This makeup ingredient
could destroy 99% of ‘forever chemicals’
By Joseph Winters on Jul 20, 2020 at 3:55
am
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climate in the time of coronavirus Subscribe Today
Since
the 1940s, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — more commonly known as PFAS —
have been leaching into the soil, the groundwater,
and our bodies. PFAS pollution is now so
widespread that the chemicals are estimated to be present in 99 percent of Americans’ bloodstreams.
Researchers have even found them in the bodies of polar bears.
“It’s
just crazy,” said Michael Wong, a chemical engineer at Rice University.
“There’s an urgent need to clean up this mess right now.”
PFAS
are a broad class of chemicals with unique
oil- and water-repellent properties. For decades, they’ve been used in consumer
goods like nonstick pans, outdoor clothing, and takeout food
containers. But PFAS have been dubbed “forever chemicals” because
they don’t break down under natural processes, and scientists say they’ve
leached into the environment and built up to potentially hazardous concentrations in
drinking water. Chronic exposure to low levels of PFAS has been linked to cancer, developmental health issues, higher body weight, and more. The
EPA’s current safety recommendation sits at
70 parts per trillion, but some evidence suggests that guideline should be 700 times lower.
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After
spending a year and a half trying to engineer a solution to this PFAS problem,
Wong reported an unexpected breakthrough. In a paper published last month in the journal
Environmental Science & Technology Letters, he and his team of
researchers found that boron nitride — also known as BN and commonly used
in cosmetics and electronics — could
destroy up to 99 percent of a type of PFAS called PFOA in about four hours.
The
research centered around a process called photocatalysis — a chemical reaction
in which tiny, semiconductive particles are suspended in contaminated water and
“excited” by ultraviolet light. With the right kind of particles, that reaction
can be strong enough to degrade the durable carbon-fluorine bonds of PFAS.
Other
chemical engineers had previously used photocatalysis to break down PFAS, Wong
said. “But they couldn’t break it down as quickly as we can.”
In
his experiment, Wong and his team ground BN into a fine powder and placed it
into a container of water that was contaminated with PFOA. They then exposed
the water to ultraviolet light, which caused small deformations to appear in
the BN — “tiny little holes,” as Wong put it. The deformations made the BN
reactive enough to quickly break down most of the PFOA into benign byproducts,
mostly carbon dioxide and fluoride salt — “like the fluoride in our toothpaste,”
Wong said.
Wong
was surprised the BN worked at all, let alone so efficiently — he had included
BN alongside a series of more promising photocatalysts as the “control,” the
part of the experiment that is expected to show no results. “It wasn’t supposed
to work,” Wong said. BN’s electrons should have required too much energy to be
excited by the ultraviolet light. In the research paper, Wong wrote that atomic
defects in the BN — a result of grinding — may have enabled it to absorb the
light and become reactive.
Before
Wong’s study, no one knew BN could be used as a photocatalyst for PFOA
degradation. “In terms of this mechanism, it’s really novel,” said Jinyong Liu,
an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of California,
Riverside who was not involved in Wong’s study.
Ezra
Cates, a Clemson University environmental engineer who was also uninvolved in
Wong’s study, said the BN research “puts another tool in the toolbox” for
researchers seeking to clean up PFAS. However, he noted, it isn’t necessarily
more promising than competing avenues of research, including zapping PFAS with diamond-coated electrodes or blasting them with plasma. Plus, he said,
there’s still the problem of incomplete degradation —many of these techniques,
including photocatalysis, are only efficient at breaking down the largest PFAS,
which are chains of eight or more carbon molecules, into smaller-chain
compounds that are still harmful to human health. (Wong said that
photocatalysis might still be able to break these smaller PFAS down; it just
might take much longer than four hours.)
According
to Cates, if scientists’ goal is to treat municipal drinking water, any of
these PFAS-destroying techniques will likely be integrated into a multi-step
process that begins with adsorption — sucking up the longest-chain PFAS onto a
sticky membrane. Then, rather than the current most common technique of
incinerating the concentrated PFAS at temperatures above 1,000 degrees C (1,832 degrees F),
environmental engineers could eliminate the chemicals with photocatalysis,
plasma, or electrochemical methods — whichever winds up being most efficient.
Wong
is optimistic that he will find a commercial use for the BN technique. Since
publishing his paper, he has been approached by a nanotechnology water
treatment research center at Rice University, and he says he’s already begun
filing patents. He suspects BN may be able to break down other PFAS beyond
PFOA, and he has already demonstrated limited success with a prevalent PFAS
compound called GenX. He also thinks he can make the degradation process go
much faster — somewhere on the order of one hour, he told Grist.
Figuring
out how to destroy PFAS quickly and cheaply, Wong said, would have real-world
implications for the many communities affected by unsafe chemical exposure.
Between 2013 and 2015, as many as 6 million Americans were routinely
exposed to PFAS levels exceeding the EPA’s safety guidelines. “We want to do
right by people,” he explained. “This is a way that I envision we can be
helpful as engineers.”
https://grist.org/climate/this-makeup-ingredient-could-destroy-99-of-forever-chemicals/
Slimy
invader attacks La. crawfish and rice farms
Never Miss A
Story
Apple
snail eggs are a common sight in area marshes. [The Courier and Daily
Comet/File]
First it came for your wetlands. Now it’s
coming for your crawfish and your rice.
A foreign snail that appeared in Louisiana just
over 10 years ago and quickly infested ponds, bayous and streams in about 30
parishes has recently found its way to the farms that produce two of the
state’s favorite foods.
The invasive apple snail has shut down harvest
at some crawfish farms in Vermilion, Acadia and Jefferson Davis parishes and
has made its first devastating appearance in rice fields. In March, the
invasive mollusks wiped out a 50-acre field of rice, marking the first reported
case of the snail damaging the crop in Louisiana.
“Where it’s hit ’em, it’s hit ’em hard,” said
David Savoy, a Church Point crawfish farmer and chairman of the Louisiana
Crawfish Promotion and Research Board. “In Vermilion, it’s so bad, you pick up
a trap and there’s 5 to 10 pounds of them. It’s horrible.”
Attracted by the bait in traps, the snails
crowd in, leaving little or no room for crawfish. At some farms, apple snails
are being caught in such high numbers — sometimes 12 crates per day — that
disposal of the thick-shelled snails is becoming a problem.
Some farmers have had to halt harvests and
drain their ponds early, suffering revenue reductions of as much as 50%, said
Blake Wilson, an LSU AgCenter researcher.
“The impact on some of those farms,
particularly where snail populations have been building for years, has been
immense,” he said.
Only about 10 crawfish farms have been
affected, but new reports keep coming in.
Louisiana is by far the nation’s biggest
crawfish producer. The industry contributes more than $300 million to the state
economy each year and employs about 7,000 people, according to the research
board.
“If the problem spreads to the whole industry,
economic impacts could be tens of millions of dollars annually without
effective control tactics,” Wilson said.
Those tactics are currently limited to
pesticides. But what kills snails will also likely kill crawfish.
Native to South America, the apple snail’s
first appearance in Louisiana was in a Gretna drainage canal in 2006.
They’re popular in the aquarium trade partly
because they eat the algae that dirties tanks. But they get quite big —
sometimes growing shells 6 inches in diameter — and they often have a strong,
swampy odor. Their presence in the wild is likely due to aquarium owners
dumping them in ditches and ponds.
The snails stay below the water’s surface and
aren’t often seen, but their bubblegum pink eggs are hard to miss. In clusters
of 200 to 600, the tiny eggs have become an all-too-common sight on tree trucks
and pilings just above the water line. Destroying the eggs is one of the best
ways to reduce their numbers.
The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
recommends people scrape the eggs off with a stick and crush them, or at least
knock them into the water. Be careful not to touch them because the eggs
contain a neurotoxin that can irritate skin and eyes.
The snails are edible but are known to carry
rat lungworm, a parasite that can kill humans and other mammals.
Rapid reproducers and voracious eaters, the
snail overpopulates waterways and kills off habitat important to native fish
and other wildlife.
The snail’s appearance in crawfish farms comes
at a particularly bad time for the industry. Crawfish have been hit with white
spot syndrome, a deadly virus that was first discovered in farmed shrimp in
Asia in the early 1990s and first appeared in Louisiana 2007.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll as
well. The AgCenter reported that some crawfish producers have been able to sell
just 15% of their catch due to pandemic-related restaurant closures and
occupancy limits.
Scientists and farmers are perplexed about how
the snail arrived in crawfish farms and why certain farms are swarming with
them.
“It’s weird,” AgCenter researcher Greg Lutz
said. “It pops up in certain regions. You can have a farm with nothing, and
three or four miles down the road they’re overrun.”
It could be that the snails benefit from
flooding. An Acadia Parish farm started having a snail problem after its fields
were flooded from a bayou linked to the Mermentau River, which is loaded with
apple snails.
The snail has been identified in just one rice
field so far, but the potential for widespread destruction is strong. It’s a
major pest for rice growers in Spain, Asia and Central America. In the
Philippines, the snail is considered a national menace, infesting about half
the nation’s rice fields during the late 1980s.
The snail left almost nothing at the rice field
near Rayne. Wilson estimated the field had two snails per square foot.
“There was no trace of rice,” he said. “If you
didn’t know better, you’d think it was a snail production farm.”
https://www.houmatoday.com/news/202007
Let’s sharpen our pencils
July
20, 2020 at 12:10 am by Lito
Banayo
"The
idea of a rice supply and price crisis in our poor country is quite worrisome."
About a month
ago, I read in a business paper that the tender for 300,000 metric tons of rice
done through a government-to-government purchase was put on hold, after winners
had been announced.
For the first
instance in as long a time as I could recall, even Myanmar participated, and
won, a portion of our staple reserve requirement. The bidding was conducted by
the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC), an agency attached to
the Department of Trade and Industry.
Earlier, the
Department of Agriculture certified to the need for importing a food security
reserve of 300,000 metric tons of rice, and since the Rice Tariffication Law
which was passed in 2019 removed that function from the National Food Authority
along with its commercial functions, the G2G mode of procurement was passed on
to the PITC.
The NFA can
only procure palay from local farmers, have it milled, and keep the same for
rice reserves to be used in times of emergency, with its buyers being the DSWD,
local government units, and other government agencies for relief purposes. Of
course, the implementing rules and regulations allowed for a phase-out of the
commercial functions of the food security agency. By now, NFA’s 2018-2019
imports must have been sold out. What NFA holds in its warehouses by this time
should either be rice milled from the palay it bought over the last 15 or so
months, or yet in palay form.
There was an
unexpected heavy buying from NFA due to the Covid lockdowns, when both the
national and local government units had to deliver food supplies to the
quarantined population.
With its 2019
and 2020 funds limited by the budget subsidy under the GAA, although augmented
in the Bayanihan emergency legislation, NFA could only procure so much. And at
its procurement price of 19 pesos per kilo, already adjusted from the previous
17 per kilo of palay, NFA had to compete with the private millers and traders
who, surprisingly (because government statistics claim we had plenty of stocks
imported by the privates in 2019 and the first quarter of 2020), were offering
higher prices for palay.
I read
somewhere online that NFA management proposed to hike their buying price to
P21, but the NFA Council did not approve.
Why would the
private traders buy the summer crop at higher prices, averaging P22 to P23 per
kilo, if they had so much unsold inventory from the massive quantitative
restriction-freed imports right after the NFA monopoly was lifted?
The higher
farm-gate prices somehow compensated our palay farmers from the massive losses
of the previous year when their main harvest was sold so low due to the
immediate impact of the RT Law, which is a good thing.
