NFA resolves rice milling problems to insure continuous supply
QUEZON CITY, April 16 -- National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Judy Carol Dansal recently met with the agency's ricemilling contractors to address operational issues and insure the continuous and unimpeded flow of government rice supply across the country, especially in Metro Manila and other areas placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
The meeting was held in NFA Cabanatuan City on April 11, Black Saturday, a day after Dansal observed the millers’ withdrawal of palay for milling from NFA warehouses in Cabanatuan City, and their actual rice delivery to NFA bodegas on April 10, Good Friday. The Administrator had ordered all NFA offices to be operational 12/7 even during the Holy Week to promptly address all the rice needs of DSWD and LGUs for distribution to families affected by the ECQ.
Among the issues raised by the 51 rice milling contractors from Nueva Ecija and Bulacan were: their difficulty in the mobilization of mill operators, laborers, drivers and other employees due the Covid19 lockdown and border regulations issued by the LGUs; the procurement of their mills’ fast-moving parts and other consumables; and the difficulty in marketing their ricemilling by-products such as rice bran or "darak" and rice hull or "ipa".
Dansal, who is a member of the National Task Force (NTF) on Covid19, provided quick solutions to the millers' problems, saying, "We cannot afford to let anything hamper our palay milling activities to continuously serve the rice requirements of the National Capital Region (NCR) and of the other areas in the country during this time of crisis.”
For their unhampered mobility, the NFA Administrator said all milling contractors' employees and laborers shall be issued IDs by the NFA, as “providers of essential services, to be presented to checkpoints, for their easy passage. Their trucks, which haul palay for milling from NFA and deliver back rice recoveries, shall be provided with Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) stickers, similar to the haulers of other food commodities," she said.
To insure the fast turn-around of the millers’ trucks from the rice mill to the NFA warehouse and vice-versa, Dansal assured that the NFA has more than enough laborers in its warehouses, having hired tricycle drivers and other workers who, for the time being, have lost their regular livelihood due to the strict lockdown policies.
On the procurement of the mills’ fast-moving parts and other consumables, Dansal said she will recommend to the IATF to allow Manila-based suppliers of the needed ricemill spare parts to operate. And to facilitate the purchase of spare parts, as well as for smooth coordination purposes, the NFA shall issue a certification to be presented to the checkpoints, for the umimpeded transport and purchase of parts needed for the immediate repair of ricemills. The NFA is part of the National Task Force (NTF) Covid19 under the Task Groups (TGs) on Response Operations and Resource Management and Logistics.
On the sale of rice by-products "darak" and "ipa" which serve as NFA's payment-in-kind (PIK) for milling services, Dansal said the NFA has already made adjustments in the “guaranteed milling recovery” (GMR) to help rice millers recoup their “lost income”.
“About the rice hull, we shall also recommend to the IATF to make representations with Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Año, to advise the LGUs where the ricemills are located, to find places where the rice hull could be dumped, because right now there are no rice hull buyers. As for the NFA, I am instructing all the NFA Regional Directors and the Provincial Managers to help by identifying vacant spaces in the NFA compounds where the rice hulls can be temporarily placed or stored so we could eliminate these small yet valid problems of our milling contractors," Dansal said.
"Our primordial concern now is the continuous, full-blast NFA palay stocks milling, for a safe level supply of rice for this current emergency,” she stressed.
Dansal noted that since the declaration of a Luzon-wide ECQ on March 15, followed by other areas in the Visayas and Mindanao, 100% of the NFA's rice sales went to government agencies for the Covid19 emergency. As of April 13, the total rice withdrawals of NFA rice by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and various local government units (LGUs) reached 1,939,852 bags.
The government’s rice inventory currently stands at 7.69 million bags, good to last for 116 days or about 3 ½ months, based on the agency's 10% market share.
Meanwhile, NFA continues its aggressive local palay procurement as farmers continue to harvest their summer crop. Its 440 warehouses and buying stations are open daily, including Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays. As of this writing we procure an average of 20,052 bags per day.
“We are ready to serve the farmers and buy their harvest, especially when farmgate prices fall below the P19 per kg support price of the government,” Dansal said.
From January to mid-April, the NFA had already bought 2.56 million bags of palay. The agency targets to buy 2.4 million bags in April and 1.6 million bags in May, and a total of 15.44 million bags for the whole of 2020. (NFA)Pakistan https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1039218Has A Plan To Keep Millions From Going Hungry During Shutdown. Will It Work?
A municipal worker in Karachi hands
out bags of food — part of government efforts to help those who've lost their
livelihood during Pakistan's lockdown to stem the spread of the
coronavirus.
RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP
VIA GETTY IMAGES
After hours of pounding the
pavement, plaintively warbling his flute, Mohammad Azem finally attracted a
small crowd to watch his performing monkey dance to his music on an upscale
Islamabad street.
A woman begging door-to-door and
two security guards watched his monkey dance, the bells on his leash ringing as
Azem pounded a little drum. Ending the show, the monkey saluted and placed a
tin can on his head for change.
"Monkey money," Azem
crooned. A guard tossed in the equivalent of 60 cents. It was all Azem earned
on that recent Sunday — far from the days before the pandemic when he could
make $5 in tips. "The day before yesterday my kids went to sleep without
eating," he says.
Azem — and his small crowd — were
in violation of stay-home orders that have been rolled out across Pakistan.
Since late March, all essential industries have been shuttered to curb the
spread of the coronavirus, and people in urban centers must stay home.
As a result, incomes have dried
up for many Pakistanis who rely on low-paid work to survive. While there are
more than 5,300 cases of COVID-19 as of Monday, the
more immediate concern for these people is not becoming sick, but going hungry.
The government is trying to help by distributing cash to millions of families,
but there are concerns that people will fall through the gap.
"I don't want to get
coronavirus, but when I see my kids like this, I can't stay home," says
Azem. "I go out and work with the monkey. Maybe I'll get some money."
One driver who recently lost his
job was begging by a thoroughfare on a recent day, alongside his pregnant wife.
At a sprawling market in suburban Islamabad, out-of-work laborers ate biryani
rice that a donor passed around in foam packs. More than a dozen more waited
about, hoping for some charity.
Passersby and aid groups have
been distributing cooked meals and packs of food to men like them, who gather
around roadsides. Among them was Ibrahim, a 48-year-old mason. He said the men
used to wait here for work, before the pandemic.
"People feel very
ashamed," Ibrahim says. "When corona started, we cannot earn our
money honestly. We [are] becoming in people's eyes as beggars. It's too much
hard."
For that reason, laborer Mohammad
Fayyaz Khan carried his shovel as he waited by the roadside for charity. The
shovel signaled to people that he was a hard-on-his-luck laborer, not a
professional beggar. He patted the pocket of his tattered pants. He had about a
dollar left — if motorists didn't stop and give him food, he'd buy bread.
"I'll eat a piece in the morning and a piece in the evening."
In Pakistan, where the informal
sector accounts for more than 70% of all jobs, the government estimates that at
least 8 million people have been affected by the shutdown. Their plight has
prompted Prime Minister Imran Khan to say in many of his pandemic-related
addresses that he did not approve of widespread shutdowns.
"Our economic situation is
very fragile," Khan said on March 17 as cases climbed to
more than 200 people. "If we close down the country, what will happen to
the poor? People will die of hunger here."
To assist those Pakistanis whose
incomes have dried up, last week the government began unrolling a one-off payment of about $70 to 12
million families. That's about about a third of all Pakistani households,
according to Mosharraf Zaidi, a columnist who also
runs Tabadlab,
a think tank advocating for progressive government policy. The amount is
roughly equivalent to the monthly wage of an unskilled urban laborer.
Those 12 million families
represent a near-tripling of recipients of a modest social welfare plan run by
the government known as the Ehsaas Program. Until the pandemic, it was
distributing about $12 a month to Pakistan's poorest 4.5 million families. To
expand the program, local officials have asked other officials in villages and
districts to identify people in need.
Those in need can also apply
online and through SMS messages, according to Sania
Nishtar, the special adviser to the prime minister who oversees the
program.
Zaidi called the expanded program
"a massive leap forward."
"Pakistan has never, ever,
experimented with a social protection instrument on this size and scale, in
terms of the amount of money, in terms of the number of people that this is
going to benefit," he adds.
But concerns remain of people
falling through the gaps, including among the one-third of Pakistani men and
women who are illiterate. Khan, the laborer, says he did not know how to apply
for the program.
"People told me that my name
should be on the list," Khan says. "I don't know. I can't read or
write. If they pay, that's great."
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
Private traders urged to
import more rice
Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine
Star
) - April 16, 2020 -
12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The private sector must continue to buy
rice from the world market to further boost the inventory of the country’s main
staple amid the coronavirus disease pandemic.
During the Laging Handa virtual briefing Wednesday, the National
Food Authority said private importers should continue bringing in rice.
Under the rice tariffication law, NFA’s role has been limited to
maintaining buffer stock through local procurement.
“Commercial rice traders should continue their importation and
sell those rice at reasonable markup prices,” NFA administrator Judy Dansal
said.
The NFA chief maintained that the grains agency could sustain
the rice needs of local government units amid the huge volume of stockpile.
The agency’s market participation has increased significantly to
17 percent from the average 10 percent due to large withdrawals from LGUs and
other government agencies.
The government-subsidized rice is the cheapest in the market at
P27 per kilo.
Meanwhile, the Action for Economic Reforms has opposed the
government’s move to spend P8 billion to import an additional 300,000 metric
tons of rice to boost the country’s rice inventory.
The budget will be given to the Department of Trade and Industry
and the Philippine International Trading Corp. for the purchase via
government-to-government scheme.
AER said the P8 billion would be better spent toward increasing
farmers’ productivity and safeguarding their welfare given the ongoing
pandemic.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/04/16/2007537/private-traders-urged-import-more-rice GIEWS Country Brief:
Senegal 15-April-2020
Source
Posted
15 Apr 2020
Originally
published
15 Apr 2020
Origin
FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
· Above‑average output gathered in 2019
· Cereal import requirements forecast at above‑average level
· Cereal prices stabilized due to adequate supply
· Pockets of food security remain among most vulnerable population
Above‑average cereal production harvested in 2019
Seasonal dry weather conditions are prevailing in most areas of the country
and planting of the 2020 crops is expected to begin in June-July with the
normal onset of the rains.
Harvesting of the major crops, including millet, sorghum and rice (paddy),
was completed in November 2019. The 2019 national cereal production is
estimated at 2.7 million tonnes, 28 percent above average, but 4 percent below
the record 2018 output. Despite the average production at the national level,
several localities recorded production shortfalls due to pockets of drought at
the start (June) and the end (September) of the seasons as well as flooding
that affected crops particularly in Bakel and Podor regions.
In most pastoral areas, seasonal rains are expected to start in July. The
pastoral lean season is progressing normally with an average availability of
pasture across the country, with the exception of some areas in the east that
are facing localized pasture deficits. The domestic transhumant herds are
expected to return from southern areas to pastoral areas in July with the
normal onset of the rains. The animal health situation is generally stable,
with no major disease outbreaks recorded.
Above‑average import requirements forecast
The country relies heavily on imports to cover its total domestic cereal
consumption needs. Although the 2019 cereal production is estimated at an above‑average
level, import requirements in the 2019/20 marketing year (November/October) are
forecast at an above‑average level of 2.3 million tonnes. An increase in rice
imports is expected due to the slight decline in rice production in the Senegal
river valley and the intention of traders to build their stocks.
Cereal prices stabilized due to adequate supply
Despite the seasonal contraction in supply, markets are well stocked as a
result of regular internal trade flows and imports. Prices of coarse grains
were relatively stable or declined in February on account of good domestic
supplies. However, the reduced 2019 output and strong domestic demand,
particularly in urban areas, kept prices above their values a year earlier.
Pockets of food insecurity remain among most vulnerable population
According to the March 2020 "Cadre Harmonisé" analysis, the
aggregate number of severely food insecure people (CH Phase 3: “Crisis” and
above) is estimated at about 436 000, significantly up from the 151 000 people
estimated in March 2019. If appropriate measures and responses are not
implemented, this number is projected to increase to nearly 766 000 people
during the next lean season between June and August 2020, well above the about
341 000 food insecure people that were estimated for the June ‑ August 2019
period. The deterioration in the food situation and the increase in the number
of food insecure population is due to the effects of adverse weather events
(drought and floods) on cereal and fodder production.
COVID‑19 and measures adopted by the Government
In view of the evolving COVID‑19 situation, the Government has decreed a
State of Emergency, with the implementation of a total country lockdown and
curfew. The Government has also taken some sanitary, social and economic
measures. The Government has created a national social solidarity fund of XOF 1
000 billion, which will be sourced from public resources and open to voluntary
contributions. Mandatory restrictions on population movements, combined with
heightened levels of fear, have led many people to remain at home. Although
these measures have not affected the access to food, further restrictions on
population movements could hamper the access to land and have a negative impact
on the 2020 agricultural production.
NFA: Rice supply
in PH is enough amid ECQ
April 16, 2020
The Philippines has enough rice
supply despite the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine in
Luzon.
National Food Authority (NFA)
Administrator Judy Carol Dansal assured that the rice stock will still last for
11 days and that private entrepreneurs have plenty of rice reserves.
NFA Administrator Dansal also
urged traders to continue importing rice to avoid shortage and called on
importers to give a fair price to help consumers affected by the ECQ. – PTV News
TIRUCHI, APRIL
15, 2020 22:34 IST
A temporary market functioning in a school in Tiruchi.
Higher education institutions in the region have been doing
their part in lending their support to the government machinery to combat COVID
19 virus in different ways, fulfilling an appeal made to that
effect by the University Grants Commission.
Recently, UGC Vice-Chairman D.P.
Singh said that in the backdrop of increase in the number of persons infected
with corona virus day by day, the educational fraternity has a great
responsibility to make the people aware of the preventive and precautionary
measures to safeguard themselves and check further spread of the virus
alongside making financial contributions.
While some institutions have
offered their premises for establishment of temporary vegetable markets, others
have lent their support by providing their buildings to keep persons with COVID
19 symptoms under quarantine procedure, providing personal protection
equipment, manufacturing sanitisers and assisting government teams in
distributing rice to people at their doorsteps.
The management of the Jamal
Mohammed College had provided its entire buildings to the district
administration for quarantining 70 persons detected with the symptoms of COVID
19 virus. Those under observation in the college as well as the COVID 19 positive
patients undergoing treatment at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government
Hospital are being provided with nutrient-rich food under the monitoring of the
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, S. Ismail Mohideen, Principal, said.
Likewise, the Central University
of Tamil Nadu, Tiruvarur, has provided its facility to the government machinery
for keeping under observation 19 persons detected with symptoms of COVID-19. It
has established an institutional quarantine facility for the purpose. It has
produced hand sanitiser in-house in its chemistry lab and plans to distribute
the sanitiser to the community in the surroundings.
Bishop Heber College and St.
Joseph’s College are among the handful of institutions where temporary
vegetable markets have been established on the playgrounds.
The Seethalakshmi Ramaswami
College has provided personal protection equipment to 150 frontline workers at
the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital. ‘We are looking forward to
conducting outreach activities for the community in the surroundings by roping
in Non-Government Organisations, College Principal R. Padmavathy said.
In Karaikal district, NSS
volunteers of Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Institute of Engineering and Technology
joined government teams in distributing rice to residents of Nallathur,
Adayalampettai and other villages. Sstaff of Department of Social Work of
Arignar Anna Government Arts and Science College have been entrusted with the
responsibility of offering psychological counselling for mitigation of mental stress
of the public.
In Nagapattinam, the district
administration has received support from the E.G.S. Pillai College for
maintaining adequate stock of sanitisers made as per the specification of World
Health Organisation. The college has readied sanitisers in 300 ml packs for use
by frontline workers. The sanitiser in 300 ml bottles has been made available
to the public through the office of the District Rural Development Agency for ₹ 150 each.
Food for everyone with collective farm
Soth Koemsoeun | Publication date 15 April 2020 |
23:20 ICT
Farmers in Preah Dak commune will test a collective farming system
which will help feed some of the community’s poorest residents. Photo supplied
Banteay Srei district governor
Khim Finan has spearheaded a collective farming project on nearly 40ha in the
district’s Preah Dak commune in Siem Reap province to help feed some of the
community’s poorest citizens.
Finan told The Post on Wednesday
that the Covid-19 pandemic has hurt families financially and affected the daily
lives of people in his district.
He said he believes the best
option is to ensure food security for everyone in the community, especially for
the most vulnerable – the poor, disabled and elderly.
Finan said all 39 families in
O’Toteung and Thnal Toteung villages in Preah Dak commune have agreed in
principle to give nearly 40ha of their rice fields to the district
administration until the end of the year to pilot the project.
The project will start with this
year’s monsoon-season crop, during which rice is typically planted from May
until July and harvested in December.
If it is successful, the project
could continue for the subsequent dry-season crops. During the dry season, rice
is typically planted in November and harvested in January or February.
For the first crop, owners will
receive an amount of rice similar to their normal harvests, and the remaining
yields will be distributed among the poorest people in the community.
“For the collective farming
project, we will use existing resources and borrow rice from locals who live
near the source of the water, using early-season rice,” Finan said.
The project will be supported by
donated seeds, fertiliser, machinery and fuel. Volunteers will help with
transplanting and harvesting the rice.
“The project is still in its
testing phase, and I hope the results will make it a model to be applied on a
larger scale elsewhere in the country, for greater collective benefit,” he
said.
Phin Thorng, a 47-year-old farmer
from O’Toteung village said on Wednesday that he has decided to join the
collective farming project and expects to receive more rice than his family
normally produces each year.
Thorng said he also wants to help
society through rice farming by distributing the grain to people in need.
He said he has about 1ha of paddy
fields near a water source and Finan wants to use the land as a site for the
project.
Every year, he said he harvests
about nine or 10 sacks of rice.
Finan confirmed that if his paddy
is harvested for the collective farming project, he would receive a similar
amount.
“I support this project because,
as the district governor explained to us, we won’t suffer any losses, we’d only
have to provide a small amount of labour for transplanting.
Rice seeds and machinery will be
provided by charities. When we are all gathered, then we divide the harvest
according to the yields,” Thorng said.
Pen An, a 48-year-old man from
Thnal Toteung village, said on Wednesday that his 1ha of paddy fields produce
15 to 17 sacks of rice each year, but he only harvests once.
If he participates in the
collective farming project with the district governor, he said he could be able
to harvest twice a year.
“The governor’s idea is in line
with Cambodia’s identity as an agricultural country. The farmers, district
administration and poorer people will profit. I hope this new rice scheme is
successful,” he said.
OsFIT and OsIRO2 interact to regulate iron homeostasis in rice
Credit:
CC0 Public Domain
Iron (Fe) is necessary for plant
growth and development because it is involved in many physiological and
biochemical reactions. Fe deficiency can cause serious agricultural problems.
