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Posted May 2, 2019 at 4:16 PMUpdated May 2, 2019 at 4:16 PM
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a healthy male, age 66, nonsmoker, not overweight, who takes no medications. At my most recent annual physical, I mentioned to my physician that I was having symptoms of erectile dysfunction and wondered if that was typical for a man my age or if it could be due to low testosterone. He ordered normal blood tests as well as a testosterone test. All my numbers were in the normal range. My blood pressure runs a little high, but he said that as long as I kept it under 140/90 he wouldn’t put me on blood pressure medication.
He prescribed sildenafil (Viagra), and I have taken it three times. The first dose was 60 mg. The subsequent doses have been 20 mg (one pill), which works as expected, except for one thing: About 30 minutes after taking it, my heart starts beating hard and fast. This happens off and on for several hours as the medication works through my system. This is mentioned as a “rare” side effect (1 in 1,000 people). Should I be concerned about this? It is a little scary to feel my heart beating so hard while relaxing in front of the TV, but it does eventually go away. Also, I am a little concerned about talking to my doctor about it because we don’t really know each other very well yet. Any thoughts? -- M.
ANSWER: My most important advice is that you should certainly discuss this with your doctor. It’s important, and you will get to know your new doctor more quickly by discussing something important like this.
Sildenafil (Viagra) works by adjusting blood flow, and in the body, it acts mostly as a vasodilator. This commonly causes flushing, and the blood goes into blood vessels that are more open than usual. The heart will be affected. Blood pressure drops on average 6 points systolic and 4 points diastolic. In some people who take it, this can lead to the heart responding by beating a bit more forcefully and quickly. So, I would not be surprised by a person paying close attention to their body noticing that. An extra glass of water may help a bit with this side effect.
In anyone who notices palpitations (the word just means an unpleasant sense of one’s own pulse, usually but not always fast or irregular), I recommend keeping a record of when it occurred and what you’re doing at the time. Include a careful measurement of the pulse rate and blood pressure, if you have a cuff at home.
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 61-year-old woman who is gluten sensitive. Thus, I eat a number of gluten-free products to replace wheat and other grains in my diet. How safe is it to eat these products, which are mainly made from brown rice flour? I’m concerned that the amount of arsenic I am consuming may be dangerous. -- A.K.S.
ANSWER: Rice can contain higher levels of inorganic arsenic, a toxic metal, than most other cereal foods. This is particularly important for people with celiac disease, who often consume more rice than other people. Here are some things you should know to reduce arsenic exposure:
-- Rinsing and draining rice before cooking can reduce arsenic consumed by 50 percent. Consider cooking rice in more water than needed, draining excess water after cooking.
-- Brown rice tends to have more arsenic than white.
--Rice from California, India and Pakistan tends to have less arsenic than rice from Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.
Heart palpitations are a rare side effect of Viagra
Posted May 3, 2019 at 2:01 AM
Dear Dr. Roach: I am a healthy male, age 66, nonsmoker, not overweight, who takes no medications. At my most recent annual physical, I mentioned to my physician that I was having symptoms of erectile dysfunction and wondered if that was typical for a man my age or if it could be due to low testosterone. He ordered normal blood tests as well as a testosterone test. All my numbers were in the normal range. My blood pressure runs a little high, but he said that as long as I kept it under 140/90 he wouldn’t put me on blood pressure medication.
He prescribed sildenafil (Viagra), and I have taken it three times. The first dose was 60 mg. The subsequent doses have been 20 mg (one pill), which works as expected, except for one thing: About 30 minutes after taking it, my heart starts beating hard and fast. This happens off and on for several hours as the medication works through my system. This is mentioned as a “rare” side effect (1 in 1,000 people). Should I be concerned about this? It is a little scary to feel my heart beating so hard while relaxing in front of the TV, but it does eventually go away. Also, I am a little concerned about talking to my doctor about it because we don’t really know each other very well yet. Any thoughts? — M.
Dear M.: My most important advice is that you should certainly discuss this with your doctor. It’s important, and you will get to know your new doctor more quickly by discussing something important like this.
Sildenafil (Viagra) works by adjusting blood flow, and in the body, it acts mostly as a vasodilator. This commonly causes flushing, and the blood goes into blood vessels that are more open than usual. The heart will be affected. Blood pressure drops on average 6 points systolic and 4 points diastolic. In some people who take it, this can lead to the heart responding by beating a bit more forcefully and quickly. So, I would not be surprised by a person paying close attention to their body noticing that. An extra glass of water may help a bit with this side effect.
In anyone who notices palpitations (the word just means an unpleasant sense of one’s own pulse, usually but not always fast or irregular), I recommend keeping a record of when it occurred and what you’re doing at the time. Include a careful measurement of the pulse rate and blood pressure, if you have a cuff at home.
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 61-year-old woman who is gluten sensitive. Thus, I eat a number of gluten-free products to replace wheat and other grains in my diet. How safe is it to eat these products, which are mainly made from brown rice flour? I’m concerned that the amount of arsenic I am consuming may be dangerous. — A.K.S.
Dear A.K.S.: Rice can contain higher levels of inorganic arsenic, a toxic metal, than most other cereal foods. This is particularly important for people with celiac disease, who often consume more rice than other people. Here are some things you should know to reduce arsenic exposure:
— Rinsing and draining rice before cooking can reduce arsenic consumed by 50 percent. Consider cooking rice in more water than needed, draining excess water after cooking.
— Brown rice tends to have more arsenic than white.
— Rice from California, India and Pakistan tends to have less arsenic than rice from Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.
It’s also important to use multiple other grains. Try grains like quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth and sorghum, and the flours made from them.
Dear Dr. Roach• I am a healthy male, age 66, nonsmoker, not overweight, who takes no medications. At my most recent annual physical, I mentioned to my physician that I was having symptoms of erectile dysfunction and wondered if that was typical for a man my age or if it could be due to low testosterone. He ordered blood tests as well as a testosterone test. All my numbers were in the normal range. My blood pressure runs a little high, but he said that as long as I kept it under 140/90 he wouldn’t put me on blood pressure medication.
He prescribed sildenafil (Viagra), and I have taken it three times. The first dose was 60 mg. The subsequent doses have been 20 mg (one pill), which works as expected, except for one thing: About 30 minutes after taking it, my heart starts beating hard and fast. This happens off and on for several hours as the medication works through my system. This is mentioned as a “rare” side effect (1 in 1,000 people). Should I be concerned about this? It is a little scary to feel my heart beating so hard while relaxing in front of the TV, but it does eventually go away. Also, I am a little concerned about talking to my doctor about it because we don’t really know each other very well yet. Any thoughts? — M.
Answer • My most important advice is that you should certainly discuss this with your doctor. It’s important, and you will get to know your new doctor more quickly by discussing something important like this.
Sildenafil (Viagra) works by adjusting blood flow, and in the body, it acts mostly as a vasodilator. This commonly causes flushing, and the blood goes into blood vessels that are more open than usual. The heart will be affected. Blood pressure drops on average 6 points systolic and 4 points diastolic. In some people who take it, this can lead to the heart responding by beating a bit more forcefully and quickly. So, I would not be surprised by a person paying close attention to their body noticing that. An extra glass of water may help a bit with this side effect.
In anyone who notices palpitations (the word just means an unpleasant sense of one’s own pulse, usually but not always fast or irregular), I recommend keeping a record of when it occurred and what you’re doing at the time. Include a careful measurement of the pulse rate and blood pressure, if you have a cuff at home.
Dear Dr. Roach • I am a 61-year-old woman who is gluten sensitive. Thus, I eat a number of gluten-free products to replace wheat and other grains in my diet. How safe is it to eat these products, which are mainly made from brown rice flour? I’m concerned that the amount of arsenic I am consuming may be dangerous. — A.K.S.
Answer • Rice can contain higher levels of inorganic arsenic, a toxic metal, than most other cereal foods. This is particularly important for people with celiac disease, who often consume more rice than other people. Here are some things you should know to reduce arsenic exposure:
• Rinsing and draining rice before cooking can reduce arsenic consumed by 50 percent. Consider cooking rice in more water than needed, draining excess water after cooking.
• Brown rice tends to have more arsenic than white.
• Rice from California, India and Pakistan tends to have less arsenic than rice from Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.
It’s also important to use multiple other grains. Try grains like quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth and sorghum, and the flours made from them.
Officials have now shifted their focus to
speeding up paddy procurement.
With cyclone sparing
E.G., they hope to reap it rich
Paddy farmers of East Godavari district heaved
a sigh of relief with the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani moving towards
the Odisha coast.
Distress sale
When cyclone warning was issued, paddy harvest
was in full swing.
A few farmers resorted to distress sale when
they disposed of their produce either to the millers or at the paddy
procurement centres.
In the absence of adequate warehousing
facilities, most of the farmers were a worried lot, as there was every
possibility of the cyclone causing huge damage to the produce.
Since paddy procurement was going on at a
snail’s pace, middlemen entered the scene and started offering much below the
minimum support price (MSP), leaving the farmers flummoxed as they had only two
options – sell the produce for a nominal price, or leave it to the cyclone.
Expected yield
As per the official estimates, paddy was
transplanted in 4 lakh acres. The Agriculture Department expects the yield to
be 13.64 lakh tonnes. Even as the officials planned to procure 7 lakh tonnes by
setting up 225 paddy procurement centres all over the district, most of them
were unable to come in handy for the farmers due to procedural delay in setting
up the centres.
