Friday, April 24, 2020

23th April,2020 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter

Int'l researchers fear double blow

Covid-19 threatens hike in food prices, supply chain disruptions



Description: Boro farmers returning home with the newly-harvested paddy in Bashkuta village under Sadar upazila in Magura, May 09, 2018. — FE/FilesBoro farmers returning home with the newly-harvested paddy in Bashkuta village under Sadar upazila in Magura, May 09, 2018. — FE/Files
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) identified a number of emerging concerns in the country's food production and supply chain system during Covid-19 pandemic that require immediate attention.
"Notable reduction in the availability of perishable foods, including vegetables, fruits, and fish, which are crucial for health and nutrition" is among the concerns, according to a CGIAR statement released on Wednesday.
It said farmers are beginning to face challenges in selling perishable goods at reasonable prices, as the government has put the entire country on lockdown to stop spread of Coronavirus pandemic.
CGIAR said despite measures to control prices, foods along with some crucial commodities are becoming unaffordable, especially for the poor in urban areas.
"Social distancing measures appear to be slowing down ongoing horticultural and Boro crop harvests, and delay in maize harvest looms as a near-term concern." The statement further said trucks are permitted to transport agricultural inputs and produces. But, informal and courier transport services that play a key role in input supply and food distribution are suffering.
The livestock, poultry, and aquaculture sectors are suffering, as their supply of essential feeds and veterinary services has been disrupted, and these sectors are experiencing unprecedented shocks, CGIAR noted.
It also expressed concern, as reduced food and labour demand by food processors, supermarkets, eateries, restaurants and hotels are, in turn, impacting hundreds of thousands in the service industry.
To improve the food production and supply situation, the organisation also offered a set of suggestions, including enhanced permission for transportation.
"Enhanced permission for transportation is required to assure the flow of food items from rural to urban areas as well as the flow of crucial inputs to farmers through market systems."
CGIAR also said ample supply of horticultural, fish and livestock products should be guaranteed in addition to the staple foods, rice and wheat to provide diverse, nutritious and safe diets for all.
It urged the government to take some measures, including minimising impacts on farmers' incomes from high input and labour costs, supporting flow of remittance and cash flow to rural areas, and expanding access to finance options for farmers. CGIAR opined that increased social safety-net measures will be required to support both rural and urban poor consumers.
It further stressed on the need of action plans to support Bangladesh's food systems in response to international trade restrictions. "Even partial closure of ports may result in high prices and limited stocks of pulses, edible oils, wheat, and crucial feed supplies."
CGIAR added that prolonged suspension of international trade could undermine the future supply of key inputs (particularly phosphorous and potassium fertilisers, vaccinations, pesticides, and fuel) at reasonable prices.
Bangladesh country heads of International Food Policy Research Institute, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CMMYT), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), WorldFish and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), constituents of CGIAR, signed the statement.
FE REPORT | Published:  April 23, 2020 09:19:12 | Updated:  April 23, 2020 13:08:28

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade/intl-researchers-fear-double-blow-1587611952

 

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Eatala Rajender pulls up Karimnagar rice millers

Minister warned that severe action will be initiated against millers if anybody tries to humiliate farmers

By AuthorTelanganaToday  |  Published: 21st Apr 2020  9:56 pm
Description: MinisterHealth Minister Eatala Rajender inspecting paddy purchasing center at Thanugula on Tuesday.
Karimnagar: Health Minister Eatala Rajender came down heavily on rice millers for allegedly harassing and humiliating farmers over substandard and high moisture content in paddy.
The Minister warned that severe action will be initiated against millers if anybody tries to humiliate farmers. The Minister made these comments after visiting the paddy procurement center in Thanugula of Jammikunta mandal on Tuesday. The Minister reportedly rushed to the rice center after coming to know that a rice miller near Huzurabad allegedly insulted farmers.
The farmers informed the Minister that the rice millers were reducing 4 to 5 kilograms Paddy for every 40 kg bag in the name of moisture and substandard paddy. If they questioned about the practise, the millers were humiliating them, they alleged.
Reacting to this, Rajender immediately spoke to the Rice Millers Association leaders, Agriculture Officials, Commissioner of Civil Supplies, and Collector over the phone and directed them to settle the issue..
The Telangana government was farmer-friendly and keeping farmers happy was its prime agenda. This was conveyed to the people and others on several occasions by the Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. There was no question of tolerating injustice to farmers and serious action would be taken against those trying to cheat or harass farmers, the Minister said.
If there were any grievances, the rice millers can take up the same with the government but they should not harass farmers, he said.