It is well known that Fer‐like Fe deficiency‐induced transcription factor (FIT) is a key regulator of Fe
uptake in Arabidopsis.
In response to Fe deficiency,
plants modify the expression of numerous genes to maintain Fe homeostasis.
However, the signal transduction network regulating the expression of
Fe-homeostasis-associated genes has not been comprehensively characterized.
In a study published in Journal
of Integrative Plant Biology, researchers from Xishuangbannna Tropical
Botanical Garden (XTBG) identified the Oryza sativa FIT (also known as
OsbHLH156) as the interacting partner of Iron‐related bhlh transcription factor 2 (OsIRO2) that is a critical
for regulating Fe uptake.
The researchers not only
characterized the biological role of OsFIT and OsIRO2 and their genetic
relationship in Fe homeostasis, but also revealed their
molecular regulation mechanism.
To identify the interacting
partners of OsIRO2, they used yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assays and conducted the
co-immunoprecipitation assays. They found that OsIRO2 physically interacted
with OsFIT.
They further found that OsFIT
promoted the nuclear accumulation of OsIRO2. Loss-of-function of OsFIT impaired
tolerance to Fe limitation. Loss-of-function mutations of OsFIT disrupted the
expression of Fe homeostasis-associated genes. Overexpression of OsFIT promoted
Fe accumulation and expression of Fe-uptake genes.
Genetic analysis showed that
OsFIT and OsIRO2 functioned as a transcription complex. OsFIT expression was
positively regulated by OsPRI1, OsPRI2, and OsPRI3.
"Our data suggest that both
OsFIT and OsIRO2 are required for the regulation of Fe uptake associated genes,
and they function as a transcription complex to regulate Fe homeostasis,"
said Dr. LIANG Gang, principal investigator of the study
Micronutrient Availability in a Rice Paddy Field Exposed to
Elevated CO2
Paper Reviewed
Li, C., Zhu, J., Zeng, Q. and Liu, G. 2020. Changes in microelement availability in a paddy field exposed to long-term atmospheric CO2 enrichment. Journal of Soils and Sediments https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02601-7.
Li, C., Zhu, J., Zeng, Q. and Liu, G. 2020. Changes in microelement availability in a paddy field exposed to long-term atmospheric CO2 enrichment. Journal of Soils and Sediments https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02601-7.
Introducing their study, Li et al. (2020) note
that "plant-soil interactions in the context of elevated atmospheric CO2 have
received much attention and micronutrients play an important role in plant
development and reproduction." However, much remains to be learned as to
how future changes in atmospheric CO2 may alter
micronutrient availability and their concentrations in plant organs, which can
affect plant growth and yield.
Hoping to provide some information in this regard, Li et
al. examined the concentrations of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn)
in rice and the availability of these micronutrients within the surrounding
soil under ambient (370 ppm) and elevated (566 ppm) CO2 concentrations.
The experiment was conducted at Xiaoji town, Jiangdu City, Jiangsu Province, China,
on a FACE site that had been in operation for 10 years. Given the length of
time that CO2 enrichment had been in operation at the site, the
authors felt any long-term effect of elevated CO2 on
micronutrient availability and concentration would likely be evident.
In discussing their findings Li et al. report,
not surprisingly, that CO2 enrichment "stimulated rice growth and increased
the dry matter production." With respect to nutrient availability, the
scientists note that "CO2 enrichment enhanced the input of soil
organic matter and improved microbial activity." The higher microbial
activity, in turn, likely increased soil nutrient mineralization and supplied
more available nutrients. The end result was that "the bio-availability of
Fe, Mn, and Zn in 0-10 cm soil increased under elevated CO2."
Support of the above scenario is presented in Figure 1, which
shows the content and concentration of the three studied micronutrients within
the rice grain at harvest. Although the content and concentration of iron
remained unchanged, these two parameters increased for both Mn and Zn under
elevated CO2.
In commenting on their work, the four Chinese researchers
conclude that "elevated CO2 still enhanced dry matter production and
accumulation of Fe, Mn, and Zn in rice after 10 years [of] CO2 treatment."
Consequently, no management strategy was needed to supply these necessary
micronutrients in order to achieve the CO2-induced dry
matter enhancement.
Rice imports
hit 6-month high at 229,416.65 MT in March–data
By
-
April 15, 2020
By Jasper Emmanuel Y.
Arcalas & Samuel P. Medenilla
OVER 130 rice traders and
importers used 853 sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPS-IC) to
import nearly 600,000 metric tons (MT) of rice from January to April 3, Bureau
of Plant Industry (BPI) data showed.
Latest BPI data showed that 134
eligible rice importers, comprised of private firms, traders, farmers groups
and cooperatives, imported 594,688.517 MT during the reference period.
Private agricultural trading firm
Arvin International Marketing Inc. topped the list of importers as it accounted
for 5 percent or about 29,625.02 MT of the volume during the reference period.
AIMI used 27 of its 108 approved SPS-ICs in importing the said the volume.
AIMI was followed by private
firms Gold and Perfect Corp., which imported 26,624 MT and Sodatrade Corp. that
brought in 22,699.5 MT of rice from January to April 3, BPI data showed.
Vietnam rice
BPI data showed that bulk of the
rice imports during the reference period, or about 504,625.3 MT came from
Vietnam.
BPI data also showed that rice
imports in March rose to a six-month high of 229,416.65 MT, with nearly 89
percent of the volume coming from Vietnam.
BPI data indicated that nearly
1.5 million MT (MMT) of rice are still expected to enter the country due to
some 1,772 unused and valid SPS-ICs.
Agriculture Secretary William D.
Dar earlier announced that about 400,000 MT of rice from Vietnam will arrive in
the country this month, following Hanoi’s assurance that it will honor existing
supply contracts with Philippine importers.
The Department of Agriculture
(DA) has been urging the private sector to continuously apply for SPS-IC and
bring in rice shipments to ensure that the country has sufficient stockpile
during and beyond the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) amid Covid-19
pandemic.
In fact, the Philippines is
pursuing a P8-billion 300,000-MT rice importation via government-to-government
(G2G) transaction to further augment domestic supply.
Enough rice
stocks assured
Despite higher consumption demand
for rice amid the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crisis, the National
Food Authority (NFA) said it has sufficient supplies to last this month.
At a news briefing on Wednesday,
NFA Administrator Judy Dansal said the market participation have increased from
the usual 10 percent to 17.31 percent since last month.
“This is a big increase. But we
still have enough stock inventory for this,” Dansal said.
This comes as more local
government units (LGUs) start buying NFA rice to feed their constituents, who
were affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon, as well as
the lockdowns in other parts of the country due to Covid-19.
During the lockdown, many people
were unable to earn their living, thus, forcing them to rely on government
support.
Last month, NFA reported it has
400,000 bags, or 20,000 metric tons (MT), of rice in its warehouses around
Metro Manila.
While they have sufficient
supplies, Dansal admitted they initially had difficulty delivering their rice
to LGUs, particularly in Luzon, due to checkpoints.
She said they were able to remove
the disruptions after they coordinated with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the
Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) and the Department of the
Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Low-hanging fruit: How the first
generation of GMO crops yielded massive economic and environmental benefits
Nina Fedoroff | April 15, 2020
This article or excerpt is included in the GLP’s
daily curated selection of ideologically diverse news, opinion and analysis of
biotechnology innovation.
The first generation of GM crops
was produced using methods that add genetic material to the crop plant’s
genome. This approach, generally referred to as recombinant DNA (rDNA)
technology, is based on the construction of hybrid molecules comprising a gene
(or genes) and regulatory sequences from virtually any source. The hybrid
construct is replicated in a bacterial plasmid or viral genome, then
transferred into plants, which are then referred to as GM or “transgenic”.
Most of the GM varieties on the
market today were developed using rDNA technology and commercialized by biotech
companies, largely because of the high cost of both developing them and
complying with regulatory requirements.The ringspot virus-resistant papaya is
the only exception, having been developed by university-based researchers.
The most widely grown GM crops
are cotton, corn, soybeans and canola modified by the introduction of genes
that confer herbicide tolerance, insect resistance Other crops either already
on the market or just entering it include alfalfa, sugar beets, squash,
eggplant, potatoes and apples are.
[Editor’s note: This is part two of a four-part series on the
progress of agricultural biotechnology. Read part one.]
Both herbicide-tolerant and
insect-resistant crops have been adopted at breakneck speed in every country in
which they have received regulatory approval. As of 2018, the latest year for
which statistics are available, GM crops were grown on 474 million acres in 26
countries. This represents a more than 100-fold expansion in GM crop acreage
over the 23 years since their commercial introduction in 1996. By 2018, the
adoption rates of biotech crops exceeded 90% in the top 5 adopting countries
(USA, Brazil, Argentina, Canada and India).
The rapid adoption of GM crops has returned benefits
substantially beyond expectations. A 2014 study on the cumulative global impact
of GM crops since 1996 concluded that farmers’ yields increased by 22% and
their profits by 68%.8 A more recent study reported that the net economic benefit
at the farm level was roughly $18 billion for 2016 and 186.1 billion for the
period 1996-2001.9
The economic benefits have come both from yield gains and from
reduced production costs (65% and 35%, respectively). As well, the adoption of
GM technology has increased global yield levels for commodity crops such as
soybeans and corn (213 million and 405 million metric tons, respectively).
Importantly, the study pointed out that the economic benefits have been divided
roughly equally between developing and developed countries (48% and 52%,
respectively).9
A cumulative environmental assessment spanning 1995-2016 found
that the use of GM crops reduced the environmental impact of herbicide and
pesticide use by 18.4% as measured by the Environmental Impact Quotient.10,11 The study further pointed
out that the use of herbicide tolerant crops reduced agricultural fuel use,
primarily by facilitating no-till farming, and estimated that the reduction for
2016 alone was equivalent to removing 16.7 million cars from the roads.11
In sum, the adoption of a small
number of GM crops, principally cotton, soybeans, corn and canola, by a large
number of farmers has brought substantial economic benefits to farmers and made
significant contributions to both the productivity and sustainability of
agriculture. It is worth emphasizing that the economic benefits are
scale-independent, benefitting both small- and large-scale farmers.
Is there more low-hanging fruit to be harvested?
There are still no widely available GM varieties of either wheat
or rice, the second and third most widely grown and consumed grains.12 Monsanto, for example,
halted development of GM herbicide-tolerant wheat in 2004 because the market
appeared insufficient to recover development costs and because there was
significant resistance to GM wheat from some U.S. buyers, as well as buyers in export
markets.13
Image: GMO Awareness
Indeed, Japan halted import of wheat from areas where small
amounts of Monsanto-developed herbicide-tolerant wheat were discovered in
Oregon in 2013,14 and both Japan and Korea did so when GM wheat was detected
in Alberta, Canada in 2017.15 Similarly, an Argentinian agricultural biotechnology
startup company called Bioceres developed a drought-tolerant wheat variety, but
failed to receive government approval for release because of fears that it
would depress Argentina’s wheat export market.16
The introduction of both herbicide-tolerant and drought-tolerant
wheat varieties would benefit both farmers and the environment, reducing
production costs and stabilizing wheat supplies in the face of a warming
climate. Nonetheless, perceptions about consumer acceptance in both domestic
and export markets continue to influence regulatory and commercial decisions.17
Genetic modification of rice, which is arguably the world’s
single most important food crop, is as problematical as that of wheat. Rice
provides a third to two thirds of the calories consumed by a third of the
world’s population and 90% of it is grown in Asia.18 One of the major challenges
in rice production is the prevalence of weedy relatives capable of
interbreeding with domesticated varieties.19
In the mid 1990s, AgroEvo (now part of Bayer) had developed a GM
variety of rice called Liberty Link (LL601) that was tolerant to the herbicide
glufosinate. It had been field-tested in Louisiana and Arkansas and had
received regulatory approval from both the USDA and the FDA for its release
(technically referred to as ‘deregulation’), but commercialization was
suspended in 2001.20 In 2006, LL601 was detected in several European countries,
damaging the U.S. rice export market. U.S. rice growers sued Bayer, which
settled the suit for $750 million in 2011.21
Insect-resistant Bt rice was developed in China in the 1990s and
received regulatory approval in 2009, but has yet to be commercialized.22 This has been attributed
variously to consumer and agribusiness leader concerns about GM food
consumption.23 Paradoxically, China is one of the world’s largest
importers of GM crops, particularly soybeans, canola and corn.23 Moreover, Bt cotton has
been grown in China since 1997, achieving an adoption rate of 96% by 2015.23
It has been estimated that the decade of delay in approving Bt
rice has cost China roughly $12 billion a year.22 In view of the fact that Bt
crops have been shown to reduce pesticide use and Chinese farmers are among the
top users of pesticides, the foregone benefits include reduced exposure of both
farmers and consumers to pesticides. Thus despite potential health and economic
benefits, whether GM wheat and rice varieties are commercialized is determined
by a complex mix of consumer attitudes, regulatory rulings, business decisions
and even political considerations.23,24
No good deed goes unpunished
Perhaps the most famous GM rice variety just now poised to enter
the marketplace is the so-called humanitarian Golden Rice.25 Vitamin A deficiency is
arguably the most pervasive and consequential global nutritional deficiency.26 Starting in the early 1990s
and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, Swiss scientists Ingo Potrykus and
Peter Beyer took up the challenge of introducing genes that would support the
biosynthesis of beta-carotene, a vitamin A precursor, in rice endosperm.27
Despite widespread skepticism, they succeeded within a decade,
creating what by then had been dubbed “Golden Rice”.28 Time magazine published
Potrykus’ picture on its cover with the bold prediction: “This rice could save
a million kids a year”.29 The story of the ensuing setbacks and savage attacks by
anti-GMO activists is an absorbing, sobering tale.25,30 Only now, 20 years after it
was first accomplished in the laboratory, is Golden Rice inching toward release
to farmers.
Regulators in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia have
approved Golden Rice for growing and consumption.31 In Bangladesh, where almost
a fifth of children suffer from vitamin A deficiency, Golden Rice was approved
by the Ministry of Agriculture, but the Ministry of the Environment seized the
regulatory initiative, as it had in India a decade earlier, and failed to give
its approval for commercialization.32
The Indian Environmental Minister’s 2010 temporary moratorium on
Bt brinjal (eggplant) brought a complete halt to the further introduction of GM
crops that has persisted to the present, although farmers are increasingly
defiant.33 In the meantime, the GM insect-resistant eggplant developed
in India was introduced successfully in Bangladesh, increasing farmer incomes,
reducing insecticide use and insecticide poisoning and achieving good consumer
acceptance.34
Want to follow the latest news and policy debates over
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And still, the cacophony surrounding Golden Rice continues. Now
that Philippine regulators and legislators are close to approving it for human
consumption, Greenpeace has amped up its opposition.35 As well, whether Golden
Rice succeeds in its original objective of alleviating vitamin A deficiency
also depends on how – and how widely – it is consumed by people whose diets
consist largely of rice and who are therefore at risk of vitamin A deficiency.36
In sum, the early focus by
biotech companies on commodity crops largely used for animal feed, fiber or
processed products brought major benefits to farmers, consumers and the
environment. Widely consumed grain crops, particularly rice and wheat, have not
fared as well for a variety of reasons, including both consumer resistance and
the diversity of governmental positions on GM crops, as well as litigation by
parties injured by the uneven global acceptance of food crops improved by
molecular methods. Golden Rice, the one humanitarian GM project meant solely to
benefit impoverished people, continues to be a lightning rod for every manner
of assault on GM technology. And whether in the end it will succeed in
alleviating one of humanity’s most serious nutritional deficiencies remains an
open question.
1Birch RG (1997). Plant
transformation: problems and strategies for practical application. Annu Rev
Plant Biol 48:297-326; Fedoroff NV and
Brown NM (2004). Mendel in the Kitchen: A Scientist’s View of
Genetically Modified Food. (Joseph Henry Press, Washington DC),
p.370.
2McDougall P (2011). The cost
and time involved in the discovery, development and authorisation of a new
plant biotechnology derived trait. Crop Life International https://croplife.org/plant-biotechnology/regulatory-2/cost-of-bringing-a-biotech-crop-to-market/
3Kishore GM et al. (1992).
History of herbicide-tolerant crops, methods of development and current state
of the art–emphasis on glyphosate tolerance. Weed Technol 6:626-34;
Knežević S (2016). Weed resistance and new herbicide tolerant crops in USA.
Acta Herbologica 25:35-42.
4Hilder VA and Boulter D (1999).
Genetic engineering of crop plants for insect resistance–a critical review.
Crop Protection 18:177-91.
5Lombardo L et al. (2016). New
technologies for insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant plants. Trends
Biotechnol 34:49-57.
6ISAAA (2018). Brief 54: Global
status of commercialized biotech/GM crops: 2018. ISAAA
7Gonsalves D (1998). Control of
papaya ringspot virus in papaya: a case study. Annu Rev Phytopathol 36:415-37.
8Klümper W and Qaim M (2014). A
meta-analysis of the impacts of genetically modified crops. PloS One 9:e111629.
9Brookes G and Barfoot P (2018).
Farm income and production impacts of using GM crop technology 1996–2016. GM
Crops & Food 9:59-89.
10Kovach J et al. (1992). A
method to measure the environmental impact of pesticides. New York Food Life
Sci Bull 139:1-8.
11Brookes G and Barfoot P (2018).
Environmental impacts of genetically modified (GM) Crop use 1996–2016: Impacts
on pesticide use and carbon emissions. GM Crops & Food 9:109-39.
12Wulff BB and Dhugga KS (2018).
Wheat—the cereal abandoned by GM. Science 361:451-2.
13Stokstad E (2004). Monsanto
pulls the plug on genetically modified wheat. Science 304:1088-9.
14AP. Japan suspends some imports
of U.S. wheat. New York Times, 31 May 2013 https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/31/business/global/japan-suspends-some-imports-of-us-wheat.html
15Obayashi Y and Rod N. Japan
suspends sale of Canadian wheat after GMO wheat found in Alberta. Reuters, 15
June 2018 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-wheat-gmo-japan/japan-suspends-sale-of-canadian-wheat-after-gmo-wheat-found-in-alberta-idUSKBN1JB100
16Gilbert J. Drought-sltricken
wheat belts offered a thorny solution from Argentina. Bloomberg, 12 March
2019 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-13/drought-stricken-wheat-belts-get-thorny-solution-from-argentina
17Malcolm B (2017). Agribusiness
perspectives on transgenic wheat. in Wheat Biotechnology (Springer,
New York), pp. 113-26.
18Khush GS (1997). Origin,
dispersal, cultivation and variation of rice. Plant Molec Biol 35:25-34.
19Nadir S et al. (2017). Weedy
rice in sustainable rice production. A review. Agron Sustain Develop 37:46.