Climate conducive
With the cyclone changing its direction, the
district officials have now shifted their focus to speeding up paddy procurement
and conducting review meetings with the officials concerned and the rice
millers.
Since there was no damage to the grain and the
climate remained conducive, paddy farmers need not compromise on the price
front, provided procurement was completed prior to the commencement of the
monsoon season.
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https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/paddy-farmers-breathe-easy-again/article27029008.eceRe:
Rice smugglers are patriotic By Engr. Ilyasu Nazifi | Published Date May 4, 2019 5:42 AM
TwitterFacebookWhatsAppTelegram The seven suspects and the seized bags of rice
I have read with consternation and bewilderment, the shockingly disgusting
article written by one Feyi Fawehinmi published in the Guardian newspaper of 30
April 2019, titled ‘Rice Smugglers are patriotic’. Obviously, the greedy, lazy
and wicked rice smuggling cartel in Nigeria did a very bad job of hiring Mr
Fawehinmi to defend their evil and nefarious agenda of destroying the country’s
economy and harming public health through the importation of toxic rice.
ADVERTISEMENT I wouldn’t want to dissipate my energy joining issues with
Fawehinmi because his article failed to provide any cogent reasons to justify
his blind support for rice smugglers but there is need to set the records
straight for a number of reasons: One. Research has shown that Nigeria spends
at least $22 billion on food importation annually out of which about $1.6
billion or roughly N576 billion is spent on rice importation alone. This
humongous amount is being churned out to foreign countries particularly India
and Thailand at a time Nigeria is still struggling to rebuild its foreign
reserves. Any sensible Nigerian would understand that instead of wasting our
hard-earned forex to enrich countries that do not have our best interests at
heart, the federal government ought to re-channel the forex to support millions
of local rice farmers and millers to produce enough rice that can feed the
entire country. ADVERTISEMENT After all, Nigeria has more than 84 million
hectares of arable lands from which at least five million hectares are suitable
for growing rice. Out of this number, only 3.2 million hectares are being
utilized to produce 3.7 million metric tons of rice yearly which covers 50
percent of total rice consumption across the country. But instead of
encouraging the federal government to deploy more funds to increase the
utilization of the remaining 1.8 million hectares or even more lands to boost
rice production, people like Fawehinmi, clearly out of stark ignorance are
asking the government to open borders to enable the importation of toxic rice
that ends up killing us gradually. Second. Does Mr. Fawehinmi know that in 2010
Nigeria spent over $1 billion to import 10-year-old expired rice from India
while its own rice harvest was allowed to rot away due to lack of roads to
markets and processing plants, according to Economist magazine? If, God forbid,
Mr Fawehinmi or any of his family members were to be afflicted by one of the
numerous deadly diseases associated with consumption of toxic foreign rice, we
wouldn’t hear him defending smugglers, but would instead turn around and blame
the government for not protecting the country’s citizens by allowing smugglers
to have a field day importing poison through porous borders? Third. Talking
about the financial support being extended to rice farmers and other crop
producers by the federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),
like the N150 billion anchor-borrower’s scheme, it is out of genuine concern
over the dangers of rice smuggling and the need to boost employment and reduce
poverty that the government conceived the plan. Fourth. Fawehinmi in his
article accused Nigerian rice millers and processors of selling their product
at higher rates than the foreign but what he does not understand is extent of
wickedness of the rice smugglers he is defending so passionately. What he does
not know is that these evil and morally bankrupt smugglers would smuggle toxic
rice and then repackaged it in bags of local rice millers and sell them at
higher price giving buyers the impression that they are buying local rice!
Haba, how can you in good conscience defend this wickedness? Even if there are
differences in prices of local and foreign rice, it is pertinent to note that
while rice production and processing are heavily subsidized in rice exporting
countries, that is yet to happen in Nigeria. After all, rice processors have
created and are creating millions of jobs that are helping to take jobless
youths off the streets, while also safeguarding our health through production
of rice in a healthy and hygienic environment. If the Rice Processors
Association of Nigeria (RIPAN) is a cartel, it certainly must be a patriotic
one! Finally, on his wild accusation that many rice farmers acquired new wives
with the loans they received from the CBN, my response to him is that the
government is not as dull as he might think because it has placed stringent
measures on how to reclaim its funds, making it impossible not to repay.
However, it is not a crime for any successful businessman, rice processors or
not to marry more wives, even if his marriage was made possible by drawing
profits from loans he had acquired from the government. This is simply a cry of
a drowning man. The days of smuggling of unhealthy rice are over as Nigeria’s
production and processing capabilities are increasing and becoming more
competitive by the day. Consumers are also becoming more conscious of the
choices that impact their well-being. For this, Sai RIPAN Engr. Nazifi sent
this piece from Gidan Shinkafa, Kano. Fashola, please checkLokoja-Ajaokuta road
The stretch of the ever-busy road between Lokoja nad Ajaokuta in Kogi State
which serves as a link between Abuja and the southern states has remained a
source of concern to road users for several years. One wonders why that portion
has been left to deteriorate so badly over the years. I am sure budgetary
allocations must have been made for it several times but that portion of the
road is getting worse by the days. I wish to use this opportunity to appeal to
the Works minister to please, look into the state of that road and urgently do
something about it, as it is a major link between the FCT and other parts of
the country. Betty Ajunwa, Onitsha Stop this pampering of rapists I am not
satisfied with the way the state handles those caught for raping, and what it
seems to me is that there is even tacit support for this set of people. A man
would be caught raping a small child or woman and all I hear is that he is
bailed and you see him walking around. I beg to submit that if the state cannot
handle cases of rape effectively, it would encourage recourse to jungle
justice. Besides, it might sound rather absurd to state that if the law is too
mild on rapists or the government does not know what to do with them, they
should be left with families of rape victims to find a way to deal with them.
Salome Akuka, Afikpo Many FM radio stations and quality programming There is an
interestingly steady growth of the broadcast media, especially FM radio
stations across the country, and especially the FCT. But an issue of note is
the quality of programmes of some the stations, which have virtually turned
themselves into mere phone-in stations, dealing often on trivial issues. It is
very common to see that in many of the stations, phone-in programmes dominate
the schedules, as well-researched and analytical programmes are not common. In
the media, it is said the more the merrier, as many media outlets enhance
opportunities for cross-fertilisation of ideas and expression of opinions, but
producers of such programmes have a duty
of churning out meaningful programmes that could guide society aright, instead
of irrelevances as is the case in many stations. Danny Mokogwu, Apo, Abuja Growing insecurity acause for concern When I
read of the kidnap of the president’s in-law in Daura on Wednesday night, I
became very jittery because the dimension of crime and insecurity in the
country is getting rather alarming. These days, travelling from one part of the
country to another is terrifying amid the risk of armed robbery and kidnapping
or even communal crises. Government should please get back to the drawing board
to ensure that sanity returns to the country. Even the villages are not as safe as they were. There should be
a concrete and decisive action against this prevailing situation to enable
Nigerians live in peace. Aminu Ahmad, Bauchi
MANILA –
Rice importation is set to take a month – with the processing of permits to be
shortened to a maximum of 28 days – under the Rice Liberalization Act,
government officials said Monday.
In a
press conference in Manila City, Finance assistance secretary Antonio “Tony”
Joselito Lambino II said securing permits to import rice will only take a
maximum of 28 days.
President
Rodrigo Duterte in February signed into law the Rice Liberalization Act, which
effectively removed the quantitative restrictions on rice, and imposed a
35-percent tariff on imports from the country’s neighbors in Southeast Asia.
As of
the April 28 draft guidelines of the Rice Liberalization Act, the milled rice
importation process will take a maximum of 28 days, with several government
agencies involved.
Securing
permits from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) will take a maximum of 14 days
– six days for registration, and another seven days for the sanitary and
phytosanitary import clearance (SPSIC).
It will
take six to seven working days to secure permits from the Bureau of Customs
(BOC), six to seven days from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), three days
from the registration with the Philippine International Trading Corporation
(PITC), and another eight days for the PITC import consolidation.
“Kung
tutuusin, maybe all in all, three weeks, four weeks, nandiyan
na ‘yung bigas,” Trade secretary Ramon Lopez said.
“As long
as wala
nang kinuhang NFA (National Food Authority) permit, it’s
really just the quality and then the actual procedure of importation, nandiyan
na ‘yung bigas in less than one month,” he added.
Trade
undersecretary Ruth Castelo noted, however, that the actual process could be shortened
given the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) of 2007.
“Binibigyan
lang namin ng allowance para masigurado na maka-comply pa
rin sila,” she said.
“With
ARTA Law, maximum of three days for simple applications, mami-minimize pa
po itong 28 days na binigay natin,” Castelo
added. (GMA
News)
In file photo: A farmer
uses a hand tractor to plow a rice field before planting palay seedlings In
Tanay, Rizal.
THE
national government still owes Filipino rice farmers P9 billion which will fund
initiatives aimed at improving their competitiveness under the new trade regime
this year, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said on Thursday.
Piñol
also said the P5 billion released to the Department of Agriculture (DA) last
December 28 was not part of the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement
Fund (RCEF).
The DA
chief said he was requested by the National Economic and Development Authority
(Neda) to consider the P5 billion as part of the RCEF, which should get an
appropriation of P10 billion annually. The set-up of the RCEF was mandated by
Republic Act 11203 to cushion the impact of a more open rice trade regime on
farmers.
Piñol
said, however, that he cannot give in to the request of the Neda as he would
violate the law. He noted that under the law, he is the only government
official accountable for the use of RCEF.
