ICCBS, Chinese institute to work on rice
research
our correspondent
Saturday, March 14, 2015
From Print Edition
Saturday, March 14, 2015
From Print Edition
Karachi
A
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for rice research was signed between the KU’s
International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) and the China
National Rice Research Institute (CNRRI) of Hangzhou on Thursday.The objective
of the agreement is to conduct research for developing new high-yielding and
disease resistant varieties of rice and any such other areas the two parties
may agree upon.
The MoU was signed at a ceremony held at Dr Panjwani
Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), said a spokesperson of
the ICCBS.Chinese officials, including CNRRI Deputy Director General Dr Peisong
Hu, Dr Liyong Cao, Dr Xinhua Wei, Aijuan Ge, ICCBS Patron-in-Chief Professor Dr
Atta-ur-Rahman, ICCBS Director Professor Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary and other
faculty members attended the ceremony.Prof Dr Rahman said the agreement would
further promote collaborative research between the two countries and termed the
MoU a positive sign for research on rice.Dr Choudhary said the centre was
engaged in research and development of various fields of chemical, biological,
biomedical and genomic research.
“The Chinese institution will train scientists from
ICCBS in the field of rice breeding and production of high quality hybrid rice
seed,” he added.As per the MoU, both institutions will work together in the
field of agricultural biotechnology and both have agreed to enhance relations
and develop academic exchange in the area of research.Dr Hu said the CNRRI
focused on basic and applied researches with priority on solving significant
scientific and technical problems in rice production.http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-306708-ICCBS,-Chinese-institute-to-work-on-rice-researchHome / Science & Technology / Science / Int’l Centre for Chemical & Biological Sciences, China
institute sign MoU on rice research
Int’l Centre for Chemical
& Biological Sciences, China institute sign MoU on rice research
KARACHI:
An MoU on rice research was signed between International Center for Chemical
and Biological Sciences and China National Rice Research Institute (CNRRI) of
Hangzhou, China.
The objective of the agreement is to conduct research for developing new high yielding and disease resistant varieties of rice and such other areas as the two parties may agree upon.
The objective of the agreement is to conduct research for developing new high yielding and disease resistant varieties of rice and such other areas as the two parties may agree upon.
The MoU
was signed in an official ceremony held at Dr Panjwani Center for Molecular
Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), University of Karachi.Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal
Choudhary, on behalf of ICCBS and Deputy Director General CNRRI Dr Peisong Hu
on behalf of his institute signed the agreement.Speaking on the occasion, Prof
Dr Atta-ur-Rahman said that this was the positive sign that Pakistani and
Chinese scientists were jointly carrying out research on rice.
Dr Iqbal
Choudhary informed that the Chinese institution will train the scholars from
ICCBS in the field of rice breeding and production of high quality hybrid rice
seed.As per the agreement, both the institutions have agreed to enhance
relations between the two institutions and to develop academic exchange in the
area of research,” he said.Dr Peisong Hu said that CNRRI focused on basic and
applied researches with priority on solving significant scientific and
technical problems in rice production.
Dr Swaminathan wants special package for
state
MS Swaminathan in Chandigarh. Tribune photo: S Chandan
Sarbjit Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 13
Former Director-General of
International Rice Research Institute and one of the pioneers of the Green
Revolution, Dr MS Swaminathan today said that Punjab should be declared a
special agriculture zone and should be given a special package to maintain food
security.Regarding amendments in the Land Acquisition Act, he said without
specifying the objective, agriculture land should not be acquired by the
government. “A sizeable chunk of land was acquired for special economic zones,
many of which failed to take off and have now become real estate sites,” he
said.
No land should be acquired without
consulting farmers and without declaring the need for acquiring the land, he
said. “While acquiring land, three factors—food security, security of farmers
and purpose for which land is to be acquired—should be kept in mind. Preserving
land is a must as 90 per cent of food for humanity comes from the soil and only
10 per cent comes from other resources such as the ocean,” he said.
Cropping pattern
On the crisis in the farm sector, he
said Punjab farmers should adopt a three-year cropping pattern. In the first
two years, they should grow wheat and in the third, leguminous crops or green
fodder to invigorate the soil.