20Lemaux PG (2007). LL601 rice:
What is it and what does it mean? http://ucbiotech.org/resources/factsheets/LibertyLink.pdf
21Harris A and Beasley D. Bayer
will pay $750 million to settle gene-modified rice suits. Bloomberg, 1 July
2011 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-07-01/bayer-to-pay-750-million-to-end-lawsuits-over-genetically-modified-rice
22Jin Y et al. (2019). Cost of
postponement of Bt rice commercialization in China. Frontiers Plant Sci 10:1226.
23Deng H et al. (2019).
Perception and attitude toward GM technology among agribusiness managers in
China as producers and as consumers. Sustainability 11:1342.
24Demont M and Stein A (2013).
Global value of GM rice: a review of expected agronomic and consumer benefits.
New Biotechnol 30:426-36.
25Regis E (2019). Golden
Rice: The Imperiled Birth of a GMO Superfood. (Johns Hopkins
University Press, Baltimore, Maryland), p.234.
26Wiseman EM et al. (2017). The
vicious cycle of vitamin A deficiency: a review. Critical Rev Food Sci
Nutrition 57:3703-14.
27Potrykus I (2001). Golden rice
and beyond. Plant Physiol 125:1157-61; Zeigler RS (2014).
Biofortification: Vitamin A deficiency and the case for golden rice. in Plant
Biotechnology (Springer, New York), pp. 245-62.
28Ye X et al. (2000). Engineering
the provitamin A (β-carotene) biosynthetic pathway into (carotenoid-free) rice
endosperm. Science 287:303-5.
29Nash JJ. This rice could save a
million kids a year. Time Magazine, 31 July 2000, http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,997586,00.html
30Dubock A (2019). Golden Rice:
To combat vitamin A deficiency for public health. in Vitamin
A (IntechOpen, London). 10.5772/intechopen.84445
31Stokstad E (2019). After 20
years, Golden Rice nears approval. Science 366:934.
32Chandran R. Debate over GM
eggplant consumes India. Reuters, 16 February 2010 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-food/debate-over-gm-eggplant-consumes-india-idUSTRE61F0RS20100216;
Begum S. No Golden Rice farming now. The Daily Observer, 1 December 2019 https://www.observerbd.com/details.php?id=231149
33Editors. They want GM crops:
Farmers’ revolt is the outcome of a decade long political paralysis, which must
end. The Times of India, 26 June 2019, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-editorials/they-want-gm-crops-farmers-revolt-is-the-outcome-of-a-decade-long-political-paralysis-which-must-end/
34Ahmed AU et al. (2019). Impacts
of Bt brinjal (eggplant) technology in Bangladesh. International Food Policy
Research Institute of Bangladesh https://www.ifpri.org/publication/impacts-bt-brinjal-eggplant-technology-bangladesh
35Dubock A (2020). Title. Genetic
Literacy Project https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2020/01/29/viewpoint-on-the-wrong-side-of-humanity-and-science-greenpeace-philippines-launches-last-gasp-effort-to-derail-gmo-golden-rice-approval/
36Kaguongo W et al. (2012).
Factors influencing adoption and intensity of adoption of orange flesh sweet
potato varieties: Evidence from an extension intervention in Nyanza and Western
provinces, Kenya. African J Agricult Res 7:493-503; Birol E et al.
(2015). Developing country consumers’ acceptance of biofortified foods: a
synthesis. Food Security 7:555-68.
Nina V. Fedoroff is an Emeritus Evan Pugh Professor at Penn State University.
The GLP featured this article to reflect the diversity of news,
opinion and analysis. The viewpoint is the author’s own. The GLP’s goal is to
stimulate constructive discourse on challenging science issues.
USA Rice Pitches Kenya Trade Agreement Asks to USTR
WASHINGTON, DC -- In February, the Office of the
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced their intention to begin negotiating
a trade agreement with Kenya, a move that could lay the groundwork for a series
of agreements with African nations in the years to come.
USA Rice submitted comments to USTR today as part of a solicitation process, outlining the industry's ask and to aid in the development of the Administration's negotiating objectives to be released later this spring.
Kenya's rice-heavy diet, burgeoning population, and growing middle class make the country a potential market for U.S. rice exports. Like rice imports for most of Africa's markets, Kenya's more than 600,000 MT of imports are very price sensitive, sourcing essentially everything from Asia in recent years. A combination of high tariffs, prices, and logistical challenges make U.S. exports uncompetitive in Kenya, but an agreement could change that.
In recent years, the Kenyan government has sought an annual waiver that allows rice to enter with a reduced tariff assessment, 35 percent, and without that waiver, U.S. rice and other importers would face a 75 percent tariff. Therefore, USA Rice's comments recommend that "the U.S. government adopt a negotiating objective of duty-free and quota-free access for all types and forms of U.S. rice in any free trade agreement with Kenya."
The comments added that zero duties combined with "opportunities for U.S. exporters to bundle rice shipments with other commodities or restructure their transportation routes for
convenience," would allow
U.S. rice to become a serious competitor in the Kenyan market.
The official comments also reiterated that gaining duty-free access to Kenya would be "a strong precedent that could lead to increased regional business for U.S. rice exporters."
USTR has not yet announced a start date for formal discussions with Kenya.
USA Rice submitted comments to USTR today as part of a solicitation process, outlining the industry's ask and to aid in the development of the Administration's negotiating objectives to be released later this spring.
Kenya's rice-heavy diet, burgeoning population, and growing middle class make the country a potential market for U.S. rice exports. Like rice imports for most of Africa's markets, Kenya's more than 600,000 MT of imports are very price sensitive, sourcing essentially everything from Asia in recent years. A combination of high tariffs, prices, and logistical challenges make U.S. exports uncompetitive in Kenya, but an agreement could change that.
In recent years, the Kenyan government has sought an annual waiver that allows rice to enter with a reduced tariff assessment, 35 percent, and without that waiver, U.S. rice and other importers would face a 75 percent tariff. Therefore, USA Rice's comments recommend that "the U.S. government adopt a negotiating objective of duty-free and quota-free access for all types and forms of U.S. rice in any free trade agreement with Kenya."
The comments added that zero duties combined with "opportunities for U.S. exporters to bundle rice shipments with other commodities or restructure their transportation routes for
convenience," would allow
U.S. rice to become a serious competitor in the Kenyan market.The official comments also reiterated that gaining duty-free access to Kenya would be "a strong precedent that could lead to increased regional business for U.S. rice exporters."
USTR has not yet announced a start date for formal discussions with Kenya.
Price
of exported rice doubles
Chea
Vannak / Khmer Times
April
15, 2020
The
price of fragrant rice exports to international markets has doubled in the last
month, from $50 to $100 per matrix ton, according to the Cambodia Rice
Federation (CRF).
However,
the domestic market trading price for white rice, the most in-demand variety
within the country, has remained stable.
Explaining
the disparity, CRF secretary-general Lun Yeng said that the export price
rocketed between March and April as a direct consequence of COVID-19 border
closures and lockdowns.
“Due
to the pandemic, many countries are in lockdown which makes the transportation
of goods, including rice, difficult and this has led to the increasing price of
the commodity. Demand has also increased because the destinations we export to
are running low on stock,” he said.
That
demand has also seen the price of Cambodia Jasmine rice (Malys Angkor) increase
by $70 to $950 per matrix ton.
You were born to rise, born to be
who you are, born to be loved and you were born to shine!
Currently,
Cambodia is only allowed to export fragrant rice because it fetches a higher
price in the international market. In recent weeks, the Cambodian government
temporarily banned the export of white rice and paddy until further notice to
ensure there is enough in stock to meet domestic demand through the uncertain
times ahead created by the spread of COVID-19.
Paddy
rice is currently priced at 820 Riel ($0.2) per kg, spelling good news for the
nation’s farmers of the staple, according to Veng Sakhon, minister of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
“Farmers
are happy because rice traders are offering a good price of 820 riel per kg, a
120 riel increase compared to the previous record,” Sakhon wrote on his
Facebook page earlier this week.
According
to the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI),
increasing rice prices could become a global trend in both the medium and long
term if the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of abating.
Production
shocks coupled with a massive surge in demand would be the main cause of price
hikes, said Jean Balié, head of IRRI’s Agri-Food Policy Platform.
“In
the medium term, any shock on production that could result in a
lower-than-expected harvest could trigger a price crisis. Likewise, a massive
surge in demand fuelled by panic buying and hoarding could also trigger a price
rise,” read a quote from Balié in the Philippine-based publication BusinessMirror on
April 14.
“Decisions
like limiting the flow of rice within and between countries, including export
bans and other trade restrictions as well as excessive buying, can all
precipitate a surge in rice price in spite of good market fundamentals,” he
added.
Based
on IRRI analysis, Balié said world rice prices could spike by at least 19
percent, to as high as 52 percent, if exporting countries, such as Vietnam,
Cambodia and India suspend shipments. Under these scenarios, the global price
of Thailand 5-percent broken rice would increase from $525 per metric ton to
about $671 metric ton.
Cambodia
shipped out 230,948 matrix tons of rice in the first quarter this year, a 35
percent increase compared to the same period in the year before.
Dismissing
claims that Pant is a fluke player, Raina said if that was the case he would
not have got four overseas centuries.
“He
has hundreds abroad and he is not a fluke player. Somewhere I think he is not
getting confidence..he is missing something,” he further added.
Migrants in GHMC area to get PDS rice
In a tele-conference with MLAs, MLCs and
corporators of GHMC area here, Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas
Yadav reviewed implementation of lockdown, supply of essential commodities and
other emergency services offered in the city
By AuthorTelanganaToday | Published: 15th Apr 2020 12:24 am
Hyderabad: Animal Husbandry Minister
Talasani Srinivas Yadav on Tuesday assured that distribution of PDS rice to
migrant labourers in GHMC area would be expedited within the next couple of
days. He also urged the corporators to extend their support and help the needy
during the lockdown period.
In a tele-conference with MLAs, MLCs and corporators of GHMC area
here, the Minister reviewed implementation of lockdown, supply of essential
commodities and other emergency services offered in the city. The elected
representatives took up various issues pertaining to people especially the poor
and the needy who were struggling for groceries and vegetables in their
respective localities. He emphasised the need for strict implementation of
lockdown till April 30 as directed by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao to
prevent spreading of Covid-19 in the State.
The Minister said all 30 circles of GHMC have been divided into 17
zones where officials from Health, Revenue, Police and Municipal departments
have been appointed as nodal officers who will monitor implementation of
lockdown, supplying of essential commodities and also provide essential
services to the locals. Special emphasis is being laid on supplying of power
and water besides sanitation in all localities. He stated that all efforts are
being made to ensure that people from 126 containment zones do not face any
difficulty in leading their lives inside containment zones.
Apart from operating mobile rythu bazaars, the State government is
supplying about 4,000 quintals of vegetables from 12 rythu bazaars. “With the
support of several individuals and organisations, we have been able to serve
food to over two lakh people everyday. The Annapurna canteens alone are serving
food to 60,000 people during the day and about 30,000 people during the night.
Further essential commodities and other groceries are being supplied to scores
of the poor and the needy. The elected representatives are playing crucial role
in this regard,” he added.
Morrisons shopper reviews the £35
essential food box
The
supermarket says the box contains enough items to last two people a week
Alice
Cunningham
Nisha Mal
13:43, 15 APR 2020
A few
weeks ago Morrisons announced it was launching essential boxes filled with
food, toiletries and household items.
Initially
the supermarket released two boxes - a meat version and a veggie one - although
it has since extended the line.
Costing
£35, the supermarket says each box contains enough stuff two people one week.
They
were launched to help reduce the amount of shoppers panic buying amid the
coroanvirus pandemic.
Essex
Live reporter Alice Cunningham decided to buy a food box to see
exactly how easy they are to get, what they're filled with and if they're worth
the £35:
A few
weeks ago, I was very worried when I saw the shop shelves all empty and when I
couldn't find toilet roll, hand wash and some food items anywhere.
I
couldn't even get paracetamol in the shops and then the worst happened - I
became ill with horrible headaches and some breathing difficulties.
Myself
and my partner had to self isolate for two weeks and our cupboards soon became
very bare. Our nearest family members are also over two hours away so there
wasn't an easy way for us to get food for the two weeks.
When
Morrisons announced they would be creating their food boxes filled with
essential items, I was over the moon that I might actually be able to get some
nice toilet roll that wasn't the awful cheap stuff.
I
decided to try and order one of the boxes to see what came in it and to put
some food back in my fridge and cupboards.
I didn't
know too much what to expect as I hadn't heard exactly what was inside so it
was a mystery to me.
Ordering my food box
(Image:
Essex Live)
I logged
onto my computer last week, went to the Morrisons website, signed up for an
account and searched for the food boxes.
I saw
there were a few options available - you were able to buy a food box with meat,
a vegetarian one, a Market Kitchen Square Meals box, a Market Kitchen Meal
Maker box and a family meat box.
I chose
the Meat Eaters Food Box which costs £35 and the description of what was inside
said: "Our boxes contain a selection of items based on our current
availability of products, therefore we are unable to specify exact contents of
each box.
"You
will however receive a variety of different foods in each box. Typically this
box should feed 2 adults for one week."
On the
website it said a typical box would include things like bread, rice, pasta,
vegetables, meat products, dairy products and canned goods.
As I
went to try and pay I noticed at the top of the screen there was a message
which said: "You are placed in a queue, we apologise for the wait.
RELATED
ARTICLES
"We
are working hard to increase availability and facilitate demand so we can serve
as many customers as possible. Estimated queue duration: 4 minutes."
I
thought a four minute queue wasn't bad as it really could have been a lot worse
like half-an-hour or longer.
After
the time was up, the option to put the box in my basket was available and I was
through to deciding which day I wanted it delivered on.
I was
surprised to see that I was actually able to get the box delivered the very
next day. I was really expecting to have to wait at least a week for it.
So I
chose the next day, received an email confirmation of my order and waited patiently.
Delivery day
The
following day, I woke up relatively early as I had no idea when my order would
arrive, all I knew was that DPD would be delivering it.
At
around 9.40am, I got an email from Morrisons saying that my box would be
delivered between 10.14am and 11.14am, and as I had no where to be due to the
lockdown I was happy as I knew I wouldn't miss it.
Sure
enough at around 10.20am my doorbell rang, I opened my door and saw this huge
box sat outside my porch.
I said
thanks to the delivery man - who stood two metres away - and some how lifted
the box into my house. It really weighed a tonne.
A quick
look over the box I noticed that it had been broken and was partially open but
I wasn't too concerned.
I then
grabbed some scissor to open the box and immediately saw packaged at the top
some toilet roll, bread and kitchen roll which was a joyous sight.
I then
found some canned goods and noticed how the tin of baked beans had really
severely been dented. Luckily it hadn't broken otherwise I would have been quite
annoyed if there were beans everywhere.
I also
found that the bag of baby potatoes had also split open and as I pulled it out
the box, potatoes came flying out.
I slowly
unpackaged the rest of the box and was amazed at exactly how much was inside
before I came to a white bag.
As I had
a look at it I saw that the bag was actually a soft, wool package that had been
wrapped in plastic to help separate the chilled and non-chilled food.
Opening
up the bag, I saw all of the meat and dairy products packaged along with an ice
bag.
Then at
the bottom there was a nice note from Morrisons which read: "Thank you for
shopping with us, we hope you enjoy your Food Box."
Barriers in export of agricultural products to be overcome soon:
Tomar
Barriers in export of agricultural products to be
overcome soon: Tomar
New Delhi, April 14 (IANS) Union
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that due to the COVID-19
nationwide lockdown, the bottlenecks in the export of agricultural products
will be removed soon and efforts are being made in this direction.
The Agriculture Minister told IANS
that the government is making efforts to remove the bottlenecks in the way of
exports.
The ongoing nationwide lockdown to
prevent coronavirus spread has affected exports of agricultural products due to
the problem of logistics. Exporters said there is a situation of confusion
regarding exports.
In such a situation, IANS sought to
know from the minister what steps are being taken by the government to remove
the barriers to export.
To this Tomar said, "Today
(Monday) the officials of our department have interacted with all the exporters
through video conferencing and necessary measures are being taken by the
central government for exports smoothly."
According to the information
received from the ministry, following Tomar''s instructions, Secretary,
Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Sanjay Aggarwal
talked to the exporters of agriculture and allied commodities through a video
conference to get information about the problems faced by them so that necessary
steps can be taken by making meaningful interventions for early redressal of
their problems.
Representatives and exporters of
organizations and exporters of agricultural commodities such as fruits,
vegetables, basmati and non-basmati rice, seeds, flowers, plants, organic
products, agricultural equipment and machinery participated in the video
conference.
The Ministry of Agriculture stated
that exporters mainly lacked labourers, interstate transport interruption,
shortage of raw materials, phyto-sanitary certification, interruption in
movement of shipping documents due to closure of courier services, problem of
availability of goods services, problems of clearance of goods for import and
export, including the difficulties of access to ports and yards.
An official of the Agricultural and
Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which comes under
the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, also told IANS that the export of
food products was disrupted due to the problem of logistics.
Aggarwal assured the exporters of
agricultural products of efforts in solving their problems.
India is a major exporter of many
agricultural products including basmati rice, fruits, vegetables and
agriculture and allied exports of the country were at Rs 2.73 lakh crore during
2018-19.
In order to prevent the outbreak of
coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced to extend the
period of nationwide lockdown till May 3.
Therefore, during the lockdown, not
only the exporters but also the farmers have been worried about the export of
agricultural products, and whether they will be able to get a fair and
remunerative price for their crops for export.
--IANS
hindi/kr
https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/barriers-in-export-of-agricultural-products-to-be-overcome-soon-tomar/1802204
Coronavirus
exposes ASEAN divisions on rice security
Officials fail to reach immediate
agreement at emergency summit
APORNRATH
PHOONPHONGPHIPHAT and CLIFF VENZON, Nikkei staff writersAPRIL 15, 2020 14:54 JST
A curfew
in Thailand is driving consumers to hoard rice for fear of a prolonged
stay-at-home order. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
BANGKOK/MANILA -- The rapid spread of new coronavirus cases in
Southeast Asia has exposed the region's divisions on food security,
particularly as rice-growing nations move to lock up supplies of the staple.
In Thailand, the world's second-biggest rice exporter, a curfew imposed on April 3 is driving consumers to hoard rice for
fear of a prolonged stay-at-home order. Meanwhile, Vietnam, the third-largest
exporter, imposed a rice export ban on March 24, with Cambodia following suit.
Such actions by major rice growers have raised concerns in
importer nations and prompted senior officials from the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations members to hold an urgent meeting earlier this month to
seek ways of securing food supplies in the 10-nation regional bloc.
"We basically agreed that ASEAN nations should keep their
trade open to allow all members access to goods, particularly food," Oramon
Sapthaweetham, director-general of Thailand's Department of Trade Negotiations,
told the Nikkei Asian Review.