Still, we are
basically not self-sufficient in our rice consumption needs, and the Covid
pandemic resulted in a distorted supply-demand situation. Though rice has
inelastic demand, the unusual circumstances of the lockdown and its impact on
people’s daily lives must have increased overall consumption. Which is why the
DA’s proposal to import a modest 300,000 metric tons, about a nine-day national
consumption requirement, was conservatively proper.
There were some
worries when Vietnam, our main supplier of rice imports, announced that they
would stop exporting to ensure their food security needs amid the Covid
pandemic. But later, the Vietnamese prime minister assured our President that
they would be ready to supply the Philippines.
So the PITC
went into a country bidding process. But after announcing the winners, the
agency announced that it was suspending awards because of a lack of certification
of funds availability. NFA, when it was doing the importation of rice, could
avail itself of supplier credits which the seller country could re-finance
through a consortium of banks. In my time, we could get 270-day credit for
instance, from Vietnam.
We of course
understand that the Covid pandemic has drained the national treasury, and
revenue collections have gone down. But food security is a matter of national
security as well, and I thought that funds would soon be made available to
honor the bids already tendered and won.
The other day,
I found out that the whole procedure was cancelled. So now, we are totally
reliant on the private millers and traders, with our public warehouse, the NFA,
having an inventory equivalent to around seven days nationwide consumption.
Now, that is
worrisome. Not only because we went into government-to-government tenders and
then welched. More so because we may be entering the second half of the year
with world supply precarious.
China, the
world’s top rice producer followed by India, is experiencing the worst flooding
in its Yangtze River Basin since 1998. With the rains still pouring from the
heavens, the floods may worsen. Chongqing, Jiangxi, Hubei (birthplace of the
novel coronavirus), Jiangsu, Anhui, Hunan, and Zhejiang provinces are gravely
affected. Almost half of China’s annual rice production of some 205 million
metric tons come from these provinces.
The Three
Gorges Dam has released so much water to protect it from bursting as the water
levels from the Yangtze swell with more and more rainfall (they call it the
“plum rain”).
Now China
cannot and will not allow its food security imperiled by low domestic
production, and so it will import from other countries as necessary to feed its
huge population. Though figures are hard to come by in this era of the greatest
pandemic of our lifetime, the whole world’s production and consumption patterns
may also have been affected.
India now has
more than a million Covid cases. The ability of India to export rice may be
compromised. And every other rice-eating country will then be scrambling for
supplies from the top Asean exporters --- Vietnam, Thailand even Myanmar to a
lesser extent, just as we enter the typhoon season when shipping and logistics
management are difficult and our main crop won’t be harvested until
mid-September.
Then if La Nina
gets naughty when our main palay crop is about to be harvested, then we will
have a major crisis. And NFA is a castrated agency reduced to being a public
warehouse.
The Rice
Tariffication Law was in principle correct because government cannot forever
subsidize, and government monopolies create price distortions. But it was
hastily done in reaction to an inflationary spiral in 2018 that was caused by
mismanagement of supply by previously appointed officials, now thankfully
replaced by more competent persons.
These more
competent persons assure us that we have 89 days supply as we entered the lean
months. That is comforting. But 92 percent of these, again if the estimates are
correct, are in private hands.
Look at the
dangers of world supply, and sharpen your pencils, please.
In a world
discombobulated by disease, having a rice supply and price crisis in our poor
country is quite worrisome. I hope my fears are unfounded.
Rice
importers face suspension on unused SPS-IC
RICE traders and importers who have unused
sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance could be suspended by the
Department of Agriculture (DA) as about 60 percent of issued SPS-ICs in the
first half, covering almost 2 million metric tons (MMT), are unutilized to
date.
Latest
Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) data obtained and analyzed by the BusinessMirror
showed that only 1,803 SPS-ICs out of the 3,926 SPS-ICs issued from January to
June have been used by eligible rice importers as of July 10.
This
corresponds to a total rice volume imported of about 1.347 MMT out of the 3.261
MMT applied volume during the six-month period, BPI data showed.
About
2,123 SPS-ICs, which cover 1.914 MMT of rice, are yet to be used by registered
and eligible traders, importers, firms, cooperatives, and organizations, based
on BPI data.
Agriculture
Secretary William D. Dar has issued a new memorandum order (MO) reminding
importers that “low utilization” of SPS-ICs could be “grounds for rejection of
application or their suspension as importer.” “Importers should regularly
account and surrender any unused SPS-ICs to BPI,” Dar said in his MO No. 30
dated June 4 but was made public on July 6.
“They
are reminded that low utilization of applied SPS-IC can affect their track
record and can be grounds for rejection of application or their suspension,”
Dar added.
Dar
issued the new order to address the “problem of low utilization” of SPS-IC for
milled rice and “ensure availability of food” during this Covid-19 pandemic.
The new
order required rice importers to submit additional requirements for the
application of SPS-IC which are 1) payment of certification of the consignment
and 2) list of distribution points/warehouse of the said consignment.
The
additional requirements shall be attached to the importers’ application
together with previous requirements of proforma/commercial invoice, GMO or
non-GMO certification and certificate of analysis for heavy metals, according
to the MO.
In his
order, Dar said failure to comply with the new requirements will result in
rejection of the traders and importers’ application for SPS-IC for milled rice.
BPI data
showed that the agency issued a monthly average of 654 SPS-IC while utilization
by importers was only at about 300 SPS-ICs per month.
In
January, BPI issued 801 SPS-ICs but only 307 SPS-ICs were used, while in
February, only 227 SPS-ICs were utilized by importers out of the 1,076 SPS-ICs
issued to them.
Under the
rice trade liberalization (RTL) law, interested rice importers shall secure a
SPS-IC—a document that certifies food and plant safety of the goods—from the
BPI to be able to bring in staple from abroad.
The
implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the RTL law stipulated that
“imported rice should arrive before the expiration of the SPS-IC from BPI.”
Furthermore,
Dar issued MO No. 28, Series of 2019, that further specified the said provision
of the IRR of the law.
Based on
his MO last year, the actual rice consignment “must be shipped out from the
country of origin within the prescribed date in the approved SPS-IC and must
arrive not later than 60 days from the Must Ship Out Date.”
Earlier
this year, Dar ordered the voiding of all unused SPS-ICs for milled rice that
were issued last year as BPI data showed that some 1,752 SPS-ICs were unused at
the end of 2019.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/07/20/rice-importers-face-suspension-on-unused-sps-ic/
Mehul Choksi cheated customers and banks by
selling lab-made diamonds, says ED in latest charge sheet
Updated on
·
·
·
·
The enforcement directorate (ED) on Sunday
filed a charge sheet against fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi, who is currently
seeking asylum in Antigua and Bermuda.
According to a Hindustan Times report,
the charge sheet elaborates how Choksi ran a racket to cheat customers and
lenders in India, the United States and Dubai. The racket involved growing ‘lab
grown’ diamonds, which are much cheaper than the real versions.
The report added that the charge sheet is a way
to strengthen India’s extradition request against Choksi.
In June this year, the ED brought back over
2,300 kg of polished diamonds and pearls worth Rs 1,350 crore of firms
belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi from Hong Kong, officials said.
Out of the 108 consignments that landed at
Mumbai, 32 belong to overseas entities "controlled" by Modi while the
rest are of Mehul Choksi firms.
Last year, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister
Gaston assured that Choksi will be extradited after he exhausts all his appeals
in the country.
"I can assure you that he will be ultimately
deported after exhausting all his appeals. He will be extradited back to India
to face whatever charges against him. It is just a matter of time,"
The Prime Minister said that the country is not
interested in having him as he adds no value to it. He said that the Indian
authorities have the "right" to come to Antigua and Barbuda to
interrogate him.
"They can come and if they wish to
interview Choksi based on his willingness to participate, it has nothing to do
with my government," Browne added. Browne said that it is
"unfortunate" that Choksi was cleared by Indian officials as a person
in "good standing" only to be told later that he is a
"crook".
Pakistan-
Traders demand permission to transport rice through Angoor Adda border
7/17/2020
6:09:55 PM
(MENAFN
- Tribal News Network) WANA: With the reopening of Angoor Adda border gate in
South Waziristan tribal district, the local traders and social circles have
expressed reservations over the mode of trade operations.
The
representatives of flour dealers including Haji Maqrab Khan Wazir, Attaullah,
Reham Shah, Pir Mulla Khan, Amir Hamza and others said the Ahmedzai Wazir tribe
was promised that the Angoor Adda border will be reopened on the pattern of
Pak-Afghan borders in Torkham, Chaman and Ghulam Khan. However, they alleged
that the border gate has been opened for illegal goods. They alleged that the
illegal transportation of timber, coal etc is continuing on the border gate
which is extremely dangerous for the area.
Haji
Maqrab Khan said while addressing a press conference at Wana Press Club that
the promises made with the traders have not been fulfilled. He said that rice,
which is a major Pakistani export item, is not being allowed through Angoor
Adda gate. He said the government must allow transportation of rice on Angoor
Adda gate like Torkham and Chaman. He said illegal transportation of goods must
also be stopped immediately.
The
local traders gave a deadline of one day for permission for taking rice and
other essential goods through Angoor Adda border gate. They said they will
start a protest movement from today (Saturday) if their demands were not
accepted.
The
Angoor Adda border was reopened for trade on July 10. It was great news for the
people of South Waziristan and other nearby areas that the border gate, which
was closed for the last four months, was reopened. The border gate was closed
by the Pakistan government due to the fears of spread of coronavirus. However,
some issues are being witnessed in the area after the border gate opening.
Two days
earlier, the district administration and police came face to face over running
the affairs of Angoor Adda check post.
Police
arrested two officials of the district administration and sent them to lock-up.
On the other hand, the district administration closed all its offices in Wana
in protest against the arrest of its two officials.
Two
officials, Political Moharrar Noorul Amin and Hazrat Ali, were sent to look
after the administrative affairs and implementation of SOPs regarding
coronavirus prevention to Angoor Adda check post. However, police arrested both
the district administration officials as soon as they arrived at the check post
and filed case against them.
DPO
Shaukat Khan said deployment of political moharrars on the check posts after
merger of erstwhile Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was illegal. The district
administration is of the view that political moharrars are deployed at all
check posts in South Waziristan and their deployment at Angoor Adda check post
must not be a problem for local police.
However,
sources said, all the issue is about money as Angoor Adda check post is
considered a very 'profitable place'.
MENAFN1707202001890000ID1100502354
No immediate
threat of food shortage in country: Fakhar
Pakistan's agriculture was facing attack of locust along with
severe weather conditions
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Minister for National
Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam has said that there was no
immediate threat of food shortage in the country despite the ongoing locust
attack and prediction of above normal Monsoon rains.
However, the government was making a strategy
for next year in view of declined in agricultural production.
Talking to VoA , the minister said that the Met
office had predicted ten percent extra rains during the monsoon season which
might affect Khareef crops in the country as climate variations were causing a
change in traditional monsoon rains every year.
Fakhar informed that a strategy to deal with
expected monsoon rains and floods was also being discussed with provinces at
National Command and Control Centre.
He said, Ministry of Food in collaboration with
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) would make all-out efforts to
save crops from rains and floods, adding, "We can make an estimate of
threats like locust, rains and floods which can be prevented to some extent but
complete protection is not possible for crops under the open sky." The minister
said that the government was working on the crops insurance policy to make it
easier to benefit the farmers.
