Rice
production: 250 kebbi women to get milling machines
By .. | Published Date Feb
8, 2019 0:07 AM
The
Kebbi State government on Tuesday said it has procured 250 rice milling
machines for women rice millers at Takalau area of Birnin Kebbi in Kebbi State.
The
state governor, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, who announced this said the
objective was to ensure the women rice millers embrace the modern method
of rice processing and production and be able to compete with bigger rice
milling companies operating in the state.
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He
said to make their rice processing easier, over 200 rice threshers have been
procured for them.
“Kebbi
has the capacity to produce 20 million tonnes of rice annually. The activities
in rice production in the last three years now has shown that Kebbi can achieve
the same feat in wheat production,” he said.
Earlier
the Commissioner for Agriculture, Barrister Attahiru Maccido said Kebbi has
never recorded successes in rice production before the advent of the present
administration.
He
said the farmers in the various communities in the state have moved from
peasant to commercial farming and now taking rice and other crops production as
a full time business.
“Kebbi
is now a household name because of its rice production and other agricultural
activities and my ministry has spearheaded the industrialization of Kebbi
State,” the commissioner said.
He
said because of the growing rice production in the state WACOT Rice Mill was
planning to establish another rice milling factory in Yauri area of the
state.
“WACO
is now to sign agreement with 50,000 farmers with capacity to farm 10,000
hectares of rice farms and 10 km of roads are to be constructed to link farm
locations across Kebbi State”, he said.
https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/rice-production-250-kebbi-women-to-get-milling-machines.html
Rice farmers see tariffication law benefiting big business
February 7, 2019 | 10:16 pm
PHILSTAR
THE Provincial Farmers’ Action
Council (PFAC) of Bulacan said that the reduced role of the National Food
Authority (NFA) when rice tariffication is implemented is detrimental to small
farmers and will favor big business.
“Rice farmers and some of their
cooperatives’ investments in grain processing and trading facilities… and
thousands of rice millers… will be affected once local rice production
continuously declines due to competition with imported rice,” the PFAC said in
a statement on Thursday.
The PFAC said Malaysia and
Indonesia implemented rice tariffication but did not remove the government’s
role in ensuring supply and subsidizing consumers and farmers.
The group also said that farmers
will not benefit from rice tariffication because the bill focuses on funding
mechanization, credit, seed production and training whereas farmers need
fertilizer, pesticides and hybrid seed.
“Rice farmers need farm inputs
such as fertilizers, pesticides, certified/hybrid seeds to (achieve) a modest
harvest,” the PFAC said.
“The proposed bill does not
address our basic rice production requirements since it focuses on other
priorities such as mechanization, seed production, credit, training and
extension. Obviously, it shows that rice farmers were not consulted in this
regard,” the PFAC added. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio
https://www.bworldonline.com/rice-farmers-see-tariffication-law-benefiting-big-business/
Duterte open to changes in rice
tariffication bill
Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
Published 7:26 PM, February 07, 2019
Updated 7:26 PM, February 07, 2019
RICE TARIFFICATION. President
Rodrigo Duterte holds a meeting with members of his Cabinet and stakeholders
from the rice industry on February 6, 2019. Malacañang photo
MANILA, Philippines – President
Rodrigo Duterte gave rice industry stakeholders a chance to submit their
suggestions on what should be changed in the rice tariffication bill before it
is signed into law next week.
During the Palace briefing on
Thursday, February 7, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the rice
tariffication bill will most likely be signed soon "because
he (Duterte) already came out with the position to the farmers."
"[Duterte's] position is
for the greater interest, for the greater good. The President told them
(farmers) that they may be affected but 'I'm doing this for the greater
good,'" Panelo added.
Duterte was supposed to meet with
the rice industry stakeholders last Monday, February 4, but managed to give
them an audience only on Wednesday evening, February 6, before a Cabinet
meeting.
The stakeholders wanted to ask
the President to veto certain provisions in
the rice tariffication bill.
Alyansa ng Industriyang Bigas
Philippines founding chairman Robert Hernandez told Rappler in a phone
interview that Duterte may be willing to compromise.
"He said that
he wants the farmers and the rice stakeholders to be happy, and at the same time,
also the government. So it's a win-win situation," Hernandez said.
He added that Duterte asked the
stakeholders to write a letter listing down their proposed amendments so that
he could "consider it" before signing the bill into law.
"We're hoping that
everything we suggest will be considered," Hernandez said."But what
he said, that the regulatory function [of the National Food Authority (NFA)],
to regulate the rice, he does not want it because it will pave [the way
for] corruption."
(READ: The alarming depletion of NFA rice
under Duterte's watch)
Push to retain NFA powers
Despite this, Hernandez said that
among the changes the stakeholders want to pursue is to retain the state grains
agency's current function as a regulating body.
"We want the NFA to [still]
have the regulatory function, that there should still be NFA [rice] sold at P27
[per kilo]. If you remove that, around 10 million [poor] Filipinos will be
deprived of rice," he added.
Under the bill, the NFA's role
would be limited to maintaining buffer stocks in case of a rice shortage and
providing rice to calamity-hit areas. The agency's function to regulate and
allow importation would be removed.
Confederation of Grains Retailers
Association of the Philippines (Grecon) national spokesman Orly Manuntag also
told Rappler in a separate phone interview that the bill as is may lead to the
displacement of some 3.7 million farmers as they cannot compete with
uninhibited rice importation.
Grecon was one of the
stakeholders present during the meeting with Duterte and Finance Secretary
Carlos Dominguez III.
"Now, Secretary Dominguez is
countering that why bother about the few farmers when there are 105
million other Filipinos who will benefit [from the rice tariffication
bill]?" Manuntag said in a mix of English and Filipino.
"If they stop farming
because of the influx of imported rice and the rice millers insist on buying
their grains at a lower price, then what will happen to our food
security?"
The bill is set to lapse into law
if unsigned by February 15, leaving rice stakeholders just one week to convince
Duterte to at least veto some provisions.
Asked about their confidence in
Duterte caving in to their requests, Manuntag said that if they fail to move
the President, at least they tried their best.
"If it [lapses] into law, we
can just repeal the law," he added. – Rappler.com
https://www.rappler.com/business/222951-duterte-open-changes-rice-tariffication-bill
Rice farmers urge
presidential veto of Senate Bill 1998
· RICE
FARMERS URGE PRESIDENTIAL VETO OF SENATE BILL 1998
WE, the small rice farmers,
continuously oppose without let-up, Senate Bill 1998, “An Act Liberalizing the
Importation, Exportation and Trading of Rice, Lifting the Purpose the
Quantitative Import Restriction on Rice and for Other Purposes” due to its
provisions that are detrimental to Philippine agriculture. We urge President Rodrigo
Roa Duterte to veto this bill because of its anti-farmer and anti-consumer
provisions.
The proposed law which is
authored by Sen. Cynthia Villar and 13 other senators, will reduce the vital
function of the government as buyer of our rice produce, especially during the
harvest season when the farmgate price is low. Low-priced government rice will
disappear in the market since the stabilization function of the food agency,
the National Food Authority, will be scrapped due to SB 1998. Access to
low-priced government rice is important to us rice farmers since we depend on
it during lean months. The influx of imported rice due to open importation will
drastically affect local rice production in the country. Surely, we will not be
able to compete with the cheaper imported rice due to their lower cost
production and subsidy from their governments.
Rice farmers need farm inputs
such as fertilizer, pesticides and certified/hybrid seeds to expect a modest
harvest. The proposed bill does not address our basic rice production
requirements since it focuses on other priorities such us mechanization, seed
production, credit, training and extension. Obviously, it shows that rice
farmers were not consulted in this regard.
Rice farmers and some of their
cooperatives’ investments on grains processing and trading facilities will be
equally situated with local grains businessmen like the thousands of rice
millers who will be affected once local rice production continuously declines
due to competition with imported rice. Further, the vacuum which will be left
with the departure of government in its role in grains marketing will be an
opportunity for the take-over of businesses.
Bernas of Malaysia and Bulog of
Indonesia have already subscribed to rice tariffication, but they did not
abandon their governments’ role in state trading, consumer subsidy and farmers’
income support/subsidy. In the Philippines, the proposed rice tarrification
bill sponsored by Senator Villar poses danger to the P500 billion rice
industry, since our government will now be focusing only on families which will
be affected by calamities or emergencies.
