Who
actually owns Basmati?
According to a couple of news
items published recently in an English weekly and an Urdu daily respectively,
“India has been successful in getting the Basmati brand of Rice registered in
its name in the Indonesian market, whereas it should have been Pakistan’s
prerogative to register it, because Basmati belongs to Pakistan”.Let us just
not be investigative about the veracity of the news items and try to understand
what the real issue is, because the claim of ownership of Basmati between India
and Pakistan has been in the news now for many years and thus far there is no
clear verdict as to who really owns the Basmati; Pakistan, India or both.Owning
Basmati here means that any of the two countries can register it as an
exclusive product of their country, because it is produced in a particular
region, having a particular quality, reputation and characteristics of that
region, which bring Basmati or any other such product under the definition of
Geographical Indication (GI).
The claim of Basmati ownership as
GI between India and Pakistan is in litigation both in Pakistani and Indian
courts
GI is covered under the scope of
World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) agreement on Trade Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and if it is established that a particular
product falls under the definition of GI, the country or region producing that
product can claim it as its intellectual property and may not allow any other
country to use the same name or reputation, because it may create confusion
among the consumers as to what is the real origin of this particular product.The
claim of Basmati ownership as GI between India and Pakistan is in litigation
both in Pakistani and Indian courts.
According to The Financial Times
(January 2015) Basmati Growers Association (BGA) in Pakistan have Basmati GI
tag partially registered in their country and a litigation was going on in a
Pakistan court between them and India’s APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food
Products Export Development Authority) over the GI tag given to Basmati rice
from Pakistan. BGA has also appealed against granting of GI tag to Indian
Basmati rice in Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) of India. BGA was
of the view that Basmati is a name for a slender, aromatic and long grain
variety of rice grown in the specific geographical area at the foothills of the
Himalayas in Pakistan.On the other hand, APEDA had filed an application with
the GI Registry of India to register the name Basmati for rice covering Punjab,
Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and part of Uttar Pradesh and
Jammu and Kashmir.
Interestingly, the conflict of
owning the registration of Basmati is not just between India and Pakistan, but
it also exists within these countries as well.According to Rice Exporters
Association of Pakistan (REAP), the government of Pakistan, and not the REAP or
Basmati Growers Association (BGA) or any other private body, should own the
Basmati as GI. REAP is of the view that by giving the GI right of Basmati to
any association, it may monopolise it which will be uncompetitive and that
particular association may also manipulate the prices as per its wishes.
BGA is of the view that the
registration of Basmati as GI is the sole prerogative of the growers (400
growers approximately in this case), because the concept of GI is area specific
and principally it is the grower which should be given the right as basmati is
grown in a particular region and the farmers or growers belong to a particular
region not the exporters.Pakistan doesn’t have any GI law as yet and protects
the GI under Trademarks Ordinance 2004. It is noteworthy here that under
Collective Mark provision of Trademarks Ordinance, any private body can apply
for registration of any GI be it Basmati or any other.
As
Pakistan is a responsible member of WTO and TRIPS in this case, all the matters
related to disputes are brought in the WTO by a country and not by any
association
As
per Trade Mark Registry of Pakistan’s (TMR) standpoint, this problem of Basmati
ownership as GI may never be resolved, because naturally, everyone would like
to establish its own monopoly and reap all the profits coming out of the export
of Basmati in the long run. One should think of the related negative
externalities coming out of it, which are really damaging the country’s
economy.
Anyway,
going about it in a rational way, the Basmati should be registered under
Certification Mark Regime (mentioned in Trademark Ordinance 2004) and there
should be a Certifying Authority, which can be Trade Development Authority of
Pakistan (TDAP) or Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP). TDAP and TCP have
their presence all over the country and everyone claiming the right of Basmati
should get a certificate of verification from them, which has now even become
the prerequisite in some countries that import Basmati.