He said
he has already returned the P1 billion of the P5 billion to the Land Bank of
the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines, as requested by the
Neda.
Piñol
said he agreed to do so since the amount will also be used for cheap credit
under the RCEF.
“The P5
billion was not part of RCEF and our records will show, the Saro [Special Allotment
Released Order] will show that it was not part of RCEF but instead support to
the rice program of the DA,” he said in an interview with reporters on
Thursday.
“We just
agreed to return the P1 billion because it had the same purpose which is for
credit. But the remaining P4 billion cannot be considered as part of the RCEF,”
he added.
The
agriculture chief said Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez agrees with the DA’s
position that the P5 billion released last year was not part of the RCEF.
Piñol
said he will hold a dialogue soon with other government officials to settle the
issue over the RCEF.
The
Department of Budget and Management has remained mum on the RCEF since the
BusinessMirror broke the story on the confusion over the fund. The DBM has yet
to respond to the BusinessMirror’s query. Last Monday, Neda Assistant Secretary
Mercedita A. Sombilla said the DBM has committed to provide the DA P5 billion
under the RCEF by the third quarter.
“So once
there are government savings—but whether there are savings or not—that
P5-billion [RCEF fund] has to come because that is what the law says. So, it’s
really a commitment,” Sombilla said.
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices – APMC/Open Market-May 3, 2018
Nagpur, May 3 (Reuters) – Gram and tuar prices firmed up again in Nagpur
Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) on good seasonal demand from
local millers amid tight supply from producing regions. Good rise in pulses in
other foodgrain mandis and reported demand from South-based millers also helped
to push up prices. About 2,900 bags of gram and 1,100 bags of tuar reported for
auction, according to sources.
GRAM
* Gram varieties ruled steady in open market here but demand
was poor.
TUAR
* Tuar gavarani and tuar Karnataka reported higher in open
market on good seasonal
buying support from local traders amid weak supply from
producing regions.
* Moong dal Chilka reported weak in open market on poor
buying support from
local traders.
* In Akola, Tuar New – 5,400-5,550, Tuar dal (clean) –
8,000-8,200, Udid Mogar (clean)
– 6,900-7,800, Moong Mogar (clean) 8,000-8,600, Gram –
4,400-4,550, Gram Super best
– 5,600-5,900 * Wheat, rice and other foodgrain items moved
in a narrow range in
scattered deals and settled at last levels in weak trading
activity.
Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees
for 100 kg
FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close
Gram Auction 3,800-4,325 3,800-4,290
Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600
Tuar Auction 4,750-5,610 4,700-5,550
Moong Auction n.a. 3,950-4,200
Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500
Masoor Auction n.a. 2,200-2,500
Wheat Lokwan Auction 1,750-1,900 1,700-1,890
Wheat Sharbati Auction n.a. 2,900-3,000
Gram Super Best Bold 5,800-6,000 5,800-6,000
Gram Super Best n.a. n.a.
Gram Medium Best 5,200-5,600 5,200-5,600
Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a
Gram Mill Quality 4,350-4,450 4,350-4,450
Desi gram Raw 4,250-4,350 4,300-4,400
Gram Kabuli 8,300-10,000 8,300-10,000
Tuar Fataka Best-New 8,400-8,500 8,400-8,500
Tuar Fataka Medium-New 8,000-8,200 8,000-8,200
Tuar Dal Best Phod-New 7,600-7,800 7,600-7,800
Tuar Dal Medium phod-New 7,200-7,500 7,200-7,500
Tuar Gavarani New 5,650-5,750 5,600-5,700
Tuar Karnataka 5,850-5,950 5,800-5,900
Masoor dal best 5,500-5,700 5,500-5,700
Masoor dal medium 5,200-5,400 5,200-5,400
Masoor n.a. n.a.
Moong Mogar bold (New) 8,000-8,800 8,000-8,800
Moong Mogar Medium 6,800-7,500 6,800-7,500
Moong dal Chilka New 6,800-7,700 6,800-7,800
Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.
Moong Chamki best 8,100-9,000 8,000-9,000
Udid Mogar best (100 INR/KG) (New) 7,800-8,500 7,800-8,500
Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 6,000-7,300 6,000-7,300
Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 4,500-4,700 4,500-4,700
Mot (100 INR/KG) 5,550-7,050 5,550-7,050
Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 4,850-5,050 4,850-5,050
Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 5,600-5,800 5,600-5,800
Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 6,700-6,900 6,700-6,900
Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 2,050-2,250 2,050-2,250 WEATHER
(NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 44.2 degree Celsius, minimum temp. 24.6 degree Celsius
Rainfall : Nil FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky. Maximum and minimum temperature
likely to be around 44 degree Celsius and 26 degree Celsius. Note: n.a.—not
available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices,
but included in market prices)
Dairy, pulses exports
rose, while buffalo meat, non-basmati rice shipments fell in 2018-19
Shipments
of basmati rice, the largest product in the country’s farm-export basket,
touched a record high in volumes and rupee value terms in 2018-19 on account of
aggressive buying by Iran and a weak currency.
Volumes
grew by about a tenth to over 4.41 million tonnes (mt) over the previous year,
while the export value, in rupee terms, grew 22 per cent to touch ₹32,806 crore.
In
dollar terms, basmati exports went up by 13 per cent to $4.71 billion — the
second highest since 2013-14, when it touched a record $4.88 billion.
AK
Gupta, Director, Basmati Export Development Foundation, attributed the record
shipments to robust purchases by Iran.
“There
was some good demand from Iran after a couple of years. Iran purchased over 1.4
million tonnes during the year,” Gupta said.
Further,
a weak rupee helped the growth in basmati shipments to touch a new high in
value terms.
Basmati
accounted for a fourth of India’s overall agri-product 2018-19 exports, which
grew 7 per cent in rupee value terms to touch ₹1.28 lakh crore
from ₹1.19
lakh crore in the previous year.
However,
in dollar terms, total agri-exports were down 1.15 per cent at $18.38 billion
($18.60 billion).
The dip
in dollar revenues was mainly on account of a decline in shipments of buffalo
meat, non-basmati rice and groundnut, among others.
Non-basmati rice
struggles
Non-basmati
rice shipments were hurt by higher pricing. The increase in the minimum support
price for paddy during the year impacted the competitiveness of the grain in
the world market.
As a
result, exports registered a 17.52-per cent decline in dollar terms and 11 per
cent in rupee terms. The non-basmati volumes dropped around 14 per cent to 7.53
mt (8.81 mt).
Sluggish
demand from China and the countries in the Far East impacted the shipments of
buffalo meat, which dropped to 1.23 mt (1.35 mt).
In
dollar terms, buffalo meat shipments stood at $3.58 billion ($4.03 billion).
Dairy, pulses up
Exports
of dairy products jumped 76 per cent to 1.80 lakh tonnes (1.02 lakh tonnes)
after the Centre announced incentives to ship out the surplus stocks of the
skimmed milk powder during the year.
In
dollar terms, dairy product exports registered 59 per cent surge in growth at
$482 million.
Similarly,
pulses exports grew 59 per cent to exceed 2.85 lt during 2018-19.
However,
in value terms, shipments were up by only 13.38 per cent on a decline in
average prices.
Guar gum
shipments, too, posted 4.3-per cent growth during the year, while groundnut
exports declined on account of poor offtake from buyers such as Vietnam.
Shipments
of poultry products also registered a growth during the year.
In
dollar terms, the poultry exports were up 14.54 per cent at $98 million ($86
million). In rupee terms, the poultry exports increased by a fourth to ₹687 crore (₹552 cr).
Though
shipments of fresh fruits and vegetables were up in volumes, the value declined
by about 4 per cent, primarily on account of dip in per unit pricing.
A study that used data
from more than 130 countries concludes that eating more rice might protect
against obesity. After controlling for a wide range of factors, the team found
that the results remained significant. Despite this, big questions remain.
Is there a link
between eating more rice and obesity?
Obesity in
the Western world and beyond is on the rise. However, some countries are not
facing the same challenge.
According to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 39.8%of people in the United States now have
obesity.
In Japan, however, the
figure is just 4.3%, say the World
Health Organization (WHO).
The array of factors
that could be involved in differences such as this are dizzying — so where
would one begin?
According to one group
of researchers, a good place to start might be rice.
The average food
intake of someone in the United States is very different to that of someone in
any country outside of the Western world. However, diets in some of the
countries with low obesity rates share a common staple: rice.
Researchers from
Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts in Kyoto, Japan, decided to take a
closer look. They recently presented their findings at the European Congress on
Obesity (ECO2019)
in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
A global look at
rice consumption
To investigate, the
scientists took data from 136 countries. They found that countries where people
ate an average of at least 150 grams (g) of rice per day had significantly
lower rates of obesity than countries where people ate less than the global average
amount of rice, around 14 g per day.
The researchers
attempted to take into account as many confounding variables as they could,
including average education level, smoking rates, total calories consumed,
money spent on healthcare, percentage of the population over 65, and gross
domestic product per capita.
All of these variables
were significantly lower in the countries whose residents ate the most rice;
however, even after accounting for this in their analysis, the researchers
found that the positive influence of rice over obesity persisted.
From their data, they
estimate that an increase of just one-quarter of a cup of rice per day (50 g
per person) could reduce global obesity by 1%. That equates to a change from
650 million to 643.5 million adults.