Anselmo S. Sanchez, Amelia
Tenorio,
Catalina S. Balondo and Susan Bennette Mendoza
Provincial Farmers’ Action Council-Bulacan
Brgy. Balaong, San Miguel, Bulacan
Catalina S. Balondo and Susan Bennette Mendoza
Provincial Farmers’ Action Council-Bulacan
Brgy. Balaong, San Miguel, Bulacan
https://www.manilatimes.net/rice-farmers-urge-presidential-veto-of-senate-bill-1998/508349/
AFRICA
DEMAND; HOLIDAY THINS TRADE ELSEWHERE
2/7/2019
* Vietnamese markets shut, rates flat in Thailand
* Bangladesh imports decrease due to tax
* Thai rates less competitive vs India, Vietnam- trader
By Rajendra Jadhav and Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
Feb 7 (Reuters) - Rice export prices in India edged higher this
week on buying from Africa, while a strengthening baht trimmed demand for the
Thai variety as activity was muted across most Asian hubs due to the Lunar New
Year holiday.
Prices for top exporter India's benchmark 5-percent broken
parboiled variety <RI-INBKN5-P1> rose to $383-$388 per tonne from last
week's $381-$386 range.
While there is demand from buyers in Africa, many customers held
back on purchases, hoping for lower prices, said an exporter based at Kakinada
in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Export prices in India had shot up after the central state of
Chhattisgarh, a leading rice producer, raised minimum paddy buying prices to
2,500 rupees ($34.99) per 100 kg from 1,750 rupees.
India's rice exports between April and December dropped 10.2
percent from a year earlier to 8.46 million tonnes, a government body said
earlier this week.
In Thailand, the second biggest rice exporter, benchmark 5-percent
broken rice <RI-THBKN5-P1> price were quoted at $390-$402, free on board
Bangkok, unchanged from last week.
"Thai rice prices are too high because of the exchange rate,
which makes it less competitive to other exporters like India and
Vietnam," a Bangkok-based rice trader said.
Traders said they hoped an influx of supply this month will help
lower the price.
The Thai baht has been the best performing currency in Asia this
year, translating into higher export prices in U.S. dollars.
"Indonesia demand has been quiet so far, but the Philippines
could be the market for Thai rice," another Bangkok-based trader said.
"But so far there has been no order."
Trade in Thailand was quiet because of the Lunar new year, while
Vietnamese markets were shut for the holiday.
Prices for Vietnam's 5-percent broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1>
stood around $350 in the week ending Feb. 1.
Elsewhere in Asia, Bangladesh saw imports slowing in the
July-January period owing to the imposition of a tax on rice imports in June,
the country's food ministry data showed.
The south Asian country, which emerged as a major importer in 2017
after floods damaged crops, imposed the 28 percent duty to support its farmers
after local production revived.
Bangladesh imported a record 3.9 million tonnes of rice in the
2017-2018 financial year that ended in June 2018. ($1 = 71.4460 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok and Ruma
Paul in Dhaka; editing by Arpan Varghese and Emelia sithole-Matarise)
https://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/asia-rice-india-prices-gain-on-africa-demand-holiday-thins-trade-elsewhere
Duterte defends rice
tariffication bill before industry stakeholders
Dharel Placido, ABS-CBN News
MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte has defended the Rice
Tariffication Bill before stakeholders in the rice industry who had asked the
chief executive to veto the proposed measure.
Duterte met with rice industry stakeholders in Malacañang on
Wednesday, Feb. 6, where sector representatives asked the President to
reconsider his push for the bill’s enactment into law.
The measure removes non-tariff barriers for rice imports,
allowing a free flow of the staple into the Philippine market.
Duterte certified the bill as urgent in October last year, as
the country's inflation quickened to its fastest pace in nearly a decade as
food costs, particularly the price of rice, surged.
Stakeholders are concerned tariffication would hurt the local
rice industry.
But Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President
believes rice tariffication is “for the greater good.”
“Sabi ni Presidente sa kanila, ‘eh puwedeng maapektuhan kayo,
but iyong kabuuan ng mga Pilipino ang inaalala ko,’” Panelo said in a Palace
press briefing.
(The President told them 'you might be affected, but I am
thinking about the welfare of Filipinos.)
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said even when the Rice
Tariffication Bill becomes a law, measures will be in place to protect the
welfare of the local rice industry.
The President has said the proposed measure would address the
urgent need to improve availability of rice in the country, prevent artificial
rice shortages, reduce the prices of rice in the market, and curtail the
prevalence of corruption and cartel domination in the rice industry.
Finance Assistant Secretary Tony Lambino earlier said the bill
would be key in bringing down rice prices by P2 to P7 per kilo.
The proposed measure also aims to remove the need for rice
importers to get import licenses from the National Food Authority, one of the
reasons for high rice prices, Lambino said.
Lambino outlined three benefits of imposing tariffs on rice:
lower prices, lower inflation, and resources to support farmers. He said the
central bank estimates this could cut the inflation rate by 0.7 percentage
point within 2019 once the bill is passed into law.
The tariffs to be collected, meanwhile, will be used to help
improve the lives of farmers, among the poorest sectors in the country.
Economic managers have called the removal of rice import quotas
as an important measure to bring down prices of the staple and help control
inflation.
AGRARIAN REFORM, AID TO FARMERS
Meanwhile, Duterte also discussed with the Cabinet ways to
streamline the land use conversion process, a recent source of frustration for
the President.
Panelo said the Department of Agrarian Reform talked about
streamlining internal processes of all agencies involved in conversion,
including the imposition of definite timelines for transactions such as the
processing of government permits.
He revealed that the President, at one point during the Cabinet
meeting, had an “outburst” and excused himself from the meeting.
The President has been complaining of the sluggish pace in
resolving the land use conversion cases and has threatened to fire agrarian
reform officials over this.
During the meeting, the President also declared that he wants
New People’s Army rebel-returnees to benefit from the next round of land
distribution by the government.
The Cabinet also discussed programs for improving the lives of
farmers and fisherfolk.
The agriculture chief reported a “bucket list” for
implementation, including farm-to-market roads, irrigation, which includes a
solar-powered irrigation system to be financed by an Israeli company, storage
facilities, activation of regional food terminals and strengthening the
roll-on, roll-off program, easy access credit for farmers, institutionalization
of a farmer and fisherfolk credit union, and the creation of a cabinet cluster
headed by the President.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/07/19/duterte-defends-rice-tarrification-bill-before-industry-stakeholders
The STAR/File photo
Palace: Duterte won’t veto rice tariffication bill
45SHARES
(philstar.com) - February 7, 2019 - 4:08pm
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang
on Thursday said President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval of the Rice Tariffication
Bill would be “forthcoming” despite strong calls from farmer groups for the
chief executive to use his veto power on the measure.
Congress last year passed the
Rice Tariffication Bill, which seeks to amend the Agricultural Tariffication
Act of 1996.
Related Stories
Under the measure, individuals
and businesses can import additional volumes of the crop from Southeast Asian
countries like Thailand and Vietnam but will have to pay a 35-percent tariff.
The collected tariffs will be used to fund mass irrigation,
warehousing and rice research.
While the measure is expected to
give households reeling from soaring prices a reprieve, farmer groups said
replacing rice import limits with a system of tariffs would drive down prices
for their produce and hurt their business.
At a televised press conference,
presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Duterte will likely sign the bill
despite resistance from industry stakeholders.
“Well, the long and short of it
is that those he met last night were against. But according to the president,
the policy would be to the greater good,” Panelo said.
“Yun ang ibibigay niya. So kahit
na kumontra sila, mukhang itutuloy niya (So that’s what the president will
give. Even if they are against the bill, the president will likely sign it),”
he added.
The rice tariffication bill was
submitted to Malacañang last January 15 for Duterte’s signature. Under the
Constitution, bills sent to Malacañang will lapse into law if the president
does not approve or veto them 30 days after transmittal. — Ian
Nicolas Cigaral
https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/02/07/1891699/palace-duterte-wont-veto-rice-tariffication-bill
Duterte not about to exercise his veto against rice tariffication
bill
Congress passed the Rice Tariffication Bill, which seeks to
amend the Agricultural Tariffication
Act of 1996.
Published February 7, 2019 2:25pm
By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News
President Rodrigo Duterte is
signing into law the rice tariffication bill despite opposition from industry
stakeholders, Malacañang said Thursday.
