Canada's New Food Guide Outlines What
to Eat and How to Eat it
By Pereina Choudhury
TORONTO, ON -- Eat well. Live well.
That's the mantra of Canada's new Food Guide unveiled earlier this year
and it's good news for rice growers.
Gone are the four food groups - vegetables and
fruit, grain products, dairy, and meat - that were the foundation of the last
guide. The new guide introduced by
Health Canada, the country's government agency responsible for public health,
promotes three main food groups colorfully depicted on a plate as a
user-friendly reference - brown rice is featured!
Also gone are suggested serving sizes. Instead, to help Canadians make the right
nutrition choices, the new guide advises maintaining a proportionally balanced
food plate. Canadians are encouraged to
fill half their plate with fruits and vegetables; a quarter with protein, and a
quarter with whole grain foods like brown rice.
"These recommendations align perfectly
with USA Rice activities that have been underway in Canada," said Asiha
Grigsby, USA Rice manager of international promotion. "In recent years, the role of rice in
plant-based diets has been highlighted, and alliances with vegan and vegetarian
influencers have been an integral part of the Canadian communications
strategy."
The new guide suggests a different approach to
eating, emphasizing home cooking as a means to maintaining a healthy diet and
encouraging families to cook and eat together.
Health Canada developed the new guide using evidence-based research and
consultations with various stakeholders that included health professionals; the
agency did not meet with representatives from the food and beverage industry.
"The U.S. Department of Agriculture
releases a similar publication every five years called the 'Dietary Guidelines
for Americans,'" said Cameron Jacobs, USA Rice manager for domestic
promotion. "Last week USDA
announced the 20 health and nutrition experts serving on the Dietary Guidelines
Advisory Committee who will be reviewing the next edition scheduled for
2020. During this process, USA Rice is
contributing official comments, and more importantly, recent research we have
on how the nutrient intake of infants and toddlers (0-23 months old) who
consume rice includes a greater intake of key nutrients such as calcium and
iron as well as lower intake of added sugar, cholesterol, sodium, and saturated
fats."
Rice Webinar: Tuesday February 26
Tune in Tuesday, February 26, at 8:00 a.m.
Central Time, for a new rice webinar hosted by Dr. Bobby Coats, with the
Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the University of
Arkansas. Milo Hamilton, an agricultural
economist and president and founder of Firstgrain, will discuss the rice market
outlook, in both the long and short term with an emphasis on the big picture.
Rice millers booked for embezzlement
Posted at: Feb 26,
2019, 6:57 AM; last updated: Feb 26, 2019, 6:57 AM (IST)
Muktsar: The
Muktsar police have booked owners of a rice mill for allegedly misappropriating
custom-milled paddy worth about Rs 1.5 crore. In his complaint to the police, a
Markfed official alleged that Vijay Kumar and Rajiv Kumar, owners of Goyal Food
Industries, Gruharsahai Road, Muktsar, embezzled 21,051 bags of paddy during
the 2015-16 financial year. Acting on it, the police have registered a case
under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC. TNS
Atwima Nwabiagya rice farmers appeal for support
Date: Feb 25 , 2019 , 16:23
BY: Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor
Category:
Rice farmers in the Atwima
Nwabiagya District in the Ashanti Region have appealed to the government to
subsidise the cost of planting materials to enable them to produce more for
local consumption.
They explained that many rice
farmers were unable to afford the cost of certified seeds, and as such used
unapproved and low yielding seeds for planting.
That, they said, usually resulted
in low quality yields which the market often rejected.
Ghana News Headlines
For latest news in Ghana, visit
Graphic Online news headlines page Ghana news page
According to the farmers, if they
received the government’s assistance in the form of subsidies and early release
of fertilisers they would be able to step up production and contribute to a
reduction in rice importation.
Field trip
The concern of the farmers was
raised during a field trip and demonstration on a rice farm at Sokwai in the
Atwima Nwabiagya District.
The trip was organised by the Crop
Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
(CSIR-CRI) for rice farmers from three communities in the district and was
aimed at exposing the farmers to new varieties of rice released in 2017 as well
as educate them on good agronomic practices.
Concerns
The farmers admitted that there was
high demand for local rice but their inability to afford inputs for their work
was making it difficult for them to meet the demand.
The Chairman of the Rice Millers
Association in Atwima Nwabiagya, Mr Maxwell Ayirebi, appealed to the government
to release fertiliser subsidy coupons to the farmers in time in order to speed
up processes of production.
He said very often they got the
coupons very late and at a time they did not need them or when there were no
fertilisers in the depots.
Furthermore, he said there was the
need for the government to invest in rice mills and assist the private sector
to bring modern mills into the country.
“We are not asking that it be given
to us for free but if the government could assist us with credit facility to
buy them and pay back later, it will be of great help to the rice industry,” he
said.
He commended CRI for releasing the
improved rice varieties promptly as it helped rice farmers to grow more rice.
CRI
A Senior Research Scientist and
Rice Breeder at the CRI, Dr Maxwell Darko Asante, who took the farmers around
the farm said the project to develop new rice varieties for the market was a
collaboration between the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) and
the CRI and was funded by the African Union.
He said the CRI had developed six
new rice varieties that were being tested at the demonstration farm to give
opportunity to farmers to observe their performance.
The new varieties are Emopa, Enapa,
Kantinka, Boafo, Mpuntuo and Datey.
Dr Asante said the new varieties
were high-yielding and disease-resistant, and therefore good for Ghana’s
climate.
He reiterated the call by the
farmers on the government for support to produce more for the market.
New tariff law will discourage rice
farming
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte signed last week into law the Rice Tariffication Bill, which he
certified as urgent when
filed in Congress in October last
year. This will now remove import
restrictions on rice “for the greater good”, according to Malacañang. We are
wondering if the measure had the full support of the Department of Agriculture
(DA) because this will open the country to a free flow of imported rice. From
statements of the DA on Wednesday last week, with the new law, they said
Filipino farmers would need immediate help to improve productivity to compete
with the imported cereal. Agricultural secretary Manny Piñol himself expressed
concern that without the “intervention” local farmers cannot expect to compete
with cheaper imports.
