Rice stakeholders gather in Iloilo for nat’l confab
By
Perla Lena November
25, 2019, 8:23 pm
RICE
CONFERENCE.
Department of Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Operations, Dr. Andrew
Villacorta, delivers the keynote address of Secretary William Dar during the
opening of the National Rice Industry Stakeholders Conference in Iloilo City on
Monday (Nov. 25, 2019). The conference hopes to come up with initiatives that
would further improve and protect the industry. (PNA photo by Perla G.
Lena)
ILOILO CITY – The two-day National Rice
Industry Stakeholders Conference that also serves as culminating activity of
the National Rice Awareness Month (NRAM) celebration this November, kicked off
here on Monday, gathering 750 participants from various regions in the country.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar,
in his keynote address delivered by Assistant Secretary for Operations Dr.
Andrew Villacorta, said that the conference themed, “Empowering Rice Farmers
Organizations Anchored on Value Chain System”, hopes to gather inputs to
further develop the Philippine Rice Industry Roadmap 2040 and improve programs,
projects and initiatives under the rice programs.
“Hopefully, our outputs would
define appropriate technologies that will contribute to achieving the twin
objectives of Masaganang Ani and Masaganang Kita,” he said.
Dar added that other objectives are
the increased participation of women and other vulnerable sectors in the DA
rice program and identify areas of cooperation between and among farmers groups
and cooperatives, and other stakeholders to further improve the effectiveness
of the implementation of the rice program.
Moreover, Dar informed participants
of the department’s accomplishments in support of the rice value chain.
In terms of input subsistence
relative to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) utilization, DA
has initiated the distribution of seeds and procurement of farm machinery.
“These supports will be distributed
to validated farmers' groups and cooperatives. Distribution of loans and rice
to individual farmers and cooperatives is also ongoing through the Landbank of
the Philippines,” he said.
DA has also programs targeting
farmers who lack irrigation by providing them opportunities to shift to
high-value crops.
Moreover, an unconditional cash
transfer is being readied to aid farmers due to the low prices of palay.
For networking and linkages, the
department looks forward to a “greater private and public investments” as well
as making available technical advice and support to agri-business and production
and research and management. (PNA)
Rice exports
increases 43.76% in four months
November 26, 2019
ISLAMABAD, Nov 26 (APP):Rice
exports from the country during first four months of current financial year
grew by 43.76% as compared to the exports of the corresponding period of last
year.
During the period from
July-October, rice worth $633.739 million exported as compared to the exports
of $440.828 million of same period of last year, according the data of Pakistan
Bureau of Statistics.
The rice exports during the
period under review, witness significant increase as it went up from 800,078
metric tons in first four months of last financial year to 1,141,334 metric
tons in same period of current financial year.
The exports of basmati rice also
increased by 55.32% as about 279,257 metric tons of basmati rice worth $256.817
million were exported as against the exports of 161,812 metric tons valuing
$165.351 million of same period of last year, it added.
Meanwhile, country earned
$376.922 million by exporting about 862,087 metric tons of others rice, which
stood at 638,266 metric tons valuing $275.477 million in the period under
review.
In first four months of current
financial year, about 54,177 metric tons of fish and fish products valuing
$129.655 million also exported as compared to the exports of 44,513 metric tons
worth $109.776 million of same period of last year.
The exports of meat and meat
products witnessed 53.57% increase in four months of financial year 2019-20, as
27,554 metric tons of the above mentioned commodity worth $97.885 million
exported which was recorded at 17,566 metric tons valuing $63.722 million in
same period of last year, the data added.
It may be recalled here that food
group exports from the country during first four months of current financial
year increased by 16.21%, where as imports of the food commodities into the
country decreased by 20.34% as compared to the corresponding period of last
year.
The imports of the food group
came down to $1.583 billion during the period from July-October, 2019-20 from
$1.987 billion of the same period of last year.
Pakistan eager to form joint ventures in energy sector
Published: November 26, 2019
PHOTO: EXPRESS
LAHORE: Pakistan is eager to seek joint ventures in
the energy sector, specifically with the Chinese private sector, which will not
only help in technology transfer but will also aid in curbing production cost
in Pakistan, remarked Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President
Irfan Iqbal Sheikh.
Talking to a Chinese delegation on Monday,
Sheikh pointed out that in Pakistan the energy cost had a massive share in the
total cost of production in the industrial sector. “Hence, there is a need to
curb the cost of electricity and bring it on a par with those in the regional
economies like Bangladesh, India and Vietnam,” he said. “It is imperative to
regain competitive advantage in the international market, which we have lost
due to the rising cost of doing business.”
The LCCI president said Pakistan also looked
forward to enhancing the share of electricity generated through renewable
sources.
He was of the view that joint ventures with
the Chinese counterparts in the energy sector would promote technology transfer
and the incorporation of cutting-edge Chinese technology into the country’s
energy projects.
“The two countries have a combined consumer
market of over 1.5 billion people, however, the trade volume needs to be
enhanced and should be balanced as well,” he said.
He voiced hope that Chinese importers would
find better opportunities for the purchase of Pakistani goods, particularly
carpets, leather and leather products, surgical equipment, sports goods, fruits
and vegetables, rice, pharmaceuticals, cotton, etc
Speaking on the occasion, LCCI Senior Vice
President Ali Hussam Asghar was of the view that besides energy, joint ventures
could be initiated in other sectors like construction, hotel and tourism, small
and medium enterprises’ cluster development, textile and garments.
LCCI Anxious For Joint Ventures In Energy Sector
Pakistan was anxious to seek joint
ventures in energy sector between Pakistani and Chinese private sectors which
would not only help much-needed transfer of technology but also help bring down
cost of production in Pakistan
LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan
Point News - 25th Nov, 2019 ) :Pakistan was anxious to seek joint ventures in energy sector
between Pakistani and Chinese private sectors which would not only help much-needed
transfer of technology but also help bring down cost of production in Pakistan.
These views were expressed by
the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (LCCI) President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh
while talking to a Chinese delegation, led by Jonathan Zhang, at the Lahore
Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Monday.
LCCI Senior Vice President Ali
Hussam Asghar and Vice President Mian Zahid Jawaid Ahmad also spoke on the
occasion while former President LCCI President Sohail Lashari, Executive Committee members Haji
Asif Saher, Mohammad Khalid, Zeeshan Sohail Malik, Sheikh Sajjad Afzal and Fiaz
Haider were also present.
Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said that
in Pakistan, the energy takes major share in total cost of production of industrial sector, so, there was a need of
bringing down the cost of electricity production at par with regional economies like Bangladesh, India and Vietnam etc. "It is imperative for us to regain the competitive
advantage in international market which was lost due to comparatively high cost of doing business", he added.
The LCCI President said that Pakistan also look forward to increasing the share of electricity generated through renewable sources. He said that joint
ventures with Chinese companies in energy sector that would promote technology transfer through incorporation of cutting-edge Chinese technology in our energy projects.
"The two countries have a
combined market of more than 1.5 billion people but the trade volume needs to be pushed up and should
be balanced as well. The Chinese importers may have better prospects for Pakistani goods particularly of carpets, leather and leather products,
surgical equipment, sports goods, fruits and vegetables,
rice, pharmaceuticals, cotton etc", Irfan Iqbal Sheikh added.
LCCI Senior Vice President Ali
Hussam Asghar was of the view that besides energy, joint ventures can be
initiated in sectors like Construction, Hotels and Tourism; Small and Medium
Enterprises SMEs cluster development, Textiles & Garments, Home Appliances, Corporate Farming, Seafood
and food Processing, Banks & Finance, Light Engineering etc.
Pakistani Rice, Furniture, Carpets And Other Products Have Great
Potential In Hungary - Ambassador-designate
Muhammad Aejaz, Pakistan's
Ambassador-designate for Hungary said that Pakistan's major exports to Hungary
included textiles and leather products due to which bilateral trade between
both countries was far less than their actual potential
Islamabad (UrduPoint / Pakistan
Point News / Online - 26th November, 2019) Muhammad Aejaz, Pakistan's Ambassador-designate for Hungary said that Pakistan's major exports to Hungary included textiles and leather products due to which bilateral trade between
both countries was far less than their actual potential.
However, he said that Pakistani rice, furniture, carpets and many other products have great
potential in Hungarian market and stressed that Pakistani exporters should try to exploit this untapped
potential to improve exports with Hungary.
He said this while addressing business community during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry.Muhammad Aejaz said that Hungary was getting 13 percent of its total imports from Asia that offered good prospects to Pakistani exporters to get better market share in Hungary.
He emphasized that Pakistani business community should organize single country exhibitions
in Hungary to introduce quality and
potential of their products there and assured that his embassy would cooperate
with them in such efforts.
He said that Hungary was providing scholarships to 200 Pakistani students every year that would improve people to people
contacts leading to expansion of trade volume as well. He assured that he would
meet with trade bodies of Hungary to find out demand of Pakistani products and share the same information with ICCI so that Pakistan's private sector could take benefit of all possible business opportunities with Hungary.
Pakistan’s rice exports on rise despite currency depreciation
Islamabad, Nov 26, IRNA --
Despite depreciation of local currency and higher inflation rate Pakistani rice
exports have soared to 43 percent in past four months.
According to the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap),
the depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar has made Pakistani rice
cheaper than other countries in the world.
From July to October 2019 Pakistan exported rice worth of US $
630 million which was US $ 440 million in July-October 2018.
Pakistani rice exports have increased in Oman, Qatar, Iran and
China during this period. Rice exports are expected to reach $ 3 billion this
fiscal year.
Rice, which is sown on 2.89 million hectares (about 10 percent
of total cropping area) in Pakistan, earned $2 billion (around 8pc of export
income) for the country in the past fiscal year.
In last fiscal year, rice production hit 7.4 million tonnes
placing Pakistan on the list of the 10 largest producers on the world rice
chart.
Data from the Reap reveals that it sent out a little over four million
tonnes of rice (for $2 billion) in 2018, as compared to 3.44 million tonnes for
$1.6 billion in 2017. This showed significant growth of 27.7 percent in terms
of value and 17 percent in terms of quantity.
Last year a 16-member delegation Rice Exporters Association
visited Iran to explore trade and investment opportunities in Iran and enhance
rice export to the country.
The delegation had fruitful meetings with representatives of
Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines and Mashhad Chamber of Commerce
and Industry.
Pakistan is the fourth largest rice exporter in the world with
108 varieties of the commodity.
Earlier Pakistan’s Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce,
Textile, Industries and Production Abdul Razak Dawood had urged his country's
rice exporters to benefit from the Iran market.
272**1424
Regulator of plant immunity tagged
VIDEO: A NEW
ACTOR IN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM OF PLANTS HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED. KAUST SCIENTISTS HAVE
IDENTIFIED THE PROTEIN MAP4K4 IS NEEDED TO MOUNT PROPER DEFENSES AGAINST
ENVIRONMENTAL PATHOGENS. view more
CREDIT: © 2019 KAUST
A new actor in the immune system
of plants has been identified. KAUST scientists have identified the protein
MAP4K4 is needed to mount proper defenses against environmental pathogens.
The discovery helps explain the
tight control of immune signaling in plants and reveals targets in a molecular
pathway that could be manipulated by crop breeders. "Our findings are
directly applicable to make plants more resistant to pathogens," says
study author, Heribert Hirt, Professor of Plant Science at KAUST's Desert
Agriculture Initiative.
MAP4K4 (short for
mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase kinase 4) is a well-established
player in human immunity and inflammation, but its role in plant disease
resistance was unknown. Hirt and his collaborators stumbled on it during a
large screen for proteins involved in signal transduction in the weedy thale
cress Arabidopsis. By studying mutant plants that lack a working copy of
MAP4K4, Hirt's team then drilled down into the core functions of this protein.
First, they showed that MAP4K4
was essential for proper immune responses to flg22, a peptide derived from a
bacterial protein found within the filamentous flagellum of disease-causing
microbes. Working with colleagues in France, the KAUST researchers--led by Hirt
and postdoctoral fellow, Yunhe Jiang--then detailed how.
They demonstrated that MAP4K4
directly adds chemical tags (in the form of phosphate groups) at several sites
of another protein, BIK1. This helps stabilize BIK1 and promotes the production
of highly toxic molecules that play a central role in pathogen resistance,
explains Jiang. The researchers also showed that MAP4K4 tags a repressor of
BIK1 with phosphate decorations. This chemical adornment disables the negative
regulator to further promote BIK1 activation.
So far, Hirt and his lab group in
the Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division of KAUST have
only described this function of MAP4K4 in Arabidopsis immunity. They reported
the findings on 2 September 2019 in Reports.
"The next step is to test
our findings also in crops by generating knock-out mutants," Hirt says.
"This is quite feasible now by using CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology
that is established in tomato, rice and other species of agricultural
importance."
The researchers also plan to
examine the roles of other regulatory proteins within the MAP4K family, of
which at least 10 exist in plants. Intriguingly, Jiang showed that one family
member, MAP4K3, seems to act synergistically with MAP4K4 to control BIK1
stabilization and pathogen-induced immune responses.
Closely related MAP4K proteins
may thus share overlapping functions but also have distinct features that
collectively contribute to the fidelity of immune signaling in plants. A better
knowledge of these signaling mechanisms could help agribusinesses keep plant
pathogens at bay.
###
Radioactive food from Fukushima
will be heading to UK under EU plans
A farmer in Fukushima CREDIT: AFP
26 NOVEMBER
2019 • 9:30PM
Radioactive food grown near the
wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan will be sold to British shoppers next
month under controversial EU plans.
