Rice basmati extends losses on fall in demand
New Delhi, Feb
15 (PTI) Rice basmati prices drifted further lower by up to Rs 400 per quintal
at the wholesale grains market today on considerable fall in demand against
adequate stocks position.
New Delhi, Feb 15 (PTI) Rice basmati prices drifted further lower
by up to Rs 400 per quintal at the wholesale grains market today on
considerable fall in demand against adequate stocks position.However, other
grains held steady in thin trade.Traders said fall in demand against ample
stocks position along with weak exports enquiries mainly kept rice basmati
prices down.
In the national capital, rice basmati Pusa-1121 and rice basmati
common variety dropped by Rs 400 and Rs 200 to Rs 5,600-7,000 and Rs
7,100-7,300 per quintal respectively.
Following are today’s quotations (in Rs per quintal): Wheat MP (desi)
Rs 2,730-3,030, Wheat dara (for mills) Rs 1,970-1,980, Chakki atta (delivery)
Rs 1,980-2,010, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) Rs 285, Shakti Bhog (10 kg) Rs 285,
Roller flour mill Rs 1,070-1,080 (50 kg), Maida Rs 1,160-1,170
(50 kg)and Sooji Rs 1,250-1,260 (50 kg).
Basmati rice (Lal Quila) Rs 10,700, Shri Lal Mahal Rs 11,300,
Super Basmati Rice Rs 9,700, Basmati common new Rs 7,100-7,300, Rice Pusa
(1121) Rs 5,600-7,000, Permal raw Rs 2,200-2,250, Permal wand Rs 2,300-2,400,
Sela Rs 3,000-3,100 and Rice IR-8 Rs 2,000-2,025, Bajra Rs 1,460-1,470, Jowar
yellow Rs 1750-1800, white Rs 3,500-3,700, Maize Rs 1,610-1,620, Barley Rs
1,800-1,820.
This is published unedited from the P
http://www.india.com/news/agencies/rice-basmati-extends-losses-on-fall-in-demand-1841838/
USA
Rice Members to State Department: "Keep Pressure on Middle
East"
WASHINGTON, DC -- Yesterday, USA Rice members met
key Iraq policymakers at the State Department to get an update on the Iraqi
rice tendering process under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the
U.S. and Iraq. Members reminded officials of the priority the industry
places on Iraq as a future market.
The group was hosted by Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq Joseph Pennington, who provided details on the current political and economic situation in Iraq, and also briefed members on the status of current negotiations, and prospects for moving forward on export sales of U.S. rice.
The most recent tender was pulled and never filled, but State Department officials are hopeful it will be reissued soon as negotiations are ongoing on price and payment terms. The last time U.S. rice was sold in Iraq was early 2016 when Iraq purchased 90,000 MT.
"Iraq is a crucially important market for us," said
USA Rice Chairman Brian King who attended the meeting. "Our members
were able to impress upon Secretary Pennington and his team how important it is
to have a fair, open, and transparent tendering system in Iraq so that the U.S.
rice industry can compete and be successful in Iraq. We greatly
appreciate the strong support of the State Department in Washington, as well as
Ambassador Douglas Silliman in Baghdad, in our continued efforts to press the
case with Iraq for a successful tender that leads to sales of U.S.
rice." Also participating in the meeting was Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Iran Christopher Backemeyer, who said that while the outlook for
Iran was less than optimistic, there appears to be interest in U.S. rice from
private traders and that, with future improvements in the political
environment, the potential for trade is there.
The group was hosted by Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq Joseph Pennington, who provided details on the current political and economic situation in Iraq, and also briefed members on the status of current negotiations, and prospects for moving forward on export sales of U.S. rice.
The most recent tender was pulled and never filled, but State Department officials are hopeful it will be reissued soon as negotiations are ongoing on price and payment terms. The last time U.S. rice was sold in Iraq was early 2016 when Iraq purchased 90,000 MT.
"Iraq is a crucially important market for us," said
USA Rice Chairman Brian King who attended the meeting. "Our members
were able to impress upon Secretary Pennington and his team how important it is
to have a fair, open, and transparent tendering system in Iraq so that the U.S.
rice industry can compete and be successful in Iraq. We greatly
appreciate the strong support of the State Department in Washington, as well as
Ambassador Douglas Silliman in Baghdad, in our continued efforts to press the
case with Iraq for a successful tender that leads to sales of U.S.
rice." Also participating in the meeting was Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Iran Christopher Backemeyer, who said that while the outlook for
Iran was less than optimistic, there appears to be interest in U.S. rice from
private traders and that, with future improvements in the political
environment, the potential for trade is there.
Stress-resistant Green Super Rice developed at IRRI
SCIENCE CITY OF MUÑOZ, Nueva
Ecija—Researchers at the International Rice Research Institute have developed a
rice variety found resistant to drought, salinity, alkalinity, iron toxicity
and other multiple stresses.Rc480, also known as GSR of Green Super Rice, was
one of 25 new varieties approved recently by the National Seed Industry
Council.
The other 24 were developed by
the Philippine Rice Research Institute or PhilRice, University of the
Philippines Los Baños, Philippine-Sino Center for Center for Agricultural
Technology or PhilSCAT, Syngenta, and LongPing Philippines.
Dr. Oliver Manangkil, NSIC
coordinator and head of the Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Division of
PhilRice, said GSR stands out among these varieties for its unique qualities.
He said this variety can grow under saline and drought-prone environments, and
has high and stable yields despite lesser input requirements.
The super rice, Manangkil said, offers
a maximum yield of 4.4 tons per hectare, matures in 107 days after sowing or
DAS, and has intermediate resistance to pests, such as yellow stem borer and
brown plant-hoppers.
“The Super Rice is super in every
sense of the word. It is super-resistant to all types of threats,” he stressed.
Manangkil added that of the 25
varieties, six are bred by PhilRice: Rc440 (Tubigan 39), NSIC Rc438
(Tubigan 38), and hybrid Rc446H (Mestiso 73) for irrigated lowlands, Rc472
(Sahod Ulan 22) for rainfed lowlands, and Rc462 (Salinas 21) and
Rc470 (Salinas 25) for saline environments
http://www.thestandard.com.ph/sunday-lgu-section-pdf/luzon/229432/stress-resistant-green-super-rice-developed-at-irri.html
NFA urged to extend arrival period for rice imports
FEBRUARY
15, 2017
Farmers’ cooperatives and private
companies are asking the National Food Authority (NFA) for a one-month
extension of the arrival period for rice imported under the so-called minimum
access volume (MAV).According to NFA Spokesman Marietta J. Ablaza,
farmers’ cooperatives and firms need more time to bring in rice imported under
the MAV scheme of the World Trade Organization.
