Friday, August 04, 2017

4th August,2017 daily global regional local rice e-newsletter by riceplus magazine

Climate experts identify building blocks of Vietnam’s mitigation actions on rice

03 Aug 2017

What does it take to plan and implement mitigation initiatives in rice production more effectively? Experts weigh in on science-based options for rice NAMAs in a policy workshop.

Vietnam has been taking decisive steps toward achieving a low-carbon rice sector. The country, through its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), has pledged to cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 8%, which could be further increased to 25% through international support, by 2030 compared with the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario.

This is a significant contribution to the mitigation initiatives of Vietnam especially as it has the highest emissions from rice production in the Southeast Asia region (FAOSTAT, 2012).

Recently gaining momentum in Southeast Asia, NAMAs are proposed mitigation measures to reduce emissions below BAU levels contributing to sustainable development. It can take the form of a program, policy, regulation, or an incentive.

In developing rice NAMAs for Vietnam, experts stressed that they should be inclusive and appropriate to the needs and capacities of the communities, have institutionalized financial mechanisms and economic incentives, and forge strong collaboration among stakeholders.

Despite these, mitigation efforts in the country are constrained by a number of challenges.

Mitigation challenges and opportunities

A study conducted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) looked into the implementation of Vietnam’s climate change policy particularly on mitigation actions in rice production.

"Vietnam has strong institutional mandates on climate change policies but lacks clear policy guidelines and inducements to stimulate stakeholders’ participation,” reported Dr. Lucrecio Rebugio, SEARCA consultant, in a climate policy workshop on NAMA Formulation in Support of NDC Implementation on Vietnam’s Rice Sector held on 20 June 2017 in Hanoi.

Vietnam’s Institute of Agricultural Environment (IAE) and the Institute for Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development co-organized the event under two IRRI projects: (1) Reducing Methane Emissions from Paddy Rice Production in Vietnam project being funded by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), and (2) Policy Information and Response Platform on Climate Change and Rice in the ASEAN (PIRCCA) project, funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

A policy gap analysis conducted by Ms. Nguyen Thi Dieu Trinh of Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) complements SEARCA’s study and points to the importance of integrating climate resilience and low emission rice development in revising the current Rice Restructuring Strategy. “It should identify emission reduction targets, technical solutions, and estimated investment needs,” Ms Dieu Trinh emphasized.

In his presentation, Valerien Pede, senior scientist at IRRI, emphasized the importance of bridging the gap between science and policy.

"For effective policy engagement, knowing national priorities and getting the interest of policy makers is a must. Producing scientific reports and publications is not sufficient to influence policy but recommendations should be translated into clear spatial and temporal priorities at different scales,” he explained.

Meryl Richards, CCAFS expert on low emissions development, shared findings from their project on developing low emissions development investment plans for the rice sector in the Mekong River Delta. She challenged the participants to make sure that products of research feed into NAMA proposals.

Dr. Mai Van Trinh of IAE gave an example of such research output and presented the results of a cost-benefit analysis of GHG mitigation options in the Mekong River Delta. The alternate wetting and drying (AWD) technology, for example, has been proven to be suitable in the area in terms of reducing water use and mitigating GHG emissions in rice production. AWD can also provide higher profit to farmers, hence, a good fit for a NAMA.

“The analysis will help meet these demands from an investment point of view,” said Ms Dieu Trinh and emphasized the role of the private sector:

"I encourage the group to make the research results more appealing to the private sector as they could potentially support NAMA programs.”

Participating climate experts and policymakers also raised some constrains that deter the planning and implementation of a NAMAs in the country like the lack of an approved Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system at all levels and the limited access to national and foreign climate finance.

A promising model for NAMA initiatives

A concrete example of NAMA in the works is the Thai Rice NAMA project.

The Thai Rice NAMA project, which is now in the proposal development stage, will adopt the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) Standard which pushes for resource-use efficiency and sustainability in the rice sector.

“The Thai rice NAMA aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mainly methane, from irrigated rice cultivation in six focus provinces in the Central Plains of Thailand. The project expects to involve 100,000 rice farming households, and farmers’ organizations in the drive to reduce GHG emissions from rice fields,” explained Dr. Reiner Wassmann, climate change expert at IRRI.

By and large, mitigation initiatives are for the long haul but appropriate plans and climate policies need to be firmed up urgently for ground actions to effectively materialize. In the case of Vietnam, the government is clearly taking significant and decisive steps toward achieving their mitigation targets.

The 1st Stakeholder Engagement Workshop: NAMA formulation in support of NDC implementation in the rice sector of Viet Nam, organized by IRRI and the CCAFS SEA together with Vietnam’s Institute of Agricultural Environment and Institute for Policy and Strategy for Agricultural Development, was held on 20 June 2017 at the Women Development Center, Hanoi, Vietnam.

http://reliefweb.int/report/viet-nam/climate-experts-identify-building-blocks-vietnam-s-mitigation-actions-rice

Commerce Ministry Inks Rice Export Deal With Bangladesh

BY HANG SOKUNTHEA | AUGUST 3, 2017

In a major deal that could boost Cambodia’s total rice exports by nearly 50 percent this year, local and Bangladeshi officials signed a deal aiming to move 1 million tons of rice over five years, the countries’ representatives announced on Wednesday.

Looking to shore up its reserves of rice and dampen down prices following flash floods that devastated rice production, Bangladesh has been turning to neighbors in South and Southeast Asia to buy hundreds of thousands of tons of rice at a time.

A woman cleans rice for sale at a shop in Phnom Penh yesterday. Cambodia signed a deal yesterday to export up to 1 million tons of rice to Bangladesh over the next five years. (Samrang Pring)

Reuters reported in May that the government was looking to immediately import up to 300,000 tons of rice from Vietnam as part of the initiative.

In the latest deal, the Bangladeshi government will seek to buy 250,000 tons of rice from Cambodia this year, said Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak during the signing of the memorandum of understanding on Wednesday. The purchase alone would nearly match the 288,562 tons of rice Cambodia exported in the first six months of the year, according to statistics from the Agriculture Ministry.

And it would go a long way toward helping Cambodia approach its long-promised—but repeatedly missed—goal of hitting 1 million tons of milled rice exports a year, as well as lift its struggling rice farmers, who blocked roads in protest amid a rice price crisis late last year.

The sector has seen some stagnation in recent years, with the country exporting 542,144 tons last year, just 0.7 percent more than in 2015.

Sok Puthyvuth, head of the Cambodia Rice Federation, said the signing on Wednesday was only the first step in the process, and private companies would discuss prices in the coming months. The trade process itself may prove challenging, Mr. Puthyvuth said, because Sihanoukville Port is not yet capable of handling the shipment sizes the deal could demand. “This year we expect the port might be too small to enable the export, but we anticipate that next year the problem will be improved as the port will be expanded,” he said.

A man dries unhusked rice in Kompong Thom province last year. (Reuters)

The Transport Ministry has released plans to build a second port in Preah Sihanouk province to handle rising shipping traffic, funded partially by a $200 million loan from the Japanese government. Once private rice companies have established prices, Chan Sokty, CEO of state-owned food stock firm Green Trade Company, will oversee the deal’s logistics. To address the capacity issues, Mr. Sokty suggested breaking the first order into smaller exports.

His company previously exported 20,000 ton shipments of cassava, so Mr. Sokty said the federation might consider separating the shipment into similar sized portions.

“I think it isn’t much different, although to export rice might require more caution,” he said. “We won’t export 250,000 tons at a time. We could export a few over time within the deadline in the contract till meeting the full amount.”

Mr. Sorasak, the commerce minister, said that although the new deal was smaller than Cambodia’s annual 300,000-ton rice export deal with China, the new trade route could open up future opportunities with the country of 163 million people.

“After this trade deal, we can learn from the experience and see how to develop other trade of agricultural goods as well,” he said.

sokunthea@cambodiadaily.com

https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/commerce-ministry-inks-rice-export-deal-with-bangladesh-133184/

ASIA RICE-INDIA'S PRICES UP ON STRONG RUPEE; MARKETS SUBDUED IN THAILAND, VIETNAM

8/3/2017

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat

BANGKOK, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Rice prices in India rose on
Thursday due to the strongest rupee in two years, while markets
in Thailand and Vietnam remained subdued ahead of harvests
expected this month, traders said.

In India, the world's biggest rice exporter, 5 percent
broken parboiled rice <RI-INBKN5-P1> rose by $6 per tonne to
$406-$409 due to a rally in the rupee to its highest level in
two years, even though demand remained weak.

"The rupee is forcing us to raise prices, which are higher
than competing countries," said a New Delhi-based official with
a global trading firm.

The rupee has risen nearly 7 percent so far in
2017, reducing exporters' returns.

Lower supplies of the grain ahead of the harvest season
expected at the end of September also raised prices for local
paddy rice, traders said.

"We have to raise export prices accordingly," said an
exporter in Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Last month, India's high prices resulted in a suspension of
a government-to-government deal with Bangladesh, which has been
looking to import rice to replenish stocks hit by flash floods.

The deal was called off this week because India did not
respond with a revised offer in time, the chief of Bangladesh's
state grain buyer told Reuters before leaving for Cambodia,
where a 1 million tonne rice deal was agreed.

Thai benchmark 5 percent broken rice <RI-THBKN5-P1> on
Thursday dropped to $390-$392 a tonne, free-on-board (FOB)
Bangkok, from $395-$408 last week.

"The market has gone quiet. Prices would have dropped
further but they are being held up by the strong exchange rate,"
a trader in Bangkok said.

The baht was trading at 33.26 against the dollar, the
strongest in more than two years.

Thailand's off-season white rice grains, grown mainly in the
central region, are expected to arrive from mid-August through
to September. Thailand has been battling floods in its main
rice-growing northeastern region since late July.

Thailand is likely to export 11 million tonnes of rice this
year, the government said this week, higher than its target. It
has exported 6.3 million tonnes so far, an increase of 16
percent from the same period last year.

Vietnam's 5 percent broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1> extended its
flat trend at $400-$405 a tonne, FOB Saigon, on low foreign
demand and high commercial prices.

"We hope the market to be more vibrant by late August when
the summer-autumn harvest starts," said a trader in Ho Chi Minh
City.

Another trader said there were a few queries from African
buyers but no specific deals have yet been agreed.

Vietnam has exported an estimated 3.4 million tonnes of rice
in first seven months of this year, up 18.6 percent from a year
earlier.

Thailand and Vietnam are the world's second and third
biggest rice exporters.

(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat in BANGKOK, Rajendra
Jadhav in MUMBAI, My Pham and Mi Nguyen in HANOI, and Ruma Paul
in DHAKA; Editing by David Evans)

http://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/asia-rice-indias-prices-up-on-strong-rupee-markets-subdued-in-thailand-vietnam

Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- August 3, 2017

7 MIN READ

Nagpur Foodgrain Prices – APMC/Open Market-August 3Nagpur, August 3 (Reuters) – Gram and tuar prices firmed up again in Nagpur Agriculture Produceand Marketing Committee (APMC) here on increased seaonal demand from local millers amid weaksupply from producing regions. Reports about poor monsoon in the regions, fresh hike in MadhyaPradesh pulses and reported demand from South-based millers also boosted prices.

About 900 of gram and 600 bags of tuar were available for auctions, according to sources.

FOODGRAINS & PULSES

GRAM

* Gram varieties ruled steady in open market here on subdued demand from local traders.

TUAR

* Tuar varieties quoted static in open market here but demand was poor.

* Wheat Lokwan and Moong Chamki moved down in open market on poor demand from local

traders amid good supply from producing regions.

* In Akola, Tuar New – 3,400-3,6500, Tuar dal (clean) – 5,100-5,400, Udid Mogar (clean)

– 7,200-7,900, Moong Mogar (clean) 6,500-7,200, Gram – 4,500-4,700, Gram Super best

– 7,400-7,700

* Other varieties of wheat, rice and other commodities moved in a narrow range in

scattered deals and settled at last levels in thin trading activity.

Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg

FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close

Gram Auction 4,500-5,010 4,350-5,010

Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600

Tuar Auction 3,400-3,800 3,240-3,790

Moong Auction n.a. 3,900-4,200

Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500

Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800

Wheat Mill quality Auction 1,600-1,717 1,550-1,708

Gram Super Best Bold 7,500-8,000 7,500-8,000

Gram Super Best n.a. n.a.

Gram Medium Best 6,700-7,000 6,700-7,000

Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a

Gram Mill Quality 5,000-5,100 5,000-5,100

Desi gram Raw 4,700-4,900 4,700-4,900

Gram Yellow 7,100-8,100 7,100-8,100

Gram Kabuli 12,300-13,400 12,300-13,400

Tuar Fataka Best-New 5,400-5,700 5,400-5,700

Tuar Fataka Medium-New 5,200-5,300 5,200-5,300

Tuar Dal Best Phod-New 5,000-5,200 5,000-5,200

Tuar Dal Medium phod-New 4,700-5,000 4,700-5,000

Tuar Gavarani New 3,600-3,700 3,600-3,700

Tuar Karnataka 3,700-3,900 3,700-3,900

Masoor dal best 4,700-4,900 4,700-4,900

Masoor dal medium 4,400-4,600 4,400-4,600

Masoor n.a. n.a.

Moong Mogar bold (New) 6,700-7,000 6,700-7,000

Moong Mogar Medium 6,000-6,500 6,000-6,500

Moong dal Chilka 5,200-5,800 5,200-5,800

Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.

Moong Chamki best 6,400-6,800 6,500-7,000

Udid Mogar best (100 INR/KG) (New) 7,500-8,000 7,500-8,000

Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 6,500-7,000 6,500-7,000

Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 4,000-4,500 4,000-4,500

Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 4,500-5,000 4,500-5,000

Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 2,800-3,000 2,800-3,000

Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 2,850-3,000 2,850-2,950

Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,500-3,700 3,500-3,700

Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 4,100-4,600 4,100-4,600

Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,000 1,900-2,000

Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG) 1,750-1,850 1,750-1,850

Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,300 2,100-2,300

Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,300 2,200-2,400

Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,800-2,000 1,900-2,100

Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a.

MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 3,000-3,600 3,000-3,600

MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,700 2,200-2,700

Rice BPT new (100 INR/KG) 2,700-3,300 2,800-3,400

Rice BPT best (100 INR/KG) 3,300-3,500 3,300-3,500

Rice BPT medium (100 INR/KG) 3,000-3,100 3,000-3,100

Rice Luchai (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,800 2,500-2,800

Rice Swarna new (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,400 2,300-2,400

Rice Swarna best (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,600 2,500-2,650

Rice Swarna medium (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,400 2,300-2,400

Rice HMT New (100 INR/KG) 3,700-4,000 3,700-4,000

Rice HMT best (100 INR/KG) 4,500-5,000 4,500-5,000

Rice HMT medium (100 INR/KG) 4,100-4,300 4,100-4,300

Rice Shriram New(100 INR/KG) 4,400-4,800 4,400-4,800

Rice Shriram best 100 INR/KG) 6,500-6,800 6,500-6,800

Rice Shriram med (100 INR/KG) 5,800-6,200 5,800-6,200

Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 10,000-13,500 10,000-13,500

Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,000-7,500 5,000-7,500

Rice Chinnor New(100 INR/KG) 4,500-4,700 4,500-4,700

Rice Chinnor best 100 INR/KG) 5,800-6,000 5,800-6,000

Rice Chinnor medium (100 INR/KG) 5,400-5,600 5,400-5,600

Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,200 1,900-2,200

Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 1,800-1,900 1,800-1,900

WEATHER (NAGPUR)

Maximum temp. 34.6 degree Celsius, minimum temp. 25.0 degree Celsius

Rainfall : Nil

FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky with light rains. Maximum and minimum temperature would be around

and 35 and 25 degree Celsius respectively.

Note: n.a.--not available

(For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but

included in market prices)https://in.reuters.com/article/hpcl-results-idINKBN1AK0VU

RBI upbeat on monsoon, crop prospects

VINSON KURIAN

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, AUG 2:

The Reserve Bank is upbeat on the playout of a good monsoon and its implications for the crop production targets for 201718.

In its monetary policy statement, the Central Bank said that overall, these developments should help achieve the crop production targets at a higher level than the peak attained in the previous year.

A normal and well-distributed monsoon for the second consecutive year has brightened the prospects of agricultural and allied activities and rural demand.

By August 1, rainfall was one per cent above the long period average (LPA) and 84 per cent of the country’s geographical area received excess to normal precipitation.

Kharif sowing has progressed at a pace higher than last year’s, with full-season sowing nearly complete for sugarcane, jute and soyabean.

The initial uncertainty surrounding sowing of pulses, barring tur and rice in some regions, has also largely dissipated.

Sowing of cotton and coarse cereals has exceeded last year’s levels but for oilseeds, it is lagging, tne RBI said.

Procurement operations in respect of rice and wheat during the rabi marketing season have been stepped up to record levels – 36.1 million tonnes in April-June 2017. Stocks have risen to 1.5 times the buffer norm for the quarter ending September.

(This article was published on August 2, 2017)

Post Comment

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/rbi-upbeat-on-monsoon-crop-prospects/article9798416.ece

Mississippi Rice Field Day Report

By Ben Mosely

STONEVILLE, MS -- USA Rice staff attended Mississippi State University's Rice Research field day at their Delta Research and Extension Center (DREC) here yesterday and presented an update on rice trade issues and the Trump Administration's progress on political appointments of importance to the rice industry.

"We always enjoy visiting the Mississippi Delta," said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. "The field tour was topnotch and very informative." Bobby Golden, DREC associate professor and extension rice agronomist, led the tour and estimated that Mississippi would harvest between 110,000 and 100,000 acres this crop year, and that, at this point, the quality looks good with expectations for average yields.

"Harvest has already begun and will pick up speed if the weather holds," Golden said. "Weather over the last five days has been excellent for the maturing rice crop and rice flowering during this week may be outstanding in quality and yield."

Golden added, "We were glad to have USA Rice in the Delta yesterday, and really appreciate the close working relationship we've developed to promote Mississippi rice producers and their products."

Arkansas Field Day August 10

JONESBORO, AR -- Don't miss the Horizon Ag Arkansas Rice Field Day, Thursday, August 10, at Mark Wimpy Farms, 264 CR 219, Jonesboro, AR, 72404.

Registration is open at 9:00 a.m. and the tour starts at 9:30 a.m. For more information, please contact: Horizon Ag, (866) 237-6167 or info@horizonag.com

Row rice, nematodes featured during Louisiana field tour

Karol Osborne | Aug 01, 2017

Experts from the LSU AgCenter, the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency, and Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry highlighted agriculture production best management practices and pest management concerns facing producers in northeast Louisiana during a July 18 interagency field tour.

“Farmers have enough challenges without filtering through numerous contacts to get the answers they need,” said Rogers Leonard, LSU AgCenter associate vice president for plant, soil and water programs.

“We all work for the same stakeholder: the farmer,” Leonard said. “And we want to ensure that producers are directed to the best source of information.”

More than 60 agents, consultants and inspectors took part in the all-day training.

“This field tour presents a vital opportunity for agencies in the region to work together to address crosscutting concerns facing our stakeholders,” said Tara Smith, AgCenter regional director.

The tour featured several on-farm demonstrations in Morehouse Parish, beginning at Jason Waller Farms near Mer Rouge.

“The rolling crop tour provides a unique opportunity to showcase field demonstrations conducted in our area and supports collaboration and information and idea exchange with other agencies,” said Richard Letlow, AgCenter Morehouse Parish agent.

Row rice production is not currently an AgCenter-recommended production practice, but having an enthusiastic producer who wanted to compare cost and profitability of nontraditional irrigated row rice with conventional flooded paddy rice production encouraged area agents to move forward with the study, Letlow said.

This is the second year Waller has collaborated with AgCenter experts to look at row rice data.

“We have been keeping detailed records and meeting weekly, and it looks great,” Letlow said. “But we won’t have final yields and cost data until after the mid-August harvest.”

The tour continued at the Paul Wiggins farm with a large-scale soybean demonstration on root-knot nematode management.

Because the field had a major root-knot nematode problem last year, Charles Overstreet, AgCenter plant pathologist, used site-specific nematicide technology to compare a resistant soybean variety and a higher-yielding susceptible variety to see how profitability might be affected.

“In untreated check plots, I found plants that were very badly galled with the higher-yielding susceptible soybean variety,” Overstreet said. “But the resistant variety had no galls at all; zero, very clean, beautiful resistance.”

On plots treated with a fumigant, Overstreet expects to find low galling but will have to wait until harvest to analyze the final treatment response.

A herbicide demonstration in dicamba-tolerant soybeans on the Tony Hanes farm compared treatments with no dicamba to treatments with dicamba, said Josh Copes, AgCenter agronomist. The dicamba treatments showed better control of Palmer amaranth compared with non-dicamba treatments, he said.

The tour concluded with an informational tour of the Kennedy Rice Mill led by plant manager Marley Oldham.

In addition to seeing how raw rice is milled into brown and white rice, the group learned how rice by-products are used and how final products are shipped by rail.

Other field tour presentations included:

· NRCS water quality specialist Steve Nipper provided program updates, and NRCS civil engineer Jacob Paul discussed irrigation designs and programs.

· AgCenter rice specialist Dustin Harrell gave a rice crop and industry report.

· AgCenter cotton and corn specialist Dan Fromme presented a crop and industry report on both commodities.

· AgCenter economist Naveen Adusumilli provided a water policy update.

· AgCenter soybean specialist Todd Spivey was introduced and provided industry updates.

· LDAF pesticide and environmental programs director Kevin Wofford addressed growing regulatory concerns with new technologies and provided an update on dicamba and 2,4-D-related issues.

· Wofford also reviewed projected market year average prices and how Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs payments scheduled for October release may be affected.

· John Lovelace, lower Mississippi assistant director with U.S. Geological Survey Gulf Water Science Center, presented an update on the Mississippi Alluvial Plain project about the Mississippi alluvial aquifer and water withdrawals in Louisiana

http://www.deltafarmpress.com/rice/row-rice-nematodes-featured-during-louisiana-field-tour

Riceland Foods exec recognized by Sen. Boozman on the U.S. Senate floor

AGRICULTURE BUSINESS NEWS BRIEFS

Riceland Foods Inc. Senior Vice-President Corporate Communications and Public Serve Bill Reed retired from the Stuttgart-based company on Monday and received a rare honor Wednesday. U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., recognized Reed, who worked for the company for 34 years, from the U.S. Senate floor.

Riceland is the largest miller and marketer of rice in the world.“Bill is constantly looking out for the rice farmers and businesses by promoting policies to grow the industry and pushing for expanded markets. His advocacy extended beyond the boundaries of agriculture. He was always ready to lend a hand to myself or my staff on any issue important to Arkansas,” Boozman said.

Reed was a member of the company’s senior management team whose responsibilities include government affairs, public relations and the Riceland Sustainability Initiative. His interest in agriculture at a young age led him to pursue degrees in this field. Reed earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in plant and soil science from the University of Tennessee and a master’s degree in agriculture journalism from the University of Wisconsin. In 1976 he moved to the Natural State to work as a state specialist with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.

As a representative of Riceland, Reed served on numerous boards and trade associations including USA Rice Federation and the National Council of Farmer Cooperative.

He serves as chairman of the Associated Industries of Arkansas, vice president for agriculture of the Arkansas State Council on Economic Education, and vice chairman of the board of visitors of Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas

http://talkbusiness.net/2017/08/riceland-foods-exec-recognized-by-sen-boozman-on-the-u-s-senate-floor/

Punjab CM assures Rice millers, their interests will be protected in new milling policy

August 02, 2017 04:43 PM

Punjab News Express

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has assured the state’s rice millers that the Custom Milling Policy for next year would be formulated only after considering the views of all the concerned stakeholders.The chief minister gave the assurance to a delegation of the Rice Millers Association (Pb.), led by its president Gian Chand Bhardwaj, that called on him at his official residence on Wednesday.