Rice tariffication removes tariff barriers for
imported rice and will allow the free flow of the staple into the Philippine
market. Rowena del Rosario-Sadecon of the Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders
Movement said that the measure would create “chaos”. We are taking up this
issue in our column because Western Visayas as a major rice producer will be
adversely affected by the new law. According to Secrotary Piñol, our country
plans to raise our rice production to 20 million metric tons this year,
compared to 19.6 million last year. With
a very competitive market because of the imported rice stock, will rice farming
be still be viable as a livelihood? Imposing tariff on local rice does not
appear to have the full support of our farmers and the DA itself. But why was the law passed? Why do we heed
the advice of politicians instead of listening to our farmers?
We have written a column on Feb. 11 last year
with the title “PH should learn from India’s rice program”. India is the second biggest country in the
world with a population of 1.339 billion in 2017, next to China’s 1.410
billion. The Philippines ranked 13th in world population as of 2017 with 104.92
million people. One thing we have in common with China and India is that we are
also a rice-eating country like them. It
is interesting to note that with its big population, India was able to increase
its rice production and became self-sufficient in the cereal by simply adopting
a program of paying their farmers twice the market price of their produce at
harvest time.
Under the circumstances, with the expansion of
a fast-growing city like Iloilo, although a rice-producing area, we are afraid
that farm owners might be attracted to converting their land for residential,
commercial or industrial purposes rather than lose money in rice production.
eremy Pintolo/File
Don’t delay rice tariffication, Piñol warned
NFA officials earlier said they
are exploring their options in questioning the law before the Supreme Court.
Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) -
February 25, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture
Secretary Emmanuel Piñol was warned yesterday not to delay or derail the
implementation of the landmark rice tariffication law, which he had opposed
when it was being deliberated in Congress.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman
of the economic affairs committee and one of the authors of Republic Act (RA)
11203, defended the law as a major solution to the unstable price and supply of
rice in the country amid the strong opposition of Piñol and the National Food
Authority (NFA).
“Secretary Piñol, please
cooperate fully in implementing the law,” Gatchalian told dzBB when
asked about the possibility of officials from the Department of Agriculture
(DA) delaying the law’s implementation.
“He must work for the success of
the law even if he’s against it,” Gatchalian said.
NFA officials earlier said they
are exploring their options in questioning the law before the Supreme Court.
RA 11203 replaces the
quantitative restrictions imposed by the government on rice imports with a 35
percent tariff as required by the World Trade Organization.
The law also allocated P10
billion annually for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) for six
years to be extended to farmers for various initiatives including
mechanization, educations, provision of choice fertilizers and seeds.
The senator also warned that he
would scrutinize the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) that the DA and
National Economic and Development Authority are expected to issue in the next
30 to 90 days to make sure the IRR remains faithful to the intent of the law in
ensuring stable rice supply and lower prices while supporting the local farmers
as well as enhancing the country’s competitiveness in producing the staple.
Gatchalian said the country’s
uncertain rice supply and the poor competitiveness of local farmers have been
an issue in government for decades.
He said DA and NFA officials have
been “countering and countering” the Rice Tariffication law for a long time but
“have not presented any credible solution.”
Gatchalian said the law is
expected to lead to a reduction of rice prices by P2 to P7 per kilo.
He said another law providing for
free irrigation to farmers would also help improve the country’s rice
production.
About half of the country’s
rice-producing regions have already become as productive as Thailand and
Vietnam in growing the staple, Gatchalian noted.
This means that the regions can
easily compete with imports and with the RCEF helping the other provinces, it
is possible that the country will have almost no need to import rice in the
future, Gatchalian maintained.
Meanwhile, reelectionist Sen.
Nancy Binay and former senator Juan Ponce Enrile raised issues on the Rice
Tariffication law yesterday in Bulacan.
Binay noted that the Philippine
Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration has warned of
a possible dry spell in the first quarter of this year due to the developing El
Niño phenomenon.
For his part, Enrile cautioned
the government in its importation of rice.
“When you bring in too much
commodity from the outside, you deprive local farmers of their source of
livelihood, so we should be using tariffs to protect them,” Enrile
maintained.
Enrile said rice could be
imported from other countries at low levels of tariff. – With Ramon Efren Lazaro
Look beyond cheap paddy markets
This week is a crucial time for the
controversial rice bill as the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), which was
hand-picked by the military regime, is expected to have a second reading amid
pressing... Please credit and share this article with others using this
link:https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1635238/look-beyond-cheap-paddy-markets.
http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip
Supply of imported rice increased in markets ahead of rice
tariffication’s effective date
25 February 2019
QUEZON CITY, Philippines – The
Rice Tariffication Law is yet to take effect on March 5.
However, rice vendors in Trabaho
Market noticed that there is already an abundance of supply of imported rice in
the market.
The Confederation of Grain
Retailers of the Philippines (GRECON) said the supply increased because of the
delivery of more than one million metric tons of imported rice that was part of
the out-quota shipment by the private sector.
Such a scheme was approved by the
government when last year’s supply depleted.
“Sa out-quota, kahit gaano karami
pwede na pong magpasok ng imported na bigas basta magbabayad ka ng service fee
na itinakda ng NFA Council,”explained Orly Manuntag of GRECON National.
According to retailers, the price
of commercial local rice in Trabaho Market dropped by P200 per sack.
Susan said they were forced to
sell imported rice to augment their sales.
“Kalat ang imported ngayon sa
totoo lang. Ewan ko kung saan-saan nanggagaling ngayon,” said Susan Doctor, a
rice retailer.
She explained that there are some
varieties of imported rice that sells at P47 per kilogram with the quality
similar to the local rice that sells at P52 per kilogram.
There are also a variety of local
rice that sells as low as P36 per kilogram.
Retailers said that though
consumers prefer imported, they still recommend locally grown rice.
“Mas malakas ang local. Mas
masarap iyon,” said Oliver Santiago, also a rice retailer.
Consumer Pregrina Salvaña said
she prefers local rice as it is “malambot” (soft) and “malagkit” (sticky) while
Vicky Estrella said her husband doesn’t like the stickiness of the local rice
so she prefers to buy the imported.
