Winds of climate change blow across South Asia
The
writer, a policy analyst studying economic and security issues, held senior
positions in government and industry. He also specialises in the Chinese
economy
Published : Oct 29, 2019, 1:27 am IST
Updated : Oct 29, 2019, 1:27 am IST
According to the Pakistan Council
of Research in Water Resources, Pakistan officially crossed the water scarcity
line in 2005.
The India-Pakistan enmity is
possibly the world’s most intractable and obdurate, with a mutual misreading of
history made extremely volatile with the brandishing of nuclear weapons.
The India-Pakistan enmity is possibly the world’s most
intractable and obdurate, with a mutual misreading of history made extremely
volatile with the brandishing of nuclear weapons. Despite having two giant
militaries at each others’ throats, the more immediate existential challenges
that India and Pakistan face are related to how climate change and misuse of
common natural resources have combined to confront both together. It is not the
militaries which will determine our fates, but the degree of cooperation the
two nations can summon. Our problems are common and perhaps India and Pakistan will
find the good sense to act together?
Looking at the climate change challenges Pakistan and India face
together, collective action — as unlikely as it seems — may just be what is
needed to secure the lives and livelihoods of future generations.
According to climate researchers at Germanwatch, Pakistan ranks
eighth on the Global Climate Risk Index, with over 145 catastrophic events —
heat waves, droughts and floods — reported in the past 20 years. On the other
hand, India ranks among the top 20 vulnerable countries in terms of climate
risk. Pakistan is home to around 47 per cent of the Indus Basin, and India to
around 39 per cent. The Indus Waters Treaty has been in effect since 1960. The
recent political bickering aside, the Indus Waters Treaty has managed to
survive the test of time, yet fails to comprehensively address climate change.
Then again, at the time it was enacted, many of the stark realities we know
today were not understood.
According to the Pakistan Council of Research in Water
Resources, Pakistan officially crossed the water scarcity line in 2005. The
United Nations Development Programme and the Pakistan Council of Research in
Water Resources have issued warnings about the upcoming scarcity of groundwater
in just six years.
According to some estimates, Pakistan is the fourth-largest user
of its groundwater and over 70 per cent of drinking requirements and 50 per
cent of irrigation needs are met through groundwater extraction. Due to
excessive pumping, it is estimated that water tables could fall by as much as
20 per cent by 2025.
South Asia is drained by the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra river
basins, which collectively form the Indo-Gangetic Basin (IGB) and include some
of the highest-yielding aquifers of the world. The aquifers associated with these
river basins cross the international borders of the contiguous South Asian
countries, forming numerous trans-boundary aquifers, including the Indus basin
aquifers (between India and Pakistan), Ganga and Brahmaputra basin aquifers
(between Bangladesh and India), the aquifers of the tributaries to the Ganga
(between Nepal and India), the aquifers of the tributaries to the Brahmaputra
(between Bhutan and India, and between India and Bangladesh).
At the beginning of every hydrologic year, 4,000 billion cubic
meters (bcm) water enters the South Asian hydrological systems, of which almost
half is lost by poorly understood and un-quantified processes (such as overland
flow, surface discharge through rivers to the oceans, submarine groundwater
discharge and evaporation). The annual groundwater withdrawals in the region
are estimated to exceed 340 bcm, and represent the most voluminous use of
groundwater in the world. South Asia faces an acute shortage of drinking water
and other usable waters in many areas, as it is seeing a rapid rise in water
demand and change in societal water use pattern because of accelerated
urbanisation and changes in lifestyle. In many urban and rural areas of the
region, surface waters have been historically used as receptacles of sewage and
industrial waste, rendering them unfit for domestic use, prompting a switch to
groundwater and rainwater sources to meet drinking and agricultural water
needs. At present, about 60–80 per cent of the domestic water supplies across
South Asia are met by groundwater.
Irrigation accounts for 85 per cent of groundwater withdrawals
and is considered to be the main contributor to groundwater depletion with the
maximum possible groundwater footprint seen in the Gangetic aquifers.
Among the main contributors to water stress in India and
Pakistan are poor water resource management and poor water service delivery,
including irrigation and drainage services. Moreover, the lack of reliable
water data, subsequent analysis and consequent poor planning and allocation is
leading to environmentally unviable methods of water withdrawal, causing an
alarming reduction in groundwater.
In both countries, water stress is attributed first and foremost
to the massive population growth. Another cause is the lack of sufficient urban
water treatment facilities, which prevent the usability of river water for
drinking and irrigation.
Air pollution contributes substantially to premature mortality
and disease burden globally, with a greater impact in low-income and
middle-income countries than in high-income countries. The northern plains of
South Asia has one of the highest exposure levels to air pollution globally.
The major components of air pollution are ambient particulate
matter pollution, household air pollution, and to a smaller extent ozone in the
troposphere, the lowest layer of atmosphere. The major sources of ambient
particulate matter pollution are coal burning for thermal power production,
industry emissions, construction activity and brick kilns, transport vehicles,
road dust, residential and commercial biomass burning, waste burning,
agricultural stubble burning, and diesel generators.
In India and Pakistan, farm residues are burnt after harvesting
in October to November, which affects the air quality of the region. In Pakistan,
most of the rice cultivation takes place in Punjab, and the same is true for
India’s Punjab due to suitable climatic conditions for the crop. In both
countries, stubble burning is the key cause of smog. According to India’s new
and renewable energy sources ministry, India’s Punjab contributes 44-51 million
tonnes of residue annually. According to the estimates, paddy areas burnt every
year in Indian Punjab and Haryana are 12.68 million hectares and 2.08 million
hectares respectively. According to a study, farmers burn 30-90 per cent of
residue, which contributes to the smog formation, not just in the immediate
region, but the entire Indo-Gangetic plain. With air pollution levels lurking
in the “extremely poor” band for almost half the year, the northern regions of
South Asia may not be able to host healthy populations for very long.
The number of deaths attributable to ambient particulate matter
pollution in India in 2017 was 0·67 million and the number attributable to
household air pollution was 0·48 million. The number of deaths due to ambient
particulate matter pollution in Pakistan in 2017 was 60,000.
Climate change over 3,000 years ago destroyed the Indus Valley
Civilisation and it went into oblivion, leaving behind traces of what befell
the people here before. The next few decades are extremely critical. Can we
summon some good sense to survive or go the way of the Meluhans? The verses of
Allama Iqbal, albeit in another context, still hold true: Watan ki fiqr kar
nadaan museebat aane wali hai/ Teri barbadiyon ke mashware hain aasmanon mein…/
Na samjhoge tou mit jaoge Hindustan walon/ Tumari daastan tak bhi na hoge
daastanon mein. (Think of the homeland, O ignorant one! Hard times are
coming./Conspiracies for your destruction are afoot in the heavens./You will be
finished if you do not care to understand, O ye people of India!/Even the
mention of your being will disappear from the world’s chronicles).
Cash, Valuables Looted In Separate Incidents In Hafizabad
Dacoits looted cash and valuables
worth about Rs 6.5 million in the district during the past 24 hours
HAFIZABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News -
28th Oct, 2019 ):Dacoits looted cash and valuables worth about Rs 6.5 million
in the district during the past 24 hours.
Police said on Monday that trader Sajid Mehmood was on his way to
Cheema Rice Mill Jalalpur Bhattian on a motorbike when armed persons
intercepted him and snatched Rs 4.7 million from him at gun point and decamped
with the booty.
In the second incident, some dacoits snatched Rs 500,000 from a
fertiliser dealer Nasrullah Khan at Chiniot road when he was going to Pindi
Bhattian after drawing Rs 500,000 from a bank.
In another incident, an accountant of a rice mill Muhammad Ashraf
was on his way to Khanna Bhattian by a car (LE-749) when two bandits
intercepted him near Hakeemwala and snatched Rs 200,000 from him.
In a theft case, thieves stole 26 batteries worth Rs 1 million
from the tower of a mobile company in Jalalpur village.
Some burglars took away cash and valuables worth thousands of
rupees from the house of Muhammad Ashraf in Jalalpur village.Cases have been
registered against the accused.
PTI govt intends to lift rice exports to highest-ever
level
By APP
Published:
October 29, 2019
PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD: Rice is the largest agriculture commodity
in the export basket of Pakistan with total export value of over $2 billion
annually, which will be increased up to $5 billion in the coming five years,
said Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood.
He stated this during a meeting with a delegation of the
Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) on Monday. The meeting was aimed
at chalking out policy proposals in order to enhance exports of rice up to $5
billion over the next five years.
Dawood appreciated all the proposals presented by REAP and
assured the association of full cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce in that
regard. He asked the delegation of rice exporters to introduce new varieties of
rice in order to enhance production and quality of the commodity by investing
in research and development work.
“All bottlenecks in the way of rice exports will be
removed as soon as possible through effective coordination and cooperation with
all the relevant government ministries and departments,” the adviser said.
He pointed out that rice exports to China and Indonesia
were on an uptrend due to the additional market access secured by the
government. “The government intends to lift exports to the highest-ever level,”
he remarked.
“The government is taking different measures for enhancing
exports including recapturing traditional markets besides enhancing access to
new markets,” he added.
REAP President Syed Almas Hyder appreciated the
government’s endeavours to boost exports of traditional and non-traditional
products.
The delegation presented various proposals for achieving
the envisaged targets, which included better farm practices, higher crop yields
through water management, mechanical transplanting, drying and storage, and
balancing, modernisation and replacement (BMR) of existing rice mills.
Published in The Express
Tribune, October 29th, 2019.
Japan To
Increase Exports Of Authentic Japanese Rice To UAE, MENA
Tue 29th October 2019 | 01:15
AM
DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point
News / WAM - 29th Oct, 2019) The Japan External
Trade Organisation, a Japanese Government body
supported by the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, has
underlined its will to increase the export of authentic Japanese rice and its
products in the middle East
and North Africa region
as well as introduce Japanese rice flour for the first time in the UAE.
The UAE is a
key partner of Japan in
the MENA region with trade exchange between
the two countries valued at AED387 billion in 2018,
according to Akima Umezawa, the Consul General of Japan in Dubai.
"Japan’s rice has brought
abundance and health to the lives of Japanese people. It is the pride of the
nation and is exported to the UAE to
bring quality that can be trusted," he added.
Pakistan can benefit from ‘straw biomass utilization’
to enhance agriculture products: Chinese Scientist
October
29, 2019
BEIJING, Oct 29 (APP):Pakistan,
as an agricultural country can manufacture and utilize biochar based fertilizer
by using the straw biomass as a raw material to further enhance its agriculture
production and protect environment, a Chinese soil scientist said.
Biochar based fertilizer is
currently being manufactured in China, where straw is carbonized and then mixed
with fertilizers, Dr. Genxing Pan, Nanjing Agricultural University told a
delegation of Chinese and foreign media outlets who recently visited a straw
biomass utilization project in Ulanhot, a city of China’s Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region and gained a general understanding of biochar fertilizer
manufacturing process and experienced the magic of how straws of corn and other
crops were turned into fertilizer and other by-products.
Explaining the mechanism of
biochar and biochar based fertilizer, he said, in this way, straw is returned
to the field and recycled, which effectively avoids air pollution caused by
straw burning in open fields, and helps improve air quality in the project
areas.
Dr. Genxing Pan, a soil
scientist, and director at Institute of Resources, Environment and Ecosystem of
the University said that biochar-based fertilizers have attracted increased
attention because biochar can improve the soil fertility, promote plant growth
and crop yield.
The regional countries especially
Pakistan, which is also an agricultural country can benefit from the straw
biomass utilization to further improve its agricultural produce especially
rice.
He opined that the use of biochar
based fertilizers can also alleviate problems of soil hardening and reduce the
damage caused by chemical fertilizers and thus increase the yield of farmland.
“Biochar based fertilizer
enhances nutrition and it has a huge potential to boost global food production
and save land and environment besides feeding the increasing population,” he
said.
He said that raw materials to
produce biochar, including plant residues, wood chips, organic wastes, and
poultry manure are widely available.
Dr. Genxing Pan shared that he
has visited Pakistan and delivered a lecture in Faisalabad on the use of straw
biomass utilization and its positive impact on the soil and environment.
According to Karen Lane,
Principal Communications Specialist, ADB, Department of Communication based in
Manila who also accompanied the media delegation during the visit informed that
the two such projects, financed by Asian Development Bank (ADB) are under
construction and scheduled to be in operation in the early part of next year.
Located in Jalaid Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and in Kangping County in Liaoning Province, each project has received loans of 150 million yuan. The capacity of both projects is about 30,000 tons.
Located in Jalaid Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and in Kangping County in Liaoning Province, each project has received loans of 150 million yuan. The capacity of both projects is about 30,000 tons.
She said the ADB is lending
support to China to reduce carbon and shift to the green economy as it is good
for the region and the world.
Zhou Yun, Senior Environment
Specialist, and Project Officer, ADB East Asia Department opined that regional
countries can learn from the experience of China and introduce this fertilizer
in addition to chemical and other conventional fertilizers.
She remarked that biochar
fertilizer being more friendly to soil can help reduce air pollution and
enhance agriculture production.
Walking into the particle
storehouse of the project set up in a suburban area, the journalists could see
big bags full of straw pellets manufactured at another factory set up outside
of the city.
At carbonization workshop,
Xiaodong Guo, deputy manager, briefed the delegation about the plant, its
production capacity, and the fertilizer manufacturing process.
The plant, designed and manufactured in China, turns the straw pellets into fertilizer by cooking the material from 400 to 500-degree centigrade. No waste or carbon dioxide emissions are produced throughout the whole process.
The plant, designed and manufactured in China, turns the straw pellets into fertilizer by cooking the material from 400 to 500-degree centigrade. No waste or carbon dioxide emissions are produced throughout the whole process.
The delegation also took a round
of laboratory, liquid fertilizer, organic fertilizer and carbon-based
fertilizer workshops and met with technicians and shop directors. They also
visited sunlight greenhouse and talked with the technicians and workers.
During the visit to particle plant in Xinfu village where trucks were unloading straws brought from the nearby fields, Bao Tianxi, owner of the plant briefed that these straw are collected from fields in the form of bales and densified into pellets and then transported to the fertilizer manufacturing plant.
During the visit to particle plant in Xinfu village where trucks were unloading straws brought from the nearby fields, Bao Tianxi, owner of the plant briefed that these straw are collected from fields in the form of bales and densified into pellets and then transported to the fertilizer manufacturing plant.
“I purchase straw from 400 local
farmers and the production of the plant is around 100 tons per day during the
harvest season,” he added.
The farmers of this area usually
utilize biochar fertilizer for their crops as it is available for them on a 20
percent discount.
The owner said that before
setting up this plant, his annual income was around 100,000 yuan but last year,
his net profit was three million yuan.
Some farmers present in the areas
informed the delegation that this fertilizer is becoming popular because of its
benefits and its market demand is increasing day by day.
Although, the cost of the
fertilizer is high as compared to the chemical fertilizers but we are switching
to it because it is environment-friendly and useful for the soil besides
helpful to enhance per acre yield, they added.
Rice shop set ablaze as owner refuses to pay money in
extortion
The owner of a rice shop in Jodia
Bazaar, which was set on fire late on Sunday night, has claimed that his shop
was set ablaze by gangsters of Lyari.
The rice shop was reduced to ashes
after it was set ablaze late on Sunday night. The shop owner claimed that
extortionists involved in the Lyari gang war were behind the incident who burnt
his shop because he had refused to pay them extortion money.
Police have registered an FIR No
756/19 under the sections 327/34 and 336 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section
7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act against unidentified persons on behalf of the rice
trader, Akbar Ali.
In the FIR, the complainant
recorded his statement that his brother, Ahmed Ali, had received a phone call
on his mobile phone around a month ago and the caller introduced himself as
Sikandar, alias Sikku, who demanded Rs500,000 in extortion and threatened him
with dire consequences in case did not pay the amount.
He also claimed that earlier on
October 1, two men on a motorcycle had opened fire on his residence in
Liaquatabad. Later, he approached the Liaquatabad police and registered a case
against unidentified persons over the firing incident.
The rice trader added that after
the firing, the extortionists again contacted him through WhatsApp and demanded
Rs500,000 in extortion. He said the gang had been using different phone
numbers, including international numbers, to contact him and he had provided
those numbers to law enforcement agencies but they were yet to trace the
extortionists.
He said separate cases had been
lodged against unidentified extortionists over firing at his residence and
setting fire to his shop in Jodia Bazaar. He appealed to higher authorities to
provide him protection and arrest the extortionists.
House robbed
A group of armed men robbed a house
in North Karachi on Monday. The incident happened within the limits of the Sir
Syed police station. Police said three armed men broke into the house and held
the family members hostage at gunpoint. The robbers stole cash, jewellery,
mobile phones and other valuables from the house.
The family claimed that some of the
gang members had stayed outside the house while their accomplices committed the
robbery. The robbers managed to escape after stealing cash and valuables worth
around Rs10 million.
Immediately after the robbers had
escaped, the family informed police about the incident. Police reached the
house to inquire into the robbery. Experts from the forensic division were also
called to help police in investigations, who obtained fingerprints to trace the
suspects. SP Altaf Hussain said police reached the house in a timely manner
after the family members had informed them about the incident.
UAE-Japan trade at Dhs387 billion in 2018
28 Oct 2019
Akima Umezawa - Consul General of
Japan (2nd from left) with other top officials during the event on Monday in
Dubai.
Sajjad Ahmad, Gulf Today
The UAE is one of the largest trade partner of Japn in the region and the trade exchange between the two countries valued at Dhs387 billion in 2018, said Akima Umezawa - Consul General of Japan in Dubai.
He revealed this during the launch of Japanese rice flour for the first time in the UAE market.
He said, “Japan’s rice has brought abundance and health to the lives of Japanese people. It is the pride of the nation and is exported to the UAE to bring quality you can trust and a difference you can taste.”
Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) addressed its will to increase the export of Japanese rice and its products in the region as well as introduce Japanese rice flour for the first time in the UAE available at KOBEYa located in Wasl Vita Mall, Dubai.
While Japanese rice isn’t new to the market, Japanese rice flour is bringing on a new era to the rice market and creating a new addition to the Japanese food culture exclusively for Japanese food lovers, gluten intolerants and health enthusiasts.