Likewise, farmers should grow paddy
(rice), especially basmati, for two years and shift to pulses the third year,
he said. Dr Swaminathan said that it would be in the national interest if
farmers in Punjab continued to grow paddy and wheat. He said there was a need
to move to “evergreen revolution” which meant making farming viable for small
and marginal farmers, ecological sustainability and maintaining soil health.
Likewise, farmers should grow paddy
(rice), especially basmati, for two years and shift to pulses the third year,
he said. Dr Swaminathan said that it would be in the national interest if
farmers in Punjab continued to grow paddy and wheat. He said there was a need
to move to “evergreen revolution” which meant making farming viable for small
and marginal farmers, ecological sustainability and maintaining soil health.
On the Shanta Kumar committee report
regarding FCI restructuring, he said before taking a decision, there should be
an informed debate on the issue among all stakeholders. He said the policy of
MSP and grain procurement could not be abandoned. “Implementing the report
without a debate could pose a threat to the country’s food security,” he
claimed.“ I have only recommended a 50 per cent margin for the farmers whereas
some pharmaceutical companies earn profit up to 500 per cent,” he said.
On need for MSP
There has been a hue and cry across
the country over the non-implementation of Dr Swaminathan’s recommendations
regarding the MSP. The BJP, that had promised to implement the recommendations
on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections, has backed off. Dr Swaminathan suggested
that this could be done in phases — announcing a 10 per cent increase in the first
year, a 20 per cent increase the second year and ultimately a 50 per cent rise
in the third year. “Saving small and marginal farmers is a must to save the
farm sector as the survival of 60 per cent of the population depends on it,” Dr
Swaminathan said.
Value addition in the farm produce
and starting allied ventures was the need of the hour, said Dr Swaminathan. He
said he was for a single agriculture market in the country. Along with
technical upgradation of technology, there was a need to improve the labour
efficiency to ensure inclusive growth in the farm sector.
On climate change
On climate change, he said there was
a need for anticipatory research to counter the effect of climate change. More
money needed to be pumped into agriculture research for coming out with
weather-resistant varieties of wheat. With the increase in temperature (up to 2
degree Celsius) there could be a huge fall in food production in Punjab, he
warned. He said soil health cards would not serve any purpose if the panchayats
were given help in maintaining soil health. He said after ensuring food
security, there was a need to raise the nutritional value of foodgrain.
Need for insurance
There is a need to introduce
insurance for the farm sector, said Dr MS Swaminathan. This would ensure
stability in the farm sector and ensure food security. He said there was no
harm in growing genetically modified crops. He said foreign direct investment
(FDI) could prove beneficial for the farm sector. It would be a win-win
situation for farmers as well as investors, he said.
Rice is not
bad after all, says study
Eating rice may do more good and
less harm if you watch your portions, suggests a new campaign that aims to
promote guilt-free rice consumption. Best Foods Limited, which owns the label
‘Best Rice’, seeks to reinstate rice as staple diet as part of its ‘I Love
Rice’ campaign. The company engaged market research firm TNS India to discern
new-age myths surrounding rice consumption. The findings showed thatHyderabadi s love rice dishes, but a majority (73
per cent respondents), fear the cereal is fattening.
City-based nutritionist B.
Janaki, who sought to bust myths on Friday, said rice’s high glycemic index,
which has earned it the reputation of being a fattening food, is actually
lowered by its combination with other components of an Indian meal. Glycemic index
is the effect of a food on blood glucose level.“Rice is seldom taken by itself.
Though it has a high index, when mixed with dal, vegetable or meat, it does not
dramatically influence blood glucose levels. Most importantly, unlike wheat,
rice does not contain any gluten. So it does not cause stomach bloating. If
consumed in moderate quantities as required by the body, it becomes the main
source of nutrients,” Dr. Janaki said.
Myths
Other myths that discourage
people from eating rice, the research revealed, included rice having low-fibre
content and being bad for diabetics.Dr. Janaki said eating brown rice and less
polished rice could make available higher fibre content and also stressed that
diabetics could consume rice if they adhere to regular eating hours and
restricted portions.The research found that people from the city regularly
cooked an average of 12 rice dishes, higher than other metros where the
research was conducted.Best Foods CEO Ayushman Gupta said rice was the only
food that could change form easily even after cooking.The respondents were
married women aged 25 to 45, and hailed from higher income families. Two
hundred and fifteen of them were from Hyderabad.
