Monday, February 11, 2019

11th February,2019 Daily GlobalRegional Local Rice E-Newsletter

When Bt brinjal is a failure, why Golden rice?

by Farida Akhter | Published: 00:00, Feb 11,2019

INTRODUCTION of genetically modified crop is a highly risky venture, particularly in a country like Bangladesh that is rich in biodiversity and bio-geographically known as the origin of diversity spot. Despite the known risks, Bangladesh has been targeted for experiment and field trials of GM transgenic crops such as Bt brinjal. This has been done despite the resistance from the farmers, scientists and environmental activists. Apart from the risk of biological pollution and health hazards, the debate over the scientific claims and agronomic value of Bt brinjal has not been settled. Promoter’s claim about the effectivity of this highly risk-prone technology is not based on evidence. The latest claim that farmers are adopting Bt brinjal in large numbers has also been proved untrue. These are, however, imposed on them through the Department of Agricultural Extension.
Bangladesh has become a test case to counter the global resistance against GMOs. It is a country, which is introducing genetically modified food crops one after the other without any difficulty, no matter what the consequences are. In 2013, the government approved field cultivation of transgenic plant Bt brinjal. Bt brinjal is a big show of Monsanto-Mahyco through USAID and Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute. And, now enters the Syngenta with another failed venture of Golden rice, the so-called Vit — an enriched transgenic rice as a ‘solution’ to the problem of night blindness in the country.
On January 30, 2019, Dr Abdur Razzak, the new agriculture minister has told journalists after a meeting with the International Rice Research Institute that ‘Golden rice, a new variety of rice enriched with Vitamin A will be available soon in Bangladesh’. He said, ‘A committee of the environment ministry will give clearance to the rice for production. We will be able to start cultivation in Bangladesh within two to three months upon getting the clearance.’ He further justified his declaration by saying ‘Golden rice is more important than other varieties as it will help fight Vitamin A deficiency. The rice variety has already got clearance in USA, Canada and Australia.’
Rice producing countries of Asia, such as the Philippines, where International Rice Research Institute is situated could not yet introduce the field cultivation of this rice because of concerns from the environmental groups, while non-rice producing countries such as USA, Canada and Australia have given the clearance. It is indeed ironic. Bangladesh being a rice producing country with huge population of rice-eaters, known as ‘Bheto Bangalee’ has no relevance to the clearance in the non–rice producing developed countries.
‘Golden’ rice is a transgenic or genetically engineered rice variety that has been developed by Syngenta, a biotech industry, to produce pro-vitamin A (beta-carotene). The proponents have promoted GE ‘Golden’ rice as a high-tech, quick-fix solution to vitamin A deficiency — a deficiency prevalent in developing countries that may lead to night blindness. The research was carried out in International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines.
In Bangladesh, the first Golden rice was evolved by incorporating beta-carotene gene of daffodil flower into BRRI Dhan 29, a HYV Rice, commonly grown by farmers in the Boro season. However, the effort for introduction of Golden Rice 1 (GR-1) carried out for over last 10 years, was not very successful. Later, the second genetically engineered Golden rice was evolved by incorporation of beta-carotenoid from maize into BRRI Dhan 29, keeping its golden colour. No impartial assessment of its success or failure was conducted. However, Bangladesh continued to be selected as a laboratory for the trial, the farmers and the people to become the guinea-pigs. The innovators of the Golden rice were not capable enough to give any evidence in favour of any positive gain of gene incorporation from maize to rice.
Dr Tusher Chakraborty, an Indian scientist noted that the experiments with the earlier ‘GR-1’ strains came out with unrealistic outcomes as one was supposed to take about 1.5kg rice daily to meet the vitamin A requirement. While the ‘GR-2’ strain of the transgenic rice that the BRRI has developed based on the popular high-yielding variety BRRI Dhan 29 is supposed to have much higher vitamin A concentration that implies higher risks related to retinoic acid (Dhaka Tribune, October 10, 2015).
In 2011, the grant of over $10 million to IRRI to fund, develop and evaluate Golden rice varieties for Bangladesh and the Philippines was given by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. They claim that ‘the Golden rice inventors and subsequent technology developer Syngenta allowed a royalty-free access to the patents, the new rice would be of the same price as other rice varieties once released for commercial farming in Bangladesh, and farmers would be able to share and replant the seeds as they wish’ (The Daily Star, October 28, 2016)
This is a contentious issue and one does not know how long the royalty-free status would be maintained by Syngenta once it is cultivated by large number of farmers. Genetically modified/engineered seeds are patented and they have a higher price than those of the normal market seeds. So making it royalty-free for a certain period or for certain group of people does not make its status ‘free’ for the farmers. In the case Monsanto-patented Bt brinjal, farmers have been given free seeds along with inputs of fertilizers, some pesticides, technical support and cash money. But now it is known that the Bt brinjal seeds price is Tk. 5000 per kilogram, as opposed to Tk. 700 per kg for brinjal seeds developed by Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation. That is, GM Brinjal seeds are seven times higher in price than normal brinjal seeds. As the recently released annual report of USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Bangladesh Agricultural Biotechnology suggests, ‘a lack of purchasing power in the farming sector dominated by small and marginal people may restrict the wider use of genetically modified seeds in Bangladesh’ (The Daily Star, December 20, 2018). Since the release, the BARI has been producing and distributing Bt brinjal seeds among farmers. The highest amount of seeds of GE eggplant, 1,827 kilograms was produced in fiscal 2016-17. But according to the USDA report, production of seeds of Bt brinjal by BADC slumped to 612 kg in 2017-18, keeping 1,400 kg of seeds in stock.
According to the minister for Agriculture, a committee of the environment ministry will give clearance to the Golden rice for production. In 2013, in the midst of concerns, court cases and protests by national and international scientists and environmental groups, the government of Bangladesh took very quick steps to go through the approval process of first genetically modified food crop Bt brinjal. The National Committee on Biosafety under the ministry of environment passed the approval on October 30, 2013 with seven conditions. These included field biosafety management planning, safety measures such as isolation distance, border-row management, techniques for protection of local and indigenous varieties, monitoring of biosafety measures, action and implementation of health and environmental risks and effective measures for labelling for marketing as per biosafety rules. Unfortunately, except isolation distance and border-row management in the initial rounds of field cultivation, the conditions of the approval by the Committee in the ministry of environment were not met, nor there was any monitoring by the environment ministry at the field level. Farmers have not seen any official from the environment department in their fields.
Keeping in mind the issue of biosafety, the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute carried out the field trial on the campus of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute in Gazipur to keep Golden rice segregated from other rice varieties grown in BRRI fields. Then how the farmers are going to segregate the golden rice in the field cultivation?
According to the USDA report about 6 per cent of 80,000 acres of farmland set aside for growing brinjal are cultivated with Bt brinjal. If these have produced brinjals, then these must have been marketed too. But were they ever labelled as per approval condition? The answer is a big no. The farmers were not even asked to do so. So there has been no labelling on the Bt brinjals cultivated in farmers’ field. The consumers had no indication that they were buying genetically modified vegetable along with other brinjals. Therefore, there is no way to follow up to see if there are any health risks caused by consumption of the GM food crop.
Golden rice as genetically modified rice must also go through the process of regulatory mechanism guided by the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety which Bangladesh has ratified. Bangladesh must follow The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity, a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which entered into force in 2003. The National Bio-safety Framework in Bangladesh has been developed in 2006. There is Biosafety Rules, 2012 that was also not very satisfactory to protect our diversity and the environment.
Bangladesh has thousands of indigenous varieties. The introduction of genetically modified rice may cause serious threat to genetic base of rice. There is a lack of scientific expertise and legal strength to face such threats. The security of the country and food sovereignty may be threatened seriously if the agricultural production system becomes dependent on the multinational companies.
Syngenta and IRRI are continuing to pursue introduction of GE Rice without proving that Golden rice is indeed going to solve problems and will not cause biological contamination to our local varieties. In many Asian countries it has been rejected by farmers’ organisations on these grounds. In terms of nutrition, it is also termed as an ‘inappropriate and ineffective solution’. There are ample sources of Vitamin A in common fruits and vegetables, which are plentiful and are available in our country. These are available from both cultivated and uncultivated sources. The leafy vegetables include katonotey, sajnapata, kolmi, puisak and data. The vegetables include sweet gourd, field bean, okra, etc. The ripe fruits like papaya, melon, jackfruit, mango, banana and pine apple are rich in vitamin A. Sufficient vitamin A is also available from rice polished by wooden husking pedal.
Solving the problem of night-blindness or Vitamin A deficiency is not a technological issue, it is more related to poverty and balanced food intake. The company patented Golden rice or the so-called Vitamin A rice, is not at all going to solve the problem, rather it will make the country more vulnerable by making them dependent on multinational companies.
The government of Bangladesh should refrain from introducing transgenic that can seriously threaten our ecology and biodiversity generally and farming system in particular. Opening up the agricultural sector to the manipulation of multinational companies serves the strategic interest of the intense global technological competition that could be disastrous for Bangladesh. Bangladesh must develop its own technology suitable for its environment, ecology, biodiversity and nutritional needs of its people.

