Study
discovers proteins in rice vital for pollination
Credit: CC0 Public Domain
Scientists
at the University of Adelaide and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China have
discovered two proteins in rice involved in pollen aperture formation which are
essential in the successful pollination of flowering plants.
Their
study, published in the journal Nature Plants, was undertaken to
better understand the molecular control of plant pollen aperture formation in rice, with a view to acquiring new
knowledge to improve cereal productivity and ultimately benefit global food
security.
Professor
Dabing Zhang, Head of the University of Adelaide and Shanghai Jiao Tong
University Joint Lab for Plant Science and Breeding, says the research reveals
the importance of the aperture for rice grain yield and exposes the mechanisms
controlling pollen aperture development in cereal species.
"Pollen
apertures are portals on the surface of pollen which mark the site where the
pollen tube emerges and allow water uptake, which are critical for pollen
germination and agricultural yield," Professor Zhang said.
"Different
plant species vary in the size, shape, position and number of pollen apertures,
but little is known about how these species-specific apertures form and what
controls this process.
"In
rice and other cereals, pollen develops a single circular aperture surrounded
by a bulging ring-like area of raised and thickened exine (called the annulus)
and covered by a lid of exine (called the operculum)."
The
study found that the protein, OsDAF1, is essential for annulus formation and
therefore for fertility. A second protein, OsINP1, was also found to be
critical to aperture formation and pollen tube germination.
The
second protein, OsINP1, also directs annulus formation in rice by interacting
with OsDAF1. The localization of OsDAF1 at the aperture site is disrupted if
OsINP1 is not present, causing the disappearance of the entire aperture and
resulting in male sterility.
Professor
Dabing Zhang says the research provides important new knowledge that will
benefit cereal breeding and the agriculture sector."Manipulation of pollen
aperture formation and male fertility will be useful for developing new hybrid
rice plants with high yield and better quality,"
he said.
"This new knowledge could
also be applied to other crop varieties to improve breeding outcomes."
https://phys.org/news/2020-05-proteins-rice-vital-pollination.html
Bangladesh sends seasonal fruits and fresh vegetables to UAE
According to an official statement
on Friday, Bangladesh has sent fine quality seasonal fruits and fresh
vegetables to the United Arab Emirates by a cargo flight of Etihad Airlines.
Overall, the gifts include
banglamati rice, developed by Bangladeshi Scientists, fresh watermelon,
pineapple, okra, potato, pointed gourd, cucumber etc. The Ministry of
Agriculture arranged fresh vegetables under the guidance of Agriculture
Minister Dr Abdur Razzaq.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr A.K.
Abdul Momen mentioned Bangladesh's remarkable progress in the agriculture
sector with surplus food production during his meeting with Sheikh Abdullah bin
Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of
the UAE in January 2020.
On a separate occasion, the
chairman of the UAE Investment Authority Sheikh Hamadbin Zayed Al Nahyan
expressed his willingness to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to import rice from
Bangladesh during his courtesy call in Abu Dhabi in January.
The gifts were primarily made from
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the President, the Prime Minister and Ruler of
Dubai, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the Foreign Minister, the Minister of
Human Resources and the Minister of State for Food Security of the United Arab
Emirates. The gifts were made as a gesture of goodwill and fraternity between
Bangladesh and the UAE.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Dhaka is trying to explore overseas markets for surplus agro-products of
Bangladesh, especially the seasonal fruits, fresh vegetables and meat. It is
noteworthy; UAE authority has procured around 40 tons of fresh vegetables and
meat and carried them in the same cargo flight. This might be a good start of
exporting quality rice, fruits, vegetables and meat to the UAE.
Source: uniindia.com
Half of UK rice breaches arsenic limits for
children, warn scientists
The scientists recommended that
the UK government and European Commission introduce labelling to clarify
whether rice is safe for consumption by babies and children under five.
Scientists from the University
of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food have called for
labelling to warn the public about levels of arsenic in rice, after their
research found half of rice varieties studied exceeded maximum limits on the
toxin.
They found 28 out of 55 rice samples sold in the UK contained
levels of arsenic that exceeded European Commission regulations for rice meant
for the consumption for infants or young children. The research is said to be
the first to measure differences in human health risks from arsenic using a
substantial number of rice varieties marketed in the UK.
The results showed that brown
rice contained higher levels of the carcinogen than white or wild rice because
it contains the bran – the outer layer of the grain. Organically grown rice was
also found to contain significantly higher levels than non-organically grown
rice. White rice contained the lowest levels of arsenic. Considering the health
implications, the researchers concluded that babies under the age of one must
be restricted to a maximum of 20g per day of the 28 rice varieties that
breached regulations, in order to avoid risks of developing cancer in later
life.
“Brown and wild rice are healthy
foods full of fibre and vitamins, and there is no need for grown-ups to avoid
them – but it is concerning to see so many varieties sold in the UK breaching
food safety regulations,” said Dr Manoj Menon, Environmental Soil Scientist in
the Department of Geography at the University of Sheffield and lead author of
the study.
“Rice products are often
considered a safe option for babies and young children, but our research
suggests that for more than half of the rice we sampled, infants should be
limited to just 20g per day to avoid risks associated with arsenic. The
government and the European Commission must introduce labelling to warn people
of arsenic levels in rice to enable families to make informed food choices.”
A K-State first: Plant
pathologist Valent named to National Academy of Sciences
Barbara Valent, a university distinguished professor, joins a
group of scholars that is often sought out to provide independent, objective
advice to national leaders on problems where scientific insights are critical.
Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kansas State University plant pathologist
Barbara Valent has earned membership in the prestigious National Academy of
Sciences, becoming the first scientist at K-State to earn the honor for
original research conducted while at the university.
The National Academy of Sciences, or NAS, is considered the
country’s leading authority on matters related to science and technology. As a
member, Valent, a university distinguished professor, joins a group of scholars
that is often sought out to provide independent, objective advice to national
leaders on problems where scientific insights are critical.
“Professor Valent has made, and continues to make, significant
and leading contributions to understanding virulent plant diseases that impact
global food production and access,” said Peter K. Dorhout, K-State vice
president for research. “Her research enables the world to provide greater
levels of food surety and food security to its people, and it’s wonderful that
NAS has recognized her scientific leadership.”
The academy was established by an act of Congress and signed by
President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Today, the academy has 2,405 members in the
U.S. and 501 more internationally. Academy members are nominated and then
elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in
original research.
“Being elected to the NAS is the ultimate recognition of
scientific excellence, expertise and achievement in the U.S.,” Valent said.
“Even as a graduate student, you realize that being a member of the NAS is one
of the highest honors a scientist can receive. It’s something that always
stands out there as a goal.”
Valent has worked on understanding blast disease, caused by a
fungus known to scientists as Magnaporthe oryzae, for more than 40 years. In
the last decade, her work has focused on wheat blast, a dangerous new disease
in which the fungus is capable of taking out entire wheat fields. Valent has
led a research team that is driving the world’s most comprehensive studies on
wheat blast to keep it out of the U.S.
“When I came to K-State in 2001, I began new research on how the
blast fungus hijacks and feeds on live plant cells to grow and cause disease,”
Valent said. “We have learned how the fungus floods surrounding cells with
small proteins, or effectors, that turn off the plant’s defenses and how the
fungus moves from cell to cell. Understanding details of the infection process
is aimed at developing novel strategies for controlling disease on rice, wheat
and other cereal crops.”
According to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement
Center in Mexico, wheat is grown on nearly 531 million acres worldwide, or an
area equivalent to that of Greenland. Nearly $50 billion is traded globally
each year, and wheat-based food is eaten by an estimated 2.5 billion people in
89 countries. It surpasses maize and rice as a source of protein in low- and
middle-income nations and is second only to rice as a source of calories in the
human diet.
Since its emergence in Brazil in 1985, wheat blast has spread to
other parts of South America. In 2016 scientists found the disease across the
ocean in Bangladesh, surprising farmers and researchers and causing additional
concern about its ability to spread rapidly throughout the world. Farmers in
Bangledesh burned entire fields to try to stem the spread of wheat blast but
the disease still established there. Many of these farmers have now stopped
growing wheat.
While Valent has been in the center of international work, her
team has also helped to keep the fungus from infecting U.S. wheat fields.
Working in K-State’s Biosecurity Research Institute, a biosafety level-3 and
biosafety level-3 agriculture facility, the researchers were the first to
discover a resistance gene called 2NS for wheat blast disease.
More recently, Valent — with colleagues Sanzhen Liu and David
Cook — completed work showing how microbial pathogens like wheat blast are
constantly evolving to overcome control measures developed by scientists.
