Bangladesh wheat imports jump 30%
| Update: 19:22,
Nov 05, 2017
Bangladesh’s
wheat imports climbed nearly 30 percent to more than 2.1 million tonnes in the
July to October period from a year earlier, food ministry data showed, with
traders expecting the same pace in the coming months.The South Asian country
has emerged as a major buyer of rice and wheat after floods destroyed its
latest crops, sending staple rice prices to record highs that prompted many to
switch to flour.
This
upwards trend in imports will continue until end of this year, said a
Dhaka-based wheat importer.
“What we
are seeing is that there is a robust demand in the domestic markets as many
people are switching to flour given the high prices of staple rice,” he added.
Traditionally
the world’s fourth-biggest rice producer, Bangladesh’s rice imports are set to
hit their highest levels in a decade as the government races to shore up
depleted stocks and combat high prices.
“I am
buying more flour and less rice these days to cope with the situation,” said
Raqib Hasan, a private sector employee and the sole earning member in a family
of six.
“We used
to eat rice three times a day. .. now we are taking only one meal with rice.”
Bangladesh
imported 5.8 million tonnes of wheat in the year to June 2017, making it one of
the world’s biggest importer of the grain.
Bangladesh
has turned to the Black Sea region for wheat as supply from India dwindled to
meet growing demand while the country’s output has stagnated at around 1
million tonnes.
The
government has bought 200,000 tonnes of wheat in an inter-state deal at $252 a
tonne from Russia, which is set to overtake the United States as the world’s
biggest wheat exporter this year.
Bangladesh
also buys smaller quantities of high-quality Australian and Canadian cargoes
for blending.
Republic of Korea supports Ghana with $9
million to develop rice industry in Central Region
DAILY GRAPHIC
05 NOVEMBER 2017
An official of the Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body (GRIB)
explaining the Ghana Rice Business Centre Model to Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto (2nd
left), the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Nana Kwabena Adjei Ayeh II
(right), Vice President of Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body (GRIB), and some
dignitaries during the exhibition.
The Republic of Korea has offered Ghana $9 million to develop a rice industry in the Central Region.
The choice of the region for the
project followed a recommendation by some Korean rice experts that it had the
potential to produce enough rice to feed the country and also for export.
The Minister of Food and
Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, who made this known when he opened the
fourth Ghana National Rice Festival in Accra yesterday, said the experts had
assessed the rice production potential in all the 10 regions of Ghana.
The two-day festival is on the
theme: “Ghana Rice for food! Ghana Rice for Jobs!
According to the minister, the
experts established that even though all the regions had the potential to
produce rice on a large scale, the Central Region was more endowed.
Importation
Between 2007 and 2015, Dr Akoto
said, the value of rice imports escalated eight-fold from $152 million in 2007
to a peak of $1.2 billion in 2014 and 2015.
“In the same period, the volume
of rice imports climbed from 441,000 metric tonnes to 630,000 metric tonnes”,
he added.
The minister said the statistics
implied that pressure was not only being put on the nation’s trade balance but
also made the country vulnerable to global price increases and supply shortages
in the rice market.
Dr Akoto said in the past few
months, innovative efforts had been made to transform the entire agricultural
sector into a vibrant and high-yielding sector to save the country from
unnecessary importation and huge import bills.
He explained that the overall
objective of the “Planting for Food and Jobs” by the government was to provide
enough food to ensure “food and nutrition security in the country.”
According to him, about 750,000
jobs in both direct and indirect employment would be created during the first
year of its implementation.
Appeal
The President of Ghana Rice
Inter-Professional Body (GRIB), Mr Imoro Amoro, appealed to the government to support
the body to expand and establish Ghana Rice Business Centres to help create
more employment in the country.
He said the Ghana National Rice
Festival had come to stay to help create awareness and promote local rice
brands to create jobs, food security and wealth in the country.
“I also urge the companies
importing rice into the country to come and invest in Ghana rice production to
promote industrialisation in the country,” the president added.
For her part, the Policy Advisor
of the John Agyekum Kufuor Foundation, Nana Ama Oppong-Duah, said the festival
would encourage rice farmers to work hard and produce sufficient rice for both
the local and international markets, adding that, it would also help promote
sustainable food systems in Africa.
“I would, therefore, encourage
value chain members to include nutritious crops in their farming systems to
ensure not only self-sufficiency in rice but also the production of nutritious
food,” she stated.
Writer's
email:rebecca.quaicoe-duho@graphic.com.gh
Posted at: Nov 6, 2017, 1:20 AM; last updated: Nov 6, 2017,
1:20 AM (IST)
Traders’ cartel offers lower prices, growers
start stocking basmati
Des Raj has refused to sell his produce in the Fazilka grain market due to the lower rates. Tribune photo
Praful Chander Nagpal
Fazilka, November 5
Basmati growers here are up in arms as the
popular 1121 aromatic variety is fetching a lower price in the Fazilka market
compared to other markets due to a cartel raised by the private traders.
Traders, including exporters and rice millers,
are the bulk buyers of the variety.
As farmers are being offered lower price, they
have started stocking the paddy. Sources said traders have been purchasing
paddy at Rs 3,100 per quintal compared to Rs 3,300-3,400 per quintal in nearby
districts for the past five days.
“Private traders and exporters have connived to
keep prices low. The farmers are left with no other alternative but sell it to
private traders in the absence of minimum support price and government policy,”
alleged Des Raj of Balluana village who has been waiting to sell his produce at
Fazilka.
“Farmers switched over to the less
water-consuming variety on the persuasion of the government which has now let
them down,” said another farmer Angrej Singh.
Basmati growers of Theh Qalandar village said
villagers have decided not to sell their produce at lower rate.
They claimed that about 20,000 bags (each
weighing 35 kg) of basmati have been produced in the village so far. Out of
those, only 3,000 bags have been sold by farmers. The rest has been stored in
the hope of getting a better price after the dismantling of the cartel.
Official sources said the arrival of 1,46,567
tonnes of paddy had been recorded in the district so far. “I have directed the
market committee authorities to look into the matter and take action,” said DCIsha
Kalia. http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/traders-cartel-offers-lower-prices-growers-start-stocking-basmati/493027.html
PCA says
wild rice rule won't bankrupt Northland
If state administrative law Judge LauraSue Schlatter agrees that
the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency proposal to protect wild rice from
sulfate is officially "reasonable," she will be among the few people
to publicly say so.
Schlatter's job in coming months will be to pore over testimony
about the PCA sulfate standard and determine whether the proposal is legal,
follows state rules and is needed and reasonable.
So far, after multiple public
hearings, it seems almost everyone is saying it's not.
Mining supporters want no sulfate
rule at all, saying there's no major crisis with wild rice downstream of where
mines operate. Business and government groups say the rule would be too costly
to meet.
"The rule being proposed
raises significant technical, ecological and economic questions which must be
addressed prior to moving forward," Marianne Bohren, executive director of
the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, testified last week at a public
hearing on the rule.
Environmental groups want to
stick with the current, statewide sulfate standard of 10 parts per million,
saying it's simple and potentially effective at protecting wild rice if it's
enforced. (So far, it hasn't been.)
"What WaterLegacy is saying,
and what tribal leaders, both Chippewa/Ojibwe and Dakota are saying, is that we
should keep the existing standard and enforce it consistently and rigorously in
all wild rice waters," said Paula Maccabee, attorney for Minnesota-based
WaterLegacy.
Scientists have found that
sulfate — which can come from sewage effluent, mine discharges and other
industrial processes — is converted to sulfides in the sediment of many wild rice
lakes and rivers. The rate of that conversion changes depending on the amount
of carbon and iron in the water (generally, more sulfides with high carbon,
less sulfide with high iron). It's those sulfides that prevent wild rice from
thriving in some areas; the proposed new rules would study the water chemistry
of each wild-rice lake and river to determine what sulfate level they could
handle and still grow wild rice.
Maccabee also noted that research
appears to show that higher sulfate-sulfide levels increase toxic methyl
mercury, a pollutant already targeted because of its potential impact on human
health.
"The need to prevent sulfate
loading from wastewater in Minnesota is driven by public health as well as
environmental quality," she said. "The old rule, if it were enforced,
already protects against mercury methylation. The new rule could make it worse
.... That's not reasonable."
Doomsday scenarios
Iron Range leaders are warning
that the new wild rice sulfate rule could end mining as we know it, closing
taconite plants and putting thousands of people out of work. (That contrasts
with PolyMet's guarantee that it will meet the state's current sulfate standard
by using reverse osmosis treatment that's already included in its copper mining
plan.)
Critics of the new rule say the
PCA should delay any action until next year, when a cost analysis is completed
on the rule's economic impact. Larry Sutherland, head of U.S. Steel's Minnesota
mining operations in Keewatin and Mountain Iron, which employ some 1,700 miners,
said adding reverse osmosis treatment to remove sulfate at Keetac's wastewater
system could cost $200 million, a price tag that would be prohibitive for the
plant to remain competitive in the global iron ore market. The implication is
that the plant could close if the new rule is adopted.
"And you still can't
guarantee any benefit" for wild rice, Sutherland said at the Virginia
public hearing on the rule, adding that the PCA concedes the error rate for
each water body's sulfate standard could be as high as 20 percent.
In testimony last week in
Brainerd, the WLSSD's Bohren said the proposed sulfate-sulfide standard could
cost the district millions of dollars to meet. Wastewater treatment plants
simply aren't designed to remove sulfate, and Bohren said the cost of adding
reverse osmosis treatment to remove sulfate — the only known method — could be
$500 million and raise the plant's electric costs 600 percent.
