Pakistan
sought to model after Singapore economy
SINGAPORE:
With its vast oceanic resources, Pakistan has the potential to take an economic
jump by following in the footsteps of Singapore that has successfully built
itself into a global financial hub, making the most of Blue Economy, a lawmaker
said.
Amjad
Khan Niazi, member of the National Assembly from Mianwali, Chairman Standing
Committee on Defence, said that
“Diplomatic
officials should play a role in boosting ties with the island-city estate in
different economic sectors including maritime trade,” said Amjad Khan Niazi, a
member of the National Assembly, while talking to Pakistani High Commissioner
Rukhsana Afzal in Singapore.
Niazi
said with a population only 5.6 million, Singapore was about two and a half
times smaller than Lahore; however its foreign exchange reserves stood around
$273 billion, volume of trade about $700 billion, and the annual budget more
than $80 billion.
“All
these stats serve as an example and model for a developing country like Pakistan,”
said the lawmaker, who is also the chairman of standing committee on defence.
Niazi
said Prime Minister Imran Khan had a vision that the New Year be made a year of
economic development for Pakistan so the whole nation must contribute to the
this cause.
Talking
about Abdul Lateef Siddiqui, a Pakistan-based global shipping business leader,
Niazi said Siddiqui had presented Prime Minister with a great plan for the
revival of shipping sector in Pakistan, which was duly appreciated by the
premier. “I hope that Abdul Lateef Siddiqui will play his role in the shipping
sector of Pakistan in near future,” the lawmaker said. High Commissioner
Rukhsana Afzal said, “Singapore is one of the major economies of the world and
has been a role model for us, that’s why after assuming charge of this office,
she is doing everything possible to improve economic and trade ties between the
two countries”. “In this regard we launched an aggressive drive for introducing
our agricultural commodities especially fruits and rice with an emphasis on
Pakistani brand, as there are reports that our goods are being sold in
Singapore as “Made in India”.
Rice exporters present
issues to Dawood
By MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN on January 2,
2020
A delegation of Rice Exporters
Association of Pakistan (REAP) on Wednesday met with Prime Minister's Advisor
on Commerce, Industries and Production and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood and
presented issues facing rice exporters.
Chairman REAP, Shah Jahan Malik who
led the delegation told Business Recorder that the Association's delegation
went to the Ministry of Commerce for follow-up of issues which came under
discussion during the last four or five meetings.The Association argues that
rice exporters should be facilitated more as compared to other sectors, as rice
is exported without any subsidy.
Shah Jahan Malik said that rice
exporters faced issues with the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) – a
Department of Ministry of National Food Security and Research, adding that
sometimes the Department did not have sufficient staff due to which inspection
of rice was undertaken on roads.
REAP has also requested the
officials of Commerce Ministry to arrange its meeting with the DPP so that
inspection issues are resolved.
He further stated that the
delegation also shared its presentation to be given to Prime Minister Imran Khan
on rice exports and issues, in the next three or four weeks. He said REAP was
also taking a delegation to Saudi Arabia which also came under discussion with
the Ministry of Commerce. REAP delegation will hold meetings with Saudi buyers.
In reply to another question, he
said, the delegation also sought viewpoint of the Ministry and other relevant
organisations on barter trade deal with Iran. Pakistan is trying to reach a
barter trade deal with Iran since long due to US sanctions but no solution has
been found so far as State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) claims that commercial banks
do not agree to any suggestion fearing sanctions from US.
Answering another question, he said,
Abdul Razak Dawood was a big fan of REAP as rice exporters do not ask for
subsidy.
Shah Jahan Malik claimed rice quota
for China had increased from 150,000MT to 200,000MT for 2019-20
Shipping
Activity At Port Qasim
Six ships Mol Gateway, IVS Crimson Creek, Sea Fortress,
Everrich-7, Gas Amazon and Methane Jane Elizabeth carrying Containers, Coal,
Palm oil, LPG and LNG were arranged berthing at Qasim International Container
Terminal, Pakistan International Bulk Terminal, Port Qasim Electric Power
Terminal, Liquid Cargo Terminal, Engro Vopak Terminal and Pakistan Gasport
Consortium Terminal respectively on Wednesday
KARACHI,
(APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Jan, 2020 ):Six ships Mol Gateway,
IVS Crimson Creek, Sea Fortress, Everrich-7, Gas Amazon and Methane Jane
Elizabeth carrying Containers, Coal, Palm oil, LPG and LNG were arranged
berthing at Qasim International Container Terminal, Pakistan International Bulk
Terminal, Port Qasim Electric Power Terminal, Liquid Cargo Terminal, Engro
Vopak Terminal and Pakistan Gasport Consortium Terminal respectively on
Wednesday.
