government earned P11.444 billion from rice imports. Of the
amount, P10 billion will constitute RCEF while the excess amount will bankroll
the government’s cash assistance program for rice farmers. In a separate
presentation at the same event, National Economic and Development Authority
(Neda) Assistant Secretary Mercedita A. Sombilla disclosed that total rice
imports as of end-October has reached 2.991 million metric tons (MMT).
Citing data from the Bureau of
Customs, Sombilla said 1.102 MMT of imported rice entered the country prior to
the implementation of the RTL law while the remaining volume of 1.888 MMT were
imported under the new rice trade regime.
Sombilla said total rice imports
as of October 31 is already “150 percent higher than the average importation in
the same period of the previous 10 years.”
The RCEF is a six-year
P10-billion annual funding created by the RTL law to bankroll programs that
would provide farmers with high-quality seeds, machinery, easier credit access
and relevant training to improve their productivity and become competitive
against Vietnam and Thailand.
The fund will come from tariffs
collected by the government from rice imports. The amount in excess of P10
billion will be allocated for programs like crop diversification and cash
transfers. The Department of Agriculture earlier said that rice tariffs
collection this year under the RTL law would reach P13 billion.
Cambodia's rice export to China up 45 pct in 10 months
Source:
Xinhua| 2019-11-14 00:04:26|Editor: Mu Xuequan
PHNOM
PENH, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia exported 184,844 tons of milled rice to
China during the first 10 months of 2019, up 45 percent over the same period
last year, said an official report released on Wednesday.
China
is still the largest buyer of Cambodian rice during the January-October period
this year, said the report of the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice
Export.
Export
to China accounted for 40 percent of the country's total rice export, it said.
Song
Saran, president of the Cambodia Rice Federation, said China is a huge market
for Cambodian rice and the kingdom is expected to export a total of 250,000
tons to China this year.
"Chinese
dishes and Cambodian rice are best match!" he told Xinhua. "I believe
that Cambodian rice will become more and more popular in China in coming
years."
Meanwhile,
the Southeast Asian nation shipped 155,950 tons of rice to the European market,
down 27 percent, said the report, adding that the European Union (EU)'s market
share for Cambodian rice had declined to 34 percent from 49 percent.
The
drop in the export to the European market came after the EU imposed earlier
this year duties for three years on rice importing from Cambodia in a bid to
curb a surge in rice imports from the country and to protect European
producers.
According
to the report, Cambodia exported a total of 457,940 tons of rice to 59
countries and regions during the first 10 months of this year, up 5.3 percent
over the same period last year.
Gov’t on alert on rice smuggling, hoarding
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:24 AM November 14,
2019
With rice imports surging, the government is shoring up
tariff collections while also looking into possible hoarding and smuggling amid
falling retail prices, according to the head of the Duterte administration’s
economic team.
In a speech at the 14th World Rice Conference on
Wednesday, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said revenues from import
tariffs slapped on rice already amounted to P11.4 billion at end-October.
Under Republic Act No. 11203, or the rice tariffication
law implemented since March, the following tariff rates apply: 35 percent if
rice was imported from Asean; 40 percent if within the minimum access volume
(MAV) of 350,000 metric tons, from countries outside Asean; and 180 percent if
above the MAV and coming from a non-Asean country.
Since collections this year already exceeded the annual
P10 billion to be automatically allocated to the Rice Competitiveness
Enhancement Fund, Dominguez said the government had “ample means to do even
more to make our agricultural production more efficient.”
Dominguez said the government would extend help to
farmers especially affected by the drop in palay prices.
Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the
finance chief said prices had declined to its current average of P15.71 per
kilo from its “normal” price of P17.23 during the 2015 to 2017 period.
He said this meant an average loss of P1.52 per kilo. He
noted, however, farmers in some provinces even lost P5.63 while others saw a
P3.75-increase.
“The government is constantly monitoring location-specific
prices so that interventions may be deployed on an evidence-based and tightly
targeted manner,” Dominguez said.
To help the suffering, he said the government would be
working with lawmakers in providing subsidies via unconditional cash transfers.
The government would also be implementing loan programs
and procurement of paddy above production costs, he said.
He also said the government was “closely monitoring
possible distortions in the market, particularly the widening gap between farm
gate prices for paddy and rice retail prices in specific provinces.”
Government: Law letting unlimited rice imports stays
Published Nov 13, 2019 6:20:05 PM
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November
13)— Despite
supposed flaws in a policy that allows unlimited rice imports, the government
is firm on carrying out the Rice Tariffication Act, saying its benefits
outweigh perceived disadvantages.
“The government is not inclined
to revise, repeal or suspend the Rice Tariffication law,” Finance Secretary
Carlos Dominguez III told rice traders and stakeholders at the 11th Rice Trader
World Rice Conference in Makati City on Wednesday.
Dominguez said the law has
benefited low-income households that usually set aside a fifth of their budget
for the staple. Rice prices have gone down by an average of ₱8 per kilogram
since the rice tariffication policy.
He also said the law caused the
inflation rate to go down. “We are now well within the government's target
range of two to four percent,” Dominguez said.
The Philippine Statistics
Authority said rice was the primary driver of high inflation in September 2018.
While the government acknowledges
that the law has also resulted in lower average farm gate prices of unmilled
rice (palay) in some provinces to the detriment of farmers, Dominguez said
these are just one of the “temporary transition challenges.”
He said the law has built-in
mechanisms that allow authorities to help farmers suffering from more
affordable imported rice. These include distributing modern farm equipment and
high quality seed, providing training on farming practices as well as
interest-free loans.
These would be funded from the
rice farmer support fund under the law. The fund will come from rice tariff
proceeds.
Dominguez said repealing the rice
tariffication law is a step backward for the agriculture industry, possibly
resulting in unstable rice supply, high retail prices, profiteering and low
productivity.
“It took nearly three decades of
long standing resistance to open up the importation process of our stable crop.
As a consequence our rice industry stagnated, trapping millions of rice farmers
in outdated farming practices and inflicting the cost of inefficiency on our
consumers and taxpayers as a whole,” he said.
“This is not the future of our
agriculture. We should let the rice tariff do its work and give it time to
adjust further,” he added.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar
and Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez echoed their Cabinet colleague..
Dar said critics should “give the
law a chance to be implemented properly.”
However, he said he is open to
“adjustments,” and that revisiting the law is not off the table.
Farmers ‘not affected by the rice
tariffication law’
Lopez, meanwhile, said farmers
are “not affected by the rice tariffication law itself,” referring to the data
presented by Dar in the forum.
But he added that it is “too
early to tell what the impact really is on the farmers.”
He said “productivity and
competitiveness” must be addressed.
Lopez also rejected calls to
impose higher tariffs on imported rice, amid the United States’ Department of
Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Services’ forecast that the Philippines might
be the top importer of the staple by yearend. This is primarily due to the law
that opened the country to rice imports. The report also said it could dislodge
usual top global rice importer, China.
The Agriculture chief previously
noted that there is an oversupply of rice in the country in light of the rice
tariffication law.
In January to October this year,
private traders have imported 2.99 million metric tons of rice, according to
government data.
This prompted the Agriculture
department to consider higher rice import taxes in September. The current law
provides that tariffs on imported rice should be between 35 and 40 percent. But
Dar said Cabinet members rejected the idea.
Another round of cash aid worth
₱3-billion would be provided to rice farmers instead, Dar said.
Gov’t
moves to temper rice importation volume
Published November
13, 2019, 10:00 PM
By Madelaine B. Miraflor
The Philippine government has
already issued stricter set of guidelines on the issuance of sanitary and
phytosanitary import clearance (SPSIC) for imported rice, a move that has
already been coordinated with the country’s major rice trading partners, Vietnam
and Thailand.
Agriculture
Secretary Dr. William D. Dar . (KEVIN TRISTAN ESPIRITU, MB Photo)
This, according to Agriculture
Secretary William Dar, should result to a decline in the amount of imported
rice that is being brought into the country amid a liberalized regime.At the
11th World Rice Conference, Dar told reporters on Wednesday he already signed a
memorandum circular imposing stringent requirements on rice trading.
The circular, which according to
Dar is strictly a food safety control measure, will cover heavy metal content,
pesticide residue level, extraneous and filth contaminants in the imported rice
that is going to be bought from other countries. It also covers the
microbiological parameters.
All the traders who will try to
obtain SPSIC from the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Bureau of Plant Industry
(BPI) should take note of all the items written in the circular.
Under the Rice Tariffication Law
or Republic Act (RA) 11203, which allows the entry of more imported rice in the
Philippines, local rice traders should only obtain an SPSIC from BPI before
they could be allowed to purchase rice abroad. An SPSIC is a certification that
rice imports are free from pests and diseases.
Restricting the SPSIC issuance will discourage traders to import rice, said Senator Cynthia Villar, the author of RA 11203.
Restricting the SPSIC issuance will discourage traders to import rice, said Senator Cynthia Villar, the author of RA 11203.
Even before the issuance of the
aforementioned circular, Dar said BPI already started restricting the issuance
of SPSIC which he said already resulted to lower volume of imported rice
entering the country.
“Prior to my appointment, the
average rice imports that enter the country is at 254,000 metric tons (MT) from
March to September. By October, around this time, because of proper and
stricter implementation on the issuance of SPSIC, only 85,000 MT of rice
imports entered the country,” Dar said.
For this year, the country
expects to receive total rice imports of 3 million MT for this year, which will
make the Philippines the world’s largest rice importer, beating China.
The other day, Dar urged rice
industry stakeholders to uphold free and fair trade amidst negative perception
on rice importation under RA 11203 as he disclosed about the influx of
undocumented imported rice coming in the country.