Commodities Slump Close to Ending as Hackett Says Buy Rice
1:44 AM PDT
March 15, 2015
March 15, 2015
Coffee beans are prepared for roasting at the Cafe
Primavera facility in Itapira, Brazil. Arabica coffee slipped 37 percent as
Brazil’s weak real currency encouraged exports, adding to supplies.
Photographer: Paulo Fridman/Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- The slump in
commodities is close to ending and prices for wheat, rice and coffee should
rebound because demand is close to supplies, according to Shawn Hackett, president
of Hackett Financial Advisors in Florida.The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22
raw 
materials closed Friday at a 12-year low, and is almost 30
percent lower than this time last year. Wheat, rice and coffee supplies are the
lowest relative to demand and trade in 50 years, Hackett said. The Brazilian
real should stabilize in the next 30 days, helping coffee prices to rebound, he
said.“Immense opportunity exists when panics occur as they are now,” Hackett
said in an e-mailed report on Saturday.The Bloomberg Commodity Index climbed
0.1 percent by 12:16 p.m. in Dubai on Monday after falling 3.2 percent the past
two weeks.Wheat dropped 28 percent in the past 12 months and rice fell 32
percent. Arabica coffee slipped 37 percent as Brazil’s weak real currency
encouraged exports, adding to supplies.
materials closed Friday at a 12-year low, and is almost 30
percent lower than this time last year. Wheat, rice and coffee supplies are the
lowest relative to demand and trade in 50 years, Hackett said. The Brazilian
real should stabilize in the next 30 days, helping coffee prices to rebound, he
said.“Immense opportunity exists when panics occur as they are now,” Hackett
said in an e-mailed report on Saturday.The Bloomberg Commodity Index climbed
0.1 percent by 12:16 p.m. in Dubai on Monday after falling 3.2 percent the past
two weeks.Wheat dropped 28 percent in the past 12 months and rice fell 32
percent. Arabica coffee slipped 37 percent as Brazil’s weak real currency
encouraged exports, adding to supplies.
Cocoa prices have dropped 3.2 percent this year and are still
“an incredible short,” or likely to fall more, Hackett said. “Should underlying
support break as I expect it will, the cocoa crash should be epic.”In
livestock, hogs are “getting cheap while cattle remain overvalued,” he said.
Live cattle futures climbed 6.1 percent in the past year, the only item in the
Bloomberg Commodity Index to gain over the period. Lean hogs slumped 41
percent.Hackett also recommended selling milk futures for September through
December delivery where prices are above $17 per hundredweight. “It is
important to keep emotions under control and remain focused on the prize of
buying when there is ‘blood in the streets’,” Hackett said. “Those that did
that in 2008-2009 and bought commodities are retired now.”To contact the reporter
on this story: Claudia Carpenter in Dubai atccarpenter2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nayla Razzouk
atnrazzouk2@bloomberg.net John Deane, Bruce Stanley
Local researchers find anti-obesity properties in
rice bran
Updated: 2015-03-16 16:26:26 KST
About 500,000 tons of rice bran is produced every year in Korea after rice is polished.
Thirty percent of the residue is used in cosmetics or livestock feed, while the rest is discarded.
But a group of local researchers has recently discovered evidence that special properties in rice bran could be beneficial in preventing obesity.They released the results early this month.The researchers conducted a test in which a control group of mice was fed high-fat foods, while an experimental group was fed high-fat foods and given an injection of rice bran extract.After six weeks, the mice in the control group gained 44 percent more weight, but the group that was given the rice bran injections showed a significant difference in weight gain of only 33 percent.( , Korean)
"The mice given the rice bran extract injections gained significantly less weight and there was a reduction in the amount of fat in the liver cells."The difference was also noticeable in the size of fatty tissues and cells. The mice in the high-fat control group had enlarged cells, but the mice in the rice bran group saw no change in their fatty tissues.The researchers discovered that certain bioactive components in rice bran helped decrease the proportion of fat in the body.( , Korean)
"Through animal testing, we've proven that rice bran is effective in fighting obesity. It could be used to make health-functional food or medicine."After confirming the effectiveness and safety of rice bran in humans, the researchers anticipate the results will transform the unused raw material into a high-value product while tackling the oversupply of rice in the country.