Meanwhile,
two more ships M.V Reemo and M.V Epic Trade scheduled to load/offload 6,800
tonnes Rice and 56,000 tonnes Coal also arrived at Outer anchorage of Port
Qasim on Thursday morning.
Berth
occupancy remained on high side at the Port where a total of thirteen ships
were engaged at PQA berths to load/offload Containers, Rice, LPG, LNG, Palm
Kernel, Soya Bean, Palm oil and Diesel oil respectively.
Out
of them, four ships Mol Gateway, Maersk Pittsburgh, IVS Oku Dogo and Pacific
Legend sailed out to sea from QICT, PIBT and MW-1 on Thursday morning and two
more ships gas carrier Gas Amazon and Container vessel MSC Antonella are
expected to sail from EVTL and QICT in the afternoon.
A
record cargo handling was achieved at the port on Wednesday where a cargo
volume of 263,628 tonnes, comprising 213,017 tonnes imports cargo and 50,611
tonnes export cargo, inclusive of containerized cargo carried in 3,956
containers (TEUs), (1,650 TEUs imports and 2,306 TEUs exports) was handled.
Three
ships CMA CGM Titus, Hansa America and African Tern carrying containers and General
Cargo are expected take berth at QICT and MW-2 respectively on Thursday.
Southeast
Asia’s Water Troubles Underscore Climate Threat – Analysis
By
Dan Southerland*
Over the past year, growing
environmental threats in Asia have had much to do with water—most importantly
rising seas driven by global warming.
Southeast
Asia is proving to be particularly vulnerable.New studies show that climate
change and rising sea levels will threaten the lives of tens of millions of
people and much of the wildlife in East Asia sooner than had originally been
expected.
A
recent study referred to by some as a “Doomsday Report” suggests that rising
sea levels could flood three times more land than previously predicted.
In
Southeast Asia, if the study prepared by a United Nations Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued in late September 2019 proves accurate,
parts of Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok could be underwater by 2050.
Some
scientists caution that these could be “worst case scenarios.”
But
nonetheless, millions of people in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta could be forced to
flee coastal areas.
The
Mekong, Southeast Asia’s longest river, is where everything may go wrong due to
the impact of man-made dams, rising sea levels, deforestation, and droughts
that alternate with heavy rainfall. And all of this is exacerbated by climate
change.
In
the meantime, contrary to what might seem common sense, some experts say that
due to a combination of these factors the Mekong may someday run dry.
According to scientists, the
Mekong’s banks will be increasingly threatened by the loss of sediment now held
back by upstream hydropower dams in China and Laos as well as by salt
intrusions caused by the rising South China Sea.
Mangrove
trees, which once played a vital role in the Mekong Delta in protecting the
river banks and rice fields from salt intrusions, have disappeared in some
areas.
Mangrove
forests consist of small trees that thrive in saline water. In Vietnam, they
not only guard against salt intrusions into farm land in the southernmost part
of the Mekong Delta but also provide protection for a variety of wildlife.
The
Delta is the main food basket of Vietnam, producing more than 50 percent of the
nation’s goods, 90 percent of its rice exports, and 75 percent of its fish,
which are a main source of protein.
Bu
the Delta still suffers from an ill-advised attempt to expand rice production
by the new Communist rulers of Vietnam when they came to power in the spring of
1975. In order to grow more rice, they encouraged the destruction of the
mangrove swamps which had acted as a buffer to protect farm land from
sea-driven salt.
The impact of ice melting in
the Arctic
A
main source of flooding in places in Southeast Asia is global warming causing
the ice to melt in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Ocean currents carry the
rising seas more than 6,000 miles from the poles to reach cities such as
Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City in Southeast Asia.
In its September issue, the National Geographic magazine explains how the
Arctic tundra is thawing in a cover story by Susan Goldberg titled “The Arctic
is heating up.”
Goldberg
reports that the thawing of the vast, nearly level, treeless plains of the
Arctic known as tundra will speed up global warming.
“The
unexpectedly rapid collapse of ice-rich permafrost, or permanently frozen
subsoil” in the Arctic, Goldberg says, “could pump billions of additional tons
of methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year—a threat that has
yet to be fully accounted for in climate models.”
Scientists
have found that permafrost that once thawed a few inches a year can now thaw up
to 10 feet within days or weeks, “creating wetlands in once frozen regions and
accelerating emissions from up to 1,600 gigabytes of carbon still locked
underground.”
Fires,
once considered rare in the Arctic, are now becoming more common as a warming
climate melts the region. When permafrost thaws near a hillside or a stream or
river, it can trigger a landslide, thus accelerating the thawing.
Arctic lakes once filled with ice
also have begun to melt, allowing microbes to feed on organic material, which
releases greenhouse gases.
In
short, this sounds like a slow-moving, but accelerating catastrophe of which
many around the world are still barely aware.