Duterte had a meeting with rice
industry organizations in Malacañang on Wednesday, during which was asked to
veto the bill, said presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo.
The President, however, defended
the proposed measure which was transmitted last month by Congress for his signature.
“They want it vetoed but I don’t
think the President will,” Panelo said at a news conference. “Sabi ni
Presidente sa kanila, ‘Pwedeng maapektuhan kayo, but ‘yung kabuuan ng mga
Pilipino ang inaalala ko’.”
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, who
was present during the meeting Wednesday, said the President asked the rice
farmers and millers to put their concerns in writing “so we in Cabinet can
consider as we draft the implementing rules and regulations on the ratified
bill to be passed.”
“The President believes in giving
what is best for the greater number of Filipinos. He believes in the principle
of and benefits of having lesser government intervention and allowing the
interplay between market forces, while providing the needed safety nets to
affected sectors,” Lopez said in a separate message.
The bill aims to lift
quantitative restrictions on rice and allow private traders to import the
commodity from countries of their choice.
Under the bill, the private
sector can import rice as long as they have secured a phytosanitary permit from
the Bureau of Plant Industry and pay the 35 percent tariff on shipments from
Southeast Asian neighbors.
It provides the Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement fund with P10 billion, of which P5 billion will be
allotted to farm mechanization and P3 billion to seedlings. The fund intends to
ensure that rice imports won’t drown out the agriculture sector and rob farmers
of their livelihood.
In endorsing the bill, Duterte
told Congress last year of the “urgent need to improve availability of rice in
the country, prevent artificial rice shortage, reduce the prices of rice in the
market and curtail the prevalence of corruption and cartel domination in the
rice industry.”
“The policy of rice tariffication
stays, with the provision of direct safety nets and productivity enhancement
support to the rice industry and farmers, as stipulated in the bill,” Lopez
said. —VDS, GMA News
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/684131/duterte-not-about-to-exercise-his-veto-against-rice-tariffication-bill/story/
Lowest offer at Egypt's GASC tender $409.90/T for
Chinese rice - traders
CAIRO- An Egyptian state purchase tender for
rice attracted a lowest offer of $409.90 a tonne for Chinese cargoes, traders
said on Thursday.
The offer was presented by Wakalex for a cargo
of 20,000 tonnes for shipment between March 20 and April 20 and for another
cargo of 48,000 tonnes for shipment April 1-30.
Egypt's state grain buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), is seeking rice with 10-12 percent
broken parts on a cost, insurance and freight (CIF) basis.
GASC did not specify when it would
announce the tender results.
Traders said the following offer was presented
at the tender for shipment March 20 - April 20:
* Wakalex: 20,000 tonnes of Chinese rice at
$409.90 per tonne CIF and inland transportation costs of 569.76 Egyptian pounds
($32.45)
Traders said the following were the offers
presented at the tender for shipment April 1-30:
* Wakalex: 48,000 tonnes of Chinese rice at
$409.90 per tonne CIF and inland transportation costs of 569.76 Egyptian pounds
($32.45)
* Mufaddal: 25,000 tonnes of Vietnamese rice at
$539.00 per tonne CIF and inland transportation costs of 587 Egyptian pounds
($33.43)
* Al-Amal: 20,000 tonnes of Chinese rice at
$414.70 per tonne CIF and inland transportation costs of 570 Egyptian pounds
($32.46).
($1 = 17.5600 Egyptian pounds)
(Reporting by Nadine Awadalla and Maha El Dahan Editing by David Goodman and Dale Hudson) ((Sami.Aboudi@thomsonreuters.com;
+20223948181;))
https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/markets/story/Lowest_offer_at_Egypts_GASC_tender_40990T_for_Chinese_rice___traders-TR20190207nL5N2024CSX1/
Duterte to sign
rice tariffication bill despite opposition
February 7, 2019
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is slated to sign the bill lifting
restrictions on rice importations despite opposition from industry
stakeholders, Malacañang said on Thursday, February 7.
The President met Wednesday, February 6 with rice industry stakeholders, who urged that certain provisions of the bill be vetoed.
They raised concern that the measure would affect the farmers' livelihood and availaility of rice for poor consumers.
"Well, the long and short of it is that those he (Duterte) met last night were against [the rice tariffication bill]," said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo.
"But according to the President, the policy would be to the greater good. Yun ang ibibigay niya. So kahit na kumontra sila, mukhang itutuloy niya (That's what he wants. So despite the opposition, he would push through with the signing)," he added.
In October last year, the President certified the rice tariffication bill as urgent to address the urgent need to improve rice supply in the country, prevent artificial rice shortage, reduce the prices of rice in the market, and curtail the prevalence of corruption and cartel domination in the rice industry.
A month after the certification of the measure as urgent, the bicameral conference committee ratified the report on the proposed measure aimed at lifting quantitative restrictions on rice importation and allowing private traders to import commodity from countries of their choice.
Under the bill, a 25-percent duty will be imposed on rice imports from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member-states, while a 50-percent rate will apply to imports from non-members of the regional bloc.
The measure would also create the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund or a special rice buffer fund with an initial P10-billion annual fund, in a bid to ensure rice production competitiveness.
Asked as to when Duterte would sign the rice tarrification bill, Panelo merely said: "It would be forthcoming." (SunStar Philippines)
The President met Wednesday, February 6 with rice industry stakeholders, who urged that certain provisions of the bill be vetoed.
They raised concern that the measure would affect the farmers' livelihood and availaility of rice for poor consumers.
"Well, the long and short of it is that those he (Duterte) met last night were against [the rice tariffication bill]," said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo.
"But according to the President, the policy would be to the greater good. Yun ang ibibigay niya. So kahit na kumontra sila, mukhang itutuloy niya (That's what he wants. So despite the opposition, he would push through with the signing)," he added.
In October last year, the President certified the rice tariffication bill as urgent to address the urgent need to improve rice supply in the country, prevent artificial rice shortage, reduce the prices of rice in the market, and curtail the prevalence of corruption and cartel domination in the rice industry.
A month after the certification of the measure as urgent, the bicameral conference committee ratified the report on the proposed measure aimed at lifting quantitative restrictions on rice importation and allowing private traders to import commodity from countries of their choice.
Under the bill, a 25-percent duty will be imposed on rice imports from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member-states, while a 50-percent rate will apply to imports from non-members of the regional bloc.
The measure would also create the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund or a special rice buffer fund with an initial P10-billion annual fund, in a bid to ensure rice production competitiveness.
Asked as to when Duterte would sign the rice tarrification bill, Panelo merely said: "It would be forthcoming." (SunStar Philippines)
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1786539/Manila/Local-News/Duterte-to-sign-rice-tariffication-bill-despite-opposition
SVS Shastry, Rice Researcher Dies at 91
08 February, 2019 12:49 PM IST By: Abha Toppo
SVS Shastry, a pioneer in rice
research in India, who made immense contribution towards the agriculture sector
for more than fifty years died at the age of 91 in Hyderabad.
Shastry along with other
researchers had developed high-yielding rice varieties Padma and Jaya that
broke the yield barrier in the 1960s. Shastry was the project coordinator
(Rice) with the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) Delhi, during the
period.
Shastry after completing his PhD
from the University of Wisconsin joined the IARI and started teaching and
research work during 1958 to 1965. He was also the founder-project coordinator
of the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project (AICRIP), Hyderabad and
also the Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR).
Under Shastry’s leadership, the
AICRIP expanded and almost 1,100 rice varieties were released over the past 5
decades under ICAR system, told agriculture scientists in Hyderabad. S RVoleti
Director of IIRR said, “We celebrated 50 years of Jaya variety in the year 2015
that was released by IIRR in 1965 and Shastry is a pioneer in rice research.”
Shastry was born in Andhra Pradesh’s
Guntur district in 1928 and got education from there. He won numerous awards
including Padma Shri in 1971, the Norman Borlaug Award and Janna Reddy
Venkatareddy Prize in 1974. He left behind a son and two daughters.
Shastry has served as the
Executive Secretary, International Rice Commission of the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO), Rome and as the Director of Research at the International
Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria, during 1977 to 1983.
https://krishijagran.com/news/svs-shastry-rice-researcher-dies-at-91/
Duterte
defends rice tariffication bill before industry stakeholders
Dharel Placido, ABS-CBN News
MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte has defended the Rice
Tariffication Bill before stakeholders in the rice industry who had asked the
chief executive to veto the proposed measure.
