Intercontinental Hotels risks forceful closure over rice import debt
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it may be forced to shut
down Intercontinental Hotels Lagos, following the alleged refusal of the
hotel’s parent company, Milan Group, to pay rice duty.Speaking during a phone
interview this morning on a radio programme by Ships and Ports, Wale Adeniyi,
public relations officer, NCS, said this was because Milan Group, which has refused
to pay rice subsidy after exceeding its rice quota for 2014, was housed in the
same premises as Intercontinental Hotels and shared the same owners.“We are not
unmindful that they have guests in the hotel. We are making representations to
them to ensure that they either pay Customs duty or they evacuate their guests
before we seal the hotel premises, because it is the hotel that houses Milan
Group,” Adeniyi said.
Continuing, he said: “The owner of the companies is the same.
So, we’ve given them options; either to make do their payment or we have no
choice but to stop them from operating. We don’t want to create unnecessary
scenes so we are going to be civil in our approach to the Intercontinental
issue. The planned operation was due to government directives that the premises
of all defaulting importers be sealed off.”The NCS has been given a directive
to seal off business premises of all defaulting importers. “It is a directive
from the Federal Government and we are going to carry it out. So, we’ll give them
one or two days notice to get their guests and their customers informed so that
we don’t end up embarrassing anybody,” he said.According to Adeniyi, some of
the companies have falsely claimed that the quotas given to them were to be
carried over to 2015.
“The documents conveying the quotas were explicit. The quotas
were meant to bridge supply gap of 1.3 metric tons, estimated to be the volume
needed by Nigeria to bridge the supply gap in 2014, and that it should be
imported in a concessionary way.“Also, stated that any company that exceeded
the quota will have to pay what others who didn’t get concessions would pay,
and that is 70 percent duty,” he said.In this case, he said, Milan imported
750,000 metric tons in excess. Recall on June 28, names of four rice importers,
owing the service over N23 billion debts for importing rice in excess of the
government approved quota, were published.
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE with wire report
BASMATI RICE
EXPORTERS ADVISED TO BUILD BRAND IMAGE & REGAIN LOST MARKETS
The Union of Small and Medium
Enterprises ( UNISAME ) advised the basmati rice exporters to build their brand
image and promote export of basmati rice and regain lost markets.
UNISAME thanked the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan ( TDAP ) and the
ministry of commerce ( MINCOM ) for closing the Quality Review
Committee ( QRC ) rice inspection cell which proved futile and became a hurdle
for basmati rice exporters.
President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver
appreciated the positive step taken by MINCOM to disband the QRC and remove all
impediments in the export of basmati rice. QRC became a hindrance and rice
exporters now have a free hand to export their rice varieties as required by
the buyers with or without pre-shipment inspection by third party.The staff of
the QRC was served with a termination notice one month ago and yesterday was
the last day. TDAP has directed the employees to collect their dues.
Thaver said the rice exporters
are now in a position to export their own brands and urged them to register
their brands and build brand image. However he requested the SME rice exporters
to maintain the quality of all varieties of rice whether basmati or non
basmati.He was confident that the rice exporters will do their best to promote
the basmati rice which is our national heritage.He also requested the Rice
Exporters Association of Pakistan ( REAP ) to take up the matter of
geographical indications for basmati rice and not procrastinate on the issue.He
advised the SME exporters of rice to set up their own quality control systems
and carry out quality inspections of the cargo before shipments and if need be
by third party inspection companies.
QRC was given under TDAP since
last 3 years after being managed by REAP for more than a decade. The management
by REAP created conflict of interest and was challenged in the court of law
which ruled that REAP could not compel rice exporters to become it's members
and directed QRC to be made independent, transparent and impartial. It was then
shifted to independent premises and placed under TDAP.However the audit report
is awaited and the issue of property purchased by REAP in its own name
from QRC funds is questionable and the property will have to be returned
and the TDAP officials who facilitated the transaction will be answerable
QRC CLOSED FOR
GOOD
The Union of Small and Medium
Enterprises ( UNISAME ) thanked the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (
TDAP ) and the ministry of commerce ( MINCOM ) for closing the Quality Review
Committee ( QRC ) rice inspection cell which proved futile and became a hurdle
for basmati rice exporters.President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver appreciated the
positive step taken by Mincom to disband the QRC and remove all impediments in
the export of rice.The staff of the QRC was served with a termination notice
one month ago and today was the last day. TDAP has directed the employees to
collect their dues.Thaver said the rice exporters are now in a position to
export their own brands.