Sohn Jung-in, Arirang News.
Drastic fall in paddy cultivation
in Karimnagar
Karimnagar district, which
emerged as the rice bowl of Telangana, now faces a bleak future as the area
under paddy cultivation has declined drastically, causing concern among farmers
and others. Severe drought condition, a depleting groundwater table and poor
inflows into the irrigation projects are cited as reasons for diminishing area
under paddy cultivation in the rabi season. Since 2006, Karimnagar began to
find a place on the paddy cultivation map as it registered good production. The
area of paddy cultivation increased from 1.38 lakh hectares to 2.98 lakh
hectares.But this rabi season, paddy cultivation came down drastically due to
deficit rainfall and poor inflows into the major irrigation projects of SRSP
and the Lower Manair Dam. In-charge Joint Director (agriculture) Shatru Naik
told The Hindu that paddy cultivation came down to
90,850 hectares compared to 1.38 lakh hectares.In the usual course, paddy
cultivation would have been taken up in over 2 lakh hectares had the district
received good rains.
The agriculture official said
that poor rainfall would certainly impact production. He said 40 per cent of
the paddy produce was meant for producing seed, 20-25 per cent for sale while
the remaining is consumed by farmers.S. Komuraiah, a farmer from Chenjarla
village of Manakondur mandal, said that he had cultivated paddy only in one
acre of land for domestic use as the water in the well had depleted. He had to
leave the remaining four acres idle. He said he was facing hurdles in watering
the crop due to depletion of the groundwater table.Annamaneni Sudhakar Rao,
director of Karimnagar district rice millers association, said that the drought
had cast its shadow on the rice mills as well with several of them having
closed down in the district.People who had purchased harvesters to eke out a
living are also at the receiving end due to low production of paddy, he added.
VN plans greener rice cultivation
Viet Nam plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
from rice cultivation alone by 14 per cent by 2030.
This was announced in Ha Noi on Tuesday by an official
from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment at a conference.Pham
Hoang Yen, an expert involved in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, said in the last few years, the
country had chased the goal of a 20 per cent reduction in GHG in the overall
cultivation sector by 2020.What the country has been doing includes preparation
for National Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) and other policies developing
countries adopted to control global GHG at a UNFCC conference in Bali eight
years ago.In addition, Viet Nam has also carried out a programme of Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM).In June last year, the country had 253 CDM projects and had
registered 11 programmes of activities.
This move earned it 10.7 million certified emission
reduction (CEF) credits granted by CDM Executive Board through CDM activities,
Yen said.The total GHG emissions reduction from the 253 CDM projects was 137
million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.Viet Nam ranks fourth in the world
in term of the number of CDM projects and ninth in terms of granted CEF
certificates.In the near future, many projects would be started to lower
methane emissions in rice cultivation in a number of localities, Yen said.The
agricultural sector also applied Good Agricultural Practices and cultivation
methods that economise the use of fertiliser, pesticide and water in order to
limit methane emission on rice fields, she said.
According to the 2010 National
Greenhouse gas inventory, there will be an increase in emissions on both
livestock and farm land.In livestock breeding sector, GHG emissions are expected
to grow from 18.03 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2010 to 24.95 million
tonnes in 2020 and 29.32 tonnes in 2030.In agriculture, GHG emissions are
expected to increase from 23.81 million tones of carbon dioxide in 2010 to
33.94 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2020 and 37.4 tonnes in 2030.The
industrial process had an GHG emission growth, but it was still small compared
with the total of emissions, Yen said.It is predicted that Land use, Land use
Change and Forestry activities in Viet Nam will absorb 42.5 million tonnes of
carbon dioxide equivalent in 2020, and 45.3 million tonnes in 2030. The main
source of emissions and absorption will be forest and cultivated land.The
workshop was organised by the Research Programme on Climate change, Agriculture
and Food Security and its partners
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