The greenhouse effect
Gradual
increases in the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere are attributed to a
“greenhouse effect” caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide and other
pollutants. Greenhouse gases collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and
solar radiation. Normally, the radiation escapes into space, but now the
pollutants can last for years in the atmosphere, trap the heat, and cause the
planet to get hotter.
In
the United States, the burning of fossil fuels to make electricity is the
largest source of heat-trapping pollution. The second largest source of carbon
pollution is the transportation sector.
According to The Economist magazine, China was the source of
about 27 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2017. But China, the
magazine says, has been reluctant to curb emissions unless the United States
moves first.
Meanwhile, on the website
GlobalAsia, Matthew A. Shapiro cites atmospheric scientists who report that as
much as 70 percent of Japan and Korea’s air pollution originates in China.
China’s
far-ranging Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), designed to establish land and sea
links with nearly 70 nations at a potential cost of $1 trillion, has brought
warnings from scientists and environments regarding the environmental impact of
its various infrastructure projects.
Following
numerous complaints, China’s President Xi Jinping vowed in the spring of 2019
to make the BRI environmentally friendly, but the experts are still waiting for
measures to be taken to implement his pledge.
Finally,
as noted in previous commentaries, plastic trash piling up in the world’s
oceans is causing the death of a number of marine species. Ever since China
stopped buying trash for recycling, the U.S., European nations, and Southeast
Asian nations have been scrambling to find the best ways of disposing of their plastic
trash.
Top-level attention needed in
Thailand and Vietnam
When
it comes to the rising tides, people in both Thailand and Vietnam appear to be
aware that more water is coming.
But
several friends in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City recently said via email that
the “water problem” isn’t getting the high-level attention that it deserves
from Thai and Vietnamese government leaders.
One
friend in Bangkok joked that some city dwellers might soon be living on
houseboats, with Chinese manufacturers ready to supply them for around $10,000
each.
While
this commentary has focused on Southeast Asia, it’s obvious that rising seas
will have a huge impact in many parts of the world.
As The Japan Times noted in an editorial published in
November 2019, the people hardest hit by rising sea levels will be the millions
who live on small islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans that are only a
meter or two above sea level. They may also be among those least able to cope.
The good news
To
end this commentary on at least one positive note, let’s return to the subject
of those threatened mangrove trees that were mentioned earlier.
The website Smithsonian Ocean says that one shouldn’t
underestimate the ability of mangroves in many locations to prevail.
In
a report on mangrove trees around the world, the Smithsonian says that
“mangroves are survivors.”
With
their roots submerged in water, it says, mangroves thrive in hot, muddy, salty
water conditions that would kill most plants.”
How
do they do it? “Through a filtration system that keeps out much of the salt and
a complex root system that holds the mangroves upright in the shifting
sediments where land and water meet.”
And,
the Smithsonian says, “as scientists are discovering, mangrove swamps are
extremely important to our own wellbeing and to the health of the planet.”
But
the Smithsonian ends with this question: “Will the mangroves be able to survive
the impact of human activities?”
*Dan Southerland is RFA’s
founding executive editor.
GMO crops set to pass biosafety
tests
China Daily, January 2, 2020
A total of 192 genetically modified
plant species－including two corn species and a
soybean species－are expected to pass biosafety
evaluations by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, opening the way
to their commercial use in China.
The ministry released a list of the
genetically modified organisms on Monday to solicit public opinion until Jan
20, and will award biosafety certificates for them if no objections are raised
during the period.
The GMO soybean species, which is
resistant to weedkiller, was developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University and is
suitable to grow in South China. The two GMO corn species feature qualities
such as being resistant to insects and weedkillers, according to the ministry.
In a similar move in 2009, the
ministry awarded biosafety certificates to a genetically modified corn species
and two GMO rice species, but none of them has been approved for commercial
production.
However, insect-resistant GMO
cotton has been grown on more than 31 million hectares across China, helping to
reduce the use of pesticides by more than 70 percent, according to the
ministry.
"After passing safety
evaluations, GMO researchers and developers must complete some other procedures
before the GMO species can be put into commercial use and be available on the
market, including gaining different permits for the production of the seeds and
production of the species," said Wang Xiping, a professor of life sciences
at Beijing Normal University.
Academic opinion generally accepted
that GMO products were safe, she said, but safety evaluation standards varied
in different countries. GMO crops, such as soybeans, were already grown
extensively in countries such as the United States and Brazil, she said.
GMO technology helps improve the
quality of crops, such as making them more productive and resistant to insects,
and therefore also protects the environment through reduced use of pesticides
and fertilizers, Wang said.
Of all agricultural species, only
GMO corn and papaya have been approved for commercial planting in China, while
some GMO plants, such as soybean and corn, are allowed to be exported to China
as material for food processing, according to the ministry.
