Friday, March 13, 2020

12th March,2020 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter


Metro Manila has sufficient rice supply, says NFA
ABS-CBN News
Posted at Mar 11 2020 07:59 PM | Updated as of Mar 11 2020 08:06 PM
MANILA - Metro Manila has sufficient rice supply in case the capital region is placed under lockdown to prevent a possible widespread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the National Food Authority (NFA) said Wednesday.
“There are still rice stocks in the households and the commercial sector, which comprise the great portion of rice stocks in the market,” NFA Administrator Judy Carol Dansal said in a statement. 
Dansal said the capital has at least 455,000 bags of rice, "good for 40 days," at 10 percent market participation.
The country's grains procurement agency said the transfer to Metro Manila of more than 2,000,000 bags of rice from nearby provinces is being fast tracked to ensure supply sufficiency for the region.
"[Metro Manila] will receive 311,920 bags from Region 1; 1,000,000 bags from Region 02; and 912,200 bags from Region 03," said NFA.
As of now, the total government rice inventory is 9.636 million bags, according to the NFA. This is equivalent to 14.5-day rice consumption requirement of the whole country at 661,930 bags.
Under Republic Act No. 11203, the NFA is mandated to maintain a sufficient level of rice supply for emergency or calamity situations. The agency will sell rice through government agencies and other concerned parties.
There is no official order on a Metro Manila lockdown despite the rising number of COVID-19 cases. President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said it was too early to declare a lockdown as the country has “not reached that kind of contamination.”

Japanese Govt. donates N26m rice mill project to Edo ON MARCH 11, 202012:20 PMIN NEWS Japanese Government has donated a rice mill worth over N26 million to Edo Government as part of efforts to facilitate rice production and improve livelihood in the state. Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yutaka Kikuta, said this while addressing journalists in Benin after a courtesy visit to the Secretary to Edo Government, Mr Osarodion Ogie, at Government House in Benin on Tuesday. Kikuta commended the achievements of Obaseki-led administration in the agriculture sector, saying the visit was to inform the governor of the commissioning and hand over of the Japanese project to the state. He said the Japanese Government Rice Mill project was constructed at Ugbekpe-Ekperi Community of Etsako Central Local Government Area of the state. ALSO READ: Anti-CDA law: Edo govt arrests, charges land grabber to court He said that the project would enhance farmers’ income and foster socio-economic development of communities in the state. He said the project, worth over N26 million included the provision of rice parboiling building, parboiling equipment, hauler, husker, soaking tanks, steaming tanks, a generator, and bagging machine, among others. He said the gesture was among the Japanese Embassy’s grassroots grant assistance to improve the quality of rice production in Edo State. He added that the Japanese Government had also signed exchange of note for the project to increase the diagnostic capacity of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to fight against infectious diseases.

Read more at:
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/03/japanese-govt-donates-n26m-rice-mill-project-to-edo/

Indian Consulate cautions traders after rice scam in Dubai

Advisory comes after first arrest in Dh15.38 million scam uncovered by Gulf News

Published:  March 11, 2020 16:38Mazhar Farooqui, Features Editor - Special Reports

Indian Consulate Dubai release tweet in reaction to a Gulf News exclusiveImage Credit: Twitter
Dubai: The Indian Consulate in Dubai has urged Indian traders, particularly those dealing in rice to do their due diligence so that they don’t end up falling victim to scams. The warning comes a day after Gulf News reported about the first arrest in the Dh15.38 million rice export scam which the newspaper uncovered in July 2019.
Sharing the Gulf News report on twitter, the Indian consulate said: “This was a big scam. Indian traders especially those in rice should take due precautions on terms and mode of payment to avoid such situations.”


This was a big scam. Indian traders especially those in rice should take due precautions specially on terms and mode of payment to avoid such situations.
Gulf News: Dubai Police make first arrest in Dh15 million rice scam
https://gn24.ae/988332cc8e5f000 

Dubai Police make first arrest in Dh15 million rice scam


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Scores of mill-owners from India were left baffled and devastated after 6,000 tonnes of rice shipped by them to Dubai in 250 containers vanished without a trace between March and April last year.
Last Friday, Dubai police arrested a 52-year-old Indian suspect for his alleged involvement in the crime.
One of the victims, Vipin Goel, who air-dashed to Dubai on Monday said he has recorded his statement with the police.
“I also met officials at the Indian consulate and apprised them of the devlopments. They have assured all help,” said Goel.


Rice inventory increases 10.9% in February

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AFP
THE NATIONAL rice inventory rose 10.9% year-on-year to 2.375 million metric tons (MT) in February, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said, following a substantial increase in holdings by the National Food Authority (NFA).
In its Rice and Corn Stocks Inventory report, the PSA said rice held by households rose 1.3% to 1.045 million MT while those of commercial warehouses rose 3.7% to 841.15 thousand MT.
NFA inventories rose 64.2% to 488.68 thousand MT.
On a month-on-month basis, the national rice inventory was down 11.2%, with household stocks falling 12.7%, those of commercial warehouses down 11.6%, and NFA stocks declining 6.9%.
Meanwhile, corn inventories in February fell 16.3% year-on-year to 654.52 thousand MT.
Stocks of corn held by households rose 4.9% year-on-year to 153.10 thousand MT, while commercial warehouses held 501.42 thousand MT, down 21.1%.



The NFA has not stocked corn in the past two years.
Month-on-month, the household corn inventory declined 27.1% while commercial stocks fell 16.7%.
Separately, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said the Philippines’ milled rice production is projected to be stable at 12 million metric tons (MT) in March.
In its Grain: World Markets and Trade report, the USDA added that rice imports for the month will also be steady at 2.5 million MT, as will estimated consumption at 14.4 million MT.

Vietnam overtakes Thailand in rice exports

TREA, the association of Thai rice exporters, on February 12 said Thailand may lose its position as the second largest rice exporter when setting up the goal of exporting 7.5 million tons this year, a 7-year low.
TREA’s president Chookiat Ophaswongse said Thailand may fall into the third position, while Vietnam would jump into the second position.
Vietnam hasn't had production cost problems and therefore, its rice price would be more competitive.


Vietnam may outstrip Thailand to become the second biggest rice exporter, but that is not a priority for exporters.

Duong Van Chin, director of Dinh Thanh Agriculture Research Center, an arm of Loc Troi Group, said the time for Vietnam to try to increase export volume is over.

“Vietnam doesn’t need the first or second position. We’d rather be in the fourth or fifth position, and sell high-quality products at good prices,” Chin said.

Vietnam has two major export groups of products – white long-grain rice and white fragrant rice. The former is sold at $350-400 per ton, which can compete with Thailand, India and Pakistan.
TREA, the association of Thai rice exporters, on February 12 said Thailand may lose its position as the second largest rice exporter when setting up the goal of exporting 7.5 million tons this year, a 7-year low.

Meanwhile, its white fragrant rice is now t as good as the products from other countries. Vietnam’s white fragrant rice is sold at $600 per ton, while Thailand’s is at $1,000 and India $1,200.

Chin thinks that Vietnam needs to improve the quality of fragrant rice by growing special varieties such as Loc Troi 28 and ST25.

The varieties have been recognized as the most delicious in the world. However, many things still need to be done to organize large-scale production and find markets.

First of all, the varieties need to be recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) as official varieties. After that, the creators of the varieties need to cooperate with enterprises to multiply seeds and produce tens of thousand of tons of certified rice. About 1,000 enterprises with 3,000-4,000 hectares of material growing areas for each are needed.

Previously, export companies collected rice from different sources and the rice was cultivated in different fields. The quality of the rice and pesticide residues differed.

This needs to be changed. Enterprises have to control the farmers’ cultivation process to provide high-quality rice for domestic market and export.

Regarding market development, Chin said Vietnamese enterprises should not focus on exporting products to China, because the market is unpredictable.

“There are nearly 200 countries in the world that can consume Vietnam’s tropical farm produce,” he said.

Rice exporters told to keep 5% of stock for local market
Wednesday,  3/11/2020, 20:14 
The Saigon Times Daily
Rice is being loaded onto a vessel. Rice exporters have been told to set aside a volume of rice equivalent to at least 5% of their rice shipments from the previous six months - PHOTO: VNA
HCMC - The Ministry of Industry and Trade's Import-Export Department has requested rice exporters to set aside a volume of rice equivalent to at least 5% of their rice shipments from the previous six months to meet the rising demand on the local market.
Traders are told to improve their distribution systems in such a way that allow them to supply rice to the market at the instruction of competent State agencies so as to help stabilize the market in the midst of coronavirus fears. The past few days have seen consumers boost purchase of rice and other necessities due to virus fears.
In fact, local supply is guaranteed due to high output and stagnant rice exports over the past months.
Since early this year, developments on the global market have significantly affected Vietnam’s rice exports. Specifically, other countries have boosted their rice volumes, while the demand for rice in Vietnam’s traditional markets, such as China, Indonesia and Malaysia, has dropped, the Government news website reported.
Further, the Philippines as a key buyer of Vietnam's rice has enhanced its control over rice imports.
To meet the rice export target assigned by the prime minister and effectively deploy Decree 107/2018/ND-CP on rice exports, the Import-Export Department has also required the Departments of Industry and Trade of localities and the Vietnam Food Association to encourage rice exporters to continue improving their infrastructure and increasing the added value of their products, contributing to building the Vietnamese rice brand.
They should closely monitor rice prices in their localities and report any volatility to the departments as well as coordinate with the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development in their localities to instruct cooperatives and farmers to apply new production processes to ensure the quality of rice for export.

Rice farmers struggle during drought season

Pech Sotheary / Khmer Times 

For more than four months, people living in some rural areas in the provinces of Pursat and Battambang have been suffering from water shortages. Canals, streams and ponds have dried due to high temperatures during this year’s dry season. Khmer Times reporter Pech Sotheary spoke to affected farmers to highlight their plight and local government officials to find out what solutions are in the pipeline for people who rely on crop cultivation for a living.

