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Advisory
for Farmers during Lockdown period due to COVID-19
Dr. M. Premjit Singh *
Women planting rice at a Paddy Field in June 2010
Agricultural
and allied activities are exempted from lockdown as per Government of India
Guidelines. These exemptions will facilitate unhindered activities related to
agriculture and farming so as to ensure essential supplies and farmers do not
face any difficulty during the lockdown.
Amidst the threat of COVID-19 spread, the rabi crops are approaching maturity.
Harvesting and handling of the produce including its movement to the market are
inevitable as the agricultural operations are time bound.
However, farmers are to follow precautions and safety measures to be taken to
prevent the disease spread.
Simple measures include social distancing, maintaining personal hygiene by
washing of hands with soap, wearing of face mask, protective clothing and
cleaning of implements and machinery.
Workers are to follow safety measures and social distancing at each and every
step in the entire process of field operations.
Recently, Central Agricultural University, Imphal has developed 17 Advisories/
Protocols to mitigate the challenges during Lockdown period due to COVID-19
like
(i) Paneer preparation from the surplus milk production at home
(ii) Preparation of tomato puree, ketchup and sauce at home
(iii) Preparation of fermented cabbage (sauerkraut cabbage) at home
(iv) Extension of shelf life of fruits, vegetables and other farm produce in
Low Cost Zero Energy Cool Chamber at home
(v) Preparation of cucumber pickle in vinegar at home
(vi) Preparation of Lime/ Lemon pickle in salt
(vii) Nursery bed preparation for the kharifcrops
(viii) Homemade Neem Seed Kernel Extract for pest control
(ix) Advisory for Dairy farmers
(x) Advisory for poultry farmers
(xi) Advisory for pig farmers
(xii) Advisory for fish and pond health management
(xiii) Advisory for table fish growers/ producers
(xiv) Advisory for fish seed producer engaged in nursery and rearing enterprise
(xv) Advisory for preparation of homemade mask
(xvi) Advisory for antibacterial handmade mask etc.
These advisories are available in the University website www.cau.ac.in for
dissemination to the farmers of the region through the KVK network.
With the onset of monsoon, now the farmers in the state should initiate
effective planning for rice cultivation and other kharifcrops. There are
3(three) mantras for profitable rice cultivation i.e.,
(i) Quality seeds of high yielding rice variety,
(ii) Farm Mechanization, and
(iii) Good agronomic practice like Integrated Crop Management (ICM) / System of
Rice Intensification (SRI).
In order to help the rice farmers in the state, the University is planning to
contribute technical knowhow and services of scientists and students as COVID
warriors with high yielding University rice variety, CAU R-1 (Tamphaphou).
The University will also launch participatory Rice Seed Production programme in
the farmers’ field under the supervision of highly qualified scientists of the
University.
As a little contribution from the Academic Institution, the University has
initiated many efforts to fight the corona virus pandemic and produced about
70,600 kg of certified seeds of rice,
1,023 kg of Breeder seeds of rice,
2,109 kg of TFL seeds of soybean,
1,000 kg of TFL seeds of groundnut,
420 kg of TFL seeds of black gram,
200 kg TFL seeds of Green gram for kharif season and
8,000 kg of TFL seeds of Rapeseed/Mustard
for rabi season for scientific cultivation in the farmers’ field under
University Farmers Centric programmes.
Earlier University also planted more than 1 lakh fruit plants and developed 5
Model Fruit villages in the state. Another 5 Model Fruit villages will also be
developed within three months to fight malnutrition and Anaemia in the rural
areas.
ISLAMABAD: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(FPCCI) has requested the government to formulate strategies that could
decrease the country’s dependence on traditional exports like textiles,
leather, carpets, sports’ goods, stainless steel, surgical goods, rice etc.
In its budgetary proposals of the
fiscal year 2020-21, the FPCCI stressed the need for alternate ways to enhance
the country’s exports.
“Keeping in view the changing
global needs, there needs to be a shift in the composition of Pakistani
exports, which means promotion of high/medium technology exports,” the chamber
stated.
In addition, the government
should either reinstate zero-rating regime or reduce all input taxes, including
packaging material, to 6pc-9pc for five export sectors, besides issuing refund
claims within the stipulated time period.
“The government should also give
50pc air freight subsidy from EDF in order to make Pakistan’s exports
competitive in the international market,” it stated. “Land routes to
neighbouring countries (Iran & Afghanistan) should be strictly controlled
to stop smuggling.”
Meanwhile, FPCCI noted that the
prevailing non-tariff barriers have restrained the volume of Pakistan’s exports
to China and EU.
Pakistani exporters are facing
non-tariff barriers in safety and quality standards under the sanitary and
phytosanitary (SPS) agreement. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures apply to
trading commodities.
“There is also a need to shift
from inward orientation to an outward looking economy as it puts a greater
emphasis on exports to achieve high and sustainable growth. Pakistan should
adopt different contours of an export oriented strategy in order to remain
competitive in international market, especially with regards to countries like
India and Bangladesh.”
The FPCCI said that Pakistan
needs to penetrate the global synthetic products market which has overtaken
cotton as synthetic/MMF; polyester fibre (PSF) in particular has substantially
replaced cotton based fibre production. “But Pakistan still lags behind
MMF-based production and as a result is limiting itself to only some products.”
The chamber mentioned that these
proposals, if implemented, would create domestic demand suppression to promote
local and foreign investments in export sectors.
BRANDING
The chamber, in its proposals,
also emphasized upon the government to pay heed to the area of ‘branding’.
“There is a dire need that the
government should implement early the Geographical Indication Protection Law
after consultation with relevant federal and province ministries and holding
awareness programmes for traders, industrialists and farmers to ensure
registration and protection of their products, which will help in enhancing
exports.
Therefore, brand development and
special incentive packages should be provided for those exporters that are
engaged in marketing their own ‘brands’ in international markets.”
SMEs’ FACILITATION
The FPCCI noted that the SME
sector, which contributes 40pc to the GDP, constitutes 90pc of the enterprises,
employs 80pc non-agricultural workers and adds 25pc to the overall exports, has
been ignored by successive governments.
“SMEs are the backbone of our
economy and are facing major challenges, especially pertaining to high utility
charges, interest rate and complicated taxation.”
The chamber stated that in such a
high interest rate environment, it is unlikely that the SMEs sector could
trigger expansion or increase investment. SMEs are still under credit
constraints due to challenges and unavailable opportunities for access to
finance.
The State Bank of Pakistan
provides refinancing facility for modernization of SMEs at mark-up rate up to
6pc (2pc SBP refinance rate and 4pc banks’ spread) but the commercial banks are
reluctant to lend to SMEs.
In addition, the FPCCI
highlighted, more than 150 licenses are required by provincial/local
governments, different metropolitan corporations, municipal corporations, town
committees to start a business.
“The process should be made
easier and automated as the prevalent system only promotes corruption,
harassment etc.”
The chamber said there is a dire
need to focus on encouraging and facilitating the growth of cottage industries
as well as small enterprises. The government must facilitate them with all
basic requirements such as ease of tax and regulatory compliance for
sustainable growth and to provide them infrastructure where it is required.
The government should design a
policy based on a proactive strategy in full collaboration with SMEDA to reduce
tax and regulatory burden on micro and small firms that impacts their cost of
doing business.