"The observed associations suggest that the obesity
rate is low in countries that eat rice as a staple food. Therefore, a Japanese
food or an Asian-food-style diet based on rice may help prevent obesity."
Lead researcher Prof.
Tomoko Imai
When considering
exactly why rice might influence obesity rates, Prof. Imai says: "Eating
rice seems to protect against weight gain. It's possible that the fiber, nutrients,
and plant compounds found in whole grains may increase feelings of fullness and
prevent overeating."
Prof. Imai adds,
"Rice is also low in fat and has a relatively low postprandial blood
glucose level, which suppresses insulin secretion."
Significant
limitations
The researchers know
that distinguishing between cause and effect is incredibly challenging when
looking at diet — especially on such a large scale.
Though they accounted
for as many confounding variables as possible, it is still likely that they did
not consider many other important factors in the analysis.
They also explain that
they used country-level data, rather than person-level data. This has several
drawbacks; for instance, certain regions of some countries might eat
substantially more rice than others. Also, obesity rates can vary within a
country from region to region.
Another concern is the
use of body mass index (BMI); although it
is a standard measure that researchers use widely, it is not a measure of overall
health. The scientists did not ascertain how many people have, for instance, an
unhealthily low BMI, which would skew the data by bringing the country's
average BMI down.
It is also worth
pointing out that the researchers have not published these findings in a
journal and, therefore, they have not been through a peer-review process.
Rice types
Another potential
issue is that the team's analysis does not take into account the type of rice
that a population tends to consume, which could be important. For example,
white rice is much lower in fiber than less processed types. How much fiber
someone consumes may play a part in
obesity risk.
Also, a meta-analysis
published in the BMJ in 2012 looked at the relationship between white
rice and the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Its authors concluded that:
"Higher
consumption of white rice is associated with a significantly increased risk of
type 2 diabetes, especially in Asian (Chinese and Japanese) populations."
Another study that involved
more than 10,000 Korean adults found that a diet centered on white rice was
associated with obesity.
Doubts remain, so
scientists should continue to study the impact of rice on obesity. If such a
cheap, readily available food as rice could play even a small part in the fight
against obesity, it is worth pursuing. However, for now, the jury is out.
Increasing nighttime warmth is hurting food
plant yields, NC scientists say
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Increasing warmth at night has a dramatic, negative effect on
plants.
Local scientists researching that fact shared their findings
Wednesday with attendees at the North Carolina Biotechnology
Center’s May Ag Tech Professional Forum.
“Every degree of increasing
nighttime warmth decreases food plant yields by 10 percent,” said Colleen
Doherty, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular and structural biochemistry at
North Carolina State University.
She said her research,
based on experiments with rice plants in subtropical Asia, demonstrated that
warmer nights disrupt a plant’s circadian clock, which determines which genes
are expressed at given times.
Colleen
Doherty
The night temperature
increase in her experiments negatively affected both the quantity and quality
of the plants.
Both maximum and
minimum temperatures are rising globally, Doherty noted, with the minimum,
usually at night, increasing faster. “The circadian clock controls all
responses in plants. It integrates environmental signals to ensure optimal
timing of responses. Plants use time to turn on genes to respond or prepare for
stress.”
Nighttime warming, said
Adam Leman, Ph.D., a lab scientist at Research Triangle-based Mimetics,
“mucks up the plant’s circadian rhythms and timing of gene expression.” In the
rice experiments, which Mimetics helped Doherty’s team analyze, there was a
“huge shift” in gene expression caused by nighttime heat stress — some
expressing early, some late.
“These plants aren’t
supplying the right gene at the right time,” Leman said. “A subtle change (in
night temperature) deregulated all of these genes. You would be hard pressed to
find genes reliably expressed when they should be. Many genes are affected. It’s
a global shift.”
Adam Leman
Some of the genes sleep
late like teenagers, Doherty said. Others are delayed. “If a gene is supposed
to turn on at dawn and doesn’t until later, it can be hugely impactful,” Leman
said.
Doherty said a Morrisville
company, Metabolon, helped the researchers look at the metabolism of
plants subjected to increased nighttime heat stress. In her rice experiments,
only 2 or 2.5 degrees of extra warmth were applied at night. “Metabolism
changed across the board,” Doherty said. “Metabolites normally peaking at dawn,
now peaked at dusk in anticipation of warmer nights. That’s important, because
they’re making the food you eat.”
Researchers have seen
similar results in other food crops such as wheat, Doherty said.
“These are big changes a
plant has to overcome,” Leman said. Fully understanding the changes affecting
the tens of thousands of genes in plants “isn’t something we will figure out
all at once,” he added.” It needs a lot of work.”
Regular
consumption of rice can be associated with a lower risk of obesity.
To
such conclusion scientists from Japan. Experts from women’s College of
Humanities, Doshisha (Kyoto) analyzed data on diet, lifestyle and bad habits of
the inhabitants of 136 countries.
The
study showed that the obesity rate was significantly lower where people on
average eat 150 grams of rice a day. But people have. which this product didn’t
eat or ate very little, the level was much higher.
In
addition, consideration was given to such factors as the prevalence of obesity,
average education level, share of population older than 65 years, GDP per
capita and expenditure on health.
The
conviction of scientists, fiber, nutrients and phytochemicals contained in
whole grains that may increase the feeling of satiety and prevents overeating.
Rice
also contains little fat and after ingestion maintains a relatively low level
of glucose in the blood, which inhibits the secretion of insulin.
Agriculture
undersecretary Ariel Cunanan said oversupply will result in "depressed
prices of rice in the market which will hurt our local farmers whose lives our
government is concerned with now". RAPPLER
MANILA –
While importing rice is now liberalized with the enactment of Republic Act No.
11203, Agriculture secretary Emmanuel Piñol is urging rice traders and
importers to be conscious of the supply situation in the market so that there
will be no oversupply of the staple food.
In his
speech, which was read by Agriculture undersecretary Ariel Cunanan during the
Rice Traders Forum held at the Ayuntamiento de Manila in Intramuros, Manila,
the DA chief said oversupply will result in “depressed prices of rice in the
market which will hurt our local farmers whose lives our government is
concerned with now”.
He noted
that a poor farming sector “could give this country serious problems as the
farmers could be vulnerable to the enticement of radical groups who would like
to destabilize (the) government”.
Piñol
stressed that rice importers play a vital role in attaining rice sufficiency in
the country.
While
efforts and progress have been made in increasing rice production in the
country, the DA chief said “we will have a shortfall of about 1.6 to 2.0
million metric tons (MT) every year to sufficiently feed our country”.
“This is
where the rice importers and traders come in so that the gap could be filled
up,” he added.
For
2019, the DA is targeting 20 million MT rice production, which is equivalent to
93-percent rice sufficiency despite the occurrence of the El Niño phenomenon
that affected rice-producing provinces.
DA
assistant secretary Andrew Villacorta, during Tuesday’s press conference on
rice importation under Rice Liberalization Act, said the expected damage and
losses on rice due to El Niño would only be at 0.96 percent, or about 190,000
MT of palay (unmilled rice).
“Last
week, we met with regional directors and surprisingly, there were three regions
who reported they increased their rice production. Central Luzon is forecasting
a 22-percent increase, Ilocos region is forecasting 14 percent, and Cagayan
Valley at 3 percent,” he said.
As such,
Villacorta said “we’re expecting more than 400,000 MT increase in palay output,
which will be enough to compensate the loss of 190,000 MT. This is why, we’re
confident to maintain our target at 20 million MT this year.”
With RA
11203 or the rice liberalization law, getting permit to import rice is now made
easy as traders just need to get a sanitary and phytosanitary permit from the
Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and pay the tariff rate.
However,
while things are made easy for traders and importers to do business, Piñol told
the traders that “the government expects you to be aware of your moral obligation”
and “to embrace the philosophy of business with social conscience”.
“This is
not just about importation of rice so that you will earn profit. It is also
about ensuring that the people who produce food for this country are also
lifted out of poverty,” he added. (PNA)
For years there has been debate surrounding the late Prime
Minister Winston Churchill’s culpability in the 1943 Bengal famine in the
then-British India. A new study provides scientific backing that the 1943
famine, which is estimated to have killed three million people, was the only one in modern Indian history not linked to
drought or crop failure as originally thought, but the result of “complete
policy failure” during the British colonial era.
The study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, was conducted by
the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, the India Meteorology
Department and the University of California in Los Angeles. It looked at the
history of droughts and famines in the Indian subcontinent using weather data
and a soil moisture database. Researchers led by Professor Vimal Mishra
conducted a study which simulated soil conditions/ moisture levels from 1870 to
2016 to reconstruct agricultural drought conditions. Bengal endured six major
famines between 1873 and 1943, all famines during that period were attributed
to droughts, except the one in 1943. The study’s abstract states, “We find that a
majority of famines were caused by large-scale and severe soil moisture
droughts that hampered the food production. However, one famine was completely
due to the failure of policy during the British era.”
Rainfall was above average in late 1943, and between June
and September during the peak of the famine, indicating that drought was not to
blame. The famine occurred irrespective of above-average rainfall. Although,
the region suffered from drought for much of the 1940s, the most extreme
conditions were in 1941 a couple of years prior to the infamous famine of 1943.