Pursat and Battambang provinces – Phay Seap is grinding chilli in front of her house in Pursat’s Boeng Khna commune in Bakan district as she tells a story on how much hotter the weather has been this year.
“We cannot cultivate dry-season rice this year because our ponds, streams and canals have almost completely dried up,” the 53-year-old farmer says.
“The situation this year is different than in previous years – we were able to cultivate rice at least twice per year then. The drought period this year has lasted for too long,” Ms Seap adds.
She says that today many farmers in her area have not experienced rainfall since November.
“When water sources dried, we had many difficulties irrigating crops,” Ms Seap says. “Some villagers even lack water to drink – they have had to buy water for 35,000 riels [about $8.50] per container.”
“The water from the container would only last for up to 10 days,” she adds.
Dok Chanry, 38, from the same commune, says one of her brothers had to migrate to Thailand to work as a construction worker for extra income because her family is lacking food due to the drought.
“There is a shortage of water for daily use and dry-season rice cultivation this year,” Ms Chanry says. “Some villagers moved to Phnom Penh, Preah Sihanouk province and Thailand.”
“If there were canals with sufficient water stored, we would be able to stay home and cultivate rice two to three times per year,” she adds. “We would be able to have enough to eat and sell. We were able to grow chillies, cucumbers and cabbage.”
Agriculture is a driving factor for the Kingdom’s economy, but despite having land and natural water sources, irrigation system development is lacking.
In 2016, the Japan International Cooperation Agency granted concessional loans worth $60 million to rehabilitate and restore West Tonle Sap irrigation systems.
The restoration project targets six areas in the provinces of Kampong Chhnang, Pursat and Battambang, where about 8,500 families on more than 13,000 hectares will benefit.
The project is currently at 90 percent completion.
Phal Phally, a resident living near a canal being revitalised by JICA in Sampov Meas district, says he hopes the project in his area will be completed soon.
“The drought this year has lasted long due to natural factors and climate change,” Mr Phally says. “We do not have enough water to cultivate dry-season rice twice per year like before.”
Farmers in Battambang province’s Moung Russei district are also speaking up over the shortage of water this year.
Moul Moeun, head of the Chrey farming community in the district, says JICA helped form the community in 2010 through education.
In Sovanmony speaks to farmers about the drought they face. KT/Pech Sotheary
Mr Moeun says JICA taught farmers cultivation techniques and rice grains reproduction.
He says community farmers benefited greatly from JICA’s education initiatives as many of them were able to consistently cultivate rice.
“We were able to cultivate 198 tonnes of rice last year [during dry and rainy seasons], but because of the drought this year, we have only been able to harvest 98 tonnes [during the last rainy season].”
In Sovanmony, a deputy director of the Battambang agriculture department, says some of the 360,000 hectares of land used to cultivate rice in the province are affected by drought.
“Since the end of the rainy season in September, we have had no rain at all,” Mr Sovanmony said. “In November, water started drying up, which created a difficult situation for farmers. We need water sources so farmers can harvest.”
“For the dry season, the government has issued a sub-decree advising farmers against cultivating rice twice,” he adds. “Farmers would lose money if they try to plant crops during the drought.”
“Some farmers are not following this sub-decree and still choose to cultivate rice twice [during the dry season],” Mr Sovanmony says.
So Sahong, Kravanh district governor in Pursat, says farmers in his area have not been following government instructions.
“In terms of daily food consumption, there has been no shortage,” he says. “However, the farmers need more income so they have been trying to cultivate dry-season rice.”
He says some people in his district migrated to other provinces and even abroad to generate income for their families.
Moul Moeun says JICA helped form a rice-growing community in Sampov Meas district. KT/Pech Sotheary
Prime Minister Hun Sen in November issued a directive calling on farmers to limit their harvest due to water shortages.
The Water Resources Ministry on Mondareported 23,000 hectares of rice land in Pursat and more than 18,035 hectares in Battambang were salvaged after the government deployed water pumps and trucks.
The ministry also reported farmlands in 13 other provinces were saved.
Chan Youttha, a spokesman for the ministry, says shortages of water in Pursat and Battambang are attributed to El Nino and two other weather phenomena.
Mr Youttha says the authorities and civil society groups are working to supply drinking water in needed farming areas.
“The current water consumption issue is not as serious as how it was in 2016,” he says.
Mr Youttha says the government is working with the Asian Development Bank to construct a large-scale irrigation system called Damnak Cher Krom in Pursat and the Doun Tey water reservoir in Battambang.
He notes, once complete in 20 months, Doun Tey will be able to store 163 million cubic metres of water.
“Once these infrastructures are done, we will no longer face water shortages in any season,” Mr Youttha says.
He says the Kingdom’s current infrastructures for irrigation can only supply water to 1.9 million hectares of farmland out of 3.2 million hectares per year.
Mr Youttha notes the government is working hard to develop the Kingdom’s irrigation systems to meet the needs of Cambodians.
The issue of drought has also caught the attention of the Mekong River Commission because water shortages are happening across Indochina.
In November, the MRC approved a drought management strategy allowing Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam to collectively address the issue.
The strategy is to jointly monitor soil conditions and water flow while holding capacity building initiatives to assess, plan, measure and share information about water shortages.
Lim Kean Hor, Minister of Water Resources, says MRC members are assisting their neighbours to mitigate transboundary impacts of high temperatures.
“As countries in the region gear up for drought preparedness and mitigation, this strategy will help reduce the vulnerability of people and water resource systems affected by droughts, improve government adaptability and allow members to share information,” Mr Kean Hor says.
Back in Pursat, Mr Phally, the farmer, says he hopes plans in motion can address people’s agricultural needs.
“People need water the most – when there is sufficient water to be used, people are happy,” he says. “As long as farmers can cultivate rice two to three times per year during the dry season, living conditions of families will improve.”

Vietnam enhances rice, pork price stabilisation

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has asked rice traders to strictly maintain a reserve equivalent to at least five percent of their export volume in the six most recent months.
The ministry’s Import-Export Department said that unpredictable developments in the global economy coupled with the declines in import demand of Viet Nam’s traditional rice markets like China, Indonesia and Malaysia were posing significant challenges to Viet Nam’s rice exports.
Rice traders must strictly comply with Decree No 107/2018/ND-CP about rice reserves and price stabilisation, the ministry asked.
Accordingly, rice traders must consolidate their distribution system in the domestic market and be ready to bring rice stocks into circulation to stabilise the domestic market following the authorities’ orders.
Focus must also be placed on improving facilities and enhancing awareness in production and processing to increase rice’s added value and build a brand for Vietnamese rice, the ministry asked, adding that fluctuations of paddy and rice prices must also be closely watched.
The ministry asked provincial departments of Agriculture and Rural Development to enhance cooperation with traders, co-operatives and farmers to ensure rice production to follow standards which would help Viet Nam easily expand exports.
The ministry said that China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced last week that this country could finish its goal of rice output this year. In addition, import demand from Indonesia and Malaysia was also low.
The Philippines also enhanced control over rice imports, with the revision of the food safety management system on imported rice.
Viet Nam’s rice exports in the first two months of this year reached 890,000 tonnes, worth US$410 million, up by nearly 6 per cent over the same period last year.

Seeking pork supply
The Import-Export Department also asked trade offices to work with pork export associations and companies in foreign countries to seek sources to import pork into Viet Nam.
Diversifying pork sources was important to stabilise the domestic market due to the impacts of the recent African swine flu.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development predicted that meat output would reach around 5.5 million tonnes this year, in which pork would account for 64-67 per cent.
Pig raising was recovering in recent months, the ministry said.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc last week asked ministries of agriculture and rural development, industry and trade, and finance to ensure pork supply and demand balance and control prices at reasonable levels.
According to statistics from the Animal Health Department, Viet Nam imported more than 65,800 tonnes of meat as of the end of February, in which pork accounted for 21 per cent, up by 150 per cent over the same period last year. Pork was mainly imported from Canada (33.6 per cent), Germany (25.4 per cent), Brazil (16.1 per cent) and Poland (15.81 per cent). – VNS

Gov. Hutchinson: first ‘presumptive’ coronavirus case confirmed in Arkansas
by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)  16 hours ago 2,366 views 
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Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Arkansas has identified its first “presumptive” COVID-19 case. The patient, a resident of Pine Bluff, is in isolation and preliminary testing has been forwarded to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where a second test will be conducted to confirm or reject the first results.
Hutchinson said the potential coronavirus patient had traveled to another state in the U.S. and was not an international traveler. The governor made the disclosure at a cabinet meeting in Little Rock on Wednesday (March 11).
Nate Smith, Secretary of the Health Department, said it was “not unexpected” with surrounding states seeing patients with the virus.
“Although this is a presumptive result… we’re moving ahead to gather more information,” Smith told reporters. He said there is no evidence the coronavirus had spread elsewhere in the Pine Bluff community or other parts of the state.
Hutchinson said he did not believe the one person identified as “presumptive” should lead to any major changes in personal behavior. He did offer some recommendations and said he planned to sign a declaration of emergency later today with more guidance.
The state Department of Health and Department of Human Services issued a directive earlier this week outlining procedures for health care officials to take extraordinary precautions to protect elderly residents in nursing homes and those with compromised immune systems in hospitals and other facilities.
Hutchinson also revealed that he is restricting out of state travel for state employees. He said during the cabinet meeting that he asked his secretaries to sign off on any out of state travel.
“It’s not a complete travel ban,” he said, “Just a precaution.”
Hutchinson also warned Arkansans who may be traveling with the upcoming Spring Break to “reconsider” their plans and to be careful with where they are headed.
“We hope to mitigate the risks caused by coronavirus,” he said. “We are as prepared as we can be for any upturn in an outbreak.”
UPDATE: Hutchinson signed the emergency order proclamation on Wednesday afternoon. The proclamation provides that the Secretary of Health may issue orders of isolation or quarantine “as necessary and appropriate” to control the spread of the coronavirus. In consultation with the governor, the secretary “shall have sole authority over all instances of quarantine, isolation, and restrictions on commerce and travel throughout the state.”
It also outlines broad latitude for the Secretary of Health, in consultation with the governor, to deal with matters of commerce, transportation, education and emergency management.


Agriculture, Italian Style 
By Jennifer James
Special to the USA Rice Daily

NEWPORT, AR - Last month, I traveled to Italy on a trip sponsored by Bayer Crop Sciences with my agricultural peer group -- me and seven other women farmers from across the United States that meet twice a year.  In the summer we gather on one of our farms in Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, or Ohio, and in the winter we usually meet at a neutral location within driving distance from each farm.  This year, however, Bayer Crop Sciences offered to host us for an international excursion and we jumped at the chance.

Our first stop was Rome and a visit with Ambassador Kip Tom, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.  We learned all about the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and its mission to "deliver food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience."  The photographs and stories Ambassador Tom shared were heartwarming. 

The United States is the largest contributor of funds and donations of U.S.-grown and produced commodities, called "in-kind" contributions, for the WFP.  I was able to share information about the food aid programs that USA Rice participates in as well as industry investments in rice fortification research and technology to produce a delivery mechanism for vital nutrients.  Rice is such an important food throughout the world, and provides comfort and nourishment to so many populations especially those in need or after a disaster has ravaged an area. 



Capurso Winery

During the eight-day trip, we visited a dairy operation, a winery near Verona, and Bayer Italy HQ in Milan where we met with Bayer's crop science team to discuss the variety of crops produced across the country - corn, grapes, wheat, rice, olives, and many fruits and vegetables.  The team talked about how Bayer is serving farmers using digital technology, addressing climate change through biotechnology, and utilizing the new European Green Deal and Farm to Fork programs.