It should also formulate a policy
incorporated with favourable enactments in favour of small and medium
enterprises in Pakistan which should be exempted from sales tax and FED and
from burden of utilities charges such as electricity, gas and water charges for
their ease to do business.
It was proposed that exemption be
given from income tax for 5 years in order to boost and promote this sector.
The Ministry of Food and
Agriculture has set a target to make Ghana self-sufficient in rice production
in the next two years.
The sector minister, Dr Owusu
Afriyie Akoto, said the government had invested in harvesters, other farming
implements and brought in four different types of solar-powered milling
machines from China to improve on the production chain of rice.
The minister disclosed this during
an interaction with farmer groups and value chain operators in the agricultural
sector in the Bono, Bono East and the Ashanti regions.
Tour
Dr Akoto, who was on a four-day
tour to those regions, also visited some farms to get first hand information on
the state of the sector as the farming season had begun.
During the tour, the minister met
with all the regional and district directors of agriculture in the three
regions, actors in the agricultural value chain such as market women, input
dealers, tractor operators and agro-food processors to ascertain their major challenges
and what the government could do to help them.
The minister, who was accompanied
by one of his deputies, Mr George Oduro, and sectional directors of the
ministry, observed that throughout the tour, the major challenges confronting
the farmers had to do with the absence of the needed machinery to enable them
to expand their farms, harvest timeously, mill the paddy rice, store their
crops and how to find market.
Investment
He said the concerns and challenges
of the farmers were being addressed as the ministry had already taken delivery
of 1,000 hand-held farming implements for distribution to farmers throughout
the country.
He explained that the implements
were procured with a Brazilian facility to address the challenges facing
farmers by easing the drudgery of manual farming.
Additionally, the solar-powered
milling machines had been sited in four different locations on a pilot basis,
and when proved to be effective and efficient, would be followed with over a
1,000 of such machines throughout the country where they were most needed.
Milling capacity
Dr Akoto observed that currently
the milling capacity of rice in the country was 400,000 metric tonnes, even
though the total demand stood at 1.2 million metric tonnes annually.
He said until 2017, the country’s
milling capacity was below 150,000 metric tonnes, which occasioned the huge
level of rice importation into the country, which he described as “unnecessary
and unwarranted”.
Self-sufficiency
Dr Akoto said with the introduction
of the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative, rice production had jumped from
138,000 metric tonnes in 2016 to 665,000 in 2019, projecting that by 2023, the
country would have reached self-sufficiency with about 29,000 metric tonnes as
surplus to spare.
“With all these, within two years,
the country would be self-sufficient in rice production so there will be no
need for us to spend the millions of dollars a year to import rice.
Pay back
The minister, however, reminded the
farmers that the machines were procured with a loan facility, and, therefore,
urged them to work with them and use the proceeds to pay back.
He urged them to form cooperatives
to be able to attract support since individually it could be a challenge
raising the needed funds to buy the implements.
The ministries of commerce and
national food security & research (MNFS&R) have made it clear that
there is no ban on exports of rice from Pakistan as the country has sufficient
stocks of the commodity.
The Rice Exporters Association of
Pakistan (REAP) after hearing the rumours of a ban on rice exports from
Pakistan met Prime Minister's Advisor on Commerce Razzak Dawood and MNFS&R
Minister Syed Fakhar Imam for clarification and they told the exporters to
continue their operations.
REAP Chairman Shahjahan Malik while
talking to Business Recorder here on Friday said he immediately took a
delegation comprising Sami Ullah Naeem, Shahid Tarar and Pir Syed Nazim Hussain
Shah to both the ministries and held detailed discussion on rice issues and
they were told that the tweet of Prime Minister in this regard was just an
observation and not a decision.
Malik asked his counterparts to
continue their operations of export and earn precious foreign exchange in this
time of need for their country. He hoped that an official clarification would
soon be given by the quarters concerned.
Meanwhile, according to a tweet of
Abdul Razak Dawood, the export of rice was discussed with the prime minister
and his office and it is clarified that the export of rice is allowed. “Once
again, in time of crisis, Pakistan has proven to be a reliable supplier of
export goods," the advisor added.
He also appealed to all the REAP
members to aggressively pursue rice exports and keep on increasing market share
of Pakistan in the world market.
Pakistan has stood
by S Arabia through thick and thin: envoy
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Admiral Nawaf bin Said Al
Maliki has said that Pakistan had stood by Saudi Arabia through thick and thin.
The resolve of the people of Pakistan towards the
unflinching support for the Saudi brethren had always helped in strengthening
world of Islam. He was addressing a ceremony here at the Maktab-ud-Dawah on
occasion of distribution of ration among the needy on Friday. Federal Minister
for Religious Affairs Syed Noorul Haq Qadari was also present in the ceremony.
The ambassador, who had always been forthwith in provision of support to the
deserving, recalled that twenty thousand families are getting ration through
the present scheme while institute of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King
Salman bin Abdul Aziz for Charity had initiated distribution of ration worth
more than Rs167 million in Punjab which was contained ration packs of ten kilo
flour, five kilo sugar, five kilo rice, five liter ghee/oil, two kilo dry milk,
half kilo tea and two kilo dates. The Ambassador assured that the assistance
will be continued for the needy. Minister Noorul Haq Qadri thanked the Saudi
government for its generous support to the needy in Pakistan and reminded that
Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman had always supported Pakistan in difficult
times and the whole nation is grateful to him for that.
The police confiscated a large
amount of illegally stocked wheat and rice from multiple warehouses in Punjab’s Mandi Bahauddin, Chiniot and
Jhelum.
The district administration of
Mandi Bahauddin, in an operation, seized a total of 37,000 bags of wheat from
10 factories in the district. According to the deputy commissioner, the
warehouses have been sealed and cases have been registered against the owners.
“The wheat was worth Rs10 million,”
he added.
On the other hand, in three
different investigations, the police seized 6,500 bags of wheat and 3,900 of
rice in Chiniot.
In Jhelum, the police found 197
tonnes of rice in a warehouse in Gala Mandi Dina. The owner has been arrested,
his factory sealed and a fine of Rs100,000 imposed.
A three-member committee has been
formed by the government to crack down on hoarders across the province.
Tehsil administration during
crackdown seized 938 bags of rice and 635 bags of sugar from a godown, here on
Friday
FAISALABAD, (APP - UrduPoint /
Pakistan Point News - 1st May, 2020 ) -:Tehsil administration during crackdown
seized 938 bags of rice and 635 bags of sugar from a godown, here on Friday.
Assistant Commissioner Samundri Faisal Sultan along with police conducted raid and seized the commodities.
These commodities will be sold out
in open market at government rates.
Addressing a
press conference , Srinivas Reddy said that 2.52 crore white card holders
received 3.18 lakh tons of rice in the month of April and in May the government
will distribute 3.34 tons of rice to 87.55 lakh families
By AuthorTelanganaToday | Published: 1st May 2020 8:20 pmUpdated: 2nd May 2020 12:39 am
Rice distribution by Civil Supplies Corporation Commissioner
M.Srinivas Reddy and Mayor, B.Rammohan at Srinagar colony on Friday.
Hyderabad: The second phase of state distribution of free rice started on
Friday. Chairman Civil Supplies Corporation Mareddy Srinivas Reddy along with
Khairatabad legislator Danam Nagender formally launched the distribution here
at a ration shop in Panjagutta. On the first day over 4 lakh beneficiaries
received the free rice and red gram all over the state.