Controls over radioactivity
levels in produce from Japan following the 2011 disaster are to be lifted by
Brussels as part of the world’s biggest ever trade deal.
It means that British shops will
soon be selling goods from the disaster-hit area including baby food, breakfast
cereals, fish, crustaceans, meat and green tea. Tests in recent years have
shown faint traces of radioactive substances including caesium 134 and 137.
The Japanese government has
enforced a strict regime on food from the Fukushima prefecture since the
accident, and scientists have...
Golden Rice awaiting food safety
clearance: BRRI
Staff Correspondent: Genetically modified (GM)
Golden Rice is now waiting for food safety clearance certificate to be released
as a new variety as the vitamin-A fortified rice will fight childhood blindness
that affects country’s 21 percent children.
“The vitamin A enriched rice variety, popularly known as Golden Rice, would finally require the environment ministry’s permission … and then maximum two years will be needed for it to be released as the new GM rice variety for the growers,” said Dr Partho Sarothi Biswas, Principal Scientific Officer (PSO) of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).
After final approval within this year, the national seed certification agency under the Ministry of Agriculture will take steps to release the variety after two season trial production at the field level by some assigned growers at some particular locations, said the BRRI scientist.
In November 2017, BRRI submitted the proposal to the Bangladeshi Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change. The Bio safety Core Committee, a group of eight officials and scientists, has since been reviewing environmental risks, such as the plant’s potential to become a weed, as well as food safety, said the BRRI scientist.
Bangladesh could be the first to cultivate Golden Rice, genetically altered to fight blindness ever since the variety first made headlines nearly 20 years ago, according to a recent article published by Science (Journal), an academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), in its recent publication.
“The vitamin A enriched rice variety, popularly known as Golden Rice, would finally require the environment ministry’s permission … and then maximum two years will be needed for it to be released as the new GM rice variety for the growers,” said Dr Partho Sarothi Biswas, Principal Scientific Officer (PSO) of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).
After final approval within this year, the national seed certification agency under the Ministry of Agriculture will take steps to release the variety after two season trial production at the field level by some assigned growers at some particular locations, said the BRRI scientist.
In November 2017, BRRI submitted the proposal to the Bangladeshi Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change. The Bio safety Core Committee, a group of eight officials and scientists, has since been reviewing environmental risks, such as the plant’s potential to become a weed, as well as food safety, said the BRRI scientist.
Bangladesh could be the first to cultivate Golden Rice, genetically altered to fight blindness ever since the variety first made headlines nearly 20 years ago, according to a recent article published by Science (Journal), an academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), in its recent publication.
After the environment ministry signs off, Golden Rice must be
registered by a seed certification agency within the Ministry of Agriculture,
which requires field trials in multiple places to test for seed quality.
If all goes smoothly, farmers might have Golden Rice seed to
plant by 2021, said the Science Magazine, one of the world’s topmost weekly
circulated journals with an estimated readership is 5,70,400.
Now, Bangladesh appears about to become the first country to
approve Golden Rice for planting. “It is really important to say we got this
over the line,” says Johnathan Napier, a plant biotechnologist at Rothamsted
Research in Harpenden, U.K., who was not involved in the crop’s development.
He says approval would show that agricultural biotechnology can
be successfully developed by publicly funded research centers for the public
good. Still, environmental groups haven’t dropped their opposition-and the
first harvest isn’t expected until at least 2021. And more research will be needed
to show the extent of real-world benefits from Golden Rice.
But for now, all eyes are on dhan 29. “It would be great to see
it approved,” Napier says. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Proponents are optimistic, however. The scientific evidence is
strong, the committee previously approved another transgenic crop, and Golden
Rice enjoys high-level political support in Bangladesh, they say. “We are
hopeful that Golden Rice might get the green light soon,” says Arif Hossain,
director of Farming Future Bangladesh in Dhaka, which is funded by the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation to inform policymakers and others about
biotechnology.
How popular it will be is uncertain. Farmers in Bangladesh
quickly adopted an eggplant variety engineered to kill certain insect pests
after its 2014 introduction, but that crop offered an immediate benefit:
Farmers need fewer insecticides. Golden Rice’s health benefits will emerge more
slowly, says agricultural economist Justus Wesseler of Wageningen University
& Research in the Netherlands, so adoption may be slower as well. The
government may need to promote Golden Rice and, Hossain says, even subsidize
farmers to grow it.
Consumer acceptance may be another challenge, given the golden
hue, says Sherry Tanumihardjo, who studies vitamin A and global health at the
University of Wisconsin in Madison. “People have a difficult time changing the
color of food they eat,” and many people in Bangladesh prefer to eat white
rice.
On the other hand, cooked Golden Rice resembles khichuri, a popular
dish of rice and lentils cooked with turmeric, which may increase its appeal.
With Gates Foundation support, IRRI and BRRI are developing a strategy for
directing farmers’ harvest to rural regions and cities with high poverty and
malnutrition rates.
Golden Rice was developed in the late 1990s by German plant
scientists Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer to combat vitamin A deficiency, the
leading cause of childhood blindness.
Low levels of vitamin A also contribute to deaths from
infectious diseases such as measles. Spinach, sweet potato, and other
vegetables supply ample amounts of the vitamin, but in some countries,
particularly those where rice is a major part of the diet, vitamin A deficiency
is still widespread; in Bangladesh it affects about 21% of children.
Over the past 2 years, regulators in the United States, Canada,
New Zealand, and Australia approved Golden Rice for consumption. There are no
plans to grow the crop in these countries, but approval will prevent problems
if Golden Rice somehow accidentally turns up in food supplies, the journal
said.
ANALYSIS-As climate change hits crops, debate
heats up over use of plant gene data
Governments spar over how to share out benefits fairly from new
high-tech methods to develop climate-resilient crops
By Thin Lei Win
ROME, Nov 8 (Thomson Reuters
Foundation) - Rich and poor countries are at loggerheads over how to share
benefits from genetic plant data that could help breed crops better able to
withstand climate change, as negotiations to revise a global treaty are set to
resume in Rome on Monday.
The little-known agreement is
seen as crucial for agricultural research and development on a planet suffering
rising hunger, malnutrition and the impacts of climate change.
"We need all the 'genetics'
around the world to be able to breed crops that will adapt to global
warming," said Sylvain Aubry, a plant biologist who advises the Swiss government.
Rising temperatures, water
shortages and creeping deserts could reduce both the quantity and quality of
food production, including staple crops such as wheat and rice, scientists have
warned.
The debate over "digital
sequence information" (DSI) has erupted as the cost of sequencing genomes
falls, boosting the availability of genetic plant data, Aubry said.
"A lot of modern crop
breeding relies on these data today," he added.
At the same time, the capability
of machines to process vast amounts of that data to identify special crop
traits such as disease resistance or heat tolerance has grown.
Pierre du Plessis, an African
technical advisor on treaty issues, said companies and breeders can use DSI to
identify the genetic sequence of a desired plant trait and send it by e-mail to
a gene foundry that prints and mails back a strand of DNA.
"Then you use gene-editing
technology to incorporate that strand into a plant. So you have created a new
variety without accessing the trait in biological form," he said.
That process could enable
businesses to circumvent the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources
for Food and Agriculture which stipulates that the benefits derived from using
material from species it covers - including money and new technology - must be
shared.
Developing states, which are home
to many plant species such as maize and legumes used in breeding, hope to add
digital sequence information to the treaty's scope.
This would force companies and
breeders that develop new commercial crops from that data to pay a percentage
of their sales or profits into a fund now managed by the United Nations' Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The fund's resources are used to
conserve and develop plant genetic resources - the basis of the foods humans
eat - so that farmers, particularly in the developing world, can cope better
with a warming climate.
Most wealthy nations, which are
generally more active in seed production, argue digital information on plant
genetics should be available to use without an obligation to share benefits.
"There's almost no one still
doing the old-fashioned, 'let's try it and see' breeding. It's all based on the
understanding of genome and a lot of CRISPR gene editing creeping in,"
said du Plessis.
CRISPR is a technology that
allows genome editing in plant and animal cells. Scientists say it could lead
to cures for diseases driven by genetic mutations or abnormalities, and help
create crops resilient to climate extremes.
But developing nations and civil
society groups such as the Malaysia-based Third World Network say companies
that develop new crop varieties using this information could lock access to
their critical traits using intellectual property rights.
SCIENCE FICTION?
The treaty row emerged in late
October when representatives of governments, the seed industry, research
organisations and civil society attended a meeting at FAO headquarters in Rome.
Negotiations have been going on
for more than six years to update the treaty, which came into force in 2004 and
governs access to 64 crops and forage plants judged as key to feeding the
world.
Last month, the United States,
Canada, Australia, Japan and Germany rejected a proposal from the co-chairs of
the talks to include "information, including genetic sequence data"
in the treaty's provisions on benefit-sharing.
Africa, India, Latin America and
the Caribbean pushed back but the meeting ended without a compromise, which
negotiators now hope to secure before the treaty's governing body meets on Nov.
11.
The International Seed
Federation, a body representing the $42-billion seed industry, says plant
breeding still requires the use of physical material and it is too early to set
the rules on genetic data.
"Developing policy based on
speculation and on things that are bordering on scientific fiction doesn't seem
wise," said Thomas Nickson, who attended the Rome talks for the
federation.
"It is critical to have the
information publicly available, especially for small companies in developing
countries," he added.
But Edward Hammond, an advisor to
Third World Network, said small farmers needed support, and open access to
plant data should not mean a "no-strings-attached free-for-all".
"Resilience to climate
change is being grown in the fields," he said. "Interesting and new
varieties are appearing in the fields as they adapt. This is not coming from
companies using new seeds."
'UNFAIR' SYSTEM
Kent Nnadozie, secretary of the
treaty, said if it were agreed the genetic data should be freely available, it
would be mostly developed countries that had the capacity, resources and
technology to put it to use.
"The fear is that (this)
perpetuates and reinforces an unfair system or... amplifies it," he said.
Concerns over increasing
privatisation and monopolisation of food crops - which experts say threaten
agricultural biodiversity - played a role in the treaty's origins.
Its aim was to build a
multilateral approach to access and exchange plant resources, with "fair
and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their use" as a means
to address historical imbalances between farmers and seed companies.
While breeders and seed firms
rarely pay for the knowledge and genetic resources they source from farmers and
indigenous peoples, farmers usually have to buy the seeds of the improved crop
varieties businesses produce and sell.
So far, more than 5.4 million
samples of plant genetic resources have been transferred under the treaty
between governments, research institutes and the private sector in 181
countries, its secretariat said.
A large majority of those
transfers are improved materials from CGIAR, the global agricultural research
network, to public-sector research organisations in developing countries
tackling food security issues, said Michael Halewood, head of policy at
Bioversity International, a CGIAR centre.
"Countries around the world
have always been interdependent on crop genetic resources. Climate change is
making us all more interdependent than ever on those resources," he said.
(Reporting by Thin Lei Win
@thinink; editing by Megan Rowling. Please credit the Thomson Reuters
Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian
news, climate change, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, and property
rights. Visit www.trust.org)
EU’s Plans for Sustainable Food May Open Door to
Gene-Edited Crops
By Bruce Rule
November 26, 2019
The European Union says it wants to ensure safe and affordable
nourishment for all its citizens, but a pair of food policy experts say a plan
to do that may have unintended, and unhealthy, consequences.
The EU’s “Farm-to-Fork” strategy may cause regulations over
gene-edited food to be relaxed, they write in Green European Journal. A survey this year found that more
than a quarter of Europeans are concerned about genetically modified
ingredients in their food, and the authors call the edited ingredients “a
failure.”
The EU is putting together a proposed long-term strategy that is expected to cover every step in the food chain from production to consumption, though legislators have few details. Finnish Agriculture Minister Jari Leppä said last week he hoped that the new strategy will allow new gene-editing techniques because plant breeding is “the first link in the food chain.”
“Early political warnings suggest that the EU might reopen established rules on genetically modified food, which would put new techniques at risk of being deregulated,” food experts Francesco Ajena and Juliette Leroux wrote.
The EU is putting together a proposed long-term strategy that is expected to cover every step in the food chain from production to consumption, though legislators have few details. Finnish Agriculture Minister Jari Leppä said last week he hoped that the new strategy will allow new gene-editing techniques because plant breeding is “the first link in the food chain.”
“Early political warnings suggest that the EU might reopen established rules on genetically modified food, which would put new techniques at risk of being deregulated,” food experts Francesco Ajena and Juliette Leroux wrote.
“The safety net which legislators have woven around the GMO
issue in 2000 is based on solid scientific evidence; no reasons of political
economy should be allowed to undermine solid scientific evaluation,” their
essay continued.
Any move by the EU to relax its restrictive policies on GMOs would likely boost the already surging sector. The global market was estimated to grow from $20.1 billion last year to $30.2 billion by the end of 2026, with North America being the largest market and the Asia-Pacific region the fastest growing.
Genetic modifications in food the attention of private equity and venture capital investors seeking opportunities in life sciences. PE has invested at least $36.4 billion this year in companies working in the field, more than double the $16.8 billion invested in all of 2018, according to PitchBook. VC has invested at least $20.2 billion across 1,180 deals this year, compared to $30.3 billion last year.
Any move by the EU to relax its restrictive policies on GMOs would likely boost the already surging sector. The global market was estimated to grow from $20.1 billion last year to $30.2 billion by the end of 2026, with North America being the largest market and the Asia-Pacific region the fastest growing.
Genetic modifications in food the attention of private equity and venture capital investors seeking opportunities in life sciences. PE has invested at least $36.4 billion this year in companies working in the field, more than double the $16.8 billion invested in all of 2018, according to PitchBook. VC has invested at least $20.2 billion across 1,180 deals this year, compared to $30.3 billion last year.