“We are working to better understand pathogen genomics and
evolution because this fungus is notorious for being able to overcome resistance,”
Valent said. “We need more resistance genes and that’s what we’re focused on
now. It’s a safety backup; some of the blast fungi in South America are already
able to overcome the 2NS gene.”
Megan Kennelly, professor and interim department head of the
plant pathology department, said Valent’s election to the National Academy of
Sciences is a well-deserved honor.
“Her research is truly transformative, both in terms of basic
understanding of plants and microbes but also with the potential to save wheat
and rice yields worldwide,” Kennelly said.
Kennelly noted that Valent and her group pioneered sophisticated
microscopic techniques that allow them to watch and record how disease develops
cell by cell and hour by hour in amazing detail.
“Her work has truly opened our eyes to the intricate interplay
of plants and fungi in a completely new way,” Kennelly said.
Valent was awarded K-State’s highest academic ranking of
university distinguished professor in 2002. She earned a doctorate in
biochemistry from the University of Colorado in 1978 and was a National
Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University from 1980 to
1982.
In addition to her active research program, Valent has taught
three K-State graduate classes and advises doctoral students and postdoctoral
fellows in her lab.
“Being a member of the NAS is not just an honor but also an
opportunity to impact scientific issues important for the well-being of the
nation and the world,” Valent said. “My expertise in fungal pathogens of
important grain crops allows me to contribute to national and global food
security issues including and beyond wheat blast.”
She added: “As illustrated so clearly with the coronavirus
pandemic, it is critical to prepare for potential pandemic threats to our food
supply. It is a national security issue. Also, I have a passion for mycology,
the study of fungi of all kinds. Fungi cause the most serious plant diseases,
but there are also good ones with food, industrial and plant health-promoting
uses. Mycologists are underrepresented among NAS members. My experience will
allow me to contribute to all kinds of problems involving fungi.”
One K-State faculty member, Jim Riviere, a university
distinguished professor emeritus of anatomy and physiology, was elected to the
Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in 2003 while he was a faculty
member at North Carolina State University. He joined K-State in 2012 and
retired in 2017.
Buy
U.S. Rice, Get Recipes for Free
GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA -- COVID-19 has had a
dramatic impact on consumer habits both domestically and internationally, as
people are stocking up on family favorites and staples, such as rice. USA
Rice is taking advantage of this up-tick in rice purchasing and consumption to
educate and raise awareness about the many benefits derived from U.S.-grown
rice.
Last week USA Rice provided 20,000 recipe boo
Last week USA Rice provided 20,000 recipe boo
ks that were attached to bags of rice from
Agroindustrias Albay, a Guatemalan distributor of U.S. long grain rice.
The books, attached to individual rice bags with a peel-off adhesive, highlight
healthy, easy to prepare, economical rice dishes, and include nutritional and
safety tips that are useful during periods of quarantine.
"As people are eating more meals in the home, we wanted to provide an easy way for them to access new recipes," said Sarah Moran, USA Rice vice president, international. "Consumers have increased their purchases of rice recently and we want to demonstrate all the various uses of U.S.-grown rice."
Guatemala has consistently imported U.S. rice for decades, where the U.S. typically has greater than 80 percent market share. Last year, Guatemala imported 109,654 MT of rice from the United States valued at $35.4 million.
"As people are eating more meals in the home, we wanted to provide an easy way for them to access new recipes," said Sarah Moran, USA Rice vice president, international. "Consumers have increased their purchases of rice recently and we want to demonstrate all the various uses of U.S.-grown rice."
Guatemala has consistently imported U.S. rice for decades, where the U.S. typically has greater than 80 percent market share. Last year, Guatemala imported 109,654 MT of rice from the United States valued at $35.4 million.
USA Rice Daily
USTR
Goes Virtual for UK Negotiations, Talks Begin Tomorrow
WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Robert
Lighthizer and his counterpart in the United Kingdom (UK) are slated to begin
long-awaited trade talks tomorrow, and in a nod to travel restrictions due to
the global coronavirus pandemic, the negotiations will take place via video
conference.
A U.S.-UK deal has been a high priority for both countries, but discussions have been continually delayed due to Brexit deadline extensions, COVID-19, and other political factors.
The UK has already begun formal negotiations for a trade agreement with the European Union (EU), from which they separated formally this year. The UK remains in the EU customs union for a transition period that runs through December 31, 2020. U.S. negotiators will be closely watching developments in the EU-UK talks, as much of what happens there will have implications for U.S.-UK discussions.
The U.S. rice industry stands to benefit from a trade deal with the UK, a net rice importer with longtime ties to American exporters. USA Rice continues to work closely with U.S. negotiators in support of quota-free, duty-free access for all types and forms of U.S. rice into the UK.
A U.S.-UK deal has been a high priority for both countries, but discussions have been continually delayed due to Brexit deadline extensions, COVID-19, and other political factors.
The UK has already begun formal negotiations for a trade agreement with the European Union (EU), from which they separated formally this year. The UK remains in the EU customs union for a transition period that runs through December 31, 2020. U.S. negotiators will be closely watching developments in the EU-UK talks, as much of what happens there will have implications for U.S.-UK discussions.
The U.S. rice industry stands to benefit from a trade deal with the UK, a net rice importer with longtime ties to American exporters. USA Rice continues to work closely with U.S. negotiators in support of quota-free, duty-free access for all types and forms of U.S. rice into the UK.
Price stability: spanner in the works
May 04, 2020
Big
retailers are charging 100pc margin on certain basic kitchen items even though
it was about 15-20pc a few years ago. — APP/File
PAKISTANIS
distribute Zakat and are generous in helping the less fortunate in the absence
of a social security net. However, their religiosity does not stop them from
indulging in profiteering during Ramazan.
To
ensure adequate supply in the local market, the cabinet has banned the export
of all edible items until further orders. Incidentally, exports to the Gulf
states surged by 36 per cent during 10 months of this fiscal year mainly owing
to a jump in the export of basmati rice (59pc), meat (57pc) and vegetable and
fruits (100pc) as compared to a year ago. Quantity-wise, sales have been much
higher owing to a big depreciation in the rupee.
Simultaneously,
the government has appointed Shaista Bano Gillani as the new Chairman of the
Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) after removing, with the help of the
court, three top CCP officials whom it accused of being in collusion with the
cartels. Notwithstanding the collusion charge, the real problem lies in the
lengthy and cumbersome process of penalising those who rig the market. In fact,
regulatory bodies created to protect consumers have been turned into toothless
organisations. The PTI government should enable them to function effectively.
Big
retailers are charging 100pc margin on certain basic kitchen items even though
it was about 15-20pc a few years ago
A
World Bank study shows that between 2003 and 2011, sales worth 1pc of GDP were
overcharged due to the presence of cartels in Pakistan. The recent probe into
the sugar scam has revealed collusion of sugar mills and wholesalers. The
sector’s revenues soared without improving productivity. When the international
sugar price was quoted at Rs47 per kg, the price at utility stores was at Rs70
and the open domestic market rate was at Rs80-90.
In
the current crisis, says a former Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry
chief Haroon Agar, the big retailers are charging 100pc margins on certain
basic kitchen items, up from 15-20pc profits earned some years ago. The
wholesale market where middle-sized farmers and arhtis take their produce –
perishable items – for auctioning is predetermined in an opaque manner, says a
study on Price Stabilisation Mechanism in Pakistan: Food Market Issues and
Challenges conducted by State Bank Pakistan (SBP) senior economist Asma Khalid
and deputy director Sabahat.
Researchers
noted that the quoted wholesale prices do not represent prices at which the
actual transactions take place. A significant amount of intermediaries’ profits
and services charges are added to enhance product value. Official committees
responsible to run the management of the public markets have no representation
of growers and consumers.
The
much-needed investment in physical infrastructure, required to keep prices of
agricultural commodities and farmers’ returns stable and reduce post-harvest
losses, is lacking. These include absence of a developed network of cold
storage chain management (for perishable items) grain silos and farm processing
facilities. New investment undertakings engaged in operating warehousing or
cold store chain facilities are eligible for a 3-year tax holiday. Borrowers
can avail traditional or Sharia-compliant financing facilities under a central
bank scheme. Somehow the private investment is shy to invest.
The
prime minister’s think tank members have now called for a downward revision of
the central bank policy rate and provision of further liquidity for banks to
boost the economy under strong recessionary headwinds. The forum was recently
established to recommend mitigation of risks arising out of the Covid-19
triggered crisis. Lately, the lending rate for industrial investment has been
reduced to 7pc.