However he requested the SME rice
exporters to maintain the quality of all varieties of rice whether basmati or
non basmati.He was confident that the rice exporters will do their best to
promote the basmati rice which is our national heritage.He also requested the
Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan ( REAP ) to take up the matter of
geographical indications for basmati rice and not procrastinate on the issue.He
advised the SME exporters of rice to set up their own quality control systems
and carry out quality inspections of the cargo before shipments and if need be by
third party inspection companies.QRC was given under TDAP since last years
after being managed by REAP for more than a decade.
The management by REAP created
conflict of interest and was challenged in the court of law which ruled that
REAP could not compel rice exporters to become it's members and directed QRC to
be made independent, transparent and impartial. It was then shifted to
independent premises and placed under TDAP.However the audit report is awaited
and the issue of property purchased by REAP in its own name from QRC
funds is questionable and the property will have to be returned and the TDAP
officials who facilitated the transaction will be answerable.
Customs Threatens to Shutdown Intercontinental
Hotel over Unpaid Duties by Rice Importers
31 Jul 2015
Bags of rice
Crusoe Osagie รข€¨
The ongoing dispute between the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and large rice investors in the country has taken a new turn, as the NCS has threatened to close down one of Nigeria’s foremost hotels, Intercontinental Hotel Lagos.Regarded by industry observers as a sledge hammer approach, the NCS has threatened that it may shut down the Intercontinental Hotel, following the non-payment of retrospective duties by the hotel’s parent company, Milan Group.
This was disclosed thursday by Wale Adeniyi, Public Relations
Officer of NCS.NCS shut down the Lagos warehouses of a number of rice importers
this week over non-payment of duties on rice imports that had exceeded their
quotas.Some of the major importers affected by the clampdown include Olam, Milan
Group and Stallion Group – all owned by Asian nationals with vast investments
in Nigeria.Investors in the rice sub-sector said the rice industry was still
coming to terms with the action of the NCS, acting against the rule of law that
has demanded determination to be made by the judicial system for the dispute on
unpaid duties by importers of rice.Some of the investors have lodged cases in
courts, claiming that the action of NCS was subjudice, illegal and
unauthorised.
NCS is demanding retrospective duties from the rice investors
for imports in 2014, while the investors have claimed that the quota
allocations did not comply with stipulated regulations issued late only by
December and were also biased against bonafide investors.Following the
confusion that trailed the 2014 quotas, quotas for 2015 were also issued,
cancelled and later reissued again. The implementation of the policy received a
lot of criticism from the rice industry, as the presidential directives were
not complied with in the process.The affected rice investors have invested
billions of naira in the rice value chain and have been catalysts in Nigeria’s
recent initiatives to be self-sufficient in rice production.
The immediate past Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi
Adesina, had said in August 2014 that, “our rice today in terms of total value
added to our local economy in terms of gross value across all the states is
N750 billion since we started in 2012”.NCS’s action, according to the rice
investors, would slow down the momentum that was building in the area of food
security at a time when the economy is struggling from the impact of lower oil
prices and foreign exchange woes.They said that apart from Intercontinental
Hotel, NCS’ actions and threats included closure of several unrelated
industries promoted by the rice investors including factories that partner
global multinationals and are driving industrial growth and employment.
With no clarity on import quotas for 2015, Nigeria may once
again open itself only to be fed by smugglers through the borders, ironically
denying NCS its rightful revenue, they argued.The industry hopes the new
administration will direct a progressive forward-looking approach to ensure
continued rice production operations by the affected investors, said one of the
rice investors.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/customs-threatens-to-shutdown-intercontinental-hotel-over-unpaid-duties-by-rice-importers/216161/
Apps for farmers offered
BY PEACE S. FLORES
Friday, July 31,
2015
The International Rice Research Institute
(IRRI), in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rice
Research Institute and Agricultural Training Institute presented a series of
rice agriculture-related apps to farmers and members of the academe during a
two-day Knowledge Sharing and Learning Session at PhilRice-Negros in Murcia
town this week.Jerome Cayton Barradas, junior specialist at IRRI's Rice
Knowledge Bank Content Development Training Center, said that the apps, that
can be downloaded for free are a good means to empower farmers by giving them
access to technology.Rice Crop Manager, a customizable crop and nutrient
management guide, was designed by IRRI for use by crop advisors, extension
workers, input and service providers, Barradas said.