The last day of the trip was spent touring Vercelli, the rice capital of Italy!  We met Alberto Pistola, a tour guide for the Province of Vercelli and a member of the Vercelli Quality Rice Road, an association of producers, local administrators, restaurants, and cultural institutions that promote all aspects of the territory and especially rice.  Alberto explained that the japonica type rice they grow for risotto is special to Italy, and the variety Carnaroli is deemed the best because the starch stays firm in the middle of the kernel and has a firm "bite" to it when cooked to risotto perfection. 

             

             
500+ years old and still got it
One of the most unique aspects of the Italian rice industry is the irrigation system designed by Leonardo da Vinci over 500 years ago that is still in use today.  The system of canals, hinged watertight gates, and flood gates used to control the amount of water released is amazing.  The rice farmers must work together because everyone receives their allotted amount of water through the canal system.  They have to coordinate and have their rice crop planted on time so that when the water arrives at their fields, the rice is ready!

Alberto treated us to a traditional Vercelli lunch with two types of risotto as the main entrées.   We were pretty adventurous and tried all the appetizers including veal, pig lard, raw ground beef with truffles, and cow tongue.  As expected, the risotto was delicious!  We had the traditional version called panissa with bolotti beans, tomatoes, and salami, but my personal favorite was risotto cooked with robiola cheese.
Our group traveled over 600 miles in Italy by van and train, and experienced a diverse group of farms and agriculture.  Thanks to Bayer Crop Science, we got a glimpse into the cultural differences that drive the food world and farming operations in Italy and in Europe.


With Ambassador Kip Tom (seated) at
United Nations Agencies for Food & Agriculture in Rome
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Will 2020 rice markets repeat 2019?

2019 rice prices fell in the spring and rebounded on reports of shorter than expected crops in Brazil, India and the U.S.
Forrest Laws | Mar 10, 2020
The U.S. rice market could be setting itself up for a repeat of 2019 when prices fell in the spring and then rebounded on reports of shorter than expected crops in Brazil, India and the U.S.
Brazil has been a force that had to be reckoned with in the Western Hemisphere, exporting as much as 3 million metric tons of rice in recent years. Now it’s looking at having to import rice because of smaller crops and the weaker dollar.
“This tightness is going to catch them,” said Milo Hamilton, co-founder and senior agricultural economist at Firstgrain, Inc. “I think the market is going to bottom out in March. Last year, the market bottomed out in April and then went higher. This year it could bottom out in March because they just don’t have the rice.”
Hamilton, speaking at the Special Rice Marketing Educational Seminar at the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show in Memphis, Tenn., said Brazil was making major inroads in the rice trade in the Western Hemisphere, exporting 1.5 million metric tons as recently as 2018.
“This isn’t lot of rice for the world, but it’s a big deal for the Americas,” he said. “A million and a half tons is a lot of rice that’s not going to be there in the coming year, and the deficit in Brazil is going to be larger. I can’t tell you how much because I look at the market differently than other people.”
Hamilton worked for two decades as a buyer for Uncle Ben’s Rice. In 2000, he founded Firstgrain as a market advisory service for rice producers, rice millers and rice marketers throughout the world. He says his service benefits from having buyers and sellers of rice in its subscriber base.

11-year downtrend line

“Right now, we have a breakout of an 11-year downtrend line,” said Hamilton referring to terms used in technical analyses of rice futures trading. “I tell people to watch it because there’s something going on, and they say, ‘nothing’s going on.’
“That’s why I love having buyers and sellers taking my service because they’re like devil’s advocates.”
The value of the real, the official currency of Brazil, has reached new highs while the U.S. dollar has been getting weaker. That means Brazilian rice, which is normally valued in dollars, is worth less than it was and is a less attractive crop to Brazilian producers.
“In terms of dollars, this Brazilian market has gone nowhere,” he said. “If the real had not gone through the roof like it has, then we would have a very different ending for this particular model. Brazil has been like the China of the Western world in how much it produces and consumes.
“Brazil did a huge amount of export business until 2018,” he noted. “But it’s going down because they don’t have any rice. They’re going to be net importers.”
By most estimates, the United States will have a large rice crop this fall. “We’re going to grow a big crop; they’re all going to come here to buy it; or they will buy it in Asia because there is no where else to go to get the rice they need.”

Local bull market

The decrease in Brazilian production is creating a “local bull market” in the Western Hemisphere because Asia is outside the traditional marketing chain of countries in South America.
“What I’m seeing is the end product of a Western Hemisphere bull market, which I also saw last April,” he said. “I said then that you should sell rice slowly. The big change is that Brazil has become a net importer of rice.”
Another wild card is the amount of rain that’s been falling in the Delta region. Mid-South growers have had the third wettest winter since 1980, conjuring up thoughts of another round of delayed and prevented plantings like the spring of 2019.
“If we get another spring like last year, it won’t be as bad because we’ve had some dry periods, but it could be something that trims back that acreage forecast for 2020,” he noted. “I think it’s going to be about 5 percent less than USDA’s February projection of 2.54 million acres.”
Hamilton believes rice prices will go down, possibly below $11 per hundredweight this spring, because of the likelihood Mid-South farmers will plant more rice if weather conditions permit.
“But we’re not going to crater,” he noted. “By next fall we’ll see the same thing we saw this year. With very heavy exports we’re going to move prices higher as we get further into the year.”
Hamilton suggested farmers price their rice in percentages. “You can’t buy $100 million worth of rice in a week or two weeks or even four weeks. You need to spread out your sales. I had four or five options for buying rice when I was a buyer because I had to keep a low profile. If people figured out what I was doing the price went up on me.”

Genome Reading Technique Of Basmati Rice Can Help Tackle World Hunger

Muhammad Irfan  

As the most important food crop on the planet, rice plays a critical role in global food security. Following a breakthrough in genome sequencing, NYU scientists are now hopeful that this vital crop can be made more resistant to drought and disease.

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 10th Mar, 2020) As the most important food crop on the planet, rice plays a critical role in global food security. Following a breakthrough in genome sequencing, NYU scientists are now hopeful that this vital crop can be made more resistant to drought and disease.
The research, partly supported by NYU Abu Dhabi’s Research Institute, was published recently in Genome Biology details the breakthrough, which has been to innovate a new ‘whole-genome’ approach that determines an organism’s complete DNA sequence. In addition, through a collaboration with UK-based Oxford Nanopore Technologies, a third-generation sequencing technology has been developed, that allows long single molecules of DNA to be sequenced more quickly, improving on the completeness and efficiency of the process.
These developments are a significant step forward in the field. Previously, researchers were only able to assemble the genome for basmati rice using ‘short-read’ sequencing. This ‘short-read’ approach, in which DNA is broken into tiny fragments and then reassembled, leads to missing sequences and important gaps in the data.
NYU’s researchers focused on two varieties. The first, Basmati 334 from Pakistan, is known to be drought-tolerant and resistant to rice-killing bacterial blight.
The second, Dom Sufid from Iran, is an aromatic long-grain rice that is one of the most expensive on the market.
"This process significantly improves our understanding of the genetics of an organism," said Lead Scientist and Silver Professor of Biology at New York University, and faculty investigator at NYU Abu Dhabi's Center for Genomics and Systems Biology Michael Purugganan. "For a variety like Basmati 334, which is highly resistant to drought and blight, it means we can identify the genes responsible and work with rice breeders and growers to strengthen these valuable traits. For such a critical global commodity, even a tiny improvement in yields can impact our ability to feed the world."
In addition to Purugganan and postdoctoral scholar at NYU and the Genome Biology study’s lead author Jae Young Choi, the study authors are Zoe N. Lye and Simon C. Groen of NYU’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology; Xiaoguang Dai, Priyesh Rughani, Eoghan D. Harrington, and Sissel Juul of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, and Sophie Zaaijer of the New York Genome Center. The work was supported by grants from the Zegar Family Foundation (A16-0051), National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program (IOS-1546218), Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF2550.06), and NYU Abu Dhabi Research Institute.

What are the growing Rice Noodles market?

