Sri
Lanka to purchase 55000 MT of rice from Pakistan and Myanmar
Sat,
Jul 15, 2017, 09:17 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
"After
this successful tour, it is clear that there will be no more rice shortages in
the domestic markets-or even any likelihood of it. Some elements in the market
are trying to create an artificial shortage," Minister Industry and
Commerce Bathiudeen said.
The
team of officials that flew out on July 7 was led by Secretary of Ministry of
Chinthaka Lokuhetti, and two officials from the Finance Ministry and a food
technologist from ITI.
According
to an official who returned, Pakistan has agreed to supply 25,000 MT
immediately. No final price has been quoted yet but once the final price is
agreed, the stocks will be shipped from Pakistan in early August. Pakistan is
also ready to supply some more rice quantity by September.
Myanmar
is ready to supply another 30,000 MT immediately and its final price too, to be
agreed.
According
to the officials who returned, the Sri Lankan team was given a very warm
welcome at both destinations, was promptly attended and samples were then
given. The rice samples tested in Pakistan were already milled and in good
quality. Myanmar rice is also of good quality - only that it requires to be
re-milled and Myanmar is ever ready to mill them before shipping to Colombo.
Lankan
officials and food technologist also performed their own cooking tests on the
samples given to them at both destinations and say that the quality and taste
to be 'very good'.
Sri
Lankan officials also bargained for lower prices than the prices first quoted
by both Pakistan and Myanmar officials. Officials of both countries agreed that
such bargaining is acceptable and said shall submit Sri Lanka's bargained price
quotes to their respective Cabinets (of Ministers) for approval, to complete
the government to government sales.
Minister
Bathiudeen last month held discussions with the envoys of Indonesia, Thailand
and Pakistan on finding a supplier of rice to Sri Lanka.
The
Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) under the minister will be the focal
point for the effort.
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_17A/Jul15_1500090442CH.php
Downside of
trade
Exports are falling and reasons
are not as complex as perceived to be, claim exporters
The recently released State of Economy (SoE) report by the State
Bank at Pakistan has put a major emphasis on the need to increase exports from
Pakistan. It talks about the falling export figures and terms the situation
alarming for the country’s economy. The report has also advised different
players to find new products and markets to export these from here and pointed
out that despite the incentives offered by the government, the exporters could
not tap the potential to the maximum.
On the other hand, the exporters of both the industrial and
agricultural products have their own narrative to share. Their major concern is
that their increasing cost of doing business, lack of raw materials in certain
cases, structural faults, unbridled imports causing closure of local
industries, non-fulfillment of the commitments made by the government etc have
a lot to do with the situation in which they are today.
As per figures of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (SBP), trade
deficit of the country has increased to $32.6 billion with imports standing at
$53 billion and exports hovering around $20.04 billion in 2016-17.
Anis ul Haq, Secretary All Pakistan Textile Mills Association
(APTMA), represents the textile sector that has 60 per cent share in Pakistan’s
exports, 38 per cent share in manufacturing sector employment and 8.5 per cent
of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He says they have some demands,
the most pressing of which is the availability of electricity and gas at
regionally competitive prices. “At the moment these prices are high as compared
to their regional competitors.” Haq says electricity is available to the
industry at a rate of Rs11.5 per unit. “Though the government claims it to be
lower, after considering the peak hour rates this figure is quoted at.”
High electricity tariff, frequent power outages, absence of
linkages with fashion industry and non-provision of rebate to leather exporters
despite promises by the government are other reasons for this downslide.
The APTMA secretary is of the opinion that though oil prices
have come down from $105 per barrel in 2013 to around $50 per barrel today, the
benefit has not been passed to the industry. He explains, “A country’s exports
are based on the comparative advantage it has in a particular sector. This was
the case with textile sector which flourished due to the high-quality cotton
produced in huge quantities. But over the years, Pakistan seems to be losing
this comparative advantage as its cotton production has fallen drastically.
Besides, the government has imposed 4 per cent customs duty on the import of
raw cotton which is a direct burden on this export-oriented industry. So, on
one hand local cotton is short in supply and on the other hand the imported
cotton is taxed.”
The exporters were quite upbeat when the government announced
Rs180 billion support package to them around the start of the year. Meant for
five sectors including textiles, clothing, sports, surgical, leather and
carpemaking, it was promised that exporters will be offered rebates and
drawback of local taxes and levies on realisation of export orders. This was in
fact a realisation that the cost of doing business was high here and the
exporters could be compensated in case they exported their products at low
rates.
Though this amount was supposed to be disbursed over a period of
18 months, the discouraging fact is that only Rs3 billion have been disbursed
during the past six months and only Rs4 billion have been earmarked for this
purpose in the budget for the current fiscal year.
Qasim Dar, who has been in lubricants’ import business, says
smuggling and dumping of goods by countries like China have led to increase in
cheap imports and closure of local industries. “Many of the factories that
would deliver export orders as well could not sustain when their viability in
the local market was challenged. Secondly, as running a manufacturing concern
against all odds is too big a deal people are opting for imports and flooding
the local markets with cheaper goods,” he adds.
Similarly, the leather sector — once a top exporting sector — is
facing challenges due to different reasons. For example, it is still into finished
leather thing and not much into value-added products. The finished leather goes
to the developed countries like Italy where it is treated and converted into
high priced finished products. Till this is done here, exports in terms of
value are not likely to increase considerably.
A spokesman for leather goods exporters in the country shares
the livestock population in the country is going down though the government
departments wrongly claim it is increasing. “A lot of damage was caused due to
export of live animals instead of their processed meat.” He says their labour
cost is also high as compared to the neighbouring countries despite the fact
that the labour is not that efficient. High electricity tariff, frequent power
outages, absence of linkages with fashion industry and non-provision of rebate
to leather exporters despite promises by the government are other reasons for
this downslide.
Anis ul Haq from APTMA complains about what he calls the
over-ambitious revenue drive of the government. He says exports are suffering
badly as only the organised and compliant sectors of the economy are facing the
brunt. They, he says, are slapped with surcharges and cesses like the Gas
Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) to cover the cost of develop work it
carries out from time to time. On the other hand, he says, those out of the tax
net have a good time and do not have to bother about imposition of taxes and
levies.
Citing an example, he says the Rs100 billion gas pipeline
project has been capitalised (offered shares in the stock market) by the
government but it has still imposed GIDC on the local industry.
Last but not the least, the lack of agricultural and scientific
research has also taken its toll on the exports of food items and agri-based
industry’s products. The lack of bt cotton seed according to the local
environment and low per acre yield of crops like rice have deprived Pakistan of
cost benefit. Without increasing the volumes with little more investment,
Pakistani rice cannot be sold in global markets in huge quantities. The volumes
are necessary as unit prices of rice are low in the international market.
Pakistan is Under Severe Threat from Climate
Change: ADB
Pakistan may experience a decline in rainfall
by 20-50 percent and could experience significantly hotter climate with
temperature increases, leading to drastic changes in weather system,
agriculture, regional security, trade and health.
This has been stated in a report titled “A
Region at Risk: The human dimensions of climate change in Asia and the Pacific”
jointly produced by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Potsdam Institute
for Climate Impact Research (PIK).
Agriculture
Under Threat
The report maintained that people whose
livelihoods depend on agriculture will be immediately affected by changes in
the natural environment.
The vulnerability of farmers in Punjab province
to climate-related risks was aggravated by already existing constraints on
available freshwater, access to income, and a fragile infrastructure. Their
capacity for adaption is impaired by a lack of knowledge as well as by resource
scarcity.
While precipitation in Pakistan has always
experienced large-scale variability, the past few decades have shown a
significant increase in both dry and wet spells, with northern Pakistan
experiencing a significant decline in rainfall notably during the winter
season, whereas the southern Indus Delta has seen a moderate increase in
rainfall, which mainly results from frequent local, heavy precipitation spells.
Climate Change
to Affect Monsoon Season
Furthermore, climate change could impact the
variability of the monsoon and lead to changes in the intensity and timing of
precipitation. This would further aggravate the water stress already present in
the region today, as farmers have to be able to plan for the monsoon onset and
withdrawal in order to effectively farm their land (e.g. during plowing day).
Unabated climate change would bring devastating
consequences to countries in Asia and the Pacific, which could severely affect
their future growth, reverse current development gains, and degrade quality of
life.
The report states that under a
business-as-usual scenario, a 6 degree Celsius temperature increase is
projected over the Asian landmass by the end of the century. Some countries in
the region could experience significantly hotter climates, with temperature
increases in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the northwest part of the
People’s Republic of China (PRC) projected to reach 8 degree Celsius.
These increases in temperature would lead to
drastic changes in the region’s weather system, agriculture and fisheries
sectors, land and marine biodiversity, domestic and regional security, trade,
urban development, migration, and health. Such a scenario may even pose an
existential threat to some countries in the region and crush any hope of
achieving sustainable and inclusive development.
Loss of
Lives and Resources
The report further states that 3.3 million
people die every year due to the harmful effects of outdoor air pollution, with
Congo, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh being the top four countries
experiencing such deaths.
It is estimated that in India, Bangladesh, and
Pakistan approximately 130 million people reside in low-elevation coastal zones
and are at risk of being displaced by the end of the 21st century under
worst-case scenarios.
Climate change will also make food production
in the region more difficult and production costs higher. In some countries of
Southeast Asia, rice yields could decline by up to 50% by 2100 if no adaptation
efforts are made.
Moreover, a warmer climate for the region could
endanger energy supply. Climate change can exacerbate energy insecurity through
continued reliance on unsustainable fossil fuels, reduced capacities of thermal
power plants due to a scarcity of cooling water, and intermittent performance
of hydropower plants as a result of uncertain water discharges, among other
factors. Energy insecurity could lead to conflicts as countries compete for
limited energy supply
Vietnam, Pakistan, Burma expected
to drive 2018 global rice exports
July 14, 2017 - by Holly Demaree
These seven countries account for more than 85% of
global rice exports. Milled basis preferred to rice after husk and bran layers
are removed.
Note: F = forecast.
Chart courtesy of the USDA.
Note: F = forecast.
Chart courtesy of the USDA.
WASHINGTON,
D.C., U.S. – Global rice trade is projected to increase 1% to 42.3 million
tonnes in 2018, the third highest on record and the second consecutive year of
expanded trade.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) noted that a major factor behind the expanded trade in 2018 is increased exports from three of the top six exporters—Vietnam, Pakistan, and Burma. Vietnam’s 2018 exports are expected to increase 400,000 tonnes, to 6 million tonnes, due to increased demand from Southeast Asia, especially from the Philippines.
China is again forecasted to be the largest export market for Vietnam’s rice. Pakistan is projected to export 4.1 million tonnes of rice in 2018, up 100,000 tonnes from a year earlier, a result of a slightly larger crop, the USDA said.
Burma is expected to export 1.7 million tonnes of rice in 2018, up 100,000 tonnes from 2017, primarily due to stronger demand from regional buyers and the E.U.
In contrast, India’s exports are projected to drop 500,000 tonnes in 2018 due to a smaller crop and stronger domestic use. According to the USDA, Thailand’s exports are expected to be flat in 2018, while U.S. rice exports are projected to decline 50,000 tonnes as a result of higher prices and tighter supplies.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) noted that a major factor behind the expanded trade in 2018 is increased exports from three of the top six exporters—Vietnam, Pakistan, and Burma. Vietnam’s 2018 exports are expected to increase 400,000 tonnes, to 6 million tonnes, due to increased demand from Southeast Asia, especially from the Philippines.
China is again forecasted to be the largest export market for Vietnam’s rice. Pakistan is projected to export 4.1 million tonnes of rice in 2018, up 100,000 tonnes from a year earlier, a result of a slightly larger crop, the USDA said.