MOET App, also developed by IRRI, computes
appropriate field fertilizer requirements for particular rice cultivars. IRRI's
Rice Doctor is a diagnostics tool for systematic identification and management
of rice crop problems and Weed Smart, also by IRRI, deals with rice weed
identification and management, he added.Barradas also recommended online
resources for farmers such as Pinoy Rice Knowledge Bank at
http://www.pinoyrice.com and the Rice
Knowledge Bank at
http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org.*PSF
NegOcc farmers get highest allocation from
PhilRice for Visayas operations
Friday, July 31, 2015
MURCIA – The Department of
Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) has an average
annual budget allocation of at least P20 million for its Visayas operations,
and about 80 percent of the fund goes to Negros Occidental.Edgar Libetario,
acting director of PhilRice Negros, said this is because the center here covers
Regions 6, 7 and 8 thus, more personnel are needed.Negrense farmers mostly
avail of the programs, he added.In terms of seed technology, Libetario said
Negros Occidental is the top user in the Visayas, utilizing 65 percent of the
total seeds produced.
“The availability of quality
seeds in Negros Occidental is therefore higher compared to other provinces in
Visayas,” he said, adding that this further results to more developments in the
local rice industry.PhilRice records showed that the province’s current degree
of rice self- sufficiency is higher compared to previous years.This can be
attributed to the programs implemented by PhilRice and its strong partnership
with the provincial government, Libetario said.The provincial government’s
quest for the establishment of PhilRice Visayas in Negros is an advantage, he
added.“Negrenses now are much aware of the rice production scenario. Local
farmers have better performance in crop management, utilization of rice
produced, and investing on facilities that would increase the efficiency of
output,” Libetario also said.
As a result, Negros Occidental is
now one of the highest average yielding provinces in the country.It has even
the highest average yield in terms of per hectare per cropping basis compared
to the rest of the provinces in Western Visayas.
Published in the Sun.Star Bacolod newspaper on July 31, 2015.
Senate Asks FG to Stop Waivers on Rice Importation
31 Jul 2015
National Assembly complex
Says Nigeria lost N585bn to waivers between 2011 and 2014
Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja
The Senate thursday asked the federal government to henceforth stop all waivers on rice imports and all other agricultural products.It also mandated the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and the Comptroller General of Customs, Abdullahi Dikko, to ensure that all import duties due to government are recovered.The parliament also set up an ad-hoc committee chaired by Senator Adamu Aliero, to look into the duty waiver policy regime and simultaneously carry out a holistic review with a view to determining government revenues lost to the waiver policy.
The committee was also mandated to look into all issues relating
to waivers, concessions and grants with a view to determining full government
revenues in relation to this policy.The mover of the motion, Senator Adebayo
Ibrahim (Kwara South), said the flagrant abuse of the waiver scheme had
severely eroded the federal government’s local rice production policy by
allowing importation of huge quantities of the commodity in excess of approved
quota.According to him, a recent Senate interaction with CBN revealed how
importers overshot their quotas and consequently owe the federal government
import duties running into billions of naira.He further argued that instead of
importers paying 70 per cent duties and levies to the federal government, they
were granted waivers and thereby denied Nigeria legitimate revenue.
He also said instead of punishing defaulting importers, the
outgone federal government under Goodluck Jonathan rewarded them with fresh
waivers to import more in the twilight of the administration.Ibrahim disclosed
that the federal government loses as much as N71 billion on duty waivers to
importers of rice, palm oil, energy equipment, steel and vegetable oil
annually, recalling how the federal government gave waivers to 10 rice and palm
oil importers amounting to N150 billion in 2011.He regretted that the Nigeria
Customs Service (NCS) which ought to enforce compliance with the duty policy at
the borders has failed to live up to its responsibility.While supporting the
motion, Senator Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto North), said findings on THE waivers had
shown that N585 billion in waivers were granted by the federal government
between 2011 and 2014.Gobir argued that if this sum was shared among the 36
states of the federation, each of the three senatorial districts in a state
would get N5.3 billion which he said was enough to provide 5,000 jobs in
various states.