Rice millers face price squeeze by importers, says council
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April 19, 2020 9:40 PM
Description: https://s3media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/REUTERS_INDONESIA-ECONOMY-TRADE-Rice.jpgThe Malay Economic Action Council has called for a government review of the rice import monopoly and the padi and rice industry. (Reuters pic)
PETALING JAYA: Rice millers and wholesalers are complaining of being squeezed by a “rice import cartel” which has twice raised prices although retail prices are controlled, according to the Malay Economic Action Council.
The council, better known as MTEM, said the complaints had come from the Malay Rice Millers Association Malaysia and members involved in the wholesaling of rice.
MTEM chief executive director Ahmad Yazid Othman said rice imports were controlled by the agriculture and food industry ministry and PadiBeras Nasional Berhad (Bernas).
“The wholesale price of rice that is resold by these cartels was increased by RM0.20 and now increased yet again by RM0.40,” he said.
However retailers could not increase market prices and are forced to bear a small profit margin.
MTEM called for an official explanation on whether rice is being imported every week to meet domestic demand, and whether Bernas had received a subsidy on rice imports as was the case in 2008.
Bernas, formed in 1996 when the National Padi and Rice Board was privatised, has sole rights to import rice until 2021.
Yazid urged the government to be fair in distributing rice to all wholesalers at a reasonable price. Large companies who have been enjoying a lot of privileges while making millions in profit before should not be taking advantage of other businesses.
“The rice industry must be managed and operated more transparently to ensure sustainability of the country’s food security, the country’s food sovereignty and also the economic safety of Bumiputera industry players,” he said.
“The time has come for the new government to review the paddy and rice industry,” he said. The monopolies only benefited one party and were no help for the rice supply chain from the farmers, millers, wholesalers and retailers.
“The Covid-19 crisis should not be manipulated to profit one party’s monopoly, but should be a lesson by the government to develop the full capacity of the country’s food security, and to equally develop all of the players in the industry, especially the farmers and small and medium enterprises,” he added.

Take precautionary measures at PPCs, says Karimnagar Collector

District Collector K Shashanka asked rice millers to immediately dump the paddy shifted to mills from centers.

By AuthorTelanganaToday  |  Published: 20th Apr 2020  10:35 pm
Description: Karimnagar CollectorCollector K Shashanka conducting meeting with rice millers in Karimnagar on Monday.
Karimnagar: District Collector K Shashanka instructed officials to take all precautionary measures at paddy procurement centres in the wake of spread of the coronavirus.
He conducted a review meeting with rice millers at Collectorate conference hall here on Monday. Speaking on the occasion, he asked rice millers to immediately dump the paddy shifted to mills from centers.

According to State government’s instructions, PPC centres have been established in all villages. Informing that sufficient harvesters were available in the district, he advised the farmers to bring their produce to centres one after another according to taken issued by mandal agriculture officials.
He also advised farmers to bring only completely dried crop to PPCs. Workers at rice mills would be issued passes.
Additional Collector GV Shyam Prasad Lal, District Agriculture Officer V Sridhar, District Cooperative Officer Ch Manoj, District Supplies Officer Suresh, District Manager, Civil Supplies, M Srikanth, Rice Mills Association President Bachu Bhaskar and other rice millers participated in the meeting.

NFA resolves milling woes to ensure stable rice supply
Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star 
) - April 19, 2020 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The National Food Authority has met with its rice milling contractors to guarantee unimpeded flow of government rice supply across the country.
“We cannot afford to let anything hamper our palay milling activities to continuously serve the rice requirements of the National Capital Region and of the other areas in the country during this time of crisis,” NFA administrator Judy Dansal said.
All milling contractors’ employees and laborers were issued identification cards by NFA as providers of essential services to be presented to checkpoints for their easy passage.
Their trucks, which haul palay for milling from NFA and deliver back rice recoveries, were also provided with the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) stickers.
Dansal assured that the NFA has more than enough laborers in its warehouses, having hired tricycle drivers and other workers who, for the time being, have lost their regular livelihood due to the strict lockdown policies.
On the procurement of the mills’ fast-moving parts and other consumables, Dansal said she would recommend to the IATF to allow Manila-based suppliers of the needed rice mill spare parts to operate.
The NFA shall also issue a certification to be presented to the checkpoints, for the unimpeded transport and purchase of parts needed for the immediate repair of rice mills.
On the sale of rice by-products which serve as NFA’s payment-in-kind for milling services, Dansal said the NFA has already made adjustments in the “guaranteed milling recovery” to help rice millers recoup their lost income.
“We shall also recommend to the IATF to make representations with the Department of the Interior and Local Government to advise the LGUs where the rice mills are located, to find places where the rice hull could be dumped, because right now there are no rice hull buyers,” she said.
“Our primordial concern now is the continuous, full-blast NFA palay stocks milling, for a safe level supply of rice for this current emergency,” Dansal said.
Since the declaration of the enhanced community quarantine, 100 percent of NFA’s rice sales went to government agencies, reaching close to two million bags of rice.
The government’s rice inventory currently stands at 7.69 million bags, good to last for 116 days or nearly four months, based on the agency’s 10 percent market share.
Meanwhile, NFA is stepping up its procurement of local palay (unhusked rice) as farmers continue to harvest their summer crop. Its 440 warehouses and buying stations are open daily, procuring an average of 20,052 bags per day.
From January to mid-April, the NFA had already bought 2.56 million bags of palay. The agency targets to buy 2.4 million bags in April and 1.6 million bags in May, and a total of 15.44 million bags for the whole year.

https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/04/19/2008169/nfa-resolves-milling-woes-ensure-stable-rice-supply