With over 200 Japanese restaurants in the UAE, many are not aware of the difference between authentic Japanese rice in comparison to other countries.
Only a few select top Japanese Restaurants in the UAE use Japan’s authentic rice such as Tomo, Kohantei, Hoseki and KOBEYa.
Masami Ando, Managing Director, JETRO – Middle East said, “UAE imports approximately 1 million tonnes of all types of rice every year with the highest imports from India, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam. Followed by United States, Egypt and Australia. In our efforts to increase the export of Japanese rice and its products in the region, JETRO has tied up with KOBEYa, UAE’s first gluten free Japanese and Far Eastern café offering authentic Japanese rice, rice flour and confectionary retail products from Japan such as cookies, tea, snacks and much more.
The UAE is one of the largest trade partner of Japn in the region and the trade exchange between the two countries valued at Dhs387 billion in 2018, said Akima Umezawa - Consul General of Japan in Dubai.
He revealed this during the launch of Japanese rice flour for the first time in the UAE market.
He said, “Japan’s rice has brought abundance and health to the lives of Japanese people. It is the pride of the nation and is exported to the UAE to bring quality you can trust and a difference you can taste.”
Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) addressed its will to increase the export of Japanese rice and its products in the region as well as introduce Japanese rice flour for the first time in the UAE available at KOBEYa located in Wasl Vita Mall, Dubai.
While Japanese rice isn’t new to the market, Japanese rice flour is bringing on a new era to the rice market and creating a new addition to the Japanese food culture exclusively for Japanese food lovers, gluten intolerants and health enthusiasts.
With over 200 Japanese restaurants in the UAE, many are not aware of the difference between authentic Japanese rice in comparison to other countries.
Only a few select top Japanese Restaurants in the UAE use Japan’s authentic rice such as Tomo, Kohantei, Hoseki and KOBEYa.
Masami Ando, Managing Director, JETRO – Middle East said, “UAE imports approximately 1 million tonnes of all types of rice every year with the highest imports from India, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam. Followed by United States, Egypt and Australia. In our efforts to increase the export of Japanese rice and its products in the region, JETRO has tied up with KOBEYa, UAE’s first gluten free Japanese and Far Eastern café offering authentic Japanese rice, rice flour and confectionary retail products from Japan such as cookies, tea, snacks and much more.
Rice export to
be increased to $5 bln in five years: Razak
October 28, 2019
ISLAMABAD, Oct 28 (APP):Adviser
to Prime Minister on Commerce, Industries and Production, Textile and
Investment Abdul Razak Dawood Monday said rice was the largest agro export
commodity in the the country’s export basket with a total volume of over $ 2 billion,
which will be increased to $5 billion in next five years.
He said this during a meeting
with a Rice Exports Association of Pakistan (REAP) delegation, led by its
president Syed Almas Hyder to chalk out policy proposals in order to enhance
the commodity’s export.
The adviser appreciated all the
proposals of REAP and ensured full cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce in
that regard.
He advised the delegation to
introduce new varieties of rice to enhance production and quality by investing
in research and development.
All bottlenecks in the rice
export would be removed with effective coordination and cooperation among all
the relevant ministries and departments, he assured.
The adviser said the rice export
to China and Indonesia was on upward trajectory due to additional market access
secured by the current government in those countries.
Razak said the government
intended to take the exports to the highest level ever and for the purpose it
was taking different measures to reclaim traditional markets besides accessing
new ones.
The REAP president appreciated
the current government’s endeavours for boosting exports of traditional and
non-traditional products.
The REAP delegation presented
various proposals for achieving the envisaged target, which included better
farm practices, higher yields through water management, mechanical
transplanting, drying and storage and BMR of existing rice mills.
The REAP office-bearers assured
that the rice would be exported as per quality and standard to the markets like
Iran, Qatar and China where additional market access had recently been gained
by Pakistan.
Paddy farmers may reap high yield
KHAMMAM, OCTOBER
30, 2019 00:21 IST
Conducive weather, timely release
of water from NSP are reasons
As the area under paddy
cultivation has increased to about 91,698 hectares this kharif season, paddy
growers in the district are expected to reap rich yield of the crop in the
impending harvest season.
The acreage under paddy cultivation
in the last kharif season was 82,000 hectares.
The paddy output this kharif
season may surpass last year’s production of a little over four lakh metric
tonnes. The paddy production is estimated at 4.93 lakh metric tonnes this year,
nearly 90,000 metric tonnes more than last year’s rice output in kharif season,
sources in the Agriculture department said.
Khammam is considered as the key
paddy producing district of the State.
As many as 16 of the total 21
mandals of the district are under the command area of the Nagarjunasagar
Project (NSP) left canal system. Most parts of the remaining mandals are
covered under the Bhakta Ramadasu Lift Irrigation Scheme (BRLIS).
Thanks to the conducive weather
conditions and timely release of water from the NSP into the irrigation canals,
the kharif paddy output this year is poised to increase substantially across
the district, sources added.
Anticipating the high paddy
output, the Civil Supplies department has drawn up plans to set up around 115
procurement centres in the district to buy paddy from farmers in a hassle-free
manner at the agriculture market yards and various other places, including
grain markets. The procurement centres are likely to become operational from
the second week of November.
This year’s kharif paddy yield is
expected to touch 4.93 lakh metric tonnes, said Jhansi Lakshmi Kumari, Joint
Director of Agriculture, Khammam.
Apart from the favourable weather
conditions coupled with the early release of water for irrigation, the
successful adoption of dry converted wet rice cultivation method by many
farmers in various mandals of the district have contributed to the increase of
acreage under paddy, she told The Hindu.
Paddy growers of Sattupalli
division embraced the method in a big way as an alternative to the conventional
method of transplanted rice due to its multifarious advantages, she said.
Scores of farmers in Jal Shakti
blocks of Khammam division too followed the method owing to a vigorous campaign
by the field staff of the Agriculture department and scientists of the Krishi
Vigyan Kendra (KVK), as part of outreach activities under the overall
supervision of Collector R.V. Karnan.
Much of Asia still goes to
bed unfed
Climate-smart and resource-saving farming technologies could be one way
to address hunger in Asia, write Akmal Siddiq and Md Abul Basher of Asian
Development Bank.
Filipino children eat a meal of rice and broth in Obrero,
Manila. While 800 million men, women and children from all over the world face
chronic hunger and malnutrition, about a third of global food production per
year gets wasted. Image: Feed My Starving Children, CC
BY-NC-ND 2.0
By Akmal
Siddiq and Md. Abul Basher
Monday 28 October 2019
Despite repeatedly faltering on
the targets to reduce hunger, the global community renewed its pledge in 2015
to build a hunger-free world by 2030. Ironically, the number of food-insecure
people has been increasing since then. In 2017 about 518 million people went to
bed unfed or half-fed in Asia and the Pacific. In parallel, the challenges for
farmers are increasing with economic and demographic transformations, and
climate change.
Agricultural resources, including
land, are shrinking and being increasingly claimed by other sectors. The farm
workforce is decreasing as the incomes from other sectors including migration
become more attractive and the youth are less interested in agriculture, making
it a sector reliant on an aging population.
FOOD & AGRICULTURE
Rice paddies raise methane threat
In this situation, doing more of
the same will not resolve the challenge of Sustainable Development Goal 2:
ending hunger and malnutrition by 2030.
Fortunately, the future does not
have to be that gloomy. As always, science and technology provide solutions to
these evolving challenges. ADB and the International Rice Research Institute,
in partnership with a number of national research organisations,
completed field experiments of
two climate-smart and resource-saving technologies in Bangladesh, Cambodia and
Nepal in 2019 to showcase scientific solutions to the problems faced by the agricultural
sector.
In Bangladesh, alternate wetting
and drying technology was used for comparisons with the continuous standing
water irrigation system – the traditional irrigation method. In Cambodia and
Nepal, direct-seeded rice technology was tested to compare with the traditional
transplanted puddled system. In all pilot countries, vegetables were also
cultivated between two rice crops.
The alternate wetting and drying
technology, used in experiments in Bangladesh, required about 22 per cent less
water compared to the traditional irrigation. Depending on the rice varieties
and season of the rice cultivation, greenhouse gas emissions were 13 per
cent–41 per cent less under alternate wetting and drying compared to continuous
standing water irrigation.
This was achieved through
reductions of periods of flooding of the rice field which in turns reduces the
emission of methane. Yield of rice under alternate wetting and drying has
either increased or remained at par with the traditional method of irrigation.
In Cambodia, mechanised
direct-seeded rice technology decreased use of labor by 60 per cent–79 per cent
compared to the traditional transplanted pu
Farmers in Asia face substantial challenges but climate-smart
and resource-saving technologies give them a fighting chance of producing the
food the region needs in a way that is both profitable and sustainable.
ddled system. It also increased
the yield of rice by 26 per cent–50 per cent compared to the traditional
transplanted system; and saved water by about 19 per cent‒32 per cent.
Greenhouse gas emission was 68 kg/ha under direct-seeded rice compared to 98
kg/ha under transplanted puddling system.
In Nepal, direct-seeded rice
technology combined with the machine-operated boom sprayer for plant protection
and combine harvesting reduced the total cost of production of rice by 25 per
cent compared to the conventional method. This technology also reduced the use
of labor by about 83 per cent compared to conventional transplantation. Seed
requirements decreased from 80 kg/ha under conventional methods to only 45
kg/ha under mechanised direct-seeded rice.
Overall, the income of the
farmers increased by 52 per cent-61 per cent and the benefit–cost ratio
increased by more than two-fold under these climate-smart and resource-saving
technologies.
The results show that technology
can lead to a shift from labor- and resource-intensive, to technology- and
knowledge-intensive agriculture. This new paradigm will require less water,
less workers, and emit less greenhouse gases to increase food profitably for
farmers. This shift, however, would also face roadblocks.
Farmers’ lack of access to
knowledge and technology is one of them. The appropriate approach, mechanism,
and institutions to deliver the knowledge and technology to farmers are yet to
be developed.
The key is to have a clear
picture of the field to determine the suitability of a technology or
combination of technologies to be promoted. There is a need to assess current
practices, level of mechanisation, and availability of services. Appropriate
technologies should be developed through field experiments and should be
validated involving farmers in the process. The governments need to create an
enabling environment for private companies to manufacture custom-designed machines
to support the new production practices.
A smart extension service system
should be developed to improve farmers’ access to information and knowledge. A
platform involving scientists, farmers, private sector, and academia working
together in partnership to support climate-smart agriculture will be useful.
In order to promote the
mechanisation required for climate-smart agriculture, land consolidation at the
production level is important. Governments should take measures to promote more
voluntary land consolidation at the production level.
The majority of smallholder
farmers are unable to own machinery by themselves to practice climate-smart
agriculture. The private sector should be given incentives to set up hiring
centers where farmers can rent machinery at a more affordable price.
Farmers’ cooperatives should be
promoted as well to set up hiring centers. However, such cooperatives should be
run following corporate principles, i.e., with a clear demarcation between
equity holders and management personnel, all of whom should be accountable for
their decisions.
Farmers in Asia face substantial
challenges but climate-smart and resource-saving technologies give them a
fighting chance of producing the food the region needs in a way that is both
profitable and sustainable.
Akmal Siddiq is Chief of Rural Development and Food Security
Thematic Group of the Asian Development Bank, (ADB), while Md. Abul Basher
is Natural Resources and Agriculture Specialist, Sustainable Development and
Climate Change Department.This article is republished from the ADB Blog.
Fighting
Climate Climate With Local Know-How – OpEd
Sali Dummay personifies what
wordsmiths call a “dirt-poor farmer”.His crops are at the mercy of adverse
weather conditions, sky-rocketing farm inputs, middlemen monopoly and worsening
attack of pests and diseases, not to mention anti-farmer government policies.
Worse, climate change, a man-made
enemy, is rearing its ugly head– there are more destructive typhoons, droughts
are longer, water sources are drying up. Not even science or the most advanced
technology can reverse the phenomena.
But Sali, unschooled, every bit
illiterate to any schooled pen-pusher, but learned in the ways of the old, has
what it takes to survive this fast-changing world. So much so that he can take
scientists to school.
Old Ways Given New Names
Sali makes use of traditional
heirloom seeds—upland rice, corn, beans squash,— handed down by ancestors for
generations. His kaingin garden is watered by cool spring water, his soil
fertilized by rotten remains of weeds, sedges and grass.
“Outsiders came to say what I’m
doing is organic gardening, , what is that, another new name for an old
practice?, he sneered.
“When government foresters
visited my father’s “tayan” (communal woodlot), they said we were doing
agroforestry, why do they give names to our old ways, ways they don’t
understand”?
“Our ricefields are fertilized by
rotten pig manure, rice hay and wild sunflower leaves and this is good
government agriculturists say but these are the same people who brought poison
to kill insect pest that later killed birds and bees, the same people who
brought the golden snail that now kill our rice plants, “ Sali exclaimed.
The indigenous practices that
Sali still adheres to are sustainable ways that help stymy global warming and
climate change.
Amy Dickie and Monica Zurek of
the University of Oxford, in an IPCC Conference paper titled “Strategies for
Mitigating Climate Change in Agriculture”|,they said organic farming practices
including those of indigenous peoples reduce the GHG intensity of agriculture,
both by changing production practices without harming yield.
By using traditional
organicfertilization techniques, Sali and his lot enhance regenerative
agriculture strategy focused on the nourishment of the soil, an effective way
for farmers to adapt to the challenges of a climate change and even help
reverse the problem.
Maybe it doesn’t look like much
more than dirt, but soil does more than just give crops life — it also serves
as the terrestrial ecosystem’s most significant carbon storehouse. Fertile soil
is microbe- and carbon-rich, traditional practices are less excessive tilling
and use less monocropping (producing a single crop every year on the same land)
thereby killing less of those critical microbes that oxidizes in the air and
transforms into carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat and
contributes to warming temperatures.
Traditional Crops, Cropping Patterns More Climate Change Resilient
By using traditional crops, Sali
and his lot refrain from depending on expensive and input-demanding and
intensive genetically-tinkered seeds.The local heirloom seeds have adapted to
local conditions for hunreds of years.The crops include bush beans, pigeon
peas, corn, rice, chillies, squash and sweet potato tubers
Also included are indigenous
vegetables water cress or tongsoy, Amaranthus spp, bracken fern, Sonchus spp.,
and Pasiflora spp. amti, gendey and burburtak, all climate change resilient
indigenous crops.
As climate change poses threats
and dangers to the survival of communities worldwide, indigenous peoples
contribute the least to greenhouse emissions.
In fact, indigenous peoples are
vital to, and active in, the many ecosystems that inhabit their lands and
territories and may therefore help enhance the resilience of these ecosystems.
In addition, indigenous peoples interpret and react to the impacts of climate
change in creative ways, drawing on traditional knowledge and other
technologies to find solutions which may help society at large to cope with
impending changes.
Sali also makes use of a variety
of seeds,often, exchanged with other farmers to enhance agro-biodiversity. This
allows good characteristics of other seeds to blend with others through
cross-pollination. A drought resistant pigeon pea seed may acquire weevil-resistant
trait from another seed.
Sali is also changing his
cropping patterns, a knowledge gained from ancestors, When most neighbors plant
following sucessive patterns of sweet potato, he deviates and does not plant
because the pattern completes the life cycle of insct pest, increasing
infestation. He plants cassava, instead. When his neighbors harvest all their
sweet potato, killing all the vines, thereby eliminating host plant of pests,
he plants sweet potato becauase there will be least pest infestation.
Ensuring Water Supply of Springs and Brooks
While Sali’s family owns a tayan
or a communal woodlot, he ensures that the spring and brook where he farms have
ample water recharge. This he does by transplanting giant ferns or tanapu and
Ficus nota figs or tebbeg wildlings above his watershed headwaters.
Tayans are hereditary communal
properties such as forestlands inherited through generations. The tayan system
refers to the indigenous concepts of managing the communal properties. Common
to the indigenous peoples is their land tenure system that defines the
practices of access, use, and control over resources by individuals, clans, and
communities. These practices among indigenous cultural communities are
restricted and modified by varying economic and political transformations as
well as national land laws within a diversity of historical and social
conditions.
Replanting with ferns and figs is
a practice long been learned from old folks who say both fern and tree have
good water holding capability.
Sali said “What most don’t realize is trees are important members of the landscape, what good is a land without water and only trees can give us water.
Sali said “What most don’t realize is trees are important members of the landscape, what good is a land without water and only trees can give us water.
Sali’s tayan is Pinus insularis
pine dominated with a mixture of few semi- tropical dipterocarps, wild edible
berries and vines and mossy trees. Guarded by members of Sali’s clan, cutting
of timber for housing, furniture, firewood and for rituals is covered by
unwritten laws passed down from one generation to another. Use of any part of
the land, trees, plants and water are likewise ruled by customary laws of the
clan and tribe.
Forest Gives Life
Sali has developed a forest
garden, where trees, indigenous vegetables , different species of diverse
biological types annual herbs, perennial herbaceous plants, climbing vines,
creeping plants, shrubs and trees thrive.
Natural processes of cycling
water and organic matter are maintained; dead leaves and twigs are left to
decompose, keeping a continual litter layer and humus through which nutrients
are recycled. Compost, rice terraces mud and green manures are commonly used on
cropland. These forms of recycling are sufficient to maintain soil fertility
without the use of chemical fertilisers.
Sali, unschooled, regulates or
modifies the functioning and dynamics of each plant and land within the system.
He understands this, his people
have been doing it for hundreds of years. Didn’t they carve stairways to heaven
with their rice terraces?
Villar wants rice imports capped at 1-M tons/year
October 29, 2019, 10:00 PM
By Madelaine B. Miraflor
Senator Cynthia Villar suggested
that the Philippine government should restrict the issuance of import permits
on rice, which should be done in such a way that only 1 million metric tons
(MT) of rice should be allowed to enter the country every year.
This, as she shut down the
possibility of raising tariffs on rice imports, which is one of the measures
seen to address the declining price of palay.
“We have to prove that we can
compete,” Senator Cynthia Villar said on the sidelines of the 2019 National
Food Security Summit.