As
the commercial banks are investing in a T-bill at a cut-off yield of 7.1pc
against 9.5pc recorded only weeks ago, the market expects a further cut in the
discount rate when the Monetary Policy Committee meets this month. Investors
would likely wait for a further reduction in the policy rate.
Owing
to unabated inflationary government borrowings for non-productive purposes, the
SBP data shows that the money in circulation as of March 20 this fiscal year
rose by Rs628.5 billion compared to Rs387bn during the same period in the
previous year while economic activities were slowing down and private sector
credit was shrinking.
For
a variety of reasons, farm output is not keeping pace with rising food
requirements and food imports (exclusive of edible oil) have doubled over the
past five years. The central bank researchers observe that the trend is more
pronounced in case of minor crops, pulses, fruits and vegetables whose
cultivation has been also hurt by farmers switching to major crops especially
when they are guaranteed a minimum price. This suggests, they wrote, that
domestic prices of these commodities are increasingly vulnerable to the global
prices, exchange rate, export policy of trading partners and the domestic
import policy.
Even
the government keeps increasing utility prices while being unable to improve
the performance of bleeding utility companies in any meaningful way. The think
tank members of the prime minister’s team have urged the government to pass on
the benefit of reduced international oil prices to the consumers. The forum is
examining the viability of reducing the general sales tax on consumer goods
from 17pc to 5pc to kickstart consumer spending for the next two years. The
government also needs to work simultaneously on long-term policies to keep
prices of essential consumer goods stable.
Published
in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, May 4th , 2020
Mekong Delta residents flee as nature turns
hostile
News - May 3, 2020 | 08:51 am GMT+7
Their ancestors had come to
settle the Mekong Delta, turning it into the nation's agriculture and
aquaculture hub, but now they are fleeing.
At three
in the morning, Dang Van Binh, 34, wakes up in his hut by a river in An Phu
Trung Commune in Ben Tre Province’s Ba Tri District.
He stands by the bed, looking at his two
daughters, aged 12 and two, sleeping. Sighing, he walks to the front door.
His wife, Thach Thi Bo Pha has also got up. She
packs some torn clothes for him to wear, dried fish, duck eggs, ten kilos of
rice, and VND600,000 ($25) in cash. These are everything Binh gets to travel to
a place 300 kilometers (187 miles) away to seek a livelihood.
It was an early morning in February this year
when it is still the dry season in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.
A native of Ben Tre, Binh dropped out of school
in sixth grade due to poverty. He went to Ho Chi Minh City for a while to work.
It was there he met Pha, a Khmer woman, 13 years ago. She had left her home in
Bac Lieu, another province in the delta, to work in the city just like Binh.
After getting married, the couple returned to
Ben Tre and did various manual jobs for a living.
Five years ago Binh’s parents gave him a
1,000-square-meter field to grow rice. The first year, with little experience
in rice cultivation, the couple ended up empty-handed.
The next year, 2016, brought the worst ever
drought and salinity levels in a century in the Mekong Delta. Its 12 provinces
and a city lost 8,000 hectares of rice as a result. Some 600,000 people lacked
freshwater and another 160,000 hectares of paddy were damaged. The losses added
up to VND5.5 trillion ($237 million).
Binh and Pha contributed to those losses. The
couple also incurred a debt of VND20 million ($850).
The school dropouts could not find another job
as factories in the region had no vacancies.
Later, thanks to an acquaintance, the two found
jobs at a cashew nut processing factory in Bu Dang District in Binh Phuoc
Province. They sent their then eight-year-old daughter to Binh’s parents and
left for Binh Phuoc 300 km away.
They worked very hard for three months, picking
cashews in the farm and processing them to get the nuts. Limiting their spending
to as little as they could, the couple saved VND10 million ($436). They
returned home, paid half the debt and decided to stay. Pha said she had spent
all her life moving and wanted to settle down.
Thach Thi Pho
Ba and her two-year-old daughter stands by the front of a hut they call home
in An Phu Trung Commune in Ben Tre Province’s Ba Tri District.
The two continued to work on their rice field.
But the salinity from 2016 had not gone away and their rice crop was poor.
Desperate, they decided to switch to growing
loofah. But their lack of experience again meant losing the first crop. By then
they had the second child and life was even more difficult.
They continued to live with what they had and
could not pay off their debts.
More
salinity
During the dry season this year, which normally
lasts from November to April, the Mekong Delta suffered from historic levels of
salinity.
The rainy season arrived late last year and was
shorter than usual, resulting in 8 percent less rainfall than normal, according
the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
China’s construction of a number of upstream
dams has been blamed for reducing the natural flow of water. Experts also point
to the sea level rise and the gradual sinking of southern Vietnam for the
seawater intrusion in rivers.
Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Long An, Kien Giang, Ca
Mau, and Soc Trang provinces have declared an emergency. By mid-March saltwater
had intruded 50-110 kilometers into the delta’s major rivers, all tributaries
or distributaries of the Mekong, significantly more than in 2016.
So far this year the salt intrusion and the
resultant lack of freshwater have damaged 43,000 hectares of rice while 80,000
families lack water.
Hundreds of families are in the same situation
as Binh’s, and many have decided to leave for a new land to find more stable
livelihoods.
The evening before leaving, Binh borrowed
VND1.7 million ($74) from a neighbor. He gave his wife VND700,000 and spent
VND400,000 on some medicines to treat a headache he acquired from a motorbike
crash years ago.
He left with a group of around 10 people from
his neighborhood.
Ben Tre is one of final destinations of the
Mekong River, which flows through six countries, China, Myanmar, Thailand,
Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, before reaching the sea. Like many other parts of
the delta, the province was formed by the deposition of sediments over a long
period of time. When the Vietnamese expanded their nation to the south, they
began to conquer the delta in the 18th century.
For generations, no other place in the nation
could compare with the Mekong Delta as a hub for agriculture and aquaculture.
But now the green of fields and forests has
been replaced by the grey and dark yellow of dried, burned fields and parched
lands.
A boat sits on
the bed of dried Kenh Lap reservoir in Ben Tre Province. The Mekong Delta's
largest freshwater reservoir was built with a capacity of one million cubic
meters of water.
Nguyen Van Minh is a neighbor of Binh. He lives
in An Thuan Hamlet of An Phu Trung Commune, two canals away from Binh's. At 43,
Minh has more grey hairs and wrinkles than a man his age usually does.
He has three children, the eldest of whom
dropped out of school in 11th grade due to poverty while the remaining two are
still in primary school.
All his life Minh has had a certificate
recognizing his family as poor. A poor family in rural areas earns less than
VND4.8 million ($209) per year per member.
One morning in February, Sau, head of An Thuan
Hamlet, drove his motorbike through the dried, cracked fields and stopped in
front of Minh’s house.
He had
brought a
new ‘poor family’ certificate. "It’s a red one, so let’s see if it is
going to bring you any prosperity," he said. In East Asian culture, red is
a symbol of good fortune.
Minh married when he was 21. Like his brother’s
family, he and his wife, Thu, live in a hut by the river. In 14 years of living
together, they have never envisioned living in a proper house.
They do manual jobs and have no land to
cultivate.
Four years ago they rented one hectare of land
to grow paddy in winter-spring. That was the year of the big salt, and Minh and
Thu were left with a debt of more than VND20 million ($871).
Later crops worked out all right for Minh: he could earn
more than VND10 million from each crop and have straw for his cows.
But poverty never stopped stalking his family.
This year he rented 14,000 square meters of
land for VND15 million and planted rice. Two months later salinity hit again,
and once again he was in debt.
Nguyen Van Minh
walks in the middle of a cracked paddy field in An Phu Trung Commune in Ben Tre
Province’s Ba Tri District.
The
couple sent their oldest daughter to Binh Duong Province, an industrial hub
near HCMC, to work as a waitress at a restaurant.
Minh and Thu worked as porters, carrying soil as hired by people
who need to fix their houses or farms.
"This
time last year I was hired to bundle rice, but now the rice is all dead,"
Thu said. "Carrying soil is not a job I can get
every day though."
Minh waded into a canal near his house to look
for fish for dinner, but could not find any since most had died due to the salt
intrusion.
Future
at stake
After 10 years as head of the hamlet, Sau knows
almost everyone in An Thuan. He visits people’s houses so frequently that their
dogs rush out to welcome him every time he stops by.
But
these days he has to check the list twice to see who is still in the commune
and who has left.
An Thuan is home to 350 families and most of
them earn a living from rice farming. In the past the scene during harvest here
was one not to be missed as people gathered in big groups in the golden fields
for the task.
Along the fields, carts would wait in line to
carry away the harvested rice. In the river, boats would be full of rice bags.