· In July, 2018, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that gene-edited crops, created by such new
technologies as CRISPR-Cas9, should be subject to the same directive that
imposes high hurdles for the planting and sale of genetically-modified crops.
Plant breeders and scientists contend that gene-editing techniques should be
considered mutagenesis, just like irradiation, and thus be exempt from the
directive, because they can involve changes to DNA and not the insertion of
foreign genes.
· Scientists at Manila’s International Rice Research
Institute used CRISPR/Cas9 to successfully edit the genome of strains of rice grown in
Southeast Asia and West Africa to block a pathogen that ravages yields of the
staple crop. The team found that rice plants with engineered genes were
resistant to at least 95 strains of a type of bacterial blight.
In June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it doesn’t intend to
regulate edited crops with mutations that could have occurred in nature.
Brazil, Argentina and Australia have taken a similar tack.
USA
Rice Farmers Visit Food Aid with Recipients in Africa
ARUSHA,
TANZANIA - For the last two weeks, USA Rice members and staff traveled here and
throughout Kenya in a food aid "learning journey" along with
participants representing U.S. Wheat Associates and the U.S. Grains Council.
The group consulted with local governments, farmers, and private voluntary
organizations (PVOs) which allowed the agriculture trade association
representatives to gain firsthand knowledge of the implementation of the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID) and U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) food assistance programs.
After
a high-level food assistance program overview from USAID and USDA headquarters
in Washington, DC, the trip began in Nairobi, Kenya where the USDA's
McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program successfully provided school lunches
for more than 1 million children using U.S.-grown commodities, including rice
grown and packaged by USA Rice members.
The
United Nations' Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kakuma, Kenya houses more than 200,000
refugees from countries across sub-Saharan Africa. The group met there with the
camp's food distribution council, run by the camp's elders, who were preparing
American food for the refugees. Both the council and the World Food Programme
(WFP) staff emphasized that the food they receive from the U.S. is essential
and well-liked by the refugees and they always welcome more donations.
Louisiana
rice farmer Jeffrey Sylvester, a member of the USA Rice Food Aid Subcommittee
on the trip, said, "Witnessing the refugee camp was a once in a lifetime
experience. We saw firsthand that there is a great demand for rice and the U.S.
has an opportunity to step up to make the additional donations that the
refugees need."
In
Tanzania, the team learned about USAID's Feed the Future Initiative and visited
active USDA Food for Progress Program projects that target countries with U.S.
commodities that are then monetized (sold) locally to generate funds for
development projects, such as building wells that help provide safe drinking
water or irrigation water for farming.
Participants
were able to get a full circle view of the USDA and USAID programs from their
briefings beginning in Washington to meeting refugees, and seeing development
work funded through the sale of U.S. commodities. Meetings with the PVOs and
the U.S. government staff revealed just how beneficial the in-kind donations
and U.S. food aid programs are for the long-term viability of these
communities.
"The
demand for rice was extremely high within food aid programs and commercial
markets," said Texas rice farmer Timothy Gertson, who also participated in
the trip. "I believe with the projected population and economic growth
within east Africa, the U.S. rice industry has a unique opportunity to make a
humanitarian impact as well as develop future commercial markets."
USA Rice
We’re planning to ban rice
importation by 2022 – MoFA
Kennedy Osei Nyarko, Deputy Minister for
Agriculture
Government has set an ambitious target to ban the importation of
rice by 2022, to boost local rice production for consumption to grow the
economy.
The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, announced this during a meeting with local rice farmers at Avalavi Weta in the Volta Region on Tuesday.
“Government has a plan, and the plan is that we have given ourselves up to 2022 to ban rice imports into this country…Government is doing so just to support the local rice farmers to make sure they get to market and value for whatever we produce.”Rice is the second most important cereal after maize in Ghana, and it’s a major staple food.The cereal’s consumption in 2017/2018 was estimated at 1 million megatonnes.
The government expects that the annual per capita consumption will reach 40 kilogrammes by 2020.It is grown throughout all regions of the country through the primary production zones found in the Volta, Ashanti, Eastern, Upper East, and Northern regions.
But a significant amount of the rice consumed in Ghana is foreign, which Mr Nyarko said was a problem, adding that local rice was significantly better.
“I am not here to condemn foreign rice, but I must say the truth, that our rice is healthier and nutritious than those ones they bring from outside the country.”
The Minister also said the government is also working with Wienco Ghana Limited to buy all paddy rice from farmers in the country amidst the reports of rice going to waste because of the lack of a ready market.
The commodities and procurement manager at Wienco, Abdul Razak Sania, assured that the company was committed to supporting smallholder farmers.Aside from support for rice, the company is also eyeing support for maize and soya.Currently, Mr Sania said his company is currently more active in the Volta Region.“In terms of sustainability, we are looking at supporting the Agric value chain from input distribution up to the point of final delivery of products to consumers.”
“We want to say that we are playing a significant role to ensure that paddy produced by farmers are purchased, so in the Volta Region. We are actively playing that role, and we envision to expand to other areas in the country in the coming days.”
The struggles of rice farmers and millers have left huge quantities of rice at the risk of going waste at the Fumbisi and Gbedembilisi rice valleys in the Builsa South District of the Upper East Region.
As part of more immediate measures to tackle the problem, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has been meeting with 20 major rice importers to solicit commitments to support rice production in the country.
In line with this, the Ghana National Buffer Stock Company also said it will ensure that its licensed buying companies purchase all rice produce going bad.
The renewed support for the rice industry follows a campaign by Citi FM’s CEO, Samuel Attah-Mensah, who has in the past few days been stressing on the need to consume made in Ghana rice.
The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, announced this during a meeting with local rice farmers at Avalavi Weta in the Volta Region on Tuesday.
“Government has a plan, and the plan is that we have given ourselves up to 2022 to ban rice imports into this country…Government is doing so just to support the local rice farmers to make sure they get to market and value for whatever we produce.”Rice is the second most important cereal after maize in Ghana, and it’s a major staple food.The cereal’s consumption in 2017/2018 was estimated at 1 million megatonnes.
The government expects that the annual per capita consumption will reach 40 kilogrammes by 2020.It is grown throughout all regions of the country through the primary production zones found in the Volta, Ashanti, Eastern, Upper East, and Northern regions.
But a significant amount of the rice consumed in Ghana is foreign, which Mr Nyarko said was a problem, adding that local rice was significantly better.
“I am not here to condemn foreign rice, but I must say the truth, that our rice is healthier and nutritious than those ones they bring from outside the country.”
The Minister also said the government is also working with Wienco Ghana Limited to buy all paddy rice from farmers in the country amidst the reports of rice going to waste because of the lack of a ready market.
The commodities and procurement manager at Wienco, Abdul Razak Sania, assured that the company was committed to supporting smallholder farmers.Aside from support for rice, the company is also eyeing support for maize and soya.Currently, Mr Sania said his company is currently more active in the Volta Region.“In terms of sustainability, we are looking at supporting the Agric value chain from input distribution up to the point of final delivery of products to consumers.”
“We want to say that we are playing a significant role to ensure that paddy produced by farmers are purchased, so in the Volta Region. We are actively playing that role, and we envision to expand to other areas in the country in the coming days.”
The struggles of rice farmers and millers have left huge quantities of rice at the risk of going waste at the Fumbisi and Gbedembilisi rice valleys in the Builsa South District of the Upper East Region.
As part of more immediate measures to tackle the problem, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has been meeting with 20 major rice importers to solicit commitments to support rice production in the country.
In line with this, the Ghana National Buffer Stock Company also said it will ensure that its licensed buying companies purchase all rice produce going bad.
The renewed support for the rice industry follows a campaign by Citi FM’s CEO, Samuel Attah-Mensah, who has in the past few days been stressing on the need to consume made in Ghana rice.
Kingdom’s rice
sector faces lack of capital
Hin Pisei | Publication date 26
November 2019 | 22:24 ICT
A truck is carrying bags of rice grains in Battambang Province.
The industry insiders said a lack of working capital has remained a challenge
for the Kingdom’s rice industry. Heng Chivoan
A lack of working capital has
remained a challenge for the Kingdom’s rice industry and has impeded rice
export growth for years, industry insiders said.
The comments were made at a
meeting between the state-owned Rural Development Bank (RDB) and the Cambodia
Rice Federation (CRF) on Monday.
RDB CEO Kao Thach told The Post
on Tuesday that among its total funds of more than $160 million, the bank has
lent about 70 per cent to the rice sector, which he said was too much for the
bank’s ability.
RDB’s funds “are almost exhausted
to disburse more loans into the rice sector”, he said, calling on other sources
– including the government – for help.
The Kingdom exported 398,586
tonnes of rice in the first nine months of this year, an increase of 2.3 per
cent compared to the same period last year, a Secretariat of One Window Service
for Rice Export Formality report said.
China became the leading importer
of Cambodian rice after the EU imposed tariffs on rice imports from the Kingdom
early this year.
The Kingdom exported 157,793 tonnes
of rice to China in the first nine months of the year, 135,471 to the EU and
53,347 to the Asean region.
Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF)
secretary-general Lun Yeng told The Post on Tuesday that the Kingdom’s rice
sector needs more working capital to keep the market strong.
“Normally, in the early harvest
season, rice exporters and millers buy paddy for stockpiles, leaving them with
a lack of funds by the end of the season.
“The Cambodian rice sector needs
about $200 million more in working capital,” he said.
Yeng said the total capital
investment in the Kingdom’s rice sector is between $300 million and $400
million.
Heng Pheng, the CEO of Battambang
province-based Thmor Korl Rice Import Export Co Ltd, said if the millers had
sufficient capital, it would help curtail unofficial exports to neighbouring
countries and boost exports to other markets.
“I would like to ask [RDB] and
other commercial banks to provide additional loans or at least keep
low-interest rates unchanged,” he said.
The price for paddy in Battambang
province currently stands at 1,180 riel ($0.29) per kilogramme, compared to
1,350 riel during the same period last year, Pheng said.
“Although the price is now lower
than it was last year, it is acceptable to farmers and buyers,” he said.
Rice farmers need
more than promises
November 27, 2019
The Philippines was on track to
hit, or even surpass, the import volume of 3 million metric tons projected by
the United States Department of Agriculture, based on the latest government
data. As of October, government data indicated that shipments had already
reached 2.99 MMT. Following the release of these figures, the BusinessMirror
reported that rice planters had lost P61.77 billion due to the decline in the
farm-gate price of rice (See, “Planters lose P61.77B due to rice price drop,” in
the BusinessMirror, November 15, 2019).
Immediately after the
BusinessMirror reported the losses incurred by rice planters, the President
apologized to farmers and promised them that help is on the way. To remedy the
situation, Duterte ordered concerned government agencies to stop the
importation of rice. He also told officials to buy all the palay of local
planters.
Farmers’ groups earlier warned
about the influx of cheap rice imports following the implementation of Republic
Act 11203, or the rice trade liberalization law. Some experts also urged the
government to put in place safety nets that will cushion the impact of RA 11203
on the local rice sector. Recent developments have shown that the sector was
ill-prepared for competition with farmers from other countries who can produce
rice cheaply.
Until now, many affected farmers
have yet to receive the interventions that should have been bankrolled by the
P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund mandated by RA 11203. This
may be due to the fact that the Philippine Rice Industry Roadmap (PRIR), which
will guide the government’s programs, particularly those funded by the RCEF,
has not yet been completed. It also did not help that officials had bickered
over the nature of the P5 billion initially released by the Department of
Budget and Management, and the source of the other P5 billion. The RCEF is
supposed to consist of tariffs collected from importers, but government agreed
to front-load the money.
Under RA 11203, concerned
government agencies were given a maximum of 180 days to “formulate and adopt”
the rice industry road map. Following this provision, the agencies should have
released the document in September. The PRIR is seen as a crucial instrument
that will help farmers transition to a liberalized trade regime, but the
government is not yet ready to unveil it.
The paper prepared by the
Philippine Rice Research Institute warned that the losses incurred by rice
planters will reach P130 billion if the farm-gate price of the staple continues
to decline. Also, farmers may be discouraged from planting rice as it is no
longer profitable. Sans a viable plan to transition them to planting other cash
crops and to ensure that the current level of rice production is maintained,
the country will eventually have to rely on imports.
The race to make good on its
commitment to the World Trade Organization may have made it difficult for the
government to immediately put in place safety nets to shield local producers
from the impact of RA 11203. Unfortunately, an apology and pronouncements of
banning imports will not help prevent the freefall of farm-gate prices and the
exit of farmers from the rice sector. The key to ensuring that farmers will
continue planting the staple is their access to credit. Without this, farmers
may be left with no choice but to abandon their rice lands.
We Can Be Self Reliant In Food Production
Although most nations in Africa
have gained independence from their colonial masters they are yet to attain the
required economic freedom. Apart from going for loans regularly from developed
nations to fund development projects they continue to export raw materials and
import large quantities of rice and other foods.
Being agrarian it's believed they
are capable of being self-reliant but are still importing food products like
rice, milk, flour at huge costs to our economies..For some years now succeeding
governments in Ghana have identified ways of moving out of this problem.
Since independence succeeding
governments devised programs and set up workers brigade, State Farms and using
slogans like Operation Feed Yourself and Industries promoting backyard
gardening to boost food production. However, due to changes in governments,
most of the laudable programs towards self-reliance have been abandoned with
the nation which got to the point of exporting rice and other food crops
stagnating into importing rice and other food items that we can produce in
large quantities in Ghana.