With Rice Tariffication,
importation of rice will be allowed at 35% to 50% tax.
Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol
clarified, however, that its full implementation will not yet take effect
unless the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) is completed.
The IRR will also decide if the
National Food Authority (NFA) low-priced rice will still be available in the
market even after their supply of imported rice is consumed. – Marje Pelayo (with reports from Rey Pelayo)
The post Supply of imported rice
increased in markets ahead of rice tariffication’s effective date appeared
first on UNTV News.
Greens oppose
introduction of GM golden rice
Staff Correspondent | Published: 00:13, Feb
26,2019
Ubinig, Narigrantha Prabartana
and Nayakrishi Andolan hold a news conference at the National Press Club in
Dhaka on Monday to discriminate their opinion on genetically modified rice. —
New Age photo
Greens on Monday appealed to the government not to approve
genetically modified golden rice cultivation in Bangladesh to protect the
interest of the countrymen.
They said that American seed firm Monsanto with its Indian subsidiary Mahyco influenced government officials, agricultural researchers and experts to introduce GM golden rice cultivation in Bangladesh contrary to the interests of farmers and common folks.
They made their remarks at opinion exchange meeting hosted by UBINIG, Probartana and Nayakrishi Anodolon at the National Press Club.
They said that the agriculture ministry has sought approval of the environment ministry to grow GM golden rice on request from the International Rice Research Institute
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association executive director Syeda Rizwana Hasan said that an Indian parliamentary standing committee did not approve growing GM golden rice on the ground that it would benefit the seed company and not India and its people.
She said that she failed to understand why state machinery could be held hostage by foreign seed company.
It would be a big crime if the state allowed poison mixed food, she said.
Jahangirnagar University economics professor Anu Muhammad said that the giant seed conglomerate was active in advancing its interests in Bangladesh.
The people could be protected only if there was accountability, he said.
He said that American Cornell University have its award to the Bangladesh prime minister to advance Monsanto’s interests in Bangladesh.
UBINIG executive director Farida Akhter in her presentation said that transgenic changes in seeds would spell disaster to Bangladesh.
She appealed to the government not to approve introduction of GM golden rice cultivation in Bangladesh in the wake of Bt Brinjal seeds’ failure to deliver.
She said that UBINIG’s studies in 19 districts from December 2018 to January 2019 revealed that the farmers suffered losses by growing Bt brinjal.
She said that the Department of Agricultural Extension could not protect the interests of the farmers who were motivated to Bt brinjal as the DAE evaluated only environmental effects of Bt brinjal on other crops and damage to soil it could spell.
Sharing his field experience, journalist Delwar Jahan, also coordinator of Prakritik Krishi, said that farmers who grew Bt brinjal incurred huge losses without any compensations.
They said that American seed firm Monsanto with its Indian subsidiary Mahyco influenced government officials, agricultural researchers and experts to introduce GM golden rice cultivation in Bangladesh contrary to the interests of farmers and common folks.
They made their remarks at opinion exchange meeting hosted by UBINIG, Probartana and Nayakrishi Anodolon at the National Press Club.
They said that the agriculture ministry has sought approval of the environment ministry to grow GM golden rice on request from the International Rice Research Institute
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association executive director Syeda Rizwana Hasan said that an Indian parliamentary standing committee did not approve growing GM golden rice on the ground that it would benefit the seed company and not India and its people.
She said that she failed to understand why state machinery could be held hostage by foreign seed company.
It would be a big crime if the state allowed poison mixed food, she said.
Jahangirnagar University economics professor Anu Muhammad said that the giant seed conglomerate was active in advancing its interests in Bangladesh.
The people could be protected only if there was accountability, he said.
He said that American Cornell University have its award to the Bangladesh prime minister to advance Monsanto’s interests in Bangladesh.
UBINIG executive director Farida Akhter in her presentation said that transgenic changes in seeds would spell disaster to Bangladesh.
She appealed to the government not to approve introduction of GM golden rice cultivation in Bangladesh in the wake of Bt Brinjal seeds’ failure to deliver.
She said that UBINIG’s studies in 19 districts from December 2018 to January 2019 revealed that the farmers suffered losses by growing Bt brinjal.
She said that the Department of Agricultural Extension could not protect the interests of the farmers who were motivated to Bt brinjal as the DAE evaluated only environmental effects of Bt brinjal on other crops and damage to soil it could spell.
Sharing his field experience, journalist Delwar Jahan, also coordinator of Prakritik Krishi, said that farmers who grew Bt brinjal incurred huge losses without any compensations.
Moody's hails Rice Tariffication Act, BSP
Charter amendment
By Joann Villanueva February 25, 2019, 8:11 pm
Share
·
·
MANILA – Moody’s Investors Service considers both the rice
tarrification law and the amendment in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
Charter as "plusses" that will further strengthen the central bank’s
capacity.
The two measures were among those signed into law by President
Rodrigo R. Duterte last February 15. “(These) will enhance macroeconomic and
financial stability, a credit positive for the sovereign,” the debt rater said
in a report dated February 23, 2019.
Economic managers pushed for rice tarrification to liberalize rice
importation, ensuring adequate supply in the country and thus, prevent
shortages. The law, which is expected to become effective on March 5, is seen
to help prevent a repeat of last year's inflation surge.
Prior to this, the government used the minimum access volume (MAV)
scheme.
Authorities project the tarrification to reduce inflation by
around 0.7 percentage points.
Rice, which is the Filipino's staple food, accounts for about 9
percent of the consumer price index (CPI). “We expect the expected increase in
the volume of rice imports will diminish the price volatility of rice, helping
insulate Filipino households’ consumption to adverse agricultural shocks,” it
said.
Meanwhile, the amendment of the BSP Charter expands the central
bank’s supervisory oversight over non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) The
report said this “will enhance financial stability given the linkages between
the banking system and these entities (NBFIs).”
The Charter amendment also gives the BSP authority to issue its
own debt paper again, which Moody’s said will provide the central bank “another
tool to fine-tune liquidity management and improve the effectiveness of
monetary policy.” It also removed money supply and credit levels as basis for determining
monetary policy.