Pakistan s agriculture was facing attack
of locust along with severe weather conditions while Met office had predicted
that monsoon rains would provide ideal environment for the growth of locust, he
pointed out.
The minister said that fertilization of locust
was a big threat for Paksitan s agriculture and the government was working
on preventive measures in collaboration with the provinces.
He informed that locust stayed in Rajhistan
desert last year due to untraditional rains in October and November and because
of its growth in the desert, it spread in such areas where it had never reached
before.
Although all provinces were affected by the
locust attack, but the damage remained below fifty percent in all the areas, he
added.
According to United Nations Food security, if
Pakistan s 25% agricultural production is effected by locust, it can cause
increase in prices of commodities along with five billion Dollars loss to the
economy.
Fakhar Imam told that the Prime Minister Imran
Khan had announced national emergency and allocated Rs 26 billion to fight the
locust attack.
He said that Federal and provincial governments
were working to eliminate locust under a comprehensive strategy and trying to
stop nourishment of the locust.
For chemical spray, three planes of Ministry of
National Food security along with five helicopter of Pakistan Army were being
used, he added.
The minister said that the government was buying
11 more planes to increase the spraying capacity as helicopters were being used
in crops area whereas planes were being used in deserts.
Pakistan s agricultural land was under
attack by the locust nourished in Iran, Oman and African countries, he pointed
out.
Replaying to a question about the expected
loss, the minister said that loss due to locust attack on agricultural land was
being estimated as it had damaged crops in all the four provinces, and there
was a risk of low production this year, however, there was no immediate danger
of food shortage.
According to official figures, fifty seven
million acre area has been affected by the locust this year of which twenty
three million acres were agricultural land.
The minister told that because of weather conditions
causing unusual rains, wheat production target was not achieved this year due
to which the government had allowed private sector to import wheat to overcome
the shortage.
It is pertinent to mention here that Unites
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in a recent report has
warned of food security crisis in Pakistan due to locust attack.
The minister said that the government had
approved subsidy of Rs 50 billion for agriculture including Rs 37 billion for
provision of subsidized fertilizers to the farmers.
He further illustrated that agriculture was
back bone of Pakistan s economy and contributed 19.3 percent of GDP.
He also informed that indirect contribution of
agriculture in GDP also stood at 20 percent as 70-80% raw material of the country s
industry also came from the agriculture.
He said government had declared agriculture as
its top priority because 42 percent of working population depended on this
sector which had been neglected for last 20 years.
The minister said that his ministry was working
on branding of agriculture commodities along with research and adaptation of
modern techniques in the farming.
He told that brand act and seed act had been
introduced after 20 years as there was no law earlier due to which India got
registered Pakistani basmati rice.
Moreover, he said that packaging standards of
Pakistan s fruits and agri-products were also being improved to help
increase import of Pakistani products as well as to make these commodities
cost-effective.
Flour
prices up by 94pc since Sept 2018
ISLAMABAD:
Wheat flour prices jacked up to 94 percent, while sugar prices witnessed 69
percent increase on the open market since the PTI came to power, thus
witnessing a record hike in the country's recent history.
A flour
bag weighing 20kg was available for Rs640 (ex-mill price) during September 2018
which has now jumped up from Rs1,060 to Rs1,240 per bag on the open market in
different parts of the country, while in KP it is touching Rs1,350.
Similarly,
sugar prices surprisingly soared by over 69% during this period as prices
soared from Rs53 to Rs89 per kilogram on the retail market, while its wholesale
trading price went up from Rs47 to Rs76 during that period.
Geo
Television Network's programme (ASKK) in its months- long intensive
investigation has reviewed official record/files of both regulators, ministries
of food security, commerce and industries, Pakistan Flour Mills Association and
Pakistan Sugar Mills Association as well as interviewed two dozen government
officials, representatives of growers and provincial food departments to assess
the factual position directly from the stakeholders.
This
hike may reappear in coming weeks too if the government fails to take actions
against the responsible hoarders and profiteers, suggested the markets' trend.
Wheat flour prices went up to over 53% while sugar prices witnessed an increase
of 14% in the open market since first inquiry reports made public by federal
government in first week of April this year. Price of a 20-kgs bag shot up from
Rs810 to Rs1, 240 and one kilogram sugar witnessed Rs9 increase in one kilogram
sugar in the market after April 4, 2020, Geo Television Network's weeks long
investigation continued to reveal on authority.
Consumers
price of essential items prepared by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reveal
that sugar price was Rs90 per 1-kg in Quetta last week while a bag of 20-kgs
wheat flour was being sold by the shopkeepers at price of between Rs1240 to
Rs1350 in the market in different parts of Pakistan.
Consequentially,
millers, profiteers and middlemen extracted tens of billions of rupees as an
additional profit from Oct 2018 to June 2020, presuming annual consumption of
wheat flour and sugar, revealed Geo Television Network’s investigation where it
was difficult to calculate an exact amount of illegal profit but this windfall
was seen in addition to normal trade profit in the country. “Middle men, hoarders,
profiteers and millers earned some Rs200 billion as an additional profit in
this hike of wheat, wheat flour and sugar during these two past years,” a
senior government official of ministry of food security confirmed to this
correspondent. He, however, did not want to be named.
Some 5
MMT wheat hoarded either by some influential middle men, local 'arhtees', a
National Food Security Ministry official feared. Huge quantity of surplus wheat
illegally stocked in some rice mills, four sugar mills, 12 spinning mills &
stores owned by influential have political connections on provinces’ borders,
he further claimed.
To get
rid of this price hike, federal government decided to import 3 MMT wheat, a
record quantity for the first time in eleven years, in an attempt to quell
escalating prices and to replenish its stocks in anticipation of decline in
surpluses by end of this year. Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the
cabinet has already given a go ahead for import of 0.5 MMT wheat, a move
happening for the first time since 2009.As per official data Pakistan has been
collectively maintaining up to 8.386 MMT surplus wheat since 2009 to 2018.
Government,
however, is apparently failing to control wheat price which has gone up to Rs4,
800 to Rs4,900 per 100-kg bag in the open market while its (official) support
price remained at Rs3,500 per 100 Kg this year with a nominal 10% increase as
compared to market price for 2019, which was fixed at Rs3,250 per 100-kg bag,
Geo Television Network's Investigation revealed.
Wheat
flour prices alarmingly started soaring up since July last year, as the
official record showed that a 20-kgs flour bag was being sold at Rs. 854 in
open market during August 2019, Rs908 during January 2020, Rs. 912 during April
2020, Rs972 during first week of June this year and now this 20-Kgs flour bag
has crossed upwards of Rs.1, 240. Official statistics also reveal that the
provincial food departments have had 20% less stocks as compared to last year,
which was 7.8 MMT. Government officials claimed that estimated 2 MMT wheat has
been procured by Pakistan Flour Mills Association but it’s (PFMA) chairman Asim
Raza said, "They (millers) purchased only 60,000 to 70, 000 metric tons
from open market as provincial food departments did not allow them to go for
more this year."Government officials, however, admitted that fact that
PFMA procured 66% less wheat than the previous market and production trends.
Pakistan
would consume 27.47 MMT wheat from April 2020 to April 2021 with ratio of 75,
260 metric tons (84.2 million kilograms) daily, according to official
statistics Geo Television Network got exclusively. The country produced 25.457
MMT wheat while total availably of wheat with carry forward stock is 26.059 MMT
at the moment this year.
Dr Aslam
Gill, former wheat commissioner, said, wheat has now become a political
commodity, same as sugar was. "Potential influential people having
government backing have been hoarding wheat in huge quantity to control the
market. Price hike is not due to any deficiency in the supply chain, rather it
is due to millers, middle men’s monopoly, failure of food departments--it is
more like now commodities versus government," Dr. Gill said.
"Sugar
prices were expected to jump up by 15 to 20 percent (from Rs53 to Rs72 per
kilogram) during sugar season 2018-19 due to increase in sales tax and
accounting for inflation. But the current hike is quite alarming and not
justified at all," observed Agri Forum Pakistan Chairman, Ibrahim Mughal.
On the other hand, agricultural inputs (fertilizer, oil, electricity, pesticide,
raw materials, seeds, machinery, labour) witnessed record hike of 60% to 70% in
prices and costs after the government abolished subsidy thereon, he added.
Previous
governments collectively paid over Rs18 billion on account of subsidy and
freight reimbursement to sugar manufacturers on export during past five years
(2014-15 to 2018-19), as per record exclusively available with Geo News. The
Competition Commission of Pakistan in its two latest reports also exclusively
available with Geo News revealed, "sudden sky rocketing of the price of
sugar in the current year still appears to be an anomaly given that the supply
of sugar still appears to be in excess of its demand."
A
spokesperson for the ministry of food security said there is an estimated
shortfall of 1.411 MMT wheat this year.
The
shortfall is going to be mitigated through various means, including permission
of importing 1.5 MMT wheat through the private sector.
Telling
key reasons for recent record hike in wheat and flour prices, the spokesperson further
said, "Low wheat production, prevalence of yellow rust (a fungal disease
for the wheat plant), locust threat, higher public sector procurement targets
(32% of the production), previous years’ pricing trends and restriction over
free movement of wheat within the country. PASSCO also could not achieve the
targets because of encroachment over some PASSCO designated areas of wheat
procurement by Punjab food department, procurement differential in the local
market." Managements of other stakeholders namely PASSCO, food departments
of provinces, CCP and USC did not respond to this correspondent despite several
reminders sent to them for weeks.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/689233-flour-prices-up-by-94pc-since-sept-2018
Louai Beshara / AFP via Getty Images
MAKING IT GRAIN
From the
lab to the field, agriculture seeks to adapt to a warming world
News on climate in the time of
coronavirus Subscribe Today
This story was originally published by Yale
Environment 360 and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
It may be coming to a bakery near you: bread
made from wheat that has had its photosynthetic mechanism refashioned to help
it flourish on a warmer planet.
Despite the fact a number of researchers — some
funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — are scrambling to create this
new breed of wheat, it won’t be arriving any time soon. Increasing temperatures
are already taking a toll on the world’s wheat fields. But a new heat-resistant
wheat that will replace the types currently grown is a decade or more off in
the future.
The problem is being seen throughout the world.
In 2010 and 2012, for example, Russian wheat growers saw their yields decline
dramatically because of a combination of hot weather and drought.
“It caused 30 percent reduction in national
production, which is really huge,” said Senthold Asseng, a researcher at the
University of Florida. Russians made up for the shortfall by reducing exports,
he noted, but “if you lose a third of your production in India or Bangladesh,
that could be a huge disaster.”
There is a concerted global effort to help
agriculture adapt to the new climate reality as warming continues apace. The
most urgent adaptation initiatives, experts say, involve the world’s main food
crops — especially wheat, rice, corn, and soybeans, which together provide
two-thirds of human caloric intake. In a study released
last year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that
without fundamental changes in agriculture, the world risks increasing food
insecurity.
It’s not just about food. Food shortages are an
important driver of social problems. For example, a drought from 2007 until
2010 is considered one of the main factors leading to the civil
war in Syria.
A 2017
study by a group of researchers that included Asseng used
models to forecast changes to these main crops under warmer temperatures. The
study showed that each centigrade degree rise of temperature would cause a drop
in production of all of the crops, led by a plummeting yield in corn of more
than 7 percent, wheat of 6 percent, and a drop in soybeans of 3 percent, and
rice 3.2 percent. “That means in the next 30 or 40 years, if global temperature
rises 3 degrees Celsius we’re talking about 15 to 20 percent loss of wheat
yield just from temperature alone,” Asseng said.