March 11, 2020 John Watson Leave a Comment
This report on the Rice Noodles market highlights the market scenario of the global Rice Noodles sector, growth prospects, emerging market areas, and leading players. The market study segments the global Rice Noodles market based on the leading regions, along with the major countries in the region. The historical analysis performed in this study includes information collected from the years 2016 to 2019 and predicts the market trends that could potentially affect the growth of the market in the forecast duration from 2020 to 2027.
Understand the strategic approach of the Rice Noodles companies provided in the report recently published by Market Expertz. Get FREE Sample Copy with TOC of the Report to understand the structure of the complete report
Key Highlights of the report:
The study gives a critical evaluation of the Rice Noodles market by categorizing the overall market based on product type, application, technology, end-use, and region. It also encompasses an industry analysis model and the prevalent expansion strategies adopted by the leading participants, and the competitive landscape of the global Rice Noodles market in the industry assessment. The report also gives accurate market insights to help the readers capitalize on the investment opportunities they might encounter in the forecast years. Other market aspects such as drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges have been widely explained in the report to the readers with a holistic perspective of the market.
Company Profiles of Manufacturers operating in the Global Rice Noodles Market:
Players included in the report are investigated on the basis of SWOT, product range, production, value, pricing structure, financial standing, among other essential factors.
Market segmentation by Manufacturers, the report covers the following companies-
JFC International, American Roland Food Corp., Eskal, Nan Shing Hsinchu, Cali Food, Nature soy, Mandarin Noodle Manufacturing, Ying Yong Food Products, J.D. Food Products, Leong Guan Food Manufacturer, Foodle Noodle, Lieng tong, L&W Food Corp., Thai Preserved Food Factory, Thai Kitchen.
It includes the major manufacturers, emerging players, historical growth, and major regions of the Global (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) Rice Noodles market through the timeline of the research and in line with the objectives of the study. The report categorizes the market on the basis of product types, applications, end-uses, regions, and technological advancements.
Market segmentation by Types of Rice Noodles, the report covers-
Thin Noodles
Wide Noodles
Market segmentation by Applications of the Rice Noodles, the report covers the following uses-
Supermarkets/Hypermarkets
Food Service Outlets
Online Stores
Others
For Consumer-centric research, our researchers can also include surveys in the report as part of customization, which will take into account demographic factors such as age, gender, occupation, and the levels of disposable income, while collecting data. (If applicable)
Order Now (Customized report delivered as per your specific requirement)
The Global (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) Rice Noodles Market study encompasses the current market scenario, market share held by leading regions, projected market trends, growth rate, the outcomes of analytical tools such as SWOT analysis, supply chain analysis, value chain assessment, and vendor landscape to estimate the potential development of the industry in the forecast duration from 2020 to 2027. The report also provides strategic recommendations for the individuals and companies interested in the Market, by taking into consideration the growth trends, leading companies, and growth opportunities in the market growth.
Regional Analysis for the Rice Noodles Market:
North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa
Consumer Traits (If Applicable)
 Purchasing trends
Preferences
Lifestyle
Expectations
The Rice Noodles market factors included in this report are:
Strategic Initiatives undertaken by leading players in the Global (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) Rice Noodles Market:
The research report analyzes prevalent strategic activities such as research & development, mergers & acquisitions, agreements, deals, product launches, collaborations, partnerships, joint ventures, and regional growth of the key competitors operating in the Market on both global and regional levels.
Key elements of the Global (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) Rice Noodles Market:
The report highlights significant Rice Noodles market features, including gross revenue, weighted average regional price, consumption rate, production rate, profit margin, import & export, supply & demand, cost structure, market share, and CAGR.
If you any specific requirements, please feel free to reach out to our expert analysts
Table of Contents:
Global (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) Rice Noodles Market geographical extent:
Global (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) Rice Noodles Market Executive Summary:
The report gives a summary of the overall research, underlining the growth rate, available opportunities, competitive analysis, drivers, constraints, trends, issues, and both micro- and macro-economic indicators seen in the Market.
Global Rice Noodles Market Production by Region:
North America
Europe
Asia Pacific
Latin America
Middle East & Africa
Key Aspects Covered in the Rice Noodles Market Report:
Rice Noodles Overview, Definition and Classification
Rice Noodles Market Drivers and Restraints
Rice Noodles Market Competitive Landscape by leading Manufacturers
Rice Noodles Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2020-2027)
Rice Noodles Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2020-2027)
Rice Noodles Market segmentation by Type {Shower Products, Liquid Rice Noodles, Bath Additives & Bar Soaps}
Rice Noodles Market segmentation by Application {Supermarkets and Hypermarkets, Specialist Stores, Drugstores & Others}
Rice Noodles Company Profiles
Rice Noodles Manufacturing Cost Analysis
Supply Chain Analysis, Vendor landscape, Raw Material Sourcing Strategy, and Downstream Buyers
Strategic initiatives by Key Manufacturers/Players, Connected Distributors/Traders
Regulatory framework
Value chain and growth trends
Market Analysis …………
Get FREE Sample Copy with TOC of the Report to understand the structure of the complete report
In conclusion, the Global Rice Noodles Market report gives a detailed study of the market by taking into consideration the leading companies, current market status, and historical data to provide accurate market estimations, which will serve as an industry-wide database for both established players and newer entrants.
Thank you for reading this article. You can also get chapter-wise sections or region-wise report coverage for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.

Technological self-reliance only way forward
LAHORE: Transfer of technology enabled Pakistan to produce hybrid rice seed, which is shielding rice farmers from the coronavirus impact, while failure of solar and electronic sectors in acquiring transferable Chinese technology will make them suffer along with many other industrial sectors.

Since the menace of coronavirus started spreading, all the countries began calculating its impact. The OECD in its earlier estimates calculated that it would eat up 1.1 percent of GDP growth in India, and 0.8 percent in Pakistan.

Some estimates say that it would cost $1 billion to the Pakistani economy, but later estimates suggest the economic losses could exceed $5 billion. This more than doubles the benefit of $2-$2.2 billion that Pakistan would get if oil prices remained at the current level.

One wonders where would an economy go that some economists say is already on a ventilator. A small silver lining in this regard is the hybrid seed technology. This complicated technology required years of research inside Pakistan with the assistance of Chinese scientists.

Guard Rice, a Pakistani firm not only acquired this technology but established its own research facility to improve the yield of non-basmati rice varieties. Pakistan has been exporting hybrid rice seed to Philippines for the last three years. Manila, the capital of Philippines is the headquarters of International Rice Research Institute.

There are some simple technologies that the private sector in Pakistan could have acquired from China. These include the technology of making solar panels that we mostly import from China. Many electronic products that are assembled in Pakistan are made up of mostly imported components.

More than 70 percent of Pakistan’s rice exports come from the non-basmati varieties. Almost 80 percent of the rice farmers in Sindh, where non-basmati varieties are mostly produced use hybrid rice seed.

This includes both domestically produced hybrid seed and seeds imported from China. The import of hybrid seed from China has been impacted by Coronavirus based suspension of trade with China.

Only the seed that has already arrived in the country would be available along with the local variety that incidentally is more popular and gives highest yield of 120-130 maund per acre.

This is more than double the traditional IRRI varieties that yield of 40-50 maund per acre. Local seed producer claims that high yield hybrid rice seed has alleviated poverty among the rice farmers of Sindh. They also assured that they have developed capability and capacity to provide for total non-basmati seed requirements of Pakistani farmers and the coronavirus impact would not affect the rice farmers of Sindh.

This was a rare example of transfer of technology where the producers can survive without any import of inputs and it has paid high dividends to the company that acquired the technology as well as the farmers.

Moreover, it has shielded the farmers from the disruption in trade caused due to the spread of the coronavirus. In India, the hybrid and biotech varieties of seeds were developed by the public sector after which the private sector also pitched in.

In Pakistan, the lead was provided by many private sector seed companies, while the public sector remained dormant despite employing thousands of agricultural scientists (that get no funds for research as the allocated budget hardly covers their salaries).

The private sector has not shown the foresight to go for technology transfer of many products that they either import in finished form or assemble in the country by importing the components.

This is despite the fact that the demand for those products is increasing exponentially in the Pakistani market. For instance, there is great demand both in the domestic and industrial sector for solar power, but everything from solar panels to the solar modules have to be imported (mostly from China where coronavirus problem is highest).

We may now see shortage of these panels or use of substandard panels by unscrupulous elements that exist large in numbers. There are many split air conditioner producing units that developed a local vending base and usually import compressors only.

They would make good business in coming summer. Those depending on imports for most components would have to halt production.

Others sectors that would suffer include pharmaceuticals. We import most of the basic and intermediates that give medicines their therapeutic value from China.

China is dominant in the battery supply chain and battery manufacturers would suffer. Suspension of dyes and chemical imports from China would increase their cost. The yarn and fabric exports would also suffer badly.

The spread of coronavirus has made experts realise the importance of decentralisation and technological self-reliance, as all industries, technologies, and supply chains are affected by the shutdown in China.

Genome reading technique of Basmati rice can help tackle world hunger


ABU DHABI, 10th March, 2020 (WAM) -- As the most important food crop on the planet, rice plays a critical role in global food security. Following a breakthrough in genome sequencing, NYU scientists are now hopeful that this vital crop can be made more resistant to drought and disease.
The research, partly supported by NYU Abu Dhabi’s Research Institute, was published recently in Genome Biology details the breakthrough, which has been to innovate a new ‘whole-genome’ approach that determines an organism’s complete DNA sequence. In addition, through a collaboration with UK-based Oxford Nanopore Technologies, a third-generation sequencing technology has been developed, that allows long single molecules of DNA to be sequenced more quickly, improving on the completeness and efficiency of the process.
These developments are a significant step forward in the field. Previously, researchers were only able to assemble the genome for basmati rice using ‘short-read’ sequencing. This ‘short-read’ approach, in which DNA is broken into tiny fragments and then reassembled, leads to missing sequences and important gaps in the data.
NYU’s researchers focused on two varieties. The first, Basmati 334 from Pakistan, is known to be drought-tolerant and resistant to rice-killing bacterial blight. The second, Dom Sufid from Iran, is an aromatic long-grain rice that is one of the most expensive on the market.
"This process significantly improves our understanding of the genetics of an organism," said Lead Scientist and Silver Professor of Biology at New York University, and faculty investigator at NYU Abu Dhabi's Center for Genomics and Systems Biology Michael Purugganan. "For a variety like Basmati 334, which is highly resistant to drought and blight, it means we can identify the genes responsible and work with rice breeders and growers to strengthen these valuable traits. For such a critical global commodity, even a tiny improvement in yields can impact our ability to feed the world."
In addition to Purugganan and postdoctoral scholar at NYU and the Genome Biology study’s lead author Jae Young Choi, the study authors are Zoe N. Lye and Simon C. Groen of NYU’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology; Xiaoguang Dai, Priyesh Rughani, Eoghan D. Harrington, and Sissel Juul of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, and Sophie Zaaijer of the New York Genome Center. The work was supported by grants from the Zegar Family Foundation (A16-0051), National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program (IOS-1546218), Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF2550.06), and NYU Abu Dhabi Research Institute.
WAM/Tariq alfaham/Hassan Bashir

Study finds infant cereal consumption associated with nutrient intake

The study examined National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, a national survey of food intake, from 2001 to 2014 to assess food intake in infants and toddlers from birth to 23 months.
An investigation – supported by the Rice Foundation, the research arm of the US rice industry – of infant feeding patterns found infants and toddlers consuming baby cereal, such as rice cereal, had higher intakes of key nutrients of concern, such as calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and vitamin E.1
Baby cereal consumers were also found to be less likely to have inadequate intakes of iron, calcium and vitamin E – important nutrients for developing infants. The study is said to illustrate the importance of rice baby cereal in the diets of infants and toddlers in achieving proper nutrition.
The study evaluated four age ranges – zero to three months, four to six months, seven to 11 months and 12 to 23 months – and the role of cereal consumption such as rice cereal. Researchers investigated whether baby cereal consumption (e.g. rice cereal) was related to different eating patterns, nutrient status and intakes of added sugars, saturated fat and sodium, when compared to non-cereal consumers.
Webinar: Application of Instrumental Texture Analysis Within The Food Industry
In this AMETEK Brookfield webinar, hosted by New Food, Christopher Freeman will discuss the application of instrumental texture analysis within the food industry and its associated benefits for an organisation.
When introduced as early as four months, baby cereal, including rice cereal, was associated with improved nutrient status. From four to six months of age, babies who ate cereal took in more calories, carbohydrates, whole grains and key nutrients, like vitamin B6, calcium, iron and magnesium.
As infants got older, the results remained similar. From seven to 11 months, cereal consumers were found to have higher intakes of carbohydrates, vitamin E, calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium. Beyond the first year of life, baby cereal consumption continued to be associated with greater iron, zinc and vitamin E intake.1
“Based on the results, diet recommendations for infants from birth to 23 months should include baby cereal – like rice cereal – due to its role in maintaining nutrient status which supports growth and development,” suggested study author, Theresa Nicklas, DrPH.
Overall, the study is said to demonstrate that there is a strong public health benefit to feeding infants ages four to 11 months infant baby cereal.1 Data indicates that feeding cereal, such as rice cereal, as one of babies’ first foods has a positive impact on nutrient status, the researchers claimed.