All GMO products available on the
domestic market have passed strict safety evaluations and are safe, the
ministry said.
The ministry encourages scientific
research and development in GMO technology, but remains cautious in its
commercialization. Commercial promotion efforts will first focus on
agricultural species that cannot be eaten, such as cotton, and products used as
staple food, including rice and soybeans, will come last, it said.
Research into GMO crops in China
started in the 1980s, among the earliest in the world, and breakthroughs in the
research and development of GMO species, such as insect-resistant rice,
drought-resistant wheat and weedkiller-resistant soybeans, have been made in
recent years, according to the ministry.
1m rice farmers ready
for dry season production
By Vincent A. Yusuf |
Jan 2, 2020 5:03 AM
TwitterFacebookWhatsAppTelegram A dry season farm in Mutum-Biyu, Taraba state
…as RIFAN meets CBN, tours producing states …farmers target N650bn income
ADVERTISEMENT No fewer than one million rice farmers are currently been
mobilised to begin massive rice production for the 2019/2020 dry season
programme. ADVERTISEMENT HOW NIGERIAN MEN CAN NOW OVERCOME TERRIBLE BEDROOM
PERFORMANCE AND KICK START A WONDERFUL SEXUAL EXPERIENCE IN THE NEW YEAR The momentum
for this year’s production is fired by the land border closure and the apparent
benefits, among them widening of the internal market. The border shutdown is a
turning point for rice farmers across the country, motivating many who hitherto
left production to return with greater enthusiasm. National president of the
Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, while
speaking with Daily Trust Monday said arrangements have been concluded to
motivate one million farmers nationwide under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
Anchor Borrowers’ scheme. “The major preparation that we started is that the
CBN invited RIFAN last week; met with us and gave us the nod to quickly
identify the participating farmers and also gave us the go-ahead to do
everything possible to achieve more production in the dry season that is
already in place. “And he (the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele) has given us the
go-ahead to consider at least one million farmers for the dry season which, by
extension if we are able to achieve that one million, five million metric tons
will be produced,” Alhaji Goronyo stated. Following the directive, the RIFAN
president has begun a tour of the major producing areas to motivate and
mobilise farmers to meet the five million tons target. “I’m on a tour to all
the producing states. I started touring Sokoto, Kebbi, and will be going to
Zamfara, Taraba, Cross River, Ogun, Ekiti, Ebony and Anambra, virtually all the
producing states,” he said, emplaning that the dry season was already in place
virtually across the country and the preparation was in top gear to make sure
that there are enough paddies for millers to mill for consumers in the country.
No shortage of seeds, fertiliser For the dry season, the leader of the rice
farmers does not envisage any problem occurring in the areas of availability of
quality seeds and fertiliser. “As I’m talking to you, we have more than enough
fertiliser in all the production areas that we have already deployed; the seeds
also are already there. “In Cross River, we have signed a MoU to work with
Governor Ayade who has a seedling factory that has enough to cater for all the
farmers that are going to transplant during the cultivation period. So we don’t
have problem with fertiliser and seed,” he stated. Aminu Goronyo stressed that
the CBN has provided all the necessary support, particularly in those two
items, adding that they also have major companies that are supplying
agrochemicals for the control of weeds, and also herbicides. If everything goes
well and the farmers harvest five million tons on an average of five tons per
hectares, they will rake in N650 billion for the dry season alone on an average
of N130,000 per metric ton, which is currently the case in some markets across
the country.
A piece of advice for farmers The
RIFAN president advised farmers that they should give adequate attention to
their business because rice production today is a business. “They should know
that the president has directed that the entire land border should be closed;
it is a big opportunity for those farmers to capitalise on the presidential
directive so that what they produce will easily be consumed by millers who will
purchase, mill and sell. “They should pay proper attention to continue to
harness the opportunities that are available around that initiative of border
closure,” he said.
Kiko Pangilinan calls for focus
on climate crisis, food security in 2020
Franco Luna (Philstar.com) - January 1,
2020 - 11:42am
MANILA,
Philippines — Sen. Francis Pangilinan called for a sharpened focus in the areas
of climate change and food security, citing higher prices triggered by TRAIN
Law, low farmers' incomes and the natural disasters that came at 2019's end.
"Produksyon
ng pagkain o ang pagsasaka at pangingisda ang mga unang naaapektuhan
nito," the senator said in a statement on Tuesday night, referring to the
global climate crisis.
"Sundin
natin ang mga panawagan ng mga scientists na ibaba ang ating tinatawag na
carbon footprint at bawasan ang polusyon."
(Food
production or farming and fishing are the first things that this climate crisis
affects. We should heed the calls of scientists to lower what we call our
carbon footprint and lessen pollution.)