Captain Amarinder also promised to ensure uninterrupted quality power supply at Rs. 5/- per unit to all rice milling units, and assured them that their problems would be examined sympathetically by his government.

The delegation lauded several notable decisions of the Captain Amarinder government, including the decision to freeze power tariff at Rs 5 per unit, which they said would enable the sector to complete with units in other states. They further hailed the decision to abolish the Truck Unions, which had been made a source of business by the previous SAD-BJP combine government. The move will save the government close to Rs. 2000 Crores, they added.

Reiterating his government’s commitment to promoting industrial development in the state, the chief minister assured the delegation that their demands, as listed in the memorandum submitted to him, would be given due consideration.Besides allocation of paddy in proportion to milling capacity, the memorandum demanded a flat rate to be fixed for transportation, loading and unloading of paddy, as well as the chief minister’s intervention in finalizing the milling accounts and setting norms for storage of paddy.

Others present at the meeting included district president of the association Ashwani Kumar, and Dr. Prem Nath from Samana.http://punjabnewsexpress.com/punjab/news/punjab-cm-assures-rice-millers-their-interests-will-be-protected-in-new-milling-policy-63670.aspx

Some of the most powerful players in agriculture are nearly invisible

By Lydia DePillis

August 1, 2017

Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Houston Chronicle

Rice pours into the grain tank of a combine harvesting rice at Ray Stoesser's farm Wednesday, July 26, 2017 in Raywood. Stoesser helped push for a recent deal to allow U.S. rice exports to China.

In Tuesday's paper, I write about a Texas rice farmer who's been trying for about a decade to open China to U.S. rice — a quest that finally bore fruit last week, with an agreement on safety standards that opens the door to exports.

But the farmers whose endless fields you drive by on the way to Baton Rouge aren't the only ones who'll benefit from increased trade with China, because they can't send rice overseas on their own. They need middlemen — the mills, which turn rough rice into smooth, polished white grains.

Rice milling is a multi-billion dollar industry that, like farming, has become increasingly consolidated as businesses pursue economies of scale. Although it's by no means as concentrated as livestock processing or cane sugar refining, 22 companies mill about 75 percent of America's rice production, with the top two companies — both farmer-owned cooperatives — accounting for 40 percent.

Those companies were very interested in the Chinese market, because China wants its rice imports already milled — unlike Mexico, for example, which mills a lot of the rice it buys itself.

"It's really not a farmer's deal," says Michael Klein, vice president for communications for the USA Rice Federation, a coalition of farmers and millers. "It's all milled rice going into China. And we represent 100 percent of the mills."To read this article in one of Houston's most-spoken languages, click on the button below.

(There is no love lost between the USA Rice Federation and the much smaller, Houston-based, farmers-only US Rice Producers Association. The two organizations split after a disagreement over the 1996 Farm Bill, which removed government controls on what farmers could plant. "You can't represent the buyers and the sellers in the same tent," says Greg Yielding, the executive director of the Arkansas Rice Growers Association. "Buyers and sellers want different things.")

Anyway, the largest miller in Texas is Riviana Foods, which became the biggest at the beginning of 2017 when its Spanish parent company merged several assets together — including American Rice, which used to loom over Allen Parkway at Studemont before being demolished in 1996. It now packages brands including Minute, Success, Mahatma, Blue Ribbon, Wonder, Comet, Adolphus, and RiceSelect, legacies of its acquisitions over the years.

Giant mills like Riviana are the ones that bear the brunt of complying with the terms of the deal with China, which spells out exactly how rice is to be processed in order to avoid contamination. Keith Gray, Riviana's vice president for supply chain, says that some of their demands seemed over the top, even by the standards of other government regulators.

"They wanted extra stuff to monitor pests that do not exist, wanted it monitored separately from our other program," Gray says. "It's just more paperwork."

But Riviana went through with the deal's specifications. Because just as mills have consolidated to give farmers little choice in who buys their product, mills themselves face a limited number of customers as well — and China buys more rice than any other country.

"It's kind of like, why would I want to deal with Walmart? Because they're the biggest," Gray says, naming another buyer that makes onerous demands of the companies whose goods it sells. " It's an untouched market that everybody wants to get into."

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/texanomics/article/Some-of-the-most-powerful-players-in-the-11723559.php

250,000 tonnes of rice bound for Bangladesh

Chea Vannak / Khmer Times

Bangladesh’s Minister of Food Md Qamrul Islam, left, and Cambodian Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak at the agreement signing ceremony. KT/Mai Vireak

Bangladesh yesterday agreed to import one million tonnes of milled rice from Cambodia over a five-year period and will take delivery of the first 250,000 tonnes in October.“Bangladesh is buying rice from Cambodia to replenish its rice stock after it was affected by devastating floods,” said the country’s Minister of Food Md Qamrul Islam.

“We have problems trying to meet our own needs this season and for this reason we have signed an agreement with Cambodia to buy one million tonnes of rice,” he added.

“Immediately after signing the agreement, we will take delivery of 200,000 tonnes of white rice and 50,000 tonnes of parboiled rice.”

Bangladesh, the world’s fourth-biggest rice producer, has emerged as a major importer of the grain this year after flash floods in April hit domestic output. As a result, the country is facing dwindling stocks and high local prices.

Besides Cambodia, Bangladesh is also in talks with Vietnam, Thailand and India to buy rice from those countries, said Mr Qamrul Islam.

“This is the first time we chose Cambodia,” he said. “We are confident of getting the best rice [in Cambodia].”

Pan Sorasak, Cambodia’s Commerce Minister, said Bangladesh will take delivery of the 250,000 tonnes of milled rice in October.“This agreement with Bangladesh signals the start of a new era in trade cooperation between our countries,” he added.The Ministry of Commerce and the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) will work together with rice millers, rice exporters and the private sector to ensure that Cambodia will be able to meet its obligations in the agreement to export rice to Bangladesh.CRF president Sok Puthyvuth said it would not be a problem for Cambodia to export 250,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh in October.

“We believe we have enough time to prepare and we believe we can do it,” said Mr Puthyvuth.

Bangladesh previously bought 200,000 tonnes of Vietnamese white rice at $430 a tonne and 50,000 tonnes of parboiled rice at $470 a tonne in a state-to-state deal.

But plans to import from India and Thailand could be reportedly suspended because of high prices and the government seems keen to rely on Cambodia to replenish its stock.

According to CRF vice president Hun Lak, Cambodian white rice is currently priced at $420 a tonne FOB (Free on Board).

“In the current condition, price seems to be the main point but I believe we can compromise with Bangladesh,” Mr Puthyvuth said.Song Saran, CEO of AMRU Rice, welcomed the agreement with Bangladesh, saying it opened new markets for Cambodia.“The private sector is keen to make this agreement work. We will ensure the Bangladeshis that the rice they get from us will be the best quality,” he said.In the first quarter of the year, Cambodia exported a total of 288,562 tonnes of milled rice to 56 countries, up 7.6 percent compared with the same period last year earlier, according to government reports

http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5076347/250000-tonnes-rice-bound-bangladesh/

Sri Lanka prepares MoUs to purchase 155,000 MT rice from Thailand and Myanmar

Tue, Aug 1, 2017, 11:41 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Aug 01, Colombo: Sri Lanka, having concluded international 'rice talks' successfully, on Monday began finalizing the Memorandums of Understanding to proceed with the orders to purchase rice from Thailand and Myanmar, the Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen said.

The Minister said the MoUs will be finalized soon and submitted to the two countries as soon as possible.

Altogether the country expects to get a month's supply of fresh rice tranche by the initiatives, the Minister said meeting with his top officials on Monday to get updates on rice tranche to be purchased from abroad to end the rice shortage.

The purchases are made on the directions of President Maithripala Sirisena and the Cost of Living Committee of the Government.Accordingly, a MoU is being drawn by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to import 100,000 MT of par boiled (Nadu) rice and another 25,000 MT white raw rice from Thailand. Another MoU is being drawn to import 30,000 MT of white raw rice from Myanmar. Both these MoUs are Government to Government level.

Another purchase with Indian suppliers under Government to Foreign Private Sector is being worked and prices are being negotiated for a huge 100,000 MT par boiled (Nadu) rice.Meanwhile Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan Dr. Sarfraz Ahmad Khan Sipra during his meeting with Minister Bathiudeen on 31 July has informed the Minister to wait for Pakistani Government to Government supplies till September as the current prices in Pakistan are too high for Sri Lankan market, which is around $480 per MT. By September the prices are expected to fall to $400-410 range so that Sri Lanka can start placing the orders.

On Monday, the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) under Minister Bathiudeen has started pulling paddy stocks for milling.On the orders the Cost of Living Committee on 26 July, the CWE started extracting 51,000 MT of paddy lying with the Paddy Marketing Board's warehouses to mill in CWE's own mills as well as through the private millers. The total rice tranche for expected consumption after milling this paddy stock is 32,000 MT. The milled rice will be given to Lanka Sathosa to be sold to local consumers at the lowest possible price below the market prices for rice.

As a result of international MoUs and domestic paddy milling, a total of 187,000 MT of rice is now expected to flood the market immediately. With the expected Indian rice stocks of 100,000 MT, the total tranche in pipeline is a huge 287,000 MT - an excess of 87,000 MT above the country's rice consumption of 200,000 MT each month

http://www.colombopage.com/archive_17B/Aug01_1501567908CH.php

Indonesian rice executive arrested over mislabeling scandal

Govt steps up fight against alleged food cartel to control inflation

ERWIDA MAULIA, Nikkei staff writer

Police seal off an Indo Beras rice warehouse in Bekasi, West Java Province, on July 20. © Reuters

JAKARTA -- The head of a subsidiary of Tiga Pilar Sejahtera Food has been arrested over mislabeling accusations that have sent the Indonesian company's shares tumbling in recent weeks.The unit, rice producer Indo Beras Unggul, allegedly sold low-grade rice under premium labels -- and thus at inflated prices. Trisnawan Widodo, the president of the subsidiary, has been named a suspect over his role in the scandal."The evidence is enough to charge [Widodo], as he was allegedly very responsible for fraudulent practices and violations ... [of] consumer protection and food laws," Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul, a spokesman for the National Police, told reporters on Wednesday. "[Indo Beras] allegedly cheated consumers, denying them what they should have got as stated on the packaging labels."

The news sent shares of Tiga Pilar, which is partially owned by U.S. private equity fund KKR, falling 4.2% on Wednesday, while the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index rose 0.32%. The share price has plunged 23% since July 20, when police raided Indo Beras' warehouse outside Jakarta and confiscated 1,000 tons of allegedly mislabeled rice.Sitompul said lab tests found that the rice sold under two premium brands was not top quality.

"It's not first-grade, or even second-grade quality -- but lower," he said.Nutritional information on the labels was found to be misleading, and Indo Beras put a different company's name on the labels of at least one brand -- hindering official oversight.Furthermore, Indo Beras allegedly monopolized grain purchases from farmers near its factory, causing other rice millers in the area to suffer shortages, Sitompul added.Tiga Pilar last week admitted to having bought grains from farmers who may have received subsidized seeds and fertilizer from the government, but it denied all accusations of misconduct. The company said its business practices meet existing regulations and follow industry standards.One of the company's arguments is that the premium labeling reflects the percentage of intact grains in its rice, which is processed at Indo Beras' mills.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/Indonesian-rice-executive-arrested-over-mislabeling-scandal

Minister says no imports of rice, corn, onion and chili

Kendari, SE Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said there has been no imports of rice, corn, onion and chili by the country so far this year.
Until August, there was no plan to import rice, corn, onion and chili, the minister told reporter here after heading a coordinating meeting with regional and district administrations in Southeast Sulawesi.

In the past years the government imported up to 2.5 million tons of the four commodities until August, he said. Amran attributed the success in reaching self sufficiency in the four commodities to hard work by stakeholders in supporting development of the countrys farming sector.