Addressing a press conference ,
Srinivas Reddy said that 2.52 crore white card holders received 3.18 lakh tons
of rice in the month of April and in May the government will distribute 3.34
tons of rice to 87.55 lakh families. “The government has set aside Rs 1103 for
this purpose,” he said. He added that 74.7 lakh card holders have received Rs
1500 cash benefit through banks and 5.22 lakh through Post Offices. He said
that the government has spent Rs 1109 crore for this programme. The process of
distribution of cash benefit for the month of May will begin from Saturday.
Regarding distribution of Red Gram
(Kandi Pappu) he said that so far 87.55 lakh families received red gram worth
Rs 68 crore . “We were supposed to receive 8,755 tons of red gram from Nafed
meant for distribution in the month of May, however we have so far received
3,233 tons. Hence distribution was limited to Nizamabad, Warangal Rural,
Nalgonda and Medak districts. Red gram distribution in Hyderabad will begin in
full scale from Saturday,” the Chairman said.
Rice Procurement Status
The Telangana government has
procured 23 lakh tons of paddy worth Rs 4,187 crore this Yasangi from 3.84 lakh
farmers through 5770 procurement centres. The government also deposited Rs 1500
crore in the bank accounts of farmers. “The details of all these transactions
have been uploaded in the OPMS (Online Personal Management System) software
there by depositing the amount directly into the accounts. The details have to
be entered without any delay,” he said.
The state is also sending 3 lakh
tons of rice to states such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamilnadu and
West Bengal.
No Politics Please
Urging opposition parties not to
play politics in the name of “Talu” he reminded them that the norms of purity
or moisture of the paddy have been decided by the union government and not the
state. “If we do not purchase the paddy as per the norms the Food Corporation
of India will not accept that paddy,” he said. He informed that the state can
only purchase paddy which has moisture to a maximum of 17 percent, waste and
Talu grain 1 percent, small stones and soil 1 percent, de-colored, germinated,
insect eaten grain 5 percent , immature 3 percent and grain mixed with low
quality paddy 6 percent.
He reiterated that certain quality
issues arose as few farmers in erstwhile Karimnagar and Nizamabad districts
cultivating 1106 and 1107 variety rice in certain parts. “The problem is not to
be seen in other parts of the state. We have ordered the District Collectors to
initiate action if any one troubles farmers in the name of low quality of rice
in the guise of “Talu'” he warned.
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With the Boro
cultivation at its fag end, helping the farmers in the final phase of farming
as well as ensuring fair price of the produce have assumed critical importance.
At this time of countrywide shutdown with no mobility for labourers from one
place to another, harvesting the paddy, reportedly a bumper production this
year, is also a major concern. The government's stimulus package that among
many important moves also provides for funds on easy terms for farmers needs to
be immediately geared up lest despite the good crop, farmers are left in the
lurch. More importantly, given the urgency of food security in the days ahead
in the post-Covid times, all out efforts must be in place to facilitate farmers
at this stage of Boro cultivation and harvesting.
Reports in the
media say the authorities are more focused on the next crop Aush to facilitate
with credit, subsidised fertiliser and irrigation and not on Boro as its
cultivation is almost over. Experts, however, disagree on this arguing that
many Boro growing areas in the country, where the crop comes a little late,
need support, particularly irrigation. 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 and pesticide before the
crop is harvested late next month, according to officials of Department of
Agricultural Extension (DAE) and Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).
This being the case, there is a definite need to facilitate farmers with
irrigation. Had the facilities been in place from the beginning of April, it
could have helped many small and marginal farmers from bearing the brunt of
exorbitant irrigation costs.
Boro is the
predominant crop in the country over decades, accounting for more than 50 per
cent of total paddy production. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of
Statistics (BBS) data, in 2018-19, Boro accounted for 54 per cent of 36.4
million tonnes of rice produced in the country, Aman 38 per cent and Aush only
8 per cent. This year, the DAE is expecting 20 million tonnes of Boro from 4.70
million hectares of land and 3.4 million tonnes of Aush from around 1.4 million
hectares.
In view of the
country's reliance on Boro, and the fact that farmers in many regions are still
in need of irrigation, the agriculture ministry should do well to work out a
quick mechanism on how to address the needs of the farmers right now. In this
context, it may be noted that although several months back the government
initiated a move to provide agricultural tools including harvesting equipment
to the farmers at half the prices, there has not been any considerable headway.
So, in all fairness Boro cultivation and harvesting deserve very high priority.
Poor agri-mechanisation has posed a fresh challenge to the current Boro crop
harvest due to labour scarcity in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Charoen says it's time for Thailand to draft a rice master
plan, including research and development.
Charoen Laothammatas doesn't aim
too high in life. He lives simply and never had dreams of becoming a trader,
especially in rice, a highly political crop with a tendency towards price volatility.
"When I was young I wanted
to be a doctor, but I didn't have a chance to pursue studies in that
field," says the president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, 69.
"In the old Chinese family, children had to strictly obey the father's instructions
with no questions. My father ordered me to become a trader, so I did."
Born in Lampang province in the
North as the fourth child of a family that ran premium rice mills in Chiang
Rai, young Charoen was sent by his father to study at a Chinese school in
Bangkok when he was five years old.
He studied there until Grade 4,
when the school was closed during the period Thailand was fighting a communist
insurgency. His father sent him to a boarding school in Hong Kong for nine
years.
"My father thought I would
learn Chinese knowledge from Chinese people in Hong Kong and this would create
trade convenience in the future for me," Mr Charoen says.
After secondary school graduation
in Hong Kong, his father sent him to the US to earn his bachelor's and master's
degrees.
After earning a Master of
Business Administration, he returned to Thailand in 1976 and applied to the
International Criminal Police Organization, widely known as Interpol, which was
looking for staffers fluent in Chinese and English.
Mr Charoen worked as an Interpol
officer in the Foreign Affairs Division of the Royal Thai Police. He left his
police career in 1982 to help run his family's rice mill business during a
period of intensifying competition as better land transport led millers in the
central region to set up mills in Chiang Rai.
"We had to shift to rice
exports and have engaged in rice exports ever since," Mr Charoen says. The
family set up Uthai Produce as a rice export company in 1982, starting with
just 3 million baht and without its own warehouse.
The company at first focused on
jasmine fragrant rice shipped to Macao and Shenzhen in China under the Golden
Wheel brand to capitalise on China's economic reform and reopening policy. Then
the US market began clamouring for quality grains.
"I feel a bit lucky that
I've never encountered any crisis," Mr Charoen says. "Most of our
regular customers are good people with a long-term relationship because their
businesses grew up together with our company. The success of trading needs luck
and sincerity.
Mr Charoen with his family.
"Give sincerity to all
customers. Don't take advantage of them, they will then become your long-term
customers. Our customers have been trading with us for 20-30 years, and we know
one another well. I have two children, a daughter and a son. My daughter likes
politics and is now a member of parliament. I always teach her to be honest and
not to take advantage of people and do her best for the nation."
In his view, it's quite risky to
do business with new customers because rice trading depends on forward selling
and coming up with credit terms. Thai rice exports are tough lately because of
stiffer competition and credit term requirements.