Climate change brings more than just higher
temperatures. A whole suite of problems and benefits come with warmer weather,
from too much to too little precipitation (there’s 7 percent more moisture in
the atmosphere for every 1 degree C of warming); changes in the timing of
precipitation, floods, and erosion; abrupt temperature swings; changes in soil
health; and more wildfires, which can affect planting, ripening, and
harvesting. Warmer temperatures may also mean more pests, more diseases, and
more weeds. And along with the loss of yield, some studies show that important
food crops, such as rice and wheat, have reduced levels of protein, iron, and
zinc as they grow in a more carbon-rich environment.
All this comes at the same time the demand for
food is rising and may increase by 100 percent by 2050 as the global population
soars from 7.6 billion to nearly 10 billion. And as the world shifts from
fossil fuels to plant-based materials, such as biofuels or bioplastics, experts
say it will require a 30 percent increase in agricultural production. All of
this increase will have to be done on agricultural land already in existence so
that the Amazon rainforest or other important natural areas won’t need to be
destroyed.
Wheat — the largest food crop on the planet,
supplying 20 percent of global calories — is getting a lot of the attention
from researchers. One of the leading approaches to increasing yield and
creating a heat-tolerant wheat is in the optimization of photosynthesis.
“Agricultural crops now convert a surprisingly low percentage of sunlight into
plant biomass, some 0.5 to 1 percent,” said Martin Parry, a leading researcher
at Lancaster University in England. “Doubling the percentage to 1 to 2 percent
is all we need, and this has already been scientifically proven to be
possible.”
Researchers are doing this by focusing on
something called Rubisco — an acronym for Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate
carboxylase/oxygenase. It’s an ancient enzyme, more than 3.5 billion years old,
that evolved with plants. It takes inorganic carbon dioxide and turns it into
organic carbon.
But 20 percent of the time, Rubisco grabs
oxygen instead of CO2, which leads to a process called photorespiration, which
is energetically expensive for the plant and leads to less photosynthesis and
smaller yields.
Ort calls Rubisco the most important enzyme on
the planet because it is responsible for converting sunlight into plant tissue,
which feeds the world. However, Ort says, “it’s not a very good enzyme. It’s
slow. And it makes mistakes. It’s the most abundant enzyme on the planet, and
the reason is the way the plants cope with its not being a very good enzyme is
to make a lot of it.”
What the University of Illinois’s RIPE program
and Lancaster University and other labs are focusing on is hacking into the
plants to boost the efficiency of Rubisco. “There are more simple ways to do
it,” says Ort. “These are complete redesigns to try to bypass the native
pathways and replace them with a simpler, more efficient pathway” that doesn’t
impinge on photosynthesis.
Even with the focus on redesign for
photosynthesis, experts say a new cultivar of wheat is at least 10 or 12 years
away.
At least one type of wheat that thrives in high
temperatures has been grown successfully. Researchers from the Swedish
University of Agricultural Sciences and the International Center for
Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas created a wheat crop from ancient and
modern strains that can grow in temperatures above 100 degrees F. It’s being
grown in the Senegal River Basin in West Africa.
Rice, soybeans, and other crops would also
benefit from a new, redesigned photosynthetic process. Rice, which is a food
source for 3.5 billion people globally, is especially vulnerable. Not only is
its yield hurt by higher temperatures, but it also needs a dependable supply of
water — it uses 34 to 43 percent of the world’s water supplies for irrigation —
and the effects of high temperatures are compounded by irregular weather
patterns and the decline in aquifers. Saltwater intrusion as oceans rise is also a
serious problem.
A recent
study in the journal Nature found that a warming climate is
increasing the level of arsenic in rice, which by 2100 could reduce yields by
nearly 40 percent.
There are efforts on a number of fronts to
prepare rice for the climate emergency, including developing types that are
drought, disease and saltwater resistant. The IR8 variety of rice, for example,
which was integral to the Green Revolution in the 1960s, is being phased out in
places in favor of native cultivars that are easier on the soil and more
disease-resistant.
And a team of U.S. researchers are editing the
genome of rice in tests to add disease resistance or edit out genes that make
the plant susceptible. They look for a plant that might have poor yield but has
good disease resistance and then remove the resistant genes and place them in a
high-yielding commercial variety. “Genome editing allows us to do that with
speed and accuracy,” Adam Bogdanove, a professor of plant pathology at Cornell
University, said.
Researchers in Arkansas, where much of the U.S.
rice crop is grown, have found that over the last four decades nighttime
temperatures have increased by 5 degrees F, which means plants lose more water
at night. The increasing heat also reduces photosynthesis and hampers the
ability of rice to self-pollinate. Some farmers are talking about moving
further north to stay within the crop’s temperature range.
There are other approaches to making
agriculture more tolerant in the face of hot temperatures, such as changing the
timing of crops or employing agricultural methods that can help crops stay
cooler. A recent study in Nature, for example, found
that farms in tropical regions that diversify with a mixture of interwoven
crops and a border of native forest, instead of a monoculture, help keep the
agricultural landscape cooler while also providing more habitat that fosters
biodiversity, especially birds.
In addition to crops, livestock and other
animals raised for food are also being affected by climate change. Chickens,
for example, are especially susceptible to heat.
One of the more intriguing solutions is the
Naked Neck chicken. It’s an odd-looking bird that appears as if its feathers
have been plucked from the bottom of its neck up to its head. What it lacks in
beauty, though, it makes up for in function in a changing climate.
These chickens, originally from Romania, are
not only naturally air conditioned because of the lack of feathers, they have
bigger lungs than other birds and other important physiological traits that
allow them to adapt to warmer temperatures. “It’s leggier too,” said Matthew
Wadiak, founder of Cooks Venture, which is pasture-raising and selling these
birds in Arkansas. “If you have a leggy bird that is upright and off the ground
it has more airflow around it and it can stay cooler.”
Ranchers and scientists are also looking for
cows that can thrive in warmer temperatures. A breed of animal that may help
ranchers in the U.S. Southwest and other arid regions adapt is the raramuri criollo cow — which means
“light footed ones” — as a replacement for Angus and Hereford, which have more
impact on landscapes.
Drought has plagued the Southwest in recent
years and some researchers say it may be a permanent fixture in the region. It
has taken a heavy toll on ranching. The criollo were brought to
North America from Spain by conquistadors and turned loose, before being
adopted by, among others, the Tarahumara Indians. Over the last four centuries
these cattle have adapted to arid conditions in Mexico.
Two decades ago, they were brought from the
Mexican state of Chihuahua to the Jornada Experimental Station near Las Cruces,
New Mexico. They have since been adopted by ranchers who have seen benefits,
and the Nature Conservancy is studying their impact on the land at its
Canyonlands Research Center in Utah.
“These cattle can withstand heat and lack of
water,” said Nichole Barger, an arid land ecologist at the University of
Colorado Boulder who consults at the Canyonlands Research Center. “They are
selecting a broader range of different kinds of plants, not just those grasses
that are in decline because of climate change.”
The most important solution to food security
over the long term, of course, is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There is
“no possibility for anybody to say, ‘Oh, climate change is happening, and we
will just adapt to it,’” said Hans Otto Portner, co-chair of the IPCC working
group on food and land use. “The capacity to adapt is limited.”
https://grist.org/food/from-the-lab-to-the-field-agriculture-seeks-to-adapt-to-a-warming-world/
Slimy
invader is attacking Louisiana where it counts: crawfish and rice farms
·
·
An apple
snail lays
a cluster of bright pink eggs. The snail is an invasive species that's
First
it came for your wetlands. Now it’s coming for your crawfish and your rice.
A
foreign snail that appeared in Louisiana just over 10 years ago and quickly
infested ponds, bayous and streams in about 30 parishes has recently found its
way to the farms that produce two of the state’s favorite foods.
The
invasive apple
snail has shut down harvest at some crawfish farms in
Vermilion, Acadia and Jefferson Davis parishes and has made its first
devastating appearance in rice fields. In March, the invasive mollusks wiped
out a 50-acre field of rice, marking the first reported case of the snail
damaging the crop in Louisiana.
"Where
it’s hit ‘em, it’s hit ‘em hard,” said David Savoy, a Church Point crawfish
farmer and chairman of the Louisiana Crawfish
Promotion and Research Board. “In Vermilion, it’s so bad, you pick
up a trap and there’s 5 to 10 pounds of them. It’s horrible.”
Attracted
by the bait in traps, the snails crowd in, leaving little or no room for
crawfish. At some farms, apple snails are being caught in such high numbers —
sometimes 12 crates per day — that disposal of the thick-shelled snails is
becoming a problem.
Some
farmers have had to halt harvests and drain their ponds early, suffering
revenue reductions of as much as 50%, said Blake Wilson, an LSU AgCenter researcher.
“The
impact on some of those farms, particularly where snail populations have been
building for years, has been immense,” he said.
Only
about 10 crawfish farms have been affected, but new reports keep coming in.
Louisiana
is by far the nation’s biggest crawfish producer. The industry contributes more
than $300 million to the state economy each year and employs about 7,000
people, according to the research board.
“If the
problem spreads to the whole industry, economic impacts could be tens of
millions of dollars annually without effective control tactics,” Wilson said.
Those
tactics are currently limited to pesticides. But what kills snails will also
likely kill crawfish.
Native
to South America, the apple snail’s first appearance in Louisiana was in a
Gretna drainage canal in 2006.
They’re
popular in the aquarium trade partly because they eat the algae that dirties
tanks. But they get quite big — sometimes growing shells 6 inches in
diameter — and they often have a strong, swampy odor. Their presence in
the wild is likely due to aquarium owners dumping them in ditches and ponds.
The
snails stay below the water's surface and aren’t often seen, but their
bubblegum pink eggs are hard to miss. In clusters of 200 to 600, the tiny eggs
have become an all-too-common sight on tree trucks and pilings just above the
water line. Destroying the eggs is one of the best ways to reduce their
numbers.
The
state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries recommends people scrape the eggs
off with a stick and crush them, or at least knock them into the water. Be
careful not to touch them because the eggs contain a neurotoxin that can
irritate skin and eyes.
The
snails are edible but
are known to carry rat
lungworm, a parasite that can kill humans and other mammals.
Rapid
reproducers and voracious eaters, the snail overpopulates waterways and kills
off habitat important to native fish and other wildlife.
Clusters
of bright pink apple snail eggs are hard to miss.
The
snail’s appearance in crawfish farms comes at a particularly bad time for the
industry. Crawfish have been hit with white
spot syndrome, a deadly virus that was first discovered in farmed
shrimp in Asia in the early 1990s and first appeared in Louisiana 2007.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll as
well. The AgCenter reported that some crawfish producers have been able to sell
just 15% of their catch due to pandemic-related restaurant closures
and occupancy limits.
Scientists
and farmers are perplexed about how the snail arrived in crawfish farms and why
certain farms are swarming with them.
“It’s
weird,” AgCenter researcher Greg Lutz said. “It pops up in certain regions. You
can have a farm with nothing, and three or four miles down the road they’re
overrun.”
It could
be that the snails benefit from flooding. An Acadia Parish farm started having
a snail problem after its fields were flooded from a bayou linked to the
Mermentau River, which is loaded with apple snails.
The
snail has been identified in just one rice field so far, but the potential for
widespread destruction is strong. It’s a major pest for rice growers in Spain,
Asia and Central America. In the Philippines, the snail is considered a
national menace, infesting about half the nation’s rice fields during the late
1980s.