In a statement, he mentioned
about the seemingly abnormal shoot up of rice imports in the country for 2019.
Reports from the Bureau of
Customs (BOC) show that rice import volume since the implementation of the RA
11203 only reached 1.87 million MT from March to October this year.
Meanwhile, the BPI only accounted
2 million MT in the application for SPSIC for imported rice.
Dar said the 2.99 million MT
imports reported by BOC then reflects the total rice imports in the country for
the year, even before the implementation of RTL.
And then during his recent visit
in Brunei, Dar asked his counterparts from Vietnam and Thailand to hold the
release of export permits to rice traders without the Philippines-issued SPSIC.
Gov’t tightens watch on imported rice
November 14, 2019 | 12:33 am
PHILSTAR/EDD
GUMBAN
THE GOVERNMENT is matching the
rising importation of rice with stricter implementation of existing rules for
sanitary permits.
The Department of Agriculture
issued on Nov. 12 Memorandum Order No. 28 on “Supplementary provisions to DA
Department Circular No. 4, series of 2016, entitled ‘Guidelines on the
importation of plants, planting materials and plant products for commercial
purposes’.”
Citing, among others, the “need
to strengthen registration procedure for importers of plants, planting
materials and plant products, and specify the validity of the sanitary and
phytosanitary import clearance (SPSIC) to safeguard from entry, establishment
and spread of exotic plant pests and comply with food safety requirements,” the
order implements “revised requirements” in this regard.
Besides listing a host of
required documents, the order also implements a section of Republic Act No.
11203 — which this year liberalized rice importation — that said “[t]he
imported rice should arrive before the expiration of the SPSIC…”.
“The actual product/consignment
must be shipped from the country of origin within the prescribed date in the
approved SPSIC and must arrive not later than 60 days from the must-ship-out
date,” read the order which was signed by Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar.
“I signed it yesterday, so (for)
implementation na ’yun,” Mr. Dar told reporters on the sidelines of
the 11th World Rice Conference at the Makati Shangri-La hotel
on Wednesday.
Mr. Dar had said in an Oct. 29
news briefing: “We are issuing a stricter set of guidelines but we have to
mention that all along all these [requirements] are there, but just to remind
ourselves that we have this and we need to reiterate this.”
“That has been our strategy, much
more [as] we were entering the main harvest — October, November — and we
implemented strictly the guidelines before any SPSIC is issued.”
SPSIC is issued by the
deparment’s Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI). BPI data showed the agency granted
3,115 permits to 228 importers of 2.776 million metric tons (MMT) of milled
rice from March to August. This level is more than the country’s 1.5-2.4 MMT
estimated import requirement.
According to the Bureau of
Customs (BoC), volume of imported rice totaled some 2.9 MMT in the 10 months to
October. Of this, 1.87 million MT were imported between March and October after
RA 11203 took effect.
The US Department of Agriculture
projects that the Philippines will import up to 3 MMT this year, more than
China’s 2.5 MMT and making it the world’s top rice importer.
“I have always mentioned my
position: give the law a chance to be implemented properly, so after some time
— if there will be some little adjustments to make it much more effective —
then that is the period when we shall revisit,” the Agriculture chief told
reporters.
Also at the sidelines of the rice
conference on Wednesday, Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said its
Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) is investigating the rice import-to-retail
chain in an effort to ensure reasonable prices.
The Philippine Competition
Commission last month said that it is investigating whether middlemen, through
anti-competitive behavior, are widening the price gap between what traders pay
at farm gate and what consumers pay at retail.
“FTEB kumukuha ng mga data ngayon (collecting
data right now), going around sa mga importers so that they
can trace their importation and their pass-on price,” Mr. Lopez said.
“Ang gusto lang namin (what
we want) is to see cheaper rice in the market.”
Mr. Lopez said that the target
range is P33-P36 per kilogram (kg) at retail for imported well-milled rice. He
said the margin between trader and market price should typically be at 5-10%.
He expects the investigation to
be concluded in three weeks.
The Trade department’s Philippine
International Trading Corporation (PITC) will also pilot direct rice
importation for fast food chains and grocery stores. “I’m sure [the companies]
are sourcing locally as well, but they are now also — instead of buying from
traders, they can buy directly,” Mr. Lopez said.
Mr. Lopez said the trial-run
includes importing one shipping container of rice, and estimated imports of 300
hundred containers a month once the program is in effect in two to three
months.
He said PITC will not profit from
the program, and will charge a management fee below the cost of paying rice
traders.
According to the Philippine
Statistics Authority, the average wholesale price of well-milled rice fell 0.2%
to P37.76 kg week-on-week on the third week of October. The average retail
price fell 0.1% to P41.87.
The average wholesale price of
regular-milled rice was stable at P33.70 per kg, while average retail prices
fell 0.3% to P37.11.Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said in his
speech at the same conference that the government will not back down from its
decision to open up rice importation despite the rice tariffication law’s
“transition challenges” that have been hitting farmers hard.
“There is no inclination to
repeal, revise or suspend the rice tariffication law,” he said.
Mr. Dominguez noted that the
government has collected P11.4 billion worth of tariffs under the program which
will be used to aid farmers affected. “This means we have gone beyond the
minimum earmark of P10 billion and have ample means to do even more to make our
agricultural production more efficient,” he said, referring to the Rice Competitiveness
Enhancement Fund.
The law had replaced quantitative
import restrictions with tariffs of 35% on rice from within Southeast Asia and
40% for grain from elsewhere.
“According to official data
provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority, from an average of P17.23 per
kilo of dry paddy from 2015 to 2017, when prices were normal, prices declined
to an average of P15.71 pesos per kilo from the third week of September to the
second week of October of this year. This translates to an average loss for farmers
of about 1.52 pesos per kilo,” Mr. Dominguez said.
Even as he said that the law’s
birth pains should be “temporary”, Mr. Dominguez said the farm department is
moving to cushion its impact on farmers, including through a program disbursing
P15,000 interest-free loans to farmers, payable in up to eight years.
He also said that authorities
have stepped up measures against smugglers and hoarders, noting that the Bureau
of Internal Revenue has uncovered unregistered warehouses in Bulacan with more
than 250,000 sacks of rice imported from Vietnam and Myanmar.
“We will never return to the old
regime of unstable rice supplies, high retail prices, profiteering, and low
productivity. We should let the rice tariffication law do its work and give the
economy time to adjust for further easing of rice prices for all Filipinos and
for support programs to lower production costs of our farmers,” Mr. Dominguez
said.
In the same conference,
Socioeconomic Planning Undersecretary Rosemari G. Edillon cited the need to
step up mechanization of the sector in order to boost productivity.
The agriculture sector accounts
for about a fourth of the country’s jobs but contributes only a tenth to
overall production.
“The adoption of high-yield seed
technology is low and about half of the farms are not yet mechanized,” she
said.
She said that the country’s
quantitative import restriction for around 23 years was meant to protect the
domestic rice industry and enable it to develop.
“Unfortunately, while the
protectionist policy and the programs associated with it did benefited some
local farmers, it has failed to increase production and has made the Philippine
rice industry uncompetitive,” she said.
She also said that people are
becoming less attracted to work in agriculture, making employment drop to 10.26
million in 2017 from 11.84 million in 2013.
“Our own study points to several
demand-and-supply push-pull factors. Among the demand push factors are the low
and unstable far incomes due to volatility in geoclimatic conditions, lack of
access to post harvest facilities and diminishing farm size. The pull from the
non-agricultural sector has also increased agricultural wages, making it
unaffordable to small landowners,” Ms. Edillon said.
She also noted that “[f]armgate
prices of palay have gone down faster than the decline in retail prices.”
“The influx of imported rice was
definitely a factor in this, but so is the lack of access to efficient and
affordable drying facilities,” she explained.
“At the same time, there could be
unscrupulous traders who are taking advantage of the situations and bidding
down farmgate prices unreasonably.” — Vincent Mariel P. Galang, Jenina
P. Ibañez, Luz Wendy T. Noble and Beatrice M.
Laforga
Rice tariff collection reaches P11.4 billion
November 14, 2019
THE government has collected over
P11 billion in duties from rice imports by private traders since the Republic
Act (RA) 11203 or “Rice Tariffication Law” took effect in March this year,
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said.
In his speech during the 14th
World Rice Conference held in Makati City on Wednesday, he reported that tariff
revenues collected from March 5 to October 31 of this year reached P11.4
billion.
“This means we have gone beyond
the minimum earmark of P10 billion and have ample means to do even more to make
our agricultural production more efficient,” Dominguez said.
He is referring to the
P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which was set up under the
law to finance the modernization of the country’s rice industry, and provide
farmers with access to credit and training, as well as funds for mechanization,
high-quality seeds and fertilizers, among others.
“The revenues raised from rice
tariffs will help us mechanize production, provide cheaper financing and better
training for our farmers, and encourage a more diversified farm sector,” the
Finance chief said.
“Through inter-agency and
multi-sectoral efforts, our farmers will gain knowledge of financial literacy,
modern agriculture technology, climate and disaster resilience, and
agribusiness, among others,” he added.
That said, Dominguez is firm the
government will continue implement the rice tariffication law amid calls for
its suspension.
“There is no inclination to
repeal, revise or suspend the Rice Tariffication Law. We are confident that
this is the best means to move our agriculture sector forward and foster
competitiveness,” he said.
The Cabinet official also
stressed the government remains confident the transition challenges brought
about by the law’s implementation are temporary, specifically the drop in palay
(unmilled rice) farmgate prices in specific areas.