 

NFA working with millers to solve checkpoint snags

April 20, 2020 | 12:02 am
Description: https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/NFA-rice-warehouse-042020.jpgPHILIPPINES STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS
THE National Food Authority (NFA) met with its rice milling contractors to iron out logistics issues after food deliveries continue to be disrupted by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), which has been extended to the end of April.
“We cannot afford to let anything hamper our palay milling activities to continuously serve the rice requirements of the National Capital Region (NCR) and of the other areas in the country during this time of crisis,” NFA Administrator Judy Carol L. Dansal said.
The NFA has issued identification cards to all milling contractors’ employees and laborers which will be presented at quarantine checkpoints for easy passage.
In addition, the trucks which transport palay for milling from the NFA and deliver back rice were also provided with passes from the Inter- Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) for unhampered movement.
Ms. Dansal also guaranteed that the NFA has more than enough workers in its warehouses after hiring tricycle drivers and other workers who have temporarily lost their jobs due to the lockdown.
On the procurement of parts and consumables by rice mills, Ms. Dansal said that she will also recommend to the IATF to allow Manila-based suppliers of rice mill spare parts to operate.
The NFA will also issue a certification to be presented at checkpoints for the unhampered transport and purchase of parts for the immediate repair of rice mills.
On the sale of rice by-products, NFA has also made adjustments in the “guaranteed milling recovery” to assist rice millers regain their lost income.
“We shall also recommend to the IATF to make representations with Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), to advise the LGUs where the rice mills are located, to find places where the rice hulls could be dumped, because right now there are no rice hull buyers,” Ms. Dansal said.
Meanwhile, the NFA also continued to strengthen its procurement of palay, or unmilled rice.
Ms. Dansal said that an average of 20,052 bags of palay are being procured daily, as farmers continue to harvest their dry-season crop.
“We are ready to serve the farmers and buy their harvest, especially when farmgate prices fall below the P19 per kg support price of the government,” Ms. Dansal said.
Between January and mid-April, the NFA bought 2.56 million bags of palay. It set a target of buying 2.4 million bags in April, 1.6 million bags in May, and 15.44 million bags for 2020.
The national rice inventory has been estimated at the equivalent to a supply of 116 days or nearly four months.
Ms. Dansal said that the 440 NFA warehouses and buying stations are open daily, including weekends and holidays.
Since the ECQ declaration, 100% of NFA’s rice sales have gone to government agencies, which are stepping up their food distribution due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak and resulting lockdown.
As of April 13, the total withdrawals of NFA rice by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and local government units (LGUs) hit nearly two million bags. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Step up paddy and maize procurement, AICC tells Telangana CM

Our Bureau  Hyderabad | Updated on April 22, 2020  Published on April 22, 2020
Description: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/editorial/wvm72j/article31263488.ece/alternates/WIDE_435/BL06THINKEDIT1
The Congress has asked the Telangana government to step up efforts to procure paddy and maize to help farmers tide over the crisis.
“The government has promised that it would open 7,500 procurement centres to purchase the whole of rabi produce. But it opened only 4,380 procurement centres,” he said.
He alleged that the farmers were facing challenges as procurement was not happening at full scale.
“The government needs to ramp up paddy procurement at a much higher level. In the absence of the government’s paddy procurement centres, farmers are forced to sell their produce to private rice millers at lesser prices,” Sravan Dasoju, the All-India Congress Committee spokesman, has said.
“The farming community has been the worst hit due to the lockdown and needs urgent attention from the government,” he said in a letter written to the Telangana Chief Minister, K Chandrashekar Rao.
“Though the government of Telangana, reportedly, is making efforts to take up procurement of agriculture produce to the point of saturation, the situation at ground level has been different,” he said.
As against the normal rabi sowing area of 31.58 lakh acres, the farmers grew crops in 53.68 lakh acres, showing a growth of 70 per cent in the area.
While paddy was grown in 39.24 lakh acres (as against normal area of 16.89 lakh acres), maize was grown in 6.21 lakh acres and bengal gram 3.28 lakh acres, leading to a substantial increase in the agricultural produce.
The AICC spokesperson also said that there is a shortage of gunny bags, making it difficult for farmers to sell the produce.
He said the situation with regard to maize procurement, too, needs to be improved.
The State produced about 18.60 lakh tonnes of maize. “But the government could procure only 1.30 lakh tonnes only,” he said.


Published on April 22, 2020

Machines come to rescue amid lockdown-linked labourer problem


HYDERABAD, APRIL 21, 2020 19:41 IST
UPDATED: APRIL 21, 2020 22:21 IST
Description: A harvester working in a paddy field in Nizamabad district.
A harvester working in a paddy field in Nizamabad district.   | Photo Credit: file photo

Yet, labourer shortage slows down transport of paddy from purchase centres to mills, godowns

Notwithstanding some hiccups interspersed by untimely rains playing the spoilsport, the massive exercise of paddy procurement from farmers at a minimum support price (MSP) at the village itself in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus by scheduling arrivals with issuance of farmer-wise tokens, is underway briskly across the State.
The administration was groping in the dark on handling the massive task when the decision to force lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus during the last week of March as it curtailed the availability and movement of labourers for harvesting and procurement-related jobs. As such, according to Telangana Rice Millers Association, most of the 2,200 rice mills in the State would depend on migrant workers for their labour requirement.
“We were not sure as to how we could tackle the problem till we collected information about the exact availability of harvesters in the State. But once we secured credible data with the help of our field-level officials, despair gave way to confidence as the details collected included the contact numbers of harvester owners, their drivers and servicing agencies along with the number of machines available in the State,” Agriculture Production Commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy told The Hindu.