He called for a complete stop of the waiver scheme.Also
speaking, Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) said recent findings showed that over
N400 billion had been granted as waivers in recent times.He compared the issue
of waivers to plea bargain, which he said was a good idea when conceived but
has now been abused, alleging that the customs service had been conniving with
importers to evade import duties.While advocating their removal, Senator
Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South), said waivers on rice, cement, palm oil, among
others, stated that local content production should be enhanced while the
Nigerian economy is protected like that of Malaysia
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/senate-asks-fg-to-stop-waivers-on-rice-importation/216157/
N23.6bn
Excess Levy: Customs Seals Importers’ Warehouses
Jul 31st, 2015
The Nigeria Customs
Service (NCS), has sealed warehouses of defaulting rice importers over non-payment of N23.6 billion excess importation levy.The sealed companies are; OLAM, Stallion, Masco Agro, Ebony Agro and Conti Agro (Milan).The NCS Public Relations Officer, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, made the disclosure in an interview with The Tide source in Abuja recently.He said “the four rice importers are indebted to the Federal Government to the tune of N23.6 billion.
“This drastic action was taken to compel them to make payment.’’Adeniyi said series of advertisements had been made in newspapers to make them pay for their excess importation.He added that an ultimatum was also given to them to pay the outstanding charges, which they did not comply with.“Today, we are no longer issuing ultimatum. We are ready to walk the talk with decisive action to recover outstanding duty due to the federal government of Nigeria.“That is why we have sealed their premises to prevent them from making importation into Nigeria.
“We have blocked them from our system so that they will not be able to make declaration and we will not allow them to discharge their imports in any of our ports.“All these will be done preparatory to instituting full legal proceedings to compel them to pay what they owe Nigeria when the courts are back from recess.
’’The customs public relations officer said the service was
going to work with other agencies of government to achieve this, saying that
“an offence against one is an offence against all.’’He appealed to genuine
importers not to exercise any fear as this was not designed to witch-hunt
anyone.Adeniyi said that the exercise was only about enforcing payments that
were legitimately due to the Federal Government.These importers were
beneficiaries of rice import quota policy that specified a preferential duty
rate of 10 per cent and levy of 20 per cent on their imports.
http://www.thetidenewsonline.com/2015/07/31/n23-6bn-excess-levy-customs-seals-importers-warehouses/
How Government Can Boost
Agriculture’
31 Jul 2015
Agriculture
Obinna Chima
Experts have stressed that increased investment in schemes aimed at subsidising agricultural production is highly required to boost agricultural production in the country.While commenting specifically on rice production, analysts at CSL Stockbrokers Limited, in a report also noted the need for greater commitment on the part of the government to backward integration polices.As part of a new National Rice Intervention Framework, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Tuesday that rice growers would now be able to access loans at a maximum interest rate of nine per cent. The loans will be accessed under the micro, small, and medium enterprises scheme from the CBN through commercial banks. Rice millers under the commercial agricultural credit scheme will also access loans to buy unsold stock from farmers.
The CBN had on 23 June restricted importers of 40 physical
items, which included rice, from accessing US$ from the interbank market and
bureaux de change. The CBN cited Nigeria’s huge and rising annual rice import
bill as part of the reasons for the inclusion of rice on the restricted list.