"However, each country should have their own right to take
any action to secure their food security as Vietnam did. That's why we need
more time to reach an agreement," she added.
With its export ban, Vietnam took extra steps to secure rice for
domestic consumption. Despite the requests from exporters and domestic industry
to remove or ease the restrictions, Vietnam's Ministry of Finance suggested on
April 10 extending the embargo on low-grade rice until June 15 to ensure
purchases for the national reserve, which is set to reach 190,000 tons. It came
after Hanoi's move to set a quota of 400,000 tons of rice for
export.
Cambodia had followed Vietnam's step for the same reason,
creating anxiety among rice-importing ASEAN countries -- particularly the
Philippines. The region's biggest rice importer bought 2.9 million tons last
year and is forecast to import around 2.5 million this year, largely from Vietnam.
"At least 200,000 to 500,000 tons of rice are now being
held up at ports in Vietnam and Cambodia, and these delayed shipments have
caused supply tightness in some counties," said a Singapore-based trader.
Rice is not only a major staple in ASEAN countries, but also a
politically and emotionally charged commodity, particularly for importers such
as the Philippines and Indonesia, where governments face pressure to satisfy
domestic consumption and keep inflation low.
Philippine Agriculture Secretary William Dar wrote his
Vietnamese counterpart in late March asking assurances on continued deliveries
of rice to Manila, which is Vietnam's traditional rice buyer.
In contrast, major rice exporting countries, such as Thailand
and Vietnam, need to keep domestic rice prices high to maintain the support of
poor farmers.
The coronavirus pandemic is exacerbating these long-standing
tensions. Among ASEAN nations, the Philippines was the hardest-hit, with 4,932
coronavirus-confirmed cases and 315 deaths as of Tuesday. Malaysia followed
with 4,817 confirmed cases and 77 people dead, while Indonesia had 4,839
confirmed cases and 459 deaths.
Not only the Philippines, but other ASEAN countries also felt
the heat and tried to secure rice and food supply amid the outbreak.
This year, severe drought in Thailand and Vietnam, as well as strong purchase from Asian buyers, have
pushed global rice prices to a 7-year-high. As a result, Thai exporters are
reluctant to commit to deals with the Philippines when it approached Thailand
for rice after Vietnam imposed its export ban.
Although Vietnam's deputy minister for agriculture and rural development,
Le Quoc Doanh, said Hanoi will honor its export commitments to the Philippines,
it is unlikely that Vietnam can delivery rice to Manila immediately as orders
from China skyrocket.
China's rice import from Vietnam increased 595% to 66,000 tons during
the first two months of 2020. Besides, there was also an increased importing
trend from other markets, such as Iraq, Malaysia, France, Taiwan, Senegal, and
Russia.
That has forced Manila to seek rice from Myanmar, but that
country's government also suspend rice export licenses, making it hard for the
Philippines to secure immediate supplies of the staple. As of the end of March,
the Philippines has a total rice inventory good for 75 days, and by the end of
June, inventory is projected at 67 days.
For Indonesia, although the government said it has 3.5 million
tons of rice stockpiled, it said last month it was still open to possibilities
of import if the coronavirus situation drives rice prices up -- as it has done
with garlic and sugar prices -- to curb inflation.
Indonesia imported 600,000 tons of rice last year and is
forecast to import around 1 million tons this year, according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
The world's biggest rice exporter, India, also faces trading
hurdles as the country imposed a sweeping lockdown that has completely disrupted exports. The country
exported 9.8 million tons last year.
"Rice-importing countries are struggling to get rice at
this moment and it would get worse if the outbreak lasts longer than a few
months from now on. That could mean longer rice export bans in some exporting
countries," said a Bangkok-based trader.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte voiced his concerns during
an ASEAN video summit held on Tuesday.
"We are particularly concerned with food security in this
period of lockdowns," Duterte said. "Our most urgent priority is
ensuring sufficient supply of rice for our people."
The Philippine leader stressed that the bloc must remain
"open for trade, crisis or no crisis, as no country can stand alone."
"Let us, therefore ensure the supply chain connectivity and
the smooth flow of goods within our region."
Additional reporting by Erwida Maulia in Jakarta.
Rice Retreats From Seven-Year
High as Vietnam Plans to Restart Exports
By Andrew Moran April 14, 2020, 5:47 pm • Posted in Commodities
Rice futures are retreating from their best levels in seven
years, sliding on news that key producers will boost production and exports of
the commodity. With coronavirus pandemic triggering panic-buying worldwide,
important market players are attempting to take advantage of the higher prices.
Suffice it to say, the global food market has been drastically altered in these
times.
May rice futures tumbled $0.17, or 1.19%, to $14.155 per ton at
16:26 GMT on Tuesday on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBoT). Rice prices have
slipped about 1% over the last week, but they have surged nearly 6%
year-to-date. Over the last 12 months, rice is up close to 30%.
The Vietnamese government is set to resume rice exports for April
and May shipments, but the Ministry of Industry and Trade will limit volumes to
800,000 tons. This represents a 40% drop from the same time a year ago. The
government is set to make an official announcement in the coming days. Late
last month, Hanoi prohibited new rice export contracts to ensure domestic
inventories were enough to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak.
India is projected to enjoy a record harvest that will lead to
output levels of 117.47 million metric tons in the 2019-2020 marketing year.
While other countries are imposing restrictions on overseas sales, India’s
immense crops are allowing the country to satisfy both domestic and global
demand. Some analysts forecast that India could even post a surplus by the end
of the coronavirus crisis.
According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), global
rice production is still expected to remain unchanged from the previous
marketing year: 499.31 million tons. Ending stockpiles, though, are forecast to
jump 4% to 182.3 million tons.
The global supply chain and travel bans have added to the cost
of rice deliveries, stoking price hikes. When you factor in soaring demand for
the food staple, it explains why prices are trading at their best levels since
2013.
Vijay Setia, the former president of the All India Rice
Exporters’ Association, says that nations will adapt to changing market
conditions.
If the fear of the unknown prevails and markets get dented with
hoarding etc., then of course respective governments have to resort to means at
their disposal to handle the situation. Imposing restrictions on external trade
could be one such measure.
In other agricultural commodities, May
corn futures shed $0.0275, or 0.83%, to $3.2875 a pound. May wheat futures
tumbled $0.06, or 1.08%, to $5.495 per bushel. May soybean futures declined
$0.0675, or 0.79%, to $8.475 a bushel.
NFA says rice stocks
sufficient despite quarantine extension
April 15, 2020 | 9:56 pm
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THE National Food Authority (NFA) said its rice inventory is the
equivalent of 11 days’ national consumption, which it judged as sufficient to
meet projected demand even with the extension of the enhanced community
quarantine imposed on Luzon.
NFA Administrator Judy Carol L. Dansal added that due to the
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, the NFA’s current market
participation level — a measure of how much domestic rice it is buying and
storing — is at 17.31%, against its usual share of 10%.
“Our rice supply is more than enough,” Ms. Dansal said.
Ms. Dansal also urged commercial rice traders to continue
importing rice and to charge reasonable prices when selling to consumers.
She said that 90% of the country’s rice requirements are
fulfilled by commercial rice traders.
Recently, the NFA released 88,065 bags of rice to the local
governments of Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela.
“NFA and commercial rice traders need to work together to
address the rice demands of the country,” Ms. Dansal said.
On March 30, NFA said that its rice inventory was at 481,800
metric tons.
The rice inventory included stocks bought from farmers during
the last quarter of 2019. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
https://www.bworldonline.com/nfa-says-rice-stocks-sufficient-despite-quarantine-extension/
Australia could RUN OUT of rice as countries
refuse to export their supplies in coronavirus crisis
BY
BRINKWIRE ON APRIL 15, 2020
Australia could run out of rice because of mismanagement of the
water supply during the coronavirus pandemic, an expert has warned.
Vietnam – one of Australia’s major sources of the food staple –
suspended all of its rice exports on March 25 as countries around the world
closed their borders in an attempt to shore up their own food security.
To make matters worse, water expert Maryanne Slattery said rice
producers in the Murray Darling Basin are unable to make their own produce
because the government is selling water to the highest bidder.
The Southern Murray, which stretches across the south-eastern
states, is normally responsible for 60 per cent of the country’s grain and
dairy production.
It is widely regarded as ‘Australia’s food bowl’ but with the
Murray in a state of zero-water allocation for the past two years, rice and
dairy farms aren’t growing produce.
‘Rice is definitely a big risk because we haven’t been using the
water we’ve got to grow rice,’ Ms Slattery, a former employee of the
Murray-Darling Basin Authority, said.
Rather than the water being provided to dairy and grain farmers
though, it is being sold to almond and nut plantations who can afford the
prices further down the river system.
‘We really should be seriously having a look at what we’re using
our water for and what we’re growing with the water we’ve got,’ Ms Slattery
said.
‘I would advocate that our food security is paramount and that we
should be doing everything we can to ensure our food security.’
She said it would take a great deal of of political manoeuvring to
move the water away from nut farms and to the ailing rice and dairy producers.
But the Slattery and Johnson water consultant said such a move was
necessary, especially considering the nut products were mostly being exported.
Nationals senator Perin Davey has also pinpointed Australia’s rice
industry as one for concern during the coronavirus pandemic.
She said while there is enough food to supply 75 million people in
Australia, the drop in rice production in recent years because of drought to
55,000 tonnes per year meant supply was no longer enough to feed the
population.
Ms Davey said Australians eat 300,000 tonnes of rice a year.
‘Because of COVID-19 a lot of countries are protecting their own
interests, which is their right and is sensible to do,’ she told Sky News.
‘We’ve got to look at out internal policies to make sure we get a
good rice harvest next year and start producing our own rice.’
DA, DTI urged to ensure adequate supply of rice, other basic goods
Published April 15, 2020, 8:54 PM
By Charissa Luci-Atienza
Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda on Wednesday, April 15,
called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI) to ensure adequate and reliable supply of rice and other prime
commodities in the coming weeks.
Albay 2nd District Representative Joey Salceda (MANILA BULLETIN
FILE PHOTO)
Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said
the DA and DTI should “anticipate challenges in rice supply” and should keep an
eye on possible cartels.
“Ensuring the adequate supply of rice and other prime
commodities is essential to the effective enforcement of the enhanced community
quarantine (ECQ) and other non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI). The surer
the supply, the less likely people will violate stay-at-home and quarantine
rules. If they’re not sure they can buy rice at fair prices, our people will
break the rules,” Salceda said in a statement.
Citing global market data, Salceda, who is also the House
Economic Stimulus Cluster co-chairman, noted that world market saw the
increasing rice prices by as much as 12 percent week on week on the first week
of April.
“As of March 1, 2020, the total rice stocks inventory stood at
2,178.64 thousand metric tons, 1.9 percent lower year-on-year, and 8.3 percent
lower month-on-month,” the House leader said.
“Harvest season doesn’t come until May. So, we have to be
prepared,” he said.
He said the delays in the ECQ checkpoints should be addressed,
and protocols in the transportation of goods should be further streamlined to
ensure faster and continuous delivery of essential goods and supplies.
“Historically, we’ve had challenges with rice price and supply
in economic and social crises, but those challenges were rarely about having
enough rice for everyone in the aggregate…The issues have always been about
getting the national supply of rice into the communities that need the supply.
Those challenges are made starker by delays in ECQ checkpoints,” Salceda said.
“The aggregate does not equate to local experience. So, our
monitoring will have to span the whole chain, from farm to point of retail
sale,” he added.
Salceda noted that as of today, April 15, the National Food
Authority (NFA) reported that some drivers of 14 trucks carrying 14,000 sacks
of rice from Regions I, II, and III failed to arrive at their Malolos warehouse
for their scheduled delivery to warehouses in Valenzuela and Cavite.
“Only eight trucks were able to reach the Malolos warehouse,
while six trucks were allegedly stopped at quarantine checkpoints. Government
to government na yan, ah (That’s government to government),” he said.
Salceda recommended seven measures to ensure adequate supply of
rice and other basic commodities in all areas.
First on the list is the strict implementation of the issuances
by the DA and DTI that the flow of rice and other essential commodities – as
well as the necessary inputs to produce and process these commodities, such as
fertilizers and pesticides – should remain unhampered.
“Some checkpoints still delay inputs such as fertilizers and
pesticides. We can’t produce rice without those inputs. I’m asking the DA and
the DTI to make sure that we unchain the whole supply chain. That’s why a week
before the DA and the DTI issued agency orders, I requested that we ensure that
the checkpoints are rational and nationally supervised,” he said.
He also proposed the setting up of mobile stores and other
similar schemes that sell rice and other commodities at fair prices “to burst
artificially inflated prices in local areas.”
Salceda also cited the need to facilitate matching of rice
producers and markets to keep middleman costs at a minimum.
He said an online, citizen-based monitoring of the prevailing of
rice and other prime commodities should also be developed.
“Wherever there are localities with anomalously higher prices
compared to baseline or expected prices, the DTI and the DA must use
appropriate interventions such as stricter monitoring and enforcement of retail
price measures. The system will also allow consumers to compare prices in
nearby areas, making local cartel practices easier to spot and prevent,” he
said.
The House leader said the government should secure commitments
for adequate supply from supplier countries such as Vietnam and Thailand, while
sustaining support for local production through programs such as the Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) and the National Rice Program.
He said COVID-19 pandemic should also prod the government to
relax rules and regulations on rice importation and consolidate small import
orders through the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC).
The government should also “ensure that the labor force across
the rice supply chain (from farmers, to millworkers, to drivers of transport)
are able to work and are conferred the privileges granted to those who work in
essential services,” Salceda said.
During the first week-implementation of the ECQ, Salceda sought
the rationalization of checkpoints to ensure the unhampered flow of goods.
https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/04/15/da-dti-urged-to-ensure-adequate-supply-of-rice-other-basic-goods/undamentally Speaking
World Wheat & Rice Situation
Not Anywhere Near 2006-08
4/14/2020 | 10:28 AM CDT
By Joel Karlin , DTN Contributing Analyst
The wheat market has posted the
best gains on trepidation that a need to conserve supplies for domestic needs
will limit exports in many key producing countries, Ukraine and Russia in
particular.
We have seen increasing talk that
in the wake of the coronavirus many countries may start to hoard supplies of
key agricultural commodities and in turn fuel a food scare similar to what was
seen in the 2007-2008 period when food riots occurred in a number of countries.
Remember that wheat and rice are
the two main consumed foods but the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service latest
Grain: World Markets and Trade publication prices have rallied for both even
though global supplies are at record levels and the share of stocks to
consumption is historically high.
More Recommended for You
Global wheat production is
estimated at a record high 764.5 million metric tons in 2019/20.
Major producers such as China,
the European Union, India, Russia, and the United States have produced at
levels that are more than sufficient to meet rising global demand.
Furthermore, wheat harvests in
major producing countries in the Northern Hemisphere are only a few months
away.
Wheat ending stocks are also
projected at a record 292.8 million with China holding about half of global
stocks.
As for rice, while production
levels are down year-over-year at 496 million metric tons, a bumper 2019/20
global rice harvest is still expected and even with lower production, overall
supplies are up from the prior year because of record carryin stocks with
2019/20 stocks at a record 181.6 million metric tons.
The attached graphic shows the
world wheat and rice stocks-to-use ratios with and without China and while
world wheat less China wheat stocks-to-use ratio is the tightest since the
2012/13 season, we are not anywhere near the very low levels for both global
wheat and rice that was seen in the mid 2000's.
(KM)
Traders challenge likely rice export ban with stock stats
KARACHI: Exporters on Tuesday said a ban on rice exports in a bid
to avoid a possible shortage would be unnecessary as well as unjustified as
huge stocks of this grain were available in the market, while sowing for the
next crop was around the corner.
This year (2019-20) Pakistan produced around 7 million tons of
basmati and non-basmati rice, of which 2 million tons are consumed locally, 4
to 4.5 million tons are exported legally, while 0.5 million tons are traded
unaccounted.
“A lot of rice is available in the market and by next month,
growers will sow paddy for the next season,” Rafique Suleman, a rice exporter
and leader of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) told The News.
“Around 1.5 million tons are lying with exporters, while a bulk
quantity is also available for local sale. Due to Iran-Pakistan border closure,
a lot of stocks of basmati and super basmati are also available,” Suleman said.
He said an increase of 15 percent in the prices was seen in the
local market during last couple of weeks, which was largely an impact of 8.5
percent depreciation in rupee against the US dollar.
“Since most of non-basmati rice is exported, any currency
depreciation affects its price,” the REAP official said. “Besides, due to
lockdown, a sudden increase in the demand by households, private welfare
organisations, and government affected the prices. Once lockdown is over,
prices will come down.”
He said that there was no shortage of rice and the commodity was
available at every shop. “If it disappears from shops, then it will be called
shortage,” he said. Exporters have also rejected a Sindh government proposed
ban on rice exports.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, in his coronavirus
situation review video-meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday,
suggested a ban on export of wheat, pulses, and rice.
Shah said food items should not be exported, as no one knew about
the upcoming crop in the country and demand in the local market.
Suleman said a ban on rice export would be dangerous for not only
rice industry employing 1.5 to 2 million workers abut also millions of growers.
“Rice is not our staple food. Our staple food is wheat. Some
people eat rice occasionally, and some people even don’t eat rice,” he said.
He said every year Pakistan’s rice harvest was almost 4.5 to 5
million tons surplus and an export ban would prove disastrous for millions of
people and the country ran the risk of losing a big chunk of foreign exchange.
“If any coercive decision is taken this time, it will affect
negatively and growers will not sow paddy, as it is mostly an export
commodity,” he said.
Rice
for national reserves yet to meet target: official
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Price of exported rice doubles
Chea Vannak / Khmer Times
The price of fragrant rice exports to international markets has
doubled in the last month, from $50 to $100 per matrix ton, according to the
Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF).
However, the domestic market trading price for white rice, the
most in-demand variety within the country, has remained stable.
Explaining the disparity, CRF secretary-general Lun Yeng said
that the export price rocketed between March and April as a direct consequence
of COVID-19 border closures and lockdowns.
“Due to the pandemic, many countries are in lockdown which makes
the transportation of goods, including rice, difficult and this has led to the
increasing price of the commodity. Demand has also increased because the
destinations we export to are running low on stock,” he said.
That demand has also seen the price of Cambodia Jasmine rice
(Malys Angkor) increase by $70 to $950 per matrix ton.
Currently, Cambodia is only allowed to export fragrant rice
because it fetches a higher price in the international market. In recent weeks,
the Cambodian government temporarily banned the export of white rice and paddy
until further notice to ensure there is enough in stock to meet domestic demand
through the uncertain times ahead created by the spread of COVID-19.