“The import permits were
distributed only last December and with holidays, farmers’ cooperatives and
firms had very limited time to prepare the necessary paperwork,” Ablaza said.
She said NFA Administrator Jason
Laureano Y. Aquino has yet to approve the request of the importers.Last
December the NFA allowed 210 farmers’ organizations and private firms to import
692,340 metric tons (MT) of rice, 110,160 MT less than the country’s annual MAV
of 802,500 MT.
The NFA list available on its web
site also showed that 194 qualified rice traders, including AgriNurture Inc.
and Pilmico Foods Corp., will import 642,340 MT of rice under the country
specific quota (CSQ). Of the total rice to be imported under the CSQ, 293,100
MT of rice will be bought from Thailand
and Vietnam.
and Vietnam.
Meanwhile, 16 qualified
applicants will import a total of 50,000 MT of rice under the “omnibus origin”
category, according to the NFA list.Under NFA guidelines, rice imports under
the MAV must arrive in the Philippines not later than February 28. The NFA
administrator may also approve any extension of the arrival period.
As of February 10, only 108
qualified traders have used their respective import permits for 290,946.90 MT
of imported rice, according to NFA data available on its web site.
Under the importation guidelines
released by the NFA, rice traders are allowed to source from countries with
specific quota and from omnibus origin or from any country.
Rice traders and farmers’ groups
can import 293,100 MT of rice from Thailand and Vietnam. They can also import
50,000 MT of rice from China, India and Pakistan; 15,000 MT from Australia; and
4,000 MT from El Salvador. An additional volume of 50,000 MT is allowed to be
imported from any country.
The NFA said it allows each
organization or firm to import 20,000 MT.
Currently, the government allows
rice imports within the MAV scheme to enter the country at a lower tariff of 35
percent. Imports in excess of the MAV are slapped a higher tariff of 50 percent
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/nfa-urged-to-extend-arrival-period-for-rice-imports/
Rice farmers relate experiences with carbon credits
Jim and Sam Whitaker, right and center, talked with Ron Chastain,
left, staff aide to Sen. John Boozman, at the Arkansas Rice Annual Meeting.
Can carbon credits help rice farmers navigate the current
period of low prices? Three growers are exploring the potential. 
They say they haven’t received
any checks in the mail yet, but three Arkansas rice farmers experimenting with carbon credits say
they’ve seen enough positive benefits to convince them to continue their
pursuits.
Mark Isbell, Jim Whitaker and
Mike Sullivan participated in a panel discussion on the carbon credit market
during the Arkansas Rice Annual Meeting held by the Arkansas Rice Council and
Arkansas Rice Farmers in Stuttgart.
All three acknowledge rice
farmers face a number of challenges, not the least of which are the low prices
being offered for their crop. They hope carbon credits will
help their bottom lines at some point, but until then they’re learning about
practices that are providing other benefits for their farms.
To watch video of the panel
members, visit:
“I don’t know when prices will be better,”
said Isbell, a producer who lives in North Little Rock and farms in Lonoke
County. “Whether prices are good or whether prices are bad, we have to look for
every opportunity out there to become more efficient and find new ways to make
a profit.
“Whether or not carbon credits are
that, we don’t know yet,” he said. “But what I think those of us on this panel
have come to see is that by exploring these it opens up a lot of other
opportunities that we believe will be beneficial to the rice industry as a
whole.”
Carbon markets expanding
No matter what readers may think
about climate change, “the truth of the matter is carbon markets are expanding
globally,” said Isbell. “The global marketplace is putting a price on what
emissions are.
“As an industry, we can engage in
that in one of two ways: We can sit back and potentially be regulated or forced
to do things we don’t want to do, or we can try to shape that narrative in a
way that lets us potentially profit from that. It may be some time – we haven’t
seen any checks in the mail, but we’ve learned a lot and gained a lot of
ancillary benefits.”
What are carbon credits? Isbell said they are a way of
assigning a price tag to the greenhouse gas emissions that are produced by
energy suppliers, industry and others, including agriculture, in the course of
their daily activities.
“Those greenhouse gases that are
produced, obviously, are a significant issue to some in the world,” said
Isbell. “The carbon market emerged as a way to price what that emission is, and
so those organizations can either find a way to diminish their emissions or
they can find someone else who can diminish or sequester their emissions, and
they can pay them to do that.”
Some countries already require
industries, such as power plants, to participate in a compliance market; i.e.,
they either have to reduce emissions or find someone who can produce less than
their amount.
$50 billion a year
Canada currently is paying $10
per ton and that market will continue to grow until it reaches $50 per ton in
2022. California also has a compliance market in which power plants and others
must go into the marketplace and find credits so they can offset their
emissions. Globally, the carbon market was valued at $50 billion in 2016.
“The good news is that
agriculture is not being asked to produce less to meet those compliance or
regulatory markets,” said Isbell. “We’re being looked at as a possible solution
because we all know that farmers have always been conservationists; are those
who have found ways to do things more efficiently; and care more about the
ground where we grow our crops than anyone else.”
The drive to be more
conservation-minded or sustainable has produced tangible benefits for Whitaker,
who operates Trinity Farms in partnership with his brother, Sam, in McGehee in
southeast Arkansas.
Working with the University of
Arkansas Extension Service and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service,
Whitaker has reduced the amount of water used in their rice crop by about 50
percent.
“It’s been a five-year journey to
get to this point,” said Whitaker. “Like Mark said we haven’t seen a check, but
we got a nice plaque out of the deal so far.”
50 percent savings
Whitaker worked with Merle
Anders, a now-retired University of Arkansas agronomist, on watering
techniques, land leveling and fertilizer utilization to improve the efficiency
– and sustainability –
of his farming operation.
“Our two-year data shows we can
get by with somewhere between 10 and 15 inches of irrigation water a year,
which is very, very low,” he noted. “You’re also using less fertilizer. The
California compliance market encourages you to use under 150 units of total N
for rice. We found we can grow good rice crops with less fertilizer.
“Using 10 to 15 inches less water
saves a lot of money and makes us more sustainable.”
One of the keys to participating
in the carbon market as a rice farmer is the practice of alternate wetting and drying or AWD.
“You put on your initial flood
at, let’s just say, 4 inches; hold that water for probably 10 to 12 days to let
your nitrogen stabilize; and then let it naturally evaporate,” says Whitaker.
“I grow zero-grade rice on heavy clay soils in southeast Arkansas so, if I have
a 4-inch flood and with a typical evaporation rate of .25 inch a day, I have 16
days of available water in my field.”