Those extra costs could
dramatically raise Duluth's monthly sewage rate for residents, from $40 to $75
per month and as high as $140 per month for homeowners if large industrial
customers — namely Verso in Duluth and Sappi and USG in Cloquet — were forced
to shut down. The Sappi mill already pays WLSSD about $10 million per year for
its wastewater treatment. If reverse osmosis was required, that bill could hit
$28 million, Bohren said.
"We're assuming the large
industrial users would not continue to operate if that happened," she
said, foretelling a major hit for Twin Ports jobs.
Bohren also noted that several
scientists have raised questions about the PCA's conclusions on the
relationship between sulfate, sulfide and wild rice.
"We're not saying wild rice
shouldn't be protected. We're saying we don't think the PCA has had enough time
to get to where they need to be," Bohren told the News Tribune.
PCA officials say Bohren's and
other testimony critical of possible compliance costs is premature. The new
sulfate rule wouldn't even apply to the WLSSD because the Duluth harbor, where
the WLSSD releases its outflow, is not on the official state list of wild rice
waters. (Upstream sections of the St. Louis River are considered wild rice
waters but would not affect the WLSSD permit. Bohren countered that there's no
guarantee other groups wouldn't petition to put the Duluth harbor on the wild
rice list.)
"As it stands now the rule
wouldn't apply to them," said Shannon Lothamer, the PCA official charged
with ushering the wild rice sulfate rule through the process. "We
understand their concerns, because the cost of what's out there for treatment
now is so high. But these are really worst-case scenarios that are being thrown
out there."
Protect wild rice, technology will follow
Lotthammer said the PCA is under
legal obligation, under the Clean Water Act, to protect wild rice. It's also a
social obligation, she said. The PCA plans to move ahead to develop a
scientifically defensible rule to protect wild rice, then come up with
affordable ways to meet that rule.
Only when the rule is adopted and
specific sulfate-sulfide limits are set for each lake and river where wild rice
exists, and then only as pollutant discharge permits are renegotiated to meet
the rule, would businesses or municipalities have to make changes.
PCA officials say if those
changes are too expensive, the state will include variances in specific
discharge permits for municipalities and companies that discharge sulfate. The
closing of a plant and the community upheaval that would cause clearly meets
the state's criteria for variances, Lotthammer noted.
"That's where we certainly
plan on issuing permit variances. But first we have to find that point (for
each waterway) where we think wild rice is protected," she said.
Several municipal wastewater
plants have variances for phosphorus removal because of the high cost of
treatment, Lotthammer added. And the WLSSD already has a discharge permit
variance for mercury pollution because it proved there was no feasible way for
it to meet the mercury standard for discharge into Lake Superior. The WLSSD
already is discharging water with less mercury than the rain that falls on
Duluth. The PCA realized that, and granted the variance in the agency's
operating permit, Lotthammer noted.
Critics counter that the variance
process can take years, is expensive and isn't guaranteed because variances
also require federal agency approval.
PCA officials note that there are
myriad examples of how regulation inspired technical breakthroughs that make
pollution control more affordable than naysayers predicted. Coal-fired power
plant operators said they couldn't affordably reduce acid rain- and
smog-causing pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, yet have done
exactly that with so-called smokestack scrubbers. They also have moved to
reduce mercury.
Reserve Mining Co. argued that it
wasn't feasible to stop dumping taconite tailings into Lake Superior, that
on-land disposal was too costly. Now, Northshore Mining is thriving at the
Silver Bay site decades after moving to on-land disposal.
Minnesota's wild rice sulfate
rule will help push development of new, less expensive sulfate-removing
technology, Lotthammer said. (The University of Minnesota Duluth's Natural
Resources Research Institute already is developing bacteria that can eat
eliminate sulfate, testing it in Iron Range mine pit lakes in a process where,
if successful, sulfate treatment would be dirt cheap.)
"We really think that there
will be innovation to help us get to where we need to protect wild rice,"
she said. "Until those innovations happen, until their are options out
there that are affordable, we're not going to force anyone out of
business."
——————————————-
What's the rule?
The Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency in August unveiled details of the new wild-rice sulfate standard — years
in the works, developed after an old sulfate standard was deemed too vague and
too difficult for the industry to meet. A law in place since 1973 limited
sulfate pollution in all Minnesota waters that hold wild rice to 10 parts per
million. The rule was rarely enforced until tribal and environmental groups
began pushing the PCA to include sulfate in pollution discharge permits.
State lawmakers tried to stifle
the sulfate rule but failed, as did court challenges. So the state funded
research to find out what it was about sulfate that harms wild rice.
Studies found that it's not
sulfate that directly harms wild rice. Instead, wild rice is inhibited when
sulfate converts into sulfides (but because the sulfate pollution leads to
sulfides, sulfate is still the target of the regulation.)
Because that conversion is
different in each lake and river (depending on water chemistry, carbon and
iron), the PCA proposed eliminating the old, statewide sulfate limit and
instead studying the water chemistry of each wild-rice lake and river to
determine what sulfate level they could handle and still grow wild rice. The
new rule, if enacted, would limit sulfides to 120 parts per billion. Ultimately
pollution discharge permits for wastewater plants, mines and other
sulfate-emitters would be changed to limit sulfates with the goal of keeping
sulfides below the benchmark of 120 parts per billion and protecting wild rice.
There are about 1,300 lakes and
rivers listed so far on the statewide list of wild-rice waters. About 350 of
those wild-rice waters are downstream of industries or cities that discharge
sulfate and are the most likely to be affected by the changes.
What's next?
If state administrative law Judge
LauraSue Schlatter rules the wild rice sulfate rule unreasonable, the PCA has
to go back to the drawing board and start over (although the old sulfate rule
would remain in effect). If she finds it reasonable, it will be up to PCA
Commissioner John Linc Stine to decide when and how to move forward.
Any legal challenges to the PCA
rule would be heard in the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Then, it will be up to the
federal Environmental Protection Agency to decide if the state rule meets the
Clean Water Act standard to protect wild rice.
Public comments on the wild rice
rule will be accepted through Nov. 22, with comments sent to:
minnesotaoah.granicusideas.com/discussions or mail to Office of Administrative
Hearings, P.O. Box 64620, St. Paul, MN 55164-0620 (Docket 80-90030-34519).
Scientists develop rice that grows in
seawater
Due to the growing shortage of
freshwater, the rice cultivation has declined which is a primary source of food
for over half of the global population. In order to overcome the problem, a
Chinese scientist has developed a process to grow rice in seawater.
China contains a third of its land with swamps, bogs, and
clay-like or salty-like costal water. These waters make processes like
photosynthesis and respiration difficult as the salt stresses plant’s
water-absorption process. This in turn slows the plant’s growth converting it
to its death. Thus, the 87-year-old Chinese scientist Yuan Longping created a
new high-yield strain of rice able to grow in saltwater.
Longping planted 200 various saltwater-tolerant rice strains on
the Yellow Sea to see which one would grow best in salty conditions. His work
yielded 8,030 pounds of rice per acre in comparison to the US growers that
harvest around 7,200 to 7,600 pounds per acre annually, as per China’s Xinhua
News Agency.
Yuan exclaimed, “If a farmer tries to grow some types of
saline-tolerant rice now, they most likely will get 1,500 kilogrammes per
hectare. That is just not profitable and not even worth the effort. Farmers
will have an incentive to grow the rice if we can double the yield.”
However, the experiment did not exactly imitate the actual
situations in the country. Instead, it used water with comparatively lower salt
concentration than it is actually present in nature.
“It’s still only maybe 10% the level of salt in sea water. So
the ‘salt-proof’ rice does have a long way to go before it could help ordinary
farmers,” said Assistant Director General for Agriculture at the United
Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) Ren Wang while talking
to Business
Insider.
According to Wang, China is already making more rice than any
other country and this technique could increase the country’s food supply
drastically. The saltwater rice can also free up freshwater lands, which are
reserved for rice at present, in order to grow other foods.
The saltwater rice has already been available to consumers with
a price around eight times more than ordinary rice. Yet, people buying the rice
are appreciating its texture and flavor. The rice also has many health benefits
including being rich in calcium.
Protect wild rice, technology will follow
Lotthammer said the PCA is under
legal obligation, under the Clean Water Act, to protect wild rice. It's also a
social obligation, she said. The PCA plans to move ahead to develop a
scientifically defensible rule to protect wild rice, then come up with
affordable ways to meet that rule.
Only when the rule is adopted and
specific sulfate-sulfide limits are set for each lake and river where wild rice
exists, and then only as pollutant discharge permits are renegotiated to meet
the rule, would businesses or municipalities have to make changes.
PCA officials say if those
changes are too expensive, the state will include variances in specific
discharge permits for municipalities and companies that discharge sulfate. The
closing of a plant and the community upheaval that would cause clearly meets
the state's criteria for variances, Lotthammer noted.
"That's where we certainly
plan on issuing permit variances. But first we have to find that point (for
each waterway) where we think wild rice is protected," she said.Several
municipal wastewater plants have variances for phosphorus removal because of
the high cost of treatment, Lotthammer added. And the WLSSD already has a
discharge permit variance for mercury pollution because it proved there was no
feasible way for it to meet the mercury standard for discharge into Lake
Superior. The WLSSD already is discharging water with less mercury than the
rain that falls on Duluth. The PCA realized that, and granted the variance in
the agency's operating permit, Lotthammer noted.
Critics counter that the variance
process can take years, is expensive and isn't guaranteed because variances
also require federal agency approval.PCA officials note that there are myriad
examples of how regulation inspired technical breakthroughs that make pollution
control more affordable than naysayers predicted. Coal-fired power plant
operators said they couldn't affordably reduce acid rain- and smog-causing
pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, yet have done exactly that
with so-called smokestack scrubbers. They also have moved to reduce mercury.