Enough harvesters

Initially, the Agriculture Department had information that only about 5,000 harvesters were available in the State but the enumeration could bring out that a total of 14,095 machines were owned in the State. Another 753 harvesters are positioned in the State by their owners in Tamil Nadu and Punjab who sensed heavy business this rabi season, that stretches from March last week to May second week.
“We came to know that some entrepreneurs had started purchasing harvesters from the last rabi season itself assessing that they would have huge work on hand with Kaleshwaram project set to become functional,” the APC said adding that harvesters would also help the farming community save on costs. A field official involved in the procurement exercise, however, stated that local labourers were unwilling to work at purchase centres and rice mills/storage points as ‘hamalis’ as it involves a lot of physical stress. He also admitted to the delays in moving the stock from purchase centres to rice mills/godowns due to labourer shortage.

Migrant labour

Administration in several districts is encouraging migrant workers, both those who were in transit and struck in districts and those who come in search of seasonal wage work, to ease the labourer shortage in procurement, loading and unloading of purchased grain. “We have distributed 12 kg of rice each to all migrant workers in the district along with cash of 1,500 per family already this month and offering them wage work too at procurement centre and rice mills/storage points. Some of them are working already,” District Collector of Mahabubnagar S. Venkata Rao said, when enquired about the problem. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/managing-harvesting-bluesmachines-come-to-rescue-amid-lockdown-linked-labourer-problem/article31398296.ece

On The Farm: How Farmers Are Working To Meet Demand While Preparing For An Uncertain Harvest

Apr 20, 2020,07:00am EDT

 

Description: Bridget Shirvell
Bridget Shirvell
I cover food, technology and the environment.
PHOTO: OCEAN SPRAY
Cranberry plants don’t watch the news, so Steve Lee, a New Jersey-based sixth-generation cranberry farmer, is preparing for the upcoming harvest season in the same way he would any other year. Right now, that means he’s busy on the farm making equipment repairs and purchasing fertilizer and other supplies such as equipment parts for the growing season.
“We have already changed day-to-day operational plans and procedures to provide us the ability to nurture, monitor, and deliver the crop with zero worker-to-worker contact,” said Lee. “But, let me be clear: cranberries won’t just take the year off. Cranberries are a perennial crop that will produce fruit, whether there is or isn’t a pandemic. As one of only three cultivated fruits native to North America, the cranberries will grow on their vines as they have done for thousands of years no matter what happens with a pandemic.”
Lee is one of the more than 700 cranberry farmers that make up Ocean Spray’s grower-owned cooperative farms. While Lee has only four-year round workers, many cranberry farmers with more extensive operations are working on reduced schedules or focusing on completing farm jobs that don’t require multiple personnel, so they can continue preparing for the growing season and harvest while adhering to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) coronavirus pandemic guidelines. 
Today In: Food & Drink
The pandemic has changed everyone’s lives, but while many people across the United States can work from home, that’s not the case for most farmers.  
PHOTO: 4SISTERS
“We have asked many of our key employees and office staff to work from home. However, for many our farmer partners, as we speak, preparing for a new crop or all of our employees including our truck drivers, millers, and packaging staff this is not a reality,” says Meryl Kennedy, the CEO of Kennedy Rice Mill LLC and Founder of 4Sisters Rice.
Based in Louisiana, Kennedy finds herself having to remind the rice farmers and farmworkers she works with about social distancing.
“Organic rice farming and seed rice farming depends on H2A workers to row the fields for seeds and other weeds,” Kennedy said. “It has been more difficult than normal years recruiting and maintaining H2A workers. Many of our farmers and farm aid also ride to work together in the same vehicles; we are having to find new ways to communicate to them the importance of social distancing.”
PHOTO: 4SISTERS
Currently, U.S. rice farmers are in the middle of the planting season, which will last until roughly the end of May and Kennedy said that as demand for rice increases during the pandemic, some farmers are planting more. 
“People all around the world are concerned about the supply chain and while I think there will be more planted acres, I also think it’ll be a stable supply; it’s just about getting it to shelves fast enough,” Kennedy said.
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM.COM/WEARETHENEWFARMERS
In New York City, indoor farm We Are The New Farmers doesn’t have to worry about a planting or harvest season. The spirulina, which is grown in enclosed tanks, can be harvested each day, with the company only harvesting enough to fulfill the orders they have on any given day. The company which grows the microalgae spirulina saw a 40% increase in demand from February to March.
“People have more time to cook at home right now,and I think people are looking for food that is nutrient-dense, supports the immune system and is local,” said We Are The New Farmers co-founder Jonas Günther. 
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM.COM/WEARETHENEWFARMERS
Like their outdoor farm counterparts, We Are The New Farmers restructured what they do on the farm to minimize the risk to workers. Three days a week, everything happening on the farm is managed remotely and when they do need to the farm, they’ve reduced the number of people that need to go and organized a carpool so no one has to take the subway.
“No matter what’s happening outside, we can continue to produce local nutrient-dense food,” Günther said.
PHOTO: OCEAN SPRAY
Back at the cranberry bogs, as Lee gets ready for their growing season, his primary concern isn’t the pandemic but the ability to easily access supplies and material needs that potentially arise during harvest and the growing season. 
“Without question, it is now more important than ever to re-evaluate how we nourish and take care of ourselves and our bodies with food,” Lee said.