Earlier evidence and studies further reinforce the argument
that the Bengal famine was due to Churchill’s decision-making. In 2010,
Madhusree Mukerjee published ‘Churchill’s Secret War’, which provided evidence
and documentation from the British war transport office and the diary of Lord
Cherwell, the former PM’s doctor, to prove Churchill’s direct involvement. The
famine was caused and exacerbated by a policy decision made by the Churchill
government during the war to stockpile grain for the British. As part of the
Western war effort, Churchill ordered the diversion of grains and essential
supplies from starving Indians to military stockpiles to support already
well-supplied British troops. Churchill’s cabinet in London was warned
repeatedly that the diversion and exhaustive consumption of Indian resources
for the British war effort could cause a famine, despite these warnings food
exports continued. Even when Britain officially declared a famine, Churchill
exported 70,000 tonnes of rice to the UK. Rice
continued to be transported even when London denied India’s viceroy’s urgent
requests for 1 million tonnes of emergency wheat
supplies.
The British Secretary of State for India, Leopold Amery,
told Churchill the impact the famine was having – rotting corpses lined the
streets of Kolkata. Churchill’s apathetic response was asking how, if the food
shortages were so severe, Mahatma Gandhi was still alive and he blamed the
famine on the Indians, saying it was their fault for “breeding like rabbits.”
Another factor which intensified the famine was the Japanese
capture of Burma (now Myanmar), which was a major source of rice imports to
India. The British administration placed restrictions on imports and halted the
import of rice. In the past, famines were not as deadly due to incoming rice
from Burma and relief aid from the British government. Furthermore, Britain’s
military policies caused the confiscation of supplies of rice and boats from
coastal Bengal. The policy’s intent was to deny resources to the Japanese
military in the event of a potential invasion.
The British response to the 1943 famine was one of inaction
and negligence; however, it could have been easily preventable. During a past
famine in Bihar, East India in 1873-74, the local government led by Sir Richard
Temple responded quickly by importing food supplies and providing welfare to
assist the poor. Few people starved, but Temple’s response garnered criticism
from British authorities for his heavy expenditure. Subsequent famines in south
and western India received less aid, and consequently mortality rates soared.
India gained independence from the British colonial
administration in 1947. Despite immense population growth since the colonial
era, the study indicated famine deaths in modern India have been significantly
reduced. The impact of drought has been minimized due to the expansion of
irrigation, higher seed yields, generation of rural employment, more effective
food distribution and the welfare system, as well as improved transportation
links, which allows the movement of emergency food stocks to deprived areas.
Graduate from the University of
Auckland, majored in Geography and Sociology. I am interested in multifaceted
issues relating to human rights, social justice, sustainable development and
climate change.
According to the
Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 39.8% of Americans are now obese. Compare that figure to
Japan, where the World Health Organization notes
only 4.3% of the population is obese. While there are a multitude of factors at
play, one group of scientists is suggesting rice consumption may play a role in
the stark differences.
In fact, according to
a new international studypresented
at the 2019 European Congress on Obesity, obesity levels
are “substantially lower” in countries where rice consumption is high (150
grams per day) compared to countries with lower average rice intake (14g per
day).
Using data from the
U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, Japanese researchers studied rice
consumption in the diets of 136 countries with populations exceeding 1 million.
Rice products included in the study: white rice, brown rice and rice flour.
To assess the
associations between health and rice consumption, researchers analyzed
consumption with factors like obesity prevalence, average education, percentage
of elderly population and a country’s gross domestic product per capita.
Ultimately, the analysis found that obesity levels, smoking rates and overall
health expenditure were significantly lower in countries that consumed lots of
rice, such as Bangladesh, Lao, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia—compared to
countries with lower rice intake like France, the U.K., the U.S., Spain, Canada
and Australia.
"Eating rice
seems to protect against weight gain,” lead researcher Tomoko Imai from
Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts in Japan, said in a statement. “It's
possible that the fibre, nutrients, and plant compounds found in whole grains
may increase feelings of fullness and prevent overeating.”
Rice, Imai added, “is
also low in fat and has a relatively low postprandial blood glucose level which
suppresses insulin secretion.”
Study limitations
The study notes that
because the international study is a cross-sectional examination, it cannot
establish a cause-and-effect relationship and requires more research.
One significant
limitation to the research, as Medical News Today pointed out, is the use of body
mass index as a standard measure of overall health. “The scientists did not
ascertain how many people have, for instance, an unhealthily low BMI, which
would skew the data by bringing the country's average BMI down,” the site
reported.
Imai and her team also
believe further investigation is needed to better understand what constitutes
an appropriate amount of rice intake in obesity prevention, as previous
research has shown overconsumption of rice may lead to metabolic syndrome
and diabetes.
Still, as the European Association for the
Study of Obesity mentioned in its news release, “whilst a
limitation of cross-sectional studies is the risk of identifying false
associations as a result of confounding factors, the association identified
between rice consumption and obesity remained even after adjusting for various
lifestyle and socioeconomic risk factors.”
As of Friday, the findings are still awaiting
a peer-review process required before publication.
IMAGE: CONTINENTAL
REGIONS FOR STAPLE CROPS. view more
CREDIT:
SUPPLIED BY AUTHOR
Researchers
from Australia, Germany and the US have quantified the effect of climate
extremes, such as droughts or heatwaves, on the yield variability of staple
crops around the world.
Overall,
year-to-year changes in climate factors during the growing season of maize,
rice, soy and spring wheat accounted for 20%-49% of yield fluctuations,
according to research published in Environmental Research Letters.
Climate
extremes, such as hot and cold temperature extremes, drought and heavy
precipitation, by themselves accounted for 18%-43% of these interannual
variations in crop yield.
To get
to the bottom of the impacts of climate extremes on agricultural yields, the
researchers used a global agricultural database at high spatial resolution, and
near-global coverage climate and climate extremes datasets. They applied a
machine-learning algorithm, Random Forests, to tease out which climate factors
played the greatest role in influencing crop yields.
"Interestingly,
we found that the most important climate factors for yield anomalies were
related to temperature, not precipitation, as one could expect, with the
average growing season temperature and temperature extremes playing a dominant
role in predicting crop yields," said lead author Dr. Elisabeth Vogel from
the Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes and Climate & Energy College
at the University of Melbourne.
The
research also revealed global hotspots - areas that produce a large proportion
of the world's crop production, yet are most susceptible to climate variability
and extremes.
"We
found that most of these hotspots - regions that are critical for overall
production and at the same time strongly influenced by climate variability and
climate extremes - appear to be in industrialised crop production regions, such
as North America and Europe."
For
climate extremes specifically, the researchers identified North America for soy
and spring wheat production, Europe for spring wheat and Asia for rice and
maize production as hotspots.
But, as
the researchers point out, global markets are not the only concern. Outside of
these major regions, in regions where communities are highly dependent on
agriculture for their livelihoods, the failure of these staple crops can be
devastating.
"In
our study, we found that maize yields in Africa showed one of the strongest
relationships with growing season climate variability. In fact, it was the
second highest explained variance for crop yields of any crop/continent
combination, suggesting that it is highly dependent on climate
conditions," Dr Vogel said.
"While
Africa's share of global maize production may be small, the largest part of
that production goes to human consumption - compared to just 3% in North
America - making it critical for food security in the region."
"With
climate change predicted to change the variability of climate and increasing
the likelihood and severity of climate extremes in most regions, our research
highlights the importance of adapting food production to these changes,"
Dr Vogel said.
"Increasing
the resilience to climate extremes requires a concerted effort at local,
regional and international levels to reduce negative impacts for farmers and
communities depending on agriculture for their living."
###
Dr Vogel
would like to acknowledge her co-authors on the paper Markus Donat (Barcelona
Supercomputing Centre), Lisa Alexander (UNSW, Centre of Excellence for Climate
Extremes), Malte Meinshausen (University of Melbourne), Deepak Ray (University
of Minnesota), David Karoly (University of Melbourne/CSIRO), Nicolai
Meinshausen (ETH Zurich) and Katja Frieler (Potsdam Institute for Climate
Impact Research).
Disclaimer: AAAS
and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to
EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information
through the EurekAlert system.
MONTPELLIER, FRANCE—Science Magazinereports that a
recent genetic survey shows that yams, a key crop in African agriculture, were
first domesticated in the Niger River basin. A team led by France's
Institute for Research and Development plant geneticist Nora Scarcelli
sequenced 167 genomes of wild and domesticated yams collected from West African
countries such as Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon. They found that yams
were domesticated from the forest species D. praehensilis. Researchers had believed yams may have been
domesticated from a different species that thrives in Africa's tropical
savanna. Previous genetic studies have shown that African rice and the grain
pearl millet were also domesticated in the Niger River basin. The finding that
yams were first farmed there supports the theory that the region was an
important cradle of African agriculture, much like the Fertile Crescent in the
Near East. To read about recent research into ancient microbial DNA, go to
"Worlds Within Us."
Climate
extremes: Impact on global crop yield variations
Date:
May 3,
2019
Source:
University
of New South Wales
Summary:
Climate extremes, such as
drought, heatwaves, heavy precipitation and more are responsible for 18 to 43
percent of variation in crop yields for maize, spring wheat, rice and soybeans.
according to a new article. The researchers have also identified global regions
which are highly susceptible to extremes and also supply a high proportion of
the world market. Climate change is likely to make these areas more vulnerable
in the future with consequent impacts on world markets.
Share:
FULL STORY
Researchers from Australia, Germany and the US have quantified
the effect of climate extremes, such as droughts or heatwaves, on the yield
variability of staple crops around the world.
Overall, year-to-year changes in climate factors during the
growing season of maize, rice, soy and spring wheat accounted for 20%-49% of
yield fluctuations, according to research published in Environmental
Research Letters.