The
snail left almost nothing at the rice field near Rayne. Wilson estimated the
field had two snails per square foot.
“There
was no trace of rice,” he said. “If you didn’t know better, you’d think it was
a snail production farm.”
https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_6c4b0978-c86c-11ea-a195-b3ca2cfd0de3.html
How the JVP ruined rural Sri Lanka
n
July 18th, 2020
By Garvin Karunaratne,former
G.A. Matara District
Touring
Northern California and Oregan now and touring from Baltimore to Key
West in Florida, through Louisiana via Texas and Arizona to San Diego
last Summer, I am passing through villages one after the other—each vibrant
with life. There are Malls that have closed down due to the recession, but through
it all, village life, centering on the village parish priest and the church
appears dominant. The homes of the rich- the traders, farmers and public
officials are well painted, the gardens spic and span, a delight to behold
and well attended.
It all
reminds me of the pre 1971 Sri Lanka, when I did travel daily in the
Sabaragamuwa Province and later in the Southern Province based in
Hambantota and Ambalantota. I am also at home in the rural areas of
Kegalle, where I worked for three years and in Matara for another three years.
Then I saw a vibrant village life centered on the temple in the village, where
the rich—the land owners, estate owners, superintendents, rice millers,
traders, all moved well with the masses. The rich ran the ‘chekkus’ for extracting
coconut oil, engaged in dairy farming and agricultural pursuits. It was
the rich that invested and brought about employment. In Nuwarakalaviya a tank
was added to this picture and this was my home for long, from where I drew
inspiration for my novel: The Vidane’s Daughter (Sarasavi). It has so happened
that during my 18-year-long stint I traveled far and wide in Sri Lanka and
I am familiar with all aspects of rustic life.
1971 was
a watershed in the development as well as the life of the villages in Sri
Lanka. It was on the 4th and 5th of April 1971 that the Janatha Vimukthi
Peramuna (JVP) tried to grab State power in Sri Lanka. Many have forgotten
what happened. I happened to be the Government Agent of the Matara District. If
not for a breakdown in the JVP communication which led to the cadres at
Moneragala and Wellawaya being ordered to attack the police stations
on April 4 night, most of us would not have been alive today. The attacks
on those two police stations, killing several policemen were announced by Radio
Ceylon at 7 am on April 5. I was having breakfast. I rushed to stop all the
jeeps and key officers leaving Matara for work. They were all deployed on
surveillance tasks. Radio Ceylon gave us a warning to be prepared. On
the night of April 5 most police stations were attacked. It was a Fidel Castro
type of attempt to attack all police stations on a particular day and take over
power. In the Matara District all police stations other than Dondra and
Matara were attacked and several policemen were killed. The Superintendent of
Police closed down the police stations at Akuressa, Hakmana, Kamburupitiya and
Mawarala and the personnel were brought down to Matara. At Matara a lorry-load
of bombs entered the fort and was challenged by an army jeep. It was a
Kachcheri jeep and my driver was injured. The JVP cadres flung bombs, shot
their way through and bombs were bursting the whole night through. The moment
we found the lorry of bombs we clamped a curfew and everyone chased away from
all roads by the army and no JVP cadres could group. Later we found
evidence of two other lorries coming with bombs. The cadres could not group and
the lorries could not reach the cadres and Matara was saved from a bloodbath.
At
Deniyaya the police station that was opened on April 1 with great pomp and
pageantry, was repeatedly attacked and the police retreated all the way to
Rakwana and Embilipitiya via Hayes as the roads to Matara had been taken over
by the JVP. We were holding on to the stretch of the coast from Weligama to
Dondra. Akuressa was under the control of the insurgents and the first
expedition of the army cum police with some 14 jeeps led by Major Wettasinghe
was ambushed about ten miles from Matara and the JVP fire power was so
strong that the army had to retreat leaving behind two jeeps in flames. Major
Wettasinghe and Sumanapala Dahanayake the Member of Parliament who too had
joined that force were severely injured and hospitalized.
It all
meant that the Government had lost control of most of the District for
around three weeks during which period the JVP ran their kangaroo courts
arresting, charging people and punishing them even with death. Deniyaya
was ruled by the JVP for around three to four weeks. In Deniyaya many well to
do people were guillotined. This included Dr. Rex de Costa, a medical
practitioner, who was a leading philanthropist of the area. It was a
cruel death for a doctor that charged no money from the poor for medicines he
provided. In fact, it was his murder that made the then Prime Minister Sirimavo
Bandaranaike dispatch a platoon of soldiers to the Matara District. Till then
the Army was managing to hold the coast with shotguns issued by me. Out
of around two hundred officers in the Kachcheri only a dozen reported for work
and of them all that could handle a weapon were issued with guns and cartridges
by me. That was my guard as the police had fortified themselves in their
station. Except for one Headquarters Inspector no one from the police
dared to get out of the Police station. That was the time when my official car
was shot at.
Colombo
was saved because the police found weapons of insurgents the previous day and
two young Assistant Superintendents dared take the initiative to clamp a
curfew. The JVP cadres could not reach their weapons in the process. This was
also the scene in many other districts in Sri Lanka. In Vavunia the Government
Agent took charge of the police station. Areas that were totally out of control
were Elpitiya, where an Inspector of Police was killed and most areas were
under the JVP rule till the army restored order. A friend of mine who was
compelled to travel from Mawanella to Tulhiriya passing Kegalle after the
army had gone in had counted over a hundred dead bodies scattered on the main
roads.
The JVP
insurrection of 1971 killed the economy of the rural areas. I was inundated
with requests for an allocation of a tankful of petrol from many well to do
people from the rural areas to get their moveable possessions away to the
towns. I had commandeered the stocks of petrol and rationed it.
The JVP
insurrection of 1986 to 1987 too took a toll of the rural areas. We had a small
family estate at Mawaramandiya, near Kadawatha and the community leader of the
area was one Wijesinghe. He was the President of the cooperative society and
was helpful to anyone that wanted anything done. He happened to be close to the
leaders of the United National Party but he helped everyone irrespective
of political party affiliations. I too visited his home when anyone known to me
in the area had to face a problem with the government. He was hacked to pieces
one night. The JVP had held him guilty of attending the funeral of a
victim of its violence. Wijesinghe had arranged for a proper funeral to take
place. The JVP order was that no funeral be held and the body be carried below
the knee level and buried incognito. That was the time when the JVP delivered
messages, which tied to stones and thrown into gardens of the intended
recipients. These had to be obeyed otherwise the JVP punishment was very severe
and all this happened within ten miles of the capital Colombo. Wijesinghe’s
murder sent creeps through everyone in the area. His brothers too left the
village and his death left a power vacuum never to be filled ever again.
This was
typical of entire Sri Lanka and the well to do people- the rich, the estate
owners, the rice millers and lorry owners and traders all left the rural areas
for the cities. In my subsequent visits to Matara I met many a rice
miller and many a merchant who were the live wire in their rural habitat in
Kamburupitiya, Hakmana etc. They had got rid of their rural possessions and
migrated to the Matara town. Many people who had been living happily on
their estates left for good. Some have never stepped into their estates since
the JVP uprising of 1987-1989. They have allowed their workers to manage the
estates are satisfied with whatever returns they got.
Generally
the rich that lived in the rural areas sent their children to schools in the
cities nearby. Then later life they would commence some enterprises in the
village itself. After the rich left the rural areas the children were bred
in cities and none of them went back to the villages to which their parents did
belong. Many of them ended abroad in foreign universities, a massive loss of
young blood. As I had pointed out in my book: How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka
(Godage), after the 1971 JVP attack all the rich people whose homes had
two-foot parapet walls for everyone to admire the well kept gardens hurriedly
made them six feet high with huge gates and security personnel to boot.
The
development of the rural areas requires the services of every entrepreneur and
entrepreneurs come from the rich families with enough money to invest and they
are not in the rural areas now.
That was
the legacy left by JVP with their two insurrections. It is of interest to
note that the first insurrection was entirely orchestrated by North Korea.
Implicating evidence was found and the North Korea Embassy was immediately
closed down and the diplomats banished from Sri Lanka It may be of interest to
note that in the days immediately after April 5, 1971, when we were holding
onto the coastal strip at Matara, a very large ship appeared on the coast and
came very close to Dondra. Sri Lanka did not have a ship of that size then.
Watching the drama through binoculars from the Army camp I saw a number of
boats being lowered to the sea and things being put into them. Major Wettasinghe
had his Light machine gun loaded but said that the boats were beyond its range.
Dondra
was more or less under the JVP control at that time except for the police
station and the adjacent areas and there was no possibility of conducting
checks in the area. We radioed Army Headquarters and one of our planes came,
hovered around the ship and we heard machine gun fire for around fifteen
minutes. The ship vanished just afterwards and this is an episode known only to
me and the Army on duty at that time. What I could do was to ban fishing. This
order was effective for about two weeks.
The 1971
insurrection was essentially an attempt by the communist bloc, especially North
Korea to take control of Sri Lanka. The JVP insurrections ate into the fabric
of rural life. The development of enterprises and investment is at a
standstill.
Today,
the JVP has changed its tune but it is all a wolf in sheep’s clothing! In
1971 the JVP danced to North Korea’s tune. Today, it is trying to woo the
masses again. But, it stands discredited and disgraced by its own action
in 1971 and the late 1980s.
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2020/07/18/how-the-jvp-ruined-rural-sri-lanka/
Annual body
meeting of Lions Club of Wangjing held
Source: The
Sangai Express
Thoubal, July 18
2020: The
annual body meeting and selection of new Board of Directors (BoD) of Lions Club
of Wangjing was held at the Institute of Rural Education (IRE) Group of
Institutions, Wangjing Conference Hall today.
Edible items consisting of rice, daal, wheat flour (atta), drinking water and
hand sanitizer were handed over for the inmates of IRDEO Old Age Home in
Wangbal as part of today's programme.
Lions Club International District 322-D vice district governor-II Lion PMJF Dr
W Gopimohan, Lions Club of Wangjing president Lion N Rajivkumar and zone
chairperson Lion Kh Memcha Devi attended the function as chief guest and
installation officer, president and guest of honour respectively.
During the BoD selection, Lion P Khelen Singh was appointed as president, Lion
L Romen Singh as secretary and 24 new BoD members 2020-21 were also selected.
The ex-secy of the club also gave a report of the administrative and service
activities of the club for the year 2019-20 during the meeting.
Dr W Gopimohan motivated the new selected members and encouraged them to work
together for the welfare and development of the society.
The function was also attended by members of Lions Club of Wangjing and
president of Lions Club of Thoubal Marjit along with its members.
http://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=12..190720.jul20
Jharkhand
Crime: Thieves cook mutton, rice before stealing Rs 50,000 cash and jewellery
from COVID-19 patient's house
·
·
·
·
In an unusual incident of house theft, thieves
cooked mutton, rice and feasted in a COVID-19 patient's house before stealing
Rs 50,000 cash and jewellery from the house in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand on
Thursday night.
According to a report by Hindustan Times,
the cops have said that thieves stole Rs 50,000 cash and jewellery worth Rs
50,000 from the house of a COVID-19 patient undergoing treatment at Tata Main
Hospital (TMH).
The investigation revealed that the thieves
entered the house of the patient, who works in the surveillance team of
Jugsalai Nagar Parishad, by breaking open the rear door with sharp weapons and
crowbar.
Coronavirus
in Jharkhand: CM Hemant Soren goes into home quarantine as MLA tests positive
"The thieves cooked mutton, rice and
chapatis and feasted in the house before fleeing. His family has been living at
their village house for past one month," the patient’s brother told
Hindustan Times.