Farida Akhter is the executive director of UBINIG and organiser of Nayakrishi Andolon.

http://www.newagebd.net/article/64429/when-bt-brinjal-is-a-failure-why-golden-rice

Rajamudi Growers’ Group to be constituted to help secure GI tag

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MYSURU, FEBRUARY 11, 2019 00:43 IST

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Stakeholders engaged in securing the Geographical Indication (GI) status for Rajamudi variety of rice have decided to constitute a Rajamudi Growers’ Group to take the initiative forward.

This was decided at the two-day workshop organised to discuss the framework and broad outlines on securing the GI tag for Karnataka’s premier variety of rice – Rajamudi.

It has also been decided to declare the area comprising Holenarsipura, Periyapatana, Arkalgud, K.R. Nagar, Somwarpet, Sakleshpur, Alur and Hassan regions as the ‘Rajamudi Belt’ as the best variety of Rajamudi is cultivated here.

Scientists and rice researchers who attended the workshop pointed out that though Rajamudi is cultivated in many parts of the State, the variety in Holenarsipura belt had unique qualities and so was a strong point in securing the GI status.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Agricultural Price Commission, which has constituted a committee to prepare the ground work for securing the GI status for Rajamudi, will begin the documentation process including unearthing its references, if any, in ancient literary works.

Krishnaprasad of Sahaja Samruddha, an NGO involved in conservation of indigenous variety of rice and millet, said the documentation would take time. Sahaja Samruddha will work closely with KAPC and the Department of Agriculture and prepare a template.

“No agricultural crop in Karnataka has secured the GI tag so far. This is the first such exercise. The template that we create will become a model to be replicated in case the GI tag is to be sought for other crops,” said Mr. Krishnaprasad. Ratnachoodi and Gandhasale are two varieties next in line for GI status, say cultivators.

The number of cultivators will be documented and brought under the Rajamudi Growers’ Group. It is reckoned that nearly 10,000 hectares of land is under Rajamudi cultivation and the working group has to bring them on a common platform with consumers.