Paddy rice is currently priced at 820 Riel ($0.2) per kg,
spelling good news for the nation’s farmers of the staple, according to Veng
Sakhon, minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
“Farmers are happy because rice traders are offering a good
price of 820 riel per kg, a 120 riel increase compared to the previous record,”
Sakhon wrote on his Facebook page earlier this week.
According to the Philippines-based International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI), increasing rice prices could become a global trend in both
the medium and long term if the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of abating.
Production shocks coupled with a massive surge in demand would
be the main cause of price hikes, said Jean Balié, head of IRRI’s Agri-Food
Policy Platform.
“In the medium term, any shock on production that could result
in a lower-than-expected harvest could trigger a price crisis. Likewise, a
massive surge in demand fuelled by panic buying and hoarding could also trigger
a price rise,” read a quote from Balié in the Philippine-based
publication BusinessMirror on April 14.
“Decisions like limiting the flow of rice within and between
countries, including export bans and other trade restrictions as well as
excessive buying, can all precipitate a surge in rice price in spite of good
market fundamentals,” he added.
Based on IRRI analysis, Balié said world rice prices could spike
by at least 19 percent, to as high as 52 percent, if exporting countries, such
as Vietnam, Cambodia and India suspend shipments. Under these scenarios, the
global price of Thailand 5-percent broken rice would increase from $525 per
metric ton to about $671 metric ton.
Cambodia shipped out 230,948 matrix tons of rice in the first
quarter this year, a 35 percent increase compared to the same period in the
year before.
Sihlobo says global rice production this year was
predicted to be much the same as last year, at about 500 million tons. Photo:
File
No risk yet’ to SA’s rice and wheat imports
CAPE TOWN - There was no risk yet to South Africa’s
rice and wheat imports despite some countries reducing exports amid the
uncertain global economy and in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to
Agricultural Business Chamber economist Wandile Sihlobo.
Sihlobo said global rice production this year was
predicted to be much the same as last year, at about 500 million tons.
South Africa imports about 1 million tons of rice a
year, 70 percent of which comes from Thailand, 20 percent from India, and the
rest from other Asian countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam.
Vietnam had restricted its rice exports, but this was
unlikely meaningfully to affect the supply to South Africa, said Sihlobo.
The International Grain Council (IGC) website said in
the past month there had been a sharp upturn in demand for rice and wheat-based
product foods, but weakening economies would likely dampen this demand in the
longer term.
The IGC’s March global rice price index was up
4.1 percent month-on-month due to a surge in demand brought on by pandemic
fears, and year-on-year the difference was 11.2 percent. Similarly, the wheat
index was up 2.1 percent month-on-month, while the other grain commodity
indexes were much lower than that, for the month.
However, Sihlobo said global rice and wheat prices were
expected to revert to normal trends fairly soon.
Tiger Brands, South Africa’s biggest food product group
– which owns the Tastic Rice and Fattis & Monis pasta brands – said in a
call to investors last week it did not foresee shortages of rice and pasta
products in South Africa in April or May.
This was notwithstanding that the group was struggling
to get product out fast enough to stores, following a massive spike in demand
before the lockdown.
Tiger chief executive Noel Doyle said beyond May the
global food export picture was less certain, as Russia had reduced its wheat
exports and Vietnam had cut its rice exports.
Tiger’s own procurement operations were in good shape,
he said.
He added that between March 15 and April 6, the group
experienced a 60 percent surge in pasta compared with the same period a year
ago, as consumers prepared for the lockdown, Jungle Oats sales had surged 70 percent,
while wheat product sales were up 18 percent.
Tiger Brands imports rice from Thailand, and the
Department of Health had put in place additional safety measures to handle
cargo, which added to time delays for increased imports. Imports could be
increased quickly, he said.
The weakening rand was raising the prices of imported
rice and wheat. The rand had weakened nearly 40 percent in the past year and
recently devalued to more than R19 per dollar for the first time, after ratings
agencies downgraded the country further into junk status.
Sihlobo said South Africa’s food price inflation
remained low at about 4 percent, only slightly up from last year, and which was
well down on the double-digit percentages in the national drought in 2016.
FCI’s ‘excess
stock’ ..
Vietnamese
rice exporters surprised with the quick end of export quota
Interested015/04/2020 16:40
GMT+7
Many rice exporters were left
surprised because the export quota of 400,000 tonnes of rice in April ended
quickly in just three hours.
 |
Rice loaded for export.
|
Earlier, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) issued a
decision announcing the rice export quota for April after the Prime Minister
gave the green light to resume exporting the product.
Rice exporters therefore required their staff to wait for the
opening of the online customs portal to submit declaration forms. However, they
were unable to access the system. Notably, the portal was opened at midnight on
April 11 and by April 12 the quota was fully registered.
On April 13, Trung An Hi-tech Farming JSC in Mekong Delta
Province of Can Tho sent a petition to the PM, the Government Office and the
MoIT, saying that the opening of e-customs declaration software system has not
been transparent.
The company said their staff waited to access the portal on
Saturday, but it did not open. They did not receive prior notice at the website
of the General Department of Customs on the opening for the rice export quota.
The office suddenly opened the system and closed it only three hours later
saying the 400,000-tonne export quota had been filled.
Pham Thai Binh, the company’s general director said the General
Department of Customs should give priorities to rice lots which are currently
stuck at ports, then give new declarations for other exporters.
Binh wondered whether the declaration follows the PM’s
instruction to ensure transparency and openness in implementing rice export
quota.
Sharing the idea, Nguyen Van Don, Director of Viet Hung Company
Limited in the southern province of Tien Giang said the opening of customs
declarations in the middle of the night was extremely unfair. His company has
one lot of 625 tonnes of rice packed in containers and two barges carrying over
1,500 tonnes of rice stuck in Nhon Trach Port.
Nguyen Trung Kien, vice chairman of Viet Nam Food Association
(VFA) said many businesses had not been able to access the portal. They are
collecting opinions to submit to the MoIT and General Department of Customs.
Responding to the issue, the General Director of Viet Nam
Customs Nguyen Van Can said the customs declaration system was completely
automated, without the impact of customs officers and having no sign of profiteering.
He said the declaration is fully automatic, 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, regardless of working hours.
According to Can, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) had also
proposed MoIT and the Government to consider balancing the quantity as the
amount of national reserve rice at the request of the Government has been
facing a significant shortage.
The General Department of Customs also proposed that the
Government should stipulate export quota for an enterprise to ensure fairness
for all businesses.
He added that that the customs declaration system worked on a
first come first serve basis. Those registering late would not be able to
access the system.
There were around 40 exporters who successfully registered for
the quota in April.
Enterprises will have to wait for a new evaluation from MoIT,
which will be submitted to the PM to determine the new quota for May.
National rice reserves face
shortage
The MoF’s General Department of State Reserve on Tuesday said it
only bought 7,700 tonnes of rice in reserve, out of a total of 190,000 tonnes
of national rice reserves in 2020 at the request of the PM.
Do Viet Duc, general director of State Reserve said they also
decided to cancel bidding of 17,000 tonnes as the bidders refused to sign and
secure the performance of contracts.
For businesses cancelling bids, they must be handled under the
Bidding Law and will have to re-bid to buy the required amount of rice.
He also said that the upcoming rice auction will be implemented
in the shortest time within 10 days to buy enough rice according to
regulations.
Earlier, the General Department of State Reserve said they had
bid to buy 178,000 out of 190,000 tonnes of rice for reserves in 2020. However,
there was a phenomenon that winning enterprises extended the contract period.
The rice buying was scheduled to complete before June 15. — VNS
FCI’s ‘excess stock’ comes in handy for govt in Covid battle
FCI godown
laborers carry sacks of rice to transfer them from the stockyard to respective
places during a nati...
NEW
DELHI: States, which kick off purchasing wheat and paddy this week, have
estimated procurement of another 40 million tonnes this season, as against 35
million tonnes a year ago, which will more than adequately fill up silos where
stocks may have depleted due to the government’s decision to provide an
additional quota of five kg of grains, free of cost, to 80 crore poor.
With some part of the rice procured during the last season yet to enter Food Corporation of India’s warehouses and the fresh procurement, stocks in July may hit 85-90 million tonnes, as against the buffer norms of over 41 million tonnes for that time of the year.
With some part of the rice procured during the last season yet to enter Food Corporation of India’s warehouses and the fresh procurement, stocks in July may hit 85-90 million tonnes, as against the buffer norms of over 41 million tonnes for that time of the year.
In
any case, it is the much-criticised “excess stock” of grains, dubbed
unmanageable by experts just a few months back, that has come handy as the
Centre rolls out one of the biggest ever welfare programmes aimed at ensuring
that the poor do not go hungry during the lockdown.
“There is no need to worry as the stocks that we have are more than sufficient to meet the requirement in the coming months,” government sources told TOI.
“There is no need to worry as the stocks that we have are more than sufficient to meet the requirement in the coming months,” government sources told TOI.
District Price Control Committee
Finalizes Rates
Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Nair
Sheikh Tuesday said provision of edibles on government rates was responsibility
of the state and local administration adding that no one would be allowed to
sale edibles at their own rates
SARGODHA, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Apr, 2020
) :Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Nair Sheikh Tuesday said provision of edibles
on government rates was responsibility of the state and local
administration adding that no one would be allowed to sale edibles at their own rates.
Chairing a meeting of the District Price control committee the he said that district government was abide by providing maximum market relief to the people adding that for the purpose the
quantity, quality and rates of necessities of life were checked on daily basis,
said a handout issued here.
The meeting decided the rates of edibles in consultation with the
concerned officials and representatives of traders.
According to decided rates the prices of per kilogram Basmati Rice (old) has been decided
Rs 135, Basmati Rice (New) Rs 130, Daal Channa Rs 130 and 120, Daal Mong 205,
Daal Mash (Washed) Rs 210, Daal Masoor Rs 93-110.
Mutton price Rs 800per kg, Beef Rs 400 per kg, Baisan Rs 130 per
kg, Tandoori Roti 100 gram Rs 6 and Simple Naan (100 gram) Rs 10.
Similarly, the prices of White Channa Rs 80-90 per kg, Milk Rs 70
per liter, yogurt Rs 80 per kg while rate of red chili Rs 300, kg.
Abdullah Nasir has
directed the Price Control Magistrates to ensure implementation the
prices of edibles.
Price of exported rice doubles
The price of fragrant rice
exports to international markets has doubled in the last month, from $50 to
$100 per matrix ton, according to the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF).
However, the domestic market
trading price for white rice, the most in-demand variety within the country,
has remained stable.
Explaining the disparity, CRF
secretary-general Lun Yeng said that the export price rocketed between March
and April as a direct consequence of COVID-19 border closures and lockdowns.
“Due to the pandemic, many
countries are in lockdown which makes the transportation of goods, including
rice, difficult and this has led to the increasing price of the commodity.
Demand has also increased because the destinations we export to are running low
on stock,” he said.
That demand has also seen the
price of Cambodia Jasmine rice (Malys Angkor) increase by $70 to $950 per
matrix ton.
Currently, Cambodia is only
allowed to export fragrant rice because it fetches a higher price in the
international market. In recent weeks, the Cambodian government temporarily
banned the export of white rice and paddy until further notice to ensure there
is enough in stock to meet domestic demand through the uncertain times ahead
created by the spread of COVID-19.
Paddy rice is currently priced at
820 Riel ($0.2) per kg, spelling good news for the nation’s farmers of the
staple, according to Veng Sakhon, minister of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries.
“Farmers are happy because rice
traders are offering a good price of 820 riel per kg, a 120 riel increase
compared to the previous record,” Sakhon wrote on his Facebook page earlier
this week.
According to the
Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), increasing rice
prices could become a global trend in both the medium and long term if the
COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of abating.
Production shocks coupled with a
massive surge in demand would be the main cause of price hikes, said Jean
Balié, head of IRRI’s Agri-Food Policy Platform.
“In the medium term, any shock on
production that could result in a lower-than-expected harvest could trigger a
price crisis. Likewise, a massive surge in demand fuelled by panic buying and
hoarding could also trigger a price rise,” read a quote from Balié in the
Philippine-based publication BusinessMirror on April 14.
“Decisions like limiting the flow
of rice within and between countries, including export bans and other trade
restrictions as well as excessive buying, can all precipitate a surge in rice
price in spite of good market fundamentals,” he added.
Based on IRRI analysis, Balié
said world rice prices could spike by at least 19 percent, to as high as 52
percent, if exporting countries, such as Vietnam, Cambodia and India suspend
shipments. Under these scenarios, the global price of Thailand 5-percent broken
rice would increase from $525 per metric ton to about $671 metric ton.
Cambodia shipped out 230,948
matrix tons of rice in the first quarter this year, a 35 percent increase
compared to the same period in the year before.
Liberia: Agriculture Minister cancels bid for
heavy duty agro equipment to rationalize spending
The Minister of Agriculture,
Jeanine M. Cooper, has, with immediate effect, cancelled a bidding process for
heavy-duty tractors and other agricultural equipment in order to rationalize
spending of donor funds.
The Minister had requested a new
bid that includes an expanded list of equipment better suited to Liberia's
climate and topography; more aligned to farmers' needs and for smaller farm sizes
and are rationalized with agricultural assets already on ground.
"We need to have a more
rational use of available resources, especially as we enter a State of
Emergency for the COVID-19. We can't afford to spend money buying equipment
that will not be used", Minister Cooper asserted in a press release.
The heavy-duty tractors and other
agricultural equipment were to be purchased through a multi donor-funded
project under the Ministry of Agriculture dubbed, Smallholder Agricultural
Productivity Enhancement & Commercialization or SAPEC.
The SAPEC Project comes to an end
this June after it started in 2013.
Its objectives are to enhance
incomes of small holder farmers, particularly women and rural youth and
intensify land under cassava, rice and vegetable production and improve land
husbandry.
"Our farmers need equipment
and tools suited for Liberia; for our farms and crops. Light tractors and skid
steers that can facilitate de-stumping and land preparation on farm sizes that
are as small as one (1) hectare."
The Minister noted that instead
of three 16-ton trucks, that will have limited functionality, government should
be looking at 3- to 6-ton trucks that are more agile and appropriate for
off-road conditions, as farmers need help with post-harvest machinery, and to
be able to use modern drying techniques that will reduce losses after harvest.
The cancelled bid contained 17
pieces of equipment, parts and accessories. But for the re-tendering, Minister
Cooper said, the bid has been expanded to 40 types of equipment that will more
directly benefit rice producers, cassava processors and vegetable farmers.
Record basmati exports from India as Ramadan and pandemic surges
demand
Basmati
rice export from India is set to repeat record shipments in FY20 as exporters cater
to spike in global demand for the food grain owing to Covid-19 pandemic and the
festival of Ramadan.
,
ET Bureau|
Last
Updated: Apr 15, 2020, 08.46 AM IST
CHANDIGARH:
Basmati rice export from India is set to repeat record shipments
in FY 20 as exporters cater to spike in global demand for the food grain owing
to Covid-19 pandemic and the festival of Ramadan.
Gross exports from the largest rice exporting country is expected to amount to 4.4 million tonnes in FY 20, at par with FY 19, even as consignments were stranded at ports and foreign destination since last week of March due to the nationwide lockdown to combat Covid-19.
“Basmati exports have surged to most traditional overseas markets in the last quarter as consumers have gone for additional stocks due to Covid-19. The rise in demand from Middle East is also buttressed by higher buying for Ramadan,” Vinod Kaul, executive director, All India Rice Exporters Association, said. Kaul said gross exports from India are expected at 4.4 million in 2019-20 ,even though exports had almost come to a standstill in the last week of March. He said the country had its highest volumes of 4.4 million tonnes of basmati 2018-19.
This year shipments have grown by 20-30 percent to key buyers like Saudi Arabia and Iraq. “The additional buying due to Ramadan has also boosted exports in the last quarter,” he said.
But Indian exporters are not entirely amused by the late revival in basmati trade that was dampened earlier in 2019 by rise in hostilities in US-Iran relations. Global shipments of the commodity from India were down by 10 per cent in April-October. The trade had shown an uptick after November as shipments increased to Saudi Arabia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait and the United States.
Shipments worth Rs 7000-9000 crore are struck at ports in India or export destination as the global supply chain is severely affected in the pandemic hit global market.
“Rice exporters have incurred substantial interest overheads as shipments are delayed due to lockdown. An exporter pays interest of 13-14 per cent on 70-80 per cent of the value of consignments to banks,” said Arvinder Pal Singh, president, Punjab Rice Millers Association. The exporters have sought waiver on interest payments for two months to compensate the loss in margins, he said.
Presently the consignments are struck at ports as sample testing and documentation are affected as courier services are not operational,” Ashok Sehthi, a Punjab-based basmati exporter, said.
Exporters are also worried of rise in paddy prices due to swell in domestic as well as global demand. “The increase in export from India has fueled paddy prices that were highly competitive this year compared to Pakistan. But the prices increased by 6-8 per cent after lockdown and now exporters who have advanced bookings in hand will have to bear substantial squeeze in margins,” said Sanajy Gupta, director, Bharat Cereals.
Exporters rue a sharp increase of up to 30% in freight rates of shipping containers in the past few weeks that has added to cost of logistics. The rise in freights to the US and Europe are most affected.
Gross exports from the largest rice exporting country is expected to amount to 4.4 million tonnes in FY 20, at par with FY 19, even as consignments were stranded at ports and foreign destination since last week of March due to the nationwide lockdown to combat Covid-19.
“Basmati exports have surged to most traditional overseas markets in the last quarter as consumers have gone for additional stocks due to Covid-19. The rise in demand from Middle East is also buttressed by higher buying for Ramadan,” Vinod Kaul, executive director, All India Rice Exporters Association, said. Kaul said gross exports from India are expected at 4.4 million in 2019-20 ,even though exports had almost come to a standstill in the last week of March. He said the country had its highest volumes of 4.4 million tonnes of basmati 2018-19.
This year shipments have grown by 20-30 percent to key buyers like Saudi Arabia and Iraq. “The additional buying due to Ramadan has also boosted exports in the last quarter,” he said.
But Indian exporters are not entirely amused by the late revival in basmati trade that was dampened earlier in 2019 by rise in hostilities in US-Iran relations. Global shipments of the commodity from India were down by 10 per cent in April-October. The trade had shown an uptick after November as shipments increased to Saudi Arabia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait and the United States.
Shipments worth Rs 7000-9000 crore are struck at ports in India or export destination as the global supply chain is severely affected in the pandemic hit global market.
“Rice exporters have incurred substantial interest overheads as shipments are delayed due to lockdown. An exporter pays interest of 13-14 per cent on 70-80 per cent of the value of consignments to banks,” said Arvinder Pal Singh, president, Punjab Rice Millers Association. The exporters have sought waiver on interest payments for two months to compensate the loss in margins, he said.
Presently the consignments are struck at ports as sample testing and documentation are affected as courier services are not operational,” Ashok Sehthi, a Punjab-based basmati exporter, said.