Burma is expected to export 1.7 million tonnes of rice in 2018, up 100,000 tonnes from 2017, primarily due to stronger demand from regional buyers and the E.U.
In contrast, India’s exports are projected to drop 500,000 tonnes in 2018 due to a smaller crop and stronger domestic use. According to the USDA, Thailand’s exports are expected to be flat in 2018, while U.S. rice exports are projected to decline 50,000 tonnes as a result of higher prices and tighter supplies.
Sri Lanka
secures rice stocks from Pakistan and Myanmar
2017-07-15 00:02:24
The four-man Lankan team of officials that flew to Pakistan and
Myanmar to select rice tranche, returned to Colombo yesterday.
It was reported that no less than 55000 MT rice has been made available to Sri Lanka immediately by both Pakistan and Myanmar.
Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen, whose team of officials took off on July 7 to Pakistan and Myanmar, praised the team’s success. “After this successful tour, it is clear that there will be no more rice shortages in the domestic markets-or even any likelihood of it. Some elements in the market are trying to create an artificial shortage,” Minister
Bathiudeen said.
According to an official who returned, Pakistan has agreed to supply 25000 MT immediately. No final price has been quoted yet but once the final price is agreed, will be shipped from Pakistan in early August. Pakistan is also ready to supply some more rice quantity by September.
Myanmar is ready to supply another 30000 MT immediately and its final price too, is yet to be agreed.
Previously on June 22, Minister Bathiudeen met Ambassador
Designate of Thailand to Sri Lanka Chulamanee Chartsuwan, Ambassador of Indonesia
to Sri Lanka Gusti Ngurah Ardiyasa and Acting High Commissioner of
Pakistan Dr. Sarfraz Ahmad Khan Sipra at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce
to call for government-to-government rice supplies to Sri Lanka. All the
ambassadors present pledged immediate support to Sri Lanka’s efforts to procure
the needed rice tranche
PFC greeted
for holding successful Interiors Pakistan Expo
Staff Reporter
Lahore
The Federation of Pakistan
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), United Business Group (UBG) and
Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) have felicitated Pakistan
Furniture Council (PFC) Chief Executive Mian
Kashif Ashfaq for conducting successfully a series of eight glittering 3-day
mega ‘Interiors Pakistan’ exhibitions across
the country.
In his message to PFC Chief Executive, FPCCI President Zubair Tufail said PFC’s Interiors Pakistan exhibitions were playing a vital role to boost furniture industry locally and internationally. He said the PFC events were boosting the visitor economy through domestic and international visitation, facilitating small business growth by connecting buyers and sellers, knowledge sharing leading to innovation and business collaboration and providing a platform for international trade and investment.
In his message, LCCI President Abdul Basit said the PFC had been playing its due role in economic wellbeing of the country and LCCI would provide furniture exhibitors level playing field enabling them to conduct their business with peace of mind and add up to the important revenue to the national exchequer. He said the local furniture products were excellent and present their culture.
SM Muneer Patron-in-Chief United Business Group and Chief Executive Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) said the objective of Interiors Pakistan was to give exposure to local entrepreneurs to the major markets in Pakistan. “This activity aims at uplifting socio-economic condition of the community and connect the entrepreneurs with direct buyers”, he added.
Vice President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik, appreciating the positive role of PFC Chief Executive Mian Kashif, said with a little innovation, investment and government support, furniture industry can generate even more employment and income from sustainable economy. He said textiles and rice were currently the largest exports of Pakistan bringing in $14 billion and $2 billion of foreign exchange, respectively. Furniture exports on the other hand stand at a meager $51 million.
FPCCI Regional Chairman Punjab Manzoor ul Haq Malik said the holding of three-day Interiors Pakistan exhibitions would not only promote economic activities in the country, but would also encourage furniture exports. “Fairs and exhibitions not only attract foreign buyers and bring in much needed foreign exchange, but also highlight the soft image of Pakistan”, he added.
Expressing his gratitude for chambers’ support to promote furniture’s fairs inside the country, Chief Executive PFC Mian Kashif Ashfaq said the ‘Interiors Pakistan’ is an opportunity for the largest furniture companies and interior designers across the country to display their products.
In his message to PFC Chief Executive, FPCCI President Zubair Tufail said PFC’s Interiors Pakistan exhibitions were playing a vital role to boost furniture industry locally and internationally. He said the PFC events were boosting the visitor economy through domestic and international visitation, facilitating small business growth by connecting buyers and sellers, knowledge sharing leading to innovation and business collaboration and providing a platform for international trade and investment.
In his message, LCCI President Abdul Basit said the PFC had been playing its due role in economic wellbeing of the country and LCCI would provide furniture exhibitors level playing field enabling them to conduct their business with peace of mind and add up to the important revenue to the national exchequer. He said the local furniture products were excellent and present their culture.
SM Muneer Patron-in-Chief United Business Group and Chief Executive Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) said the objective of Interiors Pakistan was to give exposure to local entrepreneurs to the major markets in Pakistan. “This activity aims at uplifting socio-economic condition of the community and connect the entrepreneurs with direct buyers”, he added.
Vice President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik, appreciating the positive role of PFC Chief Executive Mian Kashif, said with a little innovation, investment and government support, furniture industry can generate even more employment and income from sustainable economy. He said textiles and rice were currently the largest exports of Pakistan bringing in $14 billion and $2 billion of foreign exchange, respectively. Furniture exports on the other hand stand at a meager $51 million.
FPCCI Regional Chairman Punjab Manzoor ul Haq Malik said the holding of three-day Interiors Pakistan exhibitions would not only promote economic activities in the country, but would also encourage furniture exports. “Fairs and exhibitions not only attract foreign buyers and bring in much needed foreign exchange, but also highlight the soft image of Pakistan”, he added.
Expressing his gratitude for chambers’ support to promote furniture’s fairs inside the country, Chief Executive PFC Mian Kashif Ashfaq said the ‘Interiors Pakistan’ is an opportunity for the largest furniture companies and interior designers across the country to display their products.
The Observer
GLOBAL RICE
BRAN OIL MARKET 2017: KING RICE OIL GROUP, CEO AGRIFOOD LIMITED, SHIVANGI OILS
AND BALGOPAL FOOD PRODUCTS
JULY 14, 2017 BY: NEHRU BARAL
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development based on market gains, extensive product applications, dominant
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structure, business outline, product view, technical advancements and
pioneering market plans along with the factors that can restrain the progress
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Global Rice Bran Oil Market Study Based On Key Players:
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SVROil
Vaighai
A.P. Refinery
3F Industries
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CEO Agrifood Limited
Kasisuri
Surin Bran Oil
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Tsuno Rice Fine Chemicals
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The subsequent portions depict the Rice Bran Oil market globally:
Portion 1, states the aim of Rice Bran Oil market along with the
basic market introduction, product pictures, growth aspects and dominance of
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Call to adopt
new technologies in agriculture
HYDERABAD
HYDERABAD,JULY 15, 2017 00:54 IST
Stakeholders meeting on climate change NAARM
“Climate is the most important determinant of agriculture.
If the monsoon is well distributed then production is good. If it is not then
it leads to distress in agriculture although, technologies are available,” said
Himanshu Pathak, Chairman, Global Technology Watch Group (GTWG) under the
Climate Change Programme of the Technology Information, Processing and
Assessment Council (TIFAC), Department of Science and Technology (DST).
He was addressing a gathering at the two-day Second
Stakeholders consultation meeting at the ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural
Research Management here on Friday. Dr Pathak, also the Director of the
ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, said: “Rainfall intensity has
changed. We have more rain in less period of time without distribution.
Although, we have technologies available, we have to minimize the effects of
climate changes by adapting these technologies.”
ICAR-NAARM Director Ch. Srinivasa Rao said meeting of
stakeholders is being held across India so that policy and action plans can be
formulated. for implementation across India for an early adoption of climate
friendly technologies in agriculture and allied sectors.
Participants were from ICAR Institutes, State agricultural
universities, MANAGE, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics (ICRISAT), NIPHM, NABARD, seed industry, Jain Irrigation,
Agri-entrepreneurs and progressive farmers, a press release said.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/call-to-adopt-new-technologies-in-agriculture/article19280626.ece
Mahindra to target Chinese farm machinery
market alone
CHENNAI: Tractor and farm equipment make Mahindra& Mahindra is charting out a fresh strategy for China, by going alone.
The plan is to set up a new Mahindra China subsidiary because unlike automobiles there is no mandatory local JV requirement in tractors and farm equipment.
This is part of M&M's plans of targeting big global markets like the US, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, China, Turkey and parts of Europe through its new global acquisitions. The farm machine foray will be through machinery its recently acquired global brands Turkish company Hisarlar, Finnish harvestor company Sampo Rosenlew and Japanese agri implements business Mitsubishi Agri Machinery.
The plan is to set up a new Mahindra China subsidiary because unlike automobiles there is no mandatory local JV requirement in tractors and farm equipment.
This is part of M&M's plans of targeting big global markets like the US, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, China, Turkey and parts of Europe through its new global acquisitions. The farm machine foray will be through machinery its recently acquired global brands Turkish company Hisarlar, Finnish harvestor company Sampo Rosenlew and Japanese agri implements business Mitsubishi Agri Machinery.
Sources say currently the company top brass are in
planning and discussions over its farm machinery strategy. The idea is to work
with a China cost structure without which it is almost impossible to succeed
there. When contacted, the Mahindra & Mahindra spokesman refused to
comment.
Although Hisarlar, Sampo Rosenlew and Mitsubishi Agri Machinery don't have any presence in China they are well-known brands in different global markets including parts of Europe and Africa. "Going it alone in China means Mahindra will need to invest in creating a network as well as building its brand and investments will be made based on feasibility and evolution of a plan," said a source.
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The company expects to stitch up its China farm machinery strategy over the next 12 months which will tie in with its aggressive global farm machinery plans as well. M&M's farm machinery revenue target is 20% of total revenue by 2019, up from 5% in 2015.
The overall plan is to build a global harvestorbusiness through Sampo in Finland (except rice harvestors which will be handled by Mitsubishi) and use Mitsubishi for rice value chain products like rice transplantors, light weight tractors and harvestors. Globally the farm machinery business is a $100 billion market
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/mahindra-to-target-chinese-farm-machinery-market-alone/articleshow/59597366.cms
20-year-old woman exchanges infant son for bag of rice in Imo
Posted on July 14 2017 , at 10:15 pm
The mother and her accomplice
were paraded by police in Imo.
A 20-year-old-woman, Chioma
Fidelis, has been arrested for exchanging her two-month-old son
for half a bag of rice.
Chioma was paraded the Imo State
Police Command on Friday.
She also confessed to receiving
cement, chairs and N200,000 in exchange for the infant.
She claimed her baby was
suffering from kwashiorkor and she was left with no choice but to accept the
offer as she had no man to take care of him.
The baby was reportedly sold to a
couple who were also arrested.
The couple claimed that they paid
a sum of N700,000 to Chioma’s accomplice, one Chidinma
Unakalamba.
Chidinma claimed to spend a sum
of N137,000 on the child’s medical bills, gave the mother N200,000 and pocketed
the remaining.
http://thenet.ng/2017/07/20-year-old-woman-exchanges-infant-son-bag-rice-imo/
ZEALANDIA: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
THE ‘NEW CONTINENT’
BY DAVID SILVERBERG
SCIENTISTS
HAVE UNCOVERED A SUBMERGED LANDMASS TWO-THIRDS THE SIZE OF AUSTRALIA, WHICH HAS
IMPLICATIONS FOR CLIMATE SCIENCE, BIOLOGY AND HOW ZEALANDIA COULD BE DESIGNATED
A CONTINENT.