Reserve Mining Co. argued that it
wasn't feasible to stop dumping taconite tailings into Lake Superior, that
on-land disposal was too costly. Now, Northshore Mining is thriving at the
Silver Bay site decades after moving to on-land disposal.
Minnesota's wild rice sulfate
rule will help push development of new, less expensive sulfate-removing
technology, Lotthammer said. (The University of Minnesota Duluth's Natural
Resources Research Institute already is developing bacteria that can eat
eliminate sulfate, testing it in Iron Range mine pit lakes in a process where,
if successful, sulfate treatment would be dirt cheap.)
"We really think that there
will be innovation to help us get to where we need to protect wild rice,"
she said. "Until those innovations happen, until their are options out
there that are affordable, we're not going to force anyone out of
business."
Low-hanging fruits in the rehabilitation of Marawi
November 4, 2017, 10:00 PM
By Dr. Emil Q. Javier
Rice hybrids
This is a further elaboration of
how we can build better in Marawi through inclusive agribusiness.The
announcement this week by Henry Lim that SL Agritech Corporation, the region’s
leading hybrid rice breeder, is partnering with the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM) regional government, Go Negosyo and the Department of
Agriculture (DA) to develop a 50-hectare model rice village around Marawi is
precisely the kind of private sector initiative needed to exploit the
low-hanging fruits in building better in war-torn Lanao del Sur.
Intensive hybrid rice cultivation
is highly productive and will immediately raise income of small farmers while
having long-term, sustainable implications to industry competitiveness and
national food security. Hence, the strategic direction set by DA Secretary
Manny Piñol to progressively devote our rice farms to hybrids.
Technology is available and it is
a matter of approximating the conditions where hybrid rice cultivation has
proven to be successful e.g. in Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Pangasinan.
There are five key success
factors, namely, good seeds, water, fertilizers, mechanization and markets. Out
of necessity the inputs will initially have to be provided for free to help the
farmers who have little cash but have land and family labor. Since the inputs
can pay for themselves, the real challenge is putting in place linkages and
institutions that will provide these inputs and services to the small farmers
on a pay-as-you-go basis in the long-run.However, family labor is invariably
not enough. Availability and cost of additional labor are key constraints. But
the cost of tractors for land preparation, rice transplanters, grain combines
and grain dryers are beyond the means of individual small farmers. The machines
can be acquired and operated by cooperatives and/or by small and medium scale
enterprises. There is room for both business arrangements.
The Go Negosyo connection is
therefore vital. SL Agritech is well-placed to provide the primary production
technology requisites. Go Negosyo for its part will supply the organization and
management expertise to support the cooperatives and small- and medium- scale
enterprises (SMEs) who will ultimately provide the institutional back bone for
the provinces’ rice sector. The expected volume of production is small and can
readily be absorbed by the National Food Authority (NFA) and the Department of
Social Work and Development (DSWD) for their emergency rice distribution
requirements.
Yellow genetically modified (GM)
corn hybrids
Actually the bigger, even more
immediate opportunity is the upside from raising the productivity of the
106,000 hectares in Lanao del Sur planted to corn which is twice as large as
the area planted to rice (54,000 hectares). Unlike rice which requires irrigation
for high productivity, corn is rainfed and there is no pressing, constraining
demand for development of irrigation.
Yellow corn is the major feed
ingredient of our vibrant poultry and livestock industries. We used to import a
lot of corn but now we are self-sufficient with feed corn but we need more.
Hybrid yellow GM corn which has
built-in resistance to insects and has tolerance to the herbicide, glyphosate,
is now being very successfully and profitably grown on 800,000 hectares. The
leading provinces engaged in hybrid yellow GM corn production are Cagayan,
Isabela, Pangasinan, Bukidnon, North and South Cotabato.
Similarly the successful
introduction of hybrid yellow GM corn cultivation in Lanao del Sur is another
low-hanging fruit just waiting for a push from the private sector. Many Maranao
farmers are traditional corn growers. The GM corn hybrid technology is now
widely adopted in the neighboring provinces of Bukidnon, North and South
Cotabato. From an agro-ecological point of view there is absolutely no reason
why Maranao farmers cannot benefit from the same.
The SL-Agritech-Go
Negosyo-DA-ARMM connection is a template the other agribusinesses can take a
leaf from. The feed millers and the poultry and livestock producers should be
part of the action.
Just apply more fertilizers
But even more immediate than
introducing highly productive rice, corn coconut and cassava varieties (the
four major crops) is the opportunity to raise yields and incomes of farmers in
Lanao del Sur simply by applying additional fertilizers on their existing
crops. By now all rice farmers are using the improved inbred varieties released
by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and the International Rice
Research Institute (IRRI). However, the amounts of fertilizers most farmers
apply to their rice crops are way below the recommended levels. The same is
true with corn.
In fact, hardly anybody applies
fertilizers on coconut and cassava. And yet, in most places coconuts benefits
from the simple application of sodium chloride, the common table salt.
Thus, if we want to make an
immediate impact on the lives of Maranao farmers, government must find a way to
scrupulously provide them fertilizers without the ghost farmers, ghost and/or
overpriced fertilizer program which have bedeviled past subsidized fertilizers
in the past.
This is the challenge Henry Lim,
and Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship, Joey Concepcion, and DA Secretary
Manny Piñol hopefully can address more intelligently than previous government
bureaucrats.
Diversification, relay cropping
and intercropping with other valuable crops ought to be in the development
agenda for Lanao del Sur but that will require more deliberation, institutional
planning, irrigation and human resource development.
*****
Dr. Emil Q. Javier is a Member of
the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and also Chair of the
Coalition for Agriculture Modernization in the Philippines (CAMP). For any
feedback, email eqjavier@yahoo.com.
NRRI team to assess
crop loss by pest attacks
Berhampur (Odisha), Nov 5 A team
of experts from the National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), Cuttack, is
scheduled to review and assess the damage caused to crops because of pest
attack in Ganjam district.As Ganjam is one of the worst-affected districts due
to massive pest attack in the state, experts of the Orissa University of
Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) have already reviewed the croploss on Friday,
officials said.
They said crops on around 19,904
hectares of land were destroyed due to the insect attack. Crops on 13,009
hectares area were destroyed by brown plant hopper (BPH). Paddy was cultivated
on 2.16 lakh hectares area in the district.
The NRRI team will soon visit the
fields to asess the damage, said Deputy Director of Agriculture (DDA), Ganjam,
Manoj Behera.They are likely to study the pesticides used by the farmers to
control the pest menace, while the extent of damage due to pest attack would be
known after getting reports from all blocks, he said.Meanwhile, the state
government is contemplating sending the pesticides used by the farmers for
laboratory test to the Central Insecticides Laboratory (CIL), Faridabad, to
ascertain their quality, officials said. Several farmers complained that the
pesticides, which they used, were not effective.
A six-member expert team, led by
Bhagaban Patra, professor in entromology department of OUAT, visited different
blocks in the district and interacted with the farmers about the use of
pesticides. "We'll submit our report to the government soon with some
recommendations," said Patra after visiting the affected areas of Aska,
Sorada, Bhanjanagar and Hinjili blocks.
Farmers in different areas staged
demonstrations, displaying their damaged plants. They demanded compensation for
the crop loss. Many farmers said they expected a bumper crop this year due to
favourable climate, but all hopes were shattered due to the pest attack.Bhubaneswar,
Nov 5 The Odisha government today said it would soon dole out compensation to
farmers who have suffered crop losses due to pest attack.Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik will chair a meeting tomorrow to discuss the situation arising out of
pest attack, an official said.
Development Commissioner R
Balakrishnan today reviewed the situation during a high-level meeting here.It
was decided during the meeting that steps will be accelerated to tackle the
situation and the affected farmers would be compensated according to the relief
code, a senior official said.The collectors and other officials of various
districts provided information about the prevailing situation in their areas
through video conferencing.Balakrishnan said the situation was under control
and there was no need to panic as the area under pest attack was not very
large.
The district collectors have been
asked to intensify awareness drives. Revenue officials, self help groups (SHGs)
and grassroot level workers would be mobilised for the purpose, he said.The
state government has already given the nod for disbursal of assistance for rabi
crop loss, he said.Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Bishnupad Sethi said Rs
216 crore has been sanctioned for drought-affected farmers.Experts at the
meeting felt that the incidence of pest attack increased in some areas due to
irregular rainfall and moisture content in the atmosphere, said an official.
Also, mixing of different insecticides,
absence of proper gap between plants and excessive use of urea helped the pest
spread, he said.It is estimated that crops in about 1.78 lakh hectares of
agricultural land in nine districts of Odisha have been attacked by pests,
officials said.Standing crops in 8,211 villages in 92 blocks and 19 urban local
bodies in nine districts are reeling under pest attack, an official of the SRC
office said. Unable to control the attack of brown planthopper, many farmers
have burnt their paddy crop in about 10 districts of the state.
P Nabin Kumar, a farmer of
Bargarh district who had consumed pesticide last night, died during treatment
at Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) today,
officials said.Opposition parties including the Congress and the BJP have
mounted a scathing attack on the BJD government in the state over the issue.
They have alleged that
distribution of spurious pesticides in many areas aggravated the problem.
After farmer suicides and crop burning in Odisha, lens on
‘substandard’ pesticides
Dr Saurabh Garg, Principal Secretary,
Department of Agriculture, said there was no reason to worry. “It (BPH) is not
an exotic pest. It is local to the area. It is nothing farmers are not aware
of."
Written by Sampad Patnaik | New Delhi
| Updated: November 5, 2017 7:29 pm
The state government has reportedly announced compensation for
farmers who have lost more than a third of their crops. At least three farmer suicides and crop burning in eight
districts of Odisha over the last 10 days have given rise to allegations that pesticides
provided to affected farmers may not have been suitable for their pest problem,
and prompted the state government to announce compensation for crop loss.