Exporters are also worried of rise in paddy prices due to swell in domestic as well as global demand. “The increase in export from India has fueled paddy prices that were highly competitive this year compared to Pakistan. But the prices increased by 6-8 per cent after lockdown and now exporters who have advanced bookings in hand will have to bear substantial squeeze in margins,” said Sanajy Gupta, director, Bharat Cereals.
Exporters rue a sharp increase of up to 30% in freight rates of shipping containers in the past few weeks that has added to cost of logistics. The rise in freights to the US and Europe are most affected.
FCI’s ‘excess stock’ comes in handy for govt in Covid battle
FCI godown
laborers carry sacks of rice to transfer them from the stockyard to respective
places during a nati...Read More
NEW
DELHI: States, which kick off purchasing wheat and paddy this week, have
estimated procurement of another 40 million tonnes this season, as against 35
million tonnes a year ago, which will more than adequately fill up silos where
stocks may have depleted due to the government’s decision to provide an
additional quota of five kg of grains, free of cost, to 80 crore poor.
With some part of the rice procured during the last season yet to enter Food Corporation of India’s warehouses and the fresh procurement, stocks in July may hit 85-90 million tonnes, as against the buffer norms of over 41 million tonnes for that time of the year.
With some part of the rice procured during the last season yet to enter Food Corporation of India’s warehouses and the fresh procurement, stocks in July may hit 85-90 million tonnes, as against the buffer norms of over 41 million tonnes for that time of the year.
In
any case, it is the much-criticised “excess stock” of grains, dubbed unmanageable
by experts just a few months back, that has come handy as the Centre rolls out
one of the biggest ever welfare programmes aimed at ensuring that the poor do
not go hungry during the lockdown.
“There is no need to worry as the stocks that we have are more than sufficient to meet the requirement in the coming months,” government sources told TOI.
“There is no need to worry as the stocks that we have are more than sufficient to meet the requirement in the coming months,” government sources told TOI.
Save Boro first, then Aush
Experts urge govt to support farmers in need of irrigation;
Covid-19 fallout packages fail to ease their woes
Youth
harvesting Boro paddy in Brahmanbaria’s Sarail upazila as an acute shortage of
labourers gripped the area over Covid-19 outbreak. The photo was taken near
Dharanti haor on Tuesday. Photo: Masuk Hridoy
The government incentives announced
so far to deal with agricultural fallout of Covid-19 provide little relief for
farmers awaiting harvest of Boro, the principal crop of the country.
The Tk 5,000-crore package declared
recently leaves out crop and cereal producers. Even, the agriculture ministry's
offer of free seeds, fertilisers and reduced irrigation charges will mainly aid
the cultivation of Aush paddy, starting next month.
Boro accounts for more than 50
percent of the country's total rice production while Aush less than 10 percent,
according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data.
Yet, the ministry is backing their
decision to aid the cultivation of Aush instead of Boro, saying it is too late
to cover Boro cultivation cost.
"Boro cultivation is almost
over. The growers are now awaiting the harvest," Md Nasiruzzaman,
secretary of the Agriculture ministry, told The Daily Star earlier this month.
"We are unable to provide any
support to them [Boro farmers] right now. Implementing agricultural supports
requires time, which has run out for Boro," he said.
However, farmers and agriculture
experts do not agree with this.
Except for the haor region in
Sylhet division, where Boro harvest has already begun, the Boro paddy fields in
other parts of the country are still in need of irrigation before the crop is
harvested next month, according to officials of Department of Agricultural
Extension (DAE) and Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).
A government cushion from beginning
of this month would have saved small and marginal farmers from going broke with
debt due to exorbitant irrigation costs, said the officials.
Boro cultivation starts in
November-December. Up to one week before harvest, the fields require
irrigation, farmers and agriculturists said.
In 2018-19, of 3.64 crore tonnes of
rice produced in the country, Boro was 54 percent, Aman 38 percent and Aush
only eight percent, from BBS data.
This year, the DAE is expecting two
crore tonnes of Boro from 47.54 lakh hectares of land and 34 lakh tonnes of
Aush from around 14 lakh hectares.
THE INCENTIVES
On April 12, Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina unveiled a stimulus package of Tk 5,000 crore to support agricultural
sectors such as horticulture, fisheries, poultry, dairy and livestock.
Entrepreneurs who directly buy
crops and cereals from farmers to sell in the market are also among the
beneficiaries of the package, to be disbursed by banks through loans within
September 30 at a maximum interest rate of four percent.
However, the package leaves out all
crop and cereal farmers including those cultivating Boro.
A Bangladesh Bank circular
detailing the package states that banks can lend a maximum of Tk 14,500 crore
in the current fiscal year to crop and cereal farmers under an existing scheme,
whose interest rate is nine percent.
The agriculture ministry also left
out farmers from their recent stimulus package declared on April 8 allocating
Tk 9.29 crore for distributing free seeds and fertilisers for Aush cultivation,
scheduled to begin early next month.
In a few days, the government is
likely to send directives about reduction of irrigation charges that are
controlled by two major water providing institutions under the ministry --
Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) and Bangladesh Agricultural
Development Corporation (BADC), said Md Nasiruzzaman, secretary of the
agriculture ministry.
"We mainly want to provide the
facility to Aush crop and encourage the farmers for an increased cultivation
and thus confirm a surplus production of rice," the secretary said.
Agriculture experts say increasing
Aush production has become important for Bangladesh to avoid a food crisis as
coronavirus might impact import of crops from other countries, but Boro should
have been included in the support too.
A top agriculture official, wishing
anonymity, said immediate support could have helped many Boro farmers. He said
Boro cultivation used to account for around 60 percent of total rice output in
previous years, but was reduced last year for lack of support.
Since Boro farmers had low paddy
prices last year, several agricultural institutions including BRRI, DAE, BADC
and BMDA, sent proposals to the ministry for waiving irrigation charges in
full, he said.
But the farmers did not get the
waiver this season.
Meanwhile, the government's
allocation of Tk 200 crore to help farmers buy agricultural machinery,
including combine-harvester and reaper with subsidy, is not helping farmers
either, said Naogaon's farmer Rezaul Hasan.
"The combine harvesters do not
work well in small plots of land. It also damages the hay, which many farmers
sell to recover loss from sale of paddy. Only the threshing machine truly
benefits the farmers," he said.
FARMER'S PLIGHT
Rezaul, who is cultivating Boro on
30 acres of land Niamatpur upazila, spends around Tk 1,400 to Tk 3,500 per 0.4
acres to irrigate his cropland.
Although he qualifies for an
agriculture loan from banks, he goes without one. He claimed borrowers often
have to bribe middlemen to obtain the loan.
Khoka Pramanik cultivating 1.2
acres of land in Manda upazila said small farmers don't get bank loans. "I
had to borrow from a microfinance institution to cultivate my land."
Alamgir Hossain of Noihati village
in Khulna's Rupsha upazila had to sign a crop sharing contract with his
irrigation provider to irrigate 2.8 acres of land, where he cultivated Boro.
Boro harvest is expected to start
the second week of May in Khulna and farmers must water their fields at least
10 days before the harvest, he said, adding that he also cannot find labour to
tend his field.
"I can see another loss
waiting for me. I will never cultivate paddy again other than for my own
consumption," said Alamgir. He had borrowed Tk 2.30 lakh from a local
cooperative society during last Aman cultivation and incurred a loss.
Anil Ekka of Shahanapara in
Rajshahi's Godagari upazila had to sell two of his lambs for Tk 4,000 to
finance Boro cultivation on 0.8 acres of leased land.
He still needs 10,000 for
fertiliser, insecticides and water.
He would have earned the money
toiling as a day labourer otherwise, but the shutdown imposed to stem
coronavirus transmission cancelled his earning strategy.
"I've borrowed most of the
money. I have no cash at hand now. I don't know how I shall manage water for
the rest of the days [of cultivation]," Anil said on April.
According to BBS data, of the
country's 16,562,974 farmers, 78.62 percent are small farmers while 6.83 percent
are marginal.
A study by Bangladesh Institute of
Development Studies categorises marginal farmers as owning 0.51 acre to 1.0
acres of land, small as 1.01 acres to 2.5 acres of land, medium owning 2.51
acres to 5.0 acres, and large with ownership of more than 5.0 acres of land.
Many small and marginal farmers,
operating in less than 1.5 acres of land, raise their expenditures by working
at temporary jobs in cities and towns. Due to the shutdown, this opportunity is
unavailable.
To make matters worse, this year
the irrigation cost has risen because of the dry weather, said Aminul Haque,
another farmer.
On behalf of Barind Multipurpose
Development Authority, Aminul sells prepaid cards each costing Tk 2,500 for
irrigation among 135 farmers cultivating Boro on 129.37 acres of land in
Rajshahi's Tanore upazila's Komla union. He gets commission on the sale card
sales.
He sold at least 128 prepaid cards
at Tk 3.20 lakh this season against last year's sale of 95 cards at Tk 2.37
lakh.
"Most farmers had to borrow to
pay off the irrigation cost," he said.
BMDA officials say the organisation
collected Tk 200 crore in irrigation charges from farmers in Rajshahi and
Rangpur divisions in 2018-2019.
BADC collects around Tk 12 crore
annually providing irrigation to 5.29 lakh hectares of land across the country,
said Ziaul Haque, chief engineer of its small irrigation wing.
Other than BMDA and BADC, private
companies also provide irrigation to 42.39 lakh hectares of land in the
country, but decisions about their irrigation charges have not been made yet,
agricultural ministry officials said.
"Farmers now deserve full
protection, free irrigation and a loan at no interest," said Prof Mohammad
Saidur Rahman of Bangladesh Agricultural University.
"They're providing us with food
that will determine our future survival," he added.
Coronavirus lockdown: Rahul Gandhi
says give 10 kg wheat or rice, 1 kg pulses and 1 kg sugar every week to poor
people
Rahul gandhiKamal Singh (PTI Photo)
·
·
·
·
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on
Thursday said that the food in government godowns should be distributed among
poor people.
While addressing a press conference
via video conference, Gandhi said, "The food we have in government godowns
should be distributed among poor people. It should have been done 10 days ago.
10 kg wheat or rice, 1 kg pulses and 1 kg sugar should be given to people every
week."
Rahul Gandhi also said,
"Provide food, put money in the bank accounts of the poorer sections of
the society pre-emptively. Create a package for the aid of SMEs. Ensure
protection for small businesses. There is food in godowns -- but it's not
reached people yet."
Addressing a press conference via
video conference, Gandhi also said the entire country has to fight the crisis
"unitedly" and there is need to grant adequate resources to the
states to help them deal with it in a "nuanced" manner.
Instead of conducting tests on the
basis of suspected cases, India must adopt a strategy and bring out an
architecture under which testing should be expanded exponentially and find out
where the country stands, the Congress leader said.
On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi had
appealed the government to issue emergency ration cards to feed the poor who
are suffering from lack of provisions including migrants and poor who are not
getting rations through PDS. Gandhi said that it is "inhuman" that
grains are rotting and people remain with empty stomachs.
Gandhi tweeted "We appeal to
the government that in this difficult times issue emergency ration cards, this
should be for those people who are suffering due to lockdown and don't have
food grains, lakhs of citizens are not able to take ration from PDS , the
foodgrains is rotting in go down and people, are hungry, inhuman."
हम सरकार से अपील करते हैं कि इस संकट में आपातकाल राशन कार्ड जारी किए जाएँ।ये उन सभी के लिए हों जो इस लॉकडाउन में अन्न की कमी से जूझ रहे हैं।लाखों देशवासी बिना राशन कार्ड के PDS का लाभ नहीं उठा पा रहे हैं।अनाज गोदाम में सड़ रहा है जबकि सैकड़ों भूखे पेट इंतज़ार कर रहे हैं।अमानवीय!
As per estimates India has more than the one year's
reserve of food grains .As per reports the government currently has 58.49
milion metric tones of good grain with rice is about 30.97 and wheat 27.53
million metric ton. The stock is much higher than the required limit as on
April 1 said reports.
(
https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/coronavirus-lockdown-rahul-gandhi-says-give-10-kg-wheat-or-rice-1-kg-pulses-and-1-kg-sugar-every-week-to-poor-people
Easy as 1,2,3: chefs on the 50 most simple, delicious
three-ingredient recipes
A limited range of supplies doesn’t mean cooking has to be
boring. From potato latkes to teriyaki chicken, try these suggestions from some
of the world’s best cooks
Wed 15 Apr 2020 11.30 BSTLast
modified on Wed 15 Apr 2020 15.32 BST
Roasted aubergines with sesame, honey and miso glaze, puff
pastry ‘pizzas’ and Honey & Co’s potato latkes. Composite: Kindersley
ltd/Alamy Stock Photo; Lauri Patterson/Getty Images/iStockphoto; Patricia Niven
Most easy recipes are not easy. Achieving simplicity is never
actually that simple, but in the kitchen it is usually also contingent on a
well-trained hand and a very well-stocked pantry. This makes the genuinely easy
three-ingredient recipe a holy grail of sorts.
Here, then, the mother lode: 50
three-ingredient beauties. Some are meals in themselves. Some are a good base
to build upon. Others still are a sweet something for afters. They run the
gamut from “blink and it’s ready” to a long, slow cook, but none will break the
bank. Crucially, all use only three things other than oil, butter, salt, pepper
and water. As simple as ready, steady … cook!
Green frittata
Jacob Kenedy, Bocca di
Lupo, @jacobkenedy
Roughly chop some green veg (spinach, chard, artichoke, chard, kale, asparagus …), and pan-fry with a little oil until slightly browned and properly hot. Beat 5-10 room-temperature eggs (depending on pan size) with whichever grated cheese you have (parmesan, pecorino, feta …), then stir the hot veg into the eggs, and reheat the pan over a medium-high flame.
Roughly chop some green veg (spinach, chard, artichoke, chard, kale, asparagus …), and pan-fry with a little oil until slightly browned and properly hot. Beat 5-10 room-temperature eggs (depending on pan size) with whichever grated cheese you have (parmesan, pecorino, feta …), then stir the hot veg into the eggs, and reheat the pan over a medium-high flame.
Run a dash of oil round the edge
of the pan and add the mixture, lower the heat and cook for eight minutes or
so, until half set. Turn out on to a plate (this takes confidence and grace),
reheat the pan to medium-high, slide the frittata back in and tuck in the edges
with a spoon. Reduce the heat to low and cook for a further eight minutes,
until just firm, or you have a hunch it might have just a little seductive ooze
in the centre. Turn out again and let cool a little before serving, warmish.
Puff-pastry ‘pizza’
Puff pastry ‘pizzas’ with tomatoes and basil. Photograph:
LauriPatterson/Getty/iStockphoto
Miguel Barclay, @miguelbarclay
Cut a square of puff pastry, score a 1cm border and scatter over cheese, then tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper and oregano (optional), then bake for about 25 minutes at 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas mark 4.
Cut a square of puff pastry, score a 1cm border and scatter over cheese, then tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper and oregano (optional), then bake for about 25 minutes at 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas mark 4.
Jerk and maple cauliflower florets
Jerk and maple cauliflower florets.
Denai Moore, Dee’s Table, @dees_table
Heat your oven to 200C (180C fan)/375F/gas mark 5. In a big bowl, mix two tablespoons of shop-bought jerk seasoning, two tablespoons of maple syrup and two tablespoons of olive oil. Add in half a cauliflower, broken up into florets. Season with salt and pepper and mix together to coat, taking care not to break the florets.
Heat your oven to 200C (180C fan)/375F/gas mark 5. In a big bowl, mix two tablespoons of shop-bought jerk seasoning, two tablespoons of maple syrup and two tablespoons of olive oil. Add in half a cauliflower, broken up into florets. Season with salt and pepper and mix together to coat, taking care not to break the florets.
Grease a baking tray with one
tablespoon of olive oil and lay out the florets in a single layer. Cover with a
piece of baking paper and put another baking tray on top to weigh down on the
cauliflower. Bake for 30 minutes, turning the florets over after 15 minutes,
until caramelised and sticky.
Feta-filled potato pops
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Sabrina Ghayour, cookbook
author, @sabrinaghayour
Peel and quarter two medium potatoes, then simmer for 20-25 minutes, until soft. Mash finely, then set aside to cool and refrigerate for a couple of hours. In another bowl, mix 100g feta with black pepper and three or four tablespoons of flour, until evenly combined. Shape the mash into ping-pong ball-sized portions and flatten in the palm of your hand to approximately ¾cm thickness. Pile a compressed teaspoon of the feta mixture into the centre of the mash disc and then bring the edges over the filling to seal the ball, filling any cracks with more mash. Lightly dust each ball with flour and repeat.
Peel and quarter two medium potatoes, then simmer for 20-25 minutes, until soft. Mash finely, then set aside to cool and refrigerate for a couple of hours. In another bowl, mix 100g feta with black pepper and three or four tablespoons of flour, until evenly combined. Shape the mash into ping-pong ball-sized portions and flatten in the palm of your hand to approximately ¾cm thickness. Pile a compressed teaspoon of the feta mixture into the centre of the mash disc and then bring the edges over the filling to seal the ball, filling any cracks with more mash. Lightly dust each ball with flour and repeat.
Heat some oil in a frying pan.
When nice and hot, fry the pops until golden brown on both sides, removing with
a slotted spoon and draining on kitchen paper when ready. Serve with your
favourite sauces or chutneys.
Honey & Co’s latkes. Photograph: Patricia Niven
Latkes
Itamar Srulovich and Sarit
Packer, Honey & Co, @honeyandco
Grate two or three potatoes, place in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Leave in the sink to release some moisture for a few minutes, then squeeze out the rest of the moisture with your hands, place the potato in a bowl and add an egg and a tablespoon or two of self-raising flour (plain flour will do if that is what you have) and more black pepper than you think you need, then mix. If the mix is very loose, add more flour. Heat oil in a pan, about 1cm deep, and drop in little mounds of the mix. Turn when crisp and brown on one side, then take out and place on absorbent paper. Optional extras in the mix include thinly sliced onions or spring onions, anchovies, oregano, feta and smoked paprika.
Grate two or three potatoes, place in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Leave in the sink to release some moisture for a few minutes, then squeeze out the rest of the moisture with your hands, place the potato in a bowl and add an egg and a tablespoon or two of self-raising flour (plain flour will do if that is what you have) and more black pepper than you think you need, then mix. If the mix is very loose, add more flour. Heat oil in a pan, about 1cm deep, and drop in little mounds of the mix. Turn when crisp and brown on one side, then take out and place on absorbent paper. Optional extras in the mix include thinly sliced onions or spring onions, anchovies, oregano, feta and smoked paprika.
Jacket potato with kimchi
Judy Joo, Jinjuu, @judyjoochef
Slit open a baked potato, stuff with some chopped-up kimchi, cover with grated cheese and place under a grill until melted and browning.
