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·According to the Food Security and Nutrition
Strategic Review for Pakistan, food insecurity is among the greatest challenges
for Pakistan. The overall Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU) is estimated to
be about 18 percent of the entire population.Preliminary findings of IPC
Chronic conducted for 18 districts of Sindh province rank 7 districts in Level
4 (Severe Chronic Food Insecurity), 10 in Level 3 (Moderate Chronic Food
Insecurity), 1 in Level 2 (Mild Chronic Food Insecurity) while no single
district in Level 1 (Minimal Chronic Food Security).
·Initial
findings of IPC Acute Analysis conducted in 4 drought prone districts of Sindh
province indicates 3 districts are in Phase 4 (Emergency), and 1 district in
Phase 3 (Crisis).
·Total
national wheat crop production for 2016-17 has been estimated at 25.75 million
MT, showing a marginal growth of 0.4 percent from 25.6 million MT in 2015-16.
·Production
of rice, the second main staple crop of Pakistan, has been estimated at 6.85
million MT (milled basis), reflecting a negligible increase by 0.7 percent from
6.8 million MT in 2015-16.
·Prices
of staple crops (wheat, wheat flour) slightly decreased, and prices of several
non-cereal food commodities significantly decreased. However, the prices of
live chicken, cooking oil and vegetable ghee increased. The fuel prices
slightly increased for both Super Petrol and HSD during January-April 2016,
remained unchanged in May and slightly declined in June 2017.
·Terms-of-Trade
(ToT) increased by 6.2 percent from December 2016 due to decreased wheat flour
price.
·Some
29,398 families returned to their areas of origin in FATA during the reporting
period, reaching a total of 424,525 families (90 percent of total). However,
29,398 families are still in displacement and the Government has announced to
compete the return by December 2017.
http://reliefweb.int/disaster/dr-2014-000035-pak12:00 AM, August 16, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:00 AM, August 16,
2017
Imports rise 9pc as economy heats
up
Star Business Report
Bangladesh's imports grew 9 percent
year-on-year in fiscal 2016-17 as the demand for capital machinery, industrial
raw materials and food grain at home soared.
More than $47 billion worth of goods were brought in to the
country last fiscal year, according to data from the Bangladesh Bank.
Bankers attributed the import growth to the rising economic
activities and development works.
“Lots of machineries, from spinning to textile, re-rolling mills,
auto rice mills, paper mills and power plants, are being imported,” said Mirza
Elias Uddin Ahmed, additional managing director of Jamuna Bank.
In 2016-17, the import of capital machinery soared 37.39 percent
from a year earlier to about $4.85 billion, propelled by power and energy,
garment, pharmaceuticals, telecom, food-processing and packaging sectors.
Industrial raw material imports rose 3.52 percent year-on-year to
$16.22 billion.
A senior BB official said the import of intermediate goods such as
coal, hard coke, clinker and scrap vessels also increased in addition to raw
materials for the garment and textile sectors. “It's a good sign for the
economy that the import of machineries and raw materials is on the rise,” Ahmed
added.
A senior treasury official of Prime Bank echoed the same.Industrial
activities are rising and the growth in import indicates that production,
development and employment will increase in the days to come, he added.The
import of petroleum products based on the settlement of letters of credit
increased 3.3 percent to $2.52 billion in 2016-17. Food grains -- rice and
wheat -- imports grew about 3 percent from a year earlier to $1.15 billion.
Rice import has increased significantly in recent months,
according to Ahmed.The central bank took a number of steps in the last couple
of months of 2016-17 to increase the rice import to boost stock and stabilise
the price level of the staple such that inflationary pressures can be
contained.
The efforts paid off as food inflation in July declined 0.56
percentage points to 6.95 percent -- the lowest in three months. The decline in
the food inflation most likely resulted from a moderation in rice prices,
brought about by a surge in imports.
BD to cut duty on rice imports to cool local prices
DHAKA: Bangladesh will slash the
duty on rice imports to cool high local prices of the staple grain, the
country´s food minister said on Wednesday, the second cut in less than two
months.