Now as he drives along the main path in the
commune, Sau sees houses with locked doors and only elderly and children inside
those that are not. In the river, even wild water fern, which cannot be
destroyed easily using normal methods, cannot endure the salinity.
"The failed crops have driven people away,
forced them to leave their children behind to work for factories far from
home," he said.
Ba Tri District, which has the largest area
under rice in Ben Tre, lost almost all 5,000 hectares of this year’s
winter-spring crop to saltwater.
The salinity has also hit other districts,
threatening 4,000 hectares of bonsai and fruits in Cho Lach and 1,000 hectares
of prawn farms in Thanh Phu.
All freshwater reservoirs in Ben Tre Province
have been contaminated by salt.
Trees along the many canals are dry and
withered.
Under the scorching sun, cows can be seen with
their bellies distended. Since the water is salty, the more they drink it the
thirstier they get, and they keep drinking until their bellies cannot hold any
more.
Thousands of families in the province have to
buy freshwater at VND300,000 per cubic meter.
The
story is the same around the delta. People in Tien Giang Province reported that
canals have run dry for the first time in 30 years. The
salinity level in the water near their houses is more than five grams per
liter. Salinity of above one gram makes it unpotable, and between two and 10 is
unsafe for most crops.
Sau
squeezed his forehead, fearing for the future of his commune. He was worried
that more people would leave once the ongoing winter-spring crop is finally
over and drought and salinity left them nothing to harvest.
According to the 2019 census, the Mekong Delta
was the region with the highest emigration rate among the country's six
socio-economic regions.
In the five years between April 2014 and April
2019, the ratio for the delta had been 45 out of 1,000 people. Some 728,000 had
left the place.
The average rate for the rest of the country
was less than half that, at 22 out of 1,000.
Manmade
calamity
Le Anh
Tuan, deputy director of Can Tho University’s Research Institute of Climate
Change, said the calamity faced by the delta cannot be blamed just on nature or Chinese dams.
"Sea levels rise and Earth gets warmer.
Yes. But that happens just a little each year and it needs a long period for
dramatic changes. It is humans who have accelerated that process."
Ever since the delta was formed, it has had
several low-lying areas, including the Long Xuyen quadrilateral in Kien Giang
and An Giang provinces and Can Tho City and the Plain of Reeds, a wetland
straddling Long An and Dong Thap provinces. They worked as natural reservoirs
to store the seasonal floodwaters, and for generations farmers did not use them
for cultivation.
However, due to the wars, the nation had to
consider food security. People then built embankments to prevent the seasonal
floodwaters from flowing into them and direct them away into the sea.
"Now in peace time, we still have the
mindset of growing as much rice as we can, and many have treated the seasonal
floods as a disaster for their paddy fields while in fact it is a
blessing," Tuan lamented.
"With that thinking, many have continued
to keep out the flood, going against nature, thus intensifying the drought once
it took hold in the region."
The
grass is not greener
After leaving his home in Ben Tre, Binh paid
VND330,000 and sat for 11 hours in three different low-quality buses that piled
on as many passengers as they could as long as there was no sign of the police.
Left with just VND270,000 in his pocket, Binh
luckily found a job at a small cashew processing factory not far from the one
he and his wife had worked in four years ago.
Seeing that Binh and his group were very poor,
the owner of the factory let them stay for free in rooms built for workers,
only collecting water and electricity costs. Binh's room spreads no more than
ten square meters.
Binh’s two younger siblings and their families
have recently followed in his steps. They have come to work at the same cashew
factory, and stay in rooms next to his. Binh stays alone, his younger sister,
30, her husband and two-year-old son stay in another room and their youngest
brother, 20, and his wife in a third.
Every day they all have instant noodles for
breakfast and lunch and save rice for dinner, which they consider the most
important meal after a long day of work.
In a typical day Binh works 10 hours. He cooks
the nuts, classifies them, and loads them as required. By working 27 days in a
month, a worker like him can earn VND6 million. He spends VND1 million on food
and other needs and puts aside the rest to send home.
Working conditions are savage in the southern
heat, with temperatures staying above 30 degrees Celsius from late morning to
late afternoon and Binh and the other workers working next to ovens to cook the
cashews in a factory with iron sheets for a roof.
Dang Van Binh
works at a cashew processing factory in Binh Phuoc Province.
After cooking, Binh peels the nuts and loads
them batch by batch into bags.
Not far from where he works, his nephew sleeps
on a hammock despite the heat and the noise around him. Binh said because his
parents wished for a better life for their son, they named him Sang meaning
‘luxury’.
There have been days when Binh was tired,
depressed and homesick and only wanted to return home. But every time he has
managed to get over it, telling himself he needs this job so that he could
provide for his wife and children.
"Now I am still healthy and so I will try
my best to work and make as much money as possible. I will wait for the rainy
season to return home and work in the field again."
But then no one can say what awaits the Mekong
Delta’s emigrants. Minh’s oldest daughter has had to quit her job as a waitress
in Binh Duong and return home after the Covid-19 pandemic first scared people
away from dining out and then forced restaurants to shut down temporarily.
Minh’s
wife said all she wishes now is for the rain to come soon so that she could
have some water for cooking and "taking a proper shower."
Problems plaguing
rice export controls
0
04/05/2020 10:18
GMT+7
Confronted with food security
risks as Covid-19 spreads, the Prime Minister decided on March 25, 2020 to
suspend rice export and then regulate it using quotas.
Cautious policies are important
during this period of uncertainty, but the current mechanism is fraught with
shortcomings that need addressing to ensure transparency and fairness.
To simplify matters, assume
Vietnam is a small food exporter with insignificant impacts on global prices.
Reality may be slightly different, but the key principle remains the same,
albeit with some adjustments in impacts.
When a quota is imposed, as
represented by the red demand curve, domestic price will fall to Pq. The
welfare loss incurred by food producers is represented by a + b + c + d + e.
Local consumer surplus is a + b, those eligible for rice export have a
surplus of d and deadweight loss is c + e.
If an export tax is imposed
instead of a quota, d will belong to the Government.
Lack of transparency and
fairness in quota
Empirical evidence shows that
quotas lack transparency and may breed corruption. The export price disparity
will benefit those offered the quota. This is significant, so rent-seeking
behavior will be rife.
Quotas inflict damage on
society because an export price tax or quota bidding will enable the
Government to gain from the price disparity. Moreover, the disadvantaged
group will bear a greater cost.
Statistics show that Vietnam’s
rice output in 2019 was about 22 million tons, including 9.3 million tons for
local consumption and 6.37 million tons for export (earning US$2.81 billion).
The remainder is for manufacturing, animal husbandry, national stockpiling
and so on. If corn, sweet potatoes and similar crops are taken into account,
the value that producers gain, after self-consumption is considered, can
surpass VND200 trillion.
Compared with normal rice
export, a 10% decrease in the prices of rice and food stuff triggered by rice
export restriction will impose a damage surpassing VND20 trillion, equivalent
to about one-third of the support package (VND62 trillion). Those benefiting
from the restriction include consumers, the Government hoping to have more
rice reserves and those eligible for rice export.
It is worth noting that rice
sellers tend to be farmers and the poor in rural areas while consumers are
often the more affluent people.
What are the solutions?
Transparency and fairness need
to be enhanced. First, an export tax ensures transparency and benefits the
State budget and society more. The imposition of an export tax will transfer
the gains from price disparity to the State budget instead of those eligible
for rice export.
If one of the objectives of
export restriction is to maintain the Government’s stockpile at affordable
prices, an export tax will be the most effective since the Government can use
the tax extracted to offset the purchase of rice for stockpiling; otherwise,
the revenue can be given to farmers.
If the Government is concerned
about excessive export, it can track the quantity exported by asking firms to
register immediately after export agreements have been signed, so that the
authorities can impose a circuit breaker where necessary.
If an export tax is not
feasibility, quota bidding should be used. Those with the highest bid can
export rice and the revenue extracted from bidding can be used to support
farmers.
Second, those with agricultural
land should be supported to improve fairness. In order not to punish the
disadvantaged group more, the Government should consider offering those with
agricultural land either a subsidy or a transfer.
This mechanism is based on a
ceiling such as one hectare per person. Those given land within this range
will receive the same subsidy or transfer. The total value of support is the
estimated damage arising from export restriction.
Ideally, there should be a fee
or tax imposed on food consumption, together with the aforementioned export
tax, to generate funding for a support package. Taxes should be computed such
that the revenue equals the damage incurred by consumers.
If this is not feasible, the
State budget may be used. However, it will be crucial to balance government
revenue and spending in that case.