Slit open a baked potato, stuff with some chopped-up kimchi, cover with grated cheese and place under a grill until melted and browning.
Gnocchi
Roberta d’Elia, Pasta
Evangelists, @deliarobi
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Peel 1kg potatoes (red if possible) and cook over a low heat until tender, but still firm, taking care that the skin doesn’t break (so they don’t absorb too much water). This will take 15-20 minutes. Drain, cool down and mash with a fork. Mix in 300g flour (plain, bread or gluten-free will work) and one egg, then knead until a dough forms.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Peel 1kg potatoes (red if possible) and cook over a low heat until tender, but still firm, taking care that the skin doesn’t break (so they don’t absorb too much water). This will take 15-20 minutes. Drain, cool down and mash with a fork. Mix in 300g flour (plain, bread or gluten-free will work) and one egg, then knead until a dough forms.
Divide into four portions and
shape into long snakes, about 1.5cm in diameter, then cut into 1cm-long pieces.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the gnocchi for 2-3
minutes, or until they rise to the surface. Drain and serve with your favourite
sauce: butter and sage, gorgonzola and cream with parma ham and walnuts, beef
ragu, caprese sauce, basil pesto, whatever …
Potato gnocchi with sage butter. Photograph: YAY Media AS/Alamy
Chickpea and carrot crepes
Anna Jones, @we_are_food
Jones puts caraway seeds in her batter and serves the crepes with vegetables, leaves, cheese and eggs. Adapt as you see fit: the basic recipe is a keeper.
Jones puts caraway seeds in her batter and serves the crepes with vegetables, leaves, cheese and eggs. Adapt as you see fit: the basic recipe is a keeper.
Mix together 250g of chickpea
flour, 250g of grated carrots and 350ml of milk to obtain a thin, smooth
pancake batter. Heat one teaspoon of olive oil in a medium, non-stick frying
pan over a medium heat. Add a small ladle of the batter to the pan. Work
quickly to swirl it around so the batter covers the base of the pan. Cook for a
couple of minutes, then flip over and cook on the other side for another 30
seconds. Repeat with the rest of the batter, adding a little more oil each
time. Stack the crepes on a plate with greaseproof paper in between each; keep
warm in a low oven.
Tomato with strawberries and basil
Massimiliano Alajmo, Le
Calandre, @alajmo
Make a salad of ripe tomatoes and strawberry, sliced, with fresh basil leaves. Season with extra virgin olive oil and flaky salt.
Make a salad of ripe tomatoes and strawberry, sliced, with fresh basil leaves. Season with extra virgin olive oil and flaky salt.
Tomatoes with cottage cheese
Rui Silvestre, Vistas, @rui_silvestre1
Blitz 200g of plum tomatoes with a pinch of salt and strain through a sieve. Blitz 50g basil leaves with 100g olive oil, then add to the tomato juice, season to taste and chill in the fridge. Blanche another 300g tomatoes in boiling water for 5-10 seconds then chill in iced water and remove the skin. Blitz 50g cottage cheese with flaky salt, olive oil and ground black pepper until smooth. Serve the skinned tomatoes on a bed of cottage cheese cream, drizzled with the basil oil juice mixture.
Blitz 200g of plum tomatoes with a pinch of salt and strain through a sieve. Blitz 50g basil leaves with 100g olive oil, then add to the tomato juice, season to taste and chill in the fridge. Blanche another 300g tomatoes in boiling water for 5-10 seconds then chill in iced water and remove the skin. Blitz 50g cottage cheese with flaky salt, olive oil and ground black pepper until smooth. Serve the skinned tomatoes on a bed of cottage cheese cream, drizzled with the basil oil juice mixture.
Tomato and orange soup
Itamar Srulovich and Sarit
Packer, Honey & Co, @honeyandco
Peel and slice 10 (yes, 10) cloves of garlic. Slice one orange (skin and all, removing the pips). Place 60ml of olive oil in a pot and gently fry the garlic until fragrant. Add in the orange slices and fry until they start to brown a bit, then add a tin of chopped tomatoes and the same amount of water. Simmer for 20 minutes, then blitz with a stick blender until very smooth. Adjust the seasoning with salt and, if necessary, sugar as well, depending on how sweet the orange is. Delicious served with sourdough toast and goat’s cheese; the addition of some thyme or oregano works, too.
Peel and slice 10 (yes, 10) cloves of garlic. Slice one orange (skin and all, removing the pips). Place 60ml of olive oil in a pot and gently fry the garlic until fragrant. Add in the orange slices and fry until they start to brown a bit, then add a tin of chopped tomatoes and the same amount of water. Simmer for 20 minutes, then blitz with a stick blender until very smooth. Adjust the seasoning with salt and, if necessary, sugar as well, depending on how sweet the orange is. Delicious served with sourdough toast and goat’s cheese; the addition of some thyme or oregano works, too.
Sweet potato flatbreads
Mandy Mazliah’s sweet potato flatbreads. Photograph: Publicity
image
Mandy Mazliah, sneakyveg.com
Peel and chop a large sweet potato and steam or boil until soft. Blend until smooth or mash by hand. Place 200g of plain flour in a large mixing bowl and rub in 200g of the sweet potato mash (reserving the rest) with your fingertips, until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Peel and chop a large sweet potato and steam or boil until soft. Blend until smooth or mash by hand. Place 200g of plain flour in a large mixing bowl and rub in 200g of the sweet potato mash (reserving the rest) with your fingertips, until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Season to taste and add in a
little water to make a smooth dough. Divide into six small balls and roll out
on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin dusted with flour. Heat a
heavy-bottomed pan over a medium heat and fry the flatbreads one at a time, for
two minutes on each side. Serve immediately, or wrap in a clean tea towel or
foil to keep soft while you cook the rest.
Chicken thighs with teriyaki sauce
Simon Wood, MasterChef
champion, @simonjwooduk
In a hot frying pan, cook 1kg of chicken thighs in vegetable oil until golden all over. Add 220ml of soy sauce and 100g of brown sugar and stir to bring to a boil. Continue stirring until the chicken it cooked and the sauce has reduced; it should evenly coat the chicken, making it sticky.
In a hot frying pan, cook 1kg of chicken thighs in vegetable oil until golden all over. Add 220ml of soy sauce and 100g of brown sugar and stir to bring to a boil. Continue stirring until the chicken it cooked and the sauce has reduced; it should evenly coat the chicken, making it sticky.
Chicken thighs with tandoori masala and lime
Romy Gill, Ready Steady Cook chef
and cookbook author, @romygill
Stab six chicken thighs all over with a fork, then place in a bowl with six teaspoons of tandoori masala, the juice of one lime (lemon works, too), six teaspoons of oil and 20ml of cold water. Leave it to marinate for 20-30 minutes and heat an oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas mark 4. Place a baking sheet on a baking tray and, when ready, place the marinated chicken on the sheet and cook for about an hour, or until the juices run clear.
Stab six chicken thighs all over with a fork, then place in a bowl with six teaspoons of tandoori masala, the juice of one lime (lemon works, too), six teaspoons of oil and 20ml of cold water. Leave it to marinate for 20-30 minutes and heat an oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas mark 4. Place a baking sheet on a baking tray and, when ready, place the marinated chicken on the sheet and cook for about an hour, or until the juices run clear.
Alternatively, use four teaspoons
of harissa (rose harissa, if you can find any), the juice of one lemon and one
teaspoon of salt.
Tofu with soy sauce and minced ginger
Anna Thomson, @kandojournalandkitchen
Cut two packs of silken tofu into quarters. Gently slip into a pan of boiling water to heat through. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in four bowls, two pieces per person. Top with soy sauce and minced ginger. Also good topped with toasted sesame seeds and chopped spring onion.
Cut two packs of silken tofu into quarters. Gently slip into a pan of boiling water to heat through. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in four bowls, two pieces per person. Top with soy sauce and minced ginger. Also good topped with toasted sesame seeds and chopped spring onion.
Pasta with lemon and mascarpone
Roberta d’Elia, Pasta
Evangelists, @deliarobi
Mix the zest of one lemon with 125g mascarpone (ricotta works as well) and season generously. Combine with cooked fusilli to serve. If you happen to have any fresh herbs in the kitchen, such as parsley, basil or thyme, these would work well here.
Mix the zest of one lemon with 125g mascarpone (ricotta works as well) and season generously. Combine with cooked fusilli to serve. If you happen to have any fresh herbs in the kitchen, such as parsley, basil or thyme, these would work well here.
Pasta with cavolo nero and garlic
Jessica Stanley, @dailydoseofjess
Boil chopped cavalo nero and a few whole garlic cloves in salty, oily water for eight minutes. Drain, whizz the leaves and cloves with a stick blender and stir into any cooked pasta, using the pasta cooking water to keep it loose.
Boil chopped cavalo nero and a few whole garlic cloves in salty, oily water for eight minutes. Drain, whizz the leaves and cloves with a stick blender and stir into any cooked pasta, using the pasta cooking water to keep it loose.
Creamy cauliflower liguine
Miguel Barclay, @miguelbarclay
Grab half a cauliflower, pick off some florets, then pan fry with olive oil, salt and pepper. Boil the rest of the cauliflower, drain and blend it with milk (I use oat milk, but any would do), salt and pepper. Mix with cooked pasta, a big glug of olive oil and top with pan fried florets.
Grab half a cauliflower, pick off some florets, then pan fry with olive oil, salt and pepper. Boil the rest of the cauliflower, drain and blend it with milk (I use oat milk, but any would do), salt and pepper. Mix with cooked pasta, a big glug of olive oil and top with pan fried florets.
Buttered and breadcrumbed whole cauliflower,
Warsaw-style
Whole roasted cauliflower. Photograph: Alvaro German
Vilela/Alamy
Zuza Zak, cookbook author, @zuzazakcook
After removing the leaves, cook a whole cauliflower in a pan of salted water. In a frying pan, melt a large knob of butter, then brown some breadcrumbs in it. Once the cauliflower is cooked (but still firm) coat it in the breadcrumbs and serve – dill potatoes make a nice accompaniment.
After removing the leaves, cook a whole cauliflower in a pan of salted water. In a frying pan, melt a large knob of butter, then brown some breadcrumbs in it. Once the cauliflower is cooked (but still firm) coat it in the breadcrumbs and serve – dill potatoes make a nice accompaniment.
Roasted whole cauliflower, with yeast butter
and smoked trout
Keelan Higgs, Variety
Jones, @keelanhiggs
To a pot of heavily salted boiling water, add a whole cauliflower and cook for two minutes, then remove and leave to cool for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas mark 5. Heat some oil in a large ovenproof pan over a high heat and add the whole cauliflower, root side down. Drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Crumble 30g of fresh yeast on to a baking tray and bake for eight minutes, until dark brown and caramelised.
To a pot of heavily salted boiling water, add a whole cauliflower and cook for two minutes, then remove and leave to cool for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas mark 5. Heat some oil in a large ovenproof pan over a high heat and add the whole cauliflower, root side down. Drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Crumble 30g of fresh yeast on to a baking tray and bake for eight minutes, until dark brown and caramelised.
Remove the cauliflower from the
oven and put back on the stove over a medium-high heat. Add 100g of butter and,
once foaming, baste over the top of the cauliflower with a large spoon 15-20
times, then turn the cauliflower upside-down and put the pan back in the oven
for five minutes. Remove the cauliflower from the oven again, stir the yeast
into the butter until semi-dissolved and baste the cauliflower 20-25 times,
then return to the oven for a final five minutes before removing from the oven,
basting another 20-odd times. Remove from the pan and on to a chopping board.
Reserve the yeast butter. Chop into four evenly sized pieces and serve topped
with 2-3 large spoonfuls of the yeast butter and a large slice of smoked trout.
Aubergines with sesame and honey miso glaze. Photograph: Dorling
Kindersley ltd/Alamy Stock Photo
Aubergine with miso and honey
Anna Thomson,
@kandojournalandkitchen
Cut two aubergines in half lengthways. Lightly score the flesh with a criss-cross pattern.
Cut two aubergines in half lengthways. Lightly score the flesh with a criss-cross pattern.
In a wide pan, heat some oil over
a medium heat and lay the aubergines to fry on each side for a few minutes.
Turn down the heat, cover with a lid and cook until soft, turning now and
again. Place flesh side up on a serving plate.
In a small bowl, mix 2-3
tablespoons of miso with two teaspoons of honey, loosen with a little hot
water, then spread over the aubergine. This is delicious topped with chopped
spring onion or sesame seeds and served with rice.
Asparagus with pecorino and mint
Tom Anglesea, The Laughing
Heart, @tomanglesea
Peel and trim a bunch of asparagus. Shave into ribbons with a peeler, then wash in cold water and drain. Shave 70g of pecorino into shards and toss with the asparagus and the picked leaves of half a bunch of fresh mint, roughly chopped. Dress with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Peel and trim a bunch of asparagus. Shave into ribbons with a peeler, then wash in cold water and drain. Shave 70g of pecorino into shards and toss with the asparagus and the picked leaves of half a bunch of fresh mint, roughly chopped. Dress with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Green beans with walnuts and shallots
Alexandra Stacey, @frenchfamilyfood
Trim a pack of green beans and boil in water for eight minutes. Drain, season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool. In a shallow pan, toast a small handful of walnuts over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, turning constantly so that they don’t burn. Combine the beans and walnuts with half a shallot, finely sliced and chopped, and serve, drizzled with lots of olive oil.
Trim a pack of green beans and boil in water for eight minutes. Drain, season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool. In a shallow pan, toast a small handful of walnuts over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, turning constantly so that they don’t burn. Combine the beans and walnuts with half a shallot, finely sliced and chopped, and serve, drizzled with lots of olive oil.
Photograph: Somsak Bumroongwong/EyeEm/Getty/EyeEm
Carrot with vinegar and honey
Olia Hercules, cookbook
author, @oliahercules
Roughly grate or julienne a handful of carrots. Dress with a mixture of vinegar, honey and salt that is perfectly sweet, sour and salty. Leave for at least an hour, and up to a month. Use as fresh salad or as a pickle in some pitta bread with cheese or chicken.
Roughly grate or julienne a handful of carrots. Dress with a mixture of vinegar, honey and salt that is perfectly sweet, sour and salty. Leave for at least an hour, and up to a month. Use as fresh salad or as a pickle in some pitta bread with cheese or chicken.
Labneh, aubergine and harissa
Lucy Carr Ellison and Jemima
Jones, Tart London
Line a sieve with a clean dishcloth or cheese cloth. Spoon in 500g yoghurt, tie up the cloth and leave to hang above a bowl for 2-24 hours. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/400F/gas mark 6. Place the aubergine on a tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and roast for about 20 minutes, until golden all over. Mix four tablespoons of olive oil with two tablespoons of harissa, drizzle over the aubergine and toss. Spoon the labneh out of the cloth, spread on a plate and top with the aubergine mix. Finish with a good drizzle of olive oil.
Line a sieve with a clean dishcloth or cheese cloth. Spoon in 500g yoghurt, tie up the cloth and leave to hang above a bowl for 2-24 hours. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/400F/gas mark 6. Place the aubergine on a tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and roast for about 20 minutes, until golden all over. Mix four tablespoons of olive oil with two tablespoons of harissa, drizzle over the aubergine and toss. Spoon the labneh out of the cloth, spread on a plate and top with the aubergine mix. Finish with a good drizzle of olive oil.
Sweetcorn salsa
Jessica Stanley, @dailydoseofjess
Drain a can of sweetcorn. Sizzle olive oil in a hot pan and fry the corn. When cool, serve with chilli flakes or smoked paprika, oil, salt and lime.
Drain a can of sweetcorn. Sizzle olive oil in a hot pan and fry the corn. When cool, serve with chilli flakes or smoked paprika, oil, salt and lime.
Roasted fennel, cherry tomatoes and spring
onion
Luisa Weiss, cookbook
author, @wednesdaychef
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4. Trim one large bulb of fennel and slice in half, lengthways, then cut out the core and discard. Cut each half in half again. Place the quarters in a baking dish along with two handfuls of cherry tomatoes and four spring onions, trimmed and cut into two-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss to coat. Bake for 30-35 minutes, shaking the dish once halfway through. Then turn off the oven and let the dish cool with the oven door closed for another half hour (or for as long as you can). Serve with lots of crusty bread, if possible.
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4. Trim one large bulb of fennel and slice in half, lengthways, then cut out the core and discard. Cut each half in half again. Place the quarters in a baking dish along with two handfuls of cherry tomatoes and four spring onions, trimmed and cut into two-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss to coat. Bake for 30-35 minutes, shaking the dish once halfway through. Then turn off the oven and let the dish cool with the oven door closed for another half hour (or for as long as you can). Serve with lots of crusty bread, if possible.
Broccoli and blue cheese soup
Broccoli and blue cheese soup. Photograph: Jenner Images/Getty
Images
Jeremy Chan, Ikoyi, @ikoyi_london
Thinly slice 400g of broccoli. Roast half and keep the rest raw. Add all of it to a blender with 300ml of chicken stock and 150g of blue cheese. Blitz for 10 minutes, until smooth. To serve, heat through and season well.
Thinly slice 400g of broccoli. Roast half and keep the rest raw. Add all of it to a blender with 300ml of chicken stock and 150g of blue cheese. Blitz for 10 minutes, until smooth. To serve, heat through and season well.
Polenta with sauteed mushrooms and toasted
cashews
Anna Thomson,
@kandojournalandkitchen
Bring 400ml of water to the boil in a large saucepan. Pour in 100g of polenta, whisking continuously as it thickens. Season well, stir in a knob of butter and cook slowly until it comes away cleanly from the pan. Toast a handful of cashews under the grill or in a dry frying pan until golden. Top the polenta with more butter, mushrooms sauteed in a little olive oil season well and the toasted cashews.
Bring 400ml of water to the boil in a large saucepan. Pour in 100g of polenta, whisking continuously as it thickens. Season well, stir in a knob of butter and cook slowly until it comes away cleanly from the pan. Toast a handful of cashews under the grill or in a dry frying pan until golden. Top the polenta with more butter, mushrooms sauteed in a little olive oil season well and the toasted cashews.
Bulgur wheat pilaf
Sabrina Ghayour, cookbook
author, @sabrinaghayour
Heat a saucepan (for which you have a lid) over a medium heat and soften one finely chopped onion until soft and translucent. Add 200g of bulgar wheat and stir to coat. Then add two tablespoons of tomato puree, a very generous amount of salt and pepper and a generous knob of butter, if you like. Break down the puree and ensure it coats the bulgar wheat evenly. Pour 450ml of cold water over the mixture, stir well and cover with a lid. Reduce to a gentle medium heat and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the liquid is fully absorbed. Use a fork to fluff up the grains and serve.