Between food and biodiversity

Monday, February 11, 2019

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Cristiana Pasca Palmer :
How does the weaver ant help to deliver the food on your plate? The answer might not be immediately obvious, but this feisty predator is critical to maintaining balance in the global food chain: eating and repelling fruit flies that could otherwise destroy lucrative and nutritious mango, citrus, and cashew crops.
If the weaver ant were to die out, the world would lose a powerful weapon in its pest control arsenal, resulting in devastating losses to foods on which millions of lives and livelihoods depend.
Biodiversity along the food chain helps to maintain the air we breathe and the water we drink. Yet today, the world's biodiversity is undergoing a crisis not seen since the extinction of the dinosaurs.
In just the past year, several studies show we are losing insects along the food chain at an alarming rate. Last year's census of California's western Monarch butterflies has found an 86 percent decline from the previous year. Global populations of vertebrates have fallen by 60 percent in four decades, and up to almost 90 percent in some regions.
The world faces mounting challenges to produce affordable, nutritious food for a growing population. Over 800 million people still go hungry every day. Meanwhile, some 2 billion people are overweight or obese worldwide. Noncommunicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes, are now the number one cause of mortality worldwide, with unhealthy diets and malnutrition among the top three risk factors.
We may be fast hitting barriers of how science can solve food crises in a fast-changing environment. Devex discusses the limits of agricultural research with heads at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center and International Rice Research Institute.
As the global population grows, diets become more westernized, and climate change impacts increase, the world will need to produce more food on less land, in less stable conditions. Yet it is a false dichotomy to choose between producing food and protecting biodiversity. Thriving ecosystems enable us to grow food, while greater genetic diversity in the crops we grow can increase yields and even improve the nutritional quality of foods.
Governments should integrate biodiversity into dietary guidelines and land-use policy regulations. This would include, for example, engaging in the Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition Project; reforming unfavorable regulations in forestry, farming, and rural codes; and supporting the transition to sustainable agricultural practices with farmers and the global community.
At the same time, businesses can diversify their ingredients and agricultural processes by, for example, mainstreaming indigenous grains, deploying their marketing expertise to inform consumers about the importance of sustainable production and diverse diets, and integrating both conservation and sustainable agricultural practices into their supply chains.
Yet the world has the means to conserve and sustainably use the services and resources offered by biodiversity to feed future generations. Let's start with crop diversification. Just four crops - wheat, maize, rice, and soybean - make up two-thirds of the world's food supply. A wider range of crops could support more diverse diets, increasing access to the full range of nutrients essential to human health.
Today, tens of thousands of crops remain underutilized, offering the potential to make our food system more nutritious and our farm systems more sustainable and resilient to climate change.
There is also scope to diversify the way we grow our food. Trees provide services such as fixing nitrogen and increasing carbon in soils, regulating water, and controlling erosion, which can increase crop resilience and productivity. Preserving forests while also utilizing them for food is possible.
Rwanda has grasped the multiple benefits offered by agroforestry: The government has cited the technique as one of the key means to achieve its target of restoring 2 million hectares of land by 2030.
Meanwhile, businesses are increasingly combining production with protection. For example, France's Groupe Michelin and Indonesia's PT Barito Pacific have launched the joint venture PT Royal Lestari Utama, which aims to finance a sustainable rubber plantation using less than half of the project's 88,000-hectare degraded forest for rubber, leaving the rest for conservation, restoration, and community programs.
Scientists have charted an ambitious new plan to transform the global food system by 2050. For the plan to succeed, the development community will need to join governments, businesses, and consumers.
Similarly, a wide range of regenerative practices such as crop rotation, cover crops, reducing or eliminating tillage, and using natural predators to manage pests can help nourish crops and avoid disease with lower impacts on the environment.
Finally, reducing global meat consumption is one of the most effective ways to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture. As diets westernize, global meat consumption is forecast to increase 76 percent by 2050. Yet many people in developing countries suffer from protein deficiencies.
While poorly managed aquaculture can disrupt ocean ecosystems and damage biodiversity, fish and seafood are healthy sources of protein; combined with other measures, including more plant-based diets, sustainably farmed fish can contribute to meeting our nutritional needs.
Biodiversity underpins our agricultural systems, and there are increasing examples of farming practices that leverage natural capital to grow yields, increase resilience, and improve farmer livelihoods. The Aichi Biodiversity Targets provide a framework for action across systems: agreed to by the world's governments in 2010, they set out 20 time-bound measurable biodiversity targets to be met by 2020. Actors from across sectors must act now to scale up and replicate successful farming models to meet the demands of a growing population sustainably.
These measures are not only aligned with our global commitments for sustainable development but with the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition, which provides governments with an opportunity to play a leadership role in harnessing biodiversity for healthier, more sustainable, and resilient sustainable food systems.
We have the knowledge and the tools to produce enough nutritious, diverse food for a growing population while protecting the nature on which our systems depend. We now need the will to do so.
(Cristiana Pasca Palmer is executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity and ambassador to the Food & Land Use Coalition).

http://m.thedailynewnation.com/news/205854/between-food-and-biodiversity

Arkansas Sate turns up the heat on rice crops

· By KENNETH HEARD The Jonesboro Sun

· Feb 11, 2019 Updated 2 hrs ago

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JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) — A group of Arkansas State University educators and students are studying effects of heat on rice crops in a three-university project aimed at discovering plants that can withstand global warming.

Scientists at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and Kansas State University are also looking at creating a heat-resilient variety of wheat. The five-year, $6 million project is funded by the National Science Foundation through its Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research program.

Argelia Lorence, director of ASU's phenomics facility and a Vaughn Endowed Professorship of metabolic engineering, is heading the ASU study with Wency Larazo, a rice agronomist.

She said climate data has shown that during the past 40 years, the average night time temperature in areas that produce rice have increased by 5 degrees. That's indicative, she said, of continued rising temperatures that are putting stress on important crops.

"This isn't a political issue," she said to The Jonesboro Sun. "It's a food issue."

Lorence and seven ASU students will construct six greenhouse tents at a newly opened University of Arkansas rice research center at Harrisburg in March. The team will plant 400 various breeds of rice in each of the tents and raise temperatures in three of the tents to see how resilient they are. Each plant is photographed daily to see how the increased climate may affect it.

The plants will also be taken back to the Arkansas Biosciences Institute on the ASU campus in Jonesboro where they will be further tested for size, color, the amount of chlorophyll they contain and their leaf temperatures.

When Lorence and her team find the most resilient brands of rice, they will present their findings to rice breeders who can then attempt to crossbreed brands for a more heat-resilient form of rice seed.

Lorence, who has been at ASU for 14 years, was raised in Mexico City, Mexico. She earned her doctorate in biotechnology at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

She worked on projects in Mexico until a change in the country's government took science funding decisions from the National Council on Science and Technology and gave it to politicians instead.

"Instead of the (council) deciding what was best, they let the politicians decide," she said. "It was about who you knew. I knew no politicians."

She decided to move to the United States and began working at labs at Texas A&M and Virginia Tech.

While at Virginia Tech, she was part of a team that published the discovery of a new biosynthetic pathway for vitamin C in plants.

She sent 25 applicants to research institutes across the country and was offered three jobs, including one at ASU.

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The Arkansas Biosciences Institute attracted Lorence, and she accepted the position. In addition to the rice study, she is also leading a team in understanding how vitamin C delays aging and contributes to plant tolerance to stresses.

Lorence's rice-studying team is an international group of students. Along with Larazo, who is from the Philippines, the team is made up of doctoral students Kharla Mendez and Cherryl Quinones, both of the Philippines; master's student Shannon Cunningham of the Bahamas; post-doctorate student Karina Medina-Jimenez of Mexico; and undergraduate student Lilian Aniemena of Nigeria.

She is also working with Arlene Adviento-Borbe, a representative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Delta Water Management Unit.

A team at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln that is conducting similar greenhouse tests with wheat is led by Harkamal Walia, an associate professor of agronomy and horticulture.

"We are excited about this project," Lorence said. "The amount of land for crops is decreasing, but there are more people. We need to eat. The only way to do this is to make the crops more productive. I love coming to work," she said. "This is my passion. We're working as hard as we can."

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Information from: The Jonesboro Sun, http://www.jonesborosun.com

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“The Philippines has been a more active buyer in recent months and pending legislation would likely keep imports at robust levels,“ USDA said.

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Philippines rice imports to hit 2.3 million MT this year

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Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star) - February 11, 2019 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will continues to import more rice this year as local production will still not be able to cover the national demand for the country’s main staple and as the government moves toward the liberalization of the industry.