The
TMR’s standpoint sounds plausible as far as the concept of Basmati is
concerned. It can also be said that growers also enjoy the priority rights, but
again at the end of the day, the product would be monopolised and there would
be no end to this dogfight. There would be cartels and monopolies and then
Competition Commission would be stepping in and so on.Furthermore, as Pakistan
is a responsible member of WTO and TRIPS in this case, all the matters related
to disputes are brought in the WTO by a country and not by any association. So,
later on problems coming out of the claim of Basmati as GI from any other
country, like India, can easily be pursued by the country itself in WTO.
http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2015/05/16/comment/who-actually-owns-basmati/
Working on the Basics
By
Published: 18th May 2015 06:00 AM
Last Updated: 15th May 2015 11:20 PM
it in laboratories, research
fields or farmlands, women play an important role in rice production in Odisha.
Particularly, women scientists who have been associated with rice research
institutes like Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Rice Research
Institute (ICAR-CRRI), Cuttack. They conduct backbreaking research in fields
related to the crop and apply the same in fields to boost the crop yield in the
69 per cent of cultivated area and about 63 percent of the total area under
food grains cultivation in the State.
Being the staple food of the
State, Odisha’s economy is directly linked with improvements in production and
productivity of rice in the State. Though research is not an area preferred by
youngsters — particularly women — who graduate from the State agriculture
universities and colleges, there are a few who have opted to get into research
due to their passion for the field and satisfaction involved though the results
could take years to come by. These few have been in the field for long and
proved their mettle setting new trends for youngsters to emulate.
·
Young researchers working in the lab at CRRI|PICs: Shamim
Qureshy
·
Pic courtesy: M Tracy Hunter
“Research is a long process and youngsters these days want to
earn fast without having to wait. Research therefore should be taken up by
people who are ready to go that extra mile and do the hard work and wait for
years to get the result,” says Meera Kar, principal scientist, crop improvement
division at CRRI, Cuttack. She also talks about the challenges in
conducting research which gets doubled with issues that women face managing the
home.
Explaining about breeding a new rice variety, Meera, the only
woman rice breeder in the State says, the ultimate aim of any breeding
programme is to develop varieties superior to existing ones, with respect to
yielding ability, grain quality, resistance/tolerance to biotic and abiotic
stresses or any other characteristics as per the breeding objective.It takes
about five-six years to develop a superior breeding line, depending on the
duration of the line. For commercial utilisation, the superior breeding lines
have to be released as varieties by either the Central or State variety release
committees.
“The newly developed breeding lines are evaluated for their
performance in multi-location trials conducted by All India Coordinated Rice
Improvement Project (AICRIP) for three years. Then the superior lines, which
show outstanding performance over existing varieties for three consecutive
years are identified by Variety Identification Committee (VIC) and subsequently
released and notified by either the Central or State variety release
committee,’’ she says.Meera does not have any fixed timings at the institute.
“We come even on
holidays, early mornings and late in the evenings, not because of compulsions
but because our work demands us to take care of what we are working on,” she
explains.The process in breeding for developing a variety is also not easy.
“‘It begins with hybridisation, growing the F1 to F6 generations (several
combinations of cross-breeding) followed by selection, preliminary yield trial
and seed increase of superior lines, AICRIP Trials (Initial Variety
Trial-Advanced Variety Trial I-Advanced Variety Trial II), Identification by
Variety Identification Committee (VIC) and finally release and notification by
either the Central or State variety release committee, says the 50-year-old
scientist, who has completed her PG and PhD from Orissa University of
Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar in Plant Breeding and Genetics.
She has been the recipient of eight gold medals as topper of the
batch in BSc (Ag) and MSc (Ag) from Orissa University of Agriculture and
Technology and received gold medal for outstanding group performance in ‘Field
Experience Training’ awarded by National Academy of Agricultural Research
Management, Hyderabad in 1995.Her current area of research includes resistance
breeding for multiple insect pests and diseases, breeding rice for higher
resource use efficiency, development of super rice for different ecologies,
development of high-yielding varieties for rain-fed shallow lowlands and using
socio-economic approaches, mechanism and transfer of technologies for
sustainable rice productionShe has been trained at International Rice Research
Institute, Philippines as well. She has bred seven high-yielding rice varieties
for various ecologies of rice which include CR Dhan 303, CR Dhan 304, CR Dhan
305, CR Dhan 301, CR Dhan 306, CR Dhan 205, CR Dhan 206 (Gopinath). Lipi
Das, Senior Scientist, Division of Social Sciences, has been associated with
CRRI since 2000 after qualifying through Agriculture Research Service (ARS).
