Federal COVID-19
Assistance for Agriculture Becoming Clearer
By Jamison Cruce
WASHINGTON, DC -- As the coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve
and unfold, the Federal government took actions this week that will provide
assistance to the agriculture industry affected by COVID-19.
Last Friday, President Donald Trump and Agriculture Secretary Sonny
Perdue announced the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), a $19 billion
assistance package with two elements that will be facilitated by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), including $16 billion in direct payments to
producers and $3 billion in food procurement and distribution.
Direct payments will be based on actual losses due to prices and
markets impacted by COVID-19. Commodity
procurement will be focused on beef, dairy, pork, fruits, and vegetables.
This week, USDA Under Secretary for Farm Programs and Conservation
Bill Northey told row crop stakeholders that USDA is still working to determine
how losses will be calculated and other details on how the program will
function. For example, which prices are
most appropriate to use for each commodity since they are all marketed differently.
The single direct payments will be based on market price losses as
a direct result of the pandemic.
Payments will be commodity-by-commodity and will be capped at $125,000
per commodity or a total of $250,000 per individual or entity. There is an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) cap
of $900,000 for eligibility unless 75 percent or more of the income is derived
from agriculture.
USA Rice has been closely monitoring rice prices throughout the
pandemic, many of which have noticeably increased over the past several
months. Of particular note is the 70
cent drop in southern medium grain prices from January to February, which
according to USDA's metric of a 5 percent or greater loss would trigger a
payment. USA Rice will continue working
with USDA to provide information and details as officials continue developing
CFAP.
USDA also announced commodity procurement details, which include
purchases of $100 million per month for fresh fruits and vegetables, $100
million per month for dairy, and $100 million per month in meat products. At this point, rice will not be included in
these purchases.
"USA Rice staff continues to stay in contact with USDA
officials to learn more about the CFAP details," said Ben Mosely, USA Rice
vice president of government affairs.
"While overall rice prices haven't decreased as we've seen in other
agricultural commodities, the industry has seen some impacts and we're working
with USDA to show these damages."
USDA will reevaluate the situation for additional aid later this
year, and said that additional funding will be required in order to provide aid
to all agriculture industry sectors that have been affected by COVID-19, amidst
an already tough year with low prices, weather, and trade issues.
Congress Provides Additional Funding
for Small Businesses
By Jamison Cruce
WASHINGTON, DC -- This week, Congress passed the Paycheck
Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, which will provide
additional funding for small businesses and hospitals. The bill passed the Senate on Tuesday by
unanimous consent, but House Members traveled to Washington for consideration
of the bill, which ultimately passed yesterday afternoon. President Trump has signed the bill.
The popular Payroll Protection Program (PPP) received an additional
$321 billion in funding that provides loans to small businesses, including
agribusinesses fitting the SBA's definition, to retain employees or hire back
employees laid-off due to the effects of the pandemic. The bill also provides an additional $60
billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) program and makes a
technical correction that will allow agriculture enterprises with not more than
500 employees to apply and receive loans and grants through the program.
"The Payroll Protection Program and other small business
programs have been key for some farmers and agribusinesses to keep their
employees working and paid," Mosely said.
"USA Rice appreciates the work of Congress and the Administration
to provide additional funding for these programs and extending EIDL program
eligibility to agribusinesses."
http://www.tnledger.com/editorial/article.aspx?id=128480
How to fast properly for Ramadan
according to health experts
Ramadan means a
month of daily fasting but there are things you need to know - here are all
your questions answered
CLICK TO PLAY
Ramadan is a
time of fasting - but why is that and what is the best way to do it?
Muslims fast
each day from early morning through to sunset.
That means
going without food and drink - along with smoking, sex and other 'sinful
behaviours'.
The aim of the
fasting is to feel closer to Allah (God), reminding worshippers of their human
frailty and need for the Almighty to provide food so they can survive.
The fasting
also shows people what it feels like to be hungry and thirsty so they than have
greater understanding and compassion for the poor and needy and therefore feel
a greater duty to help.
Going without
meals - including all the preparation, sitting down to eat and then cleaning up
- also means Muslims have more time to focus their thoughts on prayer and
spirituality.
Some of the food on the Ramadan menu at Comptoir Libanais
It's not
advisable to fast in the last few days of the month that comes before Ramadan.
This is to
create a gap between any voluntary fasts in the month of Shaban and the
obligatory fasting of the month of Ramadan.
Not taking part
in any fasting just before Ramadan would also mean you're in good health and
ready for an entire month of abstaining from food and drink for a large part of
every day.
Medical experts
and Islamic researchers have also put together the following answers to key
fasting questions for the NHS.
Preparing food during the holy month of Ramadan in Dubai, United
Arab Emirates. Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images
THE
DOS AND DON'TS OF FASTING
Should
you fast if you have diabetes?
People with
Type 1 diabetes shouldn't usually fast, but people with Type 2 diabetes on
insulin should be able to. Their GP may advise adjusting the dose of their
insulin, or their insulin type may need to be changed.
I
get severe migraines when I don't eat and they get worse when I fast. Should I
fast?
People with
uncontrolled migraines should not fast. But managing your migraines is possible
with the right medicine and certain lifestyle changes. Ask your GP for further
advice on controlling your migraines.
Should
you fast if you have high or low blood pressure?
People with
well-controlled high blood pressure can fast. Your GP may advise you to change
your medicine to help you take tablets outside fasting times. Someone with low
blood pressure who is otherwise healthy may fast. They must ensure they drink enough
fluid and have enough salt.