"Honestly speaking, the rice
export industry is unlikely to be very successful in the future as it becomes a
political crop, making us unable to control all supply chains," Mr Charoen
says. "We will be able to maintain our business as long as the government
intervenes less in the rice market. More importantly, we would like to see a
more stable government which stays long enough to tackle various and cumulative
problems that can't be solved in the short term.
"Our governments change
every 1-2 years. This is the obstacle to implementing long-term measures and
policies such as solutions to increase rice competitiveness. State-sponsored
rice-pledging or rice price guarantees are just temporary measures. The Thai
rice industry's prospects look gloomy."
He says it's time for Thailand to
draft a rice master plan, including research and development in response to
market demand. Rice R&D in Thailand has moved at a snail's pace relative to
other rice producers like Vietnam.
Mr Charoen suggests the
government turn attention to the development of rice seeds to boost the
country's competitiveness and exports. He says the government should promote
more soft-textured rice seeds instead of the hard-textured ones pushed now.
According to Mr Charoen,
Thailand's rice industry has lacked for development of rice varieties in the
past decade, with exports relying heavily on three grains: white rice, hom mali
rice and glutinous rice.
"We need to understand that
50% of total rice production is slated for export," he says. "If we
can export more rice, the domestic rice price will improve accordingly."
BIO DATA
Charoen Laothammatas Age: 69
EDUCATION
- BA, Brigham Young University
- MBA, University of Southern California
CAREER
- 1983-present: Chief executive, Uthai Produce Co
- 1978-82: Interpol officer, Royal Thai Police
HOBBIES
- Exercise, watching feature films and TV series
COVID-19: FG’s rice palliative stirs controversies in states
By Abbas Jimoh (Abuja), Jeremiah Oke
(Ibadan),
Titus Eleweke (Awka), Iniabasi Umo
(Uyo) & Victor Edozie (Port Harcourt) |
May 3, 2020 0:29 AM
Trucks loaded with rice to commence
distribution of palliative food support to the various local government areas
of Kano state sponsored by Aisha Buhari’s (Future Assured Foundation) in Kano
yesterday. Photo: Sani Maikatanga As part of measures to cushion the effects of
the COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant lockdown across the country, the
Federal Government approved the distribution of some bags of rice to some
states. However, controversies have trailed the gesture. Notably, Oyo and Akwa
Ibom states rejected their consignments from the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS)
warehouse, saying the commodity was unfit for consumption. This also led to an
open disagreement between the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster
Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq and the National
Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The minister had
said the agency certified the rice before distribution. On Monday, April 20,
the Federal Government distributed 6,000 bags of rice to Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and
Ondo states as palliatives against the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the
people. ADVERTISEMENT Dear valued readers, subscribe to the Daily Trust e-paper
to continue enjoying our diet of authoritative news. Kindly subscribe here But
four days after it received 1,800 bags of rice from the Federal Government, the
Oyo State Government rejected the consignment, saying it was not good for human
consumption. Mr. Debo Akande, the executive adviser on agribusiness to the Oyo
State Governor Seyi Makinde, announced the decision of the state government at
a press conference in Ibadan. He said the decision to reject the rice was
reached after inspection was carried out by the state’s Food Security Committee
of the COVID-19 task force. He said the state government discovered that the
rice was infested by weevil and other pests. Akande said the action of the state
government would not affect the distribution of palliatives to the people,
noting that the state has enough rice for distribution. He added that the state
was looking forward to receiving the replacement of the 1,800 bags of rice from
the Federal Government. A government official, who did not want to be named,
also said, “The other states may also reject the rice like Oyo, but they don’t
want to appear confrontational to the Federal Government, for political reasons
since they belong to the All Progressives Congress (APC).” It was, however,
reported that there was no issue with the bags of rice donated to Lagos and
Ogun states as they distributed their shares to their people. Also, Akwa Ibom
State Governor Udom Emmanuel said the rice given to them by the Federal
Government as palliative was not good for consumption. During a press statement
last Monday in Uyo, the governor said they could not reject the donation, but
he would not approve its distribution because the colour of the rice had
changed. “The only palliative we have gotten from the Federal Government is
1,800 bags of rice. As I am taking to you, the rice is in the warehouse. It is
a gift. We have sent it for test, and until the result is out, we will not
distribute it to our citizens. It is not good for consumption,” he said. In
Ondo, the state government said it was rejecting some of the bags of rice
because it had “expired.” Governor Rotimi Akeredolu reportedly expressed
displeasure over the poor quality of the products sent to the state and directed
that it should be returned to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster
Management. Alex Kalejaiye, secretary of the palliative committee in the state,
at the weekend said, “We discovered that some of the bags have expired and not
good for consumption at all, so we are separating them from the ones that are
still manageable. After this, we will still take the ones that appear good to
the laboratory to test if they are fit for consumption. It is even written on
some of the bags that the rice has expired. And it seems that the ones that
have not expired were not properly stored, so it would not be given to our
people without laboratory test,” Kalejaiye said. NCS reacts Reacting, the NCS,
Oyo/Osun area command, said Oyo State Government was not fair to them. The
public relations officer of the command, Abdullah Lagos, said they suspected
foul play. “We gave 1,800 to Oyo, 1,800 to Osun, 800 to Ondo and 1,800 to
Ekiti. We did not choose for them. Why is it that it is only Oyo State that is
rejecting the rice? How can we give the public expired rice? We have a special
place we keep rice. You did not call us and you called a press conference. That
is too bad. Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that when the Oyo State Government,
led by its Commissioner for Agriculture Ojemuyiwa Ojekunle, returned the
controversial rice on Wednesday, officers of the NCS shut the doors of the
command against them. As a result of this action, the rice was sent to the
command’s office in Ibadan, but again, Customs officers refused to open its
doors to them. Mr Ojekunle said the state government wrote two separate letters
to the NCS to inform them of plans to return the rice but was surprised at
their refusal to accept the commodity. “They did not allow us to enter,” he
alleged. But the spokesman of the command insisted that the procedure for the
return of the rice had not been perfected. He noted that the state government
wrote an ‘unprofessional’ letter to the agency. “In the letter they wrote on
April 24, they only copied us. In that kind of letter they should not expect us
to act. The letter they wrote is unprofessional. We politely told them that
they should go back because we have not been told to collect the rice. We
received an order to distribute the rice, so we have to wait for an order
before we collect it,” he said. Minister, NAFDAC in war of words In contrast to
the claim by Minister Sadiya Umar-Farouq, that the NAFDAC certified the rice
distributed to various states, the director-general of the agency, Prof.
Mojisola Adeyeye, said they were not invited to test the commodity in question.
She said her agency was only invited to take samples of rice from Idi-Iroko,
Ikeja and Ogun state. Prof Adeyeye said, “We got an invitation to sample rice
from Idi-Iroko and Ikeja Customs offices. Our staff went to those places to
sample the rice. Some of the samples are still in our lab in Oshodi. We tested
the samples and they passed. “I cannot say anything on the one for Oyo State,
and probably, Osun, because the NAFDAC was not called by the Ibadan or
South-West command of the NCS to check samples.” During the daily briefing of
the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, the minister had said, “The rice
was handed over to us by the NCS and it was assessed by the NAFDAC, which
issued a clearance before the goods were released for onward distribution to
the states. So, as far as we are concerned, the rice was certified fit for
human consumption.” Reacting to the claim by the director-general of the
NAFDAC, the minister also said on Wednesday, “We still stand by what we said
because this is what was conveyed to us by Customs. We have a certificate to
that effect. The certificate indicated that the rice given to us is fit for
human consumption. And that was before I even flagged off the distribution in
Lagos State. We will make that certificate available later today.” She,
however, noted that both organisations would sort out the obvious communication
gap between them. APC, PDP join fray Reacting to the development, the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal
Government of donating “contaminated and poisonous” rice to Nigerians as
COVID-19 palliatives. In a statement by its deputy national publicity
secretary, Prince Diran Odeyemi, the PDP made reference to a video clip where
the NCS had declared millions of seized bags of rice as unfit for human
consumption. He stated that there was no basis for the Federal Government,
through the same agency, to consider releasing such commodity to Nigerians as palliatives.