A PhD from Benaras Hindu University, Lipi feels, it is very
important for women to get into research particularly in the field of
agriculture, as most farm work these days is done by women. “Unless we make
them understand our new implements, seeds, technology and demonstrate it to
them, how will they benefit? As a woman, I am at an advantage to make them
listen to me and convince them,”’ says Lipi who uses gender sensitive
approaches to rice farming and participatory extension research apart from
women entrepreneurship development.As most of the manual drudgery in the field
is still handled by women, an action research was undertaken in Sankilo village
of Nischintakoili block of Cuttack district by Lipi and her team.A Women’s
Development Group named ‘Ananya Mahila Bikash Samiti’ was mobilised with 30
farm women. Suitable rice production technologies were demonstrated to the
group and they were given training and taken on exposure visits, apart from
supporting them with continuous technical back-stopping and establishing value
chains with two private companies for marketing of rice and rice-based
value-added products to ensure greater economic benefit for the women.
“The farm women were competent enough to manage both their farm
and home efficiently. They could be efficient drivers of national agricultural
growth and development, if they can be made socially-empowered and
technologically competent through gender sensitive approaches,” says Lipi. She
had also been in a project to identify gender issues in technology generation
and adoption in rice-based production systems. “We had conducted a study in
five rice growing districts, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Balasore, Bargarh and
Ganjam of Odisha. An on-farm trial was conducted to evaluate selected
drudgery-reducing implements with the participation of 30 farm-women in
rice-based production systems.
We found that except
threshing and winnowing, all the production activities were carried out in
traditional methods. So on the basis of identified issues, an on-farm trial was
conducted in Salipur cluster of Cuttack district to evaluate selected
technologies keeping in mind the women’s perspectives in rice-based production
system, with four interventions namely, farmers’ practice (where an
intervention is developed keeping in mind the usual practices farmers adopt
with regard to seeding, weeding and harvesting) (T1), planting by transplanter
with hand weeding (T2), planting by transplanter with mechanical weeding by
finger weeder (T3), manual planting in rows with hand weeding (T4).
The farm women favoured use of these technologies and the
feedback helped us to recommend refinement of programmes on farm implements for
women,” she says.She, however, feels, the participation of women in research is
lower than expected. “This is an area which has immense potential. Challenges
from the home front are there for women in all spheres but research could open
new avenues, which could bring about a revolution in the sector,” she adds.Mayabini
Jena, principal scientist and head, division of crop protection, at the
institute has been attached to research ever since she completed her PhD in
Zoology from Utkal University in 1986. She joined CRRI, Cuttack in 1990 as a
scientist through ARS and since then has been into research in the area of
plant protection.
She has been instrumental in identifying 10 highly resistant
donors against brown plant hopper by screening about 2,000 genotypes in green
house conditions. She has also found 13 highly BPH (Brown Plant Hopper) resistant
breeding lines in the background of identified donor. She has also contributed
towards development of scented rice varieties CR Sugandh Dhan 907, Poornabhog,
Nua Kalajeera, Nua Dhusara and Nua Chinikamini. Another area of her work is
pest control — she has evolved effective insecticides for the control of
important rice insect pests in relation to field application as well as to the
basic work of persistent toxicity and immediate knock down effect (an immediate
treatment to tackle pests).“Research was a fascination for me. It was a
long-term goal to achieve excellence in research, and today I am proud to be
associated with this field where opportunities for recognition are many. Here,
there are more prospects than constraints.
For example, I have worked with toxic substances all my life but
I have never felt any danger as I was helped by my seniors at CRRI. In the
initial days, I would watch them handle toxic substances and they would keep me
away till I learnt the tricks of the trade. Now, I reprise the role when
youngsters join us,’’ explains Mayabini.She feels, women prove better
researchers, provided they are given the right kind of environment to work in.
Physical strains apart, women can handle research work better than men, she
says. “I come on holidays to nurture the pests which are my subject of study,
while other scientists also come to observe their fields. It is a 24-hour
job but you have the convenience of flexibility.
If you are an achiever,
your efforts will never go unnoticed and there is no bossism in the field of
research,’’ she adds.Director of CRRI, Cuttack, T Mohapatra, quite upbeat about
the women working at CRRI says, in comparison to earlier times, now women can
be seen at most research institutes. “We have quite a few women scientists here
who are doing exceptionally well.