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Nigel Slater’s recipe for spinach, coconut, tomato and brown rice

Take comfort with this gently spiced and creamy vegan dinner
 Comfort cooking: spinach, coconut, tomato and brown rice. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer

The recipe

Peel 3 medium-sized onions, cut them in half from root end to tip, then slice each half into 6. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a deep pan over a moderate heat. Add the onions and let them cook, stirring regularly for 12-15 minutes, until they start to soften.
Peel 35g of ginger, slice lengthwise into thin pieces, then slice each into matchsticks. Add the ginger to the onions, then stir in 2 tsp each of ground cumin and turmeric, and continue cooking for a minute or so, then stir in 50ml of water. Finely chop a large, moderately hot red chilli. Halve 300g of cherry tomatoes and stir them and the chilli into the onions. Continue cooking for 5 minutes. Stir in 200ml of thick coconut cream. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
Put 150g of brown basmati rice in a small pan covered by 3cm of water. Add 6 cardamom pods, 4 cloves, ½ tsp of salt and 6 black peppercorns and bring to the boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, cover tightly with a lid, turn the heat down to a simmer and leave to steam over a moderate heat for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave for 5 minutes before lifting the lid.
Wash 200g of young spinach leaves and stir them into the tomato sauce. Cover with a lid and leave for a couple of minutes, then turn them over in the sauce, cover again and leave to simmer for a further 2-3 minutes until the leaves have softened and relaxed. Divide the rice between 2 plates and spoon over the spinach and coconut sauce. Serves 2

The trick

Use small, delicate spinach leaves and don’t be tempted to skip washing them. You wouldn’t believe the amount of grit that can turn up in a bag of “washed” spinach. Make the sauce first, then cook the rice. The sauce will stay warm in its pan, covered by a lid. Give it a final blast of heat before serving, if necessary.

The twist

You could take advantage of the other greens around at the moment, using them to replace the spinach. Purple kale, cavolo nero, spring cabbage or mustard greens, should be lightly cooked before being drained and added to the tomato sauce. Rather than basmati, you could use quinoa or couscous, the latter forked through with chopped coriander.
Follow Nigel on Twitter @NigelSlater

You can’t make the news stop…

… but you can support a news organisation who’ll make sense of it. This is turning into a year like no other, and the swirl of news can be overwhelming. At the Guardian, we draw on all our experience to report the facts, the context, the big picture in tones that are steady and measured. We check the facts, explain the science and give you the information you need to make the right choices about your life.
More people than ever before are reading and supporting our journalism, in more than 180 countries around the world. And this is only possible because we made a different choice: to keep our reporting open for all, regardless of where they live or what they can afford to pay.
We have upheld our editorial independence in the face of the disintegration of traditional media – with social platforms giving rise to misinformation, the seemingly unstoppable rise of big tech and independent voices being squashed by commercial ownership. The Guardian’s independence means we can set our own agenda and voice our own opinions. Our journalism is free from commercial and political bias – never influenced by billionaire owners or shareholders. This makes us different. It means we can challenge the powerful without fear and give a voice to those less heard.
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Intertwining love and advocacy  


There’s always a reason to celebrate love for someone through gifts as a  way to express love for our family, friends, or special someone. Here at PhilRice, we believe that the best way to do it is through rice. Because like love, advocacy is also something that we should all fight for.

You no longer have to think so hard and look so far to find the perfect gift. What we have here will surely make your loved ones feel all-giddy inside.

So if you are hoping to find the perfect gift without breaking the bank, read up.


1)      Brown Rice

Loving someone means wanting only the best for that person. That means prioritizing his/ her safety, health, and wellness. And while chocolates and sweets taste so fancy, they leave a certain hint of guilt after eating them. Of course, we don’t want our loved ones to feel guilty and anxious after having our gifts, right?

Instead of giving them food that gives diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic diseases, why don’t we give them something that prevents these illnesses?

For just P60 a kilo, you can already pamper your family and friends with antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins that brown rice has!

Brown rice is scientifically known to have more dietary fiber, polyphenols, and antioxidants particularly rice oils.

By buying brown rice, you are not just making your loved ones feel special, you also make them be healthier.


2)      Tapuy sakto (150ml)

Good times call for good wine. Special occasions or quality time with family and friends don’t just deserve delicious food but even special drinks, as well.

Try something new and feel the unique yet classic flavor of rice wine.

A glass or two of this very special wine will just make everything more memorable. You can also experiment with different versions of this drink by exploring the award-winning cocktail recipes from PhilRice Cookbook.

Not only that,  you don’t have to worry about having way too much wine because PhilRice now offers a smaller version of their famous rice wine for only P99 per 150ml.

Now, you can have your fill of Tapuy without having to fear about drinking too much, because like love and other things in this world, Tapuy is best enjoyed in moderation.

3)      Travel pouch with dust bag and canvas tote

Students and rice science workers are always on the go! That’s why, helping them get organized and on-track is really an important gift. PhilRice has a new merchandize that’s perfect for keeping stuff in order. With the PhilRice travel pouch, your loved ones can put their everyday essentials in one place. For only P120, you can help them get organized.

It’s very handy, so your loved ones can bring it anywhere, even in their pockets. That way, it’s like you are always with them all the time.

Plus, it comes with a dust bag so they can always store it properly and keep it looking like brand new.

4)      Advocacy coffee mug

We can all agree that having that perfect cup of coffee every morning is as good as hearing the words “I love you”. Hence, a perfect gift of love is to be a constant part of this sacred morning routine.

Let your loved ones think of you, and even miss you, every time they drink a cup of coffee by giving them this cute PhilRice advocacy coffee mugs.

Moreover, these aren’t just ordinary coffee mugs. Whenever your loved ones use it, they won’t just be reminded that you love them. They will also be reminded of our true purpose as rice science workers and responsible rice consumers. Reminding and teaching someone to be riceponsible is also an effective way of showing your love and appreciation for more than 2M farmers in the Philippines.

It’s kind of overwhelming to think of a grand gift or a gesture for somebody we love. But it’s actually simple. The trick is just to remind them of the things that matter, of the things that you are willing to fight for—your love and your advocacy. When these two ideals intertwine, that’s when you will achieve a kind of commitment and purpose that will surely last long.

High-quality inbred varieties showcased

TechnoDemo sites farmer-cooperators in Balungao, Pangasinan inspect their harvest using the distributed certified inbred seeds under RCEF.

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) showcases the performance of certified inbred seeds through TechnoDemo sites established nationwide.

As of date, 40 TechnoDemo (Mechanized Technology Demonstration of National and Regional Recommended Inbred Rice Varieties) sites with 6-ha contiguous area each, have been selected to promote the mechanized production of the select varieties.

To be managed by seven PhilRice branches and the Central Experiment Station, TechnoDemo sites are located in Quezon, Misamis Oriental, Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Pangasinan, Zamboanga Sibugay, Pampanga, Ifugao, and Capiz.

Three national recommended inbred rice varieties –  NSIC Rc 222, Rc 216, and Rc 160 will be promoted to farm communities. Two regional recommended inbred rice varieties, one location-specific technology; and newly released inbred rice varieties will also be shown to the farmers.

PhilRice will annually provide P60,000, which will be divided for two cropping seasons, to farmer-cooperators of TechnoDemo sites. This will cover supplies and materials including seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, andlabor expenses such as land preparation and transplanting, crop care and maintenance, pulling of seedlings, harvesting, and other farm activities.

“A technology demonstration is not only a validation of our seed’s competitive performance but also an affirmation that our summative efforts have been fully-accepted by our farmers,” said Arc Azuela, Bulacan provincial coordinator of Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF)-Seed Program.

To Mario Magpali, 57, of San Joaquin, Balungao, Pangasinan, being selected as a TechnoDemo site farmer-cooperator makes rice farming information at hand.

“Despite the problems in our farms, we are assisted by technicians and RCEF coordinators. In that way, we are guided with scientific knowledge in farming,” Magpali shared.

The TechnoDemo is under RCEF-Seed Program, which generally aims to help the small-scale Filipino farmers amid the new rice trade system.

This is also in line with the “Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita” battle cry of the Department of Agriculture that intends to provide high-quality seeds to Filipino farmers under RCEF.


Economic and Political Challenges Limit Progress on Food and Water Security in Pakistan