Citing Philippine Statistics
Authority data, he noted that from an average of P17.23 per kilo (kg) of dry
paddy from 2015 to 2017, when prices were normal, prices declined to an average
of P15.71/kg from the third week of September to the second week of October of
this year. This translates to an average loss for farmers of about P1.52/kg.
In some provinces, farm gate
prices fell by as much as P5.63/kg while in others, palay prices actually rose
by P3.75/kg, Dominguez added.“The government is constantly monitoring
location-specific prices so that interventions may be deployed on an
evidence-based and tightly targeted manner,” he assured.Furthermore, the
Finance Secretary reiterated that executive agencies are working with Congress
on providing unconditional cash transfers to the affected rice farmers and
distributing rice as part of the government subsidy program for the
disadvantaged families to help address the drop in palay prices in a number of
specific provinces.
“The Department of Agriculture is
coordinating with its attached agencies and agriculture-related financial
institutions for the implementation of the Survival and Recovery or SURE-aid
program — a P15,000, interest-free loan payable over eight years,” he
said.“Complementary programs include the procurement of paddy (palay) above
production costs by local governments; and the provision of loan programs to
enable local governments to buy this season’s harvest from domestic producers,”
Dominguez added.
UCCE Addressing Watergrass Issues in
California Rice Fields
Researchers from UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) are looking
closely at the watergrass issues in California rice fields to get a better
understanding of the problem. Watergrass has historically been a fairly
common weed species that growers face, however in recent years the issue has
been compounded by a number of factors. Several watergrass species have
demonstrated resistance to the materials available and it appears that one or
two new species may have emerged.
“In the past few years watergrass is becoming more and more of a
problem, whether it’s the ones that we know that we have or these possible new
species,” said Whitney Brim-DeForest, UC Rice Farm Advisor serving Sutter,
Yuba, Placer, and Sacramento Counties. “It’s just becoming more difficult
to control with the herbicides that we have.”The level of watergrass issues
that growers are dealing with is exacerbated by increasing resistance to the
materials that are available. Many watergrass varieties are proving
resistant to multiple herbicide modes of action.
Brim-DeForest noted that the most recent registrations for
herbicides have not been exceptionally effective in combatting watergrass in
rice fields. “We have some [new materials] coming down the pipeline that
we’re hoping maybe will be available in the next two-to-three years that are
better watergrass materials and so we’re hoping that will help a little bit,”
Brim-DeForest said.Rice Farming Systems Advisor Luis Espino and Brim-DeForest
have both been working to better understand the watergrass issue, through
collecting and screening samples from rice fields. UCCE personnel will be
out surveying rice fields this fall to get a better grasp on the situation. “Some
growers are dealing with [new species] and some are dealing with the known
watergrass species that are more resistant to herbicides. So, I would say
its sort of a number of things sort of all coming together all at once,” Brim-DeForest noted.
‘Golden Rice’ Review: Against the Grain
An estimated one million
people—mostly children—die annually from vitamin-A deficiency. Golden rice could
reverse that.
By
Hugo Restall
Nov. 13, 2019 6:25 pm ET
Why has it taken more than two
decades to develop “golden rice,” the genetically modified crop that promises
to save millions of lives? The many delays have been costly. Every year an
estimated one million people, mostly children, die, and another half a million
more lose their eyesight, from vitamin-A deficiency. Golden rice—with its
yellow grains rich in beta carotene, which the human body turns into vitamin
A—could virtually eliminate this problem in countries where rice is the staple
food.
How the world’s most widely used insecticide
led to a fishery collapse
Neonicotinoids
wiped out plankton and fish in a Japanese lake, and are likely harming aquatic
ecosystems worldwide, new research suggests.
PUBLISHED NOVEMBER
13, 2019
IN MAY OF 1993,
rice farmers living near Lake Shinji, in southwestern Japan, began widely using
an insecticide called imidacloprid.
Within the
same year, populations of arthropods that form the base of the food web, such
as crustaceans and zooplankton, began to
plummet. By the end of 1994, two commercially important fish that depend on
these creatures for food, eel and smelt, crashed as well. And as the use of
imidacloprid and other neonicotinoids has grown over the years, the fish have
never recovered.
These
findings, from a paper published in Science in early November, are the first to show
that neonicotinoids, a class of toxic insecticides that are the world’s most
widely used, can seep into aquatic ecosystems and significantly disrupt
fisheries, dramatically reducing their yields. What’s more, scientists think
that Japan is not an isolated example, but rather a dramatic illustration of
neonicotinoids’ potential to seriously harm aquatic ecosystems worldwide.
The situation
at Lake Shinji is unique in that scientists have studied the fishery since at
least the early 1980s—more than a decade before and after the insecticides were
introduced. Such datasets are rare. Researchers at Shinji have logged reams of
information about water quality, populations of arthropods and zooplankton, and
the quantity of fish.
That allowed
the study’s authors, led by Masumi Yamamuro, with the
Geological Survey of Japan and the University of Tokyo, to find a clear
connection between the introduction of neonicotinoids and the collapse of the
food web.
When the
scientists averaged populations of the lake’s zooplankton—tiny crustaceans and
other animals eaten by fish—for 12 years before and after the introduction of
neonicotinoids in 1993, they found that mean zooplankton biomass declined by 83
percent.
In 1993, farmers in Shimane Prefecture, Japan began using
neonicotinoids in their rice paddies and agricultural fields.
Kilograms of neonicotinoids sold
annually in Shimane Prefecture
May 1993
Start of neonicotinoid use
in Shimane Prefecture
Runoff containing neonicotinoids
from fields and paddies was
linked to a dropoff of zooplankton
biomass in Lake Shinji.
Monthly measurement of zooplankton
in micrograms carbon per liter
present in water from Lake Shinji
Populations of commercial smelt and
eel in Lake Shinji, which
werereliant on zooplankton and
benthos as a source of food,
began to collapse.
One type of
midge larvae, known as Chironomus plumosus, could not be found at
all in a 2016 survey. That came a shock to Yamamuro.
“I was so
surprised,” she says. “In 1982, when I was an undergraduate student, there were
tons of them.”
Darren Walls,
a spokesperson from Bayer Crop Science, into which Monsanto was folded when
the two companies merged in 2018, disputed the clear link between
neonicotinoid use and fishery collapse. Bayer is one of the largest producers
of neonicotinoids.
“The strong
conclusions made in the publication are clearly not supported,” says Wallis,
since “it is well known that aquatic environments are dynamic systems that may
be influenced by many physical and chemical variables.”
But six other
researchers National Geographic interviewed, none of whom participated directly
in the study, disagreed—and many were surprised by the strength of the link
shown here.
“This study
convincingly demonstrates that the decline of two major fish of commercial
importance, smelt and eel, was caused by neonicotinoids, since none of the
other possible factors that could affect fish changed over time,” says Francisco Sanchez-Bayo, an
ecotoxicologist at the University of Sydney who wasn’t involved in the paper.
Though the
study could only show a link between pesticide use and fishery collapse, the
near-immediate decline of plankton and fish following neonicotinoid
introduction is impossible to explain away, Sanchez-Bayo adds. For instance, a
host of other potential causal factors has not significantly changed over the
years, such as salinity, chlorinity, sediment content, dissolved oxygen, and
other water quality measures.
Olaf Jensen, an expert
on the impacts of aquatic pollutants at Rutgers University, likens the impacts
of neonicotinoids to a continual major stressor. “The annual application of
pesticides is a recurring environmental disturbance, like a mini-oil spill,” he
says.
Aquatic data
lacking
Neonicotinoids,
commonly called neonics, were first produced on a large scale in the 1990s.
These substances, which are chemically similar to nicotine, were hailed as
safer alternatives to the industrial chemicals that they replaced since they
are more selectively toxic to arthropods, and less deadly to large animals like
mammals. The chemicals work by blocking receptors present in insects’ nervous
systems, causing paralysis and death.
However, a
growing body of research shows that the chemicals can have unintended consequences. They are fatal to several species of bees
and butterflies, for example, and the three most commonly used
neonicotinoids—imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam—have been banned for outdoor use in the European Union for this reason.
But their
impact on freshwater and marine ecosystems have been studied far less,
says Jason Hoverman, an aquatic
ecologist at Purdue University.
“While
neonicotinoid research has predominantly focused on terrestrial systems, this
study suggests that adverse effects in aquatic systems are possible and occur
by altering the food web,” Hoverman says.
These
insecticides are systemic, absorbed by plants, and stored in their leaves and
other tissues. The chemicals are often used to coat seeds; but these coatings
are often washed off into the soil and exit as runoff. Neonicotinoid
contamination of surface waters, like lakes and streams, is common around the
world, studies show.
The paper
suggests the regulators may need to rethink how they approve these chemicals,
or what studies need to happen beforehand, suggests Dave Goulson, a biology professor at the University of
Sussex in England who wrote a letter, along with 232 other signatories,
arguing for more restrictions on the substances.
Generally,
regulatory studies include short-term impacts on specific animals—but the
indirect and long-term impacts, like those to the food web, are not studied,
adds Rutgers’ Jensen, who wrote an analytical piece from his perspective accompanying the study in Science.
When
researchers have looked, they have often found major problems with neonics. For
example, a September study in Science found a link between
neonicotinoid use and major impacts on birds, whose populations have been
declining. (Read more: Huge decline in songbirds linked to common
insecticide.)
This adds to
a growing body of work that finds neonicotinoids can reduce populations of
non-target insects, and that these chemicals are a contributor to the global decline in arthropods.
IMIDACLOPRID
INSECTICIDE'S AFFECTS ON BIRDS
A global
problem
Yamamuro says
that the impacts may be especially notable in Shinji because it is a brackish
environment, with lower levels of species diversity than freshwater lakes—and
thus more susceptible to harm from neonicotinoids.