He
also pointed to the Rice Tarriffication Law, which he said only doubled the
existing burdens of rice farmers.
As
of the fourth week of November 2019, data from the Philippine Statistics
Authority (PSA) recorded the average farmgate price of palay at P15.57 per
kilo.
But
farmers themselves have said that the actual price, particularly in far-flung
areas, plunge to as low as P7 per kilo, much lower than their production cost
of around P12.
Data from the US Department of
Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service showed that the Philippines imported the most rice in the world
even over China whose population is over a billion.
And
according to a statement by the PSA in December, the Philippines is
steadily relying more and more on food imports to ensure sufficient supply and
to stabilize prices. Economists, too, have said that the top-importer status
was only an indication of the country stocking up and said that it should even
out eventually.
The
senator also called for stricter policy in a number of areas, namely single-use
plastic, rainwater management, urban agriculture, organic farming, solid waste
importation, food waste reduction, electric and hybrid vehicles incentives,
national mangrove forest protection, expanded crop insurance, post-harvest
facilities, among others.
A 2015 report by the Ocean
Conservancy and McKinsey Center for Business and Environment on plastic
pollution ranked the Philippines as the
third-biggest source of plastic waste in the oceans just after China and
Indonesia.
Pangilinan
has filed a bill to ban single-use plastics.
The
Single-Use Plastics Regulation and Management Bill bans food establishments,
stores, markets, and retailers from issuing single-use plastic items.
On
the front of solid waste management, the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources in 2019 penned a policy looking to temporarily ban all
waste imports entering the country.
This, while the National
Mangrove Forest Protection and Preservation Act of 2019 is listed as pending in the committee
level as of July 24, 2019.
Typhoon Tisoy (international name
Kammuri) which came in the first week of December 2019, brought with it
agricultural damages amounting to P2.097 billion, while those of Typhoon Ursula
(international name Phanfone) stood at over P1 billion.
Farmers
affected by the Rice Tarriffication Law say that the law's Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) and related programs from the
government did litte to alleviate their circumstances.
Last
August, Bantay Bigas spokesperson and Amihan Secretary-General Cathy
Estavillo said that the fund seemed to only exist "[t]o show that there is
government support to affected rice farmers."
Sen.
Risa Hontiveros last December also urged the administration to include
rice infrastructure initiatives in the Build, Build, Build flagship program to
ease strains on the agriculture sector.
"Nawa'y
maging 20-20 ang pagtingin ng taumbayan sa katotohanan sa 2020,"
Pangilinan said.
In Odisha
district, scientists team up to give farmers a new future
The farming is being supervised
by top scientists from the Lucknow-based Central Institute of Medicine and
Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), while the roses are being monitored by scientists from
National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI).
Written by Sampad Patnaik |
Nabarangpur |Updated: December 22, 2019 8:40:06 am
In
one of India’s poorest districts, a team of scientists from premier central
government institutes have joined hands to help farmers find new life — and
hope.
“They
are helping me improve farming,” says Krishna Chandra Nayak, 35, standing
amidst his seven acres in Saruguda village. And his calculations on a writing
pad tell a story of economic revolution through scientific inputs in
agriculture.
Nayak
is one of 5,000 farmers in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district, chosen and mentored
under a project called ‘Farm-Based S&T Interventions for Socioeconomic
Development’ being jointly implemented by 12 central R&D institutes and an
18-member district-level committee of the state government.
The
project is being run under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) on a budget
of over Rs 6.5 crore over two years. The farmers were chosen through rigorous
field visits across the district to select those who could take the risk of
switching from traditional crops to high-value crops — and were willing to
accept new methods.
In
2015, Nabarangpur was the focus of a year-long assigment by The Indian Express to track progress and
poverty, following which the state government initiated a number of welfare and
governance initiatives in the district.
With
top institutes involved in the farm project since August, Nayak is growing
lemon grass, turmeric, palmarosa (a grass species) and tulsi. He has started a
fish pond and a rose garden, while his fields are fenced by mango, sapota and
litchi trees.
“This
is a dry and hilly area, where the soil does not hold moisture. It makes more
sense to grow these high-value crops than paddy, which is comparatively water-
and labour-intensive, and yields lower profits,” he says.
The
farming is being supervised by top scientists from the Lucknow-based Central
Institute of Medicine and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), while the roses are being
monitored by scientists from National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI).
Today,
Nayak is confident of a profit of Rs 20,000 from just one crop of lemon grass
in two acres. The turmeric will yield a profit of Rs 25,000 per acre, he hopes.
The diversification of production basket, he says, over seven acres will give
him upwards of Rs 3 lakh in profit.
He
contrasts this with the “zero income” that much of the land used to yield
because it was “unsuitable for paddy”. “Most of the land was uncultivated and a
small portion was used for paddy for mostly domestic consumption,” he says.