Allowing the field to dry down to
what Whitaker and others call a “muddy soil,” that is, it’s dry enough to walk
on and leave a shallow footprint, is important because that’s when the rice
field stops emitting methane gas.
Microbial activity stops
“Flooded environments, whether
they’re swamps or anything flooded, have these microbials in the water that
emit methane gas,” he said. “As we dry the soil, that microbial community goes
dormant, and plants release less methane gas.
“So we’re stretching out our
irrigation, and, what I have found is that over time it becomes hard to achieve
a dry-down. I don’t know how it is in central Arkansas, but I know in South
Arkansas the last two years every two weeks we’re getting 1- to 2- to 10-inch
rain events so our fields are continuously reflooding themselves. That’s how
we’re getting by with so much less water.”
Sullivan, who farms with his son,
Ryan, near Burdette in northeast Arkansas, said he believes he has also
benefitted from working with researchers with the University of Arkansas and
the USDA Agricultural Research Service at nearby Arkansas State University.
“We’ve pretty well turned over
1,500 to 2,000 acres of our rice farming operation for research to Dr. Michele
Reba and Dr. Joe Massey at the ARS Water Resources Research Unit at Arkansas State,”
he said. “They’re taking small-scale research to a whole-farm approach. Dr.
Reba likes to refer to Ryan and I as her guinea pigs.
“We’re happy to cooperate because
I think the key to what we’re trying to do is to be proactive instead of
reactive,” he said. I went to the (Arkansas Soil and Water) Resource Conference
in Jonesboro, and they spent a whole day talking about how water is a finite
resource, and we’ve got to figure out a way to do things differently than we
have in the past.”
Conservation-minded
Sullivan said his son, Ryan, is
“a conservation-minded young man, like many of those in his generation,” and
that will become increasingly important in the years ahead.
“If we’re not in the forefront of
this, cooperating with the researchers and helping them, we’re going to have
problems,” he noted. “I hate to think of Ryan having to deal with regulators
telling him he has 20 inches of water, and he has to figure out a way to make
it work.”
The Sullivans have also worked
with alternate wetting and drying on their farm. “It’s almost become
comical with us because for years we told our employees they had to make sure
they kept a flood on our rice fields. So you can imagine the reaction when you
tell them not to turn on the irrigation pump for 10 days.
http://www.deltafarmpress.com/rice/rice-farmers-relate-experiences-carbon-credits-sustainability
Sun-smart rice
varieties more productive
By FoodProcessing Staff
Thursday, 16 February, 2017
Australian scientists have improved
rice productivity by selecting rice varieties that are better at capturing
sunlight to produce grains, instead of reflecting it as heat.
Rice is the most important crop for
global food security. It is currently a staple source of food for four billion
people worldwide, and this number is increasing rapidly, making the improvement
of rice yields an urgent focus for plant scientists.
In a study published in Plant Physiology, a team of scientists focused on rice’s
natural diversity by using traditional breeding techniques to select cultivated
varieties — or cultivars — that are better at converting sunlight into food.
“We studied hundreds of plants from
five rice cultivars and found that there is variation between these varieties
in relation to the quantity of light they use for growth or dissipate as heat.
Some of them are capable of converting more sunlight into chemical energy,
producing greater leaf area over time,” said lead researcher Dr Katherine
Meacham, from the ARC
Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis.
When leaves intercept sunlight,
this sunlight is either absorbed by the leaf and converted via the process of
photosynthesis into the plants own components (leaves, grains, roots, etc);
dissipated as heat as a strategy to protect the proteins of the plant from sun
damage (photoprotection); or re-emitted as fluorescent light. In this study,
the researchers measured fluorescence to infer the quantity of energy that is
either converted into food or dissipated as heat.
“Recently, scientists in the US
found that they can produce transgenic plants that are better at catching
sunlight without getting sun damage. Our work shows that this is also
achievable by taking advantage of the natural variation of rice plants,” said
Professor Robert Furbank, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational
Photosynthesis and one of the authors of the study.
“We found that there is room for
improvement in some cultivars that can result in more photosynthesis, without
risking the plant’s protection strategies against sunlight damage,” said Dr
Meacham.Traditional breeding for photosynthetic traits has not been a common
strategy in any major cereal crop, in part due to the difficulty in measuring
photosynthesis in thousands of plants. However, rapid screening tools are now
available to study the interaction between the genes and the way they interact
with the environment.
http://www.foodprocessing.com.au/content/ingredients/news/sun-smart-rice-varieties-more-productive-1290850963
Oroville Dam: Evacuation order disrupts farming in affected area
Share3
Issue Date: February 15, 2017
By Kevin Hecteman, Christine Souza and Ching Lee
Water
flows over the emergency spillway at Oroville Dam. A few hours after this photo
was taken, officials ordered evacuations below the dam because of concerns the
spillway might collapse. Photo/Kelly Grow, DWR
Evacuation of a large swath of land
downstream from Oroville Dam during the weekend caused logistical headaches for
farmers, ranchers and agricultural businesses within the affected area, while
Department of Water Resources crews worked to head off a feared failure of the
emergency spillway at the dam.
Officials ordered evacuation of
low-lying areas near the Feather River on Sunday, after water in the reservoir
eroded the emergency spillway. The evacuation order was lifted Tuesday.
Butte County Supervisor Bill
Connelly said DWR officials feared a collapse of the spillway, "which
would send a tidal wave down the mountain, through the diversion pool, over the
diversion dam and to town."
Jamie Johansson, California Farm
Bureau Federation first vice president who grows olives near Oroville, said
local officials acted quickly.
"You kind of see the power of
the water behind the dam should there be a catastrophic failure as they were
describing it (Sunday) around 5 o'clock," he said. "I can't tell you
how important local officials become."
Johansson said there was enough
concern among the county sheriff and supervisors that they enacted the county
emergency contingency plan, which included mobile text alerts.
Colleen Cecil, executive director
of the Butte County Farm Bureau, said flooding was nothing out of the ordinary
so far.
"There hasn't been extreme
flooding," she said. "I think it's normal flooding along the Feather
River that folks are experiencing right now."Cecil said it was too early
to assess damage."Right now, there's standing water in orchards," she
said. "Almond bloom has started. It's in the very early stages. These
sunny days in between these rainstorms get bees really happy, and we're going
to see almond bloom here much sooner rather than later. Hopefully, pollination
won't be impacted, but that is definitely an area that we're watching."Crops
that could potentially be affected if the situation worsens include cling
peaches, prunes, walnuts, almonds, olives, kiwifruit and possibly rice.Kulwant
Johl of Yuba City, who grows orchard crops and whose farm is located along
Highway 70, said the affected region includes a number of processing, packing
and fruit drying companies, such as Sunsweet, Pacific Coast Producers, Cal
Fruit International and Sacramento Valley Packing.