“I think
similar collapses may have occurred in other brackish environments, such as
lagoons and upper estuaries in rice-culturing and neonicotinoid-using
countries,” she says.
Pesticides
are easily taken up and carried away by water in rice paddies, and Yamamuro
says she expects the impacts from this type of agriculture to be particularly
significant. However, since neonicotinoids are water soluble and persistent,
the issue of contamination is a global one, she says, and likely to occur even
in areas where neonics are applied to crops grown on dry land, like corn and
soybeans.
“Neonicotinoids
need to be much more tightly regulated,” says Nathan Donley, with the
environmental group Center for Biological Diversity, who suggests that this
paper is one more reason to invest much more heavily in research into
non-chemical means of pest control, such as multiple cropping, the use of
cover crops, and the like.
Purdue’s
Hoverman agrees that “a perpetual challenge for society is balancing the need
for food production with the environmental impacts of those activities.”
“Obviously,
pesticides are designed to kill and, when applied to the landscape, will do
their job. Investing in technologies that reduce our reliance on pesticides
would reduce environmental impacts.”
The
researchers closed out their paper by quoting Rachel Carson’s 1962 classic Silent Spring, about pesticides: “These sprays, dusts,
and aerosols are now applied almost universally to farms, gardens, forests, and
homes—nonselective chemicals that have the power to kill every insect, the
‘good’ and the ‘bad,’ to still the song of birds and the leaping of fish in the
streams.”
Now, nearly 60 years later, they note,
Carson’s words are eerily prescient. “The ecological and economic impact of
neonicotinoids on the inland waters of Japan confirms Carson’s prophecy,” they
conclude.
Doug Main is a senior writer and editor at
National Geographic focusing on animals and wildlife.
A tracker is keeping tabs on the
Trump administration’s assault on science
The
Silencing Science Tracker has been compiling records since 2018
It’s difficult to remember all the ways the
Trump presidency has ignored, subverted, or kneecapped science in the
United States. Picking a story that best exemplifies the administration’s
hostility towards evidence-based policy is like picking the perfect rock to
smash your own head against.
There’s the eviction of two US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) research agencies from DC to Missouri,
effectively firing career scientists who weren’t willing to pick up their lives
and move. There’s the move to allow slaughterhouses to self-regulate
themselves. And of course there have been countless ways that the
administration has undermined the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This
week the EPA announced its plan to relax coal industry
regulations around waste disposal, which were put in place to prevent metal
contamination in water supplies. Also this week the EPA announced new policies that would restrict what
research could be used to base policy on. It’s too much to keep track of.
Luckily you don’t have to. The Silencing Science Tracker has
been keeping diligent records on the Trump administration’s behavior around
science for almost two years. The tracker lists every instance of distorting
science that’s occurred at the federal and state level in the US since January
2018, founded on the one year anniversary of Donald Trump’s inauguration. I
spoke with Susan Rosenthal at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and
Climate Science Legal Defense Fund at Columbia University, which houses the
Tracker:
″[We’re] seeing all these things, a lot of
stuff about web pages being removed, and [scientists] were being asked to or
were choosing to censor their work, to stop using certain words, from this fear
of attracting attention from officials that were appointed by the new
administration.”
The Tracker only deals with absolute, concrete
stuff. So even though the westward movement of USDA and Bureau of Land Management scientists
out of DC has a strong air of suppression, since there’s no hard evidence that
the move was an act of repression, it’s left out.
You can sort by state, agency, explanation
given, and even by scientists affected. The amount of climate science being
ignored or interfered with is so great that the scientists affected are simply
categorized as “Climate,” with 261 entries, or 201 “Other” entries. The depth
and breadth of climate science suppression is breathtaking. Even Amtrak of
all agencies has deleted references of climate change from reports, and
withheld studies on the effects of climate change. Said Rosenthal:
“We have a lot of stuff to add, which is good
for the Tracker, but obviously, is bad.”
IVRI scientists recommend
equipment to check stubble burning
Updated: Nov 13, 2019 17:36 IST
Agriculture scientists at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) of
Bareilly have recommended some state-of-the-art farm equipment for farmers to
make Uttar Pradesh a ‘zero stubble burning state.’
“Stubble burning has been a major
cause for rising pollution levels. Unless we provide farmers with an
alternative solution on how to deal with crop residue, we will not be able to
check the problem,” said a senior agriculture scientist at the IVRI, requesting
anonymity.
He said there were enough modern
farm equipment and machines now available in the market, which offered a
solution on how to handle stubble without having to burn it.
In a letter to the agriculture
ministry, scientists have provided a list of equipment, which the state
government can distribute among farmers through cooperative societies or
provide easy loan options for their purchase.
Some of this farm equipment
recommended by scientists includes super straw management system (SMS), chopper
cum shredder, happy seeder machines, which are used for direct sowing without
ploughing.
“The use of super SMS with combined
harvester helps facilitate management of crop residue. It is attached to the
rear of a combined harvester and uniformly spreads loose straw on the field.
With this method, farmers are not required to burn the straw before sowing the
next crop,” said the scientist.
Some of these machines are already
being used by Punjab farmers and UP needs to follow suit, he said.
He said two crops, which are grown
on a large scale are paddy and wheat. Wheat is sown and harvested in dry winter
season and rice coincides with monsoon season. According to agriculture
scientists, farmers get very little time between rice harvesting and wheat
sowing and that is why they resort to stubble burning, which is the easiest and
most effective method available to them to get rid of crop residue.
“The short gap between summer and
winter crops and lack of equipment to manually cut stubble are also reasons for
stubble burning,” pointed out scientists.
M Tariq Khan 9415016831
Thousands join NRRI ‘Rice Walk’
Thursday, 14 November 2019 | PNS | CUTTACK
The ICAR-National Rice Research Institute (NRRI),
Cuttack, organised an event, ‘Rice Walk: Walk with Rice, Know Your Rice’, on
Wednesday. Over 2,000 students and teachers from over 30 schools from Cuttack
and Bhubaneswar, farmers, scientists from ICAR and OUAT and officials, besides
general public, joined the event.
The participants visited the
institute’s research farm of about 200 acres with full grown crops of newly
developed high yielding rice varieties. They were exposed to the development of
rice varieties and other agro-technologies related to rice production, plant protection,
bio-fortification (high protein rice), climate smart rice with tolerance to
both drought and submergence, hybrid rice, rice-fish integrated farming system
models, resource conservation techniques, mechanization, seed processing,
enhancing rice quality, crop physiology and micro-environment. The participants
also visited the institute’s rice museum, rice gene bank with collection of
over 35,000 rice germplasms and various laboratories of the institute. Director
of the institute Dr Himanshu Pathak inaugurated the Walk. Principal Scientist
Dr SK Mishra and Senior Scientist Dr Rahul Tripathi of NRRI, Cuttack
coordinated.
Walk to raise awareness about rice
production
The participants visited the Institute Research Farm— spread
across 200 acres with full grown crops of newly developed high yielding rice
varieties. The visitors were guided and explained by the scientists of the
institute during the walk. They were exposed to the development of rice
varieties and other agro-technologies related to rice production, plant
protection, bio-fortification (high protein rice), climate smart rice with
tolerance to both drought and submergence, hybrid rice, rice-fish integrated
farming system models, resource conservation techniques, mechanisation, seed
processing, enhancing rice quality, crop physiology and micro-environment.
The participants also visited the institute rice museum, rice
gene bank with collection of over 35,000 rice germplasms and various
laboratories of the institute.
All the students, teachers and visitors were taught about the
science behind rice research and development, and various significant
contributions of the rice research institute in alleviating hunger from the
country and ensuring food and nutritional security. They expressed that similar
programme should be observed every year for the benefit of all.
Director of the Institute Himanshu Pathak inaugurated the Rice
Walk and expressed that the purpose of this unique event is exhibiting NRRI
technologies, farm and laboratories to raise awareness about rice among the
students and general public.
Rice paddy art adds excitement to Batac cross-farm
visit
By
Leilanie Adriano November
13, 2019, 9:16 pm
RICE
ART. Visitors
take a photo opportunity at the unusual rice paddy art in front of the
administration building of the Mariano Marcos State University in Batac Campus
on Tuesday (Nov. 12, 2019). It features an image of former first lady Imelda
Marcos. (Contributed photo)
LAOAG CITY— What could have been an ordinary
visit had an unusual twist for around 150 farmers, students, researchers, and
extension workers among others who went Tuesday to a cross-farm hosted by the
state-run Mariano Marcos State University-Batac Campus (MMSU).
Showcasing the best agricultural
practices being advocated by research experts of the university, the cross-farm
visit featured the MMSU farm in Barangay Quiling Sur, the President’s Farm and
Seed Production Project in front of the College of Agriculture, Food and
Sustainable Development (CAFSD).
Every year, the MMSU conducts this
activity to inspire more farmers to plant high yielding and resilient varieties
of rice and the application of appropriate technologies to boost productivity.
“No awan iti imula, awan met ti
maapit. Itultuloytayo ngarud a tagibenen dagiti imulatayo a pagay tapno
nalabonto met ti maapittayo (If we don’t plant, we have no harvest. Let us take
good care of our rice plants to ensure good harvest),” MMSU President Shirley
Agrupis said during the ceremonial planting at the rice paddy art of MMSU.
But the biggest attraction of the
activity was the rice paddy art showing the face of former First Lady Imelda
Marcos with a verdant green background at the university’s administration
building.
Like in the previous year, the rice
paddy art aims to promote the importance of rice farming and the unique art of
doing so. Agrupis reiterated to the student-participants the exciting business
of modern agriculture which also includes art and science.