In short, the current export
restriction via quotas does not ensure transparency and fairness. The
Government needs to make the necessary adjustments to address existing
challenges. SGT
|
||
Huynh The Du
Rice exports
at decade high
Hin Pisei | Publication date 03 May 2020 | 21:58
ICT
Cambodia exported 300,252 tonnes of rice to the international
market in the first four months of this year, up 40.46 per cent over the
213,763 tonnes reported in the same period last year. HONG MENEA
Cambodia exported 300,252 tonnes
of rice to the international market in the first four months of this year –
equivalent to $210 million – the highest export volume in the past decade, the
Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) said in a report.
The export volume is 40.46 per
cent over the 213,763 tonnes reported in the same period last year, it said.
China accounted for 41 per cent
of exports or 122,094 tonnes, the EU and the UK 32 per cent or 97,337 tonnes,
ASEAN countries 13 per cent or 37,428 tonnes and other countries 14 per cent or
43,339 tonnes.
CRF secretary-general Lun Yeng
told The Post on Sunday that rice exports have reached 48.41 per cent of last
year’s total exports. The spread of Covid-19 has led to a higher demand for
food and storage in all countries, he said.
“It is a great source of pride
for the Cambodian rice sector to achieve such growth,” said Yeng.
Early last month, the government
suspended the export of paddy and white rice on the grounds of securing
domestic supplies while Covid-19 is continuing to spread in Cambodia.
This, Yeng said, did not have a
significant impact on the Kingdom’s rice exports to international markets
during the period as nearly 100 per cent of the exports were fragrant rice, as
of last month.
“The ban will not hurt exports,
but it is very important to maintain food security to serve the needs of local
people who would prefer to eat white rice,” he said.
Chan Sokheang, chairman and CEO
of Signatures of Asia Co Ltd, an international rice exporter, told The Post
that concerns over the spread of Covid-19 have been increasing demand for rice
worldwide – an opportunity for Cambodian rice exporters.
However, everything depends on
the quality and yield produced by farmers, he said.
“We are confident that exports
this year will be higher than in 2019, but everything also depends on the
weather and the rainwater,” said Sokheang.
Increased demand has caused the
price of rice on international markets to rise by about 30 per cent
year-on-year, he said, adding that: “The price of rice on the international
market may have risen, but for Cambodians there is no price increase.”
CRF president Song Saran told
local media on Saturday: “The rise in exports and earnings over the period was
due to a rebound in demand from the EU and a number of other countries,
especially Hong Kong and Australia.
“The new markets we have
developed want quality – and fragrant rice is popular. We hope to expand
fragrant rice exports in the near future,” said Saran.
Cambodia’s rice exports to
international markets amounted to 620,106 tonnes last year, slightly down 0.97
per cent from 626,225 tonnes in 2018. Revenue was $501 million, down 4.3 per
cent from $524 million in 2018.
Cambodia's rice exports to China up 28% in first four months
·
ASEAN+
·
Saturday, 02 May 2020
12:55 PM MYT
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia exported
122,094 metric tons of milled rice to China in the first four months of 2020,
an increase of 28% over the same period last year, according to an official
report released on Saturday (May 2).
China is still the top buyer of Cambodian rice during the January-April period this year, said the report of the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export, adding that export to China accounted for 40.6% of the country's total rice export.
It also showed that the South-East Asian country exported 97,337 tons of milled rice to the European markets during the period, up 48%.
According to the report, the kingdom exported a total of 300,252 tons of milled rice in the first four months of this year, up 40.5% over the same period last year. - Xinhua/Asian News Network
China is still the top buyer of Cambodian rice during the January-April period this year, said the report of the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export, adding that export to China accounted for 40.6% of the country's total rice export.
It also showed that the South-East Asian country exported 97,337 tons of milled rice to the European markets during the period, up 48%.
According to the report, the kingdom exported a total of 300,252 tons of milled rice in the first four months of this year, up 40.5% over the same period last year. - Xinhua/Asian News Network
Implementation of ₱8.5-B rice resiliency project starts
Updated May 4, 2020, 9:32 AM
By Madelaine B. Miraflor
It is crunch time for the
Department of Agriculture (DA) in terms of the implementation of rice
resiliency project (RRP), a program that recently received a budget of ₱8.5
billion from the national government and the agency’s top measure to send the
Philippines to 93 percent rice self-sufficiency in the time of COVID-19.
Department of Agriculture
Starting this week, the
Department of Agriculture (DA) will distribute seeds and fertilizers for free
to rice farmers who are starting the 2020 wet cropping season to further boost
the country’s rice production.
The DA is now targeting to
achieve palay output of as much as 22.12 million metric tons (MT), equivalent
to 13.51 million MT of rice. This would bring the country’s rice
self-sufficiency to 93 percent from 87 percent last year. If achieved, this
would also be the country’s highest palay output in at least a decade.
The problem, according to
Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) National Manager Raul Montemayor, is that the
country traditionally has lower yield during the wet cropping season, pulling
down annual rice stocks toward the third quarter of the year.
Nevertheless, Agriculture
Secretary William D. Dar said the DA is now trying to act as fast as it can,
saying that the full implementation of the RRP, which will cover 16 rice
producing regions in the country, will begin as soon as next week.
“Achieving high productivity in
rice entails an integrated system of crop management. The fastest moving
interventions that could provide quick results are the use of quality seeds and
appropriate fertilizers. Hence, the RRP will provide said farm inputs to
participating farmers,” Dar said.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary
for Operations Andrew Villacorta said the DA will distribute inbred and hybrid
rice seeds with fertilizers to both rainfed and irrigated areas, on top of
those being distributed under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF),
which is a component of Rice Tariffication Law.
According to him, the recipients
of RRP will receive seeds according to the size of their farmland and
fertilizers at two bags per hectare (/ha) for inbred and three bags /ha for
hybrid areas.
If the farmer’s total area exceeds
the maximum three-hectare coverage under RCEF, the excess areas may be covered
under the RRP.
“Our main idea here is to expand
production areas to eventually increase the volume of output. This is something
that we critically need to combat the threat of hunger amid the ‘new normal’ in
global food production,” Dar said.
The DA reiterates its call for
farmers to register in the Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture
(RSBSA) to benefit from the aforementioned programs.
No rice shortage in TT
RIA CHAITRAM
YESTERDAYLiaquat Ali,
ALTHOUGH many
people are worried about the possibility of a food shortage due to the covid19
pandemic, the Food Distributors Association says there is no rice shortage.
The
association’s president Marc Pontifex told Newsday the rice sector is not in
any trouble and there is a sufficient supply to meet demand. He said, “Based on
feedback from major supermarkets, they are not experiencing any shortages.”
Over the past
few months, there have been calls from several sectors, especially the
agricultural sector, for the government to look into a sound food security
policy. CEO of Old Mac Parboiled Rice, Liaquat Ali, said while there is no
shortage of rice there are some challenges in getting it into the country.
He said, “With
the restrictions in place because of covid19, the logistics of getting from the
regional and international suppliers are challenging. Workers are unable to
disembark the vessel as it docks, and a lot of safety checks must be carried
out before the product is released. This delay makes the process longer to get
the product on the shelf for consumers.”
Ali added that
there is an “artificial shortage” because people have been panic-buying and
storing more than they need. Agricultural economist Omardath Maharaj said
although there is no shortage, because of the covid19 pandemic and other world
issues such as US military action near Venezuela, rice imports from Guyana
could be affected.
Maharaj said,
“In 2018 TT imported approximately $107 million, or 19, 853 tons of rice.
Although the reported import volume fell by almost 50 per cent, import value
did not. Even if quantity remains available going forward, we have to be
mindful of foreign-exchange pressure.
“The decline
in imports may be due to incomplete data reporting by some countries generally,
since local production remains relatively dormant, as farmers have since
migrated to other fields of endeavour and production to survive.” He said while
a majority of rice imports are from Guyana and Brazil, TT has the capacity to
produce “a tremendous amount” of rice.
Myanmar rice traders anticipate losses despite higher imports
allowed from China
03
MAY 2020
Workers
prepare to transport rice bags at a warehouse in Yangon. Photo: Aung Htay
Hlaing/The Myanmar Times
More than 5,000 tonnes of rice - around 100,000 sacks - have
piled up at the Myanmar-China border over the past month, when the Chinese
authorities temporarily suspended imports without certificates from the General
Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the
People's Republic of China (AQSIQ), said U Min Thein, vice chair of Muse
105-mile Rice Wholesale Center.
As a result, some 150 trucks have been unable to go beyond the
Kyal Gaung area since April 3 and have hired warehouses to store rice in the
meantime.