I’m a NY-based freelance writer covering food, technology and the environment. My work has appeared in Martha Stewart Living, Civil Eats, PBS NewsHour and more. As the…


Cable bacteria can drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from rice cultivation

Date:April 20, 2020
Source:Aarhus University
Summary:
The rice fields account for five percent of global emissions of the greenhouse gas methane, which is 25 times stronger than CO2. Researchers have found that cable bacteria could be an important part of the solution. In the laboratory, they have grown rice in soil with and without cable bacteria, and the pots with cable bacteria emitted 93% less methane than the pots without cable bacteria.


A Danish-German research collaboration may have found a solution to the large climate impact from the world's rice production: By adding electric conductive cable bacteria to soil with rice plants, they could reduce methane emissions by more than 90%.
Half of world´s population is nourished by rice crops, but rice cultivation is harsh to he climate. The rice fields account for five percent of global emissions of the greenhouse gas methane, which is 25 times stronger than CO2.
This is because the rice plants grow in water. When the fields are flooded, the soil becomes poor in oxygen, creating the right conditions for microorganisms to produce methane. Now researchers from Aarhus University and the University of Duisburg-Essen have found that cable bacteria could be an important part of the solution. In the laboratory, they have grown rice in soil with and without cable bacteria and measured what happened.
"And the difference was far beyond my expectations. The pots with cable bacteria emitted 93% less methane than the pots without cable bacteria, "says Vincent Valentin Scholz, who conducted the experiments as a PhD student at the Center for Electromicrobiology (CEM) at Aarhus University.
The result is published today in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
Increases sulfate and attenuates microbes
"Cable bacteria transport electrons over centimeter distances along their filaments, changing the geochemical conditions of the water-saturated soil. The cable bacteria recycle the soil's sulfur compounds, thus maintaining a large amount of sulfate in the soil. This has the consequence that the methane-producing microbes cannot maintain their activity," explains Vincent Valentin Scholz.
It is already known that the rice growers can temporarily slow down the emission of methane by spreading sulfate on the rice fields. Apparently, the cable bacteria can do this for them -- and not just temporarily.
This finding adds a new angle to the role of cable bacteria as ecosystem engineers. While the authors emphasize that they have only the very first laboratory observation, it is tempting to speculate that enrichment of cable bacteria by sensible management of water and soil regime could become a sustainable and convenient solution for reducing methane emissions from rice fields. But of course, it requires field studies to see how cable bacteria can thrive in rice fields.
About cable bacteria
Cable bacteria were an unknown way of life until they were first identified in the Bay of Aarhus, Denmark, in 2012. They thrive on the bottom of the sea, lakes, groundwater and streams and often in large quantities. Each individual consists of thousands of cells in a centimeter-long chain surrounded by a common outer sheath with electric wires. One end is buried in the oxygen-poor sediment, the other is so close to the water that it has contact with oxygen. This allows the bacteria to use electric power to burn the food in an oxygen-free environment. The process also changes the chemical composition of the soil.


Story Source:
Materials provided by Aarhus University. Original written by Peter F. Gammelby. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:
1.     Vincent V. Scholz, Rainer U. Meckenstock, Lars Peter Nielsen, Nils Risgaard-Petersen. Cable bacteria reduce methane emissions from rice-vegetated soilsNature Communications, 2020; 11 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15812-w


Cite This Page:
Aarhus University. "Cable bacteria can drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from rice cultivation." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 20 April 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200420105045.htm>.


Govt using rice for poor to make sanitiser for rich, says Rahul Gandhi

Reacting to reports that Centre has decided to use rice in stock to make sanitisers, Rahul Gandhi said that the poor were dying of hunger and the government wanted to make sanitisers for the rich

Congress President Rahul Gandhi (Social Media)

IANS

Updated: 21 Apr 2020, 5:17 PM
Reacting to reports that the Centre has decided to use additional rice in stock to make ethanol, which could be used for making sanitisers, Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday that the poor were dying of hunger and the government wanted to make sanitisers for the rich.
Rahul Gandhi said in his tweet, "When will the poor of Hindustan wake up, you are dying of hunger and from your share of rice they are going to make sanitisers for the rich."
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 21, 2020
The Congress has been demanding free ration till September 20 and Sonia Gandhi has also written to the Prime Minister on this.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has also appealed to the government to issue emergency ration cards to the migrants and the poor, who are not getting rations through the PDS.
He reacted to the reports that the Centre has allowed the FCI to convert the surplus rice into ethanol to ensure adequate availability of sanitisers to fight COVID-19. The decision was taken by the National Biofuel Cordination Committee chaired by Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan as per the National Biofuel policy of 2018.
The ethanol produced will also be used in production of ethanol blended petrol.
The policy of 2018 allows such conversions of surplus foodgrains to into ethanol.
For all the latest India News, Follow India Section.