“Together, these measures will help supplement the BSP’s strong
record of maintaining monetary and financial stability and help improve
liquidity management amid capital flow volatility,” it added. (PNA)
Vietnam to export
100,000 tons of rice to China
Saturday, February 23, 2019 21:27
The Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development yesterday held a meeting between Vietnamese exporters with a
delegation of Food Valley of China (FVC) to exchange information about
expanding export market of the two nations.
A signing ceremony of Memorandum
of Understanding on rice export between the Vietnam Southern Food Corporation
and the Food Valley of China
At the working session, Vice
Minister of the Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam and former
Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Hu Qianwen witnessed a signing ceremony of
Memorandum of Understanding between the Vietnam Southern Food Corporation
(Vinafood 2) and the Food Valley of China on exporting 70,000 tons of ordinary
rice and 30,000 tons of glutinous rice to Chinese market.
In addition to rice, export of Vietnamese fruits including durian, avocado and mango is highly appreciated by FVC.
Representative of FVC said that Vietnamese enterprises would send information to FVC enterprises so that they could pay a visit to Vietnam to do research as well as instruct technical standards to facilitate export activities when China gives a green light to the product imports.
Besides that, FVC will support the Vietnamese enterprises to improve science and technology in production as well as processing.
In addition to rice, export of Vietnamese fruits including durian, avocado and mango is highly appreciated by FVC.
Representative of FVC said that Vietnamese enterprises would send information to FVC enterprises so that they could pay a visit to Vietnam to do research as well as instruct technical standards to facilitate export activities when China gives a green light to the product imports.
Besides that, FVC will support the Vietnamese enterprises to improve science and technology in production as well as processing.
Farmers’ dismay
over rice trade lib law may lead to lawsuits–report
-
February 25, 2019
Last updated on February
25th, 2019 at 03:55 am
THE Foreign Agricultural Service
in Manila of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-FAS) said the
Philippine government may face lawsuits over the rice trade liberalization law
as opposition against the measure grows.
In a Global Agricultural
Information Network (Gain) report, USDA-FAS Manila noted that Republic Act (RA)
11203 would “likely face legal challenges in the form of lawsuits in the near
future” as some rice industry stakeholders are “dismayed” over the measure.
RA 11203 liberalized the
country’s rice trade, including the removal of the quantitative restriction on
imports, and also deregulated the National Food Authority, leaving it as a
buffer-stocking agency for emergencies.
“The rice tariffication law has
also been met by strong opposition from some sectors, with legal challenges in
the form of lawsuits likely in the near future,” the Gain report, which was
published recently, read.
The report also agreed with
farmers that the country’s rice imports will increase, particularly from Asean
member-states, after Manila liberalized rice trade.
The USDA earlier projected that
Philippine rice imports this year could reach 2.3 million metric tons (MMT),
driven by stronger appetite from traders as they anticipate the full
liberalization of the industry.
This would be the second
consecutive year that the Philippines will import over 2 MMT of rice, as
purchases from abroad last year were also estimated at 2.3 MMT, according to
the USDA.
‘Undue haste’
Farmers belonging to the
Federation of Free Farmers Inc. (FFF) on Sunday decried the “undue haste” of
the economic managers to finish the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) by
March 5 sans proper consultation with affected stakeholders.
The FFF noted that RA 11203
provides a 45-day period for the government to consult farmers, millers and
other stakeholders in crafting the IRR.
FFF National Manager Raul Q.
Montemayor said it is important to maximize the 45-day period allotted by the
law to ensure that farmers are well informed about the impact of the law.
This would ensure that the
concerns of farmers will be heard and will be considered in the IRR,
considering that the law has “a lot of loopholes” that need to be clarified,
Montemayor added.
“Why are they rushing the
completion of the IRR? Have commitments been made to some importers?
Most farmers have not heard of the Official Gazette, nor do they read
newspapers, so they do not even understand what is inside the law,” he said in
a statement on Sunday.
“How do you expect ordinary
farmers to understand, much less critique, this draft in one-day ‘stakeholder
consultations’?” he added, noting that the latest draft of the IRR consists of
32 pages.
Officials of the agriculture
department sounded the alarm last week that the government could face lawsuits
if it would implement the rice trade liberalization law on March 5 sans the
IRR.
Some members of the President’s
economic team had announced that the new rice trade regime would take effect on
March 5 even without the necessary IRR.
Farmers’ groups and other allied
industry stakeholders have stated that they may challenge the law before the
court due to lack of public consultation in crafting the bill.
Some groups are looking into the
possibility of securing a temporary restraining order against RA 11203 from the
Supreme Court.
Black rice is the new brown rice - Benefits of black rice
Posted: Feb 23, 2019 11:34 AM PST
Updated: Feb 23, 2019 11:34 AM PST
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) - You've
been told to switch from white rice to brown rice to get more fiber and
nutrients.
Now, there's another type of rice
to think about... that's black rice.
Health expert Karen Owoc told
KRON 4’s Marty Gonzalez that health-conscious shoppers should consider black
rice.
Karen says it is a whole grain
and more nutritious than brown rice. It has more fiber content, protein, fewer
calories and nutrients. Karen says Anthocyanins are plant purple/blue pigments,
the same pigments that give blueberries, purple grapes, plums, tart cherries,
and beets their color and health benefits.
These purple/blue pigments have
anti-inflammatory effects and protect against carcinogens. They may help
prevent heart disease (Compared to white rice, black rice decreased
Atherosclerotic plaque formation by 50% in rabbits.)
A study showed that a spoonful of
black rice bran contains more Anthocyanins than a spoonful of blueberries.
Scientists are finding that rice contains arsenic, a heavy metal.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring
element that’s present in soil or water due to minerals in the earth and can
eventually end up in food, drinking water, and wine.
A study out of Harvard found no
increased cancer risk from long-term consumption of rice (eating five or more
servings of white or brown rice a week) in U.S. men and women.
Cooking Tips to Reduce Arsenic
Content: Cook rice like pasta In 6
parts water per 1 part rice (6:1). This drastically reduces arsenic levels by
40% as arsenic is water-soluble.