12 MARCH 2020 Phoebe Sleet, Research Analyst, Global Food and Water Crises Research Programme Download PDF
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Key Points
·       Pakistan is a food surplus country but experiences high levels of food insecurity, mainly due to poor access. Most Pakistani households are unable to afford nutritious diets.
·       Rates of malnutrition are alarmingly high. Close to half of Pakistani children are stunted, rates of wasting exceed emergency levels and micronutrient deficiencies are very common.
·       Water sources are under significant strain as a result of an increasing population, water-intensive agriculture and poor management. Climate change is likely to create further difficulties over the next several decades.
·       Water quality is also poor and the majority of the population does not have access to clean drinking water. As a result, water-related illnesses are one of the leading causes of disease and death.
Summary
Pakistan is one of the world’s biggest producers of wheat and rice, as well as livestock and a number of other agricultural products. It is a food surplus country with stable food availability. Food security is poor, however, as access to food is limited by poverty and high levels of food inflation. As a result, Pakistan has alarmingly high rates of malnutrition, particularly among women and children. Nearly half of children experience stunting and most suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. Although the Pakistani Government has taken some steps to reduce food insecurity, such efforts are subject to political whims, economic realities or, in some cases, are simply ineffective.
Pakistan’s water security is also under considerable pressure. Most water sources are over-exploited, due to an increasing population, agricultural practices and poor management. Pakistan’s extensive irrigation system is also one of the least efficient in the world and loses up to 60 per cent of the water it transports. Climate change is also predicted to put pressure on water supplies. Although it is not projected to reduce inflow into water bodies, it is likely to increase variability, leading to more severe floods and droughts. Water quality is also poor and water supplies are often tainted with faecal contamination, pesticides or industrial runoff. As a result, water-borne illness is common and a leading cause of death.
Analysis
Pakistan is a lower-middle income country with a population of around 204 million, making it the sixth most populous country in the world. Its population is expected to increase, to 244 million, by 2030. Although it boasts significant natural resources, it is vulnerable to environmental, economic and political shocks that undermine its food security. The country is exposed to a number of environmental hazards, particularly earthquakes, floods and droughts. It is among the most affected countries by long-term climate risks.
Pakistan is among the world’s largest producers of food in some categories. It is the eighth-largest wheat producer, the tenth-largest rice producer and its climate makes it a leading producer of a number of horticultural products. Rice accounts for 44 per cent of its agricultural export earnings, while wheat yields are comparable to those of other major wheat producing countries. The livestock sector is growing due to increased demand from an increasingly urban population. Consequently, Pakistan hosts the world’s third-largest livestock herd and is the fifth-largest producer of milk.
Pakistan maintains a vast – though outdated and not well maintained – irrigation system that covers 80 per cent of its farmed land. As such, agriculture depends on water supplies that are not always guaranteed. Agricultural growth was subdued in the 2018-19 period, mostly due to insufficient water availability. As a result, the crop sector experienced negative growth during this time and the production of most major crops fell. Despite a fall in agricultural production, Pakistan is a food surplus country and food availability is stable.
Access to food is often hindered by high rates of poverty, however, and many of Pakistan’s poorest are unable to afford an adequate diet. According to a survey by the World Food Programme, 67.6% of Pakistani households are unable to afford a staple adjusted nutritious diet (a nutritious diet that includes a daily serving of the country’s main staple. In Pakistan, this is wheat). This figure varies by province, with Balochistan the province most unable to afford this diet (83.4% of households). The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has also found that 18.3% of Pakistani households experience severe food insecurity. “Severe” hunger in this context is the highest rating on the FAO’s Food Insecurity Experience Scale, where respondents report experiencing hunger on a chronic basis. Across Pakistan, households consume 13 per cent fewer calories than is officially recommended, while the poorest households consume 23 per cent fewer calories than recommended.
Almost a quarter of Pakistan’s population lives below the poverty line of 3030.30 Pakistani rupees ($30.24) a month. It is even higher in rural areas, at 30.7% of the population. Low incomes are strongly correlated with under-nutrition and under-five malnutrition rates significantly increase with lower incomes. High food prices worsen the problem and poorer households are especially sensitive to food price increases. Despite increasing household expenditure on food, calorie consumption declined by nearly ten per cent between 2000 and 2014, driven by declining consumption in rural households. Food price inflation has been high in recent months and was 19.5% higher in January 2019 than at the same time the year before. Inflation has been especially acute in rural areas.
Pakistan has one of the world’s highest rates of malnutrition among women and children. In South Asia, only Afghanistan has performed more poorly than Pakistan at reducing its rate of under-nourishment. About 18 per cent of the population is undernourished and more than half of the country’s children lack adequate nourishment. Across urban areas, 97 per cent of children displayed at least one indicator of malnutrition in a 2016 survey. While poor and rural Pakistanis bear the highest burden of malnutrition, rates of under-nutrition among affluent children is between 33-53 per cent, suggesting that the issue is widespread.
The rate of childhood stunting (low height for weight, caused by chronic malnutrition) is an especially serious concern, with 43.7% of children in Pakistan stunted. Additionally, 15.1% of children are wasted (low weight for age, often caused by acute food shortages), a rate that exceeds the emergency threshold set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Micronutrient deficiencies are also common, especially among women and children. Vitamin A deficiency among children is as high as 56 per cent, which is the leading cause of preventable blindness and increases the risk of infections and death. Zinc and iodine deficiencies are also fairly common in children, at a rate of 36.5% and 11.2%, respectively. Iron deficiency anaemia is also especially common in adult women (50.5%) and children (62.1%) although adult men also experience it at fairly high rates (21.2%). Iron deficiency anaemia in children can cause cognitive and developmental delays.
In addition to the public health problems caused by under-nutrition, poor food security has a number of economic consequences. Childhood stunting is associated with poorer attainment in school, which may ultimately lead to adult earnings losses of up to 19.8%. In manual workers, it has also been found that productivity and earnings increase with height. Furthermore, there is evidence that food insecurity may help drive political unrest in Pakistan. Between 2005 and 2015, Pakistan experienced 19 serious episodes of unrest (including riots, demonstrations or major protests) in which food prices were a major (but by no means only) contributing factor. Pakistan came second only to India in terms of such events. While this may not play a major role in Pakistan’s security situation, food insecurity has been found to fuel senses of marginalisation and deprivation in Balochistan, reinforcing militant activity in that region.
The Pakistani Government has taken some steps to try and reduce rates of food insecurity. In 2018, the Pakistani Government released its National Food Security Policy, an ambitious document that provides a framework for eradicating hunger and malnutrition, while promoting sustainable and competitive food systems. The policy took years of drafting and involved consultation with a number of stakeholders and was approved towards the end of the previous government’s time in power. Although the policy addresses urgent food security issues, little appears to have been done with the policy since Imran Khan’s government came to power. That is possibly because of its association with a past government, or because Pakistan’s ongoing economic crises make implementation difficult.  In the meantime, a swarm of locusts damaging crops, surging inflation, job losses, slow economic growth and food shortages all threaten Pakistan’s food security and measures taken to mitigate these problems have so far been ineffective (for example, a subsidy of Rs2 billion ($19.7 million) for basic commodities amounted to Rs9 ($0.09) a person, each month).
There is limited data concerning Pakistan’s total water resources, meaning only approximate estimates are available. What is known, however, is that the majority of its surface and ground water is concentrated in the Indus Basin (there are three hydrologic features in Pakistan: the Kharan Desert System, the Makran Coastal Drainage, as well as the Indus Basin). It is estimated that the country’s total renewable resources are around 229 billion cubic metres, or 1,100 cubic metres per capita. Most of its water comes from precipitation and river flows from glacial and snow melt, and surface runoff. Water availability is highly variable: most rain falls between July and September, and 92 per cent of the country is classified as arid or semi-arid. Seasonal, annual and daily river flows are also highly variable, depending on rainfall and glacial or snow melt. Pakistan is considered to be both water scarce (low water availability per capita) and water stressed (high water withdrawals, relative to availability).
Many of Pakistan’s water resources are under significant stress, due to an increasing population, the production of water-intensive crops, water wastage and pollution. Population growth and urbanisation pose a particular challenge – due to sustained population growth, relative water availability is less than a quarter of what it was 50 years ago and municipal and industrial water use is growing. Although population growth is slowing, demand is still rising and is projected to reach 337 billion cubic metres by 2025, while availability is projected to remain stagnant.
Groundwater supplies are also subject to pressure and withdrawals are high. The amount of groundwater used is often quoted as being 78 per cent of the resource each year, although the World Bank contends that this figure is probably much lower (closer to 59 per cent) due to a double counting error. Nevertheless, groundwater depletion is a serious issue in parts of Pakistan, particularly in parts of Punjab and Balochistan.
Agriculture has placed further stress on Pakistani water supplies. The country uses 93 per cent of its water for agriculture, compared to a global average of around 70 per cent. Four major crops represent 80 per cent of all water use (wheat, rice, sugarcane and cotton) but only contribute five per cent of GDP. Additionally, Pakistan’s irrigation system is among the most inefficient in the world, losing over 60 per cent of the water it carries, mostly due to seepage, leaks and poor irrigation methods (most Pakistani farmers rely on flood irrigation, which is a highly inefficient way of irrigating crops).
The Pakistani water supply is particularly sensitive to the effects of climate change. Climate projections indicate that temperatures will continue to rise in the Indus Basin over the next few decades, over both summer and winter. Although it is difficult to know exactly how climate change will impact glacial melt in the region, higher summer temperatures are correlated with increased glacial melt and predictions suggest increased glacial runoff of 16-50 per cent. Climate change is not predicted to lower the average amount of water Pakistan receives, but inflows are likely to become more variable, increasing Pakistan’s vulnerability to floods and droughts.
Pakistan’s water security issues are not just limited to issues of scarcity and stress; poor water quality and sanitation also pose issues. Water resources are heavily polluted and only 20 per cent of Pakistanis have access to safe drinking water. The remaining 80 per cent of the country must rely on water largely contaminated by sewage, as well as fertiliser, pesticides and industrial runoff. It has been estimated that 30 per cent of diseases and 40 per cent of deaths in Pakistan occur due to poor water quality, especially faecal contamination. Water-related diseases account for GDP losses of up to 1.44% annually. Waste management is almost non-existent in rural areas and for the urban poor. Similarly, there has been no investment in the management of faecal sludge or wastewater. Drainage infrastructure is also poor, allowing faecal waste to seep into ground and surface water. Only two cities have biological treatment facilities, which are reported to be only partly functional. Estimates suggest that if all treatment facilities were operated at full capacity, they would be able to treat just eight per cent of wastewater.
Furthermore, around 70 per cent of drinking water is sourced from aquifers, which are also prone to contamination by heavy metals at rates exceeding the maximum permissible concentrations defined by the WHO. These heavy metals include arsenic (which is found in especially high concentrations in Punjab and Sindh), mercury and lead, among others.
Food and water security remains weak in Pakistan, mainly due to the country’s political and economic challenges, which are proving difficult to resolve. Without addressing the roots of Pakistan’s problems, the country is likely to continue to face the same problems for the foreseeable future.
Any opinions or views expressed in this paper are those of the individual author, unless stated to be those of Future Directions International.

Published by Future Directions International Pty Ltd.
Suite 5, 202 Hampden Road, Nedlands WA 6009, Australia.