The opportunities elsewhere are so many that not only girls,
even boys shy away from entering a hard-working arena like research, that too
rice cultivation. Research is a long-term process,” says Mohapatra. He says,
“Balancing both home and work well, our scientists have come up with very good
materials. They have been lone fighters like Barbara McClintock (an American
scientist, whose revolutionary discovery of “jumping genes’’ and many other
contributions to the field of genetics earned her the Nobel Prize in 1983). So,
promoting them and identifying potential researchers is important. We want more
women to be a part of agricultural research; it will help in the development of
the field and accelerate the realisation of development goals,” he adds.
kasturi@newindianexpress.com
Yingluck ready to defend herself in court
THE NATION May 16, 2015 1:00 am
FORMER
prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday she would attend the first
hearing at the Supreme Court's Criminal Division on Holders of Political
Positions on Tuesday for a case in which she is accused of negligence in
connection with her government's controversial rice-pledging scheme.Yingluck
said she was ready to defend herself in her opening statement before the
court.She was speaking to reporters at her sister Yaowapa Wongsawat's birthday
party at the latter's home in Chaeng Wattana area north of Bangkok.
Yaowapa
was also a key figure in the then-ruling Pheu Thai Party.In March, the court
accepted the case against Yingluck and declared that she would have to stand
trial. Yingluck is charged with dereliction of duty and abuse of authority as
well as violating the Criminal Code and the Anti-Corruption Act. She is accused
of failing to prevent corruption in the rice-pledging scheme, which resulted in
estimated losses of over Bt500 billion to the state. If found guilty, she could
face up to 10 years in jail. She is required to appear in court on the first
day of hearing, when the court will decide if she will be granted bail. On
Thursday, a subcommittee of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC),
which took the case to court, resolved to bring charges against Yingluck and 33
of her former Cabinet members for misconduct and abuse of power in relation to
her government paying compensation to red-shirt protesters and supporters.
Yingluck
and the 33 others were informed in writing of the NACC's allegations and have
15 days to respond, Vicha Mahakhun, head of the panel responsible for the case,
said. Red-shirt compensation queried.During Yingluck's tenure, some Bt2 billion
was paid in compensation to protesters who were injured and relatives of those
who died during protests held between 2005 and 2010. Asked to comment on these
allegations yesterday, Yingluck said it was not the right time - as she wants
things to be carried out in line with required process. "Today is an
auspicious day and I don't want to discuss the details of this case," she
said. Vicha said there was no law to back the disbursement of payouts as
approved by Yingluck's cabinet. There was also a conflict of interest in her
government's approval of the payments because the recipients were the main
supporters of her political party.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Yingluck-ready-to-defend-herself-in-court-30260236.html
4-H Science of
Agriculture Challenge deepens students' understanding of science in Minnesota
MAY 18, 2015 —
12:05AM
NEW PRAGUE, Minn. — Brian and Anna Prchal
and Tyler Fromm are teenagers making and using biodiesel. They're also part of
a possible solution for a growing need for employees in agriculture.There are
25,700 new jobs for management and business in agriculture and 14,600 new jobs
in agriculture and science engineering each year, according to a U.S.
Department of Agriculture analysis of job figures. The gap between expected job
openings and agriculture and related fields graduates is roughly 1,000 each
year.For junior high and high school students, "4-H involvement could lead
to college, university or even trade school and an ag-related job," said
Josh Rice, who runs the science of agriculture programming at University of
Minnesota Extension.
"Agricultural awareness is a very
important piece of this. There are ag jobs out there and it's not just
production agriculture. It can be marketing, processing, distribution and even
social science."Minnesota is the first state to start a 4-H Science of
Agriculture Challenge, which is a team competition showing science and
engineering understanding, The Free Press (http://bit.ly/1FZEx0j ) reported.
The teams have three or four members between grades six and 12 who share a
common interest. A coach guides them through the scientific or engineering
process. The teams also meet with a mentor from the industry, who gives
guidance and an inside view of an agricultural career.Brian and Anna Prchal of
Montgomery and their cousin Tyler Fromm of New Hope teamed up to work on
biodiesel. Jodi Prchal, Brian and Anna's mother and a fifth-grade teacher, is
their coach.