She went on to say that “we got
good ratings in the world when we were able to liberalize [because] we weren’t
afraid to open the market to imported rice”.
“If we will impose safeguard measures, they will think that we just gave up and that we can’t do it,” she further said.
“If we will impose safeguard measures, they will think that we just gave up and that we can’t do it,” she further said.
Implemented in March, the Rice
Tariffication Law or Republic Act (RA) 11203 allowed the entry of more imported
rice into the country.
Since the law’s passage, more
than 2 million metric tons (MT) of cheaper, imported rice already entered the
country, resulting in the continuous decline in the price of palay.
Villar, who serves as the
chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, admitted that it would be
easier to impose safeguard measures to address the declining price of palay but
“it is an indication that we are afraid” to prove the country’s willingness to
boost local rice production.
Under the Section 10 of RA 11203,
in order to protect the Philippine rice industry from sudden or extreme price
fluctuations, a special safeguard duty on rice could be imposed in accordance
with Safeguard Measures Act.
During the first week of October,
the average farm-gate price of palay already fell by 28.8 percent to P15.56 per
kilogram (/kg) from the P21.86/kg during the same period last year.
To address this, Villar said the
government should limit the amount of imported rice that enters the country.
This, according to her, should also address the existence of cartel in the rice
sector.
“We will try to lessen the
importation and limit it to 1 million metric tons because that’s what we need.
We will help the rice farmers,” Villar said.
To do this, Villar said the
Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) is now planning
to restrict the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances
(SPS-IC) on rice imports.
In order to import rice, RA 11203
only requires local traders to obtain an SPS-IC from BPI. An SPS certifies that
rice imports that will enter the country are free from pests and diseases.
For his part, Agriculture
Secretary William Dar said the DA will issue next week a set of guidelines that
will call for the strict issuance of SPS-IC.
A source said that restricting
the issuance of SPS-IC is illegal and that importers can actually file a case
against the government for doing it.
Dar, however, said he hopes rice
importers will understand the situation and will not import rice during the
harvest season
Gov’t to curb rice imports via non-tariff
measures
Philippine
Daily Inquirer / 04:11 AM October 30, 2019
The
proponent and author of the rice tariffication law wants to limit the country’s
rice imports as the downtrend in palay prices continued.
The call was
made by Sen. Cynthia Villar at the sidelines of the National Food Security
Summit on Tuesday, adding that the move would help local farmers adjust to the
new rice regime as the government helps the sector be more competitive.
The average
buying price of palay hit its lowest in eight years based on government
monitoring and are expected to decline further as the harvest season begins.
Villar noted
that the Philippines produces 93 percent of its rice requirement, while the rest
—estimated at 1.1 million metric tons (MT)—are mostly imported from Thailand
and Vietnam.
“We will try
to lessen importation and limit it to 1 million MT [annually] because that’s
all we need. Let us help our farmers,” she said.
Villar added
that this could be done if the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) would be more
strict when it comes to issuing sanitary and phytosanitary permits (SPS), which
are major requirements before traders are allowed to import the staple.
In response,
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the agency would be releasing a set of
guidelines next week compelling BPI to strictly impose food safety regulations.
This includes updating the bureau’s lists of pests and diseases to look out
for.
Latest data
from the Bureau of Customs showed that about 1.9 million MT of rice had already
entered the country since the enactment of the new rice law in March.
The number
is expected to swell further to 2.4 million MT by yearend and this would be the
highest on record for the country, according to the United States of
Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Services.
Last month,
Dar also pushed for the imposition of safeguard measures, but these were
rejected by the administration’s economic managers due to their “inflationary
effects.”
Slapping
safeguard duties on imported rice could have been the easiest way to curb the
inflow of imported rice in the market, Villar said, but she said the move would
leave an impression that the Philippines was “scared” of competition.
“We have to
prove that we can compete. If we are going to employ safeguard measures, they
would think that we’ve already given up and that we are not capable. Let’s show
them that we can [compete],” she added.
In lieu of
the safeguard measures, the Department of Agriculture said it would distribute
P5,000 in cash subsidies to 600,000 farmers with one hectare of land or less.
This is on top of the loan programs it opened to rice farmers and interventions
under the rice competitiveness enhancement program.
https://business.inquirer.net/282237/govt-to-curb-rice-imports-via-non-tariff-measures#ixzz63pclf4Fo
https://business.inquirer.net/282237/govt-to-curb-rice-imports-via-non-tariff-measures#ixzz63pclf4Fo
The
effects of Nigeria’s closed borders on informal trade with Benin
A man rests on a mini truck loaded with bagged food-stuff at a internal displaced persons (IDP) camp during the official flag-off of food and relief materials distribution for the internal displaced persons in Nigerian city of Maiduguri, June 8, 2017.REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye - RC1CF1A1DD10
A man rests on a mini truck loaded with bagged food-stuff at a internal displaced persons (IDP) camp during the official flag-off of food and relief materials distribution for the internal displaced persons in Nigerian city of Maiduguri, June 8, 2017.REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye - RC1CF1A1DD10
Nigeria’s recent announcement confirming that it is closing its borders to prevent
movement of all goods has been met with harsh criticism from neighbors and
regional integration advocates. The Buhari administration has justified the
decision as a tactic to curb smuggling of goods of which the country wants to
internally increase production, such as rice.
The border closures will have particularly negative
consequences for traders, especially informal ones, along the
Benin-Nigeria border, as the two economies are closely
intertwined.[1] Indeed, this informal trade generates
substantial income and employment in Benin, and Benin’s government collects
substantial revenues on entrepôt trade—goods imported legally and either
legally re-exported to Nigeria, or illegally diverted into Nigeria through
smuggling.
Nonresident Senior Fellow - Global Economy and Development, Africa Growth Initiative
The informal sector throughout
West Africa, and particularly in Benin, represents approximately 50 percent of
GDP (70 percent in Benin, in fact) and 90 percent of employment.
Unsurprisingly, informal cross-border trade (ICBT) is pervasive and has a long
history given the region’s artificial and often porous borders, a long history
of regional trade, weak border enforcement, corruption, and, perhaps most
importantly, lack of coordination of economic policies among neighboring
countries. Notably, ICBT takes several forms, not all of which are illegal: For
example, trade in traditional agricultural products and livestock in bordering
countries may involve little or no intent to deceive the authorities, as
peasants and herders ignore artificial and un-policed borders.
The economic relationship between the two countries, both
members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is already
asymmetric, with Nigeria exerting much more influence on Benin than vice versa.
Given Nigeria’s larger population, economy, and natural resource wealth, Benin
has adopted a strategy centered on being “entrepôt state,” i.e., serving as a
trading hub, importing goods and re-exporting them legally but most often
illegally to Nigeria, thus profiting from distortions in Nigeria’s economy.
Benin’s dependence on Nigeria is not apparent from official trade statistics,
as Benin’s reported trade with Nigeria accounted for only about 6 percent of
Benin’s exports and 2 percent of Benin’s imports in 2015-17.[2] These official statistics are very
misleading, however, as they do not reflect the vast informal trade along the
border.
NIGERIA’S
TRADE POLICIES CREATE DISTORTIONS THAT INCENTIVIZE SMUGGLING
Nigeria’s heavy dependence on oil
and many dysfunctional economic policies have created an environment for ICBT
between it and its neighbors, mainly Benin and Togo, to flourish. The wide gap
between the official and black-market rates of the naira; Nigeria’s subsidized
fuel prices; import barriers (Table 1); poor trade facilitation (Table 2); and
Benin’s poor business climate have incentivized local traders to turn to the
informal cross-border trade.
Table 1: Nigeria’s import
barriers on selected products, import tax rates (%), and import bans, 1995-2018
|
1995
|
2001
|
2007
|
2013
|
2018
|
|
|
Beer
|
Banned
|
100
|
Banned
|
Banned
|
Banned
|
|
Cloth and apparel
|
Banned
|
55
|
Banned
|
Banned
|
45/
Forex ban**
|
|
Poultry meat
|
Banned
|
75
|
Banned
|
Banned
|
Banned
|
|
Rice
|
100
|
75
|
50
|
100
|
70***
|
|
Sugar
|
10
|
40
|
50
|
60
|
70
|
|
Cigarettes
|
90
|
80
|
50
|
50
|
95
|
|
Used cars*
|
Banned
|
Banned
|
Banned
|
Banned
|
Banned
/ 70
|
|
Vegetable oil
|
Banned
|
40
|
Banned
|
Banned
|
Banned
|
*The maximum age of cars banned
from import has varied over time as more 8 years old in 1995, and 5 years in
2001, back to 8 years in 2007, and 15 years in 2018. In addition, imports are
banned via land borders since 2016.**Banned from using the official foreign
exchange market. ***Rice imports banned through land borders since 2013.
Sources: Soulé (2004), Nigerian customs
data provided by the World Bank, Nigerian import prohibition list https://www.customs.gov.ng/ProhibitionList/import.php, online reports, World Trade Organization Nigeria Trade Policy
Review 2017.
Table 2: Indicators of trade facilitation, Benin and Nigeria, 2018
|
Trading across borders: overall rank (190 countries)
|
Time to import: border compliance (hours)
|
Time to import: documentary compliance
(hours)
|
|
|
Benin
|
107
|
82
|
59
|
|
Nigeria
|
182
|
264
|
144
|
Source: World Bank Doing
Business Indicators 2018.
MAGNITUDE
OF ENTREPÔT TRADE BETWEEN BENIN AND NIGERIA
Smuggling is, of course, difficult to measure but can be
estimated indirectly through the magnitude of official imports per capita into
Benin compared to Nigeria and other countries. Imports per capita into Benin of
certain products—such as cars, cloth, rice, and poultry, all heavily protected
in Nigeria—are far too large to be explained by
Benin’s domestic consumption (Figure 1 a-b).
Figure 1. Imports per capita for Benin and Nigeria, USD
A. Rice
Source: Authors’ calculations using U.N. Comtrade, World Bank
World Development Indicators, 2018
B. Poultry
Source: Authors’ calculations using U.N. Comtrade, World Bank
World Development Indicators, 2018
EFFECTS ON NATIONAL INCOME, EMPLOYMENT, AND TAX REVENUES
Like in other countries, the effects of ICBT for Benin are
mixed. For example, ICBT generates about 20 percent of Benin’s GDP.
Moreover, gasoline smuggling employs around 40,000 people, about as much as the
size of the public sector in Benin, while direct and indirect jobs from used
car smuggling are estimated at around 15,000 and 100,000 people, respectively.
On the other hand, the longer-term effects on economic growth and
diversification can be negative: ICBT attracts entrepreneurial talent into
illegal or semi-legal informal activities instead of potentially more
productive sectors. Furthermore, the implication of government officials at all
levels of informal activity makes reform much more difficult.
Benin’s system of import taxation
has revolved around maximizing the income from entrepôt trade, by taxing goods
when they enter Benin at a rate well below that in Nigeria or taking advantage
of Nigeria’s import prohibitions. The country’s revenues are hit hard when
there are border closures or there is a recession in Nigeria due to lower
demand for products being traded there.
Border closure: Mopping a leaking roof
Jide Ojo
JIDE OJO
“Now that our people in the rural areas are going back to their
farms, and the country has saved huge sums of money which would otherwise have
been expended on importing rice using our scarce foreign reserves. We cannot
allow smuggling of the product at such alarming proportions to continue”
–President Muhammadu Buhari to his Beninois counterpart, Patrice
Talon, on the margins of the Seventh Tokyo International Conference for African
Development, in Yokohama, Japan
On August 20, 2019, President Mhammadu Buhari ordered a partial
closure of Nigeria’s land borders in order to check smuggling of contrabands
into the country. The banned items include rice, secondhand clothing materials
and poultry products among others. Opinions are divided among Nigerians on the
propriety or otherwise of that action. I have said on several platforms that
though the decision is laudable, it is not far-reaching.
It is true that no sane country will allow its market to be
flooded with products of doubtful standards and wholesomeness. For so long,
Nigeria has been at the receiving end of being converted to dumping ground for
all manner of foreign imports, many of which can be produced locally. It is on
record that most of the rice and poultry products smuggled into Nigeria from
Benin Republic, Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic are either contaminated,
expired or unhygienic for human consumption. The rice has been in the silos of
the exporting countries for many years and being preserved with chemicals; the
poultry products are also preserved with harmful substances such as formalin
allegedly used in embalming corpses while some of them are injected with
steroids to make them big. Even if these products are good for human
consumption, the wider implication is that their being smuggled into the
country will kill local production as these foreign goods are sold cheaper than
the locally produced ones while people also have mentality of preferring
imported products to locally manufactured ones.
I was shocked to learn that Nigeria spends an average of US
$22bn (N7.92tn) each year on food imports. Its major food imports include
wheat, sugar and fish. Another big import, rice, accounts for about US$1.65bn,
or N0.59tn. Most of the country’s rice is imported from Thailand and India.
Government’s backward integration programme led to billions of naira being
loaned to Nigerian farmers by the Central Bank of Nigeria to encourage local
rice production under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme. Remember the LAKE Rice
jointly being produced by Lagos and Kebbi states. Poultry and livestock farmers
are also being similarly motivated. Ironically, in spite of this
encouraging move, less than half of the domestic demands are being met by local
farmers, thus pushing up demand for foreign imports. This is one of the reasons
why smuggling of such products has been very attractive. Demand is very much
higher than supply.
Among the benefits of the current border closure is the
increased revenue for the Nigerian Customs Service. According to its
Comptroller-General, Hameed Ali, the agency collects between N4.7bn and N5.8bn
daily since the Federal Government closed the nation’s major land borders. He
made the revelation on Wednesday, October 2, 2019 when he appeared before the
National Assembly joint committee on finance. Ali equally revealed that “About
10.2m litres of fuel has now been cut down from what we had been assuming to
have been consuming. These 10.2m litres of fuel are always going across the
border.” On Monday, October 28, 2019, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, after
meeting with President Buhari said Nigerian rice and poultry farmers are now
laughing to the banks as all their unsold products have been bought with so
much unmet demands due to the border closure. Apart from financial and economic
gains, closure of the border has also curtailed the smuggling of small arms and
light weapons into the country.
Despite these positive and remarkable achievements, I maintain
that it amounts to mopping a leaking roof. How do I mean? Border closure is not
far-reaching enough to check smuggling. The front page report of THISDAY of Tuesday, October 22,
2019, said, “Despite the closure of Nigerian land borders by the Federal
Government in the last three months, smuggling still persists at the border
between Nigeria and Niger Republic.” The newspaper gathered that at the border
between Jibia in Katsina State and Niger Republic, smugglers had resorted to
the use of illegal routes to ferry in bags of foreign rice, bales of
second-hand clothing and other contrabands.
The newspaper went on to say that its investigation revealed
that while strict compliance appears to reign at the main border post between
the two countries, illegal business still thrived at some bush paths and sundry
illegal entry points where unscrupulous operatives, work hand-in-glove with
smugglers to smuggle contraband goods into the country. Some of the illegal
routes the smugglers used to ferry in the contrabands from Niger Republic to
Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State include Sabon Gari, Dan-Harau,
Alele, Makada and Maidabaro roads despite heavy security at the borders.
The smugglers, it was learnt, go through the laborious route of
offloading the contrabands a few meters away from the official border security
post and use J-5 buses, Gulf 4 and 5 vehicles and motorcycles to ferry the items
from their hideouts into Jibia for onward movement to their warehouses in
Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Jigawa states and some other parts of the
country.
Recall that the Nigeria Immigration Service, on Wednesday, April
23, 2014, in Abuja, disclosed that Nigeria has over 1,400 illegal border
routes. The then Comptroller-General of the NIS, David Parradang, made
the disclosure while addressing the National Conference on Immigration. He said
that even though the country had only 84 approved land border control posts
designated in the 1980s after the Maitatsine riots, “there are more than 1,400
illegal borders in the country”. What have we done to effectively police these
illegal entry points?
On April 25, 2019, the Federal Executive Council presided over by
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo approved N52bn for an e-border solution to monitor
the country’s borders. The former Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau,
announced the approval while briefing State House correspondents. He said the
contract would cover 86 border posts and the over 1,400 illegal routes being
used for smuggling and other cross-border crimes. The big question is, how much
of this princely sum has been released for the work to commence? Can Nigerians
be updated on where we are with this e-border project? In as much as we have
porous and unpoliced borders, smuggling will continue to thrive. It is
therefore imperative for the government to use the period of this border
closure to reinforce security at our borders.
Aside from effective surveillance of Nigerian borders, there is
a need to court the support of Nigerian border communities. Government needs to
incentivise them with good infrastructure and make them feel the impact of good
governance so that their buy-n can be got in the fight against smuggling. That
is the only way they can serve as whistle-blowers on the smugglers.
Furthermore, all the corrupt elements among Nigerian law
enforcement agents at the borders should be weeded out. These economic
saboteurs’ renegades and fifth columnists who aid and abet the smugglers in
their nefarious activities need to be shown out of the security
agencies. Lastly, there is an urgent need to promote the ease of
doing business. Apart from the dumping policy of some countries, the cost of
doing business in the country is too prohibitive which then makes
Made-in-Nigeria goods not to be competitive in the market. It is wrong for
locally produced goods to be more expensive than the imported ones even when
they are smuggled into the country. The government should ease the clearing of
goods at our seaports, airports and even land borders by reducing the layers of
the bureaucratic bottlenecks
Again, gunmen kidnap Catholic priest in
Enugu
October 30, 2019
By
unmen have abducted the
Catholic Priest of Enugu Diocese, Rev. Fr. Arinze Madu.
Madu, Vice Rector, Queen of
Apostle Spiritual Year Seminary, Imezi-Owa in Ezeagu Local Government Area of
Enugu State, was reportedly kidnapped at the gate of the institution on Monday
by gunmen.The Director of Communication, Enugu Catholic Diocese, Rev. Fr.
Benjamin Achi, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview yesterday.
Achi said he was yet to get
details of the abduction, which he described as “shocking and terrifying”.The
state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Ebere Amaraizu, has confirmed
the kidnap.
The PPRO, who confirmed the
incident on the phone, said that the command was tracking the kidnappers.