He said the government would seek to regain the countrys past glory as a spice country by allocating Rp5.5 trillion for the development of the sector all over the country. In the regency of Konawe Selatan, the minister promised that the government would provide a budget of Rp2 trillion to finance development of sugar factory the largest in eastern Indonesia.(*)

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/112112/minister-says-no-imports-of-rice-corn-onion-and-chili

Millions may face protein deficiency as a result of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions

August 2, 2017

Source:Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Summary:

If CO2 levels keep rising as projected, the populations of 47 countries may lose more than 5 percent of their dietary protein by 2050 due to a decline in the nutritional value of rice, wheat, and other staple crops, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers. They estimate an additional 250 million people may be at risk of protein deficiency because of elevated CO2 levels. This is the first study to quantify this risk.

If CO₂ levels continue to rise as projected, the populations of 18 countries may lose more than 5% of their dietary protein by 2050 due to a decline in the nutritional value of rice, wheat, and other staple crops, according to new findings from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Researchers estimate that roughly an additional 150 million people may be placed at risk of protein deficiency because of elevated levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere. This is the first study to quantify this risk.

"This study highlights the need for countries that are most at risk to actively monitor their populations' nutritional sufficiency, and, more fundamentally, the need for countries to curb human-caused CO₂emissions," said Samuel Myers, senior research scientist in the Department of Environmental Health.

The study will be published online August 2, 2017 in Environmental Health Perspectives.

Globally, 76% of the population derives most of their daily protein from plants. To estimate their current and future risk of protein deficiency, the researchers combined data from experiments in which crops were exposed to high concentrations of CO₂ with global dietary information from the United Nations and measures of income inequality and demographics.

They found that under elevated CO₂ concentrations, the protein contents of rice, wheat, barley, and potatoes decreased by 7.6%, 7.8%, 14.1%, and 6.4%, respectively. The results suggested continuing challenges for Sub Saharan Africa, where millions already experience protein deficiency, and growing challenges for South Asian countries, including India, where rice and wheat supply a large portion of daily protein. The researchers found that India may lose 5.3% of protein from a standard diet, putting a predicted 53 million people at new risk of protein deficiency.

A companion paper co-authored by Myers, which will be published as an Early View article August 2, 2017 in GeoHealth, found that CO₂-related reductions in iron content in staple food crops are likely to also exacerbate the already significant problem of iron deficiency worldwide. Those most at risk include 354 million children under 5 and 1.06 billion women of childbearing age -- predominantly in South Asia and North Africa -- who live in countries already experiencing high rates of anemia and who are expected to lose more than 3.8% of dietary iron as a result of this CO₂ effect.

These two studies, taken alongside a 2015 study co-authored by Myers showing that elevated CO₂ emissions are also likely to drive roughly 200 million people into zinc deficiency, quantify the significant nutritional toll expected to arise from human-caused CO₂ emissions.

"Strategies to maintain adequate diets need to focus on the most vulnerable countries and populations, and thought must be given to reducing vulnerability to nutrient deficiencies through supporting more diverse and nutritious diets, enriching the nutritional content of staple crops, and breeding crops less sensitive to these CO₂effects. And, of course, we need to dramatically reduce global CO₂emissions as quickly as possible," Myers said.

Story Source:

Materials provided by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. Danielle E. Medek, Joel Schwartz, and Samuel S. Myers. Estimated Effects of Future Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations on Protein Intake and the Risk of Protein Deficiency by Country and Region. Environmental Health Perspectives, 2017 DOI: 10.1289/EHP41

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170802082924.htm

UNL leads research into heat-tolerant crops

by KHGI

Harkamal Walia checks the progress of wheat growing in the Lemna Tech High Throughput Phenotyping facility at the Greenhouse Innovation Center on Nebraska Innovation Campus. He is discussing the plant with other PI's in the grant. From left: Toshihiro Obata, Hongfeng Yu, and Qi Zhang. Not pictured are researchers Chi Zhang and Gota Morota. July 31, 2017. Photo by Craig Chandler / University Communication

LINCOLN, Neb. —

The University of Nebraska - Lincoln will explore the affects of high nighttime temperatures on wheat and rice, thanks to a $5.78 million National Science Foundation grant awarded to Harkamal Walia, associate professor of agronomy and horticulture.

The stress of high nighttime temperatures can lead to severe losses in the yield and quality of crops, according to a press release by the University of Nebraska. These losses are particularly high for wheat and rice, two major cereal crops worldwide. During the four-year project, Walia's team will investigate genes and genetic variants in wheat and rice to identify genetic markers and physiological characteristics tied to heat tolerance.

"The effect of high daytime temperatures on crop resilience has been studied, but this project will give us the opportunity to study the impact of high nighttime temperatures," said Walia, who received the award from the NSF's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, or EPSCoR. "Models suggest a greater widespread increase in nighttime temperatures than in daytime temperatures, so we need to develop rice and wheat resilient to these conditions."

Walia will lead a multidisciplinary team of Nebraska researchers, including Gota Morota, assistant professor of animal science; Toshihiro Obata, assistant professor of biochemistry; Hongfeng Yu, assistant professor of computer science and engineering; Chi Zhang, associate professor of biological sciences; and Qi Zhang, assistant professor of statistics. The team will also collaborate with researchers from Arkansas State University and Kansas State University.

The team will use a sophisticated image-based phenotyping system that takes high-resolution images of the plants as they endure simulated nighttime conditions. Software processes the images, detecting daily differences among the varieties that are not visible to the human eye. Matching slight variations with differences in each plant's genetic makeup will allow the team to identify the genes responsible for heat tolerance.

"We're hoping to gain a better physiological and genetic understanding of the heat stress responses," Walia said. "This knowledge will drive the development of crops that are more resilient to higher temperatures in terms of yield and quality."

Rice is one of the most important crops for global food security. According to Walia, the crop provides 60 to 65 percent of the daily caloric intake for people who live on less than $1 per day. Wheat is the most widely grown crop in the world and an important commodity for Nebraska. Together, wheat and rice account for more than 50 percent of the world's calorie consumption.

http://nebraska.tv/news/local/unl-leads-research-into-heat-tolerant-crops

NFA awards 250K-MT rice imports

By Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star) | Updated August 4, 2017 - 12:00am

State-run National Food Authority has officially awarded import rights to six Southeast Asian bidders for the 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice to boost the country’s dwindling buffer stock. File

MANILA, Philippines - State-run National Food Authority (NFA) has officially awarded import rights to six Southeast Asian bidders for the 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice to boost the country’s dwindling buffer stock.

NFA said it has issued notice of award to the four companies from Vietnam, one from Singapore and one from Thailand which submitted the lowest bids for the procurement of the 250,000 MT during the bidding conducted last July 25.

“All the winning bidders were given notice of award yesterday. They would then comply with the submission of performance bond, after which they would be issued notice to proceed and the signing of contract follows,” NFA deputy administrator and Special Bids and Awards Committee chair Tomas Escarez said in a text message.

These bidders include Vietnamese Tan Long Group Joint Stock Co., Hiep Loi Food Joint Stock Co., Gia International Corp., and Vietnam Southern Food Corp., Singaporean company Olam International Ltd. and Thai Capital Cereals Co. Ltd.

Escarez said the companies should submit their performance bond as soon as possible to remain on track with the scheduled arrival of shipments.

Rice shall be delivered on a staggered basis from August to September, with a total of 120,000 MT expected to arrive this month and 130,000 MT to arrive in September. Current NFA inventory can only last four days compared to its mandated buffer stock of 15 days at any given time.

The NFA must have at least a 30-day buffer stock to meet the requirements of victims of calamities and emergencies.Based on computations, the 250,000 MT can only cover for additional seven days. At least 544,000 MT are needed to maintain the agency’s buffer stocking mandate.The rice imports (25 percent broken, well-milled, long grain white rice) were divided into eight lots: six lots of 25,000 MT each and two lots of 50,000 MT each.Reference price for the importation was set at $451.08 per MT based on the foreign exchange rate of $1 to P50.The total amount of bids reached P$104.86 million or P5.2 billion, translating to savings of around $8 million or P400 million

http://www.philstar.com/business/2017/08/04/1724497/nfa-awards-250k-mt-rice-imports

Nigeria looks to 'white gold' for economic recovery

By AFP

2nd August 2017 10:00 AM

"Rice farming has greatly improved. I have had better yield and better price in the market," he told AFP at his farm at Dawakin Tofa, on the outskirts of Kano.

Since the oil market downturn, many Nigerians are turning to rice production. Photo/AFP

Hamisu Haruna and his men are bent over, turning the earth under a relentless sun. The work is hard in this impoverished part of northern Nigeria but the harvest will be good.In the last two years my yield has jumped to 35 bags of rice against the 20 I was getting in previous years," Haruna, who is in his 40s with craggy features and a wooden hoe over his shoulder.

"Rice farming has greatly improved. I have had better yield and better price in the market," he told AFP at his farm at Dawakin Tofa, on the outskirts of Kano. Rising rice production is one of the few positives of Nigeria's recession, which is the west African country's worst in 25 years.Today about 5.7 million tonnes of rice being are produced every year -- three times as much as a decade ago.

"We are now living a white gold revolution," said Francis Nwilene, the Nigeria director of the AfricaRice research centre. "People understand that oil is not something Nigeria can depend on anymore." The potential is undeniable. But despite having vast tracts of fertile land, Nigeria -- the largest consumer of rice in Africa -- is also one of the world's biggest importers of the food staple.

In the Kano region, the GreenPro factory shifted from specialising in flour and poultry to white cereals four years ago.Rice processing is by far more profitable than flour and chicken feed," said production manager Salisu Saleh."Rice is a major food staple in our society which only few can live without."

In a sign of rice's paramount role in Nigerian society, a "Jollof price index" -- named after a popular savoury fried rice dish -- was launched by an advisory firm in June to measure food inflation.

Uncompetitive

With domestic demand approaching 7.8 million tonnes per year, almost a quarter of Nigeria's rice comes from abroad, mainly India and Thailand. Rice is shipped through the Lagos port or by road from neighbouring Benin, which shares nearly 800 kilometres (500 miles) of porous borders."Smuggling is a major issue which discourages local production," explained Nwilene.

The government has said it believes Nigeria can be self-sufficient in rice production within a couple of years and is trying to plug gaps from cheaper imports. Small-scale farmers, who make up the majority of the rice producers, face numerous challenges, not least access to land.

Production facilities are also inefficient and costs high, while there are not enough ways for farmers to commercialise their products.With fertilisers and machinery, Haruna estimates he could farm "four times the current field".

"I have a large farm but I can only cultivate a fraction because of my limited resources," he explained.

To boost local production, Abuja banned rice imports by land in 2015 and launched an ambitious aid programme overseen by the central bank targeting some 600,000 farmers. In the arid north, new irrigation systems that allow farmers to harvest twice a year instead of just once during the rainy season have been introduced.

Dangote invests

Nigeria's economic crisis has provided a boost for rice.As global oil prices hover around $50 a barrel, the country needs to reduce costly imports and boost exports to increase government revenue. Faced with a severe shortage of foreign currency, Abuja has severely restricted access to dollars -- necessary to pay for imports -- and has repeatedly talked up the merits of local agriculture, which accounts for 24 per cent of GDP.

The rush for "white gold" is now attracting some of the country's biggest names in agribusiness. Nigerian tycoon Aliko Dangote, who made his fortune in cement, announced at the start of this year that he wanted to invest several billion dollars in three northern states -- Jigawa, Zamfara, Sokoto -- to establish commercial rice farms and build a dozen processing factories.

Singaporean giant Olam, which already owns one of the country's largest rice farms in Nasawara state, is running at full capacity processing 105,000 tonnes of rice a year. "Demand is high. Rice is a real business opportunity for Nigerians and will create thousands of jobs," said Ade Adefeko, Olam's vice-president of private sector and government relations

http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1459023/nigeria-looks-white-gold-economic-recovery

MP calls for quick delivery of rice and fuel to Tanai

By Chan Thar | Wednesday, 02 August 2017

A Tanai MP urged authorities to allow the immediate delivery of rice and machine oil to the township in Kachin State, which is facing difficulties in accessing the two commodities but a senior Tatmadaw official said there is no shortage of grain and fuel in the area.