If you could drain the Pacific
Ocean, you’d be staring at the lost continent of Zealandia, which is 18 times
larger than New Zealand. Although 94 percent submerged, Zealandia, a large
region in the southwest Pacific Ocean underlain by continental crust, is
gaining momentum to be dubbed a continent, thanks to new research published in GSA
Today.
Zealandia offers a wealth of
insight due to its age: it began separating from the combined
Australia-Antarctica portion of Gondwana in the late Cretaceous period around
80 million years ago, according to Jerry Dickens, a professor of Earth sciences
at Rice University and co-chief scientist of an upcoming drilling expedition to
learn more about Zealandia.
WHAT MAKES A CONTINENT?
“We want to learn how the
continental crust got so thin there,” says Dickens. “Continents like Europe and
North America broke apart easily, but Zealandia didn’t. Zealandia doesn’t sit
easily with current models.”
Dickens goes on to say, “How can a
continent become so thin during rifting that it remains mostly submerged?
That’s a real challenge for the community that studies plate tectonics.”
Zealandia is being dubbed the
thinnest, most submerged and smallest continent, but there should be an
asterisk above the word “continent.” The study authors say they want to give
the region a full designation of continent, but there isn’t an organizing body
to do so.
ZEALANDIA, 94 PERCENT SUBMERGED
UNDERWATER, IS MORE THAN FIVE MILLION SQUARE KILOMETERS LARGE. COURTESY NICK
MORTIMER.
“If we add Zealandia as a
continent, it forces us to think about what makes a continent, the type of
Earth crust it has,” says Dickens. “These days we don’t really think about what
makes a continent a continent.”
Unlike an organization responsible
for naming new planets and stars, no group exists to dub a region a continent.
But if other scientists use Zealandia in their work and cite the GSA paper,
then that will be a validation of the work by Dickens et al. But it will take
time.
“Being more than one million square
kilometers in area, and bounded by well-defined geologic and geographic limits,
Zealandia is, by our definition, large enough to be termed a continent,” says
lead author Dr. Nick Mortimer.
Dr. Mortimer goes on to say that
scientists in biology and marine science who didn’t “consider this part of the
world would say, ‘Hang on a sec. This leads me down a certain path and gives
new context to various strands of scientific work.’”
DIVING INTO CLIMATE SCIENCE
Dickens says Zealandia may offer
insight into climate research. He notes in a
reddit AMA that one of the great challenges in current Earth science literature
is the Early Eocene period, particularly 50 to 53 million years ago. Earth
surface temperatures were nominally 10-12°C greater than they are today and
exceptionally warm at high latitudes.
THE MOST DIFFICULT EARLY EOCENE
TEMPERATURE RECORDS TO ACCOUNT FOR ARE THOSE GENERATED FROM WITHIN AND AROUND NEW ZEALAND, SAYS JERRY DICKENS. PHOTO
VIA NASA.
All explanations to date relate to
elevated atmospheric pCO2 (partial pressure of carbon dioxide),
but the extreme high latitude temperatures remain an issue, even after
considering differences in albedo (little or no “white”-reflective ice at the
poles during the early Eocene), Dickens notes. The scientific community has not
been able to replicate such temperatures using climate models.
There is also the issue of why pCO2 was
so high, Dickens says. The most difficult early Eocene temperature records to
account for are those generated from within and around New Zealand. “Not only
does the submerged portion of Zealandia have many early Eocene sediment
sequences, but the past location and water depth of Zealandia may explain much
of the data-model issues,” he adds.
Dr. Mortimer notes, “It all comes
down to getting better context and appreciation for what’s out there.”
EXPEDITION TO ZEALANDIA
And what’s out there will be
explored in a drilling expedition scheduled to run from late July to late
September 2017. On a 473-foot-long ship, the 100-plus crew will seek to uncover
the history of Zealandia and when and how it became such a submerged region.
According to the expedition’s
prospectus, “Zealandia is an ideal location for generating detailed
paleoceanographic records from the Miocene through the Pleistocene that can be
linked to previous ocean drilling expeditions in the region (Deep Sea Drilling
Project Legs 21, 29, and 90; Ocean Drilling Program Leg 189) and elsewhere in
the Pacific Ocean.”
DR. NICK MORTIMER IS THE CO-AUTHOR OF A
STUDY ON ZEALANDIA PUBLISHED IN ‘GSA TODAY’ THAT HAS BECOME THE DEFINITIVE
PAPER ON THE REGION DISCOVERED MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO. COURTESY NICK MORTIMER.
For those neck-deep in marine science, Zealandia is not a new
concept, especially to many New Zealanders. Earth scientists have been
discussing Zealandia for more than 20 years, since California
scientist Bruce Luyendyk first named the landmass Zealandia in 1995.In an
interview, Luyendyk, now retired, says the biggest takeaway he’d like to see
from Zealandia’s newfound publicity is that “we think of continents as places
where people live above sea level. Sure, that’s how everyday life sees it, but
geologists don’t see it that way, since sea level is relative. It goes up and
down across centuries and millennia.”
David Silverberg is a
Toronto-based writer for BBC News, Washington Post, Vice, Buzzfeed, NOW
Magazine, Broken Pencil Magazine, Quill & Quire and many
more.
https://www.crixeo.com/zealandia/
Grains Of Hope
Rice farmers are struggling to meet
Asia’s demand for the staple crop; a genetically modified strain developed in
Singapore could provide a solution.
AsianScientist (July 14, 2017) - By Tan Yong Yi - With empty
bellies and sticks in hand, thousands of farmers took to the streets of
Mindanao, Philippines, to demand rice from the government to feed their
impoverished families. Yet, instead of seeing officials driving vans carrying
sacks of the life-saving grain, what they saw were vehicles of policemen armed
to the teeth with guns and anti-riot equipment. The farmers were then duly fed
by the police forces, not rice, but something equally small and rotund.
Bullet rounds.
After the protests turned violent,
the men in blue opened fire, killing one and wounding a dozen in April 2016.
The gruesome skirmish was a result of El Niño, a weather phenomenon that
plagued the Filipino farmers with drought, causing them to collectively lose
over US$150 million in rice and corn.
Many farmers around the world face
similar problems in agriculture due to unforeseen climate conditions wrought by
global warming, ranging from intense droughts to extended monsoon seasons. The
supply of rice is especially threatened, given that many farmers who work in
the paddy fields struggle to make ends meet. Furthermore, the rice plant itself
is susceptible to minute changes in heat and a wide variety of pests that have
flourished due to an increasingly warm and humid climate.
It’s no secret that Asians love
their rice, with more than 90 percent of the humble grain being produced and
eaten in Asia. In fact, in Southeast Asia alone, close to 100 million tons of
rice were consumed in 2011, which equates to roughly more than three heaped
bowls of rice per person each day!
Thus, rice is one of the main
drivers of society in Asia, with governments even rising and falling along with
the supply of this beloved staple. Yet, farmers in the paddy fields, such as
those in Mindanao, are feeling the heat, literally, as both demand for rice and
global temperatures rise steadily each year.
There is a growing concern that in the near future, shrinking
supplies will leave Asia unable to curb its insatiable appetite for rice.
However, researchers in Singapore have come up with a new breed of rice that
might just put these fears to rest.
Hardier, tastier, more productive
Hardier, tastier, more productive
This wonder grain was developed at
Temasek Life Science Laboratory (TLL) in Singapore by Dr. Yin Zhongchao with a
multinational team of scientists. Aptly named Temasek Rice, this new breed of
rice is known to be able to stand up against extreme weather conditions such as
droughts and floods, and ‘hibernates’ for two weeks when submerged in water.
The rice plant itself is a dwarf
amongst its brethren, which is an advantage since the shorter stalk prevents it
from bending too much when strong winds blow. It can also fend off bacterial
and fungal diseases as well as produce higher yields.
In fact, Temasek Rice produces up
to six tons of rice grains per hectare of paddy field, which is nearly four
times the yield normal breeds of rice give. This makes Temasek Rice a sturdy
powerhouse that can withstand extreme weather fluctuations caused by global
warming, and also allows farmers in Southeast Asia to grow rice more
sustainably.
Not only does Temasek Rice stack up well practically, it also
passes the taste test with flying colors. Yin has described the grain as more
aromatic, softer and tastier than most other brown rice varieties, in addition
to being nutritious since it possesses a high amount of dietary fiber. After
eight years of research and field trials, the rice has landed on supermarket
shelves in Singapore and is sold at around S$7 per kilogram.
Genetically-enhanced growth
Genetically-enhanced growth
So, was it just a matter of green
thumbs that Yin and his team managed to produce such a hardy grain? Partly, as
the research process had involved the traditional technique of
cross-pollination, a tedious method many horticulturists swear by, where pollen
from a donor plant is transferred to a recipient plant in an attempt to produce
offspring that possess traits from both plants.
Yet, if the team had only utilized
this method, Temasek Rice surely would not be on our bowls after just eight
years of research, since long periods of time are spent cultivating the various
breeds of rice in the laboratory. This is where marker-assisted breeding (MAB)
comes into play.
Essentially, this technique stems
from genomics, and is an indirect selection process in cultivar development.
The organism’s DNA is first isolated and analyzed using techniques such as gel
electrophoresis or Southern blotting, and its traits of interest are
selectively bred based on markers on the organism’s DNA, which, from the
analysis, have been found to be linked to the trait itself. These markers are
variations in the DNA that include changes in the base pairs or patterns of
repeated base pair sequences.
The MAB technique relies on the
assumption that such markers are tightly linked to the trait of interest, and
that these traits are easily inherited by the offspring. In comparison, the
traditional method of phenotypic selection involves selecting the plants for
breeding by directly observing or testing for the traits they express.
The advantages of MAB are numerous
in comparison to phenotypic selection, as they provide a rapid method for
cultivar development, taking at most five years to develop a new cultivar as
opposed to 15 years by conventional breeding methods. With MAB, traits that are
expressed late in life, such as the nutritional value of fruits produced, can
be detected by DNA testing as early as during the plant’s seedling stage.
Furthermore, traits that are
difficult or expensive to analyze such as the plant’s resistance against
bacterial and fungal infections can also be screened through MAB. In addition,
MAB is highly accurate, since the markers which are tightly linked to their
respective traits would not be affected by the environment.
Best of all, MAB executes gene pyramiding—a method that allows
multiple traits to be accumulated within the same cultivar—with ease and
efficiency. Temasek Rice is a prominent example of gene pyramiding, as it is
not only resistant to environmental stress and disease, but also nutritious and
even palatable as well.
Stabilizing supply, securing livelihoods
Stabilizing supply, securing livelihoods
Yin and his team have tinkered with
the natural defenses of plants on a molecular level for many years, especially
with regards to crop productivity. His objective in this is to create a
positive impact in the agricultural community, having witnessed a food supply
crisis grip Singapore in 2008.
Hence, Yin combined his experience in
the field and the wonders of MAB to generate an expansive library of new and
improved rice plant varieties with enhanced traits. In fact, Temasek Rice was a
‘golden-ratio’ result of breeding the familiar jasmine rice plant, whose grains
many of us wolf down during dinner, and five other rice plant varieties. Yin
has since used his results to further benefit the agricultural community in the
region, by introducing Temasek Rice as a driver for sustainable farming in
Southeast Asia.
He initially collaborated with
researchers in Aceh, Indonesia to improve rice varieties in the region after
local farmers saw their livelihoods destroyed by a tsunami. Since then, Yin has
expanded this project to small-scale planting of Temasek Rice by local farmers
in Tasikmalaya, Indonesia.
“Farmers work very hard and their income is very low, so we want
to create good rice that allows for stable production and produces grains of
good quality so that they can be sold for high prices,” said Yin.