Rice genetically engineered to resist heat waves can also produce up to 20% more grain

As plants convert sunlight into sugar, their cells are playing with fire. Photosynthesis generates chemical byproducts that can damage the light-converting machinery itself—and the hotter the weather, the more likely the process is to run amok as some chemical reactions accelerate and others slow. Now, a team of geneticists has engineered plants so they can better repair heat damage, an advance that could help preserve crop yields as global warming makes heat waves more common. And in a surprise, the change made plants more productive at normal temperatures.
“This is exciting news,” says Maria Ermakova of Australian National University, who works on improving photosynthesis. The genetic modification worked in three kinds of plants—a mustard that is the most common plant model, tobacco, and rice, suggesting any crop plant could be helped. The work bucked conventional wisdom among photosynthesis scientists, and some plant biologists wonder exactly how the added gene produces the benefits. Still, Peter Nixon, a plant biochemist at Imperial College London, predicts the study will “attract considerable attention.”
When plants are exposed to light, a complex of proteins called photosystem II (PSII) energizes electrons that then help power photosynthesis. But heat or intense light can lead to damage in a key subunit, known as D1, halting PSII’s work until the plant makes and inserts a new one into the complex. Plants that make extra D1 should help speed those repairs. Chloroplasts, the organelles that host photosynthesis, have their own DNA, including a gene for D1, and most biologists assumed the protein had to be made there. But the chloroplast genome is much harder to tweak than genes in a plant cell’s nucleus.

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A team led by plant molecular biologist Fang-Qing Guo of the Chinese Academy of Sciences bet that D1 made by a nuclear gene could work just as well—and be made more efficiently, as its synthesis in the cytoplasm instead of the chloroplast would be protected from the corrosive byproducts of photosynthetic reactions. Guo and colleagues tested the idea in the mustard Arabidopsis thaliana. They took its chloroplast gene for D1, coupled it to a stretch of DNA that turns on during heat stress, and moved it to the nucleus.
The team found that modified Arabidopsis seedlings could survive extreme heat in the lab—8.5 hours at 41°C—that killed most of the control plants. The same Arabidopsis gene also protected tobacco and rice. In all three species, photosynthesis and growth decreased less than in the surviving control plants. And in 2017, when Shanghai exceeded 36°C for 18 days, transgenic rice planted in test plots yielded 8% to 10% more grain than control plants, the team reports this week in Nature Plants.
The shock was what happened at normal temperatures. Engineered plants of all three species had more photosynthesis—tobacco's rate increased by 48%—and grew more than control plants. In the field, the transgenic rice yielded up to 20% more grain. “It truly surprised us,” Guo says. “I felt that we have caught a big fish.”
Veteran photosynthesis researcher Donald Ort of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne, says the group presents credible evidence of plant benefits, but he’s not yet convinced that the D1 made by nuclear genes could have repaired PSII in the chloroplast. “Anything this potentially important is going to be met with some skepticism. There are lots of experiments to do, to figure out why this works,” he says.
Guo plans further tests of the mechanism. He also has a practical goal: heftier yield increases in rice. The productivity boost his team saw in modified Arabidopsis was the largest of the three species—80% more biomass than controls—perhaps because the researchers simply moved Arabidopsis’ own D1 gene. Guo thinks rice yield might also burgeon if it could be modified with its own chloroplast gene rather than one from mustard—further heating up these already hot results. 

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/04/rice-genetically-engineered-resist-heat-waves-can-also-produce-20-more-grain

 

Siberian scientists have created a cure for the virus from rice and green tea

The specialists of SB RAS ihtt managed to develop a composite material based on the conventional green tea and husk from rice, which has strong antiviral properties. The method of obtaining this material of the Siberian scientists is described in detail in a publication made especially for the publication of Silicon.
Description: Сибирские ученые создали средство от вирусов из риса и зеленого чая
It is noted that from the beginning, the drug was developed for agricultural purposes, in particular, he was supposed to be a feed additive for livestock and a means of stimulating the growth of plants. Was later carried out other work in collaboration with scientists from the center “Vector”. In addition, to the Siberian chemists were approached by colleagues, who were interested in the antiviral properties of silicon dioxide. Later studies have shown that this development demonstrates the effectiveness in dealing with viruses of West Nile fever and herpes. But the principles of the creation of this composite are based on the interaction of silica extracted from rice husk and polyphenols called catechins contained in green tea.
“We put plant material normal machining, however in special conditions. The result is the destruction of cells green tea and part of the contained catechins in contact with the surface of silica interacts with it. This chemical reaction creates surface complexes, which can subsequently release both components after oral administration of water,” say the authors of the study.