Palestinians shop in the Alzaoya market on the first day of
Ramadan, where observants fast each day. Dates are a popular choice for
breaking the fast because they contain natural sugars to give the body a source
of energy (Image: Getty Images)
Can
you fast if you're getting a blood transfusion in hospital?
No. Someone
receiving a blood transfusion is advised not to fast on medical grounds. They
may fast on the days when no transfusions are required.
I
am on regular medication. Can I still fast?
Speak to your
GP for advice on specific medicines.
Can
you take tablets, have injections or use patches while fasting?
Taking tablets
breaks the fast. But injections, patches, ear drops, and eye drops don't break
the fast as they're not considered to be food and drink – though there are
differences of opinion among Muslim scholars on these issues. Islamic law says
sick people shouldn't fast.
Is
fasting harmful when a woman is expecting a baby? Must pregnant women fast?
There's medical
evidence to show that fasting in pregnancy isn't a good idea. If a pregnant
woman feels strong and healthy enough to fast, especially during the early part
of the pregnancy, she may do so.
If she doesn't
feel well enough to fast, Islamic law gives her clear permission not to, and to
make up the missed fasts later. If she's unable to do this, she must perform
fidyah, a method of compensation for a missed act of worship, such as paying
for someone to be fed.
Does
a breastfeeding woman have to fast?
No. Islamic law
says a breastfeeding mother doesn't have to fast. Missed fasts must be
compensated for by fasting at a later date, or fidyah, once breastfeeding has
stopped.
Is
Ramadan a good time to quit smoking?
Yes. Smoking is
bad for your health and Ramadan is a great opportunity to change unhealthy
habits, including smoking. To find your local service, visit the Smokefree
website or ask your doctor or nurse to refer you to your local service.
You can also
call the NHS Smokefree Helpline number on 0300 123 1044 (0300 123 1014 minicom)
and ask to speak to an interpreter for the language you need. The helpline is
open from 9am-8pm Monday to Friday, and from 11am-4pm on Saturday and Sunday.
From
what age can children fast safely?
Children are
required to fast when they reach puberty. It isn't harmful.
Fasting for
children under the age of seven or eight isn't advisable. It's a good idea to
make children aware of what fasting involves and to practise fasting for a few
hours at a time.
Can
I use an asthma inhaler during Ramadan?
Muslim experts
have differing opinions on this issue. Some say using an asthma inhaler isn't
the same as eating or drinking and is therefore permitted during fasting. In
their view, people with asthma can fast and use their inhalers whenever they
need to.
But other
scholars say the inhaler provides small amounts of liquid medicine to the
lungs, so it breaks the fast. They say people with poor control of their asthma
mustn't fast until good control is achieved.
Some people
with asthma may opt for longer-acting inhalers so they can fast. See your GP
for further advice.
Can
I swim during fasting?
Yes, but don't
drink the water. A bath or shower, or swimming, has no effect on the fast. No
water should be swallowed during any of these activities, as that would break
the fast.
Aubergine moussaka on a Ramandan menu
Could
dehydration become so bad that you have to break the fast?
Yes. You could
become very dehydrated if you don't drink enough water before the fast. Poor
hydration can be made worse by weather conditions and even everyday activities
like walking to work or housework.
If you produce
very little or no urine, feel disoriented and confused, or faint as a result of
dehydration, you must stop fasting and have a drink of water or other fluid.
Islam doesn't
require you to make yourself ill when you fast. If a fast is broken, it will
need to be compensated for by fasting at a later date.
Can
I fast while I have dialysis?
People on
dialysis mustn't fast and should perform fidyah, such as paying for someone to
be fed.
BEST
AND WORST FOODS FOR FASTING
The Department
of Health has given expert advice on fasting:
As the Ramadan
fast only extends from early morning until sunset, there is plenty of
opportunity to replenish the body's energy stores at pre-dawn and evening
meals.
This prevents
the body breaking down muscle to use protein as an emergency source of energy.
The fasts of
Ramadan can improve a person’s health but - if the correct diet is not followed
- could make it worse.
The diet should
be simple and not differ too much from a person’s normal everyday diet.
It should
contain foods from all the major food groups - fruit and vegetables; bread,
cereal and potatoes; meat, fish and alternatives; milk and dairy foods; foods
containing fat; foods containing sugar.
Complex
carbohydrates will help release energy slowly during the long hours of fasting.
They are found in grains and seeds, such as barley, wheat, oats, millets,
semolina, beans, lentils, wholemeal flour and basmati rice.
It's all about the dates! This fruit is the secret to fasting
success at Ramadan
Fibre-rich
foods are also digested slowly and include bran, cereals, whole wheat, grains
and seeds, potatoes with the skin kept on, vegetables such as green beans and
almost all fruit including apricots, prunes and figs.
Foods to avoid
are heavily-processed, fast-burning foods that contain refined carbohydrates in
the form of sugar, white flour, etc. as well as too much fatty food (e.g.
cakes, biscuits, chocolates and sweets, such as Indian Mithai).
It may also be
worth avoiding the caffeine content in drinks such as tea, coffee and cola.
Caffeine is a diuretic and stimulates faster water loss through urination.
Suhoor, the
pre-dawn meal, should be a wholesome, moderate meal that is filling and
provides enough energy for many hours.
It is therefore
particularly important to include slowly-digesting foods in the suhoor.
Iftar is the
meal which breaks the day’s fast.
This meal could
include dates, following the Prophetic traditions. Dates will provide a
refreshing burst of much-needed energy. Fruit juices will also have a similar
revitalising effect.
The meal should remain a meal and not become a
feast. Try to minimise the rich, special dishes that traditionally celebrate
the fast and keep to the advice above.