Data from the CBN showed that from January 2012 to May 2015, the country spent
over $2.4 billion (N482 billion) on rice importation to the disadvantage of
domestic rice growers and integrated rice millers.But the CSL report pointed
out: “It is surprising that despite Nigeria’s rich farmland, the country
remains a net importer of rice and other crops. We believe that increased
investment in schemes aimed at subsidising agricultural production and greater
commitment on the part of the government to backward integration polices can
help boost the agricultural sector.”Since 2011 the government has been making
substantial efforts to encourage the domestic cultivation of rice and to
completely eliminate imports using incentives such as subsidised loans, cheap
fertiliser, free farm land, and, tax rebates. The government’s efforts to boost
domestic production have, however, been curtailed by smuggled imports, which
were selling for between 25-40 per cent lower than locally-produced rice last
year.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/-how-government-can-boost-agriculture-/216120/
Scientists Develop New Eco-Friendly Rice Variety
IN RSS4 / BY STEVEN GOODSTEIN / ON JULY 31,
2015 AT 12:08 AM /
A big science discovery is recently obtained,
as scientists have excelled wheat and build a genetically adapted diversity
that in fact unleashes constantly less methane straight into the environmental
surroundings.The new Eco-friendly advance kind is specified in an study. The
discoveries associated with this astounding venture have already been found in
the official notebook Nature therefore even that the wheat class exhibits valid
likely to use on the fight global warming.Rice fields are among the biggest
forms of methane around the market, particularly because augment are so needed
for the success of millions of people. Due in to ever better population, wheat
plants happen to gaining variety great over the last few decade, primarily
growing the methane publication with them.
The group of world experts which has provide
you with this amazing wide variety is enacting arena assessments installed for
four years…
http://www.vocalrepublic.com/scientists-develop-new-eco-friendly-rice-variety/33948/
The rice industry should target the animal feeds industry
Dear Editor,
Like the myriad of concerned Guyanese, I have
been following the vicissitudes of the rice sector, and like most, if not all,
look forward to the early resolution of the circumscribing factors. While the
National Rice Industry Conference was instructive, and at least in a cursory
manner addressed the crop’s sustainable development, I am of the view that a
key factor is being overlooked, viz, the diversification of production to
target the needs of the animal feed industry.
The latter, to my mind, illogically spends a
lot of foreign exchange on the importation of corn. Now, from a nutritional
viewpoint, corn like rice is basically a carbohydrate concentrate. The only
advantage of yellow corn over rice is its pro-vitamin A content which is
necessary for the yellowing of the egg yolk; this can be cheaply substituted
for anyway.
Against this background, it seems prudent that
the rice industry czars in collaboration with the animal feed manufacturers
determine an acreage for the cultivation of short grain varieties (or other
IRRI recently developed varieties), which are generally higher yielding than
the long grain varieties currently cultivated for human consumption. As an
animal feed, the amount of milling necessary will be minimal as only the
fibrous husk will need to be removed; there will be absolutely no need for
polishing. The resultant savings in processing will therefore further redound
to the benefit of the rice millers, who may then share the bonanza with the
farmers.
The industry can then concentrate on satisfying
a diversified local market for grain for human consumption, for animal feeds,
and for blended flours ร la Banks DIH; Caricom may then become the major
external market.
Yours faithfully,
V O M McPherson
Animal Production Scientist
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2015/opinion/letters/07/31/the-rice-industry-should-target-the-animal-feeds-industry/
CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures
|
Mississippi Holds Farm Bureau Summer Rice Grower Meeting and Field
Day
Ward talks trade to a packed house in
Mississippi
STONEVILLE, MS -- The Mississippi Farm Bureau
Federation Summer Rice Grower Policy Meeting was held yesterday, and USA Rice
President & CEO Betsy Ward and Government Affairs Vice President Ben Mosley
were featured speakers. Ward spoke about the extensive promotion programs USA
Rice conducts in 30 global markets and about exciting developments in new and
developing markets around the world."Exports are vital for our industry
which is why we are working so hard to secure access in Iraq, protect our
Mexican market, and to open the Cuban and Chinese markets in viable ways,"
she told the crowd.
Mosley provided updates on Congressional
outreach being conducted by USA Rice. "We are continuously meeting with
our friends in Congress and also educating new Members to ensure our rice
priorities are well understood," he said.Mosely also reminded attendees
about 2014 Farm Bill provisions that USA Rice aggressively advocated for such
as Price Loss Coverage and the new crop insurance products, Supplemental
Coverage Option, and Margin Protection."We're working closely with the
U.S. Department of Agriculture and their Farm Service Agency and Risk
Management Agency to ensure these programs work to the best benefit of rice
farmers."