He said: “The priest was
kidnapped on Monday while he was coming out from his school located at
Imezi-Owa in Ezeagu Local Government Area. But I can assure you that the
police, in collaboration with the Army and local vigilantes were combing the
forest in the area.”
Amaraizu dismissed insinuations that the kidnappers were herdsmen,
saying that their identity were yet to be ascertained.
Some reverend fathers were
attacked, kidnapped or assassinated in Enugu about three months ago, among
other victims, leading to tight security measures being put in place by the
state government.
The measures included the
establishment of Forest Guards and reinvigoration of Neighbourhood Watch
Vigilante Services and joint security air surveillance of forests in the
state.
Meanwhile, the state government expressed concern about the
priest’s abduction.
It charged the police and other
security agencies to ensure that the priest was rescued unhurt.
The government added that it
“will leave no stone unturned to make sure that he regains his freedom”.
NALYSIS: Why Nigeria’s border closure may spike price of local
rice
Nigeria-Seme Border Fully Closed Photo Source: Guardian
Newspaper
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SINCE the Federal Government launched a border closure policy in
late August, the decision has triggered mixed reactions from
Nigerians, neighbouring countries and
regional bodies.
Farm produce from neighbouring nations such as Benin Republic,
Togo, Ghana meant for the Nigerian market rots away daily due to
the government’s policy. And the cost of food items in Nigeria, particularly
rice, is on a steady rise.
For instance, prior to the land border closure, a 50kg bag of
rice that was sold at N13, 000, now goes for N25, 000.
After the
border closure, the rigours they go through and tricks smugglers employ in
bringing the so-called imported rice to Nigeria – storing it in a car bomber,
fuel tank as seen here is incredible! pic.twitter.com/hRqigycBgG
— Seyi Gesinde (@GhesheS) October 19, 2019
As at 2011, Nigeria annually spent N24.5 trillion importing food items into the
country. Five years after, a different report put the figure of four major
imported commodities – Wheat, Rice, Sugar and Fish at $11 billion (4 trilliion).
Experts have argued that Nigeria’s fertile soil places it at advantage to grow
rice in over 18 states across the country, thus feeding itself with the
commodity which has an annual estimated import figure of N356 billion.
For reasons partial border closure appears to be the right
decision, the above figure is invariably assumed good enough to create local
jobs. Rather, what we have are continued job exports through persistent food
imports. Former Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi
Adesina and Chief Audu Ogbeh, as well as former Agriculture Minister of State,
Heineken Lokpobiri, have repeatedly claimed rice and frozen foods illegally
imported through the land borders lack good nutritional value compared
with local varieties. They argued further that such imports keep crippling
local capacity and government efforts to promote farming, especially among the
youth. Ironically, more than 18 states from the 36 across the country have the
potential to grow rice.
Some of the states include Kebbi, Ogun, Kaduna, Adamawa, Sokoto,
Kano, Katsina, Cross Rivers, Ebonyi, Benue including the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) to mention but few.
Most importantly, the sector has significantly enjoyed the attention
of repeated administrations either in terms of funding or policy. Aside from Levy
and Excise Duty-free tariff
for agricultural commodities, the sector has enjoyed World Bank loans through
the FADAMA projects and
recent FADAMA Additional Funding I and II. The CBN, as at April 2019 says
it has so far disbursed N174.48 billion to
farmers via the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP). And since the border closure,
the federal government boasted to have raked in N1.4 billion and
arrested 319 suspected smugglers.
But, despite these interventions and the recent land border
closure, believed good enough to ensure self-sufficiency in rice production,
the nation might continue to witness higher costs of rice except deliberate and
sustained actions are taken in selected areas. The ICIR identifies
these to include farm mechanisation, extension services, subsidy for farmers
such as the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES), establishment of more rice
milling centres, improved finance – single-digit interest rate; banks until
lately have been recalcitrant to lending to farmers and even those who do do so
at high-interest rate; addressing infrastructure deficit and awareness creation
on insurance or early warning system against flooding or natural resources that
could affect farm harvests.
Farm Mechanisation
Machinery and Equipment Requirement Across the Rice Value Chain.
Source: PWC 2017 Report on Boosting Rice Production through Increased Mechanisation
Source: PWC 2017 Report on Boosting Rice Production through Increased Mechanisation
Statistics have shown that Nigeria’s large population is fed by
subsistence farmers largely in rural communities. Majorly, 80 percent of rice
grown in the country which is about 3.7 million tonnes is produced by
smallholder farmers while the remaining 20 percent is cultivated by commercial
farmers. Yet, local consumption of staple food stands at 6.4 million tonnes as
of 2017.
Invariably, this implies an almost 50 percent deficit in local
consumption. Cultivation has also been manual, usually through the use of
cutlasses, hoes and other crude equipment; hence the level of production
output. As such, Nigeria clearly has a high deficit in farm mechanisation, a
factor threatening local rice sufficiency target.
A 2017 report from the PriceWaterCoopers (PWC) titled
Boosting Rice Production through Increased
Mechanisation revealed that agricultural mechanisation in the
country has remained so low at 0.3hp/ha unlike 2.6hp/ha in China and 8hp/ha in
India.
The report further put the estimated figure of tractors in the
country at 22,000 farm machines, relative to 1 million in China and 2.5 million
in India – all top rice-growing nations.
“We estimate that increasing the mechanisation rate in Nigeria
from 0.3hp/ha to 0.8hp/ha in the next 5 years, can double rice production to
7.2 million tonnes. To achieve this, we estimate that Nigeria will need to at
least triple its current stock of machinery over the same period,” the report
says.
Extension Services
The role of extension services to farmers cannot be
overemphasised. Their responsibility is mainly to enlighten farmers either as
groups or through other means on better agricultural practices. Oftentimes, the
extension workers are domiciled in the State and Federal Ministries of
Agriculture and Rural. They go round to sensitise the farmers of the right
choice of seeds, rain onset and offset to guide farmers towards better
harvests.
However, the ratio of extension workers to farmers is low.The
National Agricultural Extension Research Service (NAERLS) in a report
criticised the population of extension service to the farmers. As a result,
a digital platform to
share information across to farmers was established. But again, how many
farmers are digitally literate?
Farm Subsidy
Several experts have argued that for the nation to realise its
food sufficiency target, there should be a constant and strategic subsidy for
farmers. Such incentive was provided to farmers during the administration of
Adesina, the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. The local
farmers across the nation were provided with subsidised seeds and fertilisers.
The model was such that the Federal Government pays 50 per cent
for the farm inputs, the State was responsible for 25 per cent while the
interested but captured farmers only paid 25 per cent. Ogbeh, the immediate
past agriculture minister also maintained the same argument attributing lack of subsidy to
farmers as a reason for the increasing price of local rice.
“Agriculture should be subsided, but strategic subsidization at
the point of providing general incentives that give enabling environment for
farmers to achieve optimum production,” Prof. Oluwole Fatumbi, Lead Specialist
at the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) added at recent
training in Abuja.
“….only 2 per cent of Americans are farmers on the farm while 13
per cent are in value chain development, processing and financing which brings
growth and reduction in the price of the commodity. So, I am not against
government efforts, they are trying, but they need to channel the efforts and
energy in the right direction to ensure that agriculture delivers for the
larger population.”
Rice Milling Centres
Rice generates more income for farmers
than any other cash crop in the country. This singular reason led to a steady
increase in local production despite the poor mechanisation. For instance, in
2017, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation put the value of
harvested rice paddy at 4,912,650 but mainly affected by milling capacity.
Rural farmers are mostly faced with the challenge of logistics
to transport rice paddy to millers. Some would often travel kilometres to mill
but local access roads are usually in bad states while corruption trails distribution of
milling machines.
Though new mills are springing
up via private sector involvement such as the 250 tonnes daily milling capacity
Amarava Rice Mill, Kano state, local access to farm mechanisation remains
abysmally low.
In July 2018, the former Agric. minister signed N10.7 billion
deal on behalf of the government with MV Agro Engineers, to make available
integrated rice mills for the use of local farmers. It is to be delivered in
December this year. Hopefully, this promise will be fulfilled by the set date.
Single Digit Interest Rate
Except for CBN interventions with special interest on rice,
farmers’ access to credit from commercial banks has been a huge challenge. This
situation also extends to rice farmers which, in most cases, the commercial
banks prefer to give loan more than other businesses.
Until August 2018,
commercial banks gave loaned to farmers with an interest rate of about 30 per
cent, an initiative Ogbeh repeatedly described as non-sustainable.
“That the Central Bank considered working with the Bankers’
Committee to finance agriculture from the commercial banks’ huge reserves,
running into billions of naira, is a cause for optimism in the agricultural
sector.
“This is more so as the single-digit interest rate of nine per
cent on long-term credit of a minimum tenor of seven years will support stable
agricultural investment and predictable increase in food production. The
multiplier effect of this initiative at a time of a restructured and
recapitalised Bank of Agriculture will be a reduction in uncertainties and
avoidable risks in agricultural investments where farmers will enjoy wider
latitude of access to loans from either commercial banks or BOA with less
hassles,” Ogbeh had stated. Yet, farmers wanted
a 5 per cent rate instead
of the existing 9 per cent.
Infrastructure Deficit
One of the major challenges of rural farmers is basic
infrastructure such as access roads to transport agricultural products from
farms to markets. This is evident in Benue State where farm produces rots away,
especially during the rainy season due to lack of motorable roads. Also for
rice, transporting paddy from farm to milling machine has reportedly been a
huge problem – far worse during the wet season.
Awareness Creation
The Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Commission (NAIC) is an
agency of government responsible for insuring farm produce against flooding and
other forms of disasters, but, most farmers are unaware of its existence yet
annual budgetary allocation goes to the agency. Aside, most farmers are still ignorant
of how to access financial supports from the government despite huge sum
disbursed since the commencement of the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP).
More so, information on the free import duty for agricultural
machinery is not so popular among rural farmers. These, among others, are to be
addressed if the nation must achieve its rice sufficiency target.
Meanwhile, Aminu Goronyo, President of the Rice Farmers
Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), conclusively maintained that border closure was
to promote patriotism and not to enrich rice farmers.
“Before 2015 Nigeria, spent nothing less than N368 billion for
rice importation but today that same money is in circulation within the
country’s business community….However, the closure is not to enrich rice
farmers but a devotion to the welfare of the country and commitment to compete
with other nations,” he said.
Border
closure: Rice dealers seek FG loan
Monday, October 28, 2019 10:56 am
Rice
Some rice farmers have appealed
to the Federal Government to provide them with affordable loan facilities to
boost production to reduce the price of the commodity as they described
the closure as a welcome development.
The price of a 50kg bag of local
rice, which sold for N14,000 before the closure of the country’s borders on
Aug. 19, now goes for N22,000.
The farmers, who called for the
loans in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on
Monday, noted that the current price of rice was too high.
A Benue-based rice farmer, Mr.
Egio Boniface, said there was a need for the government to provide loans to
enable them to increase their productivity. Boniface faulted the
government’s failure to carry rice farmers along before the border closure,
adding that the increase in the price of the commodity should be expected.
“Before we can address the
increase in the price of rice, farmers need to have prepared to boost their
production through the cultivation of high-yield species. We are expecting
that the government will give us loans to secure inputs on time to produce
high-yield rice to reduce the cost for the benefit of Nigerians. We need
the help of the government to help the rice farmers to breakeven,” he said.
According to him, when farmers
increase their production, the price of the commodity will fall.
In Lafia, Mr. Adamu
Ibrahim, Nasarawa state Chairman of Rice Millers and Dealers Association
of Nigeria (RIMDAN) said that the closure of the country’s border would
boost production.
Ibrahim told NAN in Lafia that
the development had heightened the demand for the local rice by
consumers. He said that the price of the commodity had increased a little
as a result of the high demand.
“For instance, before the border
closure, we sell a 50 kg bag for N10, 000 but it now goes for N14,000, ”
Ibrahim said.
According to him, the action has
boosted the local production of the commodity and has seriously helped in
employment generation. He said that when there was no restriction on the importation,
millers in Lafia could not even sell one truck of rice in one week.
“Now we sell up to six trucks of
rice daily from the Lafia Central Mill alone.’’
He said that the decision had
also generated employment for women and youths involved in the processing of
the commodity.
Ibrahim said that over 40, 000
were currently engaged in the rice processing in the state. He appealed
for the government’s support through soft loans to procure modern milling
equipment that would enable them to add value to their production to meet
international standards.
He stressed the need for adequate
power supply as a major challenge to their production.
Similarly, Mr. Jonathan Joshua,
Secretary of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Nasarawa state
chapter lauded the Federal Government for the action.
Joshua said that since the
closure of the border, a lot of people have shown interest in investing in
agriculture, especially rice production. He said local producers were also
trying to improve on their production by adding value and making it more
attractive to consumers, who were used to the foreign rice.
“We this action and the high
level of interest by investor and farmers in rice production, there is hope
that Nigeria can produce enough to feed its citizen and export as a foreign
exchange earner,” Joshua said.
Border Closure: About 500,000
Bags Of Local Rice Sold In One Week, Says Emefiele
Akinkunmi Obakeye And Ajibola Akinola
Updated October 28, 2019
Updated October 28, 2019
4.2K16
About 500,000 bags of local rice
was sold by millers within one week of the border closure, the Central Bank of
Nigeria governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, has revealed.
Emefiele made the revelation on
Monday while briefing reporters after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari
in Abuja.
He said that the Chairman of the
Rice Processors Association complained to him that rice millers and processors
in the country had 25,000 metric tonnes of unsold local rice in their
warehouses and urged that something should be done to help keep their
businesses alive.
The CBN governor who noted that
he received the complaint before the nation’s borders were closed stated that
the same person called one week after the closure that all the rice in their
warehouses had been sold.
“Recently, the Chairman of the
Rice Processors Association called me and said that all the rice millers and
processors are carrying 25,000 metric tonnes of milled rice in their warehouses
that they have been unsold because of the smuggling and dumping of rice through
the Republic of Benin and other border posts we have across the country, and he
would want us to do something about it,” he told reporters.
Emefiele added, “I am aware also
that after some meetings held, in addition to those engagements we held with
the President, the border was closed subsequently.
“A week after the borders were
closed, the same Rice Millers Association called to say that all the rice in
their warehouses has all been sold.
“Indeed, a lot of people have
been depositing money into their account and they are telling them to hold on
until the rice has been processed.”
A photo of CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele.
Benefits Of Border Closure
The 25,000 metric tonnes of rice
translates to 500,000 bags of (50kg) rice as 1,000 kilogrammes make one metric
tonne.
The CBN governor also revealed
that between 2015 and 2019, the number of companies setting up integrated and
small mills rose astronomically and loan facilities have been given to help
encourage the production of local rice.
He said, “Between 2015 and 2019,
we have seen a rise in the number of companies setting up integrated and small
mills; the CBN and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and rural development
has been at the centre of not just encouraging the production of rice in
Nigeria, but also funding these farmers by giving them loans to acquire
seedlings, fertilizers and some herbicides for rice production.
“The benefit of the border
closure in Nigeria is that it has helped to create jobs for our people, bring
our integrated rice millers back into businesses and they are making money; our
rural communities are bubbling because farmers are selling.”
Condition For Re-Opening
Similarly, Emefiele noted that
some members of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, who also complained of
difficulties selling their eggs and processed chicken confirmed that since the
closure, demand has been on the rise.
He stressed that proper
engagements between the Federal Government and neighbouring countries are key
to ending the spate of smuggling and a consequential reopening of the borders.
The CBN governor added, “We are
not saying that the border should be closed in perpetuity, but that before it
can be reopened, there must be concrete engagements with countries that are
involved in using their ports as landing ports for bringing in goods that are
smuggled into Nigeria.
“That engagement must be held, so
we agree on the basis of what products they can land in their country and if it
is meant for their local consumption, it’s understandable.
“But the fact that they are now
smuggled into Nigeria, we all agree should not happen because it undermines our
economic policies and desire to ensure that industries are alive and jobs are
created in Nigeria.”
Cheap
rice imports choke small town’s Sh13b economy
Mt Kenya
Star 28th Oct 2019 09:55:15 GMT +0300
Traders waiting for buyers at Nice Ricers
Millers. [Kamundia Muriithi, Mt Kenya Star]Massive rice
imports mainly from Pakistan have chocked the economy of Ngurubani town in
Mwea, Kirinyaga County, which is the biggest grower and supplier of rice in
Kenya, slowing development and pushing farmers to diversify into other crops.
Mwea region produces about 100,000 tonnes of rice, which is
80 per cent of what Kenya produces.
However, Kenya requires massive rice imports mainly from
Pakistan have chocked the economy of Ngurubani town in Mwea, Kirinyaga County
which is the biggest grower and supplier of rice in Kenya, slowing development
and pushing farmers to diversify into other crops.
According to the Kenya Economic Survey, 2019, Mwea region
produces about 100,000 tonnes of rice, which is 80 per cent of what Kenya
produces.
However, Kenya requires about 400,000 tonnes of rice every
year meaning that it has to import about 300,000 tonnes, or three times of what
is produced locally.
While this reality has existed for many years, and traders in
the town have adjusted to it, what has changed is that the importers are
increasingly bringing in very low-quality rice, blamed on smuggling through the
Somali-Kenya border and weaker surveillance at the Port of Mombasa.
The cheaper rice is then sold at rock bottom prices and then
blended with Mwea’s aromatic pishori rice to be sold at pishori variety, at a
cheaper price, knocking off demand of the original variety that Mwea is known
for.
The imported rice varieties sell at as low as Sh80 per
kilogramme whereas pure Mwea pishori rice, which has a distinctive aroma,
retails at Sh130.
In a bigger blow to the area’s economy, as the construction
of Thiba Dam, which was supposed to flow in more money because of doubling of
rice farming area, has stalled indefinitely.
A visit to the bustling town revealed that milling factories
are operating at half capacity because of the diminishing demand, slowing down
the rice chain that has starved the town of cash flow.
The cheap imported varieties pose stiff competition, and for
customers seeking to save a shilling in the hard economic times, many opt for
the cheaper rice. But their biggest hurdle are unscrupulous traders who use
devious means to pass off the imported varieties as pure pishori.