Brian created biodiesel from used fryer
oil at a local restaurant. He describes the process in detail on how to
transform that oil into fuel."You can burn straight filtered vegetable oil
in a diesel engine, but it gums up the engine," Brian said.After filtering
it, the major step in the process was carefully combining the oil with methanol
and potassium hydroxide, which separates the fatty acids from the glycerin,
which settles to the bottom. The fatty acids bond with methanol to transform
the molecules into biodiesel. That is followed by "washing" the
biodiesel with water to cause even more separation, leaving a transparent light
orange liquid.Jodi Prchal says the critical moment came when they tried it in
an engine. Brian had bought a single-cylinder, nine horsepower diesel engine
and it ran smoothly on the biodiesel.
Brian's goal, he said, is to be able to
have a diesel truck and run it on his own biodiesel."I've always been
really interested in renewable energy," he said.He made 1 liter of
biodiesel for this project but wants a setup that will allow him to make 30 gallons
at a time with less intervention. "It would cost 70 cents a gallon if you
do it right versus $4 per gallon of diesel, when diesel was high," Brian
said.He tested the efficiency and the acidity of the biodiesel against diesel."Biodiesel
is not as efficient as conventional diesel," he said. "But the
pollutants were far less. The pH didn't go up a lot. Diesel has some sulfur in
the exhaust, so biodiesel is better for the environment."Anna's and
Tyler's projects branch off of Brian's.
Anna tested his biodiesel against kerosene
and ethanol for pollutants and energy. She created a calorimeter by suspending
a pop can with some water over burners of biodiesel, ethanol and kerosene. She
judged pollutants by burning the fuels inside a cylinder with a coffee filter
covering the top end."The kerosene had the most soot, I was in the
basement and there was soot all over," Anna said. "Ethanol had
nothing and biodiesel had some spots. Kerosene had the highest temperatures,
then ethanol and biodiesel. The better option would be ethanol than
biodiesel."Tyler researched fuels and talked to professionals. After
sharing the research with Brian and Anna, he tested the wear of engines when
using regular diesel and biodiesel.
"The biodiesel was better for
wear," he said.The three have all been around farms their whole lives and
have been involved in 4-H, frequently competing at the Minnesota State Fair.
The team has been working on the project since October. In June, they'll give a
presentation to a panel of judges. Questions from the judges will follow the
presentations."That's what highlights the deeper learning that's taken
place," Rice said. "There has been a lot of time that the youth have
been engaged in active learning."There are 14 teams competing for
scholarships — $1,000 for each teammate for first, $750 for second and $500 for
third.The scholarships can be used at any accredited trade school, college or
university, for any major because, Rice said, "Any college major that we
talk about, we can make a connection to agriculture."Students are also
eligible to participate each year from sixth grade to high school graduation,
even if they have already won one or multiple scholarships.After getting the
feedback from the trial year, Rice said he hopes to more than double the number
of teams next year.
"Over the next five years, we're
hoping for a national program," Rice said. "Once other states offer
the same program, there may be a national contest."But, at the basic
level, the program may attract young people to science and engineering fields,
deepen their understanding, allow them to take more advanced science classes in
high school, and eventually lead to the qualified employees that agricultural
businesses know they're going to need."This could potentially change what
agriculture looks like," Rice said. "This can help students know they
have the capability of being scientists and engineers."On Team
Prchal-Fromm, that's already understood.Brian knows he's going to double major
in mechanical and agricultural engineering at college in the fall.
His sister, in eighth grade, knows she
wants to work with animals or the environment. And Tyler, also in eighth grade,
wants to work for the Department of Natural Resources.Brian joked, "That's
just because you want to fish and get paid for it."Tyler shrugged and
said, "That would be great."This is an AP Member Exchange shared by
The Free Press
Paddy buying
up 21% in kharif
Till May 13, rice millers in the state have already delivered 1.48
million tonne of rice
BS Reporter | Bhubaneswar
May 17, 2015 Last Updated at 20:31 IST
The district collectors have been
asked to review procurement at regular intervals and ensure that millers
deliver the entire rice by September 30, he added.For the Rabi season, the
state has set a target of procuring 730,000 tonne of rice and this is expected
to be finished by June 30.Odisha produces close to eight million tonne paddy in
a year, the fifth largest in the country. While 60 per cent of the total
production is processed in the state, the rest is exported to other states.