It is no small feat for a country without
any paddy fields or rice farmers to go against the grain and create a sizable
impact on the region’s rice-growing efforts. Yet, Yin did just that, allowing
Singapore to go boldly into agriculture. In fact, Yin’s grains had the honor of
being inducted into the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, otherwise dubbed the
‘doomsday vault,’ which contains seeds of over 4,000 plant varieties in case
food supplies need to be regenerated after a global catastrophe.
With Temasek Rice slowly making an appearance in paddy fields, it
is a relief for the farmers of Mindanao to know that there is still a grain of
hope for them to bring a bowl of rice to the table.
This article won first place in the Science Centre Singapore Youth Writing Prize at the Asian Scientist Writing Prize 2017.
This article won first place in the Science Centre Singapore Youth Writing Prize at the Asian Scientist Writing Prize 2017.
Click here to see photos of the
the prize presentation ceremony held on July 7, 2017.
Also, look out for the other winning entries to be published in a compilation coming out later this year
Also, look out for the other winning entries to be published in a compilation coming out later this year
https://www.asianscientist.com/2017/07/features/aswp2017-grains-hope/
‘Black, red rice contain more
antioxidants’
JULY 16, 2017
Eating unpolished red and black
rice, which contain higher levels of antioxidants compared to white rice, would
make Filipinos healthier, according to a study conducted by the Philippine Rice
Research Institute (PhilRice).
In the study, titled “Healthier
red and black rice: Not your ordinary staple food”, PhilRice food scientists
Marissa Romero, Gerome Corpuz and Henry Mamucod said red and black varieties of
rice have high phytochemical contents and health-promoting properties.
“Results showed that pigmented
rice has higher amounts of crude protein, crude ash, crude fat and crude fiber
compared with white rice,” Romero said in a statement.
“Pigmented rice is rich in
antioxidants, such as phenolic compounds, vitamin E derivatives and
y-oryzanol, that are effective free radical scavengers. The unique color is
determined by the amount of anthocyanin [also an antioxidant] in the bran
layers resulting in various shades of red and black,” she added.
For the study, Romero and other
PhilRice scientists collected 45 red rice varieties and 25 black rice varieties
from various provinces in the country and were compared with white rice of
Enolayan Variety. The varieties were characterized in terms of proximate
composition, phytonutrients and health-promoting components, according to
PhilRice.
To maximize the health benefits
of pigmented rice, Romero said Filipinos should consume it in its unpolished
form as phytochemicals are “significantly” lost during polishing.
Romero added Filipinos are eating
less of these rice varieties due to lack of proper information and knowledge on
their health benefits. She said these rice varieties could be promoted by the
government as “functional foods” to help improve the health of Filipino
consumers.
“Our country has a rich
diversity of pigmented rice, but their utilization as functional food has not
been fully explored owing to the limited information on their phytonutrients.
We conducted this research to help the public be more aware of the health
benefits of pigmented rice,” she said.
The PhilRice food scientist also
said the study proved that unpolished red and black rice are good genetic
resource for the development of modern varieties with good eating and
nutritional qualities.
The study won third place in the
poster competition during the 24th Federation of Crop Science Socities of the
Philippines Scientific Conference held in Iloilo City last month.
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/black-red-rice-contain-more-antioxidants/
SARI is ready
to support agricultural expansion
Sunday 16th July, 2017
By Naa Shormei Odonkor,
Nyankpala (N/R) July 16, GNA - Dr
Wilson Dogbe, the Project Manager of the Savannah Agriculture Research
Institute (SARI) has indicated that SARI was now ready for business to support
all initiatives that could help expand the institute and agricultural
production.
He said the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) released a Direct Initiative Fund of $5.5
million US dollars in 2015 to support a three year project in SARI but was not
sufficient to bring out the ultimate and expected outcomes hence, the need to
raise funds to support the project through other accepted means.
Dr Dogbe said this at the launch of
the “Core of Excellence Project” organized by SARI in collaboration with USAID,
Agricultural Technology Transfer (ATT) and the Iowa State University (ISU) in
Nyankpala in the Tolon District at the weekend.
The main focus of the launch was to
create a platform to announce the readiness of SARI to collaborate with
developers and especially the private sector to do business with them in order
to generate extra funds to support their expansion project.
The launch was on the theme:
"Innovative seed research for income generation" and was in line with
three major thrust to strengthen the management structure and income-generating
mechanisms within the institute for improved quality and supply of breeder and
foundation seeds.
According to Dr Dogbe, commercialization
was a suggestion from the ISU assessment programme on SARI in 2016, when it was
discovered that the USAID direct initiative fund was inadequate to assist in
SARI’s project of expansion.
Dr Steven K. Nutsugah, the Director
of SARI said the core of Excellence project was intended to make SARI a premier
agricultural research system in Northern Region where solutions would be
provided to all agricultural issues.
According to him, even though SARI
had been able to provide 39 varieties of various crops including maize (17),
millet (5), rice (5), cowpea (9) and soybean (3) over the past ten years, the
institute suffered from inadequate infrastructure and technology as well as
poor administration and management, triggering the need for improvement.
Dr Nutsugah acknowledged the ability
of USAID to bring out best results in their collaboration with other agencies,
which created a substantial platform of success as well as a unique foundation
of trust upon which to launch and carry out the Core of Excellence project.
He assured that, the scientific
community of Ghana was fully in accordance with the USAID’s premise that, it
was imperative to greatly expand the development, dissemination and application
of agricultural technologies in order to improve agricultural productivity.
The Northern Regional Minister, Mr
Salifu Saeed in a speech read on his behalf said seeds were of essential
importance to farmers and it was therefore good that the initiative geared
towards producing certified seeds of high nutritional value targeting maize,
soybean and rice varieties.
He advised scientists to help
preserve some crops of medicinal value, which were gradually disappearing from
the system.
Mr Samson Konlan in a message from
the USAID Economic Growth Office urged SARI to strive hard in order to develop
into a world class institute that would compel government to support its
activities with sufficient resources.
http://www.ghananewsagency.org/science/sari-is-ready-to-support-agricultural-expansion-119650
Are China’s scientists more interested in cash than the search for
truth?
New study suggests financial rewards for published papers are
tarnishing the reputation of Chinese research
PUBLISHED : Monday, 17 July, 2017, 8:33am
UPDATED : Monday, 17 July, 2017, 8:32am
The research, carried out by a team led by Chen Bikun, an
associate professor at Nanjing University of Science and Technology’s School of
Economics and Management, looked at the different reward policies adopted by
100 Chinese universities over the past 17 years.
Released earlier this month, the study found that between 1999
and 2016, academics were paid between US$30 and US$165,000 for each paper they
had published in an internationally recognised journal, with the mean payment
rising noticeably over the past decade.
The average reward for an article published in either Nature or Science,
for instance, rose from US$26,212 in 2008 to US$43,783 last year, an increase
of 67 per cent. The top figure equates to about 20 times a professor’s annual
salary, the study said.
China’s cash-for-papers policy came under increased scrutiny
last month when a research team was awarded US$2 million for a paper on a
possible cure for rice fungus published in the scientific journal Cell.
The payment was made to Professor Chen Xuewei and his colleagues
at Sichuan Agricultural University for their breakthrough work that could help
rice crops become resistant to a deadly fungus known as rice blast.
Despite the credibility of the team’s work, the size of their
reward – which equated to about double the amount last year’s Nobel laureates
received – made headlines around the world and raised questions about the
ethics of paying scientists such large sums for their research.
In China, the cash-for-papers system was introduced by Nanjing
University in Jiangsu province about 1990, according to Chen Bikun’s study.
Though the reward in those days was just US$25, the scheme led
to a huge spike in the number of papers published by the university, which
topped the national rankings for such for the whole of that decade. Other
universities rapidly followed suit and launched their own reward schemes.
According to figures from China’s National Bureau of Statistics,
the number of papers published outside the country increased 17-fold between
1996 and 2014, from 13,134 to 232,070.
“Traditionally, financial incentives are used in business to
reward employees for their excellent performance,” Chen Bikun said in the
study.
“[But now] Chinese universities are rewarding their scholars for
their research performance,” he said.
Despite the negative implications of the payment system, there
can be no doubt that it has been instrumental in raising the profile of China’s
scientists on the world stage, the study said.
“The reward policy has been successful, as China has experienced
exponential growth in the number of papers it has had published in international
science publications over the past 20 years.”
Chen could not be immediately reached for comment about his
study – which is currently in draft form pending peer review – but it has
already caught the attention of scientific journals overseas.
“This caused the odd raised eyebrow among Western scientists,
for whom this kind of financial reward is an anathema,” said a commentary
in MIT
Technology Review last week.
“For them, science is venerated as a search for truth that is
unaffected by self-interest,” it added.
In his research, Chen claimed that some Chinese scholars are
“driven to publish just for the monetary reward rather than disseminating
knowledge and receiving the recognition”.
He cited the example of a materials scientist at Heilongjiang
University, who between 2004 and 2009 had more than 250 papers published in a
single journal, for which he received “more than half of the total cash
rewards” given by the university in the northeastern province. He did not name
the researcher.
According to other studies, last year there were 1,234
corrections made to academic works published by Chinese scientists. In 1996,
the number was just two. The figures were released amid growing concerns about
the scale of academic fraud in the country, which encompasses plagiarism,
dishonesty, ghost written papers and fake peer reviews.
Not that China is the only guilty party, according to the
article in the MIT Technology Review.
“The search for ‘truth’ is not as pure as many would like to
believe,” it said, though the events in China could “tarnish it further”.
It added: “If publication success can be improved by cash
payments to scientists, how long before universities in other countries follow
suit?”
In contrast, a front page editorial in the July 5 issue of China
Science Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences, referred to the US$2 million award in Sichuan as a “new beginning”.
In the past, China’s investment in research and development went
mostly on the purchase or construction of large, sophisticated hardware and
facilities, it said. Such spending was “unfair” to the scientists, the majority
of whom earn relatively modest salaries, it said.
Jason Chan, Asia spokesman for global publishing group Elsevier,
said that controversy aside, it is clear that China’s research might is
growing, and not just in terms of the number of papers it has published.
“China still has some catching up to do in terms of quality of
research output but the gap is closing fast,” he said.
“What’s interesting is that the country is starting to be a
serious innovation exporter, judging from the growing number of patent
applications filed,” Chan said, adding that the figure had been rising by about
19 per cent a year, to 1.1 million in 2015 alone
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2102869/are-chinas-scientists-more-interested-cash-search-truth
Ogbeh: Nigeria
will Stop Rice Importation in 2017
July 16, 2017
Victor
Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
The
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh,has disclosed
that the present administration under President Muhammadu Buhari will stop the
importation of rice in 2017.Explaining the reason behind the policy, Ogbeh
hinted that the countryhas enough internal production that could sustain home
consumption andmeet foreign exchange earnings that could guarantee
diversification ofthe economy.
In
order to further boost internal production of the commodity andenhance the
country’s comparative advantage in rice and yamproduction, Ogbeh stated that
the federal government would sign amemoranda of understanding (MoU) with Afe
Babalola University, Ado Ekiti
(ABUAD)
and Ekiti State Government in the two critical sectors.He unveiled his
ministry’s intention to supply ABUAD with 20 tonnes ofrice seedlings in the
next planting season to boost rice productioninternally.The minister, who said
these in Ado Ekiti at the weekend during a visit toABUAD’s farm and the Ekiti
State government, added that the current economic recession being experienced
under Buhari’s government had helped the federal government to think outside
the box and had succeeded in bringing the deserved revolution to the
agriculture sector
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/07/16/ogbeh-nigeria-will-stop-rice-importation-in-2017/
LEDAC lists 13 bills as ‘urgent’
July 17, 2017
THE CORE committee of the
Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) has endorsed 13
bills -- including a tariff on rice imports to replace the quota system -- as
legislative measures needing the certification by President Rodrigo R. Duterte
as “urgent” such that they should be passed in the next five months.