Meanwhile, the total number of confirmed
COVID-19 cases in Jharkhand rose to 5,399 including 2,695 active cases, said
State Health Department on Sunday. A total of 2,656 have been recovered/discharged,
and 48 deaths, informed the health department.
With the highest single-day spike of 38,902
cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's total COVID-19 tally on Sunday
reached 10,77,618, informed the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry on
Sunday.
USC aims
to sell a former, fading rice plantation it owns — again
·
·
The
Wedge’s William Lucas House on the Santee Delta was built around 1826. It’s in
a declining state of disrepair. File/Lauren Petracca/Staff
The
Wedge’s main house will require up to $1 million to renovate, according to its
owner, the University of South Carolina. File/Lauren Petracca/Staff
The University of South Carolina is once again
looking to unload a historically significant but fast-fading former rice
plantation it owns on the Santee Delta.
The process has proven to be as persistent and
problematic as the mosquitoes that researchers once bred and studied at The
Wedge, a few miles up the road from McClellanville.
USC took the 1,490-acre
triangular-shaped property off the market last year. It’s now ready to cut a
deal again and is turning to the state Department of Administration to round up
sealed offers. The bidding procedures were released July 3.
This isn’t freshly plowed ground for the
university and its board of trustees. They’ve been debating on and off whether
to sell The Wedge since at least 1994, shortly before they voted to close the
coastal research site for cost reasons. A real estate appraisal pegged the
value at about $4 million at the time.
“There is fairly strong opposition by some of
the committee at the time,” a USC administrator told The Post and Courier in
late 1995. “They felt it was a valuable property.”
Over time, the relentless and destructive
forces of nature and neglect have driven that value lower and lower.
The Wedge comes with about 520 acres of high
ground, wetlands and marsh on the south side of the delta. The mainland portion
is anchored by a Federal-style residence built mostly of wood around 1826 by
William Lucas, whose father invented the rice mill. In addition, the property
has nearly 1,000 acres of former rice fields accessible only by boat, just
across the county line in Georgetown.
The coastal research arm was shut down in 1996.
A dean at USC who oversaw the otherwise “magnificent place” likened the cost of
keeping up an 8,300-square-foot house with 170 years of history to a swarm
of mosquitoes, saying it was “eating us alive.”
The property was eventually mothballed and
has since slipped into a serious state of decay, especially the main house. USC
leaders acknowledged the worsening condition while discussing whether to sell
it seven years ago.
“This deterioration is largely superficial at
the current time; however, without significant intervention in the near future
the deterioration will become much more pervasive,” according to the minutes from a 2013 board meeting.
“The annual funding to maintain the property in good condition and cover other
associated expenses is estimated at $385,000. Current annual funding for
operations and maintenance only allows for approximately $100,000.”
·
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starting a weekly newsletter about the business stories that are shaping
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This time around, the minimum sale price has
been set at $3.2 million. Dick Stanland sees history repeating itself.
“It would amaze me if they get one qualified
bid,” he said last week.
Stanland, 82, knows the lay of the land. He
grew up on nearby Kinloch Plantation, which his father managed for heirs of the
DuPont chemical fortune, and he went on to a successful career in the
commercial real estate industry in Columbia. He also was part of a group of
brokers who tried, unsuccessfully, to list The Wedge for USC several years ago,
before he retired.
“My ranting and raving is all about saving the
house,” he said. “There’s someone out there who would do that.”
As he sees it, USC’s financial expectations are
based on a faulty assumption — that the long-destroyed rice fields on the
Georgetown side of the property line have some value.
Stanland places a tidy round number on the 970
acres that are now mostly submerged below the murky South Santee, saying
they’re “truly worth zero.”
“That’s what they’re really worth, and any
smart buyer will know that’s what they’re worth,” he said.
·
·
20 min to read
“It ought to be sold,” he said.
Stanland doesn’t buy the argument that USC
can’t dispose of real estate at a price less than the appraised value. It could
ask lawmakers to waive that restriction, he said.
“That would be easy for them to do,” Stanland
said.
The university didn’t respond to a request for
comment last week about The Wedge, which is being offered in its “as-is”
condition.
“This site is an ideal opportunity for
operations looking to relocate to a remote site,” according to a July 12
newspaper advertisement promoting the sale.
Bids are scheduled to be opened Aug. 20. USC
reserves the right to reject any and all of them. And it won’t accept a penny
less than $3.2 million this time.
Contact John McDermott at
843-937-5572 or follow him on Twitter at @byjohnmcdermott
Tags
OP-ED:
The road to food security
Sarah-Jane
Saltmarsh , Nahrin Rahman
Swarna
Published at 09:30 pm July
18th, 2020
Rice is central to
Bangladesh’s self-suffciency BIGSTOCK
Why rice prices need to be kept down
The production of rice, especially the Boro variety
(cultivated in residual water in low-lying areas), has facilitated Bangladesh’s
journey from import dependence to food self-suffciency. Total production of the
three main varieties of rice paddy (Aus, Aman, and Boro) increased from 28.8
million tons to 36.45mn tons in 2019, making up 88% of total grain production
in the country.
The wide availability of rice means millions of people can
afford a staple food source, contributing to poverty alleviation. The government
showed a strong commitment to ensuring food security this year by supporting
farmers in the early harvesting of Boro, which was in danger because of
forecasted flash floods and a lack of workers due to lockdowns.
The government provided facilitation services and supplied
mechanical harvesters on credit, and a combination of innovative local
interventions in labour mobilization, technology, and strong monitoring
together resulted in a successful harvest.
Boro rice accounts for more than half of Bangladesh’s
total rice production. This year, due to pandemic-induced economic shock, a
good Boro season was even more important for farmers. For many, it could be
their last resort to avoid hunger if lockdowns continued.
Good harvests also make it easier for the government to
buy enough for public sale at a reduced price (commonly known as open market
sale, or OMS), which regulates prices, or to redistribute as a relief.
According to the Ministry of Disaster Management and
Relief -- 175,000 tons of rice were distributed among more than 67 million
people up until June 15. An additional 100,068 tons have been allocated for
distribution before Eid-ul-Azha.
Even though the Boro
harvest was good, why is the price of rice so high?
The government was anxious to ensure that farmers received
good prices for Boro production, to help ease their pandemic-related financial
troubles. As a result, the government procurement target was doubled to 800,000
tons. The procurement price stayed at the same level -- Tk1,040 ($12.3) per
mound (equivalent to 40kg).
Farmers received higher prices for their rice than they
did in 2019 -- a study by the Brac Institute of Governance and Development
found that farmers received approximately Tk765 per mound from millers -- but
there was still not enough rice in the market.
There are four key reasons
for this
Firstly, the cost of production this year was
approximately 13% higher than last year, meaning that even though farmers were
offered higher prices, profit margins were slim -- so they were less inclined
to sell.
Second, looking at an uncertain future and an unstable
market, many farmers opted to keep additional stock for personal consumption.
The normal practice is to keep enough just to tide families through to the next
harvest (Aus), but this year many decided to keep extra for safety.
Thirdly, this year was marked by significant demand-supply
gaps. Bangladesh faced a number of natural disasters in 2019, resulting in
widespread economic hardship, particularly in rural areas, so food consumption
in those areas dropped. People simply could not afford to eat as much.
Coarse rice is the most common staple eaten in those
areas, so the demand for it dropped, and the price soon followed suit. In 2019,
the government procurement target was also half of what it is this year, and
there was not a lot of relief distributed, which compounded the price drop.
In parallel, increased migration to urban areas (where
finer varieties of rice are more commonly eaten) resulted in an increase in the
demand for, and therefore the price of, fine grain rice.
This year, as a result, farmers opted to produce less
coarse and more fine varieties of rice.
Unfortunately, Covid-19
flipped the market dynamics
A huge need for relief meant that demand for coarser
varieties, which are cheaper and more preferable as relief items, shot up.
Parallelly, there was sudden mass migration to rural areas because of fewer
employment opportunities in urban areas, and, as a result of drastically
reduced socializing and closed restaurants, there was almost no demand for
finer varieties of rice often used in rich dishes such as biryani and pulao for
weddings.
Finally, farmers who were more financially solvent and saw
the price of coarse rice increasing in the market, especially following Cyclone
Amphan, hoarded stock. The millers found themselves in a difficult situation.
First, because the farmers were less interested in selling, the millers had to
offer them higher prices.
Second, the millers had to accept rice with higher
moisture content -- often soaked with Cyclone Amphan-induced rain -- meaning
that their costs rose as they dried it. Third, labour and transportation costs
rose as a result of lockdowns.
According to a number of millers interviewed by Brac
staff, the production cost this year was between Tk38-Tk42 per kg, while the
government offered only Tk36. As a result, many millers decided to sell the
finished rice to wholesalers instead of to the government.
This presented a new
challenge
Millers offered the rice to the wholesalers on credit, as
is the custom for that product. Wholesalers were reluctant to buy though, as
they still had much of the rice that they purchased from millers in May and
June in stock. Why?
The retail price of rice went up in March-early April
because of panic buying following the first death from Covid-19. Wholesalers
eagerly raised their prices in response. The millers, who generally keep the
largest portion of the stock in their yards, followed suit -- and benefited the
most.
All the players in the supply chain benefited from the panic
buying, except for the farmers (who generally cannot afford to keep any extra
stock) and the consumers, who ultimately absorbed the price of everyone else’s
profits.
In late-April, people grew cautious with their money,
realizing that the pandemic was going to last for more than a few weeks. Buying
slowed and prices slumped. Retailers rushed to dump the stock they had acquired
to keep up with the increased customer demand (which they had bought for the
higher prices) and suffered the first losses in the supply chain.
These losses rapidly trickled down, with wholesalers then
also rushing to dump their higher-priced stock. Lockdowns began, and retailers
then had to suddenly close, temporarily bringing the entire supply chain to a
halt.
When retailers came back to their stores in mid-June, most
of them still had a large quantity of high-price rice to sell. They had to
recoup their losses, so they artificially created “shortage” by not buying more
rice from wholesalers.
This caused another domino effect, with wholesalers hiking
up the wholesale price in response, which increased their inventory turnover
time.
Millers sandwiched between
wholesalers and farmers
They still had rice from the previous harvest, which they
could not sell because wholesalers did not want it, and they also could not
access credit to buy new rice from farmers, because the wholesalers had not
sold the previous quantities of rice which they had bought from them.
The credit system in Bangladesh works such that buyers do
not have to pay until a shipment has been sold. This slower than average
wholesale sell had two consequences.
Firstly, millers had to take credit at a higher rate of
interest to procure Boro rice from the farmers. Secondly, they had to reduce
the credit limit for the wholesalers. Consequently, the cost of the production
for millers went up and a significant quantity of ready-to-market rice is now
piling up in the millers’ silos.
The first obvious secondary impact of Covid-19 is that the
government could not meet the declared procurement target. As of June 16, the
government procured just 4% of the target, which is half of what it was at the
same time last year. This failure can potentially have huge consequences.
The first consequence is that the government will not have
enough rice to run open market sales. Not being able to regulate the price by
making it available at a lower price to the public means people could end up
paying any price for it -- which would affect those living in poverty the
hardest.
The second consequence is that if the government needs to
distribute rice as relief for either Covid-19 or another natural disaster, the
required rice will need to be bought at a higher price. As of June 3, the public
stock of the staple stands 29% lower than that of last year, and flooding is
predicted across Bangladesh’s northern regions in the coming months.