In the latest report of the United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS), the Philippines is seen importing some 2.3 million metric tons (MT) of rice this year, 21 percent higher than last year’s 1.9 million MT.

The USDA hiked this year’s rice imports from the earlier projection of 1.8 million MT following reduced crop estimates and the lifting of the quantitative restriction on the commodity.

“The Philippines has been a more active buyer in recent months and pending legislation would likely keep imports at robust levels,“ USDA said.

In fact, application to bring in the commodity under the out-quota scheme has already reached 1.19 million MT as of January after 180 private traders have sought approval for the importation.

An updated list released by the National Food Authority showed that 180 firms have already applied for the out-quota importation of 1,185,764 MT of rice to be sourced from Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Myanmar and China.

It was in November 2018 when the interagency NFA Council allowed the unlimited importation of rice to further stabilize the market.

The out-quota allocation means traders can apply for any volume of imported rice they would want to bring into the country.

Of the initial volume, the imports will be discharged in Manila, Subic, Cebu, Zamboanga City, Davao, La Union, Tacloban and Cagayan de Oro.

Meanwhile, the USDA said high rice prices due to tight supplies, rising fuel prices, and market distribution inefficiencies will force the Philippine government to import more rice to stabilize prices and contain inflation.

The country’s additional imports also aim to strengthen buffer stocks ahead of the midterm elections scheduled in May.

Rice consumption has also been raised to 13.65 million MT from 13.25 million MT as rising food prices are forcing less affluent Filipinos to consume more rice and less meat and vegetables.

Production of milled-rice this year is seen decreasing by one percent to 12.15 million MT from the 12.23 million MT in 2018.

USDA said there may be slight reduction in area planted as rice areas in 2019 will be at 4.81 million hectares, one percent lower than the 4.84 million hectares last year.

https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/02/11/1892569/philippines-rice-imports-hit-23-million-mt-year

Rice imports to counter El Niño impact

BY MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO, TMT

FEBRUARY 11, 2019

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Import-boosted rice stocks will be enough to counter the inflationary impact of an expected El Niño, a senior Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) official said.

The weather phenomenon, central bank Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo told reporters last last week, “is one important factor but remember that the National Food Authority (NFA) Council already approved out-quota importation.”

He was responding to a query if the Bangko Sentral’s reuduced 2019 inflation rate forecast of 3.07 percent had factored in the impact of droughts on rice supply and prices.

Guinigundo noted that as of January 18, 174 firms and cooperatives had already applied for permits to import about 1.2 million metric tons (MMT) of rice.

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“If there is going to be an El Niño phenomenon that could happen any time during the year, this could be addressed by such mitigant as out-quota importation,” he said.

“In other words, during El Niño, there’s a good fallback position in terms of out-quota importation,” he added.

Latest government data showed that total rice stocks were up 11.40 percent to 2.55 MMT as of the start of the year. The tally, however, was down 6.23 percent from 2.72 MMT in the previous month.

Rice stocks in commercial warehouses climbed by 40.59 percent to 1.21 MMT but stocks in households and NFA depositories fell by 5.88 percent to 1.25 MMT and 8.37 percent to 97,910 MT, respectively.

https://www.manilatimes.net/rice-imports-to-counter-el-nino-impact/509798/

No rice price spikes despite NFA power removal, says NEDA

Cai Ordinario

February 11, 2019

Last updated on February 11th, 2019 at 01:26 am

DESPITE the absence of a concrete study on its impact, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) assured the public that the removal of regulatory powers of National Food Authority (NFA) will not lead to higher rice prices.

The rice tariffication bill and the implementing rules and regu-lations (IRR) will contain measures that allow the President to intervene on behalf of public interest, Neda Assistant Secretary Mercedita A. Sombilla said in a recent phone interview.

Sombilla said the bill, which is now with the President for signing into law, will also outline the phases of the removal of NFA’s regulatory powers. She said the removal of NFA’s regulatory function will not be done immediately.

“Trade liberalization is the way to go for any market especially if you want competition. So you don’t really need to study especially since you can already see [that because] it’s very much regulated, we are not able to enjoy the prices that we should be taking advantage of in the world market,” Sombilla pointed out.

The Neda official said the Governance Commission for government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) or GCG will be in charge of the restructuring plan for the NFA.

Sombilla also said that during meetings with farmers, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III explained what the bill is about and how it can help farmers and the entire country.

She said Dominguez also cited as examples the fertilizer and oil trade, which improved on account of liberalization. While prices temporarily increased, they eventually stabilized after stakeholders were able to get “accustomed” to the changes, she added.

“The benefits of liberalization [were] really for the long term. And that’s going to happen to rice. The private sector knows better, they know when to import, they know what to import,” Sombilla said.

No queues

Further, the marching orders of the President during the meeting was to prevent any queueing when it comes to buying cheap rice, something that happened in 2012. There were also pockets of NFA rice queues last year due to the spike in inflation.

Sombilla said the President told the farmers in the meeting to list down their concerns and submit them to him. He will then instruct the economic team to answer all these concerns.

This, Sombilla said, is already an indication that the President was not likely to veto the rice tariffication bill.

“Just to make the story short, the least intervention from the government, market to play, the most benefit that would go to the…greater majority, that’s what he [President Duterte] said. [He added] so list down all your concerns, I will let my economic managers, my cabinet secretaries to look at them and instruct them to respond to it considering that the response should take into consideration what is best for the people. The message [from the President] was clear. To us it was clear,” she said.

Earlier, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said through rice tariffication, affordable rice can be obtained from various sources and need not be the sole responsibility of the NFA.

The rice tariffication bill amends the two-decade-old Republic Act 8178, otherwise known as the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996, and replaces the quantitative restrictions (QR) on rice imports with tariff.

The bill, ratified by both chambers of Congress on November 28, 2018, is set to be transmitted to Malacañang for the President’s signature.

Under the new rice importation regime, legitimate rice traders can now import rice without NFA permits, provided they secure a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance from the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI) and pay the appropriate tariff to the Bureau of Customs.

The NFA, on the other hand, will focus on ensuring sufficient buffer stocks to address emergency situations. As there is a need to periodically replenish the buffer stocks, the NFA can still sell cheap rice, but to very targeted markets.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/02/11/no-rice-price-spikes-despite-nfa-power-removal-says-neda/

Duterte seeks clarification why farmers oppose rice tariff

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Published February 10, 2019, 10:00 PM

By Madelaine B. Miraflor

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered government agencies to squeeze in a “one-page” position paper all the issues farmers have raised against the Rice Tariffication Bill, but did not say what exactly he was going to do with it.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said that, after meeting with farmers who are opposing the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Bill, Duterte asked the DA, Department of Finance, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to collate and submit the position of farmers and stakeholders about the law.

But Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the Bill, which will liberalize rice importation in the Philippines by replacing volume restrictions with tariff, is likely to be signed by Duterte soon.

When asked about how the farmers’ position paper could have an impact on the Bill’s implementation, Piñol said he “doesn’t want to second guess.”

If Duterte doesn’t veto the Bill, it will lapse into law on February 15.

“It will be the President’s call,” the DA chief said. “But I would assume he is open to changes and as to how these changes will be implemented, that’s beyond me.”

The original intention of the Rice Tariffication Bill is to remove the volume restrictions on rice imports and replace them with tariffs as required by the country’s commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

But Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) National Manager Raul Montemayor said legislators “went too far” in drafting the law after it removed the government’s regulatory functions over rice.

He noted that WTO rules do not prohibit licensing and supervision of importers, or the operations of government agencies like the National Food Authority (NFA) which buy and sell agricultural products in the market.

“In fact, many countries require importers of critical products to secure licenses and subject them to strict provision,” Montemayor said.

Almost all countries have some forms of regulation over their rice markets even if they have long removed quantitative restrictions (QRs).

“Our trading partners in the WTO must be laughing at us for interpreting WTO rules in their favor and making it easier for them to sell their rice to us, while they use every loophole in the rules to protect their own markets,” Montemayor said.

Under the Rice Tariffication Bill, NFA will also no longer be allowed to import and can only boost its stock, which is mainly for calamity and disasters, through local palay procurement.

NFA already warned of the dangers of leaving the country’s staple food under the mercy of the open market.

“The grains industry is one of the most important sectors of our economy as it directly affects everyone because we all eat rice. Leaving it under the mercy of the open market without any regulation is just too dangerous,” NFA’s Officer-in-Charge Administrator Tomas Escarez said.

https://business.mb.com.ph/2019/02/10/duterte-seeks-clarification-why-farmers-oppose-rice-tariff/Rajamudi Growers’ Group to be constituted to help secure GI tag

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

MYSURU, FEBRUARY 11, 2019 00:43 IST

UPDATED:

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Stakeholders engaged in securing the Geographical Indication (GI) status for Rajamudi variety of rice have decided to constitute a Rajamudi Growers’ Group to take the initiative forward.

This was decided at the two-day workshop organised to discuss the framework and broad outlines on securing the GI tag for Karnataka’s premier variety of rice – Rajamudi.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/rajamudi-growers-group-to-be-constituted-to-help-secure-gi-tag/article26231916.ece

RDB gives $170m in loans amid weak commercial lending

Sok Chan / Khmer Times

Description: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/12-CHOR8601.jpg

The Rural Development Bank disbursed more than $170 million in loans to the agriculture industry last year, with nearly 70 percent of the money going to the rice sector, an RDB official said.

Kao Thach, RDB’s CEO, told Khmer Times that last year the bank gave loans to more than 40 local rice millers and exporters.

All of the loans will be repaid this year, he said. Money disbursed through the government-led emergency fund, around $50 million, will be paid back by May, while the rest of the loans will likely be fully repaid by June or July, Mr Thach said.

. .

“We are not afraid of borrowers defaulting. This is not a concern for us. We are confident that rice millers and exporters will pay back loans on time even despite difficulties related to the recent imposition of tariffs in the European Union,” he said.

Mr Thach urged commercial banks to ease requirements for firms in the rice industry and to make more credit available, arguing that RDB alone cannot meet the credit needs of the industry.

“We alone cannot support the sector and make it more competitive. We ask commercial bank to get more involved. We need more involvement from the private sector,” he pleaded.

“Our loans help stabilise rice prices, but commercial banks also need to contribute. Commercial banks are now distancing themselves from agriculture, creating more barriers for rice millers and exporters to access funds,” Mr Thach said.

“We agree that they must exercise caution when disbursing loans, but they should also play a role in boosting the competitiveness of the sector. Using paddy rice as collateral is not risky,” he said, suggesting that the Central Bank intervenes to increase banks’ incentive to lend to agricultural firms.

. .

Chan Pich, general manager of Signatures of Asia, a local rice exporter, echoed Mr Thach’s remarks, pointing out that access to finance is decreasing, with commercial banks less willing to lend to the agriculture sector.

“Commercial banks are cutting credit to rice millers and exporters while increasing requirements,” Mr Pich said, adding that the interest rate is now 9.5 percent per year.

Last year, total exports of milled rice decreased by 1.5 percent, reaching only 626,225 tonnes, which were sent to 61 different countries around the world. China is the biggest market for Cambodia’s milled rice, absorbing about 270,000 tonnes in 2018.

Last month, Chinese president Xi Jinping said his country’s import quota for Cambodian rice will be increased to 400,000 tonnes for 2019, an increase of 100,000 tonnes.

https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50576606/rdb-gives-170m-in-loans-amid-weak-commercial-lending/

D

1,000 SCIENTISTS GO PUBLIC WITH DOUBTS ON EVOLUTION

'Careful examination of the evidence of Darwinian theory should be encouraged'

Published: 1 day ago

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Charles Darwin

More than 1,000 highly influential scientists from around the world have gone on record with their doubts about Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

They hail from institutions such as Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, Tulane, Rice and Baylor, the National Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, the British Museum and MIT’s Lincoln Library.

“We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life,” they say in a statement. “Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.”

The scientists include the best in molecular biology, biochemistry, biology, entomology, computational quantum chemistry, microbiology, psychiatry and behavioral sciences, astrophysics, marine biology, cellular biology, physics and astronomy, math, physics, geology and anthropology, according to Evolution News, an online publication of the Discovery Institute in Seattle, which promotes the theory of intelligent design.

The Discovery Institute first published its “Scientific Dissent from Darwinism” list in The New York Review of Books in 2001 to challenge “false” claims from PBS’ series “Evolution.”

PBS had claimed “virtually every scientist in the world believes the theory to be true.”

But biologist Douglas Axe, director of the Biologic Institute, argued peer pressure is obscuring the truth.

“Because no scientist can show how Darwin’s mechanism can produce the complexity of life, every scientist should be skeptical,” he said. “The fact that most won’t admit to this exposes the unhealthy effect of peer pressure on scientific discourse.”

Originally, Discovery Institute Chairman Bruce Chapman assembled a list of 100 doctorate-level scientists for the statement.

“Realizing that there were likely more scientists worldwide who shared some skepticism of Darwinian evolution and were willing to go on record, the Institute has maintained the list and added to it continually since its inception,” the Evolution News report said.