"We have so many farms,
agricultural facilities and equipment. We've got packing facilities and
dehydrators and dryers, so if something happens, for agriculture it will be a
disaster," Johl said.
Steve Freeman, vice president of
field operations for Pacific Coast Producers, which handles tree fruit and
processing tomatoes, said the company temporarily shut its facility in
Oroville, which includes a warehouse and canning and packaging plant."This
is a moment-by-moment situation," Freeman said. "Everybody's
situation is a little bit different, but I'm telling (employees) to make sure
they have food, water and clothing, because they might not be able to get into
town."
Sutter County Supervisor Mat
Conant, who grows walnuts in Rio Oso, said of his fellow farmers and community
members, "Everybody is just concerned. We don't know what to expect; we
just don't know what is going to happen," adding that local irrigation
districts are monitoring levees in the area.
Asked to describe how floodwater
could affect orchards, Sutter County walnut grower Davin Norene said, "A
wall of significant water rushing through an orchard would cause significant
erosion and maybe topple trees, and standing water for a significant period
would impact of the health of the orchard, since (trees) would be more prone to
root fungal diseases."Butte County Agricultural Commissioner Louie Mendoza
said his department is receiving updates from the Office of Emergency Services,
adding, "As long as the water can continue to be safely released from the
spillway and the Feather River can handle the water and not cause any flooding
issues downstream, then hopefully we can get through this."
Butte County rancher Steve Lambert,
who lives in Oroville, said most cattle in his region are in the foothills this
time of year and out of danger. Lambert resides north of Thermalito Afterbay
and said he has not moved any of his cattle, which are not along the river or
canal.
"There's opportunity for us to
get wet, but I don't think it's the wall of water that some areas are looking
at," he said.As a county supervisor, Lambert said the region's levees
"are in the best shape they've ever been in," noting recent
improvements made to the Feather River West Levee.Northern California ranchers
and landowners have taken to social media to offer help to anyone needing to
move livestock or a place to put them.
Tara Brocker, a rice farmer and
rancher in Sutter County, was one of those offering the use of her stock
trailer, though she said no one has taken her up on it yet."I think most
people have gotten their animals out," she said. "Calling around and
talking to my friends, I don't have anybody that's in a bad situation that has
animals that need to be moved."
Brocker lives and farms south of
Nicolaus at the confluence of the Feather and Sacramento rivers, a high-risk
flood area. But her house sits above the floodplain, so she didn't have to
leave. She has, however, moved all of her livestock to property in Newcastle
"because I didn't want to risk it."
"The agriculture community
where I live is pretty on the ball about getting out and trying to be prepared,
because we live in such a high-risk flood area anyway and we take it very
seriously. We don't usually mess around," she said.Yuba County rancher
Henry Smith, who lives in Marysville, said he and his family are paying close
attention to the news and watching the level of Oroville Dam. He said he's not
concerned about his cattle, as they are in the foothills of Browns Valley.
"Most people with livestock in
Yuba and Sutter counties have them on higher ground, except for a few, so
that's not a problem," he said.
Meanwhile, in San Joaquin County,
vineyard and orchard farmer Joe Valente was seeing a virtual rerun of last
month's flooding. Valente, operations manager for Kautz Farms of Lodi, once
again saw farmland in his care inundated.
"We're back at it again,"
he said, noting that his farm has about 800 acres of vineyards that are
underwater, "anywhere from a couple of feet to 6 feet," and has
almonds underwater, too.
All that water was throwing Valente
and his crews seriously off schedule."Our pruning is getting way
behind," Valente said.University of California Cooperative Extension farm
advisor Paul Verdegaal said winegrapes tolerate floodwater better than nut and
fruit trees do."Vines are pretty tolerant during dormancy of flooded
conditions," said Verdegaal, who is based in San Joaquin County.
"They'll easily tolerate 30 or 40 days, even maybe a little more if it's
cold and/or running water."
But nut and fruit trees can begin
to develop problems with root rot after a few days, even if the water keeps
moving, he said.
Forecasters predicted more rain for
Northern California this week."Right now, the seven-day total
precipitation forecast for (the Oroville) area looks to be around 4 to 8
inches, and this will be late Wednesday through at least Monday," said
Idamis Del Valle, a National Weather Service forecaster in Sacramento. Snow
levels were predicted to start at 7,000 feet and drop to 5,000 to 6,000 feet
Saturday and as low as 3,000 feet Sunday, she added.
(Kevin Hecteman,Christine Souza and
Ching Lee are assistant editors of Ag Alert.)
Permission for use is granted,
however, credit must be made to the California Farm Bureau Federation when
reprinting this item
http://agalert.com/story/?id=10594
Evacuation lifted for 200K
Californians living below dam
Police officers watch the Oroville Dam's main spillway from a
lookout point Tuesday in Oroville, California. Crews working around the clock atop
the crippled Oroville Dam have made progress repairing the damaged spillway,
state officials said Tuesday. [Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press]
Police officers watch the Oroville Dam's main spillway from a
lookout point Tuesday in Oroville, California. Crews working around the clock
atop the crippled Oroville Dam have made progress repairing the damaged
spillway, state officials said Tuesday. [Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press]
OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities lifted an evacuation order Tuesday
for nearly 200,000 California residents who live below the nation's tallest dam
after declaring that the risk of catastrophic collapse of its eroded emergency
spillway had been significantly reduced.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea
announced that people could return home immediately. Officials said they have
drained enough of the lake behind Oroville Dam so that the emergency
spillway will not be needed to handle runoff from an approaching storm.
But, the sheriff said, the region
150 miles northeast of San Francisco would remain under an evacuation warning,
meaning that residents must be ready to flee again if conditions worsen.
Residents returning home
"have to be vigilant," and "there is the prospect that we will
issue another evacuation order ... if the situation changes," Honea said.
Rod Remocal of Biggs, west of Oroville, said the announcement
"took a big load off" of him. He called it "the thrill of
relief."
The decision to lift the order
came abruptly, just as the evacuation order Sunday night came shortly after
officials said there was no threat.
The sheriff said water was being
released through the dam's damaged primary spillway without further harm to the
concrete structure. Work to cover the earthen emergency spillway with rocks and
cement was on pace to beat the next rain, and those storms would be less
potent.
"As a result of these
actions, the risks that we faced when we initiated those evacuations have
significantly been reduced," Honea said.