The committee endorsed the need to immediately amend the
Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996 after the country’s quantitative
restriction (QR) on rice granted by the World Trade Organization (WTO) expired
last June.
The LEDAC Executive Committee’s (LEDAC-ExCom) list was an
outcome of its meeting Thursday last week, July 13, its first under the Duterte
administration.
In a statement issued by his office on Sunday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the list of bills will be endorsed to the LEDAC in its next meeting for adoption as well as for approval and certification by the President as urgent.
“[By identifying the bills as urgent,] we mean that we would want them passed into law possibly within the year,” said Mr. Pernia, who chaired the LEDAC-ExCom meeting last week.
The body agreed to endorse the following measures:
• Unified National Identification System Act
• Security of Tenure Bill (End of “Endo” or Contractualization)
• Utilization of the Coconut Levy Fund
• National Transport Act to address transport traffic crisis
• Budget Reform Act
• National Land Use Act
• Rightsizing of the National Government
• Amendments to the Anti-Cybercrime Act
• Amendments to the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996
• Amendments to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Charter to allow for free irrigation
• Amendment to Public Service Act
• Ease of Doing Business Act/Fast Business Permit Act
• Government Procurement Reform Act Amendments
Aside from the 13 bills, the LEDAC-ExCom also “strongly endorsed” the passage of the tax reform bill, which was passed on final reading by the House of Representatives just before Congress adjourned the first regular session after getting a nudge from Mr. Duterte.
“The 14 bills are part of the 28 measures included in the proposed Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) reviewed and vetted by the LEDAC Secretariat, for final approval of the Council,” the statement said.
“The CLA consists of measures which were prioritized based on the President’s Legislative Agenda (PLA) and the Common Legislative Priorities of Congress (CLPC),” it added.
LEDAC is a 20-member advisory body formed under Republic Act No. 7640 during the administration of former president Fidel V. Ramos, who held its first meeting on May 19, 1993, a year into his term.
After a five-year lull, the young Duterte administration revived the LEDAC with the council meeting last Jan. 30, setting the stage for close consultation between the legislative and executive on reform priorities, as well as for inclusion of the judiciary branch.
Meanwhile, the LEDAC ExCom is only composed of the leaders of both chambers of Congress, the Executive Secretary, the Socioeconomic Planning Secretary, and the Presidential Legislative Adviser. It convenes as often as may be necessary.
WTO DEMANDS
In the same statement on Sunday, Mr. Pernia stressed anew the need to immediately amend the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996 after the country’s quantitative restriction (QR) on rice granted by the World Trade Organization (WTO) expired last June.
“This is to prevent uncertainty as to what the demands of WTO members will be following the lapse of the QR,” Mr. Pernia said.
Last week, Mr. Pernia told reporters that the economic team will likely pitch its plan to certify as urgent the bill on lifting the QR on rice to Mr. Duterte before his second State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on July 24.
“So we don’t have to go through this complicated process of extending trade concessions to countries or members of WTO that might do something in exchange for our delay in tariffication,” Mr. Pernia, who also co-chairs the Committee on Tariff and Related Matters, had said on Monday last week.
The QR is a non-tariff measure imposed by a member of the WTO to limit the volume of imports of a particular commodity over a particular period. The regime expired last month.
The country was allowed to impose temporary QRs on rice after the government was permitted “special treatment” for the staple grain upon acceding to the WTO in 1995. The special treatment was extended up to June 30 this year through a waiver.
During the negotiations for the second extension, which was granted in 2014, the Philippines had agreed to, among others, increase the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) to 805,200 metric tons and reduce the in-quota tariff to 35% corresponding to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Trade in Goods Agreement duty and a most-favored nation (MFN) rate of 40% for volumes imported outside the MAV.
Through this arrangement, the Philippines was given more time to achieve self-sufficiency in rice, a move expected to counter the damaging impact of the expected influx of cheap rice imports after the QR is scrapped.
As the QR neared its expiration, Mr. Duterte signed Executive Order No. 23 in April extending the “effectivity” of MFN, MAV and “other Philippine commitments” relating to the waiver granted by WTO on the special treatment of rice.
Meanwhile, the amendments to Republic Act 8178 or the Tariffication Act of 1996 is still pending ratification in both chambers of Congress.
Sought for comment, the Office of the Cabinet Secretary who sits as a member of the grains regulator National Food Authority (NFA) council, said Mr. Duterte signed EO No. 23 to “show the other governments in WTO that we have an enabling policy” and to “protect” local farmers from the adverse impact of the QR’s expiration.
“We still have to work out the protection of our rice farmers because baka di sila maka-compete dito sa (they might not be able to stand competition with) more affordable rice imports,” Jonas George S. Soriano, assistant secretary at the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, said in a telephone interview.
“So kailangan muna i-extend na magkaroon ng mga tariff... So ‘yun so far ang napapag-usapan sa Cabinet (So there’s a need to extend or impose the tariff… that’s what’s being discussed at the Cabinet so far),” he added.
“We need to be fair [to other WTO members]. We want to join also the community of nations but we also have to protect our farmers until such time we can actually compete with the world market.”
The National Economic and Development Authority said that introducing competition in the domestic market through the tariffication scheme would encourage farmers to work towards self-sufficiency.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said earlier that he is considering proposing a seasonal tariff for rice, with low tariff rates during the lean months and higher rates during harvest season -- but Mr. Pernia had said this scheme has yet to be reviewed by the economic team
In a statement issued by his office on Sunday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the list of bills will be endorsed to the LEDAC in its next meeting for adoption as well as for approval and certification by the President as urgent.
“[By identifying the bills as urgent,] we mean that we would want them passed into law possibly within the year,” said Mr. Pernia, who chaired the LEDAC-ExCom meeting last week.
The body agreed to endorse the following measures:
• Unified National Identification System Act
• Security of Tenure Bill (End of “Endo” or Contractualization)
• Utilization of the Coconut Levy Fund
• National Transport Act to address transport traffic crisis
• Budget Reform Act
• National Land Use Act
• Rightsizing of the National Government
• Amendments to the Anti-Cybercrime Act
• Amendments to the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996
• Amendments to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Charter to allow for free irrigation
• Amendment to Public Service Act
• Ease of Doing Business Act/Fast Business Permit Act
• Government Procurement Reform Act Amendments
Aside from the 13 bills, the LEDAC-ExCom also “strongly endorsed” the passage of the tax reform bill, which was passed on final reading by the House of Representatives just before Congress adjourned the first regular session after getting a nudge from Mr. Duterte.
“The 14 bills are part of the 28 measures included in the proposed Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) reviewed and vetted by the LEDAC Secretariat, for final approval of the Council,” the statement said.
“The CLA consists of measures which were prioritized based on the President’s Legislative Agenda (PLA) and the Common Legislative Priorities of Congress (CLPC),” it added.
LEDAC is a 20-member advisory body formed under Republic Act No. 7640 during the administration of former president Fidel V. Ramos, who held its first meeting on May 19, 1993, a year into his term.
After a five-year lull, the young Duterte administration revived the LEDAC with the council meeting last Jan. 30, setting the stage for close consultation between the legislative and executive on reform priorities, as well as for inclusion of the judiciary branch.
Meanwhile, the LEDAC ExCom is only composed of the leaders of both chambers of Congress, the Executive Secretary, the Socioeconomic Planning Secretary, and the Presidential Legislative Adviser. It convenes as often as may be necessary.
WTO DEMANDS
In the same statement on Sunday, Mr. Pernia stressed anew the need to immediately amend the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996 after the country’s quantitative restriction (QR) on rice granted by the World Trade Organization (WTO) expired last June.
“This is to prevent uncertainty as to what the demands of WTO members will be following the lapse of the QR,” Mr. Pernia said.
Last week, Mr. Pernia told reporters that the economic team will likely pitch its plan to certify as urgent the bill on lifting the QR on rice to Mr. Duterte before his second State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on July 24.
“So we don’t have to go through this complicated process of extending trade concessions to countries or members of WTO that might do something in exchange for our delay in tariffication,” Mr. Pernia, who also co-chairs the Committee on Tariff and Related Matters, had said on Monday last week.
The QR is a non-tariff measure imposed by a member of the WTO to limit the volume of imports of a particular commodity over a particular period. The regime expired last month.
The country was allowed to impose temporary QRs on rice after the government was permitted “special treatment” for the staple grain upon acceding to the WTO in 1995. The special treatment was extended up to June 30 this year through a waiver.
During the negotiations for the second extension, which was granted in 2014, the Philippines had agreed to, among others, increase the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) to 805,200 metric tons and reduce the in-quota tariff to 35% corresponding to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Trade in Goods Agreement duty and a most-favored nation (MFN) rate of 40% for volumes imported outside the MAV.
Through this arrangement, the Philippines was given more time to achieve self-sufficiency in rice, a move expected to counter the damaging impact of the expected influx of cheap rice imports after the QR is scrapped.
As the QR neared its expiration, Mr. Duterte signed Executive Order No. 23 in April extending the “effectivity” of MFN, MAV and “other Philippine commitments” relating to the waiver granted by WTO on the special treatment of rice.
Meanwhile, the amendments to Republic Act 8178 or the Tariffication Act of 1996 is still pending ratification in both chambers of Congress.
Sought for comment, the Office of the Cabinet Secretary who sits as a member of the grains regulator National Food Authority (NFA) council, said Mr. Duterte signed EO No. 23 to “show the other governments in WTO that we have an enabling policy” and to “protect” local farmers from the adverse impact of the QR’s expiration.
“We still have to work out the protection of our rice farmers because baka di sila maka-compete dito sa (they might not be able to stand competition with) more affordable rice imports,” Jonas George S. Soriano, assistant secretary at the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, said in a telephone interview.
“So kailangan muna i-extend na magkaroon ng mga tariff... So ‘yun so far ang napapag-usapan sa Cabinet (So there’s a need to extend or impose the tariff… that’s what’s being discussed at the Cabinet so far),” he added.
“We need to be fair [to other WTO members]. We want to join also the community of nations but we also have to protect our farmers until such time we can actually compete with the world market.”
The National Economic and Development Authority said that introducing competition in the domestic market through the tariffication scheme would encourage farmers to work towards self-sufficiency.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said earlier that he is considering proposing a seasonal tariff for rice, with low tariff rates during the lean months and higher rates during harvest season -- but Mr. Pernia had said this scheme has yet to be reviewed by the economic team
http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=TopStory&title=ledac-lists-13-bills-as-urgent&id=148299
Farm production lesson: Less the
government, better the trade
India’s farm
produce is private; mills are private; traders are self-employed who arrange
financing privately; market risk of profit and loss is private;
buyers/importers too are largely private.
This year Bangladesh needs to import 1.5 mt of Non-Basmati
rice-that could go up to 2 mt.
Rice (Basmati+Non-Basmati) export of 75 million tonnes (mt) in a
decade between 2007-17 with forex earnings of Rs 2,76,000 crores—which as
per current $/rupee parity equals $42.5 billion—is one of the most notable
features of India’s trade thrust. This would be even more in dollar terms if
lower rupee-dollar is factored for previous years. Thailand stands at number
one with export of 90 mt rice in the same period while India at number two (see
accompanying graph) and Vietnam with 62 mt at number three.
India would have surpassed Thai’s highest figure—but for the
three year ban (from 2008 to 2011), imposed by the then government on export of
Non-Basmati rice. India suffered “export loss” of atleast 16-17 mt of rice
during prohibition period, while there was no scarcity of cereal in that
triennium. India has never imported rice on government account for last 25
years or so, and thus has a record of self-sufficiency. All rice exports are
from private stocks—thus keeping food security fully insured through FCI and
its agencies.