Many customers are not wiser and cannot differentiate between
pure pishori and a blend of cheap rice and the pishori. Strangely, traders
raise concern that “pishori” sells at about Sh120 in some dealers in Nairobi
and Mombasa whereas ordinarily it would be higher than Mwea’s due to
transportation cost.
They say such rice could be adulterated or perfumed blends
that is killing their businesses. Traders and millers said they were disturbed
by reports that some dishonest merchants had gone to the extent of spraying the
cheaper imports with perfumes to cheat buyers that that is pure pishori.
At top rice mills and rice shops in Mwea town, business is
not roaring like before a situation the dealers linked to business disruption
by the cheap imports. “Our sales have been on a decline compared to previous
years. When I started trading rice here seven years ago, business was booming,
but nowadays has slumped down as customers opt for a cheaper varieties sold
elsewhere. Other consumers unknowingly buy cheaper rice blended with pishori
out there unknowing believing that is pure pishori. Those of us who deal with
genuine pishori area suffering,” said Jane Njagi, a trader at Nice Rice
Millers.
When Mt Kenya Star visited some of the rice
mills in Mwea on Thursday, we found the traders, mostly women, idly looking
forward to the tiny trickle for customers. However, milling machines continue
to roar processing rice produced from the Mwea irrigation scheme.
As a customer walked in, the traders scrambled for his
attention promising that their rice is pure and grade one.
The customer who we later identify as Michael Kanuthu, a
petrol truck driver heading back to Nairobi from taking delivery to Meru, told
us he had made it a habit of stopping at Nice Rice Millers where he is certain
of buying pure pishori.
“Every time I pass through this route I buy enough rice to
last my family for weeks. I’m reluctant to buy the commodity elsewhere as I
can’t tell whether it is blended with other varieties,” he says.
Traders say if they could get as many customers as Kanuthu
who appreciate the pure pishori, their fortunes would change for the better.
But that is just a wish since customers have cheaper alternatives.
Peris Wawira, a rice farmer and trader at Mwea, wondered why
rice that is imported all the way from Pakistan would sell cheaper than locally
produced ones.
“That tells you the farm inputs, that is fertilizer, chemical
sprays and labour here is high and adds up to the cost of production. This
makes our produce expense and unable to compete with imported varieties,” says
Wawira.
She says the best measure the government can adopt to address
this is by subsidizing farm inputs and providing more water to reduce costs
associated with hiring people to channel water to paddies.
“Mwea has the capacity to multiply rice production several
times and feed the nation only if adequate water is provided, inputs subsidized
and the government helps us to find more market,” says Wawira.
Stakeholders say many factors like insufficient water supply
and high cost of production are contributing to lower rice production wherase
Mwea irrigation scheme has potential to produce more.
At Top Graders Rice Millers, the director Loise Njoki, said
whereas they have a milling capacity of 1000 bags of rice daily, they were
doing only 200.
Njoki said the miller which has been operating since 2015
providing employment to over 100 traders and farmers, deals only in pure
pishori. She said cheap imports was posing unfair competition.
“Truck drivers have been buying our rice in large quantities
but they now prefer cheaper rice. We are left with consumers who buy smaller
quantities,” she said.
Njoki called on the government to complete construction of
Thiba dam so that more acreage can be put under rice production, while also
intervening to lower production cost.
“Cheaper inputs such as fertilizer and controlling of the
destructive quelea birds, which force us to hire even 10 people to fight them
can lower production expenses and make our rice competitive,” says Njoki who is
also a rice farmer.
At Nice Rice Millers, Head of Operations Peninah Kamunde said
they mill 60 tonnes of rice every day but that is still below their capacity.
She said their pure pishori rice whereas loved by customers
is under threat from cheaper imports. She said the adulteration of pure Mwea
pishori alters the market and shatters the loyalty of consumer who find the
fake pishori unpalatable.
“We go the extra mile to ensure only pure pishori comes from
our mills and is traded here. It is now upon the relevant government agencies
to shield farmers from other faked rice out there,” said Kamunde.
She said apart from weeding out fake rice, provision of
adequate water by completing Thiba Dam, lowering cost of inputs would enable
farmers to access cheaper fertilizer and sprays to control rice blast.
In an interview in May this year, Tai Rice Millers proprietor
Edwin Kagombe expressed concern over competition from the cheap imports. He
said the cheap Pakistan grain is dumped into a big store in Mwea always after
every harvesting season and the is blended with the Mwea pishori rice and
offered to unsuspecting consumers at a much cheaper cost.
He said the adulterated rice was affecting
business and called for protection of farmers against unfair trade practices.
Peter Njagi, a farmer, said rice farming is a tedious and that the government
should protect farmers. https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001347120/cheap-imports-choke-town-s-sh13b-economy
Pusa 1121 fails to fetch fair prices
Posted at: Oct 30, 2019, 7:16 AM; last updated: Oct 30, 2019,
7:16 AM (IST)
Parveen Arora
Tribune News Service
Karnal, October 29
The Pusa 1121 variety, a major contributor to
basmati exports as well as to the income of farmers, is fetching low price this
time. It is being sold for Rs2,600 to Rs2,800 per quintal as compared with
Rs3,300 to Rs3,700 in the corresponding period last year.
Farmers say that
the Pusa 1121 variety after getting good prices last year, they cultivated the
variety of 1121 on a large scale this time, but the variety made them unhappy.
Surinder Kumar, a farmer, said: “Last year, I had
received a good price for the Pusa 1121 variety, prompting me to enhance the
area under it. But this time, I have fetched a good price.”
Another farmer
Ram Kisan echoed similar sentiments. “I had hoped that the 1121 variety would
bring some respite from the financial loss I had suffered earlier. But the
variety had a free fall this year, exacerbating my condition.”
Rice millers and
exporters, who are bulk buyers of the 1121 variety, are hesitant to purchase it
because of dip in demand and lower price offered in the international market.
“Iran is a big buyer of India’s rice. But this time, Iran is not coming forward
to purchase Indian basmati. Besides, low rate of the Indian rice in the
international market could be the reason behind the dip in price,” said Vijay
Setia, president, All-India Rice Exporters Association
Pusa 1121 fails to fetch fair prices
: Oct 30, 2019, 7:16 AM; last updated: Oct 30, 2019, 7:16 AM
(IST)
Parveen Arora
Tribune News Service
Karnal, October 29
The Pusa 1121 variety, a major contributor to
basmati exports as well as to the income of farmers, is fetching low price this
time. It is being sold for Rs2,600 to Rs2,800 per quintal as compared with
Rs3,300 to Rs3,700 in the corresponding period last year.
Farmers say that
the Pusa 1121 variety after getting good prices last year, they cultivated the
variety of 1121 on a large scale this time, but the variety made them unhappy.
Surinder Kumar, a farmer, said: “Last year, I
had received a good price for the Pusa 1121 variety, prompting me to enhance
the area under it. But this time, I have fetched a good price.”
Another farmer
Ram Kisan echoed similar sentiments. “I had hoped that the 1121 variety would
bring some respite from the financial loss I had suffered earlier. But the
variety had a free fall this year, exacerbating my condition.”
Rice millers and
exporters, who are bulk buyers of the 1121 variety, are hesitant to purchase it
because of dip in demand and lower price offered in the international market.
“Iran is a big buyer of India’s rice. But this time, Iran is not coming forward
to purchase Indian basmati. Besides, low rate of the Indian rice in the
international market could be the reason behind the dip in price,” said Vijay
Setia, president, All-India Rice Exporters Association
ANALYSIS: Why Nigeria’s border closure may spike price of local
rice
Nigeria-Seme Border Fully Closed Photo Source:
Guardian Newspaper
FacebookTwitterEmailSMSWhatsAppMore
SINCE the Federal Government
launched a border closure policy in late August, the decision has
triggered mixed reactions from
Nigerians, neighbouring countries and
regional bodies.
Farm produce from neighbouring
nations such as Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana meant for the Nigerian market rots away daily due to
the government’s policy. And the cost of food items in Nigeria, particularly
rice, is on a steady rise.
For instance, prior to the land
border closure, a 50kg bag of rice that was sold at N13, 000, now goes for N25,
000.
After the border closure, the rigours they
go through and tricks smugglers employ in bringing the so-called imported rice
to Nigeria – storing it in a car bomber, fuel tank as seen here is
incredible! pic.twitter.com/hRqigycBgG
— Seyi Gesinde (@GhesheS) October 19, 2019
As at 2011, Nigeria annually
spent N24.5 trillion importing
food items into the country. Five years after, a different report put the
figure of four major imported commodities – Wheat, Rice, Sugar and Fish
at $11 billion (4 trilliion).
Experts have argued that Nigeria’s fertile soil places it at advantage to grow
rice in over 18 states across the country, thus feeding itself with the
commodity which has an annual estimated import figure of N356 billion.
For reasons partial border
closure appears to be the right decision, the above figure is invariably
assumed good enough to create local jobs. Rather, what we have are continued
job exports through persistent food imports. Former Ministers of Agriculture
and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina and Chief Audu Ogbeh, as well as
former Agriculture Minister of State, Heineken Lokpobiri, have repeatedly
claimed rice and frozen foods illegally imported through the land borders lack good nutritional value compared
with local varieties. They argued further that such imports keep crippling
local capacity and government efforts to promote farming, especially among the
youth. Ironically, more than 18 states from the 36 across the country have the
potential to grow rice.
Some of the states include Kebbi,
Ogun, Kaduna, Adamawa, Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, Cross Rivers, Ebonyi, Benue
including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to mention but few.
Most importantly, the sector has
significantly enjoyed the attention of
repeated administrations either in terms of funding or policy. Aside from Levy
and Excise Duty-free tariff
for agricultural commodities, the sector has enjoyed World Bank loans through
the FADAMA projects and
recent FADAMA Additional Funding I and II. The CBN, as at April 2019 says
it has so far disbursed N174.48 billion to
farmers via the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP). And since the border closure,
the federal government boasted to have raked in N1.4 billion and
arrested 319 suspected smugglers.
But, despite these interventions
and the recent land border closure, believed good enough to ensure
self-sufficiency in rice production, the nation might continue to witness
higher costs of rice except deliberate and sustained actions are taken in
selected areas. The ICIR identifies these
to include farm mechanisation, extension services, subsidy for farmers such as
the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES), establishment of more rice milling
centres, improved finance – single-digit interest rate; banks until lately have
been recalcitrant to lending to farmers and even those who do do so at
high-interest rate; addressing infrastructure deficit and awareness creation on
insurance or early warning system against flooding or natural resources that
could affect farm harvests.
Farm Mechanisation
Machinery and Equipment Requirement Across the Rice Value Chain.
Source: PWC 2017 Report on Boosting Rice Production through Increased Mechanisation
Source: PWC 2017 Report on Boosting Rice Production through Increased Mechanisation
Statistics have shown that
Nigeria’s large population is fed by subsistence farmers largely in rural
communities. Majorly, 80 percent of rice grown in the country which is about
3.7 million tonnes is produced by smallholder farmers while the remaining 20
percent is cultivated by commercial farmers. Yet, local consumption of staple
food stands at 6.4 million tonnes as of 2017.
Invariably, this implies an
almost 50 percent deficit in local consumption. Cultivation has also been
manual, usually through the use of cutlasses, hoes and other crude equipment;
hence the level of production output. As such, Nigeria clearly has a high deficit
in farm mechanisation, a factor threatening local rice sufficiency target.
A 2017 report from the
PriceWaterCoopers (PWC) titled Boosting Rice Production through Increased Mechanisation revealed
that agricultural mechanisation in the country has remained so low at 0.3hp/ha
unlike 2.6hp/ha in China and 8hp/ha in India.
The report further put the
estimated figure of tractors in the country at 22,000 farm machines, relative
to 1 million in China and 2.5 million in India – all top rice-growing nations.
“We estimate that increasing the
mechanisation rate in Nigeria from 0.3hp/ha to 0.8hp/ha in the next 5 years,
can double rice production to 7.2 million tonnes. To achieve this, we estimate
that Nigeria will need to at least triple its current stock of machinery over
the same period,” the report says.
Extension Services
The role of extension services to
farmers cannot be overemphasised. Their responsibility is mainly to enlighten
farmers either as groups or through other means on better agricultural
practices. Oftentimes, the extension workers are domiciled in the State and
Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Rural. They go round to sensitise the
farmers of the right choice of seeds, rain onset and offset to guide farmers
towards better harvests.
However, the ratio of extension
workers to farmers is low.
The National Agricultural
Extension Research Service (NAERLS) in a report criticised the population of
extension service to the farmers. As a result, a digital platform to
share information across to farmers was established. But again, how many
farmers are digitally literate?
Farm Subsidy
Several experts have argued that
for the nation to realise its food sufficiency target, there should be a
constant and strategic subsidy for farmers. Such incentive was provided to
farmers during the administration of Adesina, the former Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development. The local farmers across the nation were
provided with subsidised seeds and fertilisers.
The model was such that the
Federal Government pays 50 per cent for the farm inputs, the State was
responsible for 25 per cent while the interested but captured farmers only paid
25 per cent. Ogbeh, the immediate past agriculture minister also maintained the
same argument attributing lack of subsidy to
farmers as a reason for the increasing price of local rice.
“Agriculture should be subsided,
but strategic subsidization at the point of providing general incentives that
give enabling environment for farmers to achieve optimum production,” Prof.
Oluwole Fatumbi, Lead Specialist at the Forum for Agricultural Research in
Africa (FARA) added at recent training in Abuja.
“….only 2 per cent of Americans
are farmers on the farm while 13 per cent are in value chain development, processing
and financing which brings growth and reduction in the price of the commodity.
So, I am not against government efforts, they are trying, but they need to
channel the efforts and energy in the right direction to ensure that
agriculture delivers for the larger population.”
Rice Milling Centres
Rice generates more income for farmers
than any other cash crop in the country. This singular reason led to a steady
increase in local production despite the poor mechanisation. For instance, in
2017, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation put the value of
harvested rice paddy at 4,912,650 but mainly affected by milling capacity.
Rural farmers are mostly faced
with the challenge of logistics to transport rice paddy to millers. Some would
often travel kilometres to mill but local access roads are usually in bad
states while corruption trails distribution of
milling machines.
Though new mills are springing
up via private sector involvement such as the 250 tonnes daily milling capacity
Amarava Rice Mill, Kano state, local access to farm mechanisation remains
abysmally low.
In July 2018, the former Agric.
minister signed N10.7 billion deal on behalf of the government with MV Agro
Engineers, to make available integrated rice mills for the use of local
farmers. It is to be delivered in December this year. Hopefully, this promise
will be fulfilled by the set date.
Single Digit Interest Rate
Except for CBN interventions with
special interest on rice, farmers’ access to credit from commercial banks has
been a huge challenge. This situation also extends to rice farmers which, in
most cases, the commercial banks prefer to give loan more than other
businesses.
Until August 2018,
commercial banks gave loaned to farmers with an interest rate of about 30 per
cent, an initiative Ogbeh repeatedly described as non-sustainable.
“That the Central Bank considered
working with the Bankers’ Committee to finance agriculture from the commercial
banks’ huge reserves, running into billions of naira, is a cause for optimism
in the agricultural sector.
“This is more so as the
single-digit interest rate of nine per cent on long-term credit of a minimum
tenor of seven years will support stable agricultural investment and
predictable increase in food production. The multiplier effect of this
initiative at a time of a restructured and recapitalised Bank of Agriculture
will be a reduction in uncertainties and avoidable risks in agricultural
investments where farmers will enjoy wider latitude of access to loans from
either commercial banks or BOA with less hassles,” Ogbeh had stated. Yet, farmers wanted
a 5 per cent rate instead
of the existing 9 per cent.
Infrastructure Deficit
One of the major challenges of
rural farmers is basic infrastructure such as access roads to transport
agricultural products from farms to markets. This is evident in Benue State
where farm produces rots away, especially during the rainy season due to lack
of motorable roads. Also for rice, transporting paddy from farm to milling
machine has reportedly been a huge problem – far worse during the wet season.
Awareness Creation
The Nigerian Agricultural
Insurance Commission (NAIC) is an agency of government responsible for insuring
farm produce against flooding and other forms of disasters, but, most farmers
are unaware of its existence yet annual budgetary allocation goes to the
agency. Aside, most farmers are still ignorant of how to access financial
supports from the government despite huge sum disbursed since the commencement
of the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP).
More so, information on the free
import duty for agricultural machinery is not so popular among rural farmers.
These, among others, are to be addressed if the nation must achieve its rice
sufficiency target.
Meanwhile, Aminu Goronyo,
President of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), conclusively
maintained that border closure was to promote patriotism and not to enrich rice
farmers.
“Before 2015 Nigeria, spent
nothing less than N368 billion for rice importation but today that same money
is in circulation within the country’s business community….However, the closure
is not to enrich rice farmers but a devotion to the welfare of the country and
commitment to compete with other nations,” he said.
CBN: Farmers reaping heavily from border
closure
October 29, 2019
By
deploythe borders should be closed in perpetuity, but
that before the borders be reopened, there must be concrete engagements with
countries that are involved in using their ports and countries as landing ports
for bringing in goods that are smuggled into Nigeria. "That engagement
must be held so that we agree on the basis under which: what are the kinds of
products that they can land in their countries because if those products they land
in their countries is meant for their own local consumption, it is
understandable. "But the fact that those products are landed in their
countries and then transshipped or smuggled into Nigeria is something that I am
sure you all agree as Nigerians we should not allow to happen because it
undermines our economic policy. It undermines our own desire to make sure that
industries are alive and jobs are created in Nigeria,” Emefiele said.
Governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emifiele, has said that farmers in the country are
benefiting immensely from the closure of borders along Benin and Niger
Republic.
The CBN Governor declared that
Nigeria’s land borders with neighbouring countries remain closed until their
leaders agree to implement mutual antismuggling policies.
Emefiele stated this yesterday
after his meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa,
Abuja. Speaking to State House Correspondents after the meeting, Emefiele said
the two countries still have several smuggling routes into Nigeria.
He said Nigerian rice and poultry
farmers have particularly benefitted im-mensely from the border closure as they
have been able to sell off accumulated produce, hitherto hindered by illegal
importation and smuggling of the items into the country.