Odeyemi commended Governor Makinde of Oyo and his team for rejecting the rice
donated to the state through the NCS.
He
advised other state governments to emulate Makinde rather than playing politics
with the lives of the citizens. Also, in Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike
said his government rejected Federal Government’s rice donation because it was
contaminated and bad for consumption. Speaking at a press conference in Port
Harcourt on Friday, Wike said the Federal Government should have consulted him
to know what the people of the state needed. He said they would have preferred
garri to rice. In Anambra State, government and residents are lamenting that
the Federal Government has not considered them in its distribution of
palliatives. The Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. C.
Don Adinuba, told Daily Trust on Sunday that the state government had not
received any palliative from the Federal Government, either in cash or food
items. “To the best of my knowledge, no palliative has come to Anambra State
from the Federal Government. Arrears of the monthly stipend to indigent people
for four months were paid and not palliative for coronavirus lockdown,’’ he
alleged.
While checking traps recently, I noticed a lot of activity in
the water in several recently flooded fields. A quick glance into the water
might make you believe that tadpole shrimp is present in large numbers, or even
perhaps that a treatment did not work. Make sure you look closely and don't
confuse clam shrimp with small tadpole shrimp.
Clam shrimp
Clam shrimp are small crustaceans that look like a
miniature clam; they are about a tenth of an inch and swim in the water slowly.
Clam shrimp don't have the "tail" that tadpole shrimp have at the end
of their shell. Most freshwater clam shrimp feed on algae and organic detritus.
I am not sure what the ones in rice fields feed on, but they do not injure the
rice. In the past, I have noticed that these clam shrimp come back after a
tadpole shrimp treatment very quickly.
Clam shrimp close up Large congregation of clam shrimp around decomposing rice
roots Tadpole shrimp are more problematic during seed germination.
Once the seedlings have a well anchored root and the spike is green, tadpole
shimp are less likely to injure them.
The Ministry of Food and
Agriculture (MOFA) is to support the Eastern Region to intensify rice
production to make Ghana self-sufficient in the staple within the next three
years.
This was announced by the
Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Afriyie Akoto, in Koforidua at the end of
his five-day tour of the Bono, Bono East, Ashanti and Eastern regions.
The tour was to help find the
effects of the COVID-19 on the implementation of the Planting for Food and Jobs
(PFJ).
He expressed appreciation to the
large number of farmers engaged in rice cultivation in the Region and said his
office had imported equipment including planters, cultivators and harvesters
for small scale rice cultivators.
Dr Akoto said the Eastern Region
was not known among rice producing regions and was happy about the inroads made
in cultivating the staple after meeting with rice farmers and processors in the
Region.
He said his tour revealed that
the PFJ was on course and had not been affected by the COVID-19 directives in
terms of target set for seed and fertilizer supply and the number of farmers
engaged in the programme.
Information gathered during the
tour would help the Ministry to better plan for the PFJ in 2021.
Dr Akoto said in future, the
Ministry would separate contract for supply of seeds from that of fertilizer to
ensure that farmers got them at the right time and in the right quantities.
The Ministry would not tolerate
the attempt by some contractors of seed to cheat the system by diverting
subsidised seeds to sell at the open market, he cautioned.
Mr Francis Adzalo, the President
of Seed Producers Association of Ghana, appealed to the MOFA to support local
seed producers to produce high yielding hybrid seeds to reduce the country’s
dependence on imported ones.
Mandalayat Gaurav Dayal has
expressed his displeasure over the non-commencement of procurement of wheat at
22 procurement facilities in Chitrakootdham division of Banda. He mentioned
that procurement ought to be began inside three days. It has been instructed
that on the time of buy, a duplicate of their Aadhar card and financial
institution move guide ought to be submitted to the middle, in order that fee will
not be delayed.
commercial
In the Mayur Bhawan auditorium on
Saturday night, the Mandalayukta met and reviewed the wheat buying companies of
the mandal. Instructed that crucial services and preparations ought to be made
obtainable to farmers in all procurement facilities. The Commissioner laid
particular emphasis on social distancing.
The commissioner expressed robust displeasure when it got here to gentle that
even after a fortnight handed within the 22 procurement facilities of Mandal.
Displeasure with some companies for not paying full worth of wheat to farmers.
Payment has been lowered relative to purchases by PCF, UPSS and UP Agro. It was
knowledgeable that the federal government has set a goal of buying one lakh 90
thousand metric tonnes of wheat within the 4 districts of the mandal.
Directed the advertising and
marketing division officers that rice millers from whom CMR has not but been
obtained, ought to be obtained inside 15 days. Directed the Divisional Food
Controller to take private consideration in it. Additional Commissioners
Administration Chandrashekhar, Divisional Food Controller Sanjeev Kumar, Deputy
Director Information Bhupendra Singh Yadav and officers of ARCS, Regional
Manager PCF and Procurement Agencies have been current within the assembly.
Abigale is a Masters in Business
Administration by education. After completing her post-graduation, Abigale
jumped the journalism bandwagon as a freelance journalist. Soon after that she
landed a job of reporter and has been climbing the news industry ladder ever
since to reach the post of editor at Our Bitcoin News.
Waive holding charges, rice millers urge government
·Posted:May 04, 2020 07:01 AM (IST)
·Updated
:7 hours ago
Karnal,
May 3
Rice
millers have requested the state government not to levy holding charges as they
won’t able to deliver custom milled rice (CMR) to the government till the wheat
season ends. They have stated that due to the lockdown, transportation has been
halted and the government has converted their rice mills into wheat purchase
centres, where labour has been assigned work.
“We
have delivered around 60 per cent CMR to the government, but are unable to
deliver the remaining rice,” said Vinod Goel, senior vice-president of the
Haryana Rice Millers and Dealers Association. — TNS
Cambodia’s rice exports to China
were 122,094 tonnes (41 percent), to the European Union 97,337 tonnes (32.4
percent), to Asean members 37,428 tonnes (12.5 percent) and to other
destinations 43,393 tonnes (14.45 percent).
Veng Sakhon, minister of the
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said that the exports of
formal agricultural products totalled more than 2 million tonnes and informal
ones 1 million tonnes.
He said from January to April,
Cambodia exported 938,120 tonnes of dried cassava, 330,850 tonnes of fresh
cassava, 9,301 tonnes of cassava powder, 186,205 tonnes of cashew nuts, 33,298
tonnes of corn, 98,969 tonnes of bananas, 42,035 tonnes of mangoes, 2,252
tonnes of pepper, 44 tonnes of vegetable and 420 tonnes of tobacco.