Former
Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi, who proposed the project and brought the
Centre and state together to work on it, is convinced that science and
technology is of more value to the district’s nearly two lakh farmers than loan
waivers, money transfers, and subsidies.
“In
the plateau area of Nabarangpur, people hardly eat root and green vegetables.
There was no high intensity fishery, either. At 250 kg/ha, Nabarangpur’s
fertiliser consumption, especially in corn cultivation, was staggering against
a state average of 50kg/ha. To earn a decent income from agriculture and
consume quality produce, one has to understand and apply science and technology
and practice alternative farming (high-value crops over paddy),” says Majhi.
The
institutes involved are mentoring a diverse group of farmers. For instance,
Bhubaneswar’s Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) is training in pisciculture and
poultry rearing around 173 ST, 17 SC and 28 OBC families. CIMAP will mentor 60
women Self Help Groups in making incense sticks out of tulsi leaves.
Farmers
are also being helped to grow Citronella, which yields an essential oil that is
used in insect and especially mosquito repellents, while palmarosa oil is an
ingredient in soaps and cosmetics, says CIMAP senior scientist Prashant Rout.
“The
state government will package and brand these (citronella and palmarosa)
products and sell them directly to stores, as well as put up stalls in government
fairs held across 30 districts of Odisha,” says Uma Maheshwar, who heads the
Nabarangpur district wing of Odisha Rural Marketing Society.
Irfan
Khan owns over seven hectares of water stretch (ponds) in which he is
practising pisciculture under guidance of Central Institute of Freshwater
Aquaculture (CIFA). “To get Rs 12,000 worth brood stock of fish I used to
travel up to Sambalpur and spend another Rs 10,000 on fuel, food and lodgings.
Even then, the quality (of fingerlings) was not great,” says Irfan. “Now CIFA
has stocked my ponds with top notch breeds like Jayanti Rohi, improved catla.”
CIFA’s
Principal Scientist S S Mishra lands at Irfan’s property to inspect and advise.
“Nabarangpur is a low alkaline area so we must add limestone powder and
maintain pH. The fish feed must be given correctly. The fish have to be
protected against fish lice, skin fluke,” says Mishra.
In
Papadahandi block, Dhansingh Batra, who owns only two acres, is elated to be
advised by Dr K Lakshminarayana of Central Tuber Crops Research Institute
(CTCRI) on how to plant his sweet potato crop so that the vines don’t retain
moisture and rot.
“Earlier
this year, I made a profit of Rs 15,000 on five quintals of sweet potato grown
on only 0.2 acres of land,” says Batra. “I have kept another quintal for
consumption by family and friends. I used to grow corn that gave me a profit of
only Rs 20,000 from one acre.”
GMO crops set to pass biosafety tests
Soybeans are harvested in
Heilongjiang province. (Xinhua/LU WENXIANG)
Move would clear way for 192 plants
to be grown commercially in China
A total of 192 genetically modified
plant species－including two corn species and a
soybean species－are expected to pass biosafety
evaluations by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, opening the way
to their commercial use in China.
The ministry released a list of the
genetically modified organisms on Monday to solicit public opinion until Jan
20, and will award biosafety certificates for them if no objections are raised
during the period.
The GMO soybean species, which is
resistant to weedkiller, was developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University and is
suitable to grow in South China. The two GMO corn species feature qualities
such as being resistant to insects and weedkillers, according to the ministry.
In a similar move in 2009, the
ministry awarded biosafety certificates to a genetically modified corn species
and two GMO rice species, but none of them has been approved for commercial
production.
However, insect-resistant GMO
cotton has been grown on more than 31 million hectares across China, helping to
reduce the use of pesticides by more than 70 percent, according to the
ministry.
"After passing safety
evaluations, GMO researchers and developers must complete some other procedures
before the GMO species can be put into commercial use and be available on the
market, including gaining different permits for the production of the seeds and
production of the species," said Wang Xiping, a professor of life sciences
at Beijing Normal University.
Academic opinion generally accepted
that GMO products were safe, she said, but safety evaluation standards varied
in different countries. GMO crops, such as soybeans, were already grown
extensively in countries such as the United States and Brazil, she said.
GMO technology helps improve the
quality of crops, such as making them more productive and resistant to insects,
and therefore also protects the environment through reduced use of pesticides
and fertilizers, Wang said.
Of all agricultural species, only
GMO corn and papaya have been approved for commercial planting in China, while
some GMO plants, such as soybean and corn, are allowed to be exported to China
as material for food processing, according to the ministry.
All GMO products available on the
domestic market have passed strict safety evaluations and are safe, the
ministry said.