Economy of Pakistan after Coronavirus outbreak

While Balance of Trade (BoT) is improving in right direction, coronavirus (COVID-19) has become threat to the pace of development. Asian Development Bank (ADB) stated in its report that the virus outbreak could cost the Pakistan economy in the range of $16.387 million to $4.95 billion, or 0.01 % to 1.57% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). United Nations (UN) estimates international tourism to drop 3% due to virus resulting a loss up to $50 Billion globally, is another bad news for the government which is committed to increase tourism exports.
International Monetary Funds (IMF) closely monitoring the grim situation and announced $50 Billion program to fight the aftermath of virus outbreak. It expects 2020 global growth rate will be below the 2.9% rate for 2019.The US Federal Reserve announced a 50 basis point cut recently followed by the Bank of Canada to ease out monetary policy for supporting business activities halted by virus fear. Whatever the case may be, Pakistan is determined towards improving economic situation of Pakistan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan recently advised the related departments to control inflation, ease out interest rates and to encourage business activities by focusing on ease of doing business. Apart from clinical steps advised by PM, Pakistan is all set to get benefit from EU GSP plus status specially in the field of Textile where the orders towards Pakistan increasing while China is partially shut down. Here, a point should be noted down that it is not merely the COVID-19 in China which isshedding orders in favour of Pakistan but the consistent economic policies of government towards export based economy starting from Financial Year 2019 (FY19) by introducing free floating exchange rate and increasing discount rate to tackle ever widening Current Account Deficit (CAD).
Besides GSP status from Europe after Brexit, United Kingdom (UK) signalled to double its trade with Pakistan on back of improved security situation of the country. Good news is that the virus impact on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) activities will be negligible as stated by Pakistan’s envoy to China.
The country’s 8 months balance of Trade i.e. July to February 2019 – 2020 (8MFY20) has improved by 26% from $21.46 Billion in 8MFY19 to $15.77 Billion as reported by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Exports recorded a growth of 3.65% during the period i.e. increased from $15.1 Billion to $15.65 Billion whereas imports declined 14.06% i.e. from $36.56 Billion to $31.42 Billion during the period under discussion. Year on Year (YoY) country’s exports registered a growth of 13.82% from $1.88 Billion to $2.14 Billion in the month of February whereas imports showed a decline of 1.71% i.e. from $4.144 Billion to $4.073 Billion.
Apart from regular international business activities Pakistan is also focusing on alternative ways for International Trade with US sanctioned Iran
It means country’s BoT improved 14.61% i.e. from $2.26 Billion to $1.93 Billion in the month of February. Month on Month (MoM) BoT witnessed improvement of 10.43%i.e. from $2.16 billion in January 2020 to $1.93 billion in February 2020. In this regard PM stated that Pakistan is moving on the road to development where stable rupee, 73% decrease in CAD, growing exports and accelerated development spending leading the country to right direction. PM Advisor for Commerce, Industry and Investment, Abdul Razzaq Dawood stated that the rise in exports is another sign of improvement in Economic activities.
He further stated that a comprehensive policy is being formulated for sugar, cotton, agriculture products and exports where it is focused to boost exports of value added products in the agriculture sector. Advisor revealed that in addition to facilitating Textile industry for encouraging exports Government is taking keen interest in the export of information technology and software.
On the other hand outbreak of novel Coronavirus is ready to affect government’s efforts towards increasing pace of export based economic development including tourism exports. According to a UN body International tourist arrivals to drop 3% due to the fear. This will lead to an estimated loss of $30 – $50 Billion in international tourism receipts. Asian Development Bank (ADB) released a study where it quantifies the impact of COVID-19 on Asian trade with certain projected scenarios.
It studies the impact on various sectors of the continent including but not limited to agriculture, mining and quarrying, business, trade, public services, hotels and restaurants and other personal services, light/heavy manufacturing utilities, and construction and transport services. The range of scenarios determined in the analysis suggests a global impact in the range of $77 billion to $347 billion, or 0.1 percent to 0.4 percent of GDP. In best case scenario, the impact on Pakistan would be limited to a $ 16.4 Million.
However, if the outbreak in China is more widespread and last longer, with travel bans and precautionary measures, the impact on Pakistan would be around $4.95 Billion besides loss of 0.9 million employment.
Despite of virus fear, government is determined to increase business activities in the country. For said reason PM ordered relevant departments to put all efforts for ease of doing business in the country. In this regard Mr Asad Umer is given task to speed up establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and related laws to facilitate business community with favourable environment to generate more economic activity in the country. Resultantly, 7 SEZs to be established in Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces. The meeting was told that after approval of law for the SEZs in 2012, only seven economic zones were set up in the country till 2018, while the present government had notified six new economic zones in one year (2019).
The prime minister stressed the relevant team for utilizing the tourism potential of Gilgit Baltistan and the establishment of special economic zones there.Further to such incentives PM has hinted business community for decrease in interest rate which is the need of the day for allowing businesses to borrow funds on lesser finance cost especially when the virus fear has increased the input cost of supplies as China shut down.
On international side of economic situation, luckily, price war sentiments within Oil Producing Countries (OEPC), making oil prices trending downward which will benefit Pakistan. UK recently planned to double the size of the British High Commission trade team and further support economic development and technical expertise in Pakistan where bilateral trade between the countries currently stands at £3.3 Billion in total i.e. $4.3 Billion. On the other side of BREXIT, Pakistan has been extended GSP status by Europe according to Ministry of Commerce.
On the economic front, Pakistan remained a significant beneficiary of the benefits availed by 9 GSP Plus beneficiary countries. Out of total export of 6.739 Billion Euros of Pakistan to EU in 2018, our exports worth 5.885 Billion Euro availed tariff concessions. Since the grant of GSP Plus in 2014, Pakistan’s exports to the European Union have enhanced from 4.538 Billion Euros in 2013 to 7.492 Billion Euros in 2019, registering an increase of 65% mostly in Textile sector. Apart from regular international business activities Pakistan is also focusing on alternative ways for International Trade with US sanctioned Iran. For this purpose Pakistan’s embassy in Tehran has proposed some suggestions to the Ministry of Commerce as to how trade relations with Iran can be possible.
This includes establishing credible banking channel, free trade agreement and trade mechanism to settle outstanding payments with the sale price of electricity being imported by Pakistan. Please note that Iran is willing to import rice and other commodities from Pakistan against cost of electricity being imported from Iran in Balochistan. Pakistan is keenly looking into this side of untapped international trade and intends to get one off waivers from USA to trade with Iran as other countries are doing, especially when US-Pakistan bilateral relations are getting better.
The writer is Corporate Finance Specialist and a Chartered Banker (UK)

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Photosynthesis Differs in Rice Varieties — Natural Diversity Could Boost Yields

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March 11th, 2020 by Guest Contributor 

Rice is a direct source of calories for more people than any other and serves as the main staple for some 560 million chronically hungry people in Asia. With over 120,000 varieties of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) across the globe, there is a wealth of natural diversity to be mined by plant scientists to increase yields. A team from the University of Illinois and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) examined how 14 diverse varieties photosynthesize — the process by which all crops convert sunlight energy into sugars that ultimately become our food. Looking at a little-studied attribute of photosynthesis, they found small differences in photosynthetic efficiency under constant conditions, but a 117 percent difference in fluctuating light, suggesting a new trait for breeder selection.
“Photosynthesis has traditionally been assessed under ‘constant conditions’ where plants are exposed to constant, high levels of light, but field conditions are never constant — especially considering the light that drives photosynthesis,” said RIPE Director Stephen Long, Ikenberry Endowed University Chair of Plant Biology and Crop Sciences at Illinois’ Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. “We looked at 14 cultivars of rice that represent much of the crop’s diversity and asked the question: could there be variability in photosynthesis in fluctuating light that we might be able to capitalize on?”
Published in New Phytologist, this work is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that is developing staple food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently to increase global food production sustainably with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), and the U.K. Government’s Department for International Development (DFID).
“If you look within the canopy of leaves of any crop, you will see that the light is fluctuating by one or two orders of magnitude,” Long said. “A plant’s access to light is not only impacted by clouds intermittently obscuring the sun but much more commonly by its own leaves, or those of a neighboring plant as the sun’s angle changes throughout the day. Calculations show that the photosynthetic inefficiency imposed by these leaves slowly adjusting to each fluctuation in light may cost crops 20 to 40 percent of their potential productivity.”
The researchers compared results from constant and fluctuating conditions and found no correlation, which supports findings from a 2019 study on cassava. In other words, varieties that do well in fluctuating light might not do well in constant light and vice-versa, suggesting that selection for these traits would have to be conducted independently.
Liana Acevedo-Siaca measures the photosynthetic efficiency of a rice plant. Credit: International Rice Research Institute (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
“This lack of correlation, which seems to be consistent across species, calls for us to flip how we think about studying photosynthesis,” said first-author Liana Acevedo-Siaca, a graduate student in the College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES). “Moving forward, we need to incorporate more dynamic measurements into the way that we understand photosynthesis, especially in an agricultural setting because realistically those plants are never in a steady-state.”
The team also evaluated how these plants cope with fluctuations in light intensity across the five major rice groups, sometimes considered to be subspecies. While no group appeared better than the other overall, variation could still be found in future research.
In this study, three photosynthetic parameters were of particular interest: the speed of induction (how quickly photosynthesis activates, or starts), speed of assimilation (how quickly the plant physically fixes carbon), and how efficiently these rice plants use water.
After switching from low light to high light, one variety activated (or began photosynthesizing) 117 percent faster than the slowest. In fluctuating light conditions, another variety from the Indica group assimilated more than double that of the “worst” variety (also an Indica), which was found to be the most water-use efficient variety.
“Surprisingly, after making a more detailed analysis of these accessions along with a well-studied control called IR64 from the Philippines, we found that biochemistry is the biggest limitation to efficiency as leaves transition from shade to sun,” Long said. “Biochemistry is a different limitation altogether than that found in a parallel study of cassava, illustrating the need to fine-tune photosynthesis separately in different crop species — despite the fact that the photosynthetic process is generally well-conserved and consistent across most food crops.”
According to Acevedo-Siaca, the next step is to identify how to breed for (or engineer) rice with faster induction responses.
“At the end of the day, the goal would be to have crops that can respond more quickly to light fluctuations enabling them to be more productive,” said Acevedo-Siaca, a 2016 recipient of the US Borlaug Fellowship in Global Food Security that supported her to conduct much of this research at IRRI. “I am interested in ways that we can improve this process while preserving some of the germplasm we have out there — there’s so much diversity with which we could work. I think it would be a shame if we didn’t examine all of our options more deeply.”
Long also published a landmark study in Science that showed plants are not fully adapted to deal with the dynamic light conditions in fields—and helping them keep can increase crop productivity by as much as 20 percent. The RIPE project and its sponsors are committed to ensuring Global Access and making the project’s technologies available to the farmers who need them the most.

Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) aims to improve photosynthesis to equip farmers worldwide with higher-yielding crops to ensure everyone has enough food to lead a healthy, productive life. This international research project is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), and the U.K. Government’s Department for International Development (DFID).
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UP engages global R&D major to develop drought- and flood-resistant rice

Philippines-based Int'l Rice Research Institute to develop the new strains for the state, will also fortify traditional varieties with aroma and nutrients

Virendra Singh Rawat  |  Lucknow Last Updated at March 11, 2020 15:52 IST
The process of getting the required approval is on and the company is working closely with the concerned departments under the agriculture ministry.