Duterte met with rice industry stakeholders in Malacañang on
Wednesday, Feb. 6, where sector representatives asked the President to
reconsider his push for the bill’s enactment into law.
The measure removes non-tariff barriers for rice imports,
allowing a free flow of the staple into the Philippine market.
Duterte certified the bill as urgent in October last year, as
the country's inflation quickened to its fastest pace in nearly a decade as
food costs, particularly the price of rice, surged.
Stakeholders are concerned tariffication would hurt the local
rice industry.
But Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President
believes rice tariffication is “for the greater good.”
“Sabi ni Presidente sa kanila, ‘eh puwedeng maapektuhan kayo,
but iyong kabuuan ng mga Pilipino ang inaalala ko,’” Panelo said in a Palace
press briefing.
(The President told them 'you might be affected, but I am
thinking about the welfare of Filipinos.)
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said even when the Rice
Tariffication Bill becomes a law, measures will be in place to protect the
welfare of the local rice industry.
The President has said the proposed measure would address the
urgent need to improve availability of rice in the country, prevent artificial
rice shortages, reduce the prices of rice in the market, and curtail the
prevalence of corruption and cartel domination in the rice industry.
Finance Assistant Secretary Tony Lambino earlier said the bill
would be key in bringing down rice prices by P2 to P7 per kilo.
The proposed measure also aims to remove the need for rice
importers to get import licenses from the National Food Authority, one of the
reasons for high rice prices, Lambino said.
Lambino outlined three benefits of imposing tariffs on rice:
lower prices, lower inflation, and resources to support farmers. He said the
central bank estimates this could cut the inflation rate by 0.7 percentage
point within 2019 once the bill is passed into law.
The tariffs to be collected, meanwhile, will be used to help
improve the lives of farmers, among the poorest sectors in the country.
Economic managers have called the removal of rice import quotas
as an important measure to bring down prices of the staple and help control
inflation.
AGRARIAN REFORM, AID TO FARMERS
Meanwhile, Duterte also discussed with the Cabinet ways to
streamline the land use conversion process, a recent source of frustration for
the President.
Panelo said the Department of Agrarian Reform talked about
streamlining internal processes of all agencies involved in conversion,
including the imposition of definite timelines for transactions such as the
processing of government permits.
He revealed that the President, at one point during the Cabinet
meeting, had an “outburst” and excused himself from the meeting.
The President has been complaining of the sluggish pace in
resolving the land use conversion cases and has threatened to fire agrarian
reform officials over this.
During the meeting, the President also declared that he wants
New People’s Army rebel-returnees to benefit from the next round of land distribution
by the government.
The Cabinet also discussed programs for improving the lives of
farmers and fisherfolk.
The agriculture chief reported a “bucket list” for
implementation, including farm-to-market roads, irrigation, which includes a
solar-powered irrigation system to be financed by an Israeli company, storage
facilities, activation of regional food terminals and strengthening the
roll-on, roll-off program, easy access credit for farmers, institutionalization
of a farmer and fisherfolk credit union, and the creation of a cabinet cluster
headed by the President.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/07/19/duterte-defends-rice-tarrification-bill-before-industry-stakeholders
Hybrid producers ask
Published February 7, 2019, 10:00 PM
By Madelaine B. Miraflor
Domestic hybrid rice producers
like SL Agritech Corporation (SLAC) asked the government not to impose tariff
on imported rice seeds as part of the liberalization of rice importation in the
country.
This, according to them, could
result to increase in the cost of hybrid rice in the Philippines.
SLAC Technical Advisor Frisco
Malabanan said that with the Rice Tariffication Bill, which seeks to replace
the quantitative restriction on rice imports with tariff, the tariff on
imported hybrid rice seeds could also go up from zero to 35 to 50 percent.
Hybrid rice, a type of rice that
has been bred from two very different parents, can significantly outyield other
rice varieties, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said.
Using hybrid rice seeds, farmers’
harvest could go up to 8 metric tons (MT) per hectare, higher than the 4 MT per
hectare national average yield per hectare using the traditional inbred seeds.
Right now, SLAC, the country’s
largest hybrid rice producer, currently imports half of its hybrid rice seeds
needs, while it produces half of it.
“In terms of seeds, the [Rice
Tariffication Bill] will also have an impact on farmers, especially on hybrid,
which we can’t solely produce here in the Philippines because we don’t have
compact area for it,” Malabanan told reporters.
He also pointed out that hybrid
rice production is not covered in the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund
(RCEF), the tariff that will be collected from rice imports once the Rice
Tariffication Law is either signed by President Rodrigo Duterte or lapsed into
law.
AgCenter research featured at conservation conference
· By
Bruce Schultz | LSU AGCENTER
· Feb
7, 2019 Updated 15 hrs ago
Acadia
Parish farmer Wes Simon tells an audience at the National Conservation Systems
Cotton and Rice Conference in Baton Rouge about the practices used on the Simon
family farm to grow rice, soybeans, crawfish and cattle.
BRUCE SCHULTZ / LSU AGCENTER
BATON
ROUGE — LSU AgCenter scientists and researchers were among the presenters at
the National Conservation Systems Cotton and Rice Conference on Jan. 31 and
Feb. 1.
AgCenter
entomologist Sebe Brown said a new product to control soybean loopers infects
the larvae with a virus that kills the pest and spreads naturally across
soybean fields.
The
product, Chrysogen, should be available in Louisiana by July, hopefully in time
to treat fields where loopers are found, he said.
Redbanded
stink bugs were controlled by last year’s cold winter, but so far the
temperatures have not been low enough this winter to have the desired effect.
Warm weather will allow early development of clover where redbanded stink bugs
will be found until crops mature. Last year, Brown said, clover development was
delayed until April, and that helped keep the insect numbers low.
AgCenter
cotton and corn specialist Dan Fromme said the highest yields from cotton are
not from the tallest or greenest plants. Soil type and the previous crop grown
on a field play a major role in yield.
Higher
rates of nitrogen for cotton are needed on clay soils, Fromme said.
Steve
Linscombe, retired director of the AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research
Station and now executive director of the Rice Foundation, gave a report on the
sustainability of U.S. rice farming.
From
1980 until 2015, he said, rice yields increased by 62 percent, but land use has
decreased by 39 percent. Water use has declined by 52 percent, and farmers use
34 percent less energy. Greenhouse gases have decreased by 41 percent, and soil
loss has been reduced by 28 percent.
“Rice
produces a lot of habitat for wildlife,” Linscombe said. Conservation programs
have provided farmers with $80 million in compensation for providing 700,000
acres of waterfowl habitat.
Don
Groth, AgCenter plant pathologist and resident coordinator of the H. Rouse
Caffey Rice Research Station, said his work has shown little advantage of a
fungicide used as a seed treatment.
Graduating
Rice Leadership Class Promises Big Return on Investment
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Rice Leadership Development Program's
Class of 2017/19 graduated from the prestigious program during a special
ceremony at the USA Rice 2019 Government Affairs Conference this week.
Rice Foundation Chairman Frank Carey and USA Rice Chairman Charley Mathews, Jr.
presided over the ceremony, congratulating the graduates and thanking program
sponsors, John Deere, RiceTec, Inc., and American Commodity Company.
The class is made up of Scott Franklin, Rayville, LA; Kim Gallagher, Davis, CA; Jarrod Hardke, Hazen, AR; Alan Lawson, Crowley, LA; David Martin, Bernie, MO; and Ross Thibodeaux, Midland, LA.
Scott Franklin served as class spokesperson. He expressed his appreciation to the many people the class met who "made a wise investment in some outstanding young people, who are passionate about our industry."
Franklin concluded his commencement speech with a rallying cry to his fellow classmates saying, "It is our duty to continue the fight in delivering our wonderful product to the masses around the world. We can never become complacent, as the international rice trade can be an unfair marketplace to our farmers. The rice export business is an everyday job, a job where everyone in the industry plays a vital role. We promise that our class will fight, in any way we can, to make certain that U.S. rice is at the forefront of the minds of all our government officials. We won't wait until trade is a good use of political capital. Every opportunity to export U.S. rice is a good use of our time and talents."
The class was immediately put to work representing the rice industry during the conference, participating in multiple meetings with Members of Congress, staff from key Congressional Committees, and agency representatives.
Several agencies within the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted informational sessions for the class, including the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Economic Research Service (ERS), and World Agricultural Outlook Board.