Last week, the Cambodian Rice
Federation (CRF) asked the government to cancel the ban of white rice exports
as soon as possible, so rice mills can clear old stock and pay back debt owed
to consumers.
The request, which will help
millers be ready to buy paddy in early July, was made during a meeting about
the “current business situation and necessary measures during the outbreak of
the COVID-19” situation between the private sector, the Ministry of Economy and
Finance and led by Deputy Prime Minister Aun Pornmonirath.
The federation also requested the
government allocate an additional $30 million to the existing $50 million and
included the capital from the financial institution, now totalling about $200
million, to assist millers in buying around 800,000 tonnes of paddy.
CRF President Song Saran said the
current storage capacity of rice mills in Cambodia is running at 1.9 million
tonnes per season, with silo capacity at approximately 45,000 tonnes per day.
The CRF president said, “With the current COVID-19 situation, some of the
by-products of rice have been blocked. Rice bran cannot be exported, for
example. CRF is also requesting the government exempt the withholding of tax for
transport of paddy and milled rice, especially withholding tax on warehoused
rents and private truck transport because this has been a burden for the
mill-stunted corn.”
He asked the government to
provide a feasibility study for rice millers to supply renewable energy, such
as solar, which would make production costs for milled rice more competitive
because current electricity policies do not. Encou- raging each mill to invest
this type of energy requires significant leverage and costs. He proposed promoting
in the agriculture community through the contract farming mechanism, known as
the Public, Private and Producer Partnership.
Excellent food in generous portions, says food writer Andy
Richardson, but please be more polite when taking orders!
King prawn biryani was aromatic
It’s time for clear communication.
It’s time to publish opening hours, to brush up on customer service, to remind
people you are still here and to stay relevant.
Which is curious, because those are
some of the things that Eurasia Tandoori, in Bridgnorth, don’t do. On their web
page, they have opening times for Christmas Day and Boxing Day but just one
line saying they’ll be providing a delivery service during the Covid-19 crisis.
It took this reviewer two weeks of
off-and-on trying to get through. And when he did, the man answering the phone
could best be described as surly.
When you can eat inside, enjoy the decor and
spaciousness
It’s a shame that Eurasia hasn’t
paid sufficient attention to detail on those fronts. For everything else that
it does is magnificent. It serves the best curry in Bridgnorth, no question,
and probably only has four rivals across Shropshire and the Black Country –
those being Golden Moments, in Ludlow; The Bilash, in Wolverhampton; Saffron,
in Oldbury and Five Rivers, in Walsall.
It’s a multiple award-winner in a
series of prestigious contests, having won both the 2015 and 2016 UK Curry Chef
of the Year, among many others. It regularly achieves a five-star rating for
hygiene from Shropshire Council, while it remains a firm favourite of
discerning diners from across the region.
The only thing it really needs to
do is update its website and make sure the guy who answers the phone is a
little cheerier. No doubt after reading this it will.
The cheery waiting area
Consistency over a long period of
time has been Eurasia’s watchword. It opened its doors in 1975 and has been
opened by the same team since 2001. Among its owners is Chef Amjad Ali – the
guy who regularly cleans up at cooking competitions and awards ceremonies.
In 2013, the restaurant underwent a
major refurbishment and more recently it’s been delighting locals with
authentic renditions of food from India and Bangladesh. It has long been a
credit to Bridgnorth.
The menu is impressive. Chef
Amjad’s signature dish of ginger chicken showcases his talent and creativity
while there is plenty of innovation in a thrilling menu that combines a number
of house specialities with a wide range of traditional dishes.
Fine dining at Eurasia Tandoori
Since the onset of lockdown, it’s
been pretty near the top of my list to use and a simple midweek supper didn’t
disappoint.
Skill and flair, balance and good
technique, sensible spicing and precise cooking – all were on display in a
collect-it-ourselves dinner featuring two starters, two mains and a side.
Physical distancing measures are in place, as they ought to be at every
restaurant, with contactless payments and the two-metre rule diligently
observed.
We ate a cheering supper that was
big on flavour and so generously proportioned that there was plenty left over
for the following day. I tried to order a paneer chili, though they’d run out
of the fabulous Indian cheese. No matter. Restaurants are not to be blamed for
the shortage in some ingredients. First it was toilet rolls, then bread and
flour, now paneer. Where will it end?
Tandoori king prawns had been elegantly butterflied
My partner started with tandoori
king prawns, which had been elegantly butterflied before being marinated in
tandoori spice and cooked in the tandoori oven. Plump and still tender, they
offered gentle heat allied to a natural sweet-saltiness. The spices augmented
their natural flavour, rather than vying for attention or crowding out the
oceanic tastes. They were a fine way to start.
My tandoori chicken was similarly
impressive. Tender and packing a flavoursome punch, the chicken had been cooked
on the bone so as to retain plenty of moisture. Marinated in yoghurt and spices
and grilled in the tandoor oven, the outside had been gently scorched, adding a
new dimension to the dish. It was served with a few sliced onions, capsicum and
a side salad with a twist of lemon. The lemony citrus, mild refreshing crunch
of salad and spice of the chicken comingled to great effect.
My main was the dish of the day. A
chicken pathia was punchy and reminded me why it’s one of the best curry dishes
in the region. Full of sweet, tangy flavour, pathia is found in too few Indian
restaurants.
Dish of the day was chicken pathia
It has its roots in an ancient
Persian dish and has been adapted to Indian cooking before making it big in the
curry houses in the UK. The dish originally emigrated to India with the
Persians who evolved the recipe to use Gujarati spices. It’s a medium-spiced
dish that blends sour and sweet, with tamarind providing extra zing. Some
restaurants add a little brown sugar, others honey. The Eurasia version had a
passata-like texture, the result of using plenty of tomato paste, and hit all
the right notes. Subtle and refined, it was an expertly concocted dish.
My partner enjoyed a
more-traditional dish: king prawn biryani. The prawns were generously served,
the rice beautifully spiced, the curry sauce mildly intoxicating and its
proportions were such that it served two, rather than one. Aromatic and dainty,
the spicy prawns were an excellent pairing for caramelised onions and delicate
basmati rice.
Our region has a proud tradition of
curry cooking with a large number of exceptional restaurants. Eurasia has long
been among the very best and it remains a cut above the rest. Having eaten
there for some 20 years, I’ve never been let down by the impressive mix of
flavours and skillful cooking from Amjad Ali and his team.
While many people who visit curry
houses invariably opt for the same combination of dishes over and over again,
Chef Amjad provides sufficient variety to encourage people to opt for something
new. He provides a true flavour of India and Bangladesh in a menu that is
executed with considerable skill and showcases his gastronomic flair.
In this new era of physical
distancing, Eurasia has been refashioned to provide great-value take-outs that
ensure exceptional value for money for locals and those making collections.
DETAILS:
Eurasia Tandoori, 21 West Castle
Street, Bridgnorth WV16 4AB Tel: 01746 764895 Web: eurasiatandoori.co.uk *
If you know of a food business that’s offering a brilliant take-away/delivery
service, let us know. Email arichardson@shropshirestar.co.uk with the details,
so we can check it out.
Feature writer and food critic
Andy Richardson interviews celebrities, writes columns and hangs out with chefs
for stories that appear across all group titles.