The MMSU and PhilRice created the
rice paddy art using IR 1552, a traditional Korean purple rice variety and a
high-yielding PSB Rc 82, where planters used the anamorphosis principle. This
technique is being used in 3D art where a picture looks distorted but appears
normal when viewed from a certain angle.
“For students who are taking up
agriculture, may you continue your passion to become the next agricultural
researchers who will feed and strengthen the agriculture industry in the
future,” Agrupis said.
Other participants in the
cross-farm visit included PhilRice-Batac Director Reynaldo Castro, Ilocos Norte
Vice Governor Cecile Araneta-Marcos, SK Federated Chairman Rafael Medina,
Provincial Board members Medeldorf Gaoat and Aladine Santos, and
representatives from the Department of Agriculture (DA) and MMSU personnel.
Meanwhile, the President’s Farm and
Seed Production Project of MMSU serve as a model for farmers in using high
quality rice seeds to increase farmers’ productivity.
Under the Rice Seedstock Dispersal
Project of MMSU established in 2000, farmer-beneficiaries can avail of
high-yielding varieties of rice and organic fertilizer but have to pay it back
to the university after harvest. To date, there are 81 farmer-beneficiaries
under this program. (PNA)
IRRI secures
endorsement for ASEAN Rice Net
Dr. Morell met with H.E. Dato Ali Apong to compliment the
government of Brunei Darussalam on the successful hosting of the 41st ASEAN
Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF), where IRRI secured the
endorsement for ASEAN Rice Net. Photo courtesy of IRRI.
11.13.2019
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) secured the endorsement of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states (AMS)
and the support of three dialogue partners for the launch of ASEAN Rice Net, a
new regional network for sharing and evaluating advanced IRRI-developed rice
breeding lines.
The collaborative partnership is
supported by the Rice Genetic Solutions for Climate Resilience and Value
Addition program. The program will accelerate farmers’ access to high-value
varieties under climate change environmental conditions and drive long-term
increases in rice productivity and incomes.
The endorsement allows IRRI to work
closely with the ASEAN Plus Three Dialogue Partners — China, Japan and Korea —
for the development of both technical and financing support modalities for the
network.
“I commend the ASEAN member states
for stepping forward together to ensure they have access to the rice genetics
that will underpin future success in rice production in the region,” said
Matthew Morell, IRRI director general. “This initiative will help ASEAN and
ASEAN +3 nations to increase their rice productivity, meet their Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) commitments for food security and help achieve food
and nutrition security for consumers in the region.”
Morell said the region will need to
secure increased rice production in the face of climate change challenges, land
degradation and declining availability and continued population growth and
rapid urbanization.
Access to high value rice varieties
and technologies to increase the nutrition of rice are also vital to reduce
malnutrition and the developmental challenges of stunting and wasting that
currently affect more than 24 million children in ASEAN. The United Nations has
identified malnutrition as a serious issue hampering economic productivity of
nations, and the World Bank estimates that the effects of malnutrition can cost
up to 9% of a country’s gross domestic product.
“These are challenges that clearly
require urgent action,” Morell said. “We laud the AMS for taking this
significant step change in increasing research and technical capacities toward
strengthening regional food security cooperation and contributing to regional
economic prosperity.”
The ASEAN Rice Net will launch in
2020 and is projected to generate economic benefits of at least $500 million
from variety releases alone across the ASEAN region. Through sharing of
IRRI-bred lines carrying characteristics desired by farmers and rice value
chain stakeholders, the IRRI expects farmers will be able to continue to be
productive under the variable climate change environmental conditions.
“IRRI wants to ensure that no
country in ASEAN is left behind in terms of access to rice variety-based
technologies and skills,” said Dr. Shoba Venkatanagappa, IRRI’s head of the
ASEAN Rice Net Program. “We are grateful to all the AMS partners in the region
for the continuous trust and support as their investments and collaboration
drive IRRI’s strategy of increasing South-South and Triangular collaboration.”
In the long term, the network will
allow partner countries to co-develop new, improved rice varieties by enhancing
the technical skills of ASEAN scientists on rice varietal development through
training and increasing the capacity of national rice breeding programs across
AMS organizations.
ASEAN is a regional
intergovernmental organization of 10 countries in Southeast Asia, which promotes
intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security,
military, educational, and sociocultural integration among its members and
other countries in Asia.
Rice Farmers
Blame Hoarding by Saboteurs for Price Hike
November 14, 2019 6:39 am
James Emejo in Abuja
As the federal government
continues to sustain the closure of the country’s land borders to curb
smuggling of foreign goods into the country and encourage local production,
rice farmers have raised the alarm that the activities of those who are
desperate to frustrate efforts of the government in driving consumption of
local rice have fueled a hike in the price of the commodity.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had prevailed on the rice farmers, millers and
processors not to take undue advantage of the border closure to raise prices.
The CBN governor had argued that
the border closure was meant to promote the growth of the Nigerian economy and
ensure that the country attained food self-sufficiency in the rice value chain
for the benefit and well-being of the citizenry.
He had further argued that imported rice was preserved with chemicals, and therefore, not good for the consumption.
Emefiele warned that hoarding rice with a view to increasing the prices of rice would bring hardship to Nigerians.
But a survey carried out by THISDAY recently, in some markets in Lagos, showed that the price of a 50-kilogramme of local price ranges from between N16,000 and N17,000, compared with between N13,000 and N14,000 before the closure of the borders.
He had further argued that imported rice was preserved with chemicals, and therefore, not good for the consumption.
Emefiele warned that hoarding rice with a view to increasing the prices of rice would bring hardship to Nigerians.
But a survey carried out by THISDAY recently, in some markets in Lagos, showed that the price of a 50-kilogramme of local price ranges from between N16,000 and N17,000, compared with between N13,000 and N14,000 before the closure of the borders.
On the other hand, imported rice
now sells at between N26,000 and N27,000, as against N18,000 – N19,000 before
the border closure.
Though some traders said the rise
in the cost of the staple food was due to the recent decision of the federal
government to close all its land borders, the President of the Rice Farmers
Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, told THISDAY that there
was no reason why local rice should not be sold at between N12,000 and N14,000
maximum.
He expressed frustration that despite assurances that the farmers would not hike the price, some saboteurs have hiked the prices of locally produced rice beyond the agreed threshold.
He expressed frustration that despite assurances that the farmers would not hike the price, some saboteurs have hiked the prices of locally produced rice beyond the agreed threshold.
He, nevertheless, expressed
optimism that the bumper harvest being expected in about a fortnight will help
weigh down on prices.
He said: “You know there are
saboteurs who will try by all means to sabotage this good effort that will help
Nigeria and Nigerians.
“You know this issue of border
closure; saboteurs just want to use that opportunity to sabotage the good
things that is good to happen to Nigeria. We are selling paddy at N8,000 per
bag and if you mill that it will give you 50 kilogrammes of milled rice and the
cost of processing is not more than N2,000.
“So, I see no reason why rice
should not be sold at between N12,000 and N14,000 maximum. There are people who
don’t have this country at heart and who can go to any extent to put Nigerians
into difficulty.”
On his part, the President of
Coscharis Group, one of the leading rice producers in the country, Mr. Cosmas
Maduka, attributed the development to activities of fraudulent middlemen.
According to him, most of them
are in the habit of purchasing locally produced rice and repackaging them as
foreign produce.
He said: “We stopped two of our
dealers from carrying out any transaction with us. They would carry our rice
and re-bag them into a foreign bag and sell. So, you may not be seeing our
brand in the market because of things like this. The other thing we heard is
that there is something they use in piercing bags of rice to remove some bowls
from each bag and still sell the rice that is not up to 50 kilgrammes to a
customer as 50 kilogrammes. So, for our bags, if you pierce it, it would tear.
“So, because they can’t do such
with our rice,
they make sure they re-bag. But I am advising our customers to insist on buying only Coscharis rice. When you insist on that, then you can be confident that when you are buying 50kg, what you get would exactly be 50kg.”
they make sure they re-bag. But I am advising our customers to insist on buying only Coscharis rice. When you insist on that, then you can be confident that when you are buying 50kg, what you get would exactly be 50kg.”
Soc Trang’s
rice variety recognised as best in world
The Soc Trang-based ST24 rice variety was honoured as
having the best flavour in the world, as it received the World’s Best Rice 2019
award at the 11th Annual World’s Best Rice Contest in the Philippines on
November 12.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019 16:47
Engineer Ho Quang Cua, a member of Soc Trang's
group of scientists that developed the ST24 rice
Soc Trang (VNA) – The Soc Trang-based ST24 rice variety was honoured as
having the best flavour in the world, as it received the World’s Best Rice 2019 award at the 11th Annual World’s Best Rice Contest in
the Philippines on November 12.
The contest was part of the 11th World Rice Trade Conference held by rice industry analysts The Rice Trader from November 10 to 13, which attracted hundreds of major rice enterprises and traders along with scientists worldwide.
Vietnam’s rice competed with strong rivals from Thailand and Cambodia in the contest, in which the jury and international chefs inspected the visual aspects of the rice submitted, as well as performed a sensory evaluation of the rice (pre-cooked and cooked), before unanimously announcing Vietnam’s ST24 as the winner of this year’s contest.
This is the first time ever that a Vietnamese rice variety has been honoured as the best in the world after 10 seasons of the annual contest.
ST24, developed by a group of scientists of the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang, could be cultivated in up to three crops per year.
In 2017, ST24 came third in the 9th World’s Best Rice event in Macau, China.
Director of Soc Trang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Luong Minh Quyet said cultivation areas of ST rice line have been expanded annually, with ST24 accounting for over 10,000 ha./.