USA Rice staff also attended the Mississippi
Rice Promotion Board meeting and the Mississippi Rice Field Day at the
conclusion of the Farm Bureau Grower Meeting.
Contact:
Chuck Wilson (870) 673-7541 July 31, 2015 3:33 pm
Crop engineering: Can green rice help save the
planet?
Scientists develop the new SUSIBA2 strain which
gives higher yields and results in less methane
ethane is the most important greenhouse gas
after carbon dioxide and a significant contributor to global warming. And rice
paddies are the largest single source of methane linked to human activity.So a
report in the journal Nature of a new “high-starch, low-methane” rice, which
gives higher yields than existing varieties while generating less methane,
could provide an opportunity for more sustainable rice cultivation.FirstFT is
our new essential daily email briefing of the best stories from across the webA
team of Chinese and Swedish scientists developed the new SUSIBA2 strain by
transferring a single regulatory gene from barley to rice.
The result is a plant that adds more starch
above ground to its grains and stems, while incorporating less in its roots.Rice
paddies are powerful sources of methane because of the methanogenic bacteria
that live among the plant roots. To simplify the complex biochemistry, the new
genetically modified variety provides less food for these soil microbes,
particularly as the roots decay after harvest, so they generate less methane.Field
trials of SUSIBA2 over three years in China confirm a reduction in methane,
which the researchers measured by covering the paddies with transparent
gas-collection chambers.
The genetically modified plants packed more
starch into their grains (86.9 per cent by weight) than conventional controls
(76.7 per cent).Commenting on the study, Paul Bodelier, a microbial ecologist
at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology, gives SUSIBA2 a warm welcome while
warning that more research will be needed to assess the longer-term effects of
rebalancing starch between rice roots, stems and grains. The researchers, he
says, “have achieved the feat of making high-starch rice available, and this
will spur scientists worldwide to conduct experiments to verify whether this
variety will enable more sustainable cultivation of the crop that feeds half
the human population
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/677caa5e-3565-11e5-b05b-b01debd57852.html
The rice industry should target the animal feeds industry
Dear Editor,
Like the myriad of concerned Guyanese, I have
been following the vicissitudes of the rice sector, and like most, if not all,
look forward to the early resolution of the circumscribing factors. While the
National Rice Industry Conference was instructive, and at least in a cursory
manner addressed the crop’s sustainable development, I am of the view that a
key factor is being overlooked, viz, the diversification of production to
target the needs of the animal feed industry.
The latter, to my mind, illogically spends a
lot of foreign exchange on the importation of corn. Now, from a nutritional
viewpoint, corn like rice is basically a carbohydrate concentrate. The only
advantage of yellow corn over rice is its pro-vitamin A content which is
necessary for the yellowing of the egg yolk; this can be cheaply substituted
for anyway.
Against this background, it seems prudent that
the rice industry czars in collaboration with the animal feed manufacturers
determine an acreage for the cultivation of short grain varieties (or other
IRRI recently developed varieties), which are generally higher yielding than
the long grain varieties currently cultivated for human consumption. As an
animal feed, the amount of milling necessary will be minimal as only the
fibrous husk will need to be removed; there will be absolutely no need for
polishing. The resultant savings in processing will therefore further redound
to the benefit of the rice millers, who may then share the bonanza with the
farmers.
The industry can then concentrate on satisfying
a diversified local market for grain for human consumption, for animal feeds,
and for blended flours ร la Banks DIH; Caricom may then become the major
external market.
Yours faithfully,
V O M McPherson
Animal Production Scientist
By
Staff Writer
July 31, 2015
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2015/opinion/letters/07/31/the-rice-industry-should-target-the-animal-feeds-industry/
Wanted: Proposals for sustainable
rice production
July 31, 2015 11:28 pm
The Philippines and the United
Kingdom have joined forces to support research projects that will boost
resilience and sustainability of rice production in Southeast Asia.In a
statement, the UK Embassy on Friday said “food security is one of the greatest
global challenges we currently face.”To address this, the UK collaborated with
four countries in Asia–China, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.“In a
country where rice is a main part of almost every meal, enhancing rice
production is a major priority.