Jute mills look
towards policy support
Falling demand and rising wages
have the 160-year-old industry in throes of death
The Rs 8,000 crore plus jute industry is in the
throes of a demand crisis. Jute mills in the organised sector, especially in
West Bengal, are finding it tough to cope with rising costs of wages and
electricity.Members of the Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) as well as jute
mill owners outside the organisation met a group of ministers from the West
Bengal government last Thursday to discuss the issue.Among those present were
finance and commerce minister Amit Mitra, agriculture minister Purnendu Basu,
higher education minister Partha Chatterjee, labour minister Moloy Ghatak and
panchayat and rural development minister Subrata Mukherjee.West Bengal is home
to 75 per cent (64 out 84) jute mills in the country. According to industry
officials, jute mills in the state had been running at 60 per cent of the
capacity and a large number of workers had been rendered jobless.
It further
witnessed a 30 to 40 per cent reduction few months ago because of lack of
orders.“We hope that the state government will soon announce a policy to ensure
a vibrant, profitable and committed jute industry, not for the industrialists
but for the 40 lakh rural farmers and 3 lakh workers employed in the sector.
The 160-year-old industry with rich legacy and heritage cannot be allowed to
die, especially when the state government is committed to meet the aspirations
of common man,” said IJMA chairman Raghavendra Gupta.A large section of jute
mills in the state have been rendered financially sick. Working capital in most
cases stands eroded and the units are crippled with mounting liabilities.
To survive, jute mills need to modernise for which
they require large funds. Permission may be granted to the mills to use their
existing infrastructure and surplus land for alternate purposes to generate
funds.According to analysts, the demand crisis can be resolved if the state
government steps in and makes the policy announcement that rice millers and
potato growers in West Bengal must pack their produce in jute bags. They can be
used even for packaging levy rice procured by the West Bengal government. IJMA
has informed the state food and supplies department that the jute mills are
willing to supply bags to rice millers provided indents are raised by the
government. Also, payment will be accepted for jute bags from the state
government as and when the Union government makes it.
However, this
will be a stop-gap arrangement and last till such time the West Bengal
government can arrange the Rs 130 crore required for the supply of jute bags
through the DGS&D mechanism.Further, the organised jute sector is unable to
cope with the rising costs of labour and power. In fact, jute manufacturing in
about 50 mills in and around Kolkata is becoming unviable. Same is the case
with manufacturing units in other states of India, Nepal and Bangladesh.The
April 2 tripartite agreement has further increased the cost of wages for jute
mills in West Bengal. According to sector analysts, to stay competitive,
production and productivity will have to be ensured in the jute mills. During
negotiations for a wage settlement, the mill managements were assured that
within a month of signing the agreement, a productivity study for individual
mills would be carried out and the same would be implemented in mills.
Unless wages are linked to productivity, survival of
the jute mills would become difficult. The concept of time-rated and
piece-rated workmen has been prevalent in the jute industry over decades and it
is only over time that it has lost its significance. Productivity-linked wages
were part of wage agreements of 2002 and 2010, but they were not implemented.The
turnaround in the jute sector will also depend on how soon the 100 per cent
productivity-linked wages through a jute policy is re-introduced.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/paddy-buying-up-21-in-kharif-115051700784_1.html
Kharif
paddy procurement up 21% in Odisha
Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, May 16:
Bhubaneswar, May 16:
Stating that around 14.84 LMT of rice has already been delivered
to Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Rice Receiving Centres (RRCs), he said
Rabi procurement will be taken up in 2-3 days in all the mandis and the number
of procurement days will be extended to six days a week.The chief secretary
directed all Revenue Divisional Commissioners (RDCs) to review the progress of
the recovery of rice from the millers and take follow-up action wherever
warranted. He directed them to initiate criminal actions against
defaulting millers.