https://thetimeshub.in/siberian-scientists-have-created-a-cure-for-the-virus-from-rice-and-green-tea/8829/

 

Hainan to increase acreage for rice to 132, 200 ha in 2020

The scientific research base will be located in Wenchang County in Puqian and Jinshan areas
HAIKOU, April 20. /TASS/. Hainan will increase the acreage for rice cultivation by 2.02% – up to 132, 200 hectares in 2020, according the Hainan Daily.
According to the news outlet, the local government has set the task to increase the cultivated area for grain to 287,000 ha in 2020 (an increase of 350 ha). According to the newspaper, the authorities also plan to take measures to protect the crop from insects.
At present, 113 varieties of rice are cultivated on the Island of Hainan with the use of dry land method, and irrigation systems for torrential production are also under development. In particular, in the urban district of Wenchang there are two experimental farms practicing rice cultivation with the use of torrential method.
The Chinese scientists have also created an experimental plantation on Hainan for experiments on the cultivation of "saltwater rice", which has salt tolerant properties. Scientists often use the term “saltwater rice” among themselves, but this name is unofficial, as, strictly speaking, it does not grow directly in the ocean. This breed grows and survives in the salt marsh - the soil, the top layer of which is characterized by the presence of readily-soluble salts, where most crops would die.
The scientific research base will be located in Wenchang County in Puqian and Jinshan areas. These areas were severely damaged by typhoon Rammasun in 2014: due to the storms, a large number of fertile lands was contaminated with salt and the lands' fertility decreased significantly. Currently, 24, 700 hectares of rural lands remain abandoned.

https://tass.com/economy/1147305


[Interview] Lockdown throws up challenges for quarantine of plant samples for research

 