He explained that since the closure
of the borders, Nigeria has seen an astronomical growth in the number of
farmers who have been going into rice farming and that paddy production has
gone up also quite exponentially. According to him, the situation with
smuggling at the borders have been undermining Nigeria’s economy.
The apex bank boss also explained
that the Federal Government has been embarking on a programme where the
accounts of those involved in smuggling of goods across the country’s borders
are closed.
“We are saying if you are involved
in the business of smuggling or dumping of rice in the country, we close your
account in the banking industry. And that is coming very effectively.
“Recently, and this is the absolute
truth, about two weeks before the border closure, the chairman of the Rice
Processors Association – incidentally, he owns Umza Rice in Kano – called me
and said that all the rice millers and processors are having nothing less than
25,000 metric tons of milled rice in their warehouses.
“This rice has been unsold because
of the smuggling and dumping of rice through Republic of Benin and other border
posts that we have in the country and that he would want us to do something
about it.
“Second, we also have members of
the Poultry Association of Nigeria who also complained that they have thousands
of crates of eggs that they could not sell; even some of the processed chickens
that they could not sell, also arising from smuggling and dumping of poultry
products into Nigeria.
“I was told also that after some
meetings that were held in addition to those engagements that we (CBN) also
held with the President, the border was closed subsequently.
“A week after the borders were
closed, the same rice millers association called to tell us that all the rice
that they had in their warehouses have all been sold,” he said. According to
him, “Indeed, a lot of people have been depositing money in their accounts and
they have even been telling them to ‘please hold on don’t even pay money yet
until we finish processing your rice.’
“The poultry associations have also
come to say that they have sold all their eggs, they have sold all their
processed chickens and that demand is rising.” Speaking further on the benefits
of the closure, Emefiele said that it has helped to create jobs for vast
majority of Nigerian people.
“It has helped to bring our
integrated rice milling that we have in the country back into business again
and they are making money. “Our rural communities are bubbling because there
are activities, as rice farmers are able to sell their paddy. The poultry
business is also doing well, and also maize farmers who produce maize from
which feeds are produced are also doing business. These are the benefits.
The CBN Governor insisted that the
Federal Government remained resolute in keeping the borders closed until
engagements are concluded with Nigeria’s neighbours to have them stop using
their ports as launch pads for smuggling goods into the country. “We are not
saying that deploythe borders should be closed in perpetuity, but that before
the borders be reopened, there must be concrete engagements with countries that
are involved in using their ports and countries as landing ports for bringing
in goods that are smuggled into Nigeria.
“That engagement must be held so that we agree
on the basis under which: what are the kinds of products that they can land in
their countries because if those products they land in their countries is meant
for their own local consumption, it is understandable. “But the fact that those
products are landed in their countries and then transshipped or smuggled into
Nigeria is something that I am sure you all agree as Nigerians we should not
allow to happen because it undermines our economic policy. It undermines our
own desire to make sure that industries are alive and jobs are created in
Nigeria,” Emefiele said.
Customs seize 32 containers of expired
rice
October 29, 2019
By
Officers of the Nigeria Customs
Service on Tuesday impounded 32 containers of expired rice imported through the
Tincan port, Apapa in Lagos.
An official said that the rice,
which had expired since 2018, were imported from China and Thailand and were
about to be smuggled into the Nigerian market.
According to online news portal,
PREMIUM TIMES, Hameed Ali, the Controller General of Customs, while inspecting
one of the containers found some empty bags with new dates, apparently, to be
used to rebag the expired rice.
The discovery comes barely a day
after five containers laden with rotten fish and other edibles were discovered
in one of the terminals in the Apapa area of Lagos.
Sri Lanka: Its Development and Pitfalls: Industries
October 29th, 2019
October 29th, 2019
Garvin Karunaratne
I am prompted to write about what was achieved in development
since Sri Lanka achieved independence because some of our presidential
aspirants have said that Sri Lanka had no development from the time we got
independence 71 years ago. It is sad to note that some of our
presidential aspirants happen to be that ignorant.
Industrial Development began in the early Fifties. It was a
two-pronged programme with the Ministry of Industries pursuing large scale
industries like Cement, Paper, etc, while the newly established Department of
Rural Development and Cottage Industries established Handloom Training
Centers in rural areas with the idea of training womenfolk in handlooms. With
the appointment of Demonstrators in Handlooms, this Programme took off
with many women taking to have handlooms in their homes. Instructions were also
provided in traditional crafts. This activity was supervised by the Rural
Development Officers and by the Divisional Secretaries. As the Additional
Government Agent at Kegalla and as the Government Agent at Matara I have been
in charge of the Department of Rural Development..
This industrial activity got a shot in the arm when the
small industry functions of the Department of Rural Development and Cottage
Industries were taken over by a new Department of Small Industries. I worked as
a Deputy Director of Small Industries in 1970. This Department provided foreign
exchange allocations to small industrialists to import any requirement for
their production. At that time imports were restricted and special allocations
were required to import.. This Department also imported yarn and gave it to
handloomers.. The handloomers made bespoke textiles like sarees as well
as elegant textiles for general sales and these were sold by Cooperatives.. The
establishment of Lak Sala, a sales outlet run by the Department of Small
Industries, with branches in many cities, gave a boost to the sale of
small industrial items made by small industrialists.
This effort to create incomes in rural areas got a boost with
the establishment of Powerlooms in the Sixties by the Department of Small
Industries. These powerlooms were brought down from China and installed in many
rural arreas. These functioned as cooperatives, managed by the Divisional
Revenue Officers and these Powerlooms were helped in all technical matters by
Velona a research and technical institute based in Moratuwa. The Power
looms produced all sorts of textiles. The textiles produced were of high
quality. Sri Lankans who had settled down in Britain, when they came to Sri
Lanka for holidays were searching to buy suiting material made at the Hakmana
Powerloom.
The Department of Small Industry had a few wood work training
centers where furniture was made while also training youths to handle machinery
for wood work.. Similarly there were a few ceramic centers which made
porcelainware., In fact the ceramic centers produced high quality items which
made me when I was Deputy Director try to embark on making cups, saucers,
plates etc. This was not approved because the kilns at these centers were not
firing to the required high degree to make tableware.
In large scale industry the Ministry of Industries pursued
the establishment of many industries. A Paper Factory was imported and
established at Valachchenai in Batticaloa District, It was meant to use illuk
grass as a basic raw material. However as illuk ran out, our scientists did
find the method of using straw as a base and in its heyday the Valachenai Paper
Mill was functioning making around half the amount of paper that Sri Lanka
needed. It was so successful that a second factory was established at
Embilipitiya. Both Valachenai and Embilipitiya succumbed, the first due
to the insurrection by the LTTE while Embilipitiya succumbed due to
mismanagement. Industries were established to make high quality bricks and
tiles. In Ceramics a Ceramic Corporation was established which initially made a
host of ceramicware, like toilets and wash basins. However later on this
Ceramic Corporation lost ground. In the private sector Noritaki came in and
established a tableware factory, producing very high quality tableware that was
sold worldwide. However in this case, it functioned on a tax holiday and paid
no taxes to Sri Lanka but produced elegant ceramic items using our deposits.
The country benefited only from the employment the industry created. Later the
Government set up a Ceramic Factory at Dankotuwa which too turned out elegant
tableware.
The Government also established a number of Textile
Factories making textiles out of imported yarn. The Textile Factory established
in the Sixties at Tulhiriya was hailed as a State of the Art Industry, the
best in South Asia. By the Seventies Sri Lanka was making all its
textiles..
The State Hardware Corporation made many hardware goods
like knives, forks etc.
A Tyre Factory was installed with aid from Russia.
This made tyres for local use.
Cement was made at the Kankesanturai Factory till it was taken
over by the LTTE. A few other industries were established at Paranthan which
too ceased after the LTTE took over the area.
In the rural areas the Department of Small Industries was able
to encourage entrepreneurs to establish small scale industries making
traditional items. Many industrialists made items which enabled the country to
reduce imports. Import substitution industries were a success.
In the Seventies the Divisional Development Councils
Programme(DDCP) was established to provide employment for the youth.. Many
small industrial units were established under the DDCP which
enabled employment to youths. Of significance were the Mechanized
Boatyard making 40 foot seaworthy boats, a Paper Factory at Kotmale in the
Nuwara Eliya District, a Crayon Factory at Morawaka in the Matara District. In
addition there were many Smithys making tools, many small units like Batic and
Sewing Centers. In detail, the Boatyard was established at Matara, making 40
foot inboard motor boats. This was the first attempt to establish a cooperative
industry making seaworthy boats. Till then it was a stray carpenter making a
boat and that happened all over the country. This was a great success
making around thirty boats per year. The boats were sold to Fishery
Cooperatives and was instrumental in increasing the fishery boat fleet.
Special mention is due of the Crayon Factory, established
at Morawaka in the Matara District. This is important because of the
sophisticated nature of the manufacture as well as its success. It was begun as
a protest against the decision of the Ministry of Plan Implementation not to
approve import substitutions type of industry. I instructed my Planning Officer
a chemistry graduate to conduct experiments to unearth the art of making
Crayons. The Science Laboratory at Rahula College the leading secondary school
was obtained after hours. My Planning Officer aided by some of the science
teachers at the Rahula College tried to find the art of making crayons every
evening from six to around mid night. Even after attending to experiments for
around five hours a day for two months we never got anywhere near making a good
crayon. Then the Planning Officer decided to seek the assistance of the
Department of Chemistry at the University of Colombo, from which he had
graduated a year earlier. The Planning Officer beseeched his lecturers and
professors for three days and was turned away, telling him that they had no
time. We then sat down to continue our own experiments with greater zeal and
finally found the art of making crayons of high quality.
Then the question of establishing the industry cropped up. As
the Government Agent though I had a number of Departments under me I had no
authority in anyone of them to establish an industry. I finally selected the
most efficient Cooperative Union in the District, the Morawaka Korale
Cooperative Union to finance and establish the crayon industry as a
cooperative. It so happened that this Cooperative Union was headed by
Sumanapala Dahanayake, the member of parliament for Deniyaya who was
efficient and could be trusted. The Crayon Factory was established at
Morawaka in three weeks’ time working day and night. The Minister of Industries
Mr TB Subasinghe was surprised at the quality of the crayons and readily
agreed to open sales. In a few months Coop Crayon was sold islandwide.
Currently Sri Lanka imports almost everything. Many doubt
whether we can make import substitution type of industry. Making a Crayon
is a sophisticated task and my Planning Officer succeed in it. It is a
foregone conclusion therefore that we can make almost everything we
import.
Import substitution type of industries serves to save foreign
exchange. To make crayons, dyes have to be used and dyes are imported. Our
Crayon industry was denied an allocation of foreign exchange to import by the
Ministry of Industry because ours was a cooperative. At that time, the Import
Control Department allowed allocations of foreign exchange to import crayons
for sale. Sumanapala Dahanayake and I decided to meet the Controller of
Imports Harry Guneratne. It did not take long for Harry to figure
out that by giving us an allocation of foreign exchange he could stop the
import of crayons, saving valuable foreign exchange. He wanted us to get the
approval of the Minister of Imports, Mr Illangaratne, who readily agreed. Harry
was able to stop the import of crayons and Coop Crayon was sold islandwide.
In the late Fifties and Sixties paddy production was increasing
and the Government had to attend to the milling of paddy. The Government then
imported a few rice mills and established them in certain areas. I was in
charge of the Ambalantota Rice Mill one of the three largest rice mills
established. These were state of the art rice mills. Re the Rice milling
industry I was in charge of rice milling for over five years working as an
Assistant Commissioner for Development of Marketing. A few of us Assistant
Commissioners were trusted more than the Rice Milling Expert from Australia. By
1970 Rice Milling was a fully developed industry in the public sector-the
Department of Agrarian Services and later the Paddy Marketing Board..
In addition, the Department drafted plans and specifications to
establish rice mills and invited applications from local investors. Many
people submitted applications and were given allocations of foreign
exchange to import the machinery and the entrepreneurs had to construct the buildings
according to the specifications that were laid down by the Department. In the
Southern Province which I covered there were some one hundred and ninety
entrepreneurs who established rice mills under my supervision. This was done
very quickly and the rice mills established were very successful in
milling paddy. This is in contrast to President Jayawardena handing
over wheat milling to Prima, a foreign company. In the case of Prima, the full
profit in wheat milling goes out of the country to Singapore, while in Rice
Milling the full profit comes to local millers and they pay taxes while Prima
works on a tax holiday. Many rice millers became industrial magnates.
Harischandras is one of them.
Long ago in the late Forties and early Fifties, Sri Lanka was
making all its lorries and bus bodies. Then we imported chasis of buses and
lorries and thousands of carpenters were involved at the bus depots. At
Ratmalana where the South Western Bus Company had its workshop the rattling and
reverting noise could be heard for an easy quarter mile. At Moratuwa the
Railway Workshop made all its coaches on imported chasis. There was a state of
the art workshop at Werahera, Maharagama where buses were made. Never
were any buses, rail coaches or lorries imported.
The Marketing Department established a Cannery that enabled Sri
Lanka to become self sufficient in making fruit preparations like Jam and
Juice. This will be dealt with later under Agricultural Marketing
Industries were pursued to the maximum and thousands were found
employment.
Even though Governments changed hands, industries continued to
be concentrated on.
The death knell of industrial development came to Sri Lanka with
the IMF. When the government of President Jayawardena requested the IMF for
financial assistance in 1978, the IMF insisted that Sri Lanka had to follow the
Structural Adjustment Programme provisions.
The policies enforced under the Structural Adjustment
Programme included the provision that the Government should not attend to
any commercial undertakings. This meant that all Government commercial
undertakings had to be either abolished or privatized. With this decision out
went most of the industries that had been established with great care at a
tremendous cost. In detail, the functions of the Small Industries Department
importing yarn and having a technical support service in the Department at
Velona was axed. Out went the 98,000 handloomers and the Powerlooms. The
country was flooded with textiles from imports.
. The Crayon Factory that was run by the Morawaka Cooperative
Union was a pain in the neck of the UNP Government. It was the best industry
established by the DDCP and had to be discredited. The Government sent a Deputy
Director of Cooperatives, A.T. Ariyaratne on a special mission to find fault
with the Crayon Factory and to discredit the MP Sumanapala Dahanayake who
established and guided it. The Deputy Director after days of fact finding had
to conclude that the industry was well run and all documents were found
perfect. Once in the Eighties when I went back to see the Ambalantota
Rice Mill. I could not believe my eyes. I saw the five acre land in tatters,
apportioned to a few Departments strewn with parts of the rice mill machinery
which we had carefully maintained. It was a sorry sight that moved me. In its
heyday it provided employment for over a hundred and milled 4000 bushels of
paddy a day. That was also the fate of other Rice Mills at Anuradhapura and
Amparai. In making rail coaches the Railway Workshop Industry at Moratuwa
was closed down and thousands lost their jobs. Thenceforth till today all rail
coaches are imported. In making buses and coaches, the Werahera Factory
was shut down and its precious machinery was sold for a song and
thousands were laid off. Henceforth busses were imported. The Hardware
Corporation was closed down and I have seen knives and other metal products
imported from as far as Mexico. The Weaving and Textiles Mills were privatized.
The Tulhiriya Mill, once the best in South Asia was sold to Kabool a Pakistani
firm that ran it to death and decamped leaving unpaid bank loans. The Tyre
Factory donated to us by Russia, was privatized and now it is managed by CEAT
an Indian multinational. Hector Perera the Chief Chemist who was
trained in Russia, who established it once told me that the Tyre factory
had the capacity to make all the tyres Sri Lanka needed. It is sad that though
we produce the best rubber in the world we do not yet make all our tyres.
Following the IMF’s advice thousands were laid off, their lives
were ruined and the State of the Art Machinery was neglected and left to
be ruined. The full effort of administrators and technocrats to make Sri lanka
self sufficient in industrial products and find employment for thousands
achieved in three decades from 1947 to 1978 was totally sacrificed..
It is a sad story of losses and imports taking their place.
Being very conversant with rice milling machinery and having handled
major construction work I can figure out that the lost industries can
never be replaced even if the funds are found.
I happened to have played a fairly major role in the
planning and execution of a part of this great programme. In every case
the machinery was built up over decades in a most painstaking manner by our
administrators and engineers.. I was an essential part of the saga
of industrial development and can assure that the industries worked
efficiently. I can state emphatically and with certainty that there is no one
on earth who can re establish the lost industries.
That is unfortunately the legacy of pillage and plunder
President Jayawardena’s UNP Government left for our country. For the IMF and
the Superpowers it was their victory to ruin our industries so that we have to
import from them, become indebted so that we become ‘colonies’ once
again. It is a burden that a country cannot bear, a burden to which we
have to succumb.
A comparative assessment can be made with India and
Bangladesh. I think that in Sri Lanka we did better in industry till the IMF
came on the scene in 1978. But we totally succumbed to the IMF from 1978, while
Bangladesh and India did not accept the Structural Adjustment Programme of the
IMF. The IMF tried to get hold of Bangladesh to adopt the Structural Adjustment
Programme in 1986 and again in 2007 but was totally rejected by the Government.
In India some provisions of the Structural Adjustment Programme have been
followed in 1991, but the full provisions have not been accepted as yet. In
1976, Sri Lanka was not an indebted country. Working on the IMF’s tutelage we
have run up an international debt of around $ 56 to 60 billion due to
curtailing local production, sacrificing our industries and getting in imports
and liberalizing the use of foreign exchange which India and Bangladesh did not
do. They continued to manage their economies with low interest rates-helping
entrepreneurs, creating employment for their people with import controls and
national planning.
Sri lanka gave up its national planning in 1978. . In the
early 1970s before the IMF stepped into Sri Lanka our currency the Rupee was on
a par with the Indian Rupee and the Bangladeshi Taka. Today after following the
IMF’s prescriptions, the Sri Lankan Rupee is devalued at Rs. 182 to the
dollar while the Bagladeshi Taka is valued at Taka 85 to the dollar and
the Indian Rupee is valued at Rs. 71 to the dollar.
It is a sad conclusion that the IMF ruined Sri lanka’s
economy with Sri Lanka’s Government under President JR Jayawardena
playing poodle, as documented in my Book: How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka and
Alternative Programmes of Success. (Godages)
2006.