The Takeaway: If you really like rice, choose black for its unique
health benefits, and avoid eating rice grown In Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, and
China (due to higher levels of arsenic).
Rabi sowing closes with record rice acreage of 49
lakh hectares
Our Bureau New Delhi | Updated
on February 25, 2019 Published
onFebruary 25, 2019
The last-minute spurt in rice
planting in West Bengal, Assam and Karnataka has pushed the rice-sown area to a
record 49 lakh hectares (lh) even as the current rabi season’s total sowing
wound up to 636 lh, nearly 1.86 per cent lower than last year’s 648 lh.
It may be recalled that rice
acreage during last year’s rabi season stood at 43 lh.
According to the final rabi
sowing data released by the Agriculture Ministry last Friday, the area under
wheat almost touched 300 lh, which similar to last year, while pulses and
coarse cereals were nearly 5 and 15 per cent lower than the corresponding
period last year.
At 80.4 lh, oilseeds, on the
other hand, remained more or less the same as in the last rabi season, the data
showed.
While the increase in wheat
sowing in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh has somewhat compensated for the
drop in wheat acreage in Maharashtra and Gujarat, the States are reeling under
a drought.
The drought in Maharashtra was
what dragged down the pulses and coarse cereal cultivation. Karnataka and
Maharashtra are the other two States that reported a lower area under pulses
cultivation.
Karnataka has also sown less
coarse cereals this time as compared to the last season, despite the State
government announcing financial incentives to encourage the cultivation for
nutri-cereals.
While gram cultivation is down by
about 10 per cent as compared last year, there has been a nearly 31 per cent
spike in kulthi cultivation to 5.55 lh.
Among coarse cereals, jowar
cultivation is down by 19 per cent to 25 lh and maize by around 10 per cent to
15.56 lh.
Thanks to an increase in
mustard/rapeseed cultivation in Rajasthan as compared to last year, oilseeds
have been able to match up in area, even though the area under oilseeds
cultivation is lower than the normal in many States, including Karnataka.
Published on February 25, 2019
RIFAN flags off 2019 dry season rice
farming
| Published Date Feb 24, 2019 2:53 AM
Rice Farmers Association of
Nigeria, (RIFAN) has flagged off its multi-billion naira 2019 dry season rice
farming.RIFAN President, Aminu Goroyo, told the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN)
during the flag off in Abuja, that the project was executed under the Central
Bank on Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers programme (ABP).
ADVERTISEMENT
The president however, said that the association was working out
the fund modalities with the bank.
He said that the planting would commence simultaneously in the
774 local government areas of the 36 states of the federation and FCT.
Goroyo said that each state and the FCT would commence
distribution of high breed seeds and farm inputs to over 700,000 participating
farmers that were expected to cultivate 570,000 hectares of land.
“To this end, for easy cultivation and good harvesting, 52
registered input suppliers, 20 service providers and 450 private extension
officers will be involved.
“The programme, being a technology-driven process, will ensure
that all aspects of the farming are involved.
“This 2019 dry season farming is in strict compliance with the
use of only irrigable land with adequate irrigation facilities under the
supervision of extension agents.”
Goroyo said that the CBN had expressed its willingness to
continue to give necessary assistance to RIFAN because of its success story in
rice production.
He said that most farmers are enthusiastic about the dry season
farming because they were sure of high yields.
Goroyo stressed that the federal government decision to ban rice
importation was another source of encouragement as it had started yielding the
desired result.
“Nigerians are now consuming made in Nigeria rice, and aside
from that, the volume of rice smuggled into the country has reduced to 5
percent and farmers are now getting dividends and value for their efforts,” he
said.
The RIFAN president recalled that rice production in Nigeria has
increased from 5.5 million tonnes in 2015 to 5.8million tonnes by end of 2017.
He, therefore, challenged the beneficiaries not to default in
their loan repayments because it would help to grow the economy.
“It has become a must to grow the Nation’s economy and feed this
country; the population is growing at a high proportion and when you pay back
your loan, farmers will be on land to farm and feed.
NAN reports that APB was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari
on November 17, 2015, to create a link between anchor companies involved in the
processing and smallholder farmers of the required key agricultural commodities
and address the country’s food deficit.
Black rice is the new brown rice -
Benefits of black rice
o
Posted: Feb 23, 2019 11:34 AM PST
Updated: Feb 23, 2019 11:34 AM PST
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) - You've
been told to switch from white rice to brown rice to get more fiber and
nutrients.
Now, there's another type of rice
to think about... that's black rice.
Health expert Karen Owoc told
KRON 4’s Marty Gonzalez that health-conscious shoppers should consider black
rice.
Karen says it is a whole grain
and more nutritious than brown rice. It has more fiber content, protein, fewer
calories and nutrients. Karen says Anthocyanins are plant purple/blue pigments,
the same pigments that give blueberries, purple grapes, plums,
tart cherries, and beets their color and health benefits.
These purple/blue pigments have
anti-inflammatory effects and protect against carcinogens. They may help
prevent heart disease (Compared to white rice, black rice decreased
Atherosclerotic plaque formation by 50% in rabbits.)
A study showed that a spoonful of
black rice bran contains more Anthocyanins than a spoonful of blueberries.
Scientists are finding that rice contains arsenic, a heavy metal.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring
element that’s present in soil or water due to minerals in the earth and can
eventually end up in food, drinking water, and wine.
A study out of Harvard found no
increased cancer risk from long-term consumption of rice (eating five or more
servings of white or brown rice a week) in U.S. men and women.
Cooking Tips to Reduce Arsenic
Content: Cook rice like pasta In 6
parts water per 1 part rice (6:1). This drastically reduces arsenic levels by
40% as arsenic is water-soluble.
The Takeaway: If you really like rice, choose black for its unique
health benefits, and avoid eating rice grown In Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, and
China (due to higher levels of arsenic).
New tariff
law will discourage rice farming
-
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte
signed last week into law the Rice Tariffication Bill, which he
certified as urgent when filed in Congress in October
last year. This will now remove import restrictions on rice “for the
greater good”, according to Malacañang.We are wondering if the measure had the
full support of the Department of Agriculture (DA) because this will open the
country to a free flow of imported rice.