“The drivers hired 10 warehouses for more than 100,000 sacks of
rice at K200 per sack,” said U Min Thein.
He added that the agriculture ministry had not been issuing
AQSIQ certificates for the first few weeks in April but have started doing so
after inspecting the rice stocks since April 20.
However, traders are anticipating further losses.
“We are incurring losses on the warehouse rentals for earlier
stockpiles. We cannot trade those as they have not been inspected and don’t
have AQSIQ certificates. The first 100,000 sacks of rice haven’t passed customs
inspections yet so we can’t export additional sacks due to the backlog,"
said U Min Thein.
Trade at the border resumed in May and China has issued letters
to Chinese companies permitting them to import up to five times more rice than
the amount purchased last year. In 2019, the Chinese government permitted the
import of a total of 50,000 tonnes of rice.
This year, the quota has been raised to 250,000 tonnes,
according to the Muse Rice Wholesale Center.- Translated
Tags:
FOCUS: COVID-19,
Iran woes may hit India’s rice exports further
Thursday, Apr 30
By Sampad Nandy
NEW DELHI – With many countries imposing curbs on foodgrain
exports, India–the largest exporter of the item–was trying to tap into the
increasing demand. However, with restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19
halting most shipments, Indian exporters are unable to sell the commodity.
India's rice exports, both basmati and non-basmati, may
fall as exports to key destinations are expected to be hit in the near
term due to restrictions and anticipated lower demand from Iran and other West
Asian countries during Ramzan, industry sources said.
India's non-basmati exports in 2019-20 (Apr-Mar) are pegged at
4.5 mln tn, down nearly 41% on year, industry sources said. Basmati
exports are estimated nearly 5% lower on year at 4.2 mln tn.
India has been aiming to bridge the deficit in the global
market after key rice producers Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar,
and Pakistan–India's competitors in basmati trade–curbed exports to ensure
domestic supply.
The restrictions imposed to curb the rapid spread of COVID-19
have brought movement of cargo to a standstill despite there being demand for
non-basmati rice from Bangladesh and other countries, traders said.
"There is a lot of demand for non-basmati rice from other
countries, but new export deals are not being signed due to uncertainty over
the lockdown and restrictions. Many shipments are stuck at different
places," Delhi-based rice exporter Anand Goyal said.
African nations are also major buyers of India's non-basmati
rice. However, logistical issues are keeping exports to these countries subdued
as well, a Bengaluru-based trader said.
Although the price of India's non-basmati rice is still
competitive, the logistical issues that emerged due to the lockdown are making
exports unviable for most, said a Kakinada-based trader.
Currently, India is offering 25% broken non-basmati rice at
$350-$375 per tn, free on board, while Vietnam is offering a similar quality at
$450 a tn and Thailand at $450-$500 a tn, the Bengaluru-based trader said.
If the restrictions on movement are not eased soon, exports
of non-basmati rice may take a hit in 2020-21, traders said. While non-basmati
exports are on the verge of getting hit due to the lockdown, shipments of
basmati may also fall in the near term due to an anticipated decline in demand
from major importers such as Iran, the traders said.
"Indian basmati rice exports to Iran and Europe
are facing hurdles. Iran has been hit by the pandemic, apart from US sanctions.
Now, the biggest problem with Iran is the availability of funds,"
KRBL Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Anil Mittal said.
Iran used to be the largest importer of Indian basmati and
accounted for almost a third of India's overall basmati exports in 2018-19. In
2019-20, its share fell to a fourth due to economic sanctions imposed on
the country by the US.
The US imposed sanctions on Iran in November 2018 to curtail its
crude oil exports. In 2019, receipts against Indian exports were adjusted
against the payment for import of crude oil from Iran. However, the window was
closed in May after India had to stop import of oil following US
sanctions.
Now, the funds available with escrow accounts of Iran in India
are as low as 20-30 bln rupees against 160-200 bln rupees about a
year ago, Mittal said. The depleting funds are making Indian exporters
sceptical about delayed payments for basmati shipments, industry participants
said.
With the funds in escrow accounts fast depleting, Iran has
withdrawn the subsidy it used to provide private rice importers. This is
likely to deal a huge blow to exports to the once-biggest market for India's
basmati rice, Amritsar-based trader Ashok Sethi said.
Apart from Iran, shipments to the European Union, another key
export market, are also seen declining due to strict pesticide norms for
basmati, Sethi said.
Although Saudi Arabia had eased its pesticide regulations for
Indian basmati rice, the COVID-19 pandemic has nearly halted trade and it is
seen weighing on demand from this key buyer in West Asia too, traders said.
In the first few months of the current financial year, exports
of basmati rice are seen falling around 5% on year.
If exports of the commodity fail to pick up, the already
battered rice trade may see a further downturn in the current financial year.
With the shipments of rice–the largest commodity in the farm exports
basket–India's farm exports aim of $60 bln by 2022 is also at risk. End
US$1 = 75.11 rupees
Edited by Subham Mitra
Cogencis Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000
Send comments to feedback@cogencis.com
This copy was first published on the Cogencis WorkStation
© Cogencis Information Services Ltd. 2020. All rights reserved.
National Rice Federation clarifies report
The National Rice Federation of Liberia (NRFL) terms as “totally
inaccurate and unbalanced” a May 2nd article in the Heritage Newspaper,
accusing Agriculture Minister of favoring Fabrar, a local rice producer, over
other rice farmers to benefit from the Ministry of Finance and Development
Planning (MFDP’s) cash collateral scheme for rice farmers and producers.
The NRFL is an umbrella body of all rice farmers, valued chain actors in Liberia and also part of the West Africa Rice Federation.
The NRFL is an umbrella body of all rice farmers, valued chain actors in Liberia and also part of the West Africa Rice Federation.
According to a press release, the
Federation in March signed a MOU with the Government of Liberia (GOL) through
the Ministry of Finance in which the GoL will make available US$700,000 to
Afriland First Bank Liberia Limited as collateral for domestic rice processors
at terms and conditions agreed upon by the parties concerned with the Ministry
of Agriculture as sector lead for agriculture and the Ministry of Justice
serving as legal arm of the government.
The president of NRFL, Mohammed
Kamara, noted that neither the Ministry of Agriculture nor its Minister plays a
role in deciding who benefits from such cash scheme, noting, “The agreement was
signed between the MFDP, NRFL and the Afrikland Bank”.
He said if the MFDP makes the
cash collateral available at the bank, the NRFL will submit the listing of rice
producers to the bank for loan to boost local production.“The bank will
independently scrutinize farmers and producers’ applications in line with its
terms and conditions before granting such credit facilities”.
He continues that the Agriculture
Minister, Jeanine Cooper, has nothing to do with the process and no rice
producer has been selected to benefit from the cash collateral at the bank,
contrary to reports in the media.
The release says since the
appointment of Madam Jeanine Cooper as Minister of Agriculture, the NRFL has
been working closely with the ministry to improve the sector, urging media
institutions to always balance stories about the entity and the rice sector in
Liberia. Press Release
Ghana will be self-sufficient in rice
production by 2023 – Agric Minister
Minister for Food and Agriculture Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto has
said rice production had jumped from 138,000 metric tonnes in 2016 to 665,000
in 2019.He projected that by 2023, the country would have reached self-sufficiency with about 29,000 metric tonnes as surplus to spare.
He attributed this achievement to the introduction of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) initiative introduced by the Akufo-Addo administration.
The PFJ programme is a Government of Ghana (GoG) designed and implemented programme aiming to promote growth in food production and create jobs across the country.
The programme is structured around 5 Pillars. These include: ¬ Seed; ¬ Fertilizer; ¬ Extension Services; ¬ Marketing; and ¬ e-Fertilizer & Monitoring
Dr Akoto Afryie said : “With all these, within two years, the country would be self-sufficient in rice production so there will be no need for us to spend the millions of dollars a year to import rice,” he said.
The minister disclosed this during an interaction with farmer groups and value chain operators in the agricultural sector in the Bono, Bono East and the Ashanti regions, last week.
He was accompanied by one of his deputies, Mr George Oduro, and sectional directors of the ministry,
Basmati rice shortages loom as prices continue to rise
By Harry Holmes4
May 2020
Basmati rice can only be sourced
from India and Pakistan
Rice
shortages are expected to hit shelves in the coming weeks as export
restrictions push Indian rice prices to a nine month high.
India
and Pakistan are the main producers of basmati rice but national
lockdowns introduced in March have ended all food
exports.
Basmati
rice still on British supermarket shelves is therefore being drawn from stock
already shipped by the time of lockdown. Rice importers began stockpiling earlier
in the year amid concerns over supplies, but with basmati one of Britain’s most
popular rice products, stocks are soon expected to dwindle.