Garvin Karunaratne, former Government Agent Matara, Ph.D.
Michigan State University Author of How the IMF Sabotaged Third World
Development (Kindle/Godages, 2017)
FG woos investors to
establish agricultural equipment assemblies
ON OCTOBER 29, 20193:03 PMIN AGRICBY
LAWAL SHERIFAT
LGAs to get agric service centres
soon Alhaji Sani Nanono By Gabriel Ewepu – Abuja Federal Government woos
investors to establish agricultural equipment assemblies in the country to
boost mechanization of the agricultural sector towards greater participation in
food production across various value chains. This was disclosed by the Minister
of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Nanono, at a town hall meeting
with farmers under the auspices of All Farmers Associations of Nigeria, AFAN,
including other stakeholders in Kano, Kano State.
Nanono who expressed optimism and hope
over-boost the sector will experience when fully mechanized said young people
would be actively involved and engaged in various activities across the value
chains and that would reduce the number of unemployed youths drastically
including vices. READ ALSO: African youths charged to invest in modern
agriculture He said: “We need to give the Government the necessary support and
cooperation to enable it to achieve success in terms of food security, job
creation and increased Internally Generated Revenue, IGR. “Federal Government
is attracting these companies to set up their factories in Nigeria and when
they do that, it will generate more jobs. “Farmers should rise up to the
challenge of meeting the expectation of government for the sector being the
backbone of the nation’s economy. “The Buhari-led administration is committed
to revolutionize the agricultural system with a deliberate plan to attract
investors and to set up assembly plants in Nigeria
: Invest in agric, protect IP, to
re-double economic growth, FUTO Alumni tells FG Meanwhile, the Minister also
made it known that the government has plans to establish agricultural service
centres across the 774 Local Government Areas of the country for accessibility
and affordability by farmers. “Already, we are planning to establish service
centers across the 774 local government areas across Nigeria where farmers can
access improved seed and other farm inputs. “With the setting of the service
centers equipment will be sourced and assembled in Nigeria to serve the rural
and urban farmers. He said the ministry would continue to support farmers like
the Rice Millers, yam, wheat, maize, and others to produce more to meet the
nation’s demand.” Earlier speaking was the Chairman, Kano State Chapter, AFAN,
Ahmed Mudi, in a welcome address appreciated the visit and meeting by the
Minister with farmers and leadership of the association in Kano.
Mudi also said there is a need for
the government’s intervention to scale up small scale activities of processors
and millers by making it easier for them to perform optimally along the
commodities’ value chains. He requested that the government should help in
building the capacity of processors and extension service agents in the country
including welfare programnmes.
ReliefWeb:
"GIEWS Country Brief: Honduras 28-October-2019"
28 Oct 2019 —View Original
FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
·
Maize production in 2019
anticipated at below‑average level due to prolonged dry spells that affected
main season crops
·
Cereal imports forecast to
increase and reach high levels in 2019/20 marketing year
·
Prices of white maize below their
year‑earlier levels
Maize
production in 2019 anticipated at below‑average level due to prolonged dry
spells that affected main season crops
Harvesting
of the 2019 main season maize crop was completed in September and production is
officially estimated at a below‑average level due to prolonged dry weather
conditions in the June‑August period (see ASI map). In comparison to the long‑term
average (1989‑2018), the rainfall amounts during this period were more than 25
percent lower than the average in several maize producing departments.
According to the Dirección de Ciencia y TecnologÃa Agropecuaria (DICTA), the
crops in Francisco Morazán, Olancho and El ParaÃso departments were severely
affected by rainfall deficits, even those under irrigation. A large number of
livestock died due to forage and water deficits in Olancho Department.
In
order to minimize the impact of dryness on the livelihoods of the affected
households, the Government is distributing fertilizers and seeds of maize,
beans or rice for the ongoing “postrera” season. As part of a short‑term
response plan, the Government envisions to build rainwater harvesting systems
and wells to facilitate imports to meet the domestic demand and to increase
financing for irrigation systems.
Rainfall
amounts increased since mid‑September, reducing soil moisture deficits and
easing planting operations of the 2019 minor season maize crop, to be harvested
in December. Given the low probability of occurrence of an El Niño phenomenon
during the last quarter of 2019, production of the minor maize crop is likely
to be at average level. Overall, the aggregate maize crop in 2019 is
anticipated at a below‑average level of 470 000 tonnes, due to the low outputs
gathered in the main season harvest, which accounts for about 80 percent of the
annual production.
Cereal
imports forecast to increase and reach high levels in 2019/20 marketing year
Cereal
import requirements in the 2019/20 marketing year (September/August) are
forecast at a well above-average level of 1.1 million tonnes due to the reduced
maize output. Imports have been increasing steadily since 2016 due to the
growing demand for wheat and rice, which the country is largely dependent on
imports to satisfy its domestic consumption needs, due to population growth and
the increasing demand for yellow maize for feed use.
Prices
of white maize below year-earlier levels
Domestic
prices of white maize increased from the beginning of 2019 to September when
their started to decline with the commercialization of supplies from the main
season harvests. They were below their levels a year earlier, which were significantly
elevated as high fuel costs in 2018 contributed to substantial increases in
production and transportation costs. Prices of red beans have been the rise
since May 2019, following seasonal trends. In September 2019, they were higher
than a year earlier, reflecting reduced minor season outputs, harvested in
September.
Singapore’s Wilmar
Myanmar will build largest rice mill in Thilawa SEZ
29
OCTOBER 2019
SHUN LE
WIN
A new flour mill and
consumer pack edible oil processing plant in Thilawa Special Economic Zone.
YANGON- Wilmar Myanmar which is a
subsidiary of Singapore-listed Wilmar International, one of the largest
agribusinesses in Asia, will be building the largest rice mill in Thilawa
Special Economic Zone (SEZ), according to the reports.The mill will produce
till 1,200 tons of rice per day.
The Wilmar Myanmar opened a new
flour mill and consumer pack edible oil processing plant in Thilawa SEZ,
Yangon, on October 27th.
The mill will be producing 530 tons
of wheat per day, while the processing plant will have the capacity to produce
460 tons of edible oil per day.
The stake driving ceremony to build
the largest rice mill in Thilawa SEZ was held in conjunction with the opening
ceremony of a new flour mill and consumer pack edible oil processing plant in
Thilawa SEZ, Yangon, on October 27th.
Upon completion of rice mill, rice
bags will be exported to the foreign countries via Thilawa jetty.
“Myanmar is the second largest land
wide country among the South-east Asia. Moreover, it riches good soil and more
rainfalls and there are 54 million peoples. I believed that Myanmar owned the
prosperity of business and agriculture sectors. So, it can create not only
local agricultural imports and local and foreign markets,” said Kuok Khoon
Hong, CEO of Wilmar International Limited.
The Wilmar Myanmar had opened the
Wilmar Jetty on March 25th, 2018.
Myanmar Investment Commission
granted Wilmar Company to operate Wilmar Myanmar Port Terminals (Thilawa) under
a 50-year build, operate and transfer agreement with the government.
The jetty has totaling 234-meter
length and 25 meters breadth. Moreover, plans are underway to extend the jetty
construction having 390 meters long and 13 meters depth of water.
It
is the 3rd general commodity jetty and construction was started in February,
2016 and completed by the end of November 2017.
https://elevenmyanmar.com/news/singapores-wilmar-myanmar-will-build-largest-rice-mill-in-thilawa-sez
Rice Prices
as on :
29-10-2019 08:20:49 PM
Arrivals in tonnes;prices in
Rs/quintal in domestic market.
|
Arrivals
|
Price
|
|||||
|
Current
|
%
change |
Season
cumulative |
Modal
|
Prev.
Modal |
Prev.Yr
%change |
|
|
Rice
|
||||||
|
Manjeri(Ker)
|
290.00
|
NC
|
8700.00
|
3500
|
3500
|
NC
|
|
Siliguri(WB)
|
275.00
|
17.02
|
8288.00
|
3800
|
3800
|
-
|
|
Dhing(ASM)
|
142.00
|
1.43
|
2488.00
|
2770
|
2700
|
5.73
|
|
Burdwan(WB)
|
102.00
|
-5.56
|
1036.00
|
2350
|
2250
|
2.17
|
|
Katwa(WB)
|
83.00
|
-7.16
|
1086.97
|
2350
|
2350
|
-
|
|
Guskara(Burdwan)(WB)
|
79.00
|
-4.82
|
1414.00
|
2350
|
2300
|
NC
|
|
Kalna(WB)
|
64.50
|
4.88
|
1249.50
|
2950
|
2950
|
-1.67
|
|
Pandua(WB)
|
45.00
|
25
|
1596.00
|
3000
|
3000
|
NC
|
|
Howly(ASM)
|
44.00
|
-57.69
|
463.00
|
1700
|
1650
|
21.43
|
|
Naugarh(UP)
|
42.50
|
2.41
|
2489.50
|
2490
|
2480
|
10.67
|
|
Cachar(ASM)
|
40.00
|
NC
|
2820.00
|
2400
|
2400
|
NC
|
|
Karimganj(ASM)
|
40.00
|
100
|
660.00
|
2450
|
2450
|
-
|
|
Jorhat(ASM)
|
27.50
|
-77.08
|
1647.50
|
3400
|
3400
|
6.25
|
|
Karsiyang(Matigara)(WB)
|
27.50
|
4.96
|
760.60
|
3400
|
3400
|
13.33
|
|
Etawah(UP)
|
27.00
|
-16.92
|
1060.00
|
2570
|
2550
|
4.90
|
|
Samsi(WB)
|
23.00
|
4.55
|
235.00
|
3250
|
3400
|
-4.41
|
|
Asansol(WB)
|
21.00
|
13.51
|
1934.70
|
3000
|
3000
|
3.45
|
|
Durgapur(WB)
|
21.00
|
10.53
|
1347.60
|
2720
|
2720
|
-3.72
|
|
Nalbari(ASM)
|
20.00
|
-31.03
|
423.90
|
2500
|
2550
|
NC
|
|
Purulia(WB)
|
18.00
|
50
|
174.00
|
2620
|
2640
|
NC
|
|
Karvi(UP)
|
15.00
|
42.86
|
385.50
|
2340
|
2380
|
4.93
|
|
Vilthararoad(UP)
|
10.00
|
NC
|
701.00
|
2150
|
2150
|
NC
|
|
Hailakandi(ASM)
|
7.00
|
NC
|
90.00
|
2450
|
2400
|
2.08
|
|
Dibrugarh(ASM)
|
6.00
|
-45.45
|
254.20
|
3100
|
3100
|
6.16
|
|
Nadia(WB)
|
6.00
|
-25
|
386.00
|
3800
|
3800
|
-5.00
|
|
Ruperdeeha(UP)
|
5.00
|
-16.67
|
333.00
|
2250
|
2250
|
40.63
|
|
Melaghar(Tri)
|
3.00
|
50
|
40.00
|
2800
|
2800
|
3.70
|
|
Bishalgarh(Tri)
|
2.50
|
NC
|
10.00
|
3400
|
3400
|
3.03
|
|
Imphal(Man)
|
2.30
|
-4.17
|
35.80
|
4900
|
4700
|
-
|
|
Khatra(WB)
|
2.00
|
-33.33
|
565.40
|
2650
|
2650
|
3.92
|
|
Nandyal(AP)
|
1.00
|
NC
|
30.00
|
3800
|
3900
|
-
|
|
Jambusar(Kaavi)(Guj)
|
1.00
|
NC
|
87.00
|
3000
|
3000
|
-
|
|
Lamlong Bazaar(Man)
|
1.00
|
NC
|
19.60
|
4800
|
4800
|
-
|
|
Achalda(UP)
|
0.60
|
NC
|
22.10
|
2600
|
2600
|
36.84
|
|
Bishenpur(Man)
|
0.60
|
NC
|
15.30
|
4700
|
4400
|
-
|
on October 29, 2019
NFA revises palay buying operations
Philippine
Daily Inquirer / 03:34 AM October 29, 2019
MANILA,
Philippines — The National Food Authority (NFA) has recalibrated its operations
to be “more responsive and effective” under the rice tarification law as the
policy’s adverse effects continue to outweigh the promised benefits.
Agriculture
Secretary William Dar said the move was approved by the NFA’s policy-making
body, which includes representatives from the Department of Finance, Department
of Trade and Industry, and National Economic and Development Authority.
Changes
included an increase in NFA’s palay procurement target by 193 percent to 1.14
million metric tons (MT) from 390,000 MT.
The huge
spike was made to ensure the NFA would still meet the 15-day buffer stock set
by the new rice policy, given that it is now going to supply P600 worth of rice
to beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program every month.
The NFA has also put up additional 247 palay
buying stations all over the country, bringing the total to 558 from 311. —Karl
R. Ocampo
HOW TO YIELD BIG FROM RICE FARMING
By Alex Wachira
Farmers at rice farms in Mwea. It
takes rice plants four to five months to grow to maturity.
Rice is considered Kenya’s third
staple food after maize and wheat.
It is actually the seed of a grass species that is an annual
plant
To add value to rice it is milled into rice flour.
Raw rice is dried before milling or grounding to make flour
which can be used to make pancakes, noodles, thicken soups and stews and as an
alternative to wheat flour in cakes and biscuits.
Planting
It takes rice plants four to five months to grow to
maturity.
Popular varieties include Basmati, Pishori and aromatic.
There are plenty of rice varieties and they are grown
differently as stated by farmlinkkenya.com include
Irrigated varieties: Sindano, Basmati 370,
Basmat 217, BW 196, BG-90-2, BR 51-74-6 and IR 2793-80-1, ITA 310
Low land rain fed: Ci Cong Ai, WABIS-675,
Jasmine-85, TGR-78
Rain-fed upland: NARIKA 1, NARIKA 4, NARIKA 10,
NARIKA 11, TRG-94, Nam Roo, Deurado precoce, WAB 181-18
Majority of the rice in Kenya is grown under irrigation in paddy
schemes.
Ecological conditions required for rice growing consist of
annual rainfall of 800 to 2,000mm, the temperature of 20 to 36 degrees Celsius.
Rice thrives best in sandy loam to clay soils with a soil PH of
4.5 to 7.0
The land is ploughed about two weeks before sowing and flooding
and a raised bed prepared.
Land preparation is carried out by flooding the fields to a
depth of 10 cm, 15 days before direct sowing and transplanting seedlings.
Planting should be before the onset of long rains for rainfed
rice.
Farm practices carried out to maintain rice on the fields
include weeding manually by hand or by using herbicides and crop rotation with
legumes such as soybeans and green grams to boost soil fertility.
Pests and diseases
Common diseases known to attack rice as noted by informationcradle.com include
blast, rice yellow mottle virus, damping off, bacterial leaf blight, sheath
blight, sheath rot and brown leaf spot.
Rice pests include stem borers, leaf miners, root cutting
insects, white rice borer, birds, stalk-eyed fly, rice sucking bugs, rice root
knot nematode and rice leafhopper.
The pests and diseases are controlled by use of appropriate
insecticides, cultural methods, planting healthy seeds, crop rotation, observing
field hygiene and through biological control.
Harvesting
Rice is harvested between four to six months after planting. It
is cut, swathed, threshed, winnowed, dried and stored.
Drying is done to around 12 percent to 14 percent moisture
content before storage.
Position
GRIB to drive industry change
Tuesday 29th
October, 2019
By Sumaiya
Salifu Saeed, GNA
Ho, Oct. 29,
GNA - Nana Adjei Ayeh II, President of the Ghana Rice Inter-Pofessional Body
(GRIB) has called on farmers and value chain actors in rice production to
position themselves to help drive change in the industry.
He said rice
as a second staple lacked the needed attention for large-scale production as
other staples grown in the country.
Nana Ayeh
who was speaking at the launch of rice value chain platform and inauguration of
regional and district executives of the Body said averagely the country spent
about $1.5 billion annually on rice importation, a situation rice farmers could
turn around with the needed support.
He noted
that rice importation was crippling the nation's economy and called on
government to support the local rice industry to help build wealth in the
country.
Nana Ayeh
said the election of regional and district executives would help drive the
accelerated growth and generate the needed pressure to turn around the fortunes
of farmers and value chain actors in the industry.
He bemoaned
how the Body "did not have the numbers to make an impact” as accurate data
on rice farmers and value-chain actors were unavailable.
Nana Ayeh
applauded the John Agyekum Kuffour Foundation (JAKF) and the Alliance for Green
Revolution Africa (AGRA) for supporting GRIB to collect data on the farmers and
stakeholders nationwide as well as assist them to restructure the Body.
Mr Gideon
Hosu-Porbley, Programme Advisor, JAKF, said the Foundation had worked in
other African countries to help rice farmers streamline their production and
same would be replicated here.
He called
for concerted effort in ensuring that management at both the national and
sub-national levels were beneficial to members of the Body.
Mr Anthony
Yaw Anyidoho, Volta Regional Chairman, said rice farmers were faced with
post-harvest losses due to lack of drying floors and silos which helps improve
rice quality and price.
He appealed
to the government to provide rice farming districts with machinery especially
as the commodity lodges into the soil due to lack of combine-harvesters which
becomes problematic for production.
Ghana
produces 750,000 metric tons of paddy rice annually out of which 60 per cent is
recovered.
ANALYSIS: Why Nigeria’s border closure may spike price of local
rice
Nigeria-Seme Border Fully Closed Photo Source:
Guardian Newspaper
FacebookTwitterEmailSMSWhatsore
SINCE the Federal Government
launched a border closure policy in late August, the decision has
triggered mixed reactions from
Nigerians, neighbouring countries and
regional bodies.
Farm produce from neighbouring
nations such as Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana meant for the Nigerian market rots away daily due to the
government’s policy. And the cost of food items in Nigeria, particularly rice,
is on a steady rise.
For instance, prior to the land
border closure, a 50kg bag of rice that was sold at N13, 000, now goes for N25,
000.