From statements of the DA on
Wednesday last week, with the new law, they said Filipino farmers would need
immediate help to improve productivity to compete with the imported cereal.
Agricultural secretary Manny Piñol himself expressed concern that without the
“intervention” local farmers cannot expect to compete with cheaper imports.
Rice tariffication removes tariff
barriers for imported rice and will allow the free flow of the staple into the
Philippine market. Rowena del Rosario-Sadecon of the Philippine Rice Industry
Stakeholders Movement said that the measure would create “chaos”.
We are taking up this issue in
our column because Western Visayas as a major rice producer will be adversely
affected by the new law. According to Secrotary Piñol, our country plans to
raise our rice production to 20 million metric tons this year, compared to 19.6
million last year. With a very competitive market because of the imported
rice stock, will rice farming be still be viable as a livelihood?
Imposing tariff on local rice
does not appear to have the full support of our farmers and the DA
itself. But why was the law passed? Why do we heed the advice of
politicians instead of listening to our farmers?
We have written a column on Feb.
11 last year with the title “PH should learn from India’s rice
program”. India is the second
biggest country in the world with a population of 1.339 billion in 2017, next
to China’s 1.410 billion. The Philippines ranked 13th in world population as of
2017 with 104.92 million people.
One thing we have in common with
China and India is that we are also a rice-eating country like them. It
is interesting to note that with its big population, India was able to increase
its rice production and became self-sufficient in the cereal by simply adopting
a program of paying their farmers twice the market price of their produce at
harvest time.
Under the circumstances, with the
expansion of a fast-growing city like Iloilo, although a rice-producing area,
we are afraid that farm owners might be attracted to converting their land for
residential, commercial or industrial purposes rather than lose money in rice
production.
***
Historical Quote of the Week
“The biggest public schools
division in the country is the Division of Iloilo.” (For comments or re-actions, please e-mail to
jnoveracompany@yahoo.com)/PN
BSP charter changes, rice tariff credit positive for Phillippines
Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star) -
February 26, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Moody’s
Investor Service said the recent signing of two landmark laws crucial in
enhancing macroeconomic and financial stability is positive for the credit
rating of the Philippines.
Christian de Guzman, vice
president and senior credit officer at Moody’s, said the signing of multiple
economic reforms into law, including amendments to the charter of the Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as well as the rice tariffication law, promotes
greater macroeconomic stability.
“These measures will enhance
macroeconomic and financial stability, a credit positive for the sovereign,” De
Guzman said.
Last Feb. 14, President Duterte
signed Republic Act 11211 or an act amending RA 7653 otherwise known as The New
Central Bank Act and RA 11203 or the Rice Import and Export Liberalization Act
set to take effect on March 5.
De Guzman said the amendment to
the BSP’s charter expands the regulator’s supervisory oversight over non-bank
financial institutions such as money service businesses, credit granting
businesses and payment system operators that would enhance financial stability
given the linkages between the banking system and these entities.
He added the revised charter
allows the BSP to issue its own debt securities, providing another tool to fine
tune liquidity management and improve the effectiveness of monetary policy.
“The issuance of its own
debt will enhance the BSP’s ability to better calibrate liquidity condition
through open market operations, allowing it to rely less on its deposit
facilities and reserve requirements, which at 18 percent is one of the highest
globally,” he said.
The BSP’s Monetary Board slashed
the level of deposits banks are required to keep with the central bank by 200
basis points, releasing close to P200 billion or 1.1 percent of gross domestic
product (GDP), as part of the commitment of the late BSP Governor Nestor
Espenilla Jr. to bring down the level to single-digit by the end of his term.
Excess liquidity, as reflected in
BSP’s overnight deposit and term deposit facilities declined to P120 billion or
0.7 percent of GDP as of end-November from as high as P1 trillion or 7.6
percent of GDP in mid-2016.
“The BSP’s intention to gradually
reduce the reserve requirement will further ease liquidity constraints
notwithstanding policy rate tightening since May 2018,” De Guzman said.
The BSP raised interest rates by
175 basis points in five straight rate-setting meetings from May to November
last year to prevent inflation from spiraling out of control. The consumer
price index accelerated to 5.2 percent last year from 2.9 percent in 2017,
exceeding the BSP’s two to four percent target, due to elevated oil and food
prices as well as weak peso.
The Moody’s executive said, other
notable changes include the official removal of money supply and credit levels
as a basis to determine monetary policy; the prohibition of any injunction or
restraining order on the BSP, except by the Philippines’ two highest courts; an
increase in BSP’s capitalization to P200 billion from P50 billion; and the
exemption of the bulk of its activities from taxation.
“Over the past decade, the
Philippines has been one of the fastest growing economies in Asia Pacific, with
accelerating credit growth contributing to a decline in domestic liquidity,
which contributed to rising domestic interest rates last year,” he added.
On the other hand, De Guzman said
the rice tariffication scheme would help alleviate local supply-demand
imbalances by eliminating quantitative restrictions on rice imports.
Last year, he pointed out
weather-related supply disruptions led to a decline in the growth of rice
production, leading to an uptick in domestic rice prices as rice accounts for
nearly 10 percent of the entire consumer price index basket.
“We expect the expected increase
in the volume of rice imports will diminish the price volatility of rice,
helping to insulate Filipino households’ consumption to adverse agricultural
shocks,” De Guzman said.
The BSP estimates the rice
tariffication law would reduce inflation by 0.6 percentage point this year and
0.3 to 0.4 percentage point next year.
Moody’s, along with S&P
Global Ratings and Fitch Rating, has assigned a notch above minimum investment
grade rating for the Philippines.
Investment grade rating leads to
lower borrowing costs for the national government and Philippine companies in
international markets, allowing higher valuations for their issuances.
Gov’t can impose import ban amid rice tariffication
Published February 25, 2019, 10:00 PM
By Madelaine B. Miraflor
Philippine can always impose
import ban even after the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law once
there is already a supply glut in the local rice market.
This was according to Samahang
Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), one of the strongest agriculture lobby group
in the country, and was later on backed by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel
Piñol.