The initiative by the current
government to promote food production under one district one dam seems to be
yielding good results with some farms and factories being set up to produce and
package rice and other products in large quantities for home consumption and
export. A local rice brand Royal Farmers Rice among the products which were
launched is currently on our markets in Ghana.
A move has begun to sell the rice
being produced in Nyankpala throughout the country and for export in large
quantities. Besides the packaged rice there are locally produced soft drinks on
the market some of which are being exported. This achievement is laudable and
deserves commendation and support. what is required is that Ghanaians must be
encouraged to patronize locally produced rice and other farm products produced
in Ghana.
We can do so by patronizing our
own rice, cassava, yams, and vegetables, meat and fish in our homes, schools
workplaces, Barracks, markets, restaurants, and government canteens. GOVERNMENT
establishment The Ghana police the army and prisons must be made to purchase
food items from our local establishments. When that happens we shall rely
mostly on our farm products thereby saving a large amount of money used in
importing them.
Again we may soon be in a
position to export some of those food crops in large quantities to earn for the
exporters and the nation huge foreign currencies. To succeed in this positive
move Ghanaians together with our chiefs must unite and work towards encouraging
our farmers to embark on large scale farming.
We must also revive the operation
feed yourself and backyard gardening programs introduced by the previous
government of Acheampong. IN addition to the 1D1F we can make a headway .. Men
and women in responsible positions such as MPs Ministers and men and women in
our security system must also be encouraged to move into Agriculture as a
part-time vocation as is happening in our neighboring Cote d Ivoire and Nigeria.
I believe that many top and middle-level officials are already involved in
farming.
To succeed in this activity the
government through our banking system must provide financial support to our
farmers. Storage and Processing factories must be established throughout the
nation to process farm products on large and small farms.
This way we might be able to
store and process the excess products on our farms. Meanwhile, let's commend
those involved in farming currently for home consumption and export to neighboring
nations for beginning to carve a good image for Ghana so far.
When we succeed in producing
enough food crops it is my belief that we might move into producing cotton for
cloths, jute for providing bags and other such products. As said earlier We
must commend our farmers for their efforts. It's our hope that they will
continue to work hard to redeem the image of Ghana for trying to take us away
from depending on imports to feed and clothe our people.
By Alhaji Alhasan Abdulai. A
journalist and executive director of EANFOWORLD Ghana Tell 0274853710/
0244370345/0208844791
Excess rice import tariffs set aside
for cash transfers to farmers
Sunstar26 November
2019
FINANCE Secretary Carlos
Dominguez III has confirmed that the excess of P10 billion collected from tariffs
on rice imports and earmarked annually for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement
Fund (RCEF) will be set aside to fund a two-year unconditional cash transfer
(UCT) program for small farmers affected by falling palay farmgate prices.
In a recent interview, Dominguez
said the P1.4 billion in excess rice import tariffs collected by the Bureau of
Customs (BOC) as of Oct. 31 this year, along with the succeeding surplus funds
from RCEF for the rest of 2019 and in 2020, will be used for the P6 billion UCT
program for rice farmers tilling two hectares and below.
“The P10 billion is already
fixed. It already has an allocation (for RCEF). The excess will be part of the
P6 billion that will be allocated for two years for the farmers,” Dominguez
said.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar
earlier announced the rollout of this UCT program, which he said would cover an
initial P3 billion this year and another P3 billion in 2020.
Dar said the funds would be
sourced from the excess tariffs from rice imports, which will also be used to
support crop insurance and crop diversification programs that will benefit
farmers.
Dominguez said he was informed by
Dar that the Department of Agriculture (DA) already has a list of the farmers
who will benefit from the UCTs.
Republic Act (RA) 11203 or the
Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) imposes a minimum 35 percent tariff on rice
imports in lieu of quantitative restrictions (QRs). The law, which liberalized
rice imports, has stabilized the supply and price of the Filipino food staple
in the retail market, but has led to declining palay farmgate prices in certain
rice producing areas.
Earlier, Dominguez said the RTL
will be fully implemented by the Duterte administration as it pursues measures
to stamp out smuggling and hoarding by unscrupulous traders to cushion the
impact on both palay growers and rice consumers of the temporary “transition
challenges” arising from the newly deregulated market.
On top of UCTs, the government is
also granting interest-free, easy-to-pay loans to affected farmers.
Dominguez pointed out that in
only seven months since it was implemented, the RTL has netted tariff revenue
of P11.4 billion, which is already beyond the P10 billion earmarked per year
for RCEF.
With over P11 billion in import
tariffs this early, the government “has ample means to do even more to make our
agricultural production more efficient,” Dominguez said.
Rice tariffication, Dominguez
said, should be viewed as an “opportunity to revolutionize the agriculture
sector and help farmers become more competitive in the global economy.”
He said that in slashing market
prices by about P8 per kilo since the lifting of the QRs on rice imports last
March, RA 11203 has significantly reduced inflation, which, in turn, has
boosted household spending that helped drive gross domestic product growth to
6.2 percent in the July to September period. (PR)
Kingdom’s rice
sector faces lack of capital
Hin Pisei | Publication date 26
November 2019 | 22:24 ICT
Share
A truck is carrying bags of rice grains in Battambang Province.
The industry insiders said a lack of working capital has remained a challenge
for the Kingdom’s rice industry. Heng Chivoan
A lack of working capital has
remained a challenge for the Kingdom’s rice industry and has impeded rice
export growth for years, industry insiders said.
The comments were made at a
meeting between the state-owned Rural Development Bank (RDB) and the Cambodia
Rice Federation (CRF) on Monday.
RDB CEO Kao Thach told The Post
on Tuesday that among its total funds of more than $160 million, the bank has
lent about 70 per cent to the rice sector, which he said was too much for the
bank’s ability.
RDB’s funds “are almost exhausted
to disburse more loans into the rice sector”, he said, calling on other sources
– including the government – for help.
The Kingdom exported 398,586
tonnes of rice in the first nine months of this year, an increase of 2.3 per
cent compared to the same period last year, a Secretariat of One Window Service
for Rice Export Formality report said.
China became the leading importer
of Cambodian rice after the EU imposed tariffs on rice imports from the Kingdom
early this year.
The Kingdom exported 157,793
tonnes of rice to China in the first nine months of the year, 135,471 to the EU
and 53,347 to the Asean region.
Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF)
secretary-general Lun Yeng told The Post on Tuesday that the Kingdom’s rice
sector needs more working capital to keep the market strong.
“Normally, in the early harvest
season, rice exporters and millers buy paddy for stockpiles, leaving them with
a lack of funds by the end of the season.
“The Cambodian rice sector needs
about $200 million more in working capital,” he said.
Yeng said the total capital
investment in the Kingdom’s rice sector is between $300 million and $400
million.
Heng Pheng, the CEO of Battambang
province-based Thmor Korl Rice Import Export Co Ltd, said if the millers had
sufficient capital, it would help curtail unofficial exports to neighbouring
countries and boost exports to other markets.
“I would like to ask [RDB] and
other commercial banks to provide additional loans or at least keep
low-interest rates unchanged,” he said.
The price for paddy in Battambang
province currently stands at 1,180 riel ($0.29) per kilogramme, compared to
1,350 riel during the same period last year, Pheng said.
“Although the price is now lower
than it was last year, it is acceptable to farmers and buyers,” he said.
LAKE Rice: Lagos to crash price
There is no better time to flood
the market with Lake Rice, Lagos State’s flagship local rice brand. Lagos State
is providing incentives for local food production, writes DANIEL ESSIET
Since its incursion into Nigerians culinary menu list in the
60s, rice has become the most popular staple food.
An average resident of Lagos State consumes rice at least once a
day.
With population hitting 26 million, the state government is
looking for ways to boost rice production.
Governor Sanwo-Olu revealed that the government is in the
process of acquiring an estimated 32,000 hectares of farmland for rice
cultivation in seven states.
Sanwo-Olu, who spoke in Lagos during the World Food Day
celebration in Lagos, listed the states as Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and
Kebbi as well as Lagos.
He said as a key component in its food security programme, the
State government intends to accelerate the completion of the 32 metric tons per
hour capacity Integrated Rice Mill in Imota in the next seven months.
The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State
Government, Mrs. Folasade Jaji, said when completed, the mill would ensure
sustainable supply of wholesome rice at an affordable price to the people.
The governor said the only way to effectively fight poverty and
hunger in the country was to boost agricultural production and prevent
post-harvest losses and wastages.
According to the governor, Lagos State was one of the
participating states in the World Bank -ssisted APPEALS Project which was aimed
at enhancing the agricultural productivity of small and medium-scale farmers
and improve value addition along priority value chains.
He added that the project was also collaborating with Africa
Rice for the development of Pure Ofada Rice Strain; capacity building for seed
out growers and rice-based products and as such no fewer than 35 farmers and
officers had been trained while the Institute is expected to supply 200kg of
foundation Ofada seed by February, 2020 for cultivation.
WFP Nepal Country Brief, October 2019
REPORT
In Numbers
4.6 million food-insecure people
1.4 million malnourished pregnant
and lactating women
US$ 1.63 million, six-month (Nov
2019-Apr 2020) net funding requirements
55,038* children received WFP
school meals in October 2019.
Operational Updates
• WFP completed its second round
of distributions under the blanket supplementary feeding programme (BSFP) in
response to the August 2019 flooding. The intervention has reached over 37,000
pregnant and lactating women, and children aged 6-59 months with 121 mt of
Super Cereal. The operation is ongoing in five flood-affected districts:
Rautahat, Sarlahi, Mahottari, Siraha and Saptari.
• Following the Government’s
endorsement of the school feeding guideline in September, WFP is in the process
of finalizing a training package to be delivered to local governments. These
trainings are intended to raise awareness and develop knowledge for the school
feeding programme in Nepal.
• A nutrition team from WFP will
be traveling to Sarlahi and Saptari in the coming weeks to investigate
unusually high rates of global acute malnutrition in pregnant and lactating
women as well as low turnout of the same group.
• WFP staff seconded to the
Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE) are assisting in the revision of the
National Framework on Local Adaptation Plan of Action, in line with the
recently approved National Climate Change Policy of 2019. In addition, WFP is
also supporting the MoFE to formulate the National Adaptation Plan.
• WFP provided technical
assistance to the Nepal Army to conduct an operational emergency logistics
training to 26 officers. The objective of this training was to enhance the
capacity of response during an emergency.
• After signing a Memorandum of
Understanding for rice fortification in Nepal, WFP has initiated the
recruitment process for an analysis of rice millers’ equipment. Rice
fortification will be included in the national social protection strategy and
WFP will support policy development to encourage the inclusion of locally
fortified rice in food assistance packages.
• The Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development has requested WFP to support them in developing by-laws for
the Right to Food Act and Food Sovereignty Act. This Act is a powerful step
toward meeting Nepal’s commitments to rid the country of malnutrition, hunger and
food insecurity.
We have capacity to meet
rice demand during Yuletide
— Processors ON NOVEMBER 27, 20195:08
AMIN NEWSBY BANKOLE
The Rice Processors Association of
Nigeria (RPAN) says members have the capacity to meet Nigeria’s demand for rice
during and beyond the Yuletide. The Chairman of RPAN, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar,
gave the assurance on Tuesday in Abuja when he spoke with journalists.
According to him, the combined capacity of integrated mills produced about
150,000 truckloads of rice on a daily basis as well as 1.8 million metric
tonnes annually. Also read: Border Closure: Nigeria too big to be threatened by
Benin ― Prof. Lumumba Abubakar said the figure was different from millions of
metric tonnes produced annually by small scale millers and local millers. He
said that speculations that there would be a scarcity of rice during this Christmas
period should be disregarded, adding that there would be enough supply of rice
in the country. “I can assure Nigerians that they will find rice everywhere and
throughout this festive period,” he said. He also noted that the positive
impact of the Federal Government’s border closure on rice millers was enormous.
Abubakar said that Nigeria relied on
rice importation with only one rice mill in operation about 10 years ago, but
today the country could boast of 40 integrated milling machines of world standard.
He disclosed that before the border closure, members of the association had
been complaining that they could not sell the product in their warehouses but
had since exhausted their stock. Abubakar said that some RPAN members, who
closed their factories because of lack of patronage, were now back in business
because of the border closure. The chairman said that he was at the Central
Bank of Nigeria’s headquarters on behalf of his members for possible grants for
expansion of their rice business.
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/11/we-have-capacity-to-meet-rice-demand-during-yuletide-processors/
We can meet rice demand
during Yuletide
Processors ON NOVEMBER 27, 201912:08
AMIN NEWSBY RASHEED SOBOWALE The
Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RPAN) says members have the capacity to
meet the Nigeria’s demand for rice during and beyond the Yuletide. The Chairman
of RPAN, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, gave the assurance on Tuesday in Abuja when
he spoke with journalists. According to him, the combined capacity of
integrated mills produced about 150,000 truck load of rice on a daily basis as
well as 1.8 million metric tonnes annually. Abubakar said the figure was
different from millions of metric tonnes produced annually by small scale
millers and local millers. He said that speculations that there would be a
scarcity of rice during this Christmas period should be disregarded, adding
that there would be enough supply of rice in the country. “I can assure
Nigerians that they will find rice everywhere and throughout this festive
period,” he said. ALSO READ: APPEALS, ABU introduce improved rice seeds to
farmers in Kano state He also noted that the positive impact of the Federal
Government’s border closure on rice millers was enormous. Abubakar said that
Nigeria relied on rice importation with only one mill in operation about 10
years ago, but today the country could boast of 40 integrated milling machines
of world standard. ALSO READ: Pension Fund Asset at 3rd quarter of 2019 stands
at N9.58trn ― NBS He disclosed that before the border closure, members of the
association had been complaining that they could not sell the product in their
warehouses but had since exhausted their stock. Abubakar said that some RPAN
members, who closed their factories because of lack of patronage, were now back
in business because of border closure. The chairman said that he was at the
Central Bank of Nigeria’s headquarters on behalf of his members for possible
grants for expansion of their rice business.