"This reduction to an
evacuation warning properly balances the need for people to resume their daily
lives while at the same time being prepared to deal with future increased
threat," he added.
The decision came as helicopters
carried giant sandbags and cement blocks from a staging area on the south side
of Oroville Dam toward the stricken spillway
on the north side. Crews operating heavy equipment loaded rocks and boulders
into dump trucks, which carried them over the dam and dumped them on damaged
portions.
Bill Croyle, acting director of
the state Department of Water Resources, said that as of noon Tuesday, water
was flowing into the lake at a rate far lower than the water being released.
"That means we're continuing
to make significant gains," Croyle said.The surface of the reservoir was
12 feet lower than at its height, and the water release, described as the
greatest in the dam's nearly half century, will continue to lower the surface a
total of 50 feet.
The National Weather Service's
Sacramento office said the incoming rain would move through late Wednesday and
Thursday morning, with 2 inches to 4 inches expected in the foothills and
mountains. But the storm was looking colder than initially projected, meaning
less snow and less runoff than last week's storms.
Officials had ordered residents
to flee to higher ground Sunday after concluding that the never-before-used
emergency spillway was close to failing and sending a 30-foot wall of water
into communities downstream.
Over the weekend, the
rain-swollen lake spilled down the unpaved emergency spillway for nearly 40
hours, leaving it badly eroded. The problem occurred six days after engineers
discovered a growing hole in the dam's main, concrete spillway.
Officials defended the decision
to suddenly call for mass evacuations Sunday, just a few hours after saying the
situation was stable, forcing families to rush to pack up and get out.
"There was a lot of traffic.
It was chaos," said Robert Brabant, an Oroville resident who evacuated with his
wife, son, dogs and cats. "It was a lot of accidents. It was like people
weren't paying attention to other people."
Oroville, a Gold Rush town in the Sierra Nevada foothills, is nestled
near the foot of the dam, which was completed in 1968 and at 770 feet is the
nation's tallest. Houses and churches are perched on tree-lined streets near
the Feather River. Ornate Victorian homes sit alongside smaller bungalows.
Local businesses, including one
that sells supplies for gold-panning, dominate a downtown area that spans
several blocks. A wide range of chain stores sit a short distance away along
the main highway.
The region is largely rural, with
its politics dominated by rice growers, orchard operators and other
agricultural interests. The region is dogged by the high unemployment rates
endemic to farming communities. There are large pockets of poverty and swaths
of sparsely populated forests that are popular with anglers, campers and
backpackers
http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20170214/evacuation-lifted-for-200k-californians-living-below-dam
What are Arkansas rice producers considering for 2017 season?
What might Mid-South rice acres
look like in 2017?
From an Arkansas perspective, “as
long as soybean prices remain as strong as they currently are — and rice prices
stay as low as they currently are — we’re probably looking at around 1.2 million
rice acres,” says Jarrod Hardke, University of Arkansas Extension rice
specialist. “That’s close to a 20 percent decrease from 2016 when we were at
about 1.5 million acres.
“I’m a rice guy and want that crop planted,”
says Hardke. “But with soybean prices where they are, I’ve been strongly
encouraging growers to book some. We don’t have to book a lot and want to leave
some options open. But I’d book some soybeans now to cover the cost of
production. Lock that good price down while you can.”
The past few years, the state’s
rice acreage “has
really been see-sawing. In 2016, we were up around 18
percent over 2015 acreage, which was down 13 percent compared to 2014. “We’ll
probably be close to 50 percent of our 2017 rice being hybrid. That isn’t a big
jump — recently, we’ve been in the 40s.
“Last year, we were somewhere in
the neighborhood of 8 percent planted to medium-grain. That’s likely to rise in
2017 because of the yield stability last year and some market demand which
should increase acreage to around 15 percent.”
That leaves 35 percent of
Arkansas’ rice acreage split among Clearfield and conventional varieties.
Common threads
Asked about current questions and
concerns from rice producers during winter meetings, Hardke says, “There are
definitely some common threads. As belts tighten, growers want increasingly
more specific guidance on their options.
“Individual growers have very
different mindsets entering 2017. That’s because things were so ‘all over the
board’ in 2016, mostly in a bad way. You hear everything from ‘we did fine’ to
‘the environment for rice wasn’t so good’ to ‘my crop was horrible.’
“More or less, though, the
hybrids and medium-grain rice were off up to 20 bushels below expectations. The
varieties were more like 40 bushels off.”
Hardke says it isn’t likely the
same environmental conditions will happen again. “But people are moving to a
defensive crouch, and rightly so. That means they want more hybrid rice, but
there isn’t more to be had. There were all sorts of difficulties on the Gulf
Coast — RiceTec had as much trouble as many of our growers did with seed
production.
“Some will grow whatever hybrid
seed they can get and plant nothing else. Some have been asking me about
filling in with medium-grains even if they aren’t traditional medium-grain
growers.”
The biggest question: after
hybrids and medium-grains, what do I plant? What varieties will work?
Conventionals
“We have a few recommended
conventionals and a few Clearfields. There won’t be a large acreage of a lot of
any newer, first-time-commercially-available varieties this year.”
On the conventional front,
“Diamond is our most recommended. Since it’s the first year out, plant it with
caution. Look at history and there are plenty of examples where, despite
rigorous testing, true field conditions expose weaknesses. We really work at
it, but it’s impossible to expose varieties to everything, every environment in
the state, during testing. Always use caution when planting any new cultivar
for the first time. Put a toe in the water, don’t do a cannonball.”
There will likely be around
75,000 to 100,000 acres of Diamond. “That’s a pretty big jump for a new
release.”
More producers will be familiar
with LaKast, because it has been out for several years. “It was released into
the teeth of 2015 and 2016, so there were wide result variations from
individual growers. Some guys loved it, some had no luck with it. However,
compared head to head, it was the most stable variety in the face of the tough
environmental conditions.
“I think growers will shift away
from Roy J after what happened in 2016. The rains came in late and caused some
pretty bad blast on it. In some cases with a lack of blast disease being found,
fungicide applications weren’t made or were minimized and the disease came back
to bite us late.”
Taggart, meanwhile, “has very
limited availability with most phasing it out. It’s still one our more
dependable varieties, though.”
Clearfield considerations
On the Clearfield side, “the new
CL153 looks like it has high-end yield potential. It’s similar to CL151, which
has been a staple for us over the years. However, CL153 brings a much-improved
disease package over CL151 including increased resistance to blast and
bacterial panicle blight. It has a lot of positives and, with any luck, it’ll
be a big player. I’m guessing there may be enough seed to plant around 50,000
acres this year.”