The import duty on rice will be
lowered to 2 percent from 10 percent, Food Minister Kamrul Islam told
reporters, down from 28 percent in June. Bangladesh, the world´s fourth-biggest
rice producer, has emerged as a major importer of the grain this year due to
depleted stocks and record high local prices following flash floods in April
that cut around 1 million tonnes of rice production.
"We have taken the decision
anticipating major floods that could further cut rice production," Islam
said, adding the circular outlining the cut would be issued in a day or two.
Growing demand from Bangladesh could help stoke Asian rice prices that hit
multi-year highs in June.
The government is making a frantic
effort to build buffer stocks as it aims to import as much as 1.5 million
tonnes of rice in the year to June.
Bangladesh has bought 250,000
tonnes of rice from Vietnam in a state-to-state deal and is issuing a series of
tenders after its initial plans to import the grain from Thailand and India
suffered a setback over high prices.
The government is in talks with
Cambodia and Myanmar to import rice while it is also engaged in a second round
of discussions with Thailand and India. Rice is a staple food for Bangladesh’s
160 million people and high prices pose a problem for the government which
faces a national election next year. Bangladesh produces around 34 million
tonnes of rice annually but uses almost all its production to feed its
population. It often requires imports to cope with shortages caused by floods
or droughts.
Bangladesh also has a major wheat
import need after floods damaged its crops but tough state purchasing
conditions and slow ship unloading in ports mean trading houses are unwilling
to sell grain to the Asian country.
BD to cut duty on rice imports to cool local prices
DHAKA: Bangladesh will slash the
duty on rice imports to cool high local prices of the staple grain, the
country´s food minister said on Wednesday, the second cut in less than two
months.
The import duty on rice will be
lowered to 2 percent from 10 percent, Food Minister Kamrul Islam told
reporters, down from 28 percent in June. Bangladesh, the world´s fourth-biggest
rice producer, has emerged as a major importer of the grain this year due to
depleted stocks and record high local prices following flash floods in April
that cut around 1 million tonnes of rice production.
"We have taken the decision
anticipating major floods that could further cut rice production," Islam
said, adding the circular outlining the cut would be issued in a day or two.
Growing demand from Bangladesh could help stoke Asian rice prices that hit
multi-year highs in June.
The government is making a frantic
effort to build buffer stocks as it aims to import as much as 1.5 million
tonnes of rice in the year to June.
Bangladesh has bought 250,000
tonnes of rice from Vietnam in a state-to-state deal and is issuing a series of
tenders after its initial plans to import the grain from Thailand and India
suffered a setback over high prices.
The government is in talks with
Cambodia and Myanmar to import rice while it is also engaged in a second round
of discussions with Thailand and India. Rice is a staple food for Bangladesh’s
160 million people and high prices pose a problem for the government which
faces a national election next year. Bangladesh produces around 34 million
tonnes of rice annually but uses almost all its production to feed its
population. It often requires imports to cope with shortages caused by floods
or droughts.
Bangladesh also has a major wheat
import need after floods damaged its crops but tough state purchasing
conditions and slow ship unloading in ports mean trading houses are unwilling
to sell grain to the Asian country.
Pithapuram:
Farmers on Wednesday expressed serious concern over the submersion of 400 acres
of paddy following the closure of drain as part of the expansion of National
Highway. They said the bypass road works were going on as part of highway
expansion.
The
works included those near the Rice Millers’ Association Kalyana Mandapam,
because of which the drain near the road has been filled with gravel. This has
resulted in paddy crop remaining under water, as the let-out has been closed.
This was causing hardship to our crops, the farmers stated.
They
maintained that even before the launch of work, the contractor was briefed
about the crop getting submerged. Yet he had disregarded their plea and
negligently closed the drain, the farmers alleged. They demanded immediate
stoppage of work and creation of a facility to let out the drain water.
Nigeria to Save N300 Billion
Annually From Rice Import
By Bayo Amodu
and Ruth Tene Natsa
Abuja — Nigeria will be saving about N300 billion it spends
annually on importation of rice as local production of the commodity has now
reached 15 million metric tonnes, the federal ministry of Agriculture disclosed
yesterday.