by Sahana Ghosh on 22 April 2020
  • The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) said that while the world battles COVID-19, plant pests, and diseases continue to pose a threat to food production, stressing we must not let our guard down.
  • Quarantine processes for samples of plant materials brought into the country for research purposes have been impacted due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-associated lockdown, according to the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
  • In an interview with Mongabay-India, NBPGR scientists discuss the challenges in plant quarantine for research samples under the lockdown, the gaps in plant biosecurity in India and implications for a post-COVID world.
The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), an inter-governmental treaty signed by 184 countries, dubbed it an “unfortunate coincidence” that during the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) in 2020, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global outbreak is “showing the world how adopting preventive measures is essential to secure countries from the introduction and spread of devastating human diseases.”
IPPC, aimed at protecting the world’s plant resources from the spread and introduction of pests and promoting safe trade, said that the COVID-19 pandemic is proving that prevention is always better than cure, and this applies to the health of humans, animals, and plants.
India is a signatory to the IPPC, which stresses while the world battles COVID-19, plant pests, and diseases that continue to pose a threat to food production, must not slip through the cracks.
In the past, India like the rest of the world has seen the devastating effects resulting from diseases and pests introduced along with the international movement of plant material, agricultural produce, and product, experts have said. Among these are examples like coffee rust introduced in Sri Lanka in 1875 and its subsequent introduction in India in 1876; fluted scale (sap-sucking insect) on citrus introduced from Sri Lanka in 1928; San Jose scale in apple introduced into India in the 1930s; and bunchy top of banana introduced from Sri Lanka in 1943.
The COVID-19 associated lockdown in India has posed challenges to scientists involved in quarantine processing of samples of plant materials that are brought into India for research purposes. Quarantining these samples prevents the entry of exotic pests during import.
These small samples are of immense quarantine importance because they usually comprise of germplasm material or wild relatives or landraces of a crop and are thus more likely to carry diverse biotypes/ races/ strains of the pest.
In India, the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, undertakes quarantine processing of germplasm including transgenic planting material imported into the country for research purposes and issues phytosanitary certificate for research material meant for export. Phytosanitary certification is an official declaration by the exporting country attesting that consignments meet phytosanitary import requirements-stating that plants and plant materials are free from pests and disease. In a year, at least 100,000 (one lakh) samples are examined by NBPGR in quarantine processes.
In an interview with Mongabay-India, Kuldeep Singh, director, NBPGR and S.C. Dubey, head and principal scientist, division of plant quarantine at NBPGR, discussed the challenges in plant quarantine for research samples, the gaps in plant biosecurity in India, the solutions and implications for a post-COVID world.
How do plants and plant products enter India? What is the role of NBPGR in plant biosecurity?
In India, the entry of plants or their parts is in two ways. The bulk import for commercial use and consumption is being monitored by the Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine and Storage (DPPQS), Faridabad, Government of India. Small samples for research purposes are imported through ICAR-NBPGR.
In both cases, the Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order 2003 has to be followed.
ICAR-NBPGR has been empowered under the Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order 2003 to undertake quarantine processing of germplasm including transgenic planting material imported into the country for research purposes.
Besides, NBPGR also issues ‘phytosanitary certificate’ for research material meant for export. We have well- equipped laboratories, a greenhouse complex, and a CL-4 level containment facility to undertake the quarantine processing effectively. NBPGR also has a well-equipped quarantine station at Hyderabad, which mainly deals with the export samples of the International Crop Research Institute for Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and samples for the southern part of the country.
Description: https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2020/04/22091922/IMG_3624-768x512.jpgNBPGR’s Kuldeep Singh (left) and SC Dubey (right). Photo courtesy the scientists.
Can you elaborate on plant quarantine and phytosanitary certification?
Over the years, during quarantine processing in post-entry quarantine (PEQ) facilities, a large number of pests have been intercepted in germplasm and other research material which includes several pests that have not been reported yet from India. The consignments must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate stating the status of the consignment to be free from the pests mentioned in the declaration. NBPGR’s role in the biosecurity of the country is well defined and known. In past (1976-2019), a total of 78 pests including fungi (6), viruses (19), insects/ mites (26), nematodes (9) and weeds (18) not reported from India and of quarantine significance for India were intercepted in imported germplasm and their entry into India through samples received by NBPGR was checked.
ICAR-NBPGR is providing regular inputs on biosecurity to government agencies like the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of External Affairs, and MoEF&CC
What are the major challenges in plant biosecurity in India?
We need more certified post-entry quarantine (PEQ) facilities to accommodate a larger number of plant materials for quarantine processes and rigorous inspection of the material before release.
Further, the Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) procedure is one of the biggest challenges for quarantine workers. PRA in plant introduction is essential to decide whether a particular planting material could be permitted entry or not. If permitted, what would be the manner of import to prohibit the introduction of new pests in the country. One of the primary responsibilities of plant protection organisation/ institutions is to identify foreign pests of crops that are important in the Indian agricultural scenario and assess the potential damage that those pests could cause if introduced in our country.
This is part of a PRA exercise which consists of risk assessment (scientific estimation of likelihood and magnitude of risk of establishment of a given pest) and impact assessment (estimation of the consequences of the establishment of pest).
Therefore, to ensure that imported commodities have no pest or disease risk to our agriculture and forestry, the Plant Quarantine Order 2003 has made it mandatory to conduct a PRA for all commodities other than those given in Schedule V, VI and VII, prior to the issue of import permit.
Updated lists of endemic pests, authentic data on country-wide survey/ surveillance, as well as literature, are indispensable in PRA procedures. To facilitate quarantine processing, and biosecurity, we need to strengthen the harmonisation of the Indian plant quarantine system with the global plant quarantine system.
This, in turn, depends on enhanced co-ordination of scientists and resource sharing among the three concerned organisations: Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine and Storage (Department of Agriculture and Cooperation and Farmers Welfare), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Department of Agricultural Research and Education) and state agricultural universities/other research institutions.
Additionally, there is a need for integrated agricultural biosecurity efforts. Presently in India, agricultural biosecurity is managed on a sectoral basis through the development and implementation of separate policies and legislative frameworks (e.g. for animal and plant life and health).
Description: https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2020/04/21130509/Cowpea.jpgPost Entry Quarantine growing of seed samples of French bean and soybean for the detection of seed-borne pests especially viruses associated with seeds. Photo from NBPGR.
Although the sectoral agencies organise their work with proper attention towards the other sectors to meet the challenges of biosecurity that are of interdisciplinary nature, in the present national system, there is a need for a more harmonised and integrated approach for agricultural biosecurity working together towards common goals.
At the national level efforts are being made to develop a coherent biosecurity strategy for the country by the formulation of a comprehensive Agricultural Biosecurity Bill in 2013. The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare (DACFW) has initiated the establishment of a National Agricultural Biosecurity System. Also, the re-drafting of the Agricultural Biosecurity Bill in 2018 by the DACFW to address the issue of national biosecurity in a holistic manner are some of the important steps in the right direction.
Has the lockdown impacted plant quarantine measures and biosecurity measures?
Certainly, as the seed materials are not moving across the world. We do receive a major part of rice germplasm from International Rice Research Institute during March-April and this may be affected. NBPGR is monitoring the seeds grown in the post-entry quarantine facility (PEQ) at New Delhi and Hyderabad. Up to the last week of February, we did post-entry quarantine inspections at  sites where they were indented across the country for research materials.
In a post-pandemic world, what will be the major changes with respect to plant biosecurity? Any specific way the NBPGR will also evolve its strategies?
We are going to receive huge consignments of seed samples for research purposes after the lockdown period ends. We will take utmost care at institute level for disinfestation of the outer surface of the packages containing seeds before it is opened for quarantine.
Internationally, so far there are no specific guidelines for safe and secure handling of plant and plant products from the areas having an outbreak of COVID 19. ICAR is having trained scientists and well-equipped laboratories to handle any such conditions in the case of plant pests. However, the plant quarantine system in the country needs to be strengthened both in the terms of manpower and facilities.
What are the control points in plant biosecurity procedures that will need rethinking in the wake of COVID-19?
The virus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 is known to be a surface contaminant, the bags containing seed samples need a certain minimum policy to be handled with care to avoid contamination. Our staff has been instructed to surface- sanitise the boxes holding the seed samples.


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