U Lin Lin Oo, Tanai township Pyithu Hluttaw MP, said it has been three months since they sought permission for the delivery of rice and machine oil to the town, but there has been no action on their request.

Tatmadaw’s Northern Command has been controlling the entry of rice and machine oil into the township since November 2016, in an effort to check gold and amber mining in the area. Carrying rice and machine oil into Tanai City had been banned since May and prices of rice and machine oil have increased astronomically, said U Lin Lin Oo, Tanai township Pyithu Hluttaw MP.In Tanai and Shin Bwe Yan there was a quota system for allowing imports, with the exception of Tanai township, where imports and exports were banned, said U Lin Lin Oo.“The blockade started since last year. The Northern Command (Ma Pa Ta) was carrying this out. And, as we didn’t receive our quota, the prices here were in disorder. There are plans to start discussions when Hluttaw takes a break,” explained U Lin in Oo.

Tanai is a region with weak agricultural development, and after a long duration of not being able to import rice and machinery oils, the locals were encountering many difficulties, he said.The Northern Command has not yet replied to the request sent by Pyithu Hluttaw MP of Tanai township.In early June, skirmishes between the Tatmadaw and Kachin Independence Organisation, forced almost 1000 people to flee their homes and take shelter in religious centres in Tanai.Daily consumption is 10 rice bags which poses dificulties for long-term supply, Rev Father Dabang Jedi, from Kachin Baptist Church, said.“Now, there is no fighting and but there is still no changes in the number of refugees. They are still in our churches. As rescuers cannot come, we have to feed them. We buy from the city,” he said.

The price of a bag of rice was K30,000 before but now it is K45,000 in Tanai, the priest said.“Rice of unknown origin is found in Tanai. It is very expensive, but we can’t get another supply. If it takes longer before a new supply comes, our stocks will run out,” he said.MP U Lin Lin Oo raised a question at Pyi Thu Hlattaw session on June 28 and asked for free flow of rice and fuel into Tanai.

Major General Myint Lwin replied that there was no blockade of rice and fuel to Tanai; it was meant only to stop the flow of goods to illegal people. He said there is no shortage of rice and fuel in Tanai.

http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/27058-mp-calls-for-quick-delivery-of-rice-and-fuel-to-tanai.html

Sri Lanka exports show tepid growth during first 5 months

Author LBO
August 2, 2017 |

Commodity, Economy, Featured, Trade

Aug 02, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s earnings from exports expanded in May by 7.8 percent to 841 million dollars, on an year-on-year basis, however during the first five months of the year, exports showed a slower pace of growth.

“On a cumulative basis, earnings from exports grew by 4.3 per cent (year-on-year) to US dollars 4,410 million during the first five months of 2017, as a result of higher income from exports of tea, spices, petroleum products and seafood,” the central bank said in a statement.

However, declines were seen in export earnings from textiles and garments, gems, diamonds and jewellery and food, beverages and tobacco during the period.

Expenditure on imports increased to 1,727 million dollars in May 2017 registering a 8.6 per cent year-on-year growth, reflecting higher demand for consumer goods and investment goods imports.

On a cumulative basis, import expenditure increased by 12.6 per cent to US dollars 8,610 million during the first five months of 2017 largely due to higher imports of fuel, rice and gold.

Imports of fuel and gold increased by 63 per cent and 102.2 per cent year-on-year, respectively, while expenditure on rice imports increased substantially by more than twenty-fold.

However, the central bank said imports of machinery and equipment, personal vehicles and textiles and textile articles declined during the first five months of 2017.

The cumulative trade deficit during the first five months of 2017 increased to US dollars 4,200 million from US dollars 3,415 million in the corresponding period of 2016.

Workers remittances declined for the third consecutive month in May 2017, by 3.7 percent to 575.4 million dollars on an year-on-year basis, as a result of “adverse economic and geopolitical conditions prevailing in the Middle
Eastern region.”

Cumulative inflows from workers’ remittances declined by 5.8 per cent to US dollars 2,797.0 million during the first five months of 2017, in comparison to the corresponding period of 2016.

“The overall BOP is estimated to have recorded a surplus of US dollars 1,586.6 million during the first five months of 2017 in comparison to a deficit of US dollars 1,142.4 million recorded during the corresponding period of 2016,” the statement said.

Sri Lanka 11th International Sovereign Bond of US dollars 1.5 billion in May, and a syndicated loan of US dollars 450 million helped strengthen the balance of payments position.

Foreign investments in the Colombo Stock Exchange during the first five months of the year recorded a net inflow of US dollars 191.1 million, including net inflows of US dollars 127.8 million and US dollars 63.2 million to the secondary and primary markets, respectively.

On a cumulative basis, the government securities market experienced a net outflow of US dollars 250.6 million during the first five months.

http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/sri-lanka-exports-show-tepid-growth-during-first-5-months/

Transformation of Cocoa Production, Rural Economy, Energy in Focus, As Adesina Visits Ghana

Ghanaian government pledges support for AfDB's High 5s

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, is championing the transformation of the rural economies of African countries as the fastest way to lift millions of people out of poverty.The President, who is on a three-day visit to Ghana, August 1-4, spoke at a welcome dinner hosted by Ghana's Minister of Finance. The dinner was attended by the Vice-President of Ghana, Mahamudu Bawumia, Governor of the Central Bank of Ghana, and key government functionaries.

"We have to make sure that agriculture, which is their basic source of livelihood, is made a business, not a way of life. I don't believe that agriculture is a way of life at all. It is a development activity. This is where Africa's wealth will come from if we do it the right way. Agro industrialization has to play a very big role in what we do."

Adesina, who spoke on various ways the Bank will continue to support Ghana, emphasized that the country has no business importing rice and pledged the AfDB's support in this area.

"One of our High 5s is to Feed Africa. Coming from the airport, I was speaking to the Honourable Minister of Finance about northern Ghana, and I was saying that northern Ghana has over 400,000 hectares of land which is very good for agriculture. Ghana absolutely has no business at all importing rice. You are spending US$400 million a year importing what you should be exporting. I think we are going to do something about that. It is one of the key issues that we are going to be discussing," Adesina said.

The AfDB President also spoke about the Bank's plans to support Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire to transform the cocoa industry and create more wealth and jobs from the product.

"You are trying with 40% of cocoa production, but you can do more. The Bank will support you and Côte d'Ivoire with how you can coordinate your production and also your market support to avoid the fluctuations that you currently see. I have a firm belief that God has given every nation what they need to develop and to strive. The issue is what you do with it. We have a programme that we are going to be discussing with you," the President emphasized.

Thanking the Ghanaian government for making the visit possible, Adesina stressed how the country had made steady progress since the Presidential election in January this year.

"Consistent with its 'Feed Africa' strategy, the African Development Bank will support Ghanaian government efforts to improve the underperforming value chains which fail to add enough value to agricultural produce; to repair and rebuild inadequate infrastructure; to improve access to agricultural financing; and to reduce volatility in the international price of cocoa," he said.

The Bank will also contribute to the stabilization of the energy sector.

Adesina stressed why the continent needs to give youth the tools and the means to stay in Africa and to prosper by doing so.

Last year, the African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank launched Boost Africa, an initiative that provides support to the earliest and riskiest stage of the entrepreneurial value chain via a funding mechanism that will channel €150 million to 2,000 young entrepreneurs, and create 75,000 direct jobs and 500,000 indirect jobs.

The Vice-President of Ghana, Mahamudu Bawumia, lauded Adesina for his focus on agriculture and pledged his government's support.

"It is clear that the AfDB is going places with you as President. We can see and feel it. For any economy in Africa to change, we need to solve the agriculture problem. This will put us on the way to industrialize. Our next budget as a country will focus on agriculture. We are counting on the Bank to be with us on this journey, as you have always been," Bawumia said.

For his part, Ghana's Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, commended AfDB's work in Ghana and expressed optimism that the partnership would be strengthened with Adesina's visit.

"As a country, we believe that we need to get back to basics and the beauty of Adesina's Presidency is this clarity on agriculture and the need for us to have food security, and, more importantly, power and the whole concept of industrialization. And it is exciting to have someone who has had quite a lot of experience and success in Nigeria as Agriculture Minister at this time when we most need it," he said.

"There are a lot loan facilities that we are working on, and there are already good projects in energy, agriculture, rural roads and others. For all of us, between energy and agriculture we should be able to strike a partnership."We are also very clear for the African Development Bank to be the lead institution so that when we are getting multilateral donor funding, they are following what AfDB is doing. In all these, the need to increase our capital base is key. President, we are way behind you because it is important."

He also commended the Bank for stepping in to ensure that Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire work together to change the cocoa narrative."That is because our leaders have not been working together. The President of the AfDB is stepping in and we are working together to see how we can change this."

http://allafrica.com/stories/201708021004.html

Texas Teachers ‘Go Nuts’ Seeking Better Ways to Explain Science

Released: 3-Aug-2017 10:05 AM EDT

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Newswise — The thin, metallic lid curled as the tab was pulled across the top of a can, issuing a salty, nutty scent as almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts and peanuts spilled onto a tabletop.But they were not to eat. No, these mixed nuts were sorted and counted by teams of middle and high school teachers seeking ways to interest their students in science careers.

“It’s a cool way to show students how to calculate and do statistics,” said Evan Rawls, an eighth grade science teacher at Lumberton Middle School. “With this, we can teach the students about mean, median and mode, for example, as they compare their counts to what’s on the label.”The exercise was but one simple, cost-effective method taught to about 40 regional science teachers at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center-Beaumont by Dr. Mo Way and his fellow scientists there.

Dr. Rodante Tabien, Texas A&M AgriLife Research rice breeder in Beaumont, teachers middle and high school science teachers how to cross two varieties of rice. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo).Way — whose ordinary day as an entomologist at the research facility west of Beaumont might include walking barefoot through a flooded rice field sweeping insects into a net — has led the teacher workshop for four years. It’s an effort to teach so-called STEM courses — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — via agriculture.The U.S. Department of Education estimated that only 16 percent of American high school seniors are proficient in math and interested in a STEM career, while the percentage of jobs in STEM-related careers is projected to be increasing by as much as 60 percent through 2020. The department also said the U.S. is “falling behind internationally, ranking 29th in math and 22nd in science among industrialized nations.”

But while many of the STEM educational efforts point to math, computer and medical science, researchers at the Beaumont station note agriculture is a common thread through all of those disciplines.

“There’s nothing more important than the production of food. We have 7 billion people in the world, and that’s expanding. The general population needs to know that what we’re doing for the community, the state, the nation and the world – how important it is,” Way said.

He also ponders retirement — his own in about three years and those of so many of his colleagues in agriculture who’ve done the largely behind-the-scenes work of developing higher yielding crops that are more resistant to pestilences.

“Who will take our place? This is one way to get kids interested in biology, the sciences and math – because they are the future entomologists, physiologists, pathologists, rice breeders,” Way said. “What we need is more students at the high school and middle school level to become interested.”

Stoking the interest for the teachers – who will convey the information in a hands-on way to their students beginning this fall – were a nature walk and several lab activities.

The nature walk incorporated math, for instance, by using a measuring wheel with a 6.6-foot circumference to calculate distance. Along the mile-long walk, the scientists pointed out fields of conventional rice, organic rice, soybeans, sugarcane and sorghum, as well as aquatic and terrestrial insects, and many species of weeds and birds.

“In fact, we found some Johnsongrass that was infested with sugarcane aphids, so we collected some to view under the microscope,” Way said. “And we talked about the life history of the sugarcane aphid and how it attacks crops.”

Back indoors, the teachers measured the contents of cans of mixed nuts to determine the percent of each type, then compared the results to the label. This demonstrated the method for developing data sets and the need for replications of research experiments, Way said.

The teachers also were taught by AgriLife Research-Beaumont rice breeder Dr. Rodante Tabien how to cross two varieties of rice by manipulating the plants’ flowers.