If data for the last five years is analysed, then India shipped
out @10.9 mt each year—54.5 mt versus 47.5 mt of Thailand—because no ad-hoc
tweaking in export policy was done by the government. That is how it should be.
Exports require unrestricted access to markets and any ban or change in
policies entail handing over clients to competition. Thailand, due to its
government’s irrational paddy pricing policy of 2011, outpriced itself from
African/Asian markets. Its rice quality suffers due to processing from
old-damaged paddy.
In 2017-18 too, India is likely to maintain annual shipments of
11-12 mt of rice in a world trade of 42 mt. This sustained success should be
highlighted in all international fora to build India’s brand image as a quality
and quantity exporter of rice.
The government’s programme to “Bring the Green Revolution to
Eastern India (BGREI)” through improved technologies launched in 2010 has
realised significant productivity gains in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,
eastern Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Odisha.
India’s annual production is about 110 mt of milled rice;
opening stocks of 19 mt; total availability is 129 mt versus local consumption
of 100mt + exports of 11mt, thereby leaving surplus of 18 mt as of now.
India lacks presence in South-east Asian market of Indonesia,
Philippines and China where Thailand/Vietnam dominate because of logistics and
historic continuity. China, too, is turned regular importer of 4 mt annually
where our presence is negligible.
Basmati
Total annual production of Basmati is about 10 mt. Saudi Arabia,
Iran, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait remain prominent markets of 3-4 mt of Basmati rice
annually. Basmati Pusa 1121and 1509 varieties released, respectively in 2003
and 2013, by IARI in parboiled form have proved to be a boon for the
farmers/millers and buyers in Iran/Saudi Arabia as it is 40% cheaper than
traditional Basmati with grain length of 20 mm after cooking. At present, it
trades at $1150 fob versus $900 fob last year. Thai fragrant rice competition
is subdued with Pusa 1121.
Sortexed capacities involving optical and electronic sorting machines have been upgraded by rice millers for uniformity in color/quality. Prominent rice exporters are also targeting the US and the EU—though they keep raising issues of Minimum Residue Levels of fungicide, which adversely affects volume and velocity of exports.
Sortexed capacities involving optical and electronic sorting machines have been upgraded by rice millers for uniformity in color/quality. Prominent rice exporters are also targeting the US and the EU—though they keep raising issues of Minimum Residue Levels of fungicide, which adversely affects volume and velocity of exports.
Non- Basmati
Nigeria and Francophone countries of West Africa (Benin Liberia,
Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and Ivory Coast) South Africa, UAE are some of the major
destinations of Indian Non-Basmati rice exports of 6-7mt per annum. Trade with
African nations is preferably done through intermediaries in
France/Switzerland/UAE to ensure payment. In addition to 25% broken white rice,
India is prime player in 5% parboiled and 100% broken white silky sortexed
rice. Multiple varieties of rice like—Pant 4, IR64, IR36, IR8, 1001, Sona
Masoori—offer choices for right pricing.
Nigerian/Benin market is of 2 mt per annum where Thai and Indian parboiled rice sell at par in equal ratio; entire Liberian market of 0.5 mt needs Indian parboiled variety only; Ivory Coast has annual demand of 1.3 mt with 50% market share of Indian parboiled/white rice. Senegal demands 1.2 mt annually 100% broken white silky sortexed rice where Indian share is 60%—rest goes to Thai and Uruguay.
Nigerian/Benin market is of 2 mt per annum where Thai and Indian parboiled rice sell at par in equal ratio; entire Liberian market of 0.5 mt needs Indian parboiled variety only; Ivory Coast has annual demand of 1.3 mt with 50% market share of Indian parboiled/white rice. Senegal demands 1.2 mt annually 100% broken white silky sortexed rice where Indian share is 60%—rest goes to Thai and Uruguay.
Bangladesh—The new kid on the block
This year Bangladesh needs to import 1.5 mt of Non-Basmati
rice-that could go up to 2 mt. Import duty has been reduced by the
government of Bangladesh (GOB), to 10% from 28%—thus confirming desperation of
demand. GOB has issued five tenders of 50,000 mt each where 0.1mts Indian 5%
parboiled rice is contracted at $430 and $445 C&F, while local wholesale
price in Bangladesh is taka 45/kg or about $560/mt. GOB also bought 0.2 mt of
Vietnamese parboiled rice at $470/mt C&F.
Indian private traders are daily making truck dispatches from
West Bengal/Bihar to Bangladesh and have dried up market surpluses in these two
states. Additional demand will be catered from Jharkhand/ Chhattisgarh by land
route or from Kakinada via sea. Price of 5% parboiled rice which was $400
C&F Chittagong in May 2017 is higher by 10% now. Indian prices are under
tremendous pressure due to demand pull from Bangladesh that will make rice
expensive for African markets as well.
India’s farm produce is private; mills are private; traders are
self-employed who arrange financing privately; market risk of profit and loss
is private; buyers/importers too are largely private. Rice inflation is under
control. The lesson is that the less the government the better the trade.
Momentum of rice export can be maintained if the government avoids tinkering
with current policy profile. Rice is the only agro-commodity that has weathered the test of time in national and international
markets
http://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/farm-production-lesson-less-the-government-better-the-trade/765922/
Maize, rice, wheat: alarm at rising climate
risk to vital crops
Simultaneous harvest failures in key regions would bring global
famine, says the Met Office
A villager lifts up fallen corn plants after a flood at a
farm in Jianhe county, Guizhou province, China in July 2017. Photograph:
Reuters
Saturday 15 July 2017 21.59 BSTLast
modified on Saturday 15 July 2017 22.40 BST
Governments may be seriously
underestimating the risks of crop disasters occurring in major farming regions
around the world, a study by British researchers has found.
The newly published research, by
Met Office scientists, used advanced climate modelling to show that extreme
weather events could devastate food production if they occurred in several key
areas at the same time. Such an outcome could trigger widespread famine.
The scientists, led by Chris
Kent, of the Met Office, focused their initial efforts on how extreme weather
would affect maize, one of the world’s most widely grown crops. Heat and
drought were the prime risks, although flooding was also included in the
analysis.
Guardian Today: the headlines,
the analysis, the debate - sent direct to you
The group found there is a 6%
chance every decade that a simultaneous failure in maize production could occur
in China and the US – the world’s main growers – which would result in
widespread misery, particularly in Africa and south Asia, where maize is
consumed directly as food.
“The impact would be felt at a
global scale,” Kent told the Observer. “This is the first time
we have been able to quantify the risk. It hasn’t been observed in the last 30
years, but the indications are that it is possible in the current climate.”
An example of the kind of
disaster that could occur is provided by the maize harvests that failed last
year in Africa. Communities in Zambia, Congo, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and
Madagascar were affected and six million people were left on the brink of
starvation. A joint failure of China and America’s maize harvest would have a
far greater impact.
Drought-damaged corn stalks at a farm in Missouri Valley,
Iowa. Photograph: Larry Downing/Reuters
Having studied the risks facing
maize production, the group is now following up this work by studying climate
impacts on the world’s other staple crops – in particular rice, wheat and soya
beans – in order to assess how weather extremes could affect their production.
According to the UN Food and
Agriculture Organisation, maize, rice and wheat together make up 51% of the
world’s calorie intake. Billions of people rely on these crops for survival. Any
disruption to their production would have calamitous consequences.
The trouble is that crop-growing
methods and locations have changed considerably over time, as has the climate
and the probability of extreme events, Kent told the Observer.
“This means the number of relevant observations to the present-day growing of
stable crops has been reduced, and that limits our ability to have useful
estimates of the risks to the growing of these crops.”
To get round this problem, the
team ran 1,400 climate model simulations on the Met Office’s new supercomputer
to understand how climate might vary in the next few years and found that the
probability of severe drought was higher than if estimated solely from past
observations. The scientists concluded that current agricultural policies could
considerably underestimate the true risk of climate-related shocks to maize
growing and food supply.
The particular risk outlined by
the study envisaged simultaneous catastrophic disruptions in China and the US.
In 2014 total world production of maize was around 1 billion tonnes, with the
US producing 360 million tonnes and China growing 215 million. If production in
these two countries were hit by simultaneous extreme weather events, most
likely droughts, more than 60% of global maize production would be hit.
A double whammy like this has
never happened in the past, but the work by the Met Office indicates that there
is now a real risk. In addition, there may be risks of similar events affecting
rice, wheat or soya harvests. These are now being studied by the Met Office,
which is also working with researchers in China in a bid to understand climate
risks that might affect agricultural production.
“We have found that we are not as
resilient as we thought when it comes to crop growing,” said Kirsty Lewis,
science manager for the Met Office’s climate security team. “We have to
understand the risks we face or there is a real danger we could get caught out.
For now we don’t have the means to quantity the risks. We have to put that right.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/15/climate-change-food-famine-study
RIFAN seeks collaboration with
African countries on rice production
Posted By: On: July 16, 2017 In: Agric, News Update
The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) says it is
seeking collaboration with Competitive African Rice Initiative (CARI) and other
African countries to increase rice production and export within the continent.
CARI is to significantly improve
the livelihoods of rice farmers in selected countries in the sub-region by
increasing the competitiveness of domestic rice supply.
CARI is implemented in Burkina
Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania with the aim of reaching 120,000 African
rice producers.
The direct beneficiaries of this
project are male and female smallholder rice farmers with a daily income below
2 US$. Secondary beneficiaries are rural service providers and rice
millers improving their sourcing capacity of quality supply.
Malam Sadiq Daware, National
Treasurer, RIFAN, said in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in
Abuja on Sunday, that the association had also finalised talk with Ghana,
Burkina Faso and Tanzania.
RIFAN official said that it had
become imperative to forge a crucial partnership with the countries to drive
the rice value chain.
He said the CARI officials had
met with RIFAN to form Nigerian Rice Advocacy platform, where all the actors in
the rice value chain would collaborate to increase rice production and export.
“The platform has been
established in the 36 states and FCT and the entire representative have elected
their leadership.
“The platform recognises the
important role rice plays as a major staple food in the region, and the
potential for widespread and positive socioeconomic impact through the
development of a strong regional rice value chain,’’ he said.
Daware also said the primary
objectives of CARI was to promote cooperation among regional and national rice
bodies, ease cross border trade and strengthen existing national rice value
chain platforms.
According to him, it is also to
support the creation of such platforms, where they do not yet exist.
He said under the CARI agreement,
stakeholders would also promote research and analysis and exchange best
practices and creating adequate awareness of its activities among farmers.
Daware disclosed that by August,
several rice stakeholders across Africa would converge in Abuja to further
discuss rice research, development, production and policy.
He said the meeting would
consolidate on production of enough rice to cover the needs of consumers.
Daware also said it deliberate on
how to add value and allow rice export to other West African countries to
enable it compete favourably with rice from Thailand and India.
He said consolidation in CARI
remained a major focus because rice consumption in Africa had reached over 11.8
million tonnes yearly and not less than 3.3 million tonnes imported within the
same period.
The RIFAN national treasurer,
however, said 21 of the 39 rice producing countries in Africa imported between
50 and 99 per cent of their rice requirements.
Daware said that various
challenges confronting rice importation include inadequate development and
availability of improved post-harvest processing technologies and value
addition and lack of access to credit by farmers, traders and processors.
These challenges, he said had led
to low yields in rice production and limiting the rice sector development in
the country.
He, however, assured that at the
end of the meeting, the initiative would impact over 2 million rice farmers and
solve all the perennial rice production, processing and marketing problems.
Daware commended the Buhari-led
administration for its various initiatives leading to significant boost in rice
production.
“Annual rice production in
Nigeria has increased from 5.5 million tonnes in 2015 to 5.8 million tonnes in
2017.