NFA releases 33K
bags of rice to Caraga LGUs
April 24, 2020, 9:47 pm
BUTUAN CITY – The National Food Authority
in Caraga Region (NFA-13) said it has already released a total of 33,755 bags
of rice to different local government units (LGUs) in the region as part of the
government measures to cushion the impact of the 2019 coronavirus disease
(Covid-19) crisis.
NFA-13 information officer Amielou Jane G. Mendoza said Friday the bags of rice were delivered from March 16 to April 17.
“We have enough rice inventory our stocks are stored in different NFA warehouses in the region. These stocks are ready for release if needed especially for the relief efforts of our LGUs,” Mendoza told the Philippine News Agency.
As of Friday (April 24), she said NFA-13 has a total inventory of 15,665 bags of rice while a separate 112,175 bags of palay now being stocked for on-going milling operations in contracted miller-contractors in the region.
Mendoza said NFA-13 Regional Manager Alojado signed memorandum of agreements with relief agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD), and the LGUs that will allow them to withdraw rice on credit from the NFA for relief operations anytime--especially during calamities and emergencies.
“All the recently withdrawn sacks of rice were already fully paid by the respective LGUs. Through the MOA, the LGUs pay us through the voucher system and checks,” she said.
NFA-13 has a targeted procurement of around 200,000 bags of palay for the year 2020 from the local farmers.
As of this month, the agency has already procured 9,592 bags of clean and fresh palay from farmers at the price of PHP19 per kilo. (PNA)
NFA-13 information officer Amielou Jane G. Mendoza said Friday the bags of rice were delivered from March 16 to April 17.
“We have enough rice inventory our stocks are stored in different NFA warehouses in the region. These stocks are ready for release if needed especially for the relief efforts of our LGUs,” Mendoza told the Philippine News Agency.
As of Friday (April 24), she said NFA-13 has a total inventory of 15,665 bags of rice while a separate 112,175 bags of palay now being stocked for on-going milling operations in contracted miller-contractors in the region.
Mendoza said NFA-13 Regional Manager Alojado signed memorandum of agreements with relief agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD), and the LGUs that will allow them to withdraw rice on credit from the NFA for relief operations anytime--especially during calamities and emergencies.
“All the recently withdrawn sacks of rice were already fully paid by the respective LGUs. Through the MOA, the LGUs pay us through the voucher system and checks,” she said.
NFA-13 has a targeted procurement of around 200,000 bags of palay for the year 2020 from the local farmers.
As of this month, the agency has already procured 9,592 bags of clean and fresh palay from farmers at the price of PHP19 per kilo. (PNA)
Cebu City readies 150K more sacks of rice
By: Morexette Marie B. Erram - General
Assignments Reporter/CDN Digital|April 24,2020 - 04:24 PM
RICE | CDN FILE PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Cebu City Government will be
distributing another round of rice assistance to the city’s underprivileged
soon.
Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella
on Friday, April 24, 2020, announced in a press briefing that they have already purchased
additional 150,000 sacks of rice.
Labella said the sacks of rice
are part of the city government’s efforts in providing a ‘second wave’ of assistance to those who are
direly affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) which has been
extended to May 15.
“Since we declared an extension of our ECQ, we decided to give a
second wave of 150,000 sacks of rice for those who needed assistance,” said
Labella in Cebuano.
He added that the city government will be delivering the sacks
of rice to officials from the city’s 80 barangays who, by then, are tasked to
do an inventory and profiling of those who are qualified to receive the
assistance.
Labella again reminded the public that the rice aid is intended
only for those who were greatly affected by the economic impact of the
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“We are a city with a population of 1.1 million but I would like
to remind everyone again that not all will be provided with rice assistance,”
Labella said.
“This is only for those who lost their jobs due to ECQ and those
belonging in the informal sector,” he added.
Labella said habal-habal (motorcycle-for-hire) drivers are
included in the city’s list of qualified beneficiaries for the rice assistance.
/rcg
Farmers face new challenges in their ongoing quest for water
The Yolo Bypass is an active
floodplain that is also used for agriculture. Local water agencies are looking
to replicate this model elsewhere.
By Emily Hamann – Staff
Writer, Sacramento Business Journal
Not a
drop of rain fell in February in Sacramento until the end of the month, making
it the driest February on record for much of Northern California. For many
farmers it was a painful harkening back to the drought that reached its peak
and 2015, and marked the driest period in recorded California history.
“Farmers get nervous by nature,” said David Guy, president of the Northern California Water Association. But
it’s not time to sound the alarms just yet, he said.
“It’s not really a drought year; it’s more of a
mixed year,” Guy said. The snowpack in the northern Sierra is at around 60% of
normal, but the rivers and reservoirs are relatively full. Most growers, but
not all, should be able to get the water they want, he said.
“There’s actually some folks right now in farm
country that have had their water cut back,” Guy said. Some farmers have been
told they’ll only be able to get around 75% of the water they normally would.
One dry year isn’t necessarily cause for alarm
in the almond orchards, which cover more than 30,000 acres of farmland in the
four-county Sacramento region.
“Almond trees are actually pretty resilient,”
said Katherine Jarvis-Shean, a Sacramento-area
orchard farm advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension.
RECOMMENDED
“One year with low precipitation is not a
problem with groundwater,” Jarvis-Shean said. “The problem is if we continue to
have dry winters.”
That’s what happened during the last drought,
when those with wells were taking water out of the ground faster than it was
being replaced.
“Some wells had problems getting enough
pressure,” Jarvis-Shean said. “The water table dropped below where the wells
were deep enough to get it.”