Way sent each teacher home with some rice seed and instructions on how to grow it.

“Teachers have a big impact on kids and what direction they are going to go in the future,” Way said, recalling his own high school biology teacher who taught by letting his classes experience trips to a garden or collecting wildflowers to press and identify. “Some of the teachers told me that their students are urban kids, so they don’t know where bread comes from. Our society needs to become more educated about science issues because it’s becoming so important.”

Rawls said when he conveys what he learned to his students, they are likely to be interested in pursuing careers in agricultural science.

“Being from Lumberton, they are aware of agriculture, but this will help show them some of the opportunities,” Rawls said. “Otherwise, they might pursue careers in industry, which is fine. But it’s good to show them there are other opportunities, and in agriculture there are ways to make a good living in jobs they didn’t even know existed. The research here at the Beaumont center affects the world, and they can be a part of that.”

https://www.newswise.com/articles/texas-teachers-go-nuts-seeking-better-ways-to-explain-science

Climate change is making our favorite carbs less nutritious

Crops are losing protein and iron as the planet warms.

By Marlene CimonsNexus Media August 3, 2017

Staple crops like wheat are expected to lose nutritional value as climate change continues.

Pexels

We already know how prolonged drought, high heat and heavy rains prompted by climate change can wreak havoc on agriculture. But there is more disturbing news.If we do nothing, growing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide from emissions will seriously impair the nutritional value of wheat, rice and other staple crops, putting millions of people around the world in danger of protein deficiency, according to new research published in the journal in Environmental Health Perspectives.

“These findings are surprising,” said Samuel S. Myers, senior research scientist in the department of environmental health at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who authored the study. “If we sat down together 15 years ago and tried to anticipate the human health impacts of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, we would not have predicted that our food would become less nutritious. If we disrupt and transform most of the natural systems on our planet, we will continue to encounter surprises like this.”

If CO₂ levels continue to rise as projected, the populations of 18 countries may lose more than 5 percent of their dietary protein by 2050, according to the study. An estimated 76 percent of the world’s population derives most of its daily protein from plants. To calculate the current and future risk of protein deficiency, the researchers combined data from experiments in which crops were exposed to high concentrations of CO₂ with global dietary information and measures of income inequality.

The scientists found that under increased CO₂ concentrations, the protein content of rice, wheat, barley, and potatoes decreased by between 6 and 14 percent. The study — believed to be the first to quantify this risk — estimates that an additional 150 million people globally could suffer from this nutritional loss on top of the “hundreds of millions of people who already suffer protein deficiency, whose deficiencies will be exacerbated,” Myers said.

Per-country change in dietary protein intake under elevated carbon dioxide conditions.

Environmental Health Perspectives

A companion paper by Myers and his colleagues published in GeoHealth found similar CO₂-related reductions in iron content, which likely will worsen the already significant problem of iron deficiency worldwide. This could prove especially dire for children younger than 5 and an estimated 1 billion women of childbearing age. The study projects a loss of nearly 4 percent of dietary iron as a result of the CO₂ effects.

Collectively, these nutritional deficiencies “represent very high burdens of disease,” Myers said. “They kill people.” Protein deficiency can cause stunting and muscle wasting, low birth weight, developmental delays, weakness and fatigue, among other things. Iron deficiency results in higher rates of maternal and neonatal mortality, lower IQ and reduced work capacity.

Zinc deficiency—the subject of a 2015 paper also authored by Myers—can cause higher rates of mortality from infectious diseases in children due to its harmful effects on immune system functioning. That study predicted that elevated CO₂emissions were likely to drive an estimated 200 million people into zinc deficiency.

The results of the most recent research suggest continuing challenges for sub-Saharan Africa, where millions already experience protein deficiency, and growing problems for South Asian countries, including India, where rice and wheat supply a large supply of daily protein. India may lose more than 5 percent of the protein found in its standard diet, putting a projected 53 million people at new risk of protein deficiency, according to the study.

“These findings highlight a major issue of equity,” Myers said. “The people who will be responsible for most of the [increasing] CO₂ emissions … are nearly mirror images of the people who will suffer. The wealthier world will emit the CO₂ that puts the poorest people with the least diverse diets in harm’s way.” Furthermore, “today’s population is degrading the health of future generations through our CO₂emissions,” he added.

Risk of health burden from iron deficiency due to dietary changes for crops grown under high CO2 conditions

Myers et al.

He acknowledged that the nutrition problems raised by the study could complicate growing calls by climate activists, scientists and others for people to adopt more plant-based diets as a way to reduce their carbon footprint and counteract emissions caused by raising beef animals for human consumption.

“There are clearly populations in lower income countries that would benefit from more animal source foods in their diets, not less,” Myers said. “This is even more true … because animal source foods tend to be rich in iron zinc and protein. For the wealthy parts of the world, most people get plenty of these nutrients, and would experience health benefits from reducing meat intake, particularly red meat. So the recommendations should depend on which populations we are talking about.”

North Americans tend to have sufficient dietary iron, zinc and protein, except for those on very specialized diets, he pointed out. “One interesting challenge, however, for wealthy world populations related to the protein declines, is that we know that substituting dietary carbohydrate for dietary protein causes an increase in risk for cardiovascular disease,” he said. Thus, “we could be slightly increasing the risk of heart disease for very large populations.”

If society is unwilling or unable to mitigate emissions, Myers believes there may be several ways to cope. At least one study has recommended that people include more beans in their diets as a substitute for beef. Another study suggested that humans try edible insects, specifically crickets and mealworms.

“Consumption of more pulses [beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas] would help with the protein deficiency because pulses are rich in protein and show less loss of protein in response to rising CO₂ than the grains,” Myers said. “In general, more dietary diversity and more animal source foods in lower-income populations with very low intake of animal source foods would help.

“Bio-fortification of crops with iron and zinc is possible, as is breeding crops that are less sensitive to these CO₂ effects,” he added. “In extreme cases, supplementation could be entertained, although that is complicated terrain and needs to be managed carefully."

Overall, the best approach is to carefully monitor the nutritional sufficiency of vulnerable populations, and find ways to encourage more diverse and nutrient rich diets, he said. “Of course, this has been true for decades, and we still have over a billion people suffering large burdens of disease from nutrient deficiencies, so it is easier said than done,” he added.

Marlene Cimons writes for Nexus Media, a syndicated newswire covering climate, energy, policy, art and culture.

http://www.popsci.com/climate-change-crops-nutrition#page-3

Scientists warn about fertilizer overuse in cultivation

VietNamNet Bridge - State agencies are considering reducing by 30 percent the number of currently permitted pesticides from around 4,000 by 2021.

Asked about how to take care of rice and subsidiary crop fields, Nguyen Danh Long in Chuong My district said it is not easy to put manure on the crops in the right way, though this is routine work for farmers. They mostly do the work as per instructions from manufacturers.

Nguyen Thi Thoa from the Hanoi agriculture department said farmers have the habit of using urea in large quantity, and they don’t use nitrate, phosphate and potassium fertilizer in in the right proportions.

They fertilize plants not at the right time or use low-quality fertilizer, and don’t use, or use in small quantities, organic fertilizer. Regarding the fertilizer, they just spread fertilizer on the ground, and do not bury it under the ground.

As for rice plants, because farmers use too much urea, the plants look dark green but have poor resistance to pests and diseases.Nguyen Duy Hong, head of the Hanoi Plant Protection Agency, said that many farmers have not been trained in fertilizer use. Farmers tend to use 3-7 times more than needed. This leads to an excess of nitrate in vegetables and fruits, which would turn into nitrite, harming people and affecting genetic sources. The excess of nitrate cannot be absorbed by plants, and will exist in soil or washed away by rain, thus polluting water sources.

According to Nguyen Thi Thao, a farmer from Thanh Oai district, the land was very fertile in 1990s, but it has changed because of fertilizer overuse. To show the pollution level caused, Doan Viet Tuan, head of the environment sub-department in Thanh Oai district, said Day and Nhue rivers and the lakes in the district have become increasingly polluted.The way of using fertilizer is a factor that determines the yield and quality of farm produce. Scientists pointed out that the waste from cultivation to the environment is on the rise, while control is ineffective.

The waste from fertilizer is the most worrying. There are 26 hectares of land for cultivation throughout the country, while the total volume of fertilizer used is 10-11 million tons per annum. It is estimated that nitrate fertilizer application efficiency is 30-45 percent, while the figures are 40-45 percent for phosphate and 40-50 percent for potassium.

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/environment/183005/scientists-warn-about-fertilizer-overuse-in-cultivation.html

Sri Lanka cuts import taxes on rice, flour, maize and fish

02Aug 2017

The Sri Lankan government has cut import taxes on rice, flour, maize and fish in an attempt to keep prices down after drought affected crops, reports Economy Next. The 5 rupee import tax on rice has been cut to 25 cents and fish levy cut from 50 rupees to 25 rupees. The tax on wheat flour imports has been reduced by 10 rupees from 25 rupees per kilo to 15 rupees

http://www.tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lanka-cuts-import-taxes-rice-flour-maize-and-fish

‘Gangster’ owns up rice miller’s murder on Facebook, warns others

Following the murder which was captured on CCTV, police have lodged an FIR against 15 persons in Muktsar, Faridkot, Bathinda and Moga mostly relatives of Behbal and his accomplices, for allegedly harbouring the offenders

Written by Raakhi Jagga | Ludhiana | Published:August 3, 2017 12:58 am

Days after a rice miller, Ravinder Kochar, was shot dead in Faridkot on July 29 afternoon, a Facebook post from the account of one Sekhon Simma claimed he was the one who had murdered the businessman and that the police should not trouble his or his friends’ relatives.

The message has even got over 200 likes and 50 comments. Sema Sekhon alias Sema Behbal is a Faridkot-based gangster, according to police records. Following the murder which was captured on CCTV, police have lodged an FIR against 15 persons in Muktsar, Faridkot, Bathinda and Moga, mostly relatives of Behbal and his accomplices, for allegedly harbouring the offenders.

In the Facebook post uploaded on July 31 midnight, Sema calls himself a member of the gang of Davinder Bambiha, who was killed in a police encounter in Bathinda.

He claims they were two persons involved in this crime but the police were troubling 15 persons who have no contact with them now.

Faridkot SSP Dr Nanak Singh confirmed Sekhon Simma and Sema Behbal are the same.“Our cyber cell is working on it to find out whose Facebook page it is actually. We are also questioning people who were giving shelter to him and his aides. We have some leads and will arrest the culprits soon.”This is not the first time that a gangster has made such claims on social media.In February, Ravi Khwajke, sarpanch of Khwajke village in Ludhiana, was shot dead at a marriage function.CCTV footages showed Bambiha, a gangster in police records, committing the
murder.Later, Bambiha himself owned it up on social media.

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In April 2016, Jaswinder Rocky from Fazilka, also a gangster, was murdered at Parwano in Himachal Pradesh. Soon after his murder, many gangsters lodged inside jails in Punjab claimed on social media that they had murdered Rocky.