SINAG Executive Director Jayson
Cainglet said in a phone interview that under a liberalized scheme, the
Philippine government can always impose import ban depending on the season and
on the amount of rice that is available in the market.
Signed into law last week, the
Rice Tariffication Law seeks to replace volume restrictions on rice imports
with tariff as required by the country’s commitment to the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
“It is within the power of the
government to impose import ban. All the countries do that. It should be
included in the IRR [the Implementing Rules and Regulations] of the law. As
long as the government can prove that the amount of imported rice that entered
the could already injure the local rice sector, it should be okay to impose the
ban,” Cainglet said.
Piñol, in an interview with
reporters, backed this up, saying that technically, it is part of the law.
Based on the Rice Tariffication
Law, the tariff rate for imported rice coming from member countries of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) like Thailand and Vietnam is about 35
percent. Outside ASEAN, the tariff rate will be higher at 50 percent.
The law also says that tariff
rate could go as high as 180 percent, but it didn’t cite specific scenarios
that will trigger such.
Piñol said a supply glut could
push the tariff rate this high or when the local farmers are already suffering
from the oversupply.
“When you increase the tariff to
180 percent, who else will import? That is technically an import ban,” Piñol
said.
Meanwhile, he also assured that
low-priced rice will still be available in the market even if the National Food
Authority (NFA) will no longer be allowed to import.
Based on NFA’s current stocks, it
can only sell rice at P27 per kilo to P32 per kilo until August this year.
“NFA will still be selling lower
priced rice in the market. How low? Something that has to be discussed in the
IRR of the Rice Tariffication Bill,” Piñol said.
On Thursday, Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) has warned consumers that they may have to pay more for rice under a liberalized market.
On Thursday, Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) has warned consumers that they may have to pay more for rice under a liberalized market.
Raul Montemayor, National Manager
of the FFF, said that at current prices, it will cost importers at least P29 to
bring in the rice after paying a 35 percent import tax or tariff.
He said that by the time this
rice reaches the retail market, the selling price could go up to P35 per kilo
after providing for transfer costs, profit margins and related costs. This
means it will be impossible for private traders to match the price of NFA rice.
“Retail prices could indeed go
down from the current P40 per kilo level to P35. But for the poor consumers,
this means an increase of P8 per kilo compared to the P27 they used to pay for
NFA rice. Those who will benefit from the imports will be relatively better off
consumers who can actually afford to pay more but will now enjoy a P5 reduction
in prices,” said Montemayor.
'Research to be done' on Rice County Tobacco
21 idea
·
·
Feb 25, 2019 Updated
An increase in e-cigarette usage has been a key part of the
Tobacco 21 movement in Minnesota. (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio
News)
The possibility of raising the
tobacco-buying age in Rice County to 21 has caused quite a buzz.
Faribault Mayor Kevin Voracek
brought the idea up at a Jan. 29 Faribault City Council meeting and has recently
reached out to all of Rice County’s mayors to gauge their opinions on a switch.
He’s waiting on feedback before taking any further action.
Many residents pushed back
against the idea, saying 18-year-olds should be able to make that decision for
themselves and minors would get access to them regardless of an ordinance
change.
Voracek has said he wouldn’t
continue to pursue the idea, even in just Faribault, unless every Rice County
city isn’t on board. But he hasn’t yet changed his mind on the issue, saying
that for every person pushing back against the idea, there’s as many people in
support.
The Rice County Statewide Health
Improvement Partnership (SHIP) is on board with the idea, which has been
implemented in 23 Minnesota communities, according to the Preventing Tobacco
Addiction Foundation.
According to SHIP Coordinator
Josh Ramaker, 94 percent of adult smokers tried their first cigarette by age 21
and 81 percent did so by age 18.
“High school smokers aged 18 and
19 years old are often a supplier for younger kids who rely on friends,
classmates and peers to buy tobacco and nicotine products. By increasing the
gap between high schoolers and individuals aged 21 and older, this would
greatly reduce the access of students to obtain tobacco and nicotine products,”
Ramaker said. “Increasing the sales age for tobacco and nicotine products will
help counter the tobacco industry’s efforts to target young people at a
critical time when many move from experimenting with tobacco and nicotine to
regular smoking and vaping.”
According to the 2017 Minnesota
Youth Tobacco Survey, 13.6 percent of Rice County high school juniors used
tobacco in 2016 and 6.3 percent of freshman did so.
“With youth tobacco use rising in
Minnesota for the first time in 17 years, preventing youth from starting is
essential to reducing smoking prevalence. Raising the purchase age to 21 will
reduce teens’ ability to buy tobacco themselves or to access them through
social sources,” Ramaker said.
He also referenced a 2015 report
from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies stated that “raising
the [minimum age of legal access] will reduce tobacco use initiation,
particularly among adolescents 15 to 17 years of age, improve the health of
Americans across the lifespan and save lives.”
Much of the emphasis on Tobacco
21 changes is due to e-cigarette usage, which increased from 2.1 million middle
and high school students using in 2017 to 3.6 million in 2018, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
This means that Rice County’s
numbers could be even higher than they were in 2016. According to the CDC, 27.1
percent of high school students used tobacco products in 2018, with e-cigarette
usage the highest at 20.8 percent.
As for Rice County, Voracek said
there’s still “research to be done” before anything goes into place.
He’s still waiting to hear from
the rest of the county’s mayors. On March 8, he’ll be attending a southeast
Minnesota mayors meeting, where he’s sure the topic will come up once again.
Reach Sports Reporter Jacob
Swanson at 507-333-3129 or on Twitter @FDNjacob.
Reinvigorating the agriculture sector
BIZLINKS - Rey Gamboa (The Philippine Star) -
February 26, 2019 - 12:00am
Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol is often criticized for his
scant knowledge of agriculture economics, having been more popular as a
journalist and writer – and, with the May 2016 presidential election, a good
friend of the elected president.
It has not helped that the country’s worst inflation in a decade
had to be during his watch as agriculture secretary, when runaway prices
of rice and vegetables turned out to have been manipulated by traders taking
advantage of rising oil prices and the effect of the government’s tax reform
initiative.