The director of Agriculture at the Kano office of the ministry,
Muhammad Adamu, who gave the hint, while inaugurating the Rice Millers
Association of Nigeria (RIMAN) in the state, said in Kano alone, 1.2 million
metric tonnes of rice was produced in 2016.
He noted that, with the significant increase in local production
and the effort to make the local variety qualitative and more attractive to
Nigerians, the country expects to begin exporting rice to West African
countries between 2018 and 2019.
Adamu said presently, 34 states in Nigeria are producing rice,
with most of them now producing three times in a year.
He disclosed that investigation carried out by the federal
government revealed that rice imported to Nigeria stay up to10-15 years and are
preserved with chemicals that are capable of causing cancer.
In his remarks, the chairman of the Board of Directors of Rice
Miller's Association, Peter Dama, said the association was established to
promote local milling of rice that is fresh, healthy and nutritious.
According to him, the association
is willing to collaborate with the Nigeria Customs Service to stem smuggling of
expired rice into Nigeria.Dama added that
the association intended to work closely with regulatory agencies and
policymakers to ensure standard in local rice milling.
On his part, the Customs officer in charge of rice enforcement,
Ado Hassan, warned that any Customs officer caught conniving with rice
smugglers will have themselves to blame.
He said in less than one year, the zonal command of the agency
confiscated 800,000 bags of rice in Kano and Jigawa States.
Noting that about 9000 bags of rice are still in stores of the
agency, he stated that most of the bags were being given to internally
displaced persons after being certified fit for consumption by the National
Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Meanwhile, the federal government has announced that it will
stop issuing fish importation quota to importers, saying the venture was no
longer sustainable.
Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator
Heineken Lokpobiri, said this during a meeting with the Ijebu Development
Initiative on Poverty Reduction (IDIPR) in Abuja, yesterday.
The minister pointed out that stopping the trade will help boost
local production of fish and other aspects of agriculture in the country.
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Noting that the current deficit in fish in Nigeria is over two
million tonnes, he urged citizens to invest to boost fish production and create
jobs in the sector.
Lokpobiri said, "We realised that fish import is no more
sustainable and what we did was to encourage those that import it to think of
the backward integration by reducing the quota year by year in agreement with
the CBN.
"Very soon, we are not going to give quota for fish
importation. We want everybody to set up their fish farms, employ our people
and create jobs for our people.
"When we came last two years, Nigeria was producing about
700,000 tonnes of fish but this has increased to about 1.2 million tonnes which
means that there has been increment of 400 tonnes. This increase represents
more than 50 per cent of what we were producing".
Lokpobiri who commended the IDIPR for contributing to fish
production in the country, advised other states to emulate the community's
agricultural initiative.
He said the federal government will soon complete and commission
the fish feed mill located at Eriwe village farm in Ijebu community of Ogun
State.
The minister quoted the United Nations' Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) as saying that Ijebu community has the highest number of
fish clusters in the world.
Earlier, the Chairman, Board of Directors of the initiative,
Prof. Olanipekun Alausa, listed some challenges hindering the agricultural
initiative to include inadequate access to loans and lack of modern
agricultural tools for mechanised farming.
Alausa who said the initiative was currently supplying food
items to nine local government areas in the state appealed for more support
from the federal government to enhance the initiative's performance.
He said the scheme, which was established in 1999 as a non-governmental
organisation, was geared towards community development to reduce poverty and
improve the livelihood of people, using agriculture and micro-credit among
others.The chairman said the scheme was involved in poultry, piggery,
bee-keeping and cocoa farming to ensure poverty reduction and contribute to
agricultural development in the country.
His words: "We want provision of access roads in the farm
villages, access to direct credit and government's grants toward our poverty
reduction programme.The change in the life of the poor is visible as the needs
and well-being of women and other disadvantaged groups in our community are
being met.
"Hundreds of young graduates now see agriculture as a
thriving business and cluster innovation farming platform has been proved
beyond doubt that it is capable of making fortune".