Climate extremes, such as hot and cold temperature extremes,
drought and heavy precipitation, by themselves accounted for 18%-43% of these
interannual variations in crop yield.
To get to the bottom of the impacts of climate extremes on
agricultural yields, the researchers used a global agricultural database at
high spatial resolution, and near-global coverage climate and climate extremes
datasets. They applied a machine-learning algorithm, Random Forests, to tease
out which climate factors played the greatest role in influencing crop yields.
"Interestingly, we found that the most important climate
factors for yield anomalies were related to temperature, not precipitation, as
one could expect, with the average growing season temperature and temperature
extremes playing a dominant role in predicting crop yields," said lead
author Dr. Elisabeth Vogel from the Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes
and Climate & Energy College at the University of Melbourne.
The research also revealed global hotspots -- areas that produce
a large proportion of the world's crop production, yet are most susceptible to
climate variability and extremes.
"We found that most of these hotspots -- regions that are
critical for overall production and at the same time strongly influenced by
climate variability and climate extremes -- appear to be in industrialised crop
production regions, such as North America and Europe."
For climate extremes specifically, the researchers identified
North America for soy and spring wheat production, Europe for spring wheat and
Asia for rice and maize production as hotspots.
But, as the researchers point out, global markets are not the
only concern. Outside of these major regions, in regions where communities are
highly dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods, the failure of these
staple crops can be devastating.
"In our study, we found that maize yields in Africa showed
one of the strongest relationships with growing season climate variability. In
fact, it was the second highest explained variance for crop yields of any
crop/continent combination, suggesting that it is highly dependent on climate
conditions," Dr Vogel said.
"While Africa's share of global maize production may be
small, the largest part of that production goes to human consumption --
compared to just 3% in North America -- making it critical for food security in
the region."
"With climate change predicted to change the variability of
climate and increasing the likelihood and severity of climate extremes in most
regions, our research highlights the importance of adapting food production to
these changes," Dr Vogel said.
"Increasing the resilience to climate extremes requires a
concerted effort at local, regional and international levels to reduce negative
impacts for farmers and communities depending on agriculture for their
living."
1.Elisabeth Vogel, Markus G Donat, Lisa V Alexander, Malte
Meinshausen, Deepak K Ray, David Karoly, Nicolai Meinshausen, Katja
Frieler. The effects of climate extremes on global agricultural yields. Environmental
Research Letters, 2019; 14 (5): 054010 DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ab154b
University of New South Wales. "Climate extremes: Impact on
global crop yield variations." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 May 2019.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190503080556.htm>.
Eminent rice scientist and
academician appointed new SEARCA Director
Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio has been appointed as new Director of the
Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture
(SEARCA), an inter-government treaty organization hosted by the Philippine
government on the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB),
for a three-year term and he assumed office on 1 May 2019.
Dr. Gregorio is the eleventh to hold the top SEARCA post since
its establishment in November 1966 by the Southeast Asian Ministers of
Education Organization (SEAMEO).
Dr. Gregorio is also an Academician at the National Academy of
Science and Technology (NAST) of the Philippines and is currently a professor
at the Institute of Crop Science of the UPLB College of Agriculture and Food
Science.
A distinguished rice scientist, Dr. Gregorio served the
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for almost 30 years, including a
five-year stint as IRRI's rice breeder in Africa based at Africa Rice Centre
station at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria from
2004 to 2009.
Throughout his career, Dr. Gregorio has bred more than 15 rice
varieties, most of which are salt-tolerant varieties that have greatly helped
farmers in Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, and the Philippines. He also led efforts
to develop micronutrient-dense rice varieties to address anemia and
malnutrition in Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
But rice breeding is not Dr. Gregorio's only forte. Prior to his
appointment as SEARCA Director, he also served as Crop Breeding Manager for
Corn at the East-West Seed Company, Inc. from 2015 to 2018 where he was the
global lead of the sweet corn and waxy corn breeding programs for South and
Southeast Asia, the Latin Americas, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr. Gregorio has been the recipient of numerous awards,
including Outstanding Young Scientist Award (OYS 2004) and Outstanding
Publication Award given by NAST; The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM 2004) in the
field of Agriculture-Plant Breeding and Genetics; the Ho Chi Minh Medal Award
for great contribution to the cause of agriculture and rural development in
Vietnam; Ten Outstanding Youth Scientists (TOYS 1981) of the Philippines given
by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) of the Philippines; Honorary
Scientist, Rural Development Administration (RDA), Korea; and other awards for
his outstanding research and research management achievements.
He has authored and co-authored at least 90 articles published
in various scientific journals, chapters on rice breeding in 14 books, and five
scientific manuals and bulletins. He mentored and supervised 20 PhD and 27 MS
students and more than 40 BS students in plant breeding and genetics at UPLB
and other universities in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America; and he
continues to hone scientists and future scientists as a mentor and teacher.
Dr. Gregorio obtained his PhD in Genetics, MS in Plant Breeding,
and BS in Agriculture at UPLB.
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA -- To
increase U.S. rice sales in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, USA Rice initiated a
promotional campaign here in mid-April together with Abu Bint, a well-known
local U.S. rice brand. The activities focus on the period right before
and during the time of the Holy month of Ramadan (May 5 through June 4 this
year), the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, during which Muslims fast
during the daytime and eat only one meal (the 'suhoor') just before dawn, and
another (the 'iftar') after sunset. This period is a high rice
consumption time, as rice is a main ingredient for the iftar meal, when
families come together at sunset to celebrate and break their fasting for the
day. Additionally, it is tradition during the Holy Month for rice to be
donated as charity to those in need, called "zakat," further boosting
consumption.
To increase visibility and maximize the
promotion's impact, a mix of media activities are running, including
advertising on a popular local radio show, as well as on several media elements
such as outdoor billboards, shopping mall advertising panels, called
"mupis," and ads on "Jeddah´s Kingdom Tower," two large LED
screens displaying animated messaging about the high quality and wholesomeness
of U.S. origin rice. And for the first time, the Ramadan promotion will
go beyond Jeddah to different cities in the west and south provinces of the
Kingdom, including Jizan, Najran, Taif, and Khamis Mushayt. Combined, the
markets have a population of almost 5 million.
"We typically see an increase in sales of
our Abu Bint U.S. rice brand during the month of Ramadan," said Julio
Campos, international markets manager at Ebro Foods. "This period of
the year is very important for local consumers as they like to eat together
with their family and always want to have the best quality ingredients to
create delicious, memorable meals."
Point of sale promotions in the stores where
consumers actually make their buying decisions are placed in selected Hyper
Panda markets, the largest chain of hypermarkets in Saudi Arabia. The
call-for-action elements displayed on the stores' rice aisles, ceiling banners,
and light boxes, tout the ease of preparation and product consistency of U.S.
rice.
"We appreciate the support of USA Rice in
setting up a promotional campaign during Ramadan this year," said
Campos. "From our past experience, sales always increase when
supported with promotional activities not only at wholesale distribution but
also in retail shops such as Panda where our Abu Bint U.S. rice is heavily
promoted and consumers can easily recognize us."
Saudi Arabia was the seventh largest export
destination for U.S. rice in terms of value in 2018, importing 95,600 MT with a
value of $74.1 million.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The trade deficit of Pakistan as
on March 1, 2019 was US$ 21.523 billion.
In a
written reply, the Minister for Commerce and Textile told the Senate that as
per the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Pakistan’s total imports and
exports during the last six months (i.e. September 2018-February 2019) remained
US$ 26.867 billion and US$ 11.462 billion respectively.
Present position of balance of trade of Pakistan
The
Minister for Commerce and Textile told that House that following measures have
been taken by the government to enhance Pakistan’s export;
Exports
enhancing measures;
Revision of Export Enhancement Package: In
order to improve competitiveness of the export sector, and encourage
non-traditional exports of the country, Prime Minister had announced a support
package of Rs 180 billion for the period January 2017 to June 2018. The package
was extended for another period of three years vide SRO 711 (I)/2018 dated
8-6-2018, i.e. from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2021.
Under
this package, new export sectors such as Transport equipment, Auto parts &
accessories, Machinery incl. electrical machinery, Furniture, Stationery, Fruits
& Vegetables, Meat and meat preparations including poultry have been
included. The support through drawback of local taxes and levies will promote
product diversification and enhance competitiveness of the exports.
Moreover,
for market diversification, additional incentive has been provided to promote
exports in to the non-traditional markets.
Reduction in the Cost of Production: Gas
tariffs for LNG has been lowered for Punjab based industry to bring it at par
with other provinces. Further, the gas prices for “export industries” including
jute, carpet, textile, sports’ goods, leather and surgical goods, have not been
increased.
Economic Package to support industrial growth: Commerce
Division has been working with the industry to develop a comprehensive plan to
increase their competitiveness. One of the major impediments for export sectors
was its higher duties on the import of raw materials and intermediate inputs.
In
this regard, a series of consultative sessions was held to identify sectors and
products that require immediate relief in terms of reduction in the import duty
in their inputs and raw materials. In the first phase, Custom Duties and
Regulatory Duties on 236 Tariff Lines (TLs) of raw materials and intermediate
products have been reduced. In the second phase, a list of 40 TLs were further
incorporated in the Finance Act 2019 (Supplement-I). In the second phase,
tariff reduction plan has been approved for 12 sectors. The amendment in the
tariff schedule has been introduced in Finance Act 2019-Supplement, whereas,
the Regulatory import duty for the export-oriented industries have been reduced
vide SRO 190(I) 2019 dated February 11, 2019.