It was more difficult for growers in the San
Joaquin Valley, which has larger farming operations, less plentiful surface
water and slower-replenishing groundwater. There, some almond growers were
forced to take out some of their trees in order to concentrate their limited
water resources. For the most part, in the Sacramento region, almond growers
were able to make it through.
“It was a patchwork of solutions, really
depending on your resources,” Jarvis-Shean said. “But everybody felt the
squeeze.”
At the regulatory level, the drought left some
indelible marks on the way farmers are allowed to use water.
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act,
which former Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in 2014, has
the potential to transform the way crops are farmed in California. It’s aimed
at making sure groundwater isn’t pumped out of the ground faster than it can be
replaced. By the most conservative estimate, 500,000 acres of agriculture land
are expected to go fallow in the San Joaquin Valley as the SGMA is implemented
over the next 20 years.
“Folks in the Sacramento Valley are working
hard on their plans,” Guy said. “But they’re not due until 2022.”
In the shorter term, however, the looming
threat of state regulations is causing some local farmers to make other
changes.
The State Water Resources Control Board is
working on new water quality standards for the Bay-Delta region, and the
rivers, including the Sacramento, and tributaries that lead into it.
Instead of waiting for the state to come down
with new restrictions, many water agencies, which represent farmers, cities and
other consumers of surface water, have been working toward voluntary agreements
with the state, to proactively try to improve water conditions and wildlife
habitat.
“If we can improve conditions for fish and
wildlife, then there’s going to be less pressure on redirecting water away from
farms and cities,” Guy said.
Along the Sacramento River, there's an ongoing
project to try to restore some of the natural floodplain that used to replenish
the river. Long ago, levees were built along the river and many of those
floodplains are now used for farming.
“A lot of it involves having water in the right
place at the right time for fish,” Guy said.
The land could be used for farming in the
spring and summer, and flood in the winter. For decades, many rice farmers have
been flooding their fields after harvest, to break down the leftover rice straw
and provide habitat for birds.
Now these water agencies and the state are
looking into whether flooding those fields, as well as fields used for other
field crops, can help fish as well.
“The science is all really promising,” Guy
said.
Currently, 5,000 to 10,000 acres of farmland
has been identified for the experiment.
“We’d love to scale this up from 5,000 to
10,000 to hundreds of thousands of acres over the next several decades,” Guy
said.
Doing that will require, in part, sign on from
more landowners.
https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2020/04/24/farmers-face-new-challenges-in-their-ongoing-quest.html
Rice Growers Look Forward to ‘Normal’ Planting
Season
California rice growers are looking forward to a return to
average conditions for planting this year, after experiencing inclement weather
over the past few years that created delays for growers. Communications Manager
for the California Rice Commission, Jim Morris said it is welcome news for the
industry.
“It’s a normal start to the
planting season and that may not sound like a lot but it’s actually very
significant because for the past several years we’ve had a lot of delays. We’ve
had late spring rains which has hampered our ability to get the fields ready,
to get the airplanes flying,” Morris noted. “Speaking with growers,
they’re more often two weeks or so ahead of recent years.”
The past few years rice growers
have had to wait until later in the year to get into the fields to begin
planting preparations. The delayed planting of years past resulted in a shortened
planting period and put a strain on some of the resources the industry relies
on. “The season is not as truncated and when you’re working with a finite
amount of resources like flying services, etcetera, the fact that it’s going in
a more orderly fashion really helps everyone out,” Morris explained.
The warm weather that is in the
forecast should provide favorable conditions to allow growers to get into the
fields to level the ground before applying water and allowing aircraft to drop
pregerminated seed. Planting should be wrapping up at the end of May, into
early June at the latest.
Figures from the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service show that California growers are
expected to plant 500,000 acres of rice this year, an increase of 2,000 acres
over the previous year. “We’ll see how it plays out; 500,000 is a good solid
crop and what we would expect. We think that there is a possibility that there
actually could be additional acres to that, we’ll just wait and see,” said
Morris.
Pakistan's exports to
Africa increases by 10 percent in previous 10 months: SAPM Razak Dawood
APP
The Prime Minister Adviser on Commerce and
Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood on
Friday said Pakistan’s exports to African countries have increased by 10
percent from July 1st , 2019 to April 21st, 2020, as compared to the same
period during last Fiscal Year.
The adviser said, “I would like to commend my
team at the Ministry of commerce for the ‘Look Africa Policy Initiative’ under
which rice exports has increased by 20 percent from US $ 500 to US $ 600
milliom, tractors from US $ 9 to 15 million, clothing from Us $ 4 to 50 million
and bed linen from US $ 30 to US $ 36 million, he shared these view on his
twitter account.
He also announced that Drawback of Local Taxes
and Levies (DLTL) refunds of Rs 828 million for non-textile sector had been
transferred to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and reimbursement would start from
today.
He said the western economic block would
gradually opening up there market and there were trickles of order coming from
them to provide huge opportunity to the local industrial sector.
The adviser said, “I am appealing to local
textiles industry to take full advantage of these new opportunities to enter in
new segment and new geography”.
He reiterated that the government would fully
support to the Industrial sector in that regard.
State govt to provide wheat, rice to
66 lakh families
Ashwani Kumar
added that the task of depositing Rs 1,000 as financial assistance in
the bank accounts of 66 lakh PHH card holders under the NFSA is on. And till
Thursday Rs 340 crore has been deposited in the bank accounts of PHH
cardholders through Direct Bank Transfer (DBT).