Stewardship will be critical for preserving Provisia rice
Farmers will need to consider crop rotation planning before they
begin planting Provisia rice varieties in 2018 or 19.
Tim Walker says it’s been 15 or
16 years since scientists with the LSU AgCenter and officials with American
Cyanamid and Horizon Ag announced the Clearfield technology that helped change
weed control in rice.
Dr. Walker, general manager of
Horizon Ag, and BASF are now preparing growers to begin planting the new
Provisia rice, which is tolerant to quizalofop or Provisia herbicide, on a
limited basis in 2018.
Hopefully, it won’t be 15 or 16
more years before another new technology is developed, but Dr. Walker is urging
growers to practice good stewardship when they try Provisia in 2018 or 2019.
That includes using the proper crop rotation strategies such as not planting
Provisia rice following Clearfield varieties.
He and other speakers discussed
the new system and other new Clearfield varieties during presentations at the
Horizon Ag Field Day on the Mark Wimpy Farm near Jonesboro, Ark., on Aug. 10.
Global Warming Will Sear Three of
Four Major Grain Crops, Says New Meta-study
Maize and wheat especially
vulnerable, rice will hurt and only soybeans seem relatively impervious to
rising temperatures
Ruth Schuster Aug 16, 2017 12:13 PM
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On the banks of the Jordan River, Neanderthals
ate turtles 60,000 years agoThree of the four major grains on which the growing
world population depends are vulnerable to global warming, says a new
meta-analysis based on more than 70 studies.
Farmers have probably known that
plants have optimal ranges in which they grow best since planting the first
wheat some 23,000 years ago. Now science has proved the point.The four crops on
which humankind depends most are wheat, rice, maize, and soybeans. These are
responsible for two-thirds of human caloric intake, says the team.
The starting point of the meta study
was that the effect of climate change on these crop yields was not certain. Now
they are. "Temperature increase reduces global yields of major crops in
four independent estimates," the scientists state in the title of their
paper title. At least soybean turns out to be relatively resilient to warmer
temperature, within limits.One degree change, 7% drop in crop
The sheer multiplicity of parameters
make climate change prediction extremely difficult, but, as the team points
out, understanding temperature and other impacts of the change is critical to
future food security. Especially as scientists now agree that keeping median
global warming less than 2 degrees Celsius will be almost impossible.
The meta-analysis by Chuang Zhao,
Senthold Asseng of the University of Florida and others encompassed studies
based on multiple analytical methods, including modeling global and local crop
yields in response to temperature changes; statistical regression models based
on historical weather and yield data; and artificial field warming experiments.
All methods indicate that rising
temperatures are likely to hurt the global yields of wheat, rice, and maize,
and significantly so – though, the team qualifies, specific results were highly
heterogeneous across crops and geographical areas, and there were also some
positive impact estimates.
Gringing maize, a staple food, in
Kenya: The corn species turns out to be highly vulnerable to rising
temperatures.Thomas Mukoya, Reuters
Each 1-degree Celsius increase in
global mean temperature is projected to reduce average global yields of wheat
by 6%, rice by 3.2%, and maize by 7.4%, the team estimates, assuming no
corrective methods, such as farming adaptations or genetic crop modifications
to make them more resilient.
Soybean yields were hardier. How
temperatures affected soy yields varied widely across crops and geographical
areas, the team said: in some places, yields increased.
Their conclusion: the world needs to
develop crop- and region-specific adaptation strategies to ensure food security
for an increasing world population.
Rice is produced almost entirely in
Asia, but corn for instance, a staple in the West, is grown around the world –
which should be an advantage, for humankind. But part of the problem is that
multiple areas on which the world depends are increasingly likely to get hit at
the same time.
For instance, drought in the U.S.
and China at the same time, which is now entirely feasible, could decimate the
global corn supply: "Our simulations indicate that that type of scenario
is possible in the current climate," researcher Chris Kent told Bloomberg.
Just last month, China admitted that its north is suffering the worst drought
in its history and that crops are suffering. Beijing, at least, is not in
climate change denial.