After the border closure, the rigours they
go through and tricks smugglers employ in bringing the so-called imported rice
to Nigeria – storing it in a car bomber, fuel tank as seen here is
incredible! pic.twitter.com/hRqigycBgG
— Seyi Gesinde (@GhesheS) October 19, 2019
As at 2011, Nigeria annually
spent N24.5 trillion importing
food items into the country. Five years after, a different report put the
figure of four major imported commodities – Wheat, Rice, Sugar and Fish
at $11 billion (4 trilliion).
Experts have argued that Nigeria’s fertile soil places it at advantage to grow
rice in over 18 states across the country, thus feeding itself with the
commodity which has an annual estimated import figure of N356 billion.
For reasons partial border
closure appears to be the right decision, the above figure is invariably
assumed good enough to create local jobs. Rather, what we have are continued
job exports through persistent food imports. Former Ministers of Agriculture
and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina and Chief Audu Ogbeh, as well as
former Agriculture Minister of State, Heineken Lokpobiri, have repeatedly
claimed rice and frozen foods illegally imported through the land borders lack good nutritional value compared
with local varieties. They argued further that such imports keep crippling
local capacity and government efforts to promote farming, especially among the
youth. Ironically, more than 18 states from the 36 across the country have the
potential to grow rice.
Some of the states include Kebbi,
Ogun, Kaduna, Adamawa, Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, Cross Rivers, Ebonyi, Benue
including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to mention but few.
Most importantly, the sector has
significantly enjoyed the attention
of repeated administrations either in terms of funding or policy. Aside from Levy
and Excise Duty-free tariff
for agricultural commodities, the sector has enjoyed World Bank loans through
the FADAMA projects and
recent FADAMA Additional Funding I and II. The CBN, as at April 2019 says
it has so far disbursed N174.48 billion to
farmers via the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP). And since the border closure,
the federal government boasted to have raked in N1.4 billion and
arrested 319 suspected smugglers.
But, despite these interventions
and the recent land border closure, believed good enough to ensure
self-sufficiency in rice production, the nation might continue to witness
higher costs of rice except deliberate and sustained actions are taken in
selected areas. The ICIR identifies these
to include farm mechanisation, extension services, subsidy for farmers such as
the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES), establishment of more rice milling
centres, improved finance – single-digit interest rate; banks until lately have
been recalcitrant to lending to farmers and even those who do do so at
high-interest rate; addressing infrastructure deficit and awareness creation on
insurance or early warning system against flooding or natural resources that
could affect farm harvests.
Farm Mechanisation
Machinery and Equipment Requirement Across the Rice Value Chain.
Source: PWC 2017 Report on Boosting Rice Production through Increased Mechanisation
Source: PWC 2017 Report on Boosting Rice Production through Increased Mechanisation
Statistics have shown that
Nigeria’s large population is fed by subsistence farmers largely in rural
communities. Majorly, 80 percent of rice grown in the country which is about
3.7 million tonnes is produced by smallholder farmers while the remaining 20
percent is cultivated by commercial farmers. Yet, local consumption of staple
food stands at 6.4 million tonnes as of 2017.
Invariably, this implies an
almost 50 percent deficit in local consumption. Cultivation has also been
manual, usually through the use of cutlasses, hoes and other crude equipment;
hence the level of production output. As such, Nigeria clearly has a high
deficit in farm mechanisation, a factor threatening local rice sufficiency
target.
A 2017 report from the
PriceWaterCoopers (PWC) titled Boosting Rice Production through Increased
Mechanisation revealed that agricultural mechanisation in the
country has remained so low at 0.3hp/ha unlike 2.6hp/ha in China and 8hp/ha in
India.
The report further put the
estimated figure of tractors in the country at 22,000 farm machines, relative
to 1 million in China and 2.5 million in India – all top rice-growing nations.
“We estimate that increasing the
mechanisation rate in Nigeria from 0.3hp/ha to 0.8hp/ha in the next 5 years,
can double rice production to 7.2 million tonnes. To achieve this, we estimate
that Nigeria will need to at least triple its current stock of machinery over
the same period,” the report says.
Extension Services
The role of extension services to
farmers cannot be overemphasised. Their responsibility is mainly to enlighten
farmers either as groups or through other means on better agricultural
practices. Oftentimes, the extension workers are domiciled in the State and
Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Rural. They go round to sensitise the farmers
of the right choice of seeds, rain onset and offset to guide farmers towards
better harvests.
However, the ratio of extension
workers to farmers is low.The National Agricultural Extension Research Service
(NAERLS) in a report criticised the population of extension service to the
farmers. As a result, a digital platform to
share information across to farmers was established. But again, how many farmers
are digitally literate?
Farm Subsidy
Several experts have argued that
for the nation to realise its food sufficiency target, there should be a
constant and strategic subsidy for farmers. Such incentive was provided to
farmers during the administration of Adesina, the former Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development. The local farmers across the nation were
provided with subsidised seeds and fertilisers.
The model was such that the
Federal Government pays 50 per cent for the farm inputs, the State was
responsible for 25 per cent while the interested but captured farmers only paid
25 per cent. Ogbeh, the immediate past agriculture minister also maintained the
same argument attributing lack of subsidy to
farmers as a reason for the increasing price of local rice.
“Agriculture should be subsided,
but strategic subsidization at the point of providing general incentives that
give enabling environment for farmers to achieve optimum production,” Prof.
Oluwole Fatumbi, Lead Specialist at the Forum for Agricultural Research in
Africa (FARA) added at recent training in Abuja.
“….only 2 per cent of Americans
are farmers on the farm while 13 per cent are in value chain development,
processing and financing which brings growth and reduction in the price of the
commodity. So, I am not against government efforts, they are trying, but they
need to channel the efforts and energy in the right direction to ensure that
agriculture delivers for the larger population.”
Rice Milling Centres
Rice generates more income for farmers
than any other cash crop in the country. This singular reason led to a steady
increase in local production despite the poor mechanisation. For instance, in
2017, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation put the value of
harvested rice paddy at 4,912,650 but mainly affected by milling capacity.
Rural farmers are mostly faced
with the challenge of logistics to transport rice paddy to millers. Some would
often travel kilometres to mill but local access roads are usually in bad
states while corruption trails distribution of
milling machines.
Though new mills are springing
up via private sector involvement such as the 250 tonnes daily milling capacity
Amarava Rice Mill, Kano state, local access to farm mechanisation remains
abysmally low.
In July 2018, the former Agric.
minister signed N10.7 billion deal on behalf of the government with MV Agro
Engineers, to make available integrated rice mills for the use of local
farmers. It is to be delivered in December this year. Hopefully, this promise
will be fulfilled by the set date.
Single Digit Interest Rate
Except for CBN interventions with
special interest on rice, farmers’ access to credit from commercial banks has
been a huge challenge. This situation also extends to rice farmers which, in
most cases, the commercial banks prefer to give loan more than other
businesses.
Until August 2018,
commercial banks gave loaned to farmers with an interest rate of about 30 per
cent, an initiative Ogbeh repeatedly described as non-sustainable.
“That the Central Bank considered
working with the Bankers’ Committee to finance agriculture from the commercial
banks’ huge reserves, running into billions of naira, is a cause for optimism
in the agricultural sector.
“This is more so as the
single-digit interest rate of nine per cent on long-term credit of a minimum
tenor of seven years will support stable agricultural investment and
predictable increase in food production. The multiplier effect of this
initiative at a time of a restructured and recapitalised Bank of Agriculture
will be a reduction in uncertainties and avoidable risks in agricultural
investments where farmers will enjoy wider latitude of access to loans from
either commercial banks or BOA with less hassles,” Ogbeh had stated. Yet, farmers wanted
a 5 per cent rate instead
of the existing 9 per cent.
Infrastructure Deficit
One of the major challenges of
rural farmers is basic infrastructure such as access roads to transport
agricultural products from farms to markets. This is evident in Benue State
where farm produces rots away, especially during the rainy season due to lack
of motorable roads. Also for rice, transporting paddy from farm to milling
machine has reportedly been a huge problem – far worse during the wet season.
Awareness Creation
The Nigerian Agricultural
Insurance Commission (NAIC) is an agency of government responsible for insuring
farm produce against flooding and other forms of disasters, but, most farmers
are unaware of its existence yet annual budgetary allocation goes to the
agency. Aside, most farmers are still ignorant of how to access financial
supports from the government despite huge sum disbursed since the commencement
of the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP).
More so, information on the free
import duty for agricultural machinery is not so popular among rural farmers.
These, among others, are to be addressed if the nation must achieve its rice
sufficiency target.
Meanwhile, Aminu Goronyo,
President of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), conclusively
maintained that border closure was to promote patriotism and not to enrich rice
farmers.
“Before 2015 Nigeria, spent
nothing less than N368 billion for rice importation but today that same money
is in circulation within the country’s business community….However, the closure
is not to enrich rice farmers but a devotion to the welfare of the country and
commitment to compete with other nations,” he said.
Difficult
Weather Leads To Tough 2019 Planting Season For Arkansas Farmers
Flooding along some of Arkansas's river valleys added to an
already difficult planting season this year.
CREDIT ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU / TWITTER
Irregular
weather patterns this past year both harmed and aided Arkansas farmers in their
planting and harvesting.
Large
amounts of rain significantly delayed planting for all Arkansas crops,
including rice, corn and soybeans. Jarrod Hardke, rice extension agronomist for
the University of Arkansas’s Rice Research and Extension Center, said this
year’s rice planting process was the slowest in 25 years.
"Unfortunately,
the running joke through a large portion of 2019 was, 'Well, in September of
2018, it started raining and then it just never stopped,'" Hardke
said. According to Hardke, the rainy and cold weather throughout the
winter stopped farmers from preparing the land for planting, pushing the
planting itself back even further.
"So
even when we did get a day or two of sort of dry ground, when it dried up just
enough for the next rain, it really wasn’t much planting opportunity,"
Hardke said. "It was to do some actual tillage to get it ready so when
another dry window comes around, maybe we can finally plant something."
Usually, for
rice planting, Hardke says farmers try to complete as much planting as they can
by late March through April. For this year, it took until May to reach 50%
planting. Normally, 50% is reached by mid-April, meaning farmers were weeks
behind. They also had to delay the planting of other crops as well, with the
rainy conditions causing some crops to be replanted.
"So we
had a lot of corn planted again, well on into May, [that were] planted for the
first time were replanted. And a lot of our soybeans that we’ve learned that we
can achieve better yields…planting earlier, we’re pushing pretty far back,
planting a lot of soybeans into June and even July," Hardke said.
The
situation was even worse for farmers that dealt with record-breaking flooding
along the Arkansas River and other river valleys this past spring. This led to
farmers turning in their policies for a record amount of prevented planting insurance,
which according to the United States Department of Agriculture, farmers can
receive if they are “prevented from planting by an insured cause of loss that
is general to the surrounding area and that prevents other producers from
planting acreage with similar characteristics.” According to Hardke, this was a
record breaking year for that, at least in the case of rice, with over 500,000
acres of rice prevented planted that couldn’t go in the ground at all.
"Which
means that that ground stayed too wet and or completely flooded, submerged
until the end of May, which is when you hit the prevent planted period,"
Hardke said.
Greg James
produces rice, corn and soybeans in northeast Arkansas, overseeing 6,400 acres.
He described this year as "very trying."
"Planting
was delayed considerably with just a tremendous amount of wet weather this
spring, to the point where we probably prevent planted as many acres as we ever
have in my career of farming on this farm," James said. He says his
proximity to the Cache River is the biggest reason why he normally purchases
prevented planning.
While the
continuous rain hindered the planting season, the unusually late and hot summer
that happened from late August through September helped the crops that were
planted on a greater scale than anticipated.
"Having
that late heat come on, we made a lot more yield off of some of those later
crops planted than we ever would have imagined at that time, because we got
that late heat," Hardke said. These higher than expected yields was the
main piece of good news for Arkansas farmers.
"Despite
the difficulty of the year, yields were pretty good for growers. So that
they’ve largely been pretty happy with what they were able to produce and grow
this year. But that doesn’t replace how much we didn’t make because so many
acres were left out," Hardke said.
For James,
despite the difficult planting season, he had better yields than expected.
"Quite
honestly, in lieu of late planting, we had the best corn crop average yield
that we’ve ever had and our rice was not terribly off," James said. He
also said the warmer late summer "saved him" on his planted rice
crop.
"With
planting dates as late as they were, one would think you would have a below
average yield, and quite honestly we’ve had an average yield and the soybeans
that we have harvested have been average to slightly above average," James
said. Though the impact of this year’s planting and harvesting season will not
be seen overnight, Hardke does expect prices of these crops to eventually increase
for the consumer.
"There’s
been a gradual uptick in prices here lately and as this cycles, the commodity
prices should continue to increase and that’s going to get passed on ultimately
to the store shelves for all the various products that rice, soybeans and corn
are used in," Hardke said.
Though he
had a better harvest than expected, James says he does not want to experience a
year like this again.
"This
is the year that we’ve all joked about we were all excited to get through with.
And we’re not completely finished, but very close and it’s definitely turned
out less disastrous than we feared," James said.
'Overzealous' Regulation of GM Crops Costs Children's Lives
Worldwide, Says New Book
DAVID
NIELD
30
OCT 2019
Government red tape and vocal
opposition to a genetically modified strain of rice has led to millions of
unnecessary deaths and blindness in impoverished children, according to science
writer Ed Regis, who details the plight of Golden Rice in a new book.
Golden Rice was genetically
engineered to include beta-carotene,
a chemical that our bodies can use to produce vitamin A. Deficiency in this
vitamin is a leading cause of
preventable childhood blindness worldwide, with up to 500,000 children becoming
blind every year.
Lacking vitamin A can increase the
risk of death from childhood illnesses and infections, too. The problem is
prevalent in more than half of all the world's countries, especially in Africa
and South-East Asia, according to the
World Health Organisation (WHO).
While supplements can go a long way
in dealing with this harrowing problem, the WHO notes that food
fortification is one method for addressing the issue in the long term. And
Golden Rice was developed with exactly this in mind.
But although the yellow-coloured
rice has been around since the start of the century, it has yet to find its way
to the people who need it the most in Asia – and in his new book, Golden
Rice: The Imperiled Birth of a GMO Superfood, Regis claims
that over-cautious authorities are primarily to blame.
Greenpeace has been particularly
vocal about opposing the introduction of Golden Rice, and genetically modified
(GM) crops in general. The organisation has claimed that commercial interests
are behind the promotion of the rice, that it hasn't been proven to boost
vitamin A levels (although trials seem to indicate otherwise), and
that it distracts from other attempts to end child poverty.
While there's plenty of research
controversy still surrounding Golden Rice, the main
problem that's hampered the crop, according to Regis, is the Cartagena Protocol on
Biosafety. This international treaty, established in 2003, makes it
very hard for GM crops to be introduced worldwide, assuming that these foods
are dangerous until proven safe, rather than the other way around.
"Such regulations exist
because of irrational fears of GMOs, ignorance of the science involved, and
overzealous adherence to the precautionary principle," says Regis.
While we can all agree that health
should always be a priority, Regis argues that the potentially life-saving
effects of Golden Rice – we're talking about some 670,000 lives a year – is
worth relaxing the 'better safe than sorry' approach just a little.
"In Bangladesh, China, India
and elsewhere in Asia, many children subsist on a few bowls of rice a day and
almost nothing else," writes Regis in his book.
"For them, a daily supply of Golden Rice could now bring the gift of life
and sight."
It's a debate that's been raging
for years: in 2016, more than 100 Nobel Laureates signed a petition condemning
the blocking of GM products such as Golden Rice, pointing out that there has never
been a single recorded negative health outcome for humans or animals as a
result of genetically modified organisms.
In 2018, a review of more than 6,000 studies came
to the conclusion that GMOs lead to increased crop yields and significant
health benefits. It's a compelling piece of evidence that indicates foods like
Golden Rice deserve a chance to be cultivated - to potentially improve diets in
impoverished parts of the world.
There is some light at the end of
the tunnel. Golden Rice is currently only approved in four countries –
Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Canada – but it's hoped that it will get
the green light in Bangladesh and
the Philippines before the end of the year, where it is far more urgently
needed.
As the rice actually ends up in
people's bowls, it's possible it will have the positive effects the developers
hoped for. In that case, some of the stigma around GM foods – and the
regulatory restrictions that slow down their wider use – may fall away.
But according to Ed Regis, there's
no doubt that what we've seen so far has been a tragedy.
"The effects of withholding,
delaying or retarding Golden Rice development through overcautious regulation
has imposed unconscionable costs in terms of years of sight and lives
lost," concludes Regis.
Rice production up
40pc in 7 years
Wednesday October 30 2019
In Summary
• Farmers
have experienced an average of 40 per cent increase of yields (3.2 tonnes per
hectare to 4.5 tonnes per hectare) after adopting new techniques
By The Citizen Reporter
@TheCitizenTZ news@tz.nationmedia.com
Dar es Salaam. Over 25,000 rice
farmers in Tanzania have improved yields by nearly 40 per cent following a
farming training provided by the ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with
Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) over the last seven years.
The statement issued by Jica
Tanzania said the training was offered through the “Project for Supporting Rice
Industry Development in Tanzania (TANRICE2)”, which started in 2012. In irrigation, farmers have experienced an
average of 40 per cent increase of yields (3.2 tonnes per hectare to 4.5 tonnes
per hectare) after adopting techniques from the training.
The statement said the series of
rice farming training programmes by TANRICE2 has reached to extension officers
and farmers in both irrigated and rain-fed conditions throughout the country
(90 irrigation schemes and 77 rain-fed areas).
“Through such programmes, farmers
have learned many lessons such as irrigation scheme management, gender,
marketing and agricultural machinery,” said a statement.
“The project has scored many
achievements including the dramatic increase of the adoption of improved rice
farming techniques, such as the adoption of the straight row planting from 3.5
per cent to 62.0 per cent,”
It also improved the use of improved
rice variety from 2.5 per cent to 59.3 per cent, and application of fertilizer
from 19.0 per cent to 56.3 per cent in rain-fed lowland rice cultivation before
and after the project, respectively.
On October 30, 2019, the project’s
Steering Committee meeting will be held to review the last seven years’ outputs
of TANRICE2 at the Kilimanjaro Agricultural Training Centre (KATC) in Moshi.
Implementers of rice farming
training programmes will present the progress of the project