By: Express News Service | Ahmedabad | Published: April 24, 2020 1:06:17 am
As part of its relief measures for the priority households (PHH)
under the NFSA, the state government had allocated grains for the 66 lakh
families in the beginning of the month. (Representational Photo)
The state government has decided to provide 3.5 kg wheat and 1.5
kg rice per person to around 66 lakh families falling under the purview of the
National Food Security Act (NFSA) free of cost between April 25 and 29. This
will include 3.25 crore people of Gujarat. Secretary to the Chief Minister,
Ashwani Kumar made the decision public while addressing mediapersons here
Thursday.
As part of its relief measures
for the priority households (PHH) under the NFSA, the state government had
allocated grains for the 66 lakh families in the beginning of the month. The
latest allocation – from 17,000 fair price shops (FPS) in the state – will be
in addition to that, said Kumar.
Kumar also said that as part of
the state government’s efforts to bring normalcy to everyday life, Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani has also given instructions to district collectors to
give working permission to self-employed workers like plumber, carpenter,
electrician, motor-repairer, auto-mechanic.
Kumar added that the task of
depositing Rs 1,000 as financial assistance in the bank accounts of 66 lakh PHH
card holders under the NFSA is on. And till Thursday Rs 340 crore has been
deposited in the bank accounts of PHH cardholders through Direct Bank Transfer
(DBT).
Price of rice records a
sharp increase in Tiruchi
TIRUCHI, APRIL 23, 2020 20:29 IST
Most retail and grocery stores in Tiruchi sell one kg of high
quality Ponni rice at ₹60 a kg. | Photo Credit: M_SRINATH
‘Upward revision is due to high
cost of transportation’
Despite availability of sufficient stocks of paddy with rice
mills, price of rice has recorded sharp increase in the retail market in
Tiruchi.
On an average, the price has gone by ₹6 -12 a kg of boiled rice,
depending on the quality and variety. In retail rice stores and grocery shops
in Tiruchi, one kg of Mannachanallur Ponni (old) variety was sold between ₹56 and ₹62. The price of Mannachanallur
ponni (new) was hovering between ₹45 and ₹50.
Before the imposition of lockdown, one kg of Mannachanallur
Ponni (old) was sold at ₹48 -54 and new rice was sold at ₹42-46. Prices of Andhra and Karnataka ponni have also gone by ₹5-6 a kg. Similarly, the rates of
idly rice have also risen by ₹5 a kg.
“Most retail and grocery stores in the city sell one kg of high
quality Ponni rice at ₹60 a kg. The rate is ₹56 in a few stores. The upward revision is due to high cost of
transportation of rice,” says Manikandan, who runs a grocery store in Cantonment.
However, except a few old varieties of rice, the rates in
Mannachanallur, where about dozens of rice mills are located, remain unchanged
for the last five months. Though the supply chain was disrupted for a week
after the lockdown, it was restored quickly with the intervention of the State
government.
Due to sharp increase in prices of rice, several consumers visit
Mannachanallur to buy rice directly from the mills.
M. Sivanandan, who owns a rice mill at Mannachallur, told The
Hindu that the number of consumers from Tiruchi, who visited
Mannachallur to buy rice directly from the mills, had gone up sharply over the
last few days. It was mainly due to a big difference in price.
Industry sources attributed the price rise to a section of
retailers, who have created an “artificial shortage” of rice in the wake of
curfew restrictions. Some traders, who have taken, advantage of restriction in
business hours and business days, have increased the prices.
Industry sources further said that there was no reason for price
rise in the near future as rice mills have piled up stocks. Moreover, farmers
also have a huge stock. The current price would likely to continue up to the
year end.
Donations in China to combat virus
over 10b yuan
PUBLISHED 1
FEBRUARY 2020
By
Zou Shuo
BEIJING
(China Daily/ANN) -Charitable donations in China to combat the novel
coronavirus epidemic have reached more than 10.1 billion yuan ($1.46 billion)
as of Thursday midnight, the China Charity Alliance said on Friday.
Chinese
enterprises have donated more than 2.2 billion yuan by Thursday, with internet
giant Alibaba contributing 1 billion yuan, and Baidu and Tencent each donating
300 million yuan to combat the epidemic, it said.
Donations
from social charity organizations amounted to 287 million yuan by Thursday, the
alliance said.
The
Ministry of Civil Affairs has called on more charitable donations to help
prevent and contain the epidemic on Jan 26.
The
alliance called on charitable organizations to collect goods and raise money
according to laws and regulations, strengthen information disclosure and be
open to public scrutiny.
Friday, April 24th, 2020 at
,
by SHAHEERA AZNAM SHAH/ pic by MUHD AMIN
NAHARUL
WHILE there has been a surge in food prices in
several countries, Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) will continue to safeguard
the price stability and rice supply in Malaysia amid the Covid-19 crisis.
“The pandemic has caused some countries to
increase their staple food prices including rice, and it has raised some
concerns that it could disrupt Malaysia’s supply.
“As mentioned by the Agriculture and Food
Industries Ministry (MoA) as well as other relevant ministries, Malaysia’s
security and food supply is currently under control.
“The staple foods are still widely available
and the prices have remained the same prior to the Covid-19 outbreak,” the
country’s single rice importer said in a statement yesterday.
It added that Bernas is committed to ensuring
rice prices will remain stable despite the rise in global food prices, and they
will bear the additional costs of rice and operation to maintain its stability.
Bernas said it has also maintained the prices
of local white rice and imported rice for the wholesale purchase.
Bernas was responding to a claim by the Malay Economic
Action Council (MTEM) saying that rice millers and wholesalers are pressured by
the price hike set by the rice importer.
It also refuted MTEM’s statement which claimed
Bernas has been receiving subsidies and that the MoA is monopolising the rice
import.
“To date, Bernas has been keeping to its
responsibility in managing the rice industry development and its duty as rice
importer.