The contest was part of the 11th World Rice Trade Conference held by rice industry analysts The Rice Trader from November 10 to 13, which attracted hundreds of major rice enterprises and traders along with scientists worldwide.
Vietnam’s rice competed with strong rivals from Thailand and Cambodia in the contest, in which the jury and international chefs inspected the visual aspects of the rice submitted, as well as performed a sensory evaluation of the rice (pre-cooked and cooked), before unanimously announcing Vietnam’s ST24 as the winner of this year’s contest.
This is the first time ever that a Vietnamese rice variety has been honoured as the best in the world after 10 seasons of the annual contest.
ST24, developed by a group of scientists of the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang, could be cultivated in up to three crops per year.
In 2017, ST24 came third in the 9th World’s Best Rice event in Macau, China.
Director of Soc Trang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Luong Minh Quyet said cultivation areas of ST rice line have been expanded annually, with ST24 accounting for over 10,000 ha./.
IVRI scientists recommend
equipment to check stubble burning
Updated: Nov 13, 2019 17:36 IST
Agriculture scientists at the
Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) of Bareilly have recommended some
state-of-the-art farm equipment for farmers to make Uttar Pradesh a ‘zero
stubble burning state.’
“Stubble burning has been a major
cause for rising pollution levels. Unless we provide farmers with an
alternative solution on how to deal with crop residue, we will not be able to
check the problem,” said a senior agriculture scientist at the IVRI, requesting
anonymity.
He said there were enough modern
farm equipment and machines now available in the market, which offered a
solution on how to handle stubble without having to burn it.
In a letter to the agriculture
ministry, scientists have provided a list of equipment, which the state
government can distribute among farmers through cooperative societies or
provide easy loan options for their purchase.
Some of this farm equipment
recommended by scientists includes super straw management system (SMS), chopper
cum shredder, happy seeder machines, which are used for direct sowing without
ploughing.
“The use of super SMS with combined
harvester helps facilitate management of crop residue. It is attached to the
rear of a combined harvester and uniformly spreads loose straw on the field.
With this method, farmers are not required to burn the straw before sowing the
next crop,” said the scientist.
Some of these machines are already
being used by Punjab farmers and UP needs to follow suit, he said.
He said two crops, which are grown
on a large scale are paddy and wheat. Wheat is sown and harvested in dry winter
season and rice coincides with monsoon season. According to agriculture
scientists, farmers get very little time between rice harvesting and wheat
sowing and that is why they resort to stubble burning, which is the easiest and
most effective method available to them to get rid of crop residue.
“The short gap between summer and
winter crops and lack of equipment to manually cut stubble are also reasons for
stubble burning,” pointed out scientists.
M Tariq Khan 9415016831
Walk to raise awareness about rice
production
Cuttack: Indian Council of Agricultural Research -National Rice
Research Institute, (ICAR-NCRI) Cuttack organised ‘Rice Walk: Walk with Rice,
Know Your Rice’ Wednesday. Over 2,000 students and teachers from over 30
schools from twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, farmers, scientists
from ICAR and OUAT, state government officials and general public participated
in the event.
The participants visited the Institute Research Farm— spread
across 200 acres with full grown crops of newly developed high yielding rice
varieties. The visitors were guided and explained by the scientists of the
institute during the walk. They were exposed to the development of rice
varieties and other agro-technologies related to rice production, plant
protection, bio-fortification (high protein rice), climate smart rice with
tolerance to both drought and submergence, hybrid rice, rice-fish integrated
farming system models, resource conservation techniques, mechanisation, seed
processing, enhancing rice quality, crop physiology and micro-environment.
The participants also visited the institute rice museum, rice
gene bank with collection of over 35,000 rice germplasms and various
laboratories of the institute.
All the students, teachers and visitors were taught about the
science behind rice research and development, and various significant
contributions of the rice research institute in alleviating hunger from the
country and ensuring food and nutritional security. They expressed that similar
programme should be observed every year for the benefit of all.
Director of the Institute Himanshu Pathak inaugurated the Rice
Walk and expressed that the purpose of this unique event is exhibiting NRRI
technologies, farm and laboratories to raise awareness about rice among the
students and general public.
Villagers force admn team to return without
taking possession of land
Nov 14, 2019, 7:47 AM; last updated: Nov 14, 2019, 7:47 AM
(IST)
Govt
wanted to retrieve land at Daha Madanpur in Karnal for the ‘original’ owner
Residents of Daha Madanpur village of Karnal block a team of the
district administration on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Sayeed
Ahmed
Tribune News Service
Karnal, November 13
The district
administration and residents of Daha Madanpur village of Karnal came face to
face after the administration reached the village to take possession of a
35-acre land on Wednesday.
As per the
information available, dozens of families have been living there for years and
cultivating the land. There are three rice mills in operation too.
The administration team went back without
taking possession after the villagers requested for some more time.
The villagers
set tyres on fire to block roads of the village and threatened that the
administration would be responsible if any untoward incident took place.
Budhram, a
villager, said, “In 1967, the surplus land was allotted to us and we have all
the required documents, including the mutation and registration documents. But
now, we have been told that the land was given wrongly and it is to be given to
its original owner. Our families have worked hard and made this land fertile
over the past 50 years. We have been cultivating the land for years. Where we
will go with our families?”
JJP leader Umed
Singh and Vinod Goyal, president of rice millers association Karnal, also
reached the spot to support the villagers and rice millers.
Rajesh Goyal, a
rice mill owner, said, “There are three rice mills in operation and over 50
families are living here for years. We all have ownership rights and we have
not been given adequate time to defend ourselves.” They claimed that the land
was allotted by the government and it was the government’s fault.
The millers said
that a petition has been filed in the High Court. The matter is being heard and
they must be given some time.
Later, the
administration team and a group of villagers reached Madhuban police station to
discuss the issue.
Tehsildar
Ravinder Kumar, who was present as the duty magistrate, said, “We had reached
the village to take possession of the land as per the orders given by the High
Court. But the villagers didn’t allow us to do so. In order to ensure that the
law and order situation is not disturbed, a discussion was held with the
people. They have sought a couple of days for the compliance of the court’s
orders. Meanwhile, the affected party has also approached the High Court.”
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/haryana/villagers-force-admn-team-to-return-without-taking-possession-of-land/860530.html
Basmati rates fall post high output, growers
dejected
Nov 14, 2019, 6:49 AM; last updated: Nov 14, 2019, 6:49 AM
(IST)
The per-acre yield of basmati is lesser this
time due to the change in climate.
Currently, the price ranges from Rs 2,400-2,600
per quintal, which was nearly Rs 3,300 per quintal at the same time last year.
Tribune News Service
Muktsar, November 13
Basmati growers are a dejected lot as its price
this year has remained Rs 500-600 per quintal lesser than that in the
corresponding period last year. Further, the per-acre yield is also lesser this
time due to the change in climate.
Currently, the
price ranges from Rs 2,400-2,600 per quintal, which was nearly Rs 3,300 per
quintal at the same time last year.
Some basmati growers said those who had sown
normal variety of the paddy crop would make more money. “There is no minimum
support price (MSP) for basmati whereas the normal paddy crop is sold above the
MSP. Last year, the prices had remained good thus the area under basmati crop
increased this season but the demand has remained almost the same. The price of
basmati depends on the demand from foreign countries,” said a basmati grower.
Ashish Kathuria,
general secretary, Punjab Basmati Rice Millers’ Association, said, “This year,
the production of basmati in our country is expected to touch 75 lakh tonne but
the market remains the same, having a demand of nearly 60 lakh tonne.
Therefore, traders from the main basmati-buying countries are negotiating the
price. Last year, 43 lakh tonne basmati was exported and 16 lakh tonne was
consumed by the domestic market. The prevailing price is nearly Rs 600 lesser
than that last year. The situation is similar in all states.”
He said,
“Further, industrialists are not taking any risk after 2014. They are not
maintaining huge stocks. Even banks are not providing huge funds. Nearly 20 per
cent of the crop has arrived in the market and the trend shows that the prices
will not go up. Farmers will get some respite only if the government makes a
policy in this regard.”
Raw materials & technologies, Technologies
Superhydrophobic self-cleaning
surface derived from rice-husk ash
Wednesday, 13 November
2019
In a present work, scientists
report the development of durable and cost-effective nanocomposite coatings
using silica particles derived from agricultural waste, rice-husk and different
fractions of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).
Surface with inherent
self-cleaning characteristics is often deemed and desired. However, lack of
durability and high cost limits the applicability...
Developed coatings showed the
presence of hierarchical structures with nanoscale protrusions. The surface
morphology of the coatings was significantly influenced by the PDMS content
with roughness factor following an inverse correlation. Static and dynamic
contact angles increased with decreasing PDMS content with maximum values
observed to be in excess of 160°. Simultaneously, the contact angle hysteresis
(< 5° to 20°) and tilting angle (5° to 60°) were also significantly influenced
by the PDMS fraction. The observed results are related with ability to retain
stable Cassie state and pinning of the liquid-air interface by nano
protrusions.
Due resilience under outdoor
conditions
Droplet impingement tests and
critical wetting angle calculations showed transition from Cassie to metastable
wetting state for coatings with higher PDMS. Durability studies performed under
different modes indicated a trade-off with self-cleaning ability, highlighting
an optimum composition possessing required characteristics. The selected
coating subjected to weathering test showed due resilience under outdoor
conditions. The present work showed that the agricultural waste can be
effectively used for developing low-cost high-end product possessing exceptional
functionalities.