Economy: FG restates
commitment to border closure
CSL Stockbrokers
November 26, 2019
Yesterday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji
Lai Mohammed reaffirmed the government’s plan to keep the
border closed implying there is the possibility that the Jan 31 deadline may be
extended. This is coming as many critics of the decision continue to point to
the rising cost of food staples in the country and the inability of many legal
businesses to bring in raw materials or export finished goods.
However, in defence of the government’s decision, the minister
listed some of the positive results achieved thus far due to the border
closure. On the economic front, he said the partial closure of the border had
helped curb the smuggling of rice and other prohibited items resulting in
increased production and milling as reported by the Rice Millers Association of
Nigeria.
Also, he explained that revenue accruing to the
government has improved as importers now pass through legal procedures to ship
in products through the seaports while diversion of imported petroleum products
has been curbed.
Furthermore, he highlighted the significant
impact the border closure has had on the security of the country. According to
the minister, about 95% of illegal weapons used in banditry, kidnapping as well
as by Boko haram fighters come through the border. He claimed the closure of
the border has helped to significantly curb the influx of these illegal
weapons. He noted that 296 illegal immigrants have been arrested while several
materials for manufacturing explosives have been intercepted.
In addition, he stated that Nigeria is
currently working through every available diplomatic channel to engage
neighbouring countries to comply with ECOWAS protocol on transit. He
highlighted that several goods (such as poultry products and vegetable oil)
which typically come in from these countries are on Nigeria’s prohibition list.
He noted that talks with these countries are producing results with Niger, for example,
issuing a circular banning exportation of rice in any form to Nigeria.
Despite the many positives recounted by the minister, we note that the border closure
has led to several unintended consequences with the jump in food inflation
being the most obvious despite this being the harvest season. Several
companies, particularly in the cocoa beverage sector such as Nestle and
Cadbury, have struggled to bring in raw materials (cocoa and cocoa powder) from
Ghana.
These materials were imported into the country via the land borders. Bringing in the raw
materials through the seaports will only result in an increase in the cost of
such goods and a drop in sales volumes for these companies as the hard-pressed
Nigerian consumer cannot pay more for such goods.
We maintain our view that temporary closure of the border will not solve Nigeria’s border insecurity
nor as history demonstrates, help drive local industrialisation. Rather, the
government should focus on creating an enabling business environment that
encourages innovation, investment and desire to take business risks.
________________________________________________________________________
CSL STOCKBROKERS LIMITED CSL Stockbrokers,
Member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange,
First City Plaza, 44 Marina,
PO Box 9117,
Lagos State,
NIGERIA.
Lack of access to credit affecting
our operations – Local Rice Millers
Business News of Tuesday, 26 November 2019
Source: www.citibusinessnews.com
Millers allege
that most financial institutions expressed interest in funding importers
The Rice Millers Association of
Ghana, has blamed inadequate financing for their inability to purchase the huge
volumes of rice produced by farmers across the country.The Millers allege that most financial institutions expressed interest in funding importers rather than local producers.
Citi TV and Citi FM CEO, Samuel Attah-Mensah has been leading a campaign to boost the consumption of locally produced rice.
Speaking on Citi TV’s current affairs program, The Point of View on Monday, the Convener of the Rice Millers Association of Ghana, Yaw Adu Poku, said the collateral demands by the banks discourage them.
“We are not buying because way back in February most of the millers started going to our bankers and telling them about what we are anticipating to help them; but unfortunately the financial houses are not ready to come in especially if we are talking about agro projects, financial houses across board are not interested in it and the requirements they are asking from is way over our heads”.
Speaking on the same program, the Managing Director of Citi FM and Citi TV Samuel Attah-Mensah, who’s the lead campaigner for the consumption of Ghana Rice, says the looming unemployment that will arise from the sector is a national security threat; hence the intervention.
“If you have over one hundred and fifty thousand people in that chain in the five northern regions put together, that’s a clear national security issue. You are not hoping that these people will go home hungry. The next you see is that an army of people will come down south and look for work, so by not attending to them, we create a bigger problem” he warned.
Meanwhile, as part of Citi FM and Citi TV’s ‘Eat Ghana Rice’ campaign, the John Agyekum Kufour Foundation in partnership with lead campaigner, Samuel Attah-Mensah, is set to meet some local rice millers today, Tuesday, 26th November, 2019.
Over fifteen major rice millers across the country are expected to attend the meeting.
Nana Ama Oppong Dua, the Policy Adviser at the John Agyekum Kufour Foundation, spoke about the essence of the meeting.
“We are going to discuss issues like financing, the mill capacities , storage and varieties; we are expecting that after this meeting we will be able to collate all the capacities of the various mills at least the major ones and continue the engagement with importers”.
Banks unwilling to give us financial
support – Rice millers lament
General News of Tuesday, 26 November 2019
Source: citinewsroom.com
The struggles
of rice farmers, millers have left huge quantities of rice at the risk of going
waste
The lack of support from banks
may have played a role in the struggles of local rice producers in the country,
according to some industry players. Yaw Adu-Poku, the convenor of the Rice Millers Association, complained that banks were unwilling to support millers with loans to facilitate their businesses.Speaking on Citi TV‘s The Point of View, Mr Adu-Poku explained that rice millers expected a significant uptick in rice production locally and started making approaches to banks as far back as February.
But the banks have been willing to offer loans geared towards agriculture.
“Unfortunately, the financial houses are not ready to come in especially if you are talking about agro projects. The financial houses across the board are not interested.”
Mr Adu-Poku noted that the banks’ loan requirements are “way over our heads.”
He claimed they are unable to access loan support “because they [Banks] are asking for landed property in the city.”
He further said the banks favoured importers “because the turnaround time of the importer is so short.”
“Call the [Bank] CEOs and ask them. They are all Ghanaians and find out from them how many of them are sponsoring farmers.”
Also on the show, Charles Nyaaba, a farmer himself, who said he had sunk GHC175,000 into rice production in 2019, also recounted his struggles.
He had tried to secure funds from Exim Bank for agriculture purposes but to no avail.
“The money is there but for a smallholder farmer or somebody who wants to invest in agriculture, they will still be asking you for things that you can never produce.”
The struggles of rice farmers and millers have left huge quantities of rice at the risk of going waste also because of the absence of a ready market for their produce.
The Fumbisi and Gbedembilisi rice valleys in the Builsa South District of the Upper East Region have been cited in this regard.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has been meeting with 20 major rice importers on how to better support rice production in the country.
In line with this, the Ghana National Buffer Stock Company also said it will make its licensed buying companies purchase all rice produce going bad.
Rice exports to China still under
last year’s quota: CRF
Sok Chan / Khmer Times
China has not yet purchased
milled rice from Cambodia for the period 2019-2020, with the country still
trying to fulfill its quota for the year 2018.
.
.
Kao Thach, CEO of Rural Development Bank (RDB), told Khmer
Times that Cofco – China’s largest food processor,
manufacturer and trader – has not placed any orders yet for Cambodian milled
rice for the year 2019. The quota for 2019 is 400,000 tonnes.
“We don’t know whether they will
purchase our rice or not. It seems like they don’t want to buy, so we are
pushing,” he said.
Mr Thach noted that some local
rice exporters are shipping rice to China based on the quota for 2018 – 300,000
tonnes.
“We are afraid that when the
quota for 2018 is complete, we won’t receive new orders. It is difficult to
sell,” Mr Thach said.
China has pledged to purchase
400,000 tonnes of rice from Cambodia this year. The pledge was made in January
during a meeting in Beijing between Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese
president Xi Jinping.
From January to October this
year, Cambodia shipped 184,844 tonnes of milled rice to China, according to the
Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export Formality (SOWS-REF).
Exports to China accounted for 40
percent of Cambodia’s total exports of 457,940 tonnes, a 5 percent hike over
the corresponding period last year.
In 2018, the Kingdom was unable
to meet its rice export quota in the Chinese market, shipping only 170,000
tonnes out of the 300,000 allowed.
Lun Yeng, secretary-general of
the Cambodian Rice Association, said that until this month, Cambodia is
shipping rice to China based on the quota of 300,000 tonnes set for 2018. He
said the old quota must be fulfilled before the new quota of 400,000 tonnes for
2019 can begin.
“Now we have almost completed the
old quota of 300,000 tonnes since we had a very small amount left. Next month
we will complete the old quota, and we will continue with the new one,” he
added.
“We already have a quota for
2019, but China has not implemented it yet because first it has to complete the
old quota for 2018,” Mr Yeng added. “We do not have a fix contract with
China, so when they want to purchase, they will discuss the price and request a
quote from us. No price is set in advance,” he added.
“For the new export quota of
400,000 tonnes for 2019, we already signed an initial agreement on November 5
in Shanghai for 125,000 tonnes. This means that for the period 2019-2020 they
will buy at least 125,000 tonnes as per this agreement,” Mr Yeng said.
In principle, the new quota
should be implemented this November, but they start with a lower amount, Mr
Yeng noted.
“Now, China’s Cofco is not
purchasing, so our rice millers are considering whether they should buy more
rice to store in their warehouses or not,” he added.
Mr Yeng said rice millers have
already purchased paddy from farmers and now all warehouses are full because
China has not placed new orders yet.
“If China starts ordering, rice
millers can start purchasing paddy from farmers. They can clear the old stock
and purchase new one,” he added.
According to the figure from
SOWS-REF, the European Union is the second-biggest buyer of Cambodian rice,
purchasing a total of 155,950 tonnes of milled rice from January to October –
an increase of 34 percent when compared with the same period last year.
The report showed that 83
companies exported Cambodian rice to the international market, including
Baitang (Kampuchea) Plc, the biggest rice exporter, who shipped 60,358 tonnes.
Amru Rice (Cambodia), the next biggest exporter, shipped 41,068 tonnes.
Economy: FG restates
commitment to border closure
By CSL Stockbrokers
November 26, 2019
Yesterday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji
Lai Mohammed reaffirmed the government’s plan to keep the
border closed implying there is the possibility that the Jan 31 deadline may be
extended. This is coming as many critics of the decision continue to point to
the rising cost of food staples in the country and the inability of many legal
businesses to bring in raw materials or export finished goods.
However, in defence of the government’s decision, the minister
listed some of the positive results achieved thus far due to the border
closure. On the economic front, he said the partial closure of the border had
helped curb the smuggling of rice and other prohibited items resulting in
increased production and milling as reported by the Rice Millers Association of
Nigeria.
Also, he explained that revenue accruing to the
government has improved as importers now pass through legal procedures to ship
in products through the seaports while diversion of imported petroleum products
has been curbed.
Furthermore, he highlighted the significant
impact the border closure has had on the security of the country. According to
the minister, about 95% of illegal weapons used in banditry, kidnapping as well
as by Boko haram fighters come through the border. He claimed the closure of
the border has helped to significantly curb the influx of these illegal
weapons. He noted that 296 illegal immigrants have been arrested while several
materials for manufacturing explosives have been intercepted.
In addition, he stated that Nigeria is
currently working through every available diplomatic channel to engage
neighbouring countries to comply with ECOWAS protocol on transit. He highlighted
that several goods (such as poultry products and vegetable oil) which typically
come in from these countries are on Nigeria’s prohibition list. He noted that
talks with these countries are producing results with Niger, for example,
issuing a circular banning exportation of rice in any form to Nigeria.
Despite the many positives recounted by the minister, we note that the border closure
has led to several unintended consequences with the jump in food inflation
being the most obvious despite this being the harvest season. Several
companies, particularly in the cocoa beverage sector such as Nestle and
Cadbury, have struggled to bring in raw materials (cocoa and cocoa powder) from
Ghana.
These materials were imported into the country via the land borders. Bringing in the raw
materials through the seaports will only result in an increase in the cost of
such goods and a drop in sales volumes for these companies as the hard-pressed
Nigerian consumer cannot pay more for such goods.
We maintain our view that temporary closure of the border will not solve Nigeria’s border insecurity
nor as history demonstrates, help drive local industrialisation. Rather, the
government should focus on creating an enabling business environment that
encourages innovation, investment and desire to take business risks.
Explained: What is Golden Rice?
Said to be answer to Vitamin A deficiency, yet to be planted on
large scale. Will Bangladesh be first?
By Express News Service |New Delhi |Updated: November 26, 2019
1:03:53 pm
The Golden Rice that is being reviewed in Bangladesh is developed
by the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute. According to
the institute, this rice variety will not be more expensive than the
conventional variety.
In the late 1990s, German scientists developed a genetically
modified variety of rice called Golden Rice. It was claimed to be able to fight
Vitamin A deficiency, which is the leading cause of blindness among children
and can also lead to death due to infectious diseases such as measles.
The claim has sometimes been contested over the years, with a 2016
study from Washington University in St Louis reporting that the variety may
fall short of what it is supposed to achieve.
Now, Bangladesh could be on the verge of becoming the first country
to approve plantation of this variety. The Dhaka Tribune recently quoted visiting
Nobel Laureate Sir Richard John Roberts as saying that Bangladesh would take a
decision on the release of Golden Rice.
Advocates of the variety stress how it can help countries where
Vitamin A deficiencies leave millions at high risk. In Bangladesh, over 21 per
cent of the children have vitamin A deficiency.
The Golden Rice that is being reviewed in Bangladesh is developed
by the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute. According to
the institute, this rice variety will not be more expensive than the
conventional variety.