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

93,984

“The list of signatories now includes 15 scientists from the National Academies of Science in countries including Russia, Czech Republic, Brazil, and the United States, as well as from the Royal Society. Many of the signers are professors or researchers at major universities and international research institutions such as the University of Cambridge, London’s Natural History Museum, Moscow State University, Hong Kong University, University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine in France, Ben-Gurion University in Israel, MIT, the Smithsonian, Yale, and Princeton,” it noted.

Marcos Eberlin, Ph.D., founder of the Thomson Mass Spectromety Laboratory and member of the National Academy of Sciences in Brazil, said in the report, “As a biochemist I became skeptical about Darwinism when I was confronted with the extreme intricacy of the genetic code and its many most intelligent strategies to code, decode, and protect its information.”

Michael Egnor, professor of neurosurgery and pediatrics at State University of New York, Stony Brook, said scientists “know intuitively that Darwinism can accomplish some things, but not others.”

“The question is what is that boundary? Does the information content in living things exceed that boundary? Darwinists have never faced those questions,” he said. “They’ve never asked scientifically, can random mutation and natural selection generate the information content in living things.”

https://www.wnd.com/2019/02/1000-scientists-go-public-with-doubts-on-evolution/

When Bt brinjal is a failure, why Golden rice?

by Farida Akhter | Published: 00:00, Feb 11,2019

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http://www.newagebd.net/article/64429/when-bt-brinjal-is-a-failure-why-golden-rice

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Marshall researcher reinventing self after grant runs out

By TAYLOR STUCK, The Herald-Dispatch Feb. 9, 2019

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — In his time as director of the Basic Science Division of the Center for Diagnostic Nanosystems at Marshall University, Kevin Rice researched exciting, yet complicated, ideas about obesity, diabetes, aging and how our genes work, down to the nanoparticle.

"When you know of how the physiological cell should work, you think this is the process — A, B, C, D, E — but when you see something that goes from A to B to F then to H, you think, 'How did it get here to here to here without hitting these other points?'" Rice said. "Life finds a way. Even when there is dysfunction, things find a way of working themselves out."

Rice was talking about how the cells of diabetics work differently than typical cells to accomplish the same task, but he could have also been talking about his career path.

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"I didn't envision myself in this field," Rice said. "I didn't know where I envisioned myself."

Rice graduated from Ohio University Southern with a degree in psychology, but without a higher level degree in the field, he couldn't do much. So he became a construction worker, which he did for 10 years.

But then he was persuaded by the owners of the construction company to go back to college. Based on some work he had done as an undergrad, Rice chose to attend Marshall and pursue a biomedical master's degree.

At this point, he and his wife were starting a family and he could not just attend school without bringing in income, so he became a lab technician within the College of Science. He continued to work his way up, graduated with a master's degree in biology and helped secure a $5 million grant to start the Center for Diagnostic Nanosystems.

The grant funding for the center, however, has now dried up. Despite trying to secure new grants, Rice is out of the job after 16 years. So he's reinventing himself.

With 65 published journal articles and numerous more citations, Rice has applied for research positions across the country. But the current research landscape isn't easy.

"We are in a real weird time frame where the loss of funding for research is actually becoming detrimental to the progress of research," he said.

Rice also does not want to leave the area. Currently living in Crown City, Ohio, with his wife and four children on his grandfather's farm, Rice's roots go deep into Appalachia.

So he's starting his own companies.

First, he started his own research corporation, doing product testing for smaller companies. But eventually the market dried up.

Now his focus is on three separate but interwoven online ventures. First is an online bookstore. The second is a publishing company, and the third is a marketing company and a podcast.

The ideas came as he wrote his own books, which are Christian-based self-help books. (Rice is also a former pastor.) Rice knew it was hard to publish a book and get the attention of a publishing company, so he looked into the process of self-publishing.

He created the bookstore to sell the book but also to host other authors' work. Then he started the publishing company to help others get their works published.

The podcast, "Manifesting the Kingdom," is Rice's way of building a platform and getting his name out there.

The podcast, Rice says, is about helping others find their inherent value then giving people the tools to change the world they are in.

"I've seen a lot of the mindset we have here," Rice said. "Everyone is looking for the outside to come in and rescue the Appalachian culture, and they don't see that they themselves have value. We need to figure out how can we utilize the resources we have locally and maximize those resources to better our own community."

Rice said he is always looking for entrepreneurial opportunities himself, even before he knew his time at Marshall was coming to an end. He sees potential in producing commercial-grade silicon, but that takes a lot more funding to start than an online company.

His goal is to build something he can leave his children, so they too can grow up to stay in Appalachia.

Leaving Marshall and research is bittersweet, he said.

"When we had 24 people here and every day I was seeing new data — when you come in with a group of people and you all work on the same thing, you're talking about it and you see all the potential and new data, it's exciting," Rice said.

Rice firmly believes his research skills will transfer to any new venture.

"The amazing thing is, when it comes to scientific thinking, that experimental design and being able to interrogate a problem and come up with different approaches to come up with an answer, that skill set applies everywhere," he said. "You almost wish you could create that kind of critical thinking in your elementary students where they can sit and say, 'I'm going to test all of these variables.'

"I think it's in Appalachia," he said. "People just natively — that's what we've done. We will try things until they work. That skill set applies everywhere. Once you've advanced it to the level I have, I think it can apply to business, apply in construction settings."

Rice wants to continue to educate, even if it's through a podcast now instead of a classroom.

"That's what life is about," he said. "It's about the journey. It's about the people you meet. It's about getting to influence other people and then come back a few years later and see that person you interacted with, that you had an impact on their life. I've seen that in a college setting. That's what I like about education, too. You can interact with people and see their life change after you've interacted with them. I'm looking at how to transition that in a different way, to interact with people and bring out their potential."

Rice's new ventures can be found at www.ekibooks.com, www.ekipublishing.com and www.ekipromotions.com.

Follow reporter Taylor Stuck on Twitter and Facebook @TaylorStuckHD.

___

Information from: The Herald-Dispatch, http://www.herald-dispatch.com

https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Marshall-researcher-reinventing-self-after-grant-13601754.php

Nitrogen gets in the fast lane for chemical synthesis

HOUSTON - (Feb. 8, 2019) - Rice University scientists have given organic chemists a boost with their latest discovery of a one-step method to add nitrogen to compounds for drugs, pesticides, fertilizers and other products.

Rice synthetic organic chemist László Kürti said the method, reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, is a major step forward as it quickens and boosts the yield of valuable molecules known as alpha-aminoketones.