Farmers in Ganjam, Bargarh, Koraput, Kalahandi, Nuapada,
Bolangir, Sambalpur and Subarnapur districts have reported crop damage by the
brown planthopper (BPH), known as chakada poka, said an official in the
agriculture department. Brunda Sahu, a farmer in Bargarh district, allegedly
committed suicide after torching his pest-affected crops. There are allegations
that Sahu’s despair over crop loss was compounded by the apathy of local
government officials.
Media reports have alleged that the crops were damaged because
the pesticides provided were either substandard, or unsuitable for
planthoppers. The Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has sought
reports on the suicides from principal secretaries of revenue, agriculture,
superintendent of police and collector of Bargarh, officials said.
The state government has reportedly announced compensation for farmers who have lost more than a third of their crops. However, the government may not award any compensation to the farmers burning their crops, an official said. It is difficult for government officials to establish the causes and extent of loss if crops are burnt, the official added.
The state government has reportedly announced compensation for farmers who have lost more than a third of their crops. However, the government may not award any compensation to the farmers burning their crops, an official said. It is difficult for government officials to establish the causes and extent of loss if crops are burnt, the official added.
The BJP has alleged a scam in the distribution of pesticides in
the state. State BJP president Basanta Kumar Panda told The Sunday Express,
“The Odisha government has given distribution rights of pesticides to an
institution named Surabhi. No such institution exists. This, as per my
information, will reveal a scam worth Rs 500 crore.”
Pramod Kumar Mohanty, who is part of a three-member team sent by the state government to test pesticide samples, told The Sunday Express over phone, “The samples will have to be tested in Bhubaneswar to determine quality.” Mohanty, Deputy Director in the Agriculture Department, also said that Bargarh is “the most affected district”. Bargarh is referred to as the rice bowl of Odisha.
Pramod Kumar Mohanty, who is part of a three-member team sent by the state government to test pesticide samples, told The Sunday Express over phone, “The samples will have to be tested in Bhubaneswar to determine quality.” Mohanty, Deputy Director in the Agriculture Department, also said that Bargarh is “the most affected district”. Bargarh is referred to as the rice bowl of Odisha.
Dr Saurabh Garg, Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture,
said there was no reason to worry. “It (BPH) is not an exotic pest. It is local
to the area. It is nothing farmers are not aware of. There is no reason for
farmers in the state to assume there is a pesticide crisis,” he said.
“The pest attack is a recurrent problem. The government has been aware of it
for 17 years. They are apathetic to the plight of farmers in Odisha,” said
Panda, who is also the MLA from Nuapada.
KTR Wants Cotton Farmers To Get Optimum Price For Their Produce
Odisha’s Agriculture Minister Damodar Rout was unavailable for
comment until Monday, his office said.According to Rice Knowledge Bank, a
website partnering the Indian Institute of Rice Research, a high number of
planthoppers initially turns leaves orange-yellow and then brown and dry, a
condition called hopperburn. While hopperburn kills affected plants, BPH can
also transmit two incurable diseases, rice ragged stunt and rice grassy stunt,
the website notes.
‘Rice smuggling may drag Nigeria back to
importation era’
By
Hussein Yahaya & Maryam Ahmadu-Suka (Kaduna) | Publish Date: Nov 5 2017
3:00AMAlhaji Muhammad Abubakar is the Chairman of Umza
International Farms in Kano, the farm which at moment concentrates mainly on
milling hundreds of bags of paddy rice per day. In this interview, he explains
how rice smuggling into the country will kill the nation’s rice industry if not
urgently curtailed.
Paddy rice being offloaded at the Umza International
farm, Kano PHOTOS: Hussein Yahaya
On our way to your
farm, we saw a long queue of trailers waiting to offload paddy rice… cut in.
What you have seen is the paddy we are buying from all over the
country from farmers. We started this procurement on 7th October, 2017 and
since then, this has been the situation on daily basis. In a day, we receive
100 to 120 trucks of paddy. This is a significant progress over what we saw
over the years since we were into production.
This year, there is tremendous increase in the production of paddy and the good
thing is that, other states are trying to take over from the states that are
known for producing paddy. We have seen a lot of progress from Kaduna, Kebbi,
Zamfara, Katsina and Bauchi states. This is a very good and I must say that the
quality of the paddy coming in is not like what we used to see because there is
also tremendous development in that regard. The paddy is of good quality and
long grain because the seeds have changed and the after harvest handling by the
farmers has also improved to some extent.
Let’s talk about your milling
machine. You said you receive over 100 trucks of paddy per day, what is the
capacity of your mill?
We have opened a new mill which increased the capacity by
120 metric tons per annum which brings our combined capacity to 190 metric tons
per annum. We are using a new brand of machine from Japan which is the best in
the world now. There is none better than that in terms of rice milling. It will
enable us consume more of the paddy and our requirement for paddy has now
increased to an extent that we have to look for it from all over the country.
You talk about the improvement of
the paddy coming from all parts of the country. As an expert in the industry,
what do you think farmers can do to further improve their produce?
If you compare the paddy we bought from farmers seven years ago
to what we are buying now, you will see that there is tremendous development in
terms of the quality of the paddy which means there is transformation from the
old seeds to better seeds. This is due to the intervention from the government,
the improved seeds from seed companies as well as efforts of extension workers
in training farmers on how to handle the paddy after harvest.
These changes have impressed me a lot because I have been buying
paddy for over eight years and I have seen the quality of paddy when we started
and its quality now. So I am sure there is a lot of development in that regard.
You have been interacting with
some of these farmers as you get the paddy from them. What do you think are the
challenges they face and where do you think the government and other
stakeholders can come in?
Of course the farmers have challenges, but through the
intervention of the government and so many groups, most especially the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN), most of these challenges are being addressed. I must
identify CBN because it has helped farmers with various intervention funds,
especially through the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP); and also the Federal
Ministry of Agriculture. But we still have a common challenge with them.
Initially, they had challenge of market. They produced but didn’t know where to
sell the paddy, now they have a market; there are mills like ours and others
all over the country where farmers can sell their paddy at premium price. But
still you can only sell if you have a buyer and a buyer can only buy if he can sell,
so our challenge is their challenge and the ultimate challenge is the menace of
smuggling.
You mentioned the issue of
market, but the farmers complain that some of the millers take their paddy at
giveaway prices. How would you react to this?
This has changed in the last four years because paddy has
been on the increase. In the last four years, we were buying a ton of paddy for
N60,000, today we are buying at N120,000. Last year, we bought it for as high
as N150,000. So the claim that we are buying the paddy at giveaway price is a
thing of the past, now, all farmers are getting better prices for their
commodity and we thank God for that and they also have market where they can
sell and get their money at once.
You have mentioned smuggling as a
major challenge in the milling industry, how do you think this can be curbed?
This is a question I cannot answer because we have done
everything humanly possible to tell the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) that
smuggling is going on and it is a challenge to us, it can kill our industry, it
can kill the farmers, but there is little they have done in that regard.
But let me be fair to the Comptroller-General of NCS, retired
Colonel Hameed Ali. He listens to us anytime we want to talk with him and we
can see the zeal and the effort of his office to make sure that they curtail
this issue of smuggling. But I don’t think there is any other officer that is
on the same page with the CG with regards to stopping rice smuggling into the
country.
Which area do you think is prone
to rice smuggling into the country?
There is no border in the country that is immune to
smuggling because the smuggling is not hidden. You can go to the border as a
journalist and you will see how the smuggling is taking place. People will come
on motorcycles with five to six bags and they will pay the custom officials
N500 per bag and if you come with a truck load, you will pay more.
So you see, it is not something that is done secretively. You go
to the borders and you will see many motorcycles and vehicles bringing in bags
of rice and this is what they do all through the day because they know no one
is checking.
Some are saying smuggling in Nigeria has persisted because the
smugglers still have a market to sell and partly because people still believe
that foreign rice is better than the local variety in terms of quality and
sometimes price….
We have mentioned it a hundred times that fresh rice cannot be
compared with stale rice. Here in Nigeria, we don’t even have rice to stock for
years and you should know that whatever any country will sell for you has to be
something they don’t need. So what they are bringing in as foreign rice is rice
that has stayed for about three, four years in their warehouses and everybody
knows the principle of warehousing; it is first in, first out. They cannot
produce rice this year and mill it and bring it to you. Compare that to what we
have here in our mills which is usually from hand to mouth.
It is what we get this year that we mill immediately and sell
immediately. So you cannot even compare the quality of local rice with that of
foreign rice. I want to assure Nigerians that definitely Nigerian milled rice
is better in terms of quality, nutrients and safety from health hazards.
Any hope for reduction in the
price of local rice?
I give you from now to next year, you will see a reduction in
the price of local rice because last year, as I told you, we bought paddy for
N150,000 and this year we are buying at N120,000. Once we continue like that,
definitely, we will reduce our prices to be at per or even far lower than
foreign rice.
Food Security
In Doubt: Current Phase Of Bangladesh – OpEd
Bangladesh has made significant progress in the context of its
food security. The country has achieved self-sufficiency in its rice
production; however, it is still vulnerable towards the loss of its food
production that is caused by natural calamities. This improved production of
rice has helped Bangladesh increase its Global Food Security Index from 34.7 in
2012 to 36.8 in 2016, but is still in the vulnerable category.
Bangladesh is especially dependent
on rice, a food source that causes an unbalanced nutrition intake when being
too dominant in a diet. However, the production of rice has helped in reducing
the prevalence of undernourishment, it has managed to improve its average
dietary energy supply too.The achievements as regards to food security in
Bangladesh have been somewhat satisfactory. However, natural calamities like
floods, cyclones and droughts have made the records unstable. This year, the
challenge has been intensified by the influx of an estimated 604,000 forcibly
displaced Rohingyas of Rakhine State of Myanmar.