Payment of DLTL and Sales Tax Refund: The
payments of Export Enhancement Package claims were pending due to which
exporters were facing the liquidity crunch. After rigourous consultations with
the Finance Division, State Bank of Pakistan and AGPR, a mechanism has been
developed to expedite the payments to the exporters. It has been decided to
settle the outstanding claims of exporters under DLTL/PM package schemes as on
31-12-2018 through cash payment (1/3rd) and issuance of Promissory Notes
(remaining 2/3rd).
Moreover,
by March 2019, the government has disbursed Rs 21 billion of Sales Tax Refund
& Rs 10 billion DLTL, to enhance liquidity of the exporters.
Policy Rate for Export finance: The
rates on SBP’s financing schemes for export refinancing and fixed investment
are still unchanged at low levels, despite the 425 bps hike in the policy rate
over the past 12 months. The purpose is to support the export-oriented sectors.
Market Access by China on Yarn, Rice and Sugar: China
has granted one timebuying arrangement of US$ 1 billion access to Pakistan in
yarn, sugar and rice. As a result of this access, Pakistan’s exports to China
are likely to get boost of around US$ 400 million.
Market Access by Indonesia: Ministry
of Commerce, as a result of hard negotiations and concerted efforts, succeeded
in seeking unilateral market access from Indonesia on 20 tariff lines of its
export interest. A notification to this effect was issued by Government of
Indonesia on February 13, 2019. Exports on these 20 tariff lines will fetch
sizable export revenues as Pakistan’s global export in these lines amounts to
US$ 4 billion whereas Indonesia’s global import in these lines amounts to US$
600 million.
New markets: To further diversity
export markets, a “Look Africa” policy has been launched by the Commerce
Division to promote and facilitate trade to new markets.
Export Promotion: In order to promote
exports to new markets, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan is undertaking
various export promotional activities through trade exhibitions and
delegations.
Students who are protesting on Fridays in solidarity with
Thunberg’s School Strike for Climate are only restricting themselves to their
university campuses in Pakistan. PHOTO: RINA SAEED KHAN
This week, the House of
Commons in the UK became the first
parliament to declare an ‘environment and climate change
emergency’. The symbolic move, recognising the urgency to tackle the climate
crisis, was largely the result of a mass movement organised by the new group,
Extinction Rebellion. This group, led mostly by young people, says that time is
running out in order to limit global warming to 1.5C and thus demands that solutions
be implemented.
Supporting them is Greta
Thunberg, the 16-year-old school girl from Sweden who started the
#SchoolStrike4Climate, inspired a global movement and has now been nominated for
the Nobel Peace Prize. I met her this past December in Poland, where she was
the star of COP24and
spoke at several press conferences. Today the shy schoolgirl has become an
international celebrity; the voice of the youth who will grow up and face the
terrifying impacts of a rapidly changing climate.
We are in need of a
similar movement here, as for now the students who are protesting on Fridays in
solidarity with Thunberg’s School Strike for Climate are
only restricting themselves to their university campuses in Pakistan. Students
are trying to make a difference by protesting, but the movement is yet to make
an impact.
In Pakistan, apart from
the Billion Tree Tsunami and now the 10
billion trees drive, what exactly is being done about the
climate crisis? Especially given that in the Long-Term Climate Risk Index
(1998-2017), Pakistan is ranked number
eight in the top 10 countries who suffer the most from
climate-related disasters.
Yes, our economy is
currently in crisis and the government has other issues to worry about, but
isn’t Pakistan perpetually reeling from one crisis to another? What our
policymakers must understand is that Pakistan, as well as the entire world, is
facing converging crises. Not just climate change, but the loss of species,
shortages of water and food, population
growth, poverty, and so on. The point to remember about climate
change is that it will worsen all the other problems and make them harder to solve.
I was thus glad to be invited to the Climate Change Caucus
hosted by Senator Sherry Rehman’s Jinnah Institute this week in Islamabad,
along with many other parliamentarians, media personnel and concerned citizens.
“Pakistan’s parliament understands the scale and nature of the
challenge”, we were told at the opening speech.
However, our parliament
is yet to declare it a ‘national emergency’. Rehman is on the Senate Committee
on Climate Change, which is hoping to lead the charge. She organised the caucus
as a ‘public hearing’ of sorts, but unfortunately the public did not get a word
in as the mic was passed from one senator to another. Half the senate was in
attendance, but from the questions they raised, it was clear climate change is
still a new topic for them, confined to issues like planting mangroves in
Sindh, protecting Juniper trees in Balochistan and banning plastics (single use
plastics have been banned in
many parts of the country and will soon be banned in Islamabad as well).
Rehman stated that the senators were keen to learn and
contribute, and hopefully they listened to the speakers lined up for the
caucus: Malik Amin Aslam, the advisor to the PM on climate change; Patchamuthu
Illango, the country director of the World Bank in Pakistan; and Rafay Alam, an
environmental lawyer and activist.
Aslam stated that the world is indeed waking up to the climate
emergency. He pointed out that at the recent Belt and Road Initiative meeting
in China, there was a two-hour long session on climate change as leaders of 30
countries, including Imran Khan, discussed it in detail.
“The world has only 12 years left before climate change can’t be
reversed,” stated Aslam. “The special report was a clarion call for the world
to act.”
Given our topography, from the glacier-laden mountains of the
north sloping down to the Arabian Sea, we are “bearing the brunt of it”. So
what is being done about it?
Aslam mentioned the Climate
Change Act 2017, which still needs to be implemented. The Climate
Change Council has not yet met but has been notified and the Climate Change
Authority’s posts are now ready and will be advertised soon. Aslam admitted
that,
“It is important to get things going on the ground. Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was the first political party to start thinking about
climate change (and implemented the Billion Tree Tsunami). The prime minister
talked about it in his first address to the nation, so we do want to translate
it into action.”
Malik Amin Aslam addressing the caucus
He also stated that the
project concept-one for the 10 billion trees project has now been approved –
50% of the money will come from the federal government and the rest will be
contributed by each province. Aside from forests (60% of the project will focus
on restoring/protecting existing forests), he said the PTI
government would focus on renewable energy. Adaptation efforts
include the Indus Recharge project, which aims to restore wetlands across the
country so they can store water and protect from super floods.
Agriculture is a neglected area, and according to Aslam,
“Farmers have to get the right information, right seeds and
change their cropping patterns.”
However, as Illango pointed out,
“Pakistan needs a whole country approach. Four major crops of
Pakistan – sugar, wheat, rice and cotton – take all the water and contribute
only 5% to the gross domestic product (GDP). Then there is the end user (of
irrigated water) who gets only a trickle of water yet pays the same abiana (water
charge) as those farmers who
get more. This elite capture of water, the way water is priced, has to change”.
Illango stated that it is
environmental sustainability that will determine Pakistan’s future. If we don’t
address these environmental challenges right now then not only will our economy
be affected, but our quality of life will go down. We also face a population
explosion – our growth rate of 2.4% is
one of the highest in the region. Our youth bulge can be an asset if mobilised,
along with the digitisation of our economy.
For Alam, planting trees is not the solution to the climate
crisis. In his view, we have to stop burning carbon, which will also clear up
air pollution. Just like the British built the canal system to counter famine
in our part of the world, we need a grand plan to protect and adapt. We need to
review our National Climate Change Policy that was approved in 2012, long
before the Paris Agreement was finalised in 2015 and the new Sustainability
Development Goals were formulated.
The Climate Change Act 2017 also needs to be implemented as soon
as possible, while provincial governments need to begin their climate
vulnerability assessments and think big regarding the future of the Indus
Basin. In Alam’s view, the cotton/sugar/wheat mafias who use up all our water have
to be dismantled.
“Surely our water can be put to better use?” he asks.
Environmentalists say
Pakistan’s biggest problem right now is water –
either we have too much in the form of floods or too little in form of
droughts. Our inefficient, outdated agricultural practices are using up most of
it and making things worse. But who will take on the sugar and cotton barons in
parliament? Will Senator Rehman lead the charge?
The author is an
environmental journalist based in Islamabad. She most recently authored the
book, "From Mountains to Mangroves: Protecting Pakistan's Natural
Heritage" on her travels throughout Pakistan. She tweets @rinasaeed (twitter.com/rinasaeed)
Freedom from want and fear should set a
democratic dispensation apart from the non-representative forms of government.
Imran Khan struck the right cords by highlighting stunting and malnutrition in
his maiden speech as prime minister. He told the nation: “Pakistan is among the
five countries in which most children die before the age of five due to
diseases caused by contaminated water.”
However, the hopes he raised seem to be
dissipating as the PTI government appears to be more interested in a political
tug of war with the opposition than the business of governance. The purpose of
democracy is defeated if the public languishes in poverty, illiteracy and
hunger, with freedom of speech and human dignity under a growing threat. The
idea of Pakistan was not only about the creation of a separate territorial
entity. It was meant for people to live in peace and prosperity with freedom
from fear of political marginalisation, economic deprivation, religious
persecution, gender discrimination, social injustice and state repression. Seen
in this perspective, the promise of Pakistan remains unrealised.