The second obvious secondary impact is a rise in the price
of rice. As described, the production prices for farmers and millers have
increased. Wholesalers and retailers are not only buying rice at higher prices,
but they are also both trying to recoup losses.
As a result, the price of Boro coarse rice has increased
47% at the retail level and 49% at the wholesale level compared to the first
week of April 2020, and 36% and 33% compared to this time last year. In brief,
customers are ultimately paying for the whole market system inefficiency.
Government is considering
reducing tariffs on rice imports to ease the pressure
This will give a negative signal to Aman producers ahead
of the cropping season, which may lead to the price drastically falling just
before harvesting. This would not have an overall positive effect on the
economy, and would particularly negatively impact the rural economy.
In this context, we would like to suggest supportive
measures at multiple levels
• The government could import rice on a
government-to-government basis. This would enable them to expand open market
sales, which would dampen the price at the retailer level, which would force
wholesalers to reduce their prices -- which would ultimately drive down prices
for consumers. The government could also increase market monitoring to
discourage hoarding.
• Measures to reduce food insecurity among small and
medium farmers and share-croppers could be made a mid-term priority. We see
consistently, at the first sign of market instability, that farmers hoard extra
stock for safety. These household-level stocks contribute to destabilizing
markets.
• Introduction of rice banks, which have been piloted by
many non-government organizations including Uttaran, offer a fascinating model.
The banks are village-level silos to store food grains for challenging times.
As a shared pool, the total food grains stored in such silos typically is much
smaller in amount than the total amount of rice otherwise stocked up in
individual households.
• Farmers’ Organisations (FOs), of which Bangladesh has a
rich history, can play a vital role in improving the ability of the farmers to
get a better price. A 2013 survey by the Food and Agricultural Organization
(FAO) found there were as many as 198,114 FOs of diverse types, and 81% of them
were formed with the support of the government. These organizations could play
an important role in accumulating rice from individual producers, use machines
to do the drying and act as a collective agent to undergo all the bureaucratic
processes required to directly sell the rice to government agencies and collect
the proceeds.
This year, for example, if farmers could have received the
government-declared prices instead of what they received from millers, more
farmers would have sold their rice to the government. These FOs, if properly
capacitated, could also create their own rice banks to reduce concerns around
food insecurity as well.
• In the present situation, injecting cash to millers
could also help to unlock markets. Millers buy paddy for cash but sell finished
rice for credit, playing the vital role of investors in the supply chain. When
they are cash-starved, the market is starved. “Warehouse financing” could be
adopted, using millers’ rice stocks as collateral, to access immediate and
low-interest credit. This could be supported by government monitoring to
discourage hoarding by the millers.
Sarah-Jane Saltmarsh is
Head, Program and Enterprise Communications at Brac and Nahrin Rahman Swarna is
Policy Analyst, Advocacy for Social Change at Brac.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/op-ed/2020/07/18/op-ed-the-road-to-food-security
Buhari’s rice revolution
Not even in the military days of Olusegun Obasanjo
did Nigeria witness such revolution in rice production. President Muhammadu
Buhari sure deserves some orchids for his stubborn faith in the Nigerian
farmer. There is indeed a rice revolution in the country. The emblems are
emerging with bullish boldness. The evidence leaps to your face in mega retail
stores, neighbourhood markets and in small corner stores: Nigeria-milled rice.
And Nigerians are buying them with a sense of pride.
I wager
this is where there is a mutual consent. Both the rich and the poor now consume
home-grown rice. From the fertile vast lands of Kebbi State to the loamy
terrains of Ebonyi, there is a growing supply of well-milled, stone-free rice
coming out of the mills. And it’s all thanks to Buhari’s stubbornness; his
iron-cast insistence that Nigerians must eat and buy Nigeria. I just hope Aso
Rock tenants do the same: eat Nigeria-milled rice. I just hope all the
residents and tenants of state government houses across the country do the same.
But who
cares, whether they eat local rice or not, I have long clawed deep into the
minefield of home-grown rice. My family can’t have anything to the contrary. We
have navigated through various brands of local rice. We have tasted the big
brands and some somewhat unknown brands. At last, we have settled for the one
we consider the very best of them all. No marketing intended. But this one is a
big bull dwarfing others in quality and packaging. Our Nigerian rice is the
best. Yes, we can bemoan the fact that some are still not properly de-stoned. I
concur.
But some
are simply top-notch, healthier and far better than the expired grains from
Asia and elsewhere. Buhari has wrought a rice revolution and the economy is the
better for it. The people are healthier. The farmers are richer. Marketers are
in business. Jobs are created with growing rapidity. Now, there is a rebirth of
hope, a rekindling of confidence in the local farmer. The good news is that
some progressive state governments are investing in commercial rice farming.
Some states are collaborating to grow more rice. And it’s not only rice. All
grains that grace our dining table. Beans, millet, maize. President Buhari has
stoked the anvil. And the furnace of food production is burning in full
effulgence.
Let’s not gloat just yet. Nigeria is far from
self-sufficiency in rice production. She is not even among the top nations of
the world. China leads the log of top 10 rice producers with an intimidating
annual volume of 148.5 million metric tonnes in 2018-2019 production cycle,
according to Statistica.com. India follows with 116.42 million metric
tonnes. Thailand, the biggest beneficiary of Nigeria’s wanton craze
for imported rice, is 6th on the log with over 20 million metric
tonnes. Smaller nations like Vietnam, Burma and the Philippines have done well
enough to occupy respectable places in the global top 10. By last evaluation,
Nigeria now produces over 8 million metric tonnes of milled rice in a year,
bettering the output of Egypt and other nations on the continent.
Conservative
estimates by international agencies place Nigeria’s annual rice production at
3.2 million metric tonnes. But Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN)
claims it has established that Nigeria now leads the class in Africa. RIFAN President,
Aminu Goronyo, would insist that Nigeria has two rice farming seasons. In each
season, 4 million metric tonnes of rice is produced. RIFAN says a good 12
million Nigerians are engaged in the production of the 8 million metric tonnes.
This means that in the rice value chain, about 12 million Nigerians have been
positively impacted by rice production alone. These same people still have
other engagements aside rice production, let’s not forget.
Look not
on the statistics. Look at the reality in the markets. For the first time in
our history, Nigerian rice now occupy huge spaces in mega stores. For the first
time, our local rice gets to the market well packaged and properly branded.
Rice millers are not ashamed (or even afraid) to emblazon their names and
addresses on rice bags. For the first time, a functional and effective value
chain has been created. Rice distributors are busy. And retailers are
confidently urging consumers to buy local rice .It’s indeed a revolution. But
we must not overlook the contribution of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. Through
the Anchor Borrowers’ programme, the CBN has given extra wings to Nigerian
farmers especially rice producers. Coupled with the ban placed on 41 items
including rice, CBN assumed a key role in the nation’s agriculture chain.
Godwin Emefiele and his team at CBN have reasons to vaunt in this regard.
But make
no mistake about it, Nigeria is still far from self-sufficiency in rice
production. The closure of border has not proved effective. Foreign rice still
dot the national marketplace. Courtesy of the pandemic corruption in the
Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, foreign rice is still smuggled into the country.
I worry that a Customs service that ought to help the nation’s economy is the
one frustrating every effort to stem capital flight.
To make
the most of the new national traction gained in rice production, the Customs
should and must ensure strict monitoring of the border closure. Neighbouring
countries have taken advantage of Nigeria’s massive population to flood the
country with imported rice. The onus is on Customs to stem this tide. Despite
public boasts by the Customs chief, Hameed Ali, the service is still the
biggest conduit for smuggling across the borders.
The
Republic of Benin has over the years profited from massive rice importation
targeted at Nigerian market. Benin has a population of about 11.5 million but
she is one of the highest importers of rice. The rice is for Nigerian market,
not for Benin Republic. At a time, the country has to lower its tariff on rice
imports just to grab as much foothold in the Nigerian market. Cameroon had to
resort to zero tariff on imported rice. Other neighbouring countries rank high
in rice and grains importation. And their target market is Nigeria. Buhari has
helped to shut them out, but not completely.
But,
hey, there is a little matter of cost. Local rice is expensive. It should not
be. The Nigerian government should consider subsiding production cost just so
the retail cost would be affordable to the poor. At the moment, rice is still a
luxury staple in some homes. Not because they don’t like rice but because they
cannot afford it. Let’s think subsidy to help the farmer and save the poor.
Let’s make the rice revolution count for the poor, not against them. But,
again, President deserves garlands for this bold and brave show of leadership.
Next
level should be to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production. It’s possible.
The president has shown the will. He should sustain it.
https://www.sunnewsonline.com/buharis-rice-revolution/
Rice millers want govt to
end Bernas’ rice monopoly
July
18, 2020 7:02 PM
PETALING
JAYA: The Malay Rice Millers Association (PPBMM) has urged the government to
abolish the monopoly Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) has on rice supply in the
country after its import licence expires in early 2021.
Its chairman, Tirmizi Yob, said if there are
more players, it would lead to the healthy development of the rice industry.
“For other industries, they give the approved
permits (AP) to everyone.
“As a rice producer, we do not get any
privileges from the government. If the padi is not enough, damaged or is not of
the required quality, the factory will face losses. The same goes for farmers.
“Many rice mills are being closed down due to
losses, but the government does not seem to care at all,” he told FMT.
Tarmizi said Bernas will however not experience
the same situation as the company can cover the losses incurred with its sole
ownership of the AP.
“If more APs are given, companies like us have
a better chance to survive,” he said.
Tarmizi said they had previously suggested to
the government to open up 30% of rice quota to Bumiputera companies, but the
discussions were suspended after the change of government earlier this year.
“I hope this new government is aware of the
grievances of Bumiputera producers like us.
“The Bernas monopoly needs to be removed for
greater competition,” he said.
Meanwhile, Padi Rescue, a coalition of NGOs
representing rice farmers and wholesalers, agreed that the sole right to import
rice given to Bernas should be abolished and the industry should be fully
controlled by the National Paddy and Rice Board (LPN).
“Unlike other agricultural commodities such as
chilli or vegetables, this industry must be managed by government agencies as
rice is one of the controlled items,” Padi Rescue coordinator Nur Fitri Amir
said.
Nur Fitri said private agencies such as Bernas
must not be allowed to manage the rice industry as they face a conflict of
interest as they were motivated by profit.
He said as long as the government maintains
Bernas’ position as the sole importer, the target of 100% self-sufficiency
level will not be achieved.
Impoverishing through exploitative trade liberalization
JULY 19, 2020
If you aim to intercept Cristiano Ronaldo, a
Portuguese Forward, you have to be like Buffon, a potent Italian Goalkeeper.
Likely, when you are operating in an open economy under the pretext of trade
liberalisation, you, being a domestic industrial unit, can defend your market
share, revenues, and products, if and only if, you produce goods with the
better price-quality relationship by using modern customer-oriented effective
and efficient production techniques like Japanese companies used them to
compete the Western Industrial Might.
Opening the economy through trade
liberalisation using Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) is the function that the IMF
has been proclaiming and recommending to different third world countries as a
remedy for economic growth. Recently, the IMF also instructed Pakistan to open
its economy by signing FTAs so that she can bolster her trade, exports, and
economic growth. However, it must be noted that FTAs can cause the influx of
cheap imports at a faster rate as compared to the exports due to the removal of
tariffs. Therefore, third world countries, with IMF-World Bank administered
FTAs and poor domestic industrial infrastructure, lack the capability to
produce cheap and high-quality goods to make competitive exports and end up
with the influx of more cheap imports from first world countries as compared to
their own exports. Thereupon, FTAs are advantageous only for those countries
whose domestic industrial structure is competent enough to produce competitive
products for export based on their good price-quality relationship.