The recent threats to food security
are largely a result of the damage caused by two successive floods: the flash
flood during April and the monsoon flood since late June. It was estimated that
farmers lost two million tons of rice this year because of the floods.Just
three months into the 2017-18 financial year, the government and private
traders imported over a million tons of rice, an eight-fold rise already from
last fiscal’s import.
“Rice import has increased
significantly. There are macroeconomic pressures. Such a huge influx of
Rohingyas in a short span of time, it is really admirable that Bangladesh is
tackling this humanitarian crisis,” said Dr. Sue Lautze, FAO country
representative in Bangladesh.The most evident threat to food security is the
recent price volatility in the rice market. Apart from the production loss of
mainly Boro during the floods, the incompetence of the responsible authorities
in handling the initial uncertainties also made the food grains market
unstable. Similarly, the opportunistic rice millers; information asymmetry
regarding the export of rice by the Indian government; the government’s lack of
vigilance; and phased reduction of import duties on rice have fuelled the
upheaval in the rice market.
As a result, the lack of availability of food grains at a reasonable price has
started afflicting households below the poverty line. Even, the marginally
non-poor, food-secure households are in the poverty trap with no access to
food.The current food shortage and price hike crisis would persist beyond
November when farmers would start harvesting Aman paddy. However, on the
question of Rohingyas, a lot depends on the international community’s
assistance and food supports.
During critical situations like
this, the inflation of the food price cannot be ruled out. However, the
government has taken market-based procurement policies, it has been able to
attain only one-fifth of the targeted procurement for Boro.What is encouraging
yet is Bangladesh’s ranking has gone two notches up in this year’s global
hunger index, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said in
a report.Bangladesh has ranked 88 out of 119 countries on the global hunger
index. However, Bangladesh is ahead of its neighbors India and Pakistan.
Bangladesh stood at 90 positions among 118 countries in last year’s ranking.
According to the report, among other South Asian countries, India ranked 100,
Pakistan 106, Nepal 72, SriLanka, 84, and Afghanistan 107.
Between the early 1990s and 2007,
Bangladesh drastically cut the number of its malnourished people from an
astounding 36.1 percent to 16.4 percent. According tothis year’s global hunger
index, some 15.1 percent of the Bangladeshi population still faces hunger.Bangladesh
is in a vulnerable position, as a flood-prone country, and it is an alarming
prospect that climate change is making this worse. In 2017, three episodes of
severe flash floods affected large areas of the country, particularly the
northern districts. The floods affected the livelihoods of at least 8 million
people.
The country sits at the head of the
Bay of Bengal, across the largest river delta on Earth. Nearly one-quarter of
Bangladesh is less than seven feet about sea level; two-thirds of the country
is less than 15 feet above sea level. Sea surface temperatures in the shallow
Bay of Bengal have significantly increased, which, scientists believe, has
caused Bangladesh to suffer some of the fastest recorded sea level rises in the
world.
According to the Bangladesh
government’s 2009 Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, “in an ‘average’
year, approximately one-quarter of the country is inundated.”Every four to five
years, “there is a severe flood that may cover over 60% of the country.”A
three-foot rise in sea level would submerge almost 20 percent of the entire
country and displace more than 30 million people. Some scientists project a
five-to-six-foot rise by 2100, which would displace perhaps 50 million people.
These changes are happening to the
people of Bangladesh, not caused by them. As a country, Bangladesh emits only
0.3 percent of the emissions producing climate change.
About Author:
*Zulker Naeen is a South Asian Fellow at Climate Tracker. He is also a communication graduate of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB),
e-mail: naeenzulker@gmail.com
*Zulker Naeen is a South Asian Fellow at Climate Tracker. He is also a communication graduate of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB),
e-mail: naeenzulker@gmail.com
References:
Ahmad, R. (2017). Rising from dire straits. Dhaka: The Daily Star.
Desk, T. (2017). Bangladesh ranked higher than India, Pakistan in global hunger index. Dhaka: Dhaka Tribune.
Farin, S., & Bari, E. (2017). Going regional to tackle local food crisis. Dhaka: The Daily Star
Ahmad, R. (2017). Rising from dire straits. Dhaka: The Daily Star.
Desk, T. (2017). Bangladesh ranked higher than India, Pakistan in global hunger index. Dhaka: Dhaka Tribune.
Farin, S., & Bari, E. (2017). Going regional to tackle local food crisis. Dhaka: The Daily Star
Dip in basmati export earnings
worrisome
Lower availability, higher prices have hurt the export prospects
of this aromatic rice
Basmati rice, a multi-billion dollar export commodity, is
unfortunately on a decline over the last three years. This year (2017-18) it
could get worse, with tighter availability, higher domestic prices and lower
exports. Following deficient south-west monsoon in the principal growing States
of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, the area under Basmati rice cultivation
is estimated to be about 8 p...
http://premium.thehindubusinessline.com/portfolio/real-assets/spotlight-dip-in-basmati-export-earnings-worrisome/article9944105.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication
Pakistan Faces Serious Water Crisis, Warns Expert
Islamabad, Nov 3 (Prensa Latina) Pakistan faces today a serious
water crisis that will threaten the country''s food security if the situation
persists, warned an expert on the issue.Speaking at a senatorial forum, Chairman
of the Indus River System Authority, Sher Zaman Khan, urged to build new dams
to avoid large levels of fluid loss.If we do not build more reservoirs soon, in the near future Pakistan will not be able to carry out important crops such as wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton and corn due to the acute shortage of water, he warned.At the meeting, Muhammad Ashraf, President of the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (Pcrwr), criticized the absence of a national policy on this vital issue.Recently, the Central Bank (SBP) stressed that the growing gap between demand and supply of water is an important social and economic concern for the country.
Any delay in the reforms would only aggravate the situation as the water deficit will expand due to the growing demand, derived from the increase in population, urbanization and development, and a decrease in available supplies, SBP warned in its annual report on the national economy.For the institution, the aim of the transformations is to improve the efficiency in the consumption and management of water, as well as to develop the capacity of the organisms in charge of regulating hydrological resources.
The current storage capacity is inadequate since the three main water reservoirs in Pakistan: Mangla, Tarbela and Chashma represent only 30 days of consumption, when the amount is set to 120 by international standards.In September, Pwrwr revealed that the shortage of water and diseases caused by the poor quality of the liquid in the country provoke annual losses amounting to almost 28 billion rupees (about 266 million dollars).Pcrwr cited data from the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, which estimates that in Pakistan about 200,000 children die every year from diarrheal diseases due to the consumption of contaminated water.
A report by a team of Pakistani experts was released in July, according to which 90 percent of the drinking water in Karachi city, with 20 million inhabitants, is contaminated by several bacteria and human waste
Pakistani farmers harvest rice
Source:Xinhua Published: 2017/11/3 21:26:33
Pakistani farmers pack sacks of
rice on the outskirts of eastern Pakistan's Lahore on Nov. 3, 2017. Pakistan's
rice exports surged by 28.74 percent during the first three months of the
country's current fiscal year starting from July 2017, according to a statement
from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Photo: Xinhua
Pakistani farmers harvest rice on
the outskirts of eastern Pakistan's Lahore on Nov. 3, 2017.Photo: Xinhua
Pakistani farmers harvest rice on
the outskirts of eastern Pakistan's Lahore on Nov. 3, 2017.Photo: Xinhua
Pakistani farmers harvest rice on
the outskirts of eastern Pakistan's Lahore on Nov. 3, 2017.Photo: Xinhua
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1073466.shtml
Smog not that alarming: govt
November 04, 2017
Sale of masks has
picked up due to smog. — White Star
LAHORE: As the smog cover over Punjab further thickened to the
detriment of public health on Friday and officials saw no immediate relief
against it, Environment Minister Zakia Shahnawaz termed it a regional
phenomenon being caused mainly by pollutants from neighbouring countries
(India).At a news conference she said there were local contributions (of smog
causing particulate matter) but they were lesser than from India where rampant
crop stubble burning itself was a huge problem.
Indian farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, start burning
paddy stubble by mid-October every year which leads to plumes of smoke
blackening the skies. Pakistani Punjab farmers too follow the suit but the
ratio of farm fire here is stated to be much less than in India.
A drop in temperature and increase in humidity makes the
pollutants remain close to the ground, causing smog that choked many cities in
Punjab, including Lahore, for the first time last year.
Environment Secretary Saif Anjum said there was smog over Punjab
but its intensity was less than last year when the eye and throat irritation
was rampant. Wind too carried pungent smell. Now the situation was not that
alarming, he told media persons.
Reports from different cities indicated thickening of fog or smog
because of further drop in night temperatures, also causing poor visibility.
Lahore, too, remained under a thick blanket of smog throughout the day. It was
particularly troublesome in areas where roads have been dug or on the
construction path of the orange metro train.
Motorway and National Highway Authority Spokesperson Imran Shah
said thick fog blanketed the central and south Punjab last night and on Friday,
reducing visibility on the motorway and the national highway from Sahiwal,
Khanewal, Multan to Bahawalpur (20 metres), Lahore to Pattoki (50 metres), from
Bahawalpur to Sadiqabad (100 to 40 metres, from Kala Shah Kaku to Kot Momin
(100 to 50 meters) and Pindi Bhattian to Faisalabad (60 meters).
The Met department said enhanced moisture and lowering
temperatures had thickened fog turning into smog by trapping the
ever-increasing particle matter.
Official sources said stubble was still being burnt in Pakistani
rice growing areas despite a ban under Section 144.
“SUPARCO satellite’s imagery is being restricted by thick canopy
of fog or smog. Therefore, the figures showing farm fire in our Punjab may not
be correct,” an official claimed.