They also met with officials at CropLife America to discuss the responsible use of environmentally sound crop protection products, and got a tutorial in the pesticide registration process while visiting the Environmental Protection Agency.
While in Washington, the group also met Ambassador Fernando Llorca of the Costa Rican Embassy to discuss rice trade between the two countries as well as attend the USA Rice World Market Price Subcommittee meetings.
The Rice Leadership Development Program gives young men and women a comprehensive understanding of the U.S. rice industry, with an emphasis on personal development and communication training. During a two-year period, class members attend four one-week sessions that are designed to strengthen their leadership skills.
If you have interest in applying for the Rice Leadership Development Program, contact Steve Linscombe, director of The Rice Foundation.
The class is made up of Scott Franklin, Rayville, LA; Kim Gallagher, Davis, CA; Jarrod Hardke, Hazen, AR; Alan Lawson, Crowley, LA; David Martin, Bernie, MO; and Ross Thibodeaux, Midland, LA.
Scott Franklin served as class spokesperson. He expressed his appreciation to the many people the class met who "made a wise investment in some outstanding young people, who are passionate about our industry."
Franklin concluded his commencement speech with a rallying cry to his fellow classmates saying, "It is our duty to continue the fight in delivering our wonderful product to the masses around the world. We can never become complacent, as the international rice trade can be an unfair marketplace to our farmers. The rice export business is an everyday job, a job where everyone in the industry plays a vital role. We promise that our class will fight, in any way we can, to make certain that U.S. rice is at the forefront of the minds of all our government officials. We won't wait until trade is a good use of political capital. Every opportunity to export U.S. rice is a good use of our time and talents."
The class was immediately put to work representing the rice industry during the conference, participating in multiple meetings with Members of Congress, staff from key Congressional Committees, and agency representatives.
Several agencies within the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted informational sessions for the class, including the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Economic Research Service (ERS), and World Agricultural Outlook Board.
They also met with officials at CropLife America to discuss the responsible use of environmentally sound crop protection products, and got a tutorial in the pesticide registration process while visiting the Environmental Protection Agency.
While in Washington, the group also met Ambassador Fernando Llorca of the Costa Rican Embassy to discuss rice trade between the two countries as well as attend the USA Rice World Market Price Subcommittee meetings.
The Rice Leadership Development Program gives young men and women a comprehensive understanding of the U.S. rice industry, with an emphasis on personal development and communication training. During a two-year period, class members attend four one-week sessions that are designed to strengthen their leadership skills.
If you have interest in applying for the Rice Leadership Development Program, contact Steve Linscombe, director of The Rice Foundation.
 Class members, back
row, from left: David Martin, Scott Franklin,Alan Lawson, Ross Thibodeaux, Kim Gallagher, and Jarrod Hardke. Front row: Steve Linscombe, Brian Ottis (Rice Tec), Nicole Van Vleck and Chris Crutchfield (ACC) and Charley Mathews, Jr. |
Proposed inclusion of rice sector in ‘Zero Rated Basket’
hailed
Rice exporters have welcomed the government's proposal of adding
the rice sector into 'Zero Rated Basket' for promotion of export. Adviser to
the Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industry and Production and
Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, announced this proposal, addressing the members
of Rice Exporters Association (REAP) on Saturday night in Karachi. He also
assured full support for bringing rice into the zero rated sectors.
Rice exporters believe that with zero rated status, rice exports will grow annually and achieve target of $5 billion exports in next five years. Leading rice exporter and former member of REAP managing committee Muzammil R Chappal said that for the last many year REAP was demanding zero rating status to enhance rice export. "Announcement made by Abdul Razak Dawood Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce, is heartening since it remains a major demand of entire rice sector as Pakistani exporters are facing difficulties to compete in world market due to higher cost of production," he said.
Chappal said that with induction of rice into basket of zero rated sector, the Pakistani exporter can compete with India and other countries by offering competitive price. "We (exporters) believe that this initiative will help us explore new markets and achieve $5 billion mark export target in next five years," he said.
Muzammil appreciated the efforts of Abdul Razak Dawood and said that for the first time in the history some concrete and sincere measures at the government level for increase in rice exports had been witnessed. To him, government's efforts for promotion of export a step in right direction and would definitely result in achievement of all time high exports by end of this fiscal year.
Chappal lauded government efforts for a higher crop yield. He said that with technical support from China and Japan, Pakistan can increase per acre crop yield to achieve the goal of "Produce more Earn more". He said that with sincere efforts of REAP, Pakistan's rice exports had posted a phenomenal growth and touched $2 billion mark up from $300 million during the last 12 years.
Rice exporters believe that with zero rated status, rice exports will grow annually and achieve target of $5 billion exports in next five years. Leading rice exporter and former member of REAP managing committee Muzammil R Chappal said that for the last many year REAP was demanding zero rating status to enhance rice export. "Announcement made by Abdul Razak Dawood Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce, is heartening since it remains a major demand of entire rice sector as Pakistani exporters are facing difficulties to compete in world market due to higher cost of production," he said.
Chappal said that with induction of rice into basket of zero rated sector, the Pakistani exporter can compete with India and other countries by offering competitive price. "We (exporters) believe that this initiative will help us explore new markets and achieve $5 billion mark export target in next five years," he said.
Muzammil appreciated the efforts of Abdul Razak Dawood and said that for the first time in the history some concrete and sincere measures at the government level for increase in rice exports had been witnessed. To him, government's efforts for promotion of export a step in right direction and would definitely result in achievement of all time high exports by end of this fiscal year.
Chappal lauded government efforts for a higher crop yield. He said that with technical support from China and Japan, Pakistan can increase per acre crop yield to achieve the goal of "Produce more Earn more". He said that with sincere efforts of REAP, Pakistan's rice exports had posted a phenomenal growth and touched $2 billion mark up from $300 million during the last 12 years.
Poor water
management costing Pakistan billions: Report
A new World Bank report says
water wastage is high in Pakistan’s agriculture sector
Published: February 06, 2019 18:19
Islamabad: Despite being rich in water resources, Pakistanis
continue to face water scarcity because of the country’s inability to properly
manage, use and protect water resources for socioeconomic and environmental
sustainability.
Pakistan’s poor water management is conservatively costing the
country nearly 4 per cent of GDP or around $12 billion (Dh44.07 billion) per
year, according to a new report from the World Bank.
These costs are dominated by the cost of poor water supply and
sanitation as well as floods and droughts.
Pakistan is well endowed with water but water availability per
person remains comparatively low in the South Asian country, home to nearly 210
million people. “Pakistan does not make the best use of its water endowment,”
says the report titled ‘Pakistan Getting More from Water’, stressing that water
use is heavily dominated by agriculture sector that contributes around
one-fifth of the GDP, but less than half of this is from irrigated cropping.
Irrigation contributes around $22 billion to annual GDP.
Water wastage is high and agricultural yields are low in
Pakistan as compared to most countries. The four major crops — wheat, rice,
cotton and sugar cane — that use nearly 80 per cent of all water generate less
than 5 per cent of the GDP — around $14 billion per year.
“Water security in Pakistan is reaching a critical point that
demands urgent attention and reform,” said Illango Patchamuthu, World Bank
Country Director for Pakistan. It is important to boost irrigation productivity
while paying attention to the social and environmental aspects of water
management, he said.
Although climate change and transboundary issues are generally
cited as the major cause of water scarcity but the biggest challenges as well
as opportunities are internal which require improving water use efficiency and
productivity. To meet its growing water demands, Pakistan must “strengthen
water governance and strategic water planning” with “strong collaboration
between federal and provincial governments” and other stakeholders.
Water crisis was rated as the biggest risk to Pakistan by World
Economic Forum and Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources also warned
that the country could “run dry” by 2025. The alarming state compelled Imran
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) government to prioritise water by
building dams.
However, William Young, author of the report deems that “New
dams can help improve water security but will not address the most pressing
water problems that Pakistan faces.”
Although Pakistan’s National Water Policy provides a sound basis
for reform, but provincial water policies and legal framework need much
attention, he says. “Irrigation systems need modernising; hydromel systems
should be expanded; and urban water infrastructure, especially for wastewater,
requires major investment.”
Besides economic costs, the report also highlighted the
environmental degradation due to excessive water withdrawals and widespread
pollution as well as poor social outcomes as waterborne diseases (cholera,
typhoid, hepatitis, and diarrhoea) kill nearly 40,000 children each year in
Pakistan.