In this regard, I would discuss the cases of
Ghana, Peru, and Zambia who were forced by the IMF to devote themselves to free
trade at the cost of the annihilation of their own domestic industries. IMF had
compelled Ghana to avoid the tariffs on the imported rice and the result was
the hike in the cheap rice imports, mainly from the US, from 250,000 Mt in 1998
to 415,000 Mt in 2003, however, the share of local rice, even though with good
quality but little expensive, fell from 43 per cent in 2000 to 29 per cent in
2003.
In 1990, IMF asked Peru to withdraw tariffs on
US corn in exchange for $100 million from the US. Consequently, by 1995 due to
the flood of cheap corn from the US, local corn cultivation had decreased
tenfold because the local corn industries got out of business and coca
production had increased by 50 per cent because farmers had preferred to
produce coca from cocaine over rice.
Zambia was also lured by IMF and World Bank to
renounce tariffs on imported second-hand textile clothes in exchange for debt
relief. As a result, the Zambian textile industry got out of business as 140
textile firms in 1991 had dwindled to eight textile firms by 2002. Pakistani
industrialists also faced the same issue when they had started losing their
markets due to the influx of imported, cheap Chinese products under the
implementation of China-Pakistan FTA’s phase 1 in 2007 and phase 2 in January
2020.
Free Trade
Agreements are advantageous only for those countries whose domestic industrial
structure is competent enough to produce competitive products for export based
on their good price-quality relationship
The reason the domestic industries of the third
world countries lose their markets to the external competitors is that their
production is uncompetitive based on price-quality relationship. The
incompetency to produce cheap and good quality products is because of the lack
of modern industrial reforms. Thus and so, I want to point out that the action
of IMF and World Bank to demand FTAs from the third world countries, while
knowing the fact that they possess weak industrial infrastructure, is very
exploitative and counterproductive. Economically speaking, it further
deteriorates their trade imbalance; runs their domestic industries out of
business due to the loss of market to the first world’s Multinational
Corporations (MNCs). Jobs are lost and domestic industries shut down while the
first world MNCs earn; shrink tax revenues for government; increases current
account deficits; dwindles their foreign exchange reserves and slows down
overall economic growth. After all, such a situation leads them to the point
where they are left with the sole option of loan package from the IMF-World
Bank to stabilise their worse economic situations.
For that reason, I insist that firstly, the
IMF-World Bank should have long ago recommended modern industrial reforms to
the third world countries before forcing them for FTAs, because it would have
improved the standard of their domestic industries to compete in the
international markets with quality products even while holding FTAs with
different nations. Secondly, IMF-World Bank should restrain from enforcing FTAs
between first and third world countries as it makes sense when FTAs are
enforced between two different first world countries because their developed
MNCs can compete against each other.
It is totally paranoid when the FTAs are
administered between the first and the third world countries even while
realising the fact that the industrial might of the first world nations’ MNCs
can easily outclass the outdated domestic industrial infrastructure of the
third world countries.
The writer is a columnist and works as
Assistant Accounts Officer at Directorate of Finance, BUITEMS
M
Tomatoes
and peppers filled with herbed trahanas and rice
Monday,
Jul 20th 2020 2PM 35°C 5PM 34°C 5-Day Forecast
+1
·
Tomatoes and peppers
filled with herbed trahanas and rice
SERVES 4
8 medium tomatoes
4 small green peppers
1 tsp caster sugar, plus a pinch
extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large courgette, grated
75g soured trahanas
50g basmati rice
50ml dry white wine
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
50g currants
50g pine nuts, roasted in a dry frying pan, plus extra
for serving
2 tbsp dried white breadcrumbs
50g grated hard cheese (graviera, kefalotyri or parmesan)
feta cheese, to serve
a few fresh flat-leaf parsley and oregano leaves
·
Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C fan/gas 4. Slice off the tomato
tops. Using a spoon, remove the flesh, chop it and put it into a bowl. Slice
the tops off the peppers and discard the seeds. Chop the soft flesh to which
the seeds are attached and add it to the chopped tomato. Sit the empty
vegetables in a roasting tray. Season with a pinch of salt and sugar and
drizzle a little oil inside each one.
·
For the stuffing, heat a little oil in a saucepan and sauté the
onion until almost translucent. Add the garlic to cook for another minute. Then
add the courgette to cook for a couple of minutes more before adding the soured
trahanas and rice. Cook until the rice is transparent and the trahanas is no
longer in clumps.
·
Now add the wine and cook until it is almost evaporated. Add the
chopped insides of the vegetables, tinned tomatoes, tomato purée and remaining
1 tsp sugar and season with salt and pepper. As soon as the liquid has been
absorbed, the stuffing is ready. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the
fresh chopped herbs, currants and pine nuts.
·
Spoon the rice mix into the tomatoes and peppers, leaving a little room
at the top for the filling to expand. Cover with the vegetable tops then season
with salt and pepper. Drizzle over some olive oil and sprinkle with the
breadcrumbs and grated cheese. If there is any stuffing left over, put it
around the vegetables in the roasting tray. Pour a couple of glasses of water
into the tray, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil
and continue baking for another 30-40 minutes, until nicely browned.
·
Serve hot, warm or cold, with slices of feta and sprinkled with
olive oil, parsley, oregano and pine nuts.
Haryana:
Probe reveals mismatch in rice stocks in 57 Karnal mills
Manvir Saini | TNN | Updated:
Jul 19, 2020, 12:34 IST
TimesPoints
It is alleged
that the mills had disposed the stocks in open market
CHANDIGARH:
The probe into the alleged rice scam has found the mismatch or short stocks in
57 rice mills of Karnal. Additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of Karnal, Ashok
Bansal has forwarded his findings to the food and supplies department of
Haryana.
The office of district food and supplies controller (DFSC) of Karnal has
already got a police case registered against couple of chronic defaulter rice
mills on this account. The incident dates back to earlier this month when local
authorities of Karnal had noticed the shortcomings.
The millers
had allegedly not returned the milled and polished rice to state government
after recieving the raw paddy stocks from the grain market, which was procured
by various agencies of Haryanna government.
It is alleged that the mills had disposed the stocks in open market and had
allegedly procured the substandard stocks from other states at cheaper rates.
Legacy vs
price: Rice exports from Vietnam and India vie for ASEAN trade post-COVID-19
- Last updated on GMT
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Vietnam and India are competing for ASEAN rice trade
post-COVID-19, with the former having gained advantage due to support from
traditional partner Philippines, and the latter having come out ahead with
Malaysia in terms of price. ©Getty Images Vietnam and India are competing for ASEAN
rice trade post-COVID-19, with the former having gained advantage due to
support from traditional partner Philippines, and the latter having come out
ahead with Malaysia in terms of price.
The Philippines is the world’s largest importer of rice (between 7% and 14% of its requirements) and had initially announced a government-to-government (G2G) deal in May this year to buffer national stockpiles, with Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William Dar saying that discussions were in progress with Asia’s biggest rice producers Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Cambodia.
Government agency Philippine International Trading
Corp (PITC) issued a tender earlier this month for white rice imports with bids
from India, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar, and Myanmar had been in the lead to
supply some 75,000 tonnes to the Philippines based on its bids whereas India
and Thailand bids were rejected.
However, the Philippines later announced in a June 24
statement that these import plans would be cancelled given Vietnam’s resumption
of rice exports in May.
“[The G2G deal is] no
longer necessary under the current situation [as supply issues] has been
properly addressed with the lifting of the rice export ban by Vietnam and the
rice import arrivals of around 1.3 million metric tonnes as of the third week
of June,” said Dar.
“[By] no longer
proceeding with the planned imports, the government will be able to generate
PHP8.5bn (US$170.4m) savings, a sum which can be tapped to support
productivity-enhancing activities in agriculture that can assist in ensuring
food security for the country.”
Vietnam made headlines in March this year when it
announced a rice export ban in what many deemed to be a ‘protectionist’ move threatening the global supply chain.
The ban was a particularly hard blow for the Philippines for which Vietnamese
rice traditionally makes up some 90% of imports.
Vietnam moved to allow 400,000 tons of rice exports in April, followed by a complete lifting of the ban in May after widespread criticism and mounting reports of rice spoiling or going to waste due to the ban.
That Vietnam has managed to secure Philippines’ rice
trade is unsurprising given the legacy relationship between both countries, but
at a price range of US$405 to US$450 per tonne as of June 25, in terms of price
it is higher than global top exporter India at prices of US$373 to US$378 per
tonne – which has led it to lose out on trade from some other ASEAN countries
such as Malaysia.
Malaysia signed an agreement with India earlier this
year to import a record 100,000 tonnes of rice, around double the average
volumes imported from India over the last five years at about 53,000 tonnes.
“[The lower prices
India is offering for its rice] is making buying lucrative from India,” said Olam India Rice VP Nitin Gupta told Reuters.
That said, it is also likely that political forces
have come into play here – Earlier this year, India issued bans on Malaysian
palm oil imports after then-Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
criticised India’s actions in Kashmir, badly affecting its exports as India was
one of Malaysia’s largest palm oil buyers.
Mahathir was later ousted by his successor Muhyiddin
Yassin, and since then both countries have been in discussions on solutions to
repair the soured ties, and this could be one of them.
What about other
countries?
According to data from Statista, India is the largest
global rice exporter at 9.79 million metric tonnes, and Vietnam is the
third-ranked at 6.58 million metric tonnes.
At second place is Thailand at 7.56 million metric
tonnes – but Thailand has been laying relatively low as compared to India and
Vietnam due to its current struggles with weather, economical and quality
issues.
Droughts in the country have led to a low supply which
has driven rice prices up to between US$514 and US$520 per tonne as of June 26,
but most reports describe demand to be subdued despite an initial strong rise
during COVID-19.
Thai Rice Exporters Association President Charoen
Laothammathat told Nation Thailand that in April
Thailand has exported over 640,000 tonnes of rice which was a 32.7% increase
from March – but expected exports to drop after this due to prices and
returning competitors.
“[The] price of Thai
rice is higher than that of competitors due to limited supply and strengthening
of the baht, [whereas] Vietnam, India and Pakistan have returned to the
market,” he said.
On the other hand, rice is also a main staple in
Indonesia but the country has largely remained out of top import and export lists
as it struggles to decide whether or not to relax import regulations via its
controversial omnibus law.
The Indonesian government also plans to strengthen
self-sufficiency as well as potentially look to exporting rice by planting this
across 2.2 million acres of land in Borneo, in what is now peatland – but the
project has also come under fire by various parties.
“Peatlands in general
contain few nutrients,” Bogor Institute of
Agriculture (IPB) Basuki Sumawinata told Mongabay.
“So if they are to be
managed for rice fields, it will need thorough and serious technology, with
costs that we might not be able to imagine.”
In 1995, a project deemed the Mega Rice Project (MRP)
was launched and failed spectacularly due to soil conditions, and was in
essence similar to the upcoming new project announced by Indonesian President
Joko Widodo.
This has led experts such as Sumawinata to fear that
the new project will become a repeat of past mistakes – the abandoned project
area purportedly burns on a yearly basis.
“In the past, we wanted
to open up a rice estate in 1970 in South Sumatra. That ended up in failure.
[And] then we wanted to open 2.5 million acres in 1995. Of that, where has rice
cultivation has been sustained on peatlands?”
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