Reviewing the modalities of procurement, the chief secretary
advised the department to review the online system of farmers registration put
in place last year and link farmers’ registration with Aaadhar numbers.It was
decided that fresh farmers’ registration for the coming khariff season will be
done in advance by the banks/PACS at the time of advancing crop loans. As per
available data, 7,82,917 farmers for Khariff and 1,55,493 farmers for Rabi have
been registered online.The Paddy Procurement Automation System (P-PAS) has
successfully been implemented in 60 high-procurement blocks last season. Around
46 percent of the total paddy procured has been transacted through this
automated system, which has benefited around 2,28,816 farmers.For Rabi
procurement, the P-PAS will be applied in 36 blocks of 12 high-procurement districts.The
chief secretary asked the department to extend the system to 160 blocks during
coming Khariff procurement, undertake an assessment study on satisfaction of
the farmers with P-PAS system and to get inputs from them for further
improvement.
Among other things, issues relating to collection of rice from
millers, strategy and preparedness for Rabi paddy procurement, creation of new
rack points in railway, modernization of existing rice mills and establishment
of new rice mills in deficient districts were discussed at the meeting.The
meeting was attended by principal secretary, Agriculture, Rajesh Verma;
principal secretary, Cooperation Manoj Ahuja; director, Agriculture Pramod
Meherda; registrar, Cooperative Societies, Dhiren Kumar Patanik; RDCs and senior
officials of the concerned departments.
Thai rice prices at 11-month low on weak demand
May 17, 2015
RECORDER REPORT
Thai rice prices were mired at their weakest level in 11 months
this week as demand remained low, but rates for the grain from Vietnam rose
slightly on hopes key buyer Philippines would soon issue an import tender,
traders said on Wednesday. Thailand's 5 percent broken white rice stood
unchanged at $385 a tonne, free-on-board (FOB) basis, the lowest since June
2014. "I don't know where
else prices can go, there are no buyers," a Thai trader based in Bangkok
said, adding that prices were expected to change little for the rest of the
month.
The Thai government may consider a tender at a meeting next week
as it seeks to sell 10 million tonnes this year, Duangporn Rodphaya, a director
at the Commerce Ministry said on Tuesday. In
Vietnam, the world's third-largest rice exporter after India and Thailand in
2014, prices edged up due to prospects of a possible tender in the Philippines,
traders said. Vietnam's 5-percent broken rice rose to $360-$363 a tonne, FOB
basis, from $355-$360 a tonne a week ago, and the 25 percent broken rice rose
to $340 a tonne, from $330-$335 last Wednesday. Manila may buy between 200,000-310,000
tonnes or rice via a tender, industry sources in Thailand and the Philippines
have said.
The Philippines, one of the world's top rice importers, usually
buys most of its rice from Vietnam. But increasing global rice supplies could
drag on Vietnam's rice export prices this month, the government said in a
report this week, citing a projection by the Finance Ministry-run Price Control
Department. Purchases by China,
Vietnam's top rice buyer, have not picked up even though many Chinese traders
have been to Vietnam in recent weeks, traders in Ho Chi Minh City said. China
has surplus rice and to curb cheap imports and cut state reserves, the
government allocated 2015 import quotas only to mills which also buy from state
reserves. China's output in the 2014/15 marketing year is expected to edge up 1.4
percent to 144.5 million tonnes of milled rice, the US Department of
Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report for May.
http://www.brecorder.com/agriculture-a-allied/183/1187146/
Saudi
rice imports from India rise 58% to SR4.5bn in 2014
JEDDAH: ARAB NEWS
Published — Sunday 17 May 2015
Last update 16 May 2015 9:34 pm
The value of Saudi rice imports to the Kingdom from India grew
by 58 percent, reaching $1.19 billion (SR4.46 billion) by the end of 2014,
compared to $752.67 million (SR2.82 billion) in 2013, according to Indian
Consul General Bawa Syed Mubarak.Speaking to local media, the Indian diplomat
said that Saudi rice imports from India dropped by 1 percent in 2013, due to
the emergence of certain obstacles but jumped to record levels in the following
year (2014)."At the global level, Indian rice exports fetched $7.78
billion (SR29.17 billion) in 2014, comprising a growth rate of more than 25
percent in one year, of which the Saudi share exceeded 15.35 percent,"
Mubarak said.