The study is published in:
Promoting
U.S. Rice and American Football Go Hand in Hand
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO -- The third annual USA Rice
trade mission to Mexico took place here last week with nearly 20 USA Rice and
U.S. Rice Producers Association (USRPA) members and staff participating in
meetings with local rice millers, importers, and wholesalers. The group
also met with Walmart executives to learn about their rice sourcing needs.
"U.S. market share is up 18 percent from this time last year, largely buoyed by an increase in rough rice exports," said Jerry Brown, a USA Rice member who farms rice in Arkansas and who attended the trade mission. "This was a great opportunity to let our trade partners here in Mexico know we appreciate and value our relationship."
Concerns with U.S. rice quality remained a prominent topic in many of these meetings with importers lauding rice from South America as high quality.
"The recent ban on Uruguayan milled rice will cause a temporary change in milled rice imports, so during our meetings we discussed U.S. production and ways to meet the quality needs of the importers," said Tim Walker, general manager of Horizon Ag who also participated in the mission.
The USA Rice trade mission also joined with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's trade mission in Mexico City, led by U.S. Secretary of Agricultural Sonny Perdue that had also partnered with the National Football League's youth health and wellness activities, NFL Play 60. While Perdue did show off some of his pigskin moves, he was there primarily to promote the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). USMCA was a topic of interest with speculation on whether the U.S. would ratify the treaty this year (Mexico ratified it earlier this summer) as several Congressional delegations have traveled to Mexico over the past few months.
"USA Rice is strongly supportive of USMCA," said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. "NAFTA, the predecessor of USMCA, turned Mexico into our largest export market, bringing in nearly 800,000 MT of U.S. rice last year."
"U.S. market share is up 18 percent from this time last year, largely buoyed by an increase in rough rice exports," said Jerry Brown, a USA Rice member who farms rice in Arkansas and who attended the trade mission. "This was a great opportunity to let our trade partners here in Mexico know we appreciate and value our relationship."
Concerns with U.S. rice quality remained a prominent topic in many of these meetings with importers lauding rice from South America as high quality.
"The recent ban on Uruguayan milled rice will cause a temporary change in milled rice imports, so during our meetings we discussed U.S. production and ways to meet the quality needs of the importers," said Tim Walker, general manager of Horizon Ag who also participated in the mission.
The USA Rice trade mission also joined with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's trade mission in Mexico City, led by U.S. Secretary of Agricultural Sonny Perdue that had also partnered with the National Football League's youth health and wellness activities, NFL Play 60. While Perdue did show off some of his pigskin moves, he was there primarily to promote the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). USMCA was a topic of interest with speculation on whether the U.S. would ratify the treaty this year (Mexico ratified it earlier this summer) as several Congressional delegations have traveled to Mexico over the past few months.
"USA Rice is strongly supportive of USMCA," said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. "NAFTA, the predecessor of USMCA, turned Mexico into our largest export market, bringing in nearly 800,000 MT of U.S. rice last year."
Pharmaceutical
exports up by 12.3pc to $55.48mn
ISLAMABAD: The exports of pharmaceutical
products during the first quarter of the current financial year grew by 12.35
percent.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics,
the pharmaceutical exports were recorded at 55.481 million dollars during
July-September 2019-20 as against the exports of 49.383 million dollars during
July-September 2018-19 showing an increase of 12.35 percent.
According to the data, in terms of quantity,
the exports of the pharmaceutical goods increased by 22.42 percent from 2,792
metric tons to 3,418 metric ton,
Meanwhile, year-on-year basis the
pharmaceutical exports rose by 16.35 percent during the month of September 2019
as compared to the same month of last year.
It must be noted that the pharmaceutical
exports in June 2019 were recorded at $14.061 million against the export of
$14.957 million in June 2018, according to BPS data.
The exports of Rice products from the country
during the first quarter of the current fiscal year increased by 50.7 percent
to $470 million as compared to the same period in last year, said Pakistan
Bureau of Statistics.
According to Pakistan
Bureau of Statistics (PBS), 839,356 metric tons of rice worth
$470.584 million were exported during the first quarter (July-September 2019)
of the current fiscal year. However, 551.586 metric tons of rice valuing $312.1
million were exported during the same period in 2018-19.
Hundreds of Indian Sikhs make historic
pilgrimage to Pakistan
At least 700
pilgrims and more in the coming days are expected to pass through the border
into Pakistan without a visa to pray at the shrine of the founder of their
religion, Guru Nanak.
Sikh pilgrims stand in a queue to visit the Shrine of Baba Guru
Nanak Dev at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan near the Indian
border, on November 9, 2019. (AFP)
Hundreds of Indian Sikhs made a
historic pilgrimage to Pakistan on Saturday, crossing through a white
gate to reach one of their religion's holiest sites, after a landmark deal
between the two countries separated by the 1947 partition of the subcontinent.
Cheering Sikhs walked joyfully
along the road from Dera Baba Nanak in India towards the new immigration hall
that would allow them to pass through a secure land corridor
into Pakistan, in a rare example of cooperation between the nuclear-armed
countries divided by decades of enmity.
Some fathers ran, carrying their
children on their shoulders.
Buses were waiting on the
Pakistani side to carry them along the corridor to the shrine to Sikhism's
founder Guru Nanak, which lies in Kartarpur, a small town just four kilometres
inside Pakistan where he is believed to have died.
#PM @ImranKhanPTI formally opened historic #KartarpurCorridor http://www.radio.gov.pk/09-11-2019/pm-to-inaugurate-kartarpur-corridor-today-to-facilitate-sikh-pilgrims …
"Generally people say that
God is everywhere. But this walk feels like I'm going to directly seek
blessings from Guru Nanak," Surjit Singh Bajwa told AFP news agency as he
walked towards the corridor, crying as he spoke.
At 78, he is older than India
and Pakistan, who have fought three wars already and nearly ignited a
fourth earlier this year.
For up to 30 million Sikhs around
the world, the white-domed shrine is one of their holiest sites.
However, for Indian Sikhs, it has
remained tantalisingly close –– so close they could stand at the border and
gaze at its four cupolas –– but out-of-reach for decades.
When Pakistan got independence on
August 14 at the end of British colonial rule in 1947 and India a day later,
Kartarpur ended up on the western side of the border in Pakistan, while most of
the region's Sikhs remained on the other side.
Since then, the perennial state
of enmity between India and Pakistan has been a constant barrier to those
wanting to visit the shrine, known in Sikhism as a gurdwara.
Pilgrims on both sides of the
border echoed the hope that the corridor might herald a thawing in the
relationship between India and Pakistan.
"When it comes to
government-to-government relations, it is all hate and when it comes to
people-to-people ties, it's all love," one of the Sikh pilgrims, who did
not give his name, told Pakistani state TV as he crossed.
Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan Speech at Ceremony of
Historic inauguration of Kartarpur Corridor, Nankana Sahib, Narowal District
(09.11.19) #PakistanOpensKartarpur 1/2 @ImranKhanPTI
Among the first pilgrims to pass through the gate was former
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who told Pakistani state media that
it was a "big moment".
"I hope relations
between Pakistan and India will improve after the opening of
Kartarpur," he said.
The opening has even inspired a
singular message of gratitude from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his
Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan for "respecting the sentiments of
India."
Khan greeted pilgrims at the
shrine, and in televised images could be seen speaking with Manmohan Singh.
Khan said a day would come
"when our relations with India will improve".
"I am hopeful that this the
beginning," he told the pilgrims at the shrine.
For years India had
been asking Pakistan to grant Sikhs access to the shrine.
Many believe it has happened now
because of the friendship between Khan, a World Cup-winning
cricketer-turned-politician, and India's Navjot Singh Sidhu –– another
cricketer-turned-politician.
"When Sidhu asked me to open
the border, I kept it in my mind," Khan told devotees on Saturday.
He compared the situation to
Muslims being able to see holy sites in Medina, but never visit.
Former Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh after a visit to #KartarpurCorridor: It was a good beginning,
India-Pakistan relations are subject to many buts and ifs, I hope this is a
good beginning to normalise our relation.
Guru Nanak's 550th birthday
The opening comes just days ahead
of the Guru Nanak's 550th birthday on November 12, which is marked with
celebrations by millions of Sikhs around the world. The shrine will be one of
the most important places for Sikhs on that day.
At least 700 pilgrims are
expected to pass through the corridor on Saturday, and more in the coming days.
Sikhs from around the world,
including some from India, who entered from the main border crossing at Wagah
after obtaining visas, have been arriving in Pakistan ahead of the celebrations
for several days already.
Vans of pilgrims could be seen
travelling through Kartarpur on Friday.
The Indian flag could be seen
flying across the border, just beyond fields dotted with eucalyptus and guava trees,
though it was half obscured by the heavy smog that has blanketed large swathes
of South Asia in recent days.
The presence of Pakistan's
paramilitary Rangers leant a menacing edge to the otherwise peaceful scene. The
rice-growing region, being so close to the border, is heavily secured, with
multiple checkpoints.
'This land is sacred'
"This land is sacred for
them," Habib Khan, the 63-year-old imam of a small mosque just outside the
gurdwara, told AFP on Friday.
The deal allows for up to 5,000
pilgrims a day to cross.
Pakistan has employed hundreds of
labourers to spruce up the shrine, including building a border immigration
checkpoint and a bridge, as well as expanding the site's grounds.
The Sikh faith began in the 15th
century in the city of Lahore, which is now part of Pakistan, when Guru Nanak
began teaching a faith that preached equality.
There are an estimated 20,000
Sikhs left in Pakistan after millions fled to India following the bloody
religious violence ignited by independence and partition, which sparked the
largest mass migration in human history and led to the death of at least one
million people.