Rice is naturally low in the pigment beta-carotene, which the body
uses to make Vitamin A. Golden rice contains this, which is the reason for its
golden colour.
Nigeria’s Funmi Fagbola, Mercy Bankole win L’Oréal-UNESCO science
awards
2019 Sub-Saharan Africa Young Talents Awardees. Photo:
L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme
Two Nigerian female scientists — Mercy Bankole and Funmilola
Fagbola — have been awarded the 2019 Young Talents Sub-Saharan Africa
Awards alongside 18 other female researchers.
The award is sponsored jointly by Fondation L’Oréal and UNESCO
For Women in Science programme.
Mercy Temitope Bankole is a post-doctoral researcher at the
Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State. She majors in Chemistry,
with a research project on ‘Healing open wounds faster and better thanks to a
nanocomposite.’
Funmilola Fagbola is a doctoral candidate at the Ladoke Akintola
University of Technology’s department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer
Engineering. Her research project focuses on ‘Detecting misinformation with
proof and deep learning models, and nature-inspired algorithms.’
Each doctoral student awardee received €10,000; while each
post-doctoral student awardee got €15,000.
The awardees also benefited from a four-day
training designed to give them more resources to pursue their careers.
The four-day training course, given by international
experts selected by the Fondation L’Oréal, covered different dimensions such
as leadership, management, negotiation, public speaking, media training
and personal branding, the Press release announcing their awards added.
The award, which held in Dakar, Senegal, last Thursday, was part
of the 10th edition of its regional programme For Women in Science.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Vice-President of the
Fondation L’Oréal, Alexandra Palt, said, “The number of women in Science is not
yet significant: only 2.4%1 of the world’s researchers are African scientists,
of whom 30% are women. Through the Young Talents Awards for SubSaharan Africa,
we promote and support the continent’s remarkable female researchers.
“They play a key role to develop inclusive research in Africa,
for Africa and conducted by Africans.”
According to the Press release distributed by the Chief of
Project Rosine Zadi, the 20 awardees were drawn from 15 countries and comprised
computer scientists, engineers and biologists.
“They prove the diversity and crucial role of women’s scientific
research on the continent,” the release said.
They were awarded in front of high-level audience from all over
Africa.
They included First Lady of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Mrs. Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi; Minister of Higher Education,
Research and Innovation of Senegal, Mr. Sheikh Oumar Anne; Regional Director of UNESCO West Africa (Sahel), Dimitri Sanga; and CEO Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, Hafsat Abiola, among others.
Research and Innovation of Senegal, Mr. Sheikh Oumar Anne; Regional Director of UNESCO West Africa (Sahel), Dimitri Sanga; and CEO Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, Hafsat Abiola, among others.
See the full list of the 2019 awardees:
1 – Regina Esinam ABOTSI – Doctoral candidate – Ghana –
University of Cape Town, South Africa
Discipline: Health Sciences
Research project: Determining antibiotic resistance in potentially pathogenic bacteria present
in the respiratory tract of HIV-infected children.
2 – Becky Nancy ALOO – Doctoral candidate – Kenya – Laboratory, Nelson Mandela African
Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha City, Tanzania
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Identifying novel species of Irish potato rhizobacteria to enhance yields.
3 – Fatoumata BA – Doctoral candidate – Senegal – Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis
Discipline: Fundamental medicine
Research project: Studying sleep to better fight metabolic diseases.
4 – Dr. Mercy Temitope BANKOLE – Post-doctoral researcher – Nigeria – Federal University of
Technology, Minna Niger State
Discipline: Chemistry
Research project: Healing open wounds faster and better thanks to a nanocomposite.
5 – Najah Fatou COLY – Doctoral candidate – Senegal – Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar
Discipline: Biological sciences
Research project: Better understanding infections during delivery to fight neonatal mortality
6 – Funmilola FAGBOLA – Doctoral candidate – Nigeria – Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology
Discipline: Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering
Research project: Detecting misinformation with proof and deep learning models, and natureinspired algorithms
7 – Dr. Nowsheen GOONOO – Post-doctoral researcher – Mauritius – Mauritius University, Moka
Discipline: Materials sciences
Research project: Avoiding amputations by enhancing healing in diabetic wounds
8 – Fatou JOOF – Doctoral candidate – The Gambia – Banjul Open University
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Developing new antimalarial strategies by tracking genetic mutations
9 – Ruth KIHIKA – Doctoral candidate – Kenya – Nairobi Kenyatta University
Discipline: Chemistry
Research project: Identifying gene targets that correlate with biochemical pathways
responsible for plant resistance to parasites
10 – Stéphanie Maubath Carène KONAN – Doctoral candidate – Côte d’Ivoire – Félix Houphouët
Boigny University, Abidjan
Discipline: Informatics and Information Science
Research project: Geomatics at the service of the fight against malnutrition
11 – Carine KUNSEVI-KILOLA – Doctoral candidate – Democratic Republic of Congo –
Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Discipline: Health Sciences
Research project: Combating tuberculosis contamination in diabetics
12 – Dr. Jacqueline KYOSIIMIRE-LUGEMWA – Post-doctoral researcher – MRC/UVRI & London
School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Unité de recherche ougandaise, Uganda
Discipline: Health Sciences
Research project: Generating comprehensive data on the pre-existing immune status and its
effect on vaccine response.
13 – Dr. Henintsoa Onivola MINOARIVELO – Post-doctoral researcher – Madagascar – Université
de Stellenbosch, Afrique du Sud
Discipline: Mathematics
Research project: Using mathematical modelling and computational simulations to predict
the fate of insect pollinators.
14 – Celia MOFFAT JOEL MATYANGA – Doctoral candidate – Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe University,
Harare
Discipline: Fundamental Medicine
Research project: Using the interactions between a herbal traditional medicine and first line
treatment of hiv/aids
15 – Mweete NGLAZI – Doctoral candidate – Zambia – Cap University, South Africa Discipline:
Health Sciences
Research project: An analysis of overweight and obesity in South Africa: the case of women of
childbearing age
16 – Ines NGOH – Doctoral candidate – Cameroon – Buea University et London School of
Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Gambian Research Unit, Gambia
Discipline: Biological sciences
Research project: Understanding genetic variations, used by natural populations of malaria
parasites
17 – Georgina NYAWO – Doctoral candidate – Zimbabwe – Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Discipline: Health sciences
Research project: – Assessing the microbiome in patients with tuberculosis to develop novel
diagnostic interventions and therapeutic
18 – Dr. Cécile Harmonie OTOIDOBIGA – Post-doctoral researcher – Burkina Faso –
Ouagadougou Joseph Ki-Zerbo University
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Improving productivity of lowland rice in West Africa
19 – Francine TANKEU – Doctoral candidate – Cameroon – Yaoundé 1 University
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Treating leukemia by allying biochemistry to the power of plants
20 – Jesugnon Fifamè Murielle Féty TONOUEWA – Doctoral candidate – Benin – Parakou
University
Discipline: Environmental Engineering
Research project: Improving the Acacia wood supply chain in Benin
Discipline: Health Sciences
Research project: Determining antibiotic resistance in potentially pathogenic bacteria present
in the respiratory tract of HIV-infected children.
2 – Becky Nancy ALOO – Doctoral candidate – Kenya – Laboratory, Nelson Mandela African
Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha City, Tanzania
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Identifying novel species of Irish potato rhizobacteria to enhance yields.
3 – Fatoumata BA – Doctoral candidate – Senegal – Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis
Discipline: Fundamental medicine
Research project: Studying sleep to better fight metabolic diseases.
4 – Dr. Mercy Temitope BANKOLE – Post-doctoral researcher – Nigeria – Federal University of
Technology, Minna Niger State
Discipline: Chemistry
Research project: Healing open wounds faster and better thanks to a nanocomposite.
5 – Najah Fatou COLY – Doctoral candidate – Senegal – Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar
Discipline: Biological sciences
Research project: Better understanding infections during delivery to fight neonatal mortality
6 – Funmilola FAGBOLA – Doctoral candidate – Nigeria – Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology
Discipline: Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering
Research project: Detecting misinformation with proof and deep learning models, and natureinspired algorithms
7 – Dr. Nowsheen GOONOO – Post-doctoral researcher – Mauritius – Mauritius University, Moka
Discipline: Materials sciences
Research project: Avoiding amputations by enhancing healing in diabetic wounds
8 – Fatou JOOF – Doctoral candidate – The Gambia – Banjul Open University
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Developing new antimalarial strategies by tracking genetic mutations
9 – Ruth KIHIKA – Doctoral candidate – Kenya – Nairobi Kenyatta University
Discipline: Chemistry
Research project: Identifying gene targets that correlate with biochemical pathways
responsible for plant resistance to parasites
10 – Stéphanie Maubath Carène KONAN – Doctoral candidate – Côte d’Ivoire – Félix Houphouët
Boigny University, Abidjan
Discipline: Informatics and Information Science
Research project: Geomatics at the service of the fight against malnutrition
11 – Carine KUNSEVI-KILOLA – Doctoral candidate – Democratic Republic of Congo –
Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Discipline: Health Sciences
Research project: Combating tuberculosis contamination in diabetics
12 – Dr. Jacqueline KYOSIIMIRE-LUGEMWA – Post-doctoral researcher – MRC/UVRI & London
School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Unité de recherche ougandaise, Uganda
Discipline: Health Sciences
Research project: Generating comprehensive data on the pre-existing immune status and its
effect on vaccine response.
13 – Dr. Henintsoa Onivola MINOARIVELO – Post-doctoral researcher – Madagascar – Université
de Stellenbosch, Afrique du Sud
Discipline: Mathematics
Research project: Using mathematical modelling and computational simulations to predict
the fate of insect pollinators.
14 – Celia MOFFAT JOEL MATYANGA – Doctoral candidate – Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe University,
Harare
Discipline: Fundamental Medicine
Research project: Using the interactions between a herbal traditional medicine and first line
treatment of hiv/aids
15 – Mweete NGLAZI – Doctoral candidate – Zambia – Cap University, South Africa Discipline:
Health Sciences
Research project: An analysis of overweight and obesity in South Africa: the case of women of
childbearing age
16 – Ines NGOH – Doctoral candidate – Cameroon – Buea University et London School of
Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Gambian Research Unit, Gambia
Discipline: Biological sciences
Research project: Understanding genetic variations, used by natural populations of malaria
parasites
17 – Georgina NYAWO – Doctoral candidate – Zimbabwe – Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Discipline: Health sciences
Research project: – Assessing the microbiome in patients with tuberculosis to develop novel
diagnostic interventions and therapeutic
18 – Dr. Cécile Harmonie OTOIDOBIGA – Post-doctoral researcher – Burkina Faso –
Ouagadougou Joseph Ki-Zerbo University
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Improving productivity of lowland rice in West Africa
19 – Francine TANKEU – Doctoral candidate – Cameroon – Yaoundé 1 University
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Treating leukemia by allying biochemistry to the power of plants
20 – Jesugnon Fifamè Murielle Féty TONOUEWA – Doctoral candidate – Benin – Parakou
University
Discipline: Environmental Engineering
Research project: Improving the Acacia wood supply chain in Benin
Nigeria’s Funmi Fagbola, Mercy Bankole win L’Oréal-UNESCO science
awards
2019 Sub-Saharan Africa Young Talents Awardees. Photo:
L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme
Two Nigerian female scientists — Mercy Bankole and Funmilola
Fagbola — have been awarded the 2019 Young Talents Sub-Saharan Africa
Awards alongside 18 other female researchers.
The award is sponsored jointly by Fondation L’Oréal and UNESCO
For Women in Science programme.
Mercy Temitope Bankole is a post-doctoral researcher at the
Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State. She majors in Chemistry,
with a research project on ‘Healing open wounds faster and better thanks to a
nanocomposite.’
Funmilola Fagbola is a doctoral candidate at the Ladoke Akintola
University of Technology’s department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer
Engineering. Her research project focuses on ‘Detecting misinformation with
proof and deep learning models, and nature-inspired algorithms.’
Each doctoral student awardee received €10,000; while each
post-doctoral student awardee got €15,000.
The awardees also benefited from a four-day
training designed to give them more resources to pursue their careers.
The four-day training course, given by international
experts selected by the Fondation L’Oréal, covered different dimensions such
as leadership, management, negotiation, public speaking, media training
and personal branding, the Press release announcing their awards added.
The award, which held in Dakar, Senegal, last Thursday, was part
of the 10th edition of its regional programme For Women in Science.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Vice-President of the
Fondation L’Oréal, Alexandra Palt, said, “The number of women in Science is not
yet significant: only 2.4%1 of the world’s researchers are African scientists,
of whom 30% are women. Through the Young Talents Awards for SubSaharan Africa,
we promote and support the continent’s remarkable female researchers.
“They play a key role to develop inclusive research in Africa,
for Africa and conducted by Africans.”
According to the Press release distributed by the Chief of
Project Rosine Zadi, the 20 awardees were drawn from 15 countries and comprised
computer scientists, engineers and biologists.
“They prove the diversity and crucial role of women’s scientific
research on the continent,” the release said.
They were awarded in front of high-level audience from all over
Africa.
They included First Lady of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Mrs. Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi; Minister of Higher Education,
Research and Innovation of Senegal, Mr. Sheikh Oumar Anne; Regional Director of UNESCO West Africa (Sahel), Dimitri Sanga; and CEO Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, Hafsat Abiola, among others.
Research and Innovation of Senegal, Mr. Sheikh Oumar Anne; Regional Director of UNESCO West Africa (Sahel), Dimitri Sanga; and CEO Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, Hafsat Abiola, among others.