Another new Clearfield, CL172,
“will likely also have limited acreage — maybe another 50,000. This variety can
sometimes reach the same yield heights as the other Clearfields. Typically,
though, it places between CL151 and CL111.
“Like CL153, CL172 has a great
disease package. The yield just lags a bit although the grain quality is
phenomenal.”
Medium-grains
Regarding medium-grains, “Jupiter
has been our staple since about 2010. It’s been fantastic with high yields but
has some blast and lodging concerns. Growers are looking for some improvements
and Titan is a new release that looks to be competitive with Jupiter.”
Hardke is waiting on some market approvals before recommending
Titan over Jupiter. “Those approvals may come in the next month or two. Assuming
that happens, I’d tentatively make that recommendation because the data says it
yields more than Jupiter on average, has an equal-to-slightly-better disease
package, stands up better, and heads five to seven days earlier
http://www.deltafarmpress.com/rice/what-are-arkansas-rice-producers-considering-2017-season
Rice auction attracts 73 bidders
By Thai PBS
February 15, 2017
The government’s first rice auction of the new year held at the
Foreign Trade Department on Tuesday has attracted 73 bidders who are mostly
rice millers and rice exporters.
FTD deputy director-general Adul Chotenisakorn said Wednesday that
altogether 2.87 million tonnes of 17 rice varieties, including 100% Hom Mali,
Grade 2 Hom Changvad, 5% white rice and 5% Pathum Thani rice would be put on
public auction.
He said, however, that FTD officials would have to check the
qualifications of the 73 bidders to make sure that they are qualified and will
be allowed to submit their sealed bids on February 16.
The government is expected to release a substantial amount of rice
from its stockpiles should this auction go through, said Mr Adul, adding that
this auction will not impact on domestic rice price as demand of rice remains
high.
Regarding the unsold rice stock from the previous government’s rice
pledging scheme estimated at between 5.2-5.3 million tonnes, the FTD is
expected to unload them to the industrial sector in May before the harvest of
the second rice crop
http://www.pattayamail.com/thailandnews/rice-auction-attracts-73-bidders-164445
PNG lucky to import rice from Indonesia: Consul
15th February 2017 |
Merauke, Papua (ANTARA News) - Papua New Guineas
(PNG) Consul General to Indonesia, Geifrey Wiri, said his country was very
lucky to import rice produced by the Indonesian farmers in Merauke, Papua
province."Indonesian rice is very cheap compared to the rice produced by
other countries," Wiri said here on Tuesday.
According to him, PNG imports rice from Thailand and Vietnam.
"The launch of Indonesian rice export to PNG is quite surprising to me, because this is the first time we import rice from Indonesia," he stated.
Wiri added that the Indonesian rice export plan will be submitted to the government of Papua New Guinea.
Wiri and two other PNG officials attended the launch of the Indonesian rice export by Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman in Merauke on Monday (Feb 13).
Earlier, at the launch of the rice export, the minister invited the PNG government to import rice from Merauke.
The minister advised Merauke district administration to not only launch the export but also continue to increase rice exports to other countries.
He added that the central government will continue to provide supports for agricultural infrastructure in Papua, especially in Merauke.(*)
According to him, PNG imports rice from Thailand and Vietnam.
"The launch of Indonesian rice export to PNG is quite surprising to me, because this is the first time we import rice from Indonesia," he stated.
Wiri added that the Indonesian rice export plan will be submitted to the government of Papua New Guinea.
Wiri and two other PNG officials attended the launch of the Indonesian rice export by Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman in Merauke on Monday (Feb 13).
Earlier, at the launch of the rice export, the minister invited the PNG government to import rice from Merauke.
The minister advised Merauke district administration to not only launch the export but also continue to increase rice exports to other countries.
He added that the central government will continue to provide supports for agricultural infrastructure in Papua, especially in Merauke.(*)
https://www.antaranews.com/en/news/109423/png-lucky-to-import-rice-from-indonesia-consul
Nagpur
Foodgrain Prices – APMC/Open Market-February 15
and Marketing Committee (APMC)
auctions on increased buying support from local millers amid thin
supply from producing regions.
Notable rise in Madhya Pradesh pulses and reported demand from
South-based millers also boosted
prices, according to sources.
FOODGRAINS & PULSES
GRAM
* Desi gram raw recovered in open market on renewed seasonal demand from
local traders
amid weak arrival from producing
belts.
TUAR
* Tuar varieties ruled steady in open market here on subdued demand from
local traders
amid ample stock in ready position.
* Rice varieties reported strong in open market on good festival season
demand from
local traders amid tight supply from
producing regions Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh.
* In Akola, Tuar New – 4,400-4,500, Tuar dal (clean) – 7,000-7,300, Udid
-
6,400-6,800, Udid Mogar (clean) –
9,000-9,500, Moong Mogar (clean) 6,700-7,100,
Gram – 5,300-5,350, Gram Super best bold –
7,500-7,900 for 100 kg.
* Wheat and other commodities moved in a narrow range in scattered
deals, settled at
last levels in thin trading activity.
Nagpur
foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg
FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close
Gram Auction 4,600-4,930 4,600-4,900
Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600
Tuar Auction 4,000-5,050 3,900-5,000
Moong Auction n.a. 6,400-6,600
Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500
Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800
Gram Super Best Bold 7,500-8,000 7,500-8,000
Gram Super Best n.a. n.a.
Gram Medium Best 6,500-7,000 6,500-7,000
Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a
Gram Mill Quality 5,900-6,200 5,900-6,200
Desi gram Raw 5,250-5,450 5,200-5,400
Gram Yellow 8,000-8,500 8,000-8,500
Gram Kabuli 11,600-12,800 11,600-12,800
Tuar Fataka Best-New 7,200-7,500 7,200-7,500
Tuar Fataka Medium-New 6,400-7,000 6,400-7,000
Tuar Dal Best Phod-New 6,000-6,300 6,000-6,300
Tuar Dal Medium phod-New 5,500-5,900 5,500-5,900
Tuar Gavarani New 4,500-4,700 4,500-4,700
Tuar Karnataka 4,700-5,000 4,700-5,000
Masoor dal best 5,600-6,000 5,600-6,000
Masoor dal medium 5,500-5,700 5,500-5,700
Masoor n.a. n.a.
Moong Mogar bold (New) 6,900-7,200 6,900-7,200
Moong Mogar Medium 6,200-6,600 6,200-6,600
Moong dal Chilka 5,900-6,500 5,900-6,500
Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.