To address water security, Pakistan needs to strengthen legal
frameworks for water at federal and provincial levels; improve water data and
information, establish provincial water planning and allocation mechanisms;
reduce water wastage in agriculture sector and modernise irrigation and improve
water governance.
Key Facts
— Pakistan’s poor water management is costing the country 4 per
cent of GDP or $12 billion per year
— Four major crops that use nearly 80 per cent of all water
generate less than 5 per cent of the GDP
— Waterborne diseases are killing nearly 40,000 children each
year
Recommendations for improving water security in Pakistan
according to Report:
1. Strengthen water data, information, mapping, modelling, and
forecasting
2. Establish a multi-stakeholder process of basin-scale water
resources
3. Establish provincial water planning and allocation mechanisms
4. Accelerate agricultural water productivity
5. Adopt conjunctive planning and management of surface and
ground water
6. Construct limited new storage and reservoirs
7. Modernise irrigation and drainage
8. Reform urban water governance
9. Improve understanding and management of climate risks
10. Strengthen planning and management of water-energy
interactions
There is high volatility in
world rice market’
|
Source: The
Hitavada Date: 07 Feb 2019 09:21:20
|
Business Bureau,
Ajay Sharma, Managing Director, Lama Rice Pvt. Ltd while sharing his views on global rice scenario at a technical session organised by Vidarbha Industries Association (VIA) and Chirag Agri Ventures Pvt. Ltd said, “In our country traditional farming, use of old seeds and no intervention of technology are the major factor affecting the growth rice industry. Farmers of India are still using the seeds variety of 120 to 140 days with low yield.”
He shared some vital information of rice industry. The world production of rice has been increased at a faster rate than the world population over last three decades. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of rice. India is the largest exporter and Philippines is largest importer of the rice. Most of the rice is produced, consumed and traded by the Asian countries and main exporters are India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and China. The Indian rice market was opened up at the end of 1994 resulting in a quantum jump in exports. Milled rice export from India has reached a high level during 1995 to 1998. India exports about 4 million tonne of Basmati and 8 million tonne of non Basmati rice. Rice is staple food of 70 per cent of the world’s poor living in Asia. Foreign exchange rate is an important factor affecting global rice trade because international rice price is quoted in US dollars. “There is high degree of volatility in the world rice market, because a small change in production or consumption brings a relatively large change in its total trade and rates also varies due to international market,” Sharma said..
He said, “Our country is lacking on the side of testing of raw material in milling plants. De-stoning is very essential in rice mills, stones damages polishers. Drying and parboiling helps to reduce broken percentage in milling process and polish is also good in order to improve shelf life of rice. Millers should be equipped with sorting and grading machines, these machines helps to produce marketable material in domestic as well as international markets,” he said.
In global market, Thailand and Vietnam are the major competitors in rice trading. Parboiled rice is the majorly traded variety. Sharma also shared few facts of India in comparison with world. In last few years major technical investments has been done in Punjab and Haryana. He said, “We are not taking efforts to provide export quality material. APMC plays very important role to set up linkages between farmers and millers.” He said, Nagpur has very conducive eco-system export category materials, produces produced under radius of 300 km and has low pesticide residue in crops. He added, rice industry needs to be upgraded, people who want to start work in this segment have bright future.
Atul Pande, President of VIA, Dr Suhas Buddhe, Secretary, Arun Khobragade, Chairman of VIA Agro Cell, Girdhari Mantri, Harshwardhan Harde and others were present.
Amira Nature
Foods, Ltd Announces 2018 Annual General Meeting
February 07, 2019 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amira
Nature Foods, Ltd (NYSE: ANFI), a leading global provider of branded,
packaged Indian specialty rice, announced today that its Board of
Directors has called an annual general meeting to be held at Beau Rivage
Geneva, Quai du Mont Blanc 13, 1201, Geneva, Switzerland on February 25, 2019
at 9:00 am Local Time.
Shareholders of record, at the
close of business on January 25, 2019 will be entitled to receive notice of,
and to vote at, the annual general meeting and at any adjournments or
postponements thereof. The formal notice of the meeting will be sent to shareholders
of the Company in due course.
About Amira Nature Foods
Founded in 1915, Amira has
evolved into a global provider of packaged Indian specialty rice, with sales in
over 40 countries today. Amira sells Basmati rice, premium long-grain rice
grown only in certain regions of the Indian sub-continent, under their flagship
Amira brand as well as under other third party brands. Amira sells its products
primarily in emerging markets through a broad distribution network. Amira’s
headquarters are in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and it also has offices in
India, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Cautionary Note on
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities
laws. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases
that we or our members of management use such as “believe,” “expect,”
“anticipate,” “foresee,” “forecast,” “estimate” or other words or phrases of
similar import. Specifically, these statements include, among other things,
statements that describe our expectations for the global rice market, the
financial impact of new sales contracts on our revenue, our expectations
regarding the successful efforts of our distribution partners, and other
statements of management’s beliefs, intentions or goals. It is uncertain
whether any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will
transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what impact they will have on our
results of operations, financial condition, or the price of our ordinary
shares. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
indicated in such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to our
ability to perform our agreements with customers; our ability to recognize
revenue from our contracts as planned; continued competitive pressures in the
marketplace; our reliance on a few customers and distribution partners for a
substantial part of our revenue; our ability to implement our plans, forecasts
and other expectations with respect to our business and realize additional
opportunities for growth; and the other risks and important considerations
contained and identified in our filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or to persons
acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these risk
factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, we undertake no
obligation to update any forward-looking or other statements herein, whether as
a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contacts
Wendy Eguez
The Amira Group
+447340071854
wendy.eguez@theamiragroup.com
The Amira Group
+447340071854
wendy.eguez@theamiragroup.com
This quick rice dish puts end to lentil confusion
Spiced Lentils and Rice helps cooks to learn the facts about
this sometimes mysterious ingredients. (The Washington Post/Tom McCorkle)
As versatile and nutritious as
they are, lentils can be confusing. Even once you learn the differences in
cooking times and textures among red, brown, green and black varieties, along
comes something to muddy the issue.
Here’s an example. By “green
lentils,” do I mean the large, khaki-colored ones, sometimes called brown
lentils — or on some packages called just plain lentils? They’re the most
common variety, cook in about 20 to 30 minutes and hold their shape but get
nice and tender. Or do I mean the French ones, sometimes called lentils du Puy,
that are smaller, darker and speckled, take longer and stay firm when cooked?
(They’re perfect for salads.)
I was thinking about this, yet
again, when I tried a Jamie Oliver recipe for spiced lentils and rice that
unfortunately perpetuates even more lentil confusion. The ingredient list calls
for dried red split lentils, but the directions ask you to employ some of the
lentils’ cooking water at one point and to drain the lentils at another. Both
are impossible, really, because as anyone who cooks red (a.k.a. orange, a.k.a.
yellow) lentils knows, they turn to a beautiful mush during cooking, absorbing
the liquid and making them ideal for soups, stews and, of course, dal. To make
matters even more head-scratching, the photo of the finished dish in Oliver’s
book clearly shows distinct, large green lentils scattered among the grains of
brown basmati rice, curls of soft onion and wilted kale.
Just to be sure, I first tried
the recipe as written, and my suspicions were confirmed: No. But in subsequent
tests, when I made it with large green/brown lentils (not French), it worked
like a charm. And the dish comes together in a flash, thanks to precooked,
shelf-stable rice, which is getting easier to come by in supermarkets, and
jarred Indian curry paste, which adds a backbone of complexity.
The recipe is from a book whose
title promises a five-ingredient limit, but there are actually nine. Oliver,
like many others, makes the constraint work only by exempting some staples - in
this case, olive oil, water, salt and pepper. I’m giving you the accurate count
because, the way I see it, clarity beats confusion every time.
SPICED LENTILS AND RICE
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
2 cups water
About 3 ounces (1/2 cup) dried
brown or green lentils, rinsed and picked over (do not use French du Puy)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive
oil
2 tablespoons Indian curry paste,
such as balti, tikka or tandoori paste
2 medium yellow onions, thinly
sliced
8 ounces kale leaves, stripped
from the stems
8 1/2 ounces (2 cups) cooked
brown basmati rice, such as Seeds of Change brand
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or more
as needed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
Steps:
Boil the water in a small
saucepan over high heat. Add the lentils; once the water has returned to a
boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the lentils are
tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet
over medium heat, pour in the oil, and, once it shimmers, stir in the curry
paste and cook until very fragrant, 1 minute. Add the onions and cook, stirring
constantly, for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15
minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened.