The ministry encourages scientific
research and development in GMO technology, but remains cautious in its
commercialization. Commercial promotion efforts will first focus on
agricultural species that cannot be eaten, such as cotton, and products used as
staple food, including rice and soybeans, will come last, it said.
Research into GMO crops in China
started in the 1980s, among the earliest in the world, and breakthroughs in the
research and development of GMO species, such as insect-resistant rice,
drought-resistant wheat and weedkiller-resistant soybeans, have been made in
recent years, according to the ministry.
Policy
Picks: Regulatory stories from China, Japan, India and more feature in our
round-up
02-Jan-2020 - Last
updated on 02-Jan-2020 at 02:07 GMT
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Regulatory
stories from China, Japan, India and more feature in this edition of Policy
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Regulatory
stories from China, Japan, India and more feature in this edition of Policy
Picks.
China registration rules: Foreign food
companies must now pass ‘expert panel’ reviews
Foreign food companies seeking registration approval
for both plant and animal products in China will need to pass the review of two
‘expert panels’ formed by selected customs officers, as recently emphasised by
an updated set of regulations published on the country’s customs website.These updated rules are under the purview of the Department of Animals and Plants of the General Administration of Customs (GAC) of China, and apply to all companies dealing with the production, processing and storage of animals, plants and the related products who wish to apply for the registration of these in the country.
In the updated regulatory document as published by GAC on November 29, after an application is received from any foreign company that fits the above criteria, an initial documentation review will take place before the application is accepted.
After acceptance, the department will then take steps to form an expert panel to review the application.
Premium protection: Japan plans to
strengthen IPs for high-end fruit and veggies
Japan is looking to strengthen intellectual
property (IP) control over its premium fruits and vegetables being sold overseas in an effort to
stop its high-end agricultural crops from being grown, and ultimately sold as
the produce of other countries.According to the country’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), amongst the crops that have been impacted by failure to properly implement IP control overseas have included the high-end Shine Muscat grapes which have been grown by other countries such as China and Korea.
FoodNavigator-Asia has confirmed with MAFF that one of the proposed initiatives for this is for the ministry to appoint a private organisation next year to work on the IP protection of new Japan-cultivated fruits and vegetables.
Milking it? Indian regulator puts onus
on industry for self-testing and monitoring
The Food Safety and Standards Authority
of India (FSSAI) has just released its new Action Plan for Safe
and Quality Milk and Milk Products, with the majority of actions targeted at
self-testing or self-monitoring by
dairy companies, farmers and consumers.The plan comprised of 12 points of action, and was based on the previously-released National Milk Safety and Quality Survey 2018, the results of which have previously been disputed by various parties despite the agency’s insistence that these had successfully ‘dispelled wide-spread perception that liquid milk in the country is largely adulterated’.
“The outcome of the survey is a myth buster. The survey results indicate clearly that milk being sold in India is largely safe for consumption. [Let] the fears associated with consumption of milk vanish,” FSSAI said previously.
In a new statement on this latest action plan, FSSAI continued to claim that ‘only 7% [of] milk samples had contaminants or adulterants that rendered such milk unsafe’, and that the 12-point action plan would ‘ensure the safety and quality of milk and milk products in the country’.
“These actions are broadly in three areas, namely – Testing and continued surveillance, Preventive and corrective action for implementation and monitoring, and Consumer engagement,” said the agency.
Closer scrutiny of the 12 points of action in the ‘Action Plan on site’ which FoodNavigator- Asia has viewed courtesy of FSSAI has revealed that many of these are very heavily reliant on self-testing and self-monitoring, whether by dairy companies, farmers or consumers.
Philippines rice saga: Government
confirms stricter import controls despite President’s pledge to ban them
The Philippines Department of
Agriculture (DA) has opted to control rice imports
and prices, even
though President Rodrigo Duterte previously said all imports would be halted.This is the latest development in a long line of confusing and seemingly contradictory statements and policies.
Duterte originally signed the rice tariffication law and removed import caps earlier this year in February in an attempt to bring down rice shortages and severe price hikes in the Philippines.
A huge amount of rice entered the country after this was passed, easing the then-precarious situation.
However, nine months on, Duterte announced at a press conference earlier this month that he had ordered Agriculture Secretary William Dar to suspend all imports of rice in order to help local farmers suffering as a result of rice importation, and called on the government to buy local rice at farmgate prices instead.
The DA later said that this could not be done without amending the rice tariffication law, and Duterte said he had been misunderstood'.
Better late than never? New Zealand
government finally responds to industry’s anti-obesity plan
The New Zealand government has finally
responded to the country’s Food and Beverage
Industry Taskforce on Addressing Factors Contributing to Obesity’s report and its list of 51 recommendations.The taskforce’s report and recommendations had been submitted to the Ministry of Health and Food Safety in December 2018.