The headlines report that El Niรฑo
may be the most intense the country has experienced in recent years. Studies
have shown that climate change will have a devastating effect on food security
if it is not addressed now,” British Ambassador Asif Ahmad said.“Unli
[unlimited] rice may no longer be a promo offer. This project will help farmer
productivity and enhance trading in rice, when necessary. We encourage all
researchers who are working toward the adequate supply of this staple food to
submit their applications to the Newton Fund,” he added.The British Embassy in
Manila has been calling for proposals on collaborative inter-disciplinary
research that will focus on long-term sustainable production of rice, as well
as utilizing combined strengths of academic research groups within China, the
Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and the UK.This initiative is supported by the
UK Government’s Newton Fund, which helps build science and innovation
partnerships with key emerging economies.
The UK Biotechnology and
Biological Sciences Research Council (UK BBSRC) and the UK Natural Environment
Research Council, in collaboration with Philippine Partners Department of
Science and Technology Philippine Council for Agriculture Aquatic and Natural
Resources Research & Development (DOST-PCAARD) and the Department of
Agriculture Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) are calling for
submissions of research proposals that will address the following challenges in
the Philippine context: greater resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses;
improved resource use efficiency (including Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Water);
improved quality of rice (including nutritional enhancement and grain quality);
utilization of rice by-products; novel research tool and technology development
supporting the above areas (including systems biology, bioinformatics,
screening and characterization of germplasm for gene and trait discovery).
These priority areas in
sustainable rice research have been agreed though a regional workshop in
Bangkok in April, which brought together relevant funding agencies, key
research organizations and leading academics from China, the Philippines,
Thailand, Vietnam and the UK.The proposed projects should be up to a maximum
duration of three years and will require
a UK Principal Investigator as well as a Philippine Principal Investigator with the options of additional Principal Investigators from other partner countries.The deadline for submission of applications is on August 13, 2015.For more information on this opportunity, the embassy invites researchers to visit the UK BBSRC website at
a UK Principal Investigator as well as a Philippine Principal Investigator with the options of additional Principal Investigators from other partner countries.The deadline for submission of applications is on August 13, 2015.For more information on this opportunity, the embassy invites researchers to visit the UK BBSRC website at
http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/funding/opportunities/2015/newton-fund-joint-call-in-rice-research.
Breaking news and
analysis from the world of science policy
GOLDEN RICE HUMANITARIAN BOARD
Worth its weight in gold? Golden
rice (right) protects against vitamin A deficiency in children.
Golden rice
paper retracted after legal bid fails
By
31 July 2015 3:00 pm
Vitamin A deficiency is a major health problem in the developing
world, causing blindness and impairing the immune system, particularly in
children. Golden rice was first developed in the 1990s as a way to supplement
diets lacking in vitamin A. Researchers added genes to allow rice to make
beta-carotene, a precursor molecule for vitamin A synthesis. In 2008, Guangwen
Tang of Tufts University organized a nutritional trial of golden rice. Working
with colleagues in China, the researchers gave golden rice, spinach, or a
supplement to 68 children aged 6 to 8 in Hunan province.
The findings, published in 2012, showed that the beta-carotene
in golden rice was just as effective at alleviating vitamin A deficiency in
children. A single serving of 100 to 150 grams of golden rice could provide
about 60% of the daily requirement of vitamin A. The paper is one of several cited by IRRI, the
nonprofit rice research institute in the Philippines, assupport for
the potential of golden rice.Shortly after the paper was published, Greenpeace
claimed that the children had been used as “guinea pigs.” Media outrage in
China exploded, and Tufts began inquiries by internal and external panels.
In September 2013, the
panels reported multiple irregularities; for example, several consent forms had
been received after the trial began. (The panels also concluded that the study
had been safe and its conclusions valid.) The university announced it
would bar Tang from working with human subjects for 2 years.Last year, Tang asked the
Massachusetts Superior Court to stop the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition from
retracting the article, arguing it would constitute defamation. Judge Kenneth
Salinger denied the petition on 17 July and the journal proceeded to retract the
study, citing insufficient evidence for approval by an ethics committee in
China and consent forms from all participants.