Why are farmers
resisting a government ban on stubble burning?
Charging farmers for
stubble burning under a colonial-era law may do little to deal with the air
pollution problem.
A mulcher is attached
to a tractor to mix stubble into the soil. It is an alternative for disposing
of stubble without burning
— Image by Tahir
Wattoo at Mian Ahmed Yar Farms, Pakpattan
Autumn has changed for
Pakistan’s Punjab province over the last few years. A season that was once
loved for its crisp weather after sweltering summers, a time for outdoor
activities, has now become a season full of respiratory illnesses, allergic
conditions, and repeated warnings from environmentalists telling the public to
confine themselves indoors.
Thick blankets of smog
were initially viewed with shock, now their inevitability is a cause for
despair.
From Zartaj Gul Wazir,
the federal Minister of Climate Change, to the provincial (Punjab) Environment
Protection Department, the consensus in Pakistan is that the problem is India’s
stubble burning. The government also insists that stubble burning in Pakistan
is next to non-existent because the ban is being fully implemented here.
NASA satellite images
do show more red spots denoting high heat emissions – fires – on the Indian
side. On the Pakistani side, there are a few scattered places where such spots
are located.
Read: Why Punjab’s
smog has aggravated this year
But Ahmad Rafay Alam,
an environmentalist and lawyer, says that this is because Pakistan may have
burnt only about 35% of its rice stubble yet. When the rest will be burned, the
picture may change. Alam recently helped his teenage daughter, Leila, along
with other students to file a writ petition in the Lahore High Court
highlighting how the provincial government has been misleading the public by
using a more lenient air quality index (AQI) compared to countries like the US.
Among other issues, the petition also accuses the government of not publicising
air quality readings.
Abid Omar, founder of
the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI), a system of independently owned air
quality meters, says that while crop residue burning contributes towards air
pollution woes, it is rather a “meteorological misfortune” that prevails over
Punjab that causes the toxic mix during winter.
“More crop residue
burning happens after the spring (wheat) harvest than it does after the autumn
(rice) harvest,” he said. “Yet smog isn’t a summer problem. But during the
winter months, all the toxic emissions stay trapped in the lower atmosphere and
cause the infamous Lahore Smog.”
Imposing Section 144
He said that when
peaks and drops in the AQI are seen it is mostly due to wind changes and other
conditions. Despite what the government would like everyone to think, it is not
from their own actions. In October the provincial government had ordered the
banning of stubble burning, as well as burning other waste under Section 144 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure. This clause, enacted in 1898 and amended in
1997, gives the government emergency powers to prevent actions that may lead to
harm or probable loss of life.
Farmers, though, do
not take the ban seriously.
“First of all, to set
the record straight, I don’t think there has been any action even under Section
144,” said Aamer Hayat Bhandara, an independent farmer from Pattoki. “There is
little presence of the government, no monitoring and in reality, rice stubble
is being burnt left, right and centre.” There have been pictures doing the
rounds on social media, taken by those travelling within the province who can
see stubble burning.
“The second question
we must ask ourselves is, is stubble burning really a contributing factor to
the extent that it is being made to be?” he asks. “Paddy cultivation has been
an ancient practice of the region and stubble burning is not a new thing.”
Other options
Despite his questions,
Bhandara remains one of those few who opt to use machines rather than burn his
crop stubble. He uses a Kubota harvester, which piles the stubble behind it as
it moves on so that it can be collected and mixed with animal fodder or sold.
The harvester can be
rented for Rs6,000-7,000 (USD 39-45) per acre. Unfortunately, many small scale
farmers cannot afford such an investment, or it does not make financial sense
for them to invest in it.
Tahir Wattoo, who owns
Mian Ahmed Yar Farms uses a mulcher which costs Rs150,000-200,000 (USD
965-1,286).
“I don’t believe that
most farmers out there cannot afford it,” he said. “When they want to afford
something they manage it. They believe they will be cutting the cost of diesel
usage if they do not use this, but actually it would save money. In the end, it
boils down to the fact that they do not want to switch to modern methods.”
Wattoo says that
mulching is a two-year-old process in Pakistan, and most farmers are not fully
aware of the process and its repercussions so they fear their next crop may be
harmed.
“Stubble burning is
actually a problem, despite being the easy way out. Our soil is already low on
fertility. By burning it we continue to distress it of its minerals, its
texture and softness. But who will educate the farmers?”
“If the government
gives subsidies to farmers, things will become easier,” said Malik Asfar.
“After the 1950s ‘London fog’, the government banned stubble burning but
without ostracising farmers. I would say stubble burning is a smog contributor
by 35% maximum, but no more. We must consider air pollution being caused by
rising population and increasing traffic.”
Related: Study
identifies relationship between smog and rice residue burning in Punjab
Farmers need to be
educated; unfortunately, the agriculture department is missing in action.
“It’s a dead
department,” said Wattoo. “How have they helped farmers?”
“Nine months of the
year they are sleeping, and then suddenly they wake up and start employing
section 144,” said Bhandara who even has videos out on the topic on his
Facebook page.
“Section 144 is never
a solution; farmers should be heard, their problems must be taken into account,
instead of simply arresting them,” said Bhandara. He suggested that incentives
for cheaper machinery, such as subsidies, providing farmers with balers, or
providing machines on rent, might have a greater impact if the government was
serious about behavioural change.
“No one discusses
other issues such as the burning of biomass, and indoor air pollution,
construction, and as mentioned before vehicular and industrial emissions. Sadly
the environment agenda that the government came with has not been sustained,”
said Bhandara. He suggested that farmers and kilns are targeted because they
are visible, while no oil company is punished for substandard fuel which leads
to much higher vehicular pollution.
Government is trying
Anjum Buttar, a
director-general at the Punjab Agriculture Department, however, insisted that
they are working on more incentives – but only for responsible farmers.
“Most of them are
responsible, but those who are not are then taken action against,” he said. “We
interact with farmers’ bodies almost daily. Currently, in Punjab there are
about five million acres of rice – are there so many people burning stubble out
there? In fact, Pakistan is not even burning significantly. The problem is more
on the other side.”
He said that the
government is working on bringing a national programme where choppers and
tillage machines are going to be procured and given on subsidies. “Whoever will
use the Kubota harvester will be given a subsidy of Rs1,500 (USD 9.65) per
acre. We are also talking to banks.”
But Buttar also
defended the sector saying that crop burning is not the main cause of air
pollution – it is vehicular pollution.
Read: Stubble burning
must be reduced to curb pollution
Meanwhile, Hammad
Naqi, Director General of WWF Pakistan, said that they are implementing their
Climate Resilient Agriculture Programme.
“We keep proposing to
the government to provide the farmers subsidies because they really need these.
There are many alternatives out there including Happy Seeder (known as Pak
Seeder), Zero Tillage Drill, Rice Straw Chopper, and the Japanese Kubota
machine. These should be accessible to responsible farmers.”
This worked when the
government wanted to promote land levelling, and provided 60% subsidies. This
led to a reduction in water use. Farmers were also given subsidies to promote
efficient irrigation practices, and this worked too. Currently, Naqi says WWF
is working on a study to examine what may be done with the stubble and how it
may be reused.
According to Saad
Cheema from WWF, under Section 144, the police lodged 544 cases. The highest
number of burning incidents was reported from Sheikhupura (204), Jhang (120),
Okara (102) and Nankana Sahib (96) divisions of Punjab.
“How many people will
they end up arresting?” asked Naqi. “This is really not a long term solution.”
Pak-Saudi
trade relations advance
November
12, 2019
Prince
Fahd Bin Muqrin Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud inaugurates the Exhibition
By Syed Mussarat Khalil
JEDDAH — Deputy Consul General Shaiq Ahmed Bhutto has said that bilateral trade relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have seen gradual increase over last few years which resulted in more economic activities between the two countries.
He was speaking at the inaugural session of the Foodex 2019 Exhibition in Jeddah. He said that 15 Pakistani companies are participating in the Foodex exhibition which shows the increasing interest and opportunities for the Pakistani exporters in Saudi market. Last year nine Pakistani companies participated in the Foodex.
The Exhibition was inaugurated by Prince Fahd Bin Muqrin Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
Shaiq told that the Pakistani companies, participating in the event are among the top exporters from Pakistan dealing in rice, spices, sauces, processed food, ready to cook pratha and tandoori items, beverages, bakery products and confectionaries.
The Pakistani companies’ representatives while talking to media told that the increasing demand of the food items in the kingdom, offer huge opportunity to Pakistani companies to increase their space in Saudi market and enhance market share by aggressive marketing. Since Pakistan is an agricultural country, and more than 70 percent of its exports are agro and textile based, it has enormous potential to increase its exports share by tapping halal food market of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia currently imports more that 80 percent of its total food and beverages requirement.
Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) in collaboration with the Consulate General of Pakistan is participating in the 7th edition of Foodex Saudi Exhibition Jeddah organized by Pakistan’s Pavilion has been established in the Exhibition. Commercial Section of the Consulate is extending full cooperation to Pakistani companies for match-making of their products in Saudi Arabia and to tap enormous opportunities emerging out of Saudi Vision 2030 to promote bilateral trade and investment.
Mohsin Raza sales manager Hemani General Trading said Hemani Group established since 1949 has vast experience in the field of Herbal trade.
Wasif Hussain industrial Sales representative (CASSIDA) said within the Fuchs Group Fuchs Lubritech is expert for special Application Lubricants. A team of more than 500 specialists around the world work to meet your need.
Ms Nadia Parveen, sales and marketing manager of Eventage, was also present at Pakistani Pavilion. — SG
Smuggling, hoarding in DOF crosshair amid
rice imports
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
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