Ketones are carbon-based compounds found in nature and important feedstocks for the chemical industry. The primary amino group (NH2) is a functional group present in many important chemical products. It contains one nitrogen atom and two hydrogen atoms. When a ketone is functionalized with a primary amino group at the alpha carbon, it forms a compound called a primary alpha-aminoketone.

"It's a good precursor, because there's no extra functionalization, like an acyl group, on the NH2 and it can then be converted to whatever you want," said Kürti, an associate professor of chemistry. "Previously, this was the issue: People would put nitrogen in there with extra functionality, but the further processing necessary to get to a free NH2 was complicated."

Postdoctoral researcher Zhe Zhou discovered the reaction when he mixed a silyl enol ether and a nitrogen source in a common solvent, hexafluoroisopropanol, at room temperature and found that it mimicked Rubottom oxidation, an established technique to oxidize enol ethers.

"Oxygen is routinely put into the alpha position," Kürti said. "But nitrogen, no. We are the first to show this is possible in a large number of substrates, and it's simple. It turns out that the solvent itself catalyzes the reaction."

Zhou and co-author and postdoctoral researcher Qing-Qing Cheng refined the method and subsequently tested it by making 19 aminoketones, including three synthetic amino acid precursors. "These unnatural amino acids are significant for drug design," Kürti said. "The enzymatic processes in living organisms are not going to attack them, because they don't fit in the enzymes' pockets."

"Before we had this process, it wasn't impossible to make these kinds of structures," Zhou said. "It was just very complicated and took many steps. The goal, generally, is to get them by the most direct method possible."

Earlier synthetic processes by the Kürti lab eliminated the need for transition metal-based catalysts in the manufacture of amines in order to simplify the usual and often inefficient trial-and-error approach involved in making new chemical compounds like drugs. Metal-based catalysts that speed up amination - the introduction of amine groups to an organic molecule -- can also contaminate the product, so the new process avoids them as well.

"Our amination method promises to replace a common three-step process to make alpha-aminoketones, and the yield, comparably, is very good," Zhou said. "In the standard process, each step cuts the yield, so one-step process is still superior even if the yields are identical, because it takes less time and there's less risk of something going wrong.

"The last thing you want is to get eight steps from the beginning and then ruin it on the ninth because the conditions are not selective enough," he said. "Cutting steps is always beneficial in organic synthesis."

Kürti was delighted to see his social media accounts light up with congratulations from peers and industrial acquaintances upon publication of the paper.

"There's a new trend toward late-stage functionalization, where companies with an existing library of compounds can take 100 of them and perform an additional step to make 100 new compounds," he said. "So from an intellectual property perspective, our discovery is a great gift to industry. This really is a gem of a find."

###

The National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Robert A. Welch Foundation and Rice University supported the research.

Read the abstract at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.8b13818.

This news release can be found online at https://news.rice.edu/2019/02/08/nitrogen-gets-in-the-fast-lane-for-chemical-synthesis/

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Related materials:

Chemists make strides to simplify drug design and synthesis: http://news.rice.edu/2016/09/12/chemists-make-strides-to-simplify-drug-design-and-synthesis/

Rice scientists simplify the incorporation of nitrogen into molecules: http://news.rice.edu/2017/07/12/rice-scientists-simplify-the-incorporation-of-nitrogen-into-molecules-2/

Greener molecular intermediates may aid drug design: http://news.rice.edu/2017/07/05/greener-molecular-intermediates-may-aid-drug-design-2/

Kürti Research Group: http://kurtilabs.com

Rice Department of Chemistry: https://chemistry.rice.edu

Wiess School of Natural Sciences: https://naturalsciences.rice.edu

Images for download:

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2019/02/0211_KETONES-1-web-26cexaq.jpeg Rice University chemists have discovered a one-step method to turn silicon-based silyl enol ether into nitrogen-bearing alpha-aminoketones, valuable building blocks in chemical design. (Credit: Illustration by Zhe Zhou/Rice University)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2019/02/0211_KETONES-2-web-2c5xbms.jpg

Rice University postdoctoral researcher Zhe Zhou is lead author of a paper on the discovery of a one-step method to turn silicon-based silyl enol ether into nitrogen-bearing alpha-aminoketones, valuable building blocks in chemical design. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2019/02/0211_KETONES-3-web-28ffjza.jpg

A one-step method by synthetic organic chemists at Rice University allows nitrogen atoms to be added to precursor compounds used in the design and manufacture of drugs, pesticides, fertilizers and other products. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2019/02/0211_KETONES-4-web-1yjlx9d.jpg

Rice University researchers László Kürti, left, and Zhe Zhou led an effort to develop a one-step method that allows nitrogen atoms to be added to precursor compounds used in the design and manufacture of drugs, pesticides, fertilizers and other products. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,962 undergraduates and 3,027 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 2 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. To read "What they're saying about Rice," go to http://tinyurl.com/RiceUniversityoverview.

Jeff Falk 713-348-6775 jfalk@rice.edu

Mike Williams 713-348-6728 mikewilliams@rice.edu

This story has been published on: 2019-02-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

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1,000 SCIENTISTS GO PUBLIC WITH DOUBTS ON EVOLUTION

'Careful examination of the evidence of Darwinian theory should be encouraged'

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Charles Darwin

More than 1,000 highly influential scientists from around the world have gone on record with their doubts about Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

The Discovery Institute first published its “Scientific Dissent from Darwinism” list in The New York Review of Books in 2001 to challenge “false” claims from PBS’ series “Evolution.”

PBS had claimed “virtually every scientist in the world believes the theory to be true.”

But biologist Douglas Axe, director of the Biologic Institute, argued peer pressure is obscuring the truth.

Originally, Discovery Institute Chairman Bruce Chapman assembled a list of 100 doctorate-level scientists for the statement.

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Michael Egnor, professor of neurosurgery and pediatrics at State University of New York, Stony Brook, said scientists “know intuitively that Darwinism can accomplish some things, but not others.”

Food Fest's SOS to save our rice

The Park Hotel is hosting a month long celebration of rice till March 10 with the Save Our Rice Campaign

Description: https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/indiatoday/images/default-user.png

Sourish Bhattacharyya

New Delhi

February 10, 2019

UPDATED: February 10, 2019 05:32 IST

Description: https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/indiatoday/images/story/201902/food.png?TKs4gjPiGs0NRF7HU7Gi8CnKOKfNq6JH

Sneh Lata Yadav (first left) and Abhishek Basu of The Park (second from right) with members of the Save Our Rice Campaign at Fire restaurant.