Moong Chamki best 6,400-6,800 6,400-6,800
Udid Mogar best (100 INR/KG) (New)
9,500-9,900 9,500-9,900
Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 7,800-8,500 7,800-8,500
Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 5,100-5,400 5,100-5,4S00
Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 5,400-5,800 5,400-5,800
Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 3,700-3,900 3,700-3,900
Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 3,000-3,100 3,000-3,100
Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,200-3,400 3,200-3,400
Watana Green Best (100
INR/KG) 3,800-4,300 3,800-4,300
Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,000 1,900-2,000
Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG) 2,050-2,200 2,050-2,200
Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,100 1,900-2,100
Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,600 2,500-2,600
Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,400 2,200-2,400
Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a.
MP Sharbati Best
(100 INR/KG) 3,600-4,000 3,600-4,000
MP Sharbati Medium
(100 INR/KG) 2,700-3,000 2,700-3,000
Rice BPT best New(100 INR/KG) 3,100-3,600 3,000-3,500
Rice BPT medium (100 INR/KG) 2,700-2,800 2,600-2,700
Rice Luchai (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,900 2,400-2,800
Rice Swarna best (100 INR/KG) 2,600-2,800 2,500-2,700
Rice Swarna medium (100 INR/KG) 2,400-2,500 2,300-2,400
Rice HMT best New (100 INR/KG) 3,900-4,400 3,800-4,300
Rice HMT medium (100 INR/KG) 3,300-3,600 3,200-3,500
Rice Shriram best New(100 INR/KG) 5,400-5,800 5,200-5,600
Rice Shriram med New(100 INR/KG) 4,800-5,200 4,600-5,000
Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 9,200-13,500 9,200-13,500
Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 4,800-6,500 4,800-6,500
Rice Chinnor best New(100 INR/KG) 5,900-6,100 5,800-6,000
Rice Chinnor med. New (100 INR/KG) 5,300-5,600 5,200-5,500
Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 2,000-2,300 2,000-2,300
Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,000 1,900-2,000
WEATHER (NAGPUR)
Maximum temp. 32.1 degree Celsius,
minimum temp. 16.7 degree Celsius
Rainfall : Nil
FORECAST: Generally cloudy sky
with light rains. Maximum and minimum temperature would be around
and 32 and 17 degree Celsius
respectively.
Note: n.a.--not available
(For oils, transport costs are
excluded from plant delivery prices, but
included in market prices)
Causes and effects of rice import deluge
DR JOHN W. OTENG
15 FEBRUARY 2017
The importation of rice is a heavy
drain on the country’s foreign earnings
Ghana is presently experiencing
phenomenal rice imports to meet the rapidly growing demand, particularly in its
bustling cities. The total annual import of milled rice at the end of 2016
stood at 558,000 tonnes on the order of US$500 million.
It is not difficult to appreciate
the burden of the heavy rice imports on Ghana’s economy as you shop along the
commercial city streets decked with a panorama of colourfully packaged and
predominantly luxury rices (e.g. aromatic and long grain rice) from many
South-East Asian countries.
The present status of rice as a
major food was predicted by the West African Rice Development Association
(WARDA) in the 1970s, that rice demand would grow rapidly based on the
following factors:
• Increasing population and per
capita demand rate;
• Rapid rural-urban drift;
• Dietary shift from coarse grains
(e.g. maize) to fine grains (e.g. rice) as a sign of enhanced welfare and
social class;
• The excellent storability of rice
as compared to some of the local traditional foods;
• The convenience of serving rice as
fast food at dinners, funerals, weddings and institutional feeding.
Aside from the above, the situation
has been exacerbated by the following factors:
• Ghana’s trade liberalisation
policy under its Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) and Structural Adjustment
Programme (SAP) in the 1990s;
• The persistent constraints in the
local production sector are continuously expressed in low rice self-sufficiency
levels (i.e. 30-40 per cent) spanning over three decades.
Ghana’s rice self sufficiency
Rice self sufficiency represents the
percentage of the annual rice demand that is locally produced. On the basis of
the annual per capita rice consumption rate of 32kg and an estimated population
of 27 million, the total annual demand of polished rice stands at 864,000 mt,
which includes both the imports and the local supply.
The conversion of the latter to
paddy, based on the average national yield of 2.6 (tonnes per hectare) t/ha and
milling recovery of 55 per cent translates into 1.7 million tonnes of paddy,
which will require a total of 604,196 hectares rice area to produce. The
present rice area, 216, 000 ha thus represents 33 per cent rice self
sufficiency.
For Ghana to achieve 100 per cent
rice self-sufficiency, an additional 400,000 ha (approx.) rice area must be
developed. It is also worthy of note that the present rice area has been
achieved over a period of six decades with several government interventions,
indicating that the road map to rice self sufficiency in Ghana is daunting,
considering also the fact that the major factors which drive the demand (i.e. population
growth rate and the per capita consumption rate) are not static.
Linked to the low self-sufficiency
are major constraints (including production, processing and marketing), which
affect the expansion of the rice industry and these are discussed hereunder.
Average paddy yield (t/ha.)
The national average paddy yield of
2.6t/ha is essentially controlled by the Rainfed Lowland Hydromorphic ecology
(2.5t/ha), which constitutes 75 per cent of the rice area in Ghana.
The irrigated ecology which is,
however, the most technically advanced production system with the highest
national average yield (4.5t/ha) accounts for only about 5 per cent of the rice
area and, therefore, does not impact strongly on the national average yield.
The key to increasing rice output in
Ghana, therefore, lies essentially in improving the production system of the
Rainfed Lowland Hydromorphic ecology.
Rice crops per year
(cropping intensity)
Two rice crops in a year (i.e. 200
per cent cropping intensity) will hasten Ghana’s desire to achieve rice
self-sufficiency. However, this is not achievable for many reasons. The
ecologies which are rain-dependent, that is (1) Rainfed Upland and (2) the
Rainfed Lowland Hydromorphic ecology, cannot risk a second rice crop because of
uncertainties in the rainfall.
Furthermore, the 75 per cent of the
rice area which is mostly found in northern Ghana is subject to one long rainy
season (mono-modal pattern) that imposes one crop per year on production.
The irrigated ecology on the other
hand, which has control over the most important production factor, water, is
only able to achieve an average of 150 per cent cropping intensity for myriads
of reasons.
The best opportunities to increase
rice output in Ghana occur in the Rainfed Lowland Hydromorphic ecology through:
(1) increased national average yield from 2.5t/ha to 3.5t/ha; (2) rapid rice
area expansion programme; (3) improved water management systems, and (4) the
possibility of ratooning.
Improved varieties
Presently, there is dearth of
improved varieties for the three major production ecologies. The improved
varieties should answer the following needs: (1) must be high yielding; (2)
must be tolerant to a wide spectrum of pests and diseases and; (3) must meet
the rapidly changing consumer preferences.