“Bernas will continue to manage the subsidy
payments to farmers, administer the Bumiputera paddy scheme, ensure paddy
procurement from farmers at guaranteed prices and be responsible as the last
buyer from farmers,” it said.
Bernas added that it will continue to cooperate
with the MoA to ensure the viability of the rice industry.
Saturday, 25 Apr 2020
GENERAL
BERNAS says rice
sales to Sabah up 10 pct in first 3 months
x
RELATED NEWS
24/04/2020 12:03 PM
KOTA KINABALU, April 24 — Padiberas Nasional Bhd (BERNAS)
recorded a nearly 10 per cent rise in sales of rice to Sabah for the
first three months of this year compared with the same period last year.
In a statement today, BERNAS said rice sales for April
saw a 40 per cent jump over the average for the state.
“There was also a 27 per cent increase in the number of rice
wholesalers with no record of purchase buying from BERNAS, while around 61 per
cent of wholesalers in Sabah had bought more than the normal amount of rice.
‘Of this percentage, 37 wholesalers bought more than 100 per
cent of the normal amount,” it said.
The statement was issued in response to a local news report on
Wednesday entitled “BERNAS Urged Not To Ration Rice Supply in Sabah”.
The report quoted Malaysian Youth Council vice
president Azuwan Marjan as saying he had been informed by wholesalers in
Sabah that BERNAS had started rationing its rice supply to them since April 13.
BERNAS clarified that unusually high purchases had prompted the
agency to take precautionary steps by restricting sales to certain wholesalers
in order to prevent hoarding.
It was aimed at preventing the rice supplied to Sabah being sold
to other countries like Indonesia and the Philippines in view of the rice price
in Malaysia being the lowest in the Southeast Asia region.
The statement added that joint monitoring with the Ministry of
Agriculture and Food Industry will continue to ensure the supply of rice is
controlled, especially for Sabah.
— BERNAMA
Australia and
Cambodia work together to boost agriculture sector
Harrison
White and Vannak Chea / Khmer Times
Australian Ambassador Pablo Kang has met Cambodian Minister of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries HE Veng Sakhon to discuss strengthening
agricultural exports and how Australia can assist boosting local food security
and rural incomes.
The meeting was held at the Ministry’s headquarters in Phnom
Penh and a key topic was Australia’s signature agricultural aid initiative –
the Cambodia Agricultural Value Chain Programme (CAVAC) – that will provide
more than $50 million to mobilise additional advisers to help the government
maintain food security and resolve supply chain issues in the face of COVID-19
disruption.
The programme will also work with farmers, businesses and
government to boost agricultural productivity, diversify crops and target new
markets, all of which are critical given the number of Cambodian workers
expected to enter the agriculture sector because of job losses elsewhere.
According to the Australian Embassy, CAVAC has already built
irrigation schemes providing 12,000 Cambodian farmers with year-round access to
irrigated water and is supporting 135,000 farmers to improve their farming
practices.
In a statement released after the meeting, Veng Sakhon stated
his profound thanks to the Australian Government and people for their continued
support for the development of Cambodia.
“These projects have really contributed to improving
productivity, creating jobs, ensuring food security, increasing exports,
competing to improve living standards, reduce poverty, migration and promote
national economic growth,” Veng said.
“In the context that Cambodia is facing a global epidemic of
deadly COVID-19 and isespecially in line with the policy of Prime Minister Hun
Sen, who has called on people to work hard to cultivate and promote
agricultural production to increase the supply of domestic demand and increase
productivity to ensure food supply for the daily living of the people and the
economy,” Veng added.
In response, Pablo Kang told Khmer
Times: “Australia is proud to be a long-standing supporter of the
agriculture sector in Cambodia. The economic effects of COVID-19 make it even
more important that we continue to this support, so Cambodian farmers can earn
incomes and feed their families.”
Additionally, the two also discussed the potential for
increasing “fragrant rice” exports to the Australian market with 9,700 tonnes
rice having already been exported to Australia in the first three months of
this year. Allowing some rice trading to continue after Hun Sen banned all exports
of white rice and paddy to keep for local consumption from earlier this month
until further notice to keep
According to Lun Yeng, secretary-general of the Cambodia Rice
Federation, Australia has the potential to be a leading export destination for
Cambodia’s fragrant rice exports now and general rice exports in the future.
“Australia is becoming a new and leading potential market for
both Cambodia’s premium and general rice exports because over the last few
years exports from Cambodia to Australia have increased significantly,” Yeng
said.
“Also, we think Australia will be a good market because many
buyers have partnered directly with local rice producers to ensure that quality
and production is in line with good sustainable practices for our farmers.”
Mismanagement
causes difficulties for Vietnam's rice exporters
24/04/2020 10:00 GMT+7
Hundreds of thousands of tons of rice in enterprises’
storehouses cannot be exported because of inconsistent policies.
On March 23, the government decided to stop rice exports as
proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) to ensure food security
during the pandemic.
On March 24, customs agencies stopped the customs clearance for all rice export shipments.
Later that day, MOIT unexpectedly asked the Prime Minister to allow resumption of rice exports.
Explaining the decision, MOIT said "there was a difference in statistics about stockpile and it was necessary to recalculate the total rice output".
The confusion of the state management agency can also be seen in the fact that the ministry also proposed stopping exporting sticky rice, though sticky rice is not a product for the national reserve.
 |
|
Hundreds of thousands of tons of rice in enterprises’
storehouses cannot be exported because of inconsistent policies.
|
As a result, enterprises could not export sticky rice, despite
the large inventory volume in An Giang and Long An provinces, 56,000 tons and
VND152,000 tons, respectively.