Meanwhile, chop the kale leaves.
When the onions are ready, stir the kale into the onions. Scoop out 1/2 cup of
the lentils’ cooking water and add it to the skillet. Increase the heat to
medium, cover tightly and let the mixture cook until the kale wilts, 2 minutes.
Drain the lentils and add them to
the skillet, along with the cooked brown rice. Cover and cook for 3 minutes,
until the rice is heated through. Uncover, add the salt and pepper, stirring to
incorporate. Taste, and add more salt, as needed.
Nutrition: Calories: 280; Total Fat: 7 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Cholesterol:
0 mg; Sodium: 330 mg; Carbohydrates: 46 g; Sugars: 3 g; Protein: 10 g.
Rice Tariffication Law to aid farmers, says solon
Published February 7, 2019, 7:11 PM
By Ellson Quismorio
CIBAC Party-List Rep. Sherwin
Tugna believes that the soon-to-be enacted Rice Tariffication Bill is exactly
what the doctor ordered for the 3.5 million rice crop growers in the country.
Tugna, chairman of the House
Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, highlighted the promised boost in
modernization that local farmers will get once the measure becomes a law.
Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) partylist Rep.
Sherwin Tugna (Sherwin Tugna / FACEBOOK)
This boost, Tugna said, will come
in the form of the P10-billion annual support for farmers under the Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) provision of the pending law.
“We in CIBAC Party-List believe
that the mechanization training and use of inbred seeds will help our farmers
be at par with the farmers and agriculturist of the developed countries,” said
the congressman, who is on his third and final term.
“It will really aid our farmers,”
Tugna said of the RCEF, which will be sourced from the tariffs on imported rice
that will be imposed by the subject law.
The tariffs will act as
replacement for the quantitative restriction on rice imports, which the World
Trade Organization (WTO) had prescribed for the Philippines the last two
decades. This quantitative restriction has been lifted.
Pointing to the RCEF, Tugna said,
“It will help bring back our competitiveness [in the rice market].”
Half or 50 percent of the P10
billion will be given to the Philippine Center for Post Harvest Development and
Mechanization (PhilMech), which will be tasked with providing qualified
farmer-beneficiaries with the needed equipment that will cut down on farmers’
labor cost and in effect drastically reduce the price of palay (unmilled rice).
The equipment includes tillers,
tractors, seeders, threshers, rice planters, harvesters, irrigation pumps,
small solar irrigation, reapers, driers, millers, etc.
Meanwhile, 30 percent will be
released to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) for the
development, propagation and promotion of inbred rice seeds to rice farmers.
Inbred seeds are said to be
cheaper than hybrid seeds, since farmers can continually produce them from a
mother plant. Hybrid seeds, on the other hand, need to be bought continuously.
Some 10 percent of the fund, to
be managed by the Landbank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the
Philippines, will be made available in the form of credit facility with minimal
interest rates and with minimum collateral requirements to rice farmers and
cooperatives.
The remaining 10 percent will be
set aside for the training of the farmers as far as knowledge and technology is
concerned.
Duterte to OK rice
tariff bill
February 8, 2019
This
April 12, 2017, file photo shows different varieties of rice being sold at a
local market in Manila.
By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas
& Elijah Felice E. Rosales
THE opening up of the Philippine
rice market is inevitable, as Malacañang said President Duterte will not veto
the rice tariffication bill even as he acknowledged that it will be detrimental
to farmers.
Duterte had a dialogue with rice
farmers, millers and retailers last Wednesday to discuss their concerns over
the measure. They deemed the dialogue as their “last-ditch effort” to convince
the President to veto some of the bill’s provisions, particularly the removal
of the National Food Authority’s (NFA) power to intervene in the local rice
market.
“The President told them that the
measure may affect you, but that he is thinking of the welfare of all
Filipinos. So I don’t think he will veto the bill,” Presidential Spokesman and
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said in a news briefing on
February 7.
However, stakeholders and
officials interviewed by the BusinessMirror said Duterte will consider their
concerns before acting on the bill, which would convert the quantitative
restriction (QR) on rice into tariffs.
“He has ordered the DA
[Department of Agriculture], DOF [Department of Finance], DTI [Department of
Trade and Industry] to consolidate all of the issues raised by the
stakeholders,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol told the BusinessMirror.
“He will look at the report first [before acting on the bill].”
Alyansa ng Industriya ng Bigas
Founding Chairman Robert Hernandez told the BusinessMirror that they were asked
by Duterte to submit a position paper indicating the provisions that they
wanted to be removed or amended and their justifications for such.
“What we want is to maintain the
regulatory functions of the NFA and its rice trading function,” he said in an
interview. “Because like right now, there are a lot of imported rice and the
buying price of palay is just between P14 per kilogram and P15 per kg. The
farmers will lose money.”
Fund allocation
THE President is open to reducing
the allocation for research under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund
(RCEF) and transfer it to direct support for farmers, according to Trade
Secretary Ramon M. Lopez. This, is to provide farmers with a better safety net
once the rice tariffication bill is signed into law.
The proposed law will create the
RCEF, also called the rice fund, which will consist of an initial appropriation
of P10 billion and all duties collected from the importation of rice. As a
safety net, the rice fund will be used to finance programs—whether through
direct support or research—for farmers.
Under the bill, 50 percent of the
RCEF is to be used for the purchase of rice farm equipment, such as tillers,
tractors, seeders, threshers, rice planters, harvesters, among others, for
purposes of improving farm mechanization.
Further, 30 percent of the rice
fund will be allocated for the development, propagation and promotion of inbred
seeds to rice farmers. The bill also sets aside 10 percent for credit with
minimal interest to farmers and cooperatives.
The remaining 10 percent is for
research and education on rice crop production, modern rice farming techniques,
seed production, farm mechanization, as well as technology transfer through
farm schools nationwide.
“What we want to do there is
tweak in the IRR [implementing rules and regulations] the usage of the fund.
The farmers are concerned that, with the way it is stated [in the bill], the
fund will be used more for research,” Lopez said.
“Research is very important, but
I can agree it should not be heavy on that. It should be heavy on the direct
support for farmers, which are [through] the inputs and the loans. That is
where the bulk of the fund should go,” he added.
According to Lopez, the President
is amenable to adjusting the allocation of the rice fund in response to the
plea of industry stakeholders for stronger safety nets under a rice tariff
regime. However, he stood firm on the provisions of the bill concerning the
NFA.
The measure will strip the NFA of
its power to control the volume of rice imports entering the Philippine market,
as well as of its capacity to license importers.
Under the proposed law, interested
importers will only need to secure a sanitary and phytosanitary import
clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry as proof the rice they will bring
in is safe for consumption. They will also have to pay a tariff of 35 percent
if the imports are coming from a member-state of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, and 50 percent if from outside the region.
Lopez said the Chief Executive
made clear in his dialogue with industry stakeholders on Wednesday night he is
for a free market, but with proper safety nets.
Government economists estimate
prices of rice will go down P4 to P7 per kilo once the bill is in place.
However, farmers fear this could spell the death of the domestic rice industry,
as the NFA is removed of its power to manage the volume of imports.
Israeli
Invention Saves Grain by Putting a Zip(loc) on It 
A company headquartered in Concord,
Massachusetts with Israeli roots is playing an important role in curbing global
hunger, saving millions of people from malnutrition, and pulling farmers around
the globe out of the cycle of poverty. Its invention is already doing great
things, but much more can be done to help the people of the developing world.
The Grain Cocoon, a hermetic storage bag, should be a standard arrow in the
quiver of every global development agency, including USAID, that works with
farmers.
Worldwide, 805 million people are
chronically undernourished, and many farmers in the developing world still use
burlap sacks to store their goods. Insects can easily infiltrate these bags,
often destroying more than half of a farmer’s harvest. When farmers use
pesticides, they often lead to extreme sickness and even death. And worse, over
time, toxic products also become ineffective.
Inefficient storage techniques result in the loss of roughly 1.3 billion tons of food annually. That’s
one-third of all food produced for human consumption, an amount sufficient to
feed every starving person in the world. Reducing these losses, experts say,
would play a critical role in the fight against world hunger.