“The
stock that’s due to come in, there will be a delay and almost certainly in my
opinion, there will be shortages. Particularly on basmati,” said Peter
Cattaneo, MD at S&B Herba Foods.
Retailers
are likely to be most affected. S&B Herba, owner of Tilda Rice, has begun
receiving shipments from Pakistan again, but due to the lower quality standard,
this is typically destined for manufacturing. The majority of Indian rice ends
up in supermarkets.
S&B Herba initially had
problems at its Indian factory as police prevented workers from passing through
barricades. “They were hitting them with batons and all sorts of things at the
time,” said Cattaneo. Although this has now subsided, a lack of workers at the
ports is still preventing ships from leaving.
Ghana will have 29,000 metric tonnes
of surplus rice to spare in 2023 – Afriyie Akoto
Dr Owusu
Afriyie Akoto, Minister of Food and Agriculture
Minister for Food and Agriculture
Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto has
projected that the country would have reached self-sufficiency with about
29,000 metric tonnes as surplus to spare by 2023.
He said rice production had jumped from 138,000 metric tonnes in 2016 to 665,000 in 2019.
He He attributed this achievement to the introduction of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) initiative introduced by the Akufo-Addo administration.
The PFJ programme is a Government of Ghana (GoG) designed and implemented programme aiming to promote growth in food production and create jobs across the country.
The programme is structured around 5 Pillars. These include: ¬ Seed; ¬ Fertilizer; ¬ Extension Services; ¬ Marketing; and ¬ e-Fertilizer & Monitoring
Dr Akoto Afryie said : “With all these, within two years, the country would be self-sufficient in rice production so there will be no need for us to spend the millions of dollars a year to import rice,” he said.
The minister disclosed this during an interaction with farmer groups and value chain operators in the agricultural sector in the Bono, Bono East and the Ashanti regions, last week.
He was accompanied by one of his deputies, Mr George Oduro, and sectional directors of the ministry
He said rice production had jumped from 138,000 metric tonnes in 2016 to 665,000 in 2019.
He He attributed this achievement to the introduction of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) initiative introduced by the Akufo-Addo administration.
The PFJ programme is a Government of Ghana (GoG) designed and implemented programme aiming to promote growth in food production and create jobs across the country.
The programme is structured around 5 Pillars. These include: ¬ Seed; ¬ Fertilizer; ¬ Extension Services; ¬ Marketing; and ¬ e-Fertilizer & Monitoring
Dr Akoto Afryie said : “With all these, within two years, the country would be self-sufficient in rice production so there will be no need for us to spend the millions of dollars a year to import rice,” he said.
The minister disclosed this during an interaction with farmer groups and value chain operators in the agricultural sector in the Bono, Bono East and the Ashanti regions, last week.
He was accompanied by one of his deputies, Mr George Oduro, and sectional directors of the ministry
Study discovers proteins in rice vital for pollination
Credit:
CC0 Public Domain
Scientists at the University of
Adelaide and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China have discovered two
proteins in rice involved in pollen aperture formation which are essential in
the successful pollination of flowering plants.
Their study, published in the
journal Nature Plants, was undertaken to better understand the
molecular control of plant pollen aperture formation
in rice,
with a view to acquiring new knowledge to improve cereal productivity and
ultimately benefit global food security.
Professor Dabing Zhang, Head of
the University of Adelaide and Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Lab for
Plant Science and Breeding, says the research reveals the importance of the
aperture for rice grain yield and exposes the mechanisms controlling pollen
aperture development in cereal species.
"Pollen apertures are
portals on the surface of pollen which mark the site where the pollen tube
emerges and allow water uptake, which are critical for pollen germination and
agricultural yield," Professor Zhang said.
"Different plant species
vary in the size, shape, position and number of pollen apertures, but little is
known about how these species-specific apertures form and what controls this
process.
"In rice and other cereals,
pollen develops a single circular aperture surrounded by a bulging ring-like
area of raised and thickened exine (called the annulus) and covered by a lid of
exine (called the operculum)."
The study found that the protein,
OsDAF1, is essential for annulus formation and therefore for fertility. A
second protein, OsINP1, was also found to be critical to aperture formation and
pollen tube germination.
The second protein, OsINP1, also
directs annulus formation in rice by interacting with OsDAF1. The localization
of OsDAF1 at the aperture site is disrupted if OsINP1 is not present, causing
the disappearance of the entire aperture and resulting in male sterility.
Professor Dabing Zhang says the
research provides important new knowledge that will benefit cereal breeding and
the agriculture sector."Manipulation of pollen aperture formation and male
fertility will be useful for developing new hybrid rice plants with high yield and
better quality," he said.
"This new
knowledge could also be applied to other crop varieties to
improve breeding outcomes."
Labour troubles to the brim in rice bowl
Paddy harvest hit in east Burdwan
By Snehamoy
Chakraborty in Burdwan
- Published 4.05.20,
1:22 AM
- Updated 4.05.20,
1:22 AM
A
harvester machine in a paddy field, East Burdwan. (Munshi Muklesur Rahman) (Munshi
Muklesur Rahman)
The shortage of hired labourers
from the neighbouring districts of Bankura, Birbhum, Purulia as well as
Jharkhand has caused financial losses for several boro paddy growers in East
Burdwan, home to nearly 1.72 lakh hectares of paddy fields, known as the “rice
bowl of Bengal”.
In the wake of the
one-and-a-half-month lockdown, farmers are taking on lease harvester machines
at exorbitant rates.
“We cannot let these crops go to
waste. Since we don’t have any physical labour, the only option we have is to
shell out nearly Rs 3,000 an hour for the use of these machines as well as
drivers’ fees,” said farmer Sabir Ali Sheikh, adding that an hour of operating
the machine yielded roughly 2 acres’ harvest.
Although Sheikh farms and owns nearly
15 bigha, he shelled out Rs 24,000 to use a local harvester machine for six
hours this week. A bigha of properly harvested paddy crop yields roughly ten
quintal.
“It has become a survival of the
fittest. Each village has only one or two harvester machines and its owners are
having to hike prices now because of the long waiting lists of farmers as well
as the lack of availability of parts. Drivers are also asking for higher
wages,” Sabir said.
East Burdwan is trailed in paddy
production by Hooghly, which yields roughly 55,000 hectares, almost a third of
East Burdwan’s produce. Harvest season, which begins at the onset of spring
(early-mid April), was met this year by strict lockdown conditions.
“Those of us who cannot afford
these machines are having to marshal our brothers and male cousins to work in
the field. There is no other choice,” said farmer Vinod Ghosh.
He added that an entire pool of
hired labour would cost him less than Rs 1,500 a day, whereas a single
harvester machine was now commanding up to Rs 8,000 an hour in Burdwan.
“We are doing our best to not let
our crops spoil. We are already headed for serious financial troubles in the
near future,” he added.
With the Covid-19-induced lockdown
in force, workers from the neighbouring district and Jharkhand cannot come to
East Burdwan because of lack of transport.
Sources in the agricultural
department said they had already launched a survey to officially assess the
amount of paddy spoiled across the district.
“So far, we can confirm that 15,000
hectares in East Burdwan have gone to waste from the recent squalls and
hailstorms. We are still conducting our survey to assess total losses,” said
deputy director (agriculture), Jagannath Chatterjee.
“This is unavoidable, as the state
government has ordered that no outside labour can work now,” he added.
Tags
Nizamabad ranks
number one in grain procurement: Minister Vemula Prashant Reddy
4 May 2020 1:35 AM IST
Minister
Prashant Reddy addressing a meeting in Nizamabad on Sunday
Highlights
Minister of State Roads and Buildings, Housing and
Legislative Affairs Vemula Prashant Reddy said that so far 218,958 metric
tonnes of rice has been procured in 351 purchase centres in the State
Nizamabad: Minister of State Roads and Buildings, Housing and
Legislative Affairs Vemula Prashant Reddy said that so far 218,958 metric
tonnes of rice has been procured in 351 purchase centres in the State. Minister Prashanth Reddy held a review meeting in Nizamabad on Sunday with official. Prashant Reddy said 202,075 metric tonnes of grain was moved to the rice mill.
That means nearly 93% of paddy the mills have received. Rs 142 crore grain purchase payments have been completed. He said there was no shortage of gunny bags.
Despite some difficulties with the lockdown, the rest of the grain will be collected as soon as possible. Minister Prashant Reddy recalled that the sunflower, Bengal gram and Jowar crops were bought by the central government for 25 per cent but the remaining 75 per cent was purchased by the Telangana State government.