After local authorities and rice exporters complained about this, MOIT asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) if sticky rice is among the product items for national reserve, and asked for the Ministry of Finance’s (MOF) opinion.
MOF affirmed that it expressed its opinions twice, on April 3 and April 30, but the opinions were ignored by MOIT.
MOF said it then suggested allowing export of sticky rice because it is not a product for the national reserve. It also suggested stopping the export of ordinary rice to ensure that the government can buy enough ordinary rice for the national reserve.
Talking to VnExpress on April 18 about MOF’s explanations, MOIT Minister Tran Tuan Anh said the "suggestions are unreasonable". The opinions from ministries and branches were collected by MOIT and forwarded to the Prime Minister in MOIT’s report on April 6.
The General Department of Customs (GDC) also complained about the issue.
On March 24, when rice was carried to ports and exporters prepared to make customs declarations for exports, they were informed about the decision on rice export suspension.
On April 10, the Prime Minister agreed to resume rice exports and allowed 400,000 tons in April. On April 11 (Saturday), rice exporters were waiting to register rice exports, but GDC’s VNACCS system (Vietnam Automated Cargo Clearance System) did not work.
At 0am on April 12 (Saturday), the system was unexpectedly opened without public announcement. Six hours later, the system was closed again and rice exporters were informed that 400,000 tons had been cleared, which meant that other exporters would have no more opportunities to export rice in April.
Making a Case for
Safer Ways to Fight Rice Pests in the Greater Mekong
A new report in the Journal
of Integrated Pest Management shares the successes and lessons learned
from an advanced biological control-based IPM program that is helping rice
growers in China, Laos, and Myanmar manage pests in more environmentally and
economically sustainable ways. Here, scientists involved with the program
sample for pests in a rice field in Laos. (Image originally published in
Babendreier et al 2020, Journal of Integrated Pest Management)
By Dirk
Babendreier
Rice is
big business in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) in Southeast Asia—not only
as a vital source of food but also as a crop that provides work and income for
80 percent of the population. However, despite positive developments in the
last decade, millions of tons are still being lost to pests, diseases, and
weeds.
Dirk Babendreier
In a new
paper titled “Biological Control of Lepidopteran Pests in Rice: A
Multi-Nation Case Study From Asia,” published this week in the Journal
of Integrated Pest Management, fellow researchers from China, Laos,
Myanmar, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka join me in reporting on the impact of stem
borers in rice producing countries, where they regularly cause yield losses of
about 20 percent. Indeed, in some parts of the Philippines and Indonesia, white
stem borer can cause tremendous losses to productivity and alternatives to
insecticide use are urgently required.
While
farmers have been fighting back with pesticides, this is not sustainable in the
long run and instead my colleagues and I advocate the use of more
environmentally friendly solutions. Working with partners, including the
MARA-CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio-safety and the Chinese Academy of
Agricultural Sciences, we are making a case that integrated pest management
(IPM) for rice production in the GMS can bring about a more environmentally and
economically sustainable rice pest management strategy for southwestern China,
Laos, and Myanmar.
Key to
this strategy is the establishment of 12 Trichogramma spp. rearing
facilities (TRFs), four in each of the participating countries. The most
promising strains of T. chilonis and T.
japonicus were selected for production in the TRFs based on
extensive field surveys, as well as laboratory and field release studies. The
project also considered the potential for Trichogramma spp. of each
strain to withstand the high temperatures expected under a changing climate.
By
implementing an IPM strategy, farmers are already reaping the benefits with
higher rice yields (2-10 percent) and an increase in natural enemy abundance;
for example, twice as many spiders! There have also been, on average, 1.5 fewer
applications of insecticides on IPM plots compared to conventionally treated
fields.
During a
capacity-building program, IPM practices with strong cultural and biological
control-based components were promoted among around 50 IPM trainers and more
than 6,400 rice farmers. As well as teachings in the classroom setting, there
were also demonstrations of IPM in the field.
Despite
considerable efforts toward implementing biological control-based IPM in rice
production, a number of challenges were apparent. At the farmer’s level, there
was a lack of knowledge of IPM, including a lack of knowledge about the
rational use of pesticides. For example, farmers often have a poor understanding
of the environmental and health problems associated with pesticides. Moreover,
the hot conditions, especially in Myanmar and Laos, made it tough to keep the
TRFs free from pests. Very positive, however, was the considerable support from
national stakeholders who were excited to increase their capacities in the area
of IPM and biological control.
Our case
study shared in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management indicates
the potential successes of advanced biological control-based IPM systems. As
such, our team believes these systems merit wider consideration, including
adaptations for other regions and crops. By adopting a smarter and less
pesticide-reliant way of fighting rice pests and diseases, we can help secure
not only livelihoods but also local, national, and global food security.
How retailers inadvertently contribute to
hoarding
The
COVID-19 pandemic brought out people’s hoarding instinct. Since social
distancing and sheltering in place became the norm, stores have been sold out
of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and food staples as Americans worried about
potential shortages buy ahead—and thereby create actual shortages.
Governments often worry that shortages will
lead to price gouging. In fact, big retailers fear being accused of unfairly
hiking prices, but their delay in increasing prices in response to demand
spikes may actually contribute to hoarding, according to Imperial College
London’s Christopher Hansman, Columbia’s Harrison Hong,
University College London’s Aureo de Paula,
and New York University’s Vishal Singh.
Humans have probably always engaged in
hoarding, the researchers argue, but the role of modern marketplaces has been
poorly understood, they write. To help rectify this, they studied consumer
behavior in the United States during a 300 percent surge in global rice prices
in 2008.