Shlomo Navarro came to Israel from
Turkey as a young adult in the 1960s. He later became a research entomologist at
the Israel Agricultural Research Organization (VOLCANI), a prestigious
institute where he worked for many years. As a result of his work, he developed
the Grain Cocoon, a large, hermetically sealed bag for rice, grain, spices, and
legumes. The bag can hold anywhere from five to 300 tons of grain. It’s made
from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a strong material that doesn’t tear easily. When
farmers seal the bag, it traps bugs and their eggs inside and deprives them of
oxygen, suffocating them to death, which makes pesticides unnecessary. On
average, Navarro says, the cocoon can save more than 99 percent of a farmer’s
crops. It can be used any time after harvest collection, and once grain is
placed inside it, the insects generally die within about 10 days. Farmers can
easily remove the dead bugs using a sieve or other techniques.
Not only does the Grain Cocoon
protect the harvest from bugs and farmers from pesticides; it also helps the
rural poor deal with the unpredictable forces of the free market. By storing grains
immediately after a harvest, farmers can wait to sell them until prices rise.
In cases of extreme poverty, Navarro encourages villages to invest in a
communal cocoon so they can store excess grain collectively and use it as
needed. Unless small farmers are able to make these types of choices, they and
their families are often doomed to endless poverty.
Since GrainPro officially introduced Navarro’s cocoon in the early
1990s, it has been adopted in a hundred countries and
saved their harvests from insects, rodents and other pests. The company has
sold millions of cocoons and smaller, hermetically sealed bags across the
developing world. It has customers in Arab countries, many of which have no
diplomatic relations with Israel, as well as in Africa, Latin America, and
Asia. The cocoons have become especially attractive to farmers and development
agencies because they can reuse the bags multiple times over the course of
several years. According to Martin Gummert, a senior scientist at the
International Rice Research Institute, “The science and technology have been
proven and the benefits are great. The challenge now is . . . making people
aware.”
This includes farmers and aid
agencies, some of whom view using pesticides as cheaper. But Professor Maria
Otília Carvalho of the University of Lisbon, an expert on entomology, ecology
and food storage, argues that in the long run, pesticides are in fact more
expensive. “Given the health ramifications, potential loss of life and grain,
to say nothing of the environment,” she says, “using hermetic storage comes out
ahead” and “is the technology of the future.”
In 2016, the U.S. government passed the Global Food Security Act, which voiced a commitment
to reducing hunger, malnutrition, and poverty around the globe. As part of this
effort, USAID put together a comprehensive approach that
includes helping farmers learn the best techniques to grow and store their
crops. Unfortunately, there is almost no mention of the grain cocoon or
hermetic storage on the USAID website, suggesting that this is far from an area
of focus. Farmers and hungry children around the world should not be deprived
of this potentially life-saving innovation.
Today, Navarro, in his
mid-seventies, is widely recognized as a modern-day Joseph, the biblical figure
who saved Egypt from famine by convincing Pharaoh to store grain underground.
As Rabbi Irwin Kula of Clal–The Center for Learning and Leadership puts it,
“The most traditional prayer is for a successful harvest — that God provide
sustenance — bread, the staff of life. The Grain Cocoon technology is an answer
to the ancient yearning that all people be fed.”
[Photo: GrainPro USA Inc. /
YouTube ]
Japanese company opens US$5m factory
CHAN MYA HTWE 08 FEB 2019
Oshimanoki,
a 100-year-old Japanese producer of rice processing machinery, has officially
opened its first factory to produce such machinery in the Thilawa Special
Economic Zone (SEZ).
The
factory is said to be the first of its kind in the country.
During
the opening ceremony of the US$5 million factory on Thursday, executives said
they are pleased to be contributing to the modernisation of Myanmar’s
agricultural industry.
Another
reason cited by the executives from Japan who were present for the opening is
Myanmar’s position as a leading producer of rice.
Oshimanoki
Myanmar’s managing director Takashi Muto said: “Myanmar is one of the top
exporters of rice in the world. Its farmers and land are very productive, which
promises a good future for the growing of rice and the need for our machinery.
Another reason that swung the decision to set up the factory here is the
kindness of the local people, who have been assisting us greatly. Myanmar’s
productive farmers and fertile land present a wonderful opportunity for us.”
Currently, Myanmar imports rice processing machinery from China, India and South Korea as there had been no factory in the country producing such equipment before the opening of Oshimanoki’s factory here.
Currently, Myanmar imports rice processing machinery from China, India and South Korea as there had been no factory in the country producing such equipment before the opening of Oshimanoki’s factory here.
The
new factory adds to the growing number of businesses in the Thilawa Special
Economic Zone set up to cater to Myanmar’s agricultural sector. The SEZ is
already home to factories producing plowing machines, combine harvesters, and
other farming machinery, and several fertiliser distributors.
Oshimanoki
was founded in Japan in 1917, and Myanmar is the first country in Southeast
Asia it has invested in, said Oshimanoki Myanmar Co Ltd Sales Manager Ko Min
Zarni.
The
company invested US$5 million to set up the factory here and it is expected to
break even in three to five years, Mr Muto said, adding that the factory is
expected to produce its first rice processing machines in April and the
expected market will be lower Myanmar, especially the rice-growing Ayeyarwaddy
Region.
“The
current target is to produce machines with 15-tonne capacity but we will
manufacture 20 and 30 tonne machines in the coming years,” said Ko Min Zarni,
adding that the machines will not be sold directly to the customers but via
farming equipment stores selected by the company, said Ko Min Zarni.
The
factory’s opening has also created 20 jobs for local workers.
Chhattisgarh
PDS scam probe: EOW lodges FIR against top cops
| TNN | Feb 8, 2019, 10:08 IST
The FIR has been registered late last night against DGP Mukesh Gupta (IPS batch 1988), who during the last BJP regime was heading the EOW and state intelligence, and EOW’s former superintendent of police Rajnesh Singh (IPS batch 1997), who is at present posted as superintendent of police in Narayanpur district. The action came after EOW’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the multi-crore PDS scam, which is popularly known by its Hindi acronym Nagarik Aapoorti Nigam (NAN) scam, found certain documents tampered using whiteners and other discrepancies and subsequent investigations led to revelation of alleged fabrication of documents, criminal conspiracy and many other omissions and commissions including issues related to unlawfully intercepting messages, EOW superintendent of police Kalyan Elesela confirmed to TOI.
FIR registered against both the top IPS under Indian Penal Code includes Section 166 A, B for public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury, Section 193, 194 for fabricating false evidence, Section 201 for causing disappearance of evidence, Section 196 for using evidence known to be false, Section 218 for forging incorrect record to save a person from punishment, Section 466 for forgery of record of court, Section 471 for using forged document as genuine.
Besides, the provisions of Indian Telegraph Act Section 25, 26, read with Section (5,2) for unlawfully intercepting and using messages.
Highly placed sources indicated "the next move in the case would be suspension of both the IPS officers. It is a matter of investigation and arrests would be done once probe report is released."
EOW sources said during the SIT into the NAN scam, it has come to notice that many documents were overwritten in official document and some of documents seemed to have been fabricated in back date. The clerks concerned were questioned and they gave statement that they were ordered to do so by the then senior officials of EOW.
After the Congress government came to power, IPS Mukesh Gupta under whose time the NAN scam was exposed was shifted to PHQ, subsequently, the state government constituted an SIT as it was felt that the EOW didn't conduct the whole investigation in proper manner during the BJP regime and that many influential persons, allegedly involved in the scam were deliberately left out.
SIT was formed early this January after there were allegations that investigating agency which probed the case earlier, had apparently investigated only six pages of a purported diary which contained 107 pages with names of alleged beneficiaries of the scam. They claimed that names of many powerful people, including politicians and bureaucrats, figured in the diary recovered during raids at the offices of state civil supplies corporation. The ACB, which probed the case, had made 27 people as accused in the PDS scam and had filed two chargesheets in the courts.
Among them are two IAS officers - the then civil supplies secretary Dr Alok Shukla and the then managing director of the state civil supplies corporation Anil Tuteja. According to the ACB, the corporation allowed rice millers to supply poor quality PDS rice to the BJP-led state government and received commission from them. The commission was distributed among the entire hierarchy of government functionaries.
During the raids, the ACB had also seized around Rs 4 crore in cash from the drawers of bureaucrats, allegedly involved in the scam. Ever since the scam came to light in 2015, the then opposition Congress has been describing it as "mother of all scams" pointing out that the money involved was more than Rs 36,000 crore.