Heat a saucepan (for which you have a lid) over a medium heat and soften one finely chopped onion until soft and translucent. Add 200g of bulgar wheat and stir to coat. Then add two tablespoons of tomato puree, a very generous amount of salt and pepper and a generous knob of butter, if you like. Break down the puree and ensure it coats the bulgar wheat evenly. Pour 450ml of cold water over the mixture, stir well and cover with a lid. Reduce to a gentle medium heat and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the liquid is fully absorbed. Use a fork to fluff up the grains and serve.
Rice with green tea and salted salmon (ochazuke)
Dale Berning Sawa
Cook some short-grain Japanese rice. Season a salmon fillet with salt and leave for 10 minutes, then bake until slightly crispy. Dish up a bowlful of rice, top with chunks of salmon and pour hot green tea over until it covers half the rice. Serve as is, or add anything else you like: pickles, salted umeboshi plum, soy sauce, sesame seeds, bitter green leaves, chopped up toasted nori seaweed ...
Cook some short-grain Japanese rice. Season a salmon fillet with salt and leave for 10 minutes, then bake until slightly crispy. Dish up a bowlful of rice, top with chunks of salmon and pour hot green tea over until it covers half the rice. Serve as is, or add anything else you like: pickles, salted umeboshi plum, soy sauce, sesame seeds, bitter green leaves, chopped up toasted nori seaweed ...
Sweet coconut rice
Jeremy Chan, Ikoyi, @ikoyi_london
Toast 380g of jasmine rice in a pot with some oil until all the grains are well coated. In a saucepan, bring a 400g can of coconut milk to a simmer, season well and melt in 35g of honey. Add the warm coconut milk to the pot with the rice and quickly bring to the boil. Stir once to ensure no rice sticks to the base, then turn to a simmer and place a lid on the pan. Cook for 13 minutes and then turn off the heat and rest for five minutes, without opening the lid, to steam. After five minutes, open the lid to fluff up the rice before serving.
Toast 380g of jasmine rice in a pot with some oil until all the grains are well coated. In a saucepan, bring a 400g can of coconut milk to a simmer, season well and melt in 35g of honey. Add the warm coconut milk to the pot with the rice and quickly bring to the boil. Stir once to ensure no rice sticks to the base, then turn to a simmer and place a lid on the pan. Cook for 13 minutes and then turn off the heat and rest for five minutes, without opening the lid, to steam. After five minutes, open the lid to fluff up the rice before serving.
Yoghurt rice
Yotam Ottolenghi’s yoghurt rice with chana dal. Photograph:
Louise Hagger/The Guardian
Yotam Ottolenghi (@ottolenghi) makes this to serve with spicy chana dal and wilted greens.
I’d happily have it with sour salty pickles, toasted nuts or just as it is
Put 200g of basmati rice, two tablespoons of oil, 200ml of hot water and 1-2 teaspoons of salt in a large saute pan on a medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring often, until most of the water has been absorbed, then repeat, adding 200ml of hot water at a time and stirring often, until you have used up 1.2 litres of the water and the rice resembles a loose, creamy porridge – this will take about 20 minutes.
Put 200g of basmati rice, two tablespoons of oil, 200ml of hot water and 1-2 teaspoons of salt in a large saute pan on a medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring often, until most of the water has been absorbed, then repeat, adding 200ml of hot water at a time and stirring often, until you have used up 1.2 litres of the water and the rice resembles a loose, creamy porridge – this will take about 20 minutes.
Lightly crush the rice grains
with the back of a spoon then turn down the heat to medium-low. Whisk one egg
yolk with 200g of Greek yoghurt and 50ml of hot water until smooth, then stir
into the rice and cook, stirring often, for about seven minutes, until the
mixture has thickened slightly, but is still a loose porridge.
Yellow split pea stew
Anna Jones serves this with
yoghurt, olives, fresh mint and cucumber. Salted well, though, with a good
amount of lemon juice, it’s a treat all on its own.
Soak 450g of split peas in cold water overnight. This isn’t essential, but will halve the cooking time. Drain the peas and place in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a rapid boil and let cook for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer for a further 20–30 minutes, or until tender. Drain, season and set aside. Put a large pot on a medium heat. Add the oil, two onions, peeled and finely chopped, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook for five minutes or so, until soft. Add the cooked split peas and 350ml of cold water. Bring to a simmer for a few minutes, then remove from the heat. Ladle half the soup into a bowl and set aside. Use a stick blender to puree the rest of the soup in the pan. Stir the chunky soup back into the puree for a soup that is nicely textured. Thin the soup with more water (or stock) as needed before serving, seasoned with some flaky salt and a good squeeze of lemon.
Soak 450g of split peas in cold water overnight. This isn’t essential, but will halve the cooking time. Drain the peas and place in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a rapid boil and let cook for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer for a further 20–30 minutes, or until tender. Drain, season and set aside. Put a large pot on a medium heat. Add the oil, two onions, peeled and finely chopped, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook for five minutes or so, until soft. Add the cooked split peas and 350ml of cold water. Bring to a simmer for a few minutes, then remove from the heat. Ladle half the soup into a bowl and set aside. Use a stick blender to puree the rest of the soup in the pan. Stir the chunky soup back into the puree for a soup that is nicely textured. Thin the soup with more water (or stock) as needed before serving, seasoned with some flaky salt and a good squeeze of lemon.
Lentil bolognese
Jessica Stanley, @dailydoseofjess
Use one tin of whole tomatoes per person for this. Start by draining the juice fromthe tomatoes and reserve for a future recipe. Rinse the whole tomatoes, taking care to keep their shape. Pat dry, cover in olive oil, sprinkle with salt. Cook for two hours at 140C/120C fan/275F/gas mark 1, or for an hour and a half at 160C/. Crush the tomatoes with a fork or potato masher. Add a tin per person of (drained and rinsed) lentils, heat through and serve with spaghetti.
Use one tin of whole tomatoes per person for this. Start by draining the juice fromthe tomatoes and reserve for a future recipe. Rinse the whole tomatoes, taking care to keep their shape. Pat dry, cover in olive oil, sprinkle with salt. Cook for two hours at 140C/120C fan/275F/gas mark 1, or for an hour and a half at 160C/. Crush the tomatoes with a fork or potato masher. Add a tin per person of (drained and rinsed) lentils, heat through and serve with spaghetti.
Fermented rye soup with garlic (Żurek)
Zuza Zak, cookbook author,
@zuzazakcooks
Put four tablespoons of rye flour in a large jar with two crushed cloves of garlic, and cover with 400ml of warm (pre-boiled) water. Cover with a tea towel and allow to stand in your kitchen for five days, stirring daily. After that, keep it in your fridge. To make the soup, add to a litre of vegetable stock and heat through. Top with crispy bits of garlic or garlic croutons to serve. Optional extra toppings include a lick of cream and can be served with a hard-boiled egg, fried bacon bits or whatever you have available.
Put four tablespoons of rye flour in a large jar with two crushed cloves of garlic, and cover with 400ml of warm (pre-boiled) water. Cover with a tea towel and allow to stand in your kitchen for five days, stirring daily. After that, keep it in your fridge. To make the soup, add to a litre of vegetable stock and heat through. Top with crispy bits of garlic or garlic croutons to serve. Optional extra toppings include a lick of cream and can be served with a hard-boiled egg, fried bacon bits or whatever you have available.
Smoked mackerel with beetroot and horseradish
Anna Thomson,
@kandojournalandkitchen
Peel and slice the beetroot into chunky slices. Drizzle with olive oil and season, bake in the oven until soft and slightly caramelised. Fry mackerel fillets on both sides until the skin is crisp (ensure your kitchen is well ventilated!) Serve on the roasted beetroot with a generous dollop of horseradish or tartare sauce (mayonnaise or plain yoghurt spiked with lemon and garlic works, too).
Peel and slice the beetroot into chunky slices. Drizzle with olive oil and season, bake in the oven until soft and slightly caramelised. Fry mackerel fillets on both sides until the skin is crisp (ensure your kitchen is well ventilated!) Serve on the roasted beetroot with a generous dollop of horseradish or tartare sauce (mayonnaise or plain yoghurt spiked with lemon and garlic works, too).
Chicken stock egg pudding (chawanmushi)
Ollie Templeton, Carousel, @carousel_ldn
Whisk four eggs with 500ml of chicken stock and 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce, then sieve and pour into four bowls. Cover with tin foil and steam in a steamer (or a large lidded pot with boiling water going halfway up the sides of the bowls) for 30 minutes, until set – there should be a nice wobble in the middle. Allow to cool before serving.
Whisk four eggs with 500ml of chicken stock and 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce, then sieve and pour into four bowls. Cover with tin foil and steam in a steamer (or a large lidded pot with boiling water going halfway up the sides of the bowls) for 30 minutes, until set – there should be a nice wobble in the middle. Allow to cool before serving.
Halloumi and apricot jam sandwich
Georgina Hayden’s halloumi and apricot jam sandwich. Photograph:
Kristin Perers
Georgina Hayden, cookbook
author, @georgiepuddingnpie
Heat a griddle pan – or your oven grill – and grill three slices of halloumi (about 1½cm thick) for a couple of minutes on both sides, until golden and soft, but not rubbery. Meanwhile, lightly toast two slices of bread (good quality white is best), butter and top with a good layer of apricot jam. When the halloumi is ready, put it on the jam, close the sandwich and gently press together. Serve immediately, while the cheese is warm.
Heat a griddle pan – or your oven grill – and grill three slices of halloumi (about 1½cm thick) for a couple of minutes on both sides, until golden and soft, but not rubbery. Meanwhile, lightly toast two slices of bread (good quality white is best), butter and top with a good layer of apricot jam. When the halloumi is ready, put it on the jam, close the sandwich and gently press together. Serve immediately, while the cheese is warm.
Lemon posset
Alex Head, Social Pantry, @social_pantry
Slowly heat 400ml of cream and whisk in 100g caster sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer for three minutes then remove from the heat and whisk in the juice and grated zest of one large lemon. Divide between four ramekins and refrigerate until set and chilled.
Slowly heat 400ml of cream and whisk in 100g caster sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer for three minutes then remove from the heat and whisk in the juice and grated zest of one large lemon. Divide between four ramekins and refrigerate until set and chilled.
Photograph: Akepong Srichaichana/Getty Images/EyeEm
Nut butter cookies
Simon Wood, MasterChef
champion, @simonjwooduk
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4. In a large bowl or food processor, mix 240g of peanut butter, 100g of sugar and one egg into a dough. Take one tablespoonful at a time and roll it into a ball. Place each on a nonstick baking tray, flatten slightly with a fork and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are golden. Remove from baking sheet and cool for 20 minutes before eating.
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4. In a large bowl or food processor, mix 240g of peanut butter, 100g of sugar and one egg into a dough. Take one tablespoonful at a time and roll it into a ball. Place each on a nonstick baking tray, flatten slightly with a fork and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are golden. Remove from baking sheet and cool for 20 minutes before eating.
Foolproof meringues
Natasha Collins, cookbook author,
@neviepiecakes
Heat the oven to 120C/100C fan/250 F/gas mark 1/2. Line two large baking trays with baking paper. Whisk together six egg whites and ¾ teaspoon of cream of tartar until stiff peaks form – this should only take a minute or so. Keep beating and gradually add 310g sugar, one tbsp at a time. Beat until the sugar has dissolved – if you rub a little of the mixture between your thumb and fingers it should feel smooth. Take a heaped tablespoon of the mixture and, with another spoon, drop on to the baking tray. Repeat with the rest of the mixture, then place the baking trays in the oven and bake for 2½ hours. If you see the meringues starting to turn golden brown take them out. Leave to cool on the trays.
Heat the oven to 120C/100C fan/250 F/gas mark 1/2. Line two large baking trays with baking paper. Whisk together six egg whites and ¾ teaspoon of cream of tartar until stiff peaks form – this should only take a minute or so. Keep beating and gradually add 310g sugar, one tbsp at a time. Beat until the sugar has dissolved – if you rub a little of the mixture between your thumb and fingers it should feel smooth. Take a heaped tablespoon of the mixture and, with another spoon, drop on to the baking tray. Repeat with the rest of the mixture, then place the baking trays in the oven and bake for 2½ hours. If you see the meringues starting to turn golden brown take them out. Leave to cool on the trays.
Crunchie ‘affogato’
Photograph: Ola O Smit/The Guardian
John Quilter, @foodbusker
Crush a Crunchie bar unopened in its wrapping with a rolling pin. Add two scoops of ice-cream to each serving bowl, pour over hot coffee and sprinkle with the crushed Crunchie pieces.
Crush a Crunchie bar unopened in its wrapping with a rolling pin. Add two scoops of ice-cream to each serving bowl, pour over hot coffee and sprinkle with the crushed Crunchie pieces.
Pear and chocolate puff-pastry ‘strudel’
Cori Pim-Keirle, @coriandercooks
Heat your oven to 220C/200C fan/425F/gas mark 7 and line a baking tray with baking parchment. Peel, core and chop 5-6 pears into bite-size chunks. Pat dry and, in a mixing bowl, combine with 75g dark chocolate, roughly chopped. Unroll the pastry and, with the long edge facing you, pile the filling along the lower half of it. Moisten the edges with a little water and fold over the top. Press down on the edges with a fork to seal well. Make several cuts across the top.
Heat your oven to 220C/200C fan/425F/gas mark 7 and line a baking tray with baking parchment. Peel, core and chop 5-6 pears into bite-size chunks. Pat dry and, in a mixing bowl, combine with 75g dark chocolate, roughly chopped. Unroll the pastry and, with the long edge facing you, pile the filling along the lower half of it. Moisten the edges with a little water and fold over the top. Press down on the edges with a fork to seal well. Make several cuts across the top.
(Normally I’d give the whole
thing a final glaze with an milk/egg wash and sprinkle with a little demerara
sugar for a crunchy finish, but it’ll work just as well without). Bake for
30-35 minutes, until puffed up – cover with a piece of foil if it browns too
quickly on the edges.
Berry ‘ice-cream’
Claire Thomson, cookbook
author, fiveoclockapron
Put 400g of frozen berries (or any frozen soft fruit, such as kiwi, mango, banana), two tablespoons of runny honey (or more to taste) and 200g of full-fat Greek yoghurt (or creme fraiche) in a blender and puree until smooth. Serve immediately.
Put 400g of frozen berries (or any frozen soft fruit, such as kiwi, mango, banana), two tablespoons of runny honey (or more to taste) and 200g of full-fat Greek yoghurt (or creme fraiche) in a blender and puree until smooth. Serve immediately.
Almond nougat
Ciccio Sultano, Duomo, @cicciosultano1
In a saucepan, melt 300g of granulated sugar and 100g of honey. In another pan, toast 100g of almonds. Once the almonds are golden, add to the sugar and caramelise for about 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and spread across an oiled chopping board, levelling the surface. With a long, sharp knife, cut into cubes, then leave to cool. Preserve in a glass jar.
In a saucepan, melt 300g of granulated sugar and 100g of honey. In another pan, toast 100g of almonds. Once the almonds are golden, add to the sugar and caramelise for about 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and spread across an oiled chopping board, levelling the surface. With a long, sharp knife, cut into cubes, then leave to cool. Preserve in a glass jar.
Roasted rhubarb with vanilla
Luisa Weiss, cookbook author,
@wednesdaychef
Heat the oven to 180C/160c fan/350F/gas mark 4. Cut 500g of rhubarb into 2-3-inch chunks and place in a baking dish. Slit one vanilla pod lengthways and scrape the seeds on to the rhubarb (or use one teaspoon of vanilla essence). Add 50g of sugar and toss gently to coat (push the bean under the rhubarb if using). Bake for 15-20 minutes, then set aside to cool (dry the bean, if used, and grind with more sugar for future use as vanilla sugar). Serve with cream or yoghurt, if you have any.
Heat the oven to 180C/160c fan/350F/gas mark 4. Cut 500g of rhubarb into 2-3-inch chunks and place in a baking dish. Slit one vanilla pod lengthways and scrape the seeds on to the rhubarb (or use one teaspoon of vanilla essence). Add 50g of sugar and toss gently to coat (push the bean under the rhubarb if using). Bake for 15-20 minutes, then set aside to cool (dry the bean, if used, and grind with more sugar for future use as vanilla sugar). Serve with cream or yoghurt, if you have any.
Apple ‘crumble’
Jessica Stanley, @dailydoseofjess
Grate an apple and sprinkle with granola. Serve with yoghurt
Grate an apple and sprinkle with granola. Serve with yoghurt
Quick crumble topping
Henrietta Inman, cookbook
author, @henriettainman
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4 and line a tray with parchment paper. Mix 300g of any flour (wholemeal, white, spelt, rye, gluten-free, ground nuts, desiccated coconut, oats, buckwheat …) with 150g-200g of unsalted butter and 80-100g of whatever sweetness you have (any sugar, honey, maple syrup …) in a free-standing mixer or with your fingertips, until it resembles breadcrumbs. Spread over the tray and bake for 10 minutes.
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4 and line a tray with parchment paper. Mix 300g of any flour (wholemeal, white, spelt, rye, gluten-free, ground nuts, desiccated coconut, oats, buckwheat …) with 150g-200g of unsalted butter and 80-100g of whatever sweetness you have (any sugar, honey, maple syrup …) in a free-standing mixer or with your fingertips, until it resembles breadcrumbs. Spread over the tray and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven, chop up a
little and return to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes or until
golden. Serve as is, or with fresh fruit and yoghurt, compote and cream, creme
fraiche, honey and orange zest, ice cream and chocolate sauce … (You can also
add anything from lemon or orange zest, vanilla, a pinch of salt, a handful of
nuts or seeds, a few tsp cocoa powder, or whatever you think might work to the
crumble mix).
Berries with chocolate mousse
Cori Pim-Keirle, @coriandercooks
Arrange 150g of pitted cherries, raspberries or strawberries in the bottom of of serving dishes. Melt 100g of dark chocolate in a bain marie, then set aside to cool. Pour 170ml of aquafaba (the liquid drained from a can of chickpeas) into the bowl of a stand mixer and whip on full speed until firm peaks form (This will take quite a lot longer than it would with egg whites.) Stir a large dollop of this into the cooled, melted chocolate to lighten it before very carefully folding in the rest. Be as gentle as possible to minimise any loss of air. Divide the mousse evenly over the fruit and chill for several hours to set.
Arrange 150g of pitted cherries, raspberries or strawberries in the bottom of of serving dishes. Melt 100g of dark chocolate in a bain marie, then set aside to cool. Pour 170ml of aquafaba (the liquid drained from a can of chickpeas) into the bowl of a stand mixer and whip on full speed until firm peaks form (This will take quite a lot longer than it would with egg whites.) Stir a large dollop of this into the cooled, melted chocolate to lighten it before very carefully folding in the rest. Be as gentle as possible to minimise any loss of air. Divide the mousse evenly over the fruit and chill for several hours to set.
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