One of the challenges in studying hoarding has
been a lack of granular, store-shelf-level data. Hansman, Hong, de Paula, and
Singh mined the Nielsen Datasets at Chicago Booth’s Kilts
Center for Marketing, drawing on a panel of more than 100,000 households that
used handheld scanners to record every grocery-store purchase. The researchers
extracted a sample covering 9,000 stores for 2007–09, with 1.1 million monthly
observations of 42,000 households. This provided a window into US consumers’
behavior during the global rice crisis.
Following shoppers’ hoarding binge,
stores hiked prices
Hansman
et al., 2020
The crisis started with India’s politically
motivated 2007 ban on rice exports, and continued until Japan agreed to release
rice reserves to the world market in mid-2008. Amid media reports of hoarding
and surging international prices, American consumers went on a rice-hoarding
binge between mid-April and mid-May 2008, increasing purchases by 40 percent
just as international wholesale prices peaked, the researchers find.
Store-level prices didn’t budge until much
later, according to the study. This is consistent with extensive research
documenting the “sticky prices” phenomenon in a modern national market
dominated by giant retailing chains. After the hoarding period, store-level
rice prices eventually climbed 23 percent, consistent with where wholesale
costs finally settled on the global market, the data indicate. This effectively
gave consumers a 23 percent discount, which the researchers calculate accounted
for roughly half of the hoarding observed in the study.
By estimating household rice consumption and
stockpiling, the researchers find that a handful of households may have tried
to buy enough rice that they could resell it at a profit. But the vast majority
of hoarding appeared to be for households’ own use.
There are two policy implications, the
researchers write. First, governments needn’t particularly concern themselves
with trying to regulate or crack down on price gouging by mainstream retailers.
They observe that media reporting on COVID-19 hoarding and shortages suggests
that attempts at profiteering mostly involve a small sample of opportunistic
online resellers.
Secondly, what should concern policy makers is
the finding that wealthier people bought more, while relatively low-income or
otherwise vulnerable groups did less hoarding even as prices stayed flat, most
likely because they lacked the resources, the researchers write. Consequently,
controlling prices to prevent gouging won’t help people in these groups to
retain access to necessities in hoarding episodes.
“Policies that ensure protected groups retain
access to staples—as, for example, some grocery stores have done for the
elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic—should be considered within the regulatory
toolkit,” the researchers write.
Making a Case
for Safer Ways to Fight Rice Pests in the Greater Mekong
A new report in the Journal
of Integrated Pest Management shares the successes and lessons learned
from an advanced biological control-based IPM program that is helping rice
growers in China, Laos, and Myanmar manage pests in more environmentally and
economically sustainable ways. Here, scientists involved with the program
sample for pests in a rice field in Laos. (Image originally published in Babendreier
et al 2020, Journal of Integrated Pest Management)
By Dirk
Babendreier
Rice is
big business in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) in Southeast Asia—not only
as a vital source of food but also as a crop that provides work and income for
80 percent of the population. However, despite positive developments in the
last decade, millions of tons are still being lost to pests, diseases, and
weeds.
Dirk Babendreier
In a new
paper titled “Biological Control of Lepidopteran Pests in Rice: A
Multi-Nation Case Study From Asia,” published this week in the Journal
of Integrated Pest Management, fellow researchers from China, Laos,
Myanmar, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka join me in reporting on the impact of stem
borers in rice producing countries, where they regularly cause yield losses of
about 20 percent. Indeed, in some parts of the Philippines and Indonesia, white
stem borer can cause tremendous losses to productivity and alternatives to
insecticide use are urgently required.
While
farmers have been fighting back with pesticides, this is not sustainable in the
long run and instead my colleagues and I advocate the use of more
environmentally friendly solutions. Working with partners, including the
MARA-CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio-safety and the Chinese Academy of
Agricultural Sciences, we are making a case that integrated pest management
(IPM) for rice production in the GMS can bring about a more environmentally and
economically sustainable rice pest management strategy for southwestern China,
Laos, and Myanmar.
Key to
this strategy is the establishment of 12 Trichogramma spp. rearing
facilities (TRFs), four in each of the participating countries. The most
promising strains of T. chilonis and T.
japonicus were selected for production in the TRFs based on
extensive field surveys, as well as laboratory and field release studies. The
project also considered the potential for Trichogramma spp. of each strain
to withstand the high temperatures expected under a changing climate.
By
implementing an IPM strategy, farmers are already reaping the benefits with
higher rice yields (2-10 percent) and an increase in natural enemy abundance;
for example, twice as many spiders! There have also been, on average, 1.5 fewer
applications of insecticides on IPM plots compared to conventionally treated
fields.
During a
capacity-building program, IPM practices with strong cultural and biological
control-based components were promoted among around 50 IPM trainers and more
than 6,400 rice farmers. As well as teachings in the classroom setting, there
were also demonstrations of IPM in the field.
Despite
considerable efforts toward implementing biological control-based IPM in rice
production, a number of challenges were apparent. At the farmer’s level, there
was a lack of knowledge of IPM, including a lack of knowledge about the
rational use of pesticides. For example, farmers often have a poor
understanding of the environmental and health problems associated with
pesticides. Moreover, the hot conditions, especially in Myanmar and Laos, made
it tough to keep the TRFs free from pests. Very positive, however, was the
considerable support from national stakeholders who were excited to increase
their capacities in the area of IPM and biological control.
Our case
study shared in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management indicates
the potential successes of advanced biological control-based IPM systems. As
such, our team believes these systems merit wider consideration, including
adaptations for other regions and crops. By adopting a smarter and less pesticide-reliant
way of fighting rice pests and diseases, we can help secure not only
livelihoods but also local, national, and global food security.