Minister of Health Dr David Clark and Minister of Food Safety Damien O’Connor responded to taskforce secretariat representative Katherine Rich in November 2019, making it almost a full year before the taskforce received a response.
In the letter, which FoodNavigator-Asia has viewed courtesy of Rich, the ministers apologised for the delay in response and commended the taskforce for its efforts, then expressed support for the ‘principles underlying the report’s recommendations’.
They also proceeded to urge that 14 of the 51 recommendations be prioritised in alignment with the WHO’s Essential Nutrition Actions workstreams that surround reformulation, nutritional quality of foods, labelling and information, as well as marketing foods and non-alcoholic drinks to children.
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Deserve No
Leniency: Prime Minister
Wed 01st January 2020 | 10:58 PM
Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday
said the adulterators of the foodstuff did not deserve any leniency as they had
been amassing money at the cost of public health and by inflicting harms on the
lives of consumers
ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Jan, 2020
) :Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday said the adulterators of the
foodstuff did not deserve any leniency as they had been amassing money at the cost of public health and by inflicting harms on
the lives of consumers.
He directed continuation of strict action against such elements
and observed that provision of relief to the common man was among the top priorities of the government.
The prime minister made the observations while
chairing a high level meeting to review prices of daily use commodities, including flour,
rice, ghee, sugar, pulses and vegetables etc.
He also stressed upon the need for taking further effective steps
to bring down the prices of daily use commodities through an effective
strategy.
He observed that in the past, need to take comprehensive steps
along with framing of a mechanism to keep check on adulteration and difference
between the demand and supply, had been neglected, but the present government had been paying due attention to those
issues.
Expressing his deep concerns over the ratio of adulteration in the
daily use commodities, he termed it an inhuman cruelty, which was also a cause
of increase in fatal diseases. Such aspects had been altogether ignored the
past, he added.
The prime minister emphasized upon the use of
modern technology to discourage the practice and also
directed for ending the issue of hoarding as well.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Dr Kazim apprised the meeting
that the provincial government had been continuing the drive against
adulteration under a sustained strategy ensuring collaboration among all the departments concerned.
He said so far about 20,000 inspections were made under which
3,500 notices had been issued, besides imposition of about Rs 7 million as fine. About 200,000 kilograms / liters goods were
destroyed and 400 spots were sealed.
The overall stability was witnessed among the prices of different
commodities, and due to certain steps, the price of Basmati rice witnessed a reduction of
Rs16 per kg, of local tomato Rs 55 per kg and of Daal Mash Rs 2 per kg, he
added.
For the purpose, the chief secretary said an advertisement
campaign was launched for the public awareness while special classes had been
started in the educational institutes.
The KP chief secretary further said utilization of
modern technology and geo-tagging were also being made,
whereas special attention was paid on the standard of those items.
The prime minister was further apprised that 73
Kissan markets had been established in 28 districts of
the province where the farmers sold their produce directly.
Punjab Chief Secretary Major (Retd) Azam Suleman apprised that a
committee had been constituted under the direction of prime minister to take stock of the demand and
supply and for making of certain estimates.
He said the Punjab Food Authority had inspected 29,500
places. From the previous month's figures, reduction in
the prices of tomato, onion and potato was witnessed whereas stability in the
prices of flour, rice, edible oil, pulses and sugar was observed. He linked the hike
in prices of chicken with the weather conditions and increase in its demand.
The chief secretary, giving further figures, said tomato price was reduced by Rs 40 per kg, potato Rs 12,
and those of flour and rice reduced by Rs 2 to 3.
He said "Qeemat" application had been launched in Rawalpindi to control price hike and so far 600,000 residents had
downloaded it. The resolution of complaints through that application
had been achieved by 99 per cent. With that facility, any complaint could be
redressed within two hours, he added.
Suleman said for provision of daily-use commodities at the
doorsteps of residents, an online home delivery system had been formally
launched in Rawalpindi. A total of 32 model bazaars had been set up
in 19 districts of Punjab province whereas places for establishment
of such bazaars had been identified in 95 tehsils.
The food and vegetable grading system, he apprised,
had commenced in Lahore and Faisalabad which would be gradually expanded to
the whole province.
He further said through the Radio Frequency Identification (RID
System), CCTVs and price magistrates, continuous monitoring of the
fruits and vegetables markets was being made.
The chief secretary said complete record of the edible commodities
was maintained and so far 82 Kissan markets had been established.
The Sindh chief secretary and Balochistan secretary industries also apprised the
meeting about the steps taken to control adulteration in the foodstuff and
presented comparative figures of the prices of the daily use items in the rural
and urban areas.
The prime minister said he would review the measures
through video conference every week. He noted that interaction with the
provincial governments regarding their experiences over public related issues
was conducive, hinting that the practice would continue regularly.
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