Minister Zakia Shahnawaz nevertheless blamed Indian farmers for
the smog which was causing trouble for them also. They had burnt 35 million ton
of paddy residue last year and “are doing so again.”
She said local contributions included emissions from vehicular
traffic using substandard fuel, and industrial emissions. But the government
was aware of the hazards of smog and was adopting strict measures to control
local contributions. The smog policy was also in place engaging all departments
to fight the menace.
Mr Saif Anjum said smog had moved towards Attock and Bahawalpur
and also beyond New Delhi on the Indian side. Easterly wind was carrying smoke
and particulate matter from Indian Punjab to Pakistan. The incursion would be
stopped only after reversal of the wind direction.
He said the provincial government was struggling to reduce local
pollution contributions. As many as 197 cases had been registered against
farmers for burning crop residue under Section 144 and 65 arrested so far. In
Lahore alone 175 steel factories had been sealed for burning cheap fuel like
used tyres. Cases against defiant owners of 22 factories too had been
registered.
He said the agriculture department was creating awareness among
farmers on the hazards of burning crop residue, teaching them how to
alternately use it instead. Traffic police had challaned 15,718 smoke emitting
vehicles in the last one week, realizing Rs 4.6 million fine only in Lahore.
Several vehicles were also impounded and fitness certificates of 91 others were
cancelled for causing pollution.
Mr Anjum said the EPD had installed five pollution monitoring
units in Lahore and was constantly watching the situation.
Prof Ehsan Wahid Rathore of the health department said there was
no significant disease development in Punjab due to smog. There was no need of
any panic but children and the elderly should be protected against smog as they
already were vulnerable to disease in changing weather.
Met Department’s Chief Riaz Khan said dry weather in the past two
months was causing smog but its ingredient was less than the last year.
Mr Saif Anjum said brick kilns were generating smoke because of
their age-old technology. His department had established a model kiln near
Lahore where emissions were zero and the brick quality the highest. This
technology would be shared with local brick kiln owners.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed (from
London) all departments concerned to take necessary measures to effectively
deal with smog.
He has directed that recommendations of experts should be
implemented to avoid ill-effects of smog, especially protecting children and
the elderly from it. He said all departments had been activated to meet the
challenge.
Dawn, November 4th, 2017
Pakistan’s dry future
NOVEMBER 4, 2017
While the mainstream media spend plenty of time and resources
covering the squabbles of the nation’s political leadership, pressing issues
don’t get the time and space on our television channels and newspapers that
they should. Water continues to grow exceedingly scarce in Pakistan. The
situation can soon become so dire that every social and economic facet of life
will get affected adversely.
This Thursday, the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) told the
Senate Forum for Policy Research that Pakistan dumps water worth 21 billion
dollars into the sea every year. This is happening despite the fact that-
according to the Falkenmark Indicator — Pakistan is a country suffering from
water scarcity. Today, the population of the country is 207 million and there
is 861 cubic metres of water available for every person. By the year 2050, it
is estimated that the population of Pakistan will be 371 million and there will
be 482 cubic metres of water for every person. The Falkenmark Indicator
classifies this as absolute scarcity.
IRSA said on Thursday that the country is forced to lose 21
billion dollars worth of water because the country does not have a sufficient
number of water reservoirs. They further stated that Pakistan needs three
Mangla sized dams to stop this loss of precious water. While the problem of
water loss is severe, the authorities must not give such sweeping statements
given the environmental degradation associated with large dams like Mangla.
Instead, they have to look towards innovative solutions to the country’s water
crisis that are designed in consultation with environmentalists,
anthropologists and communities that stand to be affected.
Nonetheless, it needs to be stressed thatwe can only store
30-days worth of water. Meanwhile, our neighbour to the east can save up to
320-days of water. This is not surprising, since unlike India, Pakistan is yet
to develop a national water policy.
Pakistan also loses water because of uncontrolled dumping of
industrial, animal and human waste which contaminates ground water reserves,
because of our outdated and inefficient irrigation system and because of our
dependency on water intensive crops such as rice and sugarcane.
It’s high time that this country’s leaders put less time into
politicking and more into issues which actually affect the common man. The
media has an essential role to play here, because until it stops feeding the
circus which our national political narrative has become and brings more
attention to these matters, issues like Pakistan’s upcoming drought will not
gain any political significance. *
Published in Daily Times, November 4th 2017.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/134145/pakistans-dry-future/
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Crop loss'
suicide
Sunil Patnaik
Berhampur: A farmer killed himself
in the state on Friday allegedly because of crop loss due to pest attack.Alaya
Jena of Erendra village in Patapur police limits allegedly killed himself after
failing to address the pest problem."Jena was worried by the attack by the
brown plant hopper pest in his field. He had administered some pesticide five
days ago, but in vain. On Friday when his wife was preparing dinner, he
consumed pesticide," said his younger brother, Pintu.
Jena was shifted to MKCG Medical College
and Hospital at night, where he died.BNPur police station inspector-in-charge
Ajay Kumar Mishra said: "We have registered an unnatural death case after
Pintu Jena lodged a complaint."Ganjam collector Prem Chandra Chowdhary
said: "I have asked the tehsildar and the agriculture officer of the area
concerned to visit the spot and submit a joint report."Deputy director of
agriculture Manoj Kumar Behera said paddy crops in 12 out of 22 blocks in the
district were reeling from crop loss due to brown plant hopper pest attacks.
Earlier on Friday, another two
farmers, K. Bakeya Reddy and D. Dhanalaxmi of Rampa village in Chikiti block in
the district, set fire to their crops.A six-member team of agriculture
scientists, led by Bhagaban Patra of the Odisha University of Agriculture and
Technology, visited affected areas in six blocks of the district. The team
collected samples of pesticides used by the farmers. It also recorded the
statements of farmers about pest control, he said.Another team of the Central
Rice Research Institute from Cuttack will visit the affected areas on Monday,
said Behera.
https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/odisha/crop-loss-suicide-183486
La Niña watch begins; rice output seen
growing
Philippine Daily Inquirer /
05:10 AM November 04, 2017
Despite
heavy rainfall due to cyclones that plagued southeast Asia this year,
conditions for growing rice remained favorable in most parts of the region,
according to the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS).However, the La
Niña watch was declared this week, with the weather phenomenon expected to
affect the Philippines starting this month until February.
While El
Niño brings drought, La Niña is marked by heavier-than-usual rainfall.But
despite the onset of La Niña, global trade still points to a modest expansion
next year, with import growth to be concentrated in Asia.The Philippines, for
its part, plans to lift its quantitative restrictions on rice imports, which
means that there will be no more limit to the volume of rice it could buy from
other countries.
As for this
year, despite tropical storms entering most countries in Asia including the
Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand, global rice production still managed to
inch up to 500.8 million tons in October from September’s 500.7 million tons.Harvest
of wet-season rice is ongoing in Asia except Indonesia, where dry-season rice
is being harvested.Based on the AMIS report, recent cyclones did not
significantly affect crop conditions.
Data from
the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that production of unmilled
rice for the second semester is expected to rise by 6.76 percent from last
year’s record of 7.01 million metric tons (MT) for the period.For the first
semester this year, the agriculture sector was able to produce 8.57 million MT
of paddy rice.As for the commodity’s local price, an increase is being mulled
by the state agency National Food Authority, which currently buys palay at P17
a kilo.
China Is Developing Rice That
China: Old Country, New Tricks
More than half the global
population relies on rice to survive, but meeting that demand is difficult due
to the increasing scarcity of freshwater, which is required for rice
cultivation. To get around the problem, an 87-year-old Chinese scientist named
Yuan Longping is developing a new high-yield strain of rice that grows in saltwater.
Swamps, bogs, and clay-like or
salty coastal waters make up roughly a third of the total arable land in China.
Growing rice in these locales is nearly impossible because salt stresses
plants’ water-absorption process. Specifically, saltwater makes photosynthesis
and respiration more difficult for stalks and slows their growth to death.
Salt from coastal flooding and tides has left just a fraction of China’s total land open
to freshwater rice farming, and in Dongying, a region on China’s eastern coast,
40 percent of land has a salt concentration higher than 0.5 percent, according
to the World Bank. Experts expect the rising waters from global climate
change to exacerbate this problem.
For his research, Longping
planted 200 different saltwater-tolerant rice strains at the Qindao
Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice Research and Development Center on the Yellow Sea.
According to China’s Xinhua News Agency, his efforts yielded 8,030 pounds of rice per acre.
For comparison, most commercial U.S. growers harvest between 7,200-7,600 pounds
per acre annually.
Though promising, Longping’s
experiment did not mimic the actual conditions in China, instead using water
with a much lower salt concentration than could be found in nature.
“It’s still only maybe 10 percent
the level of salt in sea water,” Assistant Director General for Agriculture at
the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) Ren Wang
told Business Insider, so the “salt-proof” rice does have a long way to go
before it could help ordinary farmers.
The Future of Food
China already produces more rice
than any other country on Earth, but if Chinese farmers had access to rice that
grows in saltwater, they could plant it in the vast saltwater lands of their
country, increasing the nation’s food supply significantly, Wang told Business
Insider.
Longping’s rice could also free
up freshwater lands that are currently reserved for rice to grow other foods.
More affluent Chinese citizens are demanding more
meatand less grain-based food, but meeting that need has proven increasingly difficult
given the amount of freshwater land reserved for rice cultivation.
Longping’s early success with
rice that grows in saltwater also comes at a time when rice producers are reporting
particularly unfavorable conditions.
According to the UN FAO’s
2017 global rice production forecast, Sri Lanka and South Korea are experiencing “abnormal
dryness,” and Bangladesh recently suffered the worst flooding to hit South
Asia in a decade. Nepal and India were also hit by floods and droughts this year, and
citizens of those nations will consequently see an increase in prices.