“The consumption rate now is 7.9
million tonnes and the production rate has increased to 5.8 tonnes per annum,’’
he said.
“Spending had drastically
reduced, consumption and increased because of increased local production of the
commodity.
He said that the increase was as
a result of the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) with a total of 12
million rice producers and 4 million hectares of FADAMA rice land.
Daware also commended the Nigeria
Customs Service for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with RIFAN to
fight rice smuggling of rice through, land border, into the country.
Nigeria:
FG says price of rice will crash in two weeks, to sign MoU with Afe Babalola
University
By
Ayoola Ponmile
July
16, 2017 15:17:47pm GMT |
Chief
Afe Babalola
WorldStage Newsonline-- The
Federal Government of Nigeria has assured that the price of rice will crash
within the next two weeks while the country will stop the importation before
the end of the year to boost internal production of the commodity and meet
foreign exchange earnings that can support diversification of the economy.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development, Audu Ogbeh, who disclosed this at the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, the
Ekiti State capital, during a working visit to Ekiti State said the FG will
sign a Memoranda of Understanding with Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti
(ABUAD) and Ekiti State government on the production of rice.
Ogbeh also visited Afe Babalola
University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) Farm where he revealed his ministry’s intention
to supply the institution with 20 tonnes of rice seedlings in the next planting
season to boost rice production internally.
Ogbeh said the current economic
recession had helped the Federal Government to think outside the box and had
succeeded in bringing the deserved revolution to agriculture sector .
The ABUAD Founder, Chief Afe
Babalola (SAN), praised the Buhari administration for bringing revolution to
the country’s agriculture sector that had been neglected by successive
governments, describing the current economic recession as a blessing in
disguise.
He said: “To support the FG
initiative, this university for the past three years have been holding annual
Afe Babalola Agriculture EXPO (ABAFEX), where we give N1m to the best farmer in
Ekiti and N250,000 to the best in 16 local governments.
“This year, we intend to hold
Rice Summit with intention to expose Ekiti potentials in the production of the
commodity.
http://www.worldstagegroup.com/worldstagenew/index.php?active=news&newscid=37312&catid=36
Genetic change
in HYV seed: Shreyas to replace Uma
By Biju E Paul | Express News
Service | Published: 17th July 2017 08:00
AM |
Last Updated: 17th July 2017 08:26
AM | A+A A- |
ALAPPUZHA: The
state is set to witness a mass replacement of paddy seeds after a genetic
change appeared in the Uma, a high-yielding seed variety being used in the
state since 2000.
The Kerala Agricultural University and the Agriculture Department has started replacing Uma with Shreyas. The production of seeds started in the model farms of the Agriculture Department and Kerala State Seed Development Authority.
The Kerala Agricultural University and the Agriculture Department has started replacing Uma with Shreyas. The production of seeds started in the model farms of the Agriculture Department and Kerala State Seed Development Authority.
The Uma was
also developed in the station in 1998 and its use was started extensively in
2000. In the decade and half since then, the seed was being used in more than
80 per cent of the paddy fields in Kerala and in other states, including
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
We started to think about a new variety after the Uma paddy started to show signs of easily vulnerable to diseases,” said Reena. “A disease, false smut’ (Lakshmi ), widely appeared in the state in 2012-14 and the production of paddy reduced drastically during the period.”
We started to think about a new variety after the Uma paddy started to show signs of easily vulnerable to diseases,” said Reena. “A disease, false smut’ (Lakshmi ), widely appeared in the state in 2012-14 and the production of paddy reduced drastically during the period.”
The content of
black-coloured rice was also high in the rice after processing. Another pest,
gall fly (goleecha), also widely affected the paddy cultivation. The studies
curried out in the RRS found the resistance of the Uma had decreased, causing
pest attacks, said Reena.
Till 1998, the farmers of the state grew a variety named Jyothi, also developed in the station.
Till 1998, the farmers of the state grew a variety named Jyothi, also developed in the station.
When this showed symptoms of pest attack, it
was replaced with Uma.
Reena said,
the quality of Shreyas is better than Uma. However, the rice flour from Uma is
better.
At full growth, the Shreyas is taller than the Uma, so the chance of stalks of paddy bending and breaking off is higher, so the RRS is advising farmers to use manure with lesser quantities of nitrogen content.
At full growth, the Shreyas is taller than the Uma, so the chance of stalks of paddy bending and breaking off is higher, so the RRS is advising farmers to use manure with lesser quantities of nitrogen content.
Why Shreyas?
Shreyas has
given the same yield as that of Uma; the former has been found to be less
susceptible to ‘false smut disease’, which results in discolouration and up to
20 per cent damage to the crop. Uma yields 8 to 9 tonnes of paddy per hectare.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2017/jul/17/genetic-change-in-hyv-seed-shreyas-to-replace-uma-1629724.html
Rice Starch Market 2017- BENEO, Ingredion, Bangkok starch, Thai
Flour, AGRANA, WFM Wholesome Foods, Golden Agriculture, Anhui Lianhe
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http://www.openpr.com/news/624399/Rice-Starch-Market-2017-BENEO-Ingredion-Bangkok-starch-Thai-Flour-AGRANA-WFM-Wholesome-Foods-Golden-Agriculture-Anhui-Lianhe.html
RiceBran
Technologies (NASDAQ:RIBT) Given News Sentiment Rating of 0.14
July 16th, 2017 - By Scott Moore -
These are some of the news headlines
that may have effected Accern Sentiment Analysis’s scoring:
Get RiceBran Technologies alerts:
• RBT
buys Healthy Natural for $18.3 mln (pehub.com)
• RiceBran
Technologies Sells Healthy Natural Subsidiary for $18.3 Million in Order to
Focus on Building Shareholder Value Thro… (ih.advfn.com)
• RiceBran
Technologies (RIBT) Sells Healthy Natural Subsidiary for $18.3M; to Focus on
Building Shareholder Value Through Its Ingredient Business (streetinsider.com)
• [$$]
Rosewood Acquires RiceBran Subsidiary (finance.yahoo.com)
• BRIEF-RiceBran
Technologies sells its unit Healthy Natural Inc for $18.3 million
(feeds.reuters.com)
RiceBran Technologies (NASDAQ RIBT)
opened at 1.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $0.88
and a 200-day moving average price of $0.90. RiceBran Technologies has a 1-year
low of $0.69 and a 1-year high of $1.77. The company’s market capitalization is
$11.36 million.
RIBT has been the topic of a number
of recent analyst reports. Maxim Group lowered RiceBran Technologies from a
“buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 24th. Lake
Street Capital initiated coverage on RiceBran Technologies in a research note
on Wednesday, May 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2.00 price objective
on the stock.
About RiceBran Technologies
RiceBran Technologies is a human
food ingredient, functional food ingredient, packaged functional food and
animal nutrition company. The Company is focused on processing and marketing of
nutrient dense products derived from raw rice, an underutilized by-product of
the rice milling industry. The Company has two operating segments.
https://www.thecerbatgem.com/2017/07/16/ricebran-technologies-nasdaqribt-given-news-sentiment-rating-of-0-14.html
Emergency import of 500,000 tons of rice
The Government is to make an
emergency import of 500,000 tons of rice to face a feared shortfall in local
production due to adverse weather conditions. The state will import 300,000
tons whilst the private sector will be allowed to import the remaining 200,000
tons. Stocks will come mainly from Vietnam, Myanmar, Pakistan and Thailand.
Officials have been tasked to visit these countries to assess prices and
quality.
The Cabinet Sub Committee on Cost
of Living at recent a meeting presided over by President Maithripala Sirisena,
discussed the crisis arising out of the drop in production. One of the
immediate measures then was to remove the five rupee tax on imported rice and
revise the Maximum Retail Price to match locally produced varieties in the
market. The sub committee noted that adequate paddy stocks were also not
available. It was observed that in India also rice prices had risen due to
shortages.
President Sirisena has since been
spearheading a diplomatic push to buy stocks from abroad. He has personally
spoken on the telephone to those at Sri Lanka diplomatic missions abroad and
leaders of rice producing countries in South Asia. The Co-operative Wholesale
Establishment (CWE) is to import stocks on behalf of the Government. However,
the CWE is in a financial crisis and is unable to pay the Paddy Marketing Board
(PMB) a staggering Rs 3.7 billion.
In what appears to be an irony,
the PMB is repaying with interest loans obtained by the CWE from the Treasury
and borrowings from the Bank of Ceylon and the People’s Bank. Now, the
Government has said the Treasury is free to take “necessary steps to recover
the amount”. Industry Commerce Ministry Secretary Chinthaka Lokuhetti said
Pakistan and Myanmar had agreed to supply 25,000 tons each within two weeks.
He said Myanmar would confirm tomorrow whether to increase the amount up to 45,000 tons.
He said Myanmar would confirm tomorrow whether to increase the amount up to 45,000 tons.
The recent drought and the flood
hit both Yala and Maha seasons causing a drastic drop in the yield. Mr
Lokuhetti said that by November about 300,000 tons of rice would be imported
from Pakistan to be distributed through Lak Sathosa outlets and cooperatives.
He added that rice varieties specially Nadu and White Raw rice would be
imported while the Food Technologists and the local officials had checked and
confirmed the quality and the taste of the rice to be imported.
Meanwhile, Lak Sathosa Chairman
T.M.K.B. Tennekoon said 50,000 tons of paddy were available with Lak Sathosa
and the stock would be enough for the next 4-5 months. He said that with the
import of rice, a controlled price would be maintained.
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170716/news/emergency-import-of-500000-tons-of-rice-250582.html
Price of Rice Still High at N18,500
per bag
Saturday, July 15, 2017 7:52PM / FDC
Nigeria is
expected to be self-sufficient in rice production by November 2017. This is
because investors including Dangote are adjusting to policy initiatives and
favourable market conditions by increasing private investment in locally
produced commodities.
In spite of
this, the price of rice is still high at N18,500 per bag.
In the
global market, oil price jumped 3.28% to $48.42pb on lower-than-expected
decline in US crude oil inventories. The sustainability of this trajectory is
subject to a continuous drawdown of global oil inventory. This remains positive
for the naira.
The
attached report summarizes the impact of domestic and global developments on
the commodities market.
|
|
Domestic Commodities
Remained Relatively Flat During The Break
|
https://www.proshareng.com/news/Commodities/Price-of-Rice-Still-High-at-N18500-per-bag/3554
Importers say 40% of rice in the market is
imported
The
Rice Importers Association says that over 40 percent of rice available in the
market at present is imported.Convenor of the Association, Hemaka Fernando, said
that steps would be taken, before the end of October, to import another 220,000
tonnes of rice to the country.
When
News 1st made inquiries in this regard, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce
said that 500,000 more tonnes of rice would be imported to fill the rice
shortage that exists in the country at presenthttp://newsfirst.lk/english/2017/07/importers-say-40-rice-market-imported/170491
Corporation
seeks action against four officials
By Express News
Service | Published: 16th July 2017 10:08
AM |
Last Updated: 16th July 2017 10:08
AM |
BHUBANESWAR: As
custom milled rice (CMR) worth over `1.45 crore has not been recovered from a
private rice miller of Khurda for more than four years, the Odisha State Civil
Supplies Corporation (OSCSC) has requested the Sate Government to take suitable
action against four officials of the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare
(FS&CW) Department.
The State Government had conducted a special audit into the alleged misappropriation of CMR by Bajrangi Food Industries, a private miller in Khurda district, for kharif marketing season 2012-13.
The audit report submitted in August 2014 said the custom miller had misappropriated rice worth `1,45,15,952. While the private miller has failed to deliver the rice to the corporation, the cost of the CMR has not been recovered till date.
The Civil Supplies Corporation has identified three officers, who were posted as Civil Supplies Officer-cum-District Manager for Khurda during the period, responsible for recovery of the cost.