Tang did not reply to a request for comment, but Adrian Dubock,
executive secretary of the Golden Rice Humanitarian Board in Switzerland disputes that
there were any ethical irregularities and argues that the retraction is not
warranted. He says it’s too soon to assess the impact of the retraction on
political support for golden rice. “This is a low point, but I think it’s
recoverable.” Tang and her co-authors could resubmit the paper elsewhere, and
Dubock says this option had been discussed earlier. “I think they will,” he
says.
Posted in Asia/Pacific, People & Events
http://news.sciencemag.org/asiapacific/2015/07/golden-rice-paper-retracted-after-legal-bid-fails
N. Korean rice yields down 12%: UN FAO
Food and Agriculture Organization
says production of rice, maize and other crops hit by drought
July 31st, 2015
Rice yields in North Korea will be approximately 12 percent
lower this year than in 2014, according to a new report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).The FAO
estimated North Korea rice production this year would fall to 2.2 million tons.The
UN organization attributed the low rainfall, which eased in July, to the El
Niรฑo ocean current which had similar effects in other countries around Asia.“The
dry spell from mid-April to early July over the central and southern ‘food
basket’ provinces of the country, coupled with extreme low irrigation water
availability, have resulted in area planted reductions of the 2015 staple rice
crop and adversely affected yield potential of early-planted crops, including
also maize and soybeans,” the report reads.
The FAO added that the increasing rainfall in July came too late
to undo the damage done by the drought.Although the FAO has little data to work
with, they estimated maize yields would decrease by 15 percent compared to the
previous year. However, the DPRK has enjoyed relatively good production of
maize in recent years, indicating this year’s production might not be
disastrously low.The report notes damage to maize crops may have been offset
this year by “the Government’s efforts to provide supplementary irrigation
through mass mobilization of people.”The UN’s World Food Program (WFP) had
higher estimates for the drought’s effect on DPRK rice production.
“The 18 month drought, which included one of the lowest
rainfalls on record for the month of May, will likely affect agricultural
production and food security. Close to 30 percent of paddy cultivation in some
areas has been impacted by the drought,” Damian Kean, Asia press officer for
the WFP told NK News.The World Food Programme received
extra aid from numerous donor countries this year, including Russia, which
upped its donations to $4 million.While many aid agencies agree the drought
appeared more severe in 2015, the extent of its effects on yields may be
difficult to estimate until harvest time.“There is a lot of time until the
harvesting season so we should not take FAO’s report to be completely accurate.
We will not be able to confirm the production of maize and rice because maize
is harvested in mid-August and rice is harvested in mid-September,” Kwon
Tae-jin at the GS & J Institute told NK News.On July 21, DPRK state media
announced coming rain fall in North Korea. The Korean Central News Agency
article predicted “heavy rainfall” in the last week of July.
Featured Image: Harvest Workers in a North Korean Rice Field by Ray
Cunningham on 2014-09-15 09:07:38
Nigeria: State, Others to Import 760,000 Tonnes of Thai Rice Sept
By Daniel Adugbo With Agency Report
The government of Thailand has struck preliminary deals to
export a total of 760,000 tonnes from its huge stockpiles to several countries
in Africa.The Thai Rice Exporters Association said Wednesday the rice will be
supplied to Nigeria, Mozambique, and South Africa.This is coming despite the
ban placed on importers of rice, and other items from the official foreign
exchange market by the Central Bank of Nigeria.Reuters quoted Chukiat Opaswong,
honorary president of the association, in a phone interview from Johannesburg,
saying most of the rice going to Africa is parboiled and shipments will start
in September.The rice would be sold at around $430 a tonne netting the
government more than $325 million.
Nigeria is one of the major importers of the commodity from
Thailand importing about one million tonnes of rice valued at about $700
million every year.Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Mr. Godwin Emefiele had on
Tuesday bemoaned the high bill on rice importation which had resulted in huge
unsold stock of rice cultivated by indigenous farmers as well as low operating
capacities of the many integrated rice mills in the country.A research by
Bloomberg revealed that Thailand Government currently holds around 17.8 milliom
tons in stock piles and was keen on selling 10 million tons of stockpiled rice
in 2015 and around seven million in 2016 through tenders.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201507310454.html
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