With ice shelves the size of Delaware breaking off the Antarctic with increasing
frequency, Longping’s approach to agricultural innovation may determine how
future generations cope with the food scarcity that could follow the loss
of freshwater land to saltwater
flooding.
Iran to Buy 30,000 Tons of Indian Rice
Saturday,
November 04, 2017
Iran’s state grains buyer
Government Trading Corporation has issued an international tender to buy 30,000
tons of rice to be sourced from India, European traders said on Wednesday.The
tender closes on Dec. 12, Reuters reported.The rice is sought in three
consignments of 10,000 tons for shipment in early 2018, they said.More than
1.05 million tons of semi- and wholly-milled rice worth close to $996 million
were imported into Iran during the first half of the current Iranian year
(March 21-Sept. 22), registering an 84.4% and 108.4% surge in weight and value
respectively compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Rice imports accounted for 6% and 4.2% of the volume and value
of Iran’s overall imports respectively during the six-month period.Imports are
taking place while every year and during the rice harvest season, the
government bans rice imports in support of local farmers and domestic
production.
“The ongoing seasonal ban on rice imports will be in effect
until Nov. 21,” Deputy Agriculture Minister Yazdan Seif recently said, noting
that the ban went into effect in August.Rice importers bypass the ban during
the harvest season by receiving the import permit before the ban period.Deputy
Agriculture Minister Abbas Keshavarz said nearly 2.3 million tons of rice have
been produced in the country in the current crop year. Iranians annually
consume 3 million tons of rice. The two northern provinces of Gilan and
Mazandaran are home to a majority of Iran’s paddy fields.
La Niña watch begins; rice output seen
growing
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:10 AM November 04, 2017
Despite heavy rainfall due to cyclones that
plagued southeast Asia this year, conditions for growing rice remained
favorable in most parts of the region, according to the Agricultural Market
Information System (AMIS).
However, the La Niña watch was declared
this week, with the weather phenomenon expected to affect the Philippines
starting this month until February.
While El Niño brings drought, La Niña is
marked by heavier-than-usual rainfall.
ADVERTISEMENT
But despite the onset of La Niña, global
trade still points to a modest expansion next year, with import growth to be
concentrated in Asia.
The Philippines, for its part, plans to
lift its quantitative restrictions on rice imports, which means that there will
be no more limit to the volume of rice it could buy from other countries.
As for this year, despite tropical storms
entering most countries in Asia including the Philippines, Vietnam, and
Thailand, global rice production still managed to inch up to 500.8 million tons
in October from September’s 500.7 million tons.
Harvest of wet-season rice is ongoing in
Asia except Indonesia, where dry-season rice is being harvested.
Based on the AMIS report, recent cyclones
did not significantly affect crop conditions.
Data from the Philippine Statistics
Authority (PSA) showed that production of unmilled rice for the second semester
is expected to rise by 6.76 percent from last year’s record of 7.01 million
metric tons (MT) for the period.
For the first semester this year, the
agriculture sector was able to produce 8.57 million MT of paddy rice.
As for the commodity’s local price, an
increase is being mulled by the state agency National Food Authority, which
currently buys palay at P17 a kilo. http://business.inquirer.net/239894/la-nina-watch-begins-rice-output-seen-growing
brand from Korea
First-in-S'pore products from Japan and
premium rice
Nov 04, 2017 06:00 am
RAFFLES
CITY SHOPPING CENTRE
Unwanted lipsticks donated by
people have been used as part of an art installation by Cultural Medallion
recipient and multimedia artist Chng Seok Tin.
A collaboration between the Raffles
City Shopping Centre and Very Special Arts Singapore, the artwork comprises 46
brightly coloured flowers handmade from treated aluminium foil and decorated
with the lipsticks
Called No Indecent Assault In
Speech, the installation was unveiled at a ceremony on Wednesday.
Ms Chng also designed three red lip
sofas in different sizes for shoppers to rest on while appreciating the main
installation, which is on display at Raffles City Shopping Centre from now till
Nov 7.
TONG
SENG PRODUCE
The local rice importer and
distributor has brought in Super Oning Koshihikari, a premium rice brand
produced in Pyeongtaek City and used in many Korean restaurants.
Its quality is ensured through
strict management and the product was conferred the Good Agricultural Practices
certification in South Korea.
http://www.tnp.sg/lifestyle/shopping/first-spore-products-japan-and-premium-rice-brand-korea
Photo essay: Navara, the
medicinal 'wonder rice' grown in Kerala's Palakkad
Navara is cited as a special cereal with properties
to remedy the basic ill affecting the circulatory, respiratory and digestive
system.
Friday, November 03, 2017 - 16:49 
As we approached the Navara Eco
Farm (NEF) located on the banks of the picturesque Chittur River at Karukamani
in Palakkad district, we saw vast vistas of green paddy fields straddling the
Navara crop.
Peacocks strutting around with
their feathers spread out herald a welcome to the ancestral home of Narayanan
Unny, an enterprising agriculturist who specializes in the cultivation of
Navara rice.
A peacock perched on a roof in
the farmhouse.
Strolling around the farm and the
paddy fields, we got a whiff of the countryside, learnt about traditional
techniques of farming and watched workers toiling hard in the fields to
transplant the rice. We also stumbled upon a resting place which was used as a
surveillance post in olden days to keep vigil against pilferage of grain.
A surveillance post in the paddy
fields.
The ambling pathways in the
sprawling 18-acre farm offers excellent exercise coupled with scenic views. The
farm teems with medicinal herbs, coconuts and lovingly tended fruit trees droop
with the weight of mangoes, jackfruit, lemons, papayas and pomegranates.
The dense foliage in the farm
shelters a bewildering variety of birds and butterflies. An organic vegetable
garden has several varieties of vegetables which keep the kitchen well
supplied.
We saw workers winnowing,
thrashing paddy after the harvest and having a siesta under an enormous mango
tree overlooking the ancestral home. The old tree has been a silent witness to
the sweat, toil and success of three generations of traditional agriculturists.
After the harvest.
NEF flaunts many claims to fame
–it is not only the world’s largest Navara farm but also the only certified
organic medicinal farm.
The prime focus here is the
cultivation of Navara, the wonder rice. What makes it distinct are its
medicinal properties and therapeutic qualities.
Tracing the origin of this
indigenous plant of Kerala, Unny said, "The rice finds mention in ancient
Ayurvedic text like 'Ashtanga Hridaya' and 'Susruta Samhita' which refers to it
as a 'pious grain' used on auspicious occasions."
Drying paddy after the
harvest.
Grown from time immemorial,
Navara is known as 'Shashtika rice' as it takes a short span of 60 days to grow
and mature. It has been used in Ayurvedic treatment from the ancient times and
prescribed as a health food for people of all ages.
Navara is cited as a special
cereal with properties to remedy the basic ill affecting the circulatory,
respiratory and digestive system. But the yield and quality of Navara varies
from location to location.
As the cultivation of Navara was
restricted to a limited area and did not multiply substantially, it is considered
an endemic crop. It is hailed as the 'gold with fragrance' because if a farmer
has a stock of seeds with him he can earn a good price in any season.
Narayanan Unny in his farm.
Grown mainly in Palakkad, the
rice belt of Kerala, Navara is Kerala's indigenous medicinal cereal plant.
Herbal healers have endorsed its rich medicinal properties. The paddy is used
for Ayurvedic treatments since time immemorial.
Traditionally 'Navarakhi' and
'Navaratheppu' are two major treatments in Ayurveda for arthritis, paralysis
and neurological disorders. Navara Kizhi is also used in Ayurveda for treatment
of polio, psoriasus, rheumatism, diabetes, snake bite, peptic ulcer, emaciation
of limbs, lifestyle maladies while the porridge of Navara grains in milk is
prescribed as special food for invalids and infants. It has also anti-cancer
properties.
Navara, the native genetic
resource of Kerala, famed for its extensive use especially in Panchakarma
treatment (traditional rejuvenation therapy), is popular among foreign tourists
and stressed out executives.
Navara, 'the wonder rice'.
Scientists at the Kerala
Agricultural University (KAU) have identified an anti-cancer gene in the rice
and say it is effective against breast cancer. According to a scientist of KAU
research wing, once clinically developed it will be a great boon to cancer
patients. It is a unique cereal having high content of free amino acids.
Describing his experience of
cultivating this singular strand of rice, Unny, the third generation owner who
took over the farm in 1995 said, "The cultivation of this medicinal rice
variety was almost extinct when I took it up as a mission to rescue this
fragile heritage rice. Non-availability of pure seeds, low yield and high cost
of production leading to commercial non-viability and conversion to organic
farming posed great challenges." Tireless in spirit, Unny relentlessly
pursued his venture.
Unny's strenuous efforts have not
gone unnoticed. He bagged the maiden organic certification for Navara
cultivation in 2006. He formed rice clusters for Navara and Palakkadan Matta
varieties of rice and applied for Geographical Indication (GI) certification.
Vast vistas of paddy fields and
swaying coconut trees.
In 2007, these two varieties were
the first agricultural products in India to earn the GI tag. Navara Eco Farm
epitomizes environment friendly farming, preservation of ecology, and
bio-diversity. He was honoured with the Plant Genome Savoir Community
Recognitive Award for his conservation efforts.
To cater to the increasing number
of visitors and growing breed of researchers and scientists to his farm, Unny
has joined the bandwagon of agro-tourism promoters, synergizing both
agriculture and tourism. He has ambitious plans to start the first rice museum
in India showcasing different varieties of rice and traditional farming
implements.
All photographs by Susheela
Nair.