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The Uttar Pradesh government has roped in International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to develop drought and flood resistant rice varieties to insulate the state farmers’ income from these natural calamities.
The Philippines-based IRRI, which has a campus in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency of Varanasi, has also tasked with fortifying the state’s traditional paddy varieties with aroma and nutrients.
In December 2018, Modi had inaugurated the IRRI’s South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) campus in Varanasi, which is touted as a hub for paddy research and training in South Asia.
“I recently held a meeting with a team of senior IRRI officials in Lucknow, where I asked them to develop drought and flood resistant paddy for the state, which is prone to these natural calamities,” UP agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi told Business Standard.
He said that the IRRI field work on these mandates was on and that they had so far collected nearly 200 state paddy varieties for research.
“The IRRI is conducting field trials on an area of about 15 hectares in the Varanasi region,” Shahi said adding less than 5 per cent of the state’s total agricultural land was prone to drought and floods.
Although the food grain production in UP is robust, yet the state is now bracing up for the future challenges brought about by the current and prospective shrinkage in the farm land, impact of global warming, flooding etc.
In fact, German chemical and seed company Bayer is also looking to launch a flood resistant rice variety before the onset of the next monsoon season. While, the new variety has been launched in Bangladesh, the company has applied for the necessary regulatory approval in India.
The process of getting the required approval is on and the company is working closely with the concerned departments under the agriculture ministry. The mandatory three-year field trials for the rice variety had been conducted in West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha to be eligible to apply for the regulatory nod.
“Our flood resistant rice has shown goods results in trials and we are confident of its success in India,” a senior Bayer CropScience official had earlier told Business Standard.
UP has 17 million hectares (MH) of cultivated area, thus constituting 70% of its total geographical spread. The major crops of the state comprise paddy (rice), wheat, maize, sugarcane, chickpea and pigeonpea. The food grain production constraints are declining soil health due to multi-nutrient deficiencies, soil salinity/alkalinity and low input use efficiency.
The state has 5.6 MH under rice cultivation, which covers irrigated and rainfed areas. The major constraints in paddy cultivation are low coverage by hybrids, soil salinity/alkalinity and micro and secondary nutrient deficiency, decreasing organic carbon content in soils, flash floods, submergence and drought in Eastern UP.

Natural bayou better when floods threaten Houston

One bayou meanders toward downtown Houston. The other runs in parallel to the south, much of it through a concrete channel.
Which is better at preventing floods? Researchers at Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering give the nod to nature.
In studying the evolution of flood plains based on Houston’s Buffalo and Brays bayous, the researchers associated with Rice’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education & Evacuation from Disasters Center determined Buffalo’s largely natural form has proven better at absorbing floodwater and preventing it from spilling over into heavily populated areas.
Buffalo Bayou. Photo by Andrew Juan
An open-access paper in the Journal of Flood Risk Management details Rice models that show how flood plains have evolved and will evolve over a 70-year span, up to 2040.
The team of Rice research scientist Andrew Juan, former graduate student Avantika Gori and associate research scientist Antonia Sebastian found that while the extent of the 10-year flood plain has remained relatively stable along both bayous, the 100-year flood plain (areas with a 1-in-100 chance of flooding during any given year) shows stark differences.
While the 100-year flood plain model along Buffalo Bayou remained mostly unchanged over the 70-year span, the researchers show recent and potential development along the already densely populated Brays has a significant impact on flooding.
Their models show that urban development in the Brays’ watershed, which they expect to grow by 29% from the 1970s through 2040, increased the 100-year flood plain from 10.5 square kilometers in the 1970s to 46.1 square kilometers in 2011. They predict it will rise to 73.3 kilometers in 2040.
“This is one of the major observations,” Juan said. “Hydrologists like to talk about streamflow, runoff volume and peak timing, but from a risk standpoint, flood plain extent is one of the performance metrics we should really pay attention to. In this case, we are seeing a huge difference in our model between the two neighboring watersheds.”
Brays Bayou. Image from Google Earth
To some degree, he said, Buffalo Bayou’s relative superiority is due to forward-thinking individuals who, starting in the 1960s, protested “channelizing” the bayou as had been done at Brays. That has helped preserve the bayou’s natural drainage to contain normally heavy rains that are slower to reach the bayou. Furthermore, banning buildings from the designated setbacks close to the bayou has kept property damage at bay, Juan said.
“It’s not just about natural drainage,” he said. “It’s also about keeping the setbacks from being developed. Removing people from flood-vulnerable areas is effective.”
The flood plains near Brays are of an entirely different character and have changed more significantly since 1970 than those along the Buffalo, Juan said.
“When you look at the number of residential parcels within the flood plains, the two are comparable in the 1970s,” he said. “However, you see a dramatic increase in 2011 for Brays, but not so much for Buffalo.”
The differences are evident at upstream and downstream watch points along Brays, to the west and east of the flood-prone Meyerland neighborhood, according to the study. Measurements at those points show both 10- and 100-year normalized peak flows nearly doubled between the 1970s and 2011, with larger peak flows occurring when heavy rains inundate the neighborhood.
The study only looked at rainwater runoff into the bayous and its impact on flooding. Minor contributions by underground pipelines, which are sufficient to handle 2- to 5-year floods, and the impact of Barker and Addicks reservoirs that were opened upstream of Buffalo Bayou in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, were not considered.
Juan said the researchers realize moving structures away from Brays is highly unlikely, but reconfiguring available open spaces and golf courses to serve as retention ponds when needed could help areas at the epicenter of flooding over the past decade, particularly Meyerland.
“The heavily invested Project Brays includes a number of channelization, detention and bridge modification projects,” he said. “It’s a multimillion-dollar project and it definitely has benefited the watershed as a whole. But on the flip side, it might have contributed to creating a false sense of security. It was supposed to protect the entire watershed from a 100-year flood, but flood damages from recent major storms have shown that it was insufficient.
“Maybe individual homeowners, residents, planners and other stakeholders need to be more proactive in exploring other mitigation strategies,” he said.
Sebastian is now an assistant professor of geological sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The study was supported by the Houston Endowment and the National Science Foundation.
/Public Release. View in full here.

Investing in Rice Production, Processing Business

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The federal government plans to make Nigeria self- sufficient in rice production. That is highly commendable. From research it has been proven that Nigeria rice is the best rice in the world as the taste and quality is far better than the imported ones from other parts of the world.
In Nigeria today, some states produce paddy rice in abundance. Some of these states are Enugu, Anambra, Abia, Kebbi, Imo, Kwara, Edo, Ogun, Ondo, Cross River State and some Northern States such as Sokoto to mention but few. Therefore, with serious efforts not only by Government but private companies and individuals, the self-sufficient policy is achievable.
Rice is now a staple food in Nigeria. Every household both rich and poor consumes a great quantity of rice every day. The demand for rice is very high. The huge demand for rice is further accentuated by increasing and expanding urbanization, endless social parties where rice is the main menu, Nigerians eating habits (preference for foreign rice).
The preference for foreign rice should be stopped.
Of the total projected population figure of 200million, over 70% feed on rice.
Because of the demand, many Nigerians have embarked on importation of rice. This situation should not be allowed to continue forever. These importers must channel their huge resources to establishment of modern milling plants in Nigeria instead of fastening the growth of some foreign countries.
From publications made by the Bureau of Statistics and Federal Ministry of Finance the importation figures of rice amounted to about N1 trillion as the end of 2012. This figure increased to over two (2) trillion Naira in 2016 and about N3 trillion in 2018. The figure has always on an increase. Rice importation has the greatest figure of over 60 per cent of total import figures.
The federal government had total closure of the neighbouring borders and it became clear indication that large quantities of foreign rice come into the country through the neighbouring ports. It became clear that there was huge importation of rice through illegal means.
During this period of total ban and closure of borders, it became imperative that Nigerians can actually produce enough rice to sustain itself. Nigerians had survived and are gradually adapted to eating of local rice.
Famers were happier, local processors of rice came back to life and they all make more money with less competition with imported products. However, the prices of rice, the staple food in the country rose on top of the roof. A common man can no longer afford the commodity, both locally produced and imported. Currently a bag of imported rice is as high as between N28, 000 and N30, 000 for a bag of 50kg; while the locally made rice is between N18, 000 and N20, 000. Government must therefore have to sustain the tempo of not allowing massive importation of rice into the country, but have a relaxed but full control of rice imports.
It is not advisable to impose a total ban on importation of rice without first assessing and establishing exactly what the country can afford to produce; ensure that the country can produce at least 70 per cent of what is needed in this country. There must be full record of what we can produce internally with projection of what our farmers can produce at full capacity.
Generally, encouraging local production or manufacturing, Agricultural production and processing is one of the good things that can happen to this country because the policy will generate more employment opportunities and put more foods in our tables.
The federal government has also concluded arrangements to roll out a new policy that will ensure that loans are available at single digit interest rate to farmers with effect from this year.
Corporate organisations such as Coscharis Group have gone into production, processing and bagging of rice.
More individuals are being encouraged by the Government to invest into this sector. Here we discussed on how you can invest into rice processing and packaging business.
Investors can invest in rice farming and rice processing or rice milling plant. Rice milling project will best be sited in these areas where rice is grown in order to reduce cost of transportation of the paddy. To set up this project, a minimum space of a plot of land is required to dry paddy rice after harvesting.
The components of machines required to set up this project are cleaning facilities, Dehuller, Boiling tank, Polisher, Bagger and other miscellaneous equipment such as wheel barrows, weighing scales.
These machines can be fabricated locally. They can also be imported from Europe and some known Asian companies that specialize in the area. Prospective investors would be given details on these machine produces and specialists.
Also project vehicles and generating sets are essential for smooth running of this project.
Rice milling could be done on cottage, small, medium and large scale bases depending on availability of capital and the raw materials- paddy rice. Output could be from 2MT to 150MT per day.
Generally, one metric tonne of paddy rice yields about 60kg- 70kg of milled rice, depending on milling efficiency company management practice and the variety of rice purchased.
In the process of milling well parboiled rice free from sand, stones, unpleasant ordour with fewer breakages, a whole rice, broken rice and bran are obtained. Whole rice is packed and sold for human consumption. Broken rice is further milled into ‘’Tuwo Shinkafa’’ (a flour meal) while bran is very important input for manufacturing dietary products like rice bran bread which has been acclaimed good for the decrease of blood cholesterol, rice bran oil and livestock feeds. From rice you can also be obtained puffed rice, rice cakes, rice pudding etc.
The husks are used for the production of potassium Hydroxide solution or as fuel for milling plants. It can be seen that virtually all parts of paddy rice is useful.
The likely cost of total project will not actually be stated safely unless one knows the scope (whether cottage, small, medium or large scale) proposed investors would like to embark upon. However, the cost ranges from N550, 000 – N10.2million for cottage level to N57million for medium size plant and over N500million for large scale. Basic factors to consider in determining the initial cost includes the capacity to produce, the source(s) of the machinery, whether to construct his own building or rent one, the location etc.
Therefore, to embark upon this project, one needs a business plan (feasibility studies), with detailed costing for all the aspects of inputs, and before one can obtain the likely total estimated cost.
In conclusion, rice milling; an agro-based business is very profitable (45-55% return on investment), and sustainable. It has low capital requirement; technical know-how is not complicated. The machinery and equipment can be sourced locally. The project has a short pay–back period.
It is highly recommended for serious and aggressive promoters, local and state Governments and private investors particularly those that are thinking good for this country.
For details on comprehensive and bankable feasibility studies, investment Advisory services, funding arrangements, please contact the writer.
Uba can be reached via ubagodwin@yahoo.com

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