Annals of human history are a testament to the
fact that human security preceded the state security. The hunting and gathering
society was primarily concerned about the most basic necessities of life: food
and shelter. The life of the earliest humans revolved around hunting and
gathering as a sustained source of food critical to survive and thrive. The
traditional security is a later development in the unfolding drama of human
civilisation. The concept of traditional security began to crystallise with the
domestication of wild plants (wheat, rice, corn) and animals (dog, sheep, goat,
oxen, pigs), leading to the dawn of agriculture some 12,0000 years ago. The
adoption of agriculture gave birth to a settled human lifestyle and
accumulation of material wealth necessitating security measures against theft
and pillage.
The Global Human Development Report1994 by the
UN heralded the revival ofhuman security approach. The seminal report laid the
philosophical and institutional foundations of the concept loosely defined as
“people’s freedom from fear and freedom from want.” The report encompasses the
seven essential dimensions of human security: economic security, food security,
health security, environmental protection, personal security, security of
community and political freedom. The report seeks to broaden the “logic of
security” beyond territorial defence, nuclear deterrence and national interests
to include that people have “the right to live in freedom and dignity, free
from poverty and despair.”
The institutionalisation of human security
with the UN millennium development goals, now upgraded as the Sustainable
Development Goals, have further sharpened the focus on the need for adoption
and prioritisation of human security agenda by nation states.
Our myopic policy
planners need to broaden the concept of security by revamping it to be
inclusive and holistic so as to appreciate and address internal threats to the
integrity of the state
Pakistan presents a pathetic picture in this
regard. The country is ranked an embarrassing 150th among 189 countries
surveyed in the UN’s 2018 Human Development Index measured by combining
indicators of life expectancy, educational attainment and income. The following
statistics are illustrative of the fact that the achievement of the UN SDGs
remains an elusive dream for the country. Unfortunately, Pakistan is home to
the third largest population (44 per cent) of stunted children under the age of
five in the world. Almost half of women suffer from malnutrition thatcauses the
country to sustain an annual loss of $7.6 billion, around three per cent of the
GDP.
Worryingly, the country is one of the two
countries in the world where polio continues to blight the future of children
as 12 polio cases were reported in the country last year. In 2018, Pakistan
featured at number nine in the unenviable list of top 10 countries with least
access to safe water. Around 84 per cent of the population does not have access
to safe drinking water with 70 per cent of households forced to drink
bacteria-contaminated water. Annually, poor water and sanitation takes a heavy
toll on children as 53,000 Pakistani children under five die from diarrhoea.
Almost 25 million people practice open defecation due to lack of access to
proper sanitation.
The Global Food Security Index ranks Pakistan
77th among 109 countries. Almost 60 per cent of the population is haunted by
food insecurity caused by alack of adequate and diverse diet due to pervasive
poverty. Pakistan Education Statistics 2016-17 show that 22.84 million (44 per
cent) out of the total 51.53 million children are out of school. According to
Alif Ailaan, “Around 65 per cent of government schools have no boundary walls,
55 per cent of them operate in dilapidated structures, 58 per cent have no toilets
and 64 per cent have no running water. Further, there is just one teacher for
37 children in Pakistan.” The country needs to raise GDP expenditure on
education to four per cent from 2.83 per cent.
According to the United Nations Population
Fund, the youth constitute 63 per cent of Pakistan’s population, making the
country the fifth largest “young country” in the world. The youth bulge can
have a great economic dividend if educated, engaged and employed. The
unemployment rate in Pakistan remains constant at 5.90 per cent due to sluggish
economic growth that is supposed to be around 6-7 per cent if the economy is to
absorb the millions of jobless. Given the ailing state of economy that is being
projected to register below four per cent annual growth, the unemployment rate
is bound to shoot up with serious socio-economic, political and internal
security repercussions for the country as jobless youth spells disaster for
internal stability and cohesion.
39 per cent of Pakistanis are condemned to
languish in multidimensional poverty, with the highest poverty prevalence in
Balochistan and the erstwhile FATA region. In its report for 2017-18, the World
Justice Project placed the country at number 105 out of a total of 113
countries reviewed on the basis of rule of law, absence of corruption and
security. The dysfunctional and lax state of justice system can be gauged from
the huge backlog of litigation. Currently, there are 1.9 million pending cases.
In a country with a population upward of 207 million, there is one judge for
48,838 people.
Disturbingly, a recent report shows that
thestate is incapable of even protecting its most vulnerable section of
society. Over 10 children suffered abuse every day with 3,832 cases of child
abuse reported in 2018.
The above-mentioned statistics are
illustrative of the sorry state of affairs on human security front because of
our unsustainable prioritisation of traditional security. Undoubtedly, the
country is located in a volatile region with genuine external threat to its
territorial integrity. However, our myopic policy planners need to break out of
the mental block and broaden the concept of security by revamping it to be
inclusive and holistic so as to appreciate and address internal threats to the
integrity of the state. There is a great need for extending the scope of
security analysis and policy from territorial security to the security of
Pakistani citizenry as human security approach complements rather than
compromises the state security.
The rise of PTM, a smouldering turmoil in
Balochistan and militancy in the tribal belt are the challenges engendered by
the neglect of human dimension of security. It is important to note is that
climate change caused agricultural and social disruption; growing population,
galloping joblessness coupled with religious extremism are the active
ingredients of the coming anarchy in the making due to decades of poor
governance and apathy to demands of human security. Things tend to give the
illusion of normalcy to the movers and shakers of the country when viewed from
the cocoon of power corridors but the aggregate of the ground realities are
pointing to a lull before the storm. The catastrophic constituents of the
gathering storm are set to converge with unforeseen but destructive
implications for internal stability.
The brewing general disgruntlement in the
youth from Khyber to Karachi is fast gathering critical mass and potential to
explode into a nationwide crisis of unprecedented proportions beyond the
firefighting capabilities of our corrupt and inept ruling elite.
Guns, tanks, fighter jets and nuclear weapons
may be useful instruments of war needed to deter any external aggression, but
such war tools cannot save us from an implosion likely to be caused by the
conspicuous absence of the sovereignty and socioeconomic security of the
citizens.
The writer is an Islamabad-based TV analyst
and a PhD scholar. He tweets at @MunawarMahar and can be reached at
mahar.munawar2017@outlook.com
World Bank Country Director Patchamuthu
Illangovan has urged policy planners of the government of Pakistan to reorient
water practices to cut back losses and potentially transform Pakistan into a $2
trillion economy through improved water management systems.
Speaking at a public hearing, organised by the Senate Caucus for Climate Change
in collaboration with Jinnah Institute here at Pakistan Institute of
Parliamentary Services (PIPS), Patchamuthu Illangovan said that Pakistan
devotes 90 percent of its water to five agricultural products such as rice,
sugarcane, cotton, wheat and maize that generate less than 20 percent of the
GDP.
He said that agriculture is heavily dependent on irrigation, though agriculture
contributes around one-fifth of national GDP. He pointed out that 69 percent of
water currently being used is unsafe for human consumption.
"Pakistan cannot follow a 'grow now and clean later strategy," he
said, adding that it should convert its youth bulge into a demographic
dividend. "Climate change is not about a single political party or
sector," he said.
Illangovan also presented a comparison between Pakistan and other
less-developed countries that have devised better water and environmental
management systems.
He said that Pakistan's youthful population should be leveraged to create human
resource advantages in the coming years, as young people can become champions
of managing and protecting the environment.
Adviser to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said that politics
is lagging far behind the science of climate change, which has repeatedly shown
the imminent dangers of increasing global temperatures.
He informed that the Shishpar Glacier in Gilgit-Baltistan has receded very fast
due to heat generated in another part of the world. He pointed out that
Pakistan is the 8th most vulnerable country to climate degradation, but its
policies alone are no safeguard against deteriorating environmental conditions.
Among other initiatives undertaken by the PTI government to combat climate
impacts is 'Billion Tree Tsunami' reforestation effort aimed at carbon
sequestration which has been lauded by environmental auditors.
He said that in another phase, the government has a vision to plant 10 billion
trees in the country for which 50 percent funds will be allocated by the
federal government while the remaining 50 percent by the provinces.
Referring to the water scarcity, he lamented that a huge amount of water is
being wasted while only 9 percent water is being stored. However, he said that
government is engaged with China to bring projects under the China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC) aimed at ensuring storage of the water being wasted.
Senator Sherry Rehman, in her address to the forum, asserted that the scale of
challenges presented by climate requires legislators to devise collective
agency and lead the charge on climate adaptation across Pakistan.
She said that the Senate Caucus was set up with a view to convening
stakeholders and advocating urgent action on climate change that cuts across
federal and provincial mandates.
She said that climate indicators are worsening in Pakistan and should not be
taken as statistics alone, as they are impacting lives, livelihoods and
survival for citizens everyday.
She pointed out that hazardous air quality has claimed more lives in 2016 alone
than the war on terror, adding that more than 5 million people are forced to
live through drought conditions and disasters have cost up to $2 billion each
year on average over the last two decades and Pakistan's carbon emissions have
quadrupled in 15 years.
She appreciated the growing interest and participation of legislators at the
Caucus, who are generating scrutiny around climate policies, and championing
issues like reduced plastic usage and improving ambient air quality from the
Caucus platform.
She further said that climate change requires coordinated responses by
stakeholders that go beyond bland analyses of policy frameworks, and within
that, the roles of government, parliament, civil society and citizens are all
critical.
In file photo: A farmer
uses a hand tractor to plow a rice field before planting palay seedlings In
Tanay, Rizal.
Regular
consumption of rice can be associated with a lower risk of obesity.
In file photo: A farmer
uses a hand tractor to plow a rice field before planting palay seedlings In
Tanay, Rizal.
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