HIGHLIGHTS

· A group of scientists and civil society leaders launched the Save Our Rice Campaign 13 years ago

· Today, over 4,000 of rice varieties survive thanks to the Green Revolution and its emphasis on high-yielding varieties

· The traditional varieties require not more than normal rainfall to survive and can do without chemical crutches

In 1900, India was home to 1.5 lakh varieties of rice, which had been developed by enterprising farmers and hardened by the vagaries of nature over centuries. Today, thanks to the Green Revolution and its emphasis on high-yielding varieties, not more than 4,000 of these varieties survive, mostly in oblivion, in different parts of the country.

For people like you and me, India's rice wealth is limited to the Basmati and Sona Masoori, which come in many varieties and names - yes, they are high-yielding varieties, which were necessary to pull India out of the vicious cycles of droughts and famines, but they are water guzzlers, which makes them a threat to the environment makes them a threat to the environment in states such as Punjab and Haryana, and require heavy doses of pesticides and chemical fertilisers.

The traditional varieties (or folk rice varieties), now languishing in the shadow of these heavy hitters, on the other hand, require not more than normal rainfall to survive and can do without chemical crutches because they have developed natural defences in the centuries during which they have evolved.

They come in different colours - from white and yellow to brown, purple and black) - and they are short-grained and long-grained, loose and sticky. There's rice for every possible use in this country.

To save these home-grown rice varieties from extinction, and to popularise the survivors, a group of scientists and civil society leaders launched the Save Our Rice Campaign 13 years ago, and I got to meet one of the key members of the movement, Sridhar Radhakrishnan, an engineer-turned-rice conservator, who said the organisation had successfully revived 1,500 rice varieties at 15 seed banks run by farmers in six states. His eureka moment occurred in 2007-08, when, while working on a 'biodiversity food festival' at the Women's Christian College in Kanyakumari, he discovered 175 traditional varieties of rice he was not aware of.

These folk rice varieties, though, may not survive for long without a market. "If you don't grow them every year, you won't get the seeds to perpetuate the variety," explained Radhakrishnan.

(The writer is a noted food critic.)

Also Read | Hotel management industry struggling to maintain standards in India: Major problems being faced

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Cong leaders praise State Budget

Source: The Hitavada Date: 09 Feb 2019 14:04:36

Description: http://thehitavada.com/Encyc/2019/2/9/404_02_09_17_Congress_H@@IGHT_431_W@@IDTH_596.jpg

Staff Reporter,

RAIPUR,

Congress leaders praised the State Budget tabled by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday and said that the budget would create new avenues for development of State.

CPCC’s Communication Department Chairman Shailesh Nitin Trivedi termed the State Budget as ‘farmer and village centric’. Trivedi said that the Congress party welcomed the budget and said that the budget would bring prosperity in villages.

Former MLA and State Congress Spokesman Ramesh Warlyani said that there was a hike of 71 per cent for agriculture sector in the budget. The interests of people of all classes and all sectors have been catered to in the State Budget.

Over 20 lakh farmers’ short term agriculture loans worth Rs 10,000 crore have been waived off by the government. Besides, Rs 207 crore irrigation loans have been waived-off, he added.

To sort out crunch of staff in different section of the police department, 2000 new recruitments will be made that would be helpful to provide quick justice to crime victims, he added.

CPCC Secretary and Media Panelist Vikas Tiwari termed the budget as a balanced budget catering to people of all classes. Chhattisgarh Pradesh Mahila Congress Spokesperson Vandana Rajput and Yuva Congress Spokesman Sheikh Mushir also praised the budget.

Budget for all: Jain

WHILE welcoming the State Budget 2019-20, Chairman of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chhattisgarh Chapter Veenu Jain said that the State Government has provided a budget for all. The focus on agriculture, rural economy, health and skill development is highly-appreciable.

Praising the State Budget, Veenu Jain said “The glimpses of budget clearly indicates tremendous focus on rural economy specially the four major identification marks of the state which has to be saved. The ‘Narua, Garua, Ghuruwa, Bari’ water conservation, cattle and cattle field management, solid waste management along with promotion of vegetables and fruit production traditionally”.
He further said that with development at the forte, the focus is on inclusive growth giving due emphasis on basic ecosystem of the economy.

The development perspectives encompass the bottom of the pyramid with pro-dictate towards the farmers, mainly debt waiver of farmers. The budget will help to achieve all round socio-economic growth for all sections of the society, Jain added.

In his reaction, rice miller and Staete Working President of Confederation of All India Traders Parmanand jain Said that several initiatives like Minimum Support Price of Rs 2,500, waiving of farmer’s loan and taxes on irrigation, interest free loan and other welfare schemes for farmers will further boost the production of paddy in the state.

Similarly, government’s decision to provide 35 kg rice to poor families will also increase the intake of custom milling rice which will increase the production through milling from local rice millers. He requested the State Government for reduction in custom milling, transportation, electricity and GST rates and withdrawal of Mandi Tax.

‘Budget fails to identify ‘cause’ of problems’

The State Budget presented by the Chief Minister, Bhupesh Baghel, on Friday has failed to touch the ‘cause’ of the problems rather it has touched the problems only. “Fulfilling the pre-poll promises alone cannot be the solution. The Congress must identify where lies the problems,” said CPI(M) state secretary Sanjay Parate post the budget presentation on Friday.

In a statement released by him on Friday, Parate said that the farmers of the state have been struggling for the MSP for the paddy as per C-2 formula recommended by Swaminathan Commission and complete loan waiver, in the absence of which farmers are forced to commit suicide.

Tribal and poor people of the state demand their land back which was allotted by the previous government to the industrials, he said. No action has been initiated under forest rights in the absence of a policy declaration by the government, he said.He also described the hike of Rs 121 crore in MNREGA budget in comparison to the last budget as meager considering the pending wages of the people. It is to be mentioned, Rs 1,542 crore has been provisioned in the budget this year.

In 2017-18, MNREGA budget was Rs 2,196 crore. The budget has no any assurance for contractual employees,
shikshakarmis and workers of unorganised sector, he said.

http://thehitavada.com/Encyc/2019/2/9/Cong-leaders-praise-State-Budget.aspx

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1,000 SCIENTISTS GO PUBLIC WITH DOUBTS ON EVOLUTION

'Careful examination of the evidence of Darwinian theory should be encouraged'

When Bt brinjal is a failure, why Golden rice?

Marshall researcher reinventing self after grant runs out

Nitrogen gets in the fast lane for chemical synthesis

Comments

1,000 SCIENTISTS GO PUBLIC WITH DOUBTS ON EVOLUTION

'Careful examination of the evidence of Darwinian theory should be encouraged'

Food Fest's SOS to save our rice

The Park Hotel is hosting a month long celebration of rice till March 10 with the Save Our Rice Campaign

HIGHLIGHTS

Cong leaders praise State Budget