The Nizamabad district is ranked number one in the state in grain procurement.The minister said that CM KCR is working for the welfare of the farmers, however, some people are politicising and threatening the authorities.
If the rice millers are depreciated the paddy, strict measures will be taken, the minister warned. Prashant said farmers should not suffer under any circumstances. The Minister suggested that the rice mills which take more of the depreciation from the paddy should be seized.
The Minister said the Nizamabad district was second only to Hyderabad in the Kovid positive cases. The Minister said that as long as the Asha workers and home guards were up to the top level, each of them had been able to overthrow the corona due to their commitment to the current situation.
Prashant Reddy said that 61 positive cases have been reported in the district so far and 47 have been discharged with negative reports. The remaining 14 are expected to be discharged soon, the Minister said.
He said that since the 20th of last month, not a single positive case has been registered in the district. It is likely to become a corona free district soon. Prasanth Reddi also suggested that everyone should work hard to prevent the coronavirus.
District Collector C Narayana Reddy, Zilla Parishad Chairman Vittal Rao, MLA Bajirady Reddy Govardhan, Bigala Ganesh Gupta, Jeevan Reddy, Shakeel, Nizamabad Police Commissioner Karthikeya, Additional Collectors B Chandrashekhar, BS Lata, Municipal officials and other participated in the meeting.
FCI’s grains
stock crosses over 60 million tonnes, govt says enough to meet requirement
Dipak K Dash | TNN | May 3, 2020, 00:50 IST
An Indian laborer carries
a rice bag after they were unloaded from trains to store at a Food Corporation
of In...Read More
NEW DELHI: The Food
Corporation of India (FCI) had stock of around 60.6 million tonnes
of wheat and rice as on Friday, which the government claimed was enough to meet
the requirement under National Food
Security Act (NFSA) and to provide free additional grains to the
identified poor till June.
The Centre is bearing the entire cost of Rs 46,000 crore for providing three months additional foodgrains to the poor for free.
The Centre is bearing the entire cost of Rs 46,000 crore for providing three months additional foodgrains to the poor for free.
Food
ministry officials said the FCI has 27.6 million tonnes of rice and another 33
million tonnes of wheat. The government needs nearly 6 million tonnes of
foodgrain per month for NFSA and for other welfare schemes.
“There is no shortage of foodgrains. We have already allocated grains for the poor under the PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojna. During the lockdown, 2,337 rail rakes have been used for loading and transferring nearly 6.5 million tonnes of grains. Besides the rail route, grains have been transported by road and by waterways as well,” Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan said.
“There is no shortage of foodgrains. We have already allocated grains for the poor under the PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojna. During the lockdown, 2,337 rail rakes have been used for loading and transferring nearly 6.5 million tonnes of grains. Besides the rail route, grains have been transported by road and by waterways as well,” Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan said.
Researchers find arsenic in rice risk for UK
infants
By on May 5, 2020
Scientists
have found half of rice varieties they tested exceeded maximum arsenic limits
for young children in the United Kingdom.
A team
at the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food found 28 of 55
rice samples sold in the U.K. contained levels of arsenic that exceeded
European Commission regulations for rice for infants or children under the age
of five.
The U.K.
follows European Commission regulations so that inorganic arsenic
concentrations must be below 0.20 milligram per kilogram in
white (polished) rice and less than 0.25 mg per kg in brown
(unpolished) rice. However, the concentration in rice used for infant food
production or direct consumption is set at a maximum of 0.1 mg per
kg.
Potential
risk for infants
Results showed brown rice had higher levels of inorganic arsenic than white or wild rice because it contains the bran – the outer layer of the grain. Organically grown rice contained significantly higher levels than non-organically grown rice. White rice was found to have the lowest levels of arsenic.
Results showed brown rice had higher levels of inorganic arsenic than white or wild rice because it contains the bran – the outer layer of the grain. Organically grown rice contained significantly higher levels than non-organically grown rice. White rice was found to have the lowest levels of arsenic.
Researchers
concluded that babies under the age of one must be restricted to a maximum of
20 grams per day of the 28 rice varieties that breached regulations to avoid
risks of developing cancer in later life. Suppliers were anonymized so it is
not clear which brands were involved.
Previous
studies have found up to 90 percent of households in the U.K. buy rice with the
average person consuming about 100 grams per week.
The
study, published in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety,
showed health risks due to rice arsenic consumption are confined mainly to
infants in the U.K. Rice and rice-based products are used for weaning and as
baby food, because of nutritional benefits and relatively low allergic
potential.
Some
adverse effects reported to be associated with long term ingestion of inorganic
arsenic are skin lesions, cancer, developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity,
cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes.
“Brown
and wild rice are healthy foods full of fiber and vitamins, and there is no
need for grown-ups to avoid them – but it is concerning to see so many
varieties sold in the U.K. breaching food safety regulations,” said Manoj
Menon, environmental soil scientist in the Department of Geography at the
University of Sheffield and lead author of the study.
“Rice
products are often considered a safe option for babies and young children, but
our research suggests that for more than half of the rice we sampled, infants
should be limited to just 20 grams per day to avoid risks associated with
arsenic. The government and the European Commission must introduce labelling to
warn people of arsenic levels in rice to enable families to make informed food
choices.”
Arsenic
concentrations in rice
Fifty-five different rice types were purchased from various retailers and online suppliers in the U.K. from August to September 2018. Six were wild rice, 36 were white rice, 13 were brown or unpolished, 16 were organic rice and 39 packs were non-organic. Out of these samples, 20 did not contain specific information on country of origin.
Fifty-five different rice types were purchased from various retailers and online suppliers in the U.K. from August to September 2018. Six were wild rice, 36 were white rice, 13 were brown or unpolished, 16 were organic rice and 39 packs were non-organic. Out of these samples, 20 did not contain specific information on country of origin.
Total
arsenic in the 55 rice samples analyzed ranged from 0.01 to
0.37 mg per kg with an average of 0.15 mg per kg. A total of 42 rice
samples with total arsenic above 0.1 mg per kg were
selected for arsenic speciation.
The
concentrations of inorganic arsenic and organic arsenic in the 42 rice types
analyzed ranged from 0.065 to 0.286 and 0.009 to 0.203 mg per kg, respectively.
The average inorganic arsenic concentration of the 28 samples above the limit
was 0.152 mg per kg.
Researchers
considered three scenarios for the health risk assessment of rice arsenic. The
first was based on the reported per capita consumption rate of rice in the U.K.
and the mean inorganic arsenic concentration of the 42 rice samples examined.
In the
second and third scenarios, they calculated the maximum permissible per capita
consumption rates of rice for three age groups to avoid health risks. To avoid
carcinogenic risks for men, women and infants, the scenarios showed a weekly
maximum consumption rate of 0.301, 0.252 and 0.0322 kilograms for these
three groups, respectively.
Scientists
called for labelling to warn the public about levels of arsenic in rice.
“We
recommend that consumers could be better informed whether rice and rice
products are suitable for infants and young children up to 5 years in the
product description labels.”
Bangladesh sends seasonal fruits and fresh vegetables to UAE
According to an official statement
on Friday, Bangladesh has sent fine quality seasonal fruits and fresh
vegetables to the United Arab Emirates by a cargo flight of Etihad Airlines.
Overall, the gifts include
banglamati rice, developed by Bangladeshi Scientists, fresh watermelon,
pineapple, okra, potato, pointed gourd, cucumber etc. The Ministry of
Agriculture arranged fresh vegetables under the guidance of Agriculture
Minister Dr Abdur Razzaq.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr A.K.
Abdul Momen mentioned Bangladesh's remarkable progress in the agriculture
sector with surplus food production during his meeting with Sheikh Abdullah bin
Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of
the UAE in January 2020.
On a separate occasion, the
chairman of the UAE Investment Authority Sheikh Hamadbin Zayed Al Nahyan
expressed his willingness to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to import rice from
Bangladesh during his courtesy call in Abu Dhabi in January.
The gifts were primarily made from
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the President, the Prime Minister and Ruler of
Dubai, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the Foreign Minister, the Minister of
Human Resources and the Minister of State for Food Security of the United Arab
Emirates. The gifts were made as a gesture of goodwill and fraternity between
Bangladesh and the UAE.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Dhaka is trying to explore overseas markets for surplus agro-products of
Bangladesh, especially the seasonal fruits, fresh vegetables and meat. It is
noteworthy; UAE authority has procured around 40 tons of fresh vegetables and
meat and carried them in the same cargo flight. This might be a good start of
exporting quality rice, fruits, vegetables and meat to the UAE.
Source: uniindia.com
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