Piñol also seems to not have come to terms with of the role of
the National Food Authority in the emerging regime of rice tariffication, and
whether the new law recently signed by the President will indeed be good for
the country’s rice self-sufficiency aspirations.
Surprisingly, too, the good secretary had recently pooh-poohed
warnings of a more severe El Niño in the country that would affect agricultural
lands and produce, as well as the livelihood of millions of farmers affected by
a prolonged drought.
Against the backdrop of the rice tariffication law, at least P10
billion per annum will be appropriated for rice farmers, now estimated at just
four million, over the next six years to improve their yields and
profitability, as well as make them competitive in the world market.
Making rice farmers competitive
The Palace has said that the mechanism for this appropriation
under the established Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) is
corruption-free. The biggest concern now, however, is the effectiveness of the
Department of Agriculture-led programs that will make rice farmers truly
competitive.
The RCEF alone, however, seemingly huge will not do the job
alone. Under the fund’s guidelines, P5 billion a year will be channeled to
farmer associations, registered rice cooperatives, and local government units
in the form of rice farming machineries like hand tractors, four-wheel
tractors, mechanical transplanters, combine harvesters, dryers, seed cleaners,
and single-pass rice mills.
Atleast P3 billion will go to developing, propagating, and
promoting inbred rice seeds to rice farmers and organizations through the
Philippine Rice Research Institute, and the remaining P2 billion will be made
available for lending to rice farmers and cooperatives, as well as for teaching
modern methods of farming, seed production, and farm mechanization.
The fund will initially zero in on 1,100 rice-producing
communities in the first few years, which should result in a new breed of
enlightened rice farmers that are adept at new forms of rice farming, and will
be competitive at par with or better than Thailand’s rice farmers.
Essential complementary measures
But we all know that any army of enlightened farmers will not be
enough. Years of neglect by the government of the country’s agricultural sector
has led to inadequate and crumbling infrastructure to support farmers and
fishermen.
Rebuilding old irrigation canals and putting up new ones should
be a priority to keep farms well supplied with water. For this, a nationwide
water management system must also be in place to ensure that fields, as well as
cities have adequate water sources.
Infrastructure support is also needed for more farm-to-market
roads, as well as improved shipping efficiency and lower costs to ensure that
the produce from farms, fishing communities, and livestock growers get to
consumers at lower costs.
Other essential complementary measures should encourage cooperatives
to invest in cold storage facilities and technologies that would prolong the
life of produce. The private sector, likewise, should be supported to invest in
the expansion of existing ports or building new ones.
Focus on resiliency
The country’s economic managers had issued last month a call for
the agriculture department to put more focus on improving the sector’s
productivity in view of the economy’s vulnerability to any inadequate supply of
food and the continuing sluggish performance of the sector.
From a policy point of view, the 0.5 percent growth of the farm
sector last year is barely enough to keep up with the population’s expansion,
currently estimated at 1.6 percent a year. This is unacceptable especially with
the vulnerability that the country as experienced last year with the food
supply shortage.
An often-stated reason for the deterioration of the agriculture
sector’s gross domestic product contribution, now at just eight percent, aside
from the lack of irrigation, are unfavorable weather conditions. Yet, other
countries in Southeast Asia similarly experience destruction to farmlands
caused by natural calamities.
If we are to heed the pattern of weather changes that the world
is currently experiencing, part of preparing our agriculture sector for
self-reliance is focusing on resiliency measures that would mitigate the effect
of droughts and typhoons.
Improving the crop insurance system for farmers so that they are
able to return to planting at the soonest time to recover losses should be given
more attention.
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services
Administration (PAGASA) has warned that El Niño may be longer this year, and
this should serve as a advance notice for our government officials to help
farmers in affected regions prepare.
Now, more than ever, we should expect our government leaders to
be able to lead the country to food self-sufficiency. The Rice Tariffication
Law and the RCEF must be seen as measures that will be used to strengthen our
rice farms, and eventually the whole agriculture sector.
For the sake of 105 million Filipinos, and those that will be
born in the coming decades, we cannot afford to waver on this.
Facebook and Twitter
We are actively using two social networking websites to reach
out more often and even interact with and engage our readers, friends and
colleagues in the various areas of interest that I tackle in my column. Please
like us on www.facebook.com/ReyGamboa and follow us on
www.twitter.com/ReyGamboa.
Should you wish to share any
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of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/02/26/1896669/reinvigorating-agriculture-sector
PhilRice promotes agricultural drones to farmers
by UNTV News | Posted on Monday, 25 February 2019 10:12 AM
A drone operator demonstrates the
uses of drone in the rice field
NUEVA ECIJA, Philippines — The
Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), together with Davao-based drone
firm New Hope Corp, conducted a drone seminar for 60 seed growers from various
regions in the country as part of its promotion to use multi-purpose drone
spreaders to expedite work in the rice field.
The said seminar took place at
the Philrice compound in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija last Thursday.
Farmers were introduced to the
benefits of drone usage in agriculture which include the quick and efficient
spreading of seeds and fertilizers; easy application of chemicals on rice
fields and automation of feeding tasks in fishponds.
“It can take snap shots at the
farm and then i-analyze natin yan to gauge the plant health through full band
five camera. Marami tayong bands na hindi nakikita with our own eyes,” New Hope
Corp chief executive officer, Anthony Tan said.
A multi-purpose drone spreader takes
off
The multi-purpose drone is
capable of spraying seeds onto 30 hectares of farmland in just a day. In
turn, farmers are spared from getting sick due to chemical exposure.
The seed growers who attended the
PhilRice seminar are convinced by the convenience that drone technology offers.
They are particularly drawn to the guarantee of fast production which they find
imperative amid looming stiff competition with the entry of imported rice and
other agricultural products.
The cost of the device itself is
quite hefty at P850,000. But this can be rented from a service provider at P850
per hectare of farmland.
At present, New Hope Corp is considering other measures to
further improve their product for the benefit of farmers. — Freema
Salonga with reports from Danny Munar
https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1634462/assembly-whips-to-iron-out-problems-with-rice-bill