The Facebook post

The Facebook post, in Punjabi, translates as follows:
Pappu Kochar was murdered recently by us. People say we were seeking money. We don’t do any work for money. Pappu Kochar had a fight with our friend Bunty Dhillon. Bunty tried to make Kochar understand, had also sent a person at his place. All those who are against us should not try to fly high. We have to complete our brother’s (Bunty’s) pending works. Anyone against us will face the same fate. All must get ready, list is very long. Just wait and watch

http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ludhiana/gangster-owns-up-rice-millers-murder-on-facebook-warns-others-4779577/

Rajkot Foodgrain Prices- August 3, 2017

Reuters | Aug 3, 2017, 01:50 PM IST

Rajkot Foodgrain Prices Open- August 03 Aug 03 (Reuters) - Market delivery prices of food grains and pulses at Rajkot in India's western state of Gujaratopened on a mixed trend, traders said Thursday. * * FOOD GRAINS & PULSES * Wheat prices improved due to low arrivals. * Jowar prices moved up due to thin supply. * Tuar prices eased further due to lack of buying support from mills. Prices of food grains and pulses in rupees per 20 kilograms, and deliveries in 100-kilogram bags: Delivery Auction price Previous price FOOD GRAIN Wheat Lokwan 00,230 318-358 316-350 Wheat Tukda 00,840 317-401 317-381 Jowar White 085 350-575 225-555 Bajra 0,040 210-251 225-270 PULSES Gram 00,400 0,850-1,045 0,800-1,040 Udid 0,200 0,500-0,950 0,500-0,930 Moong 0,220 0,740-0,890 0,750-1,051 Tuar 0,610 0,510-0,625 0,500-0,662 Maize 015 285-325 280-310 Vaal Deshi 050 0,450-0,750 0,350-0,680 Choli 0,030 0,775-1,350 0,800-1,225 Rajkot market delivery prices in rupees per 100 kilograms:. Today's Price Previous close FOOD GRAINS Wheat Mill quality 1,620-1,630 1,590-1,600 Wheat (medium) 1,800-1,825 1,750-1,775 Wheat (superior best) 2,050-2,100 2,050-2,100 Bajra 1,360-1,370 1,360-1,370 Jowar 3,100-3,150 3,000-3,050 PULSES Gram 05,250-05,350 05,250-05,350 Gram dal 06,900-07,000 06,900-07,000 Besan (65-kg bag) 4,900-5,000 4,900-5,000 Tuar 03,400-03,500 03,500-03,600 Tuardal 06,000-06,100 06,000-06,100 Moong 4,400-4,500 4,400-4,500 Moongdal 5,500-5,550 5,500-5,550 Udid 04,900-05,000 04,900-05,000 RICE IR-8 2,300-2,350 2,300-2,350 Basmati Best 8,500-8,600 08,500-08,600 Parimal 2,400-2,450 2,400-2,450 Punjab Parimal 2,600-2,650 2,600-2,650 Basmati Medium 6,000-6,100 6,000-6,100

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/rajkot-foodgrain-prices-august-3-2017/articleshow/59896309.cms

Chop Suey: A Classic Chinese-American Dish Takes On A Mexican Flair

August 3, 201710:23 AM ET

RHITU CHATTERJEE

Joaquin "Jocko" Fajardo makes a spicy Mexican version of chop suey, a classic Chinese-American dish.

NPR YouTube

Joaquin "Jocko" Fajardo, 39, grew up in Tempe, Ariz., in a large family. Mexican food was an integral part of his upbringing. And yet, the dish that reminds him of home and family is a distinctly Chinese dish, or more accurately, Chinese-American dish: chop suey.

This video is part of a series called #NPRHotPot, featuring foods from around the world and the memories people associate with them. Want all six Hot Pot episodes? Sign up for NPR The Salt's newsletter and we'll deliver them to your inbox: n.pr/2sK8q2w.

Chop suey actually came to his family through a Mexican restaurant owned by his great-grandmother and great-aunt. Back in the 1960s, the two women owned a restaurant in Los Angeles. Next door to their Mexican restaurant was a Chinese restaurant. "It lasted for a brief time, and ultimately my [great-aunt] purchased the restaurant," says Fajardo. "They merged the two restaurants, keeping the Asian staff."

As the women taught their new staff to make the Mexican dishes on their menu, they also learned some Asian dishes. Chop suey was one of them. But his great-aunt added distinctly Mexican bits to the recipe: cumin, jalapeno and beans.

Jump to the recipe

The story behind the creation of this Chinese-Mexican fusion dish may seem surprising, but it illustrates a culinary exchange not uncommon in places where different cultures and cuisines coexist. And it is especially true of Chinese food in America.

THE SALT

'Khichuri': An Ancient Indian Comfort Dish With A Global Influence

Take, for example, the origin of chop suey itself. The dish originated in some of the first Chinese restaurants in America, many of them called chop suey houses. The story behind the dish's origin is filled with folklore, with many regions and people claiming to be its creator. But according to a 2009 studypublished in the Journal of Transnational American Studies, there was no single creator. It probably evolved simultaneously in many restaurants. It was made by taking a humble dish made with fried animal intestines and vegetables and adapting it to the tastes of American customers.

"When Chinese restaurants in America began to serve the dish, they had the flexibility to use whatever ingredients were available and whatever sauces they found tasteful and convenient," writes Haiming Liu, a professor at California State Polytechnic University, in his 2009 paper. "There are many different versions of chop suey when it was first spread across America. The only common practice was to use a wok to stir-fry a bundle of ingredients with an innovative sauce."

The result was nothing like the original dish eaten in China, which according to Liu was mostly a home-cooked dish that also "varied from region to region."

It's not just chop suey that evolved to American palates. The vast majority of Chinese-American food did. In fact, Chinese cuisine in many countries has adapted to local tastes and ingredients.

Chinese-Indian food, for example, folds in Indian spices, paneer (Indian cheese) and plenty of Indian vegetables like potato, okra and cauliflower.

THE SALT

The Chinese-Mexican Cuisine Born Of U.S. Prejudice

PeruvianChinese food blends in both cuisines and goes by the name of chifa. It includes fried rice, called arroz chaufa, that includes corn, a staple in Peru.

And as The Salt has reported, Chinese-Mexican food includes many staples of the local cuisine, like "light-yellow deep-fried chilis." There are also rumors of chefs at Chinese restaurants marinating their pork in tequila.

So it seems only natural that a cuisine that has adapted to local tastes around the globe would continue to evolve in restaurant kitchens. But what is unique perhaps about Fajardo's chop suey — he calls it chop suey with beans — is that it was revised and reinvented not in a Chinese restaurant, but in a Mexican restaurant. And this Mexican adaptation went on to become the restaurant's "family meal" — the employees ate this dish at work, Fajardo says.

THE SALT

#NPRHotPot: Share Your Food Memories With Us

His great-aunt even went on to teach the recipe to every woman in their extended family. "She believed that everybody should be able to feed their family at minimal cost," says Fajardo. The dish, with its simple and hearty ingredients — carrots, celery, beans, chicken (or any other meat or fish) — is healthy and inexpensive. "And it's something we came to know as auntie's stew."

Chop Suey With Beans And Rice Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally

2 celery stalks, sliced diagonally

1 onion, peeled, halved and sliced thinly

2 chicken breasts, halved and cut into 1/4 inch cubes

1 can water chestnuts (drain out the water)

1 cup bean sprouts

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 cup Basmati rice

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon diced jalapeño with some seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Sea salt to taste

Rice

Cook rice in 2 cups of chicken stock. Simmer until two-thirds of the liquid has evaporated, then cover until the steam dissipates. Season lightly with salt.

Chop Suey

Saut carrots, celery and onion until onion is golden.

Add the slices of chicken and sauté until browned.

Add the sprouts, water chestnuts and black beans. Keep at a slow simmer.

Mix the remaining chicken stock with the cornstarch and jalapeño. Stir into the simmering chicken and vegetables in the pan. Allow to thicken slightly while stirring for 3-5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

Serve hot over rice

Watch Video by clicking the next link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIrXUnvPlE0

Joaquin "Jocko" Fajardo makes a spicy Mexican version of chop suey, a classic Chinese-American dish.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/08/03/541199604/chop-suey-a-classic-american-chinese-dish-takes-on-a-mexican-flair

Global Rice Milk Market Study 2017: Research Analysis of Development Trend Factors by 2022

AUGUST 3, 2017
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3 MINUTE READ

Summary

“The Rice Milk market report includes a comprehensive analysis of the present state of the market. The report starts with the basic Rice Milk industry overview and then goes into each and every detail.”

Description

Global Rice Milk Market Research Report provides an in-depth analysis of the major Rice Milk industry leading players along with the company profiles and strategies adopted by them. This enables the buyer of the report to gain a telescopic view of the competitive landscape and plan the strategies accordingly. A separate section with Rice Milk industry key players is included in the report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of price, cost, gross, revenue, product picture, specifications, company profile, and contact information.

The Market Research, besides estimating the Rice Milk’ market potential till 2022, analyzes on who can be the market leaders and what partnerships would help them to capture the market share. The Rice Milk Industry report gives an overview about the dynamics of the market, by discussing various aspects such as drivers, restraints, Porter’s 5 forces, value chain, customer acceptance and investment scenario

Get a Sample of Rice Milk Market Research Report : https://www.marketreportsworld.com/enquiry/request-sample/10476682

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Pacific Foods

Vitasoy

WhiteWave Foods

DREAM

Costco Wholesale

Fine Japan

Ecoideas

SunOpta

Freedom Foods

Pure Harvest

Global Rice Milk Market by Type and Application (2012-2017)

Global Rice Milk Market Size by Type and Application (2012-2017)
Global Rice Milk Market Size by Type (2012-2017)
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Potential Application of Rice Milk in Future
Top Consumer/End Users of Rice Milk

Global Rice Milk Market Forecast 2017-2022

The Rice Milk industry research report analyses the supply, sales, production, and market status comprehensively. Production market shares and sales market shares are analysed along with the study of capacity, production, sales, and revenue. Several other factors such as import, export, gross margin, price, cost, and consumption are also analysed under the section Analysis of Rice Milk production, supply, sales and market status.

Key Points Covered in Report:

Global Rice Milk Market Research Report 2017

Global Rice Milk Market Competition by Manufacturers

Global Rice Milk Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)

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Global Rice Milk Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis

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The Rice Milk Market report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years, the Report also brief deals with the product life cycle, comparing it to the relevant products from across industries that had already been commercialized details the potential for various applications, discussing about recent product innovations and gives an overview on potential regional market shares.

http://dailynewsks.com/2017/08/global-rice-milk-market-study-2017-research-analysis-development-trend-factors-2022/

Texas Teachers ‘Go Nuts’ Seeking Better Ways to Explain Science

Article ID: 678999

Released: 3-Aug-2017 10:05 AM EDT

Source Newsroom: Texas A&M AgriLife

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Newswise — The thin, metallic lid curled as the tab was pulled across the top of a can, issuing a salty, nutty scent as almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts and peanuts spilled onto a tabletop.

But they were not to eat. No, these mixed nuts were sorted and counted by teams of middle and high school teachers seeking ways to interest their students in science careers.

The exercise was but one simple, cost-effective method taught to about 40 regional science teachers at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center-Beaumont by Dr. Mo Way and his fellow scientists there.

Dr. Rodante Tabien, Texas A&M AgriLife Research rice breeder in Beaumont, teachers middle and high school science teachers how to cross two varieties of rice. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo).

Way — whose ordinary day as an entomologist at the research facility west of Beaumont might include walking barefoot through a flooded rice field sweeping insects into a net — has led the teacher workshop for four years. It’s an effort to teach so-called STEM courses — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — via agriculture.

The U.S. Department of Education estimated that only 16 percent of American high school seniors are proficient in math and interested in a STEM career, while the percentage of jobs in STEM-related careers is projected to be increasing by as much as 60 percent through 2020. The department also said the U.S. is “falling behind internationally, ranking 29th in math and 22nd in science among industrialized nations.”

But while many of the STEM educational efforts point to math, computer and medical science, researchers at the Beaumont station note agriculture is a common thread through all of those disciplines.

Stoking the interest for the teachers – who will convey the information in a hands-on way to their students beginning this fall – were a nature walk and several lab activities.

The teachers also were taught by AgriLife Research-Beaumont rice breeder Dr. Rodante Tabien how to cross two varieties of rice by manipulating the plants’ flowers.

Way sent each teacher home with some rice seed and instructions on how to grow it.

Rawls said when he conveys what he learned to his students, they are likely to be interested in pursuing careers in agricultural science.

https://www.newswise.com/articles/texas-teachers-go-nuts-seeking-better-ways-to-explain-science

Nigeria releases AfricaRice "flood-tolerant" rice strains

REPORT

from Africa Rice Center

Published on 03 Aug 2017 —View Original

In a major breakthrough for Nigeria, which is subject to recurrent and devastating flooding, two high-yielding flood-tolerant rice varieties developed by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) – FARO 66 and FARO 67 – have been officially approved for cultivation.