See the full list of the 2019 awardees:
1 – Regina Esinam ABOTSI – Doctoral candidate – Ghana –
University of Cape Town, South Africa
Discipline: Health Sciences
Research project: Determining antibiotic resistance in potentially pathogenic bacteria present
in the respiratory tract of HIV-infected children.
2 – Becky Nancy ALOO – Doctoral candidate – Kenya – Laboratory, Nelson Mandela African
Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha City, Tanzania
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Identifying novel species of Irish potato rhizobacteria to enhance yields.
3 – Fatoumata BA – Doctoral candidate – Senegal – Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis
Discipline: Fundamental medicine
Research project: Studying sleep to better fight metabolic diseases.
4 – Dr. Mercy Temitope BANKOLE – Post-doctoral researcher – Nigeria – Federal University of
Technology, Minna Niger State
Discipline: Chemistry
Research project: Healing open wounds faster and better thanks to a nanocomposite.
5 – Najah Fatou COLY – Doctoral candidate – Senegal – Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar
Discipline: Biological sciences
Research project: Better understanding infections during delivery to fight neonatal mortality
6 – Funmilola FAGBOLA – Doctoral candidate – Nigeria – Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology
Discipline: Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering
Research project: Detecting misinformation with proof and deep learning models, and natureinspired algorithms
7 – Dr. Nowsheen GOONOO – Post-doctoral researcher – Mauritius – Mauritius University, Moka
Discipline: Materials sciences
Research project: Avoiding amputations by enhancing healing in diabetic wounds
8 – Fatou JOOF – Doctoral candidate – The Gambia – Banjul Open University
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Developing new antimalarial strategies by tracking genetic mutations
9 – Ruth KIHIKA – Doctoral candidate – Kenya – Nairobi Kenyatta University
Discipline: Chemistry
Research project: Identifying gene targets that correlate with biochemical pathways
responsible for plant resistance to parasites
10 – Stéphanie Maubath Carène KONAN – Doctoral candidate – Côte d’Ivoire – Félix Houphouët
Boigny University, Abidjan
Discipline: Informatics and Information Science
Research project: Geomatics at the service of the fight against malnutrition
11 – Carine KUNSEVI-KILOLA – Doctoral candidate – Democratic Republic of Congo –
Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Discipline: Health Sciences
Research project: Combating tuberculosis contamination in diabetics
12 – Dr. Jacqueline KYOSIIMIRE-LUGEMWA – Post-doctoral researcher – MRC/UVRI & London
School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Unité de recherche ougandaise, Uganda
Discipline: Health Sciences
Research project: Generating comprehensive data on the pre-existing immune status and its
effect on vaccine response.
13 – Dr. Henintsoa Onivola MINOARIVELO – Post-doctoral researcher – Madagascar – Université
de Stellenbosch, Afrique du Sud
Discipline: Mathematics
Research project: Using mathematical modelling and computational simulations to predict
the fate of insect pollinators.
14 – Celia MOFFAT JOEL MATYANGA – Doctoral candidate – Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe University,
Harare
Discipline: Fundamental Medicine
Research project: Using the interactions between a herbal traditional medicine and first line
treatment of hiv/aids
15 – Mweete NGLAZI – Doctoral candidate – Zambia – Cap University, South Africa Discipline:
Health Sciences
Research project: An analysis of overweight and obesity in South Africa: the case of women of
childbearing age
16 – Ines NGOH – Doctoral candidate – Cameroon – Buea University et London School of
Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Gambian Research Unit, Gambia
Discipline: Biological sciences
Research project: Understanding genetic variations, used by natural populations of malaria
parasites
17 – Georgina NYAWO – Doctoral candidate – Zimbabwe – Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Discipline: Health sciences
Research project: – Assessing the microbiome in patients with tuberculosis to develop novel
diagnostic interventions and therapeutic
18 – Dr. Cécile Harmonie OTOIDOBIGA – Post-doctoral researcher – Burkina Faso –
Ouagadougou Joseph Ki-Zerbo University
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Improving productivity of lowland rice in West Africa
19 – Francine TANKEU – Doctoral candidate – Cameroon – Yaoundé 1 University
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Treating leukemia by allying biochemistry to the power of plants
20 – Jesugnon Fifamè Murielle Féty TONOUEWA – Doctoral candidate – Benin – Parakou
University
Discipline: Environmental Engineering
Research project: Improving the Acacia wood supply chain in Benin
Discipline: Health Sciences
Research project: Determining antibiotic resistance in potentially pathogenic bacteria present
in the respiratory tract of HIV-infected children.
2 – Becky Nancy ALOO – Doctoral candidate – Kenya – Laboratory, Nelson Mandela African
Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha City, Tanzania
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Identifying novel species of Irish potato rhizobacteria to enhance yields.
3 – Fatoumata BA – Doctoral candidate – Senegal – Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis
Discipline: Fundamental medicine
Research project: Studying sleep to better fight metabolic diseases.
4 – Dr. Mercy Temitope BANKOLE – Post-doctoral researcher – Nigeria – Federal University of
Technology, Minna Niger State
Discipline: Chemistry
Research project: Healing open wounds faster and better thanks to a nanocomposite.
5 – Najah Fatou COLY – Doctoral candidate – Senegal – Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar
Discipline: Biological sciences
Research project: Better understanding infections during delivery to fight neonatal mortality
6 – Funmilola FAGBOLA – Doctoral candidate – Nigeria – Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology
Discipline: Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering
Research project: Detecting misinformation with proof and deep learning models, and natureinspired algorithms
7 – Dr. Nowsheen GOONOO – Post-doctoral researcher – Mauritius – Mauritius University, Moka
Discipline: Materials sciences
Research project: Avoiding amputations by enhancing healing in diabetic wounds
8 – Fatou JOOF – Doctoral candidate – The Gambia – Banjul Open University
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Developing new antimalarial strategies by tracking genetic mutations
9 – Ruth KIHIKA – Doctoral candidate – Kenya – Nairobi Kenyatta University
Discipline: Chemistry
Research project: Identifying gene targets that correlate with biochemical pathways
responsible for plant resistance to parasites
10 – Stéphanie Maubath Carène KONAN – Doctoral candidate – Côte d’Ivoire – Félix Houphouët
Boigny University, Abidjan
Discipline: Informatics and Information Science
Research project: Geomatics at the service of the fight against malnutrition
11 – Carine KUNSEVI-KILOLA – Doctoral candidate – Democratic Republic of Congo –
Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Discipline: Health Sciences
Research project: Combating tuberculosis contamination in diabetics
12 – Dr. Jacqueline KYOSIIMIRE-LUGEMWA – Post-doctoral researcher – MRC/UVRI & London
School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Unité de recherche ougandaise, Uganda
Discipline: Health Sciences
Research project: Generating comprehensive data on the pre-existing immune status and its
effect on vaccine response.
13 – Dr. Henintsoa Onivola MINOARIVELO – Post-doctoral researcher – Madagascar – Université
de Stellenbosch, Afrique du Sud
Discipline: Mathematics
Research project: Using mathematical modelling and computational simulations to predict
the fate of insect pollinators.
14 – Celia MOFFAT JOEL MATYANGA – Doctoral candidate – Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe University,
Harare
Discipline: Fundamental Medicine
Research project: Using the interactions between a herbal traditional medicine and first line
treatment of hiv/aids
15 – Mweete NGLAZI – Doctoral candidate – Zambia – Cap University, South Africa Discipline:
Health Sciences
Research project: An analysis of overweight and obesity in South Africa: the case of women of
childbearing age
16 – Ines NGOH – Doctoral candidate – Cameroon – Buea University et London School of
Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Gambian Research Unit, Gambia
Discipline: Biological sciences
Research project: Understanding genetic variations, used by natural populations of malaria
parasites
17 – Georgina NYAWO – Doctoral candidate – Zimbabwe – Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Discipline: Health sciences
Research project: – Assessing the microbiome in patients with tuberculosis to develop novel
diagnostic interventions and therapeutic
18 – Dr. Cécile Harmonie OTOIDOBIGA – Post-doctoral researcher – Burkina Faso –
Ouagadougou Joseph Ki-Zerbo University
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Improving productivity of lowland rice in West Africa
19 – Francine TANKEU – Doctoral candidate – Cameroon – Yaoundé 1 University
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Research project: Treating leukemia by allying biochemistry to the power of plants
20 – Jesugnon Fifamè Murielle Féty TONOUEWA – Doctoral candidate – Benin – Parakou
University
Discipline: Environmental Engineering
Research project: Improving the Acacia wood supply chain in Benin
What’s an Unhealthy Gut? How Gut
Health Affects You
The gut microbiome
The incredible complexity of the
gut and its importance to our overall health is a topic of increasing research
in the medical community. Numerous studies in the past two decades have
demonstrated links between gut health and the immune system, mood, mental
health, autoimmune diseases, endocrine disorders, skin
conditions, and cancer.
At one time, our digestive system
was considered a relatively “simple” body system, comprised essentially of one
long tube for our food to pass through, be absorbed, and then excreted.
The term “gut microbiome” refers specifically to the
microorganisms living in your intestines. A person has about 300 to 500 different
species of bacteria in their digestive tract. While some microorganisms are
harmful to our health, many are incredibly beneficial and even necessary to a
healthy body.
According to Dr. E. M. Quigley in
his studyTrusted Source on
gut bacteria in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, having a wide
variety of these good bacteria in your gut can enhance your immune system
function, improve symptoms of depression, help combat obesity, and provide
numerous other benefits.
7 Signs of an unhealthy gut
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Many facets of modern life such
as high stress levels, too little sleep, eating processed and high-sugar
foods, and taking antibiotics can all damage our gut microbiome. This in turn
may affect other aspects of our health, such as the brain, heart, immune
system, skin, weight, hormone levels, ability to absorb nutrients, and even the
development of cancer.
There are a number of ways an
unhealthy gut might manifest itself. Here are seven of the most common signs:
1. Upset
stomach
Stomach disturbances like gas,
bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and heartburn can all be signs of an
unhealthy gut. A balanced gut will have less difficulty processing food and
eliminating waste.
2. A high-sugar
diet
A diet high in processed foods and added sugars can
decrease the amount of good bacteria in your gut. This imbalance can cause
increased sugar cravings, which can damage your gut still further. High amounts
of refined sugars, particularly high-fructose corn syrup, have been linked to increased inflammation in the body. Inflammation can be the precursor to a
number of diseases and even cancers.
3.
Unintentional weight changes
Gaining or losing weight without
making changes to your diet or exercise habits may be a sign of an unhealthy gut.
An imbalanced gut can impair your body’s ability to absorb nutrients, regulate
blood sugar, and store fat. Weight loss may be caused by small intestinal
bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), while weight gain may be caused by insulin resistance or the urge to overeat due
to decreased nutrient absorption.
4. Sleep
disturbances or constant fatigue
An unhealthy gut may contribute
to sleep disturbances such as insomnia or poor sleep, and therefore lead to
chronic fatigue. The majority of the body’s serotonin, a hormone that affects mood and
sleep, is produced in the gut. So gut damage can impair your ability to sleep
well. Some sleep disturbances have also been linked to risk for fibromyalgia.
5. Skin
irritation
Skin conditions like eczema may be related to a damaged
gut. Inflammation in the gut caused by a poor diet or food allergies may cause
increased “leaking” of certain proteins out into
the body, which can in turn irritate the skin and cause conditions such as
eczema.
6. Autoimmune
conditions
Medical researchers are
continually finding new evidence of the impact of the gut on the immune systemTrusted Source. It’s thought that an unhealthy gut may increase systemic
inflammation and alter the proper functioning of the immune system. This can
lead to autoimmune diseases, where the body attacks itself
rather than harmful invaders.
7. Food
intolerances
Food intolerances are the result of
difficulty digesting certain foods (this is different than a food allergy, which is caused by an immune
system reaction to certain foods). It’s thought that food intolerances may be
caused by poor quality of bacteria in the gut. This can lead to difficulty
digesting the trigger foods and unpleasant symptoms such as bloating, gas,
diarrhea, abdominal pain, and nausea. There is some evidence that food allergies may also be
related to gut health.
Al-Sumait Prize Board decides to award US$1m
prize in food security field
PABRA has increased the integration of the important legume component
in farming systems, which is important to improve soil fertility, enhance
nutritional quality, and serve as a resilient driver in dryland and
drought-prone environments.
·
Kuwait
Updated: 25-11-2019 16:34 IST
Created: 25-11-2019 16:34 IST
The Alliance works along the continuum of innovative research to
effective adoption and sustainable management of small farmers enterprises.
Image Credit: Twitter(@kfasinfo)
Following consideration of the
jury and selection committees' reports, the Board of Trustees of the Al Sumait Prize for African Development
(AlSumaitPrize.org) has decided to jointly award the Million Dollar 2019 Prize
in the field of food security to:
The Africa Rice Center (Based in
Cote d'Ivoire)
for its important role in
enhancing food security in Africa, including the
production of new rice varieties vitamin A enriched-rice with high yielding and
climate-resilient and leading of pan-African rice research organization committed to improving livelihoods in Africa
through strong science and effective partnerships devoted to improving the
rice economy in Africa and is part of a
global research partnership for a
food-secure future. Through their applied research and education programs, the Center is building the next generation of
professionals in rice and food research in Africa.
Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance
(PABRA) (Nairobi)
for serving a dynamic network of
scientists and practitioners specializing in improving the productivity,
processing, and the value chain of beans throughout Africa. The Alliance works
along the continuum of innovative research to effective adoption and sustainable management of small
farmers enterprises. PABRA has increased the integration of the important legume
component in farming systems, which is important to improve soil fertility,
enhance nutritional quality, and serve as a resilient driver in dryland and
drought-prone environments.