As per the findings of the audit report, Assistant Civil Supply Officer Abhimanyu Mohanty was the authorised officer of the mill. While he failed to discharge his duties, the CSO-cum-DM of the district is equally responsible for short delivery of the custom milled rice by the miller, the report stated.
The other three officers found negligent were Amar Mohapatra, Sudhakar Pradhan and Sarat Chandra Das. While Mohapatra was in-charge of CSO-cum-DM of the district from May 19, 2010 to July 16, 2013, Pradhan was in-charge for nearly two months. However, Das was the district manager till the date of audit.
“Since these officials are under the
administrative control of the Principal Secretary of the FS&CW Department,
it is requested to take suitable action against the officials responsible for
misappropriation of CMR by the miller,” said an official note of the OSCSC
Managing Director.
Earlier, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has rapped the department for showing undue favour to private rice millers for custom milling of paddy despite huge arrears pending against them.
The CAG in its report for General and Social Sector for year ending March 2015 said despite default in delivery of 2,594 tonne of custom milled rice valued at `5.44 crore, personal property of the millers could not be attached as per terms and conditions of the agreement due to non-availability of property details.
RICH BENEFITED
BY FARM LOAN WAIVER, POOR FARMER TAKEN FOR SWEET RIDE
July 15 2017
OP EXCLUSIVE/ SISIR MISHRA
SAMBALPUR: A one-off loan waiver may
not be a panacea for farmers in the state as the benefits won’t percolate down
to real and marginal farmers. “At most, loan waiver would benefit large farmers
or those with sizeable land-holdings. Instead, the government should come up
with an action-plan to ensure long-term growth and development of farmers as
that will enable them to pay back the loans.”
The action-plan may include setting
up farm infrastructure like warehouses to store produce safely and mandies for
sale, along with establishing market linkages for various agricultural produce,
it is recommended.
“A farmer has self-respect and wants
to live with dignity. If he has taken a loan, there is no reason why he would
hesitate to pay it back. Suicide by a farmer is a manifestation of his anguish
that he is unable to pay back his dues and the resultant indignity that he has
to suffer. He prefers death to public humiliation by private money lenders,”
noted Ashok Pradhan, convener of the Western Orissa Krushak Sangathan Samanwaya
Samiti.
In an exclusive interview with this
newspaper, Pradhan said the government should rather try to ensure that the
money earmarked as loan waiver reached all small and marginal farmers and those
with small land holdings. “State-owned banks always give priority to people
with large land holdings. If farm loans are waived, this will benefit only the
middlemen and the big fish among farmers,” he said.
In many cases in western Orissa and
elsewhere, loans are given away in the names of small farmers even though they
cannot make use of the money. They leave their cheque books with middlemen,
traders and rice millers. As the loans are used by these people, the waiver can
only benefit the intermediaries, Pradhan noted.
In recent months, many state
governments such as Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra have
announced loan waivers for farmers and there is hope other state governments
will follow suit. Similar hopes are also building up in Orissa.
Under farm loans, the rate of
interest is the lowest if they money is paid back within the stipulated
timeframe. “Farmers always want to pay the money in time to avail low interest
benefits and fresh loans. However, it is often seen that loans against most of
these accounts are paid before time and fresh loans released. The middlemen
close these loans before time and take fresh loans, thereby reaping the low
interest benefits meant for small farmers. Here, we call this paper
transactions (PTs),” Pradhan said.
In November last, the Centre
demonetised large denomination notes. However, immediately after the
announcement, it was noticed that crores of rupees poured into lakhs of Jan
Dhan accounts. Such massive inflows of cash to these accounts also showed that
farmers do not operate these accounts and it is also that their cheque-books
are not with them. As all government subsidies come to these accounts, courtesy
the digital push by the Centre, and the small and marginal farmers do not
operate their bank accounts, chances are that the rich get away with the money
meant for others.
http://www.orissapost.com/rich-benefited-by-farm-loan-waiver-poor-farmer-taken-for-sweet-ride/
Rice self-sufficiency
Many of the estimated 1,700 varieties of rice that
have evolved to suit the country's micro-climates and soils are now in danger
of becoming extinct
Sean Shoemaker
SEAN SHOEMAKER
HIGH BREED: Women planting paddy at the 15th annual Paddy
Festival on 29 June in Pokhara.
Nepal is one of the most diverse
countries for rice in the world, with paddy growing from the heights of the
3,000m Sinja Valley to the plains of Ilam, at 100m. However, many of the
estimated 1,700 varieties of rice that have evolved to suit the country's
micro-climates and soils are now in danger of becoming extinct.
Scientists say this would worsen
Nepal’s already precarious food security situation, and the country would be
much more dependent on imported hybrids. Nepal’s rice varieties are also
threatened by climate change and rapid urbanisation of fertile valleys, as well
as the out-migration of young men.
“The educated stay abroad, only
us elderly farmers remain in the village. A lot of terraces are now fallow,
they have turned into jungle,” says Surya Prasad Adhikari from Sundari Danda
near Pokhara, who has been at the forefront of a farmer-driven effort to
preserve the genetic diversity of rice seeds by cross-breeding rice varieties
to make them more resilient.
“Local strains of rice are being
abandoned not only because farmers have left, but also because some are
attracted to higher yields of hybrid varieties. Local strains can better resist
climate change, and if they are preserved maybe some farmers would even return
to their land,” says Adhikari, who has worked closely for the Pokhara-based
group, Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD)
that helps cooperatives practice sustainable agriculture.
“The farmers protect quality
seeds so they can breed improved varieties, and planting them in turn protects
the soil,” explains LI-BIRD’s plant breeder, Rajeev Dhakal.
Nepal has an annual rice deficit
of about 1 million tons even during years with good monsoons. Rice production is
averaging about 5 million tons because only 18% of the land is irrigated, and
productivity is low. This year, only 40% of rice fields have been planted
because of late monsoons and elections.
However, hope may be at hand.
Three irrigation projects that will divert water to huge tracts of the Tarai
are about to launch in the central and western plains. This means farmers will
be able to plant spring rice as well. New techniques like System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
and cross-breeding by farmers like Adhikari have improved yields, and these
techniques need to be scaled up.
SRI is now being practised in 12
districts and has doubled the yield in many places, while using half the amount
of seedlings and much less water. SRI combined with mechanisation has boosted
productivity in Tarai farms from an average of 3 tons/hectare to 9 tons/hectare
at a lower cost. Power tillers, automatic paddy planters and harvesters are
replacing manual farming even in the hills.
Says Rajendra Uprety at the
Regional Directorate of Agriculture in Biratnagar and a strong proponent of
SRI: “We need to grow more rice to achieve food security, and need a new
methodology for local seeds for higher yields. SRI is suitable to achieve that
objective.”
http://nepalitimes.com/article/nation/rice-self-sufficiency,3834
Branded basmati may take a hit
NEW DELHI, JULY
14:
Organised players in the Indian
basmati market may have to take a dent in their profits as they have to pay 5
per cent tax under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), rating agency ICRA said on
Friday.
Even though there was a
value-added tax of 5 per cent on basmati rice earlier, it was tax-exempt in
many States. However, under GST, branded basmati firms registered in the
Register of Trade Marks face a levy of 5 per cent.
Interestingly, the Noida-based
KRBL, which has a 30 per cent share in export and 25 per cent in the domestic
market, has managed to stay out of the ambit of GST as its popular India Gate
basmati rice brand is not registered under the Trade marks Act. According to Deepak
Jotwani, ICRA Assistant VP, the imposition of GST is likely to put branded
players in a somewhat disadvantageous position compared to the unbranded
segment as it would widen the pricing gap.
Advantage unbranded
This may result in some
transition of demand from branded to unbranded basmati, benefiting unorganised
players, he said. “More likely, the branded players will witness some erosion
of profitability as they would look to absorb the GST impact and maintain
pricing parity with the unbranded segment,” Jotwani said in a release.
The Indian basmati rice industry
has primarily been export-oriented; however, over the last few years, the
domestic market has expanded significantly. There have been concerted efforts
by large industry participants to establish their brands in the domestic
market.
Coupled with the increased
penetration of modern retail stores, and increasing purchasing power of
consumers, this has aided the growth of basmati rice consumption in the
domestic market, the ICRA official said.
As a result, the market has now
become as strong as the export market for most organised basmati rice
companies.
(This article was published on July 15, 2017)
Second shipment
of imported Vietnam rice arrives in Chittagong
The
second shipment of rice from Vietnam has arrived at the Chittagong port.The
ship, MV Pax, arrived at the harbour carrying 27,000 tonnes of rice from
Vietnam on Monday morning, Food Directorate’s Controller of the Movement,
Storage and Silo Division Md Jahirul Islam told bdnews24.com. “The distribution
of the first shipment of 20,000 tonnes has begun. The second shipment will also
be distributed quickly once the necessary formalities are complete.
” So
far 47,000 of the 250,000 tonnes of rice the Bangladesh government bought from
Vietnam arrived. Food Directorate officials expect the third shipment on Jul
22. Bangladesh decided to import rice from the Southeast Asian country after
floods destroyed crops in haor areas and depleted the government’s rice
reserves. On Jun 14 this year, the government cleared the 9.08 billion procurement
under a government-to-government deal. Bangladesh will buy 50,000 tonnes of
parboiled rice for around Tk 1.95 billion, or $470 a tonne and 200,000 tonnes
of white rice for about Tk 7.14 billion at $430 a tonne, according to the
agreement. Vietnam’s state-run Vinafood 2 will supply 60 percent of shipments
through Chittagong port and the rest through the Mongla port.
Govt issues new
tender to buy 50,000t rice
Bangladesh’s state grains buyer has issued a new international
tender to purchase 50,000 tonnes of rice, European traders said on Friday. The
bidding deadline is July 27. Non-basmati parboiled rice is sought, they said.
Rice from any origin will be accepted and shipment must take place within 40
days of contract signing. Bangladesh, the world’s fourth-biggest rice producer,
could import as much as 1.2 million tonnes of rice this year in an effort to
replenish reserves to combat high domestic prices. Bangladesh has been in talks
about purchasing 200,000 tonnes of parboiled rice from Thailand in a
government-to-government deal, an official said on Thursday. Bangladesh on
Friday issued a separate international tender to import 50,000 tonnes of wheat.
http://en.prothom-alo.com/economy/news/153815/Govt-issues-new-tender-to-buy-50-000t-rice
Sri Lanka signs rice deal
Submitted by ttwin on Sun,
07/16/2017 - 17:46
Writer: Nilar
Workers
loading rice on a ship at Pakokku jetty. (Photo-Thet Htein Win)
Myanmar
plans to export 0.2 million tonnes of parboiled rice and 0.3 million tonnes of
white rice to Sri Lanka under a memorandum of understanding this year,
according to Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF). The National Food Authority of the
Philippines has invited a bid for the contract to buy about 50,000 tonnes of
rice, according to the Commerce Ministry. Khin Maung Lwin, the assistant
permanent secretary at the Commerce Ministry, said: “The Philippines has
proposed the lowest price.
We will win the tender if the price is fair.
The Myanmar Rice Federation has already discussed with rice exporters on tender
conditions and the loading of rice.” The MRF has sent tender prices to Manila.
Myanmar can send 50,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines in October and November
if it wins the tender. Currently, Myanmar is exporting rice to Africa, the EU
and within Asean. Thanks to the expansion of new rice markets, it exported
nearly 700,000 tonnes of rice and broken rice until the end of June this fiscal
year. Until July this financial year, the sector earned US$160 million from the
export of 522,440 million tonnes of rice. The same period last year, the sector
generated more than US$71 million from the export of more than 200,000 tonnes
of rice, according to the Commerce Ministry.
http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/business/10577
A legacy for posterity