Susheela Nair is a Food, Travel, Lifestyle Writer and
Photographer contributing content, articles and pictures on food, travel,
lifestyle, photography, environment, and ecotourism to several reputed national
publications. Her writings constitute a wide spectrum which also includes
travel portals & guide books, brochures and coffee table books.
Scientists
develop rice that grows in seawater
Due to the growing shortage of
freshwater, the rice cultivation has declined which is a primary source of food
for over half of the global population. In order to overcome the problem, a
Chinese scientist has developed a process to grow rice in seawater.
China contains a third of its land with swamps, bogs, and
clay-like or salty-like costal water. These waters make processes like
photosynthesis and respiration difficult as the salt stresses plant’s
water-absorption process. This in turn slows the plant’s growth converting it
to its death. Thus, the 87-year-old Chinese scientist Yuan Longping created a
new high-yield strain of rice able to grow in saltwater.
Longping planted 200 various
saltwater-tolerant rice strains on the Yellow Sea to see which one would grow
best in salty conditions. His work yielded 8,030 pounds of rice per acre in
comparison to the US growers that harvest around 7,200 to 7,600 pounds per acre
annually, as per China’s Xinhua News Agency.
Yuan exclaimed, “If a farmer tries to grow some types of
saline-tolerant rice now, they most likely will get 1,500 kilogrammes per
hectare. That is just not profitable and not even worth the effort. Farmers
will have an incentive to grow the rice if we can double the yield.”
However, the experiment did not exactly imitate the actual
situations in the country. Instead, it used water with comparatively lower salt
concentration than it is actually present in nature.
“It’s still only maybe 10% the
level of salt in sea water. So the ‘salt-proof’ rice does have a long way to go
before it could help ordinary farmers,” said Assistant Director General for
Agriculture at the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO)
Ren Wang while talking to Business Insider.
According to Wang, China is already making more rice than any
other country and this technique could increase the country’s food supply
drastically. The saltwater rice can also free up freshwater lands, which are
reserved for rice at present, in order to grow other foods.
The saltwater rice has already been available to consumers with
a price around eight times more than ordinary rice. Yet, people buying the rice
are appreciating its texture and flavor. The rice also has many health benefits
including being rich in calcium
Rice drives
India’s agri exports
Farm exports, led by rice, jumped by
13 per cent during April-September as dealers overseas built up stocks amid
fears of a ban by the EU, which strengthened quality norms.
According to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export
Development Authority (Apeda), exports of agricultural products registered with
it jumped to $8.73 billion in April-September from $7.69 billion in the
corresponding period a year ago. In rupee terms, Apeda-registered exports
jumped by 8.64 per cent to Rs 56,183 crore from Rs 51,499 crore.
The rise in farm exports was primarily driven
by rice, both basmati and non-basmati, which contribute nearly 44 per cent to
the country’s annual farm shipments. Exports of rice rose by over 30 per cent
in dollar terms and 25 per cent in rupee terms during April-September as
European buyers built inventories in anticipation of tighter quality tests
effective November 1.
“European buyers built their inventories
on fears a smaller quantity of rice would pass the quality tests. Iran, too,
purchased a huge quantity of rice, resulting in an increase in overall
exports,” said Gurnam Arora, joint managing director, Kohinoor Foods. The
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), in a communication to Apeda, said
basmati rice from India needed to pass through a pre-shipment residue test for
22 pesticides from November 1. Apeda clarified that the minimum residue limit
for propiconazole was under review.
The value of basmati rice exports
jumped to $2.13 billion in April-September from $1.63 billion in the same
period a year ago. Exporters’ realisation rose to $997 a tonne from $789 a
tonne last year. Rice exports were 2.13 million tonnes in April- September, up
from 2.07 million tonnes in the same period of 2016.
Guar gum also witnessed a sharp rise
in exports from 163,958 tonnes ($180 million) in April-September 2016 to
252,568 tonnes ($317 million) in the comparable period this year. Increasing
demand from shell gas companies for oil drills yielded 14 per cent higher
realisation this year at $1,255 a tonne.
Traders’
cartel offers lower prices, growers start stocking basmati
Basmati growers here are up in arms as the popular 1121
aromatic variety is fetching a lower price in the Fazilka market compared to
other markets due to a cartel raised by the private traders.Traders, including
exporters and rice millers, are the bulk buyers of the variety.As farmers are
being offered lower price, they have started stocking the paddy. Sources said
traders have been purchasing paddy at Rs 3,100 per quintal compared to Rs
3,300-3,400 per quintal in nearby districts for the past five days.“Private
traders and exporters have connived to keep prices low. The farmers are left
with no other alternative but sell it to private traders in the absence of
minimum support price and government policy,” alleged Des Raj of Balluana
village who has been waiting to sell his produce at Fazilka.
“Farmers switched over to the less water-consuming
variety on the persuasion of the government which has now let them down,” said
another farmer Angrej Singh.Basmati growers of Theh Qalandar village said
villagers have decided not to sell their produce at lower rate.They claimed
that about 20,000 bags (each weighing 35 kg) of basmati have been produced in
the village so far. Out of those, only 3,000 bags have been sold by farmers.
The rest has been stored in the hope of getting a better price after the
dismantling of the cartel.Official sources said the arrival of 1,46,567 tonnes
of paddy had been recorded in the district so far. “I have directed the market
committee authorities to look into the matter and take action,” said DCIsha
Kalia.
‘Find right markets’ before hiking
organic rice
THE
GOVERNMENT has to find the right market for organic rice before it encourages
farmers to increase the area producing the crop from 300,000 rai (48,000
hectares) this year to 1 million rai in 2019, Thai Rice Exporters Association
president Pol Lieute-nant Charoen Leothamatas said.
He
added that when farmers grow organic rice for export, they need a certificate
to prove it matches global standards, and that was both difficult and expensive
to achieve. If the government wants to promote the country as an organic rice
producer, it has to help farmers to apply for global organic rice
certification, help develop rice seed and find a market with the right demand
for the product, Charoen said recently. Currently, the export of organic rice
from Thailand accounts for only 5,000 tonnes of a total of 11 million tonnes
exported per year.
However,
there is a potential market for rice farmers if they can control the quality of
their crop and develop rice seed to match the niche demand, he added. Montri
Gosalawat, the secretary-general of the Progressive Farmer Association who has
grown organic rice since 1995, said that although organic rice was still a
niche product, the demand has led to double-digit growth each year since 2009.
It is especially popular in quality markets such as the United States and
Europe.
The
global demand for organic rice average 10,000 tonnes a year, of which Thailand
exports half. With the market growing at an average 20 per cent a year,
Thailand has great potential to develop and export organic rice if the
government supports knowhow, applications for certification, development of
seed and market sourcing, Montri said. Production costs for organic rice are
normally cheaper than on chemical rice farms.
However,
the organic rice price is higher because growing time is longer – meaning there
is just one crop a year -– and demand is higher both in the domestic market and
overseas. The government target is to
have 3 million framers harvesting organic rice from 10 million rai by the year
2021. That would boost the supply of organic rice in the market by more than
200 per cent, but it will also reduce the price of organic rice, and mean that
new markets have to be found. Man Samsri, head of organic rice farming at Naso
district in Yasothorn province, said the global price was not a factor when his
area changed to growing organic 10 years ago.
“We changed our ways to grow organic rice
because we need to improve our quality of life [that has suffered from farming
with chemicals], and also to produce quality rice for our families to consume,”
Man said. The group has a total of 2,131 farmers who have combined their land
to produce organic rice on 42,694 rais. Their rice now fetches a higher price
in the market, Man said. Currently, the group produces about 300 tonnes of
organic rice a year. It has global “Hom Mali” certification, and 90 per cent of
production is exported to Europe and the United States.
The
remaining 10 per cent is sold in the domestic market at an average price of
Bt80 per kilogram – higher than the regular Hom Mali price of about Bt45 per
kilogram. “The high price is the final reason why we produce a high quality of
organic rice, but our main benefit of producing organic rice is our strong health
from consuming it,” Man said. “This is the way to be sustainable farmers for
the long term. If we have quality products, we can find the market that has the
purchasing power to pay for quality products.”
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Economy/30330875
Govt should fix
MSP for basmati, say farmers
Buoyed
by the steep increase in the prices of 1121 Basmati rice this season in
comparison to last year, farmers of Punjab have demanded that the Centre should
announce the minimum support price (MSP) for basmati rice to help the farmers
to come out of financial mess.The 1509 basmati rice fetched Rs 2,500 as
compared to Rs 1,600 last year, while the 1121 basmati rice fetched Rs 3,500 to
Rs 4,000 this year as compared to Rs 2,500 last year. The price of superior
basmati rice variety of 1121 has witnessed 25 per cent jump in the wholesale
market as the rice which was available for Rs 8,000 per quintal was now being
sold for Rs 10,000.Interestingly, in view of the 1121 basmati rice fetching
higher price in the Nabha grain market, farmers from Sangrur district were also
bringing their produce to the local grain market.Basmati traders Rakesh Gupta
and Deepak Gupta, while confirming the steep increase in the prices of basmati
this year, said the main reason behind the increase was lesser farmers going in
for Basmati rice which had witnessed slump last year. They said this year, the
arrival of basmati had witnessed steep decrease and hardly any farmer brought
their produce to the grain market.
Another
wholesale Basmati trader Ashok Arora said even though the new crop was yet to
arrive, the prices of basmati had started touching new heights. He said the
prices were likely to go up further as the production was very low this year
with fewer farmers sowing the 1121 paddy variety this year.Onkar Singh Aghol,
general secretary, Bharti Kisan Union (Rajewal), said like normal rice, the
Centre should also fix the MSP for Basmati rice so that more and more farmers
could sow the crop to get better remuneration. He said this would also help the
farmers to come out of the financial mess.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chandigarh/govt-should-fix-msp-for-basmati-say-farmers/493100.html