Between 1970 and 1990, Ghana’s
National Agriculture Research System (NARS) benefited immensely from hundreds
of germ plasm donations for collaborated trials initiated by the International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI, Philippines) and WARDA (Benin) in the following
programmes: WARDA Coordinated Trials, the International Network for Genetic
Evaluation in Rice (INGER) and the International Rice Testing Programme (IRTP).
These programmes generated several
promising lines which were never released for commercial production. It will be
expedient for NARS to request from the Gene Centres of the International
Research Institutes, (i.e. IRRI, IITA, WARDA) some of the known and the latest
promising nurseries for further testing and release to farmers as the quickest
way of achieving the national goals.
Fragrant rice
Fragrant rice is currently a fad in
Ghana as a result of importation of luxury aromatic rice from South-East Asia.
Local farmers cannot wait on researchers to also enjoy the good marketability
and the high premium prices of fragrant rice on the market today. Many of our
rice farmers, particularly those on the irrigation projects, switched to the
cultivation of fragrant rice (e.g. Jasmine 85, Togo Marshall, Pusa Basmati, KRC
Baika etc) from their own collections without the assistance of research
scientists in most cases. The humid tropics, however, are not the ideal
environments to cultivate fragrant rice because the aromatic essence
volatilises profusely under the prevailing high temperature conditions, leaving
the rice only mildly fragrant. Researchers will need to come to the aid of the
aromatic rice farmers to help them achieve the best out of their efforts.
Grain quality
Grain quality issues are important
for the development of the industry as they affect the marketability of the
local product in the face of stiff competition with some high-quality rice
imports. When rice is harvested at the optimum time and processed, it mills
with high per cent head rice (i.e. whole grains), appear white, translucent,
sparkling and very attractive.
To meet the international standards
on the other hand, the product must be graded and should be devoid of
extraneous materials (i.e. undehusked grains, stones, red rice, weed seeds
etc), and the variety in question should be of high purity (i.e. over 95 per
cent). In the past three decades, about 70 per cent of the local product could
not meet the international standards due to either lack of knowledge or the
absence of the appropriate equipment.
The situation has since changed for
the better. Consumer grain preferences include the following features: Length
(medium-long grain), whole grains (i.e. 75 per cent - 95 per cent), high
swelling and flaky upon cooking remaining in soft gel condition upon cooling.
Long storage (i.e. minimum three –
four months) also improves the cooking qualities (i.e. flakiness and swelling
characteristics) of non-waxy rices but our local farmers could ill afford the
storage time. Local rice therefore enters the market with higher grain moisture
content (i.e. eight-12 per cent) than that of imports (i.e.five per cent or less),
due to short storage resulting in poor cooking qualities compared to imports.
Import effects
The importation of high-quality and
well-packaged rice products has compelled local farmers to be quality conscious
in order to be competitive. The farmers now endeavour to seek the services of
modern mills with high recovery rates (60-65 per cent) and also with grading
and destoning facilities to enable them to reach the niche market for higher
income.
Processors, on the other hand, have
responded to the market demands and are now importing high-grade mills. Ghana
Rice Inter Professional Body (GRIB) for example has introduced ultramodern
colour sorter equipment into the industry, which improves the uniformity and
aesthetics of the milled grains. The huge rice imports, however, are a big
drain on the country’s foreign earnings.
Again consumers, who used to relish
the US No.5 non-aromatic rice brand, now spend fortunes on Thai luxury fragrant
rices for sheer fragrance, which could be easily created with kitchen condiments.
Conclusion
Aside from its heavy drain on
Ghana’s scant foreign earnings, one positive aspect of the imports is that it
has compelled the local producers to expand their farms and improve product
quality. On the other hand, governments also realise the urgency to raise the
production above the present low 33 per cent self sufficiency. The enormity of
the task to achieve 100 per cent self sufficiency as often demanded by many
consumers is clearly indicated.
Writer’s e-mail: kobeaoteng@yahoo.com
http://www.graphic.com.gh/features/opinion/causes-and-effects-of-rice-import-deluge.html
Govt sees record foodgrain output at 271.98 mt for 2016-17
India's foodgrain output is likely
to hit a record 271.98 million tonnes in the 2016-17 crop year ending June,
buoyed by good monsoon after two years of drought. | 1 Comments India's
foodgrain output is likely to hit a record 271.98 million tonnes in the 2016-17
crop year ending June, buoyed by good monsoon after two years of drought.
Wheat, rice, pulses, coarse cereals and oil
seed production are all set to surpass previous record, as per the agriculture
ministry's second estimate. Foodgrain production had declined to 251.57 million
tonnes (mt) last year because of drought while the previous record was 265.04
million tonnes in 2013-14. "As a result of very good rainfall during
monsoon 2016 and various policy initiatives taken by the government, the
country has witnessed record foodgrain production in the current year,"
the ministry said in a statement.
As per the second estimate, rice output is
pegged at 108.86 mt for 2016-17 crop year (July-June) as against 104.41 mt last
year. The previous record was 106.65 mt in 2013-14. Wheat output is projected
to be 96.64 mt this year as against 92.29 mt in 2015-16. It may be noted that
last year's wheat output has been revised downwards from 93.50 mt. The previous
record was 95.85 mt achieved in 2013-14 crop year. In the case of pulses, the
output is projected to be all-time high at 22.14 mt this year as against actual
output of 16.35 mt last year. The previous record was 19.25 mt in 2013-14. The
output, however, is still short of the country's estimated demand of 23-24
million tonnes.
But the likely rise in output will reduce the
country's dependence on imports. Coarse cereal output is estimated to be a
record 44.34 mt this year as against 38.52 mt last year. The previous record
was 43.40 mt in 2013-14. The foodgrain basket comprises wheat, rice, pulses and
coarse cereals. Oilseed production is also pegged at a record 33.60 mt this
year with soyabean output likely to be 14.13 mt, groundnut 8.47 mt and
castorseed 1.74 mt. Last year, oilseed output was 25.25 mt and the previous
record was 32.75 mt in 2013-15.
Among cash crops, cotton output is estimated
at 32.51 million bales (of 170 kg each) this year, as against 30 million bales
last year. However, sugarcane output is likely to be lower at 309.98 mt this
year as against 348.44 mt last year, while jute and mesta output is estimated
to be lower at 10.06 million bales (of 180 kg each) as against 10.52 million
bales last year. The government releases total four estimates on foodgrains
production before the final one at different stages of production and
harvesting period
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/current-affairs/govt-sees-record-foodgrain-output-at-27198-mt-for-2016-17_8504421.html