Punjab to develop machines for
direct seeding of rice amid labour dearth
Agri varsity
hands over prototype to 175 manufacturing units for mass production in state
CHANDIGARHUpdated: May 03, 2020 21:35 IST
Hindustan Times, Chandigarh
Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, in collaborate
with the state agriculture department is making a machine for direct seeding of
rice (DSR) for which 175 units manufacturing agricultural implements in the
state have been roped in.
PAU has given a prototype to the manufacturers and the agriculture
and industries departments are engaging Mandi Gobindgarh-based raw material
suppliers for the task.
The varsity experts have advised farmers to opt for direct seeded
rice variety of paddy in the upcoming kharif season to make up for the shortage
of labour in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. Around 70 lakh acres of land is
expected to be under paddy cultivation in the state in the upcoming season.
The new variety, according to PAU researchers, would save the
farmers from two labour-intensive steps of traditional paddy sowing — setting
up of nurseries and then transplanting the saplings in the puddled fields.
PAU’s new DSR technique was successfully tested during the last kharif season.
“The machine design is ready and we are tying up with the
agricultural implements manufacturing units in Moga, Barnala, Sangrur, Patiala,
Nabha and Ludhiana to produce these equipment on war footing,” agriculture
secretary Kahan Singh Pannu told HT. He added that under the sub-mission on
agricultural mechanisation (SMAM), there will be 40% subsidy on the new
machines which cost ₹65,000 to ₹70,000.
Recommending PR126 as the direct seeded rice variety, PAU
vice-chancellor B S Dhillon said, “In this new technique, the fields are
levelled and irrigated to create good soil moisture conditions. Then, paddy is
sown using these machines.”
The PR-126 variety has shown best results and the yield is as much
as transplanted paddy, he added saying that the trials were conducted for the
past three seasons.
“After harvesting and procurement of wheat, the next worry for
Punjab farmers is paddy sowing. Amid the Covid-19 lockdown, labourers engaged
in paddy transplantation have gone back to their native states. Now, Punjab
farmers are left with no option but to adopt alternative sowing techniques,”
Dhillon added.
“At least 500 Korean and Japanese machines are also available for
direct sowing and as many additional machines will be developed in two months.
These machines could sow paddy on 1.25 lakh acres of land. The government is
offering 40% subsidy on them,” the VC said.
MODIFIED HAPPY SEEDERS, ZERO
TILL DRILLS FOR SOWING
Pannu said there are 2 lakh machines in the state for sowing wheat
such as happy seeders, zero till drills and other drill machines which could
also be used for paddy sowing with minor alterations. “We have experimented on
a few wheat sowing machines and it cost ₹1,000 to make them compatible for direct paddy sowing,” said Pannu.
FOOD DEPT TOLD TO TEST DSR
VARIETY
Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh has directed the food and
civil supplies department to test the PR126 DSR variety so that it makes a good
crop for procurement and lifting for the public distribution system in the
country. Department joint director (procurement and storage) Anjuman Bhaskar
said she would study the details of the said crop’s trials. “Any wheat or paddy
crop sown on a large scale needs to be compatible for procurement as well,” she
added.
Rice, an inexpensive staple food consumed around the world,
naturally contains a deadly toxin called arsenic. This toxin is found in low
quantities, meaning that a bowl of rice doesn’t pose a risk to one’s health.
However, the levels of arsenic found in rice vary and past studies have raised
concerns over how much rice can be safely consumed. The latest among them calls
for a warning label to be added to packages of rice.
Researchers
with the University of Sheffield evaluated a total of 55 rice samples from UK
grocery stores, including the commonly consumed white and brown rice varieties.
Of those samples, the study found that 28 rice samples contained levels of
arsenic that exceeded European regulations on what can be safely consumed by
young kids and infants.
Of those 28 varieties, the study
reports that infants under the age of 1 would need to be
limited to no more than 20 grams of rice per day in light of the arsenic
levels. Children are particularly at risk of consuming unsafe arsenic levels
because of their low body weights — too much arsenic in one’s diet can increase
the risk of developing cancer later in life, among other things.
Of the high-arsenic rice samples, the study found that brown
rice contained the highest quantity of the toxin due to the presence of the
bran layer. As well, organic rice was found to have higher levels of arsenic
compared to non-organic rice, and white rice was found to have the lowest
arsenic levels.
Study lead author Dr. Manoj Menon said:
Brown and wild rice are healthy
foods full of fiber and vitamins, and there is no need for grown-ups to avoid them
– but it is concerning to see so many varieties sold in the UK breaching food
safety regulations … The government and the European Commission must introduce
labeling to warn people of arsenic levels in rice to enable families to make
informed food choices.
Half
of UK rice breaches arsenic limits for children, warn scientists
The scientists recommended that
the UK government and European Commission introduce labelling to clarify
whether rice is safe for consumption by babies and children under five.
Scientists from the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food have
called for labelling to warn the public about levels of arsenic in rice, after
their research found half of rice varieties studied exceeded maximum limits on
the toxin.
They found 28 out of 55 rice samples sold in the UK contained
levels of arsenic that exceeded European Commission regulations for rice meant
for the consumption for infants or young children.
The research is said to be the first to measure differences in human health
risks from arsenic using a substantial number of rice varieties marketed in the
UK.
The results showed that brown
rice contained higher levels of the carcinogen than white or wild rice because
it contains the bran – the outer layer of the grain. Organically grown rice was
also found to contain significantly higher levels than non-organically grown
rice. White rice contained the lowest levels of arsenic.
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Considering the health
implications, the researchers concluded that babies under the age of one must
be restricted to a maximum of 20g per day of the 28 rice varieties that
breached regulations, in order to avoid risks of developing cancer in later
life.
“Brown and wild rice are healthy
foods full of fibre and vitamins, and there is no need for grown-ups to avoid
them – but it is concerning to see so many varieties sold in the UK breaching
food safety regulations,” said Dr Manoj Menon, Environmental Soil Scientist in
the Department of Geography at the University of Sheffield and lead author of
the study.
“Rice products are often
considered a safe option for babies and young children, but our research
suggests that for more than half of the rice we sampled, infants should be
limited to just 20g per day to avoid risks associated with arsenic. The
government and the European Commission must introduce labelling to warn people
of arsenic levels in rice to enable families to make informed food choices.”
COTABATO CITY: The Upper Biangan Farmers Association (UBFA) in Malungon,
Sarangani Province have provided rice and cash incentives to its members
comprising Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) and non-ARBs in support of
government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 295 kilos of rice
amounting to P10,800 was distributed to the 59 association members. The members
also shared among themselves the amount of P38,000 as cash incentive. To show
their support to the frontliners in their village, the association also handed
free snacks and drinks to people manning the checkpoints. Since the
implementation of lockdown and due to the government’s campaign for the people
to stay at home, farm activities have been limited. The farmers are frontliners
in ensuring food security. UBFA is one of the associations assisted by the
Department of Agrarian Reform. It is a recipient of various
capacity-development, livelihood projects and farm machinery. These
interventions aided the members in banana, coconut, rice and corn farming.
This article or excerpt is included in the GLP’s
daily curated selection of ideologically diverse news, opinion and analysis of
biotechnology innovation.
As Africa grapples with
disruptions in the global supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, some
see it as an opportunity for the continent to become self-sufficient in food
production.
The continent currently is a net
food importer, spending between US$35 billion and US$50 billion annually on the
importation of foods, the majority of which can be grown in Africa.
“The Covid-19 pandemic provides a
golden opportunity for Ghana to optimize our potential for food production to
meet domestic needs, grow our agricultural exports and create jobs for the
youth of this country,” Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Ghana’s Minister for Food and
Agriculture, told a media briefing in the capital Accra.
“In the wake of export bans in
countries from where we import a large chunk of our food items like rice and
poultry, it provides a compelling situation for us to put strategic measures in
place to ramp up production for all our key staples,” the minister added. “It
also gives us the opportunity to intensify agro-processing, thus reducing
post-harvest losses and ensure year-round food availability, whilst creating
the needed jobs.”
Vanessa Adams, vice president of
Strategic Partnerships at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA),
agrees that the worldwide slowdown of agricultural activities caused by the
pandemic provides a great opportunity for Africa to feed itself.
“I’m a firm believer that a crisis is also an opportunity. We
should use this crisis as an opportunity to build more resilient food systems,”
she said
in an interview with Devex.com.
Why can’t Africa feed itself?
Africa has more than 60 percent
of the globe’s arable uncultivated land. But the continent imports a lot of
rice, maize, poultry products, sugar and other food products from the United
States, China, South America and other parts of the world.
Africa’s poultry industry, for
example, has struggled over the years because imported products are usually
less expensive than those that are home-produced. This has led to the local
poultry industry collapsing in many African countries.
Isn’t it curious that poultry products
produced in France and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean, all the way to Togo,
could cost about 50 percent less than chicken meat produced in the capital city
of Lome?
This is mainly because producers
in advanced economies benefit from government subsidies, lower production costs
and economics of scale from managing larger operations. Additionally, poor road
and railway infrastructure can make it more expensive to transport foods from
Africa’s rural areas to urban centers than to ship in products from overseas.
In the rice sector, for example,
a lot of consumers shy away from local produce on the claim that imported ones
from the US and Thailand have better taste and aroma. For some food products
like maize, Africa’s capacity to produce enough and process it for long term
storage is simply non-existent, thus encouraging importation.
With COVID-19 making it more difficult to produce, process and
move food across the world, a report published by the World Food Program (WFP),
Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), USAID and 13 other organizations has
called for scaled up support for local food markets, as well as
local processing and transport systems to help cushion the global food supply
chain from the pandemic.
African farmers agree now is the
right time to give farmers increased support so they can produce and distribute
food in their localities without having to transport products over long
distances.
“There can be more than enough
food here that can feed us without importation,” Opambuor Oboadie Bonsu,
president of the Concerned Farmers Association in Ghana Nana, told the Alliance
for Science. “In this era of COVID-19, everywhere is on lockdown. It is now
time to stop the importation of food and consume local food. More investments
are needed in roads and other areas to transport the food.”
Role of quality seeds in improving productivity
According to Ghana’s minister for food and agriculture, the
government is committed to increasing investment in the agricultural sector to
help the country cut down its annual $2.4
billion food import bill, almost half of which is spent
importing rice.
Ghana already has increased
annual local production of rice from 150,000 metric tonnes in 2016 to 655,000
metric tonnes in 2019 as part of its plan to become self-sufficient in about
three years through investments in better seeds, among other approaches.
“This year, we expect to grow
even more,” Afriyie said. “And it’s all hinging on the quantity of improved
seeds of rice we are distributing. The Ghanaian farmer has proven beyond doubt
that with the right support from government, they will deliver. And they are
delivering.”
Dr. Yemisrach Melkie Abebaw, an
Ethiopian scientist with the Plant Biotechnology Research team at the Ethiopian
Biotechnology Institute, said one sure way to make the continent less dependent
on imported food is to take advantage of genetically modified (GM) seeds.
“Genetically modified crops
represent one of the modern biotechnology approaches with the capability of
changing the fate of agriculture in the new millennium,” she said. “The
creators of GM crops emphasize the potential of genetic engineering to benefit
society by increasing crop yields, improving food quality and developing
environmental stress tolerant crops.
“GM crops have the potential to
contribute to current effort to address the major agriculture challenges in
Ethiopia, including low productivity, pest and diseases, drought, malnutrition,
climate and environment change, and post-harvest-losses,” she added. “It
provides new tools to develop abiotic and biotic stress tolerant varieties.”
ALTHOUGH many
people are worried about the possibility of a food shortage due to the covid19
pandemic, the Food Distributors Association says there is no rice shortage.
The association’s president Marc Pontifex
told Newsday the rice sector is not in any trouble and there is a sufficient
supply to meet demand. He said, “Based on feedback from major supermarkets,
they are not experiencing any shortages.”
Over the past few months, there have been
calls from several sectors, especially the agricultural sector, for the
government to look into a sound food security policy. CEO of Old Mac Parboiled
Rice, Liaquat Ali, said while there is no shortage of rice there are some
challenges in getting it into the country.
He said, “With the restrictions in place
because of covid19, the logistics of getting from the regional and
international suppliers are challenging. Workers are unable to disembark the
vessel as it docks, and a lot of safety checks must be carried out before the
product is released. This delay makes the process longer to get the product on
the shelf for consumers.”
Ali added that there is an “artificial
shortage” because people have been panic-buying and storing more than they
need. Agricultural economist Omardath Maharaj said although there is no
shortage, because of the covid19 pandemic and other world issues such as US
military action near Venezuela, rice imports from Guyana could be affected.
Maharaj said, “In 2018 TT imported
approximately $107 million, or 19, 853 tons of rice. Although the reported
import volume fell by almost 50 per cent, import value did not. Even if
quantity remains available going forward, we have to be mindful of
foreign-exchange pressure.
“The decline in imports may be due to
incomplete data reporting by some countries generally, since local production
remains relatively dormant, as farmers have since migrated to other fields of
endeavour and production to survive.” He said while a majority of rice imports
are from Guyana and Brazil, TT has the capacity to produce “a tremendous
amount” of rice.
Workers
prepare to transport rice bags at a warehouse in Yangon. Photo: Aung Htay
Hlaing/The Myanmar Times
More
than 5,000 tonnes of rice - around 100,000 sacks - have piled up at the Myanmar-China
border over the past month, when the Chinese authorities temporarily suspended
imports without certificates from the General Administration of Quality
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China
(AQSIQ), said U Min Thein, vice chair of Muse 105-mile Rice Wholesale
Center.
As a result, some 150 trucks have been unable to go beyond the
Kyal Gaung area since April 3 and have hired warehouses to store rice in the
meantime.
“The drivers hired 10 warehouses for more than 100,000 sacks of
rice at K200 per sack,” said U Min Thein.
He added that the agriculture ministry had not been issuing
AQSIQ certificates for the first few weeks in April but have started doing so
after inspecting the rice stocks since April 20.
However, traders are anticipating further losses.
“We are incurring losses on the warehouse rentals for earlier
stockpiles. We cannot trade those as they have not been inspected and don’t
have AQSIQ certificates. The first 100,000 sacks of rice haven’t passed customs
inspections yet so we can’t export additional sacks due to the backlog,"
said U Min Thein.
Trade at the border resumed in May and China has issued letters
to Chinese companies permitting them to import up to five times more rice than
the amount purchased last year. In 2019, the Chinese government permitted the
import of a total of 50,000 tonnes of rice.
This year, the quota has been raised to 250,000 tonnes,
according to the Muse Rice Wholesale Center.- Translated