An initiative of His Highness
Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah, the Amir of the State of Kuwait,
which provides the annual million-dollar, the Prize honors the late Dr.
Abdulrahman Al Sumait, a Kuwaiti doctor who dedicated his life to addressing
the health challenges confronting Africa.
(With Inputs from APO)
Expect Decline in Rice Export to EU from India
Rice export to EU poised to decline significantly in the coming
months. On 4th of November DGFT issued a notification on guidelines for export of rice to EU. Very few merchant exporters will
take the risk of exporting to EU given the high risk and costs involved. Rice
export from India have been struggling since the beginning of the financial
year. Non-basmati rice exports fell significantly since discontinuation of MEIS
scheme by the government in March 2019.
Merchant Exporters to EU in a Fix
Merchant exporters of rice to EU are contemplating the costs and
risks involved with export to EU. Earlier merchant exporter would send a
sampling letter to the approved EU lab along with sample of rice for EU. After
inspection and approval, the same lot would be packed and exported. The cost
for it was approximately INR 8000-INR 10000 depending on the lab. The total
cost of inspection increased to INR 25000-INR 30000 per container. If EIC/EIA
rejects the same, the bags cost would add on to the inspection and lab testing
cost as rice need to be packed before inspection. A merchant exporter was
quoted saying, “it is a known fact that Indian basmati rice have high levels of
Tricyclazole. It exceeds 10 times the permissible limits. We need to purchase
organic basmati for export to EU that costs Rupees 5-6 Rupees per kg higher
than normal basmati rice. If EIC/EIA rejects the lot, in addition to packaging
cost, inspection and lab testing costs, we would end up paying Rs 5-6 per Kg
higher for a non-pesticide approved rice”. Therefore, not many merchant traders
would take the risk of exporting to EU. Government needs to change rules for
merchant exporters.
New Rule Set to Decrease Export to EU
Exports to EU of Indian rice have decreased significantly since
the pesticide rule came in place in 2017. However, export of rice from Pakistan
increased significantly grabbing major share of Indian rice in EU market. Many
merchant traders opting not to take chances of export to EU. The government
needs to put pressure on farmers rather than exporters to not use pesticide
which growing the crop. Pesticide ban is essential as many other countries are
set to follow the pesticide-testing pattern similar to EU. Similarly, expect
decrease in rice exports to Saudi Arabia. As new
testing guidelines similar to EU for
Saudi Arabia come in place from 31st December 2019.
UT Southwestern, UTD pull in $12 million to recruit cancer
researchers to North Texas
They’re the first grants awarded by the state’s cancer-fighting agency
since voter approval of an additional $3 billion for the effort.
UT Southwestern is the biggest beneficiary of cancer research
grants for the Cancer Prevention and Research Insitute of Texas.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff
Photographer)
5:00 PM on Nov 26, 2019
UT
Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Texas at Dallas will use $12
million in new state grants to recruit cancer researchers to North Texas.
The grants
from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas are part of a $38
million funding round to boost research across the state. Other recipients
included Rice University, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center,
Baylor College of Medicine and University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
They are
the first awards from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas,
known as CPRIT, since voters approved a constitutional amendment Nov. 5 to
reauthorize the cancer-fighting agency and provide an additional $3 billion in
funding.
"Voters
want Texas to be the center of world-class cancer research,” said a statement
from Wayne Roberts, CPRIT chief executive officer. “These recruits will assist
CPRIT achieve Texans’ aspirations.”
Here are
the grants to North Texas institutions:
·
$6 million to recruit Ulrich
Steidl to UT Southwestern from the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center.
·
$2 million to recruit Eric
Welin to the University of Texas at Dallas from the California Institute of
Technology.
·
$2 million to recruit Matteo
Ligorio to UT Southwestern from Massachusetts General Hospital.
·
$2 million to recruit Benjamin
Drapkin to UT Southwestern from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts
General Hospital Cancer Center.
Steidl
is an established cancer investigator and one of the scientific founders of
Stelexis Therapeutics, which pulled in a $43 million investment this
year to expand its proprietary platform to discover and selectively target
precancerous stem cells. He remains a director with the New York-based company.
“The
ability to identify, isolate, study and screen rare precancerous stem cells,
from within bulk tumors, is an enormous breakthrough that has the potential to
change how cancer patients are treated,” Steidl said at the time.
CPRIT
described him as “a pioneer in the study of leukemia and lymphoma” who will
lead UTSW’s research program for hematological malignancies.
Welin,
Ligorio and Drapkin are being recruited as first-time, tenure-track faculty
members.
Welin,
now an assistant professor of chemistry at UTD, was part of a research team at Caltech that
developed a synthetic method for creating two compounds that hold the potential
to become potent anti-cancer drugs. The compounds, jorumycin and jorunnamycin
A, are found naturally only in the bodies of a black-and-white sea slug that
lives in the Indian Ocean.
Drapkin’s
recent research involves small cell lung cancer and Ligorio’s background
includes work on an implantable pancreatic cancer treatment device.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
CPRIT,
the nation’s second-largest public funder of cancer research, has awarded $2.43
billion in grants to Texas research institutions since 2009. UT Southwestern is
the biggest beneficiary of the program, attracting $461 million in grants from
2009 through August.
Grants
have been used to recruit 192 researchers to the state, along with $4.5 billion
in additional public and private investment.
Rice farmers need
more than promises
November 27, 2019
The Philippines was on track to
hit, or even surpass, the import volume of 3 million metric tons projected by
the United States Department of Agriculture, based on the latest government
data. As of October, government data indicated that shipments had already
reached 2.99 MMT. Following the release of these figures, the BusinessMirror
reported that rice planters had lost P61.77 billion due to the decline in the
farm-gate price of rice (See, “Planters lose P61.77B due to rice price drop,” in
the BusinessMirror, November 15, 2019).
Immediately after the
BusinessMirror reported the losses incurred by rice planters, the President
apologized to farmers and promised them that help is on the way. To remedy the
situation, Duterte ordered concerned government agencies to stop the importation
of rice. He also told officials to buy all the palay of local planters.
Farmers’ groups earlier warned
about the influx of cheap rice imports following the implementation of Republic
Act 11203, or the rice trade liberalization law. Some experts also urged the
government to put in place safety nets that will cushion the impact of RA 11203
on the local rice sector. Recent developments have shown that the sector was
ill-prepared for competition with farmers from other countries who can produce
rice cheaply.
Until now, many affected farmers
have yet to receive the interventions that should have been bankrolled by the
P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund mandated by RA 11203. This
may be due to the fact that the Philippine Rice Industry Roadmap (PRIR), which
will guide the government’s programs, particularly those funded by the RCEF,
has not yet been completed. It also did not help that officials had bickered
over the nature of the P5 billion initially released by the Department of
Budget and Management, and the source of the other P5 billion. The RCEF is
supposed to consist of tariffs collected from importers, but government agreed
to front-load the money.
Under RA 11203, concerned
government agencies were given a maximum of 180 days to “formulate and adopt”
the rice industry road map. Following this provision, the agencies should have
released the document in September. The PRIR is seen as a crucial instrument
that will help farmers transition to a liberalized trade regime, but the
government is not yet ready to unveil it.
The paper prepared by the
Philippine Rice Research Institute warned that the losses incurred by rice
planters will reach P130 billion if the farm-gate price of the staple continues
to decline. Also, farmers may be discouraged from planting rice as it is no
longer profitable. Sans a viable plan to transition them to planting other cash
crops and to ensure that the current level of rice production is maintained,
the country will eventually have to rely on imports.
The race to make good on its
commitment to the World Trade Organization may have made it difficult for the
government to immediately put in place safety nets to shield local producers
from the impact of RA 11203. Unfortunately, an apology and pronouncements of
banning imports will not help prevent the freefall of farm-gate prices and the
exit of farmers from the rice sector. The key to ensuring that farmers will
continue planting the staple is their access to credit. Without this, farmers
may be left with no choice but to abandon their rice lands.
Dartmouth researchers discover gene in plants that
could combat anemia
·
Nov 26, 2019 Updated 9 hrs ago
·
Biology
professor Mary Lou Guerinot and her research team have discovered a plant that
could change the way food staples like rice and wheat deliver iron, hopefully
eliminating anemia in women and children in the developing world.
HANOVER
— Researchers at Dartmouth College have discovered a gene in plants that
regulates the uptake of iron, raising hopes for genetically altered foods to
combat anemia.
“Over
two billion people suffer from iron deficient anemia,” said Mary Lou Guerinot.
“It mostly causes serious health problems for women and children.”
In
parts of the world where people rely on plant-based diets, consuming a lot of
wheat and rice, iron deficient anemia is common. Guerinot said the research
team at Dartmouth is close to understanding how the newly discovered gene
works, meaning they are close to being able to edit genes in plants like rice
and wheat to take on more iron as the plants grow.
“Once
we know how a plant takes up iron, we hope we can improve the system so plants
take up more iron,” she said.
Guerinot
and her team have discovered the URI gene, known as Upstream Regulator of IRT1,
and it controls when genes should be expressed in the root of a plant to begin
iron uptake. URI controls as many as 1,500 other genes, including those that
have nothing to do with iron.
“Our
research found that the abundance of the URI protein is not changed by iron
conditions,” said Sun A. Kim, one of the researchers on the team and lead
author on the research paper. “Faced with the finding that the protein is
always present, we went on to investigate if the URI protein is modified in
response to iron availability to alter its activity.”
Guerinot
said plants tend to be conservative when it comes to taking up iron as they
grow, as too much iron can be toxic to the plants.
“Plants
tend to over-regulate, they take up iron but then they turn it off very
quickly,” she said
She
said the plants can be genetically reset to take up more iron without being
toxic, and have the iron present for people when they consume the plant-based
foods.
The
team found that under iron-poor conditions, the URI protein combines with a
phosphate molecule and activates a sequence of genetic events to turn on the
iron uptake system. Guerinot said the isn’t sure exactly how the
phosphorylation process works, but they are close.
The
goal, according to Guerinot, is to be able to edit the genes of the plants with
the CRISPR technology. Plants altered with the gene editing CRISPR tools are
regulated differently from the transgenic-GMO plants, she said. This could mean
the iron rich plants will be able to get to the people who need them faster.
The
research team is now focusing on developing a plant with a regulator that stays
in the “on” position for a longer amount of time. The team’s goal is to have
plants take up enough iron to benefit human consumers of plants.
“Foods
in many of the staple diets around the world are not a good source of iron,
like red meat. This research discovery could provide iron for people who are
not already getting it,” Guerinot said.
Eastern India’s oldest rice research
station observes Farmers’ Day
1,000 farmers from three
districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi participated in the event
2 min read
The Regional Agricultural
Research Station of Assam Agricultural University at
Akbarpur in Karimganj, the oldest rice research station of eastern India, on
Tuesday, observed the Farmers’ Day.
Almost 1,000 farmers from the three districts of Cachar,
Karimganj and Hailakandi participated at the event.
A field exhibition was also organised on the occasion.
The exhibition was inaugurated by Dr. Atul Bargohain, Associate Director
of Extension Education (Veterinary) of Assam Agricultural University.
A stall exhibition of agricultural and allied sector was also
organised at the event. It was inaugurated by North Karimganj MLA Kamalakhya
Dey Purakayastha.
The exhibition was participated by all the line departments,
self help groups, NGOs, private seed and fertilizer companies.
Dr. Mrinal Saikia, Associate Director of Research (Agriculture)
of Assam Agricultural University chaired the formal meeting of the Farmers’
Day.
Manabendra Dev Ray, superintendant of police of Karimganj, R.K.
Laskar, district development commissioner, Karimganj, J.P. Matahni, Commandant,
7 Bn of BSF, and district agricultural officers of Karimganj and Hailakandi
addressed the farmers.
The agriculture research station
at Akbarpur in Karimganj district was established in 1913. It was
the first of its kind in eastern India.
The first rice germplasm – KMZ 1 – was developed by renowned
agronomist Nalini Ranjan Roy in 1967.
At present, the Regional Agricultural Research Station of AAU
preserves more than 3,583 rice germplasms of India and abroad as a gene bank of
rice.
Rice exports up 43.76pc in four
months
Rice
exports from the country during first four months of current financial year
grew by 43.76% as compared to the exports of the corresponding period of last
year. During the period from July-October, rice worth $633.739 million exported
as compared to the exports of $440.828 million of same period of last year,
according the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The rice exports during
the period under review, witness significant increase as it went up from
800,078 metric tons in first four months of last financial year to 1,141,334
metric tons in same period of current financial year. The exports of basmati
rice also increased by 55.32% as about 279,257 metric tons of basmati rice
worth $256.817 million were exported as against the exports of 161,812 metric
tons valuing $165.351 million of same period of last year, it added. Meanwhile,
country earned $376.922 million by exporting about 862,087 metric tons of
others rice, which stood at 638,266 metric tons valuing $275.477 million in the
period under review. In first four months of current financial year, about
54,177 metric tons of fish and fish products valuing $129.655 million also
exported as compared to the exports of 44,513 metric tons worth $109.776
million of same period of last year. The exports of meat and meat products
witnessed 53.57% increase in four months of financial year 2019-20, as 27,554
metric tons of the above mentioned commodity worth $97.885 million exported
which was recorded at 17,566 metric tons valuing $63.722 million in same period
of last year, the data added. It may be recalled here that food group exports
from the country during first four months of current financial year increased
by 16.21%, where as imports of the food commodities into the country decreased
by 20.34% as compared to the corresponding period of last year. The imports of
the food group came down to $1.583 billion during the period from July-October,
2019-20 from $1.987 billion of the same period of last year.