The flood-tolerant varieties were selected based on farmers' rankings and results of on-station, multilocation and on-farm trials conducted in partnership with the National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI) and the National Rice and Maize Center (NRMC).

“For the first time in Nigeria, vulnerable rice farmers in flood-prone areas will have access to this powerful innovation,” said Dr Ramaiah Venuprasad, AfricaRice lowland rice breeder, who led the team that achieved this feat. Rainfed lowlands occupy more than 70% of total rice area in Nigeria and are prone to recurrent flooding caused by heavy rainfall or overflow of nearby rivers.

Yield losses resulting from flooding may range from 10% to total crop loss. In 2012, when Nigeria experienced the worst flooding in 40 years, floods reduced rice production by about 22%. Flooding is expected to be increasingly problematic under global warming, as studies by AfricaRice on future rice climates project massive increases in overall precipitation in north and northwest Nigeria.

Most rice varieties can get severely damaged or killed within a week of severe flooding. “Depending on the intensity of flooding, it can reduce yield, it can prolong the growth duration and in extreme cases, it can cause total crop loss,” said Dr Venuprasad. “We have seen this happen in many places in Nigeria.”

Dr Venuprasad explained that the only possible solution to tackle this problem is the use of flood-tolerant varieties. His team used marker-assisted breeding to introduce into popular Nigerian rice varieties a gene, called ‘SUB1’, which confers to rice plants the ability to tolerate complete short-term submergence.

This technique has been very successfully used in Asia to upgrade popular Asian rice varieties with submergence tolerance. For instance, Swarna-Sub1 (popularly named the ‘scuba rice’) is the first submergence-tolerant high-yielding rice variety developed in Asia that was released in 2009. It is grown by more than 1.3 million farmers in India.

Thanks to the achievement by Dr Venuprasad’s research team, rice farmers in Africa can now benefit from the SUB1 technology. Dr Venuprasad explained that initial efforts to introduce the SUB1 varieties directly from Asia were unsuccessful as these varieties were not locally adaptable. AfricaRice therefore decided to upgrade locally adapted popular rice varieties for submergence tolerance.

Highlighting the advantages of the flood-tolerant varieties developed for Nigeria, Dr Venuprasad said, “Compared to their parents, in addition to submergence tolerance, they have higher yield potential and suitable growth duration and height.” Like their parents, they have good grain quality with medium-long slender grains and are moderately tolerant to iron toxicity.

Under submergence, FARO 66 can yield about 80 times higher than its parent FARO 52, which cannot survive this condition. “This makes FARO 66 a clear alternative for planting in flood-prone areas,” said Dr Venuprasad. Even under non-submergence conditions, FARO 66 showed a yield advantage of about 6-11% in multilocation and on-farm trials. It matures a week earlier than its parent.

Similarly, FARO 67 can yield at least 10 times higher than its parent FARO 60 under submergence. Under non-submergence conditions, FARO 67 showed yield advantage of 10-29% in on-station, multilocation and on-farm trials. It was favored by farmers for its height and larger quantity of biomass that can be used as livestock feed or as mulch to improve crop yields.

The flood-tolerant varieties are thus a result of precision breeding and are not genetically modified organisms. As they provide farmers with protection against short-term flooding and serve as a type of ‘insurance policy,’ farmers can feel reassured and invest in agricultural inputs such as fertilizer, leading to higher rice yields.

Dr Venuprasad gratefully acknowledges that partnership with national agricultural systems such as NCRI and NRMC and with international institutes, such as the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), has been a key factor in the development of the flood-tolerant varieties for Nigeria.

The work on the development of the flood-tolerant varieties for Nigeria was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded ‘Stress-tolerant rice for Africa and South Asia’ project led by IRRI. The Asian SUB1 lines from IRRI were used as donor lines of SUB1 gene as part of this project.

The testing of the flood-tolerant varieties in Nigeria was supported by the United States Agency for International Development-funded ‘Seed scaling’ project, the African Development Bank-funded ‘Support to agricultural research for development of strategic crops in Africa’ project and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded ‘Rapid mobilization of alleles for rice cultivar improvement in sub-Saharan Africa’ project.

The main challenge now is to produce enough quantities of seed of these varieties and get those seeds quickly into the hands of Nigerian farmers. “There is already a lot of interest in getting seed of the flood-tolerant varieties,” said Dr Venuprasad. A roadmap to multiply and distribute seeds to farmers with the help of government agencies and private seed companies is being developed.

The potential for impact of these flood-tolerant varieties is huge in Nigeria, which is the largest producer of rice in West Africa and the second largest importer of rice in the world. Rice is an important food security crop as well as an essential cash crop in the country.

The submergence-tolerant rice varieties are also being tested through the Africa-wide Rice Breeding Task Force for their adaptability to other African countries that are flood-prone. Five potential flood-tolerant varieties are under testing in Madagascar.

Attaining self-sufﬁciency in rice production is an important goal of many African countries, including Nigeria. The flood-tolerant varieties can contribute to achieving this goal by boosting rice production and helping reduce dependence on costly rice imports.

http://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/nigeria-releases-africarice-flood-tolerant-rice-strains

Researchers Add Gene Editing to Rice Research Toolbox

Aug. 04, 2017

Photo by Fred Miller

Vibha Srivastava induces sprouting in gene-edited rice plant tissue cultures.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Rice scientists are developing advanced gene editing tools for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture crop breeding toolbox.

Rice breeders today develop improved varieties from genetic breeding stock that has been advanced through thousands of generations and over many decades with conventional crossbreeding techniques, said Vibha Srivastava, professor of crop, soil and environmental sciences for the Division of Agriculture.

Since rice breeding began at the division's Rice Research and Extension Center near Stuttgart in the 1930s, more than 40 rice varieties — oftened referred to as "cultivars" — have been released, helping propel Arkansas to the lead in U.S. rice production. The state accounts for half of the nation's rice production.

"Variety development is an important core effort in Division of Agriculture research," Srivastava said. The continual need for new varieties is driven by nature's tendency to change growing conditions.

Such changes include plant diseases that mutate to overcome resistance and insects that eventually adapt to defeat a plant's natural defenses. Environmental changes can include climate changes that affect air temperature or water availability, or the invasion of new weeds or insects.

In order to keep up with the demand for improved cultivars, breeders may soon have to look far afield — outside available breeding stock — in order to find new genetic traits for improved rice varieties, Srivastava said.

A lot of useful genetic traits are available in wild relatives of rice, Srivastava said. But to move those traits into available breeding stock by conventional means would require hundreds or thousands of crossbred generations that would take decades to accomplish.

ADVANCING THE PROCESS

Gene editing makes that process faster, easier and more precise by providing a means to recreate such traits in existing breeding stock, Srivastava said.

She is adapting a technology called "CRISPR," scientific shorthand for "clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats." These are segments of DNA that contain short, repetitive base sequences.

The Division of Agriculture recognized the importance of gene editing technology, Srivastava said, and invested in a research program to develop it for use in Arkansas rice breeding. The program teams Srivastava with two other division scientists — plant pathologist Ken Korth and weed scientist Nilda Burgos.

She emphasizes that gene editing is not the same as genetic modification, in which genetic code from one organism is inserted into another organism.

Under current USDA policy, CRISPR and other gene editing techniques are not considered genetically modifying technology. Srivastava recently received a USDA grant to further her research.

"A plant's genetic traits are developed through mutations that occur naturally in response to environmental stresses," Srivastava said.

Those mutations could be viewed as naturally occurring gene editing that results in new information being stored in the plants' genes. As a tool for plant breeders, Srivastava said, gene editing provides a way to copy and paste that information from rice plants' wild or distant cousins into available breeding stock.

"We use the information from the wild plant to try to induce the same mutation in breeding stock," Srivastava said.

Srivastava said gene editing is not currently being used in Division of Agriculture crop breeding programs. Division plant breeders in rice and other crops use available breeding stock developed by conventional methods.

Gene editing technology was developed in 2012 and has been studied more broadly by Srivastava and other scientists around the world since then. Building on her background in biotechnology development, Srivastava is learning how to apply the technology to rice and testing its effectiveness.

The goal is to have the technology and proven methods for using it ready when plant breeders need it. "If you're not working on this, you're already out of date," she said.

APPLICATIONS IN CROP BREEDING

In her research, Srivastava is applying gene editing to tackle a persistent problem in rice grain quality — chalkiness.

Under certain environmental conditions, including high nighttime air temperatures, starch formation in the seed can take on a chalky texture that lowers the grain quality. Chalky rice heats unevenly during processing or cooking, leading to broken kernel or undesireable food texture.

Srivastava is targeting a gene that controls the development of chalkiness in rice. The gene is a regulator of processes that lead to chalky texture that responds to environmental stresses.

A naturally occurring mutation in a Chinese rice variety changes how that regulator gene responds to stress and reduces the inclination to form chalky texture. Srivastava is using gene editing techniques to take the information from that Chinese rice and try to induce that same mutation in Arkansas rice.

"The reference (mutated) gene is only used to understand how it works," Srivastava said. "No genetic material is actually being transferred from one plant to the other."

In another application of the technology, Korth is working with senior graduate assistant Kathryn Haydon to turn off a gene that controls production of enzymes that cause rancidity in the bran layer of the rice seed.

The bran layer is removed when processing white rice, but is left in place to make brown rice. Korth said white rice will last virtually forever on store shelves or in kitchen pantries, but brown rice goes rancid in a matter of months.

If Haydon's efforts can result in gene-edited rice that turns off or reduces that enzyme production, the shelflife of brown rice may be extended, Korth said.

NILDA BURGOS …

Burgos is applying CRISPR technology to generate herbicide resistance in crops, using rice as the model.

"We intend to use information on herbicide resistance traits from weeds to endow rice, or other crops, with the same traits," Burgos said. "I am looking for genes in weeds that are not already used by the chemical companies for crop improvement."

"I'm in an exploratory phase, using a well-known PPO- inhibitor-resistance trait in Palmer amaranth," Burgos said.

PPO refers to protoporphyrinogen oxidase, an enzyme that is targeted by some herbicides such as Aim, Blazer, Goal Tender, Reflex/Flexstar, Ronstar, and Spartan Charge.

Burgos said Patrick Tranel, a weed scientist from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, first discovered the gene mutation in tall waterhemp. The same mutation occurs in PPO-resistant Palmer amaranth.

Burgos' Lab also found other mutations in the PPO gene of PPO-resistant Palmer amaranth, which may be useful for editing in rice or other crops.

A crop with such a trait would allow farmers to use PPO-inhibitor herbicides "over the top" to control weeds even while the crop is growing in the field.

Once she works the kinks out of the technique in rice, Burgos wants to apply the technology to other traits and other crops.

CRISPR technology, Burgos said, gives plant breeders a way to develop useful herbicide resistance in commercial crops without introducing foreign genes.

LOOKING AHEAD

When perfected, gene editing will prove a valuable tool for plant breeders working to develop new varieties with improved disease-resistance, plant health and cultivation, and post-harvest quality, Srivastava said.

The techniques they're developing for rice can also be applied to soybeans, wheat and other crop breeding programs, she said.

For now, Srivastava said, their gene editing work stays in the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station's labs and greenhouses in Fayetteville. "We're not developing breeding material at this stage," she said. "None of these plants will leave the lab."

"Our aim is to have the technology ready for when it is the right time to use it to help keep the Arkansas rice industry competitive in world rice markets," Srivastava said.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation's historic land grant education system.

CONTACTS

Fred L. Miller, science editor
Agricultural Communication Services
479-575-4732, fmiller@uark.edu

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Nigeria releases AfricaRice "flood-tolerant" rice strains

Researchers Add Gene Editing to Rice Research Toolbox

ADVANCING THE PROCESS

APPLICATIONS IN CROP BREEDING

NILDA BURGOS …

LOOKING AHEAD

CONTACTS

http://news.uark.edu/articles/39218/researchers-add-gene-editing-to-rice-research-toolbox