The diplomat stressed that the Saudi market is considered a key
importer of Indian rice worldwide. He noted that rice represented nearly 10
percent of the overall Indian exports to the Kingdom.The volume of trade
exchange between the two countries reached more than $48.62 billion, where
Indian exports to the Kingdom amounted to $12.21 billion by the end of 2014 in
total, an increase of 12 percent, whereas Saudi exports to India reached $36.40
billion, an increase of 8 percent relative to previous years.
http://www.arabnews.com/economy/news/747741
DA-PhilRice
introduces eco heating technology
May 17, 2015
QUEZON
CITY, May 17 -- The Department of
Agriculture’s Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has started the
introduction and pilot testing of a machine that processes rice hull into
biochar which can be used for cooking, baking, sterilizing and heating brooding
chicks.Biochar—commonly called charcoal—is obtained from the pyrolysis of
biomass, a process that heats and carbonizes biomass in the absence or under
reduction of oxygen.The cogeneration of biochar and heat from rice hull has
been made possible with the development of the continuous rice hull (CtRH)
carbonizer by PhilRice scientist Dr. Ricardo Orge, who leads the research institution’s
Coping with Climate Change Program.
Dr.
Orge is also the Central Luzon’s 2015 Gawad Saka Outstanding Agricultural
Scientist.The CtRH, being a smokeless carbonizer, and which uses agricultural
waste such as rice hull, is not only environment friendly but is also
cost-efficient.While the machine processes rice hull into biochar, it generates
heat that is then recovered in the carbonizer attachments. These include
high-volume cooker, baking oven, sterilizer for mushroom fruiting bags, or
heater for brooding chicks. Using the CtRH-generated heat replaces conventional
sources such as those produced using LPG or electricity.The high-volume cooker
is now being pilot-tested in Bulacan and Aurora.
“It
was developed for farmers who want to sell cooked agricultural products such as
corn, banana and peanuts,” Dr. Orge said. Dr. Orge added that blueprints are
being finalized for its commercialization, together with the CtRH carbonizer. The
biochar produced from rice hull, which could otherwise be burned into useless
ash or biodegrade to greenhouse gases, can be used as organic fertilizer when
combined with animal manure. The biochar also resists degradation and traps
carbon—a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming—in soils for
hundreds of years. Hence, biochar has a
significant carbon sequestration value. Dr. Orge said that based on studies,
biochar is a potential solution to address some of the most urgent
environmental problems the world currently face such as global warming, soil
degradation, water pollution by agro-chemicals, and waste management.
Agriculture
Secretary Proceso Alcala said that inventions similar to Dr. Orge’s are
important to make agricultural production less costly and harmful to the environment,
more efficient, and more adaptable to climate change. He encouraged
stakeholders to utilize these technologies, and support efforts to improve and
replicate these. (JPD/, DA)
http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1781431686660/da-philrice-introduces-eco-heating-technology#sthash.oTRDDvtt.dpuf
Experts: Bangladesh lacks proper
food marketing chain
Abu Bakar Siddique
Bangladesh still lacks a proper food marketing chain despite
having ample food production in the country, according to food experts.Speaking
at a discussion titled South-South Cooperation for Food Security at Pan Pacific
Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka yesterday, the experts said the country still needed
an improved food distribution and storage system in order to meet the growing
demand of food in the increasing urban population around the country.Mike
Robson, country representative of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in
Bangladesh, said the country needed to take initiatives such as low-energy
post-harvest food processing and storage, integrated models of resource use and
safety measures to avert pre- and post-harvest damage of foods to ultimately
strengthen food security.
In addition, Bangladesh should emphasise on introducing more
high-yielding, short-duration and stress-tolerant crop varieties to meet the
growing demand of food, he said.According to the government, the country
currently produces around 34m tonnes of rice – around 3.5 times the amount
produced in 1970.Dr Rafiqul Islam Mondol, director general of Bangladesh
Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), said the government had already taken
several initiatives to develop several short-duration and stress-tolerant crop
varieties, including rice, wheat, maize and vegetables.
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and Bangladesh
Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) has already developed rice varieties
tolerant of different stressful condition, such as salinity, drought,
submergence and cold, in recent years.Mike Robson also suggested that the
government take necessary measures to check the abundant use of fertiliser to
produce more food in the country, as it causes damage to the soil fertility to
some extent.He also expressed concern over the excessive use of groundwater for
irrigation in some areas, which could make a vast area